#looking at these pictures makes me think we need more wall decorations

[foolcourt]

[stariekis]

a room for two

🛋️ pairing : 엔하이픈 ot7 + gn!reader . genre : fluff . cw : kisses + skinship

— synopsis : visiting their room for the first time <3

— note : finally i had the inspiration to write smt 🙌🏻 sorry for being inactive lately babies but here you have more ot7 content ! hope you enjoy reading it, as always reposts and feedback are so welcome <3 sending the biggest kiss ^3^

heeseung :

we all know how big of a gamer he is so i know that he would have one of those professional gamer set ups in his room, the one that streamers usually have. and, as he has shown us, he collect figures too so a big shelf full of them is a must in his room. — 'this is were i spend most of my time' he said, sitting on his chair — 'now i know where you are when you don't answer my text am i right?' you answered, joking obviously. he rolled his eyes at your comment, taking you hand on his and making you sit on his lap, his hands now resting on you thighs. you admired his room, he didn't have a lot of decoration but it was so like him. — 'i think i like your room more than mine, i might come over more' you said turning to him. he giggled at your comment, you just made him the happiest boy ever. pecking your lips he answered — 'you are more than welcome doll' giving you another kiss, this one lasting more than the other one you both just shared.

jay :

i've always imagine him having the tidiest room ever. but, because it was the first time sleeping with you, he wanted his room to look ten times better. he cleaned everything up, light up candles and changed his sheets, it needs to be perfect. when you entered his room for the first time you were welcomed by the coziest room you've ever been, the aroma of vanilla flooded your nose —'you like it love?' jay said, standing on the door frame while looking at your curious figure eyeing up his room. — 'hope you do because you will spend a lot of time here from now on' he was now hugging your waist from behind. — 'i like that idea actually' you answer him, receiving a kiss on your neck from him.

jake :

his room was, to your surprise, very organized. you thought that his room would be kind of messy but everything was perfectly placed, not a single dust speck visible. — 'don't be fooled, his room is not always this tidy' you heard jay say as he passed in front of jake's room — 'WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT MAN' he shouted stepping out of his room, hearing jay laugh down the hallway right after. taking his arm and pulling him inside again you hold both of his hands — 'baby it's fine, i wouldn't mind at all' you pecked his pouty lips, he didn't want you to know (even though you would end up discovering it, but not know at least) — 'now that you know my secret i don't have to clean every time, is tiring you know?' grabbing you by the waist he lifted you off the ground and sat the both of you on his bed, spending the rest of the day in each other's embrace.

sunghoon :

he would have the most minimalist room out of them. lots of framed pics perfectly placed on his walls — 'you took all of them?' you said sitting on his desk chair, they were the first thing that caught your attention — 'each and every one of them yeah' a smile plastered on his face as he answered your question, feeling proud that you liked his pics that much. you turned around on his chair now facing him who was sitting in his bed with his camera on his hand — 'wait baby i want to take a picture of you stay there' you smile at the camera, the flash appearing right after —'why do you want a picture of me here hoon?' you asked him, getting up from his chair and making your way towards him, standing in between his open legs. he put his camera aside and grabbed your hips looking up at you — 'because i like to take pictures of pretty views and you are the prettiest one i've ever seen'.

sunoo :

i just know that sunoo would have tons of cute plushies on his bed ): so as soon as you opened the door you were welcomed by a pile of plushie on top of his bed — 'you put them away when you sleep right?' you said, he looked at you with a shocked expression — 'no i don't, how could you say something like that?' your expression changed into a shocked one — 'how are we going to fit in your bed then my love?' you said putting your hand on you hips while looking at his bed. — we will make it work don't worry' he concluded, smiling at you. the next morning you found all of his beloved "friends" on the floor, a reminder to put them aside the next time.

jungwon :

like sunoo i thing he might have tons of plushie on top of his bed, mostly fan gifts. when you entered his room and saw all the cat plushies you smiled turning towards him — 't-they are not mine they are from jay i'm just keeping them here... yeah' you laugh at his reaction, sitting on his bed and taking one on you hand you out it next to you boyfriend's face — 'they look like you thought' he took from your hands the plushie and looked at him with a smile adoring his face. sitting next to you in his bed he looked at you, sighing — 'you didn't believe it right?' you shook your head hearing him laugh as he lay on his bed, you followed right after. — 'but having that many plushie of yourself is a bit self-centered don't you think' you jokingly said, looking at his side profile. he pinched your side while mouthing a 'shut up', hearing you giggling right after.

ni-ki :

he would be a nervous wreck my baby </3 and i know for a fact that he would hide all his plushie in his closet so you won't see them, he thought that you might find it ridiculous. the idea was fine at first but his secret was soon to be discovered when you opened his wardrobe and a tiny duck plushie felt in front of you. he was laying on his bad looking at his phone so he didn't realize what just happened. you made your way towards him with the little duck on your hand — 'this is so cute why was him on your closet' he looked up from his phone but as soon as he made eye contact with the thing on your hands he rolled on his back and hid his face on his hands — 'you weren't supposed to see that babe' laughing at him you sat down on top of him putting the stuffed animal up in his face telling him how similar they were. a long night was ahead for the both of you.

[authorhjk1]

Interlude: Venice

(IU X Male Reader )

Lee Jieun puts a strand of hair behind her ear, before smiling at the camera. The photoshoot is turning out really well. She got more than enough gorgeous pictures taken and only half of the day has gone by so far.

She is already excited about the second half of the day. You had to promise her that you would spend your time with her throughout the next three days. More than enough time so satisfy every single one of her needs.

"Alright."

IU smiles as the photographer stops taking pictures.

"We are finished with the first part. The second one will start in ten minutes. Miss Lee, we are going for a couple shoot this time."

The Korean woman politely bows her head, before heading towards her dressing room.

As she opens the door, she stops in her tracks.

"W-What are you doing here?"

You look up from your phone, seeing a stunned IU.

"I'm your partner for your shoot."

"But-"

You get off the sofa.

"You don't think I'm handsome enough?"

"Y-You are, but-"

Jieun seems afraid that someone could find out. The relationship between the two of you needs to be a secret.

"I just didn't expect you to be here."

"Why not? I promised to fuck you, didn't I?"

Jieun glances behind her making sure the door really is closed.

"But not here!"

She whispers a shout, visibly scared that someone could find out.

"Relax. We have 10 more minutes, don't we?"

You sneak your hands around IU's waist.

That black dress highlights her slim figure. Her blonde hair makes her look even better than her natural colour.

"What do you want me to do? And where do you want it?"

You feel the older woman shiver slightly with excitement. The thrill of possibly getting caught arouses her even more now.

"Your mouth."

She kisses your cheekbone.

"C-Can you please eat me out?"

You see her blush. Now that she is actually asking you for something, she becomes a little shy.

"You want me to bury my face in your pussy?"

IU's mouth escapes a needy whine as you plant an image in her head.

You take that as a yes. Your hands on her waist turn her around, before bending her over the make up table on your right. The mirror on the wall is decorated by a couple of lights.

Kneeling behind her, you admire how fine IU's body looks in that tight dress. Especially her butt, since it's right in front of you now.

You start to slowly rise the hem of her one-piece. More and more smooth skin gets revealed, the further you hike it up. Finally bunching it up around her waist, you expose IU's matching panties.

The black fabric is the only thing that now seperates you from your delicious meal.

Aware that you have limited time, you quickly pull down her underwear. Enjoying the feeling of her skin, you give each of the blonde's butt cheeks a kiss.

Jieun let's out a delighted moan. She is excited for the next three days. And it seems like they are starting out really well.

As promised, you bury your face deep in IU's pussy. You take in her scent and the slight sweetness of her juices as you hear her moan. Parting her lower lips with your tongue, you enter her hot cavern.

"Mmmm."

IU let's out another satisfied moan.

You feel her hand reaching for your head, trying to push you further into her, while she backs up a little. Your own rest on her hips as you eat her out.

Jieun's wide eyes stare into the mirror as she feels your tongue, burying itself deep inside her pussy. She can't believe how horny she is, when she sees you. She just needs some sort of pleasurable outlet, whenever you are close to her. Maybe that's because of that night in Paris.

She still doesn't know who the other woman was. It makes her feel really weird. Especially when she meets other idols during award shows, music shows, or other events. A shiver runs down her spine. The person, who buried their strap on inside the most intimate part of her body, might be someone she interacts with on a daily basis.

For a moment she thought that her best friend, Yoo Inna, could've been that person. But she quickly got rid of that suspicion. The woman's voice sounded different.

IU moans into the mirror as you feast on her delicious pussy.

The fact that it could be someone she knows, someone younger than her, someone who knows what a slut she is, turns her on even more.

You use that to your advantage, knowing that you don't have much time.

Jieun's legs quiver harder with every passing second. Your fingers dig into her flesh, pulling her plump cheeks apart to give you better access to her hot core.

"Oh fuck!"

With a loud and deep moan, Jieun let's her head sink onto the table. Juices start to run down her thighs in small streams as she orgasms inside her dressing room.

"Took you long enough."

You tease her as you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand.

"Please put an arm around her."

You do what the photographer tells you to do. Your hand finds its place on IU's waist. The soft black fabric reminds both of you, what you just did mere minutes ago.

"Turn to the side and place a hand on his chest."

Jieun follows the man's orders, placing her hand on your white shirt, right about your heart. You didn't move yours, which means your hand is now resting on her back. Only inches away from her ass.

Being the professional she is, Jieun grabs your tie, while looking up at you.

"Very nice!"

The photographer keeps taking pictures.

"You like this one?"

You whisper out of the corner of your mouth.

"You like being blindfolded, do you?"

While looking at the camera, you can't see IU's reaction. But you can hear how her breath hitches. She knows fully well what you are talking about.

"Who was it?"

A question she asked before. A question you are not going to answer.

The photographer stops Jieun from asking again, making the two of you do a more mature concept.

IU stands now directly in front of you, leaning her head to the side. You reach around her waist, holding her tight. For the photo, you are only supposed to pretend to kiss her. But when you burry your face into her neck, you can't help yourself.

Jieun's mouth opens a little in surprise and enjoyment. Everyone thinks she is just doing this for the photo. But you know better. Your lips move across her smooth skin.

Only the sound of IU's moans echo through the room. The tie you wore earlier is covering her eyes. It takes her back to the night in Paris, turning her on even more.

"Oh fuck!"

Jieun moans loudly as you take her from behind.

The sun is slowly starting to rise over the roofs of the beautiful houses around your hotel. Which means you were fucking her the whole night. Only taking a break to recover your stamina and eat.

But now, 12 hours after the photoshoot, Jieun is bend over the edge of the bed. Her knees are placed on the carpet in front of it, while you kneel behind her.

She looks smaller than usual in this position. You hold her by her wrists with one hand, while the other presses her shoulder into the mattress.

The blue dress she wore at the end of the shoot is probably still lying in the shower. Wet from the shower the two of you took around midnight. It's probably lying there since you came into your room though. You remember throwing it somewhere, after ripping it off her small body.

Jieun kept her boots on at first, partially because you threw her onto the bed, before she was able to take them off. They are now lying near the windowsill. You took them off her feet as you fucked her back against the glass. There wasn't much space there.

Her underwear must be lying around somewhere too.

"Oh my good! You are bruising my pussy!"

You probably do. You haven't gone longer than ten minutes without you fucking Jieun in the last 12 hours.

That thought reminds you of where the rest of her clothes are. Her bra is dangling from the chandelier in the middle of the room. Don't even ask how it got up there, you don't even remember. It's blue, matching her dress and her panties. Her panties...

"I'm! Fucking! Cuming! So! Hard!"

As IU orgasms violently, her pussy squeezing your cock, you do your best to hold on. You are almost at the edge yourself.

"Oh my god! I'm such a mess."

You hear her mumble into the mattress, probably to herself.

Now you remember where her panties are. Or rather with whom.

During dinner time, most of the guests in the hotel visit the restaurant next to the lobby. At that time, the hotel stuff goes through the rooms and cleans, preparing them for the night.

They usually only come in, when no one answers to their knocking and if they don't hear noises behind the door.

That's why the two of you got caught by a very surprised hotel maid.

IU's panties in her mouth, muffling her screams, while you fucked her into the leather couch. The two of you were too lost in the act itself to hear the door.

It didn't take much work to convince the beautiful Italian woman to join. The brunette was more than willing to share with IU, when you eventually came on both of their faces.

She stayed for an hour or so, leaving with a souvenir. You don't know her name, but maybe she will be back today. It's not like the two of you are going anywhere.

"Damn you whore. How are you still so fucking tight?"

Jieun weakly laughs into the sheets as you keep fucking her from behind.

"A-Are you close?"

The longer you fuck her, the longer it takes for you to cum. Your body just doesn't seem to be able to keep up with you.

"Soon."

You groan, thinking about a position, where you can drive yourself faster to another orgasm.

"Do you want my ass? It's tighter, you know."

Jieun gladly tries to help you to decide. She knows how hard it is for you to cum consistently every hour almost.

"Where is the lube?"

You search the room, IU is unable to do so.

You try to remember the last time you used it. Your thrusts slow down as you try to think about it.

A couple of moments later, you start to fuck Jieun's ass, right where you found the small bottle of lube.

"You're stretching me out really good."

She moans against the white tiles of the shower as you plow her from behind.

The water is turned off this time. IU's hair is wet. Not because of the shower a couple of hours ago, but a lot of sweat and some of your cum. It sticks to her neck and shoulders.

"Why can't we spend every night like this one?"

She weakly moans, trying to sneakily convince you to do just that.

"Not a chance, Jieun."

"Please?"

Her cute whine makes you press her cheek against the cold tile, her ass slightly tightening around you as a result.

"I still have a girlfriend to satisfy. And work."

Another pitiful mewl escapes her mouth.

Your thrusts become harder and faster, knowing how much the older woman needs you. The last couple of hours proved, how much Jieun has started to become addicted to the feeling of your cock inside of her.

"I never want this trip to end."

She sighs in disappointment as you keep fucking her ass.

"I'm getting close."

You see her smile, her eyes still covered by your tie.

"Please cum in me. The last time you left a load there feels like ages ago."

"Beg for it, slut."

Her begging is necessary for you to reach the edge at this point.

"Please, cum in my ass."

You slightly pick up the pace. There is not much juice left in your body. In more than one sense.

"Use my hole like a cum dump."

"That's the only thing it's good for."

"You're right, daddy. Use my body properly."

With both hands holding onto her ass cheeks, you thrust deeper into IU.

"You ruined me for anyone else, daddy."

Red marks, produced by your grip, mark her cheeks. They ripple, whenever you thrust into her from behind.

"This body is yours now. Only you can make me cum."

"That's a good girl."

You kiss her neck as you feel yourself closing in on that edge of the cliff. You enjoy how much control you have over her. A woman who is older than you. A woman who is a globally known singer and actress. Offering her body to you and begging you to cum in her.

"Yes, daddy. I'm a good girl. Please."

Your last couple of thrusts are slow but hard. You hit Jieun's cervix with every snap of your hips, making her jolt forward. The tight ring of her muscles squeezes you hard, begging you to fill her body with your cum.

"Damn, Jieun."

You groan her name as you finally cum.

It's honestly not much. It's a small load compared to the one you gave her right after the photoshoot. But your body is drained of all it's fluits. You don't have much more to offer. IU's body has soaked up every last drop of your cum. You wonder how much you came inside of her. Probably a week's worth of cum.

You have to hold onto the glass wall as you watch Jieun slowly glide down along the tiles. When she reaches the floor, she looks up at you with big eyes. Her blonde hair partially covers her face.

"I think I need a longer brake this time."

You can see how much she is trying to hide her disappointment. Although, she is visibly tired as well.

The lock on your hotel room door beeps, letting you know that someone is coming in, using the second key card.

"Mr. (Y/n)?"

High heels click on the marble floor in the small hallway at the entrance.

Her Italian accent seems to always try to seduce you.

You know that voice. You heard it last night, when she sucked you off, asking you to fuck her on the balcony.

"Looks like your new best friend is hear."

You're kinda glad. The two of them can take care of each other for a while and you can recharge.

Once the young maid stands in the door, your tired body starts to react. The break is gonna be as short as possible.

-----------

Hope you guys enjoy this.

I'm going to sort some of my smaller stories and make posts, where you can find all the chapters, so don't be surprised if I post something with a title you've already seen.

Stay healthy!

[puckinghischier]

The 7th Year

Nico Hischier x fem!reader

summary: reader wants to celebrate Nico’s 7 year anniversary of being drafted to the Devils

notes: i really wanted to post this on his actual draft anniversary but i’m a slacker and didn’t finish it in time, so here it is now. it still counts cause it’s still draft week, right? anyways, i hope you enjoy and happy reading! 🫶🏼

[4.4k]

“Jack, it’s all wrong!” you cry out, looking at the orange cake sitting in front of you.

“Listen, we can fix it. I can run down to the nearest grocery store and have them make me a new one really quick,” Jack tries to reason with you, attempting to avoid the incoming meltdown.

Today was Nico’s seven-year anniversary of being drafted to the Devils. You know it’s an in-between milestone, most people celebrating every five years, but you didn’t care. You weren’t with him two years ago, having only been dating the hockey captain for a little over a year, so you were determined to make a big deal out of this milestone instead.

Your apartment was decked out in every tacky, red or devil related decoration imaginable, from cardboard cut-outs of Nico littered throughout the large living space to a custom ‘pin the horns on the nico’ party game you ordered for the occasion.

“Jack, I special ordered this cake four months ago, because the bakery he likes had a waiting list almost six months long for their cake decorator. I literally told them I’d pay extra if they could have it done by today,” you shut the lid of the cake box, not wanting to look at the orange monstrosity any longer.

You had sent them several reference pictures of what you wanted done, confirming with them last week that they had the correct pictures and color scheme.

“Well, at least they got the logo right?” Jack tries again, watching you run your hands through your recently curled hair.

People were set to start showing up any minute now, and you were panicking about being ready in time for Nico’s return home in a little over an hour. You barely had time to shower and make yourself presentable after spending all day transforming your apartment into a Nico museum.

All of his trophies and medals from childhood up until now are displayed on various surfaces around your shared apartment, action shot posters are taped on the living room walls, taking the place of your decorative pictures, and several of his old jerseys are on display in shadow boxes propped up in the high-top chairs that usually sit around the small table on your balcony, but are currently placed in various spots around the large room.

“Yeah, sure. The logo says Devils, but the colors say Flyers,” you mumble, pinching the bridge of your nose, trying to stop yourself from crying off your fresh make-up.

Jack had been a trooper today. Luke too. The two of them had shown up to your apartment not even twenty minutes after Nico left with Jesper and Timo this morning for their early tee time. They helped you decorate and arrange your entire apartment, ran all over Hoboken with you grabbing last minute stuff for the evening, and Luke is out right now picking up the catering order that was supposed to be delivered but somehow got marked for pick up.

Your phone starts ringing in the middle of your deep breathing moment, trying to calm your nerves.

“Luke, please tell me you have the food and are on your way home,” you answer the phone, praying Luke is calling to check in and not to give you bad news.

“Yeah, I got it. On my way now. Just calling to check and see if you need anything else while I’m out,” he tells you, the sound of his car door shutting heard in the background.

You breathe out a sigh of relief. At least the food is taken care of, you think to yourself. “No, I think we’re good. I double checked everything before I got in the shower. And Jack has been setting stuff up while I was getting ready. Just please get here in one piece with the food before I have a small stroke,” you attempt a joke, but your tone sounds more strained than anything.

“Aye Aye, Mrs. Captain,” you hear through the phone, picturing the small salute Luke is likely doing right now.

You chuckle out a goodbye and hang up your phone.

“So, am I good to go get changed now, or do you need me to talk you off a ledge right now?” Jack asks you, treading lightly.

You send him an unamused glare. “No, I think I’ve done everything I can do until Luke gets here with the food. Go, change. Shower if you need to,” you wave him off, grabbing the cake on the counter in front of you and walking to place it in the large fridge.

“Alright, but if I hear the balcony door open I won’t hesitate to run out here butt naked to make sure you’re not trying to make an escape,” he sings out as he walks out of your kitchen, turning down the hallway towards your guest bathroom.

You flip him off even though he can’t see you, a smile on your face nonetheless.

Thirty minutes later, Jack is showered and dressed and a few of Nico’s teammates have shown up, decked out in the t-shirts you had ordered and distributed to everyone.

Each of Nico’s teammates are wearing a shirt with his picture from his draft on it. No matter who you were looking at, Nico’s smiling baby face, devils hat on his head and devils jersey pulled over his formal attire, with one finger pointed in the air to signify his being picked first overall, was looking back at you.

You thought it would be funny to have Nico walk into a surprise celebration with his face staring back at him from nearly everyone in attendance, and when you pitched the idea to his teammates they were all for it.

You had ordered your own shirt with Nico’s face on it, too. Although, yours was one of the shirts in the WWE style, overlapping, various pics of Nico making up the design.

As the time got closer to Nico coming home, more and more of his teammates and their significant others showed up, ready to surprise their captain.

Ten minutes before Nico was due arrive, you get a call from Jesper.

“Hey, you guys almost here?” you answer, walking away from the noise of your living room.

“Yeah, leaving the bar now,” he tells you, pausing to bid someone in the background goodbye and ringing out ‘thank you’ a few times as he walks out of the bar.

Jesper and Timo were tasked with keeping Nico busy and away from home today. It started with their game of golf, but quickly turned into an additional eighteen holes and trying to kill time at the clubhouse bar when their games went by far quicker than they anticipated.

Around lunchtime, Timo called you and told you Nico kept saying he was going to bow out early to come home and spend some time with you, but you begged them to find a way to keep him occupied. You ended up having to send him a message, telling him you were out with a friend for a quick lunch before a fake nail appointment that turned into a real one once he asked to see what design you had chosen this time. Which is why you were late getting ready, having to leave Jack to decorate the apartment during your impromptu salon trip.

Most of the time you love that Nico is so invested in your relationship. He always wants to spend time with you, going with you to hair and nail appointments, following you around like a puppy when you go shopping, and simply sticking around the house on days when he has nothing planned just to catch up on your latest reality show obsession he always gets hooked into.

Today, though, you wish he was a little more apt to spending time with his friends. The amount of ‘I miss you’ and ‘can’t wait to come home and binge love island!’ texts you got today made you love him even more – if that’s even possible – but also made your anxiety sky rocket each time, because you know if he wanted to, he would simply leave in the middle of his plans with Timo and Jesper, no amount of convincing able to keep him there.

“Alright, don’t forget your shirts,” you start to remind him. You turn your body to look behind you, hearing a chorus of “Lukey!” and “Moose!” ring out, signaling Luke was finally back with the food. “Hey, I gotta go Jesp, Luke just got back with the food. Be safe!” you rush out before hanging up, making your way back into the small crowd.

You weave through bodies until you reach your kitchen, watching Luke attempt to sit down the large disposable trays.

“Luke, please don’t drop those,” you run over to him, helping him slide the heavy food onto your kitchen island.

You unstack the pans, making sure each one is unharmed and an appropriate distance from the edge of the counter.

“C’mon, Y/N, have a little more faith in me than that. I can carry a few trays of food,” he tells you, dramatically flexing his arms at you.  

You roll your eyes at the curly-headed giant. Checking the time on your phone, you figure you have enough time to try and set up the food a little bit before Nico gets here. Opening the various pans, you freeze.

“Luke…what is this?” you ask him, a cold feeling washing over you.

Luke furrows his brows at you, peeking over your shoulder from his spot behind you. “The food you asked me to get? Is this a trick question?”

You dropped the flimsy lid, condensation from the hot dish flying everywhere.

