#like her bubble dress is already shown to be pink

[atalana]

so i saw the wicked movie!

honestly considerably better than i would have expected from the trailers, it was clearly made with love and i do recommend seeing it if you're a fan of the stage show

but if there's one thing i'm a bit sad about, it's glinda's wardrobe colours

like. the costuming in this movie is amazing! and i have no criticisms about the design of glinda's outfits, they're really good!

but they're all pink

and i care a lot about the thought that went into the costuming of wicked (particularly how important blue is as a colour here), so for those unfamiliar with her original outfits, lets go on a tour of them!

in chronological order for glinda, we start with the school uniform

notably not pink, but white. blue and white are shiz's colours, so she's not actually breaking any uniform rules (this will be important later), but she does want to stand out. this also contrasts elphaba's entirely blue uniform (all the other students wear stripes), and the fact that every other elphie outfit is black, because they are and always will be diametrically opposed

she keeps this one through a lot of the first act, until around popular, which is when we get her actually pink dress! and this is glinda actually being honest for the first time, so it makes sense this is the most accurate to her personality dress she gets (and i did love the extremely dramatic dressing down she got in the movie here)

glinda in the emerald city gets a yellow dress and sunglasses! and honestly while there's not a lot of symbolism in this one it is strange seeing defying gravity not involve the yellow dress (and also i think it would have made that yellow brick road bit have more weight but you know)

now here's where i say that thing about the white will be important later. defying gravity is the act break and the timeskip. and now it's important to note - every single outfit glinda wears in act 2 is blue

and i think for her the blue represents the status quo. she was never an outright rebel in act 1, as we see with her uniform, but she did want to make her personality and choices known, she wanted to forge ahead with something. it's defying gravity where she definitively makes that choice to conform, to pick up that colour she originally had left behind, and to work for power within the system instead of defying the system (elphaba, notably, wears all blue while at school but from one short day onwards always wears black, because that's a status quo she no longer cares to hold up)

act 2 opening with thank goodness, she's a little older, she's got more power, she's a community leader, and her outfit reflects that, in the most business look glinda could possibly have and still look like glinda (i do love this one just from a design standpoint)

her wedding dress isn't just blue but also has a lot of green in it, which is fun on multiple levels (because green is the colour of the wizard, and what madame morrible wears after the reveal they're working together on this, but also was elphaba's from the start)

and her last outfit is also her first outfit, but i told these in order of glinda's life not the song order, because this is the pinnacle of who she's become. this is her dress right at the start before the flashback, and then for for good and finale

it's enormous, it's princessy, it mirrors the dress from the original wizard of oz movie, and it's blue. it's the combination of who she always has been and who she's decided to become. everything she always wanted to be, at the cost of everyone she cared about

and im so curious to see how the movie costuming goes for part 2

[sophie-looks-at-stuff]

As You Wish

Pairing: Aemond x wife reader

Summary: Aemond's new wife has a moment of reflection wondering if her new husband truly cares for her. Aemond is determined to prove to her that he is utterly devoted to her.

Warnings: smut, some slight angst? maybe idk honestly haha, Aemond loves his wife he just has issues expressing it lol, p in v, oral (f receiving) man is a champ when it comes to that, praise, 18+, vulgar language lol, slight breeding kink

AN: hey y'all! long time no see haha, I finally watched the season 2 hotd premiere last night and had to finally write something! this is my first go at a legit fic and not just headcanons so don't be too judgy haha. but I hope y'all enjoy it! :)

PS: it is unedited rn, but I was just too excited to post it, so I'll edit it later!

The rose-scented bubbles of the bath water lapped soothingly against your flesh. This had become your routine, after the evening's supper or feast you would call to your handmaid to draw a bath. Scalding hot water, warm enough to turn your skin pink upon contact. The boiling water and the familiar scent of the roses were one of the few things that brought you comfort after your marriage to Prince Aemond. Your family had come seasonally to court for many moons now, your mother being a friend of Queen Alicent. As your brothers sparred with the young princes in the training grounds, you took more kindly towards the gardens. Wandering around the maze of flowers and bushes searching for faeries and nymphs. Of course, you had been only a child then and had not yet known that such silly things don’t exist. 

It had been the Prince himself that informed you of such. You had been crouched on your knees before a bed of yellow roses, looking between the stems and leaves for the little creatures. The skirts of your dress soiled and stained brown from the earth beneath you. You had been so preoccupied with searching for them, that you hadn’t heard the crunching of grass and footsteps behind you.

“What in the Seven Hells are you doing?” Aemond had asked you, voice bitter but curious. You stood up hastily, nearly tripping on your own two feet as you spun around and curtsied clumsily. 

“I am searching for faeries my Prince. Mother said that they can be found amongst the stems of the most beautiful flowers!” Your small hands began to nervously dust themselves off on your already dirty skirts. Aemond’s eye followed the motion, his upper lip curling in disgust. It had only been a couple of moons since the young prince had lost his eye. The scar was still fresh and red around the edges, the eyepatch clearly bothering him. For it appeared to be fastened too tight around his head. 

“Don’t be absurd, such pathetic things don’t exist. All you’ve succeeded in doing is soiling your clothes.” He motions down towards your skirts, your cheeks heating in embarrassment. Feeling ashamed to be talked down upon by someone you hoped to be a potential friend. Even though his eye, or lack thereof, scared most, you had found it intriguing. Your father had told you stories of men in faraway places who wore their scars like badges of honor, like trophies of war. The marred skin being a testament to their victories in battle. Your father however did not return to tell the tails of his own scars, for he had passed in the Stepstones, aiding Lord Corlys and Prince Daemon in their war. 

“My apologies my Prince, for I-” you dared a look up into face, his brows knit together, arms crossed over his chest. You lowered your eyes in shame once more “I shall go change my skirts at once.” And with that you darted off, not waiting for a response from the young Targaryen. 

That had been many years ago though, and you were no longer a child, and nor was he. Prince Aemond had grown into a handsome man, not just physically, but intellectually as well. The water of your bath had grown tepid as you recalled the memory, a slight frown adorning your features. Why had he wanted to marry you? He hardly had shown any interest, more likely it was because his mother and grandfather craved the military prowess your family possessed. They needed it for the impending war. So a proposal for your hand had been made, and your eldest brother eagerly accepted. After your father’s passing, and your mother grew older in age he had taken it upon himself to attend to the coming and goings of your house. 

It wasn’t that Aemond was exactly an unkind husband, he just wasn’t present, ever. There was always a reason or excuse for him to leave a room once you arrived. The only full night you had spent with him had been your wedding night, in your marital bed. He wasn’t rough, nor was he gentle, but he possessed an air of duty and responsibility when it came to the consummation. For once he spilled his spend inside of you he had fetched a cloth for you to clean yourself. Then turned his back to you and slept, not uttering another word. 

The sound of your chamber doors creaking open drew you from your thoughts. The clanking of a sword and heavy footsteps made their way towards you in the bathing room. You were met with the sight of your rather disheveled lord husband. Before you could offer him a greeting, however, his eye lifted to your face, and he asked: 

“May I join you?” Taken aback slightly by the question there was a pause, the room silent. Then, you nodded, “Yes, yes of course you may husband.” 

Aemond had waited for your approval before stripping himself bare of his clothes, riding clothes by the looks of it. He must have been out on Vhagar. You observe him as he untethered his belts and the laces of his boots. The years of training had done him well, his arms and back muscles lean and corded. Sometimes you wondered what it would be like to drag your nails down them, as he fucked into you–

“Wife? Did you hear me?” Shit, he must have asked you something, looking up from the muscles of his arms to meet his eyes you shook your head. He chuckled a bit, smirking, you had been caught in your staring.

“I asked you, how was your day my lady wife.” A hint of amusement laced his voice, he had rid himself of his clothes, having placed them neatly over the back of one of the armchairs in the rooms. 

“Oh, well, it was alright. Nothing too exciting I'm afraid. I did have tea with your mother and sister though. That was quite pleasant, Helaena was telling me of the butterflies that come for the roses this time of year. She said we must go see them once they arrive.” As you spoke Aemond made his way around the tub, to behind you. It took an embarrassingly great deal of effort not to stare as he had presented himself bare before you. To look only above his waist and not let your eyes drift down towards his cock. 

“Mmh, yes we must see them then,” his cold hands met your shoulder blades, rubbing small, soothing, circles on them. This was his way of telling you to move forward, so that he may join you in the tub, taking his place behind you, and pulling you onto his lap. 

“You take such tepid baths wife. You’ll catch a cold one of these days.” He mumbled into your ear as he made himself comfortable behind you, his legs outstretched beside your own. It wasn’t that such small talk was uncommon between the two of you when he was around. Besides, you two did share chambers, so despite his avoidance during the day, he was bound to return to you at night. 

Turning fully to face him now, with a surge of annoyance, the water sloshing around the two of you with your sudden movements. “Why do you care? You are hardly even here to see me as is, I doubt you would even notice.” Aemond’s singular lilac eye widens, not from anger, but rather from surprise. His lady wife was always so sweet, so silent, this was new, and dare he say exciting. 

“A woman can only take so much you know–” You go to stand, to leave the tub, and go to bed, done with whatever this conversation is. Aemond’s hand shoots out to grasp your wrist, stopping you from doing so. 

“Wait!” It came out more harsh than he had intended. “I do care for you my lady, truly I do. I did not know that you–”

“Prove it.” You say interrupting whatever he is about to tell you. You keep your eyes level and voice steady. “Prove it to me then husband,”

Aemond says only one thing before attacking your lips, “As you wish,” He is not gentle in his kisses, he does not know how to be gentle. Perhaps you could teach him. His grasp on your wrist moves to your waist as he continues his assault on your lips. His hands roam the flesh of your waist, your hips, your thighs, his lips move down towards your neck. Biting and nipping at the flesh there, sure to leave a mark for all to see.

“Aemond–” 

“Shhh, let me take care of you tonight. Let me prove to you how much I desire you, my love.” He murmurs between bites and kisses. He pulls back, only for a moment, “You are beautiful, I am sorry I have not told you this enough,” his lips attach themselves to one of your breasts, suckling at the nipple. You let out a surprised breath as he bites down, a wave of pleasure shooting straight to your core.

His roaming hands have found purchase on your ass, his deft fingers kneading the plump flesh. Suddenly his grip becomes tighter as he rises from the tub with you in his arms, water spilling over the sides and onto the floor. You hurriedly wrap your arms around his neck, in an attempt to steady yourself. 

“Aemond! You’ve made a mess–” He laughs, fully this time, not just a chuckle. It’s a lovely sound you think.

 “Fuck the mess, the maids shall deal with it in the morning. I’ve neglected my dear lady wife and that must be rectified immediately. One of the hands on your ass pulls back and gives it a small slap. You gasp in surprise, tucking your face into his neck, peppering small kisses there, just as he had done to you moments before. You could get used to this side of your husband. Aemond lets out a hum of satisfaction at your ministrations, soon after playfully throwing you down onto your shared bed. 

“Aemond the sheets, they’re soaked now–” you began to protest cut off rather abruptly by his grip on your ankles. Pulling you down towards the end of the mattress, your cunt now level with his lips. 

“That should hardly matter, we have others–” he places a kiss on your inner thigh. “Besides the only thing I care to see soaked is your cunt after I am done–” Without another word or hesitation, Aemond licks a hot stripe up the center of your core. Then a second, and a third, until he loses all control. He devours you like a man starved. His strong arms wrap themselves around your things, pulling you impossibly closer to him. His tongue continues its assault on your cunt.

“You taste of the finest ambrosia–” the vibrations of his voice sending shock waves of electricity to your clit. Aemond is only spurred on further by the sound of your sweet moans. His name falling from your lips like a chant, like a prayer to the Seven. His lips find purchase on your clit, sucking and licking till you're writhing beneath him. Your hands shoot down, finding purchase in his long silver locks.

“Aemond, oh Aemond–” the words spill from your lips like nonsense. The only thing you are able to focus on is his lips and tongue lapping at your cunt. The man between your thighs devouring you like this is his last meal alive.

“Cum for me, cum on my tongue. And then I shall reward you with my cock. Cum for me my love–” As if on command, you feel the muscles of your lower abdomen contract, and then all that lovely pleasure overflows, and bursts from you. With a strangled cry of his name, you cum on his tongue. You look down at your husband between your thighs, his lips glistening in your release. 

“Good girl, my good, sweet, perfect girl. You did exactly what I asked,” he crawls up your body, stopping only to place the occasional kiss to your hot skin. His lips return to your neck, sucking love marks into the skin over the faint ones he had left before. A newfound favorite of his perhaps. He gives his cock a few strokes, his thumb collecting the beading drop of arousal from his tip. Wordlessly, he brings the digit up to your lips, pressing down gently on your bottom one. You open your mouth, sucking the essence from his finger, swirling your tongue around it, eager to please him. He groans in response, resting his forehead on yours, 

“Perhaps another night my love, I need to be inside of you now.” You release his thumb with a slight pop. 

“Fuck me then, husband–” Not needing any further encouragement, Aemond sheathes his cock inside of your cunt. The warm, velvety walls squeezing him perfectly. “Fuck–” he moans breathlessly as he slowly begins to thrust into your weeping cunt. The squelching noises from his movements turn your cheeks red, you move to hide your face in the crook of his neck once more, but a hand on your chin stops you. From above, Aemond’s lilac eye bores into your own, like a spell, you are unable to look away.

Aemond’s thrusting becomes faster, harder, like a man starved. The grasp on your chin returns to your hips. As Aemond rolls back slightly, sitting on his knees, he brings your hips to meet his, your back still on the bed. From this angle he has full control over your body, not that he hadn’t before. But now he could control his thrusts, making them sharper, harder. Beneath him, your eyes screw shut in pleasure, consumed by his ministrations. 

You look beautiful like this, he thinks. Cheeks red, hair a mess, sweat glistening on your skin. He had been a fool before, not indulging you more often. Not being by your side, it was a mistake he would make no more. He had been too afraid of your rejection, too afraid you would find him repulsive because of his scar. The scar that he himself found so disturbing. But clearly, the way his name fell from your lips, as your face contorted in pleasure, this was not the case. 

“Shall I cum inside of your perfect cunt? Shall I plant my seed, and watch you grow and swell with my child?” He barely recognized the words coming from his lips, too lost in carnal desire to notice. 

“Yes, yes Aemond, yes–” the words leaving your lips like a hymn, a prayer to your lord husband. Aemond’s fingers began to circle your bud as he continued to rut into you. 

“Together then, I can feel you little wife–” As if he possessed some kind of magic, you did as commanded. Aemond’s release coating your walls, both of you warm and well sated. Once more he leans down, leaving a small peck on your lips before resting his forehead on yours. 

“I have been a fool, a complete and utter fool. I am not a great man in many ways my sweet lady wife. But for you perhaps I could be,” He places another kiss on your lips. 

“I would like that very much Aemond,” you smile a bit as you say this because it is true and it would be unfair to not allow him to prove as much. After all, that is what you asked of him is it not? Without pulling out or away from you, Aemond rolls to his side, tucking you into him, desperate to keep you in his arms. 

“Stay like this with me tonight, please?” He asks, afraid you’ll send him away. 

“Tonight and every night if you behave,” you give him a slight pinch to add emphasis to your comment. You feel his chest vibrate against your cheek with laughter. 

“As you wish,” he says one final time, as the two of you drift off to sleep, held safely in the arms of one another.

[where-fading-princesses-live]

Thoughts on *NEW* Wicked Trailer (2024)

Okay the second trailer is SO MUCH BETTER than the teaser.

They picked less awkward looking shots/moments where they don't look so weird and old also better less cheesy acting shown here.

Also I do love the majority of Galinda's costume designs as a Shiz student.

I’m still not crazy about her generic looking bubble dress because the one on stage was so stunning but maybe it'll grow on me.

But her ''Popular'' dress is awesome and so is the Oz Dust Ball dress

My only complaint is that Elphaba looks waaaay too fashionable before her post-''Popular'' transformation.

She's not supposed to look that cute and it misses the whole point of her character esp. where it concerns the book.

It's the one thing the musical did better was Elphaba's character development as illustrated by the costume design. Her shift in character shifts with her sense of style and I see none of that here. She doesn't seem to make much of a change in style because she's dressed cute all the time or am I missing something???

Like her moment with Fiyero she's supposed to look conventionally ''beautiful'' for the first time even tho she was always internally beautiful but everyone fails to see that because her skin is green and they're so focused on superficiality.

But yeah what she's wearing with Fiyero in the movie isn't that big of a leap from what she's wearing in previous scenes like she's always dressed cute. Her dress in her first love scene with Fiyero is actually too similar to the one in what I assume to be ''What Is This Feeling?'' with the pinstripe look. In the stage show, she wears something she would normally never wear. It was Galinda's invention to make Elphaba look like some Galinda knock-off, but that seems to be missing in the movie (I also miss the pink flower in her hair).

Other than that, yeah….

The song samples sound good too.

Wish they showed more Nessa and/or Boq but at the same this trailer shows waaay too much already like I feel I’ve already seen half the movie and this is only Part I, they could have left more to the imagination but oh well.

I’ve sorta changed my mind and I am kind of hyped to see this now.

[glimmerglanger]

upon the sun (kiss bingo fill)

Morning! I wanted to try to get in one more @codywankissbingo fill before the event ends and thought what better to try than a "first kiss" fill and then I thought, "What's the potentially most awkward place to try to kiss for a first kiss?" and thus this idea was born.

This is an AU during the war with Lady!Obi-Wan and (to current appearances) Lady!Cody. It's part of a much larger au I'm working on but alas I'm unsure when I'll finish the whole thing.

Warnings for drugging by aliens and spicy touching while in said drugged state (to be clear, they're both drugged), stopped before it goes very far at all.

Story and bingo card below:

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

Usually, getting drawn into celebrations by a planet’s native inhabitants just resulted in a headache. 

Cody suspected, somewhere deep down, this particular event would end the same way. She simply failed to bring herself to care.

She’d tried to, at first, but then the very grateful natives - some kind of reptilian race with a name that had too many ‘tch’ sounds and not enough vowels in it for Cody to pronounce, though Obi-Wan spoke like a native - had pressed a cup full of something into her hand and insisted she drink and… 

All her worries had gotten a little further away after that, harder to reach. Which had been for the best, really, once she realized that the locals were having some kind of celebration with a very specific dress code and wanted them to join in. 

Cody had hesitated about taking off her armor and peeling down her blacks, at first, and then Obi-Wan had walked past, bare-chested, and--

Cody’d never seen her General’s bare skin before. Not so much of it, anyway. Kriff, Obi-Wan wore gloves most of the time, revealing only a sliver of her neck and her face. Looking over and seeing nothing but skin all the way down to her waist - the hem of her kriffing leggings - did something to Cody’s head. 

Obi-Wan had freckles over her shoulders and down her spine. And over her breasts. And her breasts were so full and soft, nipples pink and stiffening in the chilly air of the planet. Cody took another deep drink of the liquid in the cup, not thinking, and agreed to remove her armor. 

She lost track of Obi-Wan briefly after that. The locals insisted on pulling Cody and some of the other troopers off to one side, showing them… a series of what turned out to be paints. Apparently, they decorated their scales during the celebrations and were eager to share the process. 

Cody indulged for a little; it felt right to paint some suns here and there across her skin, and then the locals started tugging them along again.

They ended up shown to a spiral of…what appeared to be pillows and rugs, spread out throughout a huge clearing. The locals chattered something at Cody - they sounded happy, anyway - and gestured around. 

She nodded back, said, “Thank you,” and wandered off. Plenty of the rugs already had occupants, both troopers and the locals and--

Cody’s body thrummed when she spotted the shine of evening sun off copper-tinted hair. She made her way over and around pillows and bodies, to her General, sprawled out on a rug close to the tree line and--

Gorgeous. 

She had an arm thrown over a huge, cylindrical pillow, propping her up and arching her back and--she’d gotten into paint, too, apparently. There were designs in bright, vivid blue and gold across her shoulders and spilling down her chest, onto the soft swell of her breasts. 

Including a sunburst, perfectly formed, high on the swell of her left breast. 

Cody sat down beside her without thinking, gut all hot and warm and bubbly. “Having a nice evening?” Obi-Wan asked her, and Cody lifted her eyes away from the sun, and managed to reply after clearing her throat twice. 

Cody spilled information about the troops, automatically, as she sank against a plush pillow. She’d made it halfway through a decent sitrep when one of the locals came by again and refilled her cup.

Cody drank deeply; she felt parched, thirsty for something beyond the warm liquid in the cup, staring at Obi-Wan as she spoke with their host, her face tilted up, glowing in the setting sun, the column of her throat long and perfect, shoulders strong and solid, and--breasts moving freely when she laughed at something. 

Cody swallowed, hard, burning up with heat inside, noting it only distantly when the local moved away, down to the next person in the line. 

“Well,” Obi-Wan started, tossing her hair over her shoulder, looking back towards Cody, “they seem very friendly.” She reached out, eyes soft and warm, not exactly focused, and trailed her fingers over Cody’s brow.

“Very friendly,” Cody agreed, shivering all over at the touch of Obi-Wan’s callused fingertips. She wanted to lean closer and could not, abruptly, recall why she shouldn’t. 

Obi-Wan seemed not to mind, shifting more onto her back, accommodating the closeness, fingers trailing past Cody’s ear, over the buzzed strands of her hair; she’d never liked it long. “It occurs to me,” Obi-Wan murmured, hair a beacon across the green pillow below her, “that I’d like to be friendlier with you, Commander.” 

“Yeah?” Cody asked, the world around still existing, surely, but getting further away by the moment as her gaze slid down again, drawn intently to the sunburst-- “I like being friendly.”

“Good,” Obi-Wan hummed, scratching her nails, just lightly, over the nape of Cody’s neck, which felt amazing and welcoming, and-- “Oh!” 

Cody hadn’t been thinking. If she’d been thinking, she certainly wouldn’t have brought a hand up, terribly bold, to cup one of Obi-Wan’s breasts - kriff, her skin was even softer than Cody had imagined - and she wouldn’t have ducked her head, and she certainly wouldn’t have brushed a kiss to the curve of skin, right over the  golden sun Obi-Wan had painted--

Obi-Wan gasped, ribs expanding, pushing her breast against Cody’s palm; Cody reflexively squeezed - small gods, she was so soft here - and pressed another kiss to the divinely soft skin, jaw aching, heat and wetness between her thighs and--

“Cody,” Obi-Wan gasped out, and Cody hummed, shifting up, considering that she’d have a better angle of attack to touch and kiss if she were, for example, between Obi-Wan’s thighs instead of stretched out beside her and--

And hands - not Obi-Wan’s hands - grabbing at her shoulder and pulling, had her lifting her mouth away, breathing ragged and open-mouthed as Obi-Wan stared into her eyes. Cody blinked, vaguely aware of…Crys, yes, it was Crys, saying, “Commander, are you listening?”

“No?” Cody hazarded, gaze slipping down, hungry--

Crys made an indignant sound, but that was hard to care about with Obi-Wan tugging on the back of her neck, beckoning her down and close--

Cody made a protesting noise when people grabbed her, dragging her bodily up and away, and she started to shove at them when someone - also Crys - slugged her across the jaw. 

The pain brought a rush of clarity into Cody’s head and she blinked, spitting, “What the kriff?”

“They put something in the mead, sir!” Crys said, her voice shaking. “But a few of us didn’t like it so we didn’t drink any. And they’re trying to round us up. Taking us somewhere! We don’t think they’re up to any good.” 

“It certainly sounds like they’re not,” Obi-Wan said, and Cody leaned around Crys to look as she rose to her feet, tossing her hair over her shoulder and reaching for the saber at her belt. She looked…flushed, cheeks and throat reddened, some of the color spreading down her breasts--

“I shall go and find out what’s going on directly,” Obi-Wan said, though her eyes looked just as glazed as Cody felt. 

“Don’t go,” Cody said, and Obi-Wan met her gaze for a moment, heat there before Obi-Wan groaned and looked decisively away. 

“Oh, darling,” she said, “it’s really for the best that I do. Perhaps let’s hope for both our sakes we don’t recall any of this in the morning.” Cody watched her go - kriffing hoping the memories of how her skin felt never faded away - and then shook herself, focused on Crys, and said, “Tell me what else is going on. And hit me again, if I lose focus.”

[xiaothejun]

Strawberries & cigarettes// Wyh

Genre: fluff fluff fluff!

“Hey, hey, hey!” You yell at the two toddlers running around and screaming words you can’t even understand, “give it back to your sister, baby boy.” You scold the little one, kneeling down to sue the almond eyed, with straightened-shiny black hair covering his forehead, his eyes are barely seen because of the amount of hair but you know he holds the universe in them. You couldn’t even remember their names since it’s your first hour babysitting the two tiny terrorists who already mess with your head.

“What can I get for you, miss?” The bubbly-smiled worker asks as you grab both their hands and hold them close to you. -“Uhm…chocolate and strawberry, two cones please.” You smile back at her as she immediately grabs the ice cream cone and scoops two delicious cream scoops in each one.

“Melody, choose one,” you pick her up to the counter to give her a better view of all the heavenly colored creams. You remembered their mother told you Dylan is allergic to lactose so you know he’s gonna get jealous of his sister getting ice cream.

“This!” She points towards the strawberry bucket. “Good girl, mel. Now choose some of these,” you show her the toppings as her eyes sparkle and she bites onto her fingernails, excitedly letting her brain pick between the chocolate bites and to the gummy bears.

You take a bowl of toppings for Melody’s brother and take a seat with them inside the colorful ice cream shop right when melody acknowledges you about a person standing behind you.

“Oh?” You ask her and turn your head to meet your boyfriend, standing there with a bigger smile both the kids have had until now. “Thank god, hei, I thought you forgot me already.” You sigh and roll your eyes in relief as he wraps his long arms around your body.

“I like your boyfriend aunt y/n!” Melody shouts in excitement, her little teeth are shown and it melts the older one’s heart, causing both of you to chuckle. She grips onto the hem of your shirt and pulls it slightly, making you pay all your attention to her again. -“I like him too baby girl.” You smile to her and kneel in front of the little one, while cleaning her flared dress from the strawberry ice cream drips, she whispered to you, shyly, “what’s his name?” Making him laugh and fill the empty space in your heart with even more joy than before.

“It’s Yukhei,” he says softly. Dylan’s gaze can’t leave your boyfriend’s arms and he sends his hand to grab gently on one of his muscles. “You’re so cool, uncle yukhei!” He announced loudly, mesmerized by his new role model.

“Oh thank you little one.” Yukhei says back and plays with his hair, giving him the ‘comforting big brother’ feeling.

“Shall we go for a walk? The weather is so nice today.” You say, tying up Melody’s silky hair to a high ponytail and lastly adding a small bow to match her dress. -“Yes aunt y/n!” She immediately gets up on her tiny feet and grabs your hand, holding her dessert in the other hand.

It’s your one year anniversary with yukhei and your plans changed when a friend of yours asked for you to babysit her children. It was unexpected for you both but neither of you got disappointed of the thought of a date with two little kiddos running around.

“Aunt y/n, can Dylan and I go play there?” She points excitedly at the playground nearby, licking clean any ice cream leftovers off the tiny pink spoon, her puppy eyes sparkle in anticipation. -“Yes you do, as long as you’re not leaving your brother.” You grab her by the chin gently and explain to be careful if a stranger comes by even though you and Yukhei never meant to leave them out of sight.

“Okay.” She gives you a thumbs up and they both run into the sand, leaving the two of you on the bench, being responsible parents to kids who are not even yours.

-“She reminds me of you,” yukhei speaks up while you two look at them, nothing felt more peaceful than this moment you feel like actual adults keeping eyes on tiny humans you wish to have together one day. -“Her enthusiasm, the way she smiles when she looks at me, her shy smile and her pretty eyes.” He detailed every little thing in her that made him fall in love with you.

“Your ice cream is melting.” You weren’t that shy lately, but whenever he mentions anything he loves about you, you can’t help but try to change the subject. -“So is the thought of having a Melody with you in a few years.” He knew how to make your heart beat faster with just one sentence, and he liked the feeling of making you still feel butterflies after a year together.

“Hei, please stop,” You blush and sit back straight to finally take a bite from the ice cream cone. His hand automatically goes to move a small part of your hair behind your ear, gently caressing your skin with the softest smile spread all over his face.

“Mm?” You offer him the chocolate flavored one that’s held in your hand, he looks like a baby himself when he eats his own ice cream, licking his lips after every bite he takes. He agrees without saying anything but doing the same to you. “You know I’m not a fan of strawberry when it’s now the fruit.” You complain and he takes it back to his own mouth.

-“Babe,” he gets your attention once again and as you lift your eyes from your phone to him, he leans in and leaves a sweet peck on your lips. -“Still not a fan?” He asks as he pulls away, leaving you blushing at the unexpected action of your romantic boyfriend. “Not enough, try again.” You tease back, making him raise an eyebrow at how surprising your reaction is.

This time he lifts your face by the chin, then slowly moving his hand to your neck to hold your face, the cream lines on his lips melt in seconds when they mix with the chocolate leftovers on your own, and create the sweetest flavor you’ve ever tried before. “You took a smoke before you came, right?” Was the only thing you could say to hide the shyness on your face. -“Is it that bad?“ he asks. “I didn’t know cigarettes can taste so sweet.” You look deep into his eyes, admiring every single star in them among billions.

“I hope uncle Yukhei gets married to aunt y/n soon…” Dylan stops playing just to stare at the two of you, his sister follows.

-“Ew Dylan! Stop looking at people kissing!” The baby sister shout in annoyance, can’t take her eyes off of you two.

“You would notice you just lost the ball if you weren’t looking too!” The older one says and they both watch the ball rolling down the road.

[360iris]

Like Then (James Potter x Reader x Sirius Black x Remus Lupin)

Warning: Does this qualify as hurt/comfort?? Maybe comfort/hurt? Is this even angst? Ah! I tried! Fem!Reader using she/her pronouns.

Word count: 1,201

Summary: Why do girls always leave The Yule Ball heartbroken?

A/N: This is a Prequel to my fanfic, Like You! We’ve reached 408 followers, which is big considering I had zero when I first posted “Like You”. Welcome on board, sweeties! I was the most elated in the midst of trying to explain how chaotically Sirius + Y/N would dance and the most sullen trying to properly word the ending.

Of course Lily would be James’ date to the Yule Ball. They’d been together for about six months now and he’d wanted nothing more than to see her all dolled up just for him. 

Her fiery red locks curled and pinned, not to mention the sterling silver dress she’d been able to pick out with her mother. She was a sight for sore eyes, glowing as if she’d been taken directly from his sweetest dream. So why did his eyes drift to the other side of the room? 

Half of his attention divided on the lovely girl in front of him, where it should be. Focusing on the way her eyes gleamed and the showstopping smile that never failed to make his heart race. She was enjoying herself tonight, swaying in his arms and giggling at almost every joke he made; a rarity.

But the other half of his attention, the other half of himself, was with them. 

Sirius had Y/N’s hand in his grasp and was twirling the beaming girl in place, her laughs bubbling up into the space around them. Remus must have slipped away to take a breather because he was seated alone with a fond smile on his lips, watching the duo dance.  

Could he even call what they were doing dancing? Sirius’ extensive knowledge on waltzing, mixed with the younger girl’s eager tango, had the pair moving sporadically. 

They turned about the room, swiveling, alternating and cross stepping. Every so often, Sirius lifted her off of the ground mid-twirl as if she were light as a feather. And though the way they moved was quite a spectacle, partygoers giving the two a wide berth, they were in their element.

 It was as if the world had melted away and they were left in each other’s company.

When the song came to an end, Sirius parted from her quite begrudgingly. James could only guess what was being said, but with the boy putting on his best begging face, he was possibly asking to go another round. His fingers reluctantly releasing hers as she pulled away from his grasp. 

James watched as she all but skipped to Remus’ side, mere seconds from going in to kiss him before seemingly remembering the presence of the school staff. She settled for clasping the boy’s hands and leaning up to his ear to whisper.

“James?” he heard from below him and promptly redirected his gaze.

“What was that again, love?” he asked and she smiled up at him. He faintly felt his chest shag and heart give a euphoric leap.

Lily laughed when he bent his head to press a kiss into her hair, “I said that I’m gonna go the restroom real quick, I’ll be back.” 

“Of course, dear. I’ll get some punch then.” and before long she was slipping through the crowd. 

He watched after her until he was unable to differentiate her head bobbing from all the rest. Eventually trudging to the refreshments table in hopes of clearing his head.

His cup was midway to his mouth before a soft, 

“Unfortunately there isn’t any booze in there.” sounded from his left and he nearly jumped from his skin.

The red liquid in his grasp promptly sloshing onto his shoes.

A curse slipped from his lips as he took the napkin offered to him, quickly cleaning himself off. 

Looking up he finds Y/N leaning against the table, an amused smile playing on her face.

“Since when did you sneak up on people?” He asked, standing up straight and setting down his drink. 

“Didn’t sneak up on you, James. I was standing here before you even got to the table; but you’d know that if you weren’t busy daydreaming. What’s on your mind? Let me guess! Devious plans of what you’re gonna do with Evans tonight perhaps?” She questioned, tossing a chicken popper into her mouth.

Eventually offering him one when all she got back in response was him staring dumbly at the ensemble she was wearing. 

He’d briefly been shown the dress she was planning to wear weeks before the event, but it was a different experience actually seeing her in it. 

The lengthy, shimmering fabric draped and folded to the floor elegantly. The metallic fringes of her shawl glinting and swaying with every movement she made. She looked positively ethereal.

Acknowledging his silent gawking, she gave an indulgent twirl, “You like it, J? I was going for 70s era Stevie Nicks, but Sirius said I just look like a muggle’s imitation of a witch. What do you think?” She asked with a pout, fluttering her eyelashes expectantly. Notedly taking one of his larger hands into her own. 

He allowed himself to inwardly admit that she looked undeniably adorable fiddling with his fingers. How pink her lips were tonight.

“I honestly don’t know who that is, love. Where is Sirius anyway?” He coughed awkwardly, pulling his hand back and looking anywhere but her in faux search of his friends.

If his eyes had still been on her, he’d have seen how crestfallen she’d looked at his refusal to acknowledge her question. How she pulled her shawl over her shoulders tighter and attempted to shake off the feeling of dejectedness that silently clawed at her heels.

“He’s over there, trying his hardest to get Remus to kiss him in front of all these poor bystanders. You should have heard how fervently he pleaded with me earlier; he could’ve made a sailor blush.” She laughed and James caught sight of the two boys slowly swaying in between the sea of people.

The contrast of how gently he held Remus was stark. The pair barely moved from their spot on the floor in comparison to the full blown recital that took place only minutes before.

“Despite his remarks, he loves the two of you a great deal.” He found himself saying, melancholy apparent in his voice. The words tumbling from his lips before he could fully think them over.

“Why’d you say that so glumly, as if it doesn’t apply to you as well?” Y/N asked abruptly, an unexpectedly harsh edge to her tone.

