#likes bacon bits and chewing on plastic bags

[floral-hex]

I like my women like I like my cats: soft, hairy, and in need of constant attention.

[dreadsuitsamus]

The Reunion | Renji Abarai x Reader |

author's note: this is for @actuallysaiyan, and it's a week or so late lol but here it is, finished. i hope you feel better, bacon, and that it stays that way 🩷 and special thank you to @yeowangies, who supported me on this when i felt it wasn't right. thank you, vero!! 🩷🩷 this is part of the mechanic au, and is chronologically the first out of all i've written so far.

pairing: renji abarai x fem!reader

warnings: a slight bit of angst but far more comfort

You’ve been staring at the email for a good little while now, having blanked out sometime ago as memories and past feelings of dread rise up your spine. Somehow it’s already been ten years since your graduation from high school, and it’s around that time for a good ole reunion, apparently. The mere idea of going back and seeing those people, the ones that made the experience worse than it needed to be and even those that didn’t particularly do anything to you, is less preferable than using cinder blocks for pillows. High school could’ve been worse, and historically for many it was in comparison to your time in those final years of school, but it never left a good flavor in your mouth. Perhaps it’d be different if you’d managed to find a clique to be part of and shape the way you looked at things, but it always felt like nobody really wanted you around, and as such you were a loner.

Things haven’t changed much ten years later.

The sudden sound of plastic crinkling startles a gasp from you alongside a slew of goosebumps down your spine. Somehow you hadn’t heard the garage door open and the heavy footsteps of your mechanic’s steel-toed boots stomping to the small kitchen area. Renji perks a brow, pausing just as he’s about to toss the bag of popcorn into the microwave. “Head in the clouds today, eh?”

Shaking what’s left of the scare away, you close out the email forwarded to you. “Sorry… Just got caught up and didn’t hear you come in.”

“Must be something heavy if you didn’t hear me.” You’ve chided Renji for just how noisy he is many times, ever since you partnered up with him to run his shop just over a year ago and have lost count of how many times you’ve been on the phone with a customer and they could hear the sounds of Renji yelling in the shop.

“I don’t know if heavy is the word for it. It’s stupid, really… But some things are hard to let go of even ten years later.” You murmur the last part to yourself more than to Renji, and he soon settles into his usual chair in front of your desk with his freshly popped snack.

“Well, what is it?” He gathers up a handful of popcorn, dropping in a few pieces into his mouth and chewing expectantly, raising a brow at your hesitation. You were fine the last time he came up here! What could’ve happened in the two hours he’s been hard at work in the garage?

Sighing, you pull the email up again. “My high school reunion is coming soon.”

“Oh. And… it’s a bad thing?” He asks carefully, considering each word with more finesse than when he does electrical work. Oh god, are you about to enter some weird, way too early midlife crisis?? He can already barely handle you while on your period, he’ll never survive this—

“I mean, I guess it isn’t? Or it shouldn’t be. I dunno… High school wasn’t really great for me.” Your lips twist as that sinking, dismal feeling claws back into your gut.

Renji shuffles more popcorn into his hand. “I don’t think it was for most people, really. ‘S why I dropped out and started this up.”

“I wasn’t really bullied or anything. I just always felt like I didn’t belong, y’know? Nobody really talked to me or got to know me, and I kinda just stopped trying after a point. I had a few friends I’d made, but never ones that I’d meet outside of school or anything like that. I never went to the dances or football games, or even the skating rink when I was in middle school and that was the thing middle schoolers did every Friday night. And going to this reunion, I think it’d just… Be more of the same. I don’t wanna feel that way again. I doubt anyone would even remember me!”

Who could forget a face like that? Renji thinks to himself. “‘S up to you. When is it?”

“The end of next month.”

The redhead nods thoughtfully, dumping the last of the popcorn into his palm. “Let’s make a deal. You go to that reunion, and I’ll be your plus one.”

“You sure? It’s probably gonna be boring…”

“I’m a dropout, so ‘s not like I’m getting any other opportunity to be bored to tears and watch guys that peaked in high school football reminisce about how they almost got to go pro. C’mon, chin up! If it’s no good, we’ll make it good. Okay?”

A warm feeling pushes out the nastiness in your tummy and a warm smile replaces the unsure pout on your lips. “Alright. We’ll go to this stupid thing.”

The corner of his mouth perks up a tad. “I can even pretend to be part of the British monarchy to shake things up, if you want.”

“Ren, no.” A giggle bubbles at the mere idea of Renji attempting any sort of British accent. And this guy, the one with tattoos that start at his forehead and go all the way down to his ankles, playing royalty?? Only a fool would believe him!

Though thinking about it further after Renji’s head back into the shop to finish the day off, you surmise that it’s not entirely impossible that you attended school with just the idiots that would think a foreign prince is at their ten year high school reunion, and on your arm!

The day comes quicker than you’d hoped. It’s been a miserable slog to prepare for (figuring out what to wear to a ten-year reunion was far more difficult than it had any right to be!) but with the help of Renji’s assurance over the last few weeks, you’re quite calm as you add the final touches to your hair, makeup and outfit. He’s on his way now to pick you up, surely in one of his restored classic cars to add just a little bit of style to your entry, and your heart thumps quickly in the face of his impending arrival. Having been a friend and business partner of Renji for over a year now, you still haven’t spent much time in these sort of scenarios together— this could almost be a date. Your cheeks scorch at the thought of your friendship with Renji taking that sort of turn. It’s unlikely at best and absolutely impossible at worst! Your threads just can’t cross like that, even if the attraction was there. Too much rides on the line of your professional relationship, and to lose that would lead to a litany of problems that would only drag you right back into the messes he and you both were in back when you first met.

Cracking down as your curious mind almost starts contemplating the what-ifs, the doorbell is ringing with Renji waiting on the other side. His grin nearly blinds you, though the roaring of wanton blood rushing through you overwhelms all of your other senses. Here this man is, handsome and sweet-smelling and on your doorstep.

For a non-romantic evening spent around your former high school peers. It’s a wonder how life manages to keep kicking you while you’re down.

“Hey, you ready to go? You look great.” Those warm eyes of his are hungry and he’s not afraid to show it. You opted for a tried and true classic in the form of the little black dress, and while it’s no trendsetter or daring attempt to make any statements, it’s certainly going to draw eyes. Renji’s got half the mind to ditch the dumb reunion entirely and take you out somewhere more deserving of such beauty— alas, he doesn’t tend to frequent any place that isn’t his garage or a dive bar, and it’s not what he’s been asked to do anyway.

And getting the opportunity to take you on a date is something he can only achieve in his daydreams.

“Me? Let’s talk about you for a second!” A flirty giggle bubbles up. This is the first time you’ve seen his hair down and it’s gorgeously spilling over the shoulders of his deep green suit jacket that compliments him like no other color you’ve seen him wear. He’s delicious, tantalizing, so radiant and, criminally, is not here for any of the things you’re wishing he’s here for. “Goodness, Ren, you look amazing!”

Renji’s cheeks dust a rosy shade. “Had to clean up nice for you. The foreign prince offer is still on the table, after all.”

Snorting, your purse is hooked over your shoulder while you step beside him and lock the front door behind you. “No, it isn’t.”

“You’ve never had fun a day in your life!” Renji’s pout is pitiful, but quickly wiped away as he leads you to the car. Your assumption of his vehicle of choice was right, the exterior particularly shiny after a fresh coat of wax Renji applied earlier today. You’re certainly set to turn heads when you arrive at the country club the reunion is held at!

Your palms begin to feel clammy as Renji closes your door and crosses over to the driver’s side. The club is about a twenty minute drive away, maybe thirty if there’s traffic, and then you’ll be face to face with your graduating class. Have they been successful? Will they remember you? You can’t decide if it’s for the best or not if they have no ideas about you. What will keep them from shutting you out like they had ten years ago?

Renji’s curved knuckle taps beneath your chin, guiding you to look over at him. The car is small, and your proximity to your mechanic as such is far closer than you’ve ever been. His breath is minty, fanning warmly over your skin as his deep voice coaxes at you gently. “Hey... Relax. This is only gonna be as bad as you let it be. High school didn’t mean anything back then and it damn sure isn’t gonna mean anything now.”

“I don’t wanna feel left out again.” You whisper with glossy eyes and a wobbly lip that threatens to ruin your makeup.

“You’re not gonna be left out! I’m gonna be there the entire time, right by your side. We’re gonna drink and talk to people and have a good time. Don’t psych yourself out, okay??” He murmurs sweetly, and he may as well be chanting don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry over and over with that look on his face. He’s really the biggest sweetheart despite what your first impression of him had you thinking way back when—  a pretty girl in tears may as well be his kryptonite!

“Promise?” You blink away your tears with a sniffle, and Renji’s lips curl into a smile.

“I promise. And you know it’s true because I’m a terrible liar. Just trust me and it’ll all be over before you know it.” He winks at you and turns to start the car up, and the fears in your chest fade away rather than strengthen the closer you get to the venue. What’s there to truly be afraid of? You’re in a beautiful car alongside a wonderful, handsome man that's doing his best to make you happy. A smile blooms on your lips, and you give Renji a strong hug upon exiting the car.

“Thank you, Renji.”

His cheeks blush the brightest pink, clashing awfully with his scarlet hair as his strong arms loop around you tightly. “Hey… Anytime.”

After parting, Renji offers his arm up to you, and you gladly take it! Walking into this reunion on the arm of a handsome man was the last thing you planned on doing when you first got the email, but for once life has decided to give you lemonade rather than lemons.

[anthrofreshtodeath]

28. surprising them with their favourite treat

Let's do it! I am an ancient New England grandma when it comes to my taste in candy, so I'm pretending Maura is, too. Here we are:

___

Jane steps out of her unmarked and into the blistering heat of the Market Basket parking lot over off of School Street, her car one of a few dozen here on a Thursday afternoon. She slams the driver’s side door, too, just for good measure. She pops her gum, chewing with her lips closed like she’s got an attitude, because she fucking does.

She’s also got an interview over by BHCC in Charlestown, and that’s why she picked this Market Basket, even though the whole reason she’s here is fucking Hope Martin. Maura’s unhinged biological mother is back in town, and had intercepted Jane this morning in front of her apartment building because Maura isn’t returning her calls. Jane had shut her down as politely as possible, all while wanting to call her a fuckin’ kidney-robbin’ cunt, but she’d held strong.

Not that she didn’t call her a fuckin’ kidney-robbin’ cunt the whole way here. Jane flips her aviators up onto the top of her head when she marches through the automatic doors, and prepares to stomp through her entire trip, but something about the air conditioning and the familiar smell of sheet cake calms her. Well, calms her just enough to pull the bat outta hell back in, at least for the sake of the other shoppers around her. And she thinks about making a left for the bakery and getting Maura a whole-ass cake, but she doesn’t want to get distracted, either. 

Hope is in town, which means Maura’s a mess, which means impromptu movie night. Most of the time, Maura likes to pull out the mixed nuts, the dried fruit, and the organic, stove-popped popcorn for their movies, but today calls for the big guns.

Maura would never admit it, but when she’s really down, processed sugar is the only thing that’ll do. That’s why Jane’s here, unbeknownst to Maura, and not at the Whole Foods down the street. She weaves through a couple old ladies and a mom with her two kids under two, swooping up a hand basket on her way, and scans the store layout for the penny candy endcap. 

Right there, on aisle two next to the prepackaged meats like hot dogs and bacon, sits the penny candy in all its glory. Late one night, after Constance’s first visit, Jane had dragged Maura to the store closest to her North End neighborhood and showed her exactly how to scoop all that old school goodness into a plastic bag for maximum satisfaction. Even now, Jane smiles to herself, big and pleased, because she’s got eyes on Maura’s favorites: the licorice bits, the butterscotch, and the bit-o-honeys. And Maura would never, ever, ask for this stuff, because doing so would defile her good girl, all-organic image, but Jane knows what Maura needs.

And tonight, Maura needs candy. Good, old-fashioned, bulk candy. 

So, she gets to scooping: a bag of each, because Maura doesn’t like them to touch, and then a couple bags of peppermint patties and jelly citrus slices for herself. Don’t ask her why, but the taste extremes make her all giddy inside. Sometimes she thinks about eating them together, though she hasn’t had the guts yet. With expertise and finesse and promise to try that another time, she ties them up and tosses them in her hand basket. 

She moves over to the checkout line, checks her watch because that interview’s in about twenty minutes, and taps the toe of her boot on the linoleum. There’s just two people ahead of her, not a problem. 

She chews her gum, cursing Hope again while she waits, but at least this time, she and Maura will have sweets to deal with the tornado. Maybe Maura’ll even consent to an action flick, or a comedy. Hell, Jane’ll settle for a rom-com if it means banishing Hope from their minds. 

Fuckin’ kidney-robbin’ cunt.

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Reflection

Chapter 5: Discussion 

Summary: The reaction to the kiss. Adam and Shiro both share a story about their past. 

AO3!

Previous Chapter

Word Count: 4,026

Welcome back!

There is a discussion of Shiro's illness. Since the canon show didn't give us really anything I created a fake name and just went with what made sense in my head.

Adam’s POV 

He woke up to a splitting headache. He had forgotten to close his curtains when he fell into bed. The light was blinding and he reached up with one hand, trying to close them. This is why I don’t drink. He closed them halfway, pressing his face into the pillow. The pain throbbing. 

 He wasn’t sure how long he lay there. If he faded in and out of consciousness. A loud banging appeared on his door and he groaned. “Go away.” 

 The knocking continued, a muffled voice reaching his ears. They had to be shouting to reach this far into his living space. “Let me in!” 

 He mumbled a couple of curse words under his breath and forced himself to stand. Neglecting to grab his glasses and he did the familiar track to his front door. He opened the door, his hand covering his eyes. “What?!” 

 A whistle was heard, “damn you look rough. Step over, I have hangover food.” A body brushed by him, leaving him standing alone in the doorway. 

 He rubbed his eyes and closed the door. “It’s way too early for this.” 

 “It’s 12:30 in the afternoon.” The voice moved to his kitchen space. “Get over here, I didn’t lie about food.” 

 Adam moved to the kitchen, running his hands through his bedhead. He pulled out the stool for the island as his guest pulled some containers from a paper bag. “You didn’t need to get me anything.” 

 “Oh shush, take these,” a glass of water and two painkillers were slid toward him. 

 Adam mumbled a small thanks and swallowed the pills. 

 Lance slid a container at him. An omelet with a variety of vegetables and ham, two slices of toast with a side of butter, and a couple of slices of bacon. Lance placed two bananas beside the container. “Eat up.” He placed his hands on the counter, leaning on them slightly. 

 “Are you eating?” Adam unwrapped the plastic around the utensils, quickly digging into his food. Not realizing how hungry he was until the first bite reached his mouth. 

 “I already ate.” 

 Adam hummed, picked up the glass, and gulped the water down. Lance grabbed his glass and refilled it. “Take it slow.” 

 “Yeah yeah,” Adam slowed down his chewing, taking a moment to let himself properly adjust to the surroundings. It was still a bit too bright but it was manageable. He looked at Lance who looked more put together than he did- wait. He froze mid-chew. Staring at Lance. 

 “What? Do I have something on my face?” The younger boy wiped his face with a confused expression. 

 “Is that?” Adam stood up, the stool sliding backward. He leaned over the counter, reaching for Lance’s shirt. 

 “Hey! What are you doing?!” Lance tried to back up right as Adam grabbed his shirt. Pulling him closer. 

 “Is that…” he squinted, his vision was never the best without his glasses. “Is that a hickey?!” Lance's face darkened and he yanked himself away from Adam, pulling his shirt up further on his neck. “Oh my god! You have a hickey!!” His head began to throb at his own voice and he found himself wincing. 

 “Shush!!!” Lance looked everywhere but him. “What are you fifteen or something?” 

 Adam fell back in his chair, rubbing his forehead to ease the pain. “Who gave it to you?” 

 “No one, I burned my neck…straightening my hair?” 

 Adam threw a piece of bacon at the younger boy. “Don’t pull that shit with me. Who was it!” Lance didn’t respond, his face going even darker. Adam smiled to himself. “You and Keith finally hooked up?” 

 “WHAT?!” 

 Adam grabbed at his head again, “God are you trying to melt my brain right now?” 

 “I..uh, well you can’t…why would I hook up with mullet!” Lance looked like a fish out of water. His mouth hung open as he grasped to form a proper sentence. 

 Adam lifted his eyebrow, grabbing his fork to pick at his food. “Ugh, he’s annoying Commander Wright. There he goes, top of the class again! Always number one. Ugh Commander W. you would never believe what Keith did in class today-”

 “Okay okay! Yes, we hooked up just…just stop…please.” Lance picked at the bacon Adam threw at him. “We got..closer during Voltron. Pinning got worse on my end and I guess he felt the same.”

 Adam sent him a small smile, fighting the urge to say anyone could have seen Keith pinning back at him way before Voltron. “Happy for you.” 

 “Thanks…can I ask you something?” 

 “Need the birds and the bees talk?” Adam joked. 

 Lancer rolled his eyes, “no,” he stared at the piece of bacon in his hands. “What happened last night? With you and Shiro…?” 

 Adams' stomach dropped, and memories from his drunken state flooded his mind. The conversation, the dog tag, the kiss. He took another sip of his drink. “What makes you think anything happened?” 

 Lance frowned, “Allura saw you leave the balcony and she went to check on Shiro. Since she had seen him follow you. According to her, he was crying and said something about ‘he doesn’t love me’ while he was drunk. But she told us this morning. Shiro hasn’t left his room all day.” 

 “Ah,” Adam stared at his plate. His appetite was suddenly gone. He twirled the fork between his fingers, trying to formulate a response. 

 “Is it true? You told him you didn't love him?" Lance asked, a bit dumbfounded 

 He nodded, closing his eyes. He hadn’t felt this small since he was a cadet. 

 “Why?” 

 “I…I don’t know.” 

 Lance scoffed. “What do you mean you don’t know?” 

 Adam sighed, gripping his fork a bit tighter. “I just don't know why. Jesus, I'm so confused.” He dropped his fork, dropping his head into his hands. So far he had had zero time to process anything from last night. All he could remember off the bat was anger and fumbling back to his room. And then he woke up. Drunk him managed to slip out of his suit and into pajamas but that was it. 

 He took a deep breath, forcing himself to pull the memories from last night. Jealousy. He was jealous. There was no other emotion present. Just pure jealousy. But why? They weren’t together, he had no reason to feel this way. But he did. 

 Seeing him with, what was his name? Curtis. Just fueled him with this feeling. He didn’t even want to be the one dancing with him! He just…wasn’t ready to see him move on. He had moved on though…right? 

 “Adam?” Lance spoke. “Did you, um,” he cleared his throat. “....you wanted him to kiss you?”

 “Yeah…I asked him too and then while he was there my mind was just screaming how wrong it was. But also how right it was.” He used his free hand to rub his eyes. He could still remember how it felt even through his hangover. 

 Fire. Shiro’s lips burned against his. Suffocating. But at the same time. It brought him back to life. Gave him a feeling he didn’t even know he was missing. And now, would he ever let go of that feeling? Was he going to have to stop himself from chasing the feeling? How badly did he fuck up? 

 “Damn, Adam.”

 He dropped his hand from his face, “what?” 

 Lance shrugged, “you fucked up.” 

 “Excuse me?” Adam sent the younger boy a small glare. “Remember who you’re speaking to, cadet.” 

 Lance brushed him off, “I’m a former Paladin of Voltron, and yes I know who I’m speaking to. And I'm not the seventeen-year-old kid you are in charge of anymore.” He stepped back so his back was against the counter behind him. His posture relaxed. 

 “So you think you can just talk to me like that?” 

 “Don’t see why not. Means I respect you more.” 

 “What?” 

 Lance sighed as if the answer was obvious. And maybe it was. Adam had been known to be dense before. “Because I’m saying what you need to hear. I’m not just sitting and nodding along while you do stupid stuff. Just because you used to be my advisor doesn’t mean I’m still the quiet kid you used to work with.” 

 “What are you saying?” 

 Lance took a deep breath. “I’m saying that you fucked up. You played with his emotions. Drunk or not, it’s clear that Shiro still likes you. It’s clear he wants to fix things so you two can at least talk again. Instead of filling every single room with awkward silence and dragging everyone into your breakup.” 

 “He doesn’t still like me.” 

 Lance mumbled some curses under his breath, “I know you wear glasses but are you seriously that blind?” 

 “What?” 

 The other boy dragged a hand down his face in frustration. “Takashi. Shirogane. Still. Likes. You. Where are you getting confused?” 

 Adam focused on his remaining food. He thought back to every interaction they had since Shiro had returned from space. Shiro had initiated everything since they came. Persistent. Annoyingly at times but he still tried. Maybe he did like him still. But he couldn’t. Shiro couldn’t like him. They weren’t good for each other. Adam wasn’t good for him. “I'm not ready to forgive him.”

 Lance frowned, “then you're not ready to move on and heal.”

 Adam wiped his eyes, a sudden wave of emotion hitting him. “You don't understand. You're still just a kid.” 

 Lance shrugged. “Maybe so but I get what it's like to live every day like it's your last.”

 Adam met his eyes, “what does that have to do with any of this?” 

 “Well. Shiro was sick before he left for Kerberos. Imagine how scary that has to be. How terrifying it must be to wake up every day and think 'is this it?' Earth didn't have a cure. Just some medicine that was extending the process. He needed to do what felt right for what he thought he had left.” 

 Lance's gaze softened. “When Voltron just started I was petrified. If I died in space would my family ever know? Would I be remembered? Every mission I thought 'this is my last.' It never was but that changes you. It makes you do things you wouldn't do any other time. It makes you make decisions you would have never considered. Shiro has been dealing with that long before Voltron.”

 Adam frowned. He could still clearly remember the day Shiro was diagnosed with his killer. Or least, what should have been his killer. His health had been declining rapidly for a couple of months. He was still able to do what he needed to do, but anyone that knew him personally knew he was struggling. 

 “Takashi!” Adam shook his boyfriend awake, his heart beating in his throat. 

 Shiro’s eyes flew open, frantically scanning the dark around him. He opened his mouth to say something but he quickly rolled over to the side. Coughing and borderline gagging filled the room as his body tried to remove everything he had eaten a couple of hours ago. 

 Adam rubbed his back, taking a couple of deep breaths as Shiro finished up his episode. “Are you okay?” He whispered in the dark. 

 “I’m so sorry,” Shiro’s voice cracked at the words. Most likely feeling like a burden for something he had no control over. 

 “Shhh it’s okay, it’s not your fault. Come on,” he motioned for his lover to roll over. “Let’s get you to the showers and I’ll clean it up okay?” 

 “Adam I can-” 

 “Shhh, come on let’s go.” After a bit more arguing from Shiro he was in a shower, new clothes set on the sink and Adam was grabbing what needed to clean the floor. Thank the universe they were able to get a hardwood floor when they were given their housing after graduation. 

 He fumbled for the light, his stomach dropping once his eyes adjusted. Cleaning up puke was never something he enjoyed, but he wanted to help his boyfriend. He thought he had seen it all. But this? This was blood. 

 The doctor finally had an answer the next day. In and out of the office for the past months and this progression was enough to finally land on a diagnosis. Ethereal Pestilent. It had a more complex name but Adam couldn’t remember it. 

 Shiro reached over and squeezed Adam’s hand. Sending him a nonverbal ‘it’s okay.’ The doctor gave them both a sad look. 

 “What does this mean?” Shiro asked, his voice unwavering. 

 Adam wanted to cry. Shiro shouldn’t be this calm. This collected. Adam should be stepping up to ask questions and figure out what can be done and what they should do. Not Shiro. Shiro shouldn’t be comforting him. 

 The doctor leaned forward some, resting his elbows on his desk. “This illness is..chronic I’m afraid.” He paused, somberness filling his eyes. “It has a 98% mortality rate.” 

 “WHAT?” Adam found himself standing, that wasn’t right. That couldn’t be right. If that was right…that would make this a death sentence. Shiro sent him a small smile, gently pulling him back down into his seat. 

 “What does it do?” The question was aimed at the doctor but his eyes didn't leave Adam’s hand. His gaze stared at how their fingers intertwined together. A perfect match. 

 “The body attacks healthy tissue until there is nothing left to attack. We didn’t look for it because it is a genetic disease. But given all of your symptoms the past couple of months and your…episode last night that’s why we scanned for it. The good news is it seems to be mainly in your right arm. Which would explain the tingling and numbness you have been fighting the past couple of months.” The doctor replied. 

 “That doesn’t explain why he threw up blood,” Adam did his best to keep his voice calm. He knew he failed. 

 The doctor nodded. “Yes, this illness usually forms in the internal organs once it starts to spread. Which is why throwing up has been a nightly occurrence lately.” 

 “You just said it was in his right arm!” Adam spat out the words. He hated being confused. Not having control over the situation. 

 “I said mainly,” the doctor replied calmly. “But it clearly has spread to more vital spots.” 

 “Make it make sense,” Adam grumbled.

 Shiro frowned, “so how long do I have left? If it already has spread that much.” 

 “Left untreated, a year. However,” he pulled out a small notepad and grabbed a pen from his jacket pocket. “There are medications and other tools that can extend the longevity left.” 

 “Not cure it?” Adam hesitantly asked. Terrified for the answer he was going to hear. He prayed Shiro didn’t feel the shake in his hand. 

 The doctor shook his head, “I’m afraid not. There is currently no cure that we have found. But new drugs are being tested every day.” 

 Shiro nodded, swallowing a couple of times. His eyes were a bit wetter than before. “What are my options? And will I still be able to fly and teach?” 

 Adam stared at Shiro, unconsciously tuning out what the doctor was saying. He was memorizing his face. Features he had already saved to memory. But, looking away made him anxious. If he closed his eyes too long here wouldn’t be here anymore. Just a memory. Gone from the world.

 He wasn’t ready to lose Takashi. He would never be ready to be without him. 

 “I don’t think I ever cried so much in my life.” 

