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spiteless-xo · 3 months

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╰┈➤ aurora borealis — longing — part 2/5 ⋙ A snapshot over five years of how your relationship with Satoru Gojo develops.

ft. satoru gojo / fem!reader (minor hiromi higuruma / reader) wc. 7.4k cw. sfw but explicit content in future chapters - minors do not interact, explicit language, friends to lovers, slow burn, pining, sexual tension, sexual jokes, miscommunication, emotional cheating (not on Gojo), major character death, potential manga spoilers, second person POV

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2014.

Satoru Gojo.

The little flip your stomach does every time you see his name on your phone always makes you feel stupid, so you try to quell the feeling by turning your phone face-down and setting it on the table. You take slow, measured breaths to calm your heart rate before returning your attention to the crossword puzzle in front of you.

“Who was that?” Hiromi asks. He doesn’t look up from his book.

“Just a friend from school,” you explain with a handwave, but you return your hand firmly to the table when you notice it shaking. “Not even a friend, really. He’s one of Utahime’s friends.”

Hiromi hums but says nothing.

“It’s his birthday, and he and his friends always throw a big party around this time of year, but since Utahime is spending the holidays with Nanami, she’s been ignoring his messages,” you explain, even though you’re fairly certain he’s not listening. “She never liked going to his parties, anyway—she only ever went because of Shoko—but he doesn’t understand that. I don’t know why he’s messaging me, now… we’re hardly friends. He’s not even in the country right now, so I’m not sure why—”

“Which one is this?” he asks, surprising you with his attention. “The one that’s always barking at Nanami?”

You laugh. “Yes, that’s the one—Gojo.”

Hiromi nods, pressing his lips into a tight, thin line as he peers at you from his seat beside you. You clear your throat under his gaze and shift your chair away from him slightly.

“Anyway, it’s nothing,” you say, and look back down at your crossword.

What’s a nine-letter word for easily upset? You write SENSITIVE.

Hiromi places his bookmark into the pages of his book before shutting it and setting it aside. He reaches over for your hands and takes them in his.

“Are you alright? You’ve been acting strange all day.”

You pull your hands out of his grip and lean back into your chair, crossing your arms over your chest and away from his touch. “I’m ok, it’s just the holidays, you know? It’s a pretty stressful time of year.”

He nods and then leans back, mirroring your pose. He stares at you for a moment and, for once, you don’t let your nervous chatter fill the silence, so he returns to his book.

Hiromi never pries. The two of you have been dating for a few months, after meeting at a networking event, but you feel like he’s constantly holding you at arm’s length.

Hiromi loves silence. He’d let it stretch on for hours if he could. But you are easily upset—sensitive—and so you often fill it with nonsensical chatter.

You know this is a tactic he utilizes at work with his clients—most people are uncomfortable with silence. You don’t like that he uses it on you, too. You wish he’d initiate conversation with you more.

What’s a seven-letter word for severe suffering? ANGUISH seems to fit perfectly.

Hiromi is older than you—more mature and established in his career—so you’ve always told yourself that his standoffishness is a result of that. That’s the reason you were drawn to him when you first met—he had his shit together. He was somebody you could rely on. Someone you could see a future with.

You know he never listens to you when you chatter about your life. He just smiles and nods, listens just enough to seem engaged, but he’s never really paying attention. He doesn’t have time to hear childish thoughts about your immature friends.

Not even friends—a friend of a friend.

“Do you work tomorrow?” you ask.

“No, not tomorrow,” Hiromi responds. “You?”

“No, but I’m busy,” you say. You tap the end of your pen against the table, glancing up at Hiromi.

You know there shouldn’t be this kind of awkward tension between a couple. This is supposed to be the honeymoon stage of your relationship, and yet there’s a palpable distance between you.

Reaching out for Hiromi’s hand feels awkward and forced. You pull back before your kisses can deepen. You’ve been intimate, but ironically, the act has always lacked intimacy.

You know something is off, but you don’t understand why. The two of you are perfect for each other on paper: you have the same goals and aspirations, you’re financially compatible, and you agree on everything regarding kids, religion, and politics.

Six letters across, a feeling of craving something, and it shares an S in the fifth block from a previous clue. After some thought, you settle on THIRST.

Hiromi continues reading, so the silence drags on.

You set your pen down on the table and reach out for your phone, flipping it up to read the message on your screen. You’re still trembling slightly as you hold the device in your hand, your entire body feels chilly as you tilt your phone away from Hiromi at your side.

Satoru Gojo: you see the northern lights?

You feel like you’re doing something bad—like the message is a secret that can’t be shared—and although mundane, it has your heart thumping loudly in your chest.

You peer around Hiromi to look outside the kitchen window, but you see nothing.

You: no

Your thumbs hover over the keyboard, wanting to say more. Should you ask about the trip? Maybe you could say something witty about the most recent album of photos he posted on Facebook. But when Hiromi shifts beside you, you slam your phone back onto the table—face down.

“It’s getting late,” he says, closing the book and pushing it into the centre of the table.

The phone buzzes against the table, a loud grating sound in the silence of your kitchen.

Your cheeks feel hot—even more so as his eyes scan your face—but his expression reveals nothing. You tense up when Hiromi lifts his hand from the table, your grip tightening around your phone as if he might take it from you, but instead, he rests his palm on the back of your neck.

Your phone buzzes again.

His warm hand gives the nape of your neck a gentle squeeze, but it does nothing to alleviate your tension.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asks.

“This crossword is hard,” you explain quickly, moving your phone to your opposite side, away from Hiromi. “Do you think you could help me?”

He nods.

“Unquestionably the best," you read while Hiromi kneads at your shoulders. “Four letters.”

The edge of his lip turns up slightly.“ONLY,” he says. “That wasn’t too hard.”

“You might be right. I’m feeling a little off, tonight. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”

Hiromi nods in understanding and leans forward for a kiss, but you turn away so his lips press into your cheek, instead.

“I don’t want to get you sick.”

The chair scrapes loudly against the floor when he pushes it out, getting to his feet and gathering his things into his bag. You stay seated as he packs, filling his answer into the crossword and delighting in how it matches perfectly. You busy yourself with the next clue while Hiromi moves beside you.

Regret deeply, three letters. RUE.

You stand when he pulls on his jacket, patting each pocket with his palms until he retrieves his keys. “The weather’s been bad, recently. It’s good that you’re leaving early,” you say.

He hums in response, throwing the strap of his bag onto his shoulder and pushing the chair under the table. The legs against the floor make another loud dragging noise and you wince.

“Text me when you get home?” you ask, stepping after him as he heads for the door. You watch him slip on his shoes before opening the door behind him. A rush of cool air flows into your house and you tug your sweater tighter around your body for warmth.

Hiromi leans forward and you start to lean back, but his hand comes up behind your head to hold you in place. You scrunch your eyes shut as he comes close and presses a soft kiss to your forehead. He smells faintly of cigarettes.

“Merry Christmas,” he says, and then he leaves.

When you open your eyes, the door is shut and you can see him through the glass as he walks down to his car. You step forward and lock the deadbolt, but stay by the door until you see him step inside his vehicle.

You walk back to the kitchen table, reaching immediately for your phone to read your messages.

Satoru Gojo: no? Satoru Gojo: theyre supposed to be out tonight. go outside.

You’re smiling down at your phone as you read the messages. This time, you step over to the kitchen window and try to peer outside, but you don’t see anything.

You: how do you know they’re out tonight?

Satoru Gojo: been checkin the forecast for you Satoru Gojo: i promised you lights didnt i?

You: i don’t remember that

Satoru Gojo: :(

You laugh and flex your thumbs over the keyboard. You type out a message, delete it, and then type out a similar variation with different words. You’re trying to thread the line between funny and casual, and when you think you’ve finally nailed it, you hit Send.

You: happy birthday old man

Satoru Gojo: lol Satoru Gojo: youre really late

You: better late than never

You deliberately waited to wish him a Happy Birthday today. You didn’t want to seem too eager—too desperate.

But then Gojo doesn’t respond. The longer you look down at your phone, the more you fill with embarrassment. You scroll up in your conversation history, trying to determine his tone and if you’ve upset him by being late, but you scroll too far back and end up reading bits and pieces from old conversations you’ve had with Gojo over text. Stupid messages and little jokes over the past year that you’ve been in each other’s orbits.

Gojo started texting you more frequently after he left for his trip with Geto.

It started with silly selfies of him at the airport, Geto drooling on his shoulder on the plane, the strange in-flight meal he was given… small things like that. But over the past few weeks, he’s been messaging you more and more.

You’ve started sending him pictures, too, when you come across something that reminds you of him. A fluffy white cat with blue eyes, cute pastries that look sweet enough for Gojo’s tastes, and sometimes even a picture of yourself if you’re feeling presentable enough.

It’s fun talking with Gojo. Every time you see his name pop up on your phone, you feel that same excitement you had when you first met him—that same giddy uncertainty that had you willing to follow him out of a window and onto the roof.

And you know exactly why you feel so guilty messaging Gojo when Hiromi is around—no matter how much you try to feign ignorance, you can’t hide your feelings from yourself.

You have a stupid, schoolgirl crush on Satoru Gojo.

It’s stupid because you know he doesn’t share your feelings for you. You’ve seen how he acts around the others—around Shoko, Utahime… hell, even Geto—and he treats them all the same.

You’re not special because he texts you while he’s in Europe. He’s probably sending the same messages to all of his other friends, too.

But you feel special every time you see another picture message from him. You feel special every time you see the words, this made me think of you, on your screen. And you feel special every time you see his name on your phone and you think about how he took the time out of his day to shoot you a message.

And then there are moments like this when you’ve sent a risky message—trying to thread the line between flirty and teasing and failing miserably—where you’re sitting with your phone in your hand, willing it to buzz with another response.

It’s moments like this that remind you that, to Satoru Gojo, you’re just a nobody.

You feel yourself start to spiral so you set your phone back onto the table. You take a heavy breath, suddenly feeling stupid and awkward as you settle back into your seat in front of the half-finished crossword. You move on to a new clue to try to distract yourself.

Come together, five letters, shares a Y in the last box and an N in the second box with previous clues.

You mull over it for a long while, doing your best not to pick up your phone again after your embarrassing fumble with Gojo, but after some time, your phone buzzes against the table again.

This time, it’s much more persistent, and when you flip it over, you see an unfamiliar message across your screen.

Satoru Gojo Facetime Call

You panic immediately—staring down at your phone in shock as you look back at your distressed expression in the screen’s reflection. It’s a mistake—it has to be a mistake—Gojo has never called you before. You’re not even really friends with him! Why would he be calling?

The phone stops ringing before you’re able to shake away your surprise and you’re left staring at the brick in your palm.

You jolt when your phone starts ringing a second time and this time, you press Answer, and the screen immediately fills with Gojo’s messy, white hair and big, blue eyes blinking at you through the screen.

“Why didn’t you pick up?” he whines, and even though you can’t see his mouth, you know he’s pouting.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Because I don’t believe you,” he says with a huff. “Take me outside, right now. Show me the sky.”

You try to feign grumpiness, but you’re so giddy at the sight of Gojo on your phone that you’re only able to muster a half-hearted scowl before your lips turn up into an embarrassingly excited grin. Your eyes dart down to the corner of the screen, where you can see your face, and you subtly move the camera to a more flattering angle as you head to the front landing.

“Fine, but I’m only going outside for a minute. It’s cold out.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Gojo dismisses with a scoff.

You slide your shoes on and step outside. Hiromi’s footprints in the snow trail from the door to the driveway, and you step alongside them, making your own trail until you can see the sky over the top of your house.

“See? There’s nothing.” You point your phone straight up at the sky, holding it still for a beat before returning it to your face.

Gojo adjusts the camera until his full face is in view and—yup, he’s pouting.

“Wait, really? I checked the forecast today and there’s supposed to be a high chance of seeing the lights tonight in your area.” He rests his chin into the crook of his elbow—it looks like he’s slumped over a table from what little you can see through his camera. “What a bummer. You still haven’t seen them yet, right?”

“Not yet.”

He groans, visibly disappointed as he pouts at the screen.

The two of you stare at each other in silence and, like before, you desperately want to keep the conversation going, but you don’t know what to say. You’re excited to see Gojo—really see him—not just a selfie, but you can’t think of a single thing to say to keep him on the line.

Thankfully, Gojo makes up for your silence by asking, “Aren’t you going to ask how my trip is?”

“How’s the trip so far?” you ask, smiling goofily at your phone.

“Really good!” His face completely lights up, eyes bright with a big grin plastered across his face. “Suguru and I are in Lisbon right now and it’s a blast. They have these little custard pastries called pastel de… pastel de… de - de - de… ok, I can’t remember. But they’re really good.”

Gojo’s excitement is infectious and you find yourself laughing down at the phone. “You really like sweet things, don’t you?”

“Well, you are what you eat,” he says, smiling smugly when you groan. “Besides, that’s not entirely true. I like you, don’t I? You’re not sweet.”

“Ouch,” you say feigning injury.

“How’s things back home? Lotsa snow?”

“It’s not too bad.” You look down as you shuffle your feet, making little snow angels where you stand. There’s less than an inch of snow on the ground right now. “It’s been really mild this year—barely feels like Christmas.”

“It’s not Christmas without one of my special holiday parties,” he says, matter-of-factly. “You’re probably so lonely there without me, huh? Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of time, we can talk until Christmas.”

You snort. “Don’t you have pastels to eat with Geto?”

“Sure, but he’s still in bed,” he says with a nod. “He doesn’t sleep much—insomnia or somethin’, I dunno—so I don’t wanna disturb him.”

“What time is it there?”

“Uh… like, five? I think?”

“In the morning?”

“Yeah.”

Gojo responds like it isn’t a big deal. Like you aren’t reeling from the fact that he’s up so early to make sure that you see the northern lights from the opposite side of the world. You try to simmer your excitement but the warmth that spreads across your chest has you feeling giddy.

“Oh, wow. I guess I did miss your birthday.”

“Yeah, by a lot—not like I care,” he says, sounding like someone who cares a lot, actually. He pouts at you through the phone and rolls his eyes and you quickly feel guilty about prolonging your birthday wish.

“What are you and Geto doing today?” you ask, hoping to change the subject.

He shrugs lazily, resting his cheek on his forearm. “Dunno. I doubt any stores will be open or anything, so we’ll probably just hang out here at the Airbnb. Suguru found this really cool apartment—once he wakes up, I’ll give you a tour. You’re gonna love it.”

It’s difficult to keep up with Gojo when he’s so energetic like this—but his eyes light up when he talks and you don’t mind listening to his nonsensical chatter.

If anything, it’s kind of comforting.

“Oh! And I got him the best gift this year for Christmas. Hmm, actually, maybe I shouldn’t tell you—hey, wait. Can you fix your camera? I can’t see you.”

You can see Gojo quite clearly, but when you peer down at the viewfinder, you see that only the top of your head is visible in the camera. As you look down, you see a notification pop up at the top of your phone, but you swipe it away quickly so it doesn’t block your view.

“I thought you wanted to see the northern lights.”

“Not when I’m talking to you.”

You adjust the camera until your full face is in view, again. Using the viewfinder, you fix your appearance slightly—brushing snow off the top of your head, opening your eyes a little wider so you look less sleepy, and changing the angle of your face until it’s more flattering.

“There she is,” Gojo coos, and the attention makes you want to duck out of view. “Wait, are you still outside?”

“Obviously. How else would you see the sky?”

“Aren’t you cold without me there to keep you warm?”

You scrunch your nose at him and he grins in response. His comment has another bloom of warmth spreading from your chest to the tips of your toes. “Don’t worry, I’ll head in, now,” you say, and you make your way back into your house.

Your cheeks sting from the warmth of your home when you step inside. You kick your shoes off and make your way back to your kitchen table, taking a seat in front of your crossword and using some miscellaneous junk on your table to prop your phone up. It takes some time to get it to sit properly, with you in the fame, but when you have it perfectly in place, you lean back into your seat.

“Is this your place?” Gojo chirps, ducking from one side of the camera to the other, as if he’s trying to look behind you. “Gimmie a tour.”

“No tour,” you say firmly, and you move the phone closer so Gojo can’t see the mess in your kitchen. “I haven’t cleaned up.”

“Aw, come on,” Gojo says. “You’ve never invited me over and now I’m way on the other side of the planet. You have to give me a tour.”

“Another time,” you insist, and he groans.

“Fine. But when I’m back, I fully expect a tour—no, I want you to invite me over for dinner.”

“I don’t know if my cooking can compare to the restaurants in Europe.”

“S’ok, I’ll eat whatever you give me.”

You laugh and shake your head in dismissal, feeling your cheeks burn from his words. “Sure, Gojo. I’ll invite the whole gang over for dinner so you and Geto can tell us about your trip—I’ll order some pizza, how about that?”

He purses his lips, pressing them into the corner of his mouth as his brows furrow. “Uh… ok, sure,” he says with less enthusiasm. Before you can say anything, he carries on. “So, whatcha got planned for today—err… tomorrow, I guess. Today’s over for you now, huh?”

“Yeah, I had dinner a few hours ago and now I’ve just been working on a crossword.”

“A crossword?” Gojo adjusts his phone until it’s propped up like yours and then leans down on the table with his arms crossed, resting his cheek against his forearm. “Tell me one of the clues. I bet I can help you.”

You laugh at his insistence and peer down at the page in front of you to read out loud. “The clue is: come together.”

Gojo’s brows shoot up into his hairline and you can see the subtle movement of his shoulders flexing beneath his white tee. “I can think of a few things that could be.” He grins wolfishly, running his tongue across his teeth before he says, “Give me an ORGASM.”

Your face gets hot and you duck your head to hide from his gaze. “No, that doesn’t work. There’s only five letters.”

“How many letters are in orgasm?” he wonders out loud. He lifts his hand from where it’s tucked under his arm and counts the letters out on his fingers, when he runs out, he sighs. “Ah, yeah, you’re right. What if we try CLIMAX?”

He counts that one out on his hand, too, just as you say, “That’s still too many letters.”

“FINISH? CUM? There’s two ways to spell that one, so make sure you try both.”

“There’s five letters, Gojo,” you remind him, too flustered to look up. “The second letter is an N and the last letter is a Y.”

“Huh? What word is that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” you snort. “This isn’t an adult crossword, so I don’t think it’s going to be something inappropriate. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

When you finally look up at the screen, you’re shocked to see that Gojo’s face is flushed with red—across his cheekbones, down his throat, and even the tips of his ears that are poking out from underneath his hair. You bring your hand up to cover your mouth to hide your laughter.

“Gojo, are you getting embarrassed?”

He frowns, lifting a hand to pinch at the lobe of his ear as he looks away from the camera. “It’s just… it’s weird talking about this kind of thing,” he says, speaking slowly.

“You’re the one that brought it up.”

“I know, I know,” he sighs, and it looks like his cheeks turn a darker shade of red. “But I didn’t think I’d… I didn’t know you’d get so cute all of a sudden like that.”

“Don’t say that kind of stuff,” you say with a huff, looking away.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, and when you look back he has his palm over his eyes. “You’re still dating whats-his-face, right?”

“Yeah, I am,” you say, feeling guilty because he’s not the reason why you scolded Gojo.

You like it when Gojo flirts with you, but when he goes too far, it’s hard to remind yourself that he’s just being friendly.

After the reminder about Hiromi—your boyfriend—you look at the clock with a sense of worry. You had asked him to text him when he arrived back at his house, but you never got a message. He should be home by now.

You reach forward for your phone, swiping away from the conversation with Gojo to try to find your messages, and that’s when you see the unopened text from about twenty minutes ago.

Hiromi Higuruma: made it home safe

Breathing out a sigh of relief, you quickly type a message back to him, wishing him a good evening, before returning to your conversation with Gojo. He’s still got his palm over his face, but his blush seems to be fading away.

“He’s good,” you say, even though Gojo never asked. “We were hanging out together earlier today, actually.”

“Oh, I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” he asks, peeking through his fingers.

“No, he had already left when you called.”

“Ok, good,” Gojo says, feigning a sigh of relief as he drops his hand back down to the table. “I don’t think that guy likes me very much.”

“No, he’s just like that.”

There’s a small thud from Gojo’s end of the line and you watch him perk up, sitting tall, and turning to look at something off-screen. He’s quiet for a moment, just watching, before his face splits into a wide grin. “Oh, hey, Mr. Sleepy is finally awake.”

“Satoru? What are you doing up right now?” You can just faintly hear Geto’s scratchy, morning voice and the soft padding of him approaching.

Gojo scooches his chair to the side, dragging another chair into the screen beside him as Geto settles into the empty seat. You watch Geto rub at his eyes—his hair is in disarray and he’s in the middle of yawning as he looks into the camera.

“Say, good morning, Suguru,” Gojo prompts.

“Good morning, Suguru,” Geto says, and Gojo rolls his eyes. “What are the two of you talking about so early this morning?”

“Gojo wanted to show me the northern lights,” you explain, and Gojo nods proudly in affirmation, “but I couldn’t see them when I went outside.”

Geto hums, crossing his arms on the table and resting his weight on his elbows as he leans forward. “Right. Satoru mentioned that he had been watching the forecast for you these past few weeks.”

“It wasn’t that long,” Gojo says with a chuckle, but you can see the tendons in his jaw flexing as he clenches his teeth around a smile. “Don’t say it like that, Suguru.”

“Right,” he says, lifting a hand to muffle a yawn. “Did Shoko drop off our gift yet?”

“She did,” you say, eyes flicking over to the closet where you’ve kept it hidden. “I was waiting until Christmas to open it.”

“Open it now!” Gojo says, nudging Geto’s shoulder aside as he leans forward into the screen. “I want to see your face when you see it.”

You leave the phone behind as you head over to retrieve the gift. Shoko had dropped off the box earlier this week, wrapped in white wrapping paper with a baby blue ribbon. You felt guilty about not having anything to give her in return, but she dismissed you with a wave of her hand.

“I didn’t get you anything either,” Shoko explained. “This is just from the boys.”

You bring the box over to the table, setting it down in view of the camera before returning to your seat. You rap your fingernails against the box in anticipation as you look down at it with wide eyes. It almost looks too pretty to ruin.

“Open it!” Gojo screams from the phone, and you concede immediately.

You tug the ribbon free and it unravels around the table before you start to claw at the seams of the wrapping paper. When your nail catches on the edge, it rips into the paper, allowing you to fully pull it off and onto the floor until you’re left with just a plain box in your hands. This box is folded shut, so you work carefully to pry it free as you hear Geto hissing from across the line.

“Be a little careful with it, please!”

You manage to pry the box open without upsetting Geto further and when you blink down into the box, you see a familiar-looking mug lying on the bottom, padded on either side by little, pink packing peanuts.

You pull it out curiously as you try to place where you’ve seen it before, while Gojo grins at you through the phone screen.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s really nice,” you say, cradling the mug in both hands. “Thanks, guys!”

“I told you she’d like it,” Gojo says, nudging Geto in the side as he sighs.

“Where have I seen this before?” you ask.

“It’s one of my favourite mugs,” Geto says, “but Satoru thought it would be better in your hands.”

“It was both of our ideas,” Gojo says quickly, pursing his lips.

That’s right—you recognize it now. This is the mug you reach for whenever you’re at Geto’s house, one of his random assortment of mismatched mugs in his cupboard. Your smile grows at the realization.

“That’s really sweet, thank you,” you repeat, and you set the mug down in front of you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get anything for you guys.”

“S’ok, because you’re having us over for dinner when we’re back, remember?” Gojo says, grinning and you nod.

“Sure, that can be your gift.”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Gojo perks up, standing suddenly. “I gotta go grab Suguru’s gift, hold on one second,” he says before dashing off.

Geto laughs before propping his chin on his hand, smiling at you through the camera. “I was happy to see the two of you talking this morning. Satoru’s been wanting to call you for a while.”

“Oh?” you prompt, feeling your heart thudding a little louder in your chest.

The corners of his lips twitch up into a smile. “He’s been talking about you quite a bit since we’ve been here. He gets excited every time you send him a picture—like a little puppy.”

You smile, sitting up a little taller, and leaning forward toward the screen. “He sends me pictures, too,” you say, and your voice dips down into a whisper, like it’s a secret. “So, I send him stuff back if I see something that makes me think of him.”

Geto nods. “Keep it up, he likes it… he likes you, you know.”

Your cheeks burn with heat and you have to shift your gaze away from Geto’s knowing smile. “Oh, I like him, too,” you say, and the words struggle to escape from the tightness in your chest. “He’s a really good friend.”

“Friend?” Geto says, chuckling softly. “I don’t think Satoru sees you as his friend. You should’ve seen how devastated he was when you missed his birthday.”

Your heart sinks into your stomach from Geto’s words and you wring your hands together. “I didn’t forget, I just wanted to wait until this evening to text him! But I completely forgot about the timezone difference, so I ended up missing it.”

Geto blinks at the screen, pausing for a moment, before breaking out into laughter. “Do you think Satoru’s birthday is today?”

“Isn’t it?” you ask, feeling your cheeks burning. “Today’s the day he had the party last year.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s his birthday,” Geto says around his laughter. “Ah, that explains it! You were confused.”

“When’s his birthday?”

“December seventh.”

You panic—eyes widening as you stare through the screen at Geto’s laughing face. “That was weeks ago!”

“Don’t worry, he’ll understand,” Geto assures you, but you’re not entirely convinced.

“Why does he have his party so late in the month?”

When Geto’s laughter subsides he crosses his arms over his chest, smiling at you before speaking. “It’s something he started doing his first birthday at university. Some of the students would leave after exams for the holidays, but there were many who stayed behind and spent Christmas alone in the dorms.”

“So, he threw a party?”

Geto nods just as you see Gojo running behind him, sliding back into his seat with a large box in his hands. He grins over at Geto before looking at you through the screen, noticing your panicked expression. Gojo’s gaze bounces between you and Geto for a moment before he speaks.

“Were you guys talking about cumming?”

“Excuse me?” Geto chokes as you cry out in panic.

“Did Suguru help you with the crossword?” Gojo asks, breezing past your shared shock. “Did he figure out what the word was?”

“No, I didn’t even ask him,” you say, fanning your face with your palm. “Um, the clue is come together, and it’s five letters.”

Geto’s brows pinch together in thought. “Do you have any letters for it yet?”

“Y in the last position and N in the second position.”

He taps his fingers together, looking at you with pursed lips as he searches his mind for the word. “Have you tried UNIFY?”

