#most of these are pretty much the same face but eh whatever

[pequod-come-pick-me-up-im-scared]

unfortunately this fucker is fun to draw

[cozymoko]

Kamaboko boys reaction to, "I love you."

This includes: Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, Genya Shinazugawa

Pairing: All x Gender neutral reader

WARNING(S): none

HASHIRA VERSION KNY MASTERLIST

TANJIRO KAMADO

He smiled kindly, sneaking a peek at you through his dark, thick lashes. A field of unkempt sakura blooms blossomed along his round cheeks, tingeing them a faint pink. BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP! His heart cried out. Your words left him uneasy, embarrassed even, as they lightly tickled his chest. Despite his wishes, he could not speak for he was grinning far too wide to do so.

Training that evening proved to be quite the challenge for the young slayer as vivid pictures of you had obscured his mind, slowly but surely eating away at his concentration. Your words rang through his head like a silver bell, loud and persisting, furthering his desire to see you —touch you— He's getting red just thinking about it!

“T…Thank you for loving me. I really don't deserve you sometimes.” He whispered, leaning into your shoulder. “I love you too.” Tanjiro pressed a light kiss to your cheek, using his free hand to gently grip your unoccupied shoulder. A cheery laugh had escaped you at his chastity, nearly sending his heart into another frenzy. And to no one's surprise, you were enjoying every bit of it.

ZENITSU AGATSUMA

Oh my, you've made the poor thing faint. Stumbling over his words much like any other sweet adolescent. His fair skin held a warmth much like the sun, if not putting it to shame. Even with his lack of consciousness, that same lovesick grin had never fled his lips. Oh, and be a dear and close his mouth. We wouldn't want him to swallow any pesky flies, would we?

Upon his return from the land of dreams, Zenitsu was distraught. His body rested against the plush cushions of your futon with you seated by his side. He watches you gently rest a damp cloth on his burning skin, humming a feeble tune to occupy the silence. Zenitsu cleared his throat in hopes of "cooly" responding to your confession, but as you'd expect, he fails miserably.

“I-I love you too!!” He shouted, clasping your hands to his chest. “Wait, no — I love you more than anything!” You gently push him back towards the futon, tucking him beneath the sheets once more before lightly caressing his rosy cheeks. To him, words simply cannot convey his feelings for you. They are far too complex to describe. He's happy and he sure as hell wants you to know that.

INOSUKE HASHIBIRA

“Eh? The hell is that!?” Of course, he's confused, why wouldn't he be? Don't take it to heart, you expected this after all. (growing up in the wild does that to you.) Nonetheless, you can't help but feel a little bit annoyed by his statement. Just how clueless could he possibly be and why did you care about him so much? Two questions that you decided to indulge in another time.

Once you walked away, Insouke was quick to find Tanjiro and ask what this "love" thing was, seeing as you were so reluctant to tell him. At first, he finds it rather silly. Why do people use those words as a term of endearment anyways? He can just show you how much he cares! But with further convincing from Tanjiro, Inosuke shoves his inquiries to the side...for now.

“I ‘luove’ you, or whatever you said, too.” You gave him the most deadpan expression, using that moment to take in the immediate panic dancing across his gentle features. A snort slipped past your lips as you snaked your arms around his perfectly thin waist. At that point, you didn't know what you hated more, his obliviousness or his pretty face.

GENYA SHINAZUGAWA

“What...what'd you say?” He grimaced at the harshness of his tone as it was not his intention. He turned away from you, brushing his nose with the pad of his thumb in sheer hope of masking his embarrassment. But it didn't. You were able to spot the deep red creeping up the back of his neck to the tips of his ears. Scooting a bit closer to him, you rest your head on his back, rendering him stiff. But at that moment, you just didn't care.

Being as ill-mannered as he is, Genya hadn't expected anyone who didn't share the same blood to genuinely care for him. The boy has natural bitch repellent unbeaten in his DNA so surely even you are aware of the reasoning behind his insecurities. But, I suppose that makes him charming in a very questionable sense.

“You aren't too bad yourself...” which roughly translates to “I love you too so please don't take this the wrong way.” Genya needs as much love as he can get, though he refuses to admit it. As his partner you should go with your gut when dealing with him — if you think he needs comfort, a hug, then just do it — because at times, you seek to understand his emotions better than himself.

[donutz]

Smiling Critters x sick! employee reader

You twisted and turned in your sleep. Sweat collecting on your cold body. Even with a blanket on. All windows and doors were shut, no cool air could flow into even the smallest corners of your room.

So why were you so damn cold?

Oh. A fever.

You woke up with a stuffy nose, an aching head, and a sore throat mixed with a high temperature(ME!!!).

Maybe you shouldn’t go to work today.

But money… 

But getting better…

But money… :(

Eh whatever. Just take some tylenol and you’ll be fine.

You woke up at your designated time—

SHUT UP!! I woke uh(up) ah(at) my.. Uhhhh. Deserted time! And.. Ate.. Uhm..

… Will you let me speak?

Uhm.. NO!! I ate.. Uhhhh, someeee Eggo waffles!!! Yurmy.. With syrup bcus.. I like syrup! And.. A cup of orang juice..

Lovely explanation of your morning.

May I speak now?

You.. MaY!!

Thanks. You sloppily trotted around your kitchen, trying to find something to eat. You couldn’t even see things right, ughhh. And you were just soooo HOT!! But you got chills at the same time!!

Maybe you should stay home.

NO!! I need… THe mONey!!

Alright. You looked in your freezer, finding some eggo waffles you could munch on. Now for a drink, since you had a fever, maybe some orange juice would help calm it down.

It isn’t THAT bad. The orange juice I mean, your health state is terrible.

Mmm… What should I consume next?

Maybe a spoon of honey and lemon? It helps with your throat. Like a lot.

Hmm… OkAYY!!

You took the spoon of honey and lemon, now for some vitamins(zinc and vitamin c, that’s what I took) and now you’re off!

You were still not right in the head, so you may have tripped on your own feet while walking to your car. You entered it, and sat down with a sigh. So you’re not coughing up the workplace, you decided to suck on a cough drop.

They taste gross, but it’s worth it. You sat there in your car seat for a few minutes, just thinking about what’ll possibly happen at your job. Maybe the other employees will notice and ask if you’re okay. Or maybe the Smiling Critters will notice how sick you are and try to take care of you.

Heh.. Little animals taking care of a whole human. How is that even possible?

.

.

.

Pretty possible if I do say so myself. You stepped into work after scanning with your id— This place is always so high with security, it could even have those red beaming laser beams from movies.

Anyways, you said your hi’s and hello’s to your employees, including toys of course. How could you miss out on saying hello to such cuties?

And those cuties could see how sick you were, but were too busy with the workers or the children that just LOVE receiving some toy attention.

You went over to Playcare, preparing to deal with possibly another headache, even if yours is gone now. Another headache from the kids’ yelling and screaming, from their shrieks of joy, much more reasons to make your head throb with annoyance.

Being sick makes you grumpy.

“Hey coworker!” A voice from behind erupted, from how bright and loud it was, you could tell it was a certain dog.

You turned around, slightly closing your eyes from his bright aura, “Hey Dog—” You interrupted your greeting with a cough, “Day.. How are you today?” You had a wobbling smile on your face, trying to make it seem like you were the most healthy person alive.

“Um, I’m good! Are you alright? You seem kind of out of it..?” Dogday asked, he was worried about you and your well being. Kind of similar to that scenario you came up with in your head…

“Yeah I’m—” You coughed, a bit more aggressively compared to other recent one. “... Are you sure..?”

“Yeah—” You fainted, falling towards the ground.

Waiting for a thud to be echoed around the big place, but only a soft one. Including some fur and a vanilla scent. Had he.. Caught you? How? He’s like 5 ft?(In his more kiddish form, not his bigger form)

“Oh geez..” He said, calling to the other critters to help him with getting you somewhere where you could rest. As you were slowly falling asleep, you could hear many worried voices. But by the time words could clearly be said, you were gone.

You were slightly waking up, slowly blinking your eyelids. You wanted to go back to sleep, but you have a job to do.

OH SHOOT YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO!!!!

You abruptly woke up, fully awake or not. But the sudden motion really messed with your head. The whole world was blurry, even the colorful blobs that were small in your vision.

“Oh my!” You could hear a soft pitter patter of paws hurrying over to you. Why's the red blob getting bigger?

“Mmm… Muh?” You couldn't properly possess words at the moment, so whatever came out your mouth was unauthorized sounds.

“You should rest! Sitting up that quickly can mess with you!” A paw gently grabbed your hand.

“Buh.. Bear?” You sounded like a 3 year old trying to pronounce words..

“Oh! Yes, I'm a bear..” You couldn't process the face right, but it looked like the bear was smiling. Why was the bear red? Aren't they supposed to brown? Or white, or black and white..? Or something.. This sickness is really messing with your head..

“Now rest, please…” The worried voice calmly said to you. Not pushing you, just holding your hand.

“Work.. I—” You leaned forward and fell cheek flat on the bear’s face.

“Ee—!” They made a slight squeak at the contact. “Alright. That works.” They chuckled.

Hours later, you finally woke up. You could hear conversations while you blinked your eyes open.

“And then— they fell on me!” Laughter was spread around the room from different voices and tones.

You figured that whoever was speaking, was talking about you…

One of them looked over and saw you—

“Guys, they’re up!” They said.

They all looked over at you, as you slowly but surely sat up. Your head wasn’t as woozy, still had your stuffy nose and hurting throat though..

Now that you didn’t quickly get up, and were more rested, you could finally clearly see the animals that were once blobs.

“Oh.. Hoppy? And Bobby—” They all rushed over to you, wanting to see if you were okay to even get out of bed. You weren’t sweaty, your voice was kinda ehh.., your nose seems stuffy, you didn’t have a headache because they would’ve noticed the second you sat up.. But you’re still not in the right condition to work!

“Are you okay?” What was this one’s name again..? Dogday?

“Uhhh, yea Dogday, I’m okay.”

“No headache or anything?” A soft voice said, that was Craftycorn, right?

“Luckily, no. I took a tylenol so I was fine when I woke up.” You let out a cough, covering your mouth while doing so(no spreading germs!!).

Throughout the day, you had little animals taking care of you and your sickness. You had a couple of spoons of honey and lemon, took some vitamins, ate, and had a humidifier on all day. Also you were secluded in their little room they all had. So the ‘sunlight’ was on you all day, as if you were some sunflower..

You were wondering if the employees were even thinking about your disappearance.

At the end of the day, you ended up sleeping in Dogday’s bed, cuddled up to him. He said, “It’ll help with your sickness! And make you feel better!”

You woke up the next day, and yeah— it did make you feel better.

A/N|| I apologize for not including all of the Smiling Critters, I did try to include at least some of the ones that weren't always in the spotlight(I mean the ones that aren't talked about too much).

Another A/N|| Hip hip hooray!! I'm back ^_^

[monicahar]

scaramouche is a weird boyfriend.

gn! reader, fluff, reader's a bit oblivious and stupid here with tsun tsun kuni. this is heavily inspired by ch. 81 of horimiya but idk what i wrote...im really thinking of a part 2 in his pov of what HE thinks of you this time.

you liked to think your understood the oh-so mighty balladeer better than most people.

with the big n' bad harbinger image that he's carrying around, it's unfathomably impossible to fully get to know him. it's one of the many advantages you like to use—using your reputation as his famed partner for life to get out of missions and errands you dislike.

it takes quite a toll on your paycheck, but who cares when your boyfriend is rich as hell? though you probably have to risk your entire existence when asking for something from him that's a tad bit expensive—but eh, everything has to come with a price, as they say.

but basically, moral of the story; you know your boyfriend pretty well. easy to piss off, really handsome, all bark and no bite (when it solely comes to you. it obviously isn't the same for your unfortunate fellow co-workers.) also unbelievably wealthy, and most importantly—loves you very very much. (he'd sooner slit his throat and dive off a cliff than to outwardly admit it though! he's just that shy! silly him 😜)

yet even though you've memorized and jotted down every aspect of his personality, there are still times you don't get your boyfriend.

though you liked to brag about knowing how he works, you truthfully don't understand enough of his mind's inner workings to be able to comprehend when he does something that throws all your confidence of knowing him out the window.

relatively enough, a good example of this statement is happening before your very eyes right now.

“stop moving, will you?”

hmm, for someone you often associated with a feral cat when it comes to physical contact and affection, he's being rather clingy at the moment. you aren't sure of what to do with your hands, pathetically enough. you fear he might cut off your limbs should you reciprocate...whatever he's doing right now.

unmoving upon the weight nestled in the crook of your neck, you struggle to formulate proper words and thoughts as your hands are awkwardly flailing in the air, not sure if this once in a blue moon display of affection he's giving is a way to non-verbally relay that he wants attention or whatnot...

usually when he wants attention, he'd just pick one of the idiotic things you did today and berate you for it. though it's a weird way of asking for cuddles, you still both end up in each other's arms by the end of the day.

he's not even hugging you or anything, arms hanging by his side as he leans his head on your shoulder, face buried in your neck with his hairtips gently tickle your skin.

unsure of what to do, you just, stand there.

the silence is loud for you, but you're not sure if the same goes for him. the ticking of the clock is a telltale sign that it's been a few minutes or so with him burying his face into your neck like a chick huddling for warmth and protection under its mother's wings, and unfortunately, as nice as it feels for him to initiate contact by himself, your shoulder is horribly getting sore.

“kun—”

before you could even say his full nickname, his head suddenly shoots up, a blank expression painted on his fair face as he stares at the way your eyes blink confusedly.