 “Huh?” Lance cocked his head to the side. 

 “The day Shiro was diagnosed. He was so calm and put together. Except for his eyes getting wet I never saw him cry. Or curse an invisible god for doing this to him. He just continued to live his life. Pursuing his dreams.” He released a shaky laugh. “I was always envious of him. While I fell apart watching him, he remained the same. Hopeful. Alive.” 

 A stillness fell over them. Neither of them moved, nor looked at the other. Lance finally broke the quiet. “Why did you two fall apart? If you want to share with me.” 

 Adam closed the lid to his container. “He chose Kerberos.” 

 “That was such a deal breaker for you?” 

 Adam sighed, how many times did he have this conversation with someone? “It wasn’t so much the mission but he was dying,” his voice cracked. “He was dying.” He slumped into his chair, his limbs feeling heavy. “With medication and shock therapy he had extended his year into seven. He was diagnosed when we were twenty-two. Just out of graduation. And three years later he wants to go on a year-long mission. Leaving only a couple of years left. If nothing progresses.” 

 “You wanted to spend all the time you could together…?” 

 He met Lance’s eyes, “wouldn’t you? If the person you loved was on borrowed time?” The younger boy didn’t respond. Adam rose from where he was seated. “Thanks for breakfast but I need to get busy.” 

 “Adam?” 

 “Just go, Lance. I’ll see you later.” He waited until Lance left the room, following him to the door to lock it. He rested his head on the metal. Praying he would feel better after a shower and more sleep. 

---

Shiro’s POV 

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice sounded on the other side of his door. 

 Shiro squeezed his eyes shut, he wanted to be left alone. His eyes burned from hours of crying, and the skin under his eyes was rubbed raw. His door opened slowly, letting in light that he was trying so hard to avoid. 

 “Shiro? Are you alive?” Keith entered the room, closing the door behind him. 

 Shiro released a grunting sound. 

 “Drink too much?” 

 “Hmmm.” 

 Keith sat on the edge of the bed. “Can I get you anything? A snack? Water? Kick someone's ass for you?” 

 Shiro rolled over, ignoring how dizzy it made him feel. “Why would you do that?” 

 Keith placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Allura told us…what happened. With Adam and how he played you.” 

 Shiro’s heart dropped. A cocktail of embarrassment and relief filled his system. At least he didn’t have to pretend to be okay in front of the team now. “Oh. Last night is mostly a blur.” Lie. He remembered everything perfectly. He may have had some drinks but he wasn’t completely blacked out. Though, he wished he was. 

 What he wouldn’t give to forget about last night. 

 “It was a mistake.” He mumbled. 

 “I figured it was. I know you’ve been wanting to…work things out. I didn't think you would be jumping right into kissing.” Keith whispered back. 

 Tears burned behind Shiro’s eyes and he placed his human arm over his eyes. “What happened to us?” 

 “You know the answer to that.” 

 Shiro sighed. “Yeah…I just wanted to do one more thing with my life. I never wanted to hurt him or lose him.” Emotions clogged his throat. Making it hard to speak. 

 “Do you think he understood that?” Keith questioned. “You never really told me what happened.” 

 “You were just a kid. You didn’t need that stress in your life.” 

 Keith paused, “do you still see me as a kid?” 

 “No.” 

 “Shiro…you can tell me. Let me or someone else in to help you. You don’t have to figure this out by yourself.” Keith’s voice was soft, mimicking Shiro’s ���talk to me’ voice. 

 He chewed on his inner cheek, swallowing down the small amount of blood that coated his tongue. “Okay.” 

 He could still remember the fight like it was yesterday. Even after all these years. All this time. That fight remained front and center in his mind at all times. The sweat clung to his palms as he entered their apartment. How fast his heart was beating as his eyes landed on Adam. 

 “Hey, how was your appointment?” Adam took a sip from his mug, sitting by the island in his work uniform. He had a class to teach in a bit. 

 “Good…it went good.” Shiro forced himself to sit on the couch, he couldn’t bring himself to look at his fiancé. “You know I’m getting better.” 

 Adam hummed. “You’re not getting worse. But that doesn’t mean you're getting better.” 

 “I’m stabilized. I haven’t gotten worse in over a year.” He took a deep breath. Keeping his emotions in check. Their relationship has been glass the last couple of months. Teetering on the edge. One wrong word, a slight shift in tone and they would be in an argument. All because of this mission.

 “So what did the doc say?” Adam put his mug down, resting his head in his hands. Keeping his back to Shiro. 

 Shiro stared at the floor in front of him. Unblinking. “He said I’m clear to go.” 

 Adam didn’t respond for a moment. His voice was neutral when he did. “You’re not going..right?” 

 “I don’t see why I can’t. I’m clear. I feel fine, I’m capable of the job. And it’s just a year.” He closed his eyes, “I can do a year.” 

 “You could die out there.” 

 “I’m going to die here. Can’t I just do one thing with the time I have left?” Shiro wiped the tears that threatened to fall. He couldn’t cry right now. He wouldn’t cry. They would be okay. They would get through this. Adam would just need time to accept it. 

 “Why can’t you spend it with me?” Adam asked, his voice a broken whisper. 

 “Why can’t I do both? I’ll still have time when I come back.” He spared a glance at his lover. His posture stiff. 

 “I’ll lose an entire year. Assuming everything goes well and the mission doesn’t need to be extended.” Adam’s voice shifted from neutrality to a burning cold. 

 “...we’ll still have time together when I get back.” 

 “And who knows where your health will be? How sick or bedridden or in pain you’ll be in?” Adam slipped out of the chair, finally looking at Shiro. His eyes were cold. 

 “Can we take a break and come back to this later? I think you need to calm down.” Shiro said, praying Adam didn’t hear the wave in his voice.

 Adam didn’t reply, his jaw tight. “I am calm.” 

 “You don’t seem it.” Shiro stood, moving to stand in front of Adam. Fighting the urge to reach out and touch him. He kept his hands balled into fists at his sides. “Just…take some time and process this. Please?” 

 Adam finally moved, sliding the ring of his left ring finger. “My mind won’t change. We both knew this was coming.” He grabbed Shiro’s hand, pressing the ring into his palm as soon as his fist loosened. “Goodbye, Takashi. I hope it was worth it.” And he left. Leaving Shiro a shattered man. 

 “Fuck, he left just like that?” Keith questioned, his voice a bit defensive. 

 “As I said, we had been at each other’s throats for weeks leading up to that. I just…never expected him to leave.” Shiro dragged his hand down his face, forcing himself into a sitting position. “But, just like anyone else or even me. He’s allowed to leave relationships of any form that aren’t making him happy.” 

 “Doesn't mean he needs to ask you to kiss him.” 

 “Yeah…that’s…yeah.” 

 Keith patted Shiro’s arm in comfort. “You deserve better, Shiro. And you’ll find someone better. You and that Curtis dude seemed to be hitting it off pretty well.” He teased. 

 Shiro frowned, was he really any different from Adam? 

 “Do you like him? Curtis I mean.” 

 Shiro shrugged in the dark. “I think I could. The potential is there but I don’t. I think he deserves someone ready to date him, you know?” 

 “You need to move on from Adam.” 

 “I don’t know how,” Shiro said in a defeated tone. “I've been trying since Kerberos.” 

 “Have you? Most people don’t keep their ex's dog tag around their neck.” 

 Shiro didn’t reply, Keith was right.

 “Maybe you two need to just hash it out. Scream, cry, argue, apologize, and then move on.” 

 “...would that work?” 

 “Don’t know. Doesn’t hurt to try.”

-----

Thank you for reading <33333

[distopea]

Kaizen didn’t particularly care about Sullivan's well-being, nor his comfort in the end, but he wanted to use every asset whenever he was taming someone new. He had shown how dangerous it was to actually cross his way and mess with him, and right now, there was no need for any kind of threat anymore. Sullivan could be useful for some business part, and he had a feeling that he didn’t wish to upset him anymore. He was easily scared, which was quite welcome with someone like Kaizen; because whenever he needed to push a button, he knew that Sullivan would be wrapped around his finger. 

He was heading back to his office, right from the rooms upstairs, when he noticed one of the girls with the ordered errand. With a slap of his large palm on her hip to thank her, he was quick to enter the room again, a bunch of old magazines under his armpit and the paper bag of breakfast in his other hand. Sullivan seemed to sleep, dozing off on the couch, even if his attention was easily caught by the smell of food, or perhaps the fact that Kaizen had almost slammed it onto the coffee table. He could be silent like a cat, but here, he was just the large brute that everyone expected. 

“Here.” He directly sat on the table, facing Sullivan. He wasn’t really surprised anymore by his appearance, but surely, that was the first time he had ever met someone like him. His androgynous profile was uncommon, and different from what he had seen in the past. With a sniff, he opened the bag, displayed the breakfast item on the table, as he didn’t wait for Sullivan to start eating his own food. He was starving and there was a mission coming ahead. “Eat.” He demanded with a firm tone, nodding at the food rather than the magazines. 

“For that," He pointed at the magazines, "only stuff I found." He explained, shoving a large round pancake inside his mouth while he chewed, a bit absentmindedly. He felt his phone vibrating and quickly glanced at the screen; Gambit was now aware of his wishes for that new recruit and would dig up information regarding his medical condition and his identity. It was better to anticipate the amount of money they might invest in this one.

For a second, Kaizen thought about a boy with blue hair who had been in the same kind of set up, before he had been trapped. “Dunno if it’s new.” He eventually added before he dropped the phone back onto the couch and watched, slightly amused, how Sullivan seemed truly happy whenever he was eating. Damn, that kid was easy to content. 

“Pancakes? Nah.” He shook his head to answer his questions, as he poured more maple syrup on the top of the little crepe tower. “Eggs and bacon. Real deal.” He said with a firm nod before he eventually put his plate aside and observed Sullivan again. “Gotta fix your arm.” He pointed at his wrist with his plastic fork before he eventually cocked his head aside and caught one of the magazines. “Mmh.” He opened it to observe the picture, and eventually found the lingerie page, a cocky smirk growing onto his features.

“That’s better.” He threw it on Sullivan’s legs, but only to tease him a little. “Sexy, ugh?” 

/ @tximidity

...he didn't understand. Or--he did--but the turnaround had bemused him. All it took were some answers to calm Requiem's ire. Was that normal? Or was he just so used to the opposite it felt monumental when that was all it took to avoid pain? Or had he just done well enough that it was being rewarded?

He didn't know. Either way, it was stored in the deeper parts of his mind that this place was safe. So long as he gave Requiem what he wanted. He could give Requiem that, now that he was learning. Which meant Requiem was safe. Refutable it or not, his need to survive rationalized it as that.

That was further cemented as he was rewarded. He was called pretty. Was promised clothes. Promised food. All within five minutes. Doused in previously unmet needs, he sat cluelessly as his thigh was patted. He was told not to thank or apologize. It burned the tip of his tongue as he obeyed. But he looked to Requiem as something that needed to be kept happy. His wrist ached as if to tell him something, yet he saw him as something much better than his previous owners.

He wanted food. He wanted clothes. He wanted a shelter that wasn't the brothel. He wanted to feel safe. All he had to do was obey. And what was a whore like him best at? Precisely that.

"..." He flinched as the large hand reached for him. But...again, he was met with a soft gesture. The ruffling of his hair. Fingertips were raised afterward to try and fix the unkempt look. Delicately, they laced patches of hair to settle them (the best that one could without a mirror). Pancakes sounded delicious. There was a soft 'I'll be here' mumbled before the door clicked shut.

The silence was hard to resist. The minute the room became soundless, the fatigue of the day got to him. Tired, he leaned back on the couch. Dipping his head, he used his own shoulder as a pillow. His eyes were heavy. He fought a few times to keep them open, focused on the door, but they eventually closed. The throbbing of his wrist and ankle kept him from a deep sleep, thankfully. So he'd been capable of forcing his eyes open when the man returned.

Pancakes smelled buttery and sweet. It made his mouth water. Palms rubbed his eyes. He was remembering the sweet taste of syrup, getting more and more excited about the meal as he did. He prayed he was actually allowed to eat too, that this wasn't some game to toy with him. He was so fixated on the meal that he was a few minutes late in noticing the magazines in Requiem's hand.

"Magazines?" He questioned. However, his eyes were on the pancakes instead. The little containers of syrup were in view now too. He was smiling, far too hungry to think about how silly he looked, giddy over pancakes. Even if he wasn't starving, he'd admit that he always got excited about food. The other ladies would often bring him snacks to cheer him up after a particularly hard day. And they all were excited when they had ingredients to cook a large meal for themselves, often he'd be the one to cook. "Do you like pancakes? Like, is it your favorite meal?"

❤︎ @distopea

[scones-and-texting-and-murder]

Special Delivery

Inspired by this viral video and requested by @horrorfemme1138

ao3 link 1290 words, rated T

“Charlie!” Dean kept his eyes on the front window as he called to his housemate. “What did you do this time?”

“Me?” She yelled from her room, clearly still absorbed in whatever she was doing on her computer. “Nothing, I swear!”

“Then you wanna explain why a cop car just pulled up in front of our house?”

Apparently that got her attention. He heard her desk chair being pushed back across the wood floor and a moment later she was in the doorway of their living room, her eyes wide.

Dean pointed to the police car. “So, that would be…?”

“Nothing,” she said decisively, before chewing her lip for a moment. “And even if I had done something, it shouldn’t have been picked up on this quickly.”

“You get that doesn’t make me feel better, right?”

“Maybe they’re not coming here.”

Dean allowed himself to consider that possibility until the police car continued forward, then pulled into the driveway behind his Impala. Immediately his brain began to scramble. What if something had happened to Sam and they were coming to notify him? Which made no sense because they would just call, right? Still, he whipped his phone out of his pocket to text his brother. You dead or anything?

The reply was immediate. Not last I checked

The phone still clutched in his hand, Dean watched as an officer got out of the car and started to walk toward their front door.

“I’m not here,” Charlie said in a rush.

Dean turned but she was already gone. Maybe he could pretend not to be home either, but as he pivoted to check, the cop met his eye through the window, lifting his chin a bit in acknowledgement.

“Shit,” Dean whispered to himself even as he pocketed his phone and raised a hand in greeting. He took a long breath before moving to open the door. He knew he hadn’t done a goddamn thing wrong, but that didn’t stop him from arranging his features into what he hoped was an innocent face. “Can I help you, Officer?”

Whether it was the intimidating presence of a law enforcement officer at the door or the fact that this cop was exactly his fucking type, Dean felt like he was about to swallow his tongue. And that didn’t even take into account the uniform kink which Dean may or may not have. (Spoiler alert: he definitely had one.) But even without the form-fitting uniform and all those mouthwatering accessories, this guy would be gorgeous dressed like a frumpy tax accountant. Dark hair, a jawline that should be illegal, and the bluest eyes Dean had even seen. Dean didn’t realize he’d let his gaze drift from the guy’s eyes to his appealingly chapped lips until the man began to speak and Dean had to refocus.

“Let me assure you that everything is fine,” the cop said and oh god that voice coming out of that mouth? Dean put a hand on the doorframe to steady himself.

“Okay?”

“Well.” The officer’s brow furrowed. “Not completely. That’s why I’m here.”

Dean should say something in return. That’s how conversations worked. Instead all he could do was nervously wet his lips and, to his surprise, the cop totally broke eye contact to watch.

Oh.

In that moment, Dean was flooded with a lot of things in a lot of places, primarily amongst them a surge of confidence. Feeling assured that nobody here was in trouble, he relaxed his posture and leaned his hip against the door frame. “So what brings you here, Officer--” he let his eyes trail slowly downward to the name plate pinned to his chest. “Novak.”

Only then did he notice the cop was carrying something. Office Novak lifted his hand to display a plastic take-out bag. “You’re Dean Winchester?”

Dean blinked. “Is that my dinner?”

Office Novak squinted down at the receipt stapled to the bag. “Two hoagies: one turkey bacon cheddar, the other--” he looked at Dean, both eyebrows raised--” the, uh, meatman special?”

Dean wasn’t about to dignify that with a response. “Why are you--”

“Oh thank God, I’m starving.” Charlie appeared at his elbow with a grin. She reached for the bag. “Thanks, hot cop.” With a flash of red hair she was gone again.

Looking stunned, Office Novak began to take a step back. “I’ll let the two of you--”

“She’s my housemate,” Dean said quickly, finding himself waving his hands in front of him. “We’re best friends is all. I mean that’s important. She’s important. But it’s not like, you know.” To Dean’s relief, Officer Novak stepped closer again. “So, uh, how did you end up with our food?”

“Right,” Officer Novak said, almost to himself. “Your delivery driver was arrested for drunk driving. The order was in the car and it didn’t seem right that you wouldn't get your food when you’d done nothing wrong.”

“You--hold up. You’re telling me you arrested somebody and then decided to follow that up by completing the delivery in his car.”

Officer Novak shifted a little from foot to foot. “I can appreciate that it’s unorthodox, but it seemed like the right thing to do.”

Dean couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. The relief of nothing being wrong mixed with the absurdity of the situation and the fact that this gorgeous man was looking rather self-conscious, and laughter quickly bubbled up inside him. “So, like…” Dean began, and then he was full on laughing. Like, tossing-back-his-head-can’t-stop-himself laughing. “Wait.” Dean was fucking losing it in front of this man he’d been flirting his ass off with, but now he couldn’t seem to stop.

“Look,” the officer said, but Dean held up a hand.

“Wait. Wait.” He tried to pull himself together. “So, if the guy had been arrested in the middle of a drug deal would you have completed that delivery as well?”

Now Officer Novak was laughing too--the sound of it deep and rich--and it completely transformed his serious face into something brimming with warmth and merriment. Dean was pretty sure his blue eyes were actually fucking twinkling.

“That’s not how this works,” he finally managed.

Dean gestured behind him to where Charlie had long disappeared with the bag of food. “Pretty sure that’s not how this works, either.” They stared at each other, both smiling. “So, uh,” Dean began. “Speaking of work.” He shouldn’t say it, he knew he shouldn’t say it and yet. “What time do you--” and the pause as he began to overthink his words was making it so much worse. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he told himself. “Get off.”

The look Officer Novak gave him was nothing short of voracious.

“Only seems right that I should thank you for going to all this trouble.” Dean winked. “Consider it a tip.”

“Oh, I’d like much more than the tip,” the officer said, raising one eyebrow in a way that literally left Dean weak in the knees. There was a long, charged moment before the radio clipped to his belt crackled to life. “I have to go.”

“You know where I live.” Dean tried to say it flippantly, with a whatever energy, but it came out a little breathy.

“I do, indeed.” He reached into his chest pocket to pull out a business card and a pen, writing something down before handing it to Dean. “Enjoy your dinner.” Their fingers lingered for an extra moment before he turned to leave.

Dean read the name printed on the front of the card: Castiel Novak. He’d written his personal number on the back. Dean shot off a text before Castiel was even back in the police car.

Thanks, again. This is Dean btw

Hello, Dean.

[bnhabadass]

This last week has been kind of rough, but I still managed to write this angsty pangsty Akaashi x Reader Fics for the BNHA Sanctuary Valentine’s Day Collab. I am not the best when it comes to writing angst and this is definitely not my best work, but I am still proud of it regardless.

Pairing: Akaashi x Reader Genre: Angst with happy ending Warnings: Pervy and some non-consensual behavior from Terushima Word Count: 3,212

He found you on the bathroom floor, eyes closed, naked body huddled into itself as water from the shower head sprayed onto you. You were tuning him out as he screamed your name, only coming to when you felt the consistent patter of the water stop and the weight of a fluffy towel was tossed on you.

“Bokuto?” The name came out in a breathy moment of confusion as the young, panicked man tried to shield his eyes from your naked form.

“What happened? Are you okay? Did you fall?” It was almost comedic, the way he shifted his body and frantically moved his arms to shield his eyes.

“Why’d you turn the water off?” you mumbled, looking down. “I still have soap in my hair.”

Finally, Bokuto opened his eyes to see that you did in fact still have bits of soap covering your hair and running down your back. “Are you okay?”

You nodded once, twice, before he felt confident enough to slip out and let you finish showering in peace.

You were finally dry, dressed, and was towelling off your wet hair as you walked into the kitchen.

Bokuto was eating breakfast and scrolling through Tiktok, not an unusual sight to see from him on a Saturday morning when he had nothing to do and could take his time eating.

“Coffee?” You held the empty pot up.

He looked up from his phone and shook his head. “Can’t have caffeine.”

Looking back at the pot you remembered that this was not the first time the two of you have had that conversation. “Right.” You put up the pot for yourself and grabbed a piece of bread out of the plastic bag on the counter. You didn’t bother toasting it before stuffing it in your mouth. “Fanks again fo wettin me stay hewe.”

“It’s no prob,” he smiled. You were amazed that he could understand you with all that bread in your mouth. “You’d do the same if my boyfriend dumped me.”

You swallowed the bread, a pensive look on your face. “But your boyfriend isn’t my best friend.”

He seemed to be thinking hard about what you had said. “That’s true,” he admitted. “But I’ve heard both sides of the story.”

The events between you and Akaashi were also not an uncommon thing to be discussed as of late. For the first two days of you sleeping on Bokuto’s couch, he left you alone for the most part, only asking you unrelated questions like if you wanted takeout or if you wanted to watch a movie or something. Then he asked what your plan was, if you planned on staying for a while or if you planned on going back to work soon. The last week was taxing on the both of you, but Bokuto was still incredibly supportive of everything, even if that involved him having to listen to you complain about his best friend.

“Does Akaashi know I’m staying here?” Your eyes stayed on the stream of dark brown liquid as you poured the contents of the coffee pot into a mug for yourself.

“You’re back to a last name basis?” The kicked-puppy look on Bokuto’s face made your heart want to melt. He had done such a good job of keeping his mood swings in check while you needed him to be your rock for you, but now that you were a bit more stable, he let himself back off a bit and turn back into the loveable baby Bo that everyone knew him as.

You smiled, repeating what you had asked. “Does Akaashi know I’m staying here.”

“No.” He stuck a piece of bacon in his mouth and nervously chewed it.

“Good.” Sitting down, you pulled out your phone and enjoyed your coffee in silence. You were sure that if he ever did find out, the consequences for Bokuto would be much more trouble than it was worth.

It was around five pm when the doorbell rang. Bokuto sprinted up from his spot on the couch and answered it. He swung the door open and on the other end, was a slightly sweaty Akaashi wearing exercise clothes, unlike his usual dark academia attire.

“Agaashi? You’re not pizza.” Bokuto cocked his head to the side.

“Sorry I’m not who you were expecting,” Akaashi apologized. “May I come in? I just...” he trailed off. “I just really need to figure this out and get everything out of my head.”

Fukorodani’s former ace was about to let him in, be there for his best friend, but he paused when he remembered that inside the apartment was you, Akaashi’s problem. Bo leaned his hand against the door frame. “No you may not.”

Akaashi wrinkled an eyebrow up. “And why is that?”

Sucking his bottom lip between his teeth, Bokuto answered, “because my place is a mess.”

“When has that ever stopped you from inviting me into your apartment?”

Leave it to you to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. This seemed to be happening more and more frequently. “Bo, is that the pizza?” you called from the kitchen. Stepping out towards the front door, your face fell as soon as you saw exactly who it was at the front door.

Akaashi’s face turned into that of pure disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

At those six measly words strung into one of the most simple sentences, your heart ripped in half. You felt like you could cry. As full of rage as he was, looking at you like you were the trashiest piece of filth he had ever seen, you still wanted to find the man you fell in love with underneath. You still wanted to find the person who would give you shoulder rubs after a hard day of work, the person who read to you as you’d rest your head in his lap and never want to get up. As you looked into his eyes, all you could see was disgust and pure hatred. The love that once clouded his irises wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Agaashi, wait,” Bokuto started. “I can explain.”

“How the hell can you explain this?” he scoffed. “After everything I’ve vented to you, every hardship I’ve had this week, you’re sleeping with her?”

The pounding heartbeat you could hear in your ears was replaced by an evergoing ringing that’s volume increased with each passing second. He thought... he thought you and Bokuto were sleeping together? You tried to find your voice but couldn’t.

“That’s not what’s happening,” Bokuto said, a sad sense of worry engulfing his voice. “She’s just staying on my couch because she has nowhere to go.”

“And why would you even bother hearing her out?”

You didn’t think your heart would be able to crack even more than it already had. You wanted to stand up for yourself, stand up for Bokuto who was about to lose his best friend in the world all because of you, but your voice caught in your throat every time you would part your lips to speak.

“I can’t believe this.” Akaashi turned around to walk away and it was at that moment that you realized that everything was over. No more shoulder rubs after work, no more laying on his lap as he read to you. You were through, and there was nothing you could do to stop him from walking away.

Falling to your knees, hitting the hardwood floors and not even caring about the bruises that would appear in the next day or two, you let out a sob. As loud as a child throwing a tantrum in the candy aisle of a grocery store, you sobbed and wept as it all began to sink in. You had just lost the love of your life.

You didn’t realize it, as your eyes were clouded over with a thick layer of salty tears, but Akaashi stopped at hearing your wails. A chill ran up his spine at such an ungodly and painful sound. You were broken and even though he was hurting just as much as you were, a little part of him wanted to help fix you.

Not much time had passed, not much time at all, before you felt gentle fingers brushing the tears out of your eyes. Looking up, Akaashi was towering over you. He gripped onto your arms and you braced onto him while standing up. You were surprised as he nodded at you, but you nodded back regardless. As he led you over to the couch, you held onto his ring finger, just in case he tried to go away.

Bokuto placed a hand on Akaashi’s shoulder after he stopped. Bokuto could read him as easily as Akaashi could read the books lining the walls in his apartment. “Please hear her out.” His voice was shaky. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing his best friend. “You don’t have to forgive her, but I don’t want to see either of you hurting anymore.”