“What?” Turning his attention back to her, he was shocked by the deep furrow in her brow. She clutched at her shawl so tightly her knuckles were turning pale.

“You say that as if we- as if he didn’t confess his feelings for you just the same! As if you didn’t choose-“ Her voice was raising but cut off before it garnered anyone else’s attention.

“James?” He heard from behind him and he already knew it was Lily, slight confusion laced in her voice.

In the time it took for him to turn to Lily in acknowledgment and back, Y/N was already moving to depart.

“Speak of the devil-“ She whispered exasperatedly, voice so low he barely caught it over the music. Releasing the deathgrip on her shawl, she allowed her hands to fall to her sides defeatedly.

“Goodnight, James.” Is all she offered before she was padding towards the main entrance; and though he moved to follow, the hand enveloping his own from behind grounded him.

This was where he was supposed to be, he reminded himself. Even if she took half of him with her.

[apricotgojo]

hi bestie.. 😃

so um , i saw this prompt somewhere and i wanted to send it to my favorite blog ! ( you ) so here it is!!

adrien with a s/o who’s from america ( new york specifically ) and she has a very veronica lodge type past. meaning she’s very proper and rich and silvertounged but very kindhearted and sweet and extremely loyal.

but she has a past where she used to be a bully in new york and bullied people if they didn’t fit in , and was practically the it girl from a movie? does that make sense?

however shes changed , yet one day during a akuma attack , her whole past gets revealed and videos of her being a complete BITCH and it being played off as hot by her classmates gets shown to the entire of paris?

what’s adrien doing? is she going to comfort her or leave her?

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

 I had so much fun writing this, but fair warning that it’s kind of angsty oops! thank u for the request nonetheless <333

Ship: Adrien Agreste X reader

Warnings: Swearing.

Tags: Angst oops

What should you do when your father is out on a business trip?

Throw a party.

And that’s exactly what you did. At least that’s what you used to do back in New York.   It’s something you were known for. Now since you’ve got the chance to start fresh with a new life in Paris you decided to bring an old tradition back with you and invite some friends over from the school you’re attending, and your boyfriend of course.

Adrien Agreste. You had no idea what you did to get such an angel in your life. You’ve been dating him for a few moths now and you could already see yourself becoming a better person around him. You came to Paris with the intention of leaving your past behind, starting new and fresh without the bullshit from your past. This was it. Nothing could fuck this up.

“Hey,let me help you.” You hear your Adrien say while you try to adjust the lights near the DJ stand.

“I got it.” You say and get on your tip toes to hang the last light. “There.” You say, a successful smile on your face.

“You really out did yourself huh?” You feel his arms wrapping around you from the back and you hum.

“Oh please Agreste, this is nothing compared to what I used to do in New York.” You say and turn around, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I hope everyone likes it.” You say, more to yourself than to him.

“Of course they will, Ma belle.” He says and kisses your forehead.

You loved it when he called you nicknames, they just made butterflies burst around your stomach.

His soft hand reaches up to touch your cheek and he caresses it gently. You look into his green eyes which were soft and welcoming. He is so gorgeous.

Your noses touch and you sigh, touching his hand and smiling softly. “I hate to ruin the moment, my love but I have to go make a few minor changes before your friends come.”

He pouts at you. “But everything’s already perfect, can’t we spend some alone time together before everyone comes?”

You shake your head. “I promise you’ll have me all to yourself tonight , Agreste.” You smirk and watch as his cheeks glow red. You quickly kiss his cheek and giggle, walking away to the kitchen to make sure that everything is in place.

It didn’t take long before people started arriving.

“Claudia, start offering the drinks around to people.” You whisper to your maid before going to greet everyone.

A familiar bluenette appears, with an amazed look on her face while she looks around. You grin and walk towards her.  

“Marinette! You look stunning!” You say and give each other a friendly kiss on the cheek. She really did look stunning. You’ve never seen her hair like this before, let down and slightly curled.  She’s wearing a dress which perfectly hugged her body and the colour was gorgeous on her - A deep vermilion shade which complemented her fair skin. 

“Likewise.” She grins and looks at your dress. “Oh my god who are you wearing? This dress is gorgeous.” She gasps, eyes wide while she moved around to see the dress from the back and front.  You knew that she would comment on it, she had an eye for fashion after all.

“My father got this for me as a gift from South Korea. The designer is a family friend of ours.” You smile proudly. You didn’t want to brag about it but in all honesty you loved this dress too much not to show it off. 

You look to her side and see a blue haired boy standing kind of awkwardly next to her. “And you must be…?” You trail off, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Luka, Marinette’s date.” He says nonchalantly and Marinette stops looking at your dress, straightening up with her face glowing red.

“Ah, I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Im-“

“I already know who you are.” He states and you furrow your eyebrows. You’re more than sure you’ve never met this guy before.

Marinette nudges him and you see him stiffen up.

“I mean, it was kind of a big deal when you came to Paris and everyone was talking about you so-“

Marinette sighs and grabs Lukas arm. “We’re going to get a drink, It was nice seeing you! Au revoir !” She says and walks away with Luka. You could hear her cussing at him from where you were standing.

Ah, of course. You knew that everyone was talking about you. The new rich bitch from New York who’s mother is in jail. That’s what everyone saw at first. Maybe they do still see it now. But maybe that’s why you fell for Adrien, because he never judged you in the first place despite all those rumors.

You turn around and see him, talking to Nino. He’s wearing the outfit you picked out for him.  Black shirt slightly unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, tan pants with a black belt around them and black converse.  His hair was messy but it looked so good on him and his cheeks were tinted a little pink, probably because of the few drinks that he’s had already.  Your eyes meet and he smiles at you. Right as he was about to come next to you, you feel someone tap your shoulder.

“Hi, Nadja Chamack. Did you move to paris because your mother is imprisoned for drug trafficking? Was your father denied bail?” The woman rushes to say while shoving a microphone to your face. You stare at her wide eyed. You didn’t know what to say.

“Hey, leave now before I call security, you shouldn’t be up here.” You hear Adrien say sternly while putting a hand on your shoulder.

“But was that the reason you came to Paris or was it because of the video that was spread of you-“

“Security!” Adrien shouts and two body guards grab Nadja and her camera man.

You stand there, dumbfounded as the body guards drag them away, the two cussing and struggling to get out of their grasp.

“Mon ange, are you okay?” Adrien asks, cupping your face with his hands, snapping you out of your thoughts.

 You look at him and clear your throat.

 “I’m fine, I need a drink.” You say and remove his hands from your face and start walking away.

He grabs your hand and looks at you, concern filling your eyes.

“No you’re not okay.” He says, kissing your hand and holding it gently. “What did they mean by video?” He asks.

Your body goes into full fight or flight mode.

“God Adrien! It’s nothing.” You snap at him. “just let it go, I don’t want to deal with this right now.” You remove yourself from his grasp and quickly walk away to the open bar.

You didn’t mean to snap at him but that conversation needed to wait until you two got more serious. You weren’t ready for it.

You grab a glass of champagne and down it, your face contorting because of the after taste.

You were about to get another one until you hear a scream.

“We want to know all your secrets! Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!” A distorted voice says and you drop your glass on the floor when you see a dark purple monstrous figure coming your way.

“Shit.” You cuss and run away from the bar.

Everyone was screaming and trying to rush to the exit but everywhere was closed off with a purple like shield around.

You frantically look around to find a place to hide until you see a familiar blond with cat ears motioning to you.

Chat Noir. Thank god.

You were about to run to him until you started floating in the air, a purple bubble surrounding you.

You screamed and frantically hit it to try to escape but it was no use. 

“I got you now!” You hear the distorted voice say and let out an evil laugh.

You watch your phone float out of your hand and out of the bubble.

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck.

You were fucked.

The bubble that surrounded you explodes and you fell from it, right into the arms of Chat Noir.

“Hey I got you it’s okay” He says smiling at you and for some reason you were slightly comforted by him.

 Your eyes fill with tears and your throat begins to feel like it’s closing.

“She has my phone.” You croak out and your body starts shaking.

You see Ladybug swinging from the roof, throwing her Yo-Yo to try and grasp the villain but it was too late.

A screen appeared out of thin air and a video started playing -  you were in it, in your classroom in your school in New York. You knew exactly what this video was.

Your jaw clenched when it started playing.

“Awh look she’s crying guys.” You say in a condescending tone in the video. The girl, Sarah, was balling her eyes out in front of you while you smirk and stand in front of her, your arms crossed.

“H-How could you!” She sobs out.

“How could I what? Your boyfriend was the one with his hands all over me, I just gave him what he really wanted.” You say and chuckle.

“That’s not true he would never-“

“Cheat?” You cut her off, lean closer to her and put your hands on the desk in front of her. “hate to break it to you honey but he did.” You tell her and she sobs even harder.

“Maybe this will help you put you back in your place.” You say, grabbing her face, making her look at you. “You’re a nobody, a loser and you had the audacity to talk shit behind my back?”

Her lips quiver in fear and she was visibly shaking in the video.

“You think you could ever stand a chance against me? Think again bitch.” You say and let her face go, turning around and arranging your skirt.

“By the way, he’s a really good kisser. Such a shame.” And with that you walk away from her while people wolf whistle at you and mumble things under their breath.

You were still in Chat’s arms, he was looking at the screen, eyes wide and lips parted. It was like he was frozen. Tears were streaming down your face, you couldn’t move.

Everyone around you was mumbling and whispering things.

“She’s such a bitch.”

“I knew the rumors about her were true! She’s horrible!”

“This wasn’t the video I wanted! Where’s the proof where’s the-“ The villain gets cut off by Ladybug grabbing her microphone with the akuma in it and slamming against her knee. A purple butterfly emerges from it and she grabs it with her yoyo, turning it white.

    “Miraculous ladybug!” She chants and the place starts magically getting back to normal.

Chat clears his throat. “I need to go.” He mumbles and removes his hands from you. You nod and stare down at your shoes.

“Thank you for saving me.” You say, forcing yourself to smile.

He didn’t even look at you, he didn’t even say anything as he left.

Did he think you were horrible too?

Oh my god.

Adrien.

 After the villains were taken away everyone left without even saying goodbye to you.

You sat down on the platform near the DJ stand and hugged your knees closer to your chest.

You hear footsteps walk towards you and you look up. His green eyes meet yours but they instantly avert to the side.

“You know, when we first started dating, everyone was telling me about these stupid rumors about you and I never wanted to hear them because I never believed you could be capable of that.” He says, a frown on his lips.  “I never wanted to be so fucking right in my life but I guess I was wrong.”

You were trying so hard not to cry in front of him. You knew that this would happen when he found out, it was like a gut feeling. Adrien Agreste is a good person. He likes to be surrounded by good people and that video just showed that you might not be the good person he really thought you were. Your heart ached.

“I’ve c-changed Adrien.” You stutter in a small voice, scared that you would break down if you spoke too loudly.

“Have you really?” he questions, looking directly at you. He was disappointed in you. “God, why didn’t you tell me this before!” He rubs his face in frustration. You’ve never seen Adrien so worked up like this.

“Because I knew You’d react like this!” You say, louder this time as you get up. “For fucks sake Adrien! I told you my past wasn’t perfect and I know I was a bitch but I was young and stupid and I know it doesn’t excuse my actions but I’ve grown from my mistakes. I came to Paris with the mindset of becoming better, finding out who I really am and starting fresh!”

You watch him part his lips to say something but You cut him off.

“Look me right in the eye and tell me you’ve never done a mistake in your life, Adrien.”

His lips close and he averts his gaze away from you again.

  “I know I should’ve told you sooner but I was too scared of losing you. Y-you made Paris feel like my home, you’re the reason why I make better choices, you helped me find myself.” Tears start falling down your cheeks and you look down. “And if I haven’t changed then I wouldn’t be looking stupid and crying over you and explaining myself to you because im genuinely terrified at the thought of losing the first person in my life who I’ve genuinely fallen in love with.” You sob out.

There was silence, apart from the sniffles and sobs coming from you.

“What did you say?” Adrien asks you and you hear his footsteps come closer.

“What?” You sniffle, looking up at him, furrowing your eyebrows. Your eyes were puffy and red and so was your nose. You haven’t cried like this in ages.

“The last part.”

“I’ve genuinely fallen in love with you? “ You mumble and widen your eyes. Oh shit, you’ve fucked up again.

“I know it’s sudden and I don’t expect you to return it back and I don’t know why I just said that but-“ He cuts you off with his lips smashing against yours.

It was euphoric. Probably the most genuine kiss you’ve ever felt in your life.

He breaks away, your foreheads touching and both of you breathless.

His pretty pink lips curl into a small smile and his face cups yours, wiping your tears away with his thumb.

“I love you too.” He whispers and kisses your forehead. “I’m sorry I overreacted, I just didn’t want to be wrong about you but I believe that you’ve changed, I know you’re heart is pure.”

And that’s when you realized that yes, your heart was pure again. Clean from all the sins you’ve did in the past. You didn’t know if it was his green eyes, soft skin, perfect lips or maybe the way he looked at you that has cleansed you but maybe it took pure love to find a pure heart.

[emsylcatac]

What the future holds, we'll never know

Summary

Marinette didn't know what the future was made of—but the glimpse of the one featuring her akumatised partner she had seen taught her one thing: she and Chat Noir should never be together.

Which currently wasn't really a problem considering that she was in love with Adrien, and that they had been getting closer lately.

Read it on AO3

Hiiii @ladynoirist Lisa gemini bro ♥♥♥ I was soooo happy to be your totally secret (yes pretend you never guessed it was me okay I was so subtle) santaaaa for the @mlsecretsanta !!! (also pretend we're totally in December and not in May ho ho ho! Reindeers are still roaming!)

I'm so sorry for how late I am, but I hope you'll enjoy this fic 😄

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, 1h after the reveal

Marinette stood in front of the bistro door, pacing. Pretending to look at the menu, pretending to think of what to choose, pretending that everything was absolutely normal and fine and this was just a perfectly normal day.

It was, however, not normal nor fine inside her head.

She had to push that door. She was already a good half an hour late and it wouldn’t do good to make her friends wait longer—excuses were harder and harder to explain the more she shied away.

Please, don’t be here. She never thought she would hope for that. Please have your bodyguard bring you home. Your father forcing you to go home.

Please, go home by yourself and find some stupid excuse.

She would feel bad for having all these unfair hopes if she hadn't been feeling completely panicked inside.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Gulping, she chanced a glance at it.

Alya girl where are u?? we’re waiting to order!

Well. She couldn’t delay for much longer. Taking a deep breath, Marinette pushed the door open and scanned the room.

Please, please don’t be inside.

She wasn’t being fair, she knew that—it wasn’t his fault if she didn’t feel like facing him.

“Marinette!”

She turned in the direction of her name where Alya was waving at her, hand held up high, while Nino was grinning and—he was there.

Swallowing—though her mouth had been dry for a while now—Marinette headed towards them despite her legs screaming at her to turn around and run as fast as possible away from here.

“H-hey,” she stuttered, “sorry for...for being late.”

She sat next to Adrien (because of course she had to be seated next to him). Their eyes met for a split second and he gave her a timid smile that she couldn’t return.

“It’s fine,” Alya waved off, “the most important thing is that you’re here now! But quick, choose what you want to eat, I’m staaarving!”

She, for one, clearly wasn’t.

Adrien was giving her quick glances and she tried her best to ignore him.

It was him, it was him, it was him.

And it was oh so unfair. She picked up her menu to hide her face as tears threatened to escape  the corners of her eyes.

───※ ·❆· ※───

5th of October, 108 days before the reveal

“Try that.”

Marinette turned around, abandoning the search for her size amongst the many red skirts on the clothes rail.

Adrien was holding a tacky glittery dress, reflecting  the light of a multitude of disharmonious colours, supporting two red fabric-flowers on each shoulder straps. It was positively horrendous, the kind of clothes you wonder who would ever buy when passing in front of it in the store.

She looked up to Adrien’s innocent smile and had to bite down the disgusted expression she suspected she must have shown for a split second. She hoped he hadn’t noticed—the last thing she wanted was to offend him. Growing-up in the fashion industry didn’t make him a good judge in the field, it seemed.

“I… You want me to...to try that on?” she stammered.

He gave her a nod, humming enthusiastically.

Maybe it was the kind of dress Adrien saw on girls at fashion shows, and she just hadn't seen it before. Maybe he liked it on them.

Maybe he would find her pretty in it.

Against her better judgement (because her judgement was always lost when it came to him, wasn’t it?), Marinette stretched a hand towards the piece of clothing, gulping. She raised her eyes to his, offering a tight smile.

Adrien’s mouth twitched, and his eyes held a new mischievous glint that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago.

“You...you’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?” she said, deflating.

He burst out laughing, a genuine, happy laugh that reminded her of a certain day in the rain, and she couldn’t help but smile despite herself.

“You should have seen your face!”

He hadn't made fun of her in a while—in fact, he hadn’t laughed at her since that day, in the rain. The thought of him being comfortable enough with her to allow himself to do it again made her cheeks heat up.

“I could...I could call your bodyguard or...or your dad! Yes! I could call your dad and out you, you know!” she threatened, fighting back the nerves that always messed up her words when she spoke to him.

She wouldn’t mess up today.

It stopped Adrien momentarily and suddenly he was pleading her, begging with joined hands.

“Marinette,” he said, and he did sound serious—she would have been convinced had his eyes not looked a tad too much like a kicked puppy’s, “please, you can’t do that. Please please please please, I’m sorry for ruining your shopping day and running into you and insisting to tag along and—”

Marinette giggled. “I’ll wear it,” she said, snatching the terrible (terrible!!) dress from his hands, careful to not brush his fingers and make it awkward. “Because unlike you who’s trying to hide, I’m no coward.”

Adrien straightened up. “I’m no coward either!”

She could feel her heart beating erratically in her chest. She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t gonna be nervous when talking to Adrien. Not again. Not this time. She could banter with him—this was known territory. Not with him though, never with him, but…

“Okay,” she crossed her arms. Her eyes scanned  the different clothing items before landing on a pink plastic fur dress on a mannequin. “Prove it.”

He choked on a laugh before grinning at her. “Oh, you’re so on.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

16th of November, 66 days before the reveal

Adrien opened his diary, ready to write down the homework of the day Mrs Bustier was dictating.

The sound of ruffling papers and rummaging in bags filled the classroom, but he tried to focus on one sound in particular, resisting the urge to smile.

Any moment now.

Just a little longer before—

A loud groan resonated from behind him, and this time he let the grin slip onto his face, thankful that she couldn’t see it.

“What’s wrong?” Alya’s whisper made its way to his ears.

“Someone drew me with a towel on the head, swimming glasses and an ugly party dress!”

Adrien couldn’t help the snort that escaped him.

Teasing Marinette, he found, was very entertaining. He didn’t know exactly when he started to feel comfortable enough to do it. Didn’t know what exactly it was that was making it deliciously familiar yet all so new—and above all, warm.

Her reaction had been worth the wait. He  silently delighted in the way she battled between raging against him and finding him hilarious (because with the way she giggled, or stammered, or even bit her lips the few times he had joked with her, before getting ahold of herself and teasing back, she had to find him hilarious, right?).

He guessed he deserved the ruler slap he received on the head.

Yes, Adrien liked her reactions, he thought while rubbing his head. He liked that new, teasing  dynamic he’d been having with her for a couple of weeks now. He liked it.

But above all, he loved—

Adrien let a soft fond smile pull at his lips when he opened his diary that evening, once seated at his desk. A drawing quickly scribbled in the margin lit up by his many computer screens welcomed him of what he assumed was a new Gabriel ad featuring him in an atrocious fur dress coloured in fluro pink highlighter.

Above all, he loved her witty and sneaky comebacks.

───※ ·❆· ※───

8th of December, 44 days before the reveal

“What are you thinking about?”

Ladybug saw a smile stretch across her partner’s lips. He let out a fond chuckle, throwing his head up towards the sky. His eyes were closed, but she could tell that he was seeing more stars that way than if they had been opened looking up at the Parisian sky. She envied him a little.

“I’m thinking,” he simply said.

And didn’t say anything after that.

She waited a little, just in case, but he remained silent. His feet dangled above the edge of the roof and he started gently swinging his legs one after the other. He let out a breathless giggle, as if he couldn’t control it, and hummed a song her ears caught only because of the wind blowing towards her.

Her heart did a somersault in her chest at the sight. She felt a weird mix of emotions, not unpleasant but not entirely enjoyable either, bittersweetness and happiness mingling together.

He did look happy—but tonight it felt like she wasn’t a part of it. That he was in his own bubble of joy, a bubble she once had complete control over but, in that instant, was slipping through her fingers. If she was being honest, it had been slowly and subtly escaping her for a while now.

He was in love, she realised. Her gaze on him softened, before she turned away from him to look towards the sky, too, and exhaled a puff of hot air that dissipated in the cold and continued to grow as she joined him in his humming, closing her eyes.

If she wasn’t the one he was shining for tonight, she would still share that moment of exhilaration with him.

Besides, she had reasons to feel giddy herself too.

───※ ·❆· ※───

29th of December, 23 days before the reveal

“Hey.” Plagg’s voice wasn’t loud enough to pull Adrien out of his reverie completely, but enough to bring the cloud he was on a little bit back down to Earth. “You’ve been staring at the ceiling for the past twenty minutes now. What’s up?”

Adrien let the thread of his lucky charm pass through his fingers, feeling the beads between them rolling from one to another. “I have?”

Plagg stayed silent for a few seconds. “Yes. Are you alright?”

Adrien chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.” I have been for a little while now, he didn’t say.

Suddenly, he got up, walked towards his computer, picked up his phone from his desk and opened Instagram. His fingers quickly found Marinette’s name and pressed her icon to see her latest story. He smiled as a selfie of her and Alya appeared, and played it again once it was over.

“Ah. I see.” Adrien hadn’t noticed Plagg flying above his shoulder but he couldn’t care less. “You like her?”

“I love her,” he simply corrected.

“Really?! Planning on asking her out? Sweeping her off her feet?”

Adrien shook his head, chuckling. He put his phone back on his desk and let himself fall further in his seat, pushing his feet against the desk leg to propel himself back.

Marinette, Marinette, Marinette.

“We’ll see,” he stretched his arms above his head. “We’ll see what happens and when I feel that the time is right. I don’t want to mess it up. Not this time.”

Not with her.

───※ ·❆· ※───

11th of January, 10 days before the reveal

When she found Adrien waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs that morning, blushing, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, the other holding a yellow rose with red tips on the petals and stammering a simple yet powerful “I think I love you”, Marinette was glad she had been on time for school for once.

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, 1h before the reveal

“I can’t believe you made me wake up at eight o’clock on a Saturday morning,” Marinette shook her head.

Adrien laughed and held her hand tighter as he pulled her along with him, striding alongside the Seine. “But you have to admit that it was worth it.”

Spending time with you is worth the world, she thought. I could wake up at five if that’s what you wanted. She didn’t say any of that out loud. They had only barely started dating, after all. It could scare him off.

Instead, she let half a smile pull at her lips. “I suppose.”

Adrien stopped in his tracks and turned to her. “It was worth it! It just snowed during the night—for once! It’s so rare, we have to enjoy it! And the sunrise was beautiful!”

She crossed her arms, pretending to think about it and evaluate her morning.

“It was,” Adrien insisted, pleaded for her to agree.

“Fine,” she conceded, giggling. “It was beautiful. I’m glad you forced me out of bed.”

She was rewarded by a brilliant smile, that melted her heart despite the cold January air on her cheeks, and a kiss on her forehead (that melted her whole).

A giddy laugh escaped her and she couldn’t help but kiss his nose, making him giggle, the sound sweeter than the glockenspiel a busker was playing a few meters away.

Adrien’s cheeks were red when she pulled away—from the cold or from her kiss, she didn’t know, but she hoped for the latter. She decided to grab his winter hat, leaving his hair all messy on top and wide eyes of outraged shock on his face. Adrien, she had realised, really liked when she was messing with him and she berated herself for never having dared to do such a thing before.

In retaliation, he grabbed her own hat and put it on his head. “Jokes on you,” he said, “now I have a pink pompom while you have a lame black one!”

She laughed as she put his hat on her own head. He likes me, she chanted in her head. He loves me even. He loves me, he loves me, and I love him.  All was well that day. All was perfect.

“When are we meeting up with Alya and Nino for lunch, again?”

“I think we still have an hour,” Adrien replied.

It felt like nothing could disrupt their date, their day, them, really.

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, the reveal

Accidents were stupid, most of the time. One second of miscalculation, one careless mistake and every neatly protected secret could be disrupted forever.

Detransforming in the same alleway was probably the stupidest, lamest and most careless way to reveal their identities, Marinette and Adrien thought, as they faced each other with wide eyes and heart beating too fast in their rib cages with their kwamis hanging incriminatingly at their side.

Marinette didn’t think. She ran.

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, 1h30 after the reveal

To say the atmosphere was awkward was an understatement. They were barely glancing at each other, passing each other the salt without brushing a finger or looking where they handed it.

Marinette overfilled Adrien’s glass when pouring him some water; Adrien startled when Marinette’s hand accidentally brushed his arm while trying to clean his table up.

They were a mess.

In a way, Marinette was glad that Alya and Nino were here to provide distraction.

She just hoped they wouldn’t notice the tension between her and Adrien.

“So, how have you two lovebirds been doing? Still in the chummy-chummy phase?”

So much for that. There was an awkward silence, none of them knowing what to really say.

“Sure,” she decided to take the plunge and ate a mouthful of fries so she wouldn’t have to explain further.

Alya and Nino said nothing, looking between the two of them.

“We’ve been, uh…we went walking around the Seine this morning,” Adrien mumbled. “To see the snow and, uh…”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Marinette cut. She couldn’t believe she was managing to talk to him. “Y-your...your winter hat.”

She handed it to him and Adrien looked at it for a few seconds before taking it back, his face crumbling and disheartened.

“...Thanks. Um, here is yours, I suppose.”

Marinette closed her eyes tight as she snatched her hat from his hands, feeling nauseous all of a sudden.

Where did they stand, now? They had barely even started dating. Could they brush off the massive new developments that were their identities? Could superheroes even date?

White flashed before her eyes. Her heart did a somersault, and the nausea intensified, making her head spin.

Stupid. Idiot, superheroes couldn’t date, least of all her and Adrien.

It was unfair that she was having these thoughts now, when she still didn’t know what was going on in her head—Adrien, Chat Noir, her partner. The same… so similar yet so different.

He had given her a rose when he had confessed. It was such a Chat Noir thing to do...she should have known.

They were the same person and it was awkward and she needed time she didn’t get the luxury to have. The second she thought she had acknowledged this information, it would all come back the next with the panic accompanying it.

The silence following must have been long and heavy because Alya took in a sharp breath. “Okay. What’s going on between you two? You’ve been acting awkward since we’ve got here.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

23rd of January, 2 days after the reveal

“So, this is it?”

Adrien felt the knot in his throat tighten a little more and more as Marinette kept looking to the side, silent, avoiding his gaze. He didn’t know why he asked; he knew the answer. And he knew that hearing it would cut like a knife, but maybe that’s what he needed instead of foolishly pretending there was hope.

“This...this is it,” she finally said in a breath.

He swallowed. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she repeated.

“I… okay.” Okay. Because what could he say? It wasn’t like he could decide for her.

If it was only on him, of course he wouldn’t want anything to end. Of course he would fight for them, and try and see where they’d go, identities be damned because...well, it was still them, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?

“I’m sorry. I...I really am. It’s just… It’s…” Marinette sighed. “It’s just that it’s a lot to take in, you know?”

She had finally raised her eyes to his, and Adrien had to fight back tears; maybe it would have been better if she had continued to avoid him.

So he was the one to turn his eyes away this time.

“I guess,” he couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice to show through. “I just...I didn’t know it would be so bad.”

“It’s not! It’s not that! It’s just that… we still...we still need to get used to this,” she gestured between them, “and… superheroes ca—”

“—can’t date, I know. I understand. I mean—not completely, but... I get it.”

And he did; really, he did get it.

It was selfish of him, probably, to not want things to stop. He found that it was also maybe a little selfish of her to want them to.

None of them had decided to be heroes—and yet they had to bear the consequences of such a responsibility.

Looking back at her, she had now dropped down her eyes and wasn’t watching him anymore. A strong gust of wind blew on the balcony, making Marinette’s hair wave with it.

“It’s getting late,” Adrien spoke. “And you’re freezing out here. I should get going. We’ll see each other tomorrow at school.”

He extended his baton.

“Adri—Chat Noir! Wait!”

She grabbed his tail, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around. She was fidgeting, and looked tentatively into his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I hope it’s not...I hope it’s not too hard but…”

He sighed. “I’m not gonna lie and pretend it doesn’t hurt. It...it does. A lot. It’s like…” he sighed. “It’s like we had everything, and then…” He paused. “But I guess… none of us can control the way we feel, right?”

She nodded numbly. He attempted to give a smile, but he knew he wasn’t doing a good job at it.

“I just wished I knew what’s wrong with me, “ he murmured, voice barely above a whisper.

“I… it’s not… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” Marinette tried. He could hear her voice trembling. I don’t think there’s anything right with me either, he didn’t say—and she didn’t say either, he noted with a bitter smile. “We’re just a mess right now.”

She bit her lip and he had to force to keep his eyes on hers. He felt terrible. Worse than all those times she had rejected him, because—well, because now he knew just how much he was losing.

“That we are.”

“We’re still...we’re still friends, right?” she asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.

“It’s you and me against the world, so… of course.” He shrugged.

And with that, he left, finally letting the tears blur his vision on his way home.

Tonight, their old promise sounded more bitter than comforting. Them against the world, the heroes fighting for the city, forced together by their duty and pulled apart at the same time.

───※ ·❆· ※───

23rd of January, 2 days after the reveal

Marinette rushed back inside her bedroom as soon as Adrien had left and threw her head in her pillow, crying her heart out. Screaming to Tikki how unfair it was to have to be responsible, at Master Fu for choosing this life for her, at herself for following it, at Adrien and Chat Noir for being the same people.

Shouting at Adrien again, at another Adrien she hadn’t even really known that it was all his fault. His fault, his fault, his fault, all his fault. She knew it was unfair of her—but she needed to put the blame on someone, and Chat Blanc, who didn’t exist anymore, seemed like a good candidate, no matter how wrong she knew it was.

───※ ·❆· ※───

24th of January, 3 days after the reveal

“...My father wanted us to break up.”

Marinette shrunk on herself. She wished she had been able to come up with a better excuse on the spot. Anything that would have avoided Adrien’s cold and numb tone when he repeated her flimsily excuse.

But nothing sounded plausible enough; nothing else could explain this sudden change in their dynamic.

“It...it was a surprise, really, we weren’t expecting it,” she tried, hoping he would follow her lead.

Adrien clicked his tongue. “A surprise, indeed.”

“Aaaand you didn’t think of dating in secret becaaause…?” Alya drawled, the cease in her brow increasing the longer she looked between the two of them.

“Because… well… because…” Marinette fumbled, trying to think  of a way out because Alya wasn’t wrong and it was a flaw in her carelessly crafted plan.

“Because Marinette didn’t want to,” Adrien supplied curtly.

Alya and Nino’s heads snapped towards her with incredulous looks in their eyes, making her involuntarily shrink on herself even more.

“She said it wasn’t worth a try,” he shrugged and sat down, his back now to her.

Alya looked between the two with a mix of worry, incomprehension and a hint of pity. Marinette didn’t dare look at Nino to see what emotions would flicker in his eyes.

“That’s not it, it’s…” she struggled, took a deep breath, and tried again. She had to roll with what he came up with. “If he were to find out we...we’d be in trouble. You’d be in trouble… and I don’t want that,” she whispered the last words.

“Like I said,” Adrien said coolly, half turning towards them. “Not even worth a try.”

Her heart crumpled.

───※ ·❆· ※───

26th of january, 5 days after the reveal

“Chat Noir, you’re here!” Marinette exclaimed, relieved.

He twirled his baton, deflecting a spurt of gooey green liquid she could only dread to know the composition of—some akumas truly were more disgusting than others to deal with. “As for every akuma.” He raised a brow. “Don’t act so surprised.”

She startled. In the midst of all the action, in the hope and wait for his arrival—because she always felt bolder and stronger once her partner was by her side—she had forgotten.

This was Adrien, her ex-boyfriend with whom she had broken up and had upsetted. And who still wasn’t talking to her much. Thinking about him as ‘ex’ suddenly hurt as she realised it was the first time she was referring to him as such in her head.

Marinette blinked back remorseful tears and tried ignoring the tightness in her chest to focus on the akuma again. She still needed to find where the akumatised object was, and she couldn’t let her emotions get in the way of her job.

She decided to pretend things were fine. “His name is Snowtty, we don’t know the victim but it’s a kid who was made fun of for having a runny nose after receiving a snowball in his face. Try to avoid his green spurts, they would freeze you on the spot!”

Adrien barely nodded before jumping into action, without so much as a word of acknowledgement like he would usually do. It hurt more than she would care to admit.

She knew they hadn’t talked since that evening on her balcony, but she had hoped he just needed time to process and that it wasn’t deeper than that. He had said they were still friends, hadn’t he?

Trying to ignore the sting in her eyes, she jumped after him into the fight.

“Ladybug! I see your pet has arrived to the scene as well,” Snowtty sneered. “All the better for me, I need both your miraculous after all!”

“I’m my own person, thank you very much,” Chat Noir said, none of his usual teasing in his voice. “And you won’t be getting any miraculous. Why don’t you give us your akuma instead and save everyone’s time? You’re just gonna lose like the others do, anyway.”

The akuma let out a growl of frustration and double-fired in their direction. Marinette ran for cover using her yoyo as a deflecting shield, Adrien using his baton.

He didn’t take cover with her.

She called him and was almost relieved when he picked up.

“Okay, he’s angrier than I thought he was. Any idea where the akuma could be?”

“You’re telling me you don’t?” he raised a brow. “He’s throwing his substance from that bracelet he has on his left wrist, and there aren’t any other objects.”

It seemed obvious now. But she wasn’t at the top of her game and was far too focused on her relationship with her partner than she was on the fight at hand, and she realised how detrimental it could be—not letting her personal life interfere with her duties as Ladybug was one of the rules she had promised herself to never break, yet here she was.

“Right,” she said, voice wavering. “I… Right. You’re right. Good job, Kitty.”

She regretted the nickname as soon as it left her mouth.

“‘tis nothing, Ladybug,” he shrugged. “Guess you cast your lucky charm and I distract him as usual.”

“Not yet, I need to first figure ou—” She let out a sigh as he ended the call, and turned to see him heading back straight for the akuma.

Well. The message was clear.

Throwing her yoyo angrily in the air, she called on her lucky charm. And was rewarded for her effort with an umbrella.

She wanted to scream.

She glanced up and closed her eyes, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the sun. “And it’s not even raining,” she grumbled.

She stomped away from her hiding place, only to be thrown on the ground a second after.