You look down at the page—it’s the correct number of letters and it matches what you’ve already written down for the shared boxes. You nod in approval as you write down Geto’s word, “Yeah, I think that’s it!”

When you look back up, Geto is leaning back in his seat with a smile on his face.

“I would’ve never guessed that,” Gojo says with a huff, and then he places the box on the table and slides it toward Geto. “Here’s your gift, Suguru! Open it, now!”

You and Geto share a look of amusement before he starts to work open the gift. He’s much more meticulous about removing the paper than you were—careful not to rip or tear it at all as he works it open at the points where it’s taped together. When he finally peels the paper off the box, it’s in such good condition, it almost looks like it could be used again.

Gojo is practically bouncing in his seat beside him as Geto lifts the lid from the box. He peers into it with curiosity before his face splits into a grin—he falls back into his chair, laughing as he looks over at Gojo.

“You didn’t.”

“I did!”

You watch Geto pull from the box an identical mug to the one you have sitting in front of you.

“Where did you find this?” Geto asks, turning to look at you as you raise your mug to the camera to cheer him.

“Got it online,” Gojo says with a smug grin. “I know you were sad about losing the mug, so I got it replaced.”

“Why wouldn’t you give me the new mug?” you ask, and Gojo waves his hand in dismissal.

“Then I’d have to find something different to get for Suguru, duh!”

Geto laughs, cradling the mug in his hand and looking down at it for a beat before glancing back at Gojo. “Thank you, Satoru.”

“No problem!” he grins. “Now, my two favourite people have matching mugs.”

Geto wraps an arm around Gojo’s shoulder, pulling him close for a brief hug before pulling away with a smile. “I’ll go grab your gift, since we’re exchanging now,” he says as he gets up.

“I should let you guys go if you’re busy,” you say, drawing Gojo's attention away from Geto’s retreating form and back to you.

He frowns. “No, you don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Gojo, it’s getting late…”

“What time is it there?”

“Close to midnight—”

“Close? Or past?”

“Close.”

His brows twitch upwards into a peak on his forehead while his lower lip juts out into his patented puppy-dog pout. “Stay until after midnight, ‘kay? I wanna be the first person to wish you Merry Christmas.”

“You can do it now,” you offer, but he immediately shakes his head.

“Nah, it’s not the same. Besides, I still need to take you on a tour, remember?”

When you smile at the screen, his face glows to match yours. You cross your arms on the table and rest on your forearms, trying to make yourself comfortable. “Ok, fine. But after the tour, I’m going to bed.”

He grins and nods, not able to say anything more as Geto returns to the screen, settling into his seat and placing his gift in front of Gojo. It looks to be a small, white cake box with just a single purple ribbon tied around it to keep it shut. Gojo doesn’t hesitate to rip at the ribbon, breaking it open before flipping open the lid to the box.

“Pastels!” he cheers, eyes growing wide with joy as he looks over at Suguru’s smiling face. “I was just telling her about these—what are they called again?”

“Pastel de nata.”

“Ah, I was close, right?” Gojo says, turning to look at you and you give him a small nod in confirmation. He lifts one of the small custard tarts from the box and holds it up for you to see. “Look—it’s made of egg yolks, that’s why it’s so yellow.”

You smile watching Gojo bring the treat to his mouth, opening wide and taking a bite of the tart with a lecherous moan. His eyes roll back into his head and he slumps to the side, his cheek pressing into Geto’s shoulder as he chews the treat.

“Thanks, Suguru,” he says with food in his mouth.

Geto chuckles and shoves Gojo off of him before standing up from his seat. “Enjoy your treats, Satoru, but I’m going to make myself a proper breakfast. I’ll leave the two of you alone.” He leans over until his face appears back on the screen and waves at you. “I’ll see you again,” he says, smiling one last time before dipping out of view completely.

Gojo stuffs what's left of the tart into his mouth before reaching forward with sticky hands to grab his phone. He lifts you from the table, holding you face-level as he starts marching through the house. You watch him strain to swallow the mound of food in his mouth before speaking, “Ok, quick tour time and maybe by the time I’m done, it’ll be midnight.”

You take a glance at the clock in the corner of the screen, “You have thirty minutes.”

“I can work with that,” he grins, and you can see a light dusting of icing sugar on his lips from the tart before he licks it off with his tongue. “Let’s start with Suguru’s bedroom.”

From what you could see in the background during your call, it looked relatively modern in decor, and as Gojo walks you through the Airbnb, you see more of what you expected. He keeps the camera facing him as he marches up the floating stairs to Suguru’s loft bedroom. It’s huge with an attached bathroom with completely glass walls.

“These aren’t the fancy kind of walls that turn opaque when the door closes,” Gojo says, before demonstrating by slamming the door shut. You can hear Geto’s muffled yell from downstairs, but Gojo doesn’t react. “So, he warns me whenever he’s up here in the bathroom,” Gojo continues, before making his way back downstairs.

He walks you through a small office, a second bathroom, and the enclosed kitchen when Geto is frying up some eggs. “Say, hello!” Gojo grins, panning around until both boys are in view of the camera.

Geto just glances over at Gojo with a quirked brow and a smirk that makes you feel warm all over. Gojo ignores him and continues walking through the apartment.

“It’s bigger than you thought, huh?” he says, grinning.

“Yeah, I’m surprised. I thought the apartments in Europe would be tiny.”

“Right? I don’t know how Suguru found this place—costs an arm and a leg—but it’s totally worth it,” he says, before flopping backwards into an unmade bed. “And this is my bedroom!”

He quickly pans the camera around the room and you catch glimpses of his clothes thrown haphazardly across the furniture and the floor. You can’t help but giggle when you see a pair of his boxers across the corner of the TV.

“I see you cleaned up for me,” you tease, and when he pans the camera back to his face he’s pinching at his earlobe with his free hand.

“Well, ok… if you were here for real I’d definitely clean up,” he says. His eyes wander around the room, avoiding the camera, before settling on something off to the side. “So, how’d I do? How much time do we have left?”

“Maybe like, five minutes?”

His gaze snaps back to you and you see a devious glint in his eyes. “Oh, that’s perfect. You gotta see this.”

Gojo sits up in a hurry, taking you with him across the room and holding you up until the shadow from his phone casts across his face. The video turns black for a second and when your screen comes back to life, you see the clay tile roofs of the other homes in the area and a mass of blue water.

Across the horizon you can see the sun start to peek out over the water, spreading orange warmth across the river and into the sky as the sun begins to rise. Your eyes widen in amazement as you watch the lights sparkle across the water.

“Wow, Gojo, that’s beautiful!” you say, leaning closer and pulling the phone close to your face. As the blues and yellows colour the screen, you can’t help but wonder how astonishing it must look in person.

“Yeah,” Gojo says, his voice soft. “Really, really beautiful.”

The two of you sit in silence, watching the sun rise over the river. The whole sky seems to burn orange as the sun moves higher into the sky, reflected perfectly into the water below. You find yourself mystified as you watch it on the small screen in your hands, holding your breath as the sun peeks higher and higher from the horizon.

“Merry Christmas,” Gojo says, still out of frame. “It might not be as nice as the northern lights, but damn—it’s gotta be pretty close.”

You nod dumbly, still in awe. The sun won’t rise for another eight full hours where you are, and you’ll probably still be curled up in bed on your own when it does, but seeing it now with Gojo brings warmth to your heart.

“When I come back, we’re gonna have that pizza date, right?” he asks, and the screen goes black for a moment before returning to Gojo’s face. His skin is tinted with soft oranges and reds from the sunrise, his gaze soft as he looks at you through the screen.

“Of course, and I’ll make sure I clean up the place before you get here.”

He smiles. “It’s ok if you don’t. I don’t mind.”

Gojo glances away, back at the sunrise behind his phone, and you see his hand raise to fiddle with the hair on the nape of his neck before sliding toward his jaw to pinch at the lobe of his ear. “You know, I kinda… I like talking with you.”

You feel your cheeks burn and your heart jump into your throat. “I like talking with you, too, Gojo.”

“Satoru,” he says softly, his eyes flicking back to the camera. “I want you… I want you to call me, Satoru.”

“Ok… Satoru,” you say, but your voice is low like a whisper. You’re just trying out the word on your lips—it’s just his name, and yet, it feels so intimate to say out loud like this.

His face softens, his lips twitching upwards while his shoulders relax. “Yeah, like that.”

The pounding of your heartbeat in your ears has your fingers tightening your hold around the phone as you bring it closer to your face so you can see the sparkling blues of Satoru’s eyes, the darkening flush across Satoru’s cheeks, and the soft pink of Satoru’s lips.

“I wish you were here,” Satoru says.

“Yeah,” you say, “me too.”

#jjk smut #gojo x reader #gojo smut #gojo satoru x reader #fem!reader #tiff.fic #gojo #jjk #gojo.fic

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johnwickb1tsch · 20 days

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Sympathy for the Devil ~ Part 9

A Donaka Mark x housekeeper!Reader fic, based on @discoscoob 's concept & bot! Warnings: Donaka Mark is a bad man with a soft spot for you. dark romance, possessive behavior, nonconsensual voyeurism, red flag red flag girl!🔺, psychological games, power imbalance, eventual dubcon/nsfw. PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER!!!

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight.

Nine. 九

You wake up the next day certain you will be fired. But when the axe does not fall, you relax slightly, going about your tasks. It occurs to you that maybe you should leave–but you don’t really want to, and only part of that has to do with your fascination with Donaka himself. The coming weeks seem almost normal, and you begin to think that Mr. Mark decided to be a gentleman about it all, and pretend it never happened.

What a fool you are.

Your first inkling of your idiocy comes when you are called into Mr. Mark’s office, after dinner, when usually you are hanging up your apron and calling it quits for the day.

You approach his massive carved ebony desk with folded hands, feeling all for like a naughty school girl. Donaka Mark sits behind it, every bit the lord and master of the house. He has discarded his suit jacket, the top buttons of his black dress shirt undone, so handsome it hurts. His eyes are sharp as obsidian knives upon you, and a cold chill runs down your spine as you come to stand beside him, as he directs.

That is when he produces the colorfully-covered journal you usually keep secreted in your underwear drawer, the little book dwarfed in his hands. Your heart does a swan dive–you hadn’t even realized it was missing.

He does not seem amused.

Maybe you can’t blame him. In that book, amidst your more pedestrian musings and accounts of your day, you have detailed every torrid little fantasy your rotten brain ever concocted about this man. Scorching alternate endings to all your encounters in which you were too smart, or too much of a coward to actually see through. Not to mention, the completely fictional bonus scenes too. It’s like an X rated love letter that rambles on for pages and pages and dear lord, it’s in his hands.

He throws the book down on his desk with a clap that makes you jump out of your skin. With narrowed eyes he looks up at you, his voice low and dangerous. "Care to explain this?"

Your mouth makes a perfect ‘o’ of surprise, your blood turning to ice in your veins. A flood of unbearable embarrassment washes through you, and you begin to shake like a leaf. Never in your life have you ever been so mortified, or, so angry, that he has that obviously private book in his hand.

"How dare you read that?"

Rage flares in Donaka's dark eyes, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he grinds his teeth.

"How dare I read this filth, written about me, in my house? I have every right."

You are quaking, tears in your eyes. The things you wrote about him in that diary...it’s not all filth. Some of it…is foolishly sweet. And he read it all. Your chest feels like it's pressed in a vice. You feel like you want to throw up...or just die, there on the rug of his office, rather than speak to him further about this. A timely earthquake would be most appreciated; a fissure in the floor to jump into, quite ideal.

Donaka takes in your reaction to his intrusion of your privacy with secret pleasure; he knows he's got you right where he wants you, completely at his mercy, humiliated and vulnerable.

He leans back in his chair, his eyes fixed on your face, drinking in your misery. "I read every single word," he delights in telling you.

You look away, utterly unable to meet his eyes. "Congratulations, Sir," you rasp past the lump of sand in your throat.

Donaka can't help the cold smirk that appears on his face as he watches you look away, unable to meet his eyes. The way you address him as "sir" makes a shiver of satisfaction run down his spine.

“I've got to say, I'm impressed. I never would have guessed your imagination was so...vivid. You seem like such a nice girl.”

A shuddering breath escapes you. You’ve resisted him all this time, taking solace instead in writing in your journal. It was better that way. Safer. But this man is not the type to be satisfied with just words on a page. That's why...he runs a billion dollar corporation, and you...sweep floors.

Donaka watches your defeated gesture, savoring it like a fine dessert.

“Just what did you intend to do with all this?” he asks.

“Nothing,” you defend immediately. Dear god, you think. Please don’t let this man think I was planning a ‘Tell All’.

“This is a lot of energy gone into nothing?”

He doesn’t have to tell you. “It’s just…my journal. To clear my head.”

“Your journal. Of things that never actually happened?” It sounds pretty stupid when he puts it that way–you feel every pound of pressure he puts in that statement, and you think you really just might faint right there beside his desk. “Do you actually get satisfaction out of that?” He sounds genuinely curious.

You close your eyes, so you don’t have to look at his blazing dark stare boring into you as you nod.

“Just give it back, and you never have to see me again.”

He laughs at you, a cruel little chuckle that pierces you to the core. “No, this little treasure is never leaving this house. And you’re not going anywhere.”

You can do nothing but shake your head, trembling in your very bones.

“You’re brave in many ways, y/n,” he tells you, fingering the cover of your damning treatise on The Art of Being Creepy About Your Boss. “But in others? Such a coward.”

It’s the understatement of the century, and you can’t stand it anymore. You turn on your heel to leave–and a grip like iron encircles your wrist, so tight the bones creak. You get your first real taste of how strong this man is, when he jerks you down into his lap like you are a ragdoll made of straw. A yip of a scream escapes you, as he manhandles you like he owns you.

You feel so small, enveloped by his massive frame, his long arms wrapped around you.

"Let's have story time, shall we?" he says with a wicked chuckle, cracking the journal to a random page, and he begins to read the explicit scene you wrote starring the two of you, against the bookshelves, in the library. You can feel his deep, baritone voice vibrating against your skin as he recites, his arm around your waist holding you tight, preventing you from escaping.

“The strength in his hands makes me weak, those veritable paws gripping my thighs and lifting me, the desperate fury of his kiss pressing me back into the shelves so hard there will be linear bruises imprinted upon my skin. Perhaps I will look upon the souvenir tomorrow with equal parts pride and horror, still unsure if I am a victim, or if I welcomed the beast’s ravishment with open arms. Both feel true. The lush wetness between my legs suggests the latter, and as he explores my center with those long, blunt fingers I embrace the prospect of my ruin, bewitched by his skillful touch… Sweetheart, I’m flattered!”

You are dying in your mortification, your face on fire, your every nerve ending aware of this man. You physically cannot stand it, going feral in his arms, squirming in his lap like a fish on a hook, desperate to get away from this hell of your own making. It’s like pushing on a steel wall; he does not give a millimeter up to you.

"Forget travel writing, I think your calling is the x-rated romance novel," he congratulates you cruelly when you finally go still with exhaustion. And maybe it’s true–you can feel the bulge of his erection pressing into your behind, and fuck if despite your desperation, you start to ache between your thighs, your unhelpful lady parts casting their usual vote for what is undoubtedly a form of suicide.

He leans closer, his breath hot against your ear. "Look how you’re trembling. You’ve tried to deny it all along, but you want me."

"I want you to let me go." You push at his muscle-corded arm around you again, fruitlessly. You haven’t resorted to nails or teeth yet–somehow, you suspect you would not like the result of such an escalation.

Donaka's grip on you just tightens even more, squeezing the breath from you. “You know…something about reading this makes me think that’s not what you really want.”

Suddenly he stands, dropping you on his desk hard, tossing the little book away so that he can use two hands to pin you down. You might have screamed, had it not knocked the breath out of you. "I liked your ideas about this desk," he growls, taking your mouth in a punishing kiss, pressing you down into the wooden surface with his full bodyweight, his slender hips wedged between your legs. He kisses you like he means to devour you whole, starting with your mouth.

This. This is what you expected all along.

"Please, Donaka–" you plead when you are allowed to draw a breath. But his fingers in your hair control your head, pulling your lips to his again. His kiss is fueled by a fierce, primal hunger, his tongue delving deep into your mouth, seeking and claiming every inch of you as his own. His free hand moves over your body, exploring and caressing every curve and contour, squeezing the soft meat of your bare thigh, sliding under your panties to cup your ass.

"I'm not angry that you wrote the words," he snarls against your cheek. "I'm angry that you dared to deny me, lying to my face while you wanted me all along." His eyes lock onto yours, his gaze intense. "Your charade ends tonight."

“But I–”

You whimper as he tugs at your hair, forcing you to meet his eyes again. "No more excuses, you little coward," he snarls. "Did you think you were going to tame me with a potato chip?”

"I wasn't playing with you," you protest, on the edge of tears. "I never meant to hurt you!"

“Hurt me?” His tone is incredulous, but in that moment it dawns on you that that is indeed the root of his fury. He’d offered you sweetness, at least his version of it, such a rare and unheard of thing for him, damn near showing vulnerability–and you’d denied him. So now…you were getting the stick, and despite the flood of arousal between your legs, you weren’t really sure you liked it all that much. There were no straight lines with this man. Everything was a jagged edge, or a shade of grey.

"You didn’t hurt me, you infuriated me,” he insists, his lips on your neck. “You knew what I wanted, what I needed, and yet you still dared deny me." He returns to your mouth, his lips hovering just above yours. "You wanted the thrill of bedding the bad man, but none of the blame. That’s fine, bunny. I’ll be your villain.”

At hearing that you renew your struggle, trying to worm out of his grasp.

Donaka's grip on you tightens even more as you writhe, his weight crushing the breath from you, his hips pinning you like a butterfly on a board. There truly is no escaping him like this. “Give it up," he admonishes, his voice a low, dark rumble. "You wanted me to make you. I read all about it, and I’ll give it to you, sweetheart. I'm not letting you go. Fight me, I like it. Or submit, I like that too. Either way, you're mine tonight."

You’ve known all along that he is a dangerous enigma, and that was why you tried to exorcise your desire for him in words on a page, and not play with fire, not taunt the beast and offer him your tender flesh because you knew you would get bitten.

But deep down...God, you’d wanted it anyway. You’d wanted to know, just once, what it would be like to bare your throat to a man like Donaka Mark, wondering if he might find you enticing enough, worthy enough, to kiss rather than kill simply because he could.

“I hate you,” you hiss through your tears, but all you win is his dark laughter.

“You wish that you hated me, baby. I read all about that too.” He kisses you again, almost tenderly this time, though his hold on you is still bruising. He kisses your cheeks, savoring the wet tracks of your tears. “Don't cry. I’m going to make your wicked little fantasies come true.”

He kisses you, a deep, punishing lock of lips, and his hand disappears beneath your skirt. When he touches your soaking wet center he smiles against your mouth. You know it is not a nice smile, but still you moan as his thumb circles your clit confidently, as though he knows exactly how to handle you–as though you already belong to him. When he withdraws you watch with horror as he licks his thumb clean, his eyes all for you.

“Tastes like little liar,” he sighs with narrowed eyes. “But we’re going to fix that.”

You scream, when he savagely tears open the front of your dress, the black buttons flying to every corner of the room. He ducks to kiss your freshly bared skin, impatiently pulling down the cup of your bra, presenting your mounded flesh for his delectation. When his lips close on your nipple, his tongue flicking, you feel it simultaneously in your throbbing clit. An involuntary moan escapes you, and you know this is the beginning of the end.

“That’s my good girl,” he encourages between ravishing your sensitive flesh, his hips locked against yours. “Tell me all about it.”

“I do hate you.”

He laughs, a short bark of mirth before kissing you again. You feel him reach down to work his buckle and buttons and zipper, taking himself out with one hand, the other still holding you down. He’s so impatient he simply pushes your panties to the side, his thick tip sinking past your entrance with embarrassingly little resistance, you’re so wet. He growls as he bullies himself inside, lost in the sensation of you, drunk on the heady high of triumph at last.

When you open your mouth to protest he makes the final thrust that fills you completely, tearing a sound from your throat instead that sounds suspiciously like enjoyment. Your head rocks back against the desk as your body adjusts to this delicious invasion.

This is bad. Very bad. But it feels so very good.

He pauses for a moment to savor it, looking down at you with a smirk, and maybe you invent it out of desperation–but a smoldering warmth in his eyes.

You are so fucked.

“I just knew you’d have the sweetest little pussy.”

He kisses you, moaning in your mouth as he thrusts, losing himself as he wrecks you with his unfairly endowed cock. When his tip hits your cervix you flinch, your body still trying to get away, even while the rest of you has accepted the inevitable. “Too much?”

“Yes,” you hiss, still writhing beneath him.

“Be good then,” he warns you, his voice rough in your ear. “Or I’ll have to punish you.”

He ducks to your breast again, his tongue wreaking havoc as his thumb slips between you, moving in time with his manhood stretching you to perfection, hitting just the right spot like he was made for you…

“Fuck,” you pant, out of frustration and need and worst of all…the knowledge of absolute defeat.

You feel him smile against your skin, surrendering to pleasure while he works inside you once more. “Someone’s finally catching on…”

You let out a growl…but you’re not fighting him anymore, your back arched as you strain for the release that is building in your hips, that maddening promise of euphoria coiled in your loins, the gratification you’ve craved from this man since day one. The tightening of your walls around him wins you another ragged groan, his forehead pressed to your breastbone as he concentrates on making you cum first. A part of you wishes he’d just get off and leave you alone–but he’s not going to do that. There’s no way in hell, you’re in his claws and so you might as well wring every little bit of enjoyment out of it that you can, before you meet your inevitable demise…

“Come on baby,” he coaxes. “Give me what’s mine. From now on, this is where your pleasure comes from, and I intend to keep your schedule full.”

“This is not–becoming a thing,” you insist, short of breath, because it feels like he’s in your lungs.

He laughs at you, a wicked chuckle that raises your every hair follicle. “No? Do I have to keep you on the edge until you beg me for it, pretty girl? We could do this for days.”

Is it possible, to cum out of spite? You think it might be, as you wrap your legs around his narrow hips in a bid to control the timing of his thrusts. He lets you, caught up in the moment you start participating rather than fighting. You clench upon his perfect cock buried inside you, desperate to indulge yourself before he can torture you by withholding it.

Your orgasm takes mercy on you, rising to the occasion valiantly. The rapture of it destroys you like a chain explosion, filling your loins before ripping up your spine, hitting so hard you arch and lift him from desk for a few, beautiful moments of ruin. He moans with you, fucking you hard as your needy, turncoat of a cunt milks him, sending him over the edge to spill inside you. He fills you with hot spurts of his essence, his powerful body locked against yours as though to make sure you get every drop.

For a few long moments he collapses on you, his breathing heavy in the bend of your neck, his lips gentle behind your ear.

“Was that so terrible?” he asks you smugly, sitting up on his elbows to sweep the wisps of your sweat-plastered hair from your forehead. You close your eyes, lulled by the unexpected tenderness in his touch.

“I still hate you,” you sigh unconvincingly.

“Mmm hmm. I can tell. Are you on birth control?”

“Shouldn’t you have asked that beforehand?”

“Don’t be smart, just answer the question.”

You growl, winning that smirk that quickens your heart. He just thinks you’re cute, goddamn him.

“No, I’m not going bear your demon spawn,” you grumble with an eye roll.

“Hmm.” He smirks down at you, his eyes sweeping your face, then lower, and for a terrifying moment you can’t tell if he’s pleased by your preparedness, or contemplating the thought of filling you with his child. The latter scares you more than anything else he’s done so far tonight.

Spitefully you muse, “I kinda wish I had a venereal disease to give you though.”

Now he narrows his eyes. “Very funny.”

“You’ll find out, I guess...”

He puts his hand over your mouth; it's so big it envelopes the whole lower half of your face.

“Let’s have silence now.” You glare–and you lick his hand, though you don’t make a sound. He looks at it with a frown, then wipes it on your cheek.

“Come on.” He withdraws, righting himself, then you, papers fluttering to the ground as you make your dismount from the desk. Whatever he was working on is surely ruined by sweat…and other bodily fluids. He doesn’t seem to care, for the smug way he smiles at you.

You might have fallen, if not for his strong arm steadying your shaking limbs. He gives you a moment to find your legs, and as you rest against the solid warmth of his chest, enveloped by the spice of his cologne, you are consumed by the warring urges to kiss him and to hit him. This man. This man could prove to be the death of you through confusion alone.

He tilts your face up to his, surprisingly gentle now. It’s hard to believe this is the same man from five minutes ago, when he presses his lips to yours.

You try to button your dress, but it's a lost cause. Maybe it doesn’t matter, because he is pulling you away, towards the door. In the hallway you try to break off in the direction of your room, but he snorts at you, guiding you in the opposite direction with a hand on the back of your neck.

“I’m not done with you yet, bunny…”

“Donaka…” You only narrowly resist the urge to sob. “You won. Just let me go…” All you want to do is be alone to lick your wounds, and reflect on what the fuck just happened to you. Your thoughts are a complete jumble; you are a walking well-fucked vessel filled with shame and confusion and you hate to admit–total gratification. It all went by so fast and maybe deep down you wanted it but he just took you and you–

As though he knows you are trying to pick all this apart and doesn’t intend to give you the chance, Donaka jerks you to him, pulling you into a punishing kiss that melts your bones all over again. You make a small, kittenish sound that betrays your begrudging enjoyment. You swear you feel his smug satisfaction emanating from his pores.

“Don’t you get it yet?” he asks you darkly, a dangerous sparkle in his midnight black eyes. “You’re mine now.”

#donaka mark #donaka mark x reader #donaka mark x you #donaka mark x y/n #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves #dark romance #plz be warned #have you noticed how much donaka mark laughs?#he is a very bad man #and he is having a very good time doing it

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btsmosphere · 5 months

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Supercharged | JJK

Chapter 1: the Light Dies

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🗲summary: It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens? 🗲this chapter: He’s the hero. Unfortunately for you, you’re not the villain.

🗲pairing: jungkook x female reader 🗲word count: 6.6k 🗲genre: angst, action, eventual fluff, enemies to lovers, slow burn, superheroes/villains au, it’s sorta like a mafia au but they have superpowers lmao 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: violence with superpowers, minor character death, attempted murder, injury, loss of consciousness

a/n: I have to say thank you to @casuallyimagining and @bluewhale52 for betaing this chapter, although this might come as a surprise to them since that was maybe 3 years ago now?😅I'm really not sure how much my writing had changed since then, but you guys can be the judge of that as the future chapters unfold! In the meantime, enjoy! If you want more supercharged in your life, you can also search my supercharged tag to find some musings, rambling, gifsets and visuals etc that inspired me and kept me going while I lost my mind over this story!