“i have work to do.” he mutters to himself dazedly, skillfully ignoring the way you tilt your head as if asking him to explain what the hell is up before turning on his heel and making a beeline back to his office, the chime bells of his seemingly mocking you from his lack of provided excuses.

what the...

rolling your shoulders to ease the pain and pressure it gradually collected while supporting the weight of his head, you could only stare down the halls in bewilderment as you're attempting to process what happened just now.

another example of an interspecies act he did also just happened recently.

barging into his office is an almost daily occurrence, proudly walking in with your chin held up high while preparing yourself to rant about your entire day to your busy harbinger boyfriend.

cutely dismissing the fact he always calls you a massive headache for talking his ear out while he's working, you still yap on and on about your uneventful day to him, whether it'd be about some boring lunch with some birds, or an almost death experience to the hands of a mitachurl.

he never openly reacts to your daily shenanigans, only a few eye twitches or deep sighs when you say something particularly disappointing or unamusing which, on the positive side, means he's listening! full and well!

you were prepared for a flurry of insults to be hauled your way the moment you utter that you disgracefully and inconveniently tripped on your way to delivering documents to the doctor, falling face first right at the second harbinger's feet.

you always noticed he seemed a lot more bitter than usual when you mention any of the harbingers, so you kinda expected him to just full blow yell at you when you account this little funny story today of what happened with the doctor.

your eyes nearly fell out of its sockets when he didn't call you stupid or dumb, or an idiot, or whatever demeaning word he has to call you, and instead finally looked up from his desk to frown at you, finally speaking up since the last hour of your nonstop talking.

“did he do anything to you?”

...you've talked about almost dying to a damned humongous chicken on one of your expeditions to sumeru, and this is the topic that catches his immediate worry first and foremost?

it was just a silly prank you pulled out of boredom, wanting to see a reaction from one of the most powerful harbingers! nothing even happened! the doctor just dismissed you with a maniacal laugh, albeit a bit creepy, but he still helped you up!

“he what?”

the lamp on his desk flickers, the electricity around the room becoming more apparent by the second.

were you not supposed to interact with il dottore...?

“forget i said anything...”

gently setting down his quill, he folds his fingers underneath his chin to look at you whilst feigning a rather unsettling smile, an obvious ploy. “oh, no, no. continue.” he nudges in a sing-song tone.

ugh, he's only somehow paying attention to your rant when it's about different people! but doesn't even budge an inch when you say that you've beaten an oni before in a ramen contest. do you know how much of a great feat that is?! he was absolutely destroyed! a product of your successful gluttonous self! that silly yokai never stood a chance!

he glowers at you from his desk. “it's a he as well?”

you knew you had to change the subject fast if the amount of anger seeping from his small being was anything to tell by. “uhh, there was a pink haired lady with us too! she kept flirting with me though, so she didn't really participate in the contest. a huge bummer really, i wanted more opponents!”

—a beat of silence, before the lamp flickers shortly once more.

“she what?”

uhhhh, why is he still angry?

yet another strange phenomenon ensued when he quietly approached you with his chime bells following closely during your training on one sunny day, silently watching you from the sidelines as you fire arrows consecutively at the target multiple feet ahead before you.

rendering all your focus on the target before you, you pull back the string with a certain amount of force and stability—dismissing his presence in the meantime whilst you zero in on the sole red dot in your vision.

whatever has got him burning his stare at your side profile can wait on hold.

huffing to yourself in satisfactory when the arrow's tip diligently digs into the painted wood right at the center of your target, you finally face your scrumptious little gremlin of a lover, unable to stomach the tenacious silence any longer.

“what's up—”

“do you hate me?”

“...?”

good grief. not a good morning, nor a hello, nor some type of greeting he usually accompanies with a venomous insult—but a single question whereas he questions your loyalty and devotion to him as your romantic partner.

you tolerating his entire intolerable existence is already enough of a telltale sign that you like him a smidge lot more than he thinks, right?

you bite down the rude thought in your mouth as you strain a smile towards his direction, confusion still apparent on why he's suddenly asked your opinion of him.

“did you hit your head today, by any chance?” ignoring the glare you're recieving upon the small comment you uttered, you put your bow down on a nearby surface as you worriedly step up to meet his gaze properly. “why are you asking such a question?”

“...”

him being a mouthful is something you don't entirely mind no matter how many people berate you for not finding him annoying in any aspect, but him being so unnervingly silent like this is just plain scary.

you think you're about to melt into a puddle with how intense he gazes at you with his beautiful indigo pools, threatening to consume you whole as he openly ponders about your words.

“so you love me? since you seem to find discomfort in my question?”

“yes...?” you immediately retort as you raise a brow. what's up with him today? he always prided in himself about the love you continuously offer without hesitation, so why is he like this all of a sudden?

“i love you a lot. a heck ton.” you blurt out nothing but truth, “i badly wanna kiss you right now, but i know you don't like it in public so i'm keeping down low.”

he finally peels his gaze off of your face to look at the ground, before flickering up to you once again with an unsure frown, eyeing you weirdly on your shameless confession.

“...okay. that's good.” he replies as his face contorts into a more neutral expression, his voice unnaturally soft and airy. you barely hear him mutter something else under his breath before he swivels around and leaves the training grounds—stunning you greatly on what just transpired.

you always knew he was uh...a bit emotionally detached and all that, but having to question the affection you hold just for him? isn't the fact that you're willing to lick under anyone's boot just to simply talk to him not enough confirmation?

not knowing what to do in this situation, you simply just watch as he slowly escapes your line of sight, observant eyes not missing the slight bounce in his steps.

he's happy, it seems. you giggle to your self at the adorable sight. perhaps you should chase after him and kiss him silly.

from what you've heard, other people's lovers would normally be a lot more nicer and considerate when it comes to their significant others, but that obviously isn't the case with your unique partner.

needless to say, he is a really strange boyfriend. too puzzling for your pretty little brain to fully wrap around yet an enigma you truly couldn't get enough of—fortunately or unfortunately? whatever.

scaramouche is a walking and living contradiction—inconceivably difficult to predict.

he hogs all the blankets at night when you sleep together yet gets mad at you when you catch a cold the next morning,

thinks your cooking is an abominable atrocity yet still consumes them religiously like he currently isn't getting food poisoning,

always makes it his priority to call you 'unsightly' or whatever, only to lightly bonk your head when you actually agree and sulk to yourself about it,

often voices his protest against your kisses and huggie wuggies as you've called them, yet doesn't fight back when you forcibly wrap your arms around him after finally getting enough of his stubbornness,

intensely glares at every person that comes within a two feet radius of your 'personal space', and if you bother to ask him what's wrong—he'd direct his glaring at you as well for some reason,

he refuses to lend you his precious hat every single time when you ask to borrow it, yet shoves it unceremoniously against your face to hide his burning visage from your sight after a particularly flirtatious comment you slipped in,

never verbally returns your 'i love you's during the day, yet he constantly whispers it to you like a mantra when he thinks you're asleep. (does he not want you to know he loves you or something...? anyway let's just pretend not to hear him for his sake.)

scaramouche is a weird boyfriend indeed, but he's yours and yours only. a constant in your life that you'd never give up for the world.

no matter how you look at it, the list seems endless—ceaselessly an infinite of contradictions and complexity carried on his person. he truly lives up to his eccentric title, a strange person indeed...

—but despite him being his grumpy self 24/7, you still find him entertaining and all the more endearing.

whichever person threatened to take him away from you would have to face your gluttonous wrath.

(he looks at you weirdly when you proudly exclaim you'd eat even the gods should they ever lay a hand on him.)

atm i am hungry and i want borgir :( this starved stomach of mine might've slightly influenced how i portrayed reader

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Claire!! I ran to your inbox the second I saw your post about drabbles being open!! :D

Would be willing to write something for Tommy Shelby using this prompt: “Don’t play games with me, sweetheart. You won’t like it when I play them back.” ?? Take the story in whatever direction you desire….I just know it’ll be amazing!

Thanks so much if you choose to! A

A little short for my darling K? Of course <3 I hope you like the direction I went in with this!

Words - 1,139

Warnings - None

“You don’t need to lie to me. You hate him, don’t you? I see it, kitty cat. That face of yours when you’re on his arm? It ain’t the face of a broad who's happy to be there.”  

He was right, too. Although you had to wonder how many times others had witnessed your carefully placed facade slip. Then again, you hadn’t been stepping out all too long with Tommy Shelby. You didn’t intend on doing so either. 

Tommy didn’t remember you from school. He had no recollection over how he’d made you feel about yourself as a little girl, the name calling, the teasing, the shoving you around. “Boys will be boys, my sweet”, your father had always said. Your mother had taken a much less blasé approach.  

“Darling girl of mine, boys will not be boys. Boys will be however we let them behave. If that little shit continues to act like this, wallop him one.” 

While you appreciated her stance, you never did give him the aforementioned walloping. Until now, in your decision to make him pay for being your playground tormentor, your bully. Some might call it immature of you not to be able to move on from it, but truly, Tommy Shelby has done more to hurt you than any other. 

It didn’t stop in the playground. 

The growth of The Shelby Company Ltd, with its wings spreading like an albatross across the coal-black suburbs of Birmingham led to your father being put out of work, your brother being recruited and then executed as a Peaky Blinder and your family losing everything. Tommy was so lost within the vast vortex of his own ego that he didn’t even recognise you, by neither sight nor name when you approached him one evening in The Garrison, your charm amped up, your plan set into action. 

You would make him fall in love with you, you would toy with his heartstrings and then, finally, you would rip them to pieces. Just like he did to your life. Just like he always had.  

Your plan? It worked. Effortlessly.  

Every time he called to court you, you would exit the door of your lodgings looking pristine, ready to be wined and dined, your place upon the arm of the city’s most prolific gangster a spot coveted by many. It never did fail to make bitter fire lick your insides, though, while other women burned with envious ire. Your revulsion ran deep, but you had to confess; at least he was pretty to look at. At least he was a talented and sensual lover.  

You never allowed him in too much, though, and it was the cleverness, the assertive aloofness of your nature that had the poor fool coming back for more every time.  

“Why don’t you ever stay with me, sweetheart?” he asks you on one such night, as you pull yourself back into your clothes. 

Looking away from the garter clasp you’re about to affix to your stocking, you see it there in his eyes. Pleading. Longing. The desire to spend the entire night curled around you in a warm, loving embrace.

“I like my own bed.” 

He tuts, reaching for his cigarette. “You always say that. Don't even let me stop over there with you either.” 

“I like my own bed alone.” 

“And what when we’re married, eh?” he questions, exhaling a thick plume of smoke into the dark of the room. “Will you let me share a bed with you then, or are we to be like an old-fashioned Victorian couple, same bedroom, single beds?” His eyes glint at you, shifting to sit up a little. “That’s a bit puritan for a girl who likes being fucked as dirty as you, love.” 

The urge to punch that smug, pretty face of his. Buttoning your blouse, you reach for your coat and pull it on, picking up your bag and then leaning to press a kiss upon his lips. “I’ll say goodnight now, Tommy. Let you go to sleep and dream of me.”  

He isn’t used to not getting his own way, and lord, how it shows. He reaches for your wrist, grasping you in a hard clutch, your mind flashing back to the playground. He’d do this while kicking your shins and mocking you. “Don’t play games with me, sweetheart. You won’t like it when I play them back.” 

You smirk, and the devil’s fire flashes through his eyes. “Is that a threat, darling?” 

“It’s a bloody promise, love, and you know it is. Might have to tie you to this bed next time, stop you from escaping on me.” He smiles then, something boyish in him as he tilts his head, pulling you down into a soft kiss. “I love you, even if you are a bloody temptress.” 

“Love you, too. Goodnight.” 

Leaving the bedroom, you saunter down the stairs and into the lounge, going into his jacket pocket and removing the keys to the building he runs his legitimate business from, Out of your purse, you remove the soft ball of clay you’ve stashed away wrapped in paper, flattening it with your palm before pressing each key into it.

With those imprints taken, you visit the local foundry the following day, asking for a set of keys to be made to those exact impressions. 

“Ahh, nice, easy little job this, bab,” the foreman informs you, removing his cap to scratch his balding head as he takes the lump of now dried clay. “Have ‘em ready for ya by close.”  

After returning later that evening, you have within your grasp the tools you require to facilitate the final piece of your plan, the last little detail being delivered to you by a third party, one who after arriving from New York saw quite clearly how much use you could be to him, getting close enough to ruin Tommy Shelby and all he held dear.  

Walking through the bar of The Grand Hotel, you slide into a seat beside the handsome Italian waiting for you, placing the keys into his hand. 

“You did good, doll,” he drawls, eyeing you appreciatively. “Here.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a roll of bills, handing them to you with a wink before taking your hand and kissing it. “If you’re ever in New York in the future, please, don’t think twice about looking me up.” 

Of course, Luca Changretta could have simply broken into the building he required access to, but Tommy is a shrewd operator. He would notice even the most carefully picked lock, and the plan was always for him not to see it coming. When The Shelby Company Ltd explodes into a ball of fire, both Tommy and Arthur within it, you know he never saw it coming.  

After all, he never truly saw you.  

[ghulehunknown]

Papa Headcanons: Showering Together 🚿🧼

What happens when things get hot and steamy in the shower with Papa?

WARNING - NSFW, MDNI

Inspired by Heartsforcopia_ on Twitter!