Akaashi let out a strangled breath. Looking back at you crumpled into yourself on the floor, he realized that he didn’t want to see you hurting either. Your body was limp and you began coughing with each heavy sob you let out. Walking over to you, he wiped your tears away. At seeing your e/c eyes looking up at him, no matter how glassy they were with a fresh layer of tears, he felt lighter, like a piece of him that had been missing all week had finally returned.

He led you over to the couch and the both of you sat down. There was a great enough distance between you where you still felt the tension between you two, but it was much less suffocating than before.

Bokuto made you a pot of tea and set two cups in front of you. Akaashi reached for the pot and poured it into the cups. Then he waited, waited for you to do or say something, but you didn’t know what to say. You only looked down, picking at the dirt under your nails while waiting for him to speak up.

“Your tea’s getting cold.”

You nodded but made no move to drink it.

“Bokuto said that we should hear each other out.” He was looking down at his running shoes. “Would you like to go first?”

You swallowed and felt an ache in your dry yet tacky throat. “What do you think happened?”

He hesitated. “Well, I came home and I saw beer cans everywhere. I remembered you saying you had some friends coming over. And then, well.” He was clearly stalling. He didn’t want to say what you knew would come out of his mouth, and you couldn’t really blame him. “I heard laughing from the bedroom. So I walked in and saw you underneath Terushima.” That name felt like acid dripping off his tongue.

Of course the two of you knew each other, having gone to the same high school and being a part of the same volleyball club. It was a silly little get-together you planned, the last time you saw him, and you had even told Akaashi about it. You wanted to throw a little gathering for Misaki’s birthday. You had stayed in touch with your fellow senior manager all these years and wanted to do something special for her.

The get-together was at your shared apartment with Akaashi, who was out working late that night. Everyone was having fun drinking and catching up, and by the time it was late and almost everyone had left, Terushima was on his seventh drink of the night and could barely stand up on his own.

No one wanted to take him off your hands, especially since he would be such a pain to drag into a taxi, so you let him spend the night at yours. You left out a bucket for him just in case and made the couch up, finding a nice fluffy blanket for him to get comfy with.

But then he threw a fit. “No!” he whined in a slurred voice, spittle bubbling at the corners of his mouth. “Bed.”

“You can’t sleep in my bed, Teru. Where are me and Keiji supposed to sleep?” You left to grab him a glass of water and when you came back, he was gone. He had stumbled into your bedroom and had collapsed half on the bed, half on the floor. The fluffy blanket was still wrapped around him, making him look like a burrito.

He smiled as he hoisted himself up onto the bed. “Mmm,” he mumbled. “Bed.”

“Teru, you can’t sleep in here.” You tried to pull him off the mattress but he wouldn’t budge. Instead, he brought his hand out of the blanket burrito and reached out to pull him on top of you. You let out a yelp but couldn’t get up.

“Come cuddle.” His hand slithered down your back-side.

“Teru, let go.”

He rolled on top of you, trapping you between him and the mattress.

You couldn’t even let out another protest because you heard someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Akaashi stood there, dumbfounded and red-faced, not believing the sight in front of him.

“Oh thank god, Keiji, I–”

“Get out.”

You didn’t know what to say. “Baby, I–”

“Get the fuck out of my apartment.”

You had never heard Akaashi yell before, and you’re sure the neighbors who peaked their head out from their doors late at night had never heard him yell like that either. You sobbed, pleaded for him to hear you out all while Terushima snored in the background.

You’ve thought about that fight every day and night for the last week. Looking up at Akaashi now, you could still see the anger boiling inside of him.

“Is there a reason I found him on top of you?”

You let out a shaky breath and nodded. “I let my drunk friend stay the night and he took advantage of my kindness.”

He waited for you to continue.

“I was going to let him crash on the couch but when I turned my back he darted for the bedroom.” As you spoke, you could see the visible change in Akaashi’s stature.The way he sat loosened up as he was finally hearing the truth of what happened. You rubbed your tired eyes. “I tried to pull him off but he dragged me onto the bed with him.”

Akaashi felt sick. “He didn’t...” he trailed off, not able to get the words out. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

You shook your head. “No. I haven’t spoken to him since then so I don’t even know if he remembers what happened.” You could tell from the way he rubbed his fingers practically raw and the way he hunched over himself that Akaashi was getting anxious. What was going on through his head, you were unaware of, but you were sure it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.” He needed to take another moment to find the right words. “I’m sorry that that happened to you.”

You nodded and picked up your cup of almost luke-warm tea. Hearing him say that, even if he was shaking at hearing that news and trying his hardest to keep it together, you felt a slight calm wash over you. It wasn’t perfect, but the thoughts that trailed in and out of your head, the ringing in your ears every time you thought of what happened between you and him, you and Terushima, the hot pelts of water falling down on you from this morning. It was all going away.

“I am so sorry.”

You nodded.

“I am so, so, so, so sorry.”

You looked up at that moment and realized that hot streams of tears were quickly working down Akaashi’s face. “Keiji,” you said, and you paused, realizing that that was the first time in a while you had said his first name.

“I am so...” he couldn’t even get the rest of the sentence out as hot breaths and an oncoming panic attack overtook him.

You stood up and set your tea cup onto the coffee table. Half of the contents inside sloshed out but you didn’t care. You sat right beside him and put your arms around his shoulders. Your fingers worked through his hair, greasier than usual but still soft and fluffy.

He gripped onto your arm and it hurt a little, but you knew he didn’t mean for it to hurt you. If anything, he was making sure that you were really there, that you wouldn’t dematerialize any second.

“I...I–”

You squeezed him tight and shushed him the way you would shush a fussy baby who wouldn’t calm down. “I know. I know you didn’t mean to.”

And then there was silence. Only staggering breaths that Akaashi let out and the sound of you running your fingers through his hair. It was almost serene, the way the two of you just sat there listening to the little little sounds in Bokuto’s apartment.

“I had a rough day at work,” he broke the silence. “I know that isn’t an excuse, but I was just hoping that after hours of deadlines and papers piling on top of each other and my back hurting, I could come home to you.”

Your gut wrenched as you realized that’s probably why he assumed you and Bokuto were being intimate with one another when he saw you earlier. “But when you saw me underneath Terushima.”

He nodded. “And I know that’s no excuse. And I am sorry, truly sorry for ever doubting you or questioning your loyalty to me as your boyfriend.”

You kissed the top of his head and nuzzled your nose in his hair. “I know, and I forgive you.” It’s true that you were in pain for that whole week, not having the energy to eat, sleep or even stand up in the shower, and all you wanted to do was cry, but after seeing the pain and regret on Akaashi’s face, all you wanted to do was squeeze him and never let go.

Neither of you left the couch for the next hour. You just held onto each other, not caring that it was getting late or that you had to pee or that your faces were stained and blotchy with tears. You barely spoke, just listened to each other breathe up and down.

“Will you come back home?” Akaashi broke the silence.

You looked up at him from his chest where you had been laying. “Of course.” Stretching up to give him a peck on the lips, he smiled at you.

“You know, tomorrow’s Valentine’s day.”

You were aware of the holiday, of course, but in the last week you couldn’t help but look at the paper hearts and other decorations lining store fronts with disdain. “I do.”

He pulled you into his embrace, rubbing your shoulders with a warm hand. “It’s too late to get any restaurant reservations, but would pizza and a movie suffice?”

“I think it will.” You smiled into his chest and nuzzled against him. Finally, after a miserable week away, you’d be going back home.

[roman-writing]

the spectres vain (2/2)

Fandom: The Haunting of Bly Manor

Pairing: Dani Clayton / Jamie / Viola Lloyd

Rating: M

Wordcount: 6,525

Summary: She had said before, ‘so many people mix up love and possession,’ and now years later she wondered if that was the reason why they had been given so much time. That maybe Viola thought this was love. That maybe she loved this. Loved her. Loved them.

Content advisory: spoilers, horror, and ghost smut

read it here on AO3 or read it below

“The night isn’t dark; the world is dark. Stay with me a little longer.”

    -‘Departure’, Louise Gluck

 --

"I really thought this would go away. But it just hasn't."

They were sitting in a cheap diner, their local favourite down the road. Jamie had already received her meal -- an omelette with a cup of coffee and a side of toast, all of which was going to be far too much for her to eat; she never would get used to the size of American meals -- but Dani had yet to receive her own. Jamie paused in the act of picking up her knife and fork. Dani's eyes were glued to her meal, like a starving man who had seen food for the first time in weeks.

"What would go away? Food?" Jamie asked. She slowly passed the knife and fork between her hands -- clink of chipped cutlery -- and began to eat.

"Yeah." 

Dani tore her gaze away from Jamie's plate and instead focused on the salt and pepper shakers between them, bracketing the serviette dispenser like little guardsmen. She was sitting on her hands, as though that were the only thing keeping herself from snatching Jamie's food away for herself. She worried at her lower lip with her teeth. 

"I mean, I've always liked food. But after -" She made a nodding motion with her head. "- anyway after, it was like I'd never tasted food before in my life. It was so strange. Everything tasted so sweet. I could hardly choke down a cup of apple juice. And a cheeseburger? I thought that I'd died the first time I bit into one. All that sauce."

Dani trailed off. She was frowning contemplatively at her scratched reflection in the chrome-plated dispenser.

Jamie shoved a mouthful of omelette into her mouth and spoke gracelessly around it. "Always thought American food was too sweet, myself. Maybe you got used to Owen's cooking over in England."

Dani gave her a look. "You know that's not why."

"Yeah, I know." Jamie finished chewing, already cutting up another piece and loading up the back of her fork with her knife. "I noticed the appetite change, of course."

"Mmm." Dani nodded. Her mouth was twisted to one side; she was chewing the inside of her cheek and sneaking glances at her wristwatch as though even the ten minute wait was too long for her to bear. "But it just -- it hasn't gone away. It's more bearable now. I still struggle with cake that's really sugary or has too much icing. But food is -- well, it's an experience. Every time."

Jamie made a noise in the back of her throat; her mouth was too full for even her to speak. She finished her bite, and then said, "Anything in particular you two have been craving?"

If anything, Dani seemed startled by the question. The thoughtful groove in her brow deepened, before she answered, "Tarte au citron. She used to love lemons. Anything sour. Not too sweet. Always a hint of bite."

Nodding slowly, Jamie said, "Yeah, all right. We can make do with that. And what about you? Do you like sour things?"

Dani's mouth opened to answer, but before she could say anything, the waitress came by and placed an enormous cheeseburger with all the trimmings in front of her -- bacon, extra cheese and gherkin, the whole lot. "Thank you so much."

The waitress had hardly taken two steps away before Dani descended upon her meal. The cheeseburger was in her hands and then in her mouth in a flash. She took a large bite, and juice dripped all down her fingers. As Dani chewed, she moaned softly, eyes shut in rapture. “God,” she mumbled. “That’s so good.”

Jamie lifted her eyebrows and coughed discreetly. “Blimey. Do you two need a room?”

Dani nodded and took another bite. Jamie laughed, and she could see the way Dani's mouth curled into a smile even as her cheeks bulged.

 --

Later that week, Jamie was passing by a bakery on her way back to their florist's shop. She stopped and peered through the window. All of the baker's wares were on neat display, ranging from little fancies to proud cakes dusted with chocolate shavings.

And there, near the middle, a row of lemon tarts the size of her hand.

When she returned to the florist's shop, the bell attached to the door by a string announced her arrival, along with her accompanying bellow, "I'm back! I see you didn't burn the place down in my absence! Well done, love!"

It was a Saturday, and the sign turned to 'CLOSED' on the door bounced when she shut it. The sound of footsteps drummed down the stairs, and Dani's legs appeared as she descended the steps. "Oh, hey! How'd the bank go?"

"The usual." Jamie walked forward to the countertop with the cash register. "All their old farts with all their old money. And some money that isn't theirs either."

"Uh huh," Dani said. "And the loan?"

Jamie lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "Sounded like they were impressed by the little talk you had with them last week about tenants and estate management.”

Dani’s face split into a wide smile. “Really? They’re going to give us the money to buy the shop instead of rent?”

“And the apartment, too,” Jamie said, and she couldn’t help it either. Her own grin broadened. “Anyway, I got you something."

She held out a plain brown wax-paper bag. Dani blinked, and took it.

"Oh, thanks, I was just thinking about -" Dani's voice slowed, then stopped. Her smile lessened slightly, when she opened the bag and saw what it contained. A perfect lemon tart with a dash of cream that had been only slightly smushed on Jamie's walk home. "Oh."

Without a word, Jamie pulled from her back pocket the plastic fork that had come with it. "Go on, then. Let's see how it compares to 16-whatever."

For a long moment Dani fiddled with the plastic fork. It were as though she were standing at the edge of a dock, readying herself for a plunge into icy waters. And then with a brave smile towards Jamie, she cut herself a piece and took a bite.

Jamie wondered what it must have been like. Dani's eyes were closed. She looked utterly transported.

"Good?"

Dani opened her eyes again and nodded. "So, so good."

"Yeah?" Jamie leaned her elbows upon the countertop, watching as Dani went in for another bite. "Better or worse than 16-who-even-cares?"

Dani hummed around the fork in her mouth. Pulling it free and chewing, she said, "Better. Way better."

"Why d'you think that is?"

"It's -" Dani went quiet for a moment as she continued to eat, mulling over every morsel. "It's smoother. Richer. Tarter. More depth of flavour."

"Is that the ingredients talking? Or the fact that you've been stuck in a lake without a body for five-hundred years?"

Dani went very still. After a pause she kept chewing. “A bit of both, I think.” She swallowed, then took a deep breath and looked Jamie dead in the eye. “It’s still me, you know. I’m still me.”

Jamie smiled at her. “I know, Poppins. I know.”

When Dani held out the next forkful to her, she let herself be fed. And indeed, she’d been right. Smooth. Rich. Tart. And a depth of flavour. 

 --

At some point -- she could not say exactly when -- Jamie began doing things explicitly thinking of not just what Dani might like, but what Viola might also like. 

She read old books. She asked a friend of a friend who went to university to study textile history for any hints of seventeenth century culture. Anything at all so long as it was between the years of 1645 and 1680. (She knew the dates perfectly, but she wasn’t about to let Viola know that. Couldn’t have their evil aristocratic ghost getting all uppity on them, could they?) 

She grew specialty plants. She bought specialty food. She gave her clothes and jewelry, little trinkets, only what she could afford. Dani loved them all. 

And Viola -- well, Viola was a mystery.

 --

"Did you know that our very own Viola may very well have met Oliver Cromwell?"

Beside her in bed, Dani shifted and the mattress springs creaked beneath her weight. "Are you doing research on my ghost?"

In answer Jamie pointed at the place in the book she was reading and said, "In the year 1658 the daughters of one Mister Willoughby, Viola and Perdita, visited Court, aged fifteen and ten respectively. There they paid their respects and stayed for a few months in a London residence, before returning to the family estate." Jamie set the book down on her legs. "Do you think she actually met him? No. They couldn't have. The Lloyds weren't that reputable, were they?"

"She did," Dani said in a hollow tone. She was staring into the middle distance again, her expression slack. 

"Oh, yeah?" Jamie asked. "She want me to know that, does she?"

Still gazing off into space, Dani nodded.

Jamie gestured with the open book. "Noted." She tried to go back to reading, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Okay, what was he like? Good ol' Ironsides?"

"Cold." Dani's eyelids fluttered and she seemed to come to herself. She cleared her throat, but continued, "And he was so critical of her nice new clothes. But she had the last laugh in the end."

Jamie snickered. "Sounds about right." 

“He died that same year. Right after they’d visited,” Dani said. “She thought his beheading later was very funny.”

Hearing that, Jamie’s eyes widened. "Holy shit. Wait. Was Viola a secret Catholic?"

Dani scowled darkly at her. The air of their bedroom seemed suddenly colder.

"Whoops. Personal question, then?" Jamie held her hands together in mock supplication and thickened her accent. "A thousand pardons, m'lud."

With a snort of laughter, Dani pushed Jamie's hands down, but paused to lean forward for a quick peck on the mouth.

 --

Sometimes Jamie felt like she was stalking a dead woman. Constantly trying to figure out what Viola might like, what might entice her to stay. And then worrying that perhaps it meant Dani was losing a bit of herself everyday. Like a coin rubbed smooth over the years, until the minted face was indistinguishable. One replacing the other. Or perhaps more like losing the line that separated them. Until she could no longer tell where Dani ended and Viola began. 

Yet in time Jamie learned she would do anything if it meant that Dani was here by her side. Every action. Every game pie. Every tight-armed hug. ‘Don’t go. Stay with me. Just for today. Just one more day.’

And every time, Dani caught her eye and smiled as though she had heard the unspoken words, as though they had rung about in the pull-down attic of their little apartment. And every time she would reach out to squeeze Jamie’s hand, and pull her into a reassuring kiss.

 --

Americans, Jamie had learned since living here, were obsessed with Halloween. Personally, she didn’t see the appeal. Now, lighting up the effigy of a Catholic who had once attempted to blow up Parliament? That was more her cup of tea.

Still, when in Rome...And the few friends they had made along the way had invited her to a costume party in town. It would be churlish to decline. They needed more friends. Friends that weren’t linked to a shared trauma.

Besides, as it turned out her friend’s friend at university studying textile history was also an amateur seamstress, and had a few period-accurate pieces that fit without too much trouble. Just a bit nipped in at the waist and -- done. Jamie was set for a ball, or whatever the appropriate equivalent would’ve been called. 

“Hey, Jamie, could you help me with this wig? It’s being a real pain in the -” 

Dani emerged from their bathroom, half dressed in a Bride of Frankenstein white dress outfit, and froze. It was an hour or so before they were set to leave on the night, and Jamie was in their bedroom draped in a seventeenth century gown, seated on the mattress, a thorn-stripped rose in hand. Dani dropped the aforementioned wig to the ground and stared.

“Too much?” Jamie asked. She adjusted the puffy sleeves so that they sat lower on her arms, revealing more of her chest. “I don’t think it suits me, and I was going to go for a bloke’s outfit instead, but she insisted that -”

“No,” Dani breathed, shaking her head. “No, it’s perfect. You’re perfect.” 

“Well, I knew that, obviously.” Jamie winked. Then she made a shooing gesture with the rose, rising from the bed and walking towards Dani. “Now, c’mon! Let’s get that zig-zag wig of yours on. We’re going to be late.”

Dani stepped to one side to block the exit. Her gaze was dark and fixed, unblinking, upon Jamie’s outfit. “I was wrong, actually. What I said just now.”

“What? About me being perfect?” Jamie joked.

“No, not that. It’s just -” Dani reached out with a tentative hand and her fingers were trembling. She thumbed an edge of the dress at Jamie’s sleeve, testing the rose-coloured silk there. “It’s the wrong colour. You should be in green. Laurel as a crown.” 

“Thanks?” Jamie said uncertainly.

Dani stepped closer. With her application of make-up and her pale flowing dress, she seemed more like a ghost than ever. Her hands were on Jamie’s upper arms now, stroking the fabric, following the line of the stomacher’s seams until they rested at Jamie’s narrowed waist.

Dani swallowed, and her voice sounded strained when she asked, “Are you wearing a pair of bodies?”

Jamie huffed with nervous laughter. “Am I wearing a -? What?”

As if coming to herself, Dani blinked and shook her head quickly. “I mean - uh - stays. Uh - What’s the name now? - a corset. Are you wearing a corset?”

“Yeah. And all the petticoats and frills.” Jamie straightened theatrically and tried to stretch her shoulders. “Bloody uncomfortable, too. I tell you what.” 

Any attempt to break Dani out of this spell with humour seemed futile, however. She was tracing the metallic gold thread of Jamie’s stomacher with greedy fingertips. “What exquisite passementerie.”

“Yeah,” Jamie said haltingly. She was being guided back towards the bed, their steps slow. “The girl I borrowed this from is into the real deal. Wanted to make it as authentic as possible. I’m guessing she passed with flying colours?”

Wordlessly, Dani nodded. Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip, her mouth painted a bold and bloody red. Her hands curled into fists, bunching up the skirts at Jamie’s hips as though she wanted to tear the cloth from her, only for her touch to slacken, and her palms to smooth down that same fabric like a caress. 

Dani continued walking them towards the bed. “I don’t know exactly what’s happening right now, but I really really want you.” 

Whatever reaction Jamie had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. Dani hadn’t blinked for what seemed like an age, and she held herself rigidly, every movement twitchy, as though she couldn’t quite remember how to control her muscles properly. 

“Can I -?” Dani started to ask, fingers already slipping towards the laces at Jamie’s front.

Jamie lifted the rose between them and used it to bop Dani gently on the forehead. “‘Course you can, Poppins. So long as it’s still you in there.” 

Dani blinked furiously and her head jerked back. Then she laughed softly. “Yeah. I’m - I’m here, too.” 

Jamie’s mouth curled in a smirk. “All right, then.” She tossed the rose onto the ground, and reached to the laces that held the gown in place. “Help me out of this thing.”

“No.” Dani grabbed her wrists and held them firmly in place. She shut her eyes for a quick moment, shaking her head back and forth. “Not yet.” 

“I thought you said -?”

“I know. And I do. Just -- slowly.” 

Jamie stared, searching Dani's face for some hint of her there, but her eyes were still tightly shut, and her fingers were pressed coldly around Jamie's wrists. 

"All right," Jamie said. "What do you want me to do?"

Dani's eyes opened then, and her gaze was piercing as a shot in the night. She let go of Jamie, stroking her wrists in silent apology, then said, "Be still."

Jamie lowered her arms, then tried her best to not move at all. A long silent moment stretched between them like a bolt of cloth flaring across a table for measuring. The muscles of Dani's face leapt, then settled, and it were as though the nervous energy ran right out of her to pool at their feet. She straightened to impeccable posture, and her expression was nothing but hunger.

It came as a shock, when Dani first tugged at the strings at Jamie's chest. Clever fingers, accustomed to such garments, worked the laces loose, criss by cross. When the gown had slackened just enough that it began to part from the under layers, she stopped. She brought her hands around, and dipped her fingers along the gap created between silk and cotton, running a line between them all the way from one of Jamie's shoulders, across her chest, to her opposite arm.

When her fingertips trailed across Jamie's collarbone to rest against her sternum, it felt like there was another set dragging along after them. Twin touches mirroring every movement of the other, until suddenly they weren’t. Dani leaned forward, and though her hand remained at the hollow of Jamie’s throat, Jamie could feel an icy caress continue to graze her warm skin.

Then Dani was kissing her neck. Jamie tilted her head to one side, only for some other presence to nudge it back upright. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a second pair of lips against her throat. She swallowed, neck craned back, and teeth scraped against the sensitive skin there, harder than Dani would have ever bitten, hard enough to make her jolt. From the corner of her vision she swore she could almost see another figure shrouded in white, but when her eyes darted in that direction, there was nothing. 

When Dani felt a hand reach around her throat, she stiffened. "No," she said. "Not around my neck."

Immediately Dani went very still against her, and the hand withdrew. "Sorry. Better?"

Jamie nodded mutely, but could not bring herself to relax. Not when those pairs of hands had moved to part the robe gown from her front. The ruffled bunch of rose-coloured silk dropped to the mattress just behind her in a rustle. Dani was kissing her mouth now, a long deep drawn out kiss, cupping Jamie's cheeks between both hands, but something was still expertly reaching beneath a layer and untying the ribbons that held the padded pillow around her waist under the over skirt, until that, too, was dropped to the floor.

That phantom touch roved, then began to trace the intricate patterns of the stomacher again. There was more strength behind the caress now. As though, the person responsible were gaining confidence, or perhaps becoming more grounded in reality. The warm lamplight on the bedside table behind them cast too many shadows, and over Dani's shoulder Jamie could clearly see the silhouette of three people instead of two.

Those hands pressed against the seams of the stomacher, and Jamie broke off the kiss to gasp, "Careful. There are pins holding that in place."

"I know," Dani murmured against the side of her mouth. The hands passed right over the pins, leaving them in place. "I don't want it off."

"And miss out on all the fun?"

There was a certain steely coldness about Dani's answering smile. "Who said anything about that? Now,” she pressed gently at Jamie’s sternum. “Lie down.”

Jamie dropped onto the mattress, which bounced slightly beneath her weight. She made to shuffle up towards the headboard, but stopped when Dani sank to her knees before her. And yet, there was a dip in the mattress on either side of her. The blankets bunched up at four points as though beneath another weight. Jamie held her breath and let herself lie completely flat with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. The air above her was thick and cold and almost solid. It felt like lying at the bottom of a lake and staring up at the watery surface overhead.

She could feel Dani pushing up the over skirt and petticoat and whatever other layers there were. Jamie had been told the names of each one at the time, but hadn't paid much attention then. Now, she wished she had. Now, Dani was running her hands along each one in turn, slowly sliding them up to Jamie's hips.

Something tugged at one of the black ribbon garters just above Jamie's knees, which kept those long white stockings in place. Then Dani was sliding the left stocking down her leg, pausing to press a kiss to each patch of bare exposed skin. She shivered. As Dani removed the first stocking and moved to the second, Jamie felt a kiss at her neck again. The suddenness of it made her twitch. She reached out, but her hands passed right through the air above her. A pair of hands gripped her wrists and pinned them down to the bed.

Jamie made a noise in the back of her throat. Dani paused, and the grip around Jamie's wrists slackened just fractionally until it became clear that she wasn't fighting back.

Once the final stocking was removed, Dani pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Jamie's inner thigh. Jamie squirmed. Though Dani’s head was only barely visible between her legs, Jamie could not escape the feeling of someone staring intently at her. Dani’s mouth worked its way up and up and -- Jamie hissed, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth. While the rest of her was cold, Dani’s tongue was a length of heat, licking long warm stripes and small circles. 

With a moan Jamie’s hands jerked, instinctively going to grab Dani’s head, but she was held back, tethered down by an invisible ghost that lingered over her like a dream. There came the sensation of something drawing closer, a draught of cold air that drifted across her face, and Jamie’s eyes flew open. 