Lastly, I present the supercharged playlist✨ I had a lot of fun making this – several songs align with plot events, while some of them are there for the title, the vibe, or even a single line! Feel free to guess which are which or come and chat with me about it👀

An ear-splitting roar was barely contained behind shuddering steel doors. Just down the corridor, your fingers still clicked away, unperturbed, at your keyboard.

Tapping your foot, you looked impatiently up at the clock as another thunderous bellow assaulted the air. If the full-length windows weren’t reinforced by your boss, Kuyang’s own design, they would be rattling in their frames.

Blowing to rid your face of a strand of hair, you returned to your work, not even sparing a glance towards the source of the racket. It was only around half an hour until you could leave work for the weekend.

Finishing your task, you turned to filing the correspondence on your desk as a few yells carried through the air, mingled with the monster’s uproar. Bills and business deals the lot of them, you tucked them away in their respective places to be dealt with next week – only to stop on the very last one. How many times had the postman ignored the very clear sign for no newspapers?

You supposed the city felt the need to remind everyone that there was some semblance of central control – not really of much concern in a workplace such as yours, mind. Glancing across the front page, you realised why. You didn’t have a tv at home, but you would have to live under a rock not to recognise your city’s most celebrated superhero. Bolt, the media’s beloved, had claimed another victory against some crazy start-up trying to build their own bombs downtown.

The hero’s blue-masked face grinned confidently up at you from the desk, while police led what looked to be two scruffy teenagers into the back of their van. But Bolt’s vivid presence eclipsed them in his suit that matched his bright eyes.

Not bothering to read further, you pushed the paper into the waste bin at the end of the table.

Just as you were tucking away the final bits of paper, your boss emerged, wiping his brow on a cloth that looked as dirty as his face. Smiling pleasantly despite his ruffled state, you rotated on your chair to face him.

“Frank’s all good and sleepy now,” he said, “if you could get him sent up to the chamber.”

“Sure,” you nodded, already getting up and straightening your jacket.

With nothing more than a weary nod of appreciation, he left for his private laboratory. This was through a series more armoured doors, to which only you and a small number of lab workers knew the codes.

He was a scientist. And you were sure he was unhinged, but the job paid well, so that was all you concerned yourself with.

In fact, you had got very lucky. You had been surprised when such a good position had become available and quickly given to someone as ill-qualified as you, with no references to give. But your lack of connections seemed of no concern, and here you were, finally making ends meet and no longer in fear of being turned out of your run-down apartment at the edge of town.

So you did your job as well as you could, worrying yourself over nothing except pleasing the odd man that was Kuyang.

Even so, it was still a little daunting each time you had to come face-to-face with one of his experiments.

Reaching the steel doors that had not long ago been seriously threatening their hinges, you took a breath. Holding your thumb over a scanner by the door, you plastered a confident smile on your face as you walked inside.

Affectionately dubbed ‘Frank’, a great lump of teeth and dark furry flesh several times bigger than you was sleeping in a pod at the centre of the room. Surrounding this were multitudes of screens showing graphs and readings you couldn’t hope to understand.

At the edges of the room, a smattering of other workers were slumped against the stainless steel lab walls, almost as rumpled as their boss had been.

A hulking guard, Taeyeon, stood near the entrance, and you quietly confirmed with her that Frank was under and secure. Nodding, you gestured to Taeyeon’s team, another man and woman with the same uniform and intimidating stature.

Together, you assembled in front of the tank that held Frank, Taeyeon typing authorisation into one of the computers. The others locked down the external doors, just in case.

Though it was a familiar sight by now, the opening of the pod always prompted you to run through your training. If you hadn’t read it in the documents you dealt with, you would not have known Frank was also known as Necrus X, a new prototype Kuyang was working on, although you could not imagine what for.

Kuyang had been sure to tell you how to knock out the creature if it ever came to it, though. There was a spot behind his ear, which was more of a ridge at the side of his enormous head.

With the pod open, a panel rose from the floor, taking Frank rotating upwards. You caught sight of the patch behind its ear, zeroing in on it. Just in case.

The smooth expanse of ceiling split then, a hole revealing itself as the roof shrunk away into the walls, leaving a clear path for Frank to rise to the next floor, where he was stored.

As effortlessly as the ceiling retreating, a smooth steel staircase emerged from the walls. You and Taeyeon climbed it, spiralling around the edges of the circular space until you drew level with Frank, now snoring on the upper floor. Here, the space was wide open like an empty art gallery, half the walls comprised of expansive windows, no lab equipment to be seen.

The floor closed up beneath you both and you walked around Frank, opening a secret panel in the wall. As before, you raised your thumb to a blank scanner – but got no further.

A deafening smash sent you crouching to the ground in panic. Livid blue painted all the walls in the space as shattered glass skidded across the floor.

You had thought that glass to be unbreakable. At least that was the intention. But when you turned, you were forced to believe your ears: the central panel of glass was completely blown in, all the others down the row cracked from the force.

At the same moment the glass had shattered, you could suddenly hear what before had been hidden behind soundproofing. Outside, there were shouts, screams, car horns and alarms blaring from every angle – and above all, sirens. Sirens wailing through the air like disembodied banshees, descending, apparently, on your building.

Shuffling along the floor, you peered past the sleeping mass that was Frank in front of you. Walking across the room was a man in a tight blue suit, the same hue crackling in the air around his hands.

Bolt.

Mind short-circuiting, you were frozen. What should you do?

What was Bolt doing here? Was there some kind of threat? The image of him should have brought you relief, even though you knew nothing of what the danger was, but you hesitated.

Only having the presence of mind to shrink back silently behind Frank, you looked between the beast and the control panel you had abandoned. But you had no more chance to move before a fearsome crack ripped through the air, another flash of blue, sending the hairs on your arms bolting upright.

Spinning back to face Frank, you were met with a thump. A body, falling onto the floor.

Though she was mostly obscured by Frank’s sleeping form, you stared in unbelieving horror at Taeyeon where she lay, unmoving. Breath accelerating in your throat, you moved at last, scooting yourself back and away. Closer to the wall.

First you lunged to sound the alarm, mounted inside the wall panel, which instantly lit the room up in throbbing red, blaring loud enough to drown out the sirens outside. Then your hand was fumbling across the scanner. You had to get Frank locked away.

The walls of the pod which safely contained Frank overnight began to descend, much too slowly for your liking. Whirling to face the room, your heart seized in your chest when the imposing figure of Bolt, now shaded purple by the red light, met your eyes.

A glance up at the descending walls. They were halfway to the ground by now, but you still had to enter the code to lock them down.

Bolt yelled for you to stop, barely audible over the dizzying noise of the warning siren.

As he strode towards you, you could only watch, pressing yourself desperately against the wall as if it could swallow you up.

Bright light cut through the imposing red as the heavy door at the opposite end of the room was thrown open. Bolt stopped, both of you turning to see Kuyang enter. His hair was still sticking up from earlier, a strange expression on his face that you hadn’t seen before.

Paying no mind to the maniacal smile that had no place on Kuyang’s face, you took the moment of distraction to scramble for the code lock.

Without a sound, the gap between the floor and Frank’s pod closed, and your fingers were already leaping to action, typing the numbers behind your back at lightning speed.

Kuyang was running now, a direct path towards Bolt. But Bolt turned back towards you.

You were nearly done, but his hand was raising towards you…

In a split second, your fingertip met the final key of the code. Almost instantly, it was ripped away as shocking blue light cut through the air. You felt the impact before you could even notice that it was aimed at you.

Hitting you square in the chest, white hot pain scorched through your every nerve as your body was flung backwards, powerless as a ragdoll sailing through the air. The collision with the cracked window behind was almost lost on you. More intense pain was writhing its way down each limb, making you cry out, uncaring about the rain-spattered wind that whipped about your face now.

But you could see shards of glass as they fell along with you, like daggers aimed at the ground.

Biting wind rushed in your ears, the sound crashing over you like waves. And just as a pan sizzles down off the heat, the ferocious attack of pain seemed to reduce just as fast as it had invaded you.

Your heartbeat was the loudest thing, booming over the insistent web of sirens and whistling air.

Breathing choppily, you screwed your eyes nearly closed, suddenly aware of the tempest around you as you fell. Above, the already darkening winter night was illuminated with flashes of that awful blue.

You were falling.

It hit you then, as if you hadn’t been falling all this time. But it was only now that your senses caught up with themselves. You worked on a very high floor of the skyscraper, but as you were tossed around in the air, you saw the ground rapidly approaching.

A horror gripped your chest like nothing you had ever felt before.

Below you, and rushing towards you at terrifying speed, a skip sat surrounded by heaps of trash on the street. Unable to think, you could only shield your face with your hands, stretched out in front of you as if to stop the inevitable collision.

Though your eyes fell closed, you felt the jerk that flung your whole body backwards.

That wasn’t what you had expected.

Eyes snapping open in confusion, you found your vision lit with blue. In front of your face, blue light was shooting from your palms, pushing you up and away from the ground.

Your mouth fell open. Gaping in shock, you did nothing as the light died and you slowed again in the air.

Though you began falling much slower this time, you barely had time to notice your surroundings – much nearer the ground – before you were plummeting again, and this time nothing could stop you.

Your eyes weren’t even open when you felt your body slide off something. Not a second later, you were crumpling onto hard concrete which grazed your cheek.

You groaned.

It was dark. High above, any flashes of light didn’t reach you here, having landed in a thin alley beside the building. And though this shielded you from the commotion on the main streets out front, sirens still pierced the air, each one feeling like a stab to your head.

You clutched it as you maneuvered to sit. It took you a few tries, groping for a wall or something to lean against as you regained your balance.

Eyes cracking open, you waited patiently for the dark splotches to dispel before looking around.

Right next to you was a car which blocked you from view of the road beyond this alley. Evident from the dent that caved in its bonnet, that was what you had landed on.

Turning your head, you had to squint even more as light assaulted your sensitive eyes.

Among a blazing light, you could make out the vague shapes of rubbish bags and an overflowing skip that you recognised. Out of these, a vibrant fire was now burning. The correlation was too strong for you to ignore.

Breath shallow, you turned your horrified gaze to your hands.

They had done this… but how? They looked totally normal now.

Frowning, you brought them up closer to your face, so that your nose was practically buried in your palms.

No difference.

You were sure you hadn’t imagined that blue light which saved you earlier. Was there a way to make it come back?

While you were puzzling, you lowered your hands again, still staring intently as you rotated them in your lap.

Then, quick as a blink, a blue flash darted from them again. So fast, in fact, that you had no time to react before one of the bolts was fired directly into your opposite arm.

Snatching it away reflexively, you hissed in pain as a burning sensation crawled, tingling, over your skin there.

Despite the pain, the blue light didn't cease shooting from your hands. They tingled, a strangely uncomfortable sensation. It was as if something warm was wriggling its way up your veins and spilling from your fingertips.

“Stop! Stop!” you whispered in panic.

You turned them outwards, aiming away from you, but if they kept at it for much longer you were sure to draw attention.

Moving your hands around jerkily, the beams of light shook along with you, but did not go out. With each unsuccessful movement, panic made you more frantic until the glowing rays jerked erratically around the small space.

Straying too far, the light came into contact with a post at the alley’s entrance. You could only watch, helpless, as light like blue snakes skittered up it and latched around the wires it supported.

To your relief, the strange current seemed to have found an outlet, and only remained a second longer before cutting out. You were left blinking in the relative darkness. Panting heavily, you stared down at your hands, although you did not bring them too close anymore.

Once again, they appeared utterly innocent. There was nothing to suggest they had just channelled lightning through them.

Suddenly, the world plunged into darkness. The fire still burned at the other end of the alley, or you would have been left totally blind. In the building behind you, in the street, all the lights had gone out.

Almost instantly following the blackout, screaming rose again in the air.

Gulping, your eyes travelled to the blackened post at the corner, which you had accidentally electrocuted.

This was bad. Your head was spinning, both from your short, hard fall and from the whirlwind of events that had happened in what could only have been minutes. Surrounded by darkness, with the wail of the city and a fire for company, you could only see one course of action.

Run.

You had to get away from here. It wasn’t safe. You had little idea where was safe, but you couldn’t be here anymore.

It wasn’t like you had anyone to call who would care enough to come and pick you up. Nor did you have the money to try a hospital, though you felt as if you may need it.

But especially with electricity shooting from your hands at the drop of a hat, it probably wasn’t best to be anywhere around people.

The dizziness from your unfortunate landing on the car had worn off while you were sitting, but the world swayed anew the moment you made to stand. Pushing determinedly against the wall, you struggled on anyway, brand new dark spots in your vision offset by the brightness of the fire you walked towards.

This end of the alleyway led out through smaller streets, away from the city centre and furore of sirens.

On reaching the opening, you cautiously assessed the road stretching away either side. Empty. And if there was anyone there, they wouldn’t see you in this darkness.

Shoving your hands beneath your armpits on some misguided hope of keeping them from causing problems, you lowered your head and ran. It was more of a jog, considering everything, but you still moved as quickly as you could beneath the dead streetlamps.

Head throbbing more with movement, you stumbled a few times as you went. The pavement tilted around you.

You had made it a few roads before you felt that awful tingling in your arms again. It itched, like something fighting its way out of your skin.

Nausea rolled in the pit of your stomach. This couldn’t be real.

Slowing down and stopping beneath a signpost, you drew your shaking hands out in front of you. The world careened on its axis, revolving around the sight of your palms as a faint blue glow grew in them.

You were going to throw up, you were sure of it.

You wanted it to stop.

A few flickers of blue darted down the veins in your wrist. Towards your fingertips. Sparks leapt from them, small tendrils of lightning crackling between your fingers like webbing.

At last, you gave in to the rising horror mixed with a sick feeling. The floor’s spinning became too much, your hands turning to a bright blur in the centre of your vision.

You passed out on the spot.

Lights were turning on again around the city. Television sets flickering back to life to announce Bolt’s victory against the beast that had attacked earlier that evening.

But not on the street where you still lay.

The return of light only reached neighbouring roads, dim glow snuffed out before it could penetrate the middle of this street. A white-haired young man stepped forwards, but his face was totally obscured in darkness.

“Here,” he spoke to the silence.

The next moment, a deep red glowed in the middle of the road, though it brought little light. The red bounced off a signpost before it was gone, replaced by another man, seemingly from nowhere.

The newest arrival stood there, looking down at your figure, unconscious by the sign. Then he disappeared again, leaving total darkness behind as if he had never been there at all.

A few more moments passed, you and the hidden man the only beings on the dark road.

Not very long after, a car’s engine rumbled and sputtered into earshot. The bright beam of headlights rounded the corner, growing larger and shedding light on your form as it drew closer.

Pulling up next to you, the engine died along with the lights. Two doors opened and slammed shut.

As two pairs of feet stepped nearer to join the one remaining beside you, the streetlamp directly overhead began to glow. The faint glimmer grew until it illuminated the scene. Still no other lights joined it, leaving the small group of you lit up as if by spotlight.

“It’s her?”

The man crouching beside you asked the question without looking up, and the shadowed man answered.

“Pretty sure.”

“She’s breathing?”

“Yes.”

The crouching man hummed. Moving to kneel instead, his eyes roved over your somewhat battered face, dark hair obscuring his own.

“Namjoon?” he asked then, turning to the other man from the car. It was the same man who had momentarily appeared in the street earlier.

Taking his cue, the tall man, Namjoon, walked forwards and bent to lift your hands by the wrists. In just moments he was placing them carefully back, nodding.

“No doubt.”

“Okay then.”

“Can she travel, Jin?”

“Give me a moment.”

Producing a small object, he pressed a button and a small light sprung from the end. Carefully lifting one of your eyelids, he shone the light into it, observing like a doctor.

The first you became aware of was the far away sound of voices being quietly exchanged. But with the cloudiness in your head, identifying them didn’t seem very urgent. You were preoccupied with the swirling feeling that made the world swim around you, even though it was dark.

But as dim awareness was returning to you, the process of regaining your senses was violently accelerated as a blinding light was thrust into your vision.

You flinched, and as Jin pulled away he saw you blink, eyelids screwing shut in protest. His eyebrows raised in slight concern as he watched your first groggy movements.

Blinking around at the dimly lit figures over you, your eyes widened. The nearest man held the illuminated light stick. Was he a doctor?

Next, your eyes darted to the tall man standing behind him. You recognised neither.

Some strange feeling told you someone else was standing there too, but when you looked to your other side you were faced with nothing but empty shadow.

“Can you sit?”

The first man’s question was gentle, his hands ready to support you.

Nodding timidly, you heaved yourself up with his help. It embarrassed you to be panting after just that much movement.

“What happened?” came the next question.

As you replayed the events, you avoided their eyes. You could not let them know what happened, what you had become. They were helping you, and yet you might hurt them-

Fists clenching subconsciously, you stuttered in panic.

“I-I can’t pay,” you told them, but before you could say more a new voice was speaking. The standing man stepped forwards, his voice calm and surprisingly friendly.

“There’s no need to pay. We can help you. Can you tell us what happened?”

“I don’t, uh, I-I-“

His eyes travelled towards your hands, which you were trying to tuck behind you.

“You gained powers, didn’t you?”

You froze.

“I have them too,” he smiled, “I know what it’s like to be scared. But you can work with this and learn to control them. I’m Namjoon, and this is Jin. We’ve been through this before, we can help you.”

At your sides, your hands relaxed. Tension lifted from your tightly hunched shoulders. Wordless, you looked between the men who were watching you, ready to move, but only on your word.

Swallowing, a light frown creased your brow.

“What do you want-”

Namjoon’s smile dimmed into something kinder.

“At least let us check you over.”

Your hands fretted together. It was strange, you couldn’t feel anything there. Surely they should feel different? How would you know if these… powers, Namjoon had said, were to come back?

“You won’t hurt us, don’t worry,” he seemed to anticipate your thoughts as he watched you, “we can protect ourselves.”

“You were unconscious,” Jin spoke, drawing your perplexed gaze back to him, “did you hit your head?”

You blinked, but found yourself answering.

“I think so.”

Nodding, Jin shuffled at your side. He leaned a bit closer.

“I need to shine this light in your eyes again. You may have a concussion.”

Complying, you sat through the eye-watering brightness. He asked you things, like a doctor would, except he was working in the middle of an empty street in the middle of the night.

“Do you feel dizzy?”

“I did. I think still, a little.”

“Any nausea?”

“Yeah… but maybe because of the…” you gestured to your hands.

Jin sat back, taking the light with him. Namjoon shot you a sympathetic smile at that. You supposed he had been through the same thing, from the sounds of it.

Jin looked up at Namjoon.

“It looks pretty rough. Definitely a concussion, and she needs patching up, but in the long run she’ll be fine.”

“I-I’m serious,” you interjected, “I don’t have the money for hospital…”

Your voice faltered. You half thought of asking to just go home, but you were hardly sure of even making it there by yourself. And if you got there, then what? The prospect of burning down the place with these errant powers didn’t fill you with comfort.

“Good thing we’re not going to bring you there, then,” Namjoon said, “but I meant it when I said we could help. We can take you home, if you want… but you can stay with us, too.”

You stared at him wordlessly. Was it crazy that you were considering this?

“Just for a bit, if you need,” Jin added softly, “it’s just… now might not be the smartest time to be alone.”

You chewed your cheek. But your head was pounding too much to think very hard, and this seemed like the most straightforward option. The people in this city kept surprising you, after your first stroke of luck with Kuyang's generosity.

“Sure…” you spoke quietly, not quite able to look them in the eyes, “yes please.”

“Okay,” Namjoon took it in stride, “but let’s get moving.”

“Just one moment – we should wrap that.”

Gesturing towards your arm, Jin stood and went back to the car. On his return, he knelt again and began to secure cling film around the angry red blotch blistering your skin, where you had caught yourself with your own beam.

“We’ll sort it out properly when we get back,” he told you, “but Namjoon’s right, we should be going.”

You followed his gaze which seemed to dart up and down the street. However, nothing was there.

Jin helped you stand, still looking around. Sure enough, the dizziness from before hadn’t quite left you yet. Biting down on your lip, you focussed hard on getting the short distance to the car. You were led to the passenger seat and crumpled gratefully into it.

But just as Jin closed the door, you felt an uncomfortable prickling clutch your forearms again. Namjoon slid into the back seat in time to hear your gasp, noticing the way your fingers flexed in panic. Digging in his pockets, he produced a pair of thin black gloves and held them out to you just as the first trickles of blue appeared in your veins again. He watched with a studious frown as you pushed your hands into the gloves.

“Those will help,” he said, still looking at your wrists, “they can contain the powers. But you shouldn’t keep them on for too long.”

Jin was seating himself in the driver’s side as you frowned over at Namjoon. At first you had been relieved to have a solution to your erratic lightning problem, but that was ripped away at his last addition.

“Why not? It will keep you safe,” you questioned, but kept your voice quiet.

“Don’t worry, we’re more than capable of handling anything you could throw at us,” he laughed, “but you can keep them on in here. Best not to bottle up your powers forever, though.”

Resigned, you turned back to face front. The moment Jin stepped on the gas, all the lights in the road sparked to life at once. Startled, you blinked, looking around. On the pavement you were just pulling away from, a man was walking away, unidentifiable behind a hoodie.

Slumping back in your seat, you breathed a short, dry laugh. This mysterious happening was just the latest in this crazy night. You had no choice but to accept it.

The car ride was fairly short, but you were too tired and distracted to take in exactly where you were going. Streets seemed to blur together, aware only that you were heading out of town.

The itching in your arms had persisted for a while, but as promised, the gloves seemed to work. No fiery blue burst out of your palms, and, eventually, whatever it was decided to give it up, subsiding again by the time the car pulled up.

But no one got out yet. Jin had stopped at the end of a small road, big enough for only one vehicle, directly facing an expanse of crumbling and graffitied brick.

Curiosity woke you up from your daze, and you watched as Jin reached to tap something on his dashboard. Almost instantly, a groaning reached your ears from over the whirring of the engine. The wall ahead shook before shifting, sliding sideways until it tucked itself behind a dented dustbin, unveiling a space beyond.

Leaving you little more time to wonder, Jin started the car again and you rolled downwards through a plain, dark entrance. It reminded you of those multi-storey car parks formed with ugly blocks of concrete. It was considerably smaller than those, however, Jin pullingup into a space alongside about a dozen other vehicles, beyond which the place seemed entirely deserted.

Jin came around to open your door, but you were able to stand by yourself. It was still a bit of a struggle, your limbs sluggish and the world dull around you – although that may have just been the low underground light.

Namjoon led you, Jin staying close by your side. Blinking at the space as you moved through it, your eyes traced over the various car roofs, some cleaner than others. A larger four-by-four was particularly beaten up, with a large crease in one of the metal wheel arches.

Your eyes rested longest on what was probably the most pristine: a motorbike, at first hidden by the cars either side of it.

Soon enough, you were past them. Stopping as Namjoon did, you watched him expectantly. However, he did not turn around, instead standing face-to-face with a plain concrete wall. Except… now a low rumble announced the movement of a panel which slid away, revealing a wide doorway which had previously blended seamlessly with the flat wall.

Your eyebrows raised at the touch that was reminiscent of Kuyang’s lab. Without time for you to dwell on this, your small group moved up a dingy staircase that lay beyond the doorway.

At the top, you emerged into a new space, notably lighter than before. You assumed you were back on ground level, perhaps above. It was hard to be sure, disoriented as you still were in the whirlwind that had overtaken your day.

Bizarrely, the space appeared to be someone’s home. There was a large and coffee-stained table surrounded by mismatching chairs, a kitchen behind it littered with mugs and pot plants. Still, beyond the lived-in array of things lying around, it was big. You imagined it must be miles more expensive than the shoddy apartment you stayed in.

It was open plan, and you followed Namjoon past the dining table towards an area filled with two enormous sofas.

The back of a blond head was visible over the sofa, and now the person turned towards you.

“Guys!” a loud exclamation rang out as he leapt up. A dazzling smile spread across his mouth.

When his eyes fell on you, wincing at his sudden volume, the smile dimmed a little.

“Not so loud, Hope-ah,” Jin spoke gently from behind you.

“Sorry,” he dipped his head, smile remaining on his lips.

Jin’s hands came lightly to your back, steering you over to a sofa. As you sunk into it with relief, the blond man sat across from you, tilting his head to catch your eye.

“I’m Hope,” he smiled, “I’m glad we found you. You’ll be right in no time!”

Frowning, you couldn’t help but notice his eyes flicking over the damage on your face. Averting your gaze, you chewed your lip absently.

What did he mean? I’m glad we found you…

Had they been looking for you? You still weren’t sure if it was a lucky coincidence they found you, but perhaps it was something more.

The lingering ache in your head forced you to push the issue away. You missed Namjoon’s stern look at Hoseok as he hovered behind your seat.

Jin pulled a pack from a cupboard and set it beside you. You let him lift your arm and unwrap the burn, your unfocussed eyes dragging across the room while he applied something cold over it. Next came stinging, scattered over your face as he wiped at the small cuts and grazes with an apologetic grimace you barely saw.

You only forced the world back into focus when someone else entered your sight. Emerging from behind you, a gentle, friendly smile was directed your way from a man with pale pink hair. Swallowing, you never managed to smile back before he was turning away.

The pink-haired man reached a hand out to someone you couldn’t see. Another man appeared, walking towards him, but he never looked at you. Or if he did, it was obscured behind the black hair that fell to his eyes.

The two new people left towards the kitchen, though not without another smile from the pink one.

Who were all these people?

Frowning after them, you were interrupted by a clap on the shoulder from Jin.

“We’ll talk more in the morning. You need to rest.”

Looking around, you had half a mind to protest, but were overruled by the shakiness taking over your frame. Body too fatigued to allow you much say, you meekly followed Jin.

Beyond the living space, a thinner corridor led away, several closed doors along its walls.

Further you went, until a door just ahead opened. Another person walked out.

When he stopped to face you, his posture remained stiff. Tall and muscular, he was clad all in black except for a towel slung over his shoulder. Damp hair fell messily around his head. But you had little time to take this in, as his eyes fixed themselves fiercely on yours, rendering you unable to look away.