“Wha—”

Adrien was hovering over her and spared a glance behind towards Snowtty before standing and helping her up.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

But he ran back towards the akuma without so much as a glance in her direction. The momentary relief she felt when he saved her evaporated right away. She ran after him.

She hated how he could be upset with her in the middle of an akuma fight but still be able to focus on the task at hand. Because he was paying great care to the akuma and his surroundings and was trying to actively find a solution to put an end to the fight—something she had a harder time doing when her personal feelings were getting overwhelming. She couldn’t reproach him for that. It was just incredibly infuriating.

“Adri—Chat Noir, will you please talk to me and stop ignoring me?” Marinette exploded, frustrated. “It’s been two days and now is not the time!”

“Bold words from someone who ran away and avoided me for two days after discovering my identity,” Adrien snapped back, avoiding another blast of green.

Her heart stuttered painfully. He was right, but it made it no less hurtful to hear. She and Chat Noir had argued in the past, and while it had never been pleasant, it was something they knew how to navigate through — how to come out stronger from. She and Adrien, however? Never. She hadn’t even fathom the possibility of it ever coming up one day. Any comebacks she could have had died on her tongue, and Ladybug found herself speechless.

They both ran for cover once again behind the safety of a rooftop chimney, leaving Snowtty growling at having lost their track.

She swallowed painfully. “Listen. I know you’re hurt, I understand and you have every right to be. But we need to work together right now.”

He kicked some of the remaining snow from the roof, fidgeting with his hands. “I don’t know. I don’t think my father would approve of that.”

She frowned. “Of what?”

“Us working togeth—” he sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Sorry. Forget I said anything, that was rude. Let’s...let’s just get back to the fight. I’ll behave.”

She grabbed his hand before he could vault away. “Wait.”

“Ladybug, I don’t think we have the time to talk or—”

“And I think it’s important that we talk now,” she said, giving him a pleading look. “Please.”

He kept eye contact with her for a few seconds before glancing hesitantly towards the city, nibbling at his lower lip. “Okay,” he finally murmured.

She involuntarily squeezed his hand in relief. He didn’t squeeze back, but he didn’t take it away either.

She hadn’t taken the time to focus on her feelings for him in the midst of her freakout about his identity; the warmth of his hand and the tips of his claws barely grazing hers and enhancing its delicacy made her realise that if anything, they had only gotten stronger.

It was painfully heartwarming.

“Are you...are you still… upset, about us, um… about me… you know…” she gestured between them.

“Breaking up with me?” He shook his head. “No. I’m hurt, yes. But that’s your right. That’s not what I’m angry about.”

“Then what…” she trailed off.

He sighed. “I thought I had made it clear, but I guess not.” He paused and kicked some more snow. “I didn’t like you telling everyone that my father forced us to break up,” he mumbled, and she had to listen carefully to pick up every word.

She blinked. “That’s… it?” She threw her hands in front of her at the glare he sent her. “I mean, don’t get me wrong… I agree it wasn’t my best excuse, but we had to find one that sounded plausible and…”

“That’s the thing, Marinette,” he said. “You decided to use my father as your excuse without asking me first.” He wrapped his arms around himself and looked to the ground. “I know my father isn’t… isn’t the best and that he can be… a little strict, but… He wouldn’t do that.”

There was a beat of silence.

“He wouldn’t do that,” he repeated more quietly.

She didn’t know if he was trying to convince himself or her; but she didn’t know Gabriel Agreste much and thus couldn’t confirm nor refute his words.

He shook his head. “But the thing is… How would you have felt if I had told everyone that...that your parents had forced us to break up?” He lifted his gaze towards her, green eyes piercing through her.

“Oh,” she said, understanding dawning on her. “Oh. I see.”

“Yeah.”

“I hadn;t...I hadn’t thought about that,” Marinette admitted.

“Well.”He sniffed, angrily wiping at his eyes. “You should have.”

She hadn’t noticed that he was on the verge of crying, but she instantly felt shame coursing through her.

He kicked the snow harder. “And the worst part  is… the worst part is that… it workedI he almost spat. “They...they believed your excuse. They didn’t even doubt it, they just….” He gestured with his hands .“...Bought it as if it was obvious and that...that hurt.”

She stayed quiet for a few seconds, taking it in. She didn’t want to start the conversation now as to why it had been that easy for their friends to believe his father would do such a thing—it was something that they would have to discuss another day. A day on which he’d be more ready.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered. “I panicked because I...I realised I hadn’t thought of a reason for our breakup. My mind was busy with something else.” She chuckled dryly with a hand gesture in the air. “But you’re right, I crossed a line and that’s not an excuse. I probably would have killed you if you had told them my parents were the reason for our breakup.”

A timid smile appeared on his lips. “Good thing it was just me, then.”

She giggled tearily. “Yeah, good thing. But still. I hope you can forgive me. I promise I’ll be more careful.”

He sighed. “You know I can’t stay mad at you for very long, Marinette. Thank you. And I apologise too. I… I probably overreacted. And I should have known better than to snap during a fight.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. But maybe now, don’t wait until there’s an akuma to talk to me. Now that we know each other’s identities, you don’t need to.”

“I think I needed time to… digest that. But you’re right, will do.”

They looked at each other, smiling shyly as an awkward silence settled between them.

“So, Ladybug,” Adrien spoke with a wobbly smile, glancing towards the lucky charm in her hands, “shall we go back to the fight so you can play Mary Poppins?”

It still wasn’t a ‘my Lady’ or a ‘Buguinette’, and there was no wink to accompany his teasing, but he was back to joking. She would take it.

“Of course.” She smiled. “But let me recharge first.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

15th of February, 25 days after the reveal

“Psssst, come here, kitty kitty! I just want to be your frien—”

Marinette groaned as the ginger cat ran away, joining a tabby cat further up the alleway.

A chuckle from behind her startled her. “Looks like you’re having cat troubles.”

She turned around to meet her partner’s cat-like eyes, and yes, she was having cat troubles, indeed.

“They don’t like me,” she just said.

Adrien seemed to search her eyes for a second or two, his expression unreadable. “You know that’s not true.”

She didn’t know if the conversation was about the cats in the street anymore, and she wasn’t sure whose fault it was. But soon after, Adrien shook his head, blond hair softly sweeping against his cheeks, and let a smile pull at his lips.

He crouched down, grabbed his belt tail and slowly moved it around.

“You need to let them come to you.”

Marinette watched the tail slither, half hypnotised by the movement, until she heard the soft tapping of his claws on the ground. His fingers drummed in a steady rhythm, and she couldn’t help but marvel at how delicate the motion was.

It seemed that some cats around agreed because, soon enough, one advanced towards him, while another had laid down and began wiggling his butt and tail, ready to pounce.

She looked back at Adrien and he was smiling widely at them, anticipating their every move and excited to see their reactions. He looked so happy, so carefree and her heart did a somersault at the sight — she knew that she shouldn’t think like this, but she wished she had been the one he was looking at. She wished she could be one of these kittens, ready to tackle him to the ground, so they could fall in a heap of laughter together. So they could suddenly stop, and gaze into each other’s eyes, getting lost in each other, and maybe, just maybe, lean a little bit closer and ki—

“Wow.” Adrien’s loud laughter shook her out of her reverie. “No need to bite me, little one!”

While a small grey cat had attacked his tail and was nibbling at it, rolling on the floor, another one was more focused on his hand.

The white one with blue eyes.

“Careful,” she told him, “that one’s nasty.”

Adrien continued to play with the cat, moving a finger around and hovering it above his nose that the kitten tried to take a mouthful of.

“What? Why do you say that?”

“Well, he bit you. And earlier, he scratched me. Good thing my suit could protect me or my arms would have been covered in blood,” she informed.

Adrien smiled. “That doesn’t make him nasty.”

She spluttered. “Wha—? How—of course it does! He’s a mean cat, trust me on this! All white cats with blue eyes are!”

He chuckled, giving him a fond look the kitten didn’t deserve. “Good thing I’m a black cat, then.”

She shuddered.

“And he’s not mean,” he went on, “he’s broken.”

Marinette frowned. “What do you mean, ‘broken’?”

Somehow, Adrien had managed to pet the cat on the head, making him let out a contented meow. “Cats who have been abandoned or rejected by their mother too young tend to be more aggressive,” he explained, a pained smile she wasn’t quite sure how to interpret. “They scratch and bite a lot because in a way, they’re kind of lost.”

He took him in his arms and kissed his nose, to which the cat answered with a small ‘meow’. Staying close to his face, he scratched under his chin that the cat was exposing happily to him as a sign of complete trust. Adrien’s smile melted when a purr rumbled out of the kitten, and Marinette hung on it with both fascination and envy.

He let out a breathy chuckle. “See? He just needs someone to show him they care.”

“Show him they care,” she repeated dumbly. She could do that. She coul— “What if...what if it still doesn’t change anything?”

Adrien’s gaze left the kitten to turn to her. “What do you mean?”

“What if...What if even if someone cares about him, and cares about him so much they would sacrifice their own happiness for him if it came to it, and shows him everyday and tells him everyday but he still…” She stopped, fumbling with her words for a second. “...He still keeps biting and scratching and feeling lost and alone a-and no one can save him?” She lifted her eyes to his, only to find her vision blurry.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you talking about?” Adrien breathed.

“M-maybe, this cat is doomed from the start. Maybe he’ll be like that forever, no matter what and maybe they’ll all be like that and—”

“My Lady,” a hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her from spiralling further—and here it was, the ‘my Lady ‘she’d been craving for so much, at the most unexpected time. “That’s stupid. I’m not sure if it’s about cats anymore,” he chuckled, “but I’ll pretend it is.”

She blinked back tears. He kept on, “Yes, some of these hurt cats never change. But not all of them! You can never really know what will happen, how they’ll evolve, because they’re all different, and they’ll all live different lives.”

He smiled at her, his delicate hand never leaving her shoulder, while the other continued petting the purring white kitten. “We can’t guess what will happen to them. All we can do is try, and take the risk. And maybe the owners of this lovely kitty will be lucky and have a loving ball of fur”— he bopped the cat’s nose who in turn let out a small ‘meow’— “or they’ll be less lucky and have a little monster that—ouch,” he said, as the cat chased his bopping finger to bite it, “bite them from time to time but still would be worth caring for.” He sighed a chuckle.

Marinette swallowed, taking it in. “So you mean that… the future of this cat isn’t… set in stone?” she asked carefully.

“Of course not! No one can know what he’ll grow into now, it will depend on a lot of factors.” He took his hand off her shoulder to lift the cat off his lap and nuzzle his nose with his. “Isn’t that right, little one? You’ll be a good kitty, won’t you?”

She let a smile pull at her lips at the sight. Adrien turned to face her with a big goofy grin on his face.

“If our future was written in our DNA, we’d have known all about our futures a long time ago,” he chuckled.

She let his words sink in, closing her eyes. What if...what if.

What if their love wouldn’t destroy the world, this time.

But what if it did again.

...But what if it didn’t?

She heaved a sigh, releasing some of the tension that had been weighing down on her. When she opened her eyes, it was to see that Adrien was back to playing with the kitten.

“And what are we gonna call you, hm? Ooooh, I know! See, I’m Chat Noir, so that would make you Chat Bla—”

“—FLOCON!” Marinette interrupted him.

He blinked at her. “Chat Flocon?”

“No, just...just Flocon. He’s white as snow, and fluffy like a snowflake, so it makes sense. And,” she added after a beat, “it’s cute.”

And it reminded her of that date they shared, just before revealing their identities, strolling through a snowy Paris. It was a memory she cherished, even if it didn’t end quite well.

Adrien grinned. “Okay. Flocon it is.” He scratched the cat’s chin, who purred in turn and tried to bite his finger again. “No,” he told him, “I said no biting, you thickhead.”

She could watch him bicker with a kitten for hours, she thought.

“Hey, Buguinette,” he called out to her, pulling her out of her momentary reverie, “you wanna hold Flocon?”

She blinked. “Errr… I don’t know if that's a good idea or…”

He laughed. “He’s not that aggressive. It’s up to you; but if you want to try befriending him again…” He held a half-wiggling and meowing Flocon in the air towards her.

Marinette bit her lip, and took a deep breath. Maybe it was a bad idea to cave, but... “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll give him a try.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

26th of April, 95 days after the reveal

“Adrien, aren’t you gonna snap her in half?” Alya asked with incredulous eyes.

It made both him and Marinette giggle. “It’s like she doesn’t know that you’re usually the one snapping me in half between the two of us,” Adrien whispered in her ear, which made her laugh harder. “She said she wanted to!” he told Alya louder.

“Yes, Alya,” Marinette added, “I’m a strong girl and I can carry him! Right, Adrien?”

“Right!” he replied enthusiastically, clinging harder on her back.

He wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but he was too busy feeling lighthearted and free on this spring afternoon. It was the first warm day of the year, with only a slightly chilly breeze coming to ruffle his hair at times that only contributed in increasing his  giddiness. For the fifth time this day, he thanked the star that made his father allow him to go out to the temporary funfair with his friends—though he thought they were studiously working on a school project.

“It’s not because you can carry him that you should,” Nino said, shaking his head fondly.

“You’re just jealous because Alya isn’t carrying you.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Let’s ride to the moon and back!”

“To the moon and back!” Adrien repeated, one hand raised in the air.

Marinette let out a warrior cry before attempting to run, albeit slowly because of his weight, and he could tell they wouldn’t go far as he already felt himself slide down and her grip on his legs slacken.

He should have known they’d fall face first before she got too exhausted. If he had, maybe he’d have had the time to react and avoid it.

As it was, he just found himself on top of Marinette on the ground. He lifted himself up and sat down, Marinette soon doing the same.

Distantly, he heard Alya and Nino running towards them shouting “are you okay”s and “are you hurt”s at profusion, but he didn’t pay them any mind as Marinette looked up at him with eyes glinting with mirth and they both fell in a heap of laughters.

Some passersby looked at them funnily while others whispered some “that must hurt”s or “everything alright?”s to them.

“It’s okay,” Adrien told them. “We’ve had it worse!”

“Yes,” Marinette chimed in. “One time we were thrown by an akuma—”

“—A big tuna," he quickly corrected.

“—a big tuna, he’s right,” she repeated, “and we both fell right into a moving bus, and we survived!”

“And you find that funny,” Nino deadpanned, putting his hands on his hips as Adrien helped Marinette up.

Adrien just grinned at him. “Yup! We’re the survivors.”

“And we’re gonna make it!” Marinette sang.

“You’re insufferable,” Alya chuckled. “The both of you. I don’t know how you two can be more unhinged than me with Marinette, but—”

“—That’s because we’re exes besties,” Adrien chirped. Despite the months that had passed, it always hurt a little to call each other “exes”. But he had long since learned that laughing at his suffering was better than crying over it. He just wondered when and if he’ll ever be over her one day. He probably never really would.

“Hey,” Nino said indignantly. “But you’re my best friend!”

“Maybe, but are you also exes, hm?” Marinette asked him. “Because we are, and it makes us the unstoppable exes besties! And now, our next stop will be…” She jumped on Adrien’s back without warning and he caught her with a ‘oof’. “...to that splashing boat attraction over there!”

“Dudes, you already fell once, what are you doing?”

“We’re getting back up, Nino, and we try again,” she announced proudly, raising her fist up. “Let’s go to the boat, Adrien, and may our ship sail! Go, go, go!”

Adrien faintly heard a ‘they’re beyond help’ from Alya as he ran towards the attraction, both his and Marinette’s laughters echoing in the wind.

───※ ·❆· ※───

28th of May, 127 days after the reveal

Adrien landed with a grunt on the pavement. The suit was a good protector, but it didn’t stop his back from hurting from the impact with the ground. This akuma — Firebender as he called himself — truly was more violent than usual.

“Wow,” he managed to breath between two gasps, “you’re on fire today!”

He tried to push himself up with an arm, and raised his head towards Firebender with a half-closed eye. The fireball he saw coming towards him arrived so fast that he didn’t even have the time to do so much as widening his eyes. An anguish cry was the last thing he heard before it faded and he saw nothing at all.

───※ ·❆· ※───

28th of May, 127 days after the reveal

Marinette realised she was screaming when she felt her lungs were empty.

Usually, when an akuma took lives, the victims just disappeared into thin air, as if they had never been. They weren’t lying there, unmoving on the pavement like Adrien was. Somehow, seeing was worse than not.

She felt dizzy, as if everything around her was moving in slow motion. She staggered, trying to turn her head away from the sight of her unresponsive partner who was becoming blurrier and blurrier the longer she looked at him. She needed to breathe, she needed to—

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” she screeched instead, the sound reverberating into the street, bouncing from building to building.

She took a ragged breath, and another, closing her eyes as she took in the dead silence that greeted her scream.

She swallowed her first sob and squeezed her eyes tight shut, taking yet another heavy breath. She turned towards the akuma before opening her eyes, otherwise she knew she wouldn’t be able to tear her gaze away from Adrien’s dead form. She gritted her teeth as soon as the thought of him being gone entered her mind again.

“You’re a monster,” she spat, low and cold, the last word echoing through the silence and carrying her voice to Firebender’s ears — to Hawkmoth’s.

All these days worrying over the possibility of a devastating future she had seen, all this time doing everything she could to avoid it no matter how little she knew of it, and she hadn’t considered the possibilities she hadn’t been a witness of. All these days flirting with the line between caving and resisting only for her regretful indecision to hit her in the most cruel way.

“Give up, Ladybug,” Hawkmoth spoke through Firebender, “you no longer have your pet. All you have to do is surrender your miracu—”

“And what?” she spat. “Let my partner die? Listen to me, Hawkmoth. I have a chance to save him, and for that I need to defeat you. You think I’m stupid? I’m not giving up on Paris. I’m not giving up on him!”

And I’m not giving up on us, she told herself.

“Lucky charm!” she roared, rage and determination coursing through her veins.

She knew nothing about how Chat Blanc had really happened, she realised, catching the spotted chain falling from above. Nothing about her current future, as she scanned her surroundings for a solution. Nothing but the crushing weight of the present and her fear of the unknown, as she opened her yoyo to retrieve the dragon miraculous and put it around her neck.

“Tikki, Longg, unify!”

As she surrounded herself with water and ran towards Firebender with only one goal in mind, she promised herself to never let the gifts the present gives her slide in favour of hypothetical futuristic tragedies. She was finally done running away and sacrificing her life to her fears.

───※ ·❆· ※───

28th of May, 127 days after the reveal

Light suddenly flooded Adrien’s vision as he took a sharp and deep intake of breath. His lungs were burning with the sudden air filling them up, and he squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He groggily lifted himself up on his elbows when—

“Chaton!”

—a red blur threw herself at him. He caught her, her hair in his nose and her warm breath and hot tears in his neck.

He let her sob and squeeze him as understanding washed over him. He gently threaded his clawed fingers through her hair and massaged her scalp, noticing absent-mindedly that she was also wearing the dragon miraculous.

She slowly detangled herself from him but stayed close, looking into his eyes through her wet ones and caressing his cheek with her thumb.

“Kitty,” she whispered, her voice hoarse, “my Kitty.”

He didn’t have the time to react before her lips were on his and she took her time to savour him before ever so slowly pulling away. He let her do.

She didn’t stop there. Gently cradling his face in her trembling hands, she kissed his cheek. And his other cheek. And his forehead. His nose. His jaw. Puncturing each of her kisses with whispers of “mon Chaton”, or “Kitty”, or “my love”, to which his heart made a somersault at, before diving for his neck.

Each time he kept on letting her do, keeping her close to him as she sobbed through her kisses and yet another nickname for him.

He could feel her breathing him in; so, with his nose in her hair, he inhaled her scent too. Her hot breath left his neck once again, and she came back for his lips.

This time, he kissed her back, and as soon as his lips moved against hers, she choked on a sobbed whine and pushed her mouth closer to his, if that was even possible

He hadn’t forgotten the taste of her lips on his, even after all these months; but he also knew their kisses had never burnt so intensely, driven by despair, the need to memorise the present and the aroma of being alive.

───※ ·❆· ※───

1st of June, 131 days after the reveal

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

Marinette smiled sadly. “Oh, I don’t know. Hurting you. Putting us through this mess. Not telling you about Chat Blanc. Take your pick.”

She let her arms rest on the railing of the bridge, looking across the Seine. The clouds were getting darker and darker, though a sunray pierced through one of them, lighting up a few buildings on the shore in a powerful atmosphere. Her eyes followed a barge floating further and further away, waiting for the moment it would cross the ray of light.

“You’ve been hurting too,” Adrien said after a few seconds. “You’ve been shouldering it all on your own. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

His hand slid into hers and she welcomed it, intertwining her fingers timidly with his. She glanced at him with a tentative smile and he smiled back, looking at her with soft eyes. She looked back towards the Seine just in time to see the barge slicing through the sunbeam.

“Still. Maybe, if I had told you… if I hadn’t let my fears get the best of me…” She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

“And maybe,” Adrien spoke when it was clear she wouldn’t add something more, squeezing her hand once, “if you had told me earlier, I would have given up Chat Noir.”

She gasped and turned to him, but he was looking at the Seine with saddened eyes.

“What do you mean?” she breathed.

“I’m not sure I’d have been able to handle hearing that I could destroy the world as an akuma,” he whispered, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb as if to reassure her. “It’s… really hard already, but I feel like it would’ve been worse before.”

He turned his head towards her again and she held his gaze, gripping his hand harder as if to dare him to leave.

“You said it yourself,” he went on, “just like we have no idea about what the future can really hold, we can’t know how things would have played out if we had done things differently. What really matters right now is what you want us to be from now on.”

She searched his expectant eyes for a few seconds before looking back at the Seine. A tourist boat coming towards them had replaced the barge in the sunspot before the window of clouds closed on the light, leaving only a dark atmosphere in its place. The clouds grew darker and a warm gust had picked up, making their hair fly in every direction and their clothes ruffling in a frenzy. Marinette felt her emotions growing with the wind, begging to be said and to explode.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and feeling the wind coursing through her as she gathered her thoughts, and opened them again.

“I love you, Adrien,” she spoke, her declaration followed by a distant rumble in the sky. “I love you so, so much. Discovering that you were Chat Noir, once I took it all in… it was the best thing in the world, but also the worst.”

She faced away from the Seine to face him instead and take both his hands in hers, gripping them as tight as she could to ground herself as she felt a flow of tears coming in.

“It made me fall in love with you so much more it hurt, but I knew I couldn’t be with you or I knew I shouldn’t because…” She paused, taking ragged breaths. “...Because it wouldn’t be responsible. Because we’re superheroes and because I had this warning with Chat Blanc, and as the guardian it’s my role to keep us grounded and to do the right thing.”

A lighting bolt pierced through the sky, accompanied by a loud thunderstrike a few seconds later. Adrien was looking at her with a pain in his eyes that she knew meant he was hurting for her and not him.

“But I don’t want to do the right thing this time,” she murmured, as she felt a first drop of water slide down her cheek. “I’m tired of doing what’s supposedly right. Not when...not when we’re both hurting so much that it feels like it’s more dangerous to stay this way instead of just… giving in.”

At this point, she didn’t know who out of her and Adrien were gripping the other’s hands the tightest. She felt more and more raindrops falling on her face and clothes. She didn’t know if the water in his eyes were because he was tearing up or not.

“So maybe our love destroyed the world, once,” she continued, “but I think there’s enough far more damaging hate in this world; and ever since these akuma attacks started, what saved it is our love — for Paris, for our family and friends… and for each other.”

Adrien’s eyes now held a glint of adoration. His now damped hair was sticking to his face while some strands curled with the water. She supposed hers wasn’t faring much better.

“So to answer your question,” she swallowed a sob, “I want us to be together… if you’ll have me.”

Lightning ripped through the sky accompanied by deafening thunder as Adrien pulled her into a crushing hug. She put her arms around his neck to pull him even closer to her and let the flow of her tears finally mix with the rain on her cheeks.

“Marinette,” he whispered, voice wavering and lips barely touching her ear, “I love you, of course I’ll have you. I’ll always have you.”

The rain fell even harder as they hugged closer and cried, soaking them, yet they couldn’t care less. Their clothes were sticking to their bodies, growing more and more uncomfortable, which was worsened by them being in each other’s arms, but Marinette hadn’t felt so good in a long time.

She suddenly pulled away from the hug and cradled his head between her hands. He took her face in his and they stayed closed, forehead against forehead, breathing each other in. Another rumbled resounded and Marinette’s last resolve snapped with it—she brought her lips to his and kissed him.

He responded in kind, and she drank him in and pressed her mouth closer as she felt him doing the same. She should care about the rain falling and the thunder rumbling, but the battering of the elements were just making her feel freer, finally allowing her to get away from all her self restraints.

She sighed against Adrien’s lips as they kept coming back for more. They kissed their reunion, the relief of finding each other again, at last—unlike when he had come back from the dead earlier, these kisses tasted of the promise of more to come, because they knew they would stay together this time.

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, 1h45 after the reveal

“Okay. What’s going on between you two? You’ve been acting awkward since we’ve got here.”

What was going on. What was going on.

“We’re fine,” the lie rolled out of her tongue easily. “Really.”

Alya raised a brow. “Adrien?”

She saw him smiling from the corner of her eyes. He was a much better actor than her—always had been.

“It’s nothing. It’s… we just… we’re working on it.”

...And much more honest than she was, be it with his feelings or with his heart. Always had been.

“Well,” Nino said, “I hope it’s not too big of a deal and that you’ll get over it soon. You guys are the cutest out there.”

Marinette smiled painfully. She glanced at Adrien who was looking at her with soft eyes that she didn’t deserve considering her reaction, and she felt his warm hand timidly covering hers.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I have hopes we will. We always do.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

21st of January, one year after the reveal

“You’re heavy,” Adrien gasped.

“That’s a rude thing to say to a lady,” Marinette commented from atop him, head resting on the arms she had folded on his chest. “And even more so to your girlfriend.”

He groaned and attempted to lift himself up. Fail. She was grinning at him and he pouted in fake-annoyance. “Not when said girlfriend is purposefully putting all her weight on you! I can’t breath!”

Marinette giggled and pressed herself further on him to which he let out a choked whimper, before pushing away from him after a few seconds, ending his suffocation.

“I could report you for attempting murder, you know,” he threatened with a finger. “‘Ladybug slips into teenage model Adrien Agreste’s room and proceeds to suffocate him’, now that would make the newspapers talk for months.”

She laughed and came back to hover over him. “‘And Adrien asked her to do it again’,” she smirked, and she bent down to peck his lips.

He couldn’t even argue with that.

He discreetly brought his hand close to where his head was lying to grab a pillow. When she pushed herself up and sat next to him, he quickly hit her head with it.

She gasped, betrayed and that sent him into a fit of laughter. She glared at him playfully, grabbed his other pillow, and swatted him way harder than he had.

“You’re dead, Kitty! You hear me?” she said, trying and failing not to laugh. “You’ve just signed your death contract!”

“No, my Lady, please I’m just a defenseless citizen!”

“I’ll knock you out with my yo-yo!” she threatened.

They fought again for a few minutes before stopping, Adrien breathless but Marinette only slightly out of breath due to being transformed.

“I hope your father won’t come in,” Marinette said.

“Don’t worry, if he or Nathalie come, you’ll just say you’re investigating here because, uh...because you suspect me of being Hawkmoth!”

She laughed. “Kitty, that’s such a stupid idea.”

“Why not?” Adrien wiggled his eyebrows. “After all, I do disappear during every akuma attack.”

Marinette smiled and crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as he steadied her with his hands on her hips. They lost themselves into each other’s eyes, faces close but not close enough to exactly touch.

“Then,” she murmured against his lips, and he felt his cheeks heating up. “I’ve come to seduce my enemy. Is it working?”

“I’d rather be your partner if that’s okay,” he whispered.

“Yes, but is it working Adrien?”

He chuckled—she didn’t even need to try, he’d always been too far gone when it came to her. “A bit too much.”

He kissed the proud and satisfied giggle from her lips.

[pixie-cocaine]

Down A Peg

Genre: Smut

Pairing: Businessman!Brat!Jinyoung × Dominatrix! Reader

Warnings: Pegging, slight mistress kink, dirty talk, Jinyoung cries lol, pretty harsh punishment (rough caning. don't worry tho, the after care makes up for it. Probably.), mentions of breaking skin from caning wounds and bruising 😬, slapping, hair-pulling, strapjob, fingering (m receiving), nipple play, degradation, just pure filth man 💀

Requested: months ago, but yes

Note: Jinyoung has a key at some point and it disappears, but you're not gonna say shit about it. Also it gets lazy near the end, excuse the grammar mistakes.

Word Count: 6.3K (pls don't let this flop, I am exhausted 🤩)

The last thing Jinyoung thought he’d be doing, was going to a professional Dominatrix session. If anyone had even dare mentioned the idea, say a month beforehand, he’d give them the nastiest grimace manageable and avoid them like the plague, not that he didn’t do that to anyone who tried to weasle their way into his private life anyways. It made even his own subconcious howl with laughter at the position Jinyoung had put himself in now.

So much for trying to s tay away, huh?

He didn’t even think something like this could happen. Hell, one minute he was filing more stacks of papers as his assistant talked his ear off, which he had vehemently told her not to do, and the next he found himself bored, and scrolling through a Domme website the night that followed.

But here he was; standing outside the neat black building with his phone in one hand, and a hand cupped in his pockets as he raised an eyebrow before going in. Past the glass doors, he found his surroundings consiting with soft shades of brown. A mahogony reception desk sat to the front of him against a wall, a long hallway next to the desk, and neutral white lights giving the atmosphere a professional look. His legs moved on their own accord while he focused on stabalizing his breathing, not used to the clamminess now making his palms sweat against his sides, and before he knew it, he was standing at the front of the office. 

A woman in her early-to-mid twenties sat before him, smile sweet and chestnut brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her eyes were soft, almost inquisitive as they assessed Jinyoung’s appearance and outfit, which consisted of a beige turtleneck and black dress pants. She seemed pleased with the effort he put into his looks if her satisfied hum was anything to go by. 

“Hello, are you here for an appointment?”

Her voice was cheery, like the chime of a bell, and her face beamed with a radiance that Jinyoung wouldn’t think someone who worked in her place of job would exude. He cleared his throat, “I am, yes.”

“Your name?”

“Park Jinyoung,” she nodded and typed something into the computer to her left.

“And your mistress for the night is Madame Black, correct?”

Jinyoung felt odd with how casual this was going. He’d expected.. something else? No, that was a lie一Jinyoung didn’t know what he expected. Maybe a bad experience, he guesses. He just wasn’t used to the way this was such an open transaction, as if he was going to the doctor’s for a checkup or something. It left him confused as he thought of a couple of his previous encounters with people he trusted on his sex life. The way they scrunched their faces in a disapproving frown when he said he wanted to try subbing, only to backpedal at his embarrasment. The rest just flat out didn't know what they were doing. It was almost laughable how little they knew. But this... This seemed like a whole new ballgame.

“Yeah,” He shook his head in confirmation, the sudden movement making him look like an overenthusiastic dog. The woman laughed at the new show of excitement and leant over the console so she could murmur to him despite the space being completely empty, save for both of them, of course. 

“Third door down the hall, you’ll know it’s hers when just standing outside of it makes you wanna piss your pants. Don’t forget to change into one of the robes in the room just to your left. Oh! And just a heads up, Jinyoung,” She smiles with a mischevious glint in her eye and reaches out to drop a black key into his awaiting hand, “She may seem nice, but Madame is not one who tolerates brats. Do go in with the knowledge that she’s not afraid to bite.”

Jinyoung raises a brow at her tease, but smiles back at her nonetheless, "Who says I'm afraid of being bitten?"

With a jerk of his head in what he hoped was a nod, he fought not to not scurry down the hall in his newfound anticipation, smirking to himself at the knowing face of the desk worker. 

Jinyoung was jittery with each step that brung him closer to his destination, which now stand a couple feet from him, the deep ebony-shaded door looming with a question that made Jinyoung have second thoughts despite thinking it through for hours; ‘Can I handle what’s behind this door?’

Jinyoung rakes a shaky hand through his hair, trying to take deep breaths as he pushes the cold metal of the key into the lock, twisting it to the right until he hears the telltale Click! Of the latches unslotting while he turns the handle and pushes the inlet open, taking a moment to survey the room before him, then kicks the door closed after he steps inside. Of course he can. If the voice in the back of his head said anything, it probably wouldn’t even be a good experience much different to the other ‘dom’s’ he’s had sex with.

Almost immediately, the tart scent of lavender wafts into his nose. The room was spacious, dimly lit by the soft golden glow of candles occupying the corners which cast shadows across the silky wine carpet, and the delicate shades of a peachy pink had consisted of the walls surrounding him. A king-sized bed with fluffy red covers sat against the back wall, a plush pink chair facing it, and you perch right at the bottom of the bed. Jinyoung feels his heart shake at the sight of you.

Just the way you sit with your legs crossed over one another had his cock stirring behind the silk black robe that curtains his naked frame. You wear a gorgeous tan lingerie set, the top is a thin see-through camisole which stops just above the curve of your upper stomach, displaying the supple mounds of your breasts over a sheen of lace, and the bottoms are a simple high-arch panty, the same fabric and look of the top, but with a skirt-like covering which flutters around the curves of your hips whenever you move. The fact that the set shown your bare body in such a delicate show of wispy materials was what made Jinyoung even more worked up. Your position was relaxed as you sat, holding a glass of champagne, and you cocked your head to the side slightly upon Jinyoung’s arrival. You offer a smile.

“Why hello there!” You gleam, and at the sheer enthusiam which you eminate, Jinyoung finds himself mirroring the smile without his own accord. Something about you just dusts away all of Jinyoung’s previous nerves.

“Hey,” Jinyoung sifts through his head to find the right words, “Madame Black?”

You giggle at the way he says it, obviously giving away that he wasn’t fully aware of what he was about to get himself into, “Yes, that’s me. You must be Park Jinyoung, I’m assuming?”

A nod was your answer.

"Don't be shy, take a seat," you nod towards the chair before you, and Jinyoung obliges, smiling at you as he goes to sit himself down in front of you.

"First of all, I would like to discuss boundaries, even if I’ve already gone over the form you filled out," you begin with a wink, "what’s your opinion on rimming and ass-play in general?”

Jinyoung feels his eyes bug out slightly at the way you so seamlessly jump into it. Shameless, aren’t you? But he isn’t complaining.

He clears his throat and, suddenly unable to look you in the eye, settles his gaze on his lap as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, “I’ve dabbled in it by myself but never really experienced proper ass-play things with somebody else,” mustering up his courage to flick his eyes back to yours, he smirks, “I’d like to try it with you if possible.”

You nod, “how about being rough with you? Hair-pulling, slapping, throat-fucking, etcetera?”

He seems to strongly approve if the fast dipping of his head means anything, and if that weren’t enough to give you a gist to how much he liked the idea, he isn’t afraid to say so.

“Anything that will leave me sore, I’m completely into. I like seeing the after effects.”

“Cum-eating and degradation?”