When you were thinking about what food you wanted to have for the party, you knew it would be in the off-season, the Devils losing their playoff spot pretty early this season. So, you figured it would be a good time to order a few pans of his favorite dishes from his favorite Italian restaurant.

You ordered a pan of their lasagna, chicken parm, and a large pan of a steak and pasta dish specific to the restaurant. You had called them to confirm this morning, which is how you found out it was marked as pick up instead of delivery, causing Luke to have to drive forty-five minutes one way in order to grab the food.

What you were unaware of, however, is the fact that this restaurant, apparently, also caters an array of vegan options.

When you opened the three pans, you were met with a large pan of what looked like roasted cauliflower with tomato sauce, eggplant boats covered in pesto, and what looked like breaded and baked zucchini. 

You had no issue with vegan food, some of it being some of the most delicious food you’ve ever eaten, but this is not at all what you envisioned surprising Nico with.

“I ordered lasagna, chicken parm, and steak pasta. There is no chicken, parm, steak, or layered noodles in front of me right now,” you try to keep your tone even and calm, knowing it’s not Luke’s fault.

“I swear, they handed me the box of food that had your name on it. I even checked the receipt and everything,” Luke defended himself.

You can feel the tears welling up, despite your attempt at taking big, deep breaths to avoid your emotions getting the best of you.

When the first tear falls over, the rest come crashing out before you could even stop them. You bring your face to your hands and start sobbing, upset that you couldn’t have everything be perfect for such an important day for Nico.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Luke coos as he wraps you in a hug, your face still hidden by your hands. “You’re going to ruin your make-up. You don’t want to greet Nico while looking like a little raccoon, do you?” you let out a chuckle at Luke’s words, his attempt at cheering you up working for a quick moment.

You bring your hands away from your face, sniffling and trying to carefully wipe your eyes. Luke keeps you trapped in a hug, giving you a few moments to collect yourself before stepping back, rubbing your arms instead.

“I just wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted Nico to walk in here and see all of his friends here, ready to celebrate him. I wanted to surprise him with his favorite meal and his favorite cake from his favorite bakery, since he doesn’t ever get this stuff during the season. But instead he gets an orange cake and a vegan dinner,” you huff, gesturing to the food in front of you.

“Well, he’ll definitely be surprised,” Luke attempts another joke, this one earning a sarcastic laugh instead of a genuine one. “Listen, we can fix it, okay? We’ll call the place and get a refund then order a few pizzas, alright? It’ll be fine. Everyone likes pizza.”

He bends his knees so he’s eye level with you, trying to gauge your reaction to his suggestion.

You look over to the food on the counter, bringing a sliver of your bottom lip in-between your teeth, mulling the idea over in your head.

“Yeah, we can do that. Everyone does like pizza, don’t they?” you try to convince yourself pizza will be fine, you could just take Nico out to dinner for his Italian food later this week.

“They sure do. And lucky for you, I have the best pizzeria in Hoboken on speed dial. I’ll make them do a rush order for their favorite customer,” Luke winks down at you, stepping away to pull out his phone and make the last-minute order.

You cover the food in front of you back up, picking up each tray and tossing them in the trash can at the end of your island, knowing that a group of hungry hockey players wouldn’t want three trays worth of vegetables to eat for party food.

You stand in the middle of the kitchen, trying to compose yourself and wipe away any mascara residue when Jack comes running through the open doorway, frantic eyes landing on you.

“Y/N, what’s wrong? Why do you look like you’ve been crying? Jesper just texted and said they’re on the elevator on their way up,” he rushes out, walking towards you to make sure you’re alright.

“Catering mishap, Luke’s ordering pizza now. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Go grab him, quick,” you suddenly perk up, nerves bubbling in your stomach.

As you follow Jack out of the kitchen and make your way to the front of the small crowd at the end of your entry way, all you can think about is hoping Nico likes what you’ve done. You hope he doesn’t think the decorations are too tacky, or that the shirts are weird. You hope he’s okay with eating greasy pizza and orange cake. You hope he likes the custom Halifax and Devils split jersey you plan to gift him later to represent where he started and where he is now. Overall, you just hope he understands how proud you are of him.

You see Jack and Luke walk up beside you out of the corner of your eye, matching with the rest of their teammates that are surrounding you. Luke leans down to whisper “Pizza’s ordered, it’ll be here in twenty,” into your ear before standing back to his original height and facing forward, waiting on his captain to walk through the door.

You’re suddenly hit with a thought about how thankful you are for the people surrounding you. For Jack and Luke who dealt with your demanding and crazy self today, talking you off of ledges and running around doing your bidding all day long. You’re thankful for the teammates that showed up today, ready to celebrate the captain they love almost as much as you do. You’re thankful for Timo and Jesper, making sure Nico stays in the dark about the surprise, doing everything in their power to keep him out of your hair until this moment.

You’re so incredibly thankful that the universe has allowed you to not only love someone as kind, loving, and special as Nico, but that he loves you back just as much. You also gained an entire family through Nico, his teammates treating you like one of their own, showing you just as much love and care as they do him. You’ve found some of your best friends through him, Jack, Luke, Timo, and Jesper being four of the best people you’ve ever had in your life.

The sound of the front door opening distracts you from your sentimental thoughts. You see Jesper enter first, his Nico shirt looking a little out of place paired with his golf pants. Nico follows him in, blindfolded. You have to stop a snort from making its way out, not knowing Timo and Jesper were going to resort to blindfolding him. Timo follows a step behind Nico, hands on his shoulders, guiding him and preventing him from bumping into anything.

Timo guides him to a few feet in front of you, stopping him before dropping his hands from his shoulders.

“Alright, Cap, you can take your blindfold off now,” Jesper tells him, him and Timo quickly stepping over to where you stand, joining the rest of their team.

Nico reaches up the untie the blindfold on his head. “I swear to god, if you guys did this just to mess with me and take me to another bar I’m going to kill both of you. I told you I just wanted to go home to Y/N-“ Nico stops mid-sentence when the cloth falls into his hands.

A loud, “Surprise!” rings out around the room, Nico’s eyes darting to each person, then down to their shirts.

You stand there, smiling at his shocked face.

“What-“ he starts, but stops, speechless at the scene in front of him.

You step forward the few feet to him, his gaze finally landing on you.

“Happy draft anniversary, baby,” you tell him, smiling up at him.

He looks down at you, eyebrows furrowing. You can tell he didn’t remember what day it was until this moment, his eyes looking around the room again, understanding settling in on the choice of shirts.

“You did all this? For me?” he asks, a smile taking over his face as he looks down on you.

“Well, duh,” you tell him. “Your seven-year draft anniversary is a big deal, you know?”

He beams down at you, the amount of love in his eyes enough to nearly knock you down.

“I love you, you know that?” he asks, wrapping his arms around you, pulling your body close to his.

“I think you’ve told me once or twice,” you tease.

He rolls his eyes at you, bringing his lips down to meet yours. The kiss is innocent and sweet, considering most of his team is stood behind you, but it was enough to cause a feeling of warmth to wash over you, all the way down to your toes.

When you pull back from the kiss you can’t help but to keep smiling at him. “Alright, go greet your teammates now. I’ll find you later,” you tell him, patting him on the chest as you step back.

Nico gives you a wink before he walks over to his friends and teammates, making his way through hugs and handshakes.

You mostly sit back and observe for most of the night, splitting off from the festivities when the pizza was delivered, placing it in the kitchen and announcing everyone to just serve themselves.

You make your way around your apartment, conversing with Nico’s various coworkers. You cross paths with Nico a few times, each time he tried to whisk you away to your shared bedroom, but you insisted he have a good time with his friends, there’ll be plenty of time for the two of you later. You stick around Jack and Luke some, but finding yourself in a corner talking to Nicole, Jesper’s girlfriend towards the end of the night.

“Y/N, seriously, this is great. I wish I would have thought of something like this for Jesper. Nico hit the jackpot with you,” Nicole compliments.

Your cheeks redden. “He deserves it. I mean, he left everything he’d ever known in Switzerland to come here and pursue this. And look how well he did for himself,” you turn to look over at him standing with Jonas and Erik, Jonas attempting his turn at pinning the devil horns on the large poster of Nico on the wall.

You’ve always been amazed at Nico’s bravery and determination to pursue this dream, knowing how hard it was for you to move just a few states away from your family, much less halfway across the world. He proved every single person that told him he wouldn’t make it wrong, not only getting drafted, but being the first overall pick. And now he earned his captaincy on top of that, proving he’s not only a phenomenal player, but an even better teammate and leader.

“I think he did very well for himself, and not just in reference to hockey, either,” she tells you, leaning over and placing a hand on your leg to emphasize her point.

You look down, not particularly knowing how to respond to her compliments.

“Hey, Y/N, want us to stick around and help clean up,” you hear a voice ask you, turning around to see only Jack, Luke, Jesper and Timo remaining.

Nico walks over to you as Nicole stands and joins Jesper.

“Nah, you guys head out. We’ll call you tomorrow if we need any help,” Nico answers for you, standing behind you and placing his hands on your shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.

“That’s code for ‘get out you goons, I’m trying to be alone with my girl right now,’” Jack says, earning a chuckle from the group.

You and Nico walk everyone to the door, saying your goodbyes before shutting the apartment door and turning around to observe the state of your apartment.

“Don’t even think about trying to clean anything up tonight. You’re not lifting a finger for the rest of the night,” Nico threatens, slipping his arms around your torso from behind, burying his face in your neck.

“C’mon, at least let me clean up the cups your lazy teammates didn’t throw away,” you pat his hands, starting to walk him over to start picking up the red, plastic cups.

“Alright, but after that we’re going to the bedroom and aren’t leaving until this time tomorrow,” Nico points a finger at you as he separates from your body.

The two of you gather all of the stray cups, bringing them into the kitchen to throw them away. You notice the empty pizza boxes, breaking a few of them down while asking Nico to put the leftovers in your fridge so they don’t ruin.

“What’s in the box?” he asks, grabbing the white cake box and dragging it out of the fridge.

“Oh no! I totally forgot about the cake!” you exclaim.

“You bought me a cake?” Nico opens the box.

He looks up at you, amusement in his eyes. “Schatz, why did you get me an orange Devils cake?”

You groan, bringing your hands up to rake them down your face.

“It was supposed to be red, but the bakery fucked it up and I didn’t know until they delivered it,” you explained, walking over to stand next to him as he looks between the cake and you.

“The catering was messed up too,” you continued. “I tried to order your favorite dishes from that Italian place you like, but they sent a bunch of vegan dishes instead, so Luke had to order pizza last minute.”

Nico lets out a laugh at your confession. “So, you threw me a draft anniversary party with an orange cake and vegan food?” he teases, closing the lid to the cake box and turning his body to face you.

You give him a pout. “Don’t make fun of me, I was trying to be nice to you.”

This earns another laugh, Nico placing his hands on either side of your pouting face.

“You could have thrown me a party with water soup as the entrée and ice cubes as appetizers and I would still think it’s the best party I’ve ever been to, simply because you planned it,” he tells you, looking down into your eyes.

“You meant it? You enjoyed yourself tonight?” you ask him earnestly, that small seed of worry making its way back into your brain.

Nico doesn’t answer, he leans down to kiss you for the second time that night. This time, though, he wasn’t as slow and sweet as he was when you had an audience.

His kiss isn’t rushed, but with his tongue slipping its way into your mouth, it quickly turns into a partial make-out session in your kitchen.

He pulls back once the two of you need to come up for air, resting his forehead against yours.

“I had a blast tonight. The shirts were a nice touch, by the way,” he smirks at you.

You let out a giggle, thinking of how funny it was when he registered all of his teammates were wearing his face on their chest.

“Thank you, seriously,” his tone turns serious. “I can’t even begin to explain to you what this means to me. I just wish I could’ve had you by my side from the start.”

You look at him through his long lashes, not being able to think about anything except for how much you love him at this moment.

“Well, you’ll have me until the end of it. Or until you get sick of me, whichever comes first,” you joke, causing Nico to pull his forehead back from yours.

He uses his hands that are still on your face to tilt your head up to look at him. “Not possible. If anyone gets sick of anyone around here it’s going to be you getting sick of me, because I never want to be anywhere but by your side.”

You just stare up at him, shaking your head in a no motion, the intensity of his stare taking any words from the tip of your tongue.

You both just stand there, staring at each other for what feels like hours, but was really just a few moments.

“Enough of us just standing in the kitchen, I think it’s time we take this little party to our bedroom so I can really show you how thankful I am,” he breaks the silence, his eyes going from love to lust before you could even blink.

He doesn’t give you a chance to respond, just throwing you over his shoulder while you squeal, carrying you to your bedroom. As you pass all of the decorations on the hallway walls on your way to the bedroom, you’re already thinking of how you can make year eight’s anniversary even better, especially if Nico is as thankful next year as he proves to be this year, thanking you over and over and over again once you reach your bedroom.

[loaksky]

— 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 | 𝒂. 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏

emt!abby x clumsy fem!reader, fluff / angst / smut (mdni!), wc: 8.8k (abby makes me ill).

synopsis: abby’s recuperating from a rocky relationship. tending to you more than once has gotta be fate.

content warnings: language, 18+ content (MDNI!): fingering (abby & reader receiving), oral (abby receiving), standard emotional constipation, non-graphic depictions of injuries / blood. let me know if i miss anything! not proofread well!

tagging those who interacted with my interest post! @eden-nox , @feeeeebbb , @thecowardwrites , @dawn-bunni , @dykefromstatefarm , @kingofcrabs17 , @deadliebalboa , @caitlinisfruity , @matchabxba , @abbysidechick

main masterlist | tlou masterlist

THE FIRST TIME ABBY TENDS TO YOU is an embarrassing circumstance all its own. And not necessarily because you’d hurt yourself, but because of one meddling little sibling in particular.

It’s nearly 2am in the morning, a little brisk outside of the apartment complex, and Abby’s trailing behind her rotation partners up three rickety flights of stairs.

“Seattle EMS!”

The door’s flying open and a frantic girl no older than fifteen is ushering the trio in the apartment.

“It’s my sister,” she says quickly. “She cut her hand with a knife. Won’t stop bleeding.”

Abby’s observing her surroundings, eyes flitting around the space as they file quickly down the hallway, walls neatly littered with polaroids, picture frames, and various other decorations and knickknacks.

As they spill into the living room, Abby’s eyes settle on you, sitting on the coffee table in nothing but an oversized tee and some boyshorts.

There are tiny smears of red across your thighs, right hand applying pressure to your left palm with a wad of paper towels. One look at your face shows draining color and Abby’s setting the duffel on the floor.

“Need her rate and blood pressure,” one of her partners says. “Anderson, can you assess the damage?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Abby says, kneeling in front of you.

She swears she feels a jolt of electricity pass through her nitrile gloves when her fingertips brush your skin. You’re shaky, eyes droopy because you’ve never been great with blood.

“I’m gonna take a look,” Abby says softly, coaxing the paper towels away from you. “That okay?”

You nod, hair falling into your face as she turns your palm over to analyze the wound.

“Sheesh,” she whispers. “What’d you do?”

When you’re silent for a moment, warmth momentarily returning to your cheeks as embarrassment floods your system, Abby’s eyes swing to your younger sister who’s seemingly clocked the considerable tension between you and the hot EMT.

“We were making brownies,” she fills in helpfully. “Big sis was chopping up the nuts.”

One of Abby’s partners chuckles, the one filling out the paperwork, and Abby glances at you again, something niggling in the pit of her stomach when she sees the flustered way you bite your lip.

“Personally not a fan of nuts in my brownies, but that’s a hill I’ll die on.”

Abby’s trying to distract you, take your mind away from a the gnarly gash cut deep in your palm line. It works, she thinks, when you crack a small smile.

“Me neither,” you agree, and it’s the first words you say all night.

Your voice has a sweet rasp, one that makes Abby’s gut twist.

“Guess this means nuts really are a no go,” you say, hissing momentarily when Abby makes start with cleaning your wound.

For a moment she forgets you’re talking about brownies and your little sister’s searing gaze should be confirmation enough, but after gathering all of your important information and spending the next forty-five minutes cleaning you up, Abby’s being stopped in her tracks as they file out of the cramped living room.

Your little sister catches her as the two other techs swing into the third floor hallway.

“My big sis is gay, FYI,” she giggles mischievously. “Like real gay.”

You call her name, absolutely horrified.

Abby can’t help the smile that splits her face.

“Mmm, good to know.”

You’d barely recovered from that moment, still reeling nearly a week later after your failed sleepover party with your little sister that ended in the hottest tech seeing you in the worst condition possible.

And while you thank every force above that Abby hadn’t seemed too perturbed by your sibling’s antics, it’s still something that makes you rub the heel of your palms into your eyes and kick your feet in annoyance before bed.

But just when you think you’re finally getting over it, you cross paths again.

Fate has a cruel way of flexing its humor because you’re turning an especially crowded corner in the freezer section of Whole Foods when your toe catches the corner display.

“Shit!” you hiss, basket clattering to the floor.

Your jar of extra garlic-y marinara is rolling away and a few of your lemons are scattering between avoidant feet.

“Hey, you alright?”

And you’ve heard that voice before, familiar hum haunting your dreams for the past week and a half.

You look up just as the body associated with the voice crouches in front of you, pasta sauce in one hand and trio of lemons in the other.

Of course it’s Abby in all of her glory. Her hair is loosened from her braid, falling over her broad shoulders as she searches your face. She’s in her work polo, few buttons undone and belt somewhat loosened.

Something akin to recognition flashes over her features as she takes you in.

“Thanks,” you whisper when she rights your basket and carefully sets the runaway items inside.

“You’re always hurting yourself,” she teases, standing to her full height before offering her hand out to you.

For a moment you were caught up, so engrossed in seeing Abby again like a direct manifestation of your very fears (and a wet dream or two), that you hadn’t noticed that people were staring.

Your face is hot as your fingers brush her palm and she’s hoisting you up like you weigh nothing. When you shift your weight to the foot you’d tripped on, your face screws up in discomfort.

Abby’s scarily perceptive, equal parts because it comes with the job even when she’s off duty, and also because it’s you. She doesn’t know what’s so different about you, especially because she hasn’t bat an eye at another girl in the past seven months since her previous break-up, but she can’t take her eyes off of you. She’s certain her pupils are blown wide by now.

“Does it hurt?” she asks, steadying you with warm hands.

Abby has to force herself to glance up at you when she happens to notice the way your chest hitches, pendant on the dainty chain that rests between the divot of your collarbones glinting under the fluorescents.

“A little,” you admit.

Abby doesn’t hesitate to take your basket alongside hers and offers you a perfectly sculpted arm.

God you could actually combust, not only because you’re beyond embarrassed but because Abby’s too fucking hot for her own good.

“Easy,” she tells you as you move through the aisles slowly.

She’s guiding you to a quiet corner in the foodcourt, setting you gently against the bench before plopping down next to you.

Your lips part to thank her, tell her that you’ll just rest here for a moment before going about your day, but she’s lifting your leg into her lap and undoing the strap of your sandal wordlessly.

“Oh—”

Her gaze swings to yours.

“Gotta get a better look,” she tells you with an easy smile, fingers gentle around your ankle.

She starts rolling, testing your range of motion. When your expression pinches, she’s rummaging through her basket, only to produce a frozen bag of peas a few moments later.

“Doesn’t look like any bruising is forming and you’ve got your full range of motion,” she observes. “Just a rolled ankle. Nothing some ice won’t fix.”

You stare at her unblinking, nodding stupidly as she applies a slight amount of pressure with the frozen vegetables.

“I, ah—” you let out a low hiss and Abby shouldn’t lick her lips, but her mouth’s dry and the skin of your legs are like butter. “I think I’ll be okay.”

The concern that shades Abby’s features makes you squirm on the bench, ankle still propped in her lap.

“Did you drive?” Abby presses, and she knows that this is a bad idea.

The two of you could be on your way, paths officially untangling, but something inside of her is compelled, tugged hard at the sight of you.

“No…” you trail off sheepishly. “I walked.”

Abby’s lips part, words escaping her before she can stop and think twice.

“I’ll walk you home,” she offers.

“Oh, Abby, you don’t have to do that,” you say gently.

It’s like someone squeezes the air from her lungs at the sound of her name leaving your lips in a rasped hum, makes her wet her lips again because her mouth’s gone dry.

“You’re probably really busy, I don’t want to be a bother,” you add with a soft smile.

“You wouldn’t be,” she assures you. “Just wanna make sure you make it home safe.”

And it’s such a sweet sentiment, one that makes warmth bloom in your chest and your tummy. But there’s a dull ache, a squeeze that makes your thighs involuntarily press together. It’s barely perceptible and you hope to whatever’s in the universe that Abby’s not keen when it comes to body language.

The planes of her face are serious, bump on the bridge of her nose pronounced as you watch the set of her jaw. Fuck, did you want her bad, feel embarrassment creeping because if anyone nearby could intercept your brain, they’d find a slew of less than appropriate thoughts accompanying the more tame.

Without another word, Abby’s hooking your sandal back on, patting your shin gently before setting you right and gathering the combination of your groceries and hers.

You make a move to follow her, but she levels you with a warning glare.

“Stay put,” she urges. “I’ll take care of it.”

“But, Abby—” you splutter.

Your name is stern on her lips and another dull ache ebbs as she stands over you in her uniform, muscles stretching the fabric taut.

She’s off a moment later and after what seems like an eternity waiting almost helplessly, Abby returns with a few paper bags. She’s stuffing the receipt in her pocket and your expression shifts, lips pursing.

“How much do I owe you?” you ask as soon as she offers her elbow to you.

“Don’t worry about it,” she quips, body tensing in the slightest as she acclimates all over again to the feeling of you clinging to her. “Now let’s get you home.”

“Abby!” you whine, drawing her name out petulantly.

It’s so domestic, all of it. Carrying your groceries with your arms looped through hers and the two of you strolling down the sidewalk to accommodate your hurt foot.

“What?” she mocks, and you can’t help but smile.

“You’ll be late for work,” you say softly, unable to stop the passing observation of how sturdy she feels against you.

“I’m off.”

And something like relief, excitement, jolts at the thought. Makes you hush the rest of the way to your apartment building like the courage is still brewing.

The middle-aged woman that sits at her desk in the lobby and plays Candy Crush half of shift pauses to spare the two of you a passing glance as you walk in, eyebrows raising and lips twitching.

“Afternoon, Marianne,” you greet sheepishly.

“Good afternoon,” she parrots, rolling her lips to hide the amused grin threatening to spread.

Abby is none-the-wiser as her eyes flit around the lobby in search for the elevators.

The ride up ends up being shrouded in total silence save for the whirring of the lift’s gears and your shallow breaths. For a moment, Abby wonders if she’s overstepped. If she’s made you uncomfortable and read all the signs wrong.

As the two of you approach your door, the very one her and her coworkers had banged on a little over a week ago, she’s trying to come up with the words to apologize, tell you that she really just wanted to make sure you were okay.

(Even though she’ll only ever admit to herself that perhaps part of it was self-indulgent and the softness of your skin was like a high).

But you’re beating her to it, untangling to shift your weight to your uninjured foot and turning to face her.

“Do you…” You swallow and blink once, then twice, gathering the rest of your courage. “Do you wanna come in?”

Oh— Abby hadn’t been expecting that. She’d been expecting you to fumble with your groceries and close the door in her face for good. But now you’re looking up at her through thick lashes and a shy grin and all she can think to herself in this moment is that she’s a goner.

“I’m making dinner,” you add. “If you’d like to stay.”

Another slice of domesticity that has Abby’s wires crossing.