Mouth remaining in a hard line, his expression only twitched further into a frown.

Then his gaze flicked abruptly away, travelling to Jin just beyond you.

“Kook-“

Jin never got further than that before the man strode forwards, marching sharply past you and away with a scowl. Turning after him in surprise, you watched his tense shoulders disappear behind Namjoon, who you hadn’t noticed hovering.

Namjoon stared sternly after him, but the man seemed to avoid his gaze.

Jin sighed, sending an apologetic glance at you.

“That’s just Jungkook,” Namjoon spoke, ushering you all further along the hallway, “don’t pay him any attention.”

“Why was…”

You trailed off, unsure of what exactly to ask. Neither of them made an attempt to answer.

You had no idea a wordless encounter could leech so much hostility into the atmosphere. Picturing Jungkook’s glowering face, you blindly followed the others through a different door.

“You can sleep in here.”

“Hm?”

Shaking yourself, you looked around the new room. There wasn’t much to see. Beside a low bed, there was a mirror, a wooden closet and nothing more. Looking up, you didn’t even find a light in the ceiling. The only light leaked through from the hallway.

Clearly reading your gaping mouth and furrowing brow, Namjoon moved in front of you.

“Don’t worry, this is just a place to sleep, nothing more. But since you’re going to have to take those gloves off, we can’t have you in a space with any electricals.”

Stepping back defensively, your fingers pressed tightly together. Having the gloves on had let you almost imagine that nothing life-changing had happened. Like gaining unpredictable powers, for instance.

Namjoon watched patiently, holding out a hand.

“You don’t need them…”

He realised he had never asked your name, and let his sentence trail expectantly. Telling him your name, he relaxed into a smile.

“You don’t need them, Y/N,” he repeated, not that you believed him for a second, “you’ll be perfectly safe. And so will we.”

Only the yearning to collapse onto the bed persuaded you to hand over the gloves. The instant they were in his hand, you swore you could feel a shock go up your arm. Immediately tense again, your breathing became shallower, with no idea how to try and stop power shooting from your hands any moment.

But Namjoon and Jin seemed content. Before you could gather your thoughts, they had left, closing the door and drenching your room in near total darkness.

Stumbling to the bed and virtually falling into it, you wiped sweating palms against the fabric. Your mouth was dry with fear.

This couldn’t have happened.

Alone for the first time since your initial panic, it didn’t take long for your mind to wrap itself in circles again. Only hours ago, you had been sitting happily in your bright office, going through the motions…

One split-second decision from a powerful man had changed that.

You knew full well he had intended for you to die. But he was Bolt...

He had probably forgotten about it already. The guard he sent lifeless to the floor, the secretary he threw from the building.

Itching feeling returning, you swallowed desperately and raised your hands. Sure enough, against the darkness, blue pierced your vision, darting its way up-

Turning your face away, you flinched as the outburst came. Your eyes screwed shut, you pressed your cheek into fabric, not wanting to see the deathly lightning that shot through the room. Shuddering breaths broke into your lungs when at last it subsided.

Letting them fall, limp, to your sides, your hands fisted the covers tightly.

You were almost afraid to open your eyes, knowing it would only show you the empty room, confirmation that this was real. You were dangerous, shut in a safe room where you could hurt no one. Would you ever get out? Succeed in controlling this, like Namjoon had said?

With no idea where you were, barely any idea who the people here were, you wanted to block it out. But even with your eyes closed, you couldn’t escape.

The memory of Jungkook’s suspicious face made your heart sink. Perhaps people should be afraid of you, now. As much as you may want to, there was no getting away from this.

Pushing yourself to sit, you surveyed the room. Eyes accustomed to the blackness a little more, you could make out vague shapes. Your breath fell alone in the silence. This really was the safest place you could be right now, even if it was a nightmare.

As your head turned, you suddenly came level with your eyes in the mirror, and a shock of light.

For an extended moment, you could only stare.

Then all at once you were rushing forwards, tripping from the end of the bed. Bracing your arms against the wall either side of the mirror, you gaped at your reflection.

As you watched, an angular bolt of blue shot across your irises, which were already dimly glowing.

You gulped against the thick feeling crawling up your throat. Faced with this, you could no longer have any hope of denying it.

This was really happening.

Thank you for reading!! Please please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, comments make it all worthwhile!💜💜

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colubrina · 7 months

Text

How I Got My Agent, Take Two

I’m so ridiculously over the top happy to say I’ve signed with a literary agent to sell my magical bookbinder book. This has been a long process that started in 2017, and I’m genuinely overjoyed.

It played out thus:

Write book one.

Write book two. Query the book.

Write book three. Query the book.

Write book four. Get into Pitch Wars with the book. (Yay!) Query the book.

Write book five. Get into Author Mentor Match with the book. (Yay!) Query the book.

Write book six.

Write book seven.

Write book eight.

Write book nine.

Get a Revise and Resubmit offer from an agent for book five. Do it.

Start querying book six.

Get an offer from the R&R (Yay!)

Write book ten.

Book five dies on submission.

Start writing book eleven.

My agent and I amicably part ways.

Start writing book twelve.

Finish querying book six.

Query book ten.

Start writing book thirteen.

Go back to book eleven.

Go to a live pitch event. Pitch book eleven to two agents. Neither likes it. One asks what else I’m working on, and when I do the one sentence pitch for book twelve, says, “I could sell that.”

Pivot to finishing that book.

Query book twelve, sending queries first to four agents who only want queries and who are actively requesting off those queries. Get a 75% request rate. Query is fire. Check. Unfortunately, every agent rejects when they see the opening pages, which turn out not to be fire.

Revise opening

Resume querying book twelve. In case you’ve lost count, while this is the twelfth book I’ve written, it’s ‘only’ the seventh I’ve queried.

Finish drafting book thirteen in NaNo. Revise. Send to CPs.

Have existential crisis on a Tuesday. Meltdown on Tumblr. Weep in my living room. All my books have failed. I do not know how to write a better book. Maybe I should give up. This turns out to be a very well-timed dark night of the soul within the narrative.

Get two full requests for book twelve on Wednesday.

Get an email telling me one of my short stories has been held for consideration on Thursday.

On Friday get an email that the woman who handles submissions for one of those agents from Wednesday loved the book but she doesn’t think it’s a great fit for the agent I queried. Would I mind if she forwarded it in-house to a different agent? In shocking news, I would not mind this.

On Monday, get an email asking for a call.

On Wednesday, which is Valentine’s Day, have a call with the agent. She’s lovely in every way, her thoughts on the book are so good, every editorial idea she floats is good. Like, really good. She is super enthusiastic about repping the book and offers to do so.

There is an etiquette requirement at this point that I tell any agent who has the book that I have an offer on the table and give them two weeks to respond, so I go around nudging all the agents with a full (four people) and several agents who only have a query. Three more agents request fulls. The rejections start trickling in. People are very sweet and complimentary, and I am deeply, deeply relieved that I never waver from how much I adore the original offering agent.

I sign with her on February 29.

Final stats for Book Twelve (THE ARCHIVE OF THE WORLD):

Total Queries Sent: 39 Requests Before Offer: 8 (20.5% request rate) Request Rate Including Post-Offer Requests: 28.2%

Year I Started this Nonsense: 2017 Total Queries Sent across 7 books: 456

Takeaway wisdom: The query trenches are a soul-mangling machine into which we all keep putting our souls and most of us don’t make it out unmangled. I am not unmangled. BUT, I am a persistence hunter, and I will walk steadily towards publishing until it lies down in exhaustion and gives up.

Thanks for hanging out with me as I do.

Also, this book is so much fun. You’re going to love it.

#querying #wow that process sucked #when we've sold the book you will hear about it #and when you can pre-order #and when you can order

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lenafromthenordiccoven · 7 months

Text

Yes, ma'am | Bob Floyd x f!pilot!reader

Pairing: Robert “Bob” Floyd x f!Pilot!reader

Requested? no (unless you count my own brain pestering me with this)

Rating: M – MDNI 18+

Word count: 4370

Warnings: Pilot!reader, switch!Bob, switch!reader, light fingering, oral (f!receiving) unprotected PinV (be smart and wrap it, folks), breeding kink, Bob Floyd fucks, Navy and Air Force inaccuracies are probably gonna pop up here and there, super self-indulgent

Summary: After six years of training, you’re finally graduating from flight school as one of the first female Eurofighter Typhoon drivers in the Austrian Air Force. Your boyfriend of six and a half years, Bob, has supported you every step of the way. And now? Now it’s time to celebrate his newly graduated, freshly made Lieutenant, girlfriend.

Read on ao3

A/N: Listen, this is gonna be SUPER self-indulgent, ‘kay? Thanks to TGM, the Austrian airshow “Airpower” in 2022 and the internships I’ve done with the AAF, I’mma try to enter flight school for the Eurofighter Typhoons once I’m done with my MA. This translator wants to flyyy, baby! 😂 So, this is my brain keeping me motivated to train for the entry exam by giving me ideas of what it could be like to actually do it and graduate. Also, I’m a slut for Bob Floyd. What else is new? 😂 This is basically an extension of @attapullmans International Bob Floyd Fucks month. I wanted to have this up by the end of January but didn’t have time. (Song to listen to for this would be Tell Me The Truth by Two Feet.)

Six years. You’d been waiting for this moment for six years. Had worked hard for it. And now, as officers, family and other invitees were applauding and two of the Typhoons soared overhead, you were officially being dismissed as a Second Lieutenant for the first time. The first female Typhoon driver in the Austrian Air Force. And yet, it didn’t feel real. Not the way your classmates, other pilots with the rotary wing or other fixed-wing aircraft, clapped you on the back as they cheered. And certainly not the way your boyfriend of almost seven years, who’d been there for you every step of the way since you’d told him you wanted to try out for the Air Force when you’d first started dating, was grinning at you. No, he was positively beaming.

The fact that your parents hadn’t been able to make it to your graduation might’ve dampened your mood, if Bob wasn’t looking at you with so much love and pride, it made your own chest swell. You’d done it. Despite what everyone else and your own mind had told you from time to time, you’d made it. And, to be honest, you’d been terrified of Selection Day. Scared that even after already three years of consistently being top of the class and adamant about wanting to fly the Typhoon, your superior officers would tell you, they’d assign you to the helicopters or air transport.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, blood roaring in your ears as you pushed through the crowd and finally reached Bob. You were trembling by now, the adrenaline slowly wearing off, the world coming back into focus. And with it, the thought that you had to get Bob out of here as soon as possible. He’d chosen to wear his dress whites, while you were in your dress uniform with its grey jacket and grey pants (thank god, they’d actually let you choose whether you wanted to wear a skirt or pants and nobody had pitched a fit when you’d gone for the pants, explaining that you would “stick out like a sore thumb as is”, you didn’t want to add to that by being the only person wearing a skirt. The other female cadets in your class had all chosen the pants as well.) – and the new golden edelweiss on your collar. Fuck, if he didn’t look like he’d stepped off the pages of one of the romance novels you’d been devouring recently.

“Congratulations, darlin’. ‘m so damn proud of you,” he murmured before bending down to press his lips against yours in what had to be the most chaste kiss of the century. But you were still in sight of your superiors, so you couldn’t go too far. Especially since your relationship had already sparked enough gossip – and a three-hour briefing on what you could tell your boyfriend and what you couldn’t, not that you hadn’t figured out most of the things with you usually being on the receiving end of Bob’s professional silence. You didn’t feel like adding fuel to the fire, even though you positively ached to kiss Bob the way you really wanted to and to stick your hands in his hair and mess up that gelled back hairdo he was sporting.

You could feel your cheeks heat at the thought of how you didn’t even want him to take off his uniform. You just wanted to get him home and have him fuck you while he was still wearing his dress whites. “Thank you, baby,” you finally replied to Bob’s praise.

He raised an eyebrow and slightly cocked his head at your reaction, but you saw recognition bloom on his face when you lightly bit down on your bottom lip. He leaned in close to whisper in your ear. “Do we still have to go to any official dinners or parties, or do you think, we can jus’ sneak off?” His voice was rough, lower than it had been just a minute ago, and it sent a delicious shiver down your spine.

You briefly closed your eyes before you looked back up into those light blue eyes of his, trying to look as innocent as you could muster. “I’m afraid, there’s one more we have to go to. My new squad leader’s paying, and it would probably be good to get to know them a bit before next Monday. But I’m sure, they’ll understand if we don’t stay for too long.”

“Whatever you say, Lieutenant.” His lips stretched into a smirk, the kind of which you imagined only you saw on the regular, as another shiver raced down your spine and left goosebumps in its wake despite the June heat. Damn it. You knew, how much he liked it when you called him by his rank. But this? This was new. And you loved it. “You wanna take the lead when we get home?” He wrapped an arm around your waist and drew you in closer as you nodded.

“Hell yeah, I do.” You both chuckled at your response. Usually, you had no problem handing over control to Bob, especially in the bedroom. But sometimes, especially if things had been stressful and since you’d joined flight school, you liked to be the one to make him whimper and beg for a change. Tonight would not be any different. You grinned as your mind was already busy conjuring up ideas.

***

“Good god, I’m so sorry. I had no idea, he could talk that much,” you groaned when you finally entered your off-base apartment with Bob hot on your heels. Initially, you’d expected to only stay for maybe two hours with your new squad. But then time had stretched on and now it was almost ten pm. You were exhausted. But also restless. Besides, you actually had the weekend off, starting with Saturday tomorrow. And Bob would leave on Sunday evening, so who would fault you for not wanting to go to sleep yet?

You toed off your shoes as Bob closed and locked the door and then leaned his back against it. His eyes were closed, a sigh left his lips and for the first time since you’d picked him up from the airport, he looked tired. You inched closer to him, snuggling into his chest, despite his buttons and ribbons digging into your cheek. You could feel him relax against you, just as the tension finally left your own shoulders.

“You know,” you began to mumble into his jacket, “I’d get it if you wanted to go to sleep after today. We’ve still got tomorrow and Sunday after that.” You really would have understood if his response had been yes, wouldn’t have minded just curling into his embrace and against his warm body in bed as you both drifted off to sleep.

But to your surprise, he simply lightly pushed on your shoulders until he could get his fingers under your chin and tilt your head up to meet his gaze. “I might be tired, but that doesn’t matter. Haven’t seen you in months. Just wanna … feel you. Make you feel good.”

“You want to be a good boy for me?” you replied with your own question, your own fingers inching up his neck until you could caress his cheek. He leaned into your touch and then nodded.

“Yes, ma’am.” His eyes were glued to yours, pupils blown a little wider than they had been just minutes before. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards when he heard the sharp intake of your breath at his words.

You groaned, squeezed your eyes shut and then leaned your forehead against his chest. His words only worsened the throbbing in your core, while you fought the urge to squeeze your thighs together. “I never thought, I’d actually like it when people call me that. Makes me feel so old.” You swallowed thickly. Well, you weren’t entirely honest. You’d thought about what it would be like to hear Bob call you “Ma’am” or by your rank. The two of you had tried it out once, where he’d called you cadet and you’d immediately shut him down. It had made you feel too small, by no fault of his really. You just hadn’t liked it. But this? Hearing him call you Lieutenant? Especially in this tone of his he sometimes got when he was particularly needy and wanted you to ride him. It ignited a whole new wave of desire in your core that quickly spread throughout your whole body.

He chuckled. You felt his chest vibrate underneath your cheek. “Now you understand what you do to me when you call me by my rank?” His hand came up to cup the back of your neck. Your eyes almost fluttered closed again just feeling his fingers brush against your skin.

“You wanted me to call you Lieutenant and Sir,” you started to defend yourself. Bob’s grip around the back of your neck tightened. Only lightly, but enough to make you take a half step back, so you could look him in the eyes properly. The light blue of his eyes was almost completely swallowed by his blown-out pupils now. His other hand took your wrist and brushed your hand against the growing tent in his pants.

You could see his nostrils flare when you flexed your hand and grabbed his dick over his pants, rolling the heel of your palm against his tip. He jerked, his hips involuntarily bucking against your hand. He barely suppressed the moan bubbling out of his throat and you bit your lip to hide the grin threatening to break out on your face. “I know, you feel weird about people callin’ you ma’am at work. But when we’re off-duty and I call you that or by your rank, I don’t want you to ever think, it’s not a sign of my utmost devotion to you. I love you, Y/N. And I wanna make you feel good. Please. Lemme make you feel good. Show you how much I worship you, ma’am.”

He kept his eyes trained on yours as you leaned up on your tiptoes to brush your lips against his ever so lightly. He groaned and chased after your lips, but you took another step back, took your hand away from his crotch in the process. “Well, then you better show me you mean it, Lieutenant. Don’t you think?” You began to slowly walk backwards into your small apartment, undoing the buttons on your uniform jacket as you watched him stalk after you.

While discarding your uniform, you were careful not to wrinkle it. You’d have to probably go to the designated dry cleaner’s anyway, but just wanted to be safe. A thought that immediately left your head when you saw Bob reach up to undo his own buttons. You surged forward, put a hand on his and then said: “Did I say, you could undress, Lieutenant?”

Bob’s gaze flicked from your face to your hand on his. You were pretty sure, he’d also eyed the semi-lacy bra peeking through your open shirt, but you couldn’t fault him. While your current underwear couldn’t possibly be classed as lingerie, you were wearing a pretty, white set that came with lace trim around the hems, was super soft and comfortable to wear – but also had your now pebbled nipples poking through the cloth. “No, ma’am. Sorry.”

“It’s alright, Lieutenant. I’ll let it slide this time. But just so we’re both clear, the uniform stays on until I say otherwise, understood?”

Bob startled, blinked once, twice, before he stuttered: “S-say again?” In another instance you would have teased him for so easily falling back into the standard ICAO phraseology, but this time, you just smiled. You shrugged off your white shirt, relishing in the way his eyes tracked every little one of your movements. He licked his lips as you pressed your body against his, nudging his cock with your thigh. One of your hands travelled up his chest, over his ribbons. Your nails lightly scratched the skin of his neck until you could tangle your fingers into his hair. And you tugged. Not hard enough to actually hurt him, but enough to elicit a broken moan.

“I said, the uniform stays on until I say otherwise.” You tugged again. “Did you understand me, Lieutenant Floyd? Or do I have to spell it out for you?” He leaned down a bit, until your faces were only inches apart.

You could see the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. He would obey for now, play along with your little game, but you would definitely be having a conversation about your apparent uniform kink later. And you knew, he would use it against you when he could.

“Loud and clear, ma’am.” He wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you a little closer, and you guessed, to keep your body pressed against his, give you a harder time to escape his grasp again.

“Good.” You pressed a small kiss to his lips, ducking away before he could deepen it. You started to back up again, into your bedroom while you opened the button and fly of your pants, pushed them down over your thighs and let them pool down at your feet. You heard him groan and felt his fingers lightly brush over your ass when you turned around to walk over to your bed. You swatted his hand away, then bent over to push down your panties.

Bob swore under his breath, and you couldn’t help the grin that lit up your face at his reaction. You’d soaked through your panties by now, knew he could see it. Was probably itching to bury his fingers and face in your pussy. But when you caught his gaze, your breath hitched in your throat and your overly confident, dominant persona faltered for a split second. Fuck. He looked like he was going to devour you the second he got his hands on you. For a moment, you wondered if you’d gone too far in teasing him this much.

“What’s your color, baby?” you asked and slowly sank down on the edge of the bed.

“Green. Still, very much green. But, damn, Y/N…” His gaze briefly landed on your pussy and the wetness you knew he could see staining your inner thighs. You swallowed, before you leaned back a bit, steadying yourself on your hands.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get over here and show me what other talents your mouth and those thick, nimble fingers of yours possess.” He didn’t even respond verbally this time, only made a sound that reminded you of a growl. He nodded, once, just a quick, curt movement of his chin. Then he closed the distance between the two of you in two long strides.

His hands were on you before you could even tell him to touch you. One of them cradled your head and pulled you closer, so he could crash his lips against yours in what you’d call a complete 180° turn from how you’d kissed on base earlier that day. You moaned into the kiss, tangled one of your hands into his hair and easily opened up for his tongue to slip into your mouth. His other hand wandered down, quickly squeezing your right breast before it dipped down between your legs.

“Bobby,” you gasped against his lips as he swiped his fingers through your folds and pressed his index finger lightly against your clit.

“What, no more orders for me, ma’am?” He smirked against your lips as you desperately shook your head. You’d thrown your persona out the window the minute he’d fully touched you. All that mattered was feeling his body against yours now. Nothing else.

“Fuck that. Need you to take over. Fuck me, Bob. Please.” You could barely suppress the moan ripping out of you as he quickly shoved two fingers inside of you.

He groaned into another kiss; you knew he could feel you clench around his fingers. How you grew even wetter. “Oh, sweetheart. I’ll do anything you want if you ask me this nicely.”

When you opened your mouth to tell him what exactly it was you wanted, he gently withdrew his fingers from your pussy and pushed them past your lips instead. You closed your mouth around his fingers, letting your tongue swirl over the tips and let out a low moan at the taste – and the fact that he had just figured out what you wanted without you having to ask.

He slowly sank down on his knees in front of you, grabbed your thighs and placed them on either side of his head. He looked up at you, making you wonder if it was even possible for his eyes to grow even darker? Much like you, he’d foregone his usual glasses for the day and opted for contacts, making you almost miss the feeling of the frame digging into your skin. Without his gaze ever leaving your face, he turned his head and pressed a gentle kiss to the skin of your inner thigh. “This what you were gonna ask me to do, sweetheart?”

You nodded eagerly, trying to push him closer to your core with your heel, but to no avail. “Yes.” Any other time you would have been fucking mortified at how needy and breathless you sounded, and he’d barely touched you. But you’d done the same to him, it was only natural, he’d turn the tables on you as soon as he got the chance. And you’d handed him the reins freely after all.

“Yes, what?” He’d practically growled the words, raised an eyebrow at you and slowly leaned closer to let his hot breath ghost over your now practically dripping pussy.

You swallowed again, scrambling to find your voice and command your tongue to move. “Yes, Sir.” You could barely hear his mumbled “Good girl” in response; your heartbeat was so loud in your ears, you wondered how he hadn’t heard it yet. And then he dove right in. Licking, sucking, groaning into you as he got a taste of you after you’d barely been able to even talk on the phone for months. You leaned back further, your mouth fell open and you let the moans and gasps flow freely. When you bucked your hips against his face, his left hand came up to grip your right hip; his right hand landed on one of your breasts, pulling down your bra, so he could grab at the flesh and roll your nipple between his fingers.

Your arms trembled underneath your weight as your hands dug into the duvet underneath you. You didn’t even hold back the praise, told him how good he made you feel. In return, he doubled down on his efforts of eating you out like he was a man starved. It didn’t take long for you to reach the edge, but Bob made no move to slow down. Instead, the hand that had been kneading your breast wandered down until he shifted his mouth to your clit and thrust three of his fingers back inside of you, curled them up to hit the spot that sent you careening over the edge with a litany of “Oh my God”s leaving your mouth.

Your arms had now fully collapsed under you as you slowly returned to your body and your chest heaved with every breath as you were gasping for air. Bob pulled off of you and crawled over you, light concern shone in his eyes as he asked if you were okay.

You nodded after a couple seconds of blinking and trying to regain your ability of speech. “That was …”

You’d trailed off and before you could pick up your train of thought, Bob interrupted you: “So, what else did you have in mind for tonight?” His left hand was drawing abstract shapes onto the skin of your right hip and stomach while he waited for your reply.

You groaned, closed your eyes and dragged a hand over your face. “I … hadn’t decided, actually. Either, I ride your cock or you bend me over and fuck me until I can’t walk.” You peered up at him through your lashes with a sheepish grin. You couldn’t place the origin of the flush creeping up your neck and spreading over your chest. It was either desire or embarrassment. Or, more likely, a mix of both.

He chuckled and let his head drop down for a quick peck against your lips, before he shook his head at you. “Jesus, Y/N.”

“Sor–” you’d almost said before a hand over your mouth silenced you.

“Don’t apologize for that. Besides, I did say, I’d do anything for you, didn’t I?” He smiled down at you as you nodded, still somewhat bashful at your suggestion. Without another word, Bob stood up and you whined at the loss of contact as his hands trailed off of you as well. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll be right back where you want me. Where’d you put the condoms?”

Oh, that’s where he was going? No, no, no. That didn’t work with the fantasy you’d sketched out in your mind all week as you’d touched yourself – at night, in the shower… You sat up and grabbed his wrist with a hand to pull him back towards you. “No condom tonight. I’m on birth control anyway for my cramps. And I …” You looked down, wanting to look at your knees, but your gaze got caught on his dick straining against his pants.

“What is it, Y/N?” He leaned back down, put a finger underneath your chin and tilted your head backwards, so you had to look at him. You bit down on your lip and closed your eyes for a second, praying that he’d understand what you were trying to say. “You want me to fill you up, sweetheart? Hm? Feel my cock inside of you, feel me come inside you?”

You nodded, breathed out another “Yes”.

Bob groaned in response. He squeezed his eyes shut, his lightly dominant persona leaving the room for a second as he looked at you again and quietly asked: “Is that why you want me to fuck you from behind?” Again, you could only nod and respond in a whisper.

He chuckled, gently cupping your cheek for a second and brought you in for a slow kiss. You practically melted into his touch and sighed against his lips when he pulled away again. “Well, lose the bra, turn around and get on your knees, sweetheart.” His voice was back to the low, darker and more dominant undertone. His gaze felt heavy on you as you scrambled to unhook the clasps of your bra behind your back and then threw the garment behind you. You’d pick it up later.

You scooted back onto the bed, before finally turning around and waiting for his next move on your hands and knees, completely bare before him now. Your heart fluttered in your chest when you heard him undo his belt and pull down the zipper of his pants. Goosebumps spread over your skin as his fingers traced your vertebrae and his lips pressed kisses against some of the healing bruises on your back. (Nobody had ever said, flying a fighter jet at hundreds of knots and with multiple Gs wouldn’t leave a mark on you.)

The buttons and ribbons on his jacket dug into your skin as he leaned over you, putting part of his body weight on you. He lightly nibbled on the junction of your neck and shoulder and you whined, pushing your ass back against his definitely rock-hard cock. He slipped into you easily, setting a pace that had you squeezing your eyes shut again as you let your head hang low and exposed your neck for his lips and tongue and teeth to mark you up as his, just as his cock marked your pussy.