Primo

Lots of lotions and potions in unlabeled bottles on the shelves in his shower, all handmade from the things he grows in his garden

“Do you need help reaching, cara/caro? Let Papa help…” as he touches you in the most sensual way possible

Sometimes he prefers baths so he can just sit and relax after a busy day and invites you so you’re laying against his chest

Claims he has trouble reaching certain spots and needs your help washing, but you’re pretty sure you saw him bend over in the garden no issue earlier

Insists on no funny business as you both wash together but his touches leave you practically begging him to fuck you in the shower

On second thought, he was looking a little wobbly today so maybe shower sex would be dangerous (so you just bang it out in your towels on his bed)

Secondo

He’s got a nice ass shower, like it’s huge with multiple shower heads and lights and a bench

He’ll use the shower head on your sensitive spots to help get you off

Lathers up soap on your chest and pinches your nipples in the suds, kissing you deeply as the water falls over your heads

Watches you lather up, shave, whatever you do in the shower as he does the same, content on just watching the water roll off your frame

You ask him for help shaving your nether regions because you just know he’ll be careful

That’s the perfect excuse for him to go down on you as well while he’s down there

Terzo

Has all the expensive skincare items, and you spend half the time looking at everything and using a little bit of it all

“Oh your [insert preferred body part here] looks sooo dirty I must help you wash it”

Lathers up your entire body, lingering on your sensitive spots

Will NOT keep his hands to himself - he’s touching you, putting soap on you, putting his fingers in certain places and he wants YOU to wash him

Hogs the water on purpose but his caresses keep you warm

He fingers you with the claim that he must clean ALL of you 😫💀 (don’t worry, he knows not to stick soap up there)

He’s too much of a horndog so you fuck in the shower, soggy doggystyle 😈

Copia

You’re pretty much stuck with his 3-in-1 wash for your whole body

You start to question why he’s got a pink razor and think he might be seeing someone else who’s got their stuff in his shower but then he says he just prefers Lady Schick for shaving his balls

Blocks the water flow with his big ass head but he doesn’t mean to leave you cold and shivering, he’s just kinda spatially unaware

When he notices you’re cold he wraps you up in his arms and lets you have the water (where he stands shivering the rest of the time)

“Eh, can I wash your boobies/balls/butt, tesoro? 👉👈” (choose your preferred body part)

Excited to wash your hair, your face, everything because he sees this as more of a bonding experience versus a sexual one

But yeah he still gets really horny and if you don’t fuck in the shower, you for sure are slapping your wet bodies together on the bathroom floor or against his sink, wherever you end up first

[evil8keta]

Ok so I have a request and it’s kinda like a self-insert..

So.. A Platonic mercs and fem!reader who wears masculine clothing and has short hair. (Like a pixie cut or half-shaved head) The mercs think she’s a boy at first. But then they find out that.. *gasp* it’s a girl! How would they react? Again, platonic please, I don’t ship myself with any of them!

- Random Anon

I LOVE THIS REQUEST SO MUCH!! the scenario for this is that you had no idea that the others think ur a boy lol....also they all found out during a group meeting or something

the mercs find out that... *gasp* you're a GIRL?!

SCOUT

- WHAT?! WHAT???! he can't believe it.... scout immediately ran up to you and drowned you in questions like "are you sure you're a girl?? are you ABSOLUTELY sure??" eventually he was peeled off of you by spy cause he was being too annoying lol. anyway this big gender reveal surprisingly doesn't change how he behaves around you he was just very dramatic when he found out

PYRO

- gasp!!! no way!! pyro is so surprised!! they all have been misgendering you this whole time and you had no idea!! :( because of this pyro feels bad... but again, it doesn't change how they feel about you at all lol. they would definitely go up to you later and apologize to you for thinking that you're a man (not like you can understand their muffled voice through the mask anyway)

SOLDIER

- stares at you like this >:O for a whole minute then shrugs it off like eh whatever. nothing changes, he's glad they got your gender right now but it's not a big deal! he's going to treat you the same... at least NOW he understands why you gave him a feminine flowerly deodorant when he asked to borrow one from you

HEAVY

- oh... well, that's interesting. he tries his best to stay calm and not look surprised but the confused expression on his face and wide eyes say otherwise. he eyes you suspiciously, but stops suspecting you pretty quickly. it's obvious that you weren't hiding anything, and they all just assumed incorrectly, so it's their fault not yours lol. he's pretty chill after that, and the way he treats you doesn't change either, maybe he's just a little bit more careful towards you

DEMOMAN

- starts shouting and is the second one to question you right after scout is peeled off of you, smh. "SINCE WHEN WERE YE A LASS???" really confused and dramatic and it takes like 10 minutes to calm him down. after that he might actually start acting nicer towards you? idk to me he just seems like he really respects women. it's not a big difference he's just more of a gentleman

ENGINEER

- bamboozled but not for long. like at first he's like scratching his head and thinking about how come no one noticed sooner. but then he shrugs it off, smiles and starts congratulating you as if you had your own gender reveal party. you're his daughter now

MEDIC

- ALWAYS knew you were a girl, he read it in your medical files, but after he noticed that most of the other mercs view you as a man, he played along. for fun. however when you said you're a girl in front of everyone he was like gasping and covering his mouth, like omg?? you're a girl?? wowww right he sure had no idea... /s

SPY

- is....very surprised, but tries to not show it. spy ran background checks on literally everyone in the base, including you, so how did he not figure out you're a girl sooner..? perhaps he was too convinced that you are a man that he didn't bother to check lol. anyways after his initial surprise he's quite indifferent but he might but he might be more wary of you from time to time. like what else could you be hiding, huh?? you're secretly the president of Czechoslovakia or something??

SNIPER

- not gonna lie bro was sleeping the entire time of the meeting....then he heard the world "girl" lol and immediately woke up, looking around in confusion. after he came to his senses he was speechless for a while, like woah... you're a girl? okay. yeah he really doesn't care and just went back to napping. like yeah, good thing that everyone knows now, but it's really not any difference to him. he might treat you more gentlemanly afterwards tho, but that's just his manners

[blessedwithabadomen]

in love with the mess - day ten

summary : Aubrey is going on tour and, for once, she's decided to focus on having as much fun as possible. Oli can be a little shit but he does nothing short of adore Audrey and... well, maybe Noah a little, too. Noah likes the flirting, as long as no one gets too close, emotionally. But what will happen when the three of them take it too far?

content : smut (p in v, dirty talk, oral (f and m receiving), hints at anal play), angst, fluff

length : 10k

tags (let me know if you want to be tagged!) : @veronicaphoenix @cookiesupplier @lma1986 @jilliemiw86 @bngurngheart @lacktoesandtoddlerants @narcissisticbehavior81 @flowery-mess @shilohrosechicken @justeli6 @starvingarsyn @floatinglikeaswan @blacksoul-27 @somebodyels3 @kageyasma @spikeisdaddy @broken0mens

a/n : Hope you enjoy this one!! Comments and reblogs keep the writer writing 💕

•••

day ten

I was getting tired of unexpected knocks on my hotel room door. Especially when it was much too early and I was already rushing to get ready after something had prevented me from properly packing my suitcase last night. Now I had mere minutes until I needed to be downstairs with the rest of the crew and the band because Bring Me had an awfully early bus call to get to Sheffield. I couldn’t blame them for that - it was home, after all. Most of them were using the day off to visit friends and family, but Oli and, as far as I knew Matt too, were heading for the store for the day.

I ripped the door open as much as I could under the weight to find none other than Oli himself standing in the hallway, an amused smirk on his face.

“I don’t know how well you slept last night, but this hotel really has to work on soundproofing their walls,” he chuckled, letting himself in just past the doorway as I stood frozen. “‘Cause I was definitely wide awake hearing two people have the fuck of their lives. Like, holy shit, staying quiet definitely wasn’t part of their vocabulary at all. Did you hear them at all?”

“I…”

“Not gonna lie, it sounded pretty hot, I was almost a little tempted to, you know.”

He raised his eyebrows at me as he motioned toward his crotch.

“Oli-”

“Did you really not hear anything?”

The bathroom door opened so abruptly I almost jumped at the sound. Noah had freshened up but was still very much in yesterday’s clothes and extremely sleepy. I could basically see the gears turning in Oli’s head as he looked back and forth between us.

“That was you! Oh you dirty, dirty kids,” he laughed. Noah looked thoroughly confused, still standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Oli gave another chuckle, but something was amiss. I’d known him for years. I knew Oli’s teasing face, the way he sounded, the way his eyes crinkled in earnest. This wasn’t it. And it kept me silent, somehow.

“Well, bus call’s soon, so no time for a second round, eh?” His voice didn’t match his words. I couldn’t quite figure it out just yet, but it made me feel uncomfortable and awkward. Noah seemed to think the same as he stayed suspiciously silent, toying with the hem of his shirt.

“Yeah, no, I’ll… I’ll catch you downstairs, yeah?” I finally managed to vomit out. Oli simply nodded, raised his hand in what I assumed should be a form of goodbye and then vanished back into the hallway.

It was only when the door clicked back into its lock that Noah moved next to me. Grabbing whatever he had left in the room - he briefly paused as he saw the bottle of Hennessey, but ultimately decided not to touch it - he got ready as if his bus call was imminent.

“I keep fucking up,” he said, more to himself than anything else as he moved past me to put on his shoes.

“Noah, you’re-”

“No, I am. It’s- it’s fine, I just need to-”

My hand on his arm stopped him just before he reached the door. He looked so conflicted, so torn, that it broke my heart along with his. I wanted to tell him it was going to be okay, that we could be okay, that Oli would be okay, but even in my head it sounded like a lie. I couldn’t promise him something like that. All I could do was allow myself to be his for the taking if he ever decided to, well, take me on.

I pulled him down with a hand on his neck and put my lips on it and I hoped it would tell him everything I couldn’t say.

•••

Oli wasn’t waiting for me when I arrived downstairs. He wasn’t in the parking lot either. Or downstairs in the bus, or in the lounge. But the curtain of his bunk was pulled tightly shut and it worried me beyond belief. I wasn’t quite sure what exactly had caused him to withdraw, but my brain was providing me with a multitude of options, spinning through all of them at lighting speed as if it could make me decide on one of them, and it made me dizzy.

Especially because simply pulling away was so out of character for him. I’d expected him to make a fuss, pick a fight, get mean, argue with either me or Noah or both of us at such a volume that the rest of the hotel voluntarily evacuated, but none of that had happened. Not even a tiny remark shot our way. Not a single item thrown around the bus in frustration.

Either way, I was just so over not communicating.

Aubrey u up?

I was almost shaking waiting for his reply. It seemed silly, texting him the very thing he’d texted me that first night before the tour had really started, but I hoped he would recognise it and not consider my joking offensive when he was dealing with… something. When my phone displayed a new message, I almost threw it away in surprise, as if I’d been expecting radio silence.

Oli Is this a bootycall?

So - he didn’t hate me. And he remembered. It was a relief, really. With a slight smile playing on my face, I walked back towards his bunk and pulled the curtain back. He didn’t noticeably react, simply kept lying with his back turned to me. He did, however, shuffle forward just the tiniest bit and I took it as an invitation to climb in and shut the curtain behind me.

It was a tight fit, both of us in his bunk, especially since Oli had gotten noticeably more buff than the last time we’d done this on a tour, but with a bit of rearranging and me spooning him closely, we made it work. I placed my hand over his heart, feeling it beat underneath my fingertips, so fast it was almost concerning.

“Hey,” I whispered, quietly, as if anyone else could overhear us, as if it would matter if they did. Oli didn’t answer in words, but put his hand over mine, stroking the skin delicately. “Talk to me.”

“Don’t wanna,” he mumbled, like a stubborn little child. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined him to be pouting as he spoke. Was this better than the explosions we usually faced when he got mad? I decided yes.

“Oli,” I replied, hoping his name in my mouth would sound vaguely scolding. “We talked about that. Communication and all that? Come on. I can’t bear it when you withdraw like this.”

He sighed so heavily it moved my body along with his.

“It’s embarrassing though.”

“And you can blush all you like, but you’re going to tell me. I’m not even looking at you. It literally won’t get better than this. And I won’t let you off the hook any time soon, I hope you know that.”

He grumbled for a little bit longer but I sat it out, knowing he’d come around sooner or later. The sooner was reached a lot more quickly than expected. I had been well prepared to spend most of the drive to Sheffield here, in silence, just holding him and waiting it out.

“It’s stupid, really, but seeing you with Noah this morning, knowing what you’d done…” He took a deep breath. I didn’t interrupt him even though the thoughts were already running through my head at high speed again. “I don’t mind that you fucked, you know. It just feels like… like he got something from you before I did and… it makes me feel like a leftover. Like the two of you don’t need me.”

I desperately tried to wrap my mind around what Oli was telling me. He was jealous that Noah got to have me first? That I’d decided - although it wasn’t much of a planned decision, but he couldn’t know that - to sleep with him before I considered Oli? That maybe I desired the other man more? Wanted him closer, in a more intimate setting, than Oli?

“And I know we’ve, like, done stuff before, all of us,” he continued. It seemed like now that he’d started, he barely managed to stop. “But I don’t just sleep with anyone and, fuck, this sounds so stupid, but I thought it might be special, sleeping with you for the first time, sleeping with both of you, and now I feel like I’m not really part of it anymore…”

He wasn’t just thinking about Noah being the first one to sleep with me. He was also thinking about me being the first one to sleep with Noah. I gave myself some time to think during the moments he stayed quiet. How would I have felt if they’d gotten together first? Leaving me as the odd one out, the one that hadn’t been present when they shared this new level of intimacy.

I probably would have felt rejected too.

“If it helps at all, neither of us planned to have sex last night,” I explained. “It was very much a spur of the moment thing after he crashed at mine because he’d been drinking. I think… I think I would have preferred it with you around as well.”

I hadn’t realised it until the words left my mouth, but it was true. Sleeping with Noah had been amazing - but if we’d shared that experience as a threesome, all sober and fully awake, it would have been phenomenal. I had no doubt about that.

“And you’re not second best. Not at all. You and Noah… I have so much love for both of you, in such different and such similar ways all at once. I could never prefer him over you, just like I could never prefer you over him. I’m sorry that it happened like this and that you had to find out like that.”

I didn’t know what else to say. How else to make him understand. I couldn’t take back what had happened. I couldn’t magically turn back time and turn Noah down, or make Oli appear in the room too. I could only try to make up for it moving forward. And I planned to.

“Dinner’s still on tonight, right? The three of us?”

Oli nodded. I wouldn’t have noticed if we’d not been so close. I pressed a kiss into his dark locks.

“We’ll make it up to you. Noah and I. Promise. Will you let us?”

It took a moment of Oli struggling for me to realise he was attempting to turn around. I almost slid off the edge, already imagining myself falling to the floor in the little walkway between bunks, but Oli quickly shifted and put an arm around me in the most complicated way to keep me safe. There was a lot more shuffling, trying to keep our limbs intact and our hair from getting caught up somewhere, until we settled on a final position, our legs intertwined, foreheads pressed against each other.

“As if I could ever resist you, Aubrey. You and Noah, both.”

•••

As it turned out, I didn’t have all that much to do when I travelled to the store with Oli and Mat. Most of the organisational matters had been taken care of by the local workers, those in charge of Drop Dead and everything around it, and I was barely much more than a glorified babysitter as I ushered Oli back and forth to where he was needed.