If she focused, she could almost see the monochromatic shape. Dark locks of hair dripped down past her head and puddled on the surrounding bedsheets. Viola was crouched over her in all her former glory. Sparkle of light glinting against the pearls at her throat. A rich cool and satisfied smile. Dark weathers for eyes. The cat that had caught the canary in its claws. She leaned down and kissed Jamie, and her mouth was full and soft, and thin and hard all at once, demanding, unrelenting. 

Viola pulled away. She lifted one satin-gloved hand and stroked Jamie’s cheek. “Such a pretty thing.”

Her voice was a hoarse echo across space and time. Dani slipped two fingers into her, and Jamie had to bite back a whimper, her eyes squeezing shut. 

“Look at me.” 

With a hitched breath as Dani’s tongue worked against her, Jamie struggled to open her eyes, to keep her hips still. 

“That’s it, darling,” Viola smiled, and her face began to melt, like a painting that dripped with wax. “Come for me.”

Jamie’s back arched, her head turning against the sheets. She came with a whine that escaped in spite of herself, and it seemed to go on for ages, until she trembled and jerked her hips away. Layers of cotton and silk stuck to her skin with a thin sheen of sweat. Hastily Dani clambered up to take Viola’s place, hands on Jamie’s wrists, crouched over her, her mouth a smear of bold red lipstick, staring intently down, as though trying to memorise every last etch of her face. She swayed closer for a moment to brush her lips against Jamie’s, just softly. 

“You all right?” Dani asked, sounding breathless.

Jamie nodded. “Yeah. Good. Great, even.”

“Yeah?” 

In answer, Jamie reached up and crushed their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Dani groaned, pressing down against her, then gasped her name.

Hands on her hips, Jamie urged her further up until Dani’s knees bracketed either side of her head. She pushed up the sheer white fabric of the costume around Dani’s thighs. Above her, Dani gripped the frame of their headboard, knuckles white, already panting. 

Jamie shouldn’t have been so greedy. She should have taken her time. She should have made Dani writhe, holding her on that ledge for as long as she could until Dani finally broke. But Dani was so wet, her thighs were taught and trembling, and she was grinding down against Jamie’s mouth. Jamie could feel her chin and neck grow slick. She held onto the backs of Dani’s legs and urged her on, coaxing with every roll and swipe of her tongue until she came with a cry. 

One of Dani’s hands was tangled in Jamie’s hair. The other was still gripping the headboard tight. She was resting her sweat-stippled forehead against her own arm. When Jamie scraped her teeth lightly against her damp inner thigh, Dani shuddered.

"Are you all right?"

“I need a moment,” Dani said, her chest heaving. “I want to go again, but - Just - Give me just a moment -”

Wiping at her face, Jamie helped Dani back down to lie beside her. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry.” She kissed her temple while Dani gasped for breath into her shoulder. “I’ve got you.”

 --

She had said before, ‘so many people mix up love and possession,’ and now years later Jamie wondered if that was the reason why they had been given so much time. That maybe Viola thought this was love. That maybe she loved this. Loved her. Love them. Or at least the idea of them. In some twisted way. All that cold rage and loneliness clinging to whatever scraps it could find, winding around its prey like a snake slowly throttling the life out of its victim without even realising it. 

But maybe Viola wasn't squeezing so hard after all. Maybe she couldn't. Maybe Dani hadn't died yet because Viola was trapped, because she could never again return to the lake at Bly. Maybe Viola wasn't possessing her at all. And if she wasn’t possessing her, then - well. 

Even that was too good to be true. The best outcome by far given the circumstances. And really, deep down, Jamie knew that loving Danielle Clayton meant loving her enough to one day let her go. 

They didn’t make it to the Halloween party. Eventually, Dani tired herself out, riding Jamie’s fingers for a third time before collapsing atop her and panting for breath as she seemed to come fully back to herself. Jamie was barely able to convince Dani to join her for a shower before she fell asleep, all a-tangle in Jamie’s arms. 

The bedside lamp was still lit. Jamie carded her hands through Dani’s long damp and honeyed hair. From the light, the shadow of a woman standing at the foot of their bed was thrown in sharp relief against the opposite wall. Staring at the space where Viola stood, Jamie gently kissed the top of Dani’s head. 

Not for the first time in her life she found herself hoping beyond hope that someone could be haunted forever. 

 --

One day she brought back a tin full of loose-leaf tea. It was intended for nobody but herself. A full and earthy black. Not the bog her father would've drunk before descending into the ground, but similar in colour to his lungs perhaps. Jamie pulled it out along with the rest of her shopping, and started to put everything away but the tin. And while she did so, she put on the kettle to boil.

The sound of the kettle whirring away on the stove drew Dani from another room, like a siren's song. She was dressed in an old pink shirt tucked into high-waisted, acid-washed jeans. Her hair was still wet from a recent shower. "Need some help?"

"Sure." Jamie handed over the last bag for unpacking. "Take care of that for me while I handle the kettle, will you?"

Without a word, Dani did as asked. She was the taller of the two, and didn't have to reach up onto her toes to put away things on the high shelves. And Jamie was too proud to admit she needed a stepping stool, herself. Why bother? That's what Dani was for. Among other things.

When Jamie opened the cupboard, she asked, "Don't suppose you want some as well? Might not be your cup of tea, so to speak."

"I'll have one. Thanks."

So, Jamie pulled out two mugs. The kettle hissed. She poured a bit of water into each cup to warm them, then spooned the appropriate amount of tea leaves into the pot. While waiting for the tea to steep, Jamie turned round and lifted herself onto the kitchen bench. There, she drummed her sock-clad heels against the cupboard and reached over to the jar that held an assortment of biscuits. Chocolate-drizzled digestives for herself, and ginger biscuits for Dani, who had the unfortunate American affection for cinnamon and ginger and cloves. Jamie couldn't stand ginger, herself. Tasted too medicinal.

Sticking a digestive biscuit into her mouth, Jamie wordlessly held out the jar. Dani was just finishing putting away the shopping bags, and wandered over. Her hand slipped into the glass opening and she fished out two ginger biscuits for herself. Jamie set the jar aside, and meanwhile Dani insinuated herself between Jamie's legs so that she stood snugly against her.

"Long day?" Dani asked.

"Mmm," Jamie mumbled around a mouthful of biscuit. She finished chewing. "Not too bad of a Sunday, to be honest. What about you?"

"I went for a walk in the park," Dani said, looking mischievous as she nibbled on the first biscuit.

"On a Sunday? The scandal," Jamie tsked, tapping her tongue against the backs of her teeth. "What would dear old Viola think about that?"

In reply, Dani arched her brows and smirked, "I think that was the appeal, actually. Plus, we're in the full swing of Fall now, and we won't have many sunny days soon. I wanted to take full advantage while I still had the chance."

"Buy anything while you were out?"

"A scarf for you," Dani answered. "And a pair of gloves for me."

She had a habit of buying articles of clothing out of the blue. Whenever the fancy seemed to strike her. Today was obviously one such a day.

"How very thoughtful."

"It's green. You look good in green," said Dani. "It brings out your eyes."

"I look good in anything," Jamie insisted. "And nothing."

Dani grinned. "That's true, too."

She stepped back and wandered over to the fridge for milk, when Jamie reached around to pour them each a cup of tea.

"Thanks, love," Jamie said, pouring them each a dollop of milk before handing the jug back to Dani, who put it away in the fridge once more.

Their fingers brushed when Jamie handed over the cup of tea. As ever these days, Dani's hands were cold. They eagerly wrapped themselves around the hot cup, and she pulled the tea close to her chest.

Jamie did the same. It was after all, as Dani had said, the throes of Fall; the weather was taking a turn to the icy. And that first sip of tea was pure heaven. It warmed her all the way down her throat and settled in her stomach. Jamie hummed at the sensation and closed her eyes. She could hear Dani do the same beside her.

"I wish I could take this moment," she heard Dani say in a soft murmur, "and press it into a big book for safekeeping. So, I could come back and look at it whenever I felt sad."

“Aye,” Jamie breathed. Then she opened her eyes, and said, “Though maybe only with another biscuit in hand.”

With a snort of laughter, Dani dragged the biscuit jar closer so they could each indulge again. Jamie took one. Again, Dani took two. 

“There. Now, that -” Jamie gestured with her cup of tea, speaking around a full mouth, “- is a perfect moment.” 

“I could not agree more.” Dani had already finished one biscuit and was busily dunking her second into her tea. 

Jamie watched her finish the biscuit before nudging Dani softly with her elbow. “You’re normally more of a coffee drinker. I could’ve brewed a different brew, if you’d wanted.”

“Yeah. But - I dunno. Somehow,” Dani paused to take a sip. She smiled warmly around the brim of the cup. “This tastes like home.”

 --

Polaroids were getting cheaper and more compact these days. She didn’t have to go cramming them into oversized pockets anymore. Jamie had thrown out countless photos over time, never quite satisfied with the outcomes but always searching for some way to keep a hold of her. The day she bought a new camera -- her old one had died the death of kings; a swimming accident, and cameras as it turned out did not swim very well -- she immediately wanted to try it upon returning home.

Dani had just gotten a new haircut. The barber had done something to her fringe to make it look like the sweep of a wing, and she was constantly brushing it out of her eyes. She did so when she looked up as Jamie entered the living room, greeting her with a curious smile.

Brown paper bag under one arm, Jamie took a moment to remove her jacket and sling it across the coat hanger, but she left the green scarf wound around her neck like a python. “I got a new toy,” she announced.

Dani tilted her head to one side. “I told you I’d buy you that nice pair of secateurs for Christmas.”

“And you still can.”

Immediately, Dani’s eyebrows rose and she seemed intrigued. “Then what kind of toy?”

Pretending to look scandalised, Jamie reached into the bag. “How naughty! Not that kind of toy.”

Dani’s cheeks tinged pink. “Oh,” she said. She sounded disappointed.

With a smirk, Jamie strode forward and pulled out the new camera. She chucked the now empty paper bag onto the kitchen countertop, and gestured for Dani to stand beside her. Shaking her head, Dani nonetheless complied. 

Jamie grabbed a hold of Dani’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek, before she lifted the camera up as high as her arm would allow. A press of her finger. A flash of light. A click and whir of cogs and internal mechanisms. 

Dani didn’t flinch this time or duck her head. She returned the kiss, then wandered away, humming to herself, without waiting to see the film develop. Jamie watched her go with a warm grin and an appreciative glance. When she looked down at the photo it was to find herself beaming from the square strip of film, and beside her Dani smiling tentatively, grasping Jamie’s opposite shoulder. Both of them were clear and their characters easily distinguishable. She felt herself relax a little. 

Then as the white veil continued to lift from the surface, she went very still. On each of their shoulders rested a pale hand, and in the space between them a shadow in the shape of a woman with hair as long and black as the night. The face was a mask worn of all features, but she swore she could see a pair of dark eyes watching her from the film, and a canny smile haunted the unmistakable likeness of the Lady Lloyd of Bly. 

Wrenching her eyes up, Jamie stared after Dani, who had wandered into their kitchen and was humming over the kettle. Slowly the water began to build to a boil. The kettle began to hiss. Then to shrilly whine. 

Dani removed the kettle from the heat and poured boiling water into the brown betty teapot. "How'd the picture turn out this time?"

Briefly, Jamie considered throwing this one away like all the others, but it were as though a hand was still squeezing her shoulder tight. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to be known and most of all obeyed. Clearing her throat, she took a few hesitant steps forward then held out the square strip of film. 

Dani set the kettle back down, and took the picture. She turned it round for a better look. There followed a sharp inhalation, like tearing in one last breath before the plunge. Her eyes widened and then, a slow smile crossed her face. She gasped out an incredulous laugh.

"Y’know, I - I thought this was going to be terrible, but -" Dani stroked her fingers over the image. "It really isn't half bad. You look - I mean. We look -" 

Suddenly she snatched her hand away from the picture, clenching her unruly fist and lowering it. Her breaths were shaky but when she glanced up, her eyes were bright. She held up the photo. "Can we keep this one?"

Jamie nodded and shrugged at the same time. “Sure.”

Relief suffused Dani’s face. She did not tuck the photo away in some little corner of the apartment, something to be passed by without a second glance. No. Instead, she turned and began pulling magnets from the fridge. She cleared their normally busy little refrigerator, pushing everything aside to make space. And right there at the very centre of the blank white canvas she pinned the photo into place with a single plain black magnet. 

“There,” Dani breathed softly. Her trembling fingertips lingered against the white-edged film. “That looks right. That - It feels just right. Right there.” 

The hand at Jamie’s shoulder withdrew, but then there was the feeling of something drifting from the top of her head to the nape of her neck. As though someone were trying to tame the wild curls there with a gentle, approving touch. 

“Dani,” Jamie croaked, her voice cracking. 

“Hmm?” Dani turned around.

Striding forward, Jamie stopped only when she was close enough that she could peer deeply into Dani’s eyes. They were as they always had been. Variegated as an infected holly. 

“Are you -?” Jamie had to swallow down the burr in her throat. “Are you feeling yourself?” 

Dani’s answering smile was puzzled. “Yeah,” she said, her words slow and thoughtful, as though considering something inward very closely. “Yeah, I am.” 

And she reached up to card her fingers through Jamie’s untamed hair. “You know, it’s strange, really.” Dani’s hand followed the same path as the one had before, coming to rest at the nape of Jamie’s neck, a cool solid comforting weight. She stroked her thumb, and the motion was repeated by one that was colder, like an echo, before the two hands came together at last. “Somehow, I feel more myself than ever.”

[atths--twice]

Faith’s Second Birthday

It's Halloween again! 🎃 Time to celebrate the birthday of a certain little girl. Two years... where has the time gone? ❤️

This story... I have had some of it planned for months and some presented themselves to me, demanding to be added. I thought it was finished, but no, it needed more. I hope you all enjoy it. I do so love writing these happy family stories. God... they so deserve to be happy.

October 30, 2020

Scully looked out the kitchen window as she rinsed the blueberries for Faith’s dinner and smiled as she watched Mulder and Faith at the edge of the lake. Faith was wearing her fuzzy green Halloween costume, the alien-faced hood of it lying down her back, as she had asked to wear a black headband with a sparkly black bat attached to it, which Mulder was only happy to oblige.

Faith laughed as Mulder knelt in front of her, blowing bubbles as she tried to catch them, a few of them landing in her hair. She laughed harder when one popped on her nose and she covered it with her hand. Mulder kissed her cheek with a smile, before he blew more bubbles.

Drying her hands, Scully left the blueberries draining in a colander in the sink. She glanced at the timer on her phone and smiled as she slipped it into her pocket. Twenty five minutes until dinner would be ready. Perfect.

She grabbed the baggie of the ends of bread off the counter and stepped onto the porch. Double checking that Bella was sleeping inside, she closed the door and slipped on her shoes, walking down the stairs to join Faith and Mulder.

“Mama!” Faith called, looking at her and smiling. “Dada. Buhbos. Pitee.” Scully picked her up and kissed her, breathing in her nearly intoxicating scent.

“Yes, love, they are pretty. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Should we maybe take a little walk? See if we can find the ducks?” Faith’s eyes lit up and she nodded.

“Ducks. Yes, Mama. Down.” Scully laughed, setting her down as Mulder stood up with a grin.

“Well, let’s go then, my girl. Let’s go find those ducks.” He put the cap on the small bottle of bubbles and placed it into the pocket of his black fleece vest. Smiling, he took the baggie of bread from Scully and put it into his other pocket.

They each took a hold of one of Faith’s hands and began to walk toward the small log near the house where they had found a small family of ducks. Mulder glanced at Scully and winked as they walked over the stones and the sand, and she smiled as she took a deep breath of fresh air.

It had been a great idea to come to the lake. After Mulder’s birthday, which had gone wrong from nearly the moment they woke up, a change had been exactly what they had needed…

_________

A little over two weeks ago

Faith woke up in a grumpy mood on the morning of Mulder’s birthday. She was very clingy, wanting only Scully to hold her, with no desire to see Mulder. He did not take offense to it, knowing she would feel better once she had woken up a bit more and had eaten her breakfast.

Scully was making breakfast while Mulder was outside with Bella. As the pancakes and bacon were cooking, Faith had picked up Grey’s water bowl and spilled it all over the floor, unbeknownst to Scully, who nearly slipped, catching herself against the counter and banging her knee into the cupboard. Tears sprang into her eyes as she heard the cat food hitting the linoleum floor and falling all around her.

“Uh oh,” Faith said, squatting down and beginning to spread the food across the floor.

“Don’t touch it!” Scully yelled, louder than she had intended, her knee throbbing. Faith looked up at her, her eyes widening and then filling with tears as her bottom lip stuck out. She began to cry, her head dropping down and Scully limped over to her, ignoring the excrutiating pain in her knee.

“I’m sorry, my love. I’m so sorry. Come here.” She bent at the waist, stifling a moan as she picked her up and snuggled her close. Faith buried her face in her neck, crying hard as Scully held her tightly, trying not to cry herself as she took a deep breath.

“Hey,” Mulder called, coming in through the door with Bella right behind him. He stopped in his tracks as he locked eyes with Scully, his eyebrows raising. At that same moment, they both realized the food on the stove was burning. He walked toward it, but Scully stopped him.

“There’s water all over the floor. Faith spilled Grey’s water and I slipped in it. She also dumped out her food and I yelled at her not to play in it. I didn’t mean to make her cry, but…” She shook her head and closed her eyes, hating that she had caused her to cry. Her knee aching, she kissed Faith’s head, shushing her softly.

“Well… Bella is making quick work of the cat food on the floor. I’ll be careful as I walk to the stove.” He walked past them as Scully opened her eyes and limped a few steps to the table and sat down in a chair. Rubbing Faith’s back, she closed her eyes again, the smell of burning food beginning to fill the room.

“There, at least one thing is taken care of, well by me anyway. Bella’s gotten all the food.” Scully opened her eyes and looked at him as he moved the pans of food to a different burner. The air around him was smoky as he turned on the vent above the stove, hoping to clear it away.

He looked over at her and smiled softly, walking over and squatting down in front of them, putting his hand on Faith’s back, rubbing gently along with Scully.

“Did you fall or just slip?”

“Slipped into the cabinet and hit my knee pretty hard.” She straightened her leg with a wince and he nodded as Faith sniffled and clung to her shirt.

As he pulled up the leg of her pajama bottoms, she winced again as she looked over Faith‘s back and saw the damage that had been done, already imagining the bruise she would have in a few days. Mulder let out a low whistle and looked up at her.

“Let me wipe up the floor and then I’ll get the first aid kit. You bashed it pretty good. It’s bleeding, but not too terribly. It’s gonna be a good bruise, though.” He left her pant leg as it was and stood up, grabbing the paper towels.

The floor clean and her knee bandaged, they sat on the front porch, the house airing out as they ate dry cereal; the last of the milk having been used for the now burnt pancakes. Faith was still rather clingy, laying back against Scully as she sat with her leg up, a bag of frozen peas on her knee to bring down the swelling.

She watched the hanging ghosts and witches blowing in the breeze, as she rubbed Faith’s arm. They had scaled down the decorations, neither of them really in the mood after the year they had. There were still the kid friendly ones: yard flamingos, scarecrows, cats, witches and bats. But the hay bales, pumpkins, and spiderwebs, were not added to the fray this time. The animated witch Mulder had purchased and then hated, getting scared every time she had laughed, had been placed back in the plastic tote, Faith absolutely terrified of it. Mulder had been ecstatic of course, shoving the witch away with a gleeful smile.

“So much for your birthday breakfast,” Scully said with a sigh, as Faith reached into her snack cup and took out some Cheerios, shoving them into her mouth.

“Hey, how is this not a fabulous birthday meal?” he asked, eating right out of a large box of Lucky Charms. “I’m eating only the marshmallow pieces, Scully. It’s perfect.” He shrugged with a smile, popping some into his mouth and chewing loudly. She smiled back with another sigh, shaking his head.

“Mama. Eat,” Faith said, sitting up and turning around, attempting to push some Cheerios into Scully’s mouth.

“Oh, thank you,” she said, moving them over her lips and into her mouth. Mulder chuckled as she glanced at him, chewing up the Cheerios and he held out an offering of a pink heart marshmallow. She leaned closer and he placed it into her mouth with a smile.

The phone rang inside the house and Mulder stood up to answer it, bringing the box of cereal with him. Faith leaned back, eating more Cheerios as Scully moved her knee, adjusting the bag of peas with a groan.

“Mama, owie,” Faith said, touching the bag of peas as she sat up again.

“Yes, my girl. I have an owie. But, it’s okay.” She hummed as Faith lay back against her again, closing her eyes with a small smiile.

“Okay, here she is,” Mulder said as he walked out and Scully opened her eyes, looking up at him as he handed her her cell phone. “Louise.” She took the phone and he picked Faith up from her lap, holding onto the cup of Cheerios and walking away a few steps.

"Louise? Hello,” Scully said. “How are you?”

“Dana, hello! I am doing well, how are you?” Scully laughed as she looked at the bag of peas lying on her knee.

“Well…” She laughed again and fell into conversation with Louise, hearing how her family was and telling her of their rather catastrophic morning.

“Sounds like you three could use some time away from that little house. You know the lake house is just sitting there… as always. No one has been out there in at least a month, and that was just me checking on a small tree that had fallen over. You all are welcome to borrow it again. A change of scenery might be just what you need.”

“The lake house?” Scully asked, looking up at Mulder and his eyes widened. He nodded and Scully smiled. “That sounds perfect, Louise.”

And so, they had packed up, taking Grey to stay with Denis and Violet, leaving them their house keys so they could stop by and feed the fish. Bella sat beside Faith in the backseat as they drove away, waving goodbye to Denis, Violet, and Jaf, the large wooden giraffe in their yard.

Sticking her head out of the half open window, Bella sniffed at the breeze, her tongue hanging out at intervals, as she whined happily and Faith laughed as she watched her. Scully closed her eyes as Mulder took her hand and she breathed out a contented sigh.

“This will be great,” he said and she nodded with a smile.

And it had been. Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, they had all gone to the house before Mulder went to the store for supplies and Scully opened the windows to air it out.

For two weeks, they had that change of scenery they desperately needed. Bella was in the water often, running down the dock and launching after the ball or stick Mulder had thrown for her. She would tire herself out and lay on the porch, napping as she dried off in a patch of sunlight.

The water was far too cold for them, and especially for Faith, though she did enjoy putting her feet in and splashing around, her eyes wide when the cold water hit her face.

They rented a boat and rode around the lake, Bella barking at birds flying by and Faith toddling around in a purple life jacket. They stopped and Scully showed her how to bait a hook and they ate lunch while they hoped for a nibble. Catching nothing, Scully reeled in the line and they headed back to the dock.

They went on walks, collected rocks, pinecones, leaves and anything else Faith found interesting. Mulder made another trip into town and bought some painting supplies. The next day they sat at the outdoor table on the porch and painted the rocks they had collected. Leaving them to dry, they walked down to the water and splashed along the shore, Bella chasing the ball that was thrown for her.

When the rocks were dry, Mulder placed them into his pockets and Scully picked up the backpack and the bag containing their picnic lunch. They walked to the spot, the one they had avoided since they had arrived. Mulder squeezed Scully‘s hand as the long log came into view and she drew in a deep breath as she squeezed back.

When they arrived, Mulder took the rocks from his pockets and placed them on the log, laying them in a line as he told Faith about her grandma. He laughed at some of the stories and was quieter at others. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and looked at Faith.

“Faithy, she would have loved you so much. She would have given you anything you ever wanted, made you your favorite dessert and driven all the way over just to give it to you and see the happiness on your face. Her house would have been filled with toys just waiting for your arrival.” He smiled at Faith and Scully sniffled, thinking of how much her mother would have loved having a granddaughter to spoil. Mulder looked up and she nodded, letting him know she was okay. He nodded and looked back at Faith.

“So, my love, we will leave these rocks here to remember her and let her know we are thinking of her- always.”

He handed Faith the rocks she had painted and placed his own at the base of the log, showing her what they were doing. She squatted down beside him and laid her rocks next to his own. Scully picked hers up and bent down beside Faith, rubbing her thumb over the dark blue painted rock with the white heart in the middle that she had made. Whispering “I love you,” she placed it beside Faith’s and sniffled once more. Mulder glanced at her, his eyes concerned, and she nodded again.

Stepping back, they walked to a less rocky spot and laid down a couple of blankets, the log within their view as they ate.

A couple of days later, Skinner and Rachel had driven out on Thursday afternoon to stay for a long weekend. It was a much welcome change and their weekend was filled with laughter and fun. Wine was drunk with dinner and then out on the porch once Faith had gone down for the night. Bella lay at their feet, as they laughed and shared stories, the crickets chirping in the crisp night air.

Rachel and Skinner both doted on Faith, doing whatever she liked, taking her wherever she wanted. Scully smiled at Mulder as Faith was taken from them, given cookies, or read a book she had heard five times in the past fifteen minutes.

Sunday afternoon, Scully and Skinner stood on the porch watching as Rachel, Mulder, and Faith played by the water. Faith picked up rocks and threw them in the water, laughing at the splash they created. Scully glanced at Skinner and slid her arm through his, where it was resting on the railing. He turned his head to look at her and she smiled.

“So,” she said, clearing her throat and he hummed, as though reading her mind.

“Yes?” he asked and she put her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

“She’s great, Walter. More than great.”

“I know she is,” he agreed gruffly and she laughed, raising her head and looking at him.

“So…” She raised her eyebrows and he let out a heavy sigh. “It’s been a year… and I mean… a year .”

“No shit,” he muttered and she laughed.

“Well, what I mean is, this year has been like five pressed together.” He nodded and she smiled. “If the two of you can survive the craziness of this new life, I’d say you can get through anything.” He hummed again, looking over at Rachel as she laughed. “So, I suppose my question is: what are you waiting for?” She squeezed his arm before moving her arm, and clasping her hands together.

“Hmm,” he hummed, shifting and letting out a sigh. “You sound like me asking Mulder if twenty five years was enough time to know someone.” She laughed and shook her head.