He kept mumbling praises into your ear in-between groans and moans from both of you. But with how you’d worked each other up, it didn’t take long for either of you to get close to the edge again. “Fuck, darlin’. ‘m so close.”

“Please, Bobby. Come in me. Want to feel you.” You whined at a particularly rough thrust and your whole body shuddered when his fingers found their way down to your clit.

“Right there, Y/N. Just need you to come with me, ‘kay? Can you be a good girl and come with me?”

You weren’t sure if you’d replied to his words when your second orgasm of the night hit you like a freight train. The wave of pleasure pulled you under and you distantly felt Bob’s hips stutter, then still, as he reached his own climax and spilled into you with a low, guttural groan and a mumbled “Fucking hell”.

It took a while for the ringing in your ears to fade out, your breathing normalized as did Bob’s. Although he didn’t move from his spot behind you. Instead, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled your back against his chest as he tipped the both of you over onto your sides. He kissed your shoulder.

“That how you imagined it, sweetheart?”

If you’d had any strength left in your body, you would have rolled over in his arms to look him in the eyes. But as it was, you simply craned your neck a bit, humming at the kiss that landed on your cheek in response. “Better. So much better.”

“’M glad. Have to take care of my new Lieutenant, don’t I?” You heard the grin in his voice and weakly rolled your eyes at the teasing lilt.

“Of course, you do. You’re always a good boy for me and take such good care of me.”

He groaned lowly and sunk his teeth lightly into your shoulder again. “If you keep that up, you won’t have to wait long for round two.”

You chuckled, before fully relaxing in his arms with a sigh. “Good. I was planning on riding your cock while you were still in your dress whites, anyway.”

#sophie writes #fic: yes ma'am #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd x f!reader #bob floyd smut #bob floyd x you #top gun bob #bob floyd fic #robert bob floyd x reader #bob floyd fucks

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refractionfish · 3 months

Text

rating akira's outfits from the devilman manga because he's a fashion king and i'm tired of the denial

FIT ONE: little shit goes to school. 3/10.

not off to a great start. every anime boy who likes beating the shit out of people walks around their shirt unbuttoned — UNORIGINAL. points are only granted for the confidence, eyeliner, and being so dedicated to this stupid look to unbutton both the uniform jacket and undershirt.

FIT TWO: matching striped jammies. 6/10.

tits out even while in pajamas! no wonder miki won't leave the guy alone. plus, one can't not appreciate the kitschy charm of a pajama set. real honk shoo honk shoo mimimimimi vibes. however, points lost because all go nagai protags own this set.

FIT THREE: perfect for sitting gayly in a chair. 9/10.

if there is one thing that i liked about 2010s fashion it was the ringer shirts. i fucking love a contrasting hem. we're also seeing an effective use of the sandwich method: light top, dark pants, light shoes. bell bottoms always a win. points lost because i dont think converse are the move when your pants are a little too short.

FIT FOUR: even gayer than the last 10/10.

this could be the fit as above and nagai just forgot details of it, seeing as he forgets the lace up neck on literally the next page. however it looks different enough that im counting it separately. considering the prev, we have an already great fit made even better by the deeper cleavage + sexy neckline. literally no complaints here.

FIT FIVE: goth rugby player. 20/10.

personal bias for monochromatic fits coming through here but whatever!! the flares + rugby shirt w/ contrasting collar is absolutely incredible. sleek with visual flare from the collar, of which the contrast serves to draw attention directly to the tits. which was the intended goal, i'm sure.

FIT SIX: literally double breasted. 0/10.

i'm sorry akira but what is this. "double breasted" because he has two jackets on, a look that i think only works if the under-jacket is lighter. a uniform jacket under a blazer just warrants the question of why doesn't one wear a heavier jacket.

FIT SEVEN: goth steve jobs. 100/10.

THE CLASSIC DEVILMAN FIT. the fit for a reason. all black is always so sleek and so sexy. add that to a turtleneck and little gay booties and you have a fit that defines alluring. the class of it all is somehow more sexy than the deep cleavage favored earlier in the story.

FIT EIGHT: the boyfriend fit. 8/10.

yes that is ryo's shirt and blazer — akira's got all ripped when he fought the demon army. clearly ryo's got more reserved tastes compared to akira, and the result is classy. i prefer flashier, so most points are awarded for pulling off the wearing my boyfriend's shirt look.

FIT NINE: inappropriate apocalypse attire. 6/10.

back in his own clothes and thus back to showing off the tits. looks like a white shirt and black pants, which is nothing to write home about despite tailoring looking nice. cleavage is the only thing pulling this above 5.

average score: 18/10!! i hope to have made my point!! put some respect on akira's name for knowing how to dress.

#text #official art #long post #devilman #akira fudo #miki makimura

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rosewind2007 · 10 months

Text

Okay! So System Collapse is now published!!!

Whoohoo!

I’m clearly most excited by how Murderbot is dealing with the emotional repercussions of Network Effect, and of course [redacted], but I’m also utterly thrilled to present the updated Fuck Density Data!

I’ve been tracking the density of the word fuck since I noticed the word’s use increase as the series progressed, three (3) in All Systems Red, nine (9) in Artificial Condition and most recently thirty seven (37) in Fugitive Telemetry (order of publication)

I graphed it:

As you can see I boldly made a linear and an exponential prediction of the density of System Collapse (I was pretty sure it was approaching exponential, though some mathematicians I know suggested the linear was equally likely—I dunno, it was my gut feeling was that it was exponential)

SO: the data is in…

And…

At approximately 62500 words and ninety (90) fucks the density is actually 144! A gross!

This is, indeed far closer to the predicted exponential of 160…(to get 160 there would have needed to be 100 fucks, such neat number!)

Amazingly this means that if the next book is the length of Network Effect, and the rate of increase continues the next book would have 250 fucks! (Which seems unlikely, but frankly 90 fucks seemed a lot for a novel this length too—so, I live in thrilled anticipation) 250 fucks would be a fuck almost every other page (maths is similar for All Systems Red)

Currently we have 90 fucks, over 256 pages which works out as over one every three pages…

I think—corrections welcomed, I am delighted to rework graphs etc.

#murderbot #the murderbot diaries #murderbot diaries #system collapse #system collapse meta #not actually spoilers as it literally just includes fuck density

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euphoricfilter · 1 year

Note

pt 3 smut for yandere mafia yoongi please!

consumed by you:

pairing: yandere! yoongi x f. reader

genres: fluff || smut || non-idol au || mafia au || yandere au || established relationship

summary: yoongi is finally home and you have a special way of showing him how much you missed him

word count: i wrote on tumblr for once so idk 🕺

tags/ warnings: fluff, pwp, smut in the forms of; hand job, fingering, oral (very brief: m. receiving), titty sucking, unprotected sex (don’t be stupid, this is fiction), creampie, cum play,

notes: im somewhat getting back into writing, so finally here’s the third installment of the yandere yoongi drabbles!! it’s months late but it’s my page so what are you gonna do about it ‼️

this can be read as a stand-alone!!

other drabbles for this series: how time has changed you || it’s all in your head

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

a week.

it had been a whole week, seven wretched days, and 168 full hours since yoongi had seen you. and even then, when he’d gotten home, and taken a slow peek into your room, you’d been asleep. ever so soft, curled up beneath an array of blankets, edges of your bed bordered off with pillows and plushies and all the soft things you loved.

soft things that built up a wall to protect you from all the bad that awoke when the sun would set, and laze in the darkness.

and maybe that’s why yoongi chooses to close your bedroom door, and decides that he’ll let you sleep in your own bed tonight. because some days he thinks you forget that he’s worse than the monsters you fear sleep under your bed, or the beady eyes that peek through the cracks in the closet.

he’s sluggish as he showers, lethargic, irritated, and ready to sleep for most of the morning before he wakes and smothers you with a weeks worth of love.

it’s when he’s sat up in bed, there’s a light knock at his door. heart rate skipping at the flitting sound.

“come in” he calls out, running a hand over his face.

his gaze falls onto you, head peeking into his room; hair mused and eyes heavy with lingering sleep. but even then, yoongi thinks he sees a halo surrounding you, a warm little glow like a precious little angel toeing past the lines of sin.

“yoonie?” you slip past his door, pushing it shut with the tips of your fingers.

“hmm?” he hums, beckoning you closer with a cock of his head.

the velvet blanket you have tucked under your arm drags across the carpet as you slink closer.

you barely make a fuss when his fingers wrap around you wrist, tugging you down until you’re laid belly down over his lap; legs hung over the edge of the bed.

his hands trail up the expanse of your back, gentle motion tugging your night dress further up your thighs. an unintentional tease that has him changing his motions.

the tips of his fingers explore further down your body, skimming over the backs of your thighs, easing over the swell of your cheeks.

you wriggle, soft whine barely making its way past your lips when his hands drag up the hem of your dress over the curve of your ass.

something feral— something raw claws it’s way through his chest when he sees you’re not wearing any panties.

“don’t tease” you turn your head, cheek resting against the sheets as you try and catch a glimpse of your boyfriend. the scar across his face illuminated by the light of the lamp.

he’d always been so pretty. so pretty and rough, and soft and rigid. a living contraction it had your mind spinning, spiraling so fast really all you could think of was him.

yoongi hums when your fingers dip below the sheets, tracing the waistband of his underwear. nails tickling the bare skin of his stomach before dipping that slight bit lower.

“now you’re the one teasing” he inches his fingers closer to your pussy, thumb parting your folds. already so wet and slick, awfully amusing considering he’d barely had his way with you yet.

“sorry” you murmur, eyes flitting across his face as you dip past his underwear. tips of your fingers nudging against the base of his cock.

you trail up his length before pulling the sheets down and then his underwear, hard cock slapping wet against his stomach.

yoongi’s head tips back, uncoordinated as his thumb dips ever so slightly into your cunt; your thighs twitching at the unexpected intrusion.

you spit onto the palm of your hand, eyes meeting yoongi’s as you wrap your fingers back around his shaft.

“good girl” a smile pulls onto his lips, reward coming as two fingers slipping into your pussy, curling over your sweet-spot.

you squeeze his length, hips rutting back into his fingers.

“hold on” you bat his hand away from your cunt, sliding off his lap onto your knees on the floor.

yoongi cocks his head to the side, “you don’t know what you do to me, when you get on your knees like that, my love”

you wet your bottom lip, a smile toying at the corners of your lips. balancing your elbow on the edge of the bed, your free hand takes hold of yoongi’s hard cock.

he simply watches you, watches as you trace the tip of cock over your bottom lip. how your gentle tongue slips past the petals of your mouth, swallowing down his precum and then letting your saliva dribble down his length.

his hand covers yours at the base of his length, tapping the tip against your bottom lip.

your jaw falls open, blinking up at yoongi through your lashes. his free hand tangles into your hair, pulling you down to feed his cock into your awaiting mouth.

your fingers dig into the meat of his thigh, eyes falling shut as you sink further down his length.

he pulls you up, tip resting on your tongue. barely having to guide you as you take him back into your mouth.

your lips close around his cock, sharp intake of air filling your lungs through your nose as his cock-head pushes into the back of your throat. squeezing it’s way into your windpipe.

you hum, thighs squeezing together, clit throbbing with an incessant want as you drool over yoongi’s cock. the mere act of being stuffed so full of him sending you reeling.

he groans, a little mean as he tries to get the last few inches into your mouth, your throat swallowing as you try and take him further.

you pull off with a dry heave. “s’ too much” you whine, kissing over his slit.

“yeah?” he murmurs, pushing your hair from your forehead, “all your holes are too small for my cock, huh?”

you shake your head, “not true” you suckle at his tip.

“no?” he mocks, tone that tinge of condescending that he knows burns under your skin perfectly.

you were a shameless little thing after all. and he watches as your thighs clench, your needy little fingers twitching to sink into your wet pussy and thrum at your clit until your thighs are shaking and nothing but incoherent words slip off your tongue.

you pull off his cock, tongue licking up the precum that clings to your bottom lip.

you shake your head to his earlier question.

“come here” he tugs you up onto the bed, impatient fingers pulling your night dress over your head.

he palms your tits, thumbs running over your pert nipples as you line him up with your cunt.

you drag his cockhead through your folds, hips twitching when it nudges against your clit; unabashed moan vibrating from your chest at the flash of pleasure that flits up your spine.

“no teasing, love” he wraps his lips around your nipple, tongue flicking over soft skin as you nudge his tip over your eager entrance.

your thighs quiver as you sink down yoongi’s cock, tip of his cock splitting you open deliciously.

yoongi’s hands fall to your hips, lips still kissing over your chest, nipping over tender skin; blossoms of red staining your skin with the rawest form of his love— feral art over your pretty skin.

your hands fall to his shoulders, hips rutting forward, messy and uncoordinated as you chase your own pleasure. always a little greedy and pleasure drunk, though yoongi never minded. not when you looked like the epitome of sin, beautifully depraved and eager to please yourself.

weak little moans slip past your lips in quick succession with each jab of his cock over your sweet spot.

“yoon” you whine, nails digging into his skin. dragging down the length of his arms.

his kisses trail up your neck, tongue licking at sweaty skin. traveling upwards to your cheeks, then to your lips.

you let him lick into your mouth, let him consume every little moan and gasp and whine and cry for more more more. a slick mixture of yours and his saliva coating your lips and chin shiny.

you bounce in his lap, thighs starting to burn.

“s’ too much” you murmur against his lips, tongue lax and brain barely there as his fingers find their way to your ass; digging into your flesh.

your hands trail down your stomach, two fingers flicking over your clit as yoongi thrusts up into you. a lewd harmony of both your moans mixing thick in the air.

“i’m close” you pant, stomach clenching as you near your peak. yoongi crashing close behind you.

“me too. be a good girl a play with yourself”

a thick sheen of your arousal coats the length of his cock, thick ring of white clinging to the base with each wet slap of his balls against your ass.

your fingers lose their rhythm over your clit, messy as you climb higher and higher until something inside of you snaps and you’re tumbling so fast; little hiccups of moans catching in your chest as you ride out your high.

you feel yoongi’s cock twitch between your walls, his hands sliding back to grab onto the meat of your hips as he holds you down. cock fully tucked between your walls.

you feel his cum flood your insides, thick ropes of it coating your pussy with his heady release.

“so good” his head tips back, knocking against the headboard, “did so good for me” his hips roll upwards, your cunt milking him. final spurts of his cum stuffed into your wet pussy.

your thighs shake, hands finding purchase over your tender tits as your hips stutter forward.

yoongi groans, pleasure bordering overstimulation as you chase those fleeting sparks that make you feel ever so good.

“no more, darling” he laughs, soft cock slipping out of you.

you make a noise in the back of your throat, pitiful little pout tugging at your bottom lip as you look down at him from where you’re sat on your knees.

your pussy clenches, and you watch down the length of your body; unable to take your eyes away from your pussy. watching as a thick dribble of yoongi’s seed spills out of you, puddling over his stomach.

he closes his eyes, barely opening them to look at you as you scoop up his cum with your fingers. insatiable as you push his seed back past your walls.

he wets his lip at the slick sound of your cunt.

“how greedy” he laughs, breathy and gruff. another wave of arousal licking down your spine.

your fingers stay buried within your cunt, curling and unfurling.

“go on” he nods his head towards you, “put on a show for me. and then we’ll wash up”

a devious little smile pulls at your lips, a third finger joining the other two already stuffed inside your pussy. a newfound vigor unraveling in your chest.

“okay” you chirp, fingers slipping out of your pussy. already hell bent on grinding over his cock until your legs gave out and the pleasure made your brain nothing more than a puddle.

#bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts smut #yoongi fic #bts yoongi #yoongi fluff #yoongi imagine #yoongi x reader #yoongi fanfic #yoongi #bts non idol au #bts fic #bts imagines #bts x fem!reader #bts mafia au

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dont-offend-the-bees · 1 month

Text

Lived My Whole Life Before the First Light

Omg here we are. At the end. I'm sad, I've been having such a blast with you guys this week! But all good things... Anyway, this is a strange one, rambling and mournful but hopefully with some sweetness. I hope it makes you feel things, I hope it gives you something, I hope we part on this final day of Painland Week as friends and confidants 💛 Huge, huge thanks to the organisers of Painland Week for putting this magical event together! Special love on this day goes out to @mellxncollie , who has been creating amazing gifs all week and has made beautiful ones for this very fic. It's been so so wonderful to collab with you and everyone should go and look at these wonderful creations at ONCE. Warnings for canonical character death (sorry, Charles) and the stuff that comes with it (i.e. refs to bullying/hatecrimes), non-graphic injury description, and just general mournful grief vibes all round. But hopeful ending bc let's face it, we all know how this played out! 7.3k, M-rated, available on Ao3. Thanks again, @painlandweek!

"Colour! What a deep and mysterious language. The language of dreams."

~ Paul Gauguin

Edwin Payne had always possessed a thirst for knowledge. As a child, he'd wished to learn just about everything there was to learn — every fact in every field. He'd been told, many times, that he could live to be a hundred years old, and still not have enough hours to do so.

Edwin had most certainly not lived to be a hundred. But he supposed that if you added his sixteen years of life to his seventy-three of death, he was getting rather close.

The dead years, however, had been far from conducive to study. Knowledge was hard to come by in Hell. Found either in burnt and bloodied books scavenged from individual damnations, or delivered in the form of cruel trials. He'd been taught a lesson or two in his time, but not on anything so polite and pedestrian as geometry. Edwin's key area of personal study in Hell had been one thing, and one thing only: how to escape from it.

It had taken seven decades, a slew of disembowelments and innumerable failed attempts, but at last he'd passed his final exam with merit. Or at least, a version of him had. But there wasn't much to be done for his original self, whose body lay mouldering on the dollhouse floor beneath a thousand savaged duplicates.

Best not to dwell on it.

He supposed he should have been upset about where the door to Hell spat him out. Not many people would be happy to return to the place where they'd met their untimely, violent demise. But to Edwin, after a small infinity in the blackest pit, stepping back into St. Hilarion's hallowed halls felt like greeting an old friend. Well, friend might be a tad generous. More of an acquaintance, or perhaps a second cousin one barely tolerated. Not a person one enjoyed spending time with, but nonetheless a familiar face.

For a day or so he'd wandered about in a bit of a daze, glancing over his shoulder for any sign he'd been followed from the depths. He'd drunk in every familiar feature, and puzzled over the unfamiliar ones. It was a small change in the grand scheme of things, but he suspected they'd replaced the drapes. They were a lighter grey now than they had been in his time. He wondered what colour they'd chosen — or for that matter, what colour they were in the first place. He'd never thought to ask.

Then on his second day of wandering, he'd stumbled across the old library. And that, for several weeks, had been that.

He'd probably had dreams about this, in his youth. Dreams of being left to his own devices, surrounded by books. All the information he could inhale, with no interruptions. Not even from the other boys. Their voices had startled him a few times, and he was always wary when a gaggle of them descended on the library. But he'd quickly realised that none of them could see him, and so long as he turned the pages quietly, he was free to continue his reading unmolested.

And he did so, continuously, for days. Not even boring old human restrictions like hunger, tiredness or eye strain could stop him now. He read everything he could get his hands on, brushed up on everything, filling in the gaps of the last decades. On the future that had been robbed from him, subsiding into history while his back was turned. He'd sat in his own shellshock when he read not only about how the so-called 'war to end all wars' had concluded, but also how little time had passed before the next one. He'd blushed and skimmed the pages pertaining to the nineteen-sixties free love movement. He'd gazed, thunderstruck, at the moon through the library window; wondering what the Earth must have looked like to the man they put up there.

All these years he'd been trapped in the gutters at the deepest depths of suffering, reaching up towards the light; all that time, humanity had been reaching, too. Up, up and up, all the way to the stars.

It became habit, after that, to gaze at the moon in between books and chapters. An opportunity to gather his thoughts on what he'd just read, to file away the facts, to jot down the most pertinent in his notebook. It was rather a meditative process.

Or at least it had been, until the night he'd seen something else beneath that moon. Something tragically earthbound amidst the gently illuminated greys of the grounds. A hunched and trembling shape against the trees, lurching by Edwin's window. A boy, on the run — his pursuers baying for blood like wolves at his heels.

They could put a man on the moon, but some things never changed.

It would be the first time Edwin had left the library since re-discovering it. Holding aloft the pilfered lantern he'd been using to read into the night, he trod carefully through the darkened corridors. The majority of staff and students were in dorms or common rooms by now, voices a soft patter, bleeding with the light under the doors. No one marked Edwin, or came to investigate the lantern floating past. Though some extinguished their own lights and hushed their voices, mistaking him for a warden. Edwin didn't wish to scare anyone, but he drew some comfort from it. He'd grown tired of being pounced upon in long, black, twisting hallways. How comforting for once to be the root of fear and not merely its captive.

Edwin had to search a little while, but he was already familiar with the best hiding places. It wasn't long before he was creeping up to the attic, minding his ghostly tread upon the stairs. He didn't wish to cause alarm, or send the boy deeper into hiding thinking his assailants had found him.

He crossed the threshold, and at once heard a shuddering intake of breath as the harsh white aura of his lantern bounced off the walls. He supposed there was no disguising the glow. He hung back a moment, conflicted. All he wanted was to offer some light and warmth, but perhaps a floating lantern would be a sight too much for the terrified boy. Well, it was too late for that, now. He stepped into the room proper, peering past the flare of his lantern to the source of the sound. A shivering bundle on the floor, tucked into a nook behind the shelves. Trying to be as small as possible and, by and large, succeeding.

Wide, hunted eyes stared into the light. A voice, low and wary, spoke.

"What do you want?"

It was then that Edwin realised the eyes weren't looking into the light. They were looking at him. He glanced behind himself, just to make sure, but he wasn't mistaken. "You can see me?"

It was also when he noticed something equally perplexing happening to the light. It had started to look... less white. No, in fact it no longer looked white at all, but it had not dimmed, and it bore no resemblance to any shade of grey Edwin had ever seen. It was... he didn't even have the language to describe it. If he had to choose a word, he could only say it looked warm. He'd never seen anything like it. Not in seventy years of Hell, nor in his life before. It simply defied description.

He tore his gaze from it. There were more pressing matters to attend to. "I... I thought this lantern might help," he said, still dumbfounded. He approached, with care — this boy was clearly a victim in this circumstance, but there was a defensive set to his jaw. A wild look in his eyes. A creature caught in a trap was as liable to bite a rescuer as an attacker. "You can simply extinguish it if those boys come up here."

The guarded expression cracked, vulnerability bleeding through. As Edwin drew closer, he noticed that the strange new quality of the light was reflected where it hit the boy. There were notes of something else beneath the pallid grey tones of his skin, something richer. Just as something beyond simple black glistened in his enormous eyes.

"You saw them?" the boy rasped.

"I did. I went to school here a long time ago." Edwin knelt before him, bringing the light closer to the lad’s face and marvelling, quietly, at the strange tones that sprang into sharp relief. Whoever this young man was, Edwin's very perception of the world appeared to be shifting in his presence. "We had bullies, too."

He looked so weak, curled up and trembling. He certainly wasn't weak, Edwin suspected that much. Peeking out from beneath the blanket were shoes and trousers of a kind he'd seen these modern boys wearing out on the sports pitch. The lad was no delicate flower, but at this moment, at the mercy of his wounds, he was helpless.

And if he could see Edwin... then his fate was already sealed.

Edwin looked at the boy levelly, at the fear in his strange eyes. He'd seen that fear upon countless faces these last seventy years, on the wretched souls crying out for respite from their torment. He'd worn a similar expression some decades ago, when a careless act of cruelty had damned him, too.

"Rest assured," he said, gently, offering the lantern. "I shan't hurt you."

He could see the moment the boy decided to believe him. His shoulders slumped, his breath escaped in a rattle of relief. He reached out from his blanket shell, and flashed a sliver of that curiously saturated skin at his shoulder. Against the stark white of the sleeveless vest he wore, the difference was now undeniable. Not grey, not white, but something altogether different. Like his eyes, like the metal at his throat and ear that glimmered in the lamplight. Tones Edwin had never seen before, couldn't even name.

It couldn't be...

"Cheers, mate," said the boy, shivering as he brought the lantern closer. "I'm freezing. Never been this cold in my life."

Swallowing, Edwin nodded. "It's the least I can do."

The boy's lips twitched in a feeble half-smile. "Yeah? You mean you can do more?"

Probably not as much as he'd like. But Edwin nodded again. "Of course."

The light shone upon the boy's face and the dark, waterlogged curls of his hair. Steeped in that impossible hue.

"Stick around a bit?" he asked, his voice very small indeed. "Bit lonely up here..."

Edwin had not come here with any plans to stick around. He'd wished to help, of course. But to say he was unaccustomed to dealing with people was a tremendous understatement. He'd planned to drop off the lantern, check the boy was alright, and slip away without a fuss.

But the boy was clearly not alright, half-alive and fading fast. And he'd seen Edwin, asked him in no uncertain terms to stay. Asked him with all the broken hope in his voice and all the impossible buried, blooming hues in his eyes. And if those colours meant what he had always been told…

Well. How could Edwin begrudge his own soulmate a last request?

"My name is Edwin," he said, as measured as he could manage. "Edwin Payne."

The boy grinned. It wobbled at the edges. "Charlie," he introduced himself. "Charles Rowland."

Edwin hummed. Charles. A pleasant name. Respectable. He thought it rather suited the young man. "A pleasure to meet you, Charles."

Charles chuckled, drawing the lantern closer to himself. "Pretty bloody brills to meet you, too, Edwin."

The colour — for it surely was a colour, Edwin knew of no other word or explanation — of the lantern seemed to pulse, then settle, stronger than before. It illuminated the feeble grin upon Charles' drawn face in hues as yet unnamed.

Edwin would have to find some names. Compare what he could see with what he'd been told, what he'd read. Identify what he could.

While he still had the chance.

"Best thing to happen to me all night," Charles mumbled. "You showing up."

Edwin wished to tell him things could only improve from here; but he knew it to be a lie.

"It is the color closest to light. In its utmost purity, it always implies the nature of brightness and has a cheerful, serene, gently stimulating character. Hence, experience teaches us that yellow makes a thoroughly warm and comforting impression."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Just didn't seem right. Letting that kid get beat on 'cause he's from Pakistan," said Charles.

His socks peeked out from the blanket, bright white in the lamplight. Interesting — a part of Edwin had always presumed that white would look vastly different with the rest of the spectrum unlocked. It didn't, but there was much less of it. The world was full of more off-whites in more hues than Edwin could've previously imagined. Charles' skin wasn't dissimilar. Pale-ish, but bearing pleasant warm under-and-overtones that made Edwin's look near-translucent by comparison.