“Very eager to try.”

“Alright, anything else you’d like to add into the mix?”

Jinyoung muses, then shakes his head, to which you hum at. 

“Now, Jinyoung, I’m going to ask you a question, and you’re going to answer with a very well thought-out response,” you raise an eyebrow at the brunette, eyeing him down like the first meal you’d seen in days, “Are you sure you want to do this?

Jinyoung can feel his heart thrum against his ribcage, like the hard beat of a drum, when he hears your words. You were definitely experienced in this, even someone with half a brain could tell. He could feel his lips stretch into a smile, an idea coming to mind as you gently set your champagne glass on the floor a couple steps away from your feet, then sit back up to cock your head to the side. 

“If I’m being honest, Madame,” He scorns the name out, mocking your authority, “I don’t think you’ll be any better than the self-proclaimed ‘dom’s’ that I’ve been with.”

"Huh."

"I mean—look at what you're wearing—how am I supposed to believe that this is a dominatrix scene and not a sub session where I can easily just knock you around?"

Wow.

You can’t quite bite back the loud, boisterous peals of laughter that bubble up frrom your chest fast enough when you finally register his words after staring at him for a couple seconds, vacantly blinking at the brunette and trying to figure out if you heard him right. You wipe a tear from your eye, still tittering, “And what makes you think that just because I'm wearing delicate and frilly lingerie doesn't mean I can't fuck your guts out, Mr. Jinyoung the powerful CEO?”

Jinyoung frowns, “How do you know that I’m a CEO?”

God, this was getting more interesting by the moment.

Shaking your head, you rake your eyes up the sultry expose of his hardened calves and legs, slowly meeting his eyes once more, and grinning as you do so, “You must think I’m dumb. You act like that smug little face of yours isn’t plastered all over the city. Regardless..,” You lean forward, "Yes or no, Jinyoung? I promise, I'm well worth the money."

Jinyoung thinks for a moment, still in shock from the mention of his job, even if he already knows his answer before he says it. This was his chance to experience what he'd always wanted. Maybe. You already knew his kinks due to the form he had to fill out, as well as the little transaction, so he had no doubt that you knew which buttons to press, but he wanted to know if you could take him beyond his limits like he's always hoped for. If you knew how to press those buttons just right, or if you were just another let-down with a more professional look and platform. This was it, and he was going to make you work him over as much as you could.

"Yes, I'm sure I want to do this."

Jinyoung feels a shudder wrack his shoulders at how smoothly your facade transitioned to one of pure intimidation and stony expressions. The smile that once graced your seemingly sweet attributes was now wiped away and replaced with a carefully adept mask of indifference.

You keep his stare whilst you bend down to retrieve a big, black wooden box from beneath the bed, setting it beside you as you stand from your spot and lift the lid from the case to pull out a leather clasping, as well as a thick and textured blue dildo which was, admittedly, one of your biggest straps. You look to Jinyoung as you began attaching the proper clippings and belts in order to fasten it around your hips.

“On your knees.”

Taking his bottom lip between his teeth, Jinyoung slowly pushes himself away from the chair and sinks down to his knees, mouth watering at the authority in your tone of voice, and blood beginning to heat underneath his skin as you secure the harness and move to close the distance between the both of you. Deft fingers trace the sharp lining of Jinyoung’s jaw, trailing a line to the dip of his chin before taking it between your thumb and forefinger with a force that worries the bone slightly. 

He's pretty, you think. One of the prettiest men that have ever occupied your time as a dominatrix, with full lips and features that would deem him model-worthy. You smile. You would have fun making a mess of him.

“Safeword?”

Jinyoung is taken aback for a moment, allegedly in a daze to the golden view from below you. “Hm... 'Promotion'?" He smiles at his own small joke.

You hum, grabbing the ribbed silicone that stare back at Jinyoung, and pressing the tip to the seam of his mouth with short, prodding impels.

“Open,” you murmur.

He obeys, albeit after frowning slightly; letting his lips part to engulf the width of your strap, wasting no time in stooping his head lower so he could stop midway on your cock, his throat constricting around the foreign object now lodged in his passage. You moan down at him with a hand raking through the soft tresses of his hair in appreciation at his eagerness. 

“Suck.”

And he does.

Jinyoung started out strong at first; bobbing his head as he craned his neck this way and that to really go in on you without hesitation, hollowing his cheeks and looking up at you with a determinbed look, but after a while of swallowing your cock like he had one chance to impress you, he makes a rasping sound in the back of his throat, vaguely like the creaking of bed springs, followed by a lewd slurping noise before he goes to pull away. You catch the back of his head with a hand, raising an eyebrow as you shove him back down to where he’d stopped previous.

Jinyoung gags, a beautiful, surprised chuck of sound that makes you sigh at the way he sought for purchase at your thighs, a poor attempt to steady himself when you were already pulling back to drive your cock back down his throat with a fist-full of his hair. A range of noises that originate from Jinyoung bounce off the walls of the room, mostly different variations of kecks and physical strains on his trachea, but some being choked-off whimpers and half-strangled gasps of which he could actually get in between you fucking into his face and withdrawing. 

You finally slow your pace to more shallow strokes, and looking past the pretty shine of Jinyoung’s now tear-stained face, you can see the tent in the flap of his robe. You favor him with a devilish grin, one that he sadly can’t see due to staring down at where you had your cock in his mouth.

“Look at me, whore,” the stern demand comes out in a throaty growl as you use your hand, still laced within the damp tresses of his hair, to yank his head back and up at you, resulting in both a muffled yelp and the back of Jinyoung’s neck popping at the sudden movement.

The sight was immoral in every sense of the word. His swollen lips, which were wrapped around the pink cock strapped to your hips, were left hanging open with obvious smears of glistening drool, still seeping from the corners, his cheeks streaked over with it in some places and mixing the stream of drying tears falling from his wide eyes. You can hear him begin to gag around the strap, considering he is shoved down to the hilt, but you only push his head down and keep him there. Instead, staring in amusement at the way he sputters and coughs, wanting to savor how his face begins to turn a lovely shade of red. When you are certain he can’t breathe, you pull him off and let him drink in desperate gulps of much needed air, the soft peach color returning to his face when his lungs begin to relax. 

Stunning, you think.

Jinyoung gasps when you force him up to his feet by his hair, practically stumbling when you turn the two of you around so you can then proceed to to shove him onto the bed, ignoring the groan of the springs due to the impact. His head is a mess from the influxion of air he experiences. Only the ache between his legs keeping Jinyoung tied to this world as he softly pants, laying on his forearms with glossy eyes locked on yours and how you follow suit; crawling onto the bed and taking place hovering right over him. Jinyoung moans lowly when you lean in to press open-mouthed kisses, hot and wet, against his jawline, your hand snaking down the expanse of his hidden body to pull at the tied robe sash, and you treat yourself with a peek down at how it falls open to reveal everything he had to offer. Smoothing your fingers along the breathtaking show of defined muscle and healthy flesh, you curse.

“Of course such a little brat would have a fantastic body...”

Jinyoung lets out a complacent laugh at your subtle annoyance. He knows he has a good body, and he knows he's attractive, which makes you all the more irritated, considering he is perfect in every way, and you have no doubt in your mind that he uses it to get what he wants. 

“You sure are taking your time,” He gripes out, hoping to stir your anger.

You snicker at him, and without thinking too much of it, strike him across the face, not waiting for his head to fully turn to the left before you grab his cheeks, force him back to you, and slap him again. 

Once. Twice. Three times.

You feel his cock twitch against your thigh, and his mouth parts in pleased shock as he breathes.

“Say it again, bitch"

"I said, you sure are taking your—Ah!"

He's momentarily shocked into silence when you immediately shove your hands under his waist to hoist Jinyoung's legs behind his head, essentially folding him in half and displaying his exposed bottom, which is just as gorgeous as everything else about him. That's saying something, because an asshole, dick, and balls shouldn't even be in the same sentence as 'gorgeous.'

Jinyoung doesn't have time to protest, because as soon as he opens his mouth to fuss, he feels a strong, harsh slap land right on his hole. He yelps, kicking his feet out the best he can until he cries out again upon registering the next three smacks that rain down on the same spot.

"Rude, rude, boy. Has nobody ever taught you that you shouldn't speak back to your Mistress?" You growl, blowing cool air over his fluttering rim before patting his ass gently, "Stay like this or else I'm shoving an inflatable plug up your ass and stretching you until you rip."

Shaky and wanting, Jinyoung let's out a breath, doing as you say and hooking his hands into the back of his knees in order to press down and stay in said position. It unfortunately does put a strain on his lower back, but as much as he likes punishment, he's not betting on having his poor butt mercilessly torn open like you promised.

"What's your favorite color?"

The question half-startles him, "Red...?"

"Good choice," You chirp, and like that, you're holding his legs in place again; dangling a bottle of reddish-tinted lube over him as you happily squirt the cool gel onto his hole and two of your fingers. You tease him—gently running your hand up the soft skin of his left leg whilst you push the pad of your digit against his entrance, letting it breach slightly before pulling back to do it again.

"Tell me you want it."

He groans, "I want it..."

"Yeah?" You lie your cheek on his thigh, staring down at him with narrowed eyes. You love how exposed he is right now. Vulnerable to your gaze, and letting you touch him in such lewd ways. You always liked these parts of your sessions—where you could see the raw arousal in their faces. Letting your hand slide from Jinyoung's thigh to his cock, you begin simultaneously stroking him and, finally, pushing your fingers into his ass. He suddenly jerks upwards the best he really can with his legs behind his head, and you already know that both the sensations combined feel odd for him.

"Does it hurt?" You ask, half-wanting him to say it does so you can see the look on his face when you add another finger. But he doesn't, thankfully, and you whisk away the sadistic thoughts that you don't really want there. Instead, he shakes his head with a weak noise of slight discomfort.

"It doesn't hurt, but it feels... Weird?" Jinyoung doesn't seem so sure of himself when he actually says the words out loud. The confused frown knitting his eyebrows together mimes that of someone who was deciding on whether they liked something or not.

"Mm. Give it a minute."

And he does. He breathes heavily at the still-going stimulation to his cock, furrowing his brows everytime you move your fingers in a strange way as you try and find a pace, then, like clockwork as your digits graze upwards of his walls, he gasps, loud and surprised.

"Oh? Did I find it?" You grin, raising an eyebrow whilst continuing to abuse that spot inside of him. You revel in the way he moans. It's actually very melodical, everytime he reaches a high note it sounds like he's about to start singing, and it catches you off-guard when he keens before letting his lower body fall against the bed.

You tsk and shrug, "I was gonna be nice but it looks like you're just itching for punishment."

"Well what the hell did you expect when you put me in a painful position like-"

Thwap!

You give him another good slap to the face, then, almost too aggressively, force him to the edge of the bed so you can bend him over.

"Don't look at me, keep your eyes on the floor or I'll make it worse," you murmur, and with a mischievous smile, you walk over to the large black closet to the side of your bed. You can hear Jinyoung's heavy breathing reverberating throughout the room the entire time it takes to fetch your trusty cane and take position back behind Jinyoung.

The cane is long, about the height of a relatively high-standing desk, and decorated with accents of blood red while the rest is tinted a ravishing mulberry purple. It's thick at the top which makes it easy to hold onto, and it begins to slight as it reaches the the tip, which is skinny and carefully rounded.

"So, here's what we're gonna do," you begin, running your fingers up and down the polished rattan, "I am going to hit you with this cane as hard as I can, and you are going to count each and every stroke that I put on your thighs and backside. Do you hear me?"

Jinyoung sucks in a breath, but nods his head nonetheless.

"Come on, you know better. I need you to say it."

"Yes, I hear you."

"Hear you, what?" You lean forward to whisper into the shell of his ear, enjoying the way he lets out a small whimper and pushes his ass back against you.

"Yes, I hear you, Mistress..."

"Good Boy. Now, spread your legs a bit, and when you feel the cane, begin counting."

Jinyoung does as told easily enough; widening the space between his feet until his legs stand out in a small 'v' shape, and waiting in anticipation for you to begin the punishment. He can hear the blood rush in his ears.

Shwoop- thwack!

The pain that surges in a line against both cheeks is nothing short of winding. He thought it'd sting a bit at most but fuck, he had trouble keeping his legs from wobbling.

"One!" He shrills.

Shwoop- thwack!

"Two!"

Shwoop- thwack!

"T-Three!"

It feels like it goes on for forever if he's being honest. It's the same pain, but it gets worse with each swing and cut. It doesn't help that your cane had broken skin and drawn blood every couple strokes to both the backs of his thighs and cheeks, and you kept on hitting the same wounds.

"Twenty... twenty-one.."

"My good boy.. you did so, so well," You all but coo, dropping the cane to the floor with a thud as you lean forward to drape yourself over his back, careful not to make contact with his injuries whilst you trail your fingers between his legs so you can continue stroking his cock, grip loose and barely touching him with each swipe over his shaft.

"It hurts...!" Jinyoung's voice wavers, and you can finally hear the submission in his tone. You like hearing him like this; on the edge of breaking down, sobbing out his pain and pleasure, and all for you.

You smile, tightening your fist around his tip and holding it there just to savor the way he cries out and reaches down to try and stop your administrations, "But you like when it hurts, don't you? You like seeing how bad of a boy you'd been, and you like feeling those repercussions wear off even more, no?"

"N-no..."

"Mistress doesn't like liars, baby. Say you're sorry and maybe I'll make the pain feel better," You hum, only the slightest of touches ghosting against Jinyoung's nipples, butterfly kisses on the back of his ear.

"I'm sorry.. I-I'm sorry..!"

"Move up the bed. Hands and knees, still."

He's crying as he carries out your command, you realise. Tears, shiny, like the first drops of rain, run in flexuous tracks down his cheeks, and a blush dusts the ball of his nose. He makes no noise, but you can see the stutter of his chest and the way his breath hitches everytime he tries to take in a full inhale.

"See what happens when you don't listen to your Mistress? She has to hurt you, and she doesn't quite like hurting you to the point of drawing blood," you sigh and can't help but frown at the marks left on his body, especially the way you can identify the blooming bruises, which range from pretty shades of red to slowly darkening purples. Not to mention the many long cuts that litter just above the bruises.

"I-I'm sorr-sorry," Jinyoung involuntarily hiccups, and the way he reaches back and out for your top, tugging at the hem to get you to come closer, undoubtedly makes your mask slip a bit.

"Don't-.. don't look at me like that.."

But he keeps doing it. He keeps looking at you with those eyes. Those eyes that plead and beg in only the ways that make your body light aflame with desire to see him break completely under your touch.

"Fuck me... Please fuck me," He whispers, still looking at you from over his shoulder and holding onto your camisole.

"I bet you do. You've had that look in your eyes ever since you walked through the door. Don't worry, though. I'll fuck you. I'll fuck you hard enough to make your mind go blank, and I'll fuck you good enough that everytime you touch yourself, you'll wish it was my hands instead of yours," you crawl onto the mattress and keep direct eye contact as you do so. You want him to take in the fire in your eyes, and know that you mean everything you say.

And from the way he whines upon your hand encasing his throat when you take place behind him, lining yourself up with his entrance with your breath hot on the back of his neck, he gets the memo.

"Have you ever had a cock inside you, Jinyoung?"

"Only finger-ers," He gasps out, still catching his breath to make coherent sentences as his crying dies down.

You nod into his shoulder, "We're gonna take this part slow, then, okay? Deep breaths.. I'm pushing inside, now."

The stretch is slow and, admittedly, overwhelming; the way your strap's textured shaft tenses his walls around the thickness of it's outer layers has him clutching and the sheets and making all sorts of noises, from groans to whimpers, from low-tones to high-notes, then finally, you bottom out. Your hips meet the plush skin of his ass, which he yelps at, and you take a moment to massage the column of his neck, trying to get him to relax as much as possible. It is his first time with a dick up his ass, after all, and he'd just taken a brutal punishment with, from the looks of it, painful consequences.

"What's the traffic light say, Jinyoung?"

He knows what it means, and when he's actually asked the question, it sparks a sort of satisfaction in him. He means wow, someone who actually checks in with him during sex and doesn't just do whatever they want without making sure he's ok with it.

"Green. Just go slow, please? It still hurts a bit."

He's surprised when you actually listen to him, and begin pacing yourself slower; careful movements of your hips, barely even registered as thrusts, and soft brushes over the hardness of his nipples once again as a distraction from any lingering uncomfort.

"Is it ok to go faster?"

He nods, and turns his face to the side so he can look at you properly. He looks so good like this; watery eyes and a needy expression painted on his face like glass.

It's then that you find yourself kissing him.

It catches him off-guard, obviously, but he leans into it nonetheless, and damn did you know how to kiss. Your lips were sweet against his, mouth moving in tune with his own and it was quite easy for you to take control of things. One squeeze to his throat and he was putty.

You don't even notice that you're thrusting into him too fast until he grabs at your hip from behind and whines into your mouth, which makes you want to go all the more faster, but you don't. You groan, nibbling his lip before you pull away with a grin, and weave your hand into his hair so you can gently push his face into the covers. His arch is gorgeous. Just like the rest of him, you think.

"Jesus, you're a sight.. you know that?"

From the neat curtain of bangs, you can faintly see Jinyoung smile, "Do you like it?"

"Baby you know I like it," You curse as you smooth a hand down the sultry slope of his back, all muscled and strong yet delicate in a way that you find hard to explain.

He moans, loud and clear for you, "Then show me, mistress. Please?"

'Showing him' would be an understatement of what you did. It was like you were possessed; one moment he was on his hands and knees, looking back at you with that fucking face, and the next, you had him flipped over on his back, drilling into him like your life depends on it. You don't know how long you fuck him, but you know that you were in a daze as you snap back to the present.

It's brutal, the way you pound into him. Rough, animalistic, and downright cruel. He's trying his best to stay tethered to this world, but you make it extremely hard with the way you bull his knees into his own chest and stare at him, long and heavy, with each other's foreheads touching and a hand jerking him off at a rapid speed. He wails and cries out every couple seconds, his voice now strained in his throat and wearing thin like the threads of an old spiderweb.

"Is this what you fucking wanted? Huh? Well here it is so fucking take it, bitch. Take it all and don't you dare waste it or else I swear you'll regret it," You growl, your teeth clenched hard enough to put pressure on your gums as you unhook your arm from under his left knee and instead use it to choke him. He struggles at the lack of blood going to his brain, but nods regardless.

"I-I'm c—oh my god please—I'm cumming! I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna-"

"Then fucking cum, you filthy whore. Do it, all over your stomach. Make Mistress proud, hm? Make her proud of her good little fuck doll, I know you can do it, baby."

Letting go of Jinyoung's throat has more of an effect than you anticipated. The influx of air and blood, paired with his approaching orgasm, quite literally throws him headfirst into his climax. His mouth falls open in a silent scream as he writhes and twitches, spilling white on his lower abdomen, and one shot even glances him on the collarbones.

It's silent for a moment as he catches his breath, still shaking, and that's when you make the decision of discarding your strap-on into the basket near your closet with a single toss. Jinyoung, on the other hand, is on cloud 9. He feels like he's floating in a golden sea of bliss, which clouds of cotton candy hanging overhead, and he barely registers it when he feels your fingers on his body once again.

He looks down, "Hm..?"

"Pfft holy shit, look at you," You bring your palm to your mouth as you giggle at the man's euphoria, "Yeah.. Oh yeah, you're definitely feeling it, huh? Told you I was worth the money."

"No shit. That was... Jesus, that was insane."

"Mm thanks, pretty. Sit still, I'll be right back."

You hop up off the bed with another quick glance at Jinyoung before you disappear behind a misty glass door. While you're doing.. whatever you're doing, Jinyoung takes the time to sit up and try and find a comfortable position because of course it's now that everything finally settles in.

"Ow, fuck!" He hisses at the pain of trying to sit on his ass with all the cuts on it.

"Yeah, about that, put your butt up for a moment?"

He frowns, but upon seeing the tube of ointment in your hand as well as baby wipes and a lollipop, sighs and reluctantly bends over.

"I know, I know, but don't worry, it'll only sting a bit. Also, make sure to apply some Neosporin or disinfectant on the backs of your thighs and bottom until they begin to scab up." You drone on about how to take care of the injuries whilst applying the salve, the basics on how to not exercise while they're still open because the sweat can cause an infection, the usual things. When you're done both rubbing the medicine on him and giving him a jog through cautions, you finally twist the covering on the tube of ointment and reach for the wet wipes before meeting Jinyoung's eyes again.

"Roll on your back, please. Feet up in the air and spread your legs so I can see everything."

"Why?"

"Because," you smile, already nudging him to move into position, "You're all messy. I need to clean you up, don't I? Now come here, I even have a lollipop for you since you did so well."

It's soft how you take care of him, Jinyoung thinks. The mood switch is completely different from what you were like when you were fucking him like you hated him, because now, you're so concerned about whether you're pressing the wipes too hard onto his skin as you swipe the cold sheet between his legs and rear end.

"I'm sorry," you say, slowing down on cleaning him to snort at how hard he sucks on the light green candy, admiring how at peace he looks with the warm expression he wears.

"For what?"

"I probably went a little too hard on you. This was your first actual time with an experienced domme, and I'm afraid that I could've ruined it for future references."

"Oh no, don't feel bad. I liked it."

"You did?" Your eyebrows shoot up.

"Of course. This is probably the best I've felt in literal months."

And he smiles. He smiles genuinely one of the most breathtaking smiles you've ever seen, with a slight fan of creasing around his eyes from the rise of his cheeks, and a laugh like pure beauty. You return it.

"Well, I'm glad I could help, Jinyoung. Now, I think it's about time for you to go, considering the session is officially over, and you most likely have a lot of work in the morning," You wink and stand from your spot on the bed.

Jinyoung allows you to help him back inside his robe, even rub the dried tear tracks off his cheeks, and before he knows it, he's slowly walking away from your assigned room, looking back at you as you stand in the doorway with a hand on your hip.

"Goodbye, Madame Black."

"Goodbye, Mr. CEO. Come again sometime, I'm sure you'd love to be taken down another peg."

[rhysismydaddy]

Naughty Neighbors pt. 2 (Elriel)

As promised, it’s in Azriel’s POV which was actually super hard for me to write for some reason. Don’t ask why it’s in first person when Elain’s isn’t. Just go with it I’m so tired.

I LOVED reading the comments on the last post they brought the biggest smile to my face so thank you all so much for the love!

Part 3

______________________________________________________________

~Azriel~

At first, I’d thought it was just attraction.

I mean, it was inevitable. She'd shown up in the middle of the night, dressed in a thin, rose-colored robe that did absolutely nothing to hide the curves underneath, smiling at me like I don’t deserve to be smiled at.

It was obvious I’d be attracted to her.

But it was also different. 

Because usually, when I’m attracted to a woman, I go after her and get her out of my system the old fashioned way. But with Elain Archeron... it’s somehow more than that. 

Don’t get confused, I’d be more than happy to have her under me. Or on top of me. Or trapped between me and a wall. 

But I also crave her smile, her laugh. Her blush. 

Fuck, I love that blush. 

The woman turns red at any sort of innuendo, like she’s never been flirted with before. At least not properly. 

I’m damn near addicted to it. 

Which might explain why I’ve developed a routine in the week after moving into my apartment. I get up and get ready, walk with her to work, fight the temptation to go across the street and kiss her stupid, then walk with her home. 

It’s only a total of ten minutes together a day, but it's enough to drive me fucking crazy. 

Crazy enough to do it over and over again, just like I am right now. 

I knock on the door to her shop, keeping my unspoken vow to never go in the flower-infested place. 

“Hey,” she says with a grin as she comes down to meet me, locking the glass door behind her. “How was work?”

“Well, a three-hundred pound man got a tattoo of a raccoon on his back. Shit took three hours and was bigger than in real life.” She giggles, and my lips twitch at the sight. “You?”

“I sold a lot of bouquets, since it’s wedding season. Nothing special.”

We start the short walk back to our apartment complex, walking close enough that our arms occasionally brush. The feel of her soft skin on mine has me gritting my teeth, and we’re still four minutes out. Fuck.

Elain shivers slightly, and since it isn’t cold, I take it to mean I’m not the only one affected. I could be a gentleman and let the reaction go, but... 

“Are you cold?”

Soft brown eyes meet mine, and there’s a bit of surprise in them. “No.”

“You sure? You shivered.” 

Those eyes narrow slightly, well on to the game I’m playing. “I’m sure.”

I can’t stop the smirk from forming on my face, but she just sighs and turns straight forward again. 

“Any plans for the weekend?”

I’m practically baiting her into saying she’s doing something with her boyfriend, even though I doubt that’ll be the case. I haven’t so much as seen the guy around the entire week. 

If I were him-

No. We’re not going there. 

“Not really, actually. I might go to the MOMA.”

It’s easy to picture her in a museum, staring adoringly at overpriced pieces of art a child could probably recreate. “Art fan?”

“Not really. My sister has an exhibit this week and wants me to come. I like her art, but she’s the exception.”

For some reason, this makes me smile. “Nothing’s good enough to impress you?”

Her eyes narrow in the cute way they always do when I tease her, and she says, “Nothing makes me feel anything. Art should make you feel something. Right?”

Is she seriously asking me that? “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a museum.”

Elain stops walking suddenly, and I turn to face her with raised brows. “Ever? You’ve never been to a museum?”

I shake my head, confused as to why she’s confused. Is that not normal?

“What about on school trips?”

Oh. 

That explains it. 

I turn and keep walking, knowing she’ll catch up in a second. When she does, I say, “Maybe my school was low on field trip funds or something.”

The lie tastes like dirt in my mouth, so I light a cigarette to wash it down. 

She rolls her eyes like she knows I’m full of shit and keeps walking. 

“You look beautiful today, Elain.” 

Her cheeks go pink at the words, and the urge to punch her boyfriend grows. If a woman blushes every single time someone calls her beautiful, she probably doesn’t hear it enough. 

And I know I tell her everyday, but it’s especially true today. She’s in one of her probably hundred dresses, and it’s tighter around the waist and loose around the bottom. 

I think it was designed just for her.

Or maybe just to drive me insane. Either theory works. 

Her hair’s down, framing the soft features I’m disgustingly obsessed with, and there’s a pink tone to her full lips. She looks like a goddamn flower. 

I hate flowers, I remind myself helplessly. 

We keep walking, and I’m so focused on thinking about anything except the way that pretty little dress swishes around her thighs that I don’t even realize we’re back at the complex. 

I open the door for her, and she goes inside but waits before heading up the stairs. 

“What are you doing?”

Her cheeks go a bit more red, even as her eyes narrow. “I’m wearing a dress. You go up first.”

“Elain Archeron,” I scold instantly, mood brightening already, “I can’t believe you’d accuse me of trying to look up your dress.” 

I probably would’ve, but that’s another point entirely. 

She bites her lip, and my blood starts to thrum. “I didn’t say that, actually.”

“Oh, I see. You just want to look at my ass, then.”

A laugh bubbles out of her, and I take mercy and head up the stairs, pausing once every now and then to shake my butt in her face. 

“You’re a child,” she laughs, pushing my back to make me go forward again. 

I’m laughing, too by the time we make it to the hallway with our apartments. But the joy falls away as we stand outside, both nervously silent. It feels like the end of a date, for some reason. 

Maybe because we were laughing and smiling and flirting. Maybe. 

“What’s your name?” she asks, exactly like she always does. 

Fucking unable to help it, I lean in close enough our noses brush, smiling when she sucks in a breath. “You ready to pay the price?”

Every day it’s the same response. She usually shies away, rolls her eyes, and drops it, but today she surprises me. “What’s the price, exactly?”

Her voice is a little scratchy, and her legs are tense, like she’s pressing them together. For a moment, I can’t even breathe, let alone tell her. She looks so adorably naive and beautiful right now. It’s hard to focus on anything except the heaving of her chest, the lip tucked between her teeth. 

Bu it’s the raw desire in her eyes that makes me finally respond. “I want you to give in. I want you to kiss me like I know you’re dying to. I want you to admit that it’s me that turns you on, me who you think about at night.”

Her breathing’s rougher now, and it ignites a fire in my blood. “I want you to tell me you want me, Elain. Because we both know you do.”

“I...”

Fucking hell, she’s going to kill me. I’m desperate to hear the words, so when I speak, it sounds like a plea. “Say it.”

But something comes over her, and the cloudiness sweeps from her eyes instantly. She takes a deep breath and places a palm against my chest to shove me away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have a boyfriend.”

Her favorite thing to say, apparently. 

“I love him,” Elain says with strong, fake conviction. “I... I don’t want you.”

A harsh laugh forces itself out of my throat. “Beautiful little liar.”

Her cheeks go pink, and I smile in spite of the tense conversation. “I’m not lying.”

“Yes, you are, but that’s okay. I get it.” Before I can stop myself, I’m moving to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “But I’m not telling you my name until you stop.”

Before she can respond, the door behind her swings open, revealing a man instantly recognizable as the boyfriend. He’s in a disgustingly cheap suit, about 5′11 with red hair and golden brown eyes with his hair pulled back in a low bun.

I automatically want to punch him for some reason, but I deny myself the satisfaction. 

“What’s going on?” he asks, glancing between me and Elain. There’s something in his voice, but it’s not suspicion. It’s surprise. Like he can’t even fathom the idea of seeing her with another man. 

Fucking idiot. 

A woman like her is always going to get male--and probably female--attention. 

“Nothing,” Elain says instantly, taking a step towards him. “This is our neighbor. He moved in Monday.”

“Oh. Hey, man. I’m Lucien.”

I ignore his outstretched hand. “The boyfriend?”

A bit of the friendliness leaves his eyes, and he pulls Elain to him and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “The boyfriend.”

“How exciting,” I mock, sounding like a total prick. I don’t really mean to, but I can’t help it. I mean, this is the guy she’s with? Objectively, I’m man enough to admit he isn’t exactly ugly, but he sounds about as interesting as a can of beans. 

He probably works a desk job. Something in finance. 

And he has Elain? 

It makes no sense. 

Lucien The Boyfriend ignores that statement and looks down at Elain. “I missed you this week,” he mutters before pressing a quick, grossly wet kiss to her lips. 

The surprise in her eyes makes it clear he’s not usually so... affectionate. 

I have to cough to hide a laugh. 

He’s trying to mark his territory, but if he actually looked at his girlfriend’s face, he could easily see how stupid it looked. 

“Have a nice night, lovebirds,” I say sarcastically as I unlock my door, still chuckling to myself. If he kisses her like that, gods know how he fucks her. 

Poor woman. 

~Elain~

Well, that was uncomfortable. 

And embarrassing. 

The little laugh her neighbor had barely attempted to hide made her skin burn. Lucien wasn’t a bad kisser, but neither of them had really been ready for his sudden display of affection. 

Plus, it’s not like the man had tried to hide his reason for kissing her. They hardly ever touched in public. 

Or at home, really. 

It’d been three weeks since they’d slept together, so she knew the kiss was for their audience’s benefit. 

She ignored the gross feeling inside her gut and went to the kitchen to start dinner. 

“That guy’s rude,” Lucien commented, sliding on a bar stool and loosening his tie. “And he looks like a drug dealer.”

The urge to roll her eyes was almost overpowering. He thinks anyone with tattoos is a drug dealer. “He’s nice.”

“So you’ve met before?”

Elain sighed, not knowing how to answer this. “Sort of. He works at the tattoo place across the street, so I bump into him some. I don’t even know his name, though.”

Why was she lying? 

I bump into him? 

Seriously? 

She’d walked with him every day this week. And thought about him all the time. 

Not to mention tonight, when she’d been a second away from finally finding out what his mouth felt like against hers, what it tasted like. 

Gods, just the thought of that encounter made her sweat. 

He knew exactly what he was doing to her. 

And her mind knew, knew, he was dangerous and might very well be involved in all sorts of illegal activities, but her body didn’t give a single shit. 

She wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone before. 

But that was just attraction. What she had with Lucien, that was love. A lifelong, everlasting love. Right?

She slid the plate of reheated chicken and rice in front of her boyfriend and muttered, “I’m going to shower.”

He nodded, not even looking up. 

Two hours later, they were watching a movie in bed, neither of them paying much attention to the screen. There had been a tension between them ever since the weird kissing incident. 

She wasn’t mad, but it had just made her feel a little strange. 

He seemed to notice it, too.

“I love you,” Lucien whispered quietly, rolling on his side to look down at her. “I know things have been weird recently, and I’m sorry. I’m just stressed at work, but I don’t need to bring that home with me. I just... I love you. You know that right?”

She nodded immediately. “I know. It’s okay. I love you, too.”

A small smile on his face, he leaned down to her and kissed her. There was no awkwardness now, thank the gods. 

She thought he’d pull away like usual, but he tilted his head and took it deeper, sliding his tongue in her mouth.

Surprised, she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Something in the back of her mind was hatefully muttering that he was only doing this because of their neighbor, but her body didn’t really mind. It had been weeks, and just being touched made her happy.

Supporting himself on his elbows, he came over her, resting in between her thighs. A hand snuck down and tugged her robe open, then she heard his belt buckle open.

Normally she’d want to take things slower and draw it out, but she didn’t mind tonight. Her body needed him and whatever contact it could get.

A few moments of shuffling, then he pressed against her, and she gasped as he immediately started to move. Okay, maybe a little more drawing it out would have been helpful. 

Her hips moved with him, trying to keep up with his increasing pace. Lucien grunted in her ear, breath hot on her neck. 

It was too much too soon, and he seemed to sense that. His hand came to her breasts, and she moaned softly as he molded one to his touch.

The sound seem to affect him, and he stilled above her, then kissed her deeply.

Elain laid underneath him, heart racing, and tried not to raise an eyebrow. Or laugh. Or cry. 

That was it? The first time they had sex in almost a month, and that was it?

He pulled out slowly, kissed her brow, and rolled over. Her mouth dropped open.

He wasn’t even going to make sure she finished? Because she sure as hell hadn’t. And more than that, he rolled away from her?

They didn’t always have great sex, but it was usually better than that. And he always held her afterward until she fell asleep.

She felt cheap. Used.

Definitely unsatisfied.

Now more than ever, it felt like they were fifty years old. She made him dinners and kept the apartment clean, he worked a desk job at an investment bank, they came home, barely talked, then had unremarkable sex.

She’d known for a while they were in a slump, but now it seemed like it was a permanent thing. 

After waiting until he started snoring soundly, she slipped a hand between her legs, trying to relieve some of the tension.

Gods, that had been awful.

Maybe it was her fault. Maybe it was because she was so worked up from...

Her neighbor’s smirking face popped into her mind. The ache between her legs got worse, and she moaned as she slipped a finger inside herself.

Sitting up suddenly, she pushed his face out of her head. This was wrong.

She couldn’t... fantasize about another man while in the same bed as her boyfriend.

Elain threw her robe on the ground and walked to the shower, ignoring the fact that she’d already taken one tonight. She’d wash this night away and forget about it.

But he appeared in her mind again, shaking his head with a smile. That’s not possible, beautiful.