“To be fair though, we weren’t dating for twenty five years.” He snorted and looked at her, both of them laughing.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” he said and she chuckled softly, both of them quiet for a moment.

“It’s not that he didn’t ask me or that he didn’t want it, I just… I didn’t feel it was part of our journey until…”

“Until you did,” he said quietly and she nodded, her thumb rubbing the wedding band around her finger.

“Yeah…” she agreed and he hummed in response.

“You know, since the quarantine started in earnest, I haven’t been working as much, at least not in the office. I could have, but… I’ve lived rather simply most of my life. I didn’t travel much or spend a lot of money. I’ve made good decisions with investments and I’m comfortable. Many of the people working at the VA office needed their paycheck more than I did and so I gladly stepped aside.”

“I would expect nothing less of you,” she said, looking at him with a smile and he nodded.

“I had more time at home as a result, obviously, and I could hear Rachel speaking to her patients. We didn’t discuss her patients and we still don’t, but I couldn't help but hear her speaking to them. While I didn’t pay attention to the problems discussed, what I did hear was the kindness and also the firmness she carries. She doesn’t coddle anyone and yet she lets them feel and cry, sometimes crying with them, and more often than not, crying when the session is finished. She’s an amazing therapist, Dana.” He looked at Scully, his expression serious and she smiled.

“Yes, I know. I honestly don't know where we would have been without her help.” She looked at Mulder making funny faces at Faith and she shook her head. “We may not even have had her if it hadn’t been for Rachel’s help, helping him to face the past to secure our future.” She looked back at Skinner and he nodded with a smile.

“Most of her patients were fine with the teletherapy and Zoom calls at first, but as time went on, some of them weren't. They wanted the one-on-one meetings they were used to, but sitting in a room with someone, or many someones throughout the day, was not ideal. Or safe.”

He looked over at Rachel again, smiling as Bella ran out of the water and shook her body, spraying all of them with water, causing Rachel to gasp loudly. He laughed softly and Scully watched him, seeing the love in his eyes. Clearing his throat, he looked back at her and she grinned.

“So, anyway…” he said and she laughed as he shook his head. “She didn’t want to lose the patients, not for her , but for them, not wanting them to lose ground on their progress.” Scully smiled and sighed, glancing at Rachel as she smiled and took a rock Faith was offering her, and slipped it into her pocket. “Taking precautions, she made plans to meet with the few who wanted to meet in person. Twice a week now, she goes to her office and sits outside in the parking lot of the empty businesses surrounding hers, and talks to them face-to-face. They each bring a chair and wear masks, sitting far enough apart for it to not be a threat, but she’s there . She shows up for them in these worrisome times. “People need someone to talk to, Walter.” That’s what she told me that first day and every day since as she’s getting ready to leave, making sure she has everything she needs. She brings bottles of water, individual packs of tissues, and even prepackaged snacks for them.” He shook his head and sighed.

“Dana…” he said, turning toward her, touching her arm and taking a deep breath. “I knew that I cared for her, that I loved her, but that first day she packed up the basket of items to take… watching the care and thought she put into it… something changed. When she left, I picked up my laptop and began looking online for engagement rings.”

She clutched his arm, taking a deep breath and letting it out, as she scrunched her chin and smiled. He covered her hand with his own and grinned with a nod.

“I… that makes me so happy,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “I like her for you so much. I like her in general, but especially for you.” He patted her hand before she moved it, continuing to smile happily.

“So, I take it you found the perfect one, after telling me all that,” she said and he nodded with a grin. She hummed as they turned back to look at Rachel, Mulder and Faith. Shaking her head again, unable to stop smiling, she put her arm through his again and squeezed.

“Come on,” she said after a couple of minutes, wanting to join the others. Tugging at his arm and stepping back, she smiled as they walked down the stairs and past the pumpkins they had all carved the previous evening. They had all laughed as Faith pulled away, not wanting to touch the insides, declaring them “yucky,” though she had been intrigued by them when they were finished.

__________

“Ohhh, ducks!” Faith said, pulling Scully’s thoughts back to the present. Faith began to walk faster, but still stepping carefully over the rocks, and they smiled at each other as they watched her.

Mulder took the baggie of bread from his pocket and opened it, taking out a piece and breaking it into smaller pieces. He threw a few of them out to entice the ducks to come toward them. They started quacking softly as they got up, eating the bread as they came closer.

“Hi, ducks. Hi,” Faith said, squatting down and waiting for them. She put her hand out and Mulder placed a small piece of bread onto it. “Eat ducks. Heah.” She showed them the bread and soon they were in front of her, taking the bread from her gently. She laughed and reached out for more bread.

Scully smiled and shook her head as she watched her. Tomorrow was her second birthday… where had the time gone so fast?

“Okay, last few pieces here guys,” Mulder said. “Or girls, as most of you seem to be. Here, honey, there’s just a few more.” He handed Faith a couple more pieces and the ducks gathered around her.

Scully shook her head again, watching her, smiling at how cute she was in her costume. Now that she saw how much she loved it, she was happy they had given it to her early, despite not actually going trick-or-treating this year.

“It doesn’t matter, Scully,” Mulder had said when he excitedly showed her the costume online. “She’s our Halloween baby, she needs to get used to wearing costumes.” She had smiled and nodded as he had ordered it.

Little did he know that as he was distracted with his glee, she had bought something for them. Not a costume, but something fun for them to wear that she knew he would find humorous.

“Okay, that’s it. No more bread, ducks,” Mulder said, standing up and brushing off his hands. “Let’s say goodbye, honey. We’ll see them tomorrow or the next day. Say bye, Faithy.”

“Bye ducks. See waytah.”

“I know she’ll outgrow the way she says things, but I hope it isn’t anytime soon,” Mulder said with a grin. “I love hearing it. It’s so cute.”

He put the empty baggie into his pocket and scooped Faith up, as it was now getting dark. Scully put her arm around his waist and he put his around her shoulders, and they headed back to eat the dinner that was very nearly ready.

_______________

A few hours later, Scully sat on the floor, her arms resting on the coffee table as she looked at her phone with a sigh.

“Hey,” Mulder said softly, stepping into the room after letting Bella out one last time before they went to bed. “Whatcha doing?”

“Ohhh…” She sighed again and smiled up at him as he sat down on the couch. She leaned back and set her phone down. “I was just sending an email to everyone. The ones at Faith’s party last year I mean and I…” She shook her head with a sigh as he began to stroke her hair.

“An email about what?”

“They each sent an email earlier and I was sending out a group one; thanking them for their early birthday wishes. I told them that I wished we could all get together this year, but…” She shook her head and sighed again.

“Hmm,” he hummed and she pushed herself up to join him on the couch. He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Two years, Mulder. How did two years go by so fast? The first year seemed fast, even though there were months that seemed never ending when we were so exhausted. But…” She laughed softly and he nodded against her head.

“I know, honey,” he said quietly and she snuggled closer to him, putting an arm around his waist. “But… although we won’t be having a party this year, the reason to avoid too many people being a devastating one… these past few months have been… calling it a gift sounds wrong, but I can’t think of a better way to describe it. We’ve had to plan things differently and limit our contact with others, but… it’s been good. Hasn’t it?”

“It has, yes. But that’s not what I meant.”

“I know you didn’t.” He kissed her head and she hummed. “I’m just saying that although I know this time has been crazy and scary, we’ve been good and I’ve loved our time together. Even the moments when, though you might not say anything, your eyes were angry and annoyed.”

“As if you never looked at me with the same eyes?” she asked, squeezing his side.

“I would never,” he answered and she pulled away, turning her body to climb into his lap and straddle him, his hands landing on her thighs and her arms wrapping loosely around his neck.

“You’re such a liar,” she whispered with a smile and he shrugged with a smug grin and a raised eyebrow. She shook her head, her fingernails scratching at his neck, his breathing became faster.

“It led to some amazing sex,” he admitted breathily, his hands moving to her hips, his thumbs stroking under her shirt as her heart began to race.

“It did indeed,” she agreed, her voice low, and he groaned as she rocked into him, desire coursing through her.

“What do you say we uh… we move this somewhere a little more… uh… to the bedroom?” he asked, swallowing hard.

“By this, you mean…” she teased, rocking into him again, yelping as he stood up with a mighty push and held her tightly, walking toward the stairs.

“You know exactly what this is,” he said and she grinned, kissing him deeply as they reached the base of the stairs, halting their progress. “Woman, stop distracting me.” She laughed happily as they stumbled up the stairs and into the bedroom.

______________

Scully smiled happily, humming as she made breakfast the next morning, adding rainbow sprinkles to the birthday waffle batter. Mulder walked up behind her, grabbing her hips and pulling her close and kissing her neck. She laughed and smiled at him as he stepped to the side and she stirred in the sprinkles.

“What time will Skinner and Rachel be here?” he asked, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

“Noon. They’re bringing lunch to thank us for the weekend they spent here and… they’re picking up the cake. Rachel said Skinner picked it out.” She looked at him and he raised his eyebrows.

“Is that right? Hmm, it will be interesting to see what he’s chosen.”

“It will indeed.” She continued to stare at him and he bit his lip with a nod.

“Hmm… seems to me, those two should just get married already.” He held her gaze and she pursed her lips, trying not to smile and give anything away. “Mm-hmm.” He nodded with a smile, not inquiring any further, but obviously aware that something was up.

They ate breakfast, a rainbow polka dotted number two candle set in Faith’s waffle, glowing brightly as they sang happy birthday to her. Her eyes shone as she attempted to blow out the candle, both of them helping her in the end.

Whipped cream, strawberries, and syrup were added to her rainbow sprinkled waffle and she wiggled as she ate it, a huge smile on her face as she dipped her fingers into the whipped cream and put them in her mouth. Eggs and some sausages were added to her plate and she ate it all up, happy and smiling.

After breakfast, they gave her her birthday gifts: books, clothes, a stuffed yellow duck, and a plastic barn and farm set.

“Cow. Piggy. Sheep… baaa!” she said, taking them out and holding them tight as Scully smiled at her with a happy sigh.

Just before Skinner and Rachel were due to arrive, Scully took out the surprise she had bought for her and Mulder to wear that day. Faith was once again wearing her beloved alien costume over rainbow leggings and a black long sleeved shirt. A puffball headband with small black cat ears finished off her rather unusual costume.

She looked the part, ready for her Halloween birthday, now it was their turn.

“Mulllderrr,” she sang out and he walked in from the kitchen.

“Yeeees?” he answered and she smiled at him, her hands behind her back.

“Pick a hand,” she said and he raised his eyebrows, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He stood in front of her looking from one hand to the other, taking his time with his decision. She smiled, enjoying his excitement.

“Hmm…” he narrowed his eyes and pointed to her left hand.

“Are you sure?” she teased and he searched her face.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Good choice,” she said, bringing her hand around and giving him the black T-shirt she had bought for him. He took it and unrolled it, laughing when he saw the picture on it.

It was the face of a grey alien with big black eyes, the yellow neck of a shirt showing within a blue arched frame. Underneath it, one word was written: believe.

“This is fantastic. I love it.” He took his shirt off quickly and put on the new one. Grinning, he looked at it and then at her. “Thank you.” She nodded, her right hand still behind her back.

“Close your eyes,” she said and he grinned again, doing as she asked.

Taking off her own shirt, she traded it for the one in her hand. Smoothing it down, she brushed her hair back and glanced at Faith, who was playing with her new barn. Grinning, she looked back at him.

“Okay, you can open them.” He opened his eyes and howled with laughter, causing Bella to bark excitedly as she ran over to them.

The shirt she had bought for herself was also black, but hers had a green alien in a small spaceship. Under the picture it said: “Not sure I believe.”

“Oh,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes and stepping closer to her. “This is too perfect.” He laughed again and she smiled.

“Yours is the only one that’s accurate, what with it being grey and all. Or, you know, maybe. I’m not entirely sure because…” She pointed down at her shirt and shrugged as he laughed and he shook his head.

“A perfect costume for the current state of the world we’re living in; low-key and easy.” She nodded with a happy smile as he bent to kiss her. “At least until next year when we will be wearing a matching family costume.” He kissed her quickly before she pulled back and gave him a look. He grinned with a nod and she shook her head.

Skinner and Rachel arrived a few minutes later, bringing in bags of food. They laughed at their shirts, Skinner shaking his head and rolling his eyes. As Rachel took out two pink bakery boxes from a bag, Scully saw a glint of light on her left hand. Her eyes swung to Skinner, who grinned with a nod.

Lunch was put on hold as the story of the proposal was told, Scully asking for all the details, smiling as she looked at the thin platinum band with a large diamond in the middle and smaller ones down the braided sides. It was beautiful and fit her perfectly, both in personality and in size.

Rachel’s eyes shone as she looked at Skinner and began to tell the story of how he had come to her office when she was done with her social distance therapy sessions. She had been surprised to see him, even more so when he set up a picnic meal in the back of his car, the same way he had one year ago.

They had eaten, talking about their day and as he got up to clear everything away, she stood up as well and when she turned around, he was on his knee and reaching for her hand.

Scully’s eyes filled with tears and she took a deep breath. Rachel smiled at her, the words of the proposal not said, but staying private as it should.

“Needless to say, I said yes,” she said with a laugh, holding up her hand and showing off the ring. Scully took her hand in hers, once more admiring it. Looking up at her, she smiled and shook her head.

“I’m so happy. Truly happy for you both.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said with a sniff. “It was hard to say no. I mean, he brought the fettuccine.”

“Oh, did he?” Scully said, with a laugh. “The magic fettuccine? The Maggie Scully fettuccine?”

They all laughed and a bottle of wine was opened to celebrate the happy news. Faith laughed and had the full attention of everyone as they ate and celebrated her birthday. They sang happy birthday many times during the meal as she asked to hear it, smiling happily and clapping her hands.

Lunch was cleared away and Skinner picked up one of the bakery boxes, moving it to the kitchen island. Scully looked on curiously as he used a knife to cut away the tape on the side. He glanced up at her as he lifted the lid and when she looked down at it, she gasped.

“Oh… that’s beautiful. The butterflies…” She looked up at him and he nodded as she squeezed his arm.

“I know she’s a Halloween girl, but…” He shrugged and Scully shook her head.

“No, it’s perfect.” She squeezed his arm again as she looked at the cake with a smile, remembering the weekend they had spent together.

As they had all been out for a walk one day, a small cluster of very colorful butterflies flew past and then around them. Skinner had been carrying Faith, her small legs becoming tired.

The butterflies flitted around them, coming close to Faith and then flying away, dancing on the breeze. Faith had been mesmerized by them, her eyes never leaving them.

“Buhafy’s! See? Buhafy’s. Pitee.”

They had watched them until they had flown away and they had continued on their walk.

Faith spoke about them, asking to see the pictures Rachel had taken and shown her, pointing at them and saying the colors she saw when the picture was zoomed in closer.

“It’s a perfect cake,” Scully said again, smiling at it.

It had sky blue fondant with bright rainbow colored butterflies and white clouds, also made with fondant, placed on the sides and the top. Skinner took the cake from the box and placed it on a stand that Scully found in a cupboard. Once it was set down, a rainbow, the same color as the butterflies, was added to the top with stabilizing skewers. Happy birthday, Faith! was written upon it, in white frosting with a happy font and the polka dotted number two candle from the morning was added as well.

“Before you take the cake over, you should see what Rachel picked out,” Skinner said quietly, nodding to the other box. Scully smiled as she reached for it and took off the lid.

“Oh, these are adorable,” she exclaimed as she looked at the Halloween macarons in the box.

There were orange pumpkins with and without faces, white ghosts with black eyes and pink cheeks, a couple of ghosts holding little pumpkins, and what looked like a ghost family gathered beside a pumpkin.

“I love these. They are nearly too cute to eat.”

“You’ll change your mind when you try one. We had a sample at the bakery and the filling tastes like pumpkin pie,” Skinner said and she licked her lips. He smiled and picked up the cake stand as she smiled back, following him to the table.

Catching Mulder’s eye, she glanced at the cake and he nodded slightly with a smile as the candle was lit and once again, they sang happy birthday as Faith yelled “Buhafy’s!” pointing and smiling widely.

No one blew the candle on the cake, instead Mulder took it out and held it closer to Faith, blowing on it gently as she tried to do it on her own. They all clapped and the candle was set aside.

“Dada, buhafy’s. So pitee. Puhpo buhafy’s. Geen buhafy’s.”

“Oh my girl, I love you so much. Yes, the butterflies are so pretty.” He kissed her forehead as Skinner placed a purple butterfly in front of her. She picked it up and kissed it, everyone groaning at the cuteness of it.

The cake was taken back to the island to be cut and served, Faith now showing Rachel the butterfly in her hand. Scully picked up a plate, putting some of the cookies onto it, deciding Faith should have a choice of what she wanted to eat. As she reached for a large knife to cut the cake, her cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Alan, she instead reached for the phone with a smile.

“Hello?”

“Double scotch! Hello!” he said and she chuckled.

“You’re terrible. How are you?” she asked, shaking her head and.

“Good, good. Hey, I was wondering if I could get you to do me a favor. Could you meet me outside?”

“Outside?”

“Mmhmm- you know that place that’s the opposite of inside?” he teased.

“Oh, Alan. I’m… I’m so sorry. We aren’t home right now. We’re-”

“Just… come outside, okay?” He hung up, the conversation ending abruptly and she stared at the phone in confusion, ready to call him back.

“Who was that?” Mulder asked, coming to stand beside her and grabbing a cookie from the plate.

“Alan. He said he wanted me to meet him outside and I told him we aren’t home, but I don’t think he understood. I think he may have a gift for Faith and wants to drop it off, but…” She shook her head and pressed the button to call him back when Mulder stopped her, setting her phone on the counter. She looked at him with a frown and he smiled.

“Maybe we should just do as he asked,” he said quietly, taking a bite of the cookie with a shrug, and she tilted her head.

“What are you talking about?” He stared at her and smiled again. “Mulder…

“Come on,” he said, shoving the last bit of cookie into his mouth, brushing off the crumbs, and reaching for her hand.

“What did you do?” she asked as she took it, still confused at what was happening.

“Me? Oh, I didn’t do anything,” he said, squeezing her hand as she noticed that Skinner had taken Faith from her high chair and was holding her, Rachel standing beside him.

“Did you two do something?” she asked and they both shrugged unconvincingly.

Mulder picked up another cookie, a pumpkin, and handed it to Faith. She grinned and showed it to Rachel.

“Puhkin, Raycho. See? Ohage puhkin.” Rachel grinned and nodded, looking at the pumpkin with her.

“Come on,” Mulder said again, tugging at Scully’s hand and they all walked out the back door and down the porch stairs.

Staying on the small path along the side of the house, they walked towards the front yard. Arriving there, they found no one. Not a car, or Alan standing in the street with a gift for Faith. The only cars in sight were Skinner's and their own in the driveway.

“See? He must’ve thought we were home and is now standing in front of our empty house.” She let go of Mulder’s hand and crossed her arms with a sigh as she looked around and shook her head. “I need to get my phone and call-” But then, she heard something to the right and she turned her head at the sound.

A black car was driving slowly from the direction of the cul-de-sac, brightly colored balloons tied down all over it, and music playing loudly from inside; all the windows rolled down in order for it to be heard. As they got closer, she realized it was “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder.

Behind the car was a line of people, spaced far apart, and all of them wearing masks and Halloween costumes of some sort.

Alan and Ryan led the group, dancing along with the music. Alan was wearing jeans and a black shirt that said ELECT MORE WOMEN in rainbow letters as bright as the balloons on the car. He also wore a long rainbow colored wig to which he had added a bobble headband with photos of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ryan also wore jeans and a dark blue shirt that said Vote Your Ossoff in white letters with a white outline of the state of Georgia beside it. He was also wearing a wig, a short metallic blue bob, which was quite comical when paired with the  scruffy beard that could be seen under his mask. He also wore a bobble headband, but the bobbles on his said Biden on one and Harris on the other.

Elise, Tyler, and Raina were next, all dressed as bunnies. Elise wore a short sleeved light yellow dress with a white pinafore apron over it. She also had a tail and white rabbit ears. Tyler wore a silly black vest covered in orange carrots over a denim shirt, wire glasses, and rabbit ears. Raina was in a full bunny costume, her mask made to look like a rabbit mouth and nose. She hopped along and danced happily to the music. The baby, who had been in utero last year, was now six months old and dressed as a carrot; Elise holding her in her arms.

Louise was next, dressed all in red as the Queen of England. White pearls were around her neck, a purse on her arm, white gloves on her hands, and a large fancy hat on her head. She waved at them regally as she walked closer.

Cassidy, Sean, and Jacob were last. Jacob, the same age as Faith, was dressed as a monkey; his zip up costume similar in style to Faith‘s. He held a felt banana in his hand, chewing on the end of it as they all walked and danced.

Sean was dressed as a chef, wearing an apron and a chefs hat over his clothes. Cassidy wore a hot pink and black tulle skirt over a pair of pink leggings. She was visibly pregnant, and wearing a black shirt with Bun in the Oven written in pink sparkly letters.

As the small parade arrived in front of the house, they stopped, keeping a safe distance from one another and the group watching them, as the music was turned down. Everyone clapped and cheered, waving at Faith as she stood by Mulder and Scully, hiding a little and holding onto Scully’s leg.  

“Happy birthday, Faith!” they all called and she leaned further into Scully’s leg, watching them with interest, but also a little bit hesitant.

“What are you all doing here?” Scully asked, smiling at the sight of them.

“As if we wouldn’t be here for a mini celebration. It’s her birthday! Also, we are in the middle of a pandemic. This might be the most exciting thing most of us will do for a few days,” Alan said, pushing a stray piece of his wig back, as they all laughed and nodded in agreement.

Scully shook her head as she looked at them with a happy smile. At Elise and their new sweet little baby, Louise as she adjusted her hat, and Cassidy as her eyes crinkled from a smile Scully could not see and she rubbed her pregnant belly lovingly.

“Thank you. All of you for this-”

“Oh… did you think this was it? Oh, come on now,” Alan said and nodded to the driver of the car, who she just noticed was dressed like a Blues Brother. He nodded and Alan looked back at Scully, giving her a wink.

Scully looked at Mulder and he shrugged with a smile. Turning to Skinner and Rachel, her eyes widened as she watched them toss their sweaters onto the bumper of their car and put on their own masks.

They joined the group, Skinner wearing a Superman shirt and Rachel a Wonder Woman. She winked at Scully as the music started and Raina clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing up and down as everyone faced them. In that moment, as the music started, she knew for certain that it was Rachel who had a large hand in planning this little party.

Don't think about it Just move your body Listen to the music Sing, oh, ey, oh

Just move those left feet Go ahead, get crazy Anyone can do it Sing, oh, ey, oh

Show the world you've got that fire (fire) Feel the rhythm getting louder Show the room what you can do Prove to them you got the moves I don't know about you,

But I feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah And we can do this together I bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

Scully laughed with tears in her eyes, as she watched them perform a little dance they had somehow rehearsed, their choreography absolutely perfect. Mulder picked Faith up and laughed as he too watched them, bouncing her happily.

When you finally let go And you slay that solo Cause you listen to the music Sing, oh, ey, oh

'Cause you're confident, babe And you make your hips sway We knew that you could do it Sing, oh, ey, oh

Show the world you've got that fire (fire, baby) Feel the rhythm getting louder Show the room what you can do Prove to them you got the moves I don't know about you,

But I feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah And we can do this together I bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

“What do you say, Faithy, you want to join the party?” Mulder asked and she pointed to the group of people with a smile, her pumpkin cookie long since eaten or dropped somewhere. He glanced at Scully and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, hell yes. I just need a…” She stopped speaking as he took two masks from his pocket with a wink. “Oh, yeah. You definitely played some part in all of this.” She started to put on her mask, but he stopped her, bending close for a kiss.

“I’ll never tell,” he whispered and she grinned, kissing him once more before putting on her mask as he did the same. Winking at her again, they joined the group, though they kept a safe distance.

Oh, ey oh Oh, ey oh I feel better when I'm dancing I'm better when I'm dancing, aye, oh ey oh

Feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah, Don't you know We can do this together Bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

I feel better when I'm dancing I'm better when I'm dancing, hey Feel better when I'm, yeah, yeah

Cheering and clapping rang out as the song ended and a new one began, the music happy and fun. Scully looked around at all the people who had made the drive over to celebrate a birthday in the street. Not one of them looked perturbed to have done so, their happiness shining through as they laughed and danced.

She watched Skinner and Rachel dancing close together, her head thrown back in laughter as he then spun them around. She smiled at them and then she caught Louise’s eye.

Stepping closer to her, she put out her hands. Louise reached for them and Scully clasped her gloved ones tightly.

“Thank you,” she said, just loud enough for Louise to hear, knowing she knew she meant for more than just this moment of celebration, and Louise nodded.

“You’re welcome, my dear. A change of scenery is always good. It helps us to recenter and recharge.” Louise’s eyes crinkled and Scully nodded. “You know, amidst all of this the fun, I do hate to be a stickler.. but, it is customary to bow when one meets the Queen.” Scully stared at her before she laughed and curtsied slightly, apologizing for her insolence.

“Forgiven,” Louise said in a bored voice, though her eyes shone with happiness.

“Mama!” Faith called and Scully squeezed Louise’s hands once again before she walked over to Mulder and Faith.  

“Happy birthday, my sweet love!” she said, wrapping her arms around them both, her heart incredibly happy.

“Happy day,” Faith said with a smile and Scully sighed.

“Yes,” she said, looking at Mulder and she could see the smile in his eyes. “Yes, my love. It’s a very happy day.”

As the Happy Birthday song began to play again, the three of them seemed to move as one, their foreheads coming to rest together as they swayed slowly in their own little bubble, as the sounds of the birthday celebrations continued on around them.

Yes, it was a very happy day indeed.