"I mean, I'm half Indian," Charles continued. "Why am I so different?"

"That is a fair point," said Edwin, thoughtful, harkening back to some of the history books he'd skimmed of late. "They were the same country back when I was alive."

Fascinating how the times changed, new lines drawn in the sand. Fascinating, and frustrating. In the time Edwin had been gone wars had started and ended, entire countries had been ruptured, borders reshaped. And yet some of life's most persistent mysteries remained unanswered.

He'd not looked much into it, but it seemed little advancement had been made in understanding of the so-called 'soulmate' principle. It had been a frequent enough phenomenon to be common knowledge in Edwin's time, but no one ever had any real explanation for it. Plenty of spiritual explanations, of course. But it seemed no one could point to any tangible scientific reason why a person, upon hearing the voice of a certain other person, had the entire hidden colour spectrum revealed unto them. An entire dimension of the visible world remained inaccessible to the vast majority of the population, and still no one knew why, or even how. Clearly, there was still much research to be done on the subject.

And clearly, the notion of this mysterious person as a 'soulmate' was romantic drivel. Charles seemed a pleasant fellow, but he was a fellow. And two boys could hardly be soulmates, could they? No God-fearing Christian would embrace the concept if that were the case. So no, Charles couldn't possibly be his soulmate. Perhaps the phenomenon represented something else entirely. Like minds? Charles seemed an easy boy to get on with — and Edwin seldom got on with anybody. He even felt at ease sitting beside him on the hard attic floor, nearly touching. Perhaps Charles was simply his universe-appointed fastest friend; the one person in creation who could truly understand him.

Or maybe it was a cosmic fluke, a quirk of biology. Maybe it could have been absolutely anybody in the world.

Yes, that was probably it. Nothing deeper at play than that.

Still, it was a pity Charles would be dead before the night was out. Soulmate or not.

(Definitely not.)

"Right..." Charles mumbled. Followed by a frown. "Wait, what?"

"Hm?"

"What d'you mean 'when you were alive'?"

Edwin looked at him. Charles still seemed rather small, rather sorry. A chilly little lump, all curled in on himself, even now they were side by side and of a height with one another. He looked cold, sallow. Not even the warm hues of the light Edwin had tentatively designated yellow could hide it, cheerful though it may be.

"You ought to move around a bit," said Edwin, standing smoothly. "You must keep your circulation going."

It would do no good, of course. But who knew? Charles might be hardier than Edwin gave him credit for.

"Edwin," said Charles, all seriousness. "What d'you mean when you were alive?"

Edwin's brow twitched. He held out his hand. "Get up, and I shall tell you."

Charles took his hand — and startled. "Fuck — you're colder than me, mate!"

"And for good reason. Come, now. Two or three quick laps of the room. I'll hold the lantern."

"Red lips are not so red as the stained stones kissed by the English dead."

~ Wilfred Owen

Edwin had heard some truly hideous sounds in his time. Crunching bones, squelching organs, agonised screams. And yet somehow, the wheeze of Charles hacking up water from pulverised lungs was among the worst to date.

"Are you alright?" Edwin asked, hands clasped upon the table — lest he risk something overfamiliar like a pat on the back.

"I'm fine," Charles deflected, voice hoarse and unconvincing. "Just answer my question.

Charles was looking worse by the minute. The warm tones of his skin that Edwin had grown so fascinated by were receding under sallow grey. A new colour was blooming, in and around his eyes; in the puffy lids underneath, in the spiderwebbing veins across the whites.

This colour was not nearly so puzzling — the veins were a dead giveaway. Edwin had read more than enough crime literature to be able to identify the colour of blood.

So, this was the famous red. A bold colour, possibly quite charming in the right context; which this most assuredly was not. Edwin was no physician, but he'd read a number of medical textbooks. Charles bore all the hallmarks of a man bedevilled with internal bleeding. It was not a matter of whether he would die, but of what would kill him first; the cold, or the injuries.

He tore his gaze away. Anger, bitter and harsh, had him by the throat, had his fists clenching together until his gloves creaked. Who were those wretched boys, to lay hands upon Charles? To break him so? This boy who, insofar as Edwin could tell, hadn't a bad bone in his body? Whatever Charles was to him, soulmate or not (definitely, definitely not), he was his. He was supposed to be his, and soon he would be dead, and Edwin understood, now. Understood how people found themselves mired in Hell's fifth circle, swamped in wrath and rage. For no reason, no reason at all, those boys had taken Charles’ life without a care. Taken his life, and the colour from Edwin's eyes, all in one fell swoop. Soon both would be gone; and if Edwin ever found the hooligans responsible they'd have a formidable haunting on their hands.

"Nineteen thirteen, to..." he counted one, two, three, slowly. Collecting himself. "Nineteen sixteen."

"Bullshit." Charles cocked his head, a small smile of disbelief upon his lips. It was a charming expression, in its impertinence. "When did you go to school here for reals?"

"Nineteen thirteen to nineteen sixteen," Edwin repeated, slower. "I am dead, Charles."

Charles laughed. Edwin raised his eyebrows — and pretended not to be fascinated by the flash of not-red in Charles' mouth, his tongue and gums. What was the word for a light red, again? He was sure he'd read it somewhere...

The laughter died, and Charles' eyes went wider still. "...Oh."

There was more of that not-red than Edwin had thought, actually. The shells of Charles' ears, where the dawning light from the window glowed through translucent skin. He'd never considered that a person's ears might appear a different colour to the rest of them. How many secret tricks of the light had he been oblivious to all these years? How many more had he yet to discover? How many would he never get the chance to see for himself?

Just how much more could possibly be stolen from him?

"I... I dunno if this is, um, bad to ask, or what, but..." Charles swallowed. "How'd you die, mate?"

His lips, too, were redder than the rest of him; although that was fading, rapidly. Cooling at the edges. Edwin suspected that wasn't supposed to be the case.

"As I said," Edwin replied, sadly. "We had bullies, too."

"Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay."

~ Robert Frost

He had Charles move around again, though it was clear it would serve no purpose. He was delaying the inevitable. Charles was all but shutting down already; the occasional boost to his circulatory system was hardly going to bring him back from Death's door.

But perhaps Charles would beat the odds. Why not? He seemed a resilient fellow. Perhaps he would, indeed, outlast the night, see another day. Perhaps help would arrive. Perhaps Edwin could give him the push he needed to survive this if he only persisted.

Besides, he couldn't let Charles seize up and expire just yet. Charles had questions and damn it all, Edwin would answer them!

"Actually, you can move around any space however you like," Edwin explained. "It is not that you cannot touch things, you just cannot feel them."

A blessing in disguise, on occasion. Though Edwin had done his utmost to fill up this nook by the window with whatever musty blankets and futons he could salvage, he doubted the floor was comfortable. He himself sat with his knees tucked up to his chest, bracing for discomfort he couldn't feel. It was far from ideal. But he supposed that a hard floor was the least of Charles' problems.

Charles was rapidly declining. That cool tinge upon his lips was growing more prominent, his coughs harsher and more visceral-sounding. But here, at least, he seemed as snug as Edwin could make him. Swaddled like a babe, tucked up against the cluttered old shelves. Perhaps this was warm enough to get him through. It certainly seemed warm, with the yellow light burning merrily on.

It glowed not only off Charles' skin and his eyes, but a myriad small reflective surfaces strewn about the forgotten nook. Edwin was particularly taken with the shimmer of it off what appeared to be a dented instrument — possibly a tuba? — near Charles' head. Metals had always looked very similar to one another, in Edwin's grayscale vision. Now he could see the metal of the horn was a somewhat deeper shade than that of, say, the earring Charles wore. Finally, he could see first-hand the differences between the precious and non-precious metals. Alas, he had few of them to choose from, and little way of knowing which was which. He supposed it safe to assume that the instrument was brass, hence its orchestral designation.

But the metal Charles was wearing was his favourite so far. It had a little of the yellow about it, but richer, more lustrous. Edwin found himself quite transfixed by the way it fluttered and flickered in the light.

He was familiar with the saying all that glitters is not gold, of course. But for want of further evidence, gold seemed as good a guess as any.

"It's stupid, but... I think I'd miss kissing," said Charles. He looked right at Edwin, earring and eyes twinkling with the motion. He did have... handsome eyes. Edwin simply must figure out what colour they were. Of a similar hue but different tone to his hair, to the old wooden shelves at his back. "Do you miss kissing?"

"Mmm-mmmm," Edwin mumbled, with a small shake of his head. "No. Not as such."

How many people had Charles kissed, he wondered? Surely not an abundance, they were of a similar age. Had he kissed someone this month, this week? Today? Before his lips grew cold and chapped, when they were... oh, what was that word for a lighter red? Pink, yes, that was it.

Then again, perhaps he went about with painted lips in every day life. He already wore some sort of cosmetic on his eyes, after all, so maybe it wasn't a stretch for a modern young man. Imagine. A boy, staining the lips of his paramours with lipstick when he kissed them...

Goodness. The world really had moved on.

Edwin cleared his throat. "No," he repeated, firmly. "No, I don't miss kissing."

He supposed it was fine that Charles liked it, though. And maybe he'd get the chance to do it again. He just had to hold on a little longer, outlive the dawn chorus, until the teachers noticed his absence and sent people searching. Then he could keep on living, and kissing and whatever else he wished to do and Edwin...

Well, Charles probably wouldn't have much use for a ghost friend. But at least Edwin could keep the colours. Just a little while longer.

Charles chuckled. It was a bit of a sadder sound than the last time Edwin heard it. "Must've had some shit kisses in your life, mate."

Edwin smiled, tightly. "Something of that ilk."

"Shame we weren't mates," said Charles. "I'd've..."

"You'd have... what?"

A smattering of colour returned to Charles' face, then. It might've been a trick of the light, but Edwin could've sworn his cheeks warmed. "I'd've... well, I'd've found you someone to snog, wouldn't I?" he laughed, drawing his blanket closer around his chin. "Got some fit mates from my old school. And the birds proper fancy the brainy lads."

Edwin frowned. "The... birds?"

"Y'know. Lasses. Girls."

"Oh." For whatever reason, Edwin felt... disappointed. And not just at the apparently abysmal state of modern slang. "Yes. Girls."

He cocked his head, watching Charles carefully. He was a very good looking boy. And he wasn't Edwin's soulmate, couldn't be, but...

Edwin cleared his throat. "Charles?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I look..." He wavered. "...Unusual, at all? To you?"

Charles blinked. "Um. Well. Outfit's a bit retro." His eyes widened slightly, a dash of mortification. "Not being rude! I like it! It's... it's cool."

Edwin rolled his eyes. "I don't mean my outfit, I mean... have you noticed anything different about this room since I walked in?" he pressed.

"Well, yeah."

Edwin inhaled. "You have?"

"Yeah."

He leaned in closer. "What have you noticed exactly?"

Charles smiled weakly. "Well. It... feels a lot less lonely. With you here. Warmer, too." He chuckled. "Daft as that sounds. With you being dead, and all."

Edwin's fingers flexed on his knees — all he could do to stop himself hugging them, wretchedly, to his heart. "Yes," he agreed, dully. "Daft, indeed..."

"Green makes me think of silence, or maybe it’s loneliness. I get the feeling of a terribly distant star."

~ Kobo Abe

Edwin had only ever known one person ‘fortunate’ enough to meet her soulmate.

Aunt Florence had always been a bit of an odd duck. Flighty and fickle, a perpetual embarrassment to her brother — Edwin's father — whose job it had been to lend financial support to her spinster lifestyle. As she alleged it, she'd found her soulmate in the late eighteen seventies. For reasons undisclosed (to Edwin, at least) they had never married. Edwin had never had the pleasure of meeting her mysterious match.

She had always seemed very fascinated with the world around her, Aunt Florence. A trait she shared with Edwin; though while his interest lay in facts, hers lay in aesthetics. He’d seen her dedicate hours to the study of a singular rose petal in her garden. Edwin was told she could do quite beautiful things with oil paints, for those with eyes to see. They were passable, too, in black and white, but lacking dimension.

Once, when Edwin was about nine or so, Aunt Florence had taken his chin between her willowy fingers.

"What lovely eyes you have, my boy," she'd said, in a smoker's croak. Uncouth for a woman to smoke, particularly one of her social standing, but she'd never much cared what others thought of her. Her tobacco-stained nail had nipped his chin as she held him close. "Your mother's eyes. Sea green... You'll find yourself someone who can appreciate them, won't you?"

Edwin, of course, had had no idea what green was, and little desire to find out. Not if finding a so-called soulmate was the prerequisite condition. He was of an age where the fixation that grown-ups seemed to have on kissing one another was both vexing and perplexing to him. A phase of his life that, to be frank, he'd never entirely left behind. He'd extricated himself from Aunt Florence's talons as politely as possible, and given her a wide berth for the rest of her visit.

The next time he'd seen her, she had taken one look at his eyes, and burst into tears.

They all ended the same way, these soulmate stories. It was a law of nature. Death was not neat, or particularly fair. No matter how blissfully happy the pair, someone always had to leave first; and when they did, the colour left with them.

Some, at least, got time to enjoy it all. Before their love — and their colour — died away. A few decades, or years. Months, even.

Some, like Edwin, got far less. Hours, if that.

And some, like Charles Rowland, got no time at all.

"They're out of the dark's ragbag, these two

Moles dead in the pebbled rut,

Shapeless as flung gloves, a few feet apart —

Blue suede a dog or fox has chewed.

One, by himself, seemed pitiable enough,

Little victim unearthed by some large creature

From his orbit under the elm root.

The second carcass makes a duel of the affair:

Blind twins bitten by bad nature."

~ Sylvia Plath

"Shut up, mate. That is brills."

Edwin was inclined to agree. Especially now he could appreciate the full effect. He'd been aware, of course, that his form seemed to partially dissolve into a mirage when he passed through solid surfaces. He'd been unaware that the mirage seemed to possess a certain hue. Not unlike the hue beginning to bleed through the filthy window.

The pre-dawn light was different to the majority of the colours Edwin had identified so far. It was colder. Greyer. Pale and stark against the opaque black silhouette of the distant treeline (interesting, how the trees still seemed black in this light. He wondered if he'd get a chance to see this green he'd heard so much about before the night was over.) If Charles' face was warmed by the yellow lamplight, it was cooled at the edges by the seeping tones through the glass.

This, like the red and the blood, came with an easy reference point. Everybody knew that the sky was supposed to be blue.

Seemed Edwin finally had a word for the sickly tint of Charles' lips.

"Why don't you fall through the floor?" Charles asked, puzzled.

"There are many, many, so-called ghost rules," said Edwin, sagely. He had, after all, spent several weeks conducting his own personal study and compiling the rules himself. "I shan't waste your time listing them."

"Well, I only asked about the floor, didn't I?" said Charles, a teasing lilt to his lip. Honestly, the cheek of the man.

"Because I choose not to fall through the floor," Edwin replied, in utterly falsified exasperation. "Happy?"

Charles had a certain way of smiling; one that spread up from his grinning mouth and into his eyes. Despite the cold, miserable state of the rest of him they fairly shone with warmth, a merry humour. A knowing gleam that said 'look at us, in on the joke'.

Edwin had never been in on the joke, before.

Charles chuckled; and Edwin did likewise, helpless to the draw of it. The magnetic sound. It had his lips lifting of their own volition — even as his heart sank further and further into the floor.

The blue devils, that's what his father had called it. On those rare occasions when he acknowledged Mother's low mood, or found Edwin weeping silently upon his bed. "You've just got the blue devils, my boy. Chin up, now, and soldier on. You've better things to do than mope."

He could feel them, now, those blue devils upon his shoulder. Cold, heavy, and the colour of Charles' bloodless lips. Weighing Edwin down like stones in his pockets. He hadn't felt hot or cold in decades, but now he felt as Charles must have done with the chill lake pressing down upon him, filling his lungs. And unlike Charles, he wasn't sure he possessed the tenacity to break the surface before the bubbles stopped.

He'd fought his way from the pits of Hell itself, and yet this climb seemed more insurmountable by far. He was no longer fighting his way from the dark to the light. There was no light above the surface of this icy water, no light at all. The light was here, the entire spectrum of it; above was only grey, grey, grey, as far as the eye could see.

"Oi," said Charles. He looked so very tired; but still inquisitive to a fault. "What other cool stuff can you do, then?"

Edwin huffed. "I can travel through mirrors, if you must know."

Charles' blue lips parted, breath escaping on a wonderstruck wheeze. "Wicked."

He ought to be more careful with his breaths. He couldn't have had all that many left to draw.

"We love the sight of the brown and ruddy earth; it is the color of life, while a snow-covered plain is the face of death."

~ John Burroughs

Charles Rowland passed away in the small hours of the morning. Edwin didn't even need to look up from the page; he just watched the pinkish tint bleed from his own ghostly fingertips, and made a deduction.

Even before his passing, Edwin hadn't looked directly at Charles in some time. He hadn't been able to bring himself to. The colour in his ailing new friend had diminished all but completely, his skin a sallow patina, his lips a cracked grey slate.

Edwin had only come to know colour on this night, and already he could feel its absence like a hole in his heart. He understood, now, why Aunt Florence had dragged herself so mournfully through her twilight years. Going through the motions of existing. Colour, for Aunt Florence, had been life; without it, there was simply no point living.

Somehow, Edwin found his voice, and he read on. Because Edwin was no Aunt Florence, arty and flighty and prone to outpourings of passion. Edwin was his father's son; he soldiered on. No matter what.

But the ache in his chest persisted, despite his best efforts to quash it. There had been so much yet to see. He'd never witnessed the colour purple — an expensive hue of which he'd heard a great many appreciative things. He'd never seen a flower, any flower, in full bloom, or watched one of those famous sunsets.

In the end, he never even got to see what his aunt meant about his eyes. But he had no reflection anymore, so. Perhaps that one was always a lost cause.

On the topic of lost causes; there was someone else in this room with him, yet. Someone who'd lost far more than a fleeting glimpse of creation in technicolour.

""— I cease to believe,"" Edwin finished reading with a soft, forced chuckle. To no response. He looked up to find Charles standing tall, gaze turned to the window. It was the first time all night he'd been without his blanket; and the first time he'd borne not the slightest shiver.

Well. At least he would never be cold again.

"Not enjoying this one?" Edwin prompted, gently. "Carrados the blind detective was just becoming quite popular in my day."

When Charles turned around, of course Edwin already knew what he would find. Knew what his own eyes would fall upon when they followed Charles’ gaze.

But knowing did not prepare him for the reality. The cold, desaturated tableau of Charles Rowland's demise, illuminated like a crime scene in the stark white light of the lantern. How a person so vital, so vibrant as Charles should be without blood and colour defied all reason. And yet there he lay; bereft of hue, and of life.

Edwin swallowed, and closed the book gently upon Max Carrados. "When you could see me, I knew it was too late."

Charles was silent. For the first time all night. Silent as the grave.

"But I simply..." Edwin hesitated. "I did not want to scare you."

In the corner of Edwin's eye, the lantern guttered and died. Good. It didn't seem right; all that light upon Charles, and not a drop of warmth in it.

"Well. Glad you didn't say anything." Charles' voice was stronger, now. How different he sounded, without the rattle of lake water in his lungs.

Charles looked at his hands. As did Edwin. How strange they appeared, in the bleak grey of Edwin's impoverished eyes. How unsettlingly close to the pallor his skin had taken on in his death throes. And yet he wasn't pallid, not in the slightest. Standing tall, unchained from his ailing flesh, he was more wholly and healthily Charles than Edwin had yet seen him.

"Doesn't feel like I imagined. Being dead," said Charles, thoughtful. "Feels okay, doesn't it?"

In truth, there was nothing remotely 'okay' about this situation. Edwin felt... robbed. He felt robbed. Because he would never know the colour of Charles' skin when it wasn't frozen grey, or beaten black and blue. He'd never see this Charles, standing tall in the dawning sunlight, the way he was designed to be seen. The way he was chosen, by God or fate or an impossible quirk of biology to be seen, by Edwin. Only by Edwin. For he was Edwin's, no more could he deny it.

And Charles would never see Edwin. Not the way Edwin saw him. Because by the time they met, it was already too late. Because in a wretched twist of fate, Charles’ soulmate — his unfortunate, unorthodox soulmate — was dead in the ground before Charles was even born.

And Edwin had thought Hell to be cruel and unusual punishment.

"I sincerely wish we could have been friends for longer," said Edwin, dropping the magazine and standing from his seat on the old trunk. "But Death will come for you, now. You should go with her when she arrives."

He turned, and began his brisk march to the door. What's done is done; and Charles was, unmistakably, done. Done in and done for, done in just about every sense.

So Charles would be off, now. He'd be off, and Edwin would just have to carry him, too. In his head, with his facts and his torments and a thousand tiny heartbreaks. What was another one, in the grand scheme of things? What else was there to do in this fugitive afterlife but keep his chin up, and soldier on?

"Well I'm not ready, am I?” Charles called out. “I don't wanna go somewhere else, yet."

Edwin faltered. Turned. Charles was watching him.

"What if I stay here for a bit with you, instead?" said Charles, preposterously.

"Then you will always be running from her," was Edwin's quick, logical response. But Charles was still watching him with those... those damnably appealing eyes, and he felt the need to defend his case. "Also, I'm not good with other people. And I only just came back to this school after escaping Hell, so. I'm out of practice, to be perfectly frank. So. When the light comes. You stay, and I go."

He smiled, tightly, and turned once more. There. He'd avoided mentioning Hell all night, but it was done, now. No boy with a lick of sense would —

"Well, I'm aces with other people."

… He simply could not be serious.

"Pretty chuffed you got out of Hell, mate," Charles continued, maddeningly blasé. "That sounds hard. Nice job."

Edwin turned on him, incredulous. "That is not how you make decisions," he snapped, taking a challenging step towards Charles. "Just based on whatever you happen to be feeling in the moment!"

"It's how I lived my life."

Charles turned his head, looked down at his own body. Edwin couldn't bring himself to do likewise.

"Doesn't seem all that different now."

Charles looked at Edwin, unflinching. And what a different creature he was, free of cold and pain. Lithe but lax, eyes slightly narrowed in almost catlike contemplation of Edwin. He stood before a hellbound soul, near naked and freshly dead, and yet the easygoing slope of his narrow shoulders bore no strain.

He shrugged, nonchalant. White light glimmered from his dangling earring. "Looks like you're stuck with me.”

For a moment it was nigh on impossible to believe he hadn't seen it, too. Hadn't seen the spectrum unfold when Edwin said his name. Because how else could someone look at anyone, let alone Edwin, with such certainty? As if he'd never been more sure of anything or anyone in his tragically short life.

Breathtaking was not a word Edwin liked to use lightly. In fact, he preferred not to use it at all. Who had ever seen something so rare, so staggeringly beautiful they'd lost their breath? It was the sort of word Aunt Florence would have used; flowery and hyperbolic.

It seemed Edwin owed her yet another apology.

Light flared in the corner. Their eyes leapt to it. It was of no colour that Edwin could see and yet he could feel it, deep in his soul, he knew its shape and colour; blue. A kinder, softer blue than that of bloodless lips and dreary skies. The wild blue yonder that he was barred from forevermore; the one that awaited Charles Rowland with open arms.

Charles looked at Edwin.

Edwin looked at Charles.

Charles smiled, soul glowing lantern-bright in those dark, confident eyes. He didn't move, not towards the light or away from it, but he held out his hand. Planted like a tree, unbending, unbowed. His roots sunk deep into the loamy earth of life; his branches beckoning Edwin into their boughs.

Oh, thought Edwin, when he understood — didn't see, simply understood — the colour that had been gazing back at him all along. That's the word I was looking for.

Thirty years passed, fading into memory, and with them faded the sting. It was hard to mourn the loss of colour when one could scarcely remember what it looked like in the first place. Those fleeting hours blended and blurred amidst the grey years, lost to time; a single hand-tinted frame in a hundred miles of monochrome celluloid.

Though he tried to remember, Edwin struggled to visualise the yellow light that had bathed their faces; the gold that glinted at the cut of Charles' jaw. Pink lips, red veins, the blue stain of death. Such things were impossible to note down in a world of black ink and white pages, and his aide-mémoires soon failed him. The colours fluttered away into the past, scattered to the winds of memory like his mother's smile, his father's voice, Aunt Florence's smoky laughter and the roses she painted on the guest room walls.

But though he could not recall the exact shade of Charles' eyes, nor compare them to any other — not even his own — Edwin knew something about them. Just as he knew Death's light shone heavenly blue. And for once in Edwin's long and tormented afterlife, he felt truly fortunate. Because he'd been allowed to experience only a fraction of what the visible spectrum had to offer; colours he could count on less than two hands.

And yet somehow, by some stroke of luck, he'd seen the best one nonetheless.

"At breakfast that morning I had been struck by the lively dissonance of its colours. But that was no longer the point. I was not looking now at an unusual flower arrangement. I was seeing what Adam had seen on the morning of his creation - the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence."

~ Aldous Huxley

Thank you for coming on this journey with me, my darlings 💛 Love to hear your thoughts! Reminder to check out Olly's amazing gifs! This one took a little while to come together, bc in my first draft Edwin's feelings/progression were a bit all over the place. But I realised that all the sections of the attic scene (not including the very first one/my inserted flashback about Aunt Florence) could track along the five stages of grief quite nicely and that gave me a good framework to loosely follow, starting in his denial of the implications and ending in devastated acceptance of what he's lost. As to why he didn't like, *tell* Charles, well, what would you do? Be honest? If you were a dead Edwardian ghost boy and you found out your actual soulmate was not only another boy, but a doomed one? One who isn't even seeing what you're seeing. Maybe he thought Charles wouldn't believe him, or would take it badly. Maybe he thought telling him would sway him unfairly into staying when Edwin believed he should go. I think he will tell him, one day. And Charles is gonna be PISSED that he kept it from him so long xD For the quotes, I tried to stick to things Edwin could possibly have read, so pre-1989 things, as I like the idea of him using literature as a framework for understanding what he's seeing. It was really interesting writing about colour from the perspective of someone with no reference for it! Some of the quotes might have ended up anachronistic by a couple of years, tbh people are *shit* at sourcing their quotes and while I could source authors easy enough it was hard sometimes to isolate what specific book/anthology the piece came from, or what year it was published. If I'd have had more time I would have done more digging! Anyway, that's about all I got right now. I dunno when I'll be back, probably (hopefully) in a few weeks with the next chapter of Lonely Bones. In the meantime please, feel free to continue chatting with me in the comments, on my tumblr, come be a pal, I've had the time of my life with y'all this week and I'm not ready to get off this train just yet! Until next time! 💛

#painlandweek #painland week #payneland #dead boy detectives #dbda #my fanfic #PHEW #WE MADE IT GUYS #i think there's some things about this one i might have tweaked/restructured given a little more time #a few things i would have gone into more as well #idk if it's a thorough an exploration of the concept as I'd planned #but all in all not half bad!#and working with olly has been an honour and a delight!!#thank you so much everyone who's been cheering me on this week 💛💛💛#and now i have time to finally go and read all the great stuff you've been writing!!!