At least his mood had improved considerably. I hoped I had played some sort of part in it. When he talked to the people around him, waved to a couple of fans, studied the designs he’d helped with, I knew it wasn’t a facade. He was truly happy here, and I caught myself thinking that maybe he could be truly happy with me and Noah, too.

“I don’t really know how long this will take, but it might be a while, so if you want to leave, I don’t know, walk through the city, get a nap, you really don’t have to stay here,” Oli told me when I managed to catch up with him. I knew he meant it. He wasn’t one for playing games like that. “I can text you and Noah the address of the place I reserved at, and the time. How’s that sound?”

I agreed, not because I was bored but because I felt wholly unneeded and kept standing in the way. The question of what I was going to do with my time was answered much quicker than expected as I ran into Becky on the way out.

“You know, I think we get a discount on this stuff. And if not I’ll make Oli give you one,” I grinned as I watched her flip through some of the shirts.

“Thank god, because this shit is expensive,” she replied, immediately letting go of the fabric in ther hands. “What do you say we go for an equally as overpriced coffee instead?”

“I do love me a good dose of caffeine,” I admitted.

Becky held out her arm for me to take it and I complied with a giggle, leaving the store with her and wandering the streets, making small talk as we tried to find a coffee shop to our liking. When we finally located one, ordered and sat down, I felt all the exhaustion I’d been carrying with me take over. I sank deeper into the comfortable armchair, wondering if it’d be inappropriate to get in a little cat nap.

“Looks like Oli is keeping you up. Or was that Noah?”

I briefly panicked, wondering if, somehow, word had gotten around that I’d slept with Noah.

“You’re hanging out with both of them a lot. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted trying to keep my one man at home happy, never mind two. And those two out of everyone! You truly picked the most exhausting ones to be friends with.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it wasn’t too visible and took a quick sip of coffee to hide my embarrassment.

“Yeah, they're… a handful. But I doubt it's much better for them, I'm sure I can be just as exhausting,” I laughed. “So you got a man at home, hm? Is he gonna visit on tour or has he already and I've simply missed him?”

“Oh no, he's going to be around in Dublin. It's where we live, actually. Got abducted to the other isle by an Irishman. In my defence though, he looks like Hozier's younger brother and he's just as tall, so really, how could I have resisted!”

“Tall men, eh,” I agreed, moving my cup to cheers with hers.

“Tall men, indeed.”

We stayed quiet for a moment, both of us lost in thoughts, but I wasn't a fan of the silence for long.

“Are you looking forward to going home then? We only have four more dates left, right?”

“So much. Unfortunately it's not for long. I'm leaving again on the 26th for the Bad Omens tour.”

“You’re heading on their tour with them?” This was news to me. I was well aware Bad Omens were still going to be in Europe for a while and I had absolutely been staring at those tour dates as they were selling out one by one, tempted to make a trip somewhere to see them headline, but with no work lined up it was impossible to plan. The fact that Becky had been hired by them hadn’t been relayed to me.

“Yeah, apparently they were looking for someone local and Bring Me suggested me since I’d already worked a few shows with them before. No rest for the wicked, eh!”

“No rest indeed,” I sighed. I wished I wouldn’t be getting any rest either. Maybe I should beg someone for a merch job on that tour. They probably had all their positions filled, but I was getting desperate at this point. Being away would also give me some time to find a new place to live. But did I have the guts to straight up beg for it, knownig I’d probably only get it because they took pity on me and not because they really needed me?

“So, you’re basically in a long-distance relationship then, with you being away so much, aren’t you?”

Becky exhaled into her cup of coffee. “We make it work, you know? It was tough in the beginning. He has a very steady, reliable, boring day job and I’m just all over the continent but we’ve accepted that about each other. We check in and I usually video call him in the evening. And, well you can get creative with what you do on video, too.”

I almost spewed out the coffee at her remark, knowing fully well by the tone in her voice what she was referring to. The wiggling eyebrows sealed the deal.

“Sorry,” she giggled. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“By all means, I’m glad you’re having a good sex life still.”

I put the cup back on the table. I wasn’t sure how long it had been empty for, but I knew I’d been holding onto it for no obvious reason.

“Did he ever mind? Knowing that being with you would mean being away from you for a long time?” I paused for a moment, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my questions. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that, I’m just sitting here interrogating you like you’re on trial.”

“Oh, don’t worry about, darling. Ask all you want. For us, it was never a question, really. What can I say? We fell hard and fast. I could have moved to Australia and he would have made it work.”

I didn’t know why I felt like crying. I tried to hide the tears that were on the edge of emerging by organising the items on the little table in front of us until they had straightened out and seemed in order. Maybe that was more suspicious than me getting emotional.

“So, it’s all about love, isn’t it,” I said, trying hard not to sniffle. “As long as you love them enough, you make it happen.”

I only looked up when Becky put her hand over mine. Her eyes were soft, but there was no pity in them and I silently thanked her for it.

“Sometimes you have to realise just how in love you are first. Or allow yourself to admit it.”

••���

By pure luck and what I could only call a miracle, I bumped into Noah in the hallway of the hotel, on the way back to my room. He stopped immediately, and then let me into his room, assuring me it was empty for now, when he realised I didn’t want to have this conversation where we could possibly be overheard.

“Aubrey, I’m sorry,” he started but I held my hand up to stop him before he got any farther.

“I know. I know you are. I don’t know what kind of stuff you need to figure out for yourself, but I’m giving you the time to do it, okay? You’re always welcome in my room and, well, in my bed and just about everywhere else and if there’s things you want to discuss, I’ll make time for you. I’m just asking you not to keep going back and forth and changing your opinion and treating me like someone you’re dating as long as you’re not. Dating me that is. Alright?”

I took a deep breath, holding my head up high. Somewhere in the edges of my brain, I could almost hear Lia cheering me on, congratulating me for speaking my mind and putting up boundaries. I knew it was the right thing to do. For myself, for once.

“Alright,” he simply said. He deserved a little more space to think over what I’d just told him. I hoped he would.

“Well, in completely contrasting news, I hope you know we’re going out for dinner with Oli tonight?”

Noah nodded.

“Good. Because we’re going to treat him right, okay? He’s been… well, he feels a little left out of whatever the three of us have going on and that’s not happening on my watch. So we’re going to be real good to him tonight, whatever that entails and wherever we end up with. Anything to let him know he’s just as important and cherished. Is that something you can do?”

“Yeah… yeah, I think I can.”

“Good.” I gave him a smile, feeling the energy leave me as I finally got everything out I had come here to say. “Put on something nice. Apparently it’s a place that needed a reservation.” I walked a little closer, putting my hand on his chest. “I think we’d all enjoy the turtleneck a lot.”

•••

Oli and Noah looked positively divine when we met up at the restaurant later that night. Noah was every bit as gorgeous as I had hoped he’d be in the turtleneck. Even Oli gave him an appreciative whistle as he saw him, which once again caused Noah to sport a lovely little blush. Oli himself was wearing a white shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and had entirely too few buttons opened. I briefly considered ignoring our dinner reservation as just taking them back to the hotel immediately and by the way the two of them were mustering me, those thoughts seemed to be mutual.

I’d made an effort. My black dress, thin, with lace and spaghetti straps, had an asymmetrical cut, showing off much more of my right thigh than my left. It was a shame I couldn’t wear it without tights, but the January cold simply wasn’t allowing it. The heels were the only ones I could walk in confidently, with a wide block heel, velvety and sexy. Both men still towered over me.

I’d also put on my dark red lipstick, at Oli’s request. The one that would smudge if touched. It might make dinner a little more complicated, but that was a challenge I was willing to accept.

Luckily, the place didn’t turn out to be too fancy, I realised as a waiter showed us to our seats, Oli’s hand on the small of my back and his other resting on Noah’s arm. Oli hadn’t needed a reservation because it was so impossibly packed during a random Thursday in January. He had needed one because he had asked for a very special table.

The waiter led us to a little platform on which sat what I could only describe as a bird-cage-esque structure, a hexagon of lightly coloured, wooden walls, two of them completely open and leading in and out of the main restaurant area, the other four adorned with a grid of windows. It seemed like there was a spotlight on it, right in the middle of the room, but as soon as I stepped inside and took my seat, I realised it also came with a lot of privacy. It was perfect.

“Bottle of wine?” Oli asked as we flipped through the drinks menu.

I looked over at Noah, but even before he could have seen me stare, he shook his head. “None for me today. I’s rather be sober.”

I wanted to tell him thank you and I know why but either would have opened up questions about what had happened the last two nights, things Oli wasn’t in the loop about, and it didn’t feel like my place to tell. Either way, Oli accepted quickly, ordering some water and and mocktails for the table, claiming that just because we were abstaining from alcohol didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fancy looking drinks.

“I can’t believe we only have four more shows on this run,” I sighed. I hadn’t meant to mention it really, but it was starting to weigh on my mind after my talk with Becky earlier. It had made me realise just how close we were to saying goodbye, going our separate ways. Oli back to recording the album, Noah still on tour, me… well, I’d have to figure that one out, too. So far my search for both a job and a place to stay hadn’t been very successful.

“Hey,” Oli interrupted my pondering, putting his hand over mine. Noah seemed to briefly feel left out, grabbing my other hand to mirror the sentiment. “No being sad at our date. It’s not like we’ll never see each other after.”

I wasn’t quite that confident in the future, but he was right. Now was not the time or place to start overthinking.

“Date, eh?” I joked instead. Deep down, I wanted confirmation, but I was too cowardly to ask outright. Then I remembered Noah’s hesitation to the idea of us going on a date before, but he was simply sipping his newly arrived drink, either ignoring the underlying question or being at peace with it. I couldn’t quite figure it out yet.

“I figured it should be one, you know,” Oli mused in fake contemplation. “Only seems fair to take you two out for dinner before I fuck you.”

If Noah had been slightly apathetic at the conversation before, he now put himself in the middle of it as he did a literal spit take, droplets of his mocktail landing on the wooden table. I was quick to mop it up with my napkin, trying to hold the laughter at bay. Oli didn’t care. He gave a bark that was loud enough to be heard by just about everyone in the restaurant. There were some spots on Noah’s turtleneck too and even though they would probably dry to be invisible on the dark shirt, I reached out to pat at it too.

He stood up a little abruptly, feeling the wet fabric with his fingers. “I’m just gonna head to the bathroom. Order me the chickenburger, yeah?”

Oli and I were still giggling by the time he disappeared from view.

“Should I go after him?” he questioned with a smirk. “Or is that gonna make things worse?”

“The latter probably,” I giggled. “He might think you’re trying to fuck him in the bathroom stalls.” Oli made a face that suggested he was thinking about it. I smacked my hand against his shoulder. “I’ll go check on him. Order me whatever, you know what I like.”

By the time I’d reached the toilets, Noah was already exiting the room again. I approached him slowly, a hand coming to rest on his chest when I was close enough.

“Oli a bit much for you?”

“When is he not,” he sighed but immediately followed it up with a smile. “It just came a little unexpectedly.”

His hand reached for mine, again, playing with my fingers and stroking the back of it as I kept it on his chest, heavy breathing underneath.

“You know he doesn’t expect anything of you, right? You don’t have to go home with him, or us. And if you do, no one’s making you do anything. He knows you’ve never, you know… been with a man like that.”

“I want to,” Noah stated, voice much more steadfast that I would have expected. “I really do. I’m just… nervous I won’t be any good.”

“Oli’s so into you, I don’t think he’d care even if you did everything wrong your possibly could,” I giggled. Relief flooded my veins when he joined in. “Besides, he’s no better off. He talks a lot of shit and he’s really good at pretending, but unless he has a whole other life he hasn’t shared with me, his experience with men doesn’t go further than some drunken make-out sessions either.”

Noah nodded, perhaps slightly unconvinced, but a lot less jittery than before. I pressed a kiss to his lips, delighted by the fact that I didn’t have to get on my usual tiptoes with the heels I was wearing. He kept me there, for a moment, with his hand at the nape of my neck, even when the kiss had ended. Simply breathing each other in. I allowed him to decide when to break the contact. I figured he needed it.

“Thank you”, he whispered.

“What for?”

“Just being you.”

•••

The rest of our outing continued much less dramatically, but filled with laughter and little flirts. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so good, just by being around these two. Oli had ordered for all of us as the waiter had indeed come by while Noah and I were gone. There was a good chance I was making heart eyes at him when a plate of curry appeared in front of me. He’d known it was my favourite. He seemed to know it all, I realised.

We ended up squeezed in the backseat of a cab, each of us with a to-go back with desserts on our laps. Oli insisted on taking them, even though neither of us were thinking very much about eating right about now. The tension in the backseat was thick - not necessarily bad, considering growing arousal and excitement were pumping through my veins as I tried to imagine what was to come.

The car took a sharp turn, prompting a low gasp from Noah when my body pressed closer to his. On his exhale, a soft hum was pulled from his throat. A reminder that I wasn’t the only one who was about to benefit from this.

The scenery outside changed, restaurants and cafés and shops giving way to a residential area, little blocks of flat, small houses with tiny gardens in front. Not the industrial complexes, the hotels, the high-rise buildings I was expecting.

“This isn’t the way to the hotel.”

As I turned to Oli, I was caught off guard by the smirk on his face. That fucker. He had ordered the cab, he had planned this. Planned - what, though? He let out a chuckle at my confusion, clearly pleased with my reaction.

“Because we’re not going there.” Oli leaned in, lips brushing my ear, yet speaking loudly enough that Noah wouldn’t be left out of the conversation. “Did you really think I’d let you bed me in a random hotel room and not my place when we’re in Sheffield?”

Noah tensed next to me. As I turned to look at him, Oli’s lips once again brushing my skin, I realised he was clutching the takeaway container a little more desperately. He’d definitely heard. And by the way he was trying to press the box down against his crotch, it had gotten him just as hot as it had gotten me.

The driver announcing our arrival saved either of us from reacting to the fact that Oli had just all but told the driver we were going to hook up in some capacity or other. All of us scrambled to get out into the cold night, no thoughts left but to get inside as quickly as possible. All I wanted was to get those two undressed, get my hands on them, my lips, I didn’t care if it was going to be a bedroom or not. I was beyond superficial details like that.