Hard to forget someone when they were mentally stalking you.

~

The next morning, Lucien was gone before she even dragged herself out of bed. She was technically late, but she didn’t even care. Perk of being her own boss. 

Elain trudged around, getting ready slowly. It had been a long night. Even after her very cold shower, she hadn’t been able to clear her mind and relax. 

When she opened the door, she couldn’t repress her groan. Apparently, his face was stalking him in her head and real life.

“Long night?” he asked, a small, almost victorious smile on his face.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at that expression. She knew him well enough to know he was trying not to laugh. “Yes.”

“Same. Noisy neighbors.”

It took a few moments, but a furious blush exploded on her face as she realized what he was talking about. She knew the walls were thin, but... “Oh, my gods.”

He’d heard!

Oh, gods.

This was really, really bad. 

“Have fun?”

She glared at his annoyingly handsome face, barely resisting the urge to punch that smile away. “Yes. So much fun.”

She was, in fact, a dirty little liar. 

“Mmhm, sounded like it. All three minutes of it.”

An indignant sound escaped her, and he started to laugh. She ignored how lovely the sound was and chanted, “Shut up shut up shut up.”

“Not a chance.” He glanced down at her legs. “Hey, do you need help waking there? Or are you too sore from all that terrible se-”

She slapped a hand over his mouth, and he smiled under her fingers.

“You’re such an asshole,” she told him. “I love him. And he’s a great lover.”

The asshole just raised an eyebrow.

“Usually,” she amended. “He was tired.”

Gently, he pried her hand off his face. “I could be in a coma and do better than three minutes.”

“Pretty sure that’s illegal. And beyond disturbing.”

He smiled. “We going to work?”

Elain glared. “Only if you promise not to make any more comments about my sex life.”

“I haven’t made a single one!” He protested, still smirking. “I’ve been joking about the lack of your sex life, baby girl. Keep up.”

“Oh my gods,” she growled, pushing past him and yanking her door shut.

“At first, I didn’t even know what you guys were doing,” he told her, walking easily beside her as she stormed down the stairs and started down the empty sidewalk. “I heard his weird ass grunt and thought he was working out or something.”

She rolled her eyes.

“But then I heard you moan, and I-”

“I swear I’m going to kill you.”

“Anyway, I heard the boyfriend start snoring, so I figured the debacle was over. But I heard you again.” He smirked down at her. “Wanna tell me what you were doing over there?”

From the look on his face, he knew damn well what she was doing. “You-”

“No, I know you weren’t doing me. Would’ve been a lot louder if you were.”

Her glare could’ve frozen the Sahara. “I was going to say that you are the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”

The man just smiled, more than happy with himself today. Gods, he was insufferable. “I might be annoying, but at least I last longer than your little boyfriend.”

The way he said that made her jaw clench. What was it with the men in her life being completely useless today? It pissed her off. “Oh, I seriously doubt it.”

A dark, almost promising look crept into his hazel eyes, and he leaned down to murmur, “I promise you one thing, Elain. If I had you under me, I wouldn’t stop until you were screaming my name. Maybe not even then.”

She didn’t bother pointing out she didn’t even know his name.

Then he pulled away and smiled, and she noticed they were in front of her store. “Have a nice day, gorgeous.”

She was so fucked. 

_____________________________________________________________

To all my Lucien stands, I don’t really believe he’s complete shit in the sack (yes, yes I do), but I’m trying to write a story here, okay?

Part 3

@astreia-oniria @whimsyrhys @lameomclameo @wineywitch202 @thedarkdemigod @captainthefangirlofhp @elriel4life @queen-of-glass @courtofjurdan @nessiantho @texas-shaped-waffle-maker @stardelia @myshadowsingeraz @tswaney17 @illyriangarbage @nicerhero @fancycrowncat @perseusannabeth @cursebreaker29 @girl-who-reads-the-books @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @superspiritfestival @studyliketate @over300books @justgiu12 @maastrash @bamchickawowow @a-bit-of-a-cactus @aesthetics-11 @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @musicmaam @savemesoon8 @hizqueen4life @maybekindasortaace @poisonous00

[ffangirlingsince2001]

Said and Done

anonymous asked:

Reader is sick. Geralt has been distant lately so he hasn't noticed that they're sick. All of of them are invited to this party-thingy. Yen is there. Then reader realizes why he has been so distant lately. He's been thinking abt Yen. Reader wants to sing Jaskier warns against it. They sing "God is a woman." By ariana grande. Even though they're sick, they nail the high notes and belts .Geralt feels guilty for not noticing reader was sick because he's been distant. Reader leaves Jaskier is pissed

A/N: Before this fic, I had never listened to this song, and I didn’t do exactly what anon requested, but I hope it still works for you. :)

Geralt x Reader

Warnings: sick!reader, angst, fluff

You, you love it how I move you You love it how I touch you My one, when all is said and done You'll believe God is a woman

Your misfortune began with poison, thick and blue, slipped into a glass of ale and stirred until fully incorporated. No one knew who had slipped it into your drink, and they were long gone by the time you had started vomiting across the floor. At first you thought it was food poisoning and then a bug, but when it hadn’t stopped and Jaskier had shown up at your door with a vile, filled with the aforementioned liquid, the situation became much more sinister. So, while you laid in bed desperately trying to keep nutrients in your body, Geralt searched for your assassin and Jaskier searched for an antidote.

And I, I feel it after midnight A feelin' that you can't fight My one, it lingers when we're done You'll believe God is a woman

The antidote came first, along with a very worried bard who helped you into a warm bath and spent most of his earnings on purchasing a feast to help you get back into the groove. You were his costar after all, so it was no surprise that with the summer solstice coming up he needed you in tip top condition. He assured you that it had nothing to do with that, and he simply wanted you to be healthy, but you could tell by the way that he glanced at the sun from the window that he was keeping track of how many days until the festival began. As the days dragged on your health slowly improved, but with a certain Witcher’s absence, the worry that churned in your stomach wasn’t very helpful in easing the illness that wracked your body.

I don't wanna waste no time, yeah You ain't got a one-track mind, yeah Have it any way you like, yeah And I can tell that you know I know how I want it

Then, as if the air could feel your longing, he was beside your bed, cradling your hand. Physically he was back by your side, but something felt off. It seemed impossible to catch his eye and every moment that he was by your side was laced with something almost uncomfortable. You wanted to know what he had learned while searching, but he had insisted that he had found nothing. A feat that, even in your delusional state, seemed near impossibility. He had never failed to find what he was looking for, especially when it was important, but now he lay at your bedside with nothing but a distant look in his eyes.

Ain't nobody else can relate Boy, I like that you ain't afraid Baby, lay me down and let's pray I'm tellin' you the way I like it, how I want it

At first you didn’t notice the way he wouldn’t catch your eye or the way his hand pulled away when you reached for him. When you quietly whispered through the darkness, asking him if he was alright, he only offered a grunt in response. You were worried he was ill, that something terrible had happened on his journey, but one day you had noticed that Jaskier was still treated like a friend worthy of conversing with. It was just you, and for a second you feared he was preparing for you to die. While Jaskier fussed over your health, begging you to eat something or reprimanding you when you tried to stand, Geralt watched you with hooded eyes, saying nothing at all.

And I can be all the things you told me not to be When you try to come for me, I keep on flourishing And he see the universe when I'm the company It's all in me

This difference became even more apparent the morning of the summer solstice. Even though the rolling in your stomach had not ceased and the room danced around you like drunken ballerinas, you sat up. With great effort you pulled yourself to the closet and threw it open, searching for the dress that had been purchased for the night. It was one of the most expensive garments you had ever owned, a gift from the man who had hired you to sing as the sun finally set. The white silk shimmered with every shift, the threads of gold that had been littered through sparkling like the sun rays that turned the sky brilliant shades of pink and orange before it settled beneath the mountains. It was beautiful, and you prayed that you would not empty the contents of your stomach onto its intricated designs.

You were pulling it over your head when Jaskier and Geralt entered the room, both already prepared for the festivities.

“What are you doing?” Jaskier gasped while Geralt merely narrowed his eyes at the skirt of your dress.

“I’m getting ready,” you said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jaskier’s eyes seemed to bug out of his head, and even Geralt spared you a look of disbelief.

“You’re ill,” Jaskier protested and you shook your head.

“The show must go on. I’ve performed in worse,” you shrugged, balancing yourself against the doorframe, daring either to see through your lie. They, of course, did.

You, you love it how I move you You love it how I touch you My one, when all is said and done You'll believe God is a woman

But you went nonetheless. At first, Jaskier had insisted on staying with you but you sent him away with a persistent glare and the insistence that you would not hesitate to punch him. The fresh air against your sickly pale face was wonderful and the smell of flowers and baking fruit filled every nerve in your body. You couldn’t believe you had considered not coming, when here, out in the open, you felt healthier than you had in weeks. The laughter of children and sight of woman dancing to Jaskier’s lute seemed to be the only antidote you needed. It’s not to say that your stomach did not still ache and that when the sun glinted a little too brightly you didn’t wince, but you felt far better than you had even before the poisoning. Everything seemed wonderful, until you spotted them.

And I, I feel it after midnight A feelin' that you can't fight My one, it lingers when we're done You'll believe God is a woman

Tucked away in a corner, beneath a booth of brightly colored scarves was Geralt, and his lovely little wage. Suddenly, everything made sense. The distance, the lack of eye contact, the length at which had taken him to return to your side. He had reconnected with Yennefer. Truth be told, you would be surprised if he had even bothered looking for an antidote once he had found her. She was in great contrast to you, but still he seemed enthralled with every breath she took. Part of you wanted to march over to his side and let him have it, but the other part, a more sane part, allowed you to fade back into the crowd before he noticed you.

I'll tell you all the things you should know So, baby, take my hand, save your soul We can make it last, take it slow, hmm And I can tell that you know I know how I want it, yeah

You avoided the couple for the rest of day, ducking behind carts and hiding behind crowds of dancing couples. You even avoided Jaskier until the sun began to set and you needed you accompaniment for your performance.

“You’re not going to sing,” he insisted but you laughed at him.

“That’s the whole reason we’re here. We can’t disappoint.”

“You’re ill.”

“Just barely.”

“I saw you throwing up half an hour ago.”

“I’ll be fine. This is important to me, and if you don’t want to join me I’ll do it without you.” He sighed in defeat and hefted his lute over his shoulder, motioning for you to lead the way to the stage.

But you're different from the rest And boy, if you confess, you might get blessed See if you deserve what comes next I'm tellin' you the way I like it, how I want it

You took your place in the center and bowed deeply to your employer. The dress he had bought was now glistening like that of an angels, and the crowd was watching you intently. Over the hundreds of heads you could see your Witcher and his mage, staring at you very intently. You sent him the strongest smile you could manage and motioned for the instruments to begin playing. It was almost too easy to come up with the lyrics, to rub in the message that was so important for Geralt to understand. They came easily and before you knew it you were singing, high notes and all.

And I can be all the things you told me not to be When you try to come for me, I keep on flourishing And he see the universe when I'm the company It's all in me

With every note you sang, your stomach churned and you grew a little more lightheaded but you refused to fall when you had a point to make. You had to make him understand, you just had to. You couldn’t bare the idea of him leaving you for Yennefer, not after everything you had been through. You forced every ounce of pain, every ounce of sickness, every ounce of hatred, and every ounce of strength you could muster. Through the song you could feel tears bubbling beneath the surface, but you kept singing.

You, you love it how I move you You love it how I touch you My one, when all is said and done You'll believe God is a woman

The world was going black as the song was finishing. The world was hazy and you weren’t sure how much longer you could keep up the song. And you soon found out that wasn’t much longer. Jaskier had his arms around you and lowered you to the ground before your head could come in contact with the stage beneath you. The crowd around you was gasping and murmuring, rushing forward to check on the star who had fallen before them. You could see Jaskier hovering over you, brushing away stray locks of hair. Even more surprisingly the familiar white hair of your Witcher was tickling your cheek.

And I, I feel it after midnight A feelin' that you can't fight My one, it lingers when we're done You'll believe God is a woman, yeah, yeah

“Y/N,” he yelled, cradling your head, fanning you with about as much grace as someone so big could manage. “Y/N, wake up.”

“Go away,” you groaned pushing him away, turning your eyes away from his with a jerk. “Back to Yennefer.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, she made me, for the antidote,” he begged you, pulling your hand into his. You allowed your eyes to drift back to his and were surprised to find tears running down his face. “I have it, and you’re going to get better.”

“I have you,” you whispered and he nodded, pulling you closer, the little bottle filled with your life force held tightly in his hand, and with the way he was looking at you, you knew that this treacherous chapter in your life was all said and done.

[unholyplumpprincess]

Vengeful Tease

Self indulgent Dark sparks fic that ended up Way bigger than intended.

Summary: With Natalie being a tease in the arena and loving to ‘play with her food’ it leads to a back and forth tease war between herself and Wraith. Leading to a lil bit of exhibitionism inside of Elliott’s bar (Sorry Ellie :( )

Rebogs > Likes. It costs zero dollars to reblog :D

!!!Minors and ageless blogs dni or you will be blocked on sight!!!

Fandom: Apex Legends

Relationship: Wraith/Wattson

Warnings: R18+/NSFT, Trans gal Wattson with cock/dick verbiage for her, teasing, public play, Wraith has lots of body mods and is mildly mentioned, possessive behavior from Natalie, p tame for a lemon!

Words: 4.4k

___________

To say that either of them were clueless in the beginning was an understatement.  

At some point, Natalie had gotten comfortable and close enough to Wraith to call her ‘best friend’. Gleefully shouting it whenever she could and wrapping her arms around Wraith with delight. Yet, on the same hand, Natalie couldn’t ever place why Wraith would only half smile at the term ‘best friend’ and why she was the only one who could hug her without threat of a kunai at her abdomen.  

And on that other hand, Wraith couldn’t place why ‘best friend’ made her heart do a funny thing of almost disappointment. Or why she felt safe enough to let Natalie wrap her arms around her, burying herself into Natalie’s shoulder and curling her fingers at the middle of her back. Or why when Natalie’s perfume lingered on her clothing, that she seemed to perform better in the ring.  

Or why both of them had become so comfortable to the point Wraith could allow affection to her person, or that Natalie knew that Wraith’s room was her comfort area. Or that she could outwardly stim in front of her in ways that someone else would perhaps mock, but Wraith would just smile patiently before proceeding the conversation when Natalie worked it out of her system.  

~Rest under the cut~

Or why when one night, Natalie had been excited to be taught eyeliner and Wraith had stood in front of her, carefully applying it, how both their eyes had lingered on each other’s lips and the tension between them lasted all night.  

Now? Wraith wouldn’t tell you how long it took either of them to catch on. But Natalie would be the first to tell you that Wraith isn’t all salt and vinegar.  

Wraith had...expected it to go a lot smoother- or well, had expected that Natalie might have been the more nervous or shy one. Turns out, Wraith was the one who was nervous and shy, trying to go slow or not sure what was too fast. Their first kiss had been Wraith saying she was finally ready and Natalie beaming so bright and clapping a few times.  

It had taken a whole three minutes for Natalie to stop getting too excited when their faces were close. Herself bursting into giggle fits and murmuring about how exciting this was, grabbing her skirt and flapping it a few times before going, “Okay, okay! We can do this! Gah! You’re so cute- ah hold on-” And having to lean back to ground herself.  

It was Wraith who finally cupped her cheeks and gave her the quickest peck, only to have Natalie giddily climbing into her smaller girlfriend’s lap to press cherry tasting kisses all over her face and lips.  

Elliott had tried to give pointers when Wraith asked, but after finding out he was just as hopeless and projected himself full of experience, it was clear both of them weren’t going anywhere. Certainly not with Elliott a mess himself and gesturing loudly about how he couldn’t even tell Bloodhound that their shots were ext- exarg—extra—extrav- really super cool.  

It didn’t help Pathfinder had patted him on the back and exclaimed in that permanently delighted tone, “It’s alright, best friend! I’m sure they would have shown you first hand what a good shot they are!” And making Elliott groan and thunk his head into his hands.  

At least both Pathfinder and Elliott try to help Wraith with girls. Both having varying inputs until Wraith realizes that the best way to do this is to, well, actually talk to Natalie.  

It goes...great, save for the part where Wraith feels tears sticking to her lashes as her throat clogs up. Trying to get out her fears, of her thoughts, having to try and open up. Natalie is just as patient, sitting with her and asking if she needs a break. Telling her she could write it down instead if that helped. Going so far as to bring Wraith a notebook and markers just in case.  

God, she loved her.  

Now, thankfully, quite a few months into their relationship and coming up on their ‘first year’ according to Natalie who kept track, they’re pretty stable. Keeping communication constant. Well, except for in the arena if they weren’t on the same squad. Natalie certainly made it more of a challenge with her taunting with sniper shots around Wraith’s feet as a warning she was coming to get her.  

Made the killing part less heartbreaking and more like a primal instinct of competition.   

That’s what had happened earlier in a match. Natalie had gotten the upper hand that time all because Mirage had gotten separated from her own duo. Wraith, later, would find it was due to sniper shots chasing him the other direction that were from his own partner, whilst Wraith had been chased the opposite direction with the sound of a revving peacekeeper right on her ass.  

She’d found herself chased into one of the bunkers, managing to get her back to the charge tower so she’d at least have a chance to turn around and maybe portal away. But then she finds herself knocked to the ground and a very cute electrical engineer happily in her lap with a peacekeeper tossed over her shoulder, and Wraith’s L-star slid to the side.  

“Bonjour, mon trésor! Ah, it is a beautiful day for- how did you say it last time? Revenge?” Natalie’s voice is teasing, her eyes bright and delighted as she speaks. Overhead, the announcement for Champion Eliminated goes through the walls and a quick glance at the scoreboards on her arm piece tells Wraith there’s five squads left. And her own teammate is a death box.  

“Mmh. Can’t recall. Was it before or after you screamed?” Wraith teases back, already accepting her fate. There wasn’t a way around it, her own weapons too far, even the kunai on her calf couldn’t be reached with Natalie straddling her lap. She could probably roll her over, but even then, she risked Natalie being quicker. And judging by the four other whispers curling on the left side of her head, that is precisely what would happen.  

Regardless of the tease, Natalie is beaming bright at her, leaning down to peck her nose. “I’ll see you from the champion’s pedestal. Bye bye!” Before Wraith feels the blast of a revved-up peacekeeper and finds herself waking up in the medical bay and in desperate need of a shower.  

True to her word, Natalie and Bloodhound place as the top duo. It’s sweet to see Natalie bounce on the screen from the showers where Wraith was getting dressed. Watching as she holds her fist out for Bloodhound who hesitates before gently bumping their own to her fist- much to her girlfriend’s delight.  

Elliott is the one who suggests a little get together at his bar that night. To celebrate their victory, he says. So, it ends up with almost all the legends at his bar. Revenant, Alexander, nor Crypto attend, all having varying excuses.   

Wraith tries to back out, but upon seeing Natalie’s joy at the idea of a day out, she’s quick to agree herself.  

It’s when she arrives at Natalie’s room do things heat up. Wraith arrives with some outer wear of a cropped leather jacket, a black lacy bralette and matching torn up, high waisted skinny jeans and her boots. Her hair is down, washed and in gentle waves curling onto her shoulders. She’s even got a bit of eyeliner and lipgloss on, and the black choker with a silver heart on that Natalie had gotten her.  

Once she’s in, she’s quickly dragged into the bedroom and told to wait right there as Natalie disappears into her bathroom to get dressed. A laugh bubbles from Wraith’s lips, her pierced tongue flicking across her lips, “Nat, not that I mind you wanting to change in the other room- but I’ve seen you naked before.” 

“But! I have a surprise for you! I got a new dress, just- let me-” There’s a small struggle noise on the other side of the door that makes Wraith bite her lip to resist laughing. Hearing the small ‘pat pat’ of Natalie trying to jump her way into something and the sound of shimmying before the door opens up.  

All that peeks out is her head, allowing Wraith to see her huge smile narrowing her bright blue eyes that have a touch of pink eyeshadow clouded around them. Her hair is a bit frazzled, her short, triangular bob looking almost like static is making it float. Her undercut at her nape looked freshly shaven too once she turns her head as if to peek back into the bathroom, and Wraith was dying to get her hands on its velvety texture.  

“Well?” Wraith gestures to the still closed door and watches Natalie grin softly this time, as if she’s shy. There’s a moment where she seems too nervous, or even too excited before she pulls back the door and stands in the doorway with her hands in the air excitedly.  

“Ta-da!” Natalie happily exclaims, doing a small twirl where she stands to show it off in full. It looked tailor made, a cotton candy blue fabric covered with yellow lightning bolts dress with tied straps at her shoulders in sweet little bows. The top was a bit low, showing off her cleavage with the top part looking to be made out of stretchy fabric. Down to a fitted waist with a flared-out skirt at her hips with a fluffy petticoat underneath, much like a sundress, that reached just above her knees. What she must have been jumping into must have been the fishnet tights she had on, going into her everyday pink and blue sneakers.  

She looks the direct opposite of Wraith. Bright, sunny, bubbly, sweet.  

She’s watching you.  

Are you just going to stare?  

You’re making it obvious-  

Wraith mentally tries to block out the sounds of the whispering that remind her. At least twelve fawning over their- her- their—no her girlfriend. Clearing her throat as she tries to find her voice with the throbbing echo lingering. “Y-yeah it’s- uh. It’s definitely cute. You look beautiful, Nat. Did you cut your hair?”  

“Yes! You noticed? Would you like to feel?” As if reading her mind, Natalie’s already coming closer, tilting her head down so Wraith can reach up. Feeling over the soft fuzzy of her nape until her hand drops to cup there.  

For a brief moment they look at each other, with their faces close and Natalie’s eyes flickering down to Wraith’s parted, plump lips. Gently, Natalie’s resting her arms over Wraith’s shoulders, looping them and smiling oh so softly at her as Wraith’s fingers idly trace over her nape.  

Kiss her.  

Kiss her, what are you waiting for?  

Kiss her she wants you to, she wants you to, she wants you to...  

She wants you to kiss her.  

“Too loud?” Natalie murmurs, snapping Wraith from her glazed state. Her bright white eyes flicker up to read Natalie’s expression, patient as ever with a soft smile. Wraith gives one back, letting her hand slowly drop from her nape to let both hands rest on the dips of Natalie’s waist. Gently thumbing over the fabric there.  

“Nothing bad.” She reassures her, tilting her head ever so slightly and watching as Natalie follows the motion, leaning ever so slightly closer until their breath mingles. “Lookin’ to quiet my mind?”  

A grin splits across Natalie’s face, her eyes brightening with a mischievous little expression. “Anything for you, mon bébé.”   

That’s how they end up late to the bar. When Natalie had kissed her, holding Wraith tighter, she had moaned and grabbed at her waist tighter. Resulting in gently getting pressed backwards until Wraith fell onto the bed and had Natalie in her lap. Her skirt fanned around them and over her hips, a memory of the arena and the sound of the peacekeeper distant in her mind when Natalie kisses her again.   

It really isn’t Wraith’s fault when she ends up with small hickeys on her neck surrounding her choker. Nor is it Wraith’s fault when Natalie is grinding against her lap, panting into her ear about how badly she wanted Wraith to touch her. Whining about how good she could be for her, how she’d do anything to have Wraith’s legs spread, please, please, please, she just wanted to taste her-  

But it is Wraith’s fault for reminding her they had a bar to get to.  

That results in Natalie huffing, at first starting to make an excuse, but then she sits up. Her eyes sparkling and fluttering her lashes despite her flushed face. “Alright. You’re right. Let’s go.” Said in a perfectly sweet tone as she slides off Wraith’s lap and adjusts her skirt. Wraith is certainly thrown for a loop, and not liking the mischief in her girlfriend’s eyes when Wraith narrows her eyes in suspicion at her sweetness.  

When they arrive, Elliott greets them brightly. Though his eyes do linger a moment on Wraith’s neck, giving her a playful look of raised eyebrows whilst she cranes her neck to the side to see a bite mark in double canine placements on his own neck, making the same face back at him. Their quiet exchange quickly left to just quiet when Elliott quickly shoots a look her way that says to drop it before she can make a remark.  

Wraith realizes quickly why Natalie had been so quick to agree. Because this meant she could do her favorite thing: Teasing.  

When they sit down for their drinks with everyone else at the bar table, Natalie idly rests a hand on Wraith’s thigh. Squeezing there whilst maintaining conversation as her fingers slide into Wraith’s inner thigh. “Oui! Bloodhound was a fantastic duo partner- do you think our sponsors would allow us to go again? I am sure Elliott will not mind having his butt kicked again?”  

Resulting in Elliott grinning as he yells, “Hey, hey, hey! I wasn’t the only one getting my ass kicked by their own partner!” He’s quick to defend, shooting a look to Wraith who thanks the lights overhead that her heated face is not seen. Nor is anyone paying attention to where Natalie’s other hand is besides the one tapping the table. The one under it gently squeezing Wraith’s inner thigh until she parts her thighs and feels fingers tracing along the seam of her crotch.  

“I let her win.” Wraith coolly replies, shooting a glance to Natalie who feigns an offended gasp and expression.  

“You did not!”  

“And you think I’d just let myself be hounded into a bunker if it was anyone else?”  

“Yes! Because you were out of ammo!” Natalie cheekily replies, squeezing her thigh once more before leaning away to make conversation with Makoa who is howling with laughter at this point.  

Wraith feels herself throb and curses herself when she glances over to see Natalie leaned over the table a bit and able to get an eyeful of her cleavage.  

This was going to be harder than she thought. Especially with Natalie not catching anyone’s attention with her subtlety.  

--  

This happens the rest of the night. With soft whispers in Wraith’s ear when no one’s looking, softly biting her pierced lobes, to kissing up her neck when no one’s looking. To grabbing her ass when they’re both getting up to get drinks, keeping herself behind Wraith so she could slide a hand from behind and under her to rub at her through her jeans. It was torture, not to mention the thrill of the public play really sending Wraith over.   

It isn’t until Natalie goes to the bathroom and everyone starts to move and do their own thing like darts or pool does Wraith get a  text.  She pulls it out at the table, instantly feeling a flush over her body to see Natalie in the private stall mirror with her ties undone on her shoulders and breasts exposed. One hand pulling her skirts up to show she’s not wearing panties and the fishnets keep her exposed, the other taking the picture cheekily with the caption, “Want to create sparks between us?” with little lightning bolt emojis spread around the image.  

Natalie was really going to be the death of her with her adventurous taste. But, not like Wraith would want to even say no as she’s getting out of her seat and letting Elliott know she’s feeling a bit overwhelmed so she’s going to go to the bathroom. He’s understanding and kind as always, telling her to text him if she needs anything and if he sees Natalie he’ll let her know!  

He knows.  

Can’t lie to him.  

Bloodhound is watching him.  

They look hungry.

Thanks, great, guys. Now’s not the time to worry about if Elliott is going to get pounced either. More important things at hand like trying to go to the restroom area and figure out which room Natalie is in.   

On your left.  

An echo relaying through Wraith’s mind just as a door peeks open on her left and her jacket sleeve is caught, dragging her into one of the private bathrooms. The click of the automatic lock behind her sounds deathly loud despite the soft bass boosted music still thrumming in the restroom. Wraith has her back against the door, looking up at Natalie who still has her top pulled down. And even despite having seen her naked more times than she could count, Wraith still politely maintains her eyes on her girlfriend’s face.  

“Hi,” Natalie smiles, her voice soft as she comes a little closer. Only briefly making eye contact with Wraith before having to glance away. Their bodies are pressed together now, her chest against Wraith and her warmth spilling over their bodies. She’s coy in the way she leans her head in, tilted ever so slightly and breath fanning across Wraith’s lips. “Is...this something you would be interested in?”  

The smallest question of consent, the smallest gesture that Wraith could back out, that relaxes her entire body all at once. A sigh exhaling from her glossy lips and watching as Natalie licks her own nervously. Wraith can’t help the soft laugh that escapes her, gently reaching up to cup Natalie’s cheek and swiping her thumb over the scarring on her face softly. “Think it’s a little hard for me not to be interested.”  

It’s the playful tone that makes Natalie smile, leaning into Wraith’s hand briefly before being guided forward into a kiss. At first it’s gentle, with both of Wraith’s hands coming up to rake through Natalie’s hair. Wraith is the first to nip at her bottom lip to make Natalie moan softly, pressing their bodies closer and one of her hands coming down to grab Wraith’s thigh and hitching it around her waist.  

“Nat-” Wraith whines out when their kiss breaks, Natalie kissing down her jawline and down her neck to where the smaller bruises had been from earlier. A gasp chokes from her lungs when Natalie bites down on one, sucking over the flesh to leave it darker and large just beneath her choker.  

“You chose to wear your choker one purpose, oui?” Natalie teases when she pulls back, using her free hand to trace her fingers over the new bruise. Pulling her fingers up and tucking just underneath the choker through the little heart in the front to give a little tug.  

Wraith’s face flushes, because yeah okay maybe she did. She almost picked her collar instead, black with silver studs, looked perfectly suitable for outside. But the embarrassment had been too strong.   

Natalie’s mouth finds her neck again, softly kissing until she finds the  spot  she wants to create a bigger bruise. Wraith hisses, gently tugging at her hair as she manages to get out, “Yes- fuck, Nat, they’re going to see-”  

“Let them see.” She murmurs back against her neck, kissing down her body as she starts to sink to her knees. God, she looked pretty like that, Wraith thinks. Her skirt fanned around her  waist, top pulled down to reveal her C cup breasts with little beauty marks dotting them. Wraith’s mouth waters at the idea of getting her mouth on them, but is quickly distracted when she feels her jeans being undone.  

“I’ve been thinking about this since earlier,” Natalie sighs as she pulls Wraith’s jeans down with her help of a small shimmy. Pulling them down to mid-thigh with her panties and sighing at the sight of her. Wraith’s cunt had dark, soft hair there with the hair at her lower lips darker from her wetness. Her clit was on the larger side, enough to be a mouthful.  

Natalie groans, nuzzling her nose against her mound to inhale her scent, breathing out her next words, “I almost asked to take you in the woods outside- but, I was unsure if this would even be ‘up your alley’.”  

Wraith swears at even the mental image of Natalie taking her outside. Having her up against a tree and having to cover her own mouth as Natalie touched her. Thinking about the sweet, noisy thing that Natalie was when she was being touched, how she probably couldn’t keep quiet enough- someone would come see-  

“Fuck-” Wraith gasps out, feeling Natalie part her lower lips and quickly running her tongue from her hole to clit. Her head  thunks  backwards onto the wall, one hand coming down to quickly fist into her hair and feeling her face burn when she feels Natalie moan back against her.  

It wasn’t a surprise to her that Natalie liked to give head, an oral fixation of sorts she had explained, it helped keep her mind clear. Leading to Wraith some nights ending up only receiving head for hours at a time until she was overstimulated and couldn’t think.  

Worked out great for them both to clear their minds.  

It’s really hard to think of where they’re at right now with Natalie moaning against her cunt. Hands holding onto Wraith’s hips to keep her still despite her desperate attempts at trying to press her hips forward. Wraith’s much quieter between the two of them, sighs and gasps leaving her, occasionally looking down to watch how Natalie noses at her. Or to see how she backs up and peeks up to briefly catch Wraith’s gaze as she presses a wet kiss over her plump clit.  

Wraith’s breath catches in another swear, curling her fingers at the back of Natalie’s head to hold her still. Trying to fuck her hips towards her mouth and finding Natalie still has a grip of her hips. The look Wraith is given could make her fall to her knees at how Natalie looks under her lashes, a smile quirking her lips as she suckles on her clit. Leaving one last, long lick before she’s pulling her head back to start peppering kisses over Wraith’s exposed hips and belly.  

“Nat- Nat, come on, that isn’t fair-” Wraith breathes out, her clit throbbing and already feeling the denial edging through her body. It doesn’t help when Natalie leans down, blowing cool air over her and still keeping her held still so Wraith can’t even buck. “Nat! Fuck, come on we’re in- we're in public-”   

“You know what I want to hear, mon coeur.”   

Please.  

You know the rules, behave.  

She wants to hear you say please.  

Just beg. Don’t fight. Look at her.  

And Wraith does look at her, watching how Natalie looks up at her with such adoration. Her lips glossy from the wetness sticking to her and her own saliva, no shame in her eyes when she leans forward to give a sloppy, wet kiss to leave Wraith wanting more.  

Even with Wraith’s hands in her hair, fingers shaking and trying so hard to guide Natalie’s pretty mouth back to her clit, it doesn’t work. She swallows thickly, practically on her tiptoes to try and gain some sort of leverage, but she quickly finds it doesn’t work.  

“Please- please, please, let me cum. Baby, please?”  

“Mmh...And what else?”  

“I...” Wraith breathes out a soft sound when Natalie goes back to properly eating her out. Licking at her hole to get her wetness and gliding her tongue back up to her clit. Properly sealing her lips around it and moving her tongue just underneath to feel the harsh throbbing of Wraith getting close. “I’m- I’m yours! I’m yours, I’m yours!”   

Wraith’s voice is a quiet, desperate shout, and that seems to be the magic word because Natalie’s moving her skirt out of the way and letting go of Wratih. Holding her skirt up in one hand and the other maneuvering her cock free from the fishnets to jerk herself off. Wraith wastes no time in curling her fingers into the blonde hair, holding Natalie still as she humps against her face, fucking her face earnestly with soft gasps leaving her throat.

Natalie moves her own hand in sync to the small humps, taking it like a champ with her own soft moaning fueling Wraith. It isn’t long before Wraith’s cumming, letting out a small cry and holding Natalie right in place so she can still fuck against her mouth. Riding out the waves until she’s satisfied with a shaky exhale and leaning back against the door.  

When Natalie’s mouth is no longer busy getting fucked, a loud moan passes her lips just as Wraith reaches down to cup her cheek affectionately. Sliding her hand down to grab Natalie’s chin, angling her face upwards to see slick coating her chin and her eyes glazed over. Poor thing.   

“Open your mouth, Nat.” Passes from her lips softly, watching as Natalie obediently does so, so Wraith can slide two fingers into her mouth to give her something to suck on. It muffles her whining too, her hips desperately fucking up into her own grip. She looked so cute like that, and not to mention, Wraith had some vengeance to enact for making her embarrassed. Both in the arena, and in here.  

“You wanna fuck me, sweetheart?” Wraith croons out, watching as Natalie’s eyes flutter and she makes the sweetest ‘mmhhmm’ sound around her fingers.  

A smile plays on her lips as she presses her fingers further into Natalie’s mouth to make her choke a bit, whining around her fingers as Wraith croons again, “Maybe if you’re a good girl I’ll let you fuck my thighs here and maybe, maybe I’ll ride you when we’re home, hm?”  

Judging by the high whine and Natalie’s eyes tearing up, she’s going to take that as a ‘yes’.  

Boy, she really hopes Elliott doesn’t come looking for them.  