“Sure,” she agrees easily, and it takes everything inside of her not to teem with too much excitement when you turn to slot your key into the lock and the door springs open.

Your apartment is just how she remembers it from the little details she’d picked up the last time she was here. That same scent of lemons and what she thinks could be incense. Though it’d felt a little out of line, unprofessional to be too engrossed in her surroundings the first time, especially when her eyes caught a particularly suggestive photo among the wall hosting polaroids.

You’re with a group of girl friends, bent over in a too short skirt so that the swell of your ass is pressed to the girl in the center’s front. The shot gives a perfect eyeful of your cleavage in a tiny little triangle bikini top and the cherry on top is the pair of red cat-eye glasses sliding down the bridge of your nose as you wink at whoever is behind the camera.

You pause at the end of the hallway when you notice Abby’s no longer close behind.

“Looks like somebody knows how to have a good time,” she observes jokingly, but her cheeks are so incredibly warm because christ you’re beautiful.

You’re sheepish.

“Definitely retired from that life,” you tell her, and she notes that the neat sharpie dates back nearly six summers ago. “Now I like to bake with my little sister and injure myself.”

Abby can’t help the smile when you start gazing at all the other polaroids tacked into a heart formation on the crisp white walls.

“You seem like the life of the party,” Abby says, eyes lingering on another polaroid of you in what seems to be a dorm room with a joint pinched between your fingers, sporting a feather boa, a paper crown that says ‘birthday girl’ and those same red sunglasses.

You huff out a laugh.

“I wouldn’t say that...”

She wonders if she’ll see that side of you. So far you seem so quiet, reserved. It makes her want to peel away the layers and learn you.

The thought makes her blink hard.

“Kitchen’s this way,” you say after a few moments pass, turning on your heel to pad down the hall and swing left.

Light pours from where you flip the switch to the kitchen’s fluorescents.

Abby finds that the living room and kitchen is far tidier than the last time she’d been here, obviously cleaned after the entire baking debacle with your little sister.

My big sis is gay, like real gay. The words were like a subtle push. One that made Abby weigh the potential.

She’s setting the paper bags on the counter, making a move to go through the bags to help you put the groceries away, but your hands close over hers, slightly smaller and warm as you halt her movements.

“You’ve done enough for me,” you say, smile crooked. “Make yourself at home.”

And the household phrase is so cliche, but makes a split second reel of what making herself fully at home entails. She’d never admit it out loud, but part of it is bending you over the kitchen island.

She swallows the lump in her throat as you limp around the kitchen.

“You should rest your foot,” she says.

Your smile widens.

“I’m okay,” you assure her.

She leans against the counter, watching as you file everything in its rightful place. The muscles in her face involuntarily twitch when you stand up on your tip toes to throw a box of cereal on top of the fridge.

Your ass looks absolutely edible in your jeans and the low cut of your top shows the way your shoulder blades contract.

Definitely doesn’t help her blooming kitchen fantasies.

“You want something to drink?” you offer.

“Just water, please,” Abby clears her throat, gaze snapping up to meet the gaze you throw over your shoulder.

And she has to use the cute little glass you give her as a lifeline, nearly crushing the frosted green glass to bits multiple times over the course of you prepping dinner and the actual thing.

Because not only are you wickedly witty in a way that’s easily overlooked, but you’re phenomenal in the kitchen. Nearly drools watching you cut through your produce while chattering happily about growing up on the west coast and your college years.

You work through the building heat to set a painted ceramic dish piled high with pasta that Abby absolutely devours with nearly as much fervor as she likes to think she would you.

“Good?” you ask hopefully, leaning forward on your elbows.

“Better than good,” Abby says eagerly. “Great, fantastic.”

“Yay,” you cheer pure-heartedly and she could melt. Especially when she polishes off the plate and you sit up straight. “More?”

She easily agrees just for the sake of watching you.

“You should, uh—” You scratch the back of your neck nervously as she continues eating. “You should stop by again. If you, y’know, wanna…I cook a lot and there’s usually a lot left over.”

Abby could scream in excitement. She’s one intrusive thought away from reaching over the island to squish your cheeks and tell you that there’s literally nothing else in the world she’d wanna do than to see you again. Instead she forces her composure with an easy smile.

“I’d really like that.”

And the way she sits back in her seat, legs obviously spreading under the surface to stretch has you wiggling uncomfortably. The last few buttons of her polo have come undone, exposing a freckled expanse of skin that you’d love to sink your teeth into, and somehow, sometime while your back had been turned, she’d opted for undoing the rest of her loosening braid to throw it into a topknot.

The tension is palpable, thick enough to choke, and at times, as the two of you chat over the kitchen island, it has you stumbling over your words.

Even more so when you walk her to the door at half past ten. She’s leaning against the doorframe like she doesn’t want to leave, and truthfully, you don’t want her to. Want to spend as much time as you can caught up.

“I’ll call you?” you bite the bullet despite the tremor in your fingertips.

Abby nods, arm banded around her paper bag of groceries, a tupperware of leftovers nestled on the top.

“Yeah, please,” she hums.

And there’s one final moment of tension that clings between the two of you as she kicks off the doorframe and you close the door, back pressed against the wood.

After that night, the lines you dance blur impossibly. Always a will she, won’t she that seems to equally frustrate the two of you for vastly different reasons unbeknownst to the other.

You because you can’t get a read on Abby, always teetering over a steep edge trying to get her to bite your advances. But you know, know that there’s something there. Abby because she’s given more and more reason to fall into you with every passing moment, but can’t seem to take the plunge, entirely too freshly single to think about another commitment that could fail and leave her already mending heart beyond repair.

And she knows it isn’t fair, especially when the tension both romantic and sexual is absolutely brimming. You’re nothing like the partners she’s been with before, especially not her last girlfriend who was practically your polar opposite. You were gentle, sweet, funny. Good at practically anything you could get your hands on.

But something stalls her, keeps her from diving headfirst despite late nights laying on your living room floor talking about things both minute and infinite, cooking with you in the snugness of your tiny kitchen, even inviting you to outings with friends and vice versa.

So you take the plunge instead, one Saturday evening weeks after your first meeting, after spending long swathes of time tangled in each other’s presence.

You’re at a bar with her and her friends, slight buzz giving you the smallest nudge of confidence to cling to her arm. And god does Abby look good tonight, especially so, in a dark button up and fitted pants. She’s got her hair down, tickles your cheek when you nuzzle against her shoulder.

Her friends’ eyes are inquisitive, curious because touches between the two of you rarely linger for longer than a few moments, but you’ve been glued to her side all night. She doesn’t say anything though, doesn’t shrug you off, even wraps an arm around your shoulder when you return from the restroom.

So with a few more drinks and a little more liquid courage, you’re toeing a little over the line. You’ve pushed her hair over her shoulders, pressing your lips experimentally to the skin behind her ear. It’s a sensation that has her freezing up almost imperceptibly, but you can tell with the way her muscles grow taut under your fingers.

“What’re you doing, angel?” Abby asks quietly, span of her large palm gripping your thigh.

“Nothin’,” you hum, nose bumping her ear.

She breathes out a hollow laugh, tries to turn her attention to her friends who are obviously trying to ignore your displays of affection. But then your lips are brushing with more force against her collar and she’s sliding out of the stuffy booth to get some air.

Her resolve is obviously crumbling, even more so when she stands at the bar waiting for the next round of drinks and your arm bands around her waist, the other flattening below her belly button. When your pinkie slides beneath her belt buckle, she’s pushing off the counter.

And for a moment you think you’ve upset her when she gathers all the stout glasses and winds through the crowd to return to the booth you’d previously occupied.

You barely make it to the back of the bar when she’s emerging from the bodies and grabbing you roughly by the bicep.

“Abby—”

Her lips are slotting yours before you can apologize, and she tastes like cherries and liquor. Her arms wind around your waist, one hand on the small of your back, the other grabbing a handful of your ass.

“Abs,” you whisper breathlessly, unable to feel any embarrassment for taking up a high traffic aisle as she bites your bottom lip.

“Your place or mine?” she asks, voice gravelly. “Because you started something that I’m gonna need you to finish, princess.”

And your knees are jelly the entire trek to your apartment, insides liquid and tummy fluttering because a warmth has begun to pool in your panties. The way Abby can’t keep her hands off you through the elevator ride up makes it all the worse.

“You’re such a fuckin’ tease, y’know that?” she hisses in your ear as you miss the keyhole a few times. “For the last six weeks all you’ve done is toy with me and—”

Her breath hitches when she presses her front to your back and slides her hand up the skirt of your backless sundress to feel the stickiness forming between the plush of your thighs.

When you finally force the door open, Abby’s kicking off her shoes and her fingers are making work of her top buttons. You’re quick to swivel on your heel, shoving her roughly against the front door to push up on your tiptoes and pepper kisses over the curve of her jaw.

“Me?” you huff petulantly, an uncharacteristic gleam in your eye as your fingers are deft on her belt buckle. You unbutton her dress pants. “You waltz in here all the time looking so…so…fuckable.”

Abby nearly chokes on her breath.

“And you try to play coy, but I see right through you, Abby,” you say in such a gooey tone. She throws her head back and moans. “I see the way you look at me. The little things you do. You’re not subtle Anderson.”

And that’s new. Calling her by her last name.

Your hand’s down the front of her pants, under her boxers and you feel it. How wet she is. Feel the slick between her folds as you circle her clit.

“Oh, fuck,” she breathes, lips parted as she takes the sight of you in.

“Wanna make you feel good,” you sigh, biting your bottom lip as you stare up at her.

She nods eagerly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you hum.

Her hands come up to cup your cheeks, leaning down to steal a few kisses before her hand’s wrapping around your wrist and pulling you from her heat.

“Open,” she barks, guiding your fingers to your lips.

You do so without argument, the taste of Abby making your eyes hood.

You make a noise in the back of your throat, and Abby’s walking you back towards your bedroom.

“You wanna make me feel good?” she asks, back of her knees hitting the edge of your mattress. She’s got you situated between her legs, shucking off her top and shimmying her trousers and boxers off in one go. “Then get to work.”

She’s spreading her legs, gaze locked as you lower until you’re eye level with her cunt. The pale moonlight that filters the window making it absolutely glisten.

You’re kissing the skin of her inner thighs, hands on her knees as you glance up at her, only find her with her bottom lip tucked harshly between pearly teeth.

“Want you bad,” you admit breathily, biting the taut skin before laving at it with the flat of your tongue.

All you receive is a shaky breath, seemingly knocking the words straight from her lips.

“Nothing?” you taunt, biting the other side.

Abby’s opening her mouth to say something snarky, but your lips are on her clit and your middle finger’s sliding in with ease.

“Jesus, fuck,” she whispers breathlessly.

And you’re smug as you eat her out, vibration of your moans rumbling through her core when she threads her fingers through your hair and tugs ‘til the tension in your scalp stings deliciously.

“Shitshitshit,” she chokes when you add another finger.

Under normal circumstances, she’d be embarrassed when her body locks up and her legs shake after what seems like only mere moments, but after she comes down and the fog clears, she’s wiping that smirk off your pretty face.

The sight is one to see, Abby leaned against your headboard with your back plastered to her front. The skirt of your dress is scrunched around your waist, flimsy straps knocked from your shoulders.

She’s merciless, thick fingers plugging you full.

“Ah, Abby,” you hiss, hand wrapping around her wrist.

“Can’t get over how tight you are.” She bites your earlobe. “You can barely take two.”

As testament, she stuffs you deeper. The squelch is downright filthy, your arousal pooling down your slit and onto the sheets. For a moment Abby’s pulling her digits from your heat, spreading her fingers in front of your face to show you the stringy strands of clear that web her knuckles.

“See that, princess? See how wet you are?” she teases, other hand taking a palmful of your tits while her mouth maps each blemish and mark with kisses across your shoulders and neck.

“So fuckin’ pretty like this,” she husks. “Wish you could see how pretty you look.”

You throw your head back, chest heaving as her fingers curl inside the spongy walls of your cunt and applies such a toe-curling pressure against the spot that has you seeing stars. It makes your back arch, knees twitching against the legs that Abby uses to keep your thighs spread.

“You gonna cum, pretty girl?” she whispers, blowing air against the shell of your ear as her ministrations grow sloppy.

You nod quickly, body tensing.

“M’gonna fuckin’ cum,” you whimper, “Please, Abs, don’t stop. I’m—”

Abby could cum all over again when your chest pushes forward into her hold, head lolling back against her shoulder as you let out a pitched whine that sounds a lot like her name.

“Fuck!” you swallow, falling slack against her sticky skin as you gush.

Her other hand drops to your clit, lazy circles making your pussy clench around the fingers still stuffed inside.

“That’s right, princess,” she huffs. “Cream all over my fingers.”

Your breaths stutter, pussy clenching as you let out a needy little moan.

“So good,” she praises. “Such a good girl.”

And you’re absolutely boneless, head knocking gently against hers as you push further into her chest. You feel her weight shift as she reaches, then the gentle feeling of her cleaning you up despite sleepy overstimulated protests.

It’s warm in your room as Abby slinks down the pillows and pulls the covers up. Her chin rests on top of your head as you cozy up to her, mumbling about how much you like her and how you’ve waited for such a moment.

You don’t remember the last thing you say before you doze off.

Abby does, though.

It keeps her up the entire night. Has her eyes blown wide as she stares up at the ceiling and the weight of the evening dawns on her.

Always wanna be with you. You’re my person.

And she doesn’t know how it’d gotten to this point. How did she let herself get so entangled with you? She’d always been aware that there’d been something there, that she was crushing and was almost a hundred percent sure you reciprocated, but this was far more than she’d anticipated.

It’s a step away from the ‘l’ word, and she’s not so sure it’s something she’s willing to fall into.

So Abby does what she does when she’s scared and she’s running. She’s replacing herself with your pillow as the sun comes up, heart squeezing when your cheek nuzzles against the fabric and your lips part to blow a breath.

She’s dressing as she makes her way to the front door, takes a final look at the polaroid wall that stares back at her as she tugs her shoes on, and slips out of the apartment building into the chilly Seattle air.

You’d been prepared for a lot of things growing up and into yourself. Had learned to swallow the bitter side of sweet, but nothing could have prepared you for the splintering feeling of Abby’s absence.

You wake up a few hours after she leaves, naked and hugging one of your pillows. The apartment is eerily silent as you wait in stillness for any signs that she’s just an early riser.

There’s no shower running, no clattering in the kitchen, no shuffling in the hall. And when you survey your surroundings, comforter wrapped around your shoulders, you suck in a deep breath.

Maybe she has work.

It’s a futile attempt to rationalize the situation, but you know Abby. Know that she’d leave a note, maybe a text, or—

You scramble for your phone, but deflate when you find a notification to water your virtual plant. For good measure, you open her text thread, but all that stares back at you is the confirmation that she was picking you up the night prior.

“Oh, Abby,” you whisper to yourself, something like sickness making your stomach twist.

The cursor blinks, keyboard clicking as you type and retype anything that’ll confirm that maybe you’re just being paranoid, reading into things too much.

So you settle on good morning 💘.

It’s almost instantaneous.

Read at 7:47am.

It takes a little under two weeks for Abby to surface again. Not without ample prodding. You’re a communicator, she realizes, as she sits outside of Jo’s Coffee and stares down at the string of texts from you over the past week and a half.

pretty girl: good morning 💘

pretty girl: have a good day at work

pretty girl: i made dinner if you wanna stop by

pretty girl: can i swing by the station with lunch?

pretty girl: just want you to know that i’m thinking of you

pretty girl: meet for coffee? wanna see you.

pretty girl: text me whenever you’re comfortable, i’ll leave you alone til you’re ready 💗

That final text is what makes her crack. Makes the guilt eat away at her. So she messages you when her shift is over.

me: jo’s at 4

pretty girl liked ‘jo’s at 4’

She looks up when the chair across from her scrapes against the concrete. You drop into the seat, fresh-faced and obviously newly showered. But she can see it in your eyes, the bags that puff like you’ve been crying.

And you have, even if you won’t admit it, because Abby’s the closest thing you’ve felt to what love could be like and these past two weeks have been agonizing as you try to pick apart every single facet of your situationship with her.

“How are you?” you ask, giving her a weak smile over the table.

“Good,” Abby lies, but you don’t see through her poker face and it stings, thinking that she’d been so unaffected by all of this.

You nod, fiddling with the fake leaves of the center piece.

“I missed you,” you admit shakily.

And fuck, did Abby miss you too, but she can’t find it in herself to face her fears head on. So she just nods, biting the inside of her lip.

“Didn’t miss me?” you tease, trying to make light of the situation.

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Abby cuts to the chase, words leaving her lips like a shot that echos in the night.

It makes your ears ring, your brows furrowing as your lips twitch into a frown. Abby braces herself, knows what a brewing argument feels like. It’s sick to say that it’s familiarity, that sharp words and hoarse voices are a norm.

But you just shrink in your seat.

“Why?” you whisper.

Abby sucks in a deep breath.

“You don’t remember what you told me?” she asks like an accusation.

You blink.

“You told me that you wanted to be with me. That I’m your person,” she says.

And you wonder what’s so wrong with that. Especially when you’ve spent two months glued, when you were so sure it was mutual.

“I do,” you affirm softly. “You are.”

Abby squeezes her eyes shut, shakes her head.

“I’m not—” She clears her throat. “I don’t want a girlfriend. I don’t need the distraction. Especially not now with work and my personal life.”

Ouch. That had hurt, Abby calling her time with you and any subsequent moments nothing more a distraction.

“Oh.”

She doesn’t know why your response frustrates her, makes annoyance pinch the back of her brain as she takes you in, but it does. Full force.

“We’re better off as friends,” Abby says. “It’s easier, it’s—”

“Friends don’t fuck each other, Abby,” you say simply, and the calmness in your tone makes her upset.

She’s used to the shouting, to the arguing and being at each other’s throats in conversations like these. But you never fail to amaze her as you keep your composure.

“I have no intention of sleeping with you again,” she says stonily. “That night was mistake. I hadn’t been with someone in months and you were giving me attention and—”

In her frustration with the entire conversation, she hadn’t realized that tears were pooling in your eyes. That you were trying not to cry.

Her face softens when she notices.

“I’m sorry, I just—”

“You what?” you murmur. “What were these past three months, Abby?”

“I dunno,” Abby sighs in annoyance. “Two people enjoying each other’s company? We were drunk and—"

You simply nod, knuckling away the brimming tears before shrugging your bag over your shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Abby sighs when you stand.

“Home,” you answer quietly. “Whatever. Let’s just forget any of this ever happened.”

She grabs your arm over the table, opening her mouth to apologize again, but you’re shaking her off.

“Take care of yourself,” you tell her.

The days blur like the edges of a muddy watercolor.

You start to think that things could look up, that maybe Abby was put in your life for some reason you’ll uncover in the future. But the universe can be so cruel sometimes, knows exactly what to do to shatter the broken pieces you’d tried so hard to glue together.

It comes in the form of a night out nearly a month after you’d last seen Abby. She made no additional efforts, just left you wondering if you’d imagined it all, and your friends are especially tired of your moping.

It’s a surprise!

And you’re not really one for surprises. Especially not now, but they’re dragging you out, carting you across town. Your stomach sinks to your ass when you see the familiar neon lights. Feel your chest tighten on the trek up the stairs to the same bar that preluded your spiral.

You could throw up when you’re situated in a booth with your friends and you glance at the bar by chance.

Abby’s leaned against the counter top, looking as good as ever, but she’s not alone. There’s a girl that hangs off her shoulder, skin umber and eyes warm. She makes no moves to distance herself and you don’t know why you feel the anger begin to sizzle. Abby hadn’t been yours in the first place.

“What do you wanna drink?” one of your friends asks.

“Nothing,” you answer stiffly.

She follows your gaze to the countertop, sees the way your eyes burn.

You’d kept your situation with Abby private, didn’t want to jeopardize such a potentially good thing with your well-meaning meddling friends at such a fresh stage. But now that it’s soured, you stare openly.

“That’s her, isn’t it?” she asks, and your avoidance is answer enough. “C’mon, let’s show her what she missed out on.”

As it turns out, it doesn’t seem like much. Because she doesn’t even blink when you sidle up to the counter with your friend, three patrons between the two of you.

You’d always thought the two if you had a sixth sense for the other, but Abby’s oblivious to her surroundings, too engrossed in her drink and the pretty brunette hanging off her shoulder.

One of the bartenders goes up, asks what he can get for the two beautiful ladies, and your ears perk when her voice sounds. Nearly throw up the empty contents of your stomach all over the bar top when you see the way she slings her arm over the girl’s shoulders.

“Another vodka soda for my girl.”

She’s buzzed, you can hear it, but it’s the most sound declaration you’ve heard from her in the time you’ve known her.

You break away from the bar, and you run.

Abby feels like a shell of herself.

She’d gone out over the weekend, celebrating a visit from a close friend from the east coast. And it’d done a good job of numbing the pain for a little while, of taking her mind off of you.

But it’s Tuesday, the first day of her rotation this week and she hates that this feels worse than her previous break-up despite the unlabeled status of your relationship. You hadn’t even put up a fight, just took her rejection in stride.

It makes her feel infinitely worse, knowing you didn’t have it in you.

She doesn’t even realize she’s spaced out in front of the drink coolers of the convenience store after her shift when a voice snaps her out of it.

“S’cuse me.”

And she knows that voice. It’d been her greenlight all those nights ago.

Your little sister is brushing past her, going straight for the Body Armors and Gatorade. She must feel the way Abby stares because she’s side-eyeing the older girl from her post.

“Oh, it’s you,” she says, turning her nose up in the air.

Abby swallows.

“Hey to you too,” she says hesitantly.

Your little sister humphs, snatching the golden berry flavor and a yellow Gatorade. Abby takes a moment to glance at her basket, sees fever medicine and Tylenol among other things like instant ramen and Vitamin C gummies.

“Are you sick?” she asks.

Your little sister’s face screws up in annoyance.

“No, but my big sis is,” she says matter-of-factly.

That information makes Abby’s heart sink.

“She alright?” she asks carefully.

“She’s seen better days no thanks to you.”

And on a normal day, Abby would laugh because your little sister is witty, just like you. Can see where she gets it from. But right now, all she can imagine is you bed ridden and coughing up a lung.

“I can take a look at her,” Abby offers suddenly. “I—”

“Yeah fucking right,” your sibling scoffs.

Her language stuns Abby and this time she really can’t help but chuckle.

“You think this is funny?” she gripes. “You broke my sister’s heart. She’s been so fuckin’ sad because of you and you’re laughing.”

Abby sobers up quick, shakes her head.

“No, no, that’s not—,” she splitters urgently. “I– I’m laughing ‘cuz you’re just like her.”

Your little sister doesn’t look convinced, uses the back of her hand to wipe her nose as she levels Abby with an unrelenting stare.

“You suck, y’know that?”

“Yeah,” Abby sighs, hands flailing in defeat. “Trust me, I know.”

“And you’re a pussy,” your little sister adds childishly. “I know you really like my sister.”

Abby doesn’t even bother denying it, just stands there with a prepackaged sandwich that pales in comparison to your cooking and a diet soda.

“I do,” she affirms quietly.

“Then do something about it,” she says surprisingly. “My sister’s a catch, the coolest person I know. You’d be the biggest fucking dumbass if you don’t lock her down.”

And her candidness makes Abby crack a smile.

They stand there for a few moments in silence before your little sister is shoving the basket in Abby’s arms and prancing down the aisle.

As soon as Abby’s paid, black plastic bag in her grasp, she finds that your little sister has lingered outside of the convenience store.

She’s shoving a key in her hands.