Noah wrapped an arm around me as I shivered in my coat, both of us careful not to drop the desserts. The building towered over us, several stories high and quite obviously new. Much more expensive than I could ever afford. I hoped it would have more soul once we were inside. Oli unlocked the door, the little Powerpuff Girls charm dangling from his key ring, and led us to the lift. It went all the way to the top floor where he let us into his apartment.

It was… perfectly Oli. The place had a homely feel to it, not small enough to feel cramped, not big enough to get lost in the feeling of its vastness. I wanted to stay forever, go through his things, study the way he decorated, how he sorted his stuff, what he had kept over the years and what had gotten moved into a faraway closet that never got opened. All the things that made him tick.

The large bookcase was filled with novels that called out for me to leaf through, study their contents, let my fingers run along their spines, ask him which ones he had read yet, see how his collection compared to my much smaller one. Little trinkets and souvenirs from all over the world were placed in between. So many stories to tell. So many anecdotes I hadn’t gotten to hear yet.

My eyes fell on the floor-length windows. They provided a stunning view all over the city, lights twinkling in the dark. I could stay here and watch forever. If I could afford it, I’d surely get a place like this too. As I stepped closer, trying to avoid the glare from inside lights, the container in my hands almost bumped into the window pane. Right. The desserts.

“Oli, where do-”

While I had been exploring Oli’s living room, Noah had apparently started exploring Oli’s body. The takeaway boxes safely set on the counter of the open kitchen, the two of them were tightly intertwined. Oli was holding Noah close, his arms wrapped around the other’s waist as Noah perfectly molded himself to Oli’s chest. His own hands were impatiently touching his back, his arse, his shoulders, as if they couldn’t get enough of what they were feeling. It was a familiar sentiment.

I approached the pair, dropping the takeaway next to theirs, allowing my fingers to trail over both of their bodies. Noah pulled back when he realised, lips already red from the intense kiss.

“Bedroom?” I simply asked. Noah nodded enthusiastically as Oli untangled himself with a smirk. He led us through a short hallway, past his bathroom which seemed even more luxurious than the hotel ones I’d been fawning over, and into his bedroom, the second to last door.

It was much less decorated than the living area, but still drew me in. The dark carpet, heavy curtains that hid the window, the plush bed - the bed was large enough that, if I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed Oli had ordered it specifically for the three of us. We’d fit in much better than at the hotel which was more than an advantage for what we were planning to do that night.

Noah seemed to have the same thought as he pushed Oli onto the mattress, immediately dropping to his knees in front of him and starting to work on removing Oli’s trousers. Not wanting to be left out, I moved onto the bed as well, slowly unbuttoning Oli’s dress shirt, one by one, my fingers tracing over every inch of hot skin that revealed itself. Oli was already growing restless, one of his hands covering mine to speed up my movements, but I remained relentless.

I didn’t care to remove the shirt completely as I pushed the fabric away, revealing a chest full of tattoos I would never get sick of staring at. Oli’s breathing quickened as I let my fingertips run over the lines, his nipples, up his neck.

“Aubrey, I swear to god, if you don’t kiss me soon-”

I leaned down, letting my lips touch the shell of his ear, just as he had done in the cab.

“Yeah? Then what?”

I didn’t torture him by waiting for an answer, instead putting my lips on his with no further warning, immediately catching him in a passionate kiss. He sighed, then gasped into it, leaving me to wonder what Noah was currently up to, but when Oli tried to get me to open my mouth, deepen our connection further, I pulled back. His lips were tinted red now, a slight stain of my lipstick even on the skin around his mouth.

I wasn’t quite sure why yet, but it was a sight that utterly captivated me and made me adore him more. I wanted to kiss him stupid, leave my mark all over, see my lips all over his body, every day. I pressed another kiss on his cheek, then in the middle of the rose on his neck, where the red was losing itself in between the thicker, black lines, a colouring book I wanted to try all my shades on.

Looking behind me, I watched as Noah pulled Oli’s underwear down his legs, discarding them without much care, much too preoccupied with the way Oli’s dick bounced upward as it was freed from the fabric, already considerably hard and mouth-wateringly delicious. Feeling my stare on him, he managed to tear his gaze away, only to grin at me in the most devilish way, motioning for me to join him on the floor. I did without hesitation.

He pulled me in for a quick kiss, allowing me to leave more of my lipstick on him too, even though the marks were already becoming more faint in their intensity. I could only imagine the way my own face looked, colour shifting around my mouth, no precision left in the outline.

“Help me treat Oli right?” Noah whispered against my lips. “I bet he’ll love two mouths on his dick even more than one.”

He did. He couldn’t be blamed - I wasn’t sure how I’d cope if I had two pairs of lips, two tongues, playing with my pussy at the same time. As soon as Noah and I both started leaving teasing little kisses on Oli’s length, he dissolved into a puddle of moans. He was still propped up on his elbows, watching the two of us on our knees, so it was impossible to tell if it was just the feeling of it or the visual as well.

It wasn’t the most technically perfect blowjob in history as Noah and I kept clashing, getting more and more lost in our own lust of getting our mouths on Oli, tasting him, swallowing him, then licking him while the other person swallowed him. Oli’s hands were all over the place, completely uncoordinated as they grasped at the backs of our heads, our hair, the bedsheets, anything they could find. One of my hands had travelled to Noah’s crotch.

I was much too distracted to do much but enjoy the way he was growing in his trousers. Or how my knees were uncomfortably rubbing against the hard floor. My brain was clouded with lust and the need to get Oli to come. Tonight was going to be all about him, in away he’d let it, and just the thought of spending a few more hours with my hands on Oli, getting him high again and again, hopefully finally feeling his dick inside me, had me delirious.

“Fuck, I’m not gonna last,” Oli mumbled. When his hand found the back of my head again, gripping my hair and pulling me off him, it was with intention. His eyes were almost pleading when I looked up. “Can I-?”

I nodded before he posed the complete question. He could. In fact, I was gagging for it. As much as I’d enjoyed blowjobs before in my life, never had I been craving for their smells, their taste, their cum as much as I did with these two.

Noah pulled away, letting his fingers play with the part I wouldn’t manage to get in my mouth, fondling his balls, as I slowly took Oli as deep as I could without gagging, still missing a good portion, but all aspirations to swallow him whole would have to wait another day.

Oli wasn’t lying when he said he was close. His hips were starting to shift off the bed, fighting a losing battle as he tried to keep himself from fucking my mouth, his noises an amalgamation I wanted to record and put in a song. When he came, he did so with a punched-out sound, shallow thrusts that slowly stopped as I swallowed as much as I could. When I let him drop from my mouth, I could feel some of it dripping from my lips still. Noah caught me in a kiss, greedily licking at them until there was nothing left.

“Jesus Christ, you two are nasty,” Oli groaned, but all of us knew it was the opposite of a complaint. He sat up a little more, face flushed, looking utterly satisfied. “Now why the fuck are you still dressed?”

I stood up eagerly. The whole scene between the three of us had gotten me uncomfortably wet, my panties noticeably sticky. I didn’t care what exactly would follow, as long as it included an orgasm of my own sooner or later. I’d barely grasped the seam of my dress when Noah’s hands appeared on my legs. Their warmth seeped through my tights, mixing with the hotness of my own skin.

“Let me,” he whispered, still on his knees, hands travelling upward, slowly and teasingly, until they reached the hem of my tights. He rolled down the fabric, over my thighs, where he paused to press a kiss to the snake tattoo, over my knees, my shins. He only stopped to take off my boots, then resumed his task, until my feet and legs were bare.

For a moment, as I looked down, Noah on his knees before me, those big brown eyes staring up at me, adoration radiating from his whole being, his hands under my dress, it felt like a worship I wasn’t deserving of.

Then, he got up to pull the dress over my head before I could ruminate on it or start to cry. Noah never let me miss his touch for too long, toying with the clasp of my bra as he peppered kisses all over the side of my neck, finally unhooking and removing it completely, only for his lips to attach themselves to my nipples. I couldn’t seem to do much but take it all in, sighing at each and every touch, purely giving into pleasure.

His fingers were tracing over the fabric, so lightly I could barely feel it at all, but it was enough to cause my knees to buckle and my hands to grasp onto his body for fear of falling. I was so hopelessly turned on, every tiny thing had me losing my mind.

“She’s so fucking wet, she’s basically dripping on my fingers,” Noah chuckled. “Where do you want her?”

“Right here, on my face.”

I stiffened immediately, eyes snapping open and staring at Oli, who had gotten comfortable on the bed, in all his naked glory, motioning for me to join him. I felt equal parts insecure and excited - I’d never sat on anyone’s face. Not only had no one ever offered, I was also terrified of being too much. My thighs suffocating the other person. Looking awful from their angle. Not being able to come because I was so tense from holding myself up so desperately.

But Oli… Oli wasn’t just looking at me with lust. He wasn’t doing this for any reason but because he craved it. Because he knew he could make it good for me. And, even if my heart was beating out of my chest with nerves, I trusted him.

“I thought tonight was going to be all about you?” I teased, still stalling. Noah was busy pulling my underwear down my legs, tapping on each ankle in turn so I would lift my feet, aiding him in removing the item.

“Who said this is anything but a treat for me?”

Somehow, that sealed the deal. On slightly shaky legs, I crossed the short distance, climbed on the bed and then hesitated as I kneeled next to Oli’s body.

“How-”

I didn’t need to finish the question. Oli, once again, knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Face that way,” he ordered, motioning toward the room, toward the other man. “I’m sure Noah can think of something to make it even better for you.”

With a nod, I awkwardly climbed over Oli’s body, trying to position myself over his face, much too preoccupied with what I was doing and how it would look and whether I might squish Oli to watch the other man. I found myself shuffling, again and again, the muscles in my thighs straining as I held myself up. I didn’t know where to put my hands, or whether to lean in any particular way. Even Noah removing his tight turtleneck and shoving down his trousers couldn’t sufficiently distract me.

“Aubrey, what the fuck are you doing,” Oli mumbled from underneath me, making me halt in my movements.

“I just-”

“It’s called sitting on someone’s face, not hovering.”

I was about to protest, but then his hands heavily grasped onto my thighs, pulling me down so decidedly that I had no option to fight against it, and then, the words still on my tongue, he licked through my wetness and I was so over convincing him of anything that didn’t include his mouth on me.

A moan was ripped from my throat as I dropped my hands forward onto Oli’s chest. Fuck. I’d severely underestimated just how turned on I was. His tongue was flicking my clit ever so slightly, every now and then, before going back to explore the rest of my pussy, and I was already throbbing.

Noah crawled onto the bed next to us, fully naked now, his hard cock standing proudly, and somehow, the pure sight of it heightened my arousal. I ground my hips downward, unable to get enough of Oli, but his hands, clasped tightly on my thighs, kept me exactly where he wanted me. It was as exhilarating as it was frustrating.

I was desperate to come now. I was desperate to feel something inside of me, too, in addition to Oli’s tongue on my clit, but I didn’t want to beg. Not yet. And this night was about Oli - if he’d wanted his fingers in me, they would already be there. All I could do was let myself fall into the sensations, trust that his teasing would result in an orgasm, and study Noah, who was now climbing onto Oli’s frame as well.

I watched as he took his own cock in his hand, admiring the way his fingers looked wrapped around it, then he ground his hips against Oli’s. Oli’s dick gave a twitch in response, ready to grow hard once again, and the moan vibrated through me so deliciously that I felt like screaming. I kept eye contact with Noah through it, as difficult as it was becoming. His smile told me he knew exactly what he was doing - both to Oli and to me.

With a sly grin, Noah repeated his action. His whole body shuddered at the contact, obviously desperate for release, but his focus was solely on Oli and me. Oli moaned again, loud enough that I could both hear and feel it, and it was good, it was so much more than good, and I needed it badly, so, so badly. Noah knew. He grasped onto both of their dicks now, wrapping his long fingers about him and Oli, getting the other more and more hard, jacking both of them off.

Oli was growing restless again, his hips thrusting upward to meet Noah’s movements, his mouth now constantly moaning against me, his vibrations ever increasing. He closed his lips around my clit now, so delicately and yet strongly enough and I came, shouting and screaming and clawing at his chest as my legs trembled and then gave in, almost dropping fully on Oli’s body.

Noah was quicker, though, catching me easily, strong hands holding me up until I managed to drop onto the mattress as all of my muscles refused to work. Then he bent down toward Oli and I turned my head just quickly enough to see the wetness I had left on Oli’s face and how Noah proceeded to kiss all of it away.

Oli lost himself in it for a moment, but he wouldn’t let Noah have the upper hand for long. With a quick move, he turned the two of them around, trapping Noah against the mattress. Noah, so tall and broad, suddenly looked utterly smitten and small underneath him.

“How have we gone so long without my mouth on your dick,” Oli mused as he kissed his way down Noah’s chest. “You already got to suck me off twice.” He was now palming Noah’s dick, his mouth stilling somewhere along his hips. “Now it’s time for me to get mine. You gonna be a good boy, Noah? Keep your hips still so I can blow you? You better be or this is gonna be over before you know it.”

Noah nodded, eagerly, falling into this submissive role with ease, which I couldn’t help but take note of. It was fascinating watching him, who was always so self-assured and in control on stage, let go of it all and simply put himself into Oli’s hands, knowing and trusting he would get exactly what he needed, if not always what he wanted.

Oli’s mouth hovered over Noah’s dick now, his breath already hitting the tip, but before he gave into Noah’s wishes, he turned his head toward me. I’d since sat up, craving nothing more than a front-row seat to the spectacle as my body slowly came back to life.

“And you be a good girl too and prepare yourself for me, yeah? I’m going to fuck you when he’s finished and I’m not going to put any fingers in you first.”

My face was heating up with such intensity, I could only imagine how red it was. But I, too, nodded, shifting my body slightly and parting my legs, ready to do as he asked. What I was seeing in front of me would drench me once again in no time anyway.