[lordterronus]

Creatorverse Fanfic Chapter Two

Creatorverse – Self Indulgent Stories

Chapter Two – Nobody’s Home

I had no idea where exactly we were going. Somewhere called Creatorverse was the only information I had for sure. Shandy assured me that I would love it there, and that it would be a wonderful place, but as for what it actually looked like, I had no idea. Nor did I know where exactly it was.  

I could tell it was far beyond the strange technicolour void of bubbles I was in before. I had gathered that it was a sort of prison, though how I had gotten myself there, or how Wib appeared still remained a mystery.

“We’re here!” Shandy said, pointing at what appeared to be a large white bubble. It was bigger than any of the previous coloured ones, and somehow slightly unnerving.

“This is Creatorverse?” I asked, my voice becoming very deep. Yet another change I had to deal with. “It’s… not what I expected.” I had imagined something more vibrant, but instead it was looking rather empty. Shandy laughed a little.

“This is just the entrance. It’s a lot better inside, even if it still a work in progress.” She said. I would have tilted my head, but since my head was currently also my body, I instead simply did my best to look confused.

“What are waiting for?!” Lorel yelled. “We have an anime duel to stop!” She raised her hand and displayed her CREATE button. I couldn’t get a good look at it before a large ‘CV’ appeared, accompanied by a glowing yellow portal in the centre of the bubble. I could tell this was our way in.

“Let’s go, before they blow the place up!” Lorel’s words were punctuated by an explosion that was, for some bizarre reason, coloured pink.

“Is that normal?”

“For here? It’s just another Tuesday.”

“Ah.” I said. “That’s concerning.” I didn’t have the time to say anything else before we were suddenly diving into the portal. I had to cover my face from the sudden shift in light. When I removed my hand, however, what I saw was incredible.  

There was still a lot of blank white space, largely in the sky. But there was a large patch of land with a sunset sky and grassy fields illuminated and appearing a deep blue in colour. Strewn around the landscape were buildings of all possible shapes and sizes and around a dozen in the ‘impossible’ category. Some were floating, others appeared submerged in bubbles of water, still others had more ridiculous features, like a series of organised tornadoes instead of a fence.

It was the people that really caught my eye though. Or, my face, I guess? Whatever, they had my attention.

Many of them appeared to be humanoid for the most part, with some exceptions. I saw a surprising number of skeletons wandering around, some even looking vaguely familiar to me for some reason. There were several anthropomorphic animals around, and even some strange, shapeless figures. The variety was astounding.

Suddenly, being a walking question mark with limbs was starting to seem normal.

I didn’t have too much time to take in the scenery before we landed. Shandy gently placed me down on the ground. The scenery appeared in greater clarity to me. The shapeless figures were much clearer and I could see so much further with my cane on the ground again. But I wasn’t so much focused on the sights as I was the feeling.

“What the hell?!” My voice was suddenly as high as a kite as I exclaimed my surprise. There was an indescribable movement flowing through the entire area. It was electric and powerful, and somehow… familiar? I had the feeling of returning home after a long holiday rather than seeing a brand-new place for the first time.

“You feeling it?” Lorel crossed her arms and seemed to smile. “This world is just brimming with creative energy. We call it Motivation. Every one Creator here is worth ten of us out there, sometimes more.”

“She’s in the ‘more’ category.” Shandy grinned at Lorel, who blushed a little and smiled back.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my wife.” Shandy chuckled at Lorel’s remark. Before anyone could speak any further, however, a third voice chimed in.

“WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!”

“Oh crap!” Lorel said. “Shandy, take the newbie and hide!”

“I’m not just going to abandon you!”

“If you hide, you’ll be safe!”

“But what about you?!”

“What is even happening?!” I interrupted with a shrill yell. “Are we under attack? Is it Wib again?!”

“Wib? You mean that Blockhead?” Lorel asked before shaking her head and dismissing the thought. “Never mind, it’s not important. What IS important is you two getting away from-!”

“Away from who?” The third voice interrupted, and Lorel shrieked. I looked towards them, preparing to transform for a fight. They felt intimidating, with a great amount of power and presence. However, they didn’t seem like an enemy in spite of that.

“H-hey Ly! We were… at the bathroom?” Shandy scratched her head nervously. Lorel placed her hand in her palm, seemingly either cringing or hiding amusement. I couldn’t tell from so low down and in my vision limited form.  

“Really? So, I’m guessing that that,” The new figure gestured towards me. “Came from the toilet?”

“Hey!” I said. My voice shifted to a slightly lower pitch than I would have liked. “I take offence to that!” The figure seemed to glance at me briefly in confusion. She – I guessed from the voice and what little I could tell that she was a she – then looked back to Lorel and Shandy.

“It can talk?”

Okay, that was the last straw.

“It’s she, actually.” I said, drawing attention to myself. I took the opportunity to transform into my second stage. I had taken to calling it ‘V2’. I had no idea why, it just felt right. I felt my body growing and expanding, my legs and arms spreading out. My cane matched the growth of my body, as did my hat. My head split into a head and torso, and the limbs adjusted themselves accordingly. At my full height, I seemed to be the tallest person present. My sword seemed to slide out from my new right hand, and I grabbed it by the handle. I lifted it towards the face of the figure.

“And she can do a lot more than talk.”

There was a tension in the air as the figure seemed to glare at me for a moment. I glared back at her. I could see her much more clearly now. She appeared to be a little bulkier than the other people I had encountered. She had short black hair and glasses, set upon what appeared to be a pig’s snout. Her skin appeared to be a reddish pink, and she had the tail of a monkey visible from behind her.

What would a combination between a pig and a monkey be? Monkig? Ponkey? I liked Ponkey.  

“Ly,” Shandy said, stepping between the two of us. “She’s a Creator. Lorel and I had to leave to save her from being imprisoned with a Blockhead.” She explained. The figure that was apparently named Ly glanced over with a raised eyebrow. She was still for a moment, before stepping back and letting out a laugh.

“I see! So that’s where you two were. Running off on adventures without me.” I lowered my sword. She seemed to be friendly, and Shandy and Lorel seemed no longer afraid. I guessed she was just the stern type.

“Well, she’s got spirit. I think I like her!” Ly said, seemingly examining me for a moment. “What’s your name?” She said, speaking to me directly for the first time.

“I…” I hesitated. I still wasn’t sure on my name. “It’s just Nobody, for now at least.” I answered. My sword retracted itself into my arm, and I raised a hand. Ly shook it, and I noticed that she had quite a strong grip. She released my hand, which was now a little sore, and turned to Shandy and Lorel.  

“Glad you had a successful rescue mission,” Ly said, glancing at me for a moment. “But next time, maybe you could give your wife a little more warning.” I looked at all three of them, slightly confused.

“Wait, who’s married to who now?”

“We’re all married to each other!” Shandy excitedly said, pulling Lorel and Ly into a big hug. I chuckled a little at the sight. Lorel seemed slightly cross, but wasn’t objecting to the hug, whilst Ly returned it with equal, or perhaps greater enthusiasm.

“Ah, neato!” I said. Before I could any further words, however, there was a sudden and loud explosion from behind us. I quickly attempted to pull out my Create Button, but Shandy stopped me.

“Calm down,” She sighed. “That’s just Slime and Andrew.” If I had a face capable of the motion, I have no doubt that I would have shown a confused frown. As it was, my face and chest remained a question mark, though briefly switched to an exclamation mark for a second.

“Who and what now?” I said, turning towards the explosion. Standing a small distance away from us, there was a figure who appeared to be entirely pink. They were carrying a sharp sword, and overall, they exuded an aura of fear.

“Oh no, they’ve already gone full pink mode.” Lorel said. I had no idea what exactly pink mode was, but I took it to mean that they were not usually so monochromatic in appearance. A transformation of some kind must have taken place.  

“This has gone on long enough, Andrew!” The pink figure raised their sword in front of them and seemed to smile menacingly. “Why do you insist on this battle? We already know how it will end…” I couldn’t tell if they were trying to threaten this Andrew person, or if they were just tired of fighting. I guessed it was some mix of the two.

After a moment, there was a spinning green tornado of energy that appeared before the pink swordsman. It dissipated, leaving a slightly disoriented looking person with brown hair and square glasses. They were dressed in a green ninja outfit, and held two katanas. Overall, they seemed much more relaxed than the pink swordsman.

“Eh.” The green figure I assumed to be Andrew said. “It’s a good way to introduce our characters.” The pink swordsman, who by process of elimination must have been the one called Slime – not what I expected with that sort of name – growled angrily at Andrew.

“Still speaking in riddles and nonsense.” They took a battle stance. “Perhaps I’ll have to remove your tongue before I can understand your words!”

“Sure, if you think you can.” Andrew seemed very relaxed about this whole affair, as though this was an everyday occurrence. I got the impression from the others that they weren’t wrong in that assumption.  

“They’ve been at it all day.” Ly sighed. “I tried to stop them, but they’re determined to keep going. The number of houses we’ve had to rebuild in the past hour alone…” She looked off, seemingly trying to count. I looked over at Slime and Andrew, who both seemed to have energy radiating off of them like bursts of lightning.

“We have to do something.” I said, determined. The others looked at me curiously. I summoned my sword in my hand and gripped it tightly. “I’m still pretty new here, but I get the impression we shouldn’t really be destroying stuff in a place for Creators.” Lorel grinned at my words, whilst Shandy seemed to shrug.

“Would if I could. I’m unarmed.” She said. I was surprised, but it did make sense. Still, I made a mental note to give her a weapon at some point. I could easily make something, and she was partially responsible for saving my life.

“Lorel? Maybe try shooting some fire at them or something?” I asked. She seemed all too happy to oblige my request, flying into the air quickly and taking a vantage point between the two. She readied her flames. When the two figures charged at each other with their blades, she tossed a blast down.

Or, I assume it was meant to be a blast of fire. For some bizarre reason, she ended up throwing down a sandwich of some kind. It landed on Slime’s hair. I was almost sure I heard a bird tweeting as they looked up to the source of the blast. They grinned.

“Lorel, hi!” They sounded much different than they did when talking to Andrew. Their voice was much more friendly. If it wasn’t for the menacing expression on their pink face, I would have called it wholesome. “Wanna help me beat Andrew some more?”

“Sounds fun, but I probably should’nt-”

“Please.” Andrew said. “I could easily beat you both.” If I had a mouth, it would have flung open, but as it was, I still remained with a question mark, though it flickered between that and an exclamation point.

“Is that a challenge?” Lorel asked, seemingly intrigued. I was torn between anger and panic, as it seemed that now I would not only have failed to stop the fight, but escalated it. I could only hope that Andrew would realise their mistake-

“It is. What are you going to do about it?”

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” I screamed. Andrew seemed to hear me, but no one else reacted. They briefly glanced towards me and shrugged.

“Not my fault a good story needs some action.” They said, only confusing and frustrating me further. I looked to Lorel, who to my surprise, seemed to have coloured herself pink to match Slime.

“Oh, it is on now!” She said. Slime laughed and turned their attention back to Andrew, who seemed somehow pleased with this turn of events. I could only conclude that they had the self-preservation instincts of a goldfish, and a particularly dull goldfish at that.  

“One of you please do something!” I looked to the others. Shandy and Ly looked at each other and shrugged.

“I’m still unarmed.”

“I’ve been trying all day. I’m too tired to fight any more.”

Unfortunately, it seemed that I had no choice but to act myself. Slime charged at Andrew once again, and Lorel dove down from above and followed his path. Andrew readied his blades, but before either of their opponents could reach them, they were blocked by a sword and cane.

“I hate you…” I gritted out, trying to block the two’s strong double assault. Either I was stronger thanks to all of the adrenaline running through my body, or they were holding back. Whatever it was, I was astonished that I was able to hold them off for even a few moments. “So much right now. And I don’t even know you.”

“Don’t be like that, Protagonist.” Was that some kind of nickname for me? I didn’t much care for it. Andrew grinned at me. “Trust me, this is gonna be fun.” In a flash, he had once again become a spinning green tornado of energy. I had no idea how they were doing that, but it seemed very familiar. Maybe something to do with the ninja clothes?

“They managed to force Slime back, and the sudden lack of force allowed me to spin around and strike Lorel with the side of my sword. I didn’t want to do any serious damage here, just stop the fighting. She was launched back, but not by much.

“Ah, a two on two battle!” Slime seemed eager. “Perfect for making my victory all the sweeter!” They laughed ominously. My face and chest went to an exclamation mark and I waved my arms in surprise.

“What? No! That is not what’s happening-!” I didn’t have time to finish, as I had to hastily dodge a fireball from Lorel. I summoned my Create Button to the ground and retaliated with a series of icy spikes that proceeded from the ground to follow her, but she flew up into the air. Andrew was in hot pursuit, using some admittedly impressive parkouring skills to get into the air.  

“Okay, I guess that is what’s happening now.” I sighed. “I miss Wib. They were way more relaxing.” I raised my cane and barely managed to block a strike from Slime. Before I could retaliate, they launched a kick to my stomach. I dropped my cane and fell over. They grabbed my arm and proceeded to try to throw me over their body.

Thinking quickly, I summoned my Create Button onto the ground. As I impacted with the floor, I summoned forth a bolt of lightning. It stung as it travelled through to my sword, but I managed to send the bolt through the metal and blast Slime back.  

“Impressive.” They said. “Before I smite you for this, what is your name?” I grew agitated. I really wished people would stop asking me that. I didn’t have anything I could say. I stood and raised my sword. My legs were a little wobbly without my cane. I supposed this would make for some good practice.

“I’m Nobody.” I said, glaring fiercely at Slime. “And I’m the one who’s going to finish this.”  I didn’t mean to sound so dramatic about it, but I supposed that their excitement was rubbing off on me just a little bit. I charged forth, my sword in one hand and my Create Button in the other.

“Woo!” Shandy cheered, and I turned for a moment to see her and Ly watching from a distance. Ly had managed to get some popcorn.

Unfortunately, Slime took advantage of my distraction, hitting me with the hilt of their blade and sending me flying back.

“Ouch!” Shandy winced. “Sorry about that.” I glared at her.

“You sure you can’t do anything?!” I yelled. Ly placed a hand in front of her and stared at me with a serious expression.

“We’re staying out of this one.” She said. She grinned at me for a moment. “Besides, I wanna see what you can do!”

Was everyone here out of their minds?!  

“I’m starting to regret coming here.” I wasn’t being entirely honest. This was surprisingly very fun. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was desperate to stop all the fighting and destruction here, I might have been enjoying myself a lot more. Hell, I might want to join in for a more organised battle. But that was for another time.

Right now, I had to live up to my words and end this.

I readied my sword and took a stance, finally preparing myself for a strike. Slime took notice, and hesitated, moving carefully around me and trying to find an opening. Finally, after what felt like hours, they charged at me.

If I had a mouth, I would have smirked.

I ducked under their initial strike, disorienting them for a moment. I summoned my Create Button right from under their legs.

“Ice prison.” I said. Slime tried to move, but I grabbed their leg, dropping my sword in the process.

“CREATE!”  

I threw myself back as Slime became trapped in a block of ice, leaving only their head vulnerable. They growled a little before sighing. It seemed I had successfully managed to immobilise them. At least for the moment. I just hoped that they wouldn’t break out.

“Alright, one down.” I sighed, taking a moment to breath. “Now I just have to deal with either Lorel or Andrew, and that should be the end of it.” Much easier said than done, especially given that one could seemingly become a tornado, whilst the other could shoot fire and fly. I turned, ready to try to find them, when Andrew just appeared in front of me.

“Gah!” I let out a small shriek of surprise. Andrew appeared to be unfazed. They extended their hand, holding my cane out to me.

“You dropped this.” They said. “I’m guessing it’s important.” I reached out hesitantly, and took the cane from their hand. Their katanas were both strapped to their back, in a way that looked very impressive, if not very practical.

“Thanks,” I said. “What happened to Lorel?” Andrew grinned at me as I spoke.

“I took care of her.” They said proudly. “A little green ninja action!” They made various noises and fast motions with their arms that I couldn’t help but laugh at. I was still surprised though. The fact that they had managed to defeat Lorel was rather impressive based on what I had seen.

“Well, kinda.” They said. “In reality I just ran away until they flew into a wall. It was some great comic relief.”

“Comic relief?” I said, now concerned. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine, don’t worry. I got our healer before I came over here. Glad I don’t have to take down Slime again.” Andrew said, ignoring Slime growling at them and struggling in the ice. “Besides, it happened off-screen. It’ll be fine.” If I had eyebrows, I would have raised one in confusion. I was finding my face rather ill-suited to covering my emotional state clearly.

“Yeah, that was pretty tough. Maybe don’t leave me to handle your battles next time? Or just don’t destroy stuff in your epic anime showdowns.” Andrew laughed. I wasn’t sure if they were taking me seriously when I said that.

“Yeah, that’s fair. But you have to admit,” They said. “It was pretty fun! Besides, you handled yourself pretty well.”

“I agree!” I jumped back in shock, as it seemed Shandy had used her invisibility to sneak uo and surprise me after the battle. “That was pretty fun to watch!”

“How long were you standing there?!”  

“Just about a minute.” She said. “I considered helping with a sneak attack, but you seemed to have things covered.”

“A bold assumption.” I said, only half-joking. “I only wish you could’ve helped earlier…” I said, before a sudden burst of inspiration came to me. I pulled out my Create Button and focused on creating a small weapon. The end result was a slingshot, which I handed to Shandy.

“Here you go. You’re armed now.” I said, jokingly. “Maybe next time it can be two on three?” Shandy smiled down at the slingshot before looking up to me with a big grin.  

“I love it! Thanks Nobody!” She said. I was surprised for a moment, since it was intended as more of a joke than anything, but if she was happy, I suppose that was a fine outcome.

“Nice birthday gift.” Andrew said next to me. “I should have thought of that.”

“Huh. Happy birthday, I guess.” I said to Shandy. “Now I feel bad for complaining so much.”

“It’s fine! Like I said, I had fun watching the fight.” She replied. “In fact, you might do well on missions.”

“Missions?” I asked. I had a feeling the answer to this would be important. “What do you mean?”

“Oh boy,” Andrew said. “You’ve got a lot to learn here.”

[END] 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO @shandycandy278! I really wanted to get this chapter done in time for today, so I hope you like it. Just like last time, a bunch of crazy people under the delusion that my writing is somehow good wanted me to tag them, so in no particular order - @blossomtato, @onlyplatonicirl, @156lemongummies, @insane-but-smart, @lynn-does-stuff, @ava-the-lost-artist, @burned-ramen-2, @chais-chaos-corner, @i-am-the-unknown-shadow, @andrewture, @midgardiankat and lastly @creatorverse! (Why do so many people want to see my word vomit?)

[thewritingstar]

The Freedom of Being Yours

This was a commission done for the wonderful @creativecilla Im so excited that its finally done and I hope you enjoy it!! Thank you for commissioning me and putting up with all my questions lol. 

Pairing: Reds/Blossick (Brick x Blossom)

Fandom: The Powerpuff Girls

Word Count: 7.8k (this was meant to be a 1k fit but I couldn’t resist!) 

Angst/Fluff 

Note: thank you to my betas for all their help: @over-under-through1 and @avesthetea

---

On November 17, 1898, early in the morning, a baby girl was born. A soft tuft of red hair rested on her temple and instead of a shrill cry, only a smile was on her small little lips. The only word to define the pink-eyed darling was perfection. There was nothing that could dull the light that sparkled in her eyes.

At the beginning of the year, where she would turn five, everything had been fine. She got to sit and play with her two younger sisters and listen to them babble about nothing as the small creek in the back of their house flowed softly over the rocks.

Life was delicate and sweet. Her mother and father would adore her with presents and toys and even the occasional jewel, yet they often found her perched under a tree or hidden at the creek with a book, much too big for anyone her age to be reading.

Blossom had thought about the stories of travel and adventure. It was freeing and delightful and she had once believed that she and her sisters would live those same lives, of their own deciding. She wanted to see the world and not the same backdrop of her tiny town. Her life would be filled with all sorts of adventures.

But she had been wrong.

Instead of playing outside, she was forced into the study with books that didn’t spark her imagination like the ones before. Her mother was keen on her looking her best and forced her ginger hair into a tightly pulled ponytail or braid and her father wanted her to be enlightened but only because she was the oldest and he didn’t have the luxury of a son.

Just a little before her fifth birthday, she had taught herself to read high literature and how to write complex sentences and even beat out her father in a game of chess. She had also learned from a young age that she would not have the freedom of her sisters, a hard pill to swallow for such a young girl.

♥♥

As the candles became lit on her fifth birthday, everything changed. She was allowed a very small group of friends, yet she hadn’t recognized the boy coming over to her table. He said nothing as he set the pretty pink present down with everything but amusement. His frown was consistent throughout the night and although most noticed his attitude, Blossom couldn’t help but stare at his eyes.

They were the shade of a freshly cut ruby and just as stone cold. Through the blank stares of all the attendants, his was by far the most interesting. They rivaled and complemented the majestic pink of her own iris’s.

He hadn’t said anything to her until he found her sitting away from the party, hidden behind the house with a book open. He thought she had been weird, what little girl missed her own party? He should have turned around but he found himself standing in front of her, toes almost touching.

“You can read?” He blurted out and the soft color of pink graced his presence.

Blossom looked up and her eyebrows drew in. “Taught myself.” She spoke proudly and was slightly surprised when he sat down next to her. “What’s your name?”

“Why do you care?”

She bit the inside of her cheek and held her eye roll. “Because it's my party.”

The boy shrugged. “Fair enough. It’s Brick.”

“Brick.” She whispered to herself. “Why did you come out here? Shouldn’t you be inside?”

He glanced towards the creek. “Shouldn’t the birthday girl be entertaining her guests?”

She closed her book before getting up and smoothing out her light pink dress. “I suppose.” He got up and followed her to the house.

Before they reached the porch, they could hear the commotion from inside and Brick noticed the annoyance on Blossom’s face but chose not to say anything. Even with their young age, they both knew not to speak up and out.

As they walked through the entrance of the house, Brick spotted a chess set in a smaller room off to the side. He gently tugged on her sleeve making her turn as he nodded towards the board.

“You play?” He asked and she only smirked and picked up a piece.

“I'm the best.” She challenged, and soon they were engaged in a long game of chess, ignoring the rest of the party.

Her eyes sparkled as she picked up a piece, her shoulder straightened as she looked into his eyes.

“Checkmate.” Blossom smirked and for the first time that night, his lips turned up into a small smile as he reset the board.

♥♥

The older Blossom got, the tougher her parents were. The yelling and the scolding had become so much that when it occurred, she had learned to take it with a stoic face and never let her lips quiver even as she was breaking inside.

The demands to be perfect in every aspect had led her to be a sufficient dancer, baker, and everything else a lady was meant to do. From the time the sun rose to its setting, she was given a constant stream of scolding which left little time with her sisters

She had thought that she had become a master of hiding her emotions when she had turned fifteen. Her mind was taken over by books and knowledge she found rather useless. The friends she had were more of annoyances as she kept to herself most of the time. If she wasn’t using the same three books to escape her life, she was down by the creek or walking along the rose gardens of her family's estate.

It wasn’t until a random visit by Brick's family got her attention. She came down the stairs and saw him standing there, his brothers already out in the back paying her sisters attention. It had been a few years since she saw him at a summer party, they had played chess for most of it but other than that, their friendship was surface level at best.

“Brick.” She said as kindly as she possibly could praying that he didn’t notice the redness around her eyes and the flush of her cheeks.

He gave her a slight nod. “Blossom.”

She noticed that he had grown taller, just a few inches over her and that puberty was treating him well. Even though he looked slightly unrecognizable, those eyes of crimson were still the same.  

Without another word spoken between them, they followed their parents to the living room that had a grand fireplace. She took her seat next to her mother on the couch, just opposite of Brick who rested in an armchair near his father. A chill ran down her spine as she knew what they would be discussing. Brick tried to catch her eye, maybe to go for a game of chess or to the book room but she avoided him just as her mother spoke up.

“I think now is as good as anytime to discuss this.” Her mother said and Brick’s parents agreed.

“Blossom, Brick. After her eighteen birthday, you will be married by spring.” Blossom’s father said sternly.

She felt her body go rigid as the words flooded her mind. Slowly her eyes made their way to Brick’s. He was also frozen and his lips were pulled into a tight line. She could see the way his fists clenched the chair and her soul nearly left her body when he met her gaze.

She tried searching his face for any form of emotion. Anger, sadness, whatever he was feeling, he wasn’t going to show it. But for some reason, her heart sank when he stood and nodded before excusing himself and leaving the room.

Blossom’s mother turned towards her. “You should go.” She said coldly before turning back towards the others. She stood with silence and left.

She found him in the kitchen. A glass of water in his hand and him looking out the window. It was clear as day that he was angry and upset. She couldn’t blame him. Every aspect of their lives had been planned out and she was a fool to expect that she would marry for love.

His shoulder became tense as she stood next to him, taking a glass for herself. They were silent, what could you say? It was a hard pill to swallow at their age and it seemed as if the threads of their personal freedoms were being cut faster and faster.

As much as Blossom abided by her parents wishes, she knew deep down, this was where lines were drawn. She took a deep breath as she looked out the window. She saw her little sister, Bubbles, running after a dragonfly while Buttercup pushed Brick’s brother down. Brick’s blonde brother watched Bubbles spin and laugh and smiled with her.

Blossom watched and her own smile came to her face. The image of her little sisters marrying someone they loved and cherished, melted her heart but reality came back to her as she glanced towards Brick.

“You’re free to go.” She whispered, his head snapping towards her and meeting the pink eyes.

“What?” He asked.

“I won’t force you to be mine. No matter our parents wishes, you are free to do as you please.”

He let out a dry laugh. “You know that’s not possible.”

“Maybe not.” She felt her tears coming but pushed them down. “We can be, or well, we will be married but you do not have to give your heart over to me, I won’t be angry.”

His eyebrows drew together. “I don’t understand.”

Blossom looked away and back to her sisters. “You are free to do as you please. Court any lady you seem fit. My parents might hold you by a chain but I won’t. All I ask is that by the time we are to be wed, nothing is shown to the public to cause a scene or you find a way out.”

Brick thought about it before finishing his drink. “Same to you.” He extended his hand to her and she nodded before shaking it and sealing their deal.

He eyed the front room. “Game of chess?” He smirked.

“Don’t get mad when I beat you.” She matched his expression before passing him and heading to set up their board.

♥♥

As months rolled on, Brick was at Blossom’s estate more and more. Their parents were so content with them being together that parties would be hosted almost every other week, and when Blossom turned sixteen, they had announced the engagement.

They each were given a ring that would be exchanged at the wedding. She stayed up that night, tossing and turning in her bed as she held the box. The golden band that was meant for him was stunning to the random eye but it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Unlike the pristine gold, it looked like a rusted chain one would put on a prisoner. It didn’t scream beauty or wealth to her but mocked her like a dog left in the rain. She had thought about going into town and meeting with other potential suitors, maybe even rekindling a few friendships from her younger years, but the further she fantasized about falling in love, the more pain was brought to her heart.

The days after her sixteenth birthday had left her with nothing but a hollow heart and false realities. It became very clear that she would hurt herself more in the process of finding her heart than to sit quietly. She closed the ring box and put it into her desk and wiped away her bitter tears.

There was no point in wishing on stars if they all died and fell from the sky.

----

“Checkmate.” Blossom smirked as she placed the final piece on the chess board.

Brick only scoffed before rearranging the pieces, another game after another. Chess and checkers was a small escape from their harsh reality. He made a move and then she did hers. Back and fourth is how it went. By the fourth game, they had an even score and her eyes would find the window again.

She didn’t know if Brick had started looking around for other girls in secret but she didn’t bother to ask, it didn’t matter anyways. As he made a move, she studied his face. He was handsome no doubt and extremely smart too. One of the only people to match her in everything and there was a sense of comfort in knowing she could quote something from a book and he would match it without hesitation. She knew he wouldn’t have a problem finding a partner to keep him company, it would be better that way.

“Bet the creek is cold.” He said randomly and brought her from the wild thoughts.

Her eyes met his and she only placed her piece down gently. “I wouldn’t know.” She quipped. She had never once let herself go into the small river, she could only imagine the uproar her mother would have if she found her doing something fun.

Brick looked towards the clock before standing. “Our parents are still in town for another two hours, even if they leave now.” She hadn’t understood what he was asking before he held his hand out.

Her eyes widened at the thought of her disobeying her parents orders and yet her fingers wrapped around his and soon she was running behind him towards the hidden creek on the east side of the house. The wind wrapped through her long hair and she felt like she could breathe clearer than ever before.

Giggles escaped her lips as he jumped down from the path and onto the small bank before turning and kicking off his shoes. She looked around to see an easier way to get down. Her dress would cause problems if she were to jump and she was scared of hurting herself.

Brick saw the hesitation in her and stepped forward with his arms stretched out.

“Blossoms just jump.” He said before widening his stance to show he would catch her.

Her eyes widened at the statement. “No, I can’t.” Her voice shook and he rolled his eyes.

“Come on. I promise I’ll catch you.”

She gulped. “Promise” And when he nodded, she believed him. His small smile gave her ease and Blossom took off her flats before tossing them down next to his.

She took a breath before letting her feet come off the ground. Right as a small scream left her lips, she felt a sensation she had never encountered before. This idea and embodiment of immunity came over her as she leapt. She felt like nothing bad could ever happen as she fell into his arms with ease.

A strange embrace of warmth she never quite experienced rushed through her as he tightened his hold on her, carrying her like a precious flower.

“Hey.” He whispered, his voice never being this soft as her eyes opened to see the swirl of red closer than before. Her breath had caught in her throat as he had a smile on. He rarely smiled but when he did, she thought it was the most enchanting thing she had ever seen. “See? Caught you.”

A laugh came out as he began to walk and she buried her face into his neck, praying that he didn’t drop her. “Don’t let me go.” She warned him and she felt the vibration of his laugh.

“Relax. Open your eyes.” He whispered in her ear.

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was him looking at her. The sun glowed behind him like some sort of halo and her breath caught in her throat when he gave her a smile. She hadn’t realized just how many freckles kissed his skin in the summer sun and she blinked and brought herself back from getting lost in his eyes.

She gazed at the surroundings and saw that his feet had disappeared into the shallow water. Slowly she stretched her legs out until she felt the cool water kiss the tips of her toes. It had shocked her slightly as she forced her foot into the water to stand with him, his arm still around her waist as she held the rim of her dress to not let it get soaked.

“It's cold.” She giggled and she took a step and felt the slippy feeling of the rocks below her. Slowly she walked out of his grasp and carefully went further.

“Don’t slip.” He called from behind as he followed.

Blossom smiled to herself as she looked at the water and saw small fish swimming around. She had never known what flowers grew along the bank or how the breeze was stronger down here.

Her eyes found the clouds rolling above them and she took a step before she felt her foot slid up and found herself falling backwards.

“Ahh-” She let out before she felt the familiar pair of arms holding her up just above the water.

“Told ya to be careful Pink.” He smirked and she only rolled her eyes as he lifted her up and carried her towards the bank.

“I could walk ya know.” She protested but his grip tightened as he stepped over a few small logs and set her onto the sand.

“You would fall again.” He laughed before it fell into the normal frown. “We should head back before our parents return.

The sensation of immunity had faded as she grabbed her shoes and followed him back towards the house which felt colder than the water. That night she laid awake in her bed. The ceiling texture mimicked the way the ripples on the water’s surface and she hugged her blanket to her chest as she kept the memory of joy in secret. It was the first thing her parents couldn’t take from her.

♥♥

After that moment at the creek, the pair began to sneak off more and more as their parents went to town. The chess board was left untouched as they ran towards the river or found hidden garden spots.

It was liberating even if it was as simple as blowing the fuzz off a dandelion. They would run and twirl in the fields, playing like two small children on a summer's day before they fixed their hair and returned to their chess board, keeping their outings a secret.

She learned about his dreams and his deepest fears. Sailing the world and snakes, to be exact. She showed him how to braid his hair and when he wasn’t looking, she would place small flowers in between the strands.

For some reason every time she saw his family arriving at the gates or her own going to his estate, she felt ecstatic. Maybe it was because he was the only one in her world who understood her but even through the sarcastic statements or small taunts, she enjoyed spending time with him more and more.

♥♥

Another year passes by and then another. And before the new set of snow could fall, it was her eighteenth birthday.

She stood in her mirror, still looking at the crack she made all that time ago. She pushed away any thoughts that damn crack dared to resurface and care more about fixing her hair. Pulling her long waves into a ponytail, she wrapped her red ribbon around it. Out of all the jewels and fancy items, this simple silk was her most prized possession. A reminder of her happier days when she was little.

Her pink gove fit her like a perfect chiffon glove and she had to admit that she looked beautiful. She never took much pride in her vanity but on occasion, she would spoil herself with an indulging complement.

A deep breath was taken as she left her room and walked slowly to the stairs where a house full of guests awaited. As soon as her foot hit the bottom of the stairs, a round of applause filled the room and it took her a second to realize that they were clapping for her. Pink dusted her cheeks as she gave a small curtsity and was pulled in every which way to be congratulated on another year of life.

Like her other parties, she barely knew the people there and most were well above her age. She took herself to the ballroom where many guests had already taken up the floor and were spinning and laughing as the music played.

A tap was on her shoulder and she felt relieved knowing that he was here but her heart sank as it was someone she hardly recalled.

“Blossom.” He smiled politely and held out his hand.

Her smile was pulled into a thin line as she took his hand, her mother taught her never to decline a dance. He pulled her closer than what she had liked and smiled at her again.

“Jared.” She said through gritted teeth as she did her best not to groan. She remembered him from random encounterings at other parties. Loud and obnoxious and arrogant, yet he didn’t have the brains to back any of it up. He liked to bother Blossom on occasion and unfortunately, now was the time.

His hand rested on her back, lower than what should have been acceptable. Her eyes narrowed slightly as they danced.

“Ya know Blossom, I heard about your engagement.Congrats”

“That was announced years ago.’ She said sharply. As they danced, she saw Brick across the room. He was dancing with some girl she hadn’t seen.

The girl laughed loudly as she pulled him closer and Blossom couldn’t tell if he was enjoying himself or not, but after the third eye roll, she predicted the latter. Something inside her felt odd as she watched her move her hand to his neck and whisper something.

In a flash, as if he knew, Brick turned his head and their eyes locked. She watched as his eyes narrowed slightly before Jared took her ungiven attention.

Jared chuckled. “And yet he’s dancing with another woman.” He leaned in so that only she could hear what he said next. “You still have a few months until the wedding and no one has seen you two being all that close.” He smirked. “I’d doubt he’d mind.” And she felt his hand travel lower.

Blossom gasped and pushed herself off of him. “Are you out of your mind?” She sneered before lifting her hand and bringing it to his cheek. The sound echoing across the room for everyone to hear and suddenly all eyes were on her and the boy holding his cheek. “Is that what you think of me?”

“I offer you a good time and this is what I get?” Jared scoffed.