“She’s too tired to open the door,” she says. “She likes extra lime in her ramen and runny eggs. Also hates swallowing pills so you’ll probably have to crush it up and put it in her water or something.”

“Who’s the EMT here?” Abby grumbles.

Your little sister pins her with a narrowed look.

“Don’t fuck this up Anderson,” she warns. “If Big Sis asks, I took a train to the mall to meet up with my friends.”

And just like that, she flounces away.

You’re asleep when she sneaks into your apartment.

She kicks her shoes off, sets the bag of convenience store goods on the kitchen island before padding through the living room to peek into your room.

Buried under a mound of blankets, just your eyebrows and forehead peek from the top as you snore softly. When she peels the covers away, she not only finds that you’re sweaty and your cheeks are flushed, but you’re wearing her favorite hoodie.

She hadn’t realized she left it here, but seeing you in it has her sinking to her knees by your bedside, chin resting on her bent arm.

“Hi, angel,” she whispers quietly, pushing the sweaty strands of hair from your face. “Missed you.”

You don’t budge, cheek smushed in your pillow as you snooze peacefully. And maybe she shouldn’t have come here, because all it’ll take is you asking her to stay.

She tucks the blanket to your chin, leans forward to press a kiss against your temple.

In the kitchen, she’s only reminded of how much she misses you. Misses this. She’d spent nearly everyday here during your time together. Brushed shoulders with you while you guys cooked together, leaned against the counter while you took extra care plating her food despite her protests of ‘we’re gonna eat it anyways’. You guys frequently laid out on the living room floor, snacking while watching movies, flipping through coffee table books or getting existential.

She’d made so many memories here, made a home out of you.

The thought stirs something emotional inside of her, makes tears prick the corner of her eyes as she rips open the packet of ramen and digs the seasoning sachet out.

Frustration wells as she goes through the motions in your kitchen by herself. Wonders why you had to go and be so fucking wonderful and make her fall for you.

She’s halfway through and angrily brushing her tears away when she hears your door creak open and your voice croak your little sister’s name in question.

When you stand in the doorway of the kitchen, her name is falling from your lips.

“Abby?”

You rub your eyes momentarily and Abby feels like the biggest piece of shit on the planet as you stand there with the hood of her pullover on, Christmas pajama pants and some crew socks.

“Hi,” she breathes.

“What are you doing here?” you ask, bewildered eyes bouncing around the kitchen as you take in your surroundings. The bags under your eyes are swollen, your lips chapped as you fidget in the archway.

“I ran into your sister at the convenience store,” she admits. “She said you were sick.”

“And?” It’s like you can’t fathom the fact that Abby would have any concern for you. Something like anger bubbles at the idea.

“What do you mean and?” Abby asks, eyebrows furrowing. “You’re sick and I… I care about you.”

There’s that normalcy again, that familiar feeling of emotions beginning to reach its boiling point. But she’s not angry at you. Could never be when all you’ve been is perfect to her. And perhaps in the back of her mind that plays the tiniest role, because you’re everything she could ever want, need, but she steady fucks it up every go around.

“Do you?” you whisper.

You look small, defeated, unable to meet her eyes.

“Of course I do, what are—”

“You really hurt me, you know that?” Your breath hitches. “You came into my life like fate, over and over again. Still do apparently. And you— You made me like you more than I’ve ever liked someone in my life. You let me see you, let me fuck you, let me… let me…”

It’s your first real display of heightened emotion. You don’t bother trying to hide your tears, or hide the way Abby’s built you up and ruined you these past four months.

“And then you just left.”

The lump in her throat nearly chokes her breathless.

“I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, y’know?” you continue and Abby’s hands tremble. “That maybe you really just needed the time for yourself, but then I saw you, and—”

“Saw me what?” Abby interjects. “Where?”

“At the bar,” you squeak. “She’s really fucking pretty, and I hope she makes you—”

“What are you talking about?” Abby grills, taking a step towards you.

“If you didn’t want to be with me, if you didn’t feel the way I felt about you, you could have just said that,” you whimper, dashing the tears away in embarrassment. “You didn’t have to make an excuse about not wanting a distraction.”

“I’m so lost right now,” Abby says. “I—”

“I saw you at the bar this weekend,” you tell her straight. “You were with a girl, called her yours.”

And that floors her. She’s almost a hundred percent certain she would’ve felt your presence a mile away, But as you reveal that you’d only been meters away from her, the closest you’ve gotten in weeks, it makes her gut pinch.

She wracks her brain, tries to recall that weekend, tries to think of any woman who’d give you the idea that she’d choose anyone but you.

She draws a blank at first, but then she remembers the bartender’s passing comment.

You and the birthday girl are too sweet.

Abby had fake retched and Nora’d drawn out an exaggerated ewwww as the bartender set the vodka soda before them.

She’d been far too engrossed to realize that you’d been in the vicinity. But she’s not so sure she would’ve done much to take advantage of your presence if she had.

This is her first act of courage in months and she’s falling head first as she crosses the berth between the two of you.

When she stands a few inches away, you look up at her, thick lashes wet and nose snotty. You look like a mess, but Abby’s always thought you were beautiful.

“Nora’s not my girlfriend,” is the first thing she says.

You think you should feel relief, some semblance of hope flickering, but this feels a lot like uncertainty and you hate the limbo.

You don’t say anything, just wipe your nose on the back of your hand.

“I’m sorry,” Abby whispers, hands coming up to grasp your shoulders.

You make a noise in the back of your throat, corners of your mouth turning down in that telltale sign that you’re not done crying yet.

“C’mon, angel, stop crying,” Abby says weakly and the nickname makes your stupid heart flutter.

Her thumbs are brushing underneath your eyes, over the puff of your eyebags before she’s crushing you to her chest, one hand cradling the back of your head, the other winding around your shoulders to keep you anchored.

Your arms wrap around her waist, taking in the scent of her pine body wash and the softness of her detergent.

“I hate you,” comes your muffled hiccup.

Abby only hugs you harder.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

And perhaps she deserves that, but you’re pushing your face further into her chest and she barely hears you.

“I missed you,” you admit a second later, back of her work shirt fisted between nimble fingers.

A shuddering breath leaves her at the admission, makes her body relax as the two of you stand at the edge of your kitchen.

“Missed you,” she murmurs, savoring the way your body feels melding against hers for the first time in weeks. “Fuck, I missed you so much.”

“You’ll stay?” you whisper.

“Yeah, yeah,” she assures you. “I gotta go home and get some stuff, but of course I’ll stay.”

Your hold tightens and your head shakes.

“I mean stay, Abby,” you clarify. “With me. Don’t…don’t run away anymore.”

Her breath catches in her throat, a new onslaught of tears choking her as she nods fervently.

“Yeah,” she croaks, kissing the top of your head. “M’not going anywhere.”

BONUS

You don’t know where the time goes. It all seems to blur together in the moments you spend with Abby, and before you can wrap your mind around the fact, a full year has passed the two of you by.

“You look so pretty,” Abby comments, sitting on the edge of your bed with her legs spread.

She’s watching you through the mirror, blue eyes piercing and unblinking.

You don’t think you’ll ever get used to the way she always seems to make you warm.

“Thanks,” you mumble, unable to hide the smile that twitches while you screw the cap back onto your lipgloss to take one final look at yourself.

“Not gonna say it back?” Abby feigns annoyance, pushing up from her seat to wrap around you, one hand bracing against the dresser as her chin drops to your neck.

“Then it’d be insincere,” you deadpan, head tilting to rest against hers.

She humphs under her breath, shamelessly sliding a hand up your dress.

You stop her fingers in their tracks, pushing off from the drawers to create space between the two of you and alleviate the warmth beginning to bloom behind your navel.

“We’re gonna be late for Nora’s birthday,” you quip, fingertips barely brushing the doorknob before Abby’s hands are gripping your waist.

She’s hoisting you to throw you against the mattress playfully.

“She’ll survive if we’re ten minutes late,” Abby assures you wolfishly, climbing over you to cage your body between her thick thighs.

“You’re gonna mess up my hair,” you whine, pushing at her shoulder.

Abby captures your wrists in one hand, other tilting your chin up to slot her lips between yours. The taste of the fresh coat of lipgloss you’d just applied makes her smile against your mouth.

She relaxes a fraction when you reciprocate, tongue languid. A noise of approval rumbles from her chest when you nudge her onto her back and bite down on her bottom lip. With a wicked glint in her eyes, she’s pulling away, hands resting against the curve of your ass.

Now you’re straddling her, manicured hands mapping from her waist to her shoulders to feel the ripple of taut muscles underneath. She’s tense, obviously waiting for your next move with bated breath and kiss bitten lips.

But then you shift teasingly over her zipper.

“Let’s go,” you hum, pressing a final kiss to her jaw before climbing off of her anticipating figure. “No dessert before dinner.”

neng © 2023

[sansaorgana]

Domestic!Gale figuring out how to build a crib

hello! 💗 thank you so much for this request, I had lots of fun writing it 😂 mr. I can build a homemade crystal radio experiencing problems with building a crib was making me giggle all the time 🤭😌

my inbox is open for blurb/short fic requests for major cleven 🤗

Almost everything had been already prepared in the nursery – Bucky had helped your husband to paint the walls and insulate the window. You had chosen the furniture and decorations and it all looked put together now except for one thing – the crib. You couldn’t find the one that you’d like enough and that would fit in the nursery design. You were slowly running out of time since the baby would come in less than two months so on that weekend Buck took you to one of those big stores in the city. It took two hours to drive there from your town but you promised him that this time you would choose the crib for sure.

“What about this one?” You asked after a while of staring at one of the cribs in front of you. It was light wood and there was a picture of a cute teddy bear on the side.

Your husband furrowed his brows and inspected the price tag. He hummed to himself for a while and began to examine the crib itself, knocking on wood and feeling the texture with his fingertips. You chuckled at the sight – one would think he was a carpenter and therefore an expert.

“So?” You asked, impatiently.

“It’s nice,” Buck admitted and straightened his back. “It’s convertible, too,” he added. “Are you sure you want this one? I won’t be coming back here to return it if you change your mind tomorrow.”

“Oh, I am sure!” You smiled at him and caressed his arm.

“Do you need some help?” The salesman approached you with a smile. “You seem to be interested in this model.”

“Yes, we are. We want to buy it,” Buck told him.

“Excellent,” the salesman nodded his head and pointed at the counter with the cash registers. “I’ll bring one from the storeroom,” he told you and walked away.

“From the storeroom?” Buck furrowed his brows at you. “I thought we could take this one,” he pointed at the crib behind you.

“Don’t be daft, it’s a big city store! They have these for display only,” you sighed and dragged him to the counter, excited to finally make this purchase.

The salesman joined you a moment later, barely holding a huge box with the image of the crib chosen by you printed on it.

“I’m paying all that money and I have to put it together on my own?” Buck asked and you tugged on his sleeve to shush him. The salesman raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s designed to be assembled quickly and easily, sir,” he assured your husband. “But if you require an additional help, we can–”

“No, thank you,” Buck chuckled at him as he took his wallet out of the pocket. “I don’t need help with such things. I can build a homemade crystal radio out of a wire,” he casually bragged as he put the money on the counter. It was unlike your husband to act like that, so you assumed the salesman had upset him with his insinuation that building a crib would be too difficult to handle.

The salesman widened his eyes as he laid his eyes on you and you rolled his eyes and smiled at him. He relaxed and handed Buck the big box before taking the money. Your husband struggled way less with holding the box than the salesman had.

“Please, wait a second, I need to give you a receipt just in case you want to return,” the salesman brought out some papers.

“I’ll wait in the car,” Buck told you and you nodded at him. He walked away and when he was out of sight, you bit on your lower lip and approached the salesman.

“So… What if building a crib turns out to be more difficult than building a radio?” You asked him.

“There’s a manual inside the box. And a phone number in that manual. The factory that made that crib produces lots of furniture and they have a hotline for people experiencing problems.”

“Thank you,” you smiled at him and got the receipt.

Buck was determined to put the crib together on the same day. When you walked inside the house, he brought the box upstairs as you followed him.

“Gale, I’m about to prepare dinner now. It can wait for tomorrow,” you leaned on the doorframe of the nursery.

“Oh, please, baby, it’s gonna take me five minutes. You won’t even boil the water before I finish,” he opened the box and discarded the manual as he threw it across the room.

“Buck, I’d rather you not…” you crouched down clumsily to pick the manual up. “I mean it, Gale. I know you’re good at such things and you have nothing to prove,” you sighed. “I wish you assembled this crib according to the manual because I want it to be safe for the baby,” you pointed out.

“Go, make dinner. You can inspect later if I did it right if you know so much about building cribs,” he looked up at you. He was more playful than rude but you were sick of his attitude anyway. You threw your hands up in the air to show defeat.

“You know as much as me about building cribs… but fine,” you rolled your eyes and left the nursery with the manual still in your hands.

You went downstairs to boil the water for the pasta and began to work on the tomato sauce. Fifteen minutes later the food was ready but your husband was not.

“Gale!” You called for him. “The food is ready!”

“Give me five more minutes!” He shouted down and you nodded to yourself.

Five minutes later, you called for him again.

“Gale, I’m hungry!”

“Eat without me!” He answered in a tone more frustrated than before.

So you did eat alone and even washed the dishes while his plate still was on the table. You sighed and walked back upstairs.

“Baby, your food’s getting cold,” you entered the nursery and then you gasped at the sight of his focused and angry face and all the screws scattered all over the floor. The pieces of the crib were not put together almost at all. “Jesus, Gale,” you laughed and he looked up at you. His anger turned into embarrassment as he blushed immediately.

“I’ve never seen furniture like that! Don’t laugh at me, it’s the new generation or something,” he mumbled.

“Buck, baby…” you chuckled at him as you approached him to fix his ruffled hair. “Go downstairs and eat. We can deal with that tomorrow, alright?”

“Yeah,” he nodded and sighed in defeat.

You turned the light off and closed the door before going back downstairs after your husband. You sat by the table with him and watched him eat.

“Is it not too cold? I can heat it up for you,” you proposed.

“It’s fine,” he shook his head. He was still blushing and visibly avoiding your gaze.

“You know, in the manual, there’s a phone number. We can call them tomorrow, they have a hotline for people experiencing problems and…” you started.

“I’d rather die than call them,” Buck looked up as he told you, seriously.

“There’s no shame in not knowing everything, Gale,” you chuckled softly.

“It’s about honour,” he shook his head.

“Honour? Baby, for God’s sake, it’s only a crib!” You rolled your eyes. “Anyway, I can call them and pretend that it’s me experiencing problems.”

“You will not do such a thing,” Buck pointed his finger at you, sternly. “I can start following the manual, fine, but I will not call any hotline. And you will not either.”

“Okay, okay…” You rolled your eyes again at him. “But you’re so stubborn sometimes.”

“I’m the father of this baby and I will build that crib myself,” he told you.

“Alright, but I don’t mind calling the hotline, just so you know. It won’t change anything for me and I won’t tell anyone about it if it’s so important to you,” you assured your husband.

“It is important to me and it will change everything for me,” he stated.

That night before sleep, instead of reading a book, Buck was analysing the manual.

After breakfast you both went back to the nursery. You sat in the armchair with the manual book in your hands and watched Gale gather all the scattered screws to put them back in one place.

“Now, I will read the steps and you will do what I tell you, yes?” You asked for confirmation of the plan you two had for this special task.

“Yes, sir,” he nodded playfully and you chuckled at him.

With your help – and the pictures in the manual – fifteen minutes later the crib seemed to be already assembled. You stood up to examine it but it was stable and balanced properly. You showed Buck where you wanted it to stand and he moved it to that very spot as he stared at his creation proudly.

“You see? No hotline was needed,” he told you and put his hands on his hips.

“No, no hotline,” you approached him and put your arms around him to hug him tight. “Just listening to your wife, hm?”

“Yeah,” Buck chuckled and kissed the top of your head, “just listening to my wife.”

MASTERLIST || BUCK MASTERLIST

[creator1mpersonator]

Through the Mirror

00. Prologue

Inspired by Coraline, reader is gender-neutral, no use of Y/N.

This new home was painfully dreary. Based on the copper-colored bricks that built up the walls and the immensely overgrown shrubbery around it, you assumed this was a pre-war building. There were neighboring houses, but they all looked as copper, lifeless, and boring as yours. As you assisted your parents unload the U-Haul, you saw a little girl ride past on her little bike with the expression of a Victorian child—poor thing, so young and living in a place with the mental stimulation of the color beige. Your father procured the key from one of his pockets, slotting it into the rusty doorknob and turning it. The door simply opened by itself, and you heard him mumble something about fixing it to himself before entering. Your mother followed, waving away cobwebs with her hand. You remained outside for a moment, and it wasn’t until you heard your mother shriek your name that you picked up a box and scampered inside.

The inside of the home was, predictably, as depressing as its exterior. Dusty, with cobwebs along walls like terrible little decorations. You screamed when you saw a cockroach scuttle past your feet, its wretched antenna going this way and that before fleeing out the open front door.

“Bugs, great. Just what I need.” Your mother muttered in a rather disgruntled tone, arms crossed over her chest. She seemed even more upset by this move than you were, even if it was supposed to be good for her and your father’s job. Not that you even knew what it was that they did.

“Nothing an exterminator can’t fix, honey.” Your father said in a cheerful tone, ever the optimist.

“Exterminators cost money. Money we don’t have.” Your mother retorted, killing another roach beneath her shoe with a rather cruel stomp that sounded throughout the empty house.

“You’ll see,” your father began, “things will be just fine.”

“Yeah, right.”

Your father sighed, and you gave him a sympathetic smile before setting the box you were holding down on the dusty hardwood floors.

“___” your mother called out, “go pick out your room.”

You nodded, walking past your at-odds parents and heading up the stairs. There was an old carpet that lined the hallway, like in picture books. It was a faded blue and you think there were once flowers printed on the fabric. You decided to walk on the regular hardwood instead when the carpet began to squish under your feet. You don’t think the carpet was supposed to do that. 

You peered into different rooms, making keen observations about each one that would help you pick out the least worst one. One room had a hole in the floor, your mother was gonna blow a gasket when she saw it. The next room sent you running out of it when you saw the cockroaches gathered around like a council of terrible little things. The third room you saw was the one you picked. Compared to the last two, it wasn’t in a state of disrepair nor did it make your skin crawl. It was bland because of course it was, but you figured some paint, furniture, and decorations could fix it right up. Two windows let natural light inside your bedroom, there was a closet with bi-fold doors, and a mirror.

The mirror caught your attention the most. It was undoubtedly an antique, the glass of the mirror surrounded by a golden border with swirling decals carved into it. It was beautiful and vaguely reminded you of the Evil Queen’s mirror in Snow White. 

“Mom!” You called out, “Come up here!”

You heard footsteps come up the stairs, a disgusted sound when the carpet squished beneath her foot, an angry sigh at the hole in the floor, and a shriek when she found the council of roaches before she finally found your room.

“Couldn’t have told me what room you were in?” She sighed, arms still crossed.

“Sorry.” You said, before quickly changing focus, “check out this mirror.”

Your mother glanced at the mirror briefly, eyebrow raised.

“It’s creepy”

“I think it looks pretty.” You defended.

“Sweetheart, are you sure you don’t wanna get rid of that one and just get a new mirror?” Your mother asked.

“I’m sure.”

She sighed.

“As long as you’re happy, bug.”

You wouldn’t begin to understand the trouble that mirror would get you into until that night.

[pinkslaystation]

König und Prinz: Meine Entführer

toxic! König x Reader - [King and Prince: My kidnappers] Your attempts to run away with your son fails, and your husband confronts you. Seems like he's really influencing your little one. Word Count: 2.8k This is intended to be a oneshot :P SHOUT OUT GOOGLE TRANSLATE, RLY CARRIED THIS FIC

The picture of your husband and father of your child of 10 years, with his arm slung around another woman, really was the pinnacle of your disappointment for the man.

The house, once decorated with handcrafted creations by you and your son, Leon, whom König had frequently nicknamed 'mein kleiner König' [my little king] and 'mein kleiner Prinz' [my little prince] was now all packed away, stored in numerous duffel bags and small cabin suitcases.

"Mama, wohin gehen wir?" [where are we going?]

"Your grandparents." You huff.

It's not like König was cheating on you. He really wasn't. He loved you too much for that. But the constant nagging and the berating on your side truly stressed you to a point where you heavily questioned your relationship.

"Take all your belonging Leon, dunno if we're coming back in a while..."

"Und Papa? [and papa?] Do we need to pack his clothes too?" He aks innocently, peering up at you from down below.

He was a smart boy, your son, though he was barely 7 years old, and already at an outstanding height of nearly 140 cm, there was no doubt that he was König's son.

"No." You halt your movements, thinking of an excuse, "His clothes are already there."

Leon nods. He may be 7, but he's not stupid, and he's upset that you think so little of him. It's apparent that he's closer to his father than to you, and although you're grateful to have such a loving family, you can't help but feel a spike of jealousy whenever your Leon visibly preferred your husband over you.

Like his school's sports day, when you and König had cheered him on as he raced to the finishing line quicker than his classmates. It was an easy win, I mean look at him.

As he crosses the finishing line, he rushes to the both of you, and although you're standing in front of König, with your arms wide open to hold your son, he only just makes a beeline, straight to his father, jumping to press his face into König's chest.

It's little things like this that makes you wonder if your son even recognises you as a parent equal to his beloved father.

The drive to your parent's house was long and awkward, with Leon making small remarks like when his father was going to be there, and what his father was doing at that very moment, and why his father wasn't with you guys that very moment.

"Busy with his bitch I presume..." You mumble under your breath, and you know that if König had heard you, he would've pulled you aside and scolded you for using such foul language around his precious son.

The bond was mutual it seems.

"Mama, papa is calling you." Leon mentions, grabbing at your phone.

"Disconnect." You bark.

"But mama, what if it's wichtig." [important]

"Leon. I said, disconnect it."

He hesitates but eventually listens, hanging up König's call. It's the 5th one of the car ride.

The phone vibrates once more.

Kö: meine liebe, wo bist du??? [my love, where are you???]

Kö: schätze [treasure]

Kö: where are your clothes??

Kö: where's everything???

Kö: where's my son.

Kö: Hör auf, mich zu verarschen [stop fucking with me]

Leon looks outside the window, debating whether to tell you about the spam of texts you're receiving, but he ultimately chooses to stay silent. I mean, you don't need to know.

On the other hand, König is shaking with fear. He never met to be near that woman. I mean she didn't mean anything to him, he barely knew her name!

She was just his senior, and he had to do what he did for that promotion in the ranks...schätze, you would understand, ja?

The moment he enters your home, the eerie silence spooks him, considering he's used to being tackled almost instantly by his wife and little one. Instead, he's faced with the empty walls and cupboards. You were even petty enough to take the TV remote with you, so he was restricted from watching from the newly bought TV.

He calls out your name numerous times, then your son's, running up and down the 3 story house. You two were nowhere in sight, and the lack of clothes from the wardrobes confirmed that his two favourite people had left him

He checks his phone to see a message from you.

Schnucki: hallo papa, wo bist du? Schnucki: it's leon papa :-D

It's his son!

Kö: mein kleiner prinz, wo ist deine mutter? [my little prince, where is your mother?]

"What's happening Leon?" You ask your son, your eyes only darting quickly to your son by the passenger seat, who's squinting and tapping away at your phone now.

"...Just watching Cocomelon, mama."

"Boy, your father told you, you're too old for that show..." You mumble once again, and your son mentally notes that he's going to inform his father about all this mumbling that seems to get on both on their nerves now.

Schnucki: we're going on a trip, where are you papa?