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the-insomniac-emporium · 4 months

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She's The Skeleton In My Closet (Mia Winters/Reader)

Fandom: Resident Evil/Resident Lover Genre: fluff? and whatever is a step down from smut Rating: T? not quite horny enough for M. Warnings: Brief, non-descriptive mentions of death/bloodshed, and relatively minor choking in a sexual context (it's more of a hand position than actual choking). Reader is referred to as a girl once by a side character. Summary: It's the end of another loop, and Mia allows herself to get closer to you... through a game of Seven Minutes In Heaven. Notes: Inspired by two pieces of art by @vivi-ness, specifically this and this. If you want to skip to the part of this fic that actually takes place in the closet (aka the making out part), start reading after the second section break -----. I did not mean for the lead-up to be as long as it ended up being. Also might make a part 2 with actual smut?

Alone. Curled up with the brazen darkness wrapped around her like a blanket, Mia’s eyes straining, as she glanced over her notes by candlelight. Less than thirty feet away raged a party fit to shake the heavens. As with every semester, the Umbrella Sorority felt inclined to celebrate the end of exams. Blaring music, countless games on rotation, enough booze to drown the world (or set it all ablaze). Even the theatre kids know to defer to the sorority for this evening. Normally, Mia would not hesitate to join in, downing shots of whiskey and kicking ass at every other game, all the while keeping keen eyes on interesting people.

Ah, but not tonight. Not with the reset looming in the distance, date preselected. Another loop on death row. There was plenty of work to be done, mostly preparations for the ritual, but Mia’s focus was on… other matters. Scanning through old tomes, searching for something that may prove useful in the next rotation. Maybe not enough to finally end the cycle, no, of course not, just something to influence it. Push it in the right direction, despite Miranda’s many protests regarding “interference”.

But there’s a knock on the door, and Mia pauses, unsure if it was simply the bass speakers thumping the walls again. A beat passes before the knock repeats, louder this time. Off-tempo. Quickly, she places her journal aside without marking her place (she remembers, of course, that it is page 28), then blows out the candles. Even as the darkness swallows the last sanctuary of light, her movements are smooth, flowing. In one motion she flips the light switch and unlatches the door.

“What’s up?” She asks, sickly sweet and every bit faking it, staring down at the unexpected visitor. They’re a sophomore, she thinks, a small woman whose name starts with an A. Or an E, maybe. Most loops have her just barely in Mia’s peripheral, sharing a single class but never really interacting. Definitely not the person she would have wanted to come knocking at her door. Only a brief moment passes before the woman replies, her gaze briefly (and unsubtly) scanning the room, voice filled with the unironic enthusiasm that made her grate on Mia’s nerves.

“Well, we’re one person short for 7 Minutes in Heaven- we had enough people, technically, but a few left after Cassandra got picked early, you know how it is- and so I was wondering if you’d join? It’s so weird not having you at the party, anyway, really feels like we’re missing an integral piece of the vibe, you know?” Alissa (if that was her name) says, offering a lopsided smile. Faint pink dusts her freckled cheeks, only some of it being makeup. One of her hands starts to reach for Mia, to rest a flirtatious hand against her shoulder, but the flash of something darker in her expression makes Alissa pull back.

“Oh, I would love to play, but technically my exams aren’t finished,” Mia answers, sporting a half-assed pout, dragging the words out. She lets her tongue click on the t in technically for emphasis. It’s not the best excuse, especially considering Elise (or whatever her name is) also still has one final left. All because the student council took one day too long to remind a certain professor that he couldn’t force students to complete a ritual as part of their exam. Not that Mia would have minded a little school-sanctioned bloodplay, especially since she knows (from experience) that the ritual Dr. Wesker had in mind wouldn’t work.

“C’mon, Mia, we both know you don’t need to study for our Occult Sciences class; you could probably teach it at this point!” Anna (Áine?) chimes, grinning wide, blissfully unaware of the true accuracy of her statement. Mia could teach the class, far better than the actual professor, although at that point it would be considerably harder to keep the university’s secrets. But that doesn’t mean she has any interest in joining the party.

Her reluctance must show, because the shorter woman (whose name may or may not be Enya) squints, lips pursing before she abruptly straightens up and switches tactics.

“Besides… your favorite person is playing,” she adds, leaning in to stage-whisper, glancing down the hallway as if checking for eavesdroppers. Despite the confidence in her voice, Mia stares at her blankly. As much as she definitely has a favorite, the one her very soul is bound to, she finds it unlikely that Eliza would know… right? It’s not like they’ve even spent that much time together this loop. Surely she’d been able to keep her cards close to her chest; it’s not like Eliza was terribly observant anyway. Unfortunately for Mia, her thoughts get cut off by another high-pitched exclamation. “Don’t play dumb, Mia! The girl with one earring, roommates with Angie and the youngest Dimitrescu?”

Well. Fuck. So much for being subtle…

-----

Turning down Anamaria (no, not that one, the other one) became impossible the second Mia’s eyes lit up, all at the mere mention of you. Within a minute she had relented, murmuring a few choice words under her breath, allowing herself to be all but dragged to a crowded living room. It takes all of her willpower to maintain a guise of boredom, lips drawn tight as she scanned the partygoers for familiar faces. A slight tension formed in her chest as she intentionally avoided looking at the center of the room, having caught a glimpse of familiar clothing, saving the sight for last.

Caldwell is by the back corner, playing some complicated boardgame with a mildly enthused Stanley (and a confused but nonetheless supportive Jasmin), positioned where they can keep an eye out for trouble. All three of the Stans could be found hovering by the alcohol, debating whether to leave now or wait for Cassandra to inevitably grab a refill. Somehow Anamaria (yes, that one) was half asleep, tuckered out from one too many party games, curled up against a blushing Livia. Both were chatting with Angie, who was perched precariously on the back of the couch. The only thing keeping the short girl from falling off was a hand clutching one of her belt loops, pulling as necessary to rebalance her.

As Mia’s eyes traced the hand to its owner, she inhaled sharply, the slightest flare to her nostrils. There you are. Eyes crinkled at the edges while you laugh at one of Daniela’s jokes, the sound barely audible past the music, your mouth open in a genuine, shameless grin. Mia allows herself a single moment to admire the view. Luck plays a trick on her then, your gaze suddenly shifting to her, eyes widening when you meet her stare. Immediately you look away, warmth in your face contrasting the way your shoulders tense.

If Mia hadn’t torn her gaze away, flinching like she got burned, she would have seen the way your friends reacted, the way they jumped at the opportunity to tease you. Instead, she lets herself get tugged over to a spare chair by the woman hosting the game.

“Damn, Iris, I didn’t think you’d actually convince Mia to play,” Nicoletta says, trailing her eyes up and down Mia, appreciatively, before turning to the one who had dragged her here. Guess her name doesn’t start with an A or an E after all, Mia thinks, before shrugging off the attention. None of these people know her terribly well, beyond reputation, and she can’t be bothered to unpack why they wanted her here.

“I mean, I kind of had to, with how hard Iris was begging me,” Mia says, pointedly ignoring their gazes in favor of inspecting her nails (short, smoothed over, no polish today). Protests stream from next to her, while a few chuckles rise up around the room. A smirk crosses her lips as she makes eye contact with Iris. Before the woman can explain that Mia only agreed because you’re playing, she speaks up again, propping her feet up on the coffee table as she does. “So, are we drawing names from a hat or what?”

“Close, half of us already put a trinket or whatever in the bag. Anyone who didn’t put one in gets to draw one at some point,” Iris explains, eager to move past the embarrassment from Mia’s lie. “Since you had to be… convinced, you can go ahead and be the one to draw next. Once the lovebirds in the closet are done, that is!”

Nodding, Mia withdrew into herself again, content to sit in silence until her turn. Why had she agreed to this, exactly?... It’s not as if she’s ideologically opposed to party games, but she’d always been more of a fan of the ones that involve drinking. Maybe spin-the-bottle, if she was in the mood for it. But Seven Minutes In Heaven? Too time-consuming, and absolute torture if one got stuck with the wrong partner. What were the odds she’d even get paired up with you? Was that even what she wanted?

Something about this particular loop was messing with her head. Every other one so far involved you falling in love with somebody, even if it ended poorly. But this time?... She had been sure you’d end up with Daniela or Angie, with the way you pushed studies aside for parties, never officially joining the sorority but being a frequent guest at their dorm. Living it up, only getting serious when you helped break Daniela’s curse (not because you loved her, but because you love her, the same way you pour your heart into loving all of your friends).

That’s why the reset was looming overhead, of course. Your faith in Miranda lay shattered, if it had ever existed in the first place, your distrust a crime she considered worthy of oblivion. Any life where you would not love her was, to Miranda, a life unfit to continue.

Mia gets pulled out of her thoughts by a door opening, old hinges squawking in protest. Two flustered women readjust their clothing as they exit the closet, both sporting bright red cheeks, utterly oblivious to the fact that they had swapped shirts. Naturally, they are not allowed to remain ignorant for long, a chorus forming of drunken cheers and teasing remarks. Not everyone focuses on the couple, however, and Mia feels the weight of someone’s gaze on her.

Once more she looks to you, just in time for you to look away, although this time she notices something odd: You aren’t wearing your earring. How interesting. Suddenly she finds herself itching to take her turn, but she suppresses her thirst, not wanting to earn any gentle ribbing from the others. Another minute passes before the paper bag actually gets passed to her, Iris winking as their fingers brush up against each other. Maintaining eye contact, Mia reaches into the bag, offering a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes.

There are still five or six items inside, some of them in familiar shapes. A watch with a cracked face, one of those tiny skateboards (a Tech Deck, maybe?), a basic bracelet… None of them interest her, but it only takes another second for her to grasp her target, the cool surface smooth under her touch. Carefully, she retrieves it, ensuring the earring doesn’t snag on any of the other items.

With a triumphant smirk, she holds it up in the light. Although disappointment shows in Iris’ face, Mia can’t help but notice the way Daniela nudges your side with a knowing grin. Even Angie turns to whisper something in your ear, almost tumbling off the couch with how hard she laughs at the instant flush to your face, exasperation clear in your posture. Nonetheless, you rise on shaky legs, not meeting Mia’s gaze as the two of you move towards the unoccupied closet…

-----

“Have fun in there! Seven minutes starts when the door closes,” Iris chimes, having readopted her mask of overexcited joy, all but pushing you in after Mia. There’s a sharp click right after, the door settling into place. Another click, softer, and the small space becomes sparsely illuminated. You blink a few times to adjust to the dim lighting, glancing up in time to see Mia… on her phone? Before you can question her, she taps a button and sets it down on one of the shelves behind her, and you catch a glimpse of a timer on the screen.

“Six and a half minutes,” she says, as if that was all the explanation needed. Then she’s leaning forward, expression blank, hands reaching out to-... put your earring back where it belongs. It’s an oddly intimate experience, feeling out of place in a game that focused on a different kind of intimacy. If only it lasted longer than a few moments. Once she pulls away, there’s a noticeable flush to her cheeks. “Wouldn’t want anyone to catch us in a compromising position, right?”

Despite her words, Mia makes no further moves to touch you. One hand fiddles with the hem of her jacket, the other tucks her own hair behind her ear, the movement awkward in the cramped space. It’s easy enough to mistake her countenance for a kind of nervousness. Playing wasn’t her idea, after all, and you feel a twinge of guilt for being so excited about getting paired with her. Could she tell? Was she worried by the thundering of your heart, by the warmth of your presence?

Internally, however, Mia is struck with the sudden urge for her favorite brand of intimacy: Violence. Of the last eighteen times she was this close to you, with your breath just barely ghosting her skin, sixteen of those meetings had ended with homicide, attempted or otherwise. Gods, it was her curse, to only know your touch when she initiated it with heavy hands. To be so well acquainted with the feeling of your blood on her skin that it has become more familiar than her own. When was she last able to touch you without the many promises of pain? Can she even trust herself to love without consuming?

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, I know you probably weren’t planning on this tonight,” you say, softly, offering a weak smile. Now you’re the nervous one, rubbing your arm as if the sensation might smooth out your anxiety. It’s not until you feel Mia lean the slightest bit forward that you dare to meet her gaze. Something haunts her expression, lying beneath the flushed cheeks and hooded eyes. Before you can even blink, she’s brought her hand back up, cupping your chin and making sure your gaze never leaves hers.

“And if I do want to do something?” Mia whispers. One of her fingers shifts, gently tracing over the front of your throat. If only you knew how excited she got by the feeling of your heart racing beneath her fingertips. In contrast, she is all the more aware of the way your breath hitches at her touch. The way you look up at her with dilated pupils makes her every bit hungrier. Just one taste, she thinks, eying your lips. How was it fair that in all these loops, she had never once gotten to kiss you? “Tell me you want this. Say it, or I go right now, game be damned.”

She knows it’s not fair to put that pressure on you, to make you choose that very second. But she doesn’t care, not at all, not when she knows you’re already on the brink of giving in.

“Please, Mia,” you say, voice almost whiny from sudden need, a hand moving to clutch her jacket. More words get stuck in your throat, a part of your mind still keenly aware of how swiftly the mood has changed. Had Mia ever been nervous? Maybe, maybe just not the way you had interpreted her to be. No traces of hesitation can be found in her expression as she slides her hand lower, fingers resting on either side of your neck, only enough pressure for you to really feel her. A silent urging for you to spill the rest of your plea. “I want you.” You swallow hard, trapped by her touch, yet desperate for more. “I want this. Please. Please kiss me.”

In an instant she’s pulled you forward, lips crashing against yours; her hand on your throat is the anchor tying her to you. All other thoughts are crushed under the weight of her messy embrace. There’s just her. Instinct drives your movements, all of the desire that had built up this semester coalescing into a kiss, into the way your hand ends up fisted in her hair, the other sliding beneath her jacket to grasp at her shirt.

Mia’s fingers never tighten around your neck, never put any pressure on your windpipe, yet they still hold power over you. It’s her movement that changes the angle, that deepens the kiss until your lips part for her. You swear you can feel her hunger, the need radiating from her, and yet you have no idea how much she is truly holding back. Every bit of your hunger was matched and exceeded by her.

Your feelings, hidden until now, had gnawed at your heart for half a year. Hers had hounded her for countless loops. The hand on your throat is a warning to herself, arm a barrier to keep her from coming any closer. It’s not enough, her free hand itching to touch and tug, to begin unraveling you. Mia presses the hand to the wall behind you, clenching it into a fist. That might have done the trick… if not for the way you shift a moment later. As soon as your thigh starts to slot between her own, she throws out any sense of caution, giving in to this one chance to be with you.

“So eager for me,” Mia murmurs, having pulled back for just a moment, finally pulling her hand from your neck (you miss it, miss the warmth, miss her guidance). There’s a split second where you think you see love in her eyes- and then your back is flat against the wall, both her hands on your hips, her mouth pressing open kisses along your jaw. A tug encourages you to move your thigh again, letting her seek out that friction she so desperately needs. “So fucking good to me,” she whispers, breath hot against your cheek.

Then she’s practically nipping at your throat, relishing your gasp, only to eagerly soothe the skin with gentle kisses. Something like a growl leaves her as she starts to grind against your thigh, grip on your hips growing tighter. Each moment has the kisses growing more intense again, paired with more soft bites, making it harder and harder to keep yourself from moaning. When her hands start rubbing circles against you, it becomes impossible to stay completely quiet.

Both a blessing and a curse, your sound comes at the same time that Mia’s phone starts to vibrate, signaling the end of your time together. Instantly she’s peeling herself off of you, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, muttering a few swears in between shaky breaths. Following her lead, you try to smooth out your clothing and collect yourself. But that’s much easier said than done, neither of you satisfied at leaving things here, both itching to finish what you started.

“You should stay,” Mia starts to say, shrugging off her jacket. Each word sounds like she has to force it out. “After the party ends. I could… I could use the company.” This time the words come easier, accompanied with a crooked grin, and she doesn’t hesitate to drape her jacket over your shoulders, covering up the marks she definitely left all over your throat. More than that, it’s her way of making sure everyone knows that you’re with her tonight.

The door swings open before you have a chance to respond to her offer. For a moment the light feels blinding, and when you reopen your eyes you see that Mia’s already started walking away, ignoring the reactions of other partygoers. You would be disappointed… but this is the first time you’ve seen her without a jacket, and now you find yourself with a new appreciation for her arms, already picturing yourself getting pinned beneath her. Something to look forward to later tonight, you suppose.

#yay! I finished it before my surgery!...#mia winters #mia winters x reader #mia winters x mc #resident lover #reader insert #x reader #there are two references in this. if you get either one I love you #one is for a movie I've never watched #the other for a song I love #not beta read btw #i'll schedule this to be reblogged a couple times but be aware I might not see responses for a bit #depends on how quickly I recover from surgery

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dawnoftime22 · 2 months

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breathe, sweetheart.

| T.S

Warnings: one sentence from R, small anxiety thats hidden under calmness, moving leg anxiously

Summary: an anxiety overlayed by calmness isn't always the best way to spend your day, especially when it didn't have a reason to disturb you. Taylor notices, and tries her best to help you find yourself back in the world rather than staying in your mind.

Word Count: 1k

Category: fluff, comfort

A/N: huugs to all of you <3

| Started on 05/29/2024, 2:10 PM |

| Finished on 04/07/2024, 4:28 PM |

Main Masterlist | T.S Masterlist

seven days of comfort.

"A way to help bring yourself back, is to make your body remember how it works again."

|——————————— ⸆⸉ ———————————|

It was the late afternoon, midday, perhaps even the start of an evening bleeding in. The warmth of the sun sent an orange glow down through your bedroom windows, the light peeking through the curtains, and stretching across the floors with grace.

Your head was in Taylor's lap as she was writing some things in her diary. Most things that you already know of. Her eyes were focused, and you can hear the pen strokes next to your ear since the book was propped up against her knee.

After a few minutes, she pauses her writing, going over the words of ink upon the page. Then, her eyes trail down to look at you, her lips raising up. She moves to hold her diary and pen in one hand, the now free hand going to run itself through your hair.

She checks your face, only to see that you were zoned out. Every intricate detail of your features, your mind, far and lost to reality.

The singer would have expected you to feel the gaze she had on you, to look up at her from the way her hands were mindlessly going through your hair-- at times fixing it, or putting one side to the other to lightly mess with you, but you hadn't reacted.

Thats when Taylor starts getting concerned. You weren't on your phone either. It was off elsewhere on the bed, which was a possibility that you had simply gotten bored, but she suspects something else.

The pages lightly fall against each other when she closes her book, the noises a light brush. She sets it down beside her so she could focus on you.

One of the many other things Taylor had noticed is how your foot was moving side to side. It could mean anything for anyone really, but the chances of it being anxiety wasn't a low rate.

She moves her hand up to gently place on your cheek, and she leans down to get a little closer to you, her thumb gently caressing your skin with care.

"Hey..." Taylor whispers softly, her voice soothing. It might not even be audible if you were any further from her. With a blink, you slowly come back to reality at her touch and soft voice.

Seeing your eyes meet her blue ones, she gives you a soft smile. Even within your somewhat unsteady appearance, you manage to return a small smile.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" She asks quietly, the back of her hand turning around to gently brush against your cheek.

You took a moment to think about it. Many things has happened the past few days, but not any you could fixate on. As if you were running endlessly in a swirling tunnel with no stops for scenery, to the point you couldn't even feel...anything about it?

A feeling that held calmness, but with anxiety being present, living carelessly in your heart like a hidden storm. It didn't feel like you were stepping on sharp glass, nor a steam meter awaiting to break. It was the wind in the air that told of high sea levels and a breezy weather.

Taylor watches as you nibble on your lip, and she brings her hand closer to it, brushing her thumb over it to make your teeth halt the small damage it was doing, now knowing you were definitely too deep in your thoughts. Her leg moves over yours too, gently stopping the movement.

After a moment of completely unable to pinpoint it, you take in a deep breath and shrugged lightly, the smallest pout being on your lips. There was nothing to explain your anxious and calm state.

At the sight of the movement, Taylor's eyes soften further. Her gaze trails off and her eyes move through the room in thought.

She then took a deep breath in herself, and looked back at you. You had started playing with her fingers, bending and unbending each one, pushing and pulling with a gentle touch. Taylor watches you for a bit, not minding it at all, but unable to shake off that something could be wrong, even if its something small.

She leaned closer to you, whispering softly. "...Do you wanna try something?" Her free hand went to take your other hand, squeezing it. You blink and look up at her, thinking about it as you gaze at her, but the gentle nod you give her after a few seconds of waiting makes her heart a little lighter.

"You're gonna have to sit up," she says. Her smiles was assuring, as your eyes held curiosity. She moves the both of you, gently helping you up in a proper sitting position so you were a bit more comfortable.

Her eyes look into yours with all the softness it could, making sure you were okay in her lap.

Taylor rests her forehead against yours gently so you'll both close your eyes and have contact. Her hand lets go of yours to trail up to the back of your shoulders, her thumbs rubbing ever so slightly to soothe the tension.

"Take a deep breath for me..." She says in a hushed tone, breathing in slowly to gently guide you. Slowly, you breathe in through your nose, holding it.

"...And let it out slowly," Taylor whispers with her held breath, before exhaling through her mouth. You do the same, the warm breath escaping your mouth.

It was like this for a few minutes. The sound of the gentle air whooshing by the moving ceiling fan, the feel of the light wind against your skin, and deep breaths.

Taylor reassures you with her hand slowly rubbing up and down your arm, and you move to her chest, gaining comfort from her embrace. She was warm, and only held safety.

Maybe you didn't know the cause of your anxiety. But maybe you don't need a reason for it at all, you just needed a way to release it.

After it felt like it was gone, you start to pull back. Taylor slowly opens her eyes, blinking away the lingering darkness, but still taking deep breaths as she smiles warmly at you, her head going in a nod as a silent question.

The quiet light peacefulness was back. You gave her a smile that reaches your eyes, and a nod back, leaning into her again with your arms wrapped around her.

"...Thank you," you whisper, watching as she released her last deep breath. She needed it just as you did, too, but her heart felt grateful that she could do it with you.

"Anytime, sweetheart." Taylor whispers back, giving you a kiss on your cheek, her lips lingering before she returns to her original position, looking down at you.

It was light. You were able to focus on something again. The light from the window, the gentle sound of the fan, all without a feeling in your bones.

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fic-heaven · 4 months

Text

All for a pair of tits (Ghost x witty! Reader)

Part 1 / pt 2 "where we left off."

Not edited/ Nsfw/ Kyle likes reader/ a bit of jealous Ghost/ tourism stuff.

🐥omg I made a part 2 as requested 😩 👐???

🐥I hope you guys like it because the first part rocked my page xd I won't stop receiving notifications and someone asked for a second part on the comments so here we go again.

The mission finished faster than Ghost had predicted with the objective captured and the whole building (and most of his other businesses and properties) sealed and under close investigation.

Price had taken it upon himself to finish all the paperwork that same night and urged you all to do the same, so in compensation you'd have two free days to enjoy Prague. And what a tempting plan that was.

When you arrived here, none of you got overly excited of coming to the beautiful, artsy capital of the Czech Republic, thinking you only came here to accomplish the mission and leave, but the moment John offered two days to unwind and explore the city, none of you protested and eagerly obliged. In consequence, your group didn't get more than three hours of sleep before Price woke you all at seven in the morning to leave the hotel and move to another different one.

"Y'guys gotta pay for your own rooms, this isn't part of the work trip no more, so until we head back to England whatever we buy will come outta our pockets."

All of you groggily grunted, nodded or hummed in reply tiredly carrying everything to the taxies. Of course your group was used to getting little to no sleep, but the flight here and the whole acting, acrobatics and paperwork regarding the mission made your tired bodies melt at the mention of a well-deserved two-day vacation.

"Show me the hotel again, cap." You huffed struggling to get accommodated on your seat as you were squished between Soap and your cases.

"Say that again, (y/n)."

"Jesus. Could you, my sweet dear captain, pretty please show me again the hotel we're staying over?" You rephrased in a sickenly sweet voice.

John chuckled handing you his phone from the copilot seat when Soap quickly snatched it before you could take it. You two started throwing hands at one another with curses and giggles and you swore the driver bit down his tongue trying to stay quiet and professional. Mostly because of how intimidating you all looked. But you were sure this guy was more relieved to drive your group of three, feeling luckier than the woman driver assigned to carry one sleep deprived Ghost and Gaz with the rest of the cases.

Talking about the lieutenant. Ghost missed you.

After the mission, the ball, the persecution, the whole talk with Laswell and the CIA, clearing the misunderstanding with the Czech police, the long hours of paperwork, the short breakfast and finally, the taxies' distribution, you didn't do much than groggily muster a good morning his way. Simon was never sure about what was going through your head because you can be very unpredictable at times, but he couldn't get the intense intimate moment you two shared on Soap's room out of his head and hoped you did as well. Of course Simon couldn't also forget the stench of the monster shit that came out of Johnny's anal rectum and cooked for over half an hour in that small bathroom. But fuck, he only had to remember your tits bouncing Infront of the the vanity's mirror and the nightmare would go away fast. Exactly for that reason, he didn't complain when he was paired up with Gaz because he didn't want to be in between you (the boobies' dream) and Soap (the farting nightmare), at least until you guys arrived to the new hotel.

The place was nice, it had an interior pool and even a small Japanese garden Ghost was sure Johnny would love to visit at night to draw and write on his journal, it also seemed like an amazing place to enjoy breaking his two week rate of not smoking after he also broke his two month rate of not masturbating. Yes, you were too impactful for him and also worth falling back to his additions.