Blossom huffed before feeling a hand on her shoulder. She glanced to the side to see Brick next to her. He looked angry and annoyed.

“I suggest you apologize to her.” Brick stated.

Jared’s eyes widened in fear. “Look man I didn’t mean anything towards your girl.” he held his hands up in defense.

Brick took a step forward. He was clearly a few inches taller and a bead of sweat formed on Jareds forehead. He looked down on the now shaking boy. “The fact that you think I would be entitled to her is foolish. No matter her status or anything personal, you don’t just force yourself on a woman or anyone for that matter. So I would be on my knees begging for forgiveness.” He took him by the collar. “And if you ever disrespect my future wife again, I’ll throw you to the wolves.”

Jared’s face turned a sickly white color as Brick removed his hands from him and took a step towards Blossom.

“My apologies Blossom.” Jared looked at his feet.

A smile came onto Blossom’s face. “Get out.” She hissed before turning and holding her head up high. She passed a butler. “The party is done.”

“Of course Miss.” The butler said as he started to escort the guests to the front of the house.

Blossom passed her parents without an explanation and headed outside where the sun had begun to set. All she wanted to do was clear her head as she rested against a random wall. She brought her hand up to her hair and let the long waves fall around her shoulders. Tears threatened to spill but she didn’t want any of that.

“I never got a dance.”

Blossom looked to see Brick standing there.

“What?” She questioned. “Oh. Sorry.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry. Sorry your party got cut short but nice punch.”

She forced a smile while staring at her hand. “Thanks, he deserved it.”

“Without a doubt.”

She saw that his elastic was around his wrist and his hair was down and out of place. Without thinking, she took it and began to braid his hair. He didn’t say anything but let her do as she pleased. She got to the end and saw the small bush of white daisies and grabbed one, plopping it into his hair and standing back in front of him.

“Thanks.” He whispered.

A cooler breeze came by making her hold her arms. “Um, thanks for standing up for me.”

“I didn’t do anything.” He shrugged and saw the saw she shivered slightly. He took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders. “But I guess you could make it up with a dance?” He held out his hand and she took it.

“I didn’t think you wanted one.” She said lightly She went back to the girl who had kept him occupied all night. She was gorgeous no doubt and even from across the room, Blossom could tell she was drowning in wealth.

Brick narrowed his eyes before he caught on. Realization flooded his face as he spun Blossom. “You mean Princess.” He sounded disgusted to say the least.

“I guess. Friend of yours?”

“A fling in the past if you could even call it that.”

“Oh.” Her voice just above a whisper. “She seems nice.”

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, Blossom coming back from the spin and her chest flush against his. “I wouldn’t call bragging about her dad's money nice. More of an air head that got lucky to be born into money. She can’t even play chess.”

“But she’s pretty.” She mumbled.

Brick moved his hand from her upper back to her lower back and leaned until his lips touched her ear. “Beauty isn’t everything, I prefer depth.” Suddenly she was spun and her back to his chest. “But I think your beauty beats all.”

Her cheeks heated up and she brushed away the compliment. “Depth can get you in trouble.” She responded just as she faced him again. “Pretty things can give you money...freedom too.”

He lifted her arm and she spun under him. He then closed their gap before dipping her gracefully.  “Sometimes freedom is right where you are.” He spoke sincerely and when she came back up, he was barely a inch away. His eyes had softened and the way his lips turned into a smile made her heart beat rapidly.

The way he looked at her, was almost canny to the day at the creek. Something within her was pulling her closer to him like a magnet and she couldn’t bear to stop herself.

“I’d never let another man talk to you like that, I promise.” He said softly.

And then she did the unthinkable and kissed him. It was a magnifying spark that coursed through her body and broke down whatever wall she had been holding. But when she realized what she had done, an uncertain silence froze over them and saw the way his eyes widened in what she could only sense as fear.

“I-I’m sorry-” She tried to say but was cut off by his lips coming to hers again. Her hands fell to his shoulders, one cupping his cheek as he pulled her closer. His lips were soft and it was like time had stopped in that moment. Everything bad that had happened in the past, melted away like the snow bringing in a spring she never knew she craved.

His lips were soft and left a cold longing feeling as he pulled away, nose brushing hers. “You never have to apologize, I am yours.”

The tears she was going to shed in anger had turned to pure bliss but as she was about to confess her heart to him, the door opened and she heard the loud shouting of her mother.

Fear sunk in as she watched her mother come from the corner. “Blossom.” She said with spitfire and Brick’s hold tightened on her. “You two are done.” She snapped.

“What?” Blossom shook in his hold.

“Jared’s father said he wouldn’t press charges in exchange for Blossom’s hand.” She smiled wickedly. “I’m sorry Brick, you’re a nice boy but sometimes life isn’t fair and plus, he has more money. The wedding is off.” Her mother spat and left leaving Blossom and Brick with mouths hanging open in shock.

Brick held her. “Blossom?”

“I can’t marry him.” She shook her head.

When his eyes met hers, his heart broke. The bright pink he had grown fond of over the years had seen to fade. It was replaced by a stone cold gaze that only broke on occasion.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. “You won’t. I promise.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Blossom!” Her mother's voice called. “Come here!”

They looked towards the call and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’m sorry.” She started to walk. “But for the record, you made the darkest corners of this house feel bright.”

Brick stood in the garden frozen as she left. His own eyes betraying him as tears danced on his waterline. He heard his own name being called behind him. He returned to his parents side, still feeling the spark of the kiss lingering on his lips.

♥♥

She closed the door to her room before she turned until her back was pressed against the wood. Slowly she slid down and hugged her knees to her chest. The tears that came came from an emotion she had never experienced before. As if all the breath in her lungs was gone, she sobbed.

She lost count of the amount of times she had sat with no light but moons and sobbed. The pain her parents had caused her. The insults and ridicule, all of it would be gone by the time the sun would kiss the horizon but this, this cold chill that made her feel hopeless. It was far worse than their taunts.

The way Brick had stared at her. His eyes slightly wide as if he was shocked by how she looked. His expression when he saw her had changed over the years and she wished she had noticed sooner.

But now it is gone. Her parents made sure of that. It was all a game. Her parents had laid out their chess board, counting their moves and every time she felt like she had a chance, she was forced back into her corner as they picked up the piece and moved it themselves.

But for that split second that she looked into his eyes, the game had stopped. The old grandfather clock that hung on the wall had silenced its ticking and she, for however long she got to gaze into those crimson eyes, saw freedom.

And now it is gone. The small gleam of light she saw within him had been extinguished before it had a chance to grow into a blooming fire.

“Blossom?” A voice called behind her.

She picked up her head and whimpered.

“Blossy?” Another voice said again and she brought her hand to her eyes as she stood with shaking legs and opened the door. Bubbles and Buttercup stood with concerning looks before walking in and shutting the door.

“Blossy-” Bubbles hugged her tight. “Why are you crying?” She asked with her own sadness.

The last thing Blossom wanted was her sisters to be upset, so she shook her head and forced a smile that they didn’t buy at all. “I’m okay.”

“Clearly not. What happened?” Buttercup asked as they sat Blossom on the bed. “The party ended all of a sudden and no one knows why. Was it because of Brick?”

“No!” Blossom reassured her. “It wasn’t his doing.”

“Oh, then why are you upset? Did he not want to be with you?” Bubbles hugged her.

Blossom hugged her back. “No. He did. And I wanted to marry him too.”

“But?” Buttercup asked.

Blossom took a deep breath. “Mother decided that another man would be better for me, one that I don’t love. It’s a hard pill to swallow but I’ll be okay.” She tried to be strong.

“That’s not fair!” Bubbles weeped. “Blossy you deserve to be happy.”

Buttercups fists tightened at her side. “It's not.” She got off the bed. “Come on Bubbles, Blossoms had enough tears for the night.”

Blossom gave her little sisters a smile as they left.

♥♥

The next week was spent with Blossom walking slower than she noticed to her parents office. Her face was almost permanently puffy from the tears she had shed for the few days and neither of her parents had given any care. She was sitting at her mother's desk, silent and still. There was no reason to scream and run, hope had been lost.

“Look at that.” her mother quipped as she passed a piece of golden paper to her.

She picked it up and her blood ran cold.

‘An invitation to Princess and Brick’s wedding, how lovely.” Her mother smiled.

Blossom could see it now. The couple saying their vows and dancing the night away and she wondered if he had the choice to run away, would he? She had learned that Princess was an heir to more money this town had seen and quite beautiful too.

“She’ll make him happy.” Blossom lied knowing that she shouldn’t discredit his feelings. Afterall depth was what he liked most. “I wonder what’s that like?”

“What?”

“Happiness.” Blossom said. Her mother met her eyes. “Are you a happy mother?”

“Happiness comes in many forms.”

“And yet the only time I’ve seen you smile, is when it comes from the suffering of me or my sisters. You were given the sweetest little girls who offer nothing but unconditional love but instead of basking in their own light, you chose to block it out. I hope that when they are old enough, they never have to face the same life as mine.”

“You live in this gorgeous house-”

“With no heart or warmth. Vacant like a ghost town. How could you be proud of something so grand, yet broken at the seams? I am thankful for the upbringing on the fairer side of this society but I wish I had the love others have. Sometimes I wonder if a golden spoon is really worth more than a hug.”

Her mother stared coldly. “Do you think happiness gets you far in this world? Do you think that I spent years building up my reputation to be disrespected by my daughter?”

“There is no disrespect because I don’t see you as my mother and I would rather die tomorrow knowing I was in the presence of someone I love then spend the rest of my years, trapped to a man who could care less about my heart.” Blossom stood and grabbed the invitation and stood.

A cold dark laugh came from her mother. “Life isn’t a fairytale. You think that anyone would want to marry you out of love? Even if you are smart enough to know that, he’s going to wed by the end of the week. You have no money, and nothing to offer. What good would it be to beg?” Her mother stood and came towards her, arms stretched out. “Darling, just make life easier for everyone.”

Blossom took a step back. Her shoulder straightened up and she held her head high. “Thats where you’re wrong, mother. I can offer him my heart, something only I can give.”

“Love can’t give you everything.” She spat.

Blossom shook her head and offered a sympathetic smile. “I wish you knew that love can give you freedom and joy even with despair around.” She turned and began walking, her mother not bothering to follow or stop her.

♥♥

Blossom stared at her ceiling, a small white daisy in her hand as she tried to think of what to do. She hardly heard her door open and the shuffle of two sets of shoes.

“Bubbles, Buttercup? It's late, you should be in bed.”

“Shhh. Be quiet.” Bubbles smiled.

“You should go to him.” Buttercup said and Bubbles handed her a bag.

“He loves you and you love him Blossy!”

Blossom sighed. “I can’t just stop his wedding.”

Buttercup laughed. “Sure you can. Go in there and confess your love for him.”

Bubbles nodded. “Or you should meet him before. Run away with him, far from this place.”

Blossom looked between her sisters before they hugged her.

“We will be fine, please just go.”

“Okay.” Blossom agreed.

♥♥

Brick stood in the mirror. His suit was pristine and fit for any king and although he looked fine, deep down he was full of dread.

The moment Blossom’s parents called off their engagement, his own parents wasted no time looking for a suitor. Out of some convenience, Princess hadn’t been engaged and her father was loaded beyond belief that when the opportunity presented itself, his family jumped on it.

He didn’t know if he could ever truly love Princess and she probably wouldn’t love him but he knew there were worse things in life that could happen. Except for the heartbreak that came with the ring. His own brothers couldn’t get through to him and he felt hopeless. How do you go from loving someone, to never seeing them again?

There was a knock on his door and it made him shiver.

“Come in.” He said and the door opened just as soft as the knock.

He turned around to see Blossom standing there. A content look on her face as she looked him over, the desperation clear in her eyes. “You look nice.” She said and he could tell her voice was on the verge of breaking.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“To see you, one last time.” She said. She walked towards him and adjusted his skewed tie. “Or maybe not.” Her hands rested on his chest.

“Maybe not?”

She gazed at him with glassy eyes. “When they announced our engagement, I thought I lost any hope of freedom I had left. I thought that you would resent me for being chained to you and that's why I told you that you could leave. And I tried to tell myself not to fall in love because it wouldn’t be fair or it would hurt too much.” She stepped back. “But when I cried myself to sleep or stared at the moon until the sun came up, I realized that in those moments I tried to stop, I was falling faster than I anticipated.”

Brick watched as she took something from her bag. “I think I did too.”

She giggled at that. “When I read all those books about true love and how you see stars in the other person's eyes, I look at you and I see happiness and bliss.” Tears dripped down her cheeks slowly. “Even in the darkest corners of my house, I found indulgence and light with you.” Blossom said.

Brick brought his hand to her cheek, wiping the tears away. “I have spent years pondering these feelings. Wondering what else my parents could take from me. They could take my spirit and my time. Steal my childhood of playing in the creek or chasing the fireflies but Miss Blossom.” He took her hand. “They might have thought that forcing you upon as my wife without a moment of thought would be the cruelest thing they could do, but taking you away was pure anguish.”

Brick shook his head with a dry laugh. “It was the creek, when we had escaped for just a short while. When you stood on that ledge and jumped into my arms, I don’t know, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how your eyes sparkled when you stepped in the water and everything after that-” He stopped to gather his thoughts but she placed her hand on his arm.

“I know it’s selfish of me to ask you this as there is another waiting for you hand downstairs. Although I can’t give you the same welah or land she may be able to provide. I give you my heart and my faith. Every fragment of my being is dedicated to you and all I can ask is if you could accept that of me? If you could choose to follow your heart and give me the honor of loving you for who you are, would you?” She asked as she held out the small box that contained the golden band that was meant for him.

He looked up at her, pure adoration on his face as he kissed her hand.  “I give my heart to you. The most suitable woman for me is not one with money or a legacy for her parents to uphold. But a kind and innocent lady who has a mind full of knowledge and dreams. On your command, I will take you far from this place, away from the criticism of our family and give you a life where you can run free and have every opinion of your very own. I promise that you will never spend another cold night wondering what lies beyond the paths of the forest and I promise you that I will love you, not because I am forced but because I choose to.”

“I choose you too.” She sobbed as he took her by the waist and kissed her.

He felt her smile against his lips and that same magnetic spark that came the first time they had kissed returned in an instant. Their kiss was more magical than the first snowfall of the season or that of a shooting star.

They pulled away and she saw the way his eyes looked brighter than they ever had before, like a new life had instantly sparked. He took her hand and threw off his tie.

“Come on, I know a place we can go.” He said with a giant smile.

Without gestation she followed him, leaving her past behind and welcoming the new warmth of her life. They ran from the back of the church to his parked car down by the field and he helped her in and kissed her again and again.

‘I love you.” She whispered in between his lips capturing hers.

“I love you more, Blossom.”

As the key sparked the car to life, and they drove to who knows where, she glanced at him and saw not only freedom, happiness and bliss but a man who loved her for every aspect of her being. Something no one could ever take from her again.

“Say Princess is going to be really pissed.” He laughed.

“I don’t think so.” She shrugged. “I told Jared that there was a hot rich girl at the church.”

Brick chuckled and slid his arm around Blossom’s shoulder. “That solves that problem.”

♥♥

Three months later

“Checkmate.” Blossom smiled proudly as she took the final piece. Normal Brick would scoff or playfully pout but instead the competitive side wasn’t showing.

He stared at her longingly as she began to set up a new game.

“It’s almost like you let me win.” She glared. “Is something wrong?”

Brick chuckled and shook his head. “No. everything is perfect.” He stood and walked over to her side of the table and kneeled down and took her hands away from the chess board.

“Brick?”

“You’ve always been better at chess then me. Even if we tied, I knew your strategy was beyond compare. However, no matter how many times you take my pawns or steal my queen, I already won.”

“You already won?” She questioned with a laugh.

She watched him reach into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Its golden latch was opened to reveal a pink pearl ring. A gasp escaped her lips as he took out the ring.

“Blossom, there's not enough words or love stories to perfectly say how I feel about you. All I know is that I love you, on our own terms and see you as someone greater than the world knows. If you will do my honor, Blossom, will you marry me?” He asked.

“Of course.” She cried out and slipped the ring onto her finger as she grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. He smiled against her lips and lifted her up, carrying her to the small couch in their small home.

It wasn’t grand or had a ballroom. There was no elegant garden or parties thrown. Instead it was cozy and full of a loveable warmth. It rivaled everything they were taught, yet it gave them a happiness only the lucky could have.

“Hey.” She whispered. “I found something the other day.” She jumped up and grabbed his hand. He followed her to the backyard that seemed to stretch for miles.

The sun was high in the sky as they walked along the dirt path through some trees. Bushes of daisies and roses grew wild along the path and they stopped at the edge.

He looked down and his smile grew bigger. “A creek.”

She playfully hit his shoulder. “Just like old times.”

Brick found his way down to the bank, kicking off his shoes and throwing his shirt to the ground. He looked up at the ledge where Blossom was standing with sunbeams shining behind her. His arms extended and without thinking twice, she jumped and landed securely.

“Don’t slip” She mocked as he carried them to the water.

Brick laughed at her tone and gently set her down. His hands around her waist as they stared at each other. Pink and red complimented against the shallow water of the creek. He kissed her cheek and pulled the red ribbon, making the long trails of her hair blow free in the summer breeze. 

“I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you more.” She responded and kissed him, her ring sparkling underneath the light.

She had spent all of her childhood reading books with the grand fairy tail ending. The ones every little girl dreamed of. For the longest time, she had stopped believe that they could be true. But as she stared into the eyes of the person she loved and cherished most, it was as if the stars had alined and the book she never thought would be written, was now opening with a brand new chapter of love and hope. 

♥♥

I hope you enjoyed!! 

asks/requests/commissions open!

[kathyprior4200]

A Villainous Meeting

 “Good morning, my fucklings!”

 Verosika Mayday, the pink succubus, strolled into the room, wearing her high heels, heart-shaped sunglasses, short black and white dress and her faux pink scarf. She blew a bubble of pink gum before spitting it out in a nearby trash can. The fellow employees sat at a cracked black round table with bloodstained high-backed chairs with eyes on the tops. The Wrath Ring imp Striker merely smirked and nodded as he fiddled with the wheat stalk in his mouth. He wore his usual gray and brown cowboy gear with a hat and boots. Fizzarolli, the robotic jester imp, looked around eagerly at the small office room decorated with circus posters and porn magazine covers. Verosika was shown in a seductive pose with her gang on one poster, while another poster showed a sinister Fizzarolli with handcuffs advertising a “Loo Loo Land’s Fizzy Buddy, Brand New Vibrating Toy, Use At Your Own Risk!” A few pictures here and there displayed Striker riding his black hell-horse BulletProof through the desert with a mane and tail of fire. Finally, Vortex, the dark grey hellhound bodyguard, stared at his phone, wearing all black clothing.

 They were located somewhere in the Lust Ring under a pink sky in an abandoned building that looked like a warehouse from the outside. Spray-painted in red were the words “D.I.C.K. Headquarters,” on the door to the office.

 “Remind me why you choose “dick” to be our name?” Striker muttered to Verosika.

 “It’s spelled D.I.C.K. It stands for Demonic Immediate Crazed Killers,” Verosika replied. “Figured it described all of us well, because we do what I.M.P. does, only better.”

 “You and your sexual innuendos,” Striker began, and then winked. “I like it.” Fizzarolli giggled.

 Verosika cleared her throat. “Do any of you fuckers know why we’re here?”

 “Because I took this job after you and I got drunk and did a one night stand?” Striker asked with a smirk.

 “No!” Verosika bellowed in anger, though she knew it was true. She then blushed and stepped back. “I drank too much beelzejuice after returning back from Earth, alright? And you happened to be there staring at me with lust in your eyes with a bottle of Inferno 66 in hand. Let me tell you, sucking prisoner dick with your gang is worse than eating shit out of a toilet. Besides, I needed some time to recover after having to walk around after Blitzo took my parking spot. When we were together, he left me to pay for the hotel room, rang three rings around Wrath and maxed my credit card...”

 “…on shitty horse-riding lessons, yeah yeah, I got it,” Striker said with a wave of his hand. “You told us the story like five times.”

 “Is it because that imp was so jealous of my accomplishments at the circus that he set all of Loo-Loo Land on fire and allowed my robotic counterpart Robo Fizz to get eaten by a dragon?” asked Fizzarolli.

 “How did you hear about that?” Vortex asked without looking up.

 Fizzarolli turned nervous. “My boss Mammon heard about the incident and was furious. He said that unless I helped boost sales, fix the theme park and capture him…”

 “Yeah, I know how you feel,” Verosika sighed. “My gang and I got a bunch of warnings and threats from daddy Ozzie.”

 “You mean Asmodeus?” asked Vortex.

 “Yeah. He wasn’t very happy that I nearly exposed the humans to the existence of demons. We go topside in disguise to feed on their lust every spring. If Blitzo hadn’t kept that fact secret…well let’s just say Valentino pales in comparison to what Ozzie can do to you.”

 Everyone shivered at the prospect of the Ring Overlords’ plans.

 “To answer your question, Verosika, it is because I failed to kill that pompous owl prince Stolas?” Striker asked. “I was this close to finishing off that wimp imp and persuading Blitzo to join me. He’s a formidable fighter, and he’s half succubus.”

 Verosika crossed her arms. “There’s nothing special about him. He just pushes people away when they get too close and only cares about his job, murder and his stupid horses!”

 “Hmm…he’d be a fun little toy to play with,” Striker mused as Fizzarolli smirked. “We can all agree on that, right?”

 Everyone but Vortex murmured in agreement.

 “Yes,” Verosika called, shoulders square. “That is the reason why we’re all here. Because of them!”

 Verosika pointed to the whiteboard which had pictures of Blitzo, Moxxie, Millie, Loona and Stolas pinned on it. Several knives were stuck inside the pictures and scribbles in red on the white board read “Fuck I.M.P.!” “Striker Is Better Than You!” “Fizzarolli Was Here!” and “Verosika, Call Me For a Good Time!”

 “And I’m gonna led this shit!” she added.

 “What makes you the leader?” Striker inquired with a raised eyebrow.

 “I’m not the leader per se. Stella organized this group and Striker recruited us,” Verosika explained. “Though I’m technically higher than imps, sinners and hellhounds, so I say the position is a good fit.”

 Striker scowled. “We get treated like scum in Wrath enough as it is. I ain’t gonna play nice if you don’t show me some respect.”

 “Prove to me you’re better than that scumbag Blitzo.”

 “I already did…in bed at the club, remember?”

 Fizzarolli laughed much to Verosika’s disgust.

 “While I will admit it felt amazing, that’ll be the last time I ever sleep with an imp. And I certainly don’t need some rogue cowboy to get in the way of my revenge.”

 “Need I remind you, missy,” said Striker, “That I’m the one who recruited you and the jester in the first place? After you were getting over your hangover, you told me to fuck off or else your friends would have their fun with me.”

 “Yeah, and?”

 “I then noticed your heart tattoo on your shoulder with “Blitzo” crossed out. Then I asked, ‘Having imp problems, too? Wishing to see a certain imp?’”

 “And I said ‘no, none of your damn business, imp.’”

 Striker continued, “But then I told you, ‘I’m on a covert mission to take down a worthless royal…and to meet up with I.M.P.s leader. Perhaps I could offer you my services to you, monetary and otherwise, if you could tell me more about him.’”

 “Yes and I did,” she said. “I remembered Robo Fizz back when I worked in the circus with Blitzo and figured he’d be a good person to talk to.”

 “Hmpth,” Fizzarolli interrupted. “His business may be impressive, but his jokes were utterly pathetic! I got to be the star of the shows while he got to be alone and unloved! Ha!”

 Verosika briefly stared at him. “You sure you didn’t get jealous because Blitzo left you behind and made more money killing people?”

 Fizzarolli turned slightly red. “What?! No! How stupid are you?”

 “Perhaps smarter than you think,” Verosika remarked, her boobs bouncing slightly.

 “Get a room, love-fuckers!” Fizzarolli mocked to Striker and Verosika. “At least I was the first villain to appear in the show! First is the best! And my Ring is higher than yours!”

 “Oh partner, even a sex bot like you…”

 “I’m not a bot!”

 “…could never handle what’s under these jeans.”

 Striker smirked and continued the story. “Then I told slutty clown about Blitzo and he seemed to understand who he was,” said Striker. “I said, ‘A Goetia is giving me cash to kill a royal and that imp leader from I.M.P. What do you say we bask in riches, glory and chaos?’”

 “I remember saying, ‘Is this a scam? Loo Loo Land must be fixed!’” said Fizzarolli.

 Striker recalled what he said back to Fizzarolli,“’Mammon sent you off on a mission, didn’t he? Just like Asmodeus gave a warning to Verosika and what Stella did to me. All our stories and failures are connected. Connected because of what those imps did. If you can help me track down I.M.P. and that prince…no more worries for you.’”

 “The show must always go on,” mused Fizzarolli. “It wasn’t like I had many other options. As long as my boss is satisfied…”

 “And mine…” added Verosika.

 “And mine…” added Striker.

 “Indeed, we must all complete this mission, or else we’re all dead,” Verosika finished.

 “Double dead,” Vortex corrected in a low voice, making the others shiver. “The Seven Deadly Sins do have angelic weapons. You’ll wish you were frozen in the Ninth Circle.”

 “Hell only has seven,” Fizzarolli added.

 “Shut up.”

 “Loo Loo Land burned down, Asmodeus and Mammon got together, we took the Hellevator through the Ring portals and the rest is history,” said Verosika. “Now I’m stuck with an imp and a robot.”

 “I’m an imp!” Fizzarolli protested.

 “You’re just a robot,” Verosika replied.

 “With partial robotic features! The model for all Robo Fizzs made by Mammon himself!”

 “Still just a sex toy,” said Verosika.

 “A useful one, nevertheless. One who Stella herself deems valuable, right Striker?”

 “She did say to me, ‘I don’t care who you have to go through.’ Never thought I’d be dealing with a bunch of hooligans from other Rings,” Striker remarked.

 After several minutes of loud arguments and hisses, Vortex barked loudly. “Shut the fuck up!”

 Everyone then sat down in silence before Vortex stared at his phone again. “I never get paid enough for this shit,” he muttered.

 “Somebody tell me any useful information about I.M.P. before I lose my shit!” Verosika barked, almost going into her demonic shadow form.

 “The only reason why I’m here,” said Striker, his voice turning calmer and darker, “Is for my money from Stella. And revenge of course. Let me tell you where I think Blitzo will be at next.”

 The villains crept closer.

 “I came to the Lust Ring because I heard from Stella that this is where Stolas likes to “entertain” himself as it were.” His glowing eyes spiraled in yellow-green hypnotic circles. “Rumor has it that he goes to Ozzie’s place to cheer himself up. Heard he suffered quite a breakup from his dear hurt wife. And to have Stella potentially gain custody over his dear daughter…man that must’ve broken that bird’s heart.”

 “Oooh what a charming little theater!” Fizzarolli remarked. “Stripper dances, pole dances, lots of lustful siren songs. Winged imps serve you food and other imps are in cages for display! Hahahaha! It is almost as good as the Big Top in Loo Loo Land!”

 “Was, you mean,” Striker smirked before the jester seethed.

 “I still perform there,” Verosika said. “When I’m not traveling around the Rings on tour. Lust is my home, after all.”

 “Greed is mine!” Fizzarolli said.

 “You already know where I’m from,” said Striker. “No one fucking cares.”

 “Mammon and Asmodeus heard the news as well,” said Fizzarolli. “I heard Stella had a meeting with them at midnight last night. That was before we all got our orders to come here to Lust.”

 Vortex looked up in concern. “It’ll only be a matter of time before Lucifer hears about this, too. Not just about the trouble I.M.P. has caused, but now that humans know of Hell…”

 “Let’s focus on one problem at a time,” said Verosika with a deep breath. “We’re in no rush. It’s not like our leader’s gonna call us and demand…”

 Just then, Verosika’s pink computer beeped and rang.

 “Shit,” she muttered. “It’s her.”

 Everyone straightened up as Verosika pushed a button. Stella’s angry white feathered face appeared on the Zoom/Doom screen. She scrutinized all their faces with pink glowing eyes, her face appearing on the screen.

 “Striker,” Stella began, her golden crown shining on her head. “So this is the gang you recruited?”

 “Yes ma’am!” he grinned.

 “Hmm…” she pondered. There’s you…there’s some clown imp, there’s a fine-looking succubus…from who knows where…”

 “The clown is Fizzarolli or Robo Fizz,” said Striker. “The succubus is Verosika.”

 “Working for a queen, Striker?” Verosika asked. “How…”

 “Long story, I already told you,” Striker said. “She’s desperate…”

 “You bet that’s right!” Stella barked. “Then again, I’m…mildly impressed that you managed to get such a…diverse crew together.” She didn’t bother to hide her disgust. “Well done.”

 Striker beamed with pride.

 “But we’re far from done! You have no idea how long I’ve waited to properly unleash these feelings in me.”

 Fizzarolli giggled and Striker elbowed him hard.

 “That stupid prick of my husband thinks he can sleep all he wants with that assassin imp…in our fucking bed behind my back! If he stays any longer, my family will be a laughing stock. I’ll be stripped of my royal status and goodness knows what bad influence he’ll have on Octavia.”

 Stella paused, brief hurt in her voice. She didn’t dare cry, though. “Sometimes I wish he didn’t have to die. That all three of us could be a good family again like we once were. He could’ve been a proper responsible father, kept the grimoire safe from the imp, and none of this would’ve happened.”

 Fizzarolli cried tears at the rant while Vortex rolled his eyes. Striker yawned. Verosika, however, seemed to listen with a common understanding. She and Blitzo had been together and then they were broken up and fighting. Although she wanted power and revenge like Fizzarolli and Striker, she knew what it was like to get the short end of the stick in a relationship.

 “Then again, I was forced into marrying Stolas millennia ago by my parents. It’s obvious I’d concern myself with status and wealth and hold my resentment inside.”

 ‘All that wealth, all that power,’ thought Striker, greedily. ‘Watch her talk on and on until the rug slips from under her feet…and the glory becomes all mine!’

  “I love my daughter and Stolas…I really do…but…I must do what has to be done!” Right then, her regal imposing side was back.

 She stared into their eyes, glaring at Striker in particular. “First of all, if any of you land a finger on my daughter, I’ll make sure your screams are heard by every Ring in Hell. She must not be harmed. But…if I have to use Octavia as leverage as a last resort to bring Stolas to his knees…then so be it. I don’t care what we have to do…I just want him dead. Do you all understand?”

 “Yes ma’am,” said Striker. The others nodded.

 “Good. Now to review the plan. Stolas and I recently had our breakup. He will be going to the same place he always goes to when he’s upset: Ozzie’s place. If you spot I.M.P., follow them, but do not attack yet.”

 She continued. “Striker, your objective is the same: kill Stolas with your angelic weapons. Keep them safe in your hands at all times, but eliminate anyone who gets in your way.”

 Striker already glowered at Fizzarolli and Verosika who were staring closely at his pistol.

 “If you use it on anyone else important,” Stella said, suspicion already in her eyes. “I’ll fuck you with your own horns.”

 Striker nodded, with the tip of his hat.

 “Verosika, you will track down Blitzo and distract him inside the club,” said Stella. “Use any manipulative means necessary to catch him off guard. Fizzarolli, you and Asmodeus will sneak behind Moxxie and take down the other I.M.P. members. Verosika’s crew and some Robo Fizzs will also join in.”

 She added in a sing-song voice, “You’ll all receive an extra bonus and royalty favors if you bring me their heads!”

 Fizzarolli grinned. “This is gonna be so fun!”

 “The rewards. Striker, you’ll be rewarded by me for killing Stolas. 10,000 souls or more. And a new home in Wrath for you and your family.”

 Striker had to roll his eyes. He didn’t have a family anymore. He didn’t just want 10,000 souls. Now that he thought about it, he wanted much more.

 “Fizzarolli, Loo-Loo land will be repaired and you’ll get to lead future productions in Lu Lu World. Plus money, your own brand and perhaps…” she whispered so only he could hear, “…freedom.”

 “Oh goody!”

 “Verosika…more tours, more sex and money for you. You’ll be the star of every Ring in Hell.”

 Verosika grinned and fluffed her long pink-white hair.

 Stella smirked in a manner unfit for a queen. “And to make things a little more fun…as a way to show Stolas what his infidelity means…a special prize for the first one to kill Blitzo for me…”

 She playfully massaged her boobs under her pink dress. All the villains minus Vortex blushed in delight and shock as they knew what she was implying. Verosika’s gang in the far back of the room watched while eating popcorn. Vortex made a face of disgust.

 Seconds later, Stella was regal again. “And you there, dog!” Stella called, making Vortex look up. ��Verosika has a special assignment for you.”

 “What?” he asked.

 “Keep a close eye on that loony hellhound of theirs,” Verosika grinned deviously.

 Worry was etched onto Vortex’s face as he nodded. Though he had a girlfriend, he had found Loona adorable at the beach on Earth. He couldn’t believe what he had to do now.  

 “I’ll keep you updated on Stolas’ whereabouts and when it’s time to move,” Stella finished. “Do not disappoint me.”

 The screen went dark.

 “Well, that’s a wrap folks,” said Verosika. “Meeting dismissed. Fuck around, get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow.”

 Verosika took out her phone and began texting.

 “Who are you texting?” Vortex asked.

 “There’s this pink southern succubus sinner named Martha,” Verosika grinned. “She says she leads an army in the name of Satan and they want blood after being killed by you know who on Earth. Ralphie and her two kids live with her there. She also wants this Mayberry sinner dead.”

 “What does that mean?” Striker asked.

 Verosika grinned. “It means…we have a potential ally in the Pride Ring!”

 “Awesome!” said Fizzarolli. “Their enemies keep growing and growing!”

 The villains laughed.

 “With so many souls seeking revenge, I.M.P. won’t know what hit ‘em!” Fizzarolli cackled.

 “Yes, but let’s focus on our main mission first,” said Striker. “Perhaps we’ll have the honor of getting to them first!”

 The villains laughed again and retired to bed.

 ‘This plan better work,’ Striker thought. ‘Because Stolas’ blood will not be the only blood that’ll be on my hands soon enough…’

[chickensarentcheap]

Never Gonna Be Alone -Chapter 13

Title: Confrontations

Warnings: none

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y​, @tragiclyhip​, @innerpaperexpertcloud​, @alievans007​

“How big does my ass look in this?”

It’s the age old question: does this outfit make me look fat? Men for centuries have been making the mistake of actually answering; aware that it’s a trap but freezing up in the moment and choosing a response instead of just a vow of silence. It’s a slippery slope. Answer honestly and find yourself banished to the couch for six months to a year, tell a very obvious lie and find your sex life become barren and obsolete for the rest of your natural born life, or say the honest to goodness truth yet have it taken as bullshit and never get to sleep in the matriomonial bed again. Tyler considers himself one of the lucky few. The question isn’t posed often and when it is, she knows he speaks the truth; believing his words and accepting the compliment and having her whole day run smoothly and happily because he’d taken mere seconds to say something nice. He’s never seen her in the negative light she often paints herself in; the extra pounds and the stretch marks, the wrinkles by the corners of her eyes and the strands of gray in her hair. It all makes her who she is; hips wider because she’s given birth to HIS children, the lines by her eyes only showing when she’s smiling and adding something even extra adorable to the mix, those silvery strands in her dark dresses sparkling in the light and making her even more attractive.