____________________________

Oh, I hope you enjoyed this story. The tooth rotting fluff is my absolute favorite. I love them being happy, getting out of that little house, being at a lake, blowing bubbles, going for walks, finding ducks, and celebrating and remembering Maggie. I love the little parade party and the group of friends these previous hermits have made in the past couple of years.

And as always, I love Rachel. I love her so much and I especially love her for Skinner. She is the light HE needed, just as much as Mulder needs it from Scully. They balance each other out and thinking of him no longer alone in that sterile apartment makes me very happy. I hope you like her too, because she is 100% in their lives now. 💙

Oh... the song I used is Better When I'm Dancin' by Meghan Trainor. It's such a fun song and I can see Faith loving to dance to it.

[sparkie96]

Leon and dante stuck at home taking care of the kids and thinking chris won't be back form his mission for awhile but they don't know he comes home early and wants to surprise them?!🥺💕

(Not really a surprise, but this will be apart of a future project later, so don’t want to give away too much)

“Reddie!” Dante called to the little baby/demon hybrid that sat on top of Chris’s files, “You stop that right this instance, you little bastard!” 

Said hybrid was no bigger than a water bottle, just like the other triplets. “Reddie” had a human baby face and chest, but from the chest down, the little baby was covered in red and black scales. He had claws, a tail and little bat looking wings and red horns. Little beady reddish brown orbs watched his “Mama”, leaning down and ripping at another piece of paper on his “Papa’s” desk with sharp little teeth. There were also little shreds of ripped paper in the little tuft of white hair on his head. 

“No!” Dante scolded, going to the little demon, but Reddie was just a hair faster, little wings lifting him and zooming past his mother. 

“Get back here!” Dante called, chasing after him. 

It had been almost a year since Dante had moved in with his mates, having come out and telling them that he had actually been an Omega, instead of an Alpha like his older twin brother. But Leon and Chris didn’t care, Leon having already known and Chris being accepting of him no matter what. And then one thing led to another, Leon having already been pregnant when Chris and Leon mated with Dante and Dante ended up pregnant with Chris’s baby, er, babies. 

Well...that’s when Dante found out that he was not like other Omegas. Granted, he knew he was not like other Omegas, because, y’know, Half-Demon and all, but he was sort of expecting to be able to have a baby the “normal human way”. Not the “laying eggs like a goddamn chicken” sort of way. Thanks to his devil anatomy, he didn’t produce babies like normal Omegas. He had nested like normal, but then laid eggs. 

And what hatched had been three little part demon part human hybrids. Dante wasn’t good with names, so he had just named after their colors: Reddie and Greenie, who for some reason had wings, and then the runt of the litter, Blue, who for some reason didn’t have his wings yet. He had to be carried around, but mostly let Leon do that, riding on the younger Omega’s pregnant belly or his shoulder. 

Currently, Dante had brought the babies home from a day at the orphanage with Patty and the kids, but two out of his three little hellions weren’t happy at all that Chris wasn’t home. Reddie and Greenie, of course the two flyers, were in the process of creating chaos because “Papa” wasn’t home. 

Dante chased Reddie out of Chris and Leon’s shared office space, Reddie carrying a document, for something that was probably important, in his mouth as he flew. Greenie had Chris’s shirt, having made a little nest out of it and lying on a cushion next to Leon, who sat on the couch feeding the lazy little baby on his belly goldfish crackers. Blue happily chewed on the little orange crackers, carefully taking them from Leon’s fingers with his own little clawed hands before eating them. 

“Dante?” Leon asked as he looked up at his mate, “Did you need help with…?” 

“Nope!” Dante said, jumping and trying to get the paper from the little demon, Reddie pulling it out of his Mama’s reach, “I got this! You tamed those two, I should be able to tame this one.” 

Leon chuckled and shook his head, “Are you sure? You got to let them know who the Alpha is.” 

“But Chris is on an assignment!” Dante protested.

“Not what I meant!” Leon reiterated, “You’re their mother. You gotta read the babies, figure out their needs and be stern with them. Negotiate.”

Dante turned back to Reddie, who fluttered above him with the paper in his mouth, muffled chirps leaving the little one as he swayed in front of him. He could negotiate, but Chris wasn’t going to be back until tomorrow. Out of curiosity, Dante experimentally reached out with his right hand Reddie ducked to the left side, making a sound that didn’t sound mad or distressed. He sounded...happy. It was a happy chirp sound. The little tail moved much like that of a very happy dog, wagging as he fluttered in front of Dante. 

He was playing and thought Dante wanted to play too. 

Dante chuckled, turning away from the little one and pretending to be disinterested in their game. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Reddie move closer, moving until he was in sight once more, flicking the paper at Dante. With lightning reflexes, he gently grabbed Reddie himself, kissing the little belly and nuzzling his little head, dislodging the now drooly paper from the baby demon’s mouth. 

Dante looked over the report before turning to Leon, cradling Reddie to his chest as the little one cooed up at him, “Does Chris still need that report on New York and Glenn Arias?” 

Leon shook his head, “Filed that a while ago. Why?” 

Dante showed Leon the torn and wet piece of paper. Leon’s eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn’t help but chuckle. He said that Chris might have a few stern words with Reddie, but he would probably find the whole thing amusing. Even more so when he would find out just what caused their chaotic behavior. 

The older Omega nodded, rocking the little one in his arms and watching Reddie doze off. Dante jokingly said that he would probably kick Chris’s ass for being away from home for so long, making his companion laugh once more. Leon asked if that would be before or after he had angry sex with Chris. Dante blushed lightly, giving a small smile, asking Leon what he thought would happen. 

“I already have an idea.” Leon said, gently picking up Blue and putting him in the nest next to his brother, Dante coming over and doing the same with Reddie, sitting on the other side of the cushion. 

“They’re so adorable.” Leon cooed, “Even with the scales and all that.” 

“I know...they can be a bit of little heathens at times,” he said, tucking them in with the blanket on the back of the couch, “...but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world…” 

Leon laid his head on Dante’s shoulder as they watched over the little baby demons. It wasn’t long until they themselves got tired, taking Blue, Greenie and Reddie to their little nursery before Dante and Leon went to their own room. Leon and Dante snuggled close, discussing when they thought Chris might come home and how he might be doing. 

“...how do you do it?” Dante asked suddenly, rubbing Leon’s back. 

Leon looked up at Dante, “What?” 

“The whole, bioterrorism thing? Like, I can fight demons because I’m part demon myself,” Dante began, trying to figure out the right thing to say, “But you two...you fight things that are almost as strong as the demons I go up against...and you two are only...well, I worry about you two a lot.” 

Leon breathed in a deep breath, hugging Dante back, “We just do. I don’t know how half the time...but things just work out in the end.”

“But not without sacrifice…” Dante recalled, remembering what Leon and Chris were like right after they came back from New York, having lost a lot of innocent lives, “...But I won’t let you go through that alone. You or Chris. I’m gonna make sure you two don’t get all dark on me and I’ll do whatever it takes. I promise.”

Leon smiled, nuzzling Dante’s shoulder, “I know you will.” 

________________________

Chris came home the next morning to a clean house and the smell of pancakes and bacon. He had barely had time to set down his bags when Reddie and Greenie rushed him, flying full speed at the man while chirping loudly in excitement. 

Chris chuckled, gently holding them in his hands and kissing their little heads, “Hi, boys. Holding down the fort and taking care of Leon and Dante while I was gone?” He asked with a smile. 

Reddie and Greenie chirped loudly up at him, jumping up and down happily in his hands. He heard chirping from the kitchen, smiling and greeting Blue, who carried around a plastic fork like a pitchfork while standing on the table. Chris chuckled at the sight, the little blue demon was seemingly guarding the plate of bacon and sausages. 

“Hi, Bud.” Chris greeted Blue as Blue hopped over to him, kissing the little one’s head, “Helping Mama and Ma with breakfast?” 

“Kind of,” Dante chuckled, kissing Chris, “He’s been keeping Red and Greenie away from the bacon and sausage with his trusty fork.” 

“I had to give him a plastic one because Dante gave him a metal one originally.” Leon explained, setting down a plate of pancakes and eggs, “Morning, Honey.” Leon added, kissing Chris too. 

“So, how was Louisiana?” Dante asked, setting down a bowl of fruit, patting Leon’s side gently and telling him to sit and eat, “If something happened...we can skip over the bad parts until you’re ready.”

Chris gave a small smile as Dante joined them at the table, “Let’s just say, I’m glad to be home with my family.”

[therainroguefanfiction]

🌀 Storm Coming (A SKET Dance Fanfic) Chapter 3: A New Determination

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Previous Chapter

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That night, I tossed and turned, unable to grasp sleep for more than ten minutes as a time. Kevin’s words kept repeating in my mind like a ghostly echo. Being in a foreign bed, in a foreign country certainly didn’t help, either. So much had happened in such a short span of time and my body wasn’t handling it well. I wanted to go back to Florida. I wanted the comfort of my eight-year-old mattress and the cheetah print comforter my grandma had given me for my twelfth birthday. I wanted my room, with its dark walls covered in anime posters and random things I thought were cool at the time.

More than anything, I wanted security.

I rolled over onto my side. The red digits on the clock shined through the darkness like angry eyes. It’s only two in the morning? It felt like I had been lying here for ages. My gaze moved to the window. The tan shade had been pulled down, covering all but a small portion of the glass at the bottom. From this angle, I could just make out the darkness outside.

I forced my eyes closed. I needed sleep. Without it, my anxiety would be even more out of control.

It felt like I was lying there for hours with my eyes closed, but I refused to open them, I refused to move. If my body wouldn’t co-operate, then I would force it to sleep.

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My eyes fluttered open but quickly closed at the bright light shining directly on them. Shit, why is the sun so friggin’ bright? I forced myself into a sitting position, glaring at the small stream of sunlight filtering through the uncovered section of window. Man, I really hate the sun. I glanced at the clock, taking in the numbers that glared at me. Seven-thirty… I guess five or six hours isn’t too bad.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the carpet soft against my bare feet. I stretched my arms above my head, stifling a yawn as I headed for the bathroom down the hall.

I tried to ignore the mirror on my left but it was huge and I found my eyes snapping to it like a magnet. My hair, as black a raven’s feathers, was sticking up in all directions and looked greasy even though I had taken a shower before bed. I briefly wondered if I had sleep-walked my finger into a light socket. There were bags under my eyes, a combination of stress and fitful sleep, my green eyes dull and tired.

I pinched my cheeks, tugging them away from my face before releasing. My face is round and chubby, like a soccer ball. My nose is big, my eyebrows are bushy. I glanced down at my body, poking my stomach that had the quality of jello. Most Japanese high schoolers are thin and pretty, aren’t they?

I hung my head, turning the water on as I washed my face. I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb in class.

My eyes widened. W-Wait a minute… I’m talking like I’m going back to school… had I made up my mind without even realizing it? I looked back at the mirror, surprised to see the determination in my eyes. I gripped the edge of the sink, my mind made up. I wouldn’t let this chance slip by me!

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the smell of eggs and bacon reached my nose, making my stomach whine. Kevin was at the kitchen sink washing the dishes. Two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, rice, and toast were sitting on the living room table, covered by plastic wrap to keep them warm.

“Good morning…” I said softly.

He smiled over his shoulder at me, turning the water off and drying his hands on the dishtowel perched on his shoulder. “Morning, Sammy. Did you sleep okay?”

Not at all, but I didn’t want to tell him that, so I just nodded. He motioned for me to take a seat before pouring out two glasses of orange juice and setting them on the table before sitting to my left.

“Were you… waiting on me?” I questioned.

“Of course! A family should always eat together!” He smiled, sticking his index finger in the air.

Together? My brow furrowed as I carefully unpeeled the plastic wrap from the plate. I couldn’t remember a time when mom and I had eaten together. Rarely did we cook our own food because she was always busy and I couldn’t be trusted not to burn down the house, so we usually just ate TV dinners or canned food. Occasionally she’d bring home some fast food, but we usually took it and went to our own rooms. There were no set meal times – we just ate whenever we felt hungry.

When was the last time either of us had even sat at the kitchen table?

I glanced at Kevin, who clapped his hands in front of him (“Itadakimasu!”) before digging into the food. Judging from his joyous expression, he really loved food, both cooking and eating it.

He noticed my gaze and frowned, lowering his plate. “Do you not like eggs? Alissa didn’t say anything about food preferences. I should have asked, but I was a bit… blown away at the time.”

“Ah, no… no, sorry.” I bowed my head and took a spoonful of eggs into my mouth. W-What is this… I’ve never tasted eggs that tasted this incredible before. I didn’t even know eggs could be this good, I didn’t know that someone could change the flavor of eggs so drastically. Without hesitation, I began to shovel the rest of the food into my mouth.

Kevin laughed and I froze. The flavor of the food had made me forget he was there. God, I must look like a pig. “I’m glad you enjoy my cooking. It’s something I’ve always prided myself on.” He took a long gulp of the juice before setting it back down, his hand lingering on the glass. “I was really worried about it. Alissa let me walk into this completely blind. She didn’t tell me what food you like or dislike, she didn’t mention any allergies either. It’s pretty important, so I assumed you didn’t have any, but I chose eggs because the likely hood of being allergic to those is very low.”

I lowered my spoon as I glanced at him. I thought I had been the only one that was going mad with worry about this situation, not wanting to step on his toes or burden him, but… he had been worrying about it, too, he just hid it better than I did. We’re complete strangers living under the same roof… we’re on the same playing field.

“I… I don’t mind eggs,” I mumbled, shifting slightly. “I… I hate onions, but onion powder doesn’t bother me. I can eat onion rings, though… mom always said that was weird.”

“The cheeseburgers last night had onions on them.” He stated, softly. “But you ate them because you didn’t want to upset me.”

I nodded, taking the last spoonful of eggs.

“Well, no more of that. I want you to feel comfortable being honest with me, no matter what it is, and I’ll do the same to you. Is that a deal?”

I chewed, thoughtfully for a moment. “So… If I become… too much for you, you’ll tell me… right?”

Kevin smiled softly, resting his hand on my arm. “You will never become ‘too much’ for me. Did you know I’ve always wanted a child? But I wanted to wait until I was financially stable and had gotten married. That way, my kid would grow up with two loving parents in a stable home. I didn’t want my child to grow up in a broken home like I did.” He paused, his thumb rubbing over my skin. “I’m not sure what came over me that night, the night I met your mom. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, the confidence she exuded.”

I studied his face as multiple emotions flickered through his eyes as he recalled the memory of that night.

“She was flirting with me all night and showed a genuine interest in me and my life. At one point, she even told me that she could picture us getting married and having a family.”

I held back a scoff at that comment. One thing my mom would never allow was for her to be tied down to a man. She loved the attention, but she refused to be in a relationship. There were always men asking her out, asking for her hand, but she always turned them down. To be honest, I’m surprised she kept me. I briefly wondered if she had tried to get rid of me but failed. I didn’t linger on that thought.

“I was a bit tipsy and completely smitten… After that night, I didn’t see her again, but we kept in contact over the phone. I tried to meet up with her several times, but she always had some excuse as to why she couldn’t see me. Eventually, I gave up on thinking we could have something, but I couldn’t bring myself to completely cut her out.” His eyes met mine and I saw the warmth and sadness in their depths. “I’m glad I didn’t because I might not have met you.”

My eyes widened as tears began to well up in his eyes.

“To think that I had a beautiful daughter all this time. I… I missed your first steps, your first words. I wasn’t there to comfort you, to protect you, to let you know that you were loved and wanted.”

Tears fell down my cheeks, matching the tracks against his own.

“I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most…”

I don’t know what came over me, but my body acted on its own. I flung myself at him, clutching tightly onto his shirt like my life depended on the contact. I sobbed into his chest, his arms holding me close. Even though he was crying, too, he still comforted me, telling me it would be okay.

“I-I-It’s not your – your f-fault,” I sobbed.

His grip tightened. “I promise you, Samantha, I will make up for the lost time. I will protect and comfort you when you cry. I’ll be here for you, always and forever.”

“I-I promise that I will… I will change!” And in that moment, for the first time in my life, I felt confident that I could change, that I would change.

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“You can do it tomorrow?” Kevin glanced at me and I nodded nervously. “Tomorrow works for us, thank you so much for this, Karamatsu-san. See you soon!” He hung up the phone and smiled at me. “Okay, he’s going to set up the placement test for you.”

I nodded again, feeling my chest growing cold as my anxiety started to grip my heart. Now that it had been finalized, I was beginning to have second thoughts. I wasn’t sure if I could do this. I wasn’t even that smart, there’s no way I could pass.

A warm hand rested on my shoulder and I met Kevin’s warm eyes. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. I believe in you, now you just have to believe in yourself.”

Believing in myself was a subject I most definitely failed at, but… I didn’t want to let Kevin down. He had done so much for me in the short time I had known him, and he was so happy to have me in his life despite the trouble that I bring. I… I want to make him proud.

“I… I’m going to go study!” I announced, jumping up and heading to my room. I sat at my desk, opening my laptop, but I could only stare at the text entry field on the browser. What the hell am I supposed to search for? I typed in ‘placement test’ and got a bunch of results for college so I added ‘high school’ to the end. Several practice quizzes came up.

I clicked on the first one. Let’s see how bad this goes…

After about twenty minutes, fifteen questions and a bad headache, I finished the online test. I hovered the mouse over the results button but hesitated. What if I got them all wrong? No, I’m not a complete idiot, I had to have done decent… right?

I clicked the button and the results came up. Eight right and seven wrong. I winced at those numbers. Most of the questions I had gotten wrong had been math questions – my worst subject. I would be able to pass the test with this? I guess… even if I fail it’s not the worst thing in the world. I’ll still be allowed in as a first-year.

With a sigh, I grabbed a notebook from the drawer and began to search for free online study materials. I didn’t have much time, but I was determined to learn at least something before tomorrow.

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[twodaysintojune]

A Day Out

Supernatural, Debriel, Warnings-None

Long Stories Masterlist, One Shots Masterlist

Find me at AO3

It was way too early in the morning but that didn’t stop Dean from seeing all the preparations. He saw his brother doing the baguettes and the quinoa salad and he saw how he took out the chilled rosé from the fridge as well. He saw him place the cutlery and glasses inside the picnic basket along with the cooling packs and he finally saw him placing a folded picnic blanket on top.

And he hated every single step of the process.

"Remember to put on your wedding ring as well or else he might not notice it's your honeymoon," he said with a sneer. 

Sam looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"We'll be back in a couple of days Dean. It's not the end of the world."

"Well it is the end of the world as I know it."

"Alright," said Sam while grabbing his basket. "We're going now. Don't throw any parties and don't let any strangers in, and you can always call us if anything happens, you got it baby? We’ll call you when we get there."

Dean sent his brother a killing glare while Sam smirked and waved him goodbye. He saw Cas joining him and huffed once more after he saw them disappear through the hall heading to the garage while he moved towards the bathroom to take a shower. 

Gabriel was lounging in the library when he came out of the bath.

"Hey Dean-o, you know where my lil' brother go? Can't sense him anywhere near."

Dean cackled "You’re in for a disappointment, he just left with Sam for some good old ‘me’ time, or in this case ‘our’ time."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow "And is he aware of that or is your brother trying to take advantage of him?"

"Well gee man I don't know but it's not like he's not old enough to know what to do in bed."

Gabriel sighed. He played with the stress ball he was holding in his hands for a while, eyeing Dean while he walked around the library, clearly frustrated.

"Don't tell me, he told you not to call unless you had an emergency?" Dean's eyes gave him all the answer he needed. He smirked. "Do you think an abduction would be considered an emergency?"

Dean frowned. "What do mean with an abduc—"

A snap later, a crystal clear blue beach was in front of him. His robes changed for deep red swimming trunks, a simple pale gray shirt and some expensive looking beach sandals and sunglasses.

“—tion? What the hell Gabe!?”

Gabriel, by his side, was holding a pair of towels that he promptly threw onto two beach chairs along with a plastic bag with all the necessary beach goods like sunscreen and a couple of paperback books. He was donning some very Gabriel appropriate bermudas with images of pineapples and coconuts. Between the chairs, an open cooler with beer and fruit pops.

“Oh come on Dean-o, relax. Take it like a well deserved vacation, and the best part? It’s all on me,” he said while he extended his towel over his chair and laid back, opening a lemon fruit pop. 

Dean tried to look at him in anger but there was something about being at the beach with the still not piping hot sand blending with his toes and the soft marine breeze brushing past his barely layered body that forced Dean onto a state of relaxation. He sighed, placed his towel over his chair and went for the piña colada fruit pop. 

Dean stayed like that for some minutes, taking in the pleasant and slow swinging of the palm trees, the sounds of the soft waves crashing against the soft pale sand and the breeze crashing against his face that was already sweating, considering the difference in temperature between the cool bunker and this place.

“Where are we anyways?”

“Well I’m very glad you asked. We, my dear friend, are at the wonderful Hanauma Bay on the island of O’ahu. Place that only grants access to a maximum of 3000 people a day in order to protect the place from overuse.”

Dean processed Gabriel’s words “No littering then?”

“No littering.”

Dean hummed “Fair enough.”

Both men sighed. After finishing his fruit pop, Dean quietly drowsed off for quite some hours, lulled by the soft tranquility of the place. When he finally woke up again, he stretched, sat back up and took his shirt off. 

“Going swimming?”

“Yup”

“Don’t forget this.” Gabriel held the sunscreen. Dean eyed it for a second with a long-suffering look but relented and began to smear himself with it entirely until he got to his back.

“Uh, Gabe? A little help?”

Gabriel’s eyes sparkled, he stood up and sat by Dean’s side, taking the sunscreen and beginning to smudge it over his shoulder blades in circular motions. “Man, you really are stressed, aren't you? Look how stiff your muscles are, specially here.” He pressed somewhere right below where Dean’s neck started and Dean tried his best to not do it but he still groaned with pleasure. Gabriel snickered and Dean felt his ears redden.

“Just put on the sunscreen you feathered idiot.”

Gabriel hummed, saying nothing more but kept working diligently until he reached Dean’s lower back and finished his slathering of sunscreen dangerously close and into the edge of his trunks. He slapped Dean’s arm softly. “There. Done. Now it’s your turn. You know how this works, your back, my back.”

Dean sighed and turned around while Gabriel moved to face the other direction. He grabbed the sunscreen and proceeded to put it all over his back. After a moment he hummed with interest.

“What’s up Dean-o?”

“Nothing really, I just thought you were thinner but you have a decent frame.”

Gabriel looked back and winked at him. “Like what you’re seeing now? I can work out more for you if that’s what you want.”

Dean sent him a bitch face. “Why don’t you just shut up when someone’s trying to compliment you?”

“Well what can I say? It’s in my veins to—Oooh oh damn, Dean—” 

Dean pressed a little bit more right where he had felt so good only to teach Gabriel a lesson and then stood up. 

“There, done. I’m off now.”

Gabriel called him out to stay away from the coral when Dean was already halfway towards the water. He sighed looking at the man’s long strides and well toned legs. This could go very well or very wrong for him.

Meanwhile, Sam was stepping out of the plane along with Castiel. They had left Castiel’s car at Kansas airport and were going to rent another one for the following days. He was excited to go sightseeing already but followed the plan and drove to the hotel to get their room. He felt a little nervous when he stepped in and saw the king bed waiting for them. 

“Sam? Are you alright?”

“Y—yeah. Sorry Cas it’s just that I can’t really believe this is happening.”

Castiel smiled knowingly, he leant towards Sam and brushed his lips. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to help you believe it.”

Sam felt his ears go red and he smiled nervously. They placed their bags in the room and went outside once more, ready to hit the Capitol. 

When lunchtime arrived, Dean’s stomach growled desperately after spending the morning swimming and he looked around.

“What are you looking for Dean-o?”

“Food.”

Gabriel snickered and snapped his fingers once more. Right by their side, a relatively small, round grill appeared and a table with some meat, sausages and buns ready to be grilled. Dean’s eyes lit up in awe. 

“Gabe man, this is awesome.” 

Just like that, Dean happily placed the first batch of meat and then asked Gabriel for a pan with oil and some potatoes for fries. Gabriel complained and told him he could just appear some later but Dean insisted on the basis that it was not the same so he finally gave in and provided Dean all the other cooking items he wanted.

“Are you sure we can cook in this place anyway?”

“Relax Dean-o, no adult here can see us grilling and I’ll snap everything away when we’re done with it.”

Dean shrugged and kept on with his task. It took a few minutes until the first batch of sausages was ready and Dean was humming happily until he saw a sneaky hand grab one of them.

“Hey! Hands off!” Gabriel smirked while biting the sausage, Dean frowned and pushed him slightly away. “Alright back off until the food’s ready.”

“Try to make me Dean-o.” Gabriel sneaked past his guard and stole a piece of bacon, sprinting away from him. Dean dangerously swayed the grill away from him trying to stop the theft and then sprinted after him. Gabriel would have laughed while on the run but his mouth was full of sausage and bacon and he was more concerned about chewing properly than anything else. When he finally drowned his mouthful, he turned to see where Dean was and he felt his torso held and someone throwing him towards the ground. Gabriel huffed a bit with the sudden lack of air but let out a loud and joyful laughter, once he faced himself upwards. Dean pinned him against the sand with a wild grin.

“You know? I’ve always wanted to do a Casa Erotica on the beach but I don’t think you’re up for the challenge.” 

“Unfortunately for you, this beach is PG13.” 

“Well, you could at least give me a kiss.”

Dean was taken aback for a moment with the direct request from the archangel before the bravado that always used to get him into needless trouble jumped in. He gave Gabriel a sly smile and went forwards much to Gabriel’s surprise. He pressed their lips soft and slow. When he moved back and realized what he had just done he froze, just as much as Gabriel did. They would have probably stayed like that for more than necessary and made things awkward if it hadn’t been for the wave that literally crashed against them, cooling both their will and their thoughts. 