Oli engulfed Noah’s tip without any further hesitation now. Noah’s hands flew to the back of Oli’s head, halting in their movements immediately but then relaxing into his hair as he realised Oli wasn’t going to scold him for it. I let my fingers wander between my thighs, another wave of wetness hitting me as I watched the two men. Oli had clearly done his research, expertly bobbing his head, taking Noah a little deeper, but keeping to the rules he had put to Noah just days before to save his voice for the rest of the tour and moving his hand to pleasure all of him.

When I slipped a finger inside of me, I found no resistance, just slick walls begging for more, begging to be filled properly, so I let another finger join. The noises of me pumping my fingers in and out were impossible to ignore, but they still paled in comparison to Noah’s low groans and the way Oli was starting to drool around Noah’s cock.

The third finger was a stretch, but Oli was big enough that I knew I needed it to take him comfortably. I didn’t mind it. I enjoyed it just that bit more if it was a little too much, a little too intense, a little too fast. I would probably love taking Oli without any preparation at all. I pushed the thought away for another day.

Noah was close now. I could tell from the noises that escaped his mouth, the way his fingers were all but tearing at Oli’s hair. He had trouble keeping his hips down, but if there was one thing to know about Oli is that his threats usually weren’t empty. Oli sped up further, both his mouth and his hand. I quickly removed my fingers from my pussy, just in time, as Noah came, moaning so beautifully, unable to stop thrusting into Oli’s mouth once, twice. I would have come on the spot too if I’d still been touching myself.

Oli pulled himself off, licking up everything that had escaped him from Noah’s cock, who whined pitifully. The way he wiped his mouth on his hand almost seemed obscene. Even after all that had transpired already. Noah was busy catching his breath, eyes closed, looking utterly satisfied. Oli, however, was far from done.

Crawling over to the bedside table, he opened the uppermost drawer. Filled with condoms, lube and wipes, as far as I could see, it obviously served as his closest assembly of anything he could need for spontaneous sex. Though I didn’t doubt he’d have a much bigger collection of things somewhere else. He blindly grabbed one of the condoms, tearing it open and rolling it onto his thick, hard erection. My mouth was watering already. In an instant, he was on me, pulling me into a bruising kiss.

“How did he fuck you, Aubrey?” His lips was wandering from my neck down to my chest, pushing me backwards until I was lying flat, then letting his teeth graze over my nipples. I cried out at the feeling, sensitive to a fault and yet not getting anywhere near enough. “Did you do it missionary, like an old couple? Did he make you ride him, watch your pretty tits bounce? No… He did you from behind, didn’t he?”

His hands harshly grabbed onto my hips and before I knew it, Oli had turned me on my front, pulling me up to my knees in front of him. I propped myself up on my elbows, ready to let him do whatever he wanted to me as long as it involved his dick in me. His fingertips were digging into my flesh now, hard enough that I knew it would leave bruises. I couldn’t wait to see them.

“Let’s see who can do it better, doll.”

I didn’t have any more time to prepare as he pushed in roughly, not stopping until he was entirely buried in me and I was crying out at the delicious stretch. He felt amazing in me, even without moving, but when he finally did, it brought me to new heights without any trouble at all. He didn’t show any mercy, thrusting so hard that the bed was moving along with us, the sound of skin slapping echoing the room. I gave myself over to him completely, allowing him to treat me however he liked, utterly brainless, unable to care about anything but the fire in my lower belly burning hotter and hotter.

I barely realised Noah was moving, much too distracted by the way Oli was fucking me to take note of anything else, until he appeared in my field of vision, fumbling with the drawer Oli had left open. Curious, I tried my best to lift my head to see what his plan was, but Oli gave me another hard thrust that caused my arms to falter completely, my chest hitting the mattress. I didn’t try to hoist myself up again.

I heard a click, some shuffling behind me, then-

“Fuck!” Oli exclaimed, pushing into me again with a shudder. “Oh, fuck.”

I didn’t know what had just changed, but suddenly, Oli was a mess, irregular in how he fucked me. I pushed back into him, missing the rhythm he had established, but he was still slightly distracted.

“Fuck, Noah, that’s-”

I allowed myself to turn my head, struggling with the position, but managing just enough to see Noah standing behind Oli. There was no way to see exactly what was happening, but with the way Oli was now arching both toward me and toward Noah, his body seemingly unable to decide which way to go and-

“Did Noah just put a finger in your arse?”

“Two, love. Two;” Oli moaned, losing control at the treatment. Then, as if remembering his main goal, he crowded against my back, positioning me just the way he liked and fucked me hard, again, bringing me to the brink of my orgasm in a matter of moments.

I was loving the sounds in the room, the filthy atmosphere, the way Oli and I were chasing our heights, the way Noah made himself part of it, how Oli faltered under it. It was only a matter of moments, my own hand reaching between my legs, and then I was clenching around Oli, crying out at the force that hit me, riding it until I felt utterly spent, letting Oli, who was now nothing but a sweaty mess against my back, fuck me harshly until he came too, shooting into the condom with high-pitched moans.

Oli just about managed to pull out before collapsing on my back, pressing me into the mattress, until I started struggling underneath him, his ever heavier growing figure leaving me gasping for a breath I wasn’t able to catch yet anyway. Noah was the one who ended up providing the most aftercare, stashing the lube he’d used on Oli, passing around wipes and water he got from somewhere I couldn’t quite follow, but he was also the only one out of us whose brain still seemed to work at least a little.

I ended up making grabby hands at him like a little child as the sweat on my body slowly turned cold, leaving an entirely different type of goosebumps to wreak havoc on my skin. Noah saw, pulling the plush blanket up with him as he got into bed next to me, making sure to tuck both me and Oli in before hugging close to me.

Oli was still on his back, staring at the ceiling, apparently questioning… his life, maybe? He certainly looked like it. I figured it might have had something to do with the surprise action he got from behind this time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a first for him.

Oli, who always seemed so experience, never showed any hesitation or shyness about anything we did, surely had his boundaries too. And letting someone finger his arse surely wasn’t something he casually shared with a lot of people. What would that mean for the two of them? Noah had taken a brave step today. All I could hope was that it would open a door to more between the two of them. I knew they wanted it; they simply needed to admit it too.

Noah was still nestled into my side when Oli finally decided it was time to cuddle for him as well. There was no room for talking, not tonight. All of the unspoken things were going to be left to fester in our brains for a little while more, threatening to become more clear as the post-orgasmic haze lifted bit by bit, but I was hoping we’d be drifting off to sleep before it engulfed us. Talking was for tomorrow. No travelling, very few things on the agenda, a hometown show at night. It could wait.

Oli’s mouth was on my neck, nuzzling his nose into my hair. But this time, his warm breath was comforting instead of arousing. Until he left a much-too-hard bite on my earlobe, obnoxious as usual, and I blindly swatted at his head.

I was just about to drift off, fully comfortable sandwiched between the two men, when Oli spoke up.

“So, who fucked you better, doll, me or Noah?”

I wanted to be appalled, offended or at least pretend I was, but all that happened was that an insane giggle left my mouth, shaking my whole body until it had spread to the sides and taken Oli and Noah as well. Noah buried his head into the other side of my neck as I awkwardly slung my arm around him. Turning my face toward Oli, I grabbed onto his chin just enough to move his mouth to mine, pressing a short but heavy kiss against it.

“Guess you’ll both have to fuck me during the same evening for optimal comparisons.”

[wanderingelvis]

Hi, So can you do one with innocent reader where like she meets the mafia for the first time and they ask her sexual questions but she like wtf.

I love this!! I love interactions with the Mafia! Thank you for the request, enjoy! 🧚🏻

🧚🏻 Masterlist 🧚🏻

word count: 1,448

pairing: elvis x female!reader

warnings: mention of religion and sex

You were spending time in Elvis' lavish hotel suite with Elvis and the Mafia as you all took a break from the constant and relentless routine of shows. You'd just joined them all on the road as a backing singer and Elvis had taken an instant liking to you. You were docile and compliant, happy to do whatever he, or anyone else, wanted. He loved that he could mold you into whatever he wanted without taking away from your bubbly little personality.

You liked Elvis too, he never really pushed your limits like your singing coach would or some of the executives on the tour would. He was a safe haven. However, the same couldn't really be said for his entourage, the Memphis Mafia. It's not that you didn't like them, you just figured they didn't like you. You were quiet, reserved and shy and they were all the entire opposite of that. 

They hadn't really bothered to interact with you much either, they would barely even glance your way usually. Little did you know that they knew better than to speak to you. You were Elvis' little girl only.

Right now, you were busy telling Elvis all about how excited you were at the prospect of performing at a local carnival show, that it might be your biggest audience yet and that you were nervous but eager to do it.

"Pretty girl like you is gonna have all the boys and men flocking to you after that little show you give 'em. But I bet you're already used to that." Elvis mused, brushing away a curl of hair that had fallen in front of you face.

"Well, no actually." You said, oblivious the eyes staring down at her from one of the most famous men in the world, as well as his entourage.

"No?"

"No boy back home would even wanna come near me, they were all scared of my Momma," You softly giggled, remembering all the times your mother would practically bark at a boy that even looked in you direction. It had always been embarrassing and you were still terrified of crossing your mother.

"Wait, hang on a minute," A voice interrupted, you followed the sound and you were met with Sonny West, who was sitting on the couch opposite you, drinking whisky and smoking his cigar, listening in on the tales you were telling Elvis.

"So you've never...?" Sonny interrupted, taking a sip of his drink. You shook your head, sitting upright on the plush couch as Elvis walked over to the drinks table to pour himself and you a drink. "You're telling me, you've never even taken a mans fingers?" He said, clearly overstepping, but you were just a little confused.

You looked over to Elvis who was just watching the interaction play out, and gave you a reassuring nod. He knew that Sonny was prone to a drink or two and could get out of hand.

"Um... no, um, I don't think so." You said quietly.

"Fuck, tell me you've at least had your first kiss." Sonny said, cracking up at the idea of your lack of sexual history. You politely and sweetly stayed quiet, just shaking your head a little. Sonny's eyes widened when he realised you were being serious, laughing even more. When you looked over at Elvis, his eyes were dark and intense, trained just on you.

"Sonny." Elvis said sharply, but it went over Sonny's head. Elvis could see you were uncomfortable and he knew Sonny was being an ass.

"EP, c'mon!" Sonny said, before turning back to you. "You must be pretty glad you're in the Hollywood scene now then, eh kid? You'll get a guy and everything that comes with it with a bat of an eyelash." Sonny chuckled.

"M'not a prude, I just wanna save it all for when I'm married, I want it to be real special. My best friend, Patty, she's done it all and that's okay, I ain't gonna judge none," You insisted, you knew how liberal and carefree Hollywood was, you knew that you were surrounded by different lifestyles, you just didn't want anyone to think that you thought less of them for it, because you didn't. Sonny let out a booming laugh, causing everyone's heads to turn to him and your cheeks to flush, worried you'd said the wrong thing.

"Waiting until marriage? Honey, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time, you're not eighty years old sweetheart." He patronised, chuckling to himself. You chewed on her lip a little, feeling a little stupid. "It's just what, um, m-my pastor says God wants." You said softly, crossing your arms to cover your chest a little, feeling insecure. You didn't really like all of the 'Mafia', you knew Jerry was nice and you could see why he was Elvis' favourite, but Sonny and Red weren't as friendly.

Sonny slapped his thigh as he burst into more laughter. "I thought this generation were supposed to be all loving, what happened huh? God?! It's like my mother's here." He chuckled. "Woah now, if Y/N wants to wait for marriage, she ain't gotta justify it to you Sonny. Really, it ain't got a goddamn thing to do with you does it, Son?" Elvis said, almost menacingly, to his friend. "Why don't you go find somebody else to berate rather than picking on the little girl huh? Goes for all of you, get outta here." Elvis said, nodding at the door before sending you a wink, making a smile creep onto your face before you felt your cheeks get hot. Sonny's cheeks also flushed, embarrassed at being scolded by the Boss, but none of the Mafia wasted any time in getting out of the dressing room, leaving you and Elvis alone. "Sorry about Sonny, he likes to think his goddamn opinion is more important than it actually is." Elvis said gently, sitting back down next to his sweet girl, who was still sitting firmly upright, not relaxed in the slightest. You looked up at Elvis with confusion on your face and a furrowed brow, which Elvis thought was the cutest thing he ever did see. "D'ya think I'm silly?" You asked softly, worrying that maybe your admission might make Elvis think differently about you.

"I think you'd be silly if you rushed yourself and made yourself unhappy." Elvis comforted, making your shoulders stop tensing. You shot him a quick nervous smile.

"Just want it t'feel right." You mumbled, picking at your fingers.

"I know, I won't let them upset you again little one." Elvis promised, pulling you onto his lap effortlessly to give you a cuddle, the type of cuddle you loved having with Elvis.

You felt so comforted and looked after by Elvis, he could be surrounded by anyone and yet he'd ask one of the Mafia to find you because that's who he wanted. You weren't sure yet as to why, but you never complained, you loved being in his company.

As your mind wandered, thinking about all the ways that Elvis made you feel good, your eyes widened with an idea.

"Elvis?" You asked as he hummed in response. "Would you give me my first kiss now?" You asked shyly, nerves flooding your little body as you peered up at him to gauge his reaction.

Elvis studied your face before shaking his head. "Baby, you're not ready, you know that, don't ya?" Elvis cooed.

"I just-"

"I know sweetheart. But you're not ready for all of that, you're just lettin' Sonny's words get to ya." Elvis assured softly.

"I know." You said, feeling a little embarrassed and defeated, even if you knew that Elvis was right, he always knew what was best for you, better than you did at this point.

Elvis watched you and all he wanted to do was kiss you, rip your babydoll dress off you and fuck you senseless. He'd imagined it more times than he'd like to admit and he couldn't wait for the day that he'd finally be kissing your soft skin all over. He knew that that day would come, but he knew it would only live up to his expectations if you were ready, and he knew you weren't.

"How's about I make you a deal then, baby?" Elvis suggested, gently tilting your chin up so that you would be looking at him. "How's about, when you're absolutely sure you're ready, you come find me, and I'll give ya a kiss?" Elvis proposed.