Maybe she ISN'T the same person she was twelve and a half years ago. The tiny, incredibly fit and toned little thing that had shown up on his doorstep; tattooed and pierced and full of confidence and swagger for someone so small and seemingly fragile. Walking in there like she owned the place and not even batting an eyelash at the crude and rustic living conditions or the amount of booze littering countertops and almost every open space or even the countless bottles of OxyContin sitting on the kitchen table. She hadn’t even been put off by his initial less than hospitable welcome. Ignoring both his grumpy mood and his leeriness at having a stranger in his space and serving up that beautiful, bright smile; offering an impossible small, soft hand that had been engulfed by his.

If he’s totally honest with himself, it was then that he knew shit was about to change. The way she didn’t shy away from prolonged eye contact and how their hands remained clasped a little longer than normal. When Nik had left them alone to begin the ‘getting to know your fake spouse’ process, she hadn’t been easily intimidated by either his size or his gruff nature. Laughing at his off handed remarks and not seeming the least bit nervous or awkward when he offered her a drink; downing it quicker than he’d ever seen a woman do before and not refusing when he poured her another. He’d learned in those few minutes just how deceiving looks can actually be; assuming by her petite stature and that fresh faced, ‘girl next door’ look that she was way too pure and innocent to be caught up in a world like his. What in the hell would a woman like THAT being doing getting herself mixed up in the job? Someone with so much light still remaining in their eyes; happy and bubbly despite the fucked up situation they’re so willingly throwing themselves into. He’d never come across that in the past few years as a merc; someone who hadn’t been traumatized by the things they’ve seen, heard, or done. And it had been a breath of fresh air; liking the sound of that tiny little voice and the beautiful smile and the way she’d so intently watch him and cock her head to the side while listening to him talk.

She’d been different than anyone he’d ever met. Even outside of the job. A mere thirty minutes more than enough to discover that she wasn’t a push over; feisty and headstrong as opposed to meek and mild. And that’s what he’d been the most attracted to. The fact she hadn’t been turned off by him or her surroundings in the slightest; not afraid to engage him in conversation and push him -in a very smooth and effortless way- to keep up with her. Finding himself talking more to her half an hour than he’d spoken to anyone in the past few years. His instincts had been on high alert; assuring him that she was trustworthy and accepting and that her queries and curiosity were her being genuinely interested in him, not looking for things to judge him on. And when she’d left he’d actually found himself feeling happier and lighter than he had in a hell of a long time. Anxious about seeing her again.

That had been the first moment of fear; the anticipation of once more coming face to face with her and getting to know more about her. Even an hour ago, he wouldn’t have given a shit; if a strange woman had been dropped at his feet, he wouldn’t have even bothered to feign interest and would have quickly dismissed them. But there’d been something about that cute little brunette. Those dark, soulful eyes and that sweet smile and that tiny voice. The way she’d looked at him when they’d first been introduced and how her palm had felt against his. It had been years since he’d felt any stirring of feeling towards someone else; convinced he was dead inside and that he’d live the rest of his life -if he wasn’t lucky enough to catch a bullet or drink himself to death- miserable and alone in that dusty little shack. Convinced that he was too much of a mess for anyone to take a chance on; an alcoholic hired gun with a checkered and fucked up past and pain killer addiction. Who in their right mind would want to take on someone like that? And did such a person even exist? Strong enough to deal with his shit and help him through it, yet compassionate and understanding enough not to judge him and condemn him for it?

He’d actually gone into the whole ‘fake marriage’ thing with cautious optimism. Staying completely sober for the twenty four hours until he saw her again; cleaning himself up and wearing proper clothes and suddenly feeling more confident and secure than he had in a hell of a long time. But it had all happened too fast, too soon; the feelings way too much to cope with and the fear of being a disappointment and a failure leading him to push her away that night at the hotel outside of Dhaka. He’d wanted to be with her; shocked by the amount of both sexual and emotional attraction he was experiencing towards her. He’’d come so close; mere seconds away from kissing her and giving in to unbridled lust and accepting her invitation to spend the night in her room. And it had been that same fear and worry that had caused him to react so badly on the job; grabbing her by the throat in an attempt to scare her away instead of having his heart broken when she could no longer put up with his shit and walked away.

It had been a complete and utter failure, of course. She hadn’t been the less bit scared. That had been an even bigger turn on; knowing how much she could actually take and just how strong she really was. And he’d known afterwards -both arms wrapped tightly and securely around her and her resting on his chest as she napped- that there was no chance of walking away. That no matter how bad the worry and the fear got, he wouldn’t be capable of letting her go. It wasn’t love. It was way too soon for that; it’s impossible to feel something so deep and profound THAT quickly. But he’d known he was well on his way to BEING in love with her. If he was lucky enough to live that long and get that chance.

Now, twelve and a half years later, he glances up from where he’s crouched in the front foyer, attempting to get the three littlest bundled into their winter gear. It’s an adventure to say the least; the climbing into snowsuits and boots and the constant search for hats and mittens that match. And it never fails; getting them completely ready and one -or more- announcing they need to use the bathroom. It’s happened twice already; Takota and Addie deciding they need to go and can’t wait until they get to their lunch destination. Brooklyn the lone holdout; smart enough to go BEFORE preparations to leave began.

“Be honest,” Esme says, as she stands at the bottom landing; a hand on the railing as she turns both sideways and backwards, enabling him to get a look at the ‘object’ in question.

She’s not clad in her normal every day attire; baggy sweatpants and oversized t-shirt replaced by a pair of black leggings and a charcoal gray sweater dress cinched tightly at the waist by a wide, plain black belt. Just hint of make up graces her face; nothing more than eyeliner and mascara and a tint of blush. Sides of her hair pulled back, the braided section hanging over top the remaining tresses. And when he pauses a tad too long in answering, a frown replaces the almost nervous smile. “That bad?”

“Not bad at all. I was just thinking how nice you look. Not that you don’t look nice all the time. Just you look different. In a nice way.”

“You look beautiful mumma,” Takota praises, as a knit beanie is pulled down onto his head and mittens tugged on his hands. “You’re pretty always, but you’re beautiful NOW.”

“You are the sweetest little muffin ever,” Esme declares, as steps off the landing and takes his face in her hands; pressing a kiss to each chubby cheek and then his lips. “And daddy is teaching you VERY well.”

“Gotta start ‘em young,” Tyler reasons, then reaches for the handle on the front door. “Out. Before you start sweating. Or have to go to the bathroom again.”

“My feet are already sweaty,” Addie complains, as she yanks a purple and pink striped beanie down over her forehead. “I don’t like sweaty feet. I don’t like boots. Or shoes.”

“I feel your pain.” He pulls the zipper of her coat up to her chin. “Outside. Tell TJ and Millie I’ll be out in a second. No going outside the gate.”

“It’s scary outside the gate,” Brooklyn says, as she falls in line behind her siblings as they stomp out the door and onto the front porch. “Too many cars. And noise. And people. I don’t like people.”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Esme remarks as playfully pulls her husband’s hat down over his eyes, then gives his shoulders a tight squeeze. “I wonder where she gets THAT from?”

He fixes the beanie; pushing it back off his forehead and then tending to the laces on his boots. “Why do you blame me for everything? The way they bitch and moan about the cold, the way they hate socks and shoes, this pout that they supposedly all have.”

“There’s nothing supposed about it. They all have the pout. Which they inherited from YOU.”

He shoots her a scowl over his shoulder. “I don’t pout.”

“Like shit you don’t. You DO pout. And I have more than one piece of photographic evidence, thank you very much.”

“I don’t care what any of those photos say. That is not a pout.” He grimaces as he stands, the tightness -and accompanying gnawing pain- in the knee and back a little more intense than usual. “It’s a frown.”

“It’s a pout. A very vicious one. One that says you might bite someone’s head off if they get too close.”

“It’s not a frown then, is it. If it’s mean. Pouts aren’t mean. Pouts are sad. I’m not sad if I’m wanting to bite someone’s head off.”

“We are going to have to agree to disagree on this,” she says, and smoothes down the front of his front of Henley style shirt before reaching for the zipper on his jacket.

A grin tugs at the corners of his mouth as she tends to him. It’s something he’s gotten used to over the years; her need to provide even the simplest level of care for the people that she loves. It’s the motherly instinct that runs strongly through her veins; unable to turn off the need to help and nurture, even when it comes to him.

“You know, I DO know how to do this stuff for myself.”

“I know,” she chirps, and then stands on her tiptoes to pull his beanie down further. “But I like doing it. I like taking care of you. You think you’d be used to it by now. I’ve only been annoying the shit out of you with it for the past twelve and half years. Your back’s sore?”

“And my knee.”

“Maybe when we get home you should call and get them looked at it. Better to be safe than sorry. They’ve been acting up pretty bad lately.”

“Just the cold weather. Nothing serious. You need to stop worrying so much.”

She stares pointedly up at him.

“I know. You can’t help it. But can you tone it down just a bit? I’m fine. It’s the weather. It makes the arthritis act up. Just like the surgeon said it would.”

“You realize we don’t have to come here for Christmas, right? We could save this place for getting away during warmer weather. We do NOT have to come during the winter.”

“The kids like coming here; the whole white Christmas thing. And so do you. I can deal with it. I’ve dealt with worse.”

“But you shouldn’t have to just ‘deal with it’. Your comfort is important to me, too. The kids and I would cope. With Christmas in Australia. It’s no big deal. If it’s that painful…”

“It’s not. It just acts up from time to time. More uncomfortable than actual pain. You’d know if I was in pain, trust me.”

“And you’re taking meds? You’re not trying to go without?:

“I am taking them the exact way they’re supposed to be taken. Take it down a notch, okay? I know you worry. I know you want to take care of me. And believe, I love you very much for that. But you also drive me a little fucking insane.”

“I happen to love you, you enormously stubborn pain in my ass. And if you’re that uncomfortable and it’s only getting worse…”

“Stop,” he gently orders, taking her face in both of hands and pressing a kiss to her lips. “And by the way, speaking of your ass…” Placing his hands on his shoulders, he runs them slowly down her arms. Fingertips drifting over the curves of her wrist and over the top of her hand; palms briefly settling on her hands before travelling to her butt. “...it looks fucking amazing in that outfit. And I think you should wear it more.”

She grins. “What happened to wanting me to wear yoga pants all the time?”

“Oh, those are still my favourite. But I’m okay if you wear this too.”

“Just for you, I’ll add it to my steady rotation of clothes. I’d hate to deprive you of any quality ass watching time.”

“You spoil me.” As he leans down to kiss her, she perches herself on her tiptoes and wraps both arms around his neck. Eagerly responding at first, then giggling when he brings his palms against the cheeks of her ass in sound, stinging smacks before aggressively pinching. “You do look beautiful, by the way. I mean, you always do, but…”

“Extra beautiful?”

“Very,” he confirms, and kisses her once more; longer and deeper, hands slipping from her ass in order to softly glide up and down her back. “Think I should lock the door? So we can have a quickie right here?”

“As tempted as I am, that’s definitely NOT a good idea. You’re going to have to be patient and wait for later. When everyone’s in bed."

“No sneaking into the pantry or the guest bathroom? These are some pretty shitty wifing skills on your part.”

“Just the most horrible wife ever. In the history of marriage. You poor, poor man. I am sorry you have go one day with getting one blow job instead of two.”

“That’s ground for divorce,” he teases.

“I’ve been way too good to you over the course of the last five years. You’ve come to expect these things. You don’t see me expecting to be woken up the same way every morning.”

“Bullshit. I’ve been waking you up the same way every day for nearly six years. You can’t tell me you don’t expect it. That you wouldn’t miss it if it suddenly stopped.”

“I would be extremely disappointed, actually. But seeing as you like doing it just as much as I like being on the receiving end, I know it won’t stop any time soon. I WILL make it up to you. You have my word. And I’m good on my word.”

“I have to admit, you haven’t disappointed me yet. Promise me that you’ll spoil yourself today? That you won’t buy me or the kids all kinds of shit we won’t need? I know what you’re like. I know you always plan on buying things for yourself and never do. Don’t piss me off. Don’t make me put you through a dry spell.”

“I promise that I will only spoil myself. Although I don’t see why I should bother. You do a good enough job. You’re the king of needless spoiling.”

“I spoil you because you deserve it. And because it makes me happy. That I can’t buy you shit just for the sake of buying it. Humour me, okay? Let me make up for all the times we barely had money for food and I had no idea how I was going to pay rent from month to the next.”

“Which was none of your fault,” she reminds him. “You almost died. You were in inpatient for two months. And even after you got home, you weren’t exactly well enough to work. Stop blaming yourself. It was way beyond your control. And we did fine. We managed. We didn’t have much but we were happy. All that mattered to me was that you were alive and we were together. And that our baby girl was healthy. Nothing else mattered.”

“I just like being able to give you things. Not because you need them or even necessarily want them. Just because. So shut up and let me do it, yeah? Let me spoil my wife.”

“I have a feeling this is an argument I will never win.”

“You know what? I will gladly die on this hill.”

“Speaking of hills to die on, you’ve picked a pretty big one. Taking all seven plus Alannah out at once? That takes some balls, babe. That’s some serious superhero shit. And you say you’re not brave?”

“Out of curiosity, which kids are your favorites? Because I can’t promise all seven of them will make it back. And seeing as there’s no sharks to offer sacrifices to, looks like I’m feeding them to the subway trolls.”

“You’ll be just fine. You’ve done this before; taking all the kids out at once. And you lived to tell about it. You have some serious cajones, honey. No one can ever convince me otherwise.”

“You think way too highly of me. I better go. Before someone DOES have to go to the bathroom. And if I have go through that one more time…”

“You are a brave, brave man, Tyler Rake. I don’t want to ever hear you say any different. I’d say have a good time, but we’re talking about seven kids plus an extra, so…”

“Just keep your fingers crossed my sanity stays intact. Or what’s left of it anyway.” Laying a hand on the back of her head, he pulls her into one final kiss; her tiny frame once more perched on her tiptoes as she leans into him. It’s become their ‘thing’; never leave the home without a hug and a kiss and telling the other how you feel about them. Life is just too short and unpredictable; the incident five years ago reminding them just how quickly everything can change and be snatched away from you. And he pulls her close; a forearm along the small of her back and his lips against her temple. “I love you.”

Giving his neck a final squeeze, she runs her fingernails along the nape and then brushes her lips against his cheek. “I love you. Be good. No feeding any of the children to the subway trolls. I happen to quite like all of them.”

“I’m not making any promises. Remember what I said; about spoiling yourself. And about something sexy.”

“I still think I should get a hint. About your plans for after Ovi’s wedding.”

“I told you. It’s a surprise.” He reaches for the handle on the door. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Yeah…” she smiles, shooting him a wink as he steps out onto the snow covered porch. “...you will.”

*****

Even a simple two block walk is an adventure with eight kids in tow. The oldest leading the pack while the stragglers and the littlest ones follow; tiny legs finding it easier to navigate unshoveled sidewalks when they have much larger footprints to step into. For the most part they are an amicable and well behaved group. Millie and Alannah with their locked arms and their high pitched giggles and seemingly endless chattering, TJ with a protective slung across Tanner’s shoulders and always ready and willing to help him to either climb over snow covered curbs or carrying him entirely. Declan and Brooklyn are the ‘wild ones’; sandwiched in the middle of the group to avoid them running too far ahead and kept in line by a stern Millie threatening to clothesline them if they dare jump into the puddles of slush. Takota and Addie are the slow pokes; tiny bodies weighed down by heavy boots and layers of clothes, always stopping every few feet to make footprints in the higher banks or to ball up snow and toss it at each other. And while the frequent stops and the repetitive -yet calm and patient- requests to just ‘get a move on’ would likely be annoying to most parents, Tyler relishes in every second he gets to spend with his kids; knowing how quick everything can be snatched away and your life altered forever. Nothing makes him smile like the sight of those little faces turned up towards the sky; eyes closed and their noses scrunched up as they try to catch snowflakes on their tongues. And there’s no sound more beautiful than those shrieks and giggles; unleashed when he picks both of them up and tosses them into snowbanks. In the end the journey and the deeper areas of snow defeats tiny legs and he resorts to carrying them; one in each arm as they tightly cling to his neck.

They’re shown to a booth at the back of the restaurant; upholstered in red leather and large enough to fit parties of their size. It’s chaos getting everyone undressed; arms flailing as jackets are yanked off and the straps of snow pants pushed down, littles complaining about their feet being sweaty and not thinking twice of kicking their boots off, hats and mitts having to be fetched when they slip out of sleeves and hoods and have to be fetched from under the table. They’ve eaten in the establishment enough to be seen as regulars. The havoc and noise going on unacknowledged by staff and fellow diners; the occasional sympathetic or amused smile being tossed in their direction, a handful of compliments revolving aroundt how cute the kids are and their ‘charming’ accents, praises on how well he’s handling such a large ‘brood’ and how brave he is for taking them all out at once. Even a comment about how not seeing many ‘male’ nannies even in this day and age.

“He’s not our nanny.” Brooklyn is quick to speak up. Never backing down from what she considers something ridiculous or rude. “It’s our dad. We’re all related. Except for her…” she jerks her head in Alannah’s direction. “..but she might as well be. We love her like she’s one of us. And she likes our house better. It’s more fun. Her parents are assholes.”

“Language,” Tyler admonishes, and lays a hand on the back of her head and gently pushes her in the direction of the booth. “And you don’t have to tell everyone our business.”

“It’s totally obvious you’re not our nanny. We all look alike. Well, maybe not Declan. He’s the odd duck.”

“Hey!” Declan objects from his place between Millie and TJ. “I look like grandma Adeline. Which was dad’s mom. So that means I look like dad. Just a red headed version. I still look like him though.”

“You don’t even have blue eyes,” Brooklyn argues, as she slides onto the bench and wriggles her way across. “You don’t look like daddy at all. Well, maybe his nose. And his ears.”

“I don’t have blue eyes either,” Addie pipes up, as she’s helped out of her coat and shoves her hat and mittens into the sleeves. “Yet daddy is my daddy. I don’t look like him at all.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re adopted,” Declan says.

“I am not! I look like mommy! Daddy says so. That I look just like her. That if mommy got put into a shrinking machine, you’d get me. That’s what you said, right daddy? That I look like a tiny version of mommy.”

“You look just like her,” he confirms, and slides the straps of her snow pants down her arms. “A little version. Her mini me.”

“Like TJ is yours, right? Only TJ isn’t so little. He’s tall and big. I’m short and wee. Why am I short and wee? Why can’t I be tall like you guys?”

“All the good genes ran out,” Millie explains. “By the time mom and dad got to you, there was nothing good left. You got the spare stuff.”

“You’re full of shit,” Addie counters, then smiles sheepishly up at her father. “Sorry. Language. I know, I know. But sometimes it just slips out. You’re a bad influence.”

Grinning, he removes the elastic from her lopsided ponytail and uses his fingers to comb through the messy dark tresses. “You’re going to throw me under the bus, are you?”

“You swear all the time. Especially in the car. When people don’t use their blinkers or they drive too slow in the fast lane.”

“Or if people come too close to us when we’re in the crosswalk,” TJ adds. “Remember last year? When we were going to see mom at the store? When someone was going to run the light when we were crossing? Dad put his foot right through their front grill.”

“And said a whole lot of bad words,” Declan adds. “For everyone to hear.”

“For the record…” he gathers Addie’s hair in both hands and resets the ponytail. “...it could have been worse. I could have put my foot through his face.”

“I would have paid to have seen that,” TJ declares. “I’m almost eleven and I still haven’t seen you mess anyone up. I feel robbed.”

“I’d like to see him hand someone their ass,” Millie says. “I’ve just heard stories. I want to see it with my own two eyes.”

“You should totally beat the crap out Jacobi,” Declan chimes in. “He totally has a crush on mum. That’s not right. That’s someone else's wife. You don’t mess with someone else’s wife. Is nothing sacred anymore?”

“Especially OUR mom,” Tanner adds, as he rummages through his backpack for his weighted lap pad and noise cancelling headphones. “Has he not seen our dad? Like, hello! He’s ginormous. And he looks scary too. All the tattoos and stuff? And he has a scary voice.”

“He only looks scary when he’s mad. And his voice is only scary when he yells,” Brooklyn contributes. “His normal voice isn’t scary. It’s just deep. Like Darth Vader. And mommy’s voice sounds like a little elf. It’s a really weird combo. But you should, daddy. Beat up, Jacobi. He tries to get cozy with mommy. The other day while you were away, he brought her a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. A venti. Do you know how much those things cost? He must be in love with her. You should for sure punch him in the face. At least once. Twice if you want him to stay down.”

“Listen pipsqueak, I don’t need your advice on how to knock someone out. And no one is beating anyone up. Jacobi’s a kid. He has a crush. That’s it.”

“Naw, it’s totally love,” Declan argues. “No one with just a crush buys you Starbucks. Dunkin’ Donuts, maybe. Not the expensive stuff.”

“You all need to relax.” Sliding into the booth, he reaches for Addie and places her on his lap. She and Brooklyn have their own calendar they’ve created; keeping a very accurate and detailed log on the dates and times each got to sit with daddy in order to determine whose turn it is and avoid arguments. “I don’t think your mom has a thing for Jacobi. I don’t think you have to worry about him ever becoming your step dad.”

“Desi might,” Takota pipes up. “He likes mummy. They always spend a lot of time together.”

“That’s mum’s best friend,” TJ informs his littlest brother. “He’s like an older brother to her. She IS not going to leave dad for Desi. She’s not going to leave dad for anyone. He’d have to be the one to screw up and leave.”

“No one is leaving anyone for someone else. You guys are too much. Just decide what you want, okay? You’re giving me more gray hair here. Let’s play the quiet game. Everyone look at your menu and pick something. And don’t talk while doing it.”

“The quiet game doesn’t work,” Tanner says, and pulls a stuffed koala from his backpack and hands it across the table to Addie. “You almost forgot Fredrick at home.”

“You’re the best, Tanny! Thank you!” She rubs her cheek against the toy’s faded and tattered ‘fur’ and then snuggles him tight to her chest.

Frederick has seen his fair share of adventures; being carted all over Australia and Colorado by a much smaller and younger Millie, and his ‘koala napping’ in Mumbai five years ago. If he thinks long and hard enough about it, Tyler can still remember the terror of that initial night; the bedroom window open and an infant Addie screaming from the discomfort of the cool air. His instincts had immediately told him to fear the worst. That it wasn’t something as innocent and simple as one of Anil’s workers opening the window and forgetting to close it. And when that bear had shown up on the doorstep of the safe house in Dhaka, his worst nightmare had been in danger of coming true. Someone with a score to settle had gotten close enough to his daughter to potentially take her right from her bed; having to reach over her and likely coming in contact with her body. In all his years on the job and as many times as his own life had been in danger, he’d never felt fear quite like that. That chill of terror that seems to take over your entire body and settle into your bones. There was always a chance of someone tracking him down out of the need for revenge; a worry that his kids could be made a target as a way of breaking him. But that was the closest anyone had ever gotten.

He’d vowed to never let that happen again. And to kill anyone that posed even the slightest bit of threat.

The silence that ensues is a welcome change; a waitress bringing coffee for him and glasses of chocolate milk for the kids and then taking their orders. TJ, Declan and Tanner watching youtube videos on the latter’s Ipad while Millie and Alannah whisper and giggle at the Instagram posts they scroll through on Alannah’s phone. The littlest busy themselves with the baskets of crayons that the restaurant had provided; scribbling and doodling on the craft paper that covers the table. All in all, they’re good kids; polite and always minding their manners, careful not to make too much noise that will bother others around them, saving the majority of their arguments and insults for the street or at home. It can’t get wild; seven little humans all talking at once and vying for attention. Christmas morning is far the most chaotic; a living room full of presents and excited chattering and squeals of joy and excitement. It’s enough to take the sting out of the memories of his past. Seeing those cute faces light up and the tears of pure happiness over receiving a much sought after item and feeling those little arms wrap around your neck and the lips that press to your cheek; those tiny voices saying thank you and telling you how much they love you.

*****

“Daddy?” Addie breaks the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Will you please help me? Will you draw a kangaroo for me? I don’t know how.”

Selecting a crayon from the basket in the middle of the table, he tends to his daughter’s request. He’d discovered at a young age that not only COULD he draw, but that he was exceptionally good at it; his mother nurturing and feeding the talent and always encouraging him by buying his pencils and sketchbooks and constantly praising his work. It was something he had enjoyed just as much as surfing or spending time outdoors, but had quickly learned to keep a secret from his father. The old man had viewed anything even remotely related to the arts as ‘girly’ and ‘pathetic’; preferring his son to pick up more manly pursuits and drilling it into his head that a ‘real man’ didn’t create. After his mom had died, his father had gone through his room and not only trashed every piece of art tapped to the wall, but burnt every sketch book and pencil in the fire pit in the backyard.

He hadn’t picked up a pencil since. Until Millie had started showing a very keen eye and skilled hand and had asked for an area in the house to be turned into her own little studio. A loft added above the new garage; a place filled with paints and pencils and easels and canvases and anything else that she could possibly need. And spending time with her in that studio and nurturing and encouraging her talent had been a way of rediscovering his own. Using it as a form of escape and relaxation when life gets too hectic and stressful or his mental health feels as if it’s spiralling out of control.

“Daddy?”

“Addie?”

“If mummy didn’t do the same job as you a long time ago, how else would you have met her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she would have come to Australia. Maybe we would have met that way. On the beach or something.”

“Would you have still liked her? If you met her that way?”

“Why wouldn’t I? She still would have been mummy. She still would have been the same person.”

“Do you think she would have liked you? If she met you a different way?”

“I think so. I hope she would have.”

“What would you have done? If you didn’t do that job?”

He shrugs. “Maybe I would have stayed in the military. Or become a fireman. Or done construction. Or built houses. Something where I could stay busy and use my hands.”

“I think you would have been a good policeman. You would have been really good at catching bad guys. I mean, that’s what you were doing in the first place. Just you weren’t a policeman. What do you think mummy would have done? If she had a different job?”

“I’m not sure. I think she would have made a really good teacher. Or a nurse.”

“Like Auntie Riley and Auntie Shaena?”

“Yup. Just like him. She’d probably work with kids though. I think your mum is meant to be around kids.”

“I think so too. She’s a really good mummy. She always plays with us and she even does dress up and makes up different names and voices for all my dolls. She’s never too busy; to have fun with us. And she gives really good cuddles and kisses too.”

“She’s an awesome mum. I definitely picked a good one to have kids with.”

“So did mummy. You guys make a good team. And you make cute kids.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, and presses a kiss to her temple. “Really, really, REALLY cute kids.”

“I bet she would have still liked you. If she met you a different way. I mean, you still would have been daddy. You still would have looked the same. You still would have had nice muscles.”

“Is that what mummy says she likes the best?”

“She says it’s third on her list.”

“What’s number one and two?”

“Your eyes and your smile. Your voice is number four and your butt is number five.”

“She didn’t say anything about my hands? That’s weird. For your mom.”

“Your hands were number six. And your forearms were number seven. I don’t understand that one. Mum says it’s hard to explain. Why she likes them so much. She said when she first met you, she was attracted to your face. That you had a kind of a sad face. In a beautiful way.”

“She said that?”

“Yep. She said that you had kind eyes. And that she liked how they crinkled when you smiled. That you smiled at her and you made your insides go all funny. What does that mean?”

He chuckles. “It’s nothing you need to know until you’re older. What else did she say?”

“Just that you were really good looking and she liked your haircut and your beard. And that you shared the house with a chicken. Is that true?”

“It is. I did have a chicken in the house.”

“Can we have a house chicken? When we get home can we get one?”

“No. Chickens stay outside now. No chickens in the house. They poop too much.”

“Not even if I let the chicken stay in my room?”

“Not even then. Sorry, Peanut.”

“Can I have a kitten?”

“I don’t like cats.”

“How can you not like cats? Cats are cute. They’re all fluffy and sweet and purr and stuff. How do you not like cats? Can I? Get one? For my birthday?”

“How about I talk to your mum about that? She gets the last say.”

“That’s ‘cause she wears the pants in the family.”

Tyler smirks. “Did she say that too?”

“Don’t deny it, daddy. You know mum's the boss. She just let’s you think you are. Everyone knows she rules the roost.”

“I’m going to have a talk with her later. Is this good enough? Good enough kangaroo?”

“Best kangaroo ever! Looks like Charlie. Do you think he misses us? I bet he does. I bet he’s sad that we’re not there. Because no one is giving him peanut butter sandwiches and lettuce. What if he’s mad at us? That we went away? What if he doesn’t come back? I don’t want him being mad at us.”

“I had a talk with him before we left. Told him we’d be back in a couple weeks. And that we’d give him extra lettuce when we got back. And peanut butter sandwiches.”

“Was he mad? That we were going away?”

“Nope. He was a little sad. Said he’d miss you the most. That you make the best peanut butter sandwiches.”

She tips her head back to look at him; a smile stretching from ear to ear and her dark eyes sparkling. “He did? He said that?”

“He did. He said ‘tell Addie she’s my favorite and I’ll miss her and her peanut butter sandwiches’. He said he’d be there when you got back. First thing in the next morning.”

“He’s a good little Joey. I hope he never gets tired of us and that when he grows up and has his own babies, he brings them to our house too. And then we can feed them all peanut butter sandwiches and lettuce.”

Smiling, he curls an arm around her waist and pulls her tighter into him, then presses a kiss to her cheek and then the side of her head. She’s so much like her mother; the short and petite build, the dark eyes and the beaming smile and the freckle splattered nose. And their personality is shared as well; both bubbly and light hearted and willing and eager to experience new things and meet new people. Out of all the kids, she’s the one he babies; by far the tiniest and the seemingly most fragile. But it’s the similarity to her mother that drives his need to protect and coddle her the most; reminding him of Esme and everything his wife had gone through during the entire McMann fiasco to make sure Addie was carried and brought into the world safely.

Silence one more falls on the top when the waitress returns with drink refills and their respective orders. And it isn’t until halfway through the meal when he notices Millie look up from her plate of food and towards the front door; eyes narrowing and a scowl capturing her lips. She reaches behind Declan and smacks TJ upside the head; the latter growling in protest, but then following his sister’s gaze when she nods in the direction of the door.

“What’s up with you two? What’s…?”

“It’s that lady,” Millie grumbles. “The one that came to the house looking for you yesterday.”

“That’s her?” TJ’s nose crinkles in disgust. “SHE had the nerve to shit talk mum? Oh hell no.”

Tyler makes the mistake of glancing over his shoulder; greeted by a broad smile and a wave as Natalie nudges her daughter in the direction of their booth. He inwardly lets loose a string of profanities. There’d already been enough drama caused over a simple and unassuming conversation at the park. The last thing he needs is someone...especially another woman...dropping by his house and getting too close and comfortable. The women at the soccer park and on the playground are bad enough. But at least they’re not showing up unannounced on his doorstep.

“Hey,” Natalie cheerfully greets. “Imagine meeting you here.”

“My dad’s not the only one here,” TJ responds first “You do see us, right?”

“Do you mind if we join you? If everyone shoves down just a bit…”

“We do mind,” Millie speaks up. “Very much. We’re here with our dad. It’s a family thing. We don’t even know you.”

“Amelia…” he stares at her pointedly. “...settle.”

“Dad, it’s quite obvious what and who she wants. Someone has to stick up for mum. She isn’t here to beat her ass herself.”

“I said settle. Relax. This doesn’t involve you.”

“Fine,” she huffs, and leans back against the leather of the booth and crosses her arms over her chest.

“This isn’t a good time,” he addresses Natalie. “She’s right. This IS a family thing.”

Smirking, the neighbour nods in Alannah’s direction.

“She’s as close to family as it gets. So if you don’t mind…”

“I stopped by yesterday. To thank you for being so nice at the park. Met your wife.”

“Yeah, she told me. She also told me you weren’t the friendliest. Something about making fun of how she looks?”

“I wasn’t making fun. I was merely critiquing.”

“You can keep your critiques to yourself. My wife looks amazing. Just the way she is. And really don’t think it was appropriate; you showing up like that. It was small talk. That’s it. I wasn’t trying to make it seem like anything more than that.”

“I thought we had a little...connection.”

“No. There was no connection. None. Whatsoever. I was being nice. That’s it. I’m married. And not the type of married that you’re probably used to. I’m married as in I’m not interested and nothing is ever going to happen.”

“Our dad doesn’t cheat,” TJ informs her. “And our mom is way better than you. Like, a hundred times better.”

“Tyler, stop. I can handle this. I know you’re protective of your mum, but…”

“I must have misread the signals.” Natalia gives a sheepish, apologetic smile. “The way you were giving them off and the way you were…”

“I wasn’t giving off any signals. I don’t play games like that. If I was interested, you’d know. And I’m not. Interested. I have a wife. That I love more than life itself. So thanks, but no thanks. Not gonna happen. EVER. And if you don’t mind, don’t come to my house. That was way out of line. I didn’t appreciate it. There was no need for that. Unless you just wanted to ruffle feathers.”

“I never meant to cause problems. My visit was taken way out of context. I just showed up to be friendly and neighbourly. That’s it.”

“Something tells me that’s bullshit. And I’d really like it if you didn’t come around. Like I said, I’m married. Happily. VERY happily. I don’t know what kind of married men you’re used to, but I’m not one of them. So if I could get back to lunch with my kids…”

“I’m sorry to have caused you any issues. Or to have wasted your time.”

He watches her as she goes; the tightly clenched jaw and the rigid shoulders and the over aggressive way she shoves her daughter in the direction of an empty table. It’s the behaviour of a woman that is used to getting what and WHO she wants. Who isn’t used to rejection -especially public- and can’t handle being put in her place.

“I don’t know about you, dad,” TJ says, as he turns around in his seat after watching Natalie’s dramatic exit. “But I don’t trust her. She’s definitely up to no good.”

Nodding slowly, he lifts his coffee cup to his lips and takes a long, slow sip. His instincts tell him the same thing; it isn’t the last he’s seen or heard from the new neighbour. He’s witnessed that kind of behaviour before. She’s cunning and manipulative; refusing to take no for an answer and doing whatever she can to wreak havoc as a response to being shot down. But he’s faced far greater challenges and threats. Nik had learned the hard way not to fuck with his family. Being ostracized and shunned for years until she was ready to make amends for the trouble she’d caused and she’d finally moved on with Anil; getting married and having children of her own and settling nicely into a repaired and much healthier relationship with both Tyler and Esme. And if Natalie has to suffer the same embarrassing fate, he has no qualms about dealing her that particular hand.

More than ready, willing, and able to protect and defend the life he has.