König scoffs, "A trip?", he's going to have to discipline this attitude out of you when he finally gets his hands on you. You should know, König plans all these 'trips', your little self isn't as efficient as he is.

Kö: i'm on my way. remind me where we are going again? Schnucki: an Ihre Schwiegereltern [to your in-laws]

König's rushing to his Jeep when he hears this. This reminds him of the previous time you had run off to your parents with his son. 2 years ago, when Leon had just turned 5, König had suggested that you quit your full-time job so you be a stay at home wife for him and his son. You could home school Leon, but also look after the home with all this new time on your hands.

Of course, you laughed in his face. A Bachelor's degree, a Master's and constant slaving away within a male-dominated industry, just to become a housewife? After a fight ensues, you run for your parents with your infant glued to your hip.

And it's happening all over again.

König starts the car, the journey to his in-laws was about 2 hours by car, a little over 1 if you're speeding. He makes sure to shoot a text to his son whilst driving.

Kö: coming. what can you see around you prinz?

Leon looks out of the window, recognising the area to be one where him and his parents would often frequent to. He sees the Wendy's where he spent his 6th birthday at, with his father munching away at his and Leon's burger in front of him. He cried hard that day.

Schnucki: i see wendys :-D and there's a park, and a field, and a roundabout and a traffic jam Kö: coming

König knows where you are, just half an hour away from your home, you're not too far, and he knows if he speeds quick enough, he can catch up to you soon enough.

But he knows that's not good enough. He needs to teach you a lesson this time for running away for what felt like the 10th time, though it was just the 2nd.

"Mama, why are you mad at papa?"

Leon breaks the silence after 25 minutes. He can't sit here any longer knowing you're this upset at his father.

You stay silent. To be frank, you don't know what the exact reason was.

It was König's behaviour first, the way you'd tell him to clean up after himself and him not listening to you. Sometimes it was him forgetting date night just to watch Austrian movies with his son at home, even if you have them once in 3 months.

The breaking point was for sure when he mentioned a possible promotion at his job at Kortac, him running home and pressing wet kisses all over your's and Leon's face.

He warned you that one of the higher-ups was quite touchy with him, though he'd reminded her he was married with a son multiple times, though pulling his ring finger multiples times. He truly was so proud of you for fulfilling his wish for a family.

Somewhere down the line, it got mistranslated, and at the ranking ceremony, he gets promoted by his superior, with her (unprofessionally, might I add) pressing a kiss against his cheek when he had bent down to receive a new badge.

Though he was shocked, he had to suppress his disgust behind his eyes through his mask, and fake a smile for the camera, which unfortunately captured his arm sitting uncomfortably around her waist.

"Your father's getting bored of me." You say nonchalantly, to your son.

Leon scrunches his face. He's used to coming downstairs in the morning to seeing his parents smooching away, or walking in front of his parents, only to look behind to see their fingers intertwined, with a warm red colour flushed against both their cheeks.

There's no way his father was getting bored, in fact the other way round was more plausible.

"Nein." He defends his father. [no.]

"Nein?" You peer at him, still weary of the cars surrounding you.

"Papa ist verliebt in dich, why can't you see that?" [papa is in love with you]

Leon senses slight hesitation in your answer, and he glimpses at your downturn eyebrows.

"If he's so in love with me, why does he not listen to me..." You state plainly.

The phone vibrates in his hand, silent enough for you not to hear, and his attention turns to the unread messages from his father.

Kö: Prinz, do see a petrol bunk?

Leon looks out the window.

Schnucki: Ja

König thinks to himself, trying to pinpoint your exact location, now that his car is closer to yours.

Kö: tu mir einen gefallen [do me a favour] is the fuel light on?

Leon looks at the beeping petrol light.

Schnucki: Ja Kö: Gut. [good] Tell your mother to fill the tank, I'll meet you at the gas station. Don't tell your mother. Schnucki: was ist, wenn du nicht rechtzeitig kommst? [what if you don't come in time?] Kö: then stall her.

"You need to fill in the tank, mama."

You look at the fuel light beeping, humming in agreement. You wonder how your son even knows what the tank light is, let alone how he realised it was on in the first place.

After driving into the petrol station, and parking by a pump, you fill your car up. As you're about to make a quick trip to the shops to pay for the petrol, your son pops his head out of the open window.

"Can I come? I want a Schokoladentafel [chocolate bar]."

It's about 10:30 P.M. when you make your way to the empty till, ringing the bell on the counter to alert a worker. The gas station was dimly lit, with no one inside, no even by the pumps. You question whether the gas station was even open.

"Where are these people..." You grumble to no one in particular. You begin to look at the close to empty trays of chocolate bars and small packets of crisps

"Keine Ahnung [no clue]." Leon replies, holding your hand in one, his other hand still gripping at the open messages on your phone.

Schnucki: We're here papa, und du? [and you?] Kö: Ich sehe dich [I see you].

Leon giggles to himself, he's finally going to see his father!

"Where's the damn cashier..." You groan, spamming the counter bell now.

"Looking for me?" You hear a voice behind you.

Leon let's go of your hand.

"Jesus, dude finally. Can me and my son pay already, we're alread-mHmMmHPh-"

Before you realise what's happening, a wet cloth is pressed against your mouth and nose, a large hand supporting the back of your head as you falter on your feet.

"Leon..." You eyes close completely and you faint against a chest musky chest. König smiles, finally having his beloved in his arms, gripping your backside and hoisting you up to his left shoulder, where you rest, motionless.

Leon on the other hand, as if witnessing his mother being drugged in front of him was the most normal thing in the world for a 7 year old to see, was jumping against his father side.

"Papa! Pick me up too!"

König chuckles, lifting his son and carrying him on his right flexed bicep, before snatching a few sweets and walking out of the deserted gas station. He hands one to his son, rubbing his mask against his little one.

"alles für meinen Sohn." [anything for my son]

By the time you wake up, the room was dark and it's difficult for you to differentiate whether it was the same day or the next morning. You turn to find your son, only to find that you can't move a muscle.

Ropes are tied around your waist, arms and legs, so any sort of movement was completely restricted, and you're kneeling on the cold smooth floor, bruising your skin. The ropes aren't tied expertly, so you know it's not the work of your husband, whom you're aware was a professional at the art of knots, given his career.

"Meine Blume..." [my flower]

You squint at the sudden voice. Your ears are mildly ringing so the voice is slightly distorted.

"Papa! She's awake..." A second voice, resembling your son's.

A light is shone in your face, and you put your head down, avoiding the light.

"Leon? K...König?" You're not in the same clothes, having been changed into a black sweatshirt and joggers.

"Schnucki...." [sweetie pie] It's König, you recognise the nickname through your phone contacts, "Why do you keep trying to separate this family?"

You're shocked by his words, separate?

"Why must you take my son away from me?" He demands now, his voice getting louder.

You look up to the figure, slowly adjusting to the light, it's König, with Leon still sitting on his biceps.

"Are the ropes too tight, mama?" Your son interupts.

You look down at the tight ropes, ripping at your skin under your clothes.

"Yes...König, what is this? Let me go...Let go of my son..." You can barely speak, the effects of the drugs stlll present in your system

Leon smiles at you, his dimples poking through, "Gut, I tied them on you!"

You blink at your son. They're working together?

"König- König, what are you making my son do-" you cough, and Leon leaps down from König's arms and hugs your head.

"Mama, aren't you proud of me? We can finally be a family together! You don't have to be mad at Papa, I forgave him alre-"

"That's not how it works!" You scream, interrupting Leon.

"Don't you dare shout at him."

You jolt, as König seethes at you, leaning towards you. "If you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Don't drag Prinz into this."

You laugh nervously, "Me? I'm dragging him into this? Are you listening to yourself Kö? You made Leon tie me up- THAT'S NOT NORMA-"

Leon stops you, "Prinz."

"Leon...Prinz..." You try reasoning with him, he seems like the only sane person in the room, which is worrying given that he's only 7.

"Prinz. König und Prinz." König firms, crossing his arms and standing, dominating you physically.

"König, why -cough- are you doing this?"

He laughs, "Schatz, why must you run from me?"

"You and that lady-"

"Nothing happened between them." Prinz interrupts. You cough, looking at Leon Prinz.

"You told my son?"

"He's my son, not a stranger."

"And me? You think it's normal to kidnap your wi-"

"Like you tried to kidnap my son?"

A pause lingers in the air.

"That's not kidnapping.." You reply defensively, "We were visiting my parents..."

"Don't lie, mama..." Prinz shakes his head, disappointingly. "Papa plans all the trips, you know this."

This kid... You think to yourself.

"I'm sorry...okay. It won't happen again..."

Your husband and his sidekick stare down at you, waiting for you to stop beating around the bush.

"You can...can let me go now..."

"No." You can't tell who said that, your son or your husband.

"You'll sit here and think about what you did-"

"-trying to separate this family-"

"-how dare you-"

"-who do you think you are-"

The light turns off now, and your eyes fail to adjust to the rapid light changes, clenching them tightly to rid yourself of the blaring pain in your head. You can't tell who's speaking and the sudden thought of failing as a mother flashes through your head.

"Kön...my head...my son-"

You hit the floor, head first, laying in front of König and Prinz.

There's a silence between the father-son duo.

"Next time, I'll tie the knots better, papa."

König ruffles his head, "Gut gemacht." [good job.]

König, I volunteer 🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️ lemme know you're interested to be tagged in my future posts! tags -> @lilliumrorum, @kxtz3, @poohkie90, @rainlovesyou12, @restrictionsapply-blog, @lunamoonbby, @nigthmar3moon, @thychuvaluswife, @itsnourm, @bubusi11, @chessecakelover, @owkittie, @cheomain, @corvusmorte, @k4es, @mandythemint, @copiasratscheese, @yyiikes, @funkyysho3es

[powderpinkandsweeet]

Ellie x Reader - part of the series where Loser Ellie lives in your apartment complex. I’m a cat mom, and for the sake of plot you are too. (Some sfw some nsfw, Ellie creeping through your things, masturbation)

You’re going out of town to see family, and you need someone to take care of your cats. Ellie just so happened to have no (aka canceled) plans, so she was more than willing to help you out.

Ellie’s hands were clammy as she knocked on your apartment door. She had never been inside before or even had a glimpse. A shadow crossed the peephole and you opened the door with a smile. She almost missed your “hello” as her gaze flickered between your eyes and breasts. “Uh-huh, mhm… wha? Yeah, sorry hi, I’m here for the cats.”

Unphased, you invited her inside. The layout of your apartment was identical to Ellie’s but she thought you had taken to decorating it more seriously than she had. It was softly lit and overrun with pillows and blankets. The floor was a minefield of cat toys in all colors, shapes, and sizes. It felt like home to Ellie. You don’t know it yet, but Ellie was already thinking about where she could fit her own things among yours.

“You can go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I’ll find the kitties so you can meet them,” you announced before disappearing into your bedroom at the end of the hall. While she waited, Ellie perused the picture frames on the walls. Your smiling face was pictured alongside ones Ellie couldn’t recognize. She diligently examined the images, frowning at hands on shoulders and arms wrapped around your waist. Rather than committing them to memory, Ellie hurriedly pulled out her phone to take pictures of each image. She would crop out your precious face and figure out who the hell was in the pictures with you.

You interrupted her scrolling by returning with a well-fed tuxedo cat cradled in your arms. You beamed with pride as you introduced the cat to Ellie, “this is Rosie, she’s shy but a real sweetheart when she warms up to you. Ellie and Rosie eyed each other suspiciously. “She’s doing pretty good right now though, usually she hides under the bed when we have company… here, we should have her sniff you so she can get to know you.”

“Get to know me? By smelling me?”

“Yep!” you responded enthusiastically, “kitties navigate a lot by smell. Rosie can get anxious so she just needs to make sure you’re friendly.”

“Oh it’s okay, I get anxious too.” She didn’t expect you to laugh, but you found it charming how tentative and gentle Ellie was being as she bonded with Rosie. While holding her breath in nervousness, Ellie held out her palm and Rosie extended her neck to intently smell Ellie’s hand. Expecting a bite or a scratch, you were relieved as Rosie retracted and relaxed back into your arms.

“Good job, babygirl! I’m glad she’s playing nice with you, haha!” You scratched under Rosie’s chin as a reward and a look of bliss spread across the cat’s face. However silly it was, Ellie felt jealous of the chin scratches. You gently placed the purring cat into a plush bed and turned to face Ellie. “Let me go find Kiwi, she should be around here somewhere.”

You disappeared into the bedroom once more as you called for Kiwi. Ellie heard a small “mew” and your happy exclamation of the cat’s name before you emerged with a tabby cat in tow. “This little lady is Kiwi. She doesn’t so much like being held but she’s good at coming when called. She’s snuggly when she’s tired but can be real feisty at playtime, so be careful”

Ellie squatted down to Kiwi’s level before reaching out her hand for her to sniff like you had shown her. Puffs of air hit Ellie’s long fingers and rings as she “introduced herself” to the small tabby. She tentatively reached to pat Kiwi on the head but was parried by a paw and sharp claws. "Hey, not nice!" you admonished as you pulled back. "Sorry, she's just got to warm up to you."

"Yeah, it’s okay, no problem... um, so I have to feed them and everything?" she mumbled back to you.

-

You went about showing her every detail of your morning and night routine with your "babies." Ellie felt like she should have taken notes with how many steps you were explaining, dry food, wet food, vitamins in their wet food, water bowl, water fountain, outside time in the morning, treats if they're good, outside time if they’ve been good girls all day, like how would she remember all this?

You seemed to notice the furrow in her brows and relieved her as you said "It's a lot, I know. I can send you a text with all the instructions. Here, what's your number?"

Ellie froze. You wanted her number? Ellie secretly hoped that this was all a ploy. Maybe you just wanted to get her into your apartment, be alone together in a space where you had control and could do whatever you wanted with Ellie. Her voice wavered as she relayed her phone number to you. You typed it into your phone and continued to "click clack" your nails against the screen until Ellie's phone buzzed. "Hi Ellie! it's me lol." The text made her smile, but the winky face made her pause and overanalyze 'did she mean anything by that? Winks are flirty, right?'

You wish her a casual goodbye, briefly touching her fingers as you pass her a spare key with a Hello Kitty keychain. The door shuts behind you with a soft click, and Ellie is left alone in your apartment completely unsupervised.

She leans her back against the door, and lets out a long, heavy sigh. Ellie can see the door to your bedroom at the end of the hallway. It's open only slightly, enough for the cats to get in and out of it for bed. Surely since it's open you wouldn't mind her taking a peek? The cats went in and out anyways and she was supposed to look after them. The hinges creak as she nudges the door open. It's better than what she had ever dreamed of. Your bed is piled high with pillows, blankets, and stuffed toys. She couldn't help it, and Ellie jumped head first onto the bed. Nose pressed against your pillow, she took in a deep inhale. She had never been able to smell you like this, indirectly of course. She attempted to keep a respectful distance when you were around so as to not creep her out, but in this moment she was anything but respectful of your boundaries.

She continued to investigate by going through your drawers, rifling through old t-shirts and sweatpants before she found what she had been looking for. With shaking hands, Ellie clutched a g-string in front of her. How often do you wear this thing? Who had you worn it for?

Your en-suite bathroom was where Ellie found buried treasure, your panties in the laundry hamper. Ellie started to dig through it before her impatience got the best of her and she just dumped it on the floor. Clutching all the panties she could find in her hands, Ellie felt analysis paralysis at which one(s) to take with her. If she took them all, surely you would notice. She decided to stuff just one pair in her pants' pocket, a pair of baby blue panties with a little bow right at the top. She would like to think that she's seen them before when she's walked up the apartment stairs behind you. Souvenir tucked safely away, Ellie continued to explore.

After flipping through all the clothes in your closet, Ellie turned her attention to your bedside drawer. The drawer stuck a little when she attempted to open it the first time, but with a tough "yank" Ellie was able to pull it open, and break the lock from the wood. Her eyes widened and her mouth ran dry. You wouldn't notice, right? Maybe if she put it back or fixed it you wouldn't notice. Maybe she could blame the cat? More important though at this moment in time, was the drawer's contents. "Jackpot," Ellie thought as she pulled a Hitachi wand from the drawer. Holding its weight in her hand, she flicked on the switch and was taken aback by the strength of the vibrations.

She had heard the rumbling of the vibrations through the floor some nights. This is what had made you come time and time again, ignorant of Ellie fucking herself to the sound. Ellie had come with your name on her lips, hoping that you couldn't hear her even though she could hear you loud and clear through the poorly insulated walls. She continued to dig through the drawer, taking note of the sizes and variety of toys you had.

After rifling through the rest of your bedroom and bathroom, Ellie prepared for bed. Digging through your dresser, she pulled out one of your baggy t-shirts and a pair of clean panties. She slipped them on and admired herself in the bathroom mirror. She smiled and felt butterflies in her stomach as she took in how the shirt hung on her frame, imagining how it would look on you as well. It made her feel close to you and miss you just a bit less. Ellie made her way into your bedroom and under the sheets. She lived a two minute walk away, but Ellie wanted to make the most of what she had.The sheets and pillows were soft and smelled like you.. Ellie closed her eyes and imagined you were in bed with her, watching intently as she gripped the hem of your shirt and raised it above her breasts. Ellie licked her thumb and pointer finger before circling her thumb around her nipple. The teasing touch made her shiver, imagining you working her up before getting to the good part. She gave her nipple a hard pinch in contrast to her gentleness before. Ellie’s impatience was getting to her. Her gaze wandered to the bedside drawer she had just explored. She retrieved the Hitachi wand from the drawer and placed it beside herself on the bed. After much contemplation, Ellie clicked on the power button. It shook in her hand, surprisingly loudly when it wasn’t rumbling through the walls.

Ellie grazed the vibrating head against the tip of her nipple, flinching back and crying out an “AH” in response. ‘Okay that was weird but not in a bad way,’ Ellie thought to herself. Her other hand stroked down her stomach to palm her pussy dressed in your panties. The gusset was soaked, and Ellie smeared the slick across the fabric with a pleasured sigh. Wet cotton clung to her folds and her clit, which she circled through the fabric with two fingers. The friction felt different through the fabric, but Ellie refused to take your panties off. This was the closest she had ever felt to you, and she would make the most of the opportunity. Impatience and intense need filled Ellie as she roughly rubbed her clit.

Your Hitachi wand still rumbled where it sat beside Ellie on the sheets. Ellie’s shaking hands wrapped around the handle. After a few deep breaths, Ellie softly pressed the head of the wand against her pussy. As if she had touched a live wire, Ellie thrashed and nearly dropped the wand. “FUCK” she cried out, but did her best to hold it firm against her clit. It felt so fucking good, but the pleasure was more intense than anything she had ever felt. She clenched her jaw and threw back her head. She could hardly keep her eyes open, but she didn’t mind since all she could see when she closed them was your smiling face. In her wildest dreams you would be the one pressing the vibrations against her clit, pressing sweet kisses to her cheek and neck as you praised her. Ellie’s pussy tingled at the assault, on the verge of numbness from how overstimulated she felt. Between her tensed thighs, Ellie’s pussy gushed, soaking through the panties and down the crease of her ass to leave a stain on the sheets. Her clit burned uncomfortably as her pussy clenched around nothing. Ellie reached her limit and practically flung the Hitachi wand away from her swollen pussy. It continued to shake and rattle on the floor as she caught her breath with a dopey smile on her face. After a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, Ellie fell asleep in your bed with your biggest plushy tucked in her arms and your name on her lips.

-

Ellie didn't think her last day cat-sitting would involve a trip to best-buy, but the opportunity couldn't go to waste. She wandered the aisles before coming to stand before a wall of security cameras. She didn't really have the money for it, but eating ramen noodles or rice and beans for the next month to still afford rent would be worth it. The sales representative eyed her suspiciously as she asked him questions about the most "subtle" or "invisible" cameras they had. She eventually settled on one that was compact and promised good video and audio quality. She excitedly took it home.

Searching for a spot to put the camera wasn't that difficult considering the various knick-knacks and books on your shelves. Ellie crawled under your desk to plug the camera in, then threaded it between two of your stuffed animals on the surface. It looked almost like a laptop charger, with a chunky box and a long thick cord to the wall. 'All else fails, maybe I can convince her that I forgot my laptop charger,' Ellie hoped. Hard work and a couple hundred bucks couldn’t go to waste.

Ellie whipped out her phone to open the camera's video feed. She could clearly see herself in the viewfinder, and adjusted the camera so your bed would be in frame. Her trap was set up, now she just had to wait.

A/N: there will be a part two to this for when you come back in town. Thank you for all the love on my writing so far ❤️

[ruxined]

header by me !

cw : afab r , making out / hickies , mention of saliva once at the end , like 2 curse words , slight implied sex .

e: ellie and r are paired up for a chem project,however things get a more organic reaction

(this is my first fic lmk how it is and some tips if you’d like <3)

You looked around admiring the house as you stood at the porch.It was a pretty normal house honestly and not far from yours,You remember reading the text Ellie sent you before you walked to Her house.

“just knock when you’re here,it’s just gonna be us because i’m home alone for a couple days”

So you did, you knocked and about 2 minutes later Ellie came to the door,dressed in a grey wifebeater tank and some black sweatpants. She leaned slightly on the doorframe , looking you over for a quick second.

“hey, come in”

She said in a quiet monotone but welcoming voice, maybe She was just feeling you out.

You both went inside and up towards Her room,Her house was adorned in timeless and classic decor with pictures of Her and an Older man framed on some of the walls,you just assumed it was Her Father or something.

“this is my room..you can sit and put your stuff anywhere”

She grabs a messy group of papers and Her phone from her desk.

You nod and put your bag down on the floor infront of her bed,sitting on the edge hanging your legs off.Her room was filled with posters and little figurines, some with space related items or dinosaurs. It seemed like She was the nerdy type with a special interest in that kinda stuff even in class.. but You of course, found it cute.

Ellie set up her papers and supplies for the project on her bed,hiking her legs up and sitting across from you on her bed,slightly leaned against the headboard. Her arms flexed with each movement and you tried to keep yourself focused on the task at hand,gently feeling the soft navy blue sheets under you.

“..did you need anything before we start..? ..like food or a snack?”

She tilted her head to the side,Auburn streaks gently fanning her cheeks.

you

“no i’m alright..thanks though”

She nods,starting to write down stuff on her paper. You and ellie talked a handful of times but usually just always ended up paired together in projects or assignments.She couldn’t complain though.. She had always found you pretty attractive and was naturally comfortable around you and just didn’t wanna seem weird or something.

You both started to complete the project, just some chemicals , periodic table blah blah blah.You just couldn’t stop looking at her gorgeous freckles that littered her tanned skin just right, and the way she looked up at you with her greenish hazel puppy eyes, or how her hands were so perfect and how you wonder what her fingers would feel-

“hey..you okay? you’re like..zoning out”

She moves a hair from your face,trying to read your expression.

“yeah u-uhm i’m good! sorry i was just thinking.”

You quickly attempt to poorly hide the fact that you were just caught casually gawking at your study partner.

“right..”

She says softly as she writes down another chemical name.

You both eventually start talking more and getting settled. Ellie is silently noticing how you’re constantly staring at Her lips and how her toned lean muscles flex while she stretches after writing with her pencil.

“..and they have…”

You drag on the sentence, looking up to see Ellie leaning up on the headboard, her tank top riding up barely enough to show her v line.She seemed so clueless and chill but also somehow knew..?

And she did.

“they have…?”

Ellie asks curiously in regards to your unfinished sentence.

“…come right on me.”

It just slipped. You almost didn’t correct yourself because you didn’t realize how outrageous you sounded,Ellie’s facial expressions reminded you quickly.