The hotel held just a speck of many art styles Prague was known for. You and Gaz were so eager to explore the city that once all of you were inside, as Price had already booked five rooms, you took your keys quickly, planned to take a very quick nap and meet at the reception to eat out. Soap whined that you two weren't including him so you comforted him and apologized telling him about the plan, John also tagged along offering Ghost to do so as well but he was PISSED and none of you knew exactly why.

How dare you leave him out of the plan? Of course you seemed too tired to explain everything to everyone and Gaz was the one who first offered you to make this trip with him, but didn't you notice Simon's intense stare? Didn't you crave to continue where you two left off? Wait, is Gaz looking at you funny? Maybe he was trying to get closer to you, maybe the young lad misunderstood the dance you two had as you managed to get into the criminal's private party and tried to pursue you. Fuck, Ghost has gone nuts. He can't go around behaving like a jealous teenager with a crush.

"Whatever... Just lead the way." Ghost grunted when you all pressed him to join you instead of closing himself on the hotel's room.

Simon was hoping that after you all took the keys and left to your rooms, he could get a word with you alone. But to his dismay, Gaz had you trapped in the hall eagerly monologuing about multiple topics all from the marvelous places you would visit, your tired brain couldn't keep up with everything so you nodded at anything he said with this cute, sleepy face, struggling to keep your pretty eyes open and your sweet smile breaking from time to time to yawn. Simon decided to take mercy on you putting his steel armor on, marching your way to rescue the sleepy beauty from the sharp claws of the talkative dragon. Ghost didn't say a word just threw his cases inside his room, walked your way, picked you up bridal style breaking Gaz from his monologue and took you to your room's door, you lazily opened it when he let you down slowly.

"Nighty-night..." You yawned before Ghost abruptly closed your door, he had already left your case on the wardrobe next to the door before he left you to rest. You'd thank him properly once you have taken an hour of sleep.

______

When Gaz knocked on your door you were already dressed with civilian clothes, less tactical, more casual. Price wasn't feeling too sure about leaving part of the gear on the hotel but as it turns out, most of the hotel staff knew the captain as they were Laswell's old friends and longtime contacts, it was Laswell who offered Price this hotel and made it all the more cheaper due to her connection with your unit so all your gear and important stuff was safe and closely watched over.

Prague was beautiful.

Gaz had told you about this strange feeling of wholesomeness and wonder one feels when they travel and you didn't understand it up until now. Of course you had traveled before... But only for work stuff. So getting to explore the Prague had made you giddy to feel such thing.

As you two went to the lobby you met Price and Soap wandering about on the hotel's tiny souvenirs shop. There, you also found Ghost, he was wearing a dark blue, cozy hoody with the England's flag in it under an old black and grey jacket, some jeans and a white surgical mask. You approached him from behind, his dirty blonde hair seemed gold near the old lamp's light that was situated on his left side, his brown eyes were inspecting the beautiful postals displayed on the front wall. He seemed bored but you knew the big lieutenant was as curious about this city as all of you. He was so handsome.

"You're awake." Simon simply said, eyes switching from postal to postal.

"Are you excited we're scaping work for two days?" You purred nudging his shoulder with your head as you faced the same wall.

Ghost looked down your way, a small smile under his surgical mask. He can't stay mad at you when you lean to him this way. It's like you suck up all the anger you make him feel with your mere presence and touch.

"It's... Good."

"Just good, huh?"

"Prague is nice."

Ghost was so dry, but even that was endearing for you.

"But...? You rather stay in the land of tea n' biscuits-"

"I'd rather stay in my hotel room with you." He bluntly interrupted you.

You were expecting a comment like this but to actually hear it from your lieutenant was arousing as hell.

"I thought we weren't supposed to fraternize." You smirked teasingly.

But that seemed to dry the arousal from your lieutenant who now stared blankly at you before he moved away as Johnny called you two from the door announcing you were all leaving the hotel.

Well shit. Fuck. Wrong line.

______

The autumn foliage made Prague look otherworldly, specks of orange here and there sparkled the city and accompanied your group as your eyes marveled on every store you visited and every building you got to see. Gothic, Art Nouveau, Cubism, and Surrealism were the main artistic styles that influenced the architecture and street art of this gorgeous city.

Gaz and Soap had made a list of all the most remarkable places in Prague: Franz Kafka's museum, Tyn cathedral, Prague's Castle, the Spanish Synagogue, the tragic Jewish Museum... Overall, gigantic castles and impressive cathedrals, very interesting museums and street art, it was very hard to pick where to start. You obviously couldn't see it all in two days, but the little time you had was enough to visit some of those places.

You guys spent an hour marveling over anything and everything and were enjoying a second breakfast on a cafe near the very famous Astronomical Clock listening to Gaz fawning over the beauty of Prague saying things like: "Did you know Mozart lived here?", "The second ugliest building in the whole world is in Prague, we must visit it!" Or "Petrin Tower has the best view of the whole city, captain. We'll take amazing pics from there!" Kyle looked so adorable, his young features lighting up in excitement and wonder.

As the clock marked 9:00 the twelve apostles appeared on the clock's building making a show for the tourists to gawk at. Your group included. Gaz almost fell out of his chair trying to capture every second of the show with his new phone (he accidentally carried his old one to this mission and when he got shot, the bloody bullet impacted right on the screen destroying the device but saving his life. Lucky bastard.), Soap also tried to film the show but the dumbass forgot to charge his phone and it died on him just when he opened the camera so you gave him yours instead and he, like a happy kid with a new toy, took it with a grin and begun inflating your gallery with pictures and videos. Price chuckled picking up a new conversation you eagerly joined. The topic? Who was the laziest of you all.

"Soap." Ghost accused running an arm around the back of your chair. You smiled up at him and Ghost gave you a short, soft glance. He didn't seem angry or annoyed anymore, Prague's beauty seemed to work it's magic on calming the Manchester beast.

"ME!?" Soap almost dropped your phone and you smacked his arm so hard his tattoo could have very well left his skin.

"You know why I favor lazy soldiers on hard jobs? Because the muppets always find creative ways to finish shit faster." John smirked behind his cup seeing how that last wip of his made Gaz and Soap actually compete on who of them two was the laziest just to impress Price. The idiots... You loved them.

And your endearment for the two Sargeants you considered little brothers, was evident in your light chuckles and giggles at each story they told about their laziness. Ghost found himself staring so deeply into you enamoured by your light laughter that everything muffled around him. Price shot your way a teasing wink when he noticed Simon's trance, to his surprise, you winked back and looked back at your lieutenant with the same affection, and instead of showing you any embarrassment Ghost simply gave your arm a soft squeeze with the hand that previously gripped the back of your chair and redirected his attention to the conversation as if you two hadn't just shared an intense staring competition.

Back to the OTHER competition of who was the laziest: Gaz won just by sharing the dumbest anecdote of how a few months back when he was flying to visit his parents, he had downloaded a clapping sound on his phone so when people started clapping as the plane landed he just played the sound at full volume.

You all resumed your trip and kept exploring the city before enjoying lunch at a beautiful restaurant and at the very last minute Price offered to take the Big Bus which would take you on a tour around the city and for an extra amount of money you could go on a river cruise across the Vltava River. To your absolute surprise it was Ghost who offered to buy your ticket and so, all of you enjoyed the guided tour until your team stood up to leave the bus at a certain stop. All of them but Ghost. Price shot you two a knowing look before you parted ways with a rushed goodbye just when Ghost gripped the hem of your hoodie to stop you.

"We are not... Joining the others?" You asked a bit baffled and confused, Simon smiled under the plain white surgical mask, urged you to sit down with him and you accommodated yourself by him with his arm firmly wrapped around your shoulders.

"I thought you'd like to see the river with me." He purred and you shot him a bright toothy smile, your eyes widening.

"We're taking the river cruise!'' You exclaimed.

"...Surprise." He lowly said in a sing-song tone, his cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment enjoying the delight in your eyes.

"Simon Riley, I never thought you'd be the romantic type." You teased. God forbid you from ruining the moment with your teases once more.

"I can be romantic." Ghost said looking away as if seeking a reaction out of you, name it surprise or amusement or whatever. But instead you huffed, nudged the underside of his chin with your head and nuzzled closer surprising the Lieutenant.

"I'm sure you can, Si." And you said it so softly, with no mocking tone or sarcasm or anything. It squeezed his heart in ways he couldn't imagine possible. That nickname you just called him... You were so adorable, this couldn't get more perfect.

______

The cruise was surprisingly emptier than he had expected, perhaps it was because of the date, the weather or how expensive it was, but Ghost was in bliss.

You two were cuddling on the spot you had chosen with Ghost resting his chin on your shoulder as you two enjoyed the view of the river, an earplug on your right ear and the other on his left while you listened to a gentle (very romantic and fitting) playlist Ghost shared from his phone, the boat swings slowly as if lulling you, Prague was breathtaking and the multiple orange leaves that rained down from the nearby trees decorated the surface of the river in such way that entranced you two.

Do you know this feeling you get when you instantly think "This is totally going to be a core memory."? Well, that's how you were feeling. And Ghost? He was so at peace with you on his arms on this beautiful scenery right on his favorite season of the year. His favorite person on his arms in a foreign country just after capturing a mafia boss, this must be a dream. Simon craved to say that he loves you right then and there, the fantasy playing on his head of your warm embrace and your lips against his made him feel lightheaded nuzzling his face closer pressing his cheek firmly on yours. His heart skipped a beat when you quickly moved to place a short peck that landed on his surgical mask above the side of his nose. He leaned back and you cursed lowly thinking you messed up until your lieutenant's scarred hands went to take his mask off. Simon looks at you softly, his thin lips spread into a soft timid smile as some leaves from a nearby tree landed on his hair and jacket. He looked beautiful, and he thought the exact same thing about you.

"I..." You whisper breathless at the sight, and for once in your life you couldn't find your words as they were lost at the beautiful view of Simon with that beautiful stern but softened gaze. He looked angelic even, the memories of his enraged bloodied form during battle were lost and forgotten momentarily to make place for a new memory of this handsome man staring at you with so much love and devotion your eyes begun tearing up. Ghost shivered a bit, his smile lightly widening, he could feel the love overwhelming you so much your tears slid down and his heart beat faster. He knew what you wanted to say. He knew his (y/n).

"I do too." Simon said.

He leaned the slightest bit then and you did as well, suddenly too nervous to say anything until-

"Mister! A rose for the wife?" Said an old man that happened to pass by your seats with a bouquet of gorgeous white roses.

"W-wife?" It's the first time you ever heard Simon stutter but you knew better than to tease him about it.

"Sure!" You chirped buying him a rose and he was so stunned his big beautiful chestnut eyes followed every move you made until the old man left and you were placing the rose on his chest.

"A beautiful rose for my beautiful wife~" You snicker.

"I don't think he meant me, love."

"Why! He was looking at me while he said that!"

"Maybe's cuz' the old man's sight was fucked."

"He didn't correct me though!"

Ghost sighs, his shoulders shagging as he sneakily sniffs the beautiful rose on his chest and he couldn't get more pretty. Your hand shot to your pocket trying to find your phone but couldn't. Soap must have kept it when you two stayed behind.

"Shit-..." You cursed, and Ghost's smile widened again handing you his phone but snatching it back when you were about to take it.

"One picture. But only if you're in it too." He said lowly and you complied.

You two posed for Ghost's cracked camera with a sweet smile holding the rose together as the Charles Bridge came to view from behind you and the orange leaves picked height with the chilly, wet breeze of the season. Simon almost strangled you when after snapping the picture you added a small text that said: "Prague's cruise with my wifey~" with an orange leaf emoji and a white heart. Now he has a new lock screen.

______

Hours passed and after reuniting with the other three at the gates of the hotel, you all agreed it was best to enjoy dinner at the hotel because you had drained your wallets enough for the day. Ghost smirked under his surgical mask when he noted Gaz's bitterness at the sight of your hands tangled and how you were pressing your body against his lieutenant's every chance you had. This really had to be the best break Ghost has ever had.

The buffett from the hotel was pretty nice, although Johnny was so excited of showing you the multiple pictures and selfies he had taken with your phone he sat right in between you and Ghost not noticing the chastising look Price was giving him or the murderous glare from the other broody Brit. Gaz also joined the conversation further separating your attention from Ghost but he'd give you the space, after all, this wasn't a two-people trip.

Price and Ghost ended up chatting together about serious matters implying the CIA and Ghost's worry of being recognized by other gang members if they felt vengeful about the guy they captured during the mission. Ghost was a stern man that took his job very seriously and feared nothing for his life but if something happend to you, specially now that his bond with you had deepened and strengthened, he'd loose his god-damned mind, still, it was a weakness he embraced. To his relief, Price reassured him that everything would be alright and it was them who should fear if they got recognized, that he should leave the matter of the mission be, at least until tomorrow when they left Prague to go back to the base in England. Price's confidence was a huge comfort for Ghost, so he then decided to take his word and enjoy what was left of the trip to focus on you and himself instead.

After dinner, you felt a pang on the chest at the realization that you didn't want this trip to ever be over. Of course there was still work to do and you missed your crappy neighbours and the stripped stray cat you used to feed on your porch each morning and night during deployment.

You sat on the patterned emerald carpet next to the large window that overlooked the city at the beginning of the hall where all your rooms were. It was eleven in the night and you didn't want to sleep, so after some tossing and turning you decided that pondering over your current situation with Ghost near the window like an angsty teenager wearing your cozy pajamas was the best option to kill the time until you felt tired enough to sleep. The others had gone to their own separate rooms half an hour ago, all of them but Ghost, who had left the dining place the first, you thought he was on his room but when you knocked there was no reply. You guessed he needed some space, maybe you had overwhelmed him a bit.

Shit...

You stared at the night sky from the slightly damp window, looked back and when you saw you were alone you cracked an unholy sneeze that could have woken up the whole building.

"Fuckin' hell. God-fucking-bless you, the hell was that?" You heard someone growl coming from the stairs.

"Woops... Sorry n' thank you. It's fuckin' freezing in here. You know? I should tie you a bell of something, LT. You caught me sneezing now but next time who knows."

You heard Ghost sigh lowly as he finished the rest of the way upstairs joining you on the window. He was still wearing his street wear, you picked a slight smell of smoke on his jacket. He must have gone to enjoy his nightly cig break on the beautiful Japanese garden near the hotel's parking lot after dinner.

"What are y' doing here?" Ghost asked and you slowly turned to give him a side glance that spoke volumes of your turbulent mind. He understood.

He wordlessly sat down near you, heavy arms supporting his weight behind his back. Brown eyes looked across the window and lastly, to you. You noticed how relaxed he had gotten every time you were on his eyesight, it made the pang in your chest worsen.

"Shit... I really don't wanna go home." You sighed mindlessly with a bitter, forced smile. Ghost stares at you again, big, wide eyes picking every detail of your face illuminated by the moonlight coming from the window. "You know, I think that... for me, you are the best part of this trip, Si." He hanged his head low a little baffled by your words but quickly lift his chin to look back at you again. "Today was really fun. Excluding the part when we got lost on our way to the hotel and had to use Google's translator to ask our way here." You spoke lowly with a smile on your lips and a barely noticeable lump in your throat.

Ghost brushed it off with a dry chuckle and shook his head swiftly removing his facemask. "That was one of my three favorite parts."

"Three? Do tell, Lt."

Ghost took some time to reply, seemingly gathering the courage to speak again. "First was the cruise."

"When I called ya my wifey?" You jested.

"Don't push it." He growled but you two knew the real truth. "Second was when we got lost." When you asked why he quickly responded as if it was the most obvious thing "Why. 'cuz I got to spend more alone time with you."

Your heart beats faster in sync with his, you leaned forwards sitting a bit closer with your legs crossed and a loving smile lifting your cheeks, your hands went forwards and Ghost didn't waste a second softly squeezing them with his calloused palms.

"What's your third favorite moment?" It came out as a whisper, your features softening, both yours and his cheeks were lightly dusted in red.

"When Johnny fell downstairs after dinner."

You bursted out laughing breaking contact from his hands to cover your mouth and trying to lower the volume of your laughter. It surely had woken up some hosts because you could hear some bangs on distant walls and doors.

"Really? He fell!?"

"Landed on his butt, he looked like a kid. Now that I think 'bout it, I may have a fourth favorite moment..."

You were about to ask when did he see this if he was supposedly on the garden all this time, but instead you nodded urging him to continue. Ghost was silent then, he seemed to be staring deep into your soul like a toddler on the line of the grocery store, you giggled sweetly at this missing the light tremble on his hand when he reached to pick both your hands with his left one as the other went backwards to his pocket. He pulled out a postal of Carlos bridge, on the corner of it was taped a dry leaf, Simon lowly commented that he picked it from your hair when you two arrived to the hotel. Your eyes were tearing up as you took the postal, an ugly sob scaping your lips as you tried to dumbly smile up at him with a pathetic "For me!?" Ghost smirked at your reaction trying to hide his embarrassment. This explains why he left so soon after dinner, he wanted to rush to the souvenir shop before it closed to gift you a tiny piece of Prague, something to remember the beautiful moment your hearts touched.

"When we were at Johnny's room before the mission, when we were about to..." He coughed a little awkward "That's not how I wanted it to go. That wasn't how I wanted this to start." Simon explained motioning a hand between you two.

You smiled softly inspecting the postal and letting out a chuckle filled with affection when you saw that in the back was scribbled: "Prague made me your wifey, and you my white rose." With a tiny doodle of a skull with a rose on its eye socket.

"I love you." Simon blurted and your eyes snapped up to see him smiling at you so softly you felt like you'd faint right then.

"I love you too... Shit I... Wow." You laughed once more perplexed by how deep and emotional this was getting, you shook your shoulders trying to compose yourself "But I didn't get you nothing back..."

Simon stood up and offered you his hand, you took it without hesitation. "You gave me this." He murmured pressing a finger to your chest.

"My tits?"

"Idiot... Your heart. Come on, (y/n)..." He growled annoyed and you snorted.

"I also gave you a rose." You reminded him and that brought his smile back quickly. Ghost mauled at his cheek with a nervous smile looking down the carpet between you two, his hands were now on your waist and yours rested on his shoulders.

"Wanna... Pick up where we left off?" You offered and Simon squinted his eyes a bit confused until he realized what you meant. "This time without Johnny's shit n' the way." You mused.

"By all means..." He joked as well. And you two smiled softly at each other, relief clouding your senses as if a weight had lifted from your shoulders.

His lips were on yours quickly, it startled you at first as your arms went to his neck, one of your hands deliciously tugging at the hair from his nape. He growls in your mouth, tongue licking at the line of your lips demanding you to open it for him and you comply engaging your tongues into a beautiful slow dance.

You two kissed and moaned into each other's mouths as Ghost blindly guided you to his room, one of his hands pawing at every part of your body as the other froze to firmly grip at your right breast squeezing with enough force that you hissed, but then your own moan broke your complains when he bit your lower lip, fingers pinching at your nipple, his right hand abandoned your ass to quickly unlock the door. It was a tedious task when your hands were feeling everywhere they could. With little struggle you opened the door with a kick and rushed inside, both of you taking your clothes off with each step you took closer to the bed as giddy laughs followed scaping your mouths involuntarily. You looked crazed as if what you were doing was a first, as if you both hadn't gotten mistaken for a married couple a few hours back, as if what happened in the other hotel before the mission was nothing but a beautiful fantasy you had made up while getting ready and waiting for Soap to finish his business. How silly but how heartwarming it felt when the moment you turned back fully bare to look at Simon, your naked lieutenant hurried to lift you by your ass and tackled you to the bed bouncing together at the abrupt drop, loud chuckles erupted from your smiling faces. Simon looks at you from above, golden locks ruffled with a smile so wide it shapes his eyes crescent, soft pants followed the rhythm of your own heaving chest.

"You are so beautiful..." You don't know who said it, as this moment felt so surreal your bodies went autopilot.

He caged your body with his then, hard shoulders lowering so he could press a loving much slower kiss to your mouth, your eyes flutter closed, the atmosphere turning more sensual and heavy. The darkness of the room hid your bare, battle-marked bodies from the world, only a speck of moonlight that came from the window to your left badly covered by the curtains, it helped you see a little of Simon's blissed, flushed face as he kissed every inch of skin from your higher half until his face was right above your breasts, his kisses went slightly longer tasting your skin, his warm tongue lick at your chest as if you had poured sweet honey over your nipples. You arched your back bucking your chest to his mouth with a moan when you felt his teeth brush the delicate surface of your hard nipples. He went feral then, big hands massaging your sides, he nudged his head from side to side switching from tit to tit kissing and licking feverishly at every inch of skin he reached. You gasped loudly when his hands shot to grab both your breasts to sandwich his face compleatly, he loudly growled with a "Jesus fuck..." when your legs tangled with his and your wet cunt kissed the underside of his hard cock.

You two were so excited and lost on the foreplay that you missed one crucial detail, Gaz's room was right behind you. So when Simon slid inside you (easily with how wet you were), the gasp that left your lips and the loud grunt that scaped his startled Kyle while the Sargeant was reading his ebook while listening to music. His new music now consisted on a rhythmic thudding on the wall, the headboard of his lieutenant's bed quickly picking pace mashing against the paper wall that separated the two rooms, your sweet moans turning desperate and high pitched when he heard a loud curse coming from the other male.

Simon lifted his chest from yours leaning his whole torso backwards with the support of his left arm, his right hand groped and massaged your thigh while his hips feverishly snap up to hit at your sweet spot. You two were already panting as if you had been at it for hours and not minutes the intensity of the shared feelings (and Kyle's ear pressed against the wall as his hand went under his pants). Your chest heaves, you struggle to contain your sweet moans as Ghost pistons his hips against yours, loud claps and curses fill the room, Simon's enormous sex pulsates inside of you feeling the way your walls squeeze him painfully hard.

"Fuck you feel amazin'... Keep squeezing me, baby... That's it-"

And you wanted to do it, you really did, but you knew that if you did, this would end up quickly. You two were already sweaty, lust-filled eyes fixed on one another until you slightly moved your thigh out of his field of view and quickly his eyes shot to your bouncing breasts and Simon no longer cared of you weren't squeezing his cock, his pace picked up and deepen, the head of his cock punching a whole on your stomach. You squirmed, loving moans turning urgent seeking more and more of the delicious pain his giant cock was giving you. It was a struggle to move your waist closer to his while he was shaking the whole bed with the force of his thrusts, Ghost launched forwards, both hands gripping at the headboard with delicious growls and moans of his own, his pace slowed when he felt your legs wrapping around his waist and your nails dig on his back. He saw heaven in your eyes while you bit on your lower lip, your hips moving upwards milking him for your life, the sweet gasps and groans that he graced you with as he allowed you to do the job caused your cunt to squeeze his cock so hard you managed to push it out.

"S-shit..."

"Fuuuuckin'-..." He groaned out halting you with his hands roughly gripping at your hips and bullying his cock inside you. "-Hell.....!"

You yelled when he picked up a violent pace, the smacks against the wall stopped abruptly making Kyle groan, Ghost had smacked a hand on the surface and pushed the whole bed a few inches backwards because he swore that the way the forniture was hitting the wall with your lovemaking was making a hole.

Lucky for Gaz, he could still hear pretty well the bed bending and fucking breaking as well as your sweet voice singing a song only dedicated to Ghost who was smashing your cunt so hard, squelching and slapping noises could be heard with clarity. A few moments later, with Simon pining you into a breeding position pushing his hips downwards rubbing his balls on the underside of your sex and his hot mouth firmly pressed on your left breast muffling the loud moans he tried and failed to contain, you panted out you were about to cum, so Simon, with few slow but hard and calculated thrusts, managed to find your end before he quickly lifted himself from you and rushed to your upper half stroking his red cock with angry fast strokes. Beads of cum covered your chest and hit your tongue when you opened up your mouth expectantly. "Jesus... Shit... You vixen..."

You giggle breathlessly swallowing down his cum and try and help guide him back into the bed when the poor lieutenant winced and almost fell backwards when he tried to take a step back.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow... Might as well recover quickly, Lt. The night is long." You whisper on his ear when Ghost tucks you on his chest. "I need your cock inside me again as soon as you can get it up again." That earned you a shiver from the behemoth of a man who, with a quick peck to your temple moved to hover up your body.

"You are one insatiable bitch with a whimsy kitty..."

"Tell me you don't love it." You say licking his ear.

"I love it, and I love you." He said with finality, his thumbs brushing your cheeks lightly and you sighed softly.

________

The night went on quicker than you'd have liked. By the morning, poor Ghost had to put cream on his whole genitalia with how far you two had gone. Still, he had the best few hours of sleep he has ever had, with your bare body spooned by him, head on his arm and his other hand cupping your tits. You didn't know, but he had taken a selfie with you gently snoring a few seconds before you had awoken and instantly rolled to face him and cuddle properly with a groggy "mornin'..."

Ghost loved this. He imagined himself awakening every night on with you on his arms and he felt a kind of peace and tranquility he never thought he'd be able to feel. Sadly good things don't last, and it was Johnny who had awoken you two by the door to have breakfast and leave to the airport.

All of them were a little surprised but played it nice when they saw you freshly showered and with Ghost's oversized clothes rushing to get dressed in your own room. Price had this look of amusement that never seemed to leave him, Johnny was confused as hell and Gaz had this big bags under his eyes that said enough about his restlessness the night prior.

Some hours later, your group was flying to England where Nikolai claimed he'd wait in the airport to take you all to the base.

Now, If you remember the long conversation about who out the lot of you was the most lazy, it was Gaz.

So when the plane was reaching London and the passengers started clapping and congratulating the pilot, you all turned to Garrick who lazily rolled his head your way with this bored look, lift his phone and pressed a finger on the screen without even looking, instantly, a clapping sound came from it and your team started laughing, classic Gaz. Though Ghost's low chuckles died slowly when he got to see a tiny glimpse of the screen, the clapping came from a video that showed total darkness until he managed to make out the shape of Gaz's hotel room wall. That same wall that connected to his room. So the clapping came from behind the wall, when Ghost was balls deep inside you.

The Sargeant noted the sudden lack of laughter from his lieutenant so his eyes pointed his way, face still bored and slightly exhausted from the flight, the kill shot was when Gaz made this casual shrug that made Ghost remind himself of the oath he made to always be loyal to his team so he wouldn't strangle Garrick right then and there.

"Guess I was also too lazily not to clap my own hands on the video, y'two made me the favor." He winked and Ghost launched his way. Fuck his oath.

#call of duty modern warfare #cod #ghost x reader #call of duty #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader

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