You giggled a little at the idea, but you liked it. You didn't feel pressured, only looked after.

"'Kay." You said gently, another giggle leaving your lips.

The pair of you smiled at each other, each letting out little laughs and enjoying each others company as Elvis decided to count the days until he got his kiss.

[xxsquiddkiddxx]

~John Bender x Reader (in the form of "headcanons")~

Relationship type: Mostly Platonic (breifly romantic), Strangers to Friends to Lovers

Content Warnings: Fem Y/N, Swearing, John being a lil bit of a douche.

(I took some inspiration from the outtakes of the movie... and if you've never watched them? You should. They're HILARIOUS.)

Y'all definitely met in detention. You were brought in for some stupid reason, like accidentally back-sassing a substitute teacher or something like that.

He first got your attention in detention (hehe I rhymed) by blabbering nonsense in a ridiculous tone, to the point of screaming "AHH" over and over. You end up slowly turning to tell him to shut up. His response?

"Take a photo, it'll last longer, sweets."

If you think he made fun of you.... You're 100% right. He RELENTLESSLY made fun of you. Like... that shit brought you to tears at one point.

He felt like an asshole afterwards though. After you're done crying and you ignore him for an hour or so, he did apologize... in the most John Bender like fashion: punching your shoulder lightly and mumbling a "sorry".

Near the end of detention, you two look at each other and pretty much tell one another that y'all would never be friends out of that library. It was pretty much a mutual agreement that you two would NEVER interact again, even if you had mutual friends.

Months later, you're invited to a party by Claire. She's been a friend of yours for a few years now, and she, and I quote, told you: "You need to get your ass out of the house and actually talk to people."

You didn't WANT to... but you did.

She gave you the location and the time, pretty much making it so you hs no choice but TO go to this stupid party. But eh, you'd probably chill for a few, then bounce.

You didn't get 20 steps in when- what do you know? Guess who was leaning against the wall, cigarette resting in his mouth as he fished around in his pocket for a lighter?

John-Fucking-Bender.

You try your best to stay out of his gaze. Staying at least 20 feet away from where he was. Pretty much hoping and praying to whatever God was out there that Bender didn't see you.

Yeah he saw you.

He surprisingly talked to you, mostly small talk. But then y'all talk more and more and more and suddenly you both are so deep in conversation that you hardly notice the lack of people around you two.

So maybe you two were able to be friends :)

When the next school day hit, a lot of people were shocked to see you two in the hallways together, laughing about a joke that he'd made.

A lot of people thought y'all were dating.

When I say "thought", I mean "they pretty much assumed and spread it around the whole school."

You had to fight dating allegations for MONTHS on end. It was always "No, we're not dating." "No, I don't have feelings for Bender."

Chat, you're a LIAR.

You were starting to have feelings, but you weren't gonna talk about it of course. Talking about FEELINGS? Fuckin weird, man.

The same was on his end. He wasn't gonna say NUTHIN. He literally was head over heels for you, but the day he admits that is the day he regurgitates a shoe and bakes it in the oven.

He confessed first... in an argument.

He started to distance himself a little bit from you. I mean, come on, John Bender? In a RELATIONSHIP? Get fuckin' real.

This goes on for about a month until you finally confront him about it. Like the premise of the whole argument was a span of:

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Cuz."

"Cuz why? Do you hate me or something?"

"Cuz."

Then y'all squabble more and more until he finally cracks and says he's avoiding you cuz he wants this stupid feeling to go away.

You have a heart-to-heart chat with one another and end up getting into a relationship.

You two agree to start slow, not really telling anyone and just staying friends to the public eye. Nothing too fast.

Yeah, that lasted like 2 hours.

It wasn't nessicarily John's fault. The dude trying to flirt with you just happened to have his face in the way of where John's fist wanted to be.

Take a wild guess who ended up in detention that Saturday?

Yep, he did.

A/N: I haven't actually written fanfiction in YEARS. The sad lack of John fanfiction made me finally come back XDDDDD It's dogwater and I wrote it in an Applebee's. Have this ig

~Squeed

[jiminrings]

U KNOWWWWW I HAVE TO ASK FOR SOME ANGST MISS JAY EM RINGS!!!! pretty pretty pls can we get a 478 drabble where oc is a lil more emotional and sensitive and jungkook accidentally upsets her for whatever reason

478: drabble

alternatively, jungkook says the wrong thing at the wrong time :(

[ 478 masterlist ]

You’re a little more anxious as you let it out to be.

Being just a week away from approaching your second trimester, you’ve been filled with so much nervousness regarding every single thing that you do, not just pregnancy-wise. You’ve been reevaluating everything that’s on your shoulders, the most pressing of them being the fact that the first trimester’s the most sensitive.

Except from the occasional morning sickness, the lethargy, and the ever-pressing matter of you overthinking things — your pregnancy’s going along well.

So well that sometimes it doesn’t cross your mind that your taste (and basically your whole worldview) is bound to change.

The minute you step into the bathroom to shower, Jungkook’s just gotten out of it to get his day started (read: prep your meals for work) and although your attention would normally be fixated first on the fact that he only has a towel wrapped around his waist, something else catches your attention and it irks you.

You catch a whiff of his perfume, (un)pleasantly reminded by the fact that he sprays himself with it twice; first on his bare skin, then second on his clothes when he’s all dressed. It’s only Jungkook’s first layer of perfume and yet it already riles you up for all the wrong reasons.

“Is that you?”

“Is what me?” he furrows his eyebrows, catching your drift when he sees your nose upturning. Jungkook trails off, a smirk already forming on his face this early in the morning. “Yes…? I’ve been using the same perfume for like, years, baby.”

“I don’t like it,” you quip immediately. “It’s making me nauseous.”

“What? But I love this perfume,” Jungkook frowns, taken aback because he swears you were all over with him just yesterday over his scent.

You did love the perfume. You’ve loved it for years and for some reason, the smell of cotton and musk turned sour for you overnight, making you grimace.

“You make me wanna puke.”

“Fine, I’ll change it,” Jungkook dramatically sighs, rolling his eyes playfully. His voice lilts into a tease, bottom lip jutting out before pecking your cheek. “After everything I do for you?”

Maybe it’s because of the fog on your head, and maybe it’s also because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed because you literally can’t sleep properly.

It’s that lilt in his voice, the same lilt you know would be playful for you at every other occasion, that also turned sour in your head by the minute.

“What about everything I do for you?” you mumble, brows slightly furrowed. It’s a surprise that he even hears your question.

Jungkook can’t catch on that you’re not joking with him like how he’s teasing you at the moment. He mistakes your genuine self-doubt to be your stellar acting just as always.

He shrugs, a mischievous smile on his lips. “Eh. You’re doing fine.”

The joking tone never reaches your ears because they already started ringing the moment you smelled your husband’s perfume. It never reaches you because you can’t help but to feel wired this way, literally, and you just can’t help it —

You can’t help but to feel upset.

You weren’t doing good. Not even great at the slightest. You’re doing just fine and fine isn’t good enough for you — not when you’re at the crux of your career and you have to juggle it with being pregnant; becoming a first-time mom in just a matter of months.

You go through the motions of preparing yourself for work, mechanically staying put when Jungkook kisses you goodbye.

Even after filming, you stay back on set to nab yourself an early copy of the script for your next episode and ask for notes from the director of what he needed from you; of everything that you’re lacking now that you want to give

You’ve hung back even longer than Jimin and soon enough, you realize that it’s only some of the crew that you’re alone with — them, and Yoongi.

“You okay?” Yoongi asks with a tap on your shoulder that snaps you out of your reference, surprising himself when you jolt in the slightest. He’s concerned at the way you did so good today but no one’s barely gotten a word out of you outside of filming, the look of worry etched on your face even now. “You look out of it.”

The question is warranted, although sudden in your perspective. You’re so out of it that you didn’t even know that everybody noticed.

You’re snapped out from your reverie because in either courage or foolery, you delve deeper. Yoongi’s a treasured friend to you and he would never lie; you have to hear it from him of all people.

“Am I doing great?” you ask, your lips pursed as you’re already anticipating the worst.

Yoongi doesn’t even flinch despite being slightly confused, a comforting smile immediately gracing his face.

“Of course you are,” he answers. “You’re already a great mom.”

The tears build up in your eyes so quick that you’re momentarily blinded by them, crying into the heels of your hands as an aftermath. Yoongi’s frozen on what he should do from seeing you so vulnerable.

“I didn’t even say where am I doing great at. I-I didn’t have to,” you sob. For all he knows, you could be asking about your performance at work and yet it wasn’t the first thing his mind went to. “You already knew.”

“Hey, hey. Everybody knows you’re great. The baby isn’t even here yet and you’re already doing so well,” he shushes you, tentatively rubbing comforting circles on your back. You seem to calm down by the minute, and the moment you stop hiccuping, he offers. “Need a ride?”

Yoongi opens the door for you, drives you with no question, and even leads you up to the steps of your front door. He doesn’t hang back to greet Jungkook because he has a hint that there’s some trouble in paradise, hesitant to cross lines this late into the evening so he heads back to his car.

When you come back home to Jungkook though, he’s a nervous mess.

“Where have you been?” he shoots straight up from the couch, eyes and hands frantically checking you over.

“Work. Where else?” you mumble, slyly dodging a hand that comes up to your cheek.

Jungkook knew there was something off from you since you left but he can’t place it even now; even when you came home late with your eyes still refusing to meet his.

“It’s already past midnight. It’s the next day. Why didn’t you tell me you’d be out this late? You told me today was a quick shoot,” he starts, grinding his jaw when he hears you huff under your breath. 

You don’t seem to take him seriously, not even the panic that’s clear on his face and from the couple hundred texts he sent you that you didn’t even read.

“I’m a big girl, Jungkook,” you mutter, shrugging your shoulders. “I’m — we’re here in one piece. Yoongi drove me home anyway.”

“Where was Jimin?” he inquires instantly. “He’s your manager. Why didn’t he wait for you? He knows you’re pregnant, he wouldn’t let you strain yourself like this.”

On normal days, you’d have the patience to explain why Jimin sometimes doesn’t see you through the end of your endeavors. Technically, your work was already done hours before, it was just you who didn’t want to come home at the time.

But today’s the furthest thing from a normal day.

“I’m doing just fine, Jungkook. Stop worrying about me.”

“Of course I’m gonna worry about you! The two of you! Why didn’t you-…” he strains, gesturing to your stomach.

“Well then stop!” you burst, finally letting loose. “After everything you do for me, stop worrying.”

Your husband instantly freezes, the recollection of almost this same exact scene earlier into the morning playing out in his head.

His chest tightens, eyes wide and unblinking.

“Is this about what I said?”

“I don’t know, Jungkook. I don’t fucking know, okay? I’m anxious and I’m on edge with everything and-…” you inhale sharply, running a hand through your hair. The lump that builds in your throat gets in the way, making you screw your eyes shut. “Just… shut up sometimes. I don’t need to hear what I’m thinking about myself from you. I don’t want to know I’m doing a shit job.”

“You’re not doing a shit job. You’re great at everything,” Jungkook interjects, his face falling at how dense he could be. “I-I… I was only joking around awhile ago, I swear. I didn’t mean it.”

He made you feel this way and he wants nothing else but to beat himself up over it, your husband’s mind running a hundred miles per hour just thinking of how utterly stupid he has to be to even joke about it.

“I’m sorry, baby. I should’ve reeled it in sooner. I’m not gonna do jokes like that again, I promise,” Jungkook embraces you desperately, his close proximity to you making you take notice that he’s wearing a different perfume.

If you think about it longer, the perfume Jungkook’s wearing right now smells like yours.

“Perfect mom. Perfect actress. Perfect wife, everything,” he mumbles against your temple, pressing small warm kisses to your face. “You give me beyond everything that I could do for you. You’re growing a human inside you and I’m just standing here.”

“You don’t just stand around,” you mutter, slowly reciprocating his hug. “You make efforts for me too.”

“Not as great as what you do for me,” he corrects. “For us.”

Jungkook figures it’ll be a sleepless night for him because he’ll be tossing and turning just regretting what he did, but at the very least, he knows he’ll be sleepless with you.

“Do you forgive me? You don’t have to right now. I’ll still mope and you can sleep on it,” he asks. “I can sleep on the floor tonight.”

“Not even the couch?” you joke, your snort making him smile briefly.

“Sleeping on the couch wouldn’t be a punishment.”

“You want to repent so bad?” you joke with mischief painted on your face and yet it doesn’t register on him.

“Of course I do,” Jungkook nods, the playfulness never reaching his ears because he’s entirely serious. “You’re too good for me.”

[tenebraevesper]

Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Team Dark Arc)

[...]

''Take that!'' Sonic went for a kick, with Shadow blocking his attack with his arm.

Smirking, he grabbed Sonic's leg and swung him around before throwing him away, only for Sonic to do a backflip and safely land on his feet, his gloves scraping the ground as he braced himself. Shadow rushed towards him, but he was ready, using what appeared to be a breakdancing move to kick Shadow off his feet, then quickly pinned him down by his arms to make sure he wasn't getting up. Both hedgehogs were breathing heavily, still feeling the adrenaline surging from their fight, but also knowing that the fatigue would be kicking in soon. Sonic smirked as he looked down at Shadow, gazing into his red eyes.

''Looks like I win this time,'' he said smugly, with Shadow furrowing a brow as he stared back, clearly not pleased by his loss. Sonic chuckled lightly, getting up and extending his hand to Shadow. The dark hedgehog accepted it, getting up. ''You know, I think I'm getting much better at this 'being cornered in an area where I cannot use my speed' type of combat. Don't you think the same, Shads?''

Shadow, knowing very well that Sonic was just fishing from a compliment, folded his arms across his chest. ''The student is only as good as their teacher.''

Sonic's happy gaze turned into a half-lidded stare with a sweatdrop forming. ''Eh, is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?''

''Interpret it however you want,'' Shadow replied, walking up to the tree below which they had placed their bento boxes. Sonic just stared at him, before grinning.