“what?-

“fuck i meant camaraderie…like they had really good-”

Ellie looks you over for a moment, blinking.

“are you eyefucking me right now or something?”

You freeze in embarrassment. Assuming she probably thinks you’re a weirdo pervert trying to just stare at her instead of studying.

You wouldn’t turn the offer down though.

“no i- im sorry i didn’t-

Ellie leans forward a little closer to you,her eyes flickering down to your parted lips before back up at you in amusement.

“tell me what you want.. like what you actually want.”

You can almost feel her breath on your lips.her eyes gazed into yours and you felt like you could get lost in them forever.You knew you couldn’t lie to her.

“..kiss me..please”

You whined, it came out more breathless than you thought it would and you started to feel the room getting hotter.

Ellie wasted no time gently pressing her plush salmon colored lips onto yours,gently sucking your bottom lip before gently kitten licking it,a silent ask for entrance. She leaned over a little more to get on top of you to kiss you deeper,her hands found their way onto your hips and then your cheeks again,then playing with little strands of your hair. She ran her hands along your body as if she was trying to remember every inch of you,like you’d dissolve in a minute.

“..this is okay right?..we can keep going. if you want.”

Ellie whispered,her warm breath gently hitting the shell of your ear,the faint noise of the chemistry papers falling off the bed was quickly forgotten.

“yeah”

You whisper back.She starts kissing your neck and leaving small marks by your collarbone , nipping at your neck oh so gently while taking her time to find those soft spots that made you feel heat pooling in your lower stomach.

“you’re so beautiful”

She mumbled,wiping the mix of hers and your saliva mixed with your lipgloss / chapstick on the side of your lip,gently pushing you back onto the bed.

let’s just say , you and ellie have really good bed chem.

© All rights belong to ruxined , you may not copy , translate , repost , modify or plagiarize any of my material.

[felassan]

Thoughts on the DA:TV Companion Concept Art:

General

I love that we saw these and I think the art is beautiful!! it's so cool seeing different versions of a character, different ideas for a character, and how things translated from concept arts into the character models in the game. I can't waaait to look through the rest of The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with a fine-toothed comb!!

each character has iconic color palettes and iconic shapes and stuff :)

I feel like there is a lot to examine in these pictures, even with the spoilery text redacted!! 🔍🔍

I'm so extremely curious about what the redacted text says. 👁️

It looks like the geometric patterns drawn behind the characters are slightly different each time?

In the ones where multiple different outfits are shown for the character, do you suppose that these are only discarded concept ideas, or are some similar to some of the alternate outfits for the companions that we can find or upgrade for them in the game?

in some of the pages, there appears to be additional parts of the page blanked out/redacted rather than just the paragraph of text. I wonder if there are small text captions or even additional small drawings in those spaces that also needed to be redacted for spoiler reasons 👁️

In some of the sections below I just described what part of the art I was referring to, in others I popped in images because I was finding it hard to describe what I meant ^^

Also, the associated tweet mentions the BioWare Gear Store-exclusive variant of the artbook. The link in it just takes you to the general Gear Store website landing page at the moment. At the moment, the BioWare Gear Store variant of the artbook is out of stock (it went out of stock really quickly after release). However, CM Violet mentioned in the Discord that "We are planning on another printing [of the Gear Store variant of the art book], but no date yet! I'm sure we'll announce it when we have more news!" [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Bellara

Bellara's page is the only one I think with no name. did her name have to be redacted too bc of a spoilery reason?

I LOVE Bellara's pages. she's just so 🥺 (clenching my fist). some aspects of the design of Bellara's clothes remind me of butterflies or butterfly wings.

Left: the angle of this one reminds me of her party icon art. Center: this one shows a different design concept for her vallaslin. in this one she also has different earrings. in the full version of this drawing, it looks like she is holding some kind of tool in her hand (makes sense considering her Tinker ability), while in her other hand it's a piece of cloth, reminding me of the way mechanics are sometimes drawn holding rags during their work. her posture in the full version of this drawing is like 'You can fit sooo many triangles inside this bad boy [the giant elf head artifact/sculpture]'. hhh. Right: can anyone make out what the text above her bag says? ^^ btw, this bag design is so cute. edit: thankyou to @squidaped-oyt who mentioned in the replies of this post that this looks like it says "Foldable map"! more on that here.

HELLO??, this ancient elven sculpture/artifact thing is extremely 👀. the scale of it compared to Bellara is massive. there are beams of light coming from its eyes and the triangle set in its forehead. the triangular parts are a now-familiar aspect of ancient elven magic-tech and artifacts. the nose bridge reminds me of the design of elven nose bridges circa Dragon Age II - only he has a pointed part on his in addition. the bald head we're all familiar with from ancient elven statues, in-world murals/wall paintings etc. is it just me, or are the teeth also pointy? I wonder what this thing is.. was it just decorative (a head of a giant statue)? (this kind of thing in this Veil Jumper/Arlathan Forest concept art comes to mind). was it an art piece representative of a particular Evanuris or one of their chosen? or did it have some kind of actual function - maybe it was part of a giant protective automaton kinda thing? what this head really reminds me of is Codex Entry: Vir Dirthara: Signs of Victory -

The pages of this book—memory?—describe a monument made in a single afternoon by a thousand-thousand toiling servants swarming over a lump of fallen stone as large as a collapsed mountain. By the end of the day, the stern figure of Elgar'nan stares down into a valley, carved out from the foothills of the rock. The slaves have disappeared. Light radiates from the eidolon's narrowed eyes and its open, snarling mouth. "Hail Elgar'nan, first among the gods! Mark his victory eternal!"

Could this be [part of] one of those sorts of monuments/eidolons? It sure looks like it's snarling through its open mouth. And it has narrowed eyes and light is radiating from them.

The other things it reminds me of are: 1. the ancient elven sentinels (the magic-bot kind, not the Abelas and crew in Temple of Mythal kind), two. like maybe it's a giant one of these. 2. these big ancient elven hands and the Dead Hand landmark (see Trivia section) in DA:I, which is found in the Dales and contains an elven shrine and is not far from Ghilan'nain’s Grove.

Horace Medford wrote of that landmark,

"The great stone hand was something of a mystery. One assumes it is a piece broken off from a larger whole. If so, judging by the size of that one hand, I imagine the entire sculpture to be... well, large enough to require the use of obscenities to describe it. Thus I have only one question: where is the rest of the statue? It is difficult to imagine how something so large could go missing."

like maybe the head from Bellara's concept is the giant head to a similar kind of pair of giant hands (of either type).

(^ post which discusses these both here)

Left: the way this bracelet thing is worn gives it the impression of a watch, which is cool and fits her machinist/inventor kinda vibe/aesthetic :) Center: the cloth, a bit dirty from active use (what a thoughtful touch), tucked into her belt :) Right: I love the eyepiece/monocle look!! It's giving Artificer, it's giving gadgets. does anyone else think Bellara and Dagna would get on super well? 💜

These are all super interesting and I love that they were thinking about the different parts of Bellara's kit and belongings like this. in the top row, it looks like the book on the left is the closed version of the book on the right. Bellara's book full of research notes :D what I wouldn't give to browse through it!! I love how she's filled it with different bookmarks, it gives you an insight into her mind and the way it works. on the front is one of those ancient elven golden faces (like on Solas' armor's knees in Trespasser, on the Sentinels in the Temple of Mythal, on the ancient elven Deluxe edition of DA:TV armors, etc). inside, it looks like she has pressed a flower, which is so lovely. on the right-hand page, I'm really curious about the drawings there. what is it of? a map, a diagram? it reminds me a bit of the map of Arlathan Forest in the Veil Jumper issue of Dragon Age: The Missing (and it would make sense for her to have a map, Arlathan Forest is changeable lately). and if you squint, maybe that's an 'X marks the spot'? also extremely curious is the drawing on the left-hand side of the page:

Who is this depicting? the figure's headshape/headpiece/mask reminds me a lot of the Evanuris headshapes. and the general vibe of the drawing reminds me of the ancient elven Evanuris mosaics (example). Sylaise-y? but maybe it's not an Evanuris and it's more like a figure from Bellara's past? the way the flower is pressed on this page makes it look tender, like memory. or if it was an Evanuris, it makes it look like an offering or token. perhaps Bellara's vallaslin correspond to Sylaise or whichever member it is. there was a time before the gods came back the way they did in DA:TV.

It's also really cool to get a look at the fold-out material thing. do you think she usually carries this rolled up at her belt or in her bag? it looks like somewhere where she stores various kinds of ancient elven triangle fragments, or maybe it's even some kind of strange map. A map of a bunch of different reality-fragmented Veil Bubbles or something would look really strange no doubt, not like a normal map.. edit: more on that here.

Davrin

It's neat to see different hairstyle versions of Davrin! the shape of the blue sword reminds me just a lil of Starfang, which is really nice. and we saw Davrin with a griffon-wing shield like there is in these concepts in the character reveal trailer.

Comparisons of the various vallaslin designs he has in his concept arts to the final one in the game. (in some of the concepts, his vallaslin look a bit bluer, which reminds me of his tarot-style art from the party selection screen). though, in the right-most version, it looks more kind of like a circlet, a Samara Mass Effect-type situation instead :)

This on his heel is totally a spur. makes sense, for a Warden that may one day be a griffon-rider like the Grey Wardens of old :') (at least in the sense of visual language, like "spur - riding - horse - griffon").

We see Davrin equipped with an additional dagger/shortsword like this in the warrior gameplay video, albeit not this specific one, if you go by the handles.

He maybe has some stubble here. ^^

In this version of Davrin, it looks like he has a staff. (though, he still has a sword here too). Is it a polearm kinda deal, or was there a time during development when Davrin was a mage? perhaps the elf in this concept art is a version of Davrin? that elf is wielding a staff to fight, and there are some similar aspects in the outfit designs, like the considerable collar.

interestingly, his staff here reminded me of the staff held by the elven figure on the front of the DA Vinyl art. 🤔

^ Looking at that staff-Davrin concept more generally, it's interesting that this version has more overtly Grey Wardenny-parts to his armor compared to his final look, like the griffon symbol on the chestplate and shoulder.

This Davrin holds out his arm, like a falconer. in Dalish culture, the hawk is a sacred animal of the Huntress Andruil.

And this Davrin straight up is a falconer. how cool!! due to image resolution I'm not sure if the darker parts on the raptor are parts of its plumage or accoutrements, but in falconry, the birds sometimes do wear these types of accoutrements. Falconer Davrin Concept reminds me of that one DA:I Dorian concept art where Dorian had a monkey haha. :D the attention to detail in Falconer Davrin is neat too, you can see that on the hawk-perch arm he has a thick extra cover on his arm, due to the sharpness of raptor talons and grip. I really love Falconer Davrin's griffon shoulderplate, and when looking at the more geometric diamond design of his vallaslin here, what struck me was its resemblance to the diamond geometric pattern behind him.

Harding

Harding is the only one on the concept art among the named characters there who is listed as her surname rather than her given name haha. she's just Harding just like Hawke is Hawke, that's just the way it is.

The flower and leaf pattern in the top left is cute, I wonder if it was inspiration for the flower and leaf stitching Harding has on the collar of her casual clothes in the game. In the concept art it looks like the kind of design that you might have on the leatherwork on the front cover of a beautiful leatherbound journal or something. :) In the central picture she's holding and appreciating a blue flower, which is so cute ♡ and which ties to what was said about her loving plants, raising plants, and nature. she has what looks like the Inquisition hairy eyeball symbol on her belt pouch as well as on her knee pads. (;;) the version of her to the left of that shows her with her hair down, in a more pony-tail like sort of style. on that version of her, you can see flower and leaf floral patterns curling up the bottom of her cape. (very pretty).

To the right of the central image, there's a big diagonal blank rectangle of content which has been removed, presumably due to spoiler reasons. Was this also text? It seems like a weird angle to have placed text at. Maybe it's a drawing of an object of some kind being hidden? A different version of her bow perhaps? (this is the case in a few of the companion concept arts btw.)

The tailored coat and pinstripe pants version of her is so cool. :D look at the tails on the back of her coat in that image. dapper. Harding formal wear? :D

of course, the two most !! images from Harding's one are these ones. copying over my thoughts from that post,

Presumably this is to do with Harding’s new magical stoney earthy powers. (In the second image, along with the bow, it looks like half her face, part of her neck and her arm itself is also stone/crystal). The glass-like shiny parts reminds me of quartz or something. :)

I do wonder if (if they are still things in the game) perhaps those two images or the stoney parts of them could also potentially have done with being redacted for spoiler reasons? how I wish the Harding image was higher resolution so we could take a closer look at stone-Harding..! somewhere off in the distance, Varric "haha, you'd be Harding in Hightown" Tethras is like "haha, Harding, you're hard/hardening" hhhh. 💀

In the image with her hood up, the blue veins on the bow remind me of blue lyrium veins. I also wonder, is she holding the stone/crystal bow with her stone/crystal arm, or is the bow simply growing from the arm? does the hard surface of her body when it's like this repel or take less damage owing to its hardness? is this something she might be able to do in gameplay later on as her story (and powers) progress?

it stands to reason that if you can turn other people/things to stone, as she did to some ghouls in the release date reveal trailer, you might also be able to extend this power to yourself. presumably this ability is tied to the Titans, the dwarves as their children, the Stone, maybe a restored (in Harding's case) connection to that, the way dwarves used to be. it also reminds me of how golems are created using live dwarves. Caridin said "It allowed me to forge a man of steel or stone, as flexible and clever as any soldier." 👀

Btw, speaking of Harding's magical powers, I wonder if Harding dreams at night now..?

Lucanis

it looks like there's a spot on Lucanis' page other than the text at the top that is blanked out/redacted. I wonder what it contained.

part of the geometric designs behind him reminds me of his eyes motif.

some of the alternate outfits for him look really like, majestic. in the one with the manbun, he has big poufy shoulder pieces and huge sleeves.

I wonder if any concept art of clean-shaven Lucanis exists anywhere? ^^ I'm really curious about what he looks like clean-shaven, or without a beard as he was in The Wigmaker Job.

I'm losing my mind at all the different concept ideas for Lucanis' hair, especially the one with the curled forelock and LUCANIS MANBUN omg. but I like his feathery mullet that he has in the game the best. :D

The design and coloring of his sword is just so COOL. The oil-like iridescence, purple-black, is like corvid feathers.

What a lovely sketch, lovely pencilwork. ◕‿◕ his eyebrow is slightly raised and you can see here again that his nose is slightly 'crooked' (perhaps he's broken it in the past?). I love this sort of feature sm in every character that has it.

In this one his eyes are doing the glowing purple thing again. again he is not defeating the possessed/dead/abomination/-somethingelserelatedorsimilar-is-going-on with him allegations. this one has a hood in an Assassin's Creed sorta style and the general vibe is like a ninja. the shoulder pieces look feathery, and the cloak/coat looks like feathered wings or tailfeathers. this piece feels the most "The Demon of Vyrantium" in vibe hh 👁️ And are you guys seeing this?? Here it looks like has claws like Wolverine hh!! :D though he could simply also be holding multiple knives in between his fingers (of the sort you can see at his belt in another concept, I've put that one just below here to show them), or have a bladed gauntlet, etc.

This person coming at you in the night, no wonder the evil Venatori magisters are scared of him :)

Coffee, no doubt :) cool mug shape.

Bird design again on this leg-piece.

Left: a take on the now-iconic Antivan Crow bird-masks. really cool design. here it's giving Batman, it's giving masquerade ball. I really hope we see him wearing a Crow bird mask of this sort at some point during the game!! 🧎🕯️🧎 it's a big missed opportunity if not imo hh. Right: Lighthouse casual-wear, or something very close to it. his vibe in this art is also similar to his vibe in the Lighthouse group shot.

Veilguard symbol on his chest? some of the alternate outfits include a more Veilguardy purple to them, and this one reminds me of how the Veilguard symbol looks for Rook here for example.

Lastly, in this main one, his general shape is sooo triangular. :D and his face/expression here really captures this description of him from Tevinter Nights:

Lucanis stared ahead, focused and intense. He was the kind of man you couldn’t look away from—until he looked at you.

In this one I also get the sense of dark circles under his eyes, which is a trait that in fiction reminds me of coffee-drinkers. ^^

Emmrich

Both staffs in Emmrich's concept art are different to the one we see him with here, but the bigger one on the concept art is close to it.

In this concept it looks like Emmrich has a scar on his chin.

Left: without his jacket on, he looks so svelte. the gold parts on his boots/knees remind me of the gold headpieces fixed to walking dead in the Necropolis. they are also hexagonal in shape, which I've become convinced is part of Nevarra's visual design language (and therefore part of Nevarran architecture, fashion/culture etc. :D he has so many bracelets and rings. Center: he looks so happy here and in the one next to it! these versions of Emmrich seem to lean more to the purple side of his color palette. these ones have a sorta futuristic vibe. you can see some of the tools of his trade at his belt, and it's a different version of his staff. here the skull floats at the top of the staff and burns with green fire, rather than being fixed to the pole of the staff. Right: Emmrich with big hair! quiff-like, and it looks like a large part of it is white rather than gray.

in this alternate outfit he's wearing a work apron with tools of his trade on the front. he's holding a glass flask that is filled with green liquid and billowing green smoke. I wonder if Emmrich is skilled at alchemy? do you think he has a lab, or that his room in the Lighthouse might be filled with stuff like alembics?

Looking again at Emmrich's outfit in these arts - from the back, the back of his coat reminds me of depictions in art and tv/film of the blood eagle?? (if you are sensitive or squeamish to gore and things of that nature, please don't google that!). the lines on the back of his shoulders remind me of musculature. The repeating pieces down the center of the bottom part of his coat reminds me of a spine. and the back of his gold belt-piece from behind straight up looks like a pelvis. the skeleton and body imagery here is an amazing art direction/symbolism for him!! what a bigbrain idea. is that sort of detailing why the design of the front of his coat looks like someone's chest has been opened on an operating table?

also, the long coat reminds me of labcoats. :)

I wonder if the bracelets and things are a Nevarran cultural thing/common fashion in Nevarra, or more of just an Emmrich thing? ^^

lastly his expression in the one on the right is so gentle and kind.

Neve

There are two spots on Neve's page other than the text at the top that are blanked out/redacted. I wonder what they contained.

I love that they tried out differing concept/designs for the look of Neve's leg, and what looks like a stand for it as well. they're all really neat and you can see serpentine aspects in all of them. a person could also have more than one.

this image contains another great reference for Neve's wand-cane thing. here the orb in the middle looks like a big pearl, like from inside a mollusk. the ring around it is definitely evoking the body of a snake coiling.

The concept art contains a blond version of Neve. because of her ice powers, it reminds me a bit of Emma Frost (Marvel). look at that Neve's heeled boot, and the size of her hat!!

I prefer the Neve they decided to go with in the end. ♡♡ ^^

Taash

oh my goooood. breathing in and out rapidly into a paper bag. oh my godd. she looks sooo cool!! I'm posting the whole thing again here just bc omggg.

Most versions of Taash have the green crystal horn. her concept arts show versions with different skin colors. her eyes in some of them look green. I love all her different-version Lord of Fortune / Rivaini gold pieces. in the top-left hand version of her, her bigger shoulder-piece is really cool (the right-hand side one); it could at once be a piece of spiky dragon bone or a piece of a big spiky sea-shell (both ideas work perfectly for her character and background). I've said this before when talking about Taash's design, but I love the parrot-break design of one of her weapons. it's very piratey. in this page, we can see several different versions of the parrot-beak weapon. also, I love all her different facial expressions.

in the right-most Taash concept, the dragon tooth-like pointy bits on her gauntlets look like they're made out of gold, not tooth. her big piratey boots are so cool and they even have a gold coin on them! you can see the spike braided into the end of her ponytail, and in that drawing the dragonscale-looking parts of her iconic armor look even more scaley, owing to the way they graduate from a full covering of scales to a partial covering to not present (in a way that reminds of how on some fantasy arts of things like dragons, there can be softer/less protected areas of their hide with no or less scales, like towards their undersides):

The bottom-left most illustration looks like it might be her iconic armor, only seen from the back, which is good to have a reference of. the design of her sword scabbard is cool, it's like the segmented flat of a dragon or sea-serpent's tail. in that image it also looks like the eye of her parrot-weapon is matched by an eye on the scabbard. something about the designs of her sword and scabbard remind me of weapons like daos. from behind, it also looks like her gauntlets might have thicker armor on one-side, better protection for the upper side of her forearms. the fingers of her gauntlets also look taloned, in a way that reminds me of Fenris.

Okay now let's talk about the concept in the center at the top! this version has longer horns and more spikes in her ponytail, in fact the ponytail here looks like a dragon tail as a result. it reminds me of Flemeth's dragony hair from Dragon Age II onwards. this version also looks like she may have blue-ish facial tattoos, or it could be vitaar. it also looks like she may have a second, smaller set of horns. in this version, the red ropes are cyan-blue instead, and she not only has the spikes/teeth on her gauntlets, but also on her boots (knee 'pad' and the heel, like spurs). in this version, her swords are dragon wing-shaped, which is pretty metal. I can't tell if the triangular piece that hangs down in the center is from the front piece of her clothing or the back piece, but it gives the impression of a dragon tail.

Lastly, the concept in the center at the bottom: here her boots remind me a lot of Dragon Age II Isabela, who is of course, also a piratey type of character from Rivain. the giant axe here is cool, the shape of its blade also evokes the shape of a dragon wing and it looks like the handle might be made of bone. the way she's carrying the axe here reminds me a bit of how Iron Bull carries his weapon in this art piece. the teal and gold color scheme of this piece reminds me of the gold and blue/green of some Ancient Egyptian things, and round her neck it looks like she is wearing a torc.

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Punch me out

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles, day 4

Prompt: Meet-cute at work

Rated: E

CW: Blowjobs, dirty talk, slight degradation kink

Tags: No UD AU; company Christmas party; bathroom sex; blowjobs; dirty talk; Eddie is a disaster and Steve is a slut and they both love it; inappropriate use of vending machine drinks

Eddie shouldn't have gone to the company Christmas party. The few weeks he's worked here taught him a bunch of stuff. 

The CEO? Asshole. 

The management? Spineless lickspittles.

The corporate culture? A conglomerate of bullshit. Eddie’s position is called Facility Manager - the most ridiculous euphemism for Janitor ever.

Anyhow!

He shouldn't have come, but Gareth insisted that was exactly what those tie-wearing douchebags wanted, so they went. 

Only that Gareth has disappeared with the receptionist, leaving Eddie to aimlessly meander while the tie wearers got progressively more drunk. He should probably have gone home.

Only he didn't. 

So he kind of brought this upon himself, he thinks, while a puddle of punch soaks into his crotch and laughter wafts all around him. 

The only one looking equally horrified is the guy the punch belonged to. He’s still holding the empty cup and blushing from his chestnut hair all the way down to his business shirt. 

“Shit, sorry!” he babbles. “Didn’t see you there-” 

“Don’t sweat it, Stevie,” Tommy Hagan guffaws. “I’m sure he brought his mop.” 

Stevie’s face grows stony. “Shut it, Tommy.”

Hagan does. 

Before Eddie can feel confused, one large hand takes him by the shoulder and steers him away. 

“Sorry again.” 

“‘s alright,” Eddie shrugs. “Was just heading home-” 

“Oh, no.” A pair of big, sad eyes fixes him from behind wire-frame glasses. “At least let me make it up to you? Please?” 

How could Eddie say no to that? 

*

"Fuck, princess," Eddie groans, head thudding against the bathroom wall. "If that's you apologizing, you can spill stuff on me more o-ooooh …" 

Stevie doesn't answer, which … okay. That would be quite the feat with Eddie’s cock down his throat as it is. 