They coughed the salty water and then Dean turned to look at the grill and cursed, jumping away from Gabriel and running back towards the grill that was ablaze with the oil that Dean had involuntarily poured over the coal before. Gabriel sat back and began to laugh at the ridiculous situation while Dean panicked. When he saw a kid staring in awe at the column of fire he asked for his sand bucket. The kid immediately gave it to him and thus he sprinted towards the water and brought back a bit of water but not enough to douse the fire and did this a couple of times while Gabriel approached them still bending over.

“Dammit Gabe stop laughing and help!” 

Gabriel, still laughing, stopped Dean on his run and turned towards the fire. With a snap of his fingers the fire went off with a poof, just like fire in cartoons go. The kid, who had been watching everything looked at Gabriel in awe. He turned towards him and gave back the bucket Dean had taken, putting a finger over his lips and winking. The kid smiled broadly and ran back to where he had originally left his sand castle in progress.

Dean was sulking, hovering over the carbonised pieces of meat. Gabriel sighed and snapped once more, disappearing the mess and placing another container full of ready to cook patties on Dean’s hands while new coal burned nicely. 

“I think that I’ll be the one dealing with the fries now.”

Dean looked at him and blushed “Don’t look at me like that, this was partly your fault.”

“Oh? It was?”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have stolen the bacon.”

Gabriel snickered, it was gonna take some minutes and a cold beer for Dean to get over the incident but he was okay with that.

And thus the day passed, Sam and Cas unknowingly sharing their lunchtime with their brothers  sitting over their picnic blanket at the National Arboretum. Castiel had taken off his overcoat at first and, when he noticed how Sam was eyeing him with interest, he decided to ditch the jacket as well and roll his sleeves with a smirk towards his lover who blushed noticeably but decidedly took off his own plaid flannel and stayed with the smooth dark grey shirt that hung nicely to his shoulders and abs. The look that Castiel graced him with was definitely not one that should be allowed in public areas and Sam had to go back to his baguette before he allowed himself to deviate his mind away too much. He hadn’t come all the way to DC just to blow his lover’s brain’s out, no matter how strong that intention was at the moment.

It was five o’clock when they saw other people already picking up their stuff, getting ready to leave the beach. Dean sighed and looked at them dejected.

“Something’s wrong?”

“Nah I just… I wish this lasted a bit longer, just that.”

Gabriel thought for a second. “We can stay here if you want, there’s a hotel near, we only have to catch the bus.”

“Dude, I don’t even have—” a quick snap and their swimwear had changed to rather tasteful hawaiian shirts and J Crew shorts. “Clothes. Okay, well, we can go but uhm...”

“Don’t worry, there’ll be a reservation for us.”

“Great, as long as it’s not the honeymoon suite.”

It was the honeymoon suite.

Dean looked at Gabriel quite annoyed but even he had to admit that the place was, for a lack of a better term, perfect and luxurious. There was a basket of fruit, cheese and meat platter and a chilled bottle of champagne. The California King bed had an assortment of chocolates for each person and Dean literally gasped when he got into the massive bathroom and found the open air jacuzzi, an assortment of bath salts and other items by the side. He went back to the room exited.

“Dude, you’re not gonna believe how massive that thing in the bathroom is!” He slowed his steps when he saw Gabriel outside, reclined on the veranda, taking in the view and the soft sea breeze with a look of contentment he had never seen.

That was the moment he realized that there was no real reason for Gabriel to do all of this with him if he had not actually wanted to spend some time by his side, and for some reason he felt oddly humbled to realize that this being, just second in power to Jack wanted to be around him. He stepped back to the room and decided to take a bath, he was not ready to face the archangel at the moment. He was lucky to see that there were bathrobes because he was utterly naked otherwise after his shower.

“Uh, Gabe?” The archangel, who was still at the veranda but lounging on a hammock turned to look at him. “Can’t you just give me some underwear? You literally abducted me, I got nothing here.”

Gabriel giggled. “Sure, there’s stuff in the closet.” 

“Thanks man.”

“Oh, we’ll have dinner over here, I’ll have some really good stuff ready.”

Dean nodded and went back to the walk in closet where he effectively saw an assortment of beachwear that he could never afford under a hunter’s budget. Looking at his options, he went for a set of soft grey linen dress shorts and blazer over a deep crimson shirt and began to dress. After giving a pass to his appearance at the mirror and approving of it, he walked out once more and saw his wallet and phone on the side table. He chuckled and left them where they were, moving outside. The table had already been set with fresh oysters and a whole grilled fish ready to be shared, garlic butter shrimp, ceviche and many more seafood delights. Instead of wine, some nice refreshing micheladas were waiting for the guys. The strong scent of sauteed garlic alone was making Dean’s mouth salivate.

“Man, this looks awesome, I don’t think I’ve ever had half of the things in here.”

Gabriel, dealing with the steel fire hearth by the table to keep the chilled nighttime air warm around them, sounded surprised. 

“Is that so? Then I gotta show you how to eat everything properly.” He turned, beaming a smile at Dean and froze for a second at Dean’s high end look. He knew the hunter was attractive but right now he was downright handsome. And he knew he looked well enough with his own sand blazer and dark slate blue shirt but standing by Dean’s side it was almost as if he was looking at an impossible work of perfection and he had to reassess for a second that it was him the one supposed to be a supernatural being.

“You look good, Dean-o.” He tried to make the compliment sound offhand but it was hard to rein in the desire inside.

Dean squirmed and thanked the angel softly before walking towards his place and sitting down. He didn’t know why but the atmosphere had suddenly turned into something a lot more intimate and he was very strongly feeling the fact that it was only the two of them dining in a honeymoon suite holding only one massive bed.

Fortunately, they went back to their usual laidback behaviours after Gabriel began to teach him the best ways to eat ceviche and the entire meal became an adventure of flavor discovery. Still, Gabriel had to literally cool down his body with grace after he heard Dean’s groans of delight when he first savoured the oysters.

The evening passed swiftly for Dean with Gabriel’s quick chatter. They shared stories about old conquests and even older adventures, Dean made the terrible mistake of telling Gabriel of his failed attempt at wooing Kali, earning him a burst of laughter that lasted minutes after which Gabriel took pity on him and told him about the mistake he made once of getting heavily drunk at mount Olympus while Zeus was horny.

A good couple of hours later, enough to digest the feast, Gabriel presented Dean with a lemon meringue pie along with a small cup of noisette that he warned Dean to only sip in between bites of pie due to its strength.

Once dessert was finished, they moved to the beach chairs to lounge for a while. Dean sighed with content and looked afar into the deep darkness of the waters only visible thanks to the moonlit sky. Gabriel joined him in his silent appreciation of the view. After a couple of minutes he sighed.

“Thanks Gabe.”

“For what?”

“For this.” He motioned vaguely. “All of this… I really needed to unwind.”

Gabriel sent him a knowing smile and turned back to appreciate the view. Being in front of the sea this way always gave him peace. If he extended his grace just enough, he was able to feel the undercurrents and the life beneath the surface. There was something about the density below that he had always liked. Longing, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to let go. He felt the fish and the few reviving corals around him, and extending a little bit more he clearly sensed some dolphins that immediately tried to play with him, he obliged for a while and then moved on. After jumping around for a while he found a couple of whales that gave him some grave news. He opened his eyes and Dean was looking down on him, closer than what their chairs would allow, he was sitting by his side.

“Dean?”

The man moved backwards a bit startled.

“Sorry, I asked you something and you didn’t answer.”

“Oh, yeah, I got a bit distracted. Sorry.” He sat up. “I gotta go do something real quick, might take me a couple of minutes.”

“Oh, okay. Take care.”

Gabriel nodded at him and vanished. 

The storm assailing that side of the Pacific Ocean didn’t look half as welcoming as the tranquil waters at O’ahu. Strong 90 mph winds and cold heavy cascades of water hit his body suspended on the air from all sides but he didn’t mind at all. In front of him, three large whaling ships hidden behind the facade of a research party were fighting to get a hold of any whales under their radar. Frustrated, Gabriel waved his hand and dragged one of the boats with a tidal wave that forced it to effectively crash against another, breaching both ships in the process. He could sense the sheer panic of the people within the ship but he did nothing about them, they had had more than enough time to make do with their morals and none had been the wiser before. When the third boat did it’s best to try to get closer to the other two in order to help, Gabriel waved his hand once more against it and turned it over with help from the ocean. Making sure that all ships sunk, dismissing the actual people within and letting them to their fate, he turned around to go back to Dean and O’ahu. He had felt such sadness from the whales before that he didn’t even feel like he had done anything worth admiration. 

“Dude, what happened? You’re soaking wet and freezing cold!”

Gabriel turned to look at Dean, whose hand was over his back and realized that his clothes were still wet. With a soft “Oh” and a snap, he dried himself. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing much really, just had a go against a couple of whalers.”

Dean looked at him and tried his best to process Gabriel’s words but couldn’t even conceive how he could fight against a whaling ship. “Are you alright?”

Gabriel really looked at him now and smiled. “Yeah, I am Dean-o. Thanks.”

Dean’s shoulders went down with relief. And then he took his hand away from Gabriel with a soft tinge of red on his cheeks. “Good. Uh…” He fidgeted.

“What?”

“Well, what do we do now?” 

Gabriel saw Dean’s eye’s flicker towards the bedroom and a nervous look on him. Gabriel’s eyes widened with realization and he felt like he could punch himself for how obviously stupid he had been in the middle of his impulsiveness bringing Dean to an island so far away from home and his brother and into a honeymoon suite no less.

“Dean, I didn’t bring you here to have sex, if you don’t want to—”

“I want to.”

Gabriel stopped his speech with a halt. 

“You… what?”

Dean went three shades of red but his voice kept up unwavered “I… I want to. It’s not— look, I’m not drunk or drugged or… You’re not forcing me Gabe. I want to do this, been wanting for some time now.”

“...Have you ever been with a guy before?”

“Yeah I… I hoped you could help me on that.”

Well shit, thought Gabriel, he would really have to be careful with this or else he would scare Dean for life and wasn’t that a reassuring thought to have? Gabriel gulped and went forward until Dean met him in the middle for a soft peck. Treading lightly, Gabriel pecked him a couple of times until the man felt comfortable enough to open up and then both of them began to trail into the other’s mouth. Once the first moments of doubt passed, both men went forward with more strength and held onto each other’s clothes and hair. Dean slid his hand downwards and grabbed Gabriel’s ass while he curved his body towards the hunter. Dean laughed in the middle of the kiss.

“Been wanting to get a hold of this for years now.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow with a sly smile and took advantage of the pause to guide Dean towards the bedroom and make him stop in front of the bed to start to undress him, gliding his hands between the blazer and shirt and slowly taking it off. He began to unbutton him and definitely used his hands to touch so much more that what was necessary and Dean couldn’t help but send Gabriel a sexy smile.

“You’re not letting me take the lead this time are you?”

Gabriel smirked “Well, my father did command us to worship humankind. And trust me when I tell you I’m gonna make sure His words are followed tonight.”

Four days later, Sam and Cas arrived from their trip, luggage and empty picnic basket at hand, one of them carrying paper bags that promised burgers and fries and two six packs.

“Well, if it ain’t the pair of newlyweds!” Sam closed his eyes in pain when he felt Dean behind him. He turned around to confront him, expecting a barrage of complaints about being left alone. Against his own expectations, he seemed rather… positively, radiantly content. “How did the honeymoon go?”

Sam blanked for a second. “Uh… Good, it went good.” 

“Great! Oh, what you got there? Burgers?”

Castiel lifted up the bags “Yes, we thought you would like them for dinner.”

“Awesome, I’ll get the table ready.” 

He walked past his brother and into the kitchen while Sam studied him for a moment, something was odd but he couldn’t really put his finger on what was it that made him feel so weirded out. Somehow, it finally hit him.

“Uh… Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you… tanned?”

[shadowofthelamp]

Enough

This was a request that I really liked- I’d been meaning to do something similar for a while anyhow. I haven’t done any good hurt/comfort in ages. I would really appreciate feedback!

Summary: Four years after Battle City, Malik’s other self stumbles into Ryou’s apartment, too thin and starving, and Ryou tries to help.

Link to story on ao3

Warnings: Disordered eating (sort of), emetophobia (vomiting), and a description of someone that’s unhealthily skinny.

Wordcount: 2305

Ryou wasn’t sure what to do when Malik’s other half came stumbling into his apartment four years after he’d been banished to the shadows.

The fact that he’d barely managed to get a word out before collapsing on the couch certainly didn’t help matters.

So Ryou tested the heartbeat on his wrist- it was slow, definitely a not-healthy kind of slow- and tugged his ragged shirt up to check for wounds that might need to be bandaged. (He had blood all over, but from the erratic colors, a lot of it probably wasn’t his.)

He sucked in a breath at the sight, wincing. “Oh boy.”

Malik’s other half was wasting away- thick muscle had turned lean, and his ribs could be felt easily when Ryou brushed his fingertips across the dry skin. Ryou rushed to prepare something for him to eat, stirring together eggs and bacon for protein.

He knew that Malik’s other half was dangerous, of course. Because of him, he’d been knocked out for… a day? Two? Time had been funny in the shadows. Too long, that was for sure.

But no one was dangerous in the condition that he was in, at least not a dangerous that couldn’t be negated with a good slice to the throat, and the spirit’s skills with a knife hadn’t entirely faded when he did.

Besides, things had been awfully boring lately, and this was something new.

Ryou finished the eggs, pouring them into a bowl and settling down on the couch, passing it just above the other Malik’s face. He sniffed before his eyes blinked open- one and then the other. He jolted up, scrambling back and trembling.

“I made you some eggs.” Ryou said, holding the bowl out with a spoon. “You looked hungry.”

He stared for a moment. The hanging scraps of his clothing looked so pitiful that it almost hurt, like Ryou was the one who’d had his insides wasted away. Then, he lunged forward and grabbed the bowl, holding it close. He sniffed at it one more time before digging in.

Ryou simply watched as his guest wolfed the eggs and bacon bits down. He stood up to grab a comb and an extra shirt when the other Malik slapped a hand to his lips, pupils shrunk to pinpricks and cheeks ashen.

There was a garbage can close enough that Ryou managed to grab it just before the other Malik started retching, and he dropped the bowl of eggs in favor of curling his fingers around the rim of the can. Wet splatters sounded from it as he vomited into the plastic bag, and Ryou sighed.

“Maybe next time you could try going a little slower. I’m going to guess that you haven’t been able to eat in a while.” Ryou’s hand hovered over his back, but… somehow he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea from the scars he could see through the tears in the fabric.

He nodded slowly. “I… don’t know why I’m here.” He said quietly, voice laden with ash and scratchy from survival. “Did you summon…?”

Ryou shook his head. “I haven’t tried to summon anything in a while. It’s Friday the 13th and last night was a full moon, maybe the barrier was weak and you fell through.”

“Maybe.” He said, wiping at his mouth with his bare arm. Ryou stood up.

“I’ll get you some water. Swish it around and spit it into the trash, then I’ll change the bag.” Ryou said, feeling eyes follow him as he grabbed a glass and filled it up. He brought it back and the other Malik chugged the first half of it, before seemingly realizing that his mouth still tasted disgusting and using the rest to swish and spit. He shoved the can further down the couch towards Ryou and away from him, and Ryou pulled the bag out.

Other Malik curled a hand around his side, letting out a low hiss. “Feels even emptier… like fire.”

“That’s what happens when you throw up.” Ryou said, tying the bag off and bringing it over to the door so he could throw it out later. “From the look of your stomach, you’re malnourished, and your stomach probably couldn’t handle that much. I’ll make some toast.”

“Why are you… being so kind?”

Ryou shrugged. “You haven’t tried to kill me yet, have you? I can protect myself if you try, and I’d feel bad I pushed you out and you died on the street. So, toast.” He grabbed a bag of bread and untwisted it, slotting two pieces in and sliding the lever down. “Do you prefer butter or jam?”

“Jam.” He said, still sounding bewildered.

There was nothing for a few minutes, just the gentle thrumming of the heating system above and around them, before the toast popped up and Ryou spread some strawberry jam over it. He carried a plate over to the couch. “Try to have this one a little slower?”

The other Malik nodded, taking a big bite but also slowing his chewing a bit. He worked through the two pieces of toast and set a hand on his stomach. “Ugh, why do I feel full already? I need more.”

“You’re adjusting. If days pass the same there as they do here, you haven’t eaten well in four years. You’ll be able to eat more as time goes on, I’m sure.” Ryou hurried over to the closet, then tossed him an oversized band shirt. “Here, put this on. Your clothes are down to scraps.”

“You’re not taking them!”

“I’m not going to, but you’re shivering- at least put the shirt on over it.” Ryou said. The other Malik took his cape off, tugged the shirt on, then immediately pulled the tattered remains back around his neck, even though it was really more of a suggestion of a cape than anything at this point.

“The guest room has the monster world field in it and I don’t have a cot, but you can sleep on the couch.” Ryou tossed him a blanket from the closet. “If you’re really hungry, you can make yourself something, but be careful of the takeout leftovers, they’re like a week old.”

“You aren’t-”

“If you want to run, you can run, but I’ll be here in the morning.I’m locking the door to my room, but the front door’s open. ” Ryou said.

The other Malik gave a grin, but it was half-hearted and lopsided, like a broken doll. “As if that would stop me.”

“A good gust of wind could stop you, right now.” Ryou said, closing the door to his shocked expression.

__________

It was difficult to sleep. Not a surprise, with the guest he had, but Ryou had locked the door and propped a chair against it. He wasn’t getting in without Ryou knowing.

He turned over in bed, unable to get comfortable- all he could see was the scared look in those amethyst eyes as the other Malik had stared at him before collapsing.

“He’s fine. You fed him, he can figure the bathroom out.” Ryou said to himself. “As long as he doesn’t go out and drag a corpse back, it’s fine.”

Ryou managed to reassure himself enough to almost slip away to sleep, until at 3am he heard something slam in the living room, and he had the chair out and the door open before he even realized he was doing it.

Half the lights were on, and the bowl that had contained the eggs was sitting on the counter. The fridge was half-open, and the other Malik was gagging over the sink.

“What did you do?” He just heard more gagging and thick splatters.

Ryou grimaced at the sound, treading carefully as he walked over. Upon closer inspection, a few things had been pulled out of the fridge. A cup of yogurt was half-empty, there were about four slices of bread gone from the bag, and the cup of noodles he’d made to figure out what to do with later was gone. The little box of cookies he’d bought a few days ago was torn open and had crumbs scattered around it.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

“I told you not to eat any more.”

“There was… no food. I… took it where I could get it.” He groaned, spitting out brown saliva. “There was so much, I…”

“'Ate yourself sick.” Ryou finished. “Come here.” He wet a wad of paper towels and dabbed at the other Malik’s face. He looked worse than before. “You’re not going to get any better if you do this.”

“My stomach hurt, I’ve been hungry for so long.” He mumbled.

“It was probably already full from the toast.” Ryou said, tossing the paper towels into the bin before leading the other to the couch again. He tugged the bin closer in case of any accidents, before setting his fingers on top of the other Malik’s stomach. He used his fingertips to gently massage it, feeling as much as hearing the acids inside gurgling as they tried to digest food no longer there.

“Not so hard!”

“If you don’t make yourself sick, this won’t hurt.” Ryou said, but softened his touch a bit. “Just… stick to simpler foods in small quantities for now. I know it must have been hard, but just throwing it all up again is going to be worse and it’ll hurt your throat.”

He got a nod, and pulled back. “All right. Your stomach is going to be really upset right now, so just a glass of water would be best.”

“I can get it.” He stood up on slightly wobbly legs, but managed to fumble for a glass and fill it up. He took it in a few big gulps, but didn’t throw up, so Ryou sighed and didn’t say anything.

Ryou used the faucet to clean the sink a bit as his guest slunk back to the couch. When he was done, he decided to leave the door to his room unlocked since Malik’s other clearly wasn’t in any state to attack him.

When Ryou woke up the next morning, the other Malik was sleeping on his side, hugging the pillow and with no sick in the bin. Small victories.

________

The next few weeks were give and take. Ryou had to concede a few times to giving Malik’s other something sweet or meaty, but only if he’d managed to keep from binging on whatever he could find, which included vegetables in the shared apartment garden. Slowly but surely, he lost the sharpness in his limbs and chest, started to look a little more human again.

Ryou didn’t mind sharing his space or his food. He made enough from his side job selling custom figurines, and had a tidy sum he’d set aside from when he’d gotten an allowance as a teen.

The other Malik was much better conversation when he wasn’t starved and half-feral, and Ryou found himself laughing at his jokes. They were often dark and creepy, and sometimes they were just bad puns that reminded Ryou of the Ring Spirit, so he grinned and made bad jokes right back. It was nice, not getting strange looks when you thought something was funny. They’d both been through hell, thinking clouds looked like roadkill sometimes wasn’t the worst way of coping.

Together they learned that he liked all kinds of sweet things, especially with honey, as well as burgers, and noodles with lots and lots of butter. Anything with lots of spice, although he usually had a big glass of milk ready in case it was too much.

He chose a name for himself- Amir, prince. They both liked it.

Sometimes, he still went overboard. When he’d forgotten to eat because he was playing video games with Ryou for too long, he’d raid the fridge while Ryou was in the shower, and Ryou had to soothe his stomach with soft rubs and reminders that there would always be enough food The words were never too harsh, though- Ryou remembered what it felt like when he awoke after the spirit hadn’t eaten in days. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with that for four years.

Amir ended up softer than Malik had been- not fat, but there was a definite bit of squish around his midsection before his eating habits started to level out. Ryou didn’t mind, and Amir didn’t seem to either, so Ryou just kept as many healthy foods around as sweets and things were fine. He wasn’t uncomfortable to brush against anymore, all skin and bone- he was enough.

Ryou liked having someone to cook for, and after a while, Amir insisted on learning, so he could make things for Ryou. That was nice too. He was a pretty good cook when he put his mind to it, and Ryou was more than happy to sample whatever he offered.

Two months after Amir had stumbled into his kitchen and passed out, Ryou brushed his fingers as they both reached for the popcorn at the same time. Amir glanced over at him, considering for a moment, before pulling the popcorn away and setting it on the side table next to the lamp.

Ryou was about to protest, before Amir tugged Ryou unto his lap and then set the bowl of popcorn on Ryou’s lap.

“There we go, now I’ve trapped you.” He grinned, wrapping his arms around Ryou so he still had easy access to the popcorn. Ryou leaned back against him, feeling a bit of cushion instead of the frighteningly skeletal figure that had been there before, and smiled.

“You’ve got me,” Ryou agreed as he grabbed a piece of popcorn and leaned his head up as he pressed it to Amir’s lips with a smile.

[slinkinginshadows]

Ooh... what about a death/sh scenario where Yami Marik’s body (his tum, especially) is all kinds of messed up when he gets back from the Shadow Realm, like he’s been starving this whole time and all he wants to do is eat some good food, but it HURTS, and he keeps overdoing it too, and Ryou is trying so hard to help (gentle foods, tummy rubs when things go wrong, ‘don’t eat all of that!’, etc)? Just ALL the hurt/comfort

Well, this turned out to be almost 2,300 words, oops. :p

Warnings: Disordered eating, emetophobia, and a description of someone that’s unhealthily skinny.

Ryou wasn’t sure what to do when Malik’s other half came stumbling into his apartment four years after he’d been banished to the shadows.

The fact that he’d barely managed to get a word out before collapsing on the couch certainly didn’t help matters.

So Ryou tested the heartbeat on his wrist- it was slow, definitely a not-healthy kind of slow- and tugged his ragged shirt up to check for wounds that might need to be bandaged. (He had blood all over, but from the erratic colors, a lot of it probably wasn’t his.)

He sucked in a breath at the sight, wincing. “Oh boy.”

Malik’s other half was wasting away- thick muscle had turned lean, and his ribs could be felt easily when Ryou brushed his fingertips across the dry skin. Ryou rushed to prepare something for him to eat, stirring together eggs and bacon for protein.

He knew that Malik’s other half was dangerous, of course. Because of him, he’d been knocked out for… a day? Two? Time had been funny in the shadows. Too long, that was for sure.

But no one was dangerous in the condition that he was in, at least not a dangerous that couldn’t be negated with a good slice to the throat, and the spirit’s skills with a knife hadn’t entirely faded when he did.

Besides, things had been awfully boring lately, and this was something new.

Ryou finished the eggs, pouring them into a bowl and settling down on the couch, passing it just above the other Malik’s face. He sniffed before his eyes blinked open- one and then the other. He jolted up, scrambling back and trembling.

“I made you some eggs.” Ryou said, holding the bowl out with a spoon. “You looked hungry.”

He stared for a moment. The hanging scraps of his clothing looked so pitiful that it almost hurt, like Ryou was the one who’d had his insides wasted away. Then, he lunged forward and grabbed the bowl, holding it close. He sniffed at it one more time before digging in.

Ryou simply watched as his guest wolfed the eggs and bacon bits down. He stood up to grab a comb and an extra shirt when the other Malik slapped a hand to his lips, pupils shrunk to pinpricks and cheeks ashen.

There was a garbage can close enough that Ryou managed to grab it just before the other Malik started retching, and he dropped the bowl of eggs in favor of curling his fingers around the rim of the can. Wet splatters sounded from it as he vomited into the plastic bag, and Ryou sighed.

“Maybe next time you could try going a little slower. I’m going to guess that you haven’t been able to eat in a while.” Ryou’s hand hovered over his back, but… somehow he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea from the scars he could see through the tears in the fabric.

He nodded slowly. “I… don’t know why I’m here.” He said quietly, voice laden with ash and scratchy from survival. “Did you summon…?”

Ryou shook his head. “I haven’t tried to summon anything in a while. It’s Friday the 13th and last night was a full moon, maybe the barrier was weak and you fell through.”

“Maybe.” He said, wiping at his mouth with his bare arm. Ryou stood up.

“I’ll get you some water. Swish it around and spit it into the trash, then I’ll change the bag.” Ryou said, feeling eyes follow him as he grabbed a glass and filled it up. He brought it back and the other Malik chugged the first half of it, before seemingly realizing that his mouth still tasted disgusting and using the rest to swish and spit. He shoved the can further down the couch towards Ryou and away from him, and Ryou pulled the bag out.