He looks up at Eddie from where he's kneeling, and fuck, the sight of him! Hairdo ruined, lips stretched obscenely wide, eyes glassy with arousal. The picture is almost enough to do Eddie in, so he tangles his fingers in that hair and yanks that warm, wet mouth closer. Stevie's eyes roll back and he moans, and that's all it takes before Eddie is coming down his throat. 

Stevie doesn't so much as whine, just swallows. God, he's perfect. Eddie wants to take him home. Tie him up in bed. Never let him leave. 

"Wow," he murmurs as Stevie pulls off, slack-jawed and starry-eyed. "Are you always such a cockslut, or was that only for me?" 

Stevie smiles up at him. The glint in his eyes is smug. 

"Only if it's such a nice cock," he hums. "What's attached to it isn't bad, either."

Pretty, slutty, and a little bratty to boot? Eddie will just have to keep him. 

"Give me your number?" he mumbles as Stevie staggers to his feet, and leans in for a sloppy kiss. 

Stevie dances out of his reach. 

"No need to," he winks, unlocking the door and skipping his way out. "We work in the same office. I'll find you." 

*

Stevie does not find him, of fucking course. Eddie tries to put it out of his mind, goes to work as usual and does definitely not scan the crowds for that voluminous shock of hair. 

He's actually relieved when the holidays come. The floors are empty and nobody calls because they need their door oiled or their light bulbs changed. Eddie holes up in his basement and starts working on that new campaign. 

Until the phone rings and a bored receptionist informs him Mr Harrington's height-adjustable desk is broken. 

"The CEO?" Eddie asks dumbly. 

"No," drawls the receptionist, "The son." 

*

The office is spacious and bright and tastefully decorated. Eddie hates everything about it. The fancy adjustable desk is not plugged in. 

He's just under it on all fours, ass in the air, fingers desperately stretching for the socket, when the door opens. He quickly shuts down his monologue about overpaid dumbasses. 

"Hey, man. I'll be out of your hair in a second." 

"No need to hurry," says someone. "I'll just enjoy the view." 

"What the- ow, motherfucker!" Eddie whirls around so fast he cracks his head on the desk. "Stevie?" 

Stevie kicks the door shut, sips idly on his vending machine drink, and observes how Eddie clambers to his feet. 

"Said I’d find you," he smiles. Before Eddie can form a reply, he's being pushed against the desk and there's a tongue down his throat. 

"I- wha- wait!" He tries to pull away. Stevie keeps nipping at his throat. "Are you crazy? Harrington Junior could be here any second." 

"He already is." 

Eddie yelps and looks around frantically, half expecting to see someone lurking behind a potted plant. There's nobody there. 

"But it's just me and-" 

And then it clicks. 

"Oh my God," he groans. The mouth against his pulse grins. 

"Steve is fine." 

"You're the CEO's son," Eddie babbles. "I called you a cockslut, I-" 

Stevie - no Steve, Steve fucking Harrington, Eddie is so fucked - just shrugs. 

“I am,” he says easily. 

Eddie gapes at him. 

“The CEO’s son or …” 

Steve laughs in his face. It’s bright and cheerful and adorable and so fucking cheeky, Eddie wants to teach him some manners. Long, graceful hands are fiddling with the zipper of his overalls. 

“Listen,” he sighs when Eddie doesn’t react, just keeps gaping at him like a fish out of water. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had an unexpected business trip to go on, but … I’ve been thinking about you the entire time. Let me make it up to you?” 

“I …” Eddie nods dazedly. Their lips brush with the movement. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Brilliant,” Steve says. Then, in one swift movement, he takes his drink and upends it in Eddie’s lap. 

Eddie gawks, heat pooling where the stain is spreading, tight and urgent. 

“Oops,” Steve Harrington deadpans, and gets on his knees. 

Maybe going to the Christmas party wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

All my holiday drabbles

[chaosheadspace]

How about #15 for the kissies? Hope you feel better!

Hello! Thank you for sending in an ask. Yes, I am better by now, but I still have for prompts to do :D This is a continuation of this prompt, because they wouldn't shut up in my mind (tagging @academicblorbo for obvious reasons).

15 is passionately, I hope this qualifies.

Of course Hob gets the job. It just takes the interview and five weeks of waiting, during which Dream misses him that much more fiercely, because Hob could be here, with him, if they would just hurry up and answer.His inability to do anything about it almost drives him crazy.

When Hob does get the answer, the search for a house proves to be equally frustrating—slow at first, before it's all over fairly quickly. They're on a phone call, both scrolling through listings.

“Here, look at this one,” Hob says, sending a link. Isn't that—”

The listing is for a flat identical in layout to Dream’s, albeit decorated somewhat more… frilly. “There is no way to know, Hob,” Dream says. “There are thirty-five apartments in this building alone, you cannot—”

“No, look at the pictures of the balcony, it's the one next to you. It's the exact flowers you're always stealing, and the pink bird bath.”

“Excuse me?” Dream asks, offended. “I do not steal, I simply take what grows over onto my side, which—”

“Do you think we could knock down a wall?” Hob muses.

“—is very well within—what?” Dream's train of thought comes to an abrupt halt.

“Like. Make a passage. From this one to yours.”

“The lease is very particular about holes left by nails,” Dream tells Hob, holding back a smile. “I do not think they would take at all kindly to holes very much larger than that.”

“Pity,” Hob says. “Okay, have you seen the one with the double parking spot that we don't need because we both go by bike?”

In the end, they get very lucky. Through one of Dream’s coworkers, they find a small house with four rooms and a fairly large kitchen, tucked away from the seaside hotels and tourists, just a short walk away from a stone beach. The style of it is, as Hob would call it, romantic. Dream just calls it “in dire need of renovation.”

“I know you'd have loved grey stone and glass,” Hob teases. “If you want, you can paint the bedroom.”

And so Dream does. Hob knows Dream secretly loves the house just as much as he does. He’s seen him caressing the wooden framework when he thought Hob wasn’t looking, as well as trying and failing to tuck the overgrown roses back behind the archway. When Hob, who only offered up the bedroom walls as a means to make peace between the house and Dream, checks up on the room after two days, he's left there in the doorway, gaping.

The room is painted in dark blues and greys in a soft gradient until it dissipates into a light grey in the middle of the ceiling, a rippled almost-circle around the cables where Dream detached the lamp. The walls and ceiling are covered in bioluminescent sea creatures, winding themselves around the corners of the room, swimming up, partly hiding behind an underwater volcano that covers most of the wall where the wardrobe will go. Amidst all of this kneels Dream, on cheap, taped-down paper sheets, painting something close to the floor.

“Love, that's amazing, Hob gasps as he finds his words again.

Dream, veritably covered in paint, looks up at him. “You always seem to forget that my second major was art,” he pouts.

There's a bright green streak on his cheek and a white spot on his nose, his usually raven hair flecked with grey. Hob thinks he's adorable. “Never,” he vows, stepping up to Dream to carefully press a kiss on his as of yet clean forehead. “You'll always be my little artist.”

“I am not little,” Dream says.

“You so are,” Hob grins.

Dream gets up from the floor, where he has been painting the very bottom of the wall with little rocks, the paper he put down to protect the floor crinkling. “Just because I am one centimetre smaller than you—”

“One and a half,” Hob corrects cheerfully.

Dream points at him with his brush. “I am not small,” he tells Hob again.

“To me you are,” Hob sing-songs, narrowly avoiding getting his face painted on. He gently grabs Dream's wrist to stop him, his tone turning earnest. “Does it really bother you? Because I'll stop if it does.”

Dream arches his eyebrow, stepping closer, making no move to free his wrist. “Are you insinuating that I cannot take a friendly barb about my height?”

The tension in Hob's stomach eases at once, while other parts of him light up with a spark of interest. Dream really does look cute covered in paint. Maybe they should split the library room to double as an art studio. “Well, I know all kinds of things you take very well, but even I can't know everything, can I?” Hob says softly, smiling.

With a hoarse, sobbing laugh, Dream buries his face in the crook of Hob's neck, dropping the brush in favour of embracing him. “Are you seriously coming onto me right now?” His disbelieving tone is belied by his hands that wander down to tug Hob flush against him by his waist, his breath that ghosts hot over the side of Hob's neck, followed by a playful nibble.

“I might be,” Hob hedges, his breathing just a little heavy. “Why, are you objecting?”

Dream moves away from his neck to frame Hob's face with both hands. “This house is basically empty save for painting supplies, and I am filthy,” Dream states before kissing him, deep and hungry. Hob sighs and opens for him, snaking one hand under Dream's shirt, feeling a cold smear of paint on his cheek from Dream’s nose.

“A shower, then,” Hob murmurs, “so we're clean before we get filthy again.” His fingers trail up over the knobs of Deams spine, finding goosebumps on their way back down.

“So you are suggesting two showers with work in between?” Dream asks, rubbing his nose through Hob's scruff, no doubt still leaving paint, before biting at his Adam's apple.

“I think you’ve worked enough for today,” Hob says, emphasising his words by sneaking one hand into the back of Dream’s paint-smeared jeans. “Could let me do some work for a change.”

“Very well,” Dream says smugly, wrapping his legs around Hob’s waist, leaving Hob to catch him so they don’t fall. “You may.”

Hob just laughs and kisses him again before walking them unsteadily towards the bathroom.

Send me a kissy prompt or read the other one's here

[youunravelme]

hiiii congrats 🥳 so amazing!! you’re amazing!! love seeing you on my dash/notifs and especially your fics!! they’re amazing

only if you have time, but could you do “I saved a piece for you.” with mat <3

i know we don't really talk, BUT ILYSM! your writing always brings a smile to my face!!

this got out of hand, but here ya go!

mat knew you were a hopeless romantic, it was one of the reasons he fell in love with you. the way you sobbed when watching the end of 27 dresses despite it being a very upbeat and happy ending or the way you squealed and thanked him a million times every time he so much as came home with a bouquet of flowers.

you made it easy for him to be a good boyfriend, your very reactions to his love made him only want to love you even more.

"babe?" he walked through the front door, ready to be accosted by your warm hug.

but it never came.

mat furrowed his brows and walked further into your apartment. he found you standing in your bedroom, throwing the clothes you packed across the room while you cried.

"baby, what's wrong?" mat hurried across the room to pull you into his arms but you shrieked and pulled away.

"stay away!" you cried. "i'm sick."

mat stopped, even though he wanted nothing more than to hold you, but not at the risk of upsetting you even further. "talk to me, how can i help you? what's going on?"

you collapsed face first into bed and sobbed. "stupid martha came to work when she was sick and got me sick. so i can't go to the wedding with you, mat. i'm sorry."

mat was quick to sit down next to you and start rubbing your back. "it's okay, i'll just tell ethan we can't make it and--"

you sat up immediately. "no! you're going mathew barzal."

"i can't just leave you here."

you set him with a hard look. "you can and will. i'll get a friend to help me, but you need to be with ethan on his big day." you cried a little more. "just promise me you'll eat some cake, diet be damned."

mat rolled his eyes but a smile was playing on his lips. "it's just cake, babe."

you scoffed. "no, wedding cake is the best cake because it tastes like love and promises and commitment and cherishing the one you adore." if you didn't look so serious, mat would've laughed at how stopped up you sounded.

"okay, if you say so," he conceded.

"i'm glad you see it my way." you paused. "you know what this means, right? me being sick?" mat shook his head. "you can't sleep in here tonight."

he scoffed and pulled you into his chest before placing kisses up and down your neck. "like hell i am, i'm sleeping in our bed with you."

you eventually acquiesced that night, but not without establishing a pillow wall between the two of you (which mat discarded quickly after you fell asleep.

the next morning, he let you sleep while he gathered his things and headed for the airport, leaving his entire heart back in new york.

ethan was the one who picked him up from the airport, and he immediately asked where you were. when mat explained the situation, his friend seemed a bit bummed, more so for mat than anyone else.

"god, i couldn't imagine leaving my fiance at home while i was in another country."

mat blinked. "you do that literally all season long."

but ethan shrugged him off.

when the day of the wedding came, mat's hands felt empty. usually, at the other weddings you'd attended together, you were attached at the hip. mat had a hand on you at all times. though, if he was being fair, his physical touch was not exclusive to weddings and parties.

he couldn't help but think of you in every decoration, every song that was played. he could picture you now wearing the dress you picked out for that very occasion. he could see you walking down the aisle towards him wearing the ring that was currently sitting in his bedside table drawer.

after his speech, mat stepped outside and dialed your number. it rang three times before you picked up.

"mat?" god he loved the sound of your voice.

"hey baby, how're you feeling?"

"i'm fine, have you eaten the cake? how did lenasia look? was she gorgeous? i bet she was beautiful."

he laughed into the phone. "you sound like you're feeling better."

"a little, i miss you though."

"i'll be home tomorrow, i promise. and then we can enjoy the rest of the off season together. how does that sound?"

"sounds like heaven."

the wedding continued on, with mat sneaking a slice of cake to take home to you. he partied, but hated you weren't there to dance to some cheesy ed sheeran love song. he laughed at jokes, but wondered what you would've found funny. he watched ethan and his wife dance together and couldn't help himself from messing with his ring finger on his left hand, wondering what it would feel like to feel cold metal there.

"you okay, barzy?" ethan must've stepped away from the dance floor while mat was zoning out.

he smiled. "never better."

"but you miss her," ethan supplied.

"but i miss her." mat shrugged. "i'll see her tomorrow though."

"is she feeling any better?"

mat nodded. "she's fine now, hates that she missed it."

"it happens," ethan said. "besides, i'm sure we'll see her when you two get married." mat flushed. "that's still the plan right? next month?"

"next month."

ethan smiled and slapped his friend in the shoulder. "best decision you'll ever make."

mat flew home the next day. he politely took a few photos with fans, but for the most part sprinted out of the airport just to get home to you.

he couldn't drive fast enough. couldn't get enough green lights. the elevator up to your penthouse felt too slow.

but it was worth it when he opened the door and saw you wearing his sweatshirt (that had mysteriously gone missing two weeks ago) watching yet another rom com.

he didn't even say hello. didn't greet you. he just sat his bag down and pulled out some tupperware and held it out to you.

"i saved a piece for you," he said.

your eyes watered until you jumped off the couch and into his arms. "i love you i love you i love you!" you exclaimed before taking the cake from him and diving into it. you moaned at the rich flavors before smiling at him. "this is so fucking good. isn't wedding cake the best?"

mat shrugged. "their cake was decent, but i bet ours will be better."

[annymation]

The Kingdom of Wishes- A “Wish” Rewrite

Chapter 2- Asha's Big Day

Please read Chapter 1 before this one.

Asha wakes up with the first rays of sunshine coming out of the window hitting her eyes, she blinks a few times as things start coming into focus.

The room she’s in is not the same we saw her in the opening with Sabino, it’s a rustic bedroom with a more detailed built to it, with wood carvings that resemble animals on the walls and furniture, including on a bed next to Asha’s with the name “Dahlia” carved on it.

Also there’s way less of Asha’s drawing hanging on the walls, just a few of her favorite ones. One in particular it’s a drawing of her and Dahlia together, although, Asha’s face doesn’t look exactly how she really is in real life, she still needs more practice with self portraits.

Asha stretches her arms and yawns, waking up a little someone on a little bed next to hers.

And from the tiny bedsheets comes out a baby goat that quickly jumps to her lap excitedly bleating and licking her cheeks.

“Heheheh good morning to you too, Valentino” she says as she hugs him.

"Did you sleep well?" she asks as if the goat could answer, and sure enough, he does

"Maaaa! Maaa!" the baby goat bleats shaking his head positively

"That's good, I slept well too... Although, I had the weirdest dream"

"Maa?" not to brag but I'm writing peak dialogue here the goat raises one eyebrow

"I can't remember much but... I think I saw a boy made of light, and he was trying to tell me something, I couldn't understand what it was… but I feel like he was asking me to not give away something, something important… Weird huh?" She asks her baby goat, who's too busy munching her blanket to pay attention, since ya know, baby's short attention span.

"Yeah, I guess it's just as weird as the fact I ask for advice from a goat hihih" She giggles to herself as she takes the blanket off his mouth, Valentino hops out of the bed jumping around and falling over like:

(Baby goats are so cute, like, how did Disney manage to make a baby goat NOT cute?)

Asha looks at her pet fondly and chuckles a little with his little jumps. But then her smile lessens a bit and she looks out her window, from there she can see the castle, imposing and radiant in the distance.

"Today really is the day, huh?..." She says softly, with a hint of both anxiousness but also hopefulness in her voice

Asha hears something approaching her door, the distinct sound of footsteps, as in, MANY footsteps, and a few whispers like "shhh she might still be sleeping" "be careful with that cake, will ya? It took me all night " "ouch! Simon, that's my foot!" "SHHHH"

Asha smiles, knowing full well who's coming, she waits eagerly for the door to open.

The door opens revealing her friends, all together trying to fit through the door, with Dahlia on the front, and she says:

"Is she awa- OH SHE IS! SHES AWAKE OKAY LETS GO- Happy birthday to-"

They all sing happy birthday as they get in, some more gracefully than others since Gabo just tripped over Valentino and fell on the floor, he's clearly very angry about that.

Hal rushes over to Asha holding a purple birthday cake with one candle, she's smiling widely and singing louder and more beautifully than everyone else. (She did have the best singing voice of the 7, in my opinion)

Meanwhile Dario is struggling to balance a tower of 7 presents, all of different colors and sizes, he manages to catch some with his feet before they fell on the floor, he’s pretty much performing a balancing act.

Simon stops in the middle of the song to give a big yawn.

Safi sneezes because of the smoke from the candle.

Bazeema is singing veeeeery quietly and clapping her hands softly.

Asha is overjoyed by the surprise "Awww guys! Thank you so much! Dahlia, this cake looks amazing!" She says looking at a beautifully decorated cake

If you wanna picture it lets say it’s just like the unbirthday cake from Alice in Wonderland, but purple.

"You're welcome!" Dahlia replied, very proud of herself "I guess when your little sis is an assistant at the royal kitchen you get some perks, am I right? hihi" Obviously they're not actually sisters but since Asha has been living with Dahlia and her parents they treat each other as if they were.

"We are soooo happy for you Asha!" Hal exclaims "You'll finally get a wish! this is so exciting!" She starts jumping up and down with the cake, Gabo quickly takes it off of her hands, annoyed by her recklessness.

Bazeema shyly and quietly remarks "yes, you deserve it more than anyone Asha, after all the kindness you spread to others" she has a big smile on her lips.

Asha puts her hand behind her neck smiling awkwardly "I mean, it's not really that big a deal, I think I'll just wish for something small"

Gabo, who is placing the cake on the table next to Asha's bed, turns his head abruptly after hearing that "Uuuh haha, excuse me? After 18 years of waiting you just gonna ask for something small? Are you crazy? A wish can change your life for the better, ya know? I ,for example, am gonna wish for a bunch of diamonds and gold" he claims smugly

Simon doesn't seem like he's fully paying attention, but even then he realizes Gabo had an oversight "… Wait, but now that you told us, it won't come true, remember? that's one of the king's rule-"

"THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME SIMON! THAT TOOOTALY DIDN'T JUST RUIN MY DAY" Gabo screams, frustrated by his slip up, because yeah, you CAN'T wish for something that other people know you want, it has to be a secret.

Safi is itching his nose as he claims "I think we all know what Asha is gonna wish for tho"

he glances at Asha's sketchbook that is laying next to her bed

Asha gives him a smug smile "Ooh-ho you think I'll wish to become a better artist? Hehehe nope!"

Dahlia of all people looks the most shocked "What?! Really? Aww that was my bet too, all I see you doing is drawing on that sketchbook everyday"

"And you often complain that you don't feel like they're good enough" Simon adds

"Heheh well yeah, I just don't feel they're quite the same level as my mom's drawings, that's all"

Hal raises her eyebrow as she smiles "Now that's just silly, I've seen you draw Asha, your drawings are AMAAAAZING! Just look!"

Hal grabs Asha's sketch book and starts showing to the others

"H-heey wait! those aren't finished!" Asha stutters, concerned they might see some of her rough and less than perfect drawings

(side note, never look at an artists sketchbook without permission, that's like reading someone's diary)

Asha grabs the notebook back, but sees all her friends staring at her expectedly (except Gabo cause he's still frustrated he'll have to think about a whole new wish) , so she breathes in and shows them.

She goes through the pages showing animals, landscapes, rooms, people, and if this was in the movie maybe some pages could have concept arts, both from wish and from previous Disney movies, as a subtle homage to the artists.

All of them sit next to Asha on the bed as she turns the pages, they're amazed.

"Wooow you've improved so much, Asha" Bazeema says, while giving some excited little claps

"You call that unfinished? then they'll look even better when you're done" Safi commented.

"They look really pretty" Dario communicates using sign language.

"See? I told ya'll" Hal says victorious.

Gabo and Simon look slightly unimpressed. Dahlia has already seen most of those so she has no comments, Asha knows how much she loves her drawings, she even glued some of them on their room.

"Thank you, that means a lot actually... " Asha says while staring at one particular drawing of her grandfather and her on a tree branch, looking up at the stars.

"… Most people say I'm just wasting my time but I really feel like I'm getting better everyday… Although." she flips the pages to show a drawing she made of herself, but the face doesn't fully resembles Asha's (could be a concept art) "I still can't figure out how to draw myself properly."

Gabo seems to try holding his tongue but he let's out anyway "I mean… to be frank, it kinda is waste of time when you think about it"

"Gabo!" Dahlia scolded him

"Hey I'm just saying, why take so much time practicing to be as great of an artist as your mom when you can just wish TODAY to be the best artist ever?" Gabo says frankly.

Asha doesn't really mind Gabo's previous comment, she's used to it, so she just shrugs and explains "Well for one, like Simon said, a wish that other people know about cannot be granted"

"Ugh don't remind me" Gabo facepalms, still angry by his own mistake.

"And second" Asha continues "I just feel more satisfied like this, working hard to improve everyday, even if I don't think my art is perfect just yet, I feel proud of myself every time I improve, and that drives me to keep trying to get better and better."

Simon chuckles at that "Hehe you're an amazing person Asha, but that's one thing I'll never understand, all of that sounds so hard, sometimes it's easier, and smarter, to just...*yaaaawn* take the easy route, ya know?..." As he rambles, Simon starts laying down on Asha's bed without noticing and almost immediately falls asleep.

That doesn't phase the group at all, they're used to it.

Asha closes her sketchbook and starts getting ready for the day "Well not for me, and another thing, if I wished to become a better artist I would forget that wish and my passion about drawing for a little while, and I REALLY don't want that, no, I'm gonna wish for something else." She says while taking off her braids scarf (Like this one, she wears it to sleep)

Hal claps her hands, smiling ear to ear "You go Asha! make a wish that counts! Now... BOYS! OUT! Shoo shoo! Get out of here, this is a girls only zone" She says pushing Dario, Gabo and Safi out the door

(Yes Hal, please get them OUT, I can't keep writing dialogue for 8 different people!)

"You too sleepy head, wait with the others downstairs" Dahlia shakes Simon a couple of times to wake him up.

"Uh what- why?" Simon wakes up confused

"Cause' we gotta get the birthday princess ready for her big day" Hal says, while sitting Asha in front of a mirror.

"Princess? Haha what?" Asha asks, holding her laughter

"Why, yes. You're a princess for today! Whatever you say goes, now, let's get your birthday hair done!" Hal says excited, while Asha grabs from a drawer some silver beads to decorate her braids.

"I can help you pick up a dress" Bazeema says quietly

"Heheh you all are too much" Asha says with a smile

(I just realized while writing this that Valentino kinda just vanished, didn't he?... Okay let's say he went downstairs after Gabo tripped on him, there, crisis averted)

Dahlia walks holding something behind her back and coughs a little as if to clear her throat, but really it's just to get their attention "If you think this is too much, wait till you see EVERYTHING else we've planned for today"

Asha gives Dahlia a knowing look with a smile "You made a list, didn't you?"

"You bet!" Dahlia reveals a long list that hits the floor with a step by step plan of all the activities they'll do the whole day.

"First! We gonna eat my cake for breakfast, yay! Then! We'll visit the royal garden, Bazeema has spent months preparing a small garden of Purple Hyacinths just for you"

Asha gasps "Those are my favorite flowers!"

"hihihi I know" Bazeema says giggling bashfully

Dahlia continues "Of course, Safi won't go with us to that because of-"

"AAA AAAAACHOOOOO!"

They hear from downstairs.

"... That, so to make it up to him, the next event is at his house where we gonna play our instruments the whooole morning"

"But I don't play any instruments" Asha says, her hair fully ready while she takes a dress Bazeema picked up for her.

"No problem, you can just dance and sing." Dahlia says "And then after that we have lunch and finally when it's sunset we go to the wish ceremony! So, what do you think?"

"That all sound's amazing" Asha says coming from behind a room divider (ya know those wood curtain like things that people use to dress up behind them?) now dressed in a purple dress, with a few star details embroidered on the base.

"Great!" Dahlia says "Because that's just the first part of the list, we got a filled day ahead-"

"You do indeed" Dahlia is interrupted by a new voice coming from behind the door "Good morning girls, may I come in?"

"Oh! Sure thing mom" Dahlia says opening the door

We see a woman that looks a lot like Dahlia but, of course, older, and wearing a dress that is composed only of muted shades of blue from top to bottom.

"Morning ms. Hayashi" Asha waves to her cheerfully.

"Good morning Asha, happy birthday" the woman says with a smile then redirects her attention to her daughter "Dahlia, I need your help, the King and Queen's wedding anniversary is in 2 days and the queen didn't like the cake recipe I came up with, I need to test a new recipe as soon as possible, so go to the market and buy me these ingredients." she hands Dahlia a grocery list.

"Wh- but mom I told you I'd be dizzy- I-I mean busy today” Dahlia replaces words when she’s nervous the same way Doc did constantly in Snow White “it's Asha's birthday, and this list is huge, it'll take me too long and mess up our whole schedule"

"I can help you" Asha chimed in

"whAT- OH NO YOU WON'T YOUNG LADY!" Dahlia exclaims pointing a finger at her

Hal and Bazeema are just in the background watching now

"Young lady? I'm officially older than you, remember? hehehe" Asha jokes

"Don't get funny with me you little ray of sunshine! You're turning 18 today, I won't have you spend your birthday in a carpet- I MEAN market!"

"Umm we can help too" Bazeema says meekly.

"Yeah, and the boys too, so we can get it done faster" Hal adds

"Huh? but-but our plan though" Dahlia points to the list

"Anywhere I spend with you guys it's special, then, after we're done buying what your mom needs, we can go to the royal garden, and then to Safi's house" Asha reassures her friend

".... *sigh* fiiiiiine, we'll help you, mom" Dahlia bemoaned, very frustrated with the change in plans.

"Thank you girls, please be back before sunset" She starts walking down the hallway

Then, Dahlia remembers something

"oh OH WAIT- Bazeema, grab a book that is under my bed please!" she asks her friend, since it's more difficult for her to bend down with her crutch and overall her mobility disabilities.

"Um alright" Bazeema grabs an old book that is almost falling apart, it has "family recipes" on the cover "This one?"

"That's the one. mom! mom!!" Dahlia walks up to her mom and shows her the book "Look what I found under the food cabinet last week~"

Her mom looks surprised "Huh... I haven't seen this in years"

"You said you wanted to test a new recipe, weeeell this book has a lot of cool recipes I've never heard about before! And I'm sure King Magnifico and Queen Amable would think so too!" She opens the book, it has hand written recipes in both English, Spanish and Japanese "By the way, how come you never told me about this?"

Asha and the other two look at them talking and Asha notices how Dahlia's mom looks... Indifferent to this book that is apparently a family relic, with recipes from her native culture, surely she'd at least feel nostalgic by it, would't she?

"That's nice sweetie, but that's not the type of food your majesties would like, I only make meals for them, remember?" she says in a very detached way, almost robotic.

Dahlia looks disappointed "Oh... Okay... Then maybe you can teach me later?" Dahlia asks, hopeful.

"... I don't think I'll have the time dear, I have way too much work already at the castle, besides, there's nothing interesting in that book anyway" she explains, clearly not caring at all.

Her mother leaves, Dahlia hugs the book tightly.

... Well that was weird wasn't it? I'm sure it's not foreshadowing anything...

Anywaaaay that's enough of a scene on Asha's bedroom, let's move this along.

We cut to the gang splitting up at the plaza, each one going to a different sales stall.

It's our first look in the actual kingdom, and it is... Exactly like it was in the actual Wish movie, only notable difference is that the sculptures and paintings on the walls and floors are no longer only of king Magnifico, there are images of the king AND queen all over the place.

And most people are dressed head to toe with muted shades of blue, white and yellow. Younger people like kids, teenagers and Asha and her friends stand out because they dress up with more varied and bright colors... Except for Simon, whose clothes are more of a muted bluish green and white... I'm sure that doesn't mean anything tho.

Asha and Dahlia are picking some fruits together, and Asha notices how Dahlia looks upset and deep in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry your mom is too busy, if you want we can try making those recipes together later" Asha says trying to comfort her best friend

"Huh what?" She snaps out of her train of thoughts "Oh that? pffft That was fine, I'm used to it, she and my dad... Always prioritize working for the king" she looks clearly frustrated.

Asha places a hand on her shoulder, concerned.

Dahlia glances at her friend and takes some deep breaths

"But yeah... I'd like to try making them with you, that'd be nice" She smiles at her friend and holds her hand "But hey enough about me, this is YOUR day! So, excited to have your wish granted? humm? hmm?" Dahlia is back to her bubbly self, trying to lighten the mood

"Honestly? I'm excited because after today I won't have the expectation of MAKING a wish at all" Asha says sounding almost relieved just thinking about it.

Dahlia looks confused "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you feel it? Like everyone expects you to have this--like-- GREAT goal you want to reach more than anything, that something you can't wait to wish for King Magnifico, and if you don't have it everyone thinks you have no ambition? Well, I don't have that something, I just want a simple life." Asha explains like this is something she has been holding inside for a while.

"... Sis, you lost me" Dahlia chuckles a little "You can wish for anything, doesn't have to be grand at all, and that won't CHANGE your life, if anything it'll just make it better." she says trying to reassure her friend even though she doesn't understand her struggle

Asha is smiling but there's a hint of sadness in her eyes, knowing her best friend doesn't understand how she feels, so she tries changing the subject "Yeah... It sure didn't make Simon happy, did it?"

"What do you mean?" Dahlia asks while buying some apples

"The droopy eyes, the constant yawning, the fact we gotta cary a pillow for him everywhere we go because he might literally collapse from exhaustion out of nowhere" Asha lists it like it's obvious (because it kinda is)

"Ah he explained that to us before, remember? Since the day he turned 18 his dad has been more strict with their training, so he can be the next captain of the royal guard. Sometimes Simon just doesn't get enough sleep"

"I know… I guess that makes sense, kinda" Asha looks down, thinking about how Simon reminds her a lot of her grandfather... But Simon is literally 21, he should NOT be acting and feeling like a man that died when he was 100, that's not right, regardless of how terrible his dad is.

"Okay I gotta ask" Dahlia interrupts her thoughts "Do you even know what you'll be wishing for, because I somehow got a feeling you don't know yet" her best friend looks at her suspiciously.

"Oh ya know, just something simple. Something that won't change my life at all-"

That comment caught the attention of a nearby juggling performer who was entertaining some children near the market, he stops what he's doing and rushes over towards the two girls while doing some cartwheels.

"After all the only one who can change my life is m-"

"MAGNIFICO GRANTS NO "SIMPLE WISH", CHILD" the jester exclaims interrupting Asha as he points his finger to her face.

"Oh- Hello there" Asha looks surprised but she can kinda already tell where this is going

Because now, it's song time!

This is a concept lyric still, with no specific instrumentals nor established rhythm yet, just inspired by "Keep your friends close" From Epic: The Musical. But in the future the song may have it's own instrumentals, with the help of @annamations03

But for now, just read these lyrics like a poem and try to imagine the vibes.

I Made A Wish

Lyrics in bold white are sang by background characters

(Jester) Child, are you not in the know? How can one not dream to have anything they wish for? Why, you’d end up hopeless and alone! But! if you’re in need of assistance Perhaps a jester with no persistence Can show just how wondrous is this kingdom we call home!

Ha ha ha I made a wish! Yes, I was as young as you! Then your majesty made me into something new Back then I was shy— You? I know, right? But now I bring joy to all of those around!  See, it’s that simple, no need to think so much! Just look within and a wish can be found And our dear king will bring in his magic touch! Yes yes, I know how this works I’ve been living here since birth But the thing is that I don’t see any perks… Sounds like you lack self-worth What? Ha ha ha I made a wish! And my light shone brighter! Whatever you want is what you’ll get! Show some gratitude, kid, don’t you wanna be wiser? Just forget with no regret! Ummm 'Cause why would ya take the hardest route? When dreams coming true here is more than allowed So make a wish too, for your life to turn around! Whatever you want is what you’ll get! (Whatever you want is what you’ll get) (Asha Talking)  Thank you for the advice, but… I still think I can make my dreams come true on my own, I'll just  give him a simple wish because it's tradition. (Jester, still singing) *sigh*  Alrighty then, but don't forget That's something you might regret. (Dahlia Talking) Okaaaay now that THATS over,  let's go meet up with the others … Hey, this is the day for you to make YOUR wish. Doesn't matter what anyone else says that wish should be like, okay? … *Breathes in* *breathes out* Okay! Let's go!

(Asha and her friends are on their way to Safi's house to play instruments together, Asha looks around listening to background characters singing as they walk)

(Random Citizens)  I made a wish, and the king made it all better! Whatever you want is what you'll get (Whatever you want is what you'll get) Here in Rosas we got no worries, no pressure Just forget with no regret (Just forget with no regret) 'Cause in a world so cruel and unjust We can trust our dreams won't get crushed, so I made a wish, and I don't regret it! Just forget with no regret (Just forget with no regret)

(They get to Safi's house and start playing instruments together, Asha dances but internally she's very conflicted, and we get a glimpse of what's going on inside her head as she sings to herself while still listening to her friend's voices faintly. She recollects about her grandfather, and how he never remembered what his wish was.)

(Asha) It's my day, so they say  Make a wish that you won't regret Well, I know it may not go this way Cause' when you made a wish, all you got was to forget (7 teens) Today 's your day! Will the same happen to me once I wish away? To celebrate you! And what even is this wish I wanna pursue? Now it's your time Time step up those stairs and do what's expected Now it's your time You all are the only ones who I truly feel connected Now it's your time Can't I just stay here Please, let me stay here Now it's your time (????) Now it's your time

(Asha looks confused, a voice she doesn't recognize echoed in her head. But she has no time to question it, because Gabo just realized... The sun is setting.)

(Gabo) It's time… GUYS! It's time! It's wish ceremony time! (Everyone) LET' S GO! (7 Teens): We gotta go, we gotta go, we gotta go (Asha): I know, I know, I know, I know

(Citizens sing the main chorus as they run to the castle, we cut to the wish ceremony, and we see Asha and her friends getting there, just in time for the king's entrance, with a huge puff of green smoke covering the stage, and lighting effects to dazzle the public, we hear the voice of the king of Rosas echo like a thunder, as he jumps out of the smoke.)

HELLOOOOOO ROSAS!

HA HA HA Come on! Come all! It's that time again! Don't be shy now! All you'll do is gain! Just fall in line now! Here's where dreams start! Cause' if I'm your ring master then you are all my stars!

(The king dances around the stage, full of energy as he hypes up the already excited crowd. Meanwhile, queen Amable walks in gracefully and begins to sing melodically as if she's singing a lullaby. Asha is already in the line to give her wish, she's the last in line.)

Ooooh This, my flowers, is our reason for living To see all your wanting be turned into wishing So just come now ,my darlings, and welcome to Rosas Where your yearning comes true, no what-ifs and no wonders

NOW'S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT!

(People in line) We forget with no regret All he got was to forget What we want is what you'll get I'll finally get my wish I'll make a simple wish With just a magic swish

Oh I can't wait for it! Oh I can't wait to end this! Oh I can't wait to grant it!- ...

This last part is like the end of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" where characters sing all at the same time, and we see Asha slowly approaching the king and queen more and more as the line keeps getting smaller and smaller the more people give away their wishes, Asha's turn is approaching, and then...

She's right in front of Magnifico, he stands his hand to get her wish, she takes a deep breath and... she thinks on her wish.

...

Nothing happens.

...

The song ends abruptly.

...

Asha opens her eyes expecting to see a wish bubble.

...

All she sees is Magnifico's hand.

...

The whole crowd goes quiet. Magnifico and Amable exchange a quick confused glance to one another.

"... Is anything wrong, little one?" The king asks, staring at her expectingly but still with a very calm smile.

Asha get's nervous, she can feel everyone's eyes on her.

"I- I'm sorry your highness, I might not be focusing on it hard enough... Is it supposed to be hard?" She looks up to them both looking for some guidance.

The queen notices the girl's anxiety and gives her a soothing caress on her shoulder "Do not fret my flower, it's different for everyone, you can take aaall the time you need" She says in a motherly tone.

That does help Asha calm down a little bit, but she still can't manifest her wish no matter how hard she tries.

"Hmmm" Magnifico ponders for a moment "Say, how about you just whisper what you wish for to me?"

"... But isn't that against the rules?" Asha asks

The king can't help but chuckle at that "Well, I'll know what your wish is either way so of course the "Keep your wish a secret" rule doesn't apply to me. Come now, I promise I won't judge." He speaks in a soothing tone and a welcoming smile.

Asha hesitates for a moment, but she steps closer to the king, who's now leaning down to be on the same level as her so she can whisper in his ear.

She whispers something and...

Magnifico's face contorts from a gentle smile to a dumbfounded frown with his eyebrows raised all the way up.

The queen is staring at them puzzled, what could she wish for that threw him out of the loop so quickly?

As they slowwwwly distance themselves, the king and Asha are now staring at each other, the king still leaning down to her eye level... He whispers to her:

"... Why on earth would you wish for high grass to grow on your backyard?" the king questions like she's insane.

Asha whispers back

"... Because my pet goat likes to eat high grass... A lot... Your majesty" she adds that last part like she almost forgot to address him formally.

The king stares at her for a few seconds, that to Asha felt like it were minutes.

His smile returns to his face though, so that's good right?

But the smile turns into quiet snickering, as if the king is trying really hard to hold in a huge uncontrollable laughter, but he has to hold it in, can't lose his composure like that in front of his subjects.

Asha did have a wish in that moment, she wished the floor would eat her up so she could escape this embarassment.

Everyone in the crowd, and the queen as well, looks shocked at the king's reaction.

Magnifico takes some deep breaths and calms down.

"Oh my... hahah that's a good one, thank you, I needed a laugh today... oof okay okay I'm good, *cough* now come on, what's your actual wish?" He asks her again cheerfully

"... It wasn't a joke my king, I just have a simple wish, really." she explains with her voice sounding meek

The king realizes his mistake...

"Wait... Has no one ever told you?" The king asks her, raising one eyebrow.

"Told me what?"

"Well eh- now how can I put this... I believe you might misunderstand what I actually DO, my dear" The king starts explaining

"... Misunderstood what?" Asha is very concerned with what the answer may be

The king starts walking around Asha, circling her while he explains, similar to a teacher lecturing a child "You see... People who come here don't wish for simple mundane things, although yes, I have gotten a few who, like you, thought they could just wish to "Dance on beat" or "Have hair that touch down on their feet"... Which was very odd may I add- But the point is that my magic is not made to grant those wishes."

Asha can already feel her heart sink, she's starting to understand where the king is going with this, but she holds some hope it's not what she think's it is

"So umm..." Asha shyly asks "What kind of wishes DO you grant?"

The king looks at her with a big radiant smile as he answers her qauestion

"The ones that matter, of course! The wish that comes from deeeep inside that big heart of yours, your main goal in life! To put it simply, my child, what you must give me is the wish that makes you... well... YOU!" The king claims passionately, his demeanor full of enthusiasm like he's describing the most beautiful thing in the world.

That's it... That's exactly what Asha was afraid he'd say.

She CAN'T give him this wish because she doesn't know WHAT THAT WISH IS!

And even if she did know for sure... She doesn't want to hand it to him... That wish... whatever it is, it's HERS.

Her father used to write about how important it is to chase after what you wish for, how is she gonna chase after something Magnifico is just gonna hand to her, where's the fun in that?

Also, is this common knowledge?? How come no one ever told her she had to give to the king the most essential part of herself???People are just okay with that???? Do all those 18 year olds that came before her already have that figured out?????

(Technically the Jester did tell her, but she didn't think he was for real, the lesson is, take clowns seriously)

"Hey! Are you listening? Helloooo?" Asha is snapped out of her own thoughts by the king literally snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"I- I'm sorry I dozed off for a second... What were you saying, your majesty?"

"We were saying that a wish is what makes you who YOU are." The queen says patiently "Which begs the question, my dear...

Who are you?"

Chapter 3

Final Thoughts

"Asha's Big Day" indeed, this took me the whole day to write lmao

Okay so let me just say, the reason I focused a on Dahlia's mom for bit was because I wanted to introduce how Magnifico's magic is affecting the people of Rosas, besides just Simon who is affected because his wish hasn't been granted yet, unlike him Dahlia's mom DID get her wish granted...

You might know where I'm going with this if you read my blog explaining how I'd rewrite the villains, but if you're new, hi, welcome to the madness, you don't have to read how'd rewrite them if you'd rather be surprised by the twist.

Oh, and you surely don't have to worry about what's the symbolism behind a purple hyacinths, Asha's favorite flower, there sure is no meaning to that.

hehe

Also I legit laughed to myself for several minutes thinking about how I builded up Asha's wish the whoooooole chapter

AND IT TURNS OUT ALL SHE WANTED TO WISH FOR WAS GRASS

FREAKIN

GRASS

She must be protected at all cost.

Alrighty, hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, see you guys on the next chapter!

Thank you for reading!

[mothduchess]

Kitsune HRT Part 3

Doors, are fucking,

TERRIFYING.

The office was unassuming by itself, yet the details spoke behind the facade's back, hinting to a truer nature. A nick upon the doorplate, how it could be pushed easily from any point on its towering height, or how dirt prints came in more varieties than just shoes. Snap! My gaze scampered upwards. The sun gazed unflinchingly from high above gazing through its mantle of clouds; it weighed like a crown with all of its aching heat. "I wonder how it'd feel with fur," I mused, before turning my gaze back to the office's doorway. I... couldn't distract myself for long. All that research I had done, the pep talk with my friends, they made it very clear: the first visit was the worst of them all. But like anything good and necessary, it still felt larger than it was. I could feel myself take a step back for just a moment. And then I stopped. The words of the kind man from before, and his quiet push to bring me to this place, they rang in my head as a gentle bell. Thoughts of her returned to my mind - my hands unconsciously went over my heart, head rolled to the side. I started to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. The door gave way to a refreshing reprieve an an audience of chairs. "Barely anyone else here... suppose it *is* a work day." The few merits of unemployment aside, it did make me feel still ever so uneasy. I couldn't help it! And it wasn't just fear either. Looking to my side, I saw the wounds upon the wall, infamously left by one of the most notable patients. Those pictures were how I knew this place even existed, and now here I was caught in the wake of it all. I passed the healing plaster patch and shuffled towards the counter. A slight woman greeted me with a smile. "How can I help you?" "I'm here for... um, I think his name was Herian?" "Oh, Dr. Herian. Did you schedule a visit?" "Yes. Uh, it's under-" "Here it is. Miss Wild?" Her pleasant smile set me at ease. I simply gave a nod. "Just sit down, it won't take any time." I sat down. Names, are a tricky thing during transition. You're constantly confronted by them throughout the process. Modern society asks you what you are through your name, but what if you don't know? What if you wished you didn't need one? Right now, my appearance didn't speak for itself but already so many people just called me the truth: "Fox". It wasn't a name, but it was me. I'd gone through earlier versions; Wild was just a nickname that I enjoyed better than the one I buried states away. And maybe this one would meet the same fate. Her voice flittered upon the air. I knew the routine, and followed my part. If the front door was merely daunting, though, the door of Dr. Herian's was something *else*. Not by the door's fault. It was entirely the man inside responsible. A man no younger than 40 sat behind a heavy desk bolted to the floor gazed right through me as I came through, his gaze shielded by thick spectacles. Only wisps of hair decorated his scalp with a bush rounding the rest and sitting over his lips. Theodore Herian was the stern face of the entire program, a genius amongst his field and a veritable boogeyman to the community. Wordlessly I sat before him in the tiny chair provided, shuffling to cut a smaller figure. "Miss..." his eyes glanced at the file before him, "Wild. According to my schedule, you're here on behalf of the Humanity Removal Therapy?" "Correct." "Mh. I see. Specifically.... ah, right. Kitsune, which involves a variant of vulpinestin. We do have the medication-" Here it comes. "-but have you been living as a fox for years, now?" "For as long as I knew what thought was." "Yes sir. I've been presenting as a fox publicly for a while now, both online and in person." Physical visits were so much more stressful than the online consultations my first transition brought with it. And the questions he asked, I felt as if he was investigating the fiber of my being. Pouring water upon glass to find any sign of the slightest crack. "To be clear, what you're asking for-"

"Practically begging for." "-is the kitsune type, not the standard North American Red Fox. This comes with more than just tails. Even more so than other HRT medications, the kitsune comes with notable side effects. Illusions, fire, s..." The voice filtered out. I knew what I was getting into, and I knew to some they'd misinterpret why. 'That I just wanted the powers' or 'it'd be okay if you were just a fox'. I might be a vixen, a creature of cunning and sneering grins - but I wasn't some kind of plotting mastermind! My fingers pinched the sweatpants I came by today in with frustration twisting under the skin. The irritation ran like wax, my mouth pulled into the faint signs of an oncoming sneer. I would be a beautiful vixen even if it killed me. Not for any reason other than to ring in a new spring. "I'll do this. I'm right here. It's almost the-" "MISS. Wild.... Good. You're back. Did you hear what I said?" I gave a flustered nod, which he responded with an exasperated sigh. "Then, I would like to be the first to thank you for coming here, and to let you know - you may pick up your medication at your chosen pharmacy." He handed over a pamphlet that felt as precious as gold in my fingers. For moments, I was on autopilot. Step Step Step Step At some point I recall bidding a polite farewell to the receptionist? But my mind was a buzzing hurricane of thoughts, a whirl of actions. Petals honey gold silk cars sirens light heat skin sweat lock key ho-! My door clicked behind me, the vacancy greeting me warmly. The bag crumpled underneath my fingers. And when I heard that rattle? The light kissing the bottle and coming out changed as an amber gold nectar that seeped into the floor? I wept, and delighted sounds of a fox escaped my throat. Kitsune HRT: Week 1 OH MY GODS OH MY GODS I HAVE THE MEDICINE, AAAAAA -No changes yet. First pills, but so stoked. -Gods I felt I was going to die in that office. -Thank the fucks I do not have oh HELLS. -....I hope I end up fluffy

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