Other Malik curled a hand around his side, letting out a low hiss. “Feels even emptier… like fire.”

“That’s what happens when you throw up.” Ryou said, tying the bag off and bringing it over to the door so he could throw it out later. “From the look of your stomach, you’re malnourished, and your stomach probably couldn’t handle that much. I’ll make some toast.”

“Why are you… being so kind?”

Ryou shrugged. “You haven’t tried to kill me yet, have you? I can protect myself if you try, and I’d feel bad I pushed you out and you died on the street. So, toast.” He grabbed a bag of bread and untwisted it, slotting two pieces in and sliding the lever down. “Do you prefer butter or jam?”

“Jam.” He said, still sounding bewildered.

There was nothing for a few minutes, just the gentle thrumming of the heating system above and around them, before the toast popped up and Ryou spread some strawberry jam over it. He carried a plate over to the couch. “Try to have this one a little slower?”

The other Malik nodded, taking a big bite but also slowing his chewing a bit. He worked through the two pieces of toast and set a hand on his stomach. “Ugh, why do I feel full already? I need more.”

“You’re adjusting. If days pass the same there as they do here, you haven’t eaten well in four years. You’ll be able to eat more as time goes on, I’m sure.” Ryou hurried over to the closet, then tossed him an oversized band shirt. “Here, put this on. Your clothes are down to scraps.”

“You’re not taking them!”

“I’m not going to, but you’re shivering- at least put the shirt on over it.” Ryou said. The other Malik took his cape off, tugged the shirt on, then immediately pulled the tattered remains back around his neck, even though it was really more of a suggestion of a cape than anything at this point.

“The guest room has the monster world field in it and I don’t have a cot, but you can sleep on the couch.” Ryou tossed him a blanket from the closet. “If you’re really hungry, you can make yourself something, but be careful of the takeout leftovers, they’re like a week old.”

“You aren’t-”

“If you want to run, you can run, but I’ll be here in the morning.I’m locking the door to my room, but the front door’s open. ” Ryou said.

The other Malik gave a grin, but it was half-hearted and lopsided, like a broken doll. “As if that would stop me.”

“A good gust of wind could stop you, right now.” Ryou said, closing the door to his shocked expression.

__________

It was difficult to sleep. Not a surprise, with the guest he had, but Ryou had locked the door and propped a chair against it. He wasn’t getting in without Ryou knowing.

He turned over in bed, unable to get comfortable- all he could see was the scared look in those amethyst eyes as the other Malik had stared at him before collapsing.

“He’s fine. You fed him, he can figure the bathroom out.” Ryou said to himself. “As long as he doesn’t go out and drag a corpse back, it’s fine.”

Ryou managed to reassure himself enough to almost slip away to sleep, until at 3am he heard something slam in the living room, and he had the chair out and the door open before he even realized he was doing it.

Half the lights were on, and the bowl that had contained the eggs was sitting on the counter. The fridge was half-open, and the other Malik was gagging over the sink.

“What did you do?” He just heard more gagging and thick splatters.

Ryou grimaced at the sound, treading carefully as he walked over. Upon closer inspection, a few things had been pulled out of the fridge. A cup of yogurt was half-empty, there were about four slices of bread gone from the bag, and the cup of noodles he’d made to figure out what to do with later was gone. The little box of cookies he’d bought a few days ago was torn open and had crumbs scattered around it.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

“I told you not to eat any more.”

“There was… no food. I… took it where I could get it.” He groaned, spitting out brown saliva. “There was so much, I…”

“So you ate yourself sick.” Ryou finished. “Come here.” He wet a wad of paper towels and dabbed at the other Malik’s face. He looked worse than before. “You’re not going to get any better if you do this.”

“My stomach hurt, I’ve been hungry for so long.” He mumbled.

“It was probably already full from the toast.” Ryou said, tossing the paper towels into the bin before leading the other to the couch again. He tugged the bin closer in case of any accidents, before setting his fingers on top of the other Malik’s stomach. He used his fingertips to gently massage it, feeling as much as hearing the acids inside gurgling as they tried to digest food no longer there.

“Not so hard!”

“If you don’t make yourself sick, this won’t hurt.” Ryou said, but softened his touch a bit. “Just… stick to simpler foods in small quantities for now. I know it must have been hard, but just throwing it all up again is going to be worse.”

He got a nod, and pulled back. “All right. Your stomach is going to be really upset right now, so just a glass of water would be best.”

“I can get it.” He stood up on slightly wobbly legs, but managed to fumble for a glass and fill it up. He took it in a few big gulps, but didn’t throw up, so Ryou sighed but didn’t say anything.

Ryou used the faucet to clean the sink a bit. Then, Ryou decided to leave the door unlocked, and by next morning Malik���s other was sleeping on his side, hugging the pillow and with no sick in the bin. Small victories.

________

The next few weeks were give and take. Ryou had to concede a few times to giving Malik’s other something sweet or meaty, but only if he’d managed to keep from binging on whatever he could find, which included vegetables in the shared apartment garden. Slowly but surely, he lost the sharpness in his limbs and chest, started to look a little more human again.

Ryou didn’t mind sharing his space or his food. He made enough from his side job selling custom figurines, and had a tidy sum he’d set aside from when he’d gotten an allowance as a teen.

The other Malik was much better conversation when he wasn’t starved and half-feral, and Ryou found himself laughing at his jokes. They were often dark and creepy, and sometimes they were just bad puns that reminded Ryou of the Ring Spirit, so he grinned and made bad jokes right back. It was nice, not getting strange looks when you thought something was funny. They’d both been through hell, thinking clouds looked like roadkill sometimes wasn’t the worst way of coping.

Together they learned that he liked all kinds of sweet things, especially with honey, as well as burgers, and noodles with lots and lots of butter. Anything with lots of spice, although he usually had a big glass of milk ready in case it was too much.

He chose a name for himself- Amir, prince. They both liked it.

Sometimes, he still went overboard. When he’d forgotten to eat because he was playing video games with Ryou for too long, he’d raid the fridge while Ryou was in the shower, and Ryou had to soothe his stomach with soft rubs and reminders that there would always be enough food The words were never too harsh, though- Ryou remembered what it felt like when he awoke after the spirit hadn’t eaten in days. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with that for four years.

Amir ended up softer than Malik had been- not fat, but there was a definite bit of squish around his midsection before his eating habits started to level out. Ryou didn’t mind, and Amir didn’t seem to either, so Ryou just kept as many healthy foods around as sweets and things were fine.

Ryou liked having someone to cook for, and after a while, Amir insisted on learning, so he could make things for Ryou. That was nice too. He was a pretty good cook when he put his mind to it, and Ryou was more than happy to sample whatever he offered.

Two months after Amir had stumbled into his kitchen and passed out, Ryou brushed his fingers as they both reached for the popcorn at the same time. Amir glanced over at him, considering for a moment, before pulling the popcorn away and setting it on the side table next to the lamp.

Ryou was about to protest, before Amir tugged Ryou unto his lap and then set the bowl of popcorn on Ryou’s lap.

“There we go, now I’ve trapped you.” He grinned, wrapping his arms around Ryou so he still had easy access to the popcorn. Ryou leaned back against him, feeling a bit of cushion instead of the frighteningly skeletal figure that had been there before, and smiled.

“You’ve got me,” Ryou agreed as he grabbed a piece of popcorn and leaned his head up as he pressed it to Amir’s lips with a smile.

[justyoursicanon]

Enjoy another one-shot about my ocs, Ivor the cat and Bacon the hamster (this idea came up because I started watching Dantdm's gameplay of the game 'stray' and holy shit am I loving it already"

You may start reading ^^

With the door clicking shut and the voices of the human and shadow fade away from the door, Ivor sighed and stretched his legs. "Finally! I got the whole apartment to myself again!" Ivor meowed and jumped off the counter and looked around. "Bacon? Bacon where are ya?" IVor meowed and walked through each of his owner's rooms. SiC's was slightly messy but empty, SiK's was more clean but still empty. BUt Kora's open room finally led the feline to the mechanical animal who was chewing on some dusted and broken wires. "Bacon what are you doing?" Ivor meowed as he walked towards her roommate. bacon beeped and removed the wires from her mouth. "The wires were sparking and I couldn't just let it destroy Kora's stuff!" Bacon beeped and finally chewed the wire apart. Ivor pawed the unplugged wired and had felt how how destroyed it was. "Well good job I guess." Ivor meowed and pawed the mechanical hamster as a job well done. "I'm gonna go off and adventure the city again and find some new stuff as souvenirs! Want me to grab anything?" "More bacon!" Ivor meowed, upset. "I don't steal stuff Bacon, anything else I could grab for you?" Bacon's fans could be heard from her time of thoughts. "Anything with wires is all I need. Thanks V!" Ivor nodded and walked off onto the living room and used a near by brush to open the window, and soon the feline had jumped out and onto outdoor apartment stairs.

Ivor reached the top of the apartment building and viewed the distance of lights, other buildings, and a ton of random stuff in alleyways. Ivor meowed and walked to the edge of he building and jumped down an to an alleyway, his claws scraping the brick wall to slow his fall. Ivor landed onto of a few abandoned boxes and started looking through. Inside were the usual, old dirty and ripped clothes, a bunch of crushed bean and soda cans, and some empty chip bags. What caught Ivor's eye was a less dirty but a bit of a torn fabric. The design were swirls of multiple colors and Ivor liked it so he grabbed it by his teeth and laid it on his back. Another was half of a CD but it was black and the middle of it was a mixture of the rainbow. 'It's what SiK called a vinyl right? It's really big for storing one song.' Ivor thought as he pawed a piece of plastic towards him and dropped the vinyl inside. A few broken phones and a bunch of wasted postcards were added in the bag and Ivor's day was complete. Ivor grabbed the bag by his mouth and proceeded to climb the brick wall and back to the apartment.

When Ivor reached the apartment roof again the sun was started to low and the sky was more yellow and pink rather then bright blue. As Ivor walked around the roof Ivor spotted a sort of bird land on the edge of the building. A few beeps can be heard and Ivor stayed and watched as the bird, with a more clear view must be a crow. Raised their wing and lightly pecked it before it's bright yellow eye spotted the cat. The two animals stared at each other, then a beep interrupted the silence. The crow glanced at their wing and cawed low then glanced at Ivor again before flying away. Ivor was confused but shrugged and ended his day by placing his new discovered items in his little hideout hall in a closet of the apartment.

And maybe someday, Ivor would meet that crow again.

[bxebxee]

Thanks For Your Input!

Note: Where’s that upside down smiling emoji because I think about cancer mars Yoongi and impregnation all the damn time. Title is somewhat based on this one particular song that made the discovery channel weep in embarrassment. As per usual, I lost steam towards the end. 

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader Genre: Werewolf!AU Warnings: no external editing (rip), werewolf sex, imagined breeding kink, barest hint of degradation Word Count: 3107 Rating: A-, for A Whole Lot Less Kinkier Than You Thought! (MA/NC-17)

*

Now that he’s sitting down next to you in close proximity with none of the aroma of the burning oil vaporizing into the cramped atmosphere of your kitchen, he could smell just how primed you are to receive his seed. Yoongi cringes; it sounds terrible in his own head, but his cock loves where this thought is going. Call it a baser need driven by whatever DNA or RNA or societal conditioning or what-the-fuck-ever coded werewolves to react this way, but your ovulation days are when Yoongi salivates over giving you a nice, fat sperm deposit up your precious pussy.

*

Yoongi is in an uncharacteristically good mood on a dreary Thursday morning when he sleeps over at your place for the first time. He stretches upon waking up, moaning as his joints and bones crack and pop after last night’s fun with you. You keep up relatively well for a human girl, and you never fail to surprise him. The whole casual fucking deal you insist upon is new to him, but he’ll accept your bizarre human practices for now.

His hand reaches out to where your body should be, but instead of your flesh, he is met with cold sheets. The dull sounds of your cursing from somewhere outside of your bedroom hit his ear as his senses return to him. Yoongi sits up, groggy and a pouting because he would have liked to have you next to him. Still, at least he knows you’re somewhere in the apartment. 

Without bothering to put on anything except his boxers, Yoongi follows the unmistakable sounds of cooking to find you. He leans against the entryway of the kitchen, a slow smirk growing on his face as he observes your quiet panic at having to multitask and manage three burners. Plastic shopping bags from the grocery store litter on the floor. It’s not the most picturesque moment of domesticity, but he’s touched that you woke up at an ungodly hour just to go food shopping for him. 

“Good-” Yoongi cuts himself off, eyes widening when he catches a whiff of one of his favorite scents on a woman. The fumes from the pan in which you’re over-cooking the eggs and charring the bacon cannot disguise what his sensitive nose picks up. It’s buried behind the distraction of food and smoke, but it’s there. You’ve just started to ovulate, and it smells like heaven. 

You turn around at his voice. “Morning,” you chirp, flashing him a winning grin. “I’m almost done ruining breakfast! Help yourself to coffee.” 

He can’t even laugh because once he zeroes in on the very specific, very arousing scent of your ovulation, it’s like everything else gets shifted downwards on his priority To-Do List. Eating, drinking...hell, even coffee takes a distinct second place to this. 

You don’t even notice his stilted response, or perhaps you chalk it up to lack of sleep. In any case, you’ve turned your attention away from him to focus on shutting off the burners and frantically searching for plates. Yoongi shakes his head to snap out of it. It’s not even the first time he’s smelling you like this, but every month it hits him hard. And being in your home surrounded by everything that smells like you amplifies the effect. 

Yoongi spots the disposable paper plates before you do, and he wordlessly walks over to open the new package to help out as a means to distract himself.

“Thanks,” you sigh and carefully spoon in equal portions of breakfast something-or-other onto two plates. It looked as if the eggs started out as your standard fried eggs that turned scrambled halfway through. “You’re really great.” 

“I did nothing,” he snorts. 

“Oh I know,” you laugh, winking at him and grabbing a skillet filled with something that looked like they used to be vegetables at one point in their short, miserable lives. “I mean it’s great of you to play eye candy and hand me things while you’re nearly naked in the kitchen.” 

Yoongi leers at you. “That turns you on?” 

You nod emphatically, placing strips of bacon in an artistic way as a failed attempt at hiding some burnt pieces of potato of the sad hash brown you attempted. “Yeah, it’s like the Old Spice stuff, y’know?” 

No, he doesn’t know, but Yoongi swallows down his question and settles for kissing your forehead. Your lips could wait until he’s gotten rid of his morning breath. After the last time you chewed him out for kissing you with his “hideous, werewolf stink-bomb, morning breath,” he figures he’d spare you and himself the trouble. 

“Did you sleep well?” you ask as he fixes himself a cup of coffee. 

“No,” he lies, “You snored too much.” You did no such thing, and he slept like a baby if his puffed face is any indication.

“Ha ha,” you reply sarcastically, grabbing the plates of food and sitting down at the table. “The drool on your face says Otherwise.” You laugh for real when Yoongi stops mid-trek just to walk over to the sink faucet and observe his reflection for spit stains. “Just kidding,” you amend wickedly. “Now come sit down and eat.” 

Yoongi points a plastic fork at your direction after sitting across from you. “Lying gets you spanks, Miss.” 

“Ooh, cane me daddy. I’ve been bad,” you tell him, voice dropping to a comical exaggeration of Horny Girl. It’s all a big joke to you, and he feels embarrassed to be somewhat turned on. He blames it on the ovulation. 

Yoongi gulps down hot coffee as he watches you eat, the scalding liquid doing little to distract him from the fact that you smell like the girl of his wet dreams. You cautiously bite into the eggs, humming when they don’t taste as bad as you expected. They were a little salty, but not too bad for a first try. As a rule, you don’t cook for men you fuck around with, but Yoongi’s not just any guy, after all. A little breakfast never hurt anyone. 

“Just eat the eggs with a lot of toast, and you’ll barely notice I dumped in half the box of salt,” you tell him with a giggle. 

“I’d rather eat you.” 

Your eyes widen and the egg falls off your fork. Yoongi coughs because that was a slip. And again it’s nothing he hasn’t already done to you multiple times, but that was such an amateur porn line...

He runs a hand through his messy bed hair, not trusting your growing smile one bit. 

You put down your fork and place your hand over your heart. “I’m touched, Yoongi. I really am. That is probably one of the most romantic things you’ve ever said to me.” 

“Shut the fuck up,” he snorts, deciding to put himself out of his misery and fill his mouth with food so that he doesn’t embarrass himself any further. You are merciless when it comes to teasing him even though he is just as bad. 

“I’m serious!” you laugh, poking at your bacon with the tines of the fork. “I can’t believe you stole a line from Fucking the Virgin Pizza Boy. How did you know it’s a favorite of mine?”: 

Yoongi crunches into the toast, glaring at you without meaning it. 

“Okay I’ll stop,” you sigh, rewarding his patience by rubbing his calf with your toe. Yoongi jerks his leg away to keep up the pretense even though his cock practically jumps at the touch with want. 

“You’re so annoying,” he grumbles, eighty percent of the jab aimed at his friend in his pants already standing at half-mast. You don’t have to know that though. 

Now that he’s sitting down next to you in close proximity with none of the aroma of the burning oil vaporizing into the cramped atmosphere of your kitchen, he could smell just how primed you are to receive his seed. Yoongi cringes; it sounds terrible in his own head, but his cock loves where this thought is going. Call it a baser need driven by whatever DNA or RNA or societal conditioning or what-the-fuck-ever coded werewolves to react this way, but your ovulation days are when Yoongi salivates over giving you a nice, fat sperm deposit up your precious pussy. 

He groans audibly and obviously. 

“Are you okay?” you ask wondering what the hell was going through his mind. 

“Yes,” he sighs, “Just horny is all. Ignore me.” 

“I would never,” you reply, standing up and walking around the small table to sit on his lap, a little flattered that he’s like this so quickly. You feel the erection press up against your core, and he really wasn’t kidding. “Wow... What’s gotten into you?”

Yoongi buries his face into your chest, moaning at how your scent envelops him. He would probably do anything at this point to have you ride him to completion so that he could fill you up. The need to have you reeking of his cum is overwhelming and disorienting. 

He feels the soft scritch-scratching motions of your nails around his hair and ears, and Yoongi grasps your ass in return, thrusting up gently as he presses you down. 

“Not that I mind this,” you breathe out, “But did you have a good dream or something?” 

Yoongi pulls away from your chest to lick up your neck, growling gently. “You just smell really, really good,” he answers, tabling the discussion about ovulation for later time when he wasn’t preoccupied with the fantasy of pupping you. 

“I’m not wet yet,” you whisper, body thrumming with the nice feelings of Yoongi’s hands roaming around. 

Yoongi nods. He knows. “I’ll get you there,” he promises. “Grab my condoms for me?” 

“Okay,” you sigh, getting off his lap and pausing when his hand encircles your wrist. 

“On second thought...” Yoongi trails off, licking his lips. “I’ll get them.” He stands, kissing you gently before maneuvering you to bend over the table. 

Your face feels hot as he unbuttons your jeans and pulls them down along with your underwear. You step out of them without too much difficulty but yelp in surprise when you feel his cool tongue poke at your opening. 

You weren’t kidding when you told him you weren’t wet, and Yoongi rubs the flat of his tongue against your opening. And down here kneeling behind you like this, it feels like a pretty interesting mix of heaven and hell - Yoongi can practically taste how ready you are. 

“Woah,” you sigh, eyes drifting shut as you spread your legs wider for balance. Yoongi is gripping your asscheeks apart for ease of access, and you’re not complaining one bit. You can hear how sticky everything sounds, but you’re pretty sure that most of that is caused by his saliva and not your own arousal. Based on the way he licks at you enthusiastically, you’re getting there.

Yoongi pulls away almost as abruptly as he started, panting from how little he chose to breathe in favor of tonguing you down. Your taste consumes him, and he feels it in his bones with every inhale and exhale. 

“Play with yourself until I get back,” he begs, nearly tripping on his own feet to find the condoms quickly. 

“Oh jeez,” you chuckle, reaching over behind you to tease against your entrance. Your fingers swirl and poke at your opening, and it’s not long until you’re a finger deep inside, cautiously rubbing at your walls. 

This is how Yoongi finds you - only one finger in and struggling. He can feel his cock stiffen as he sees the way your finger is practically sucked inside safe and snug. He drops the condom on the table in arms-reach, and pulls your hand away with impatience. Yoongi’s mouth waters when he sees how you react to the void left by your finger, clenching around nothing. Swallowing, he presses his covered cock against you, pretending for a split second that he’s about to fuck you raw. 

“Didn’t you get enough last night,” you mention throatily, grinding your ass against him and marveling at how this is ten times more arousing than the conscious effort to force wetness. 

“I never get enough of you,” he shakes his head. 

You smile. Yoongi is a master of telling you what you want to hear. “We’ve literally fucked every, single day for like eleven days straight - I counted.” 

That’s his cue to push down his boxers and tease you with the head of his naked cock. 

“Twelve,” Yoongi corrects, “I counted too.” 

You wrinkle your eyebrows. “Well, if you count today, then yeah, it’s twelve, but I was only counting up to and including yesterday, which is still eleven-” 

The head of his cock pokes against your entrance in a decisive manner, and you lose your train of thought. It wasn’t important anyway. Eleven days, twelve days - the point was that this is the longest fuck streak you’ve had with the werewolf, and you’re wondering if he’s not at all tired of you. But judging from the feel of things, he seems pretty interested. 

Yoongi actually barks with want at the sensation of his cock pressing against you, the sound coming out of him almost automatically. He grabs at the condom before he embarrasses himself, somehow engaging the industrial-strength latex made for werewolf usage over his cock without poking a hole through it. 

If you’re confused by his intense desire, you don’t question it. After all, you have your I-Need-Sex-Now-Now-Now moments too. 

“Put it in me already,” you tease, shooting him a flirty look over your shoulder. “You’ve been gagging for my cunt for how long?” 

“You bitch,” he curses, a fang peaking out from his feral grin, and you know that he means this in the best possible way. 

“Not yet I’m not.” 

Yoongi pushes in slowly, utterly satisfied with the grimace of pleasure on your face as he finally shuts you up. And through the dulled sensations of the condom, he can still feel how you squeeze him. 

“This is just a starter,” Yoongi groans. “I’ll make you a proper bitch later.” 

You don’t doubt it. Yoongi doesn’t make empty promises. The last time he made you submit to him was just about a month ago, and that experience left you sore and dazed for a good twelve hours afterwards. 

“Yes,” you hiss, your hands balling up as he thrusts inside you roughly to get himself off in the quickest way possible. The force of his thrusts edge you towards pleasure, but you’re nowhere near the level of need that Yoongi is exhibiting. 

He leans forward and rests his chin against the crook of your neck, nuzzling you like a treasured thing - a sharp contrasts to his punishing thrusts. Thank goodness Yoongi anchors you down with an arm around you waist. Otherwise, you would have probably fallen. 

Yoongi inhales deeply, nipping at your earlobe in the process. “You smell so fucking good,” he repeats, voice low and stilted from thrusting away inside of you. 

“Huh?” you sigh, noticing how he’s pointed out your smell again. Yoongi doesn’t take vocal note of your scent as often as humans might assume because he never wants to be rude, so this is different... 

He doesn’t answer, focusing on himself and his own thoughts about ripping off the condom and letting you have it. 

“You better do this right later,” you hiss, your cunt throbbing from the rough treatment and how he keeps edging you towards something good only to pull you back to nothing. 

A stab of desire cuts through Yoongi as you openly challenge him while being bent over in front of him. 

“If I did this right, you’d be having my pups in nine months. Think you can handle that?” he sneers, pausing his thrusts momentarily to reach over and turn your face to look at him with an imperious hand. 

Your mouth falls open in surprise when his comments hit you out of left field. 

“Y-yoongi...” 

“You’d have a whole litter if I had my way,” he continues, the hand holding your waist moving forward to caress your stomach. He has to laugh at your incredulous expression. At the very least, you’re not screaming in disgust, and dare he hope... intrigued?

You swallow rapidly, trying to get some moisture down your throat to say something - anything, because right now, you are shocked into speechlessness. But it seems all the wetness in your body has shifted to your nether regions where you have now grown exceedingly damp in addition to all the saliva from earlier.  

“Bet you’d look real pretty all swollen,” he snickers, rubbing your stomach suggestively before thrusting again. 

Your heart thumps rapidly as Yoongi kisses you, groaning into your mouth. This time, you’re right there with him, and you happily reciprocate. You can feel the stirrings of arousal grow as Yoongi continues to murmur sweet nothings about making you conceive. 

The squeak of the latex is a blatant indication that this is all talk, but sometimes all you needed was a good talking-to for the good shit to take place. You are adamant about using condoms with Yoongi since neither one of you are particularly monogamous, but the thought of his cum inside you is... nice. You might consider it at a later date but for now...

“Wanna cum inside me?” you gasp when he rests his fangs over your neck - one of the indications that he’s close to losing it. The whimper that reaches your ears is enough to know that yes, Yoongi desperately would love to cum inside you, in theory. If this was something that was driving him up the wall, you’d happily egg him on to get his rocks off. 

“I want you to cum inside,” you moan, the sounds you make not entirely lies.

Yoongi closes his eyes and cums, filling up the condom but dreaming that his seed is coating your womb instead. He nearly weeps from how intense this orgasm feels, and with a jolt, he realizes he’s expanding. 

“Shit,” he exclaims, pulling out of you rapidly just in time for the condom to burst as his cock swells from knotting over nothing. 

“Oh my god...” You stare down at his cock, fascinated at how it’s pretty much doubled in size. 

Yoongi winces, hobbling over to sit down gingerly as each movement sends ripples of overstimulation down his spine. He rarely knots, and he wonders if it was because of the intense visualization of getting you pregnant that did it. 

“Just give me a minute.... or thirty,” he pants. 

“Yeah,” you swallow, wondering how it would have felt to have him expand inside you. 

Maybe next time.