''It's a compliment then!'' he said proudly. Both sat down under the tree, opening the bento boxes, with Sonic staring hungrily at his. He had to admit that hard training made him really hungry, even though he was a bit disappointed it wasn't his favorite food. Although, he had heard enough of Lucas nagging him to eat other stuff rather than just chili dogs, and he figured that a cheap bento box would be enough. He glanced at Shadow, who already opened his and was eating it in silence. ''Hope you like the lunch!''

''It is fine,'' Shadow replied without a beat, placing another batch of rice in his mouth. Sonic didn't appear to be too bothered by that response and just decided to dig in. Things were pretty silent for most of the time, with Shadow reaching out for the red and black bottle next to him. He was about to drink it when he felt weight on his shoulder, his eyes darting o the side as a frown formed on his expression.

Sonic smushed his face against Shadow's shoulder, looking at the bottle curiously. ''What are you drinking?''

Shadow, a bit irked by the sudden invasion of his private space, replied, ''It's just normal water.''

''Oh, I see.'' Sonic suddenly backed away, realizing that he got a bit too close, but didn't completely back away. ''I thought you would be drinking coffee.''

Shadow's expression remained unchanging, even though he had to admit that he was a bit amused by Sonic's assumption, ''I mainly drink coffee in the morning, and it would be a bad idea to drink it after a training session. Not to mention, I don't trust you to take it, even if accidentally, because the last thing you need is caffeine.''

Sonic paused, then chuckled. ''Yeah, you're right. I'm already full of energy, so I don't need that.''

Shadow just sighed in response, noting that, while Sonic is more than capable with keeping up with him, be it in combat or speed, he had to wonder whether he could match Sonic's infinite energy. Unlike Sonic, who was a social butterfly, ready to strike up a conversations with strangers and turn them into his friends, while Shadow grew tired and weary of just standing in a crowd, not wanting to talk more than necessary, even if it were his own teammates. He did come to acknowledge them as his friends, but that didn't mean that he was going to spend time with them in a way not related to whatever task he was asked to perform.

So, how did he end up spending so much time with Sonic, even engaging in small talk?

Shadow closed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest as he remembered how all of this had started. Sonic came several days ago to the Kageura residence, reminding Shadow of how he wanted to learn how to fight in a situation where he couldn't use his superspeed, and Shadow agreed easily. After all, it was just training to improve Sonic's combat skills, who was a quick learner and developed his own way of fighting. Once the training was done, Shadow would try to leave, but was stopped by Sonic, who would either keep him talking by asking him about specific techniques or even invite him for lunch. Shadow would get caught up in those conversations as Sonic seemed to have an infinite amount of questions and he was patient enough to answer all of them, only to realize that their conversation would slowly steer towards something more mundane, like the weather. As for the invitation for lunch, Shadow considered it a payment for the training sessions, something Sonic didn't disagree with. Since Shadow wasn't too fond off the idea of constantly eating chilli dogs, Sonic offered to buy them bento boxes at the local grocery store instead.

As a matter of fact, Shadow had noticed that Sonic wanted to spend more and more time with him, clearly happy to just be in his company, even if they were sitting in complete silence. Actually, Shadow was quite surprised that Sonic was able to keep silent for so long, but he wasn't going to complain. He would usually just lean back and just take everything in, completely relaxing. Shadow, on the other hand, had a hard time relaxing, his mind always filled by some kind of worry.

A life filled with peace is impossible for me. Shadow sighed, only to hear Sonic sigh as well.

''I should've bought another bento box,'' Sonic muttered, looking at the empty container, clearly still hungry. He rose an eyebrow when a half-eaten container was shoved under his nose, realizing that Shadow was giving it to him. ''But, aren't you hungry?''

''I'll be fine,'' Shadow replied. However, instead of just taking it, Sonic just scooted closer and placed the container over their legs.

''Well, we can share,'' he said, happily eating his part of the lunch and leaving enough for Shadow. The dark hedgehog was a bit surprised by this solution, as well as how physically close Sonic got to him, he just accepted it as a thing Sonic would do. ''You know, Knux told me that he and Lily decided to hire the Chaotix to keep an eye out for Rouge.''

''They did?'' Shadow knew about Rouge's disappearance, but this was news to him.

''Yeah. Knux did tell me that, while he is worried that Rouge might be up to something, he pointed out how she would've antagonized him already in some way,'' Sonic replied.

''Even if the Chaotix are the greatest detectives on Earth, I doubt they'll find Rouge if she doesn't want to be found,'' Shadow replied. ''But, I suppose it is a bit suspicious that she had been gone for days.''

''I just hope that nothing bad had happened to her,'' Sonic said, with Shadow giving him a curious look, only to be surprised by Sonic's following question, ''Hey, what would you do if I just disappeared one day without a trace?''

Shadow took a moment to think about it, as this was a very sudden and unexpected question. ''Considering how you're my teammate and friend, I believe that the obvious answer would be to immediately search for you…'' Shadow trailed off when he saw Sonic smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes, staring back in annoyance. ''Why are you looking at me like that?''

''Heh, you just called me your friend,'' Sonic replied, only to lean closer. ''So, do you see me like your best friend or rival-turned-friend or second best friend, considering how there is also Touka, or…''

''It is rival, teammate, friend… In that order,'' Shadow replied in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, folding his arms across his chest. He didn't know why he was feeling so weird. He didn't really feel uncomfortable or anything, nor did he feel annoyed enough to punch Sonic for breaching his space, but he certainly felt weird. ''Why are you even asking me that?''

''I'm just happy to see you open up like this, even if you still act grumpy about it,'' Sonic replied, a wide smile on his lips. ''It's been a long time since what happened at Codex. Or, at least it feels like it has been a long time.'' Shadow lowered his head in thought, having to agree with Sonic. Even if his mind at times wandered back to the events at Codex, it always felt as if that event occurred years ago, not weeks. ''You know, I would definitely search the entire Earth and space, and even other dimensions, if you ever disappeared.''

''I'm pretty sure that you'd do the same for any of your other friends,'' Shadow replied, his eye-lids lowering as he looked back at Sonic, who just scratched his cheek.

''Yeah, true, but now you also have a confirmation of what I'd do in such situation,'' Sonic replied. He then placed the almost empty container on the grass as he leaned back against the tree, placing his hands behind his head, taking a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Shadow couldn't help but smile a little at how predictable Sonic was. In one moment, he could have a very deep and meaningful conversation, and in the next, he acted like nothing happened and took a nap.

That's so typical of you, Sonic.

xXx

It was late in the night at the Kageura household, with both Touka and Kisaki being deeply asleep. Shadow was lying on the bed next to Touka, staring at the ceiling of their attic room. He had been awake for a while now, his mind once again filled with thoughts that didn't let him sleep. Admittedly, he could handle a sleepless night, having been trained to work under extreme pressure, but looking back at things, he wondered just how necessary it was. He was leading a relatively peaceful life, with his only worries being The Eggman Empire, something that was a problem the entirety of Team Neos was dealing with, and Mephiles and Toshiro, who haven't showed up in a while. He knew that most of Team Neos was back to their daily life, not really worrying about what Dr. Eggman might be up to, as they were certain that they could handle anything he throws at them.

At this point, I'm the only one who is concered about this stuff. Maybe I should follow their example and not put too much thought into it… No… I don't think that will ever be possible. He turned to his side, his eye-lids lowering as a familiar face appeared in his mind, followed by that weird feeling. To live life freely… I'm not like you Sonic.

Shadow took a deep breath, trying to relax and finally drift off to sleep. But then, he heard it. A creak.

Follow your instincts.

[...]

Sonic tapped with his foot impatiently at the usual meeting spot. He tapped on his AR Visor, which showed him a holographic screen of the time. It was only a couple of minutes past his agreed time to meet up with Shadow for their training session, but Shadow was late. Except, Shadow was never late. Sonic knew that, if there was an agreed time, Shadow would be already there, waiting for him.

''So much for The Fastest Thing Alive arriving on time for a meeting.''

''Hey, only because I'm fast doesn't mean that I can't be late for a couple of seconds. Look, I brought us lunch!''

Sonic waited for another minute, trying to calm down and ignore the sense of panic he felt. Maybe Shadow was late because he got caught up in something. That was a possibility. Sonic decided to call him, but he couldn't reach him. He figured that Shadow was just being Shadow, either busy or just didn't want to answer the call for some reason. So, he called Touka, knowing that she was the one who'd usually answer. However, to his shock, the number was blocked.

''Wait, this is not supposed to happen,'' Sonic said, raising an eyebrow. ''Usually, Touka would answer the call.'' He shook his head, lowering it and placing his hand on his chin. ''Something doesn't make sense here. Maybe I should go to their house.''

[...]

''Have you tried to call your friends?'' she asked, nodding towards the AR Visor. Shadow shook his head.

''ARMS might track the call,'' he said. Rouge didn't look too surprised.

''Yeah, you're right. From what I've seen, they're keeping an eye on any information that gets in and out of this place,'' she replied. ''However, knowing your friends, I'm certain that they have noticed your absence and are probably trying to figure out how to find you.''

Shadow paused for a moment, remembering his conversation with Sonic the previous day, and nodding in agreement. ''You're right. Sonic and I had a conversation about this kind of scenario and he had told me that, if I ever went missing, he would do everything in his power to find me.''

His stern gaze then softened as he thought about his relationship with Sonic. Even though they started out as enemies way back when Shadow had no idea what happened to Touka and decided to get his revenge on humanity for the suffering they had caused, Sonic never really acknowledged him as an enemy. While Sonic had indeed fought Shadow, it was less because he Shadow was someone capable of destroying the world, and more because he knew that Shadow was hurt and that there was still a chance for him to turn things around. Shadow didn't want to admit it, but he was glad that Sonic was correct.

Another thing that stood out was their confrontation after the whole incident with Mephiles. Shadow knew that Sonic was just worried about him, but all the frustrations and stress he had built up at that time was too much for him and he snapped, getting into a full battle with Sonic just to take his own anger out on his rival rather than directing it at someone who actually deserved it, like Mephiles. But, instead of knocking some sense into him, Sonic took it upon himself to battle Shadow until he finally calmed down, acting as if nothing had happened. He did all of this while trying to talk to him, trying to coax him out of his self-imposed isolation. All that Sonic wanted was to make it clear to him that he wasn't alone, and Shadow felt guilty for attacking him in the first place. Yet, Sonic didn't care, moving on from their fight as if it were nothing. Still, his actions left quite an impression on Shadow.

''Sonic will fight for me…'' he muttered, feeling a strange sense of warmth spreading through his chest. He spread his hand against it, wondering why he felt like this.

''Well, now that you're done reminiscing about your boyfriend, we still need to find our own way out of this place.''

Shadow snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes darting towards Rouge, who just gave him a smug smile. A tint of red spread across his tan muzzle, leaving him blushing in embarrassment, but his crimson eyes turned sharp, showing pure fury towards her as he gritted his teeth, his quills bristled.

''What are you implying-?!''

''Hey, Rouge! I forgot to tell you that Knuckles has been looking for you!'' Touka quickly leapt on her feet, standing between the two. She knew the look Shadow was giving Rouge meant that he was most likely two seconds away from murdering her and she wasn't going to let that happen, especially since they needed Rouge's help to escape the ARMS HQ. Rouge, who still had that smug look on her expression and was enjoying the fact that she got under Shadow's fur, perked up at what Touka had just told her.

''Really? Well, I'm happy to hear that the Knucklehead is missing me,'' she said, quite pleased about the news. Touka just gave her a sheepish look, scratching her cheek as she was about to respond when Shadow interrupted her.

''Tch, Knuckles was just making sure that you're not up to something again. Don't think too much about it,'' Shadow said in a sharp, dismissive tone. Rouge pouted, frowning as she shoot him a glare. As for Touka, she sweatdropped, wondering why she was the one to end up playing mediator between the two. She then sighed audibly, only to realize something.

''Wait a second, would be possible to convince the Commander to let you join me and Shadow?'' she asked Rouge, who in turn gave her a surprised look, only to think about it.

''I suppose it would. After all, you are the new recruits, and someone would have to show you two the way around. It might take some sweet-talking, but as long as you act as if you had resigned yourselves to your fate as ARMS agents, I think everything should be fine,'' she replied, then glanced at Shadow, who did not look happy about this proposal. ''Do you have something to say, Black Blur?''

''Hmph, as long as it gets us out of this place, I'd be fine with it,'' he replied.

''It is nice to see that you are on board,'' Rouge said, getting up. ''If you two don't plan on resting, I could show you around and then we could go to the Commander with your suggestion. Trust me, there is a lot to talk about this place, so you better get comfy.''

''Right, I guess I should put on my uniform,'' Touka said, reaching for the clothes on her bed and her AR Visor, surprised to see that it was given back to her. Rouge then walked out of the room to let Touka change from her PJs into the uniform, with Shadow following, but not before he turned around, glaring daggers at Touka.

''Don't you dare to say anything about this,'' he said in a calm, yet threatening tone.

''I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Touka quickly responded, feigning ignorance while also feeling heart beat rapidly. Shadow stared at her for a moment, then exited the room. It is only then when Touka took a deep breath, feeling her legs shaking. ''Man, what was that?!''

She was well aware that Shadow was referring to Rouge's earlier comment, but to make things even worse, he also now knew that Rouge basically gave Touka ammunition to tease him and he was making sure to get the message across that none of that was going to happen. Touka knew that, as much as she wanted to question Shadow about his reaction earlier, especially considering how she never saw him being so flustered, she would be met with a wall of silence at the best and a Chaos Spear to the chest at the worst. While Shadow was typically open about his emotions around her, it seemed that this time, she wasn't going to get that privilege.

[...]

Sonic took a deep breath as he sped down Cross Layer Highway, having decided to go for a run after the meeting. Unlike Lucas, he simply couldn't stay cooped up at their home, and while he understood that he couldn't do much at the moment, he needed to go outside and stretch his legs. It gave him something to do, a temporary reprieve of everything that was going on, and he was certain that there was no way that ARMS would be able to track him like this. He needed this sense of freedom, the exhilarating thrill of knowing that he could go anywhere he desired.

He actually found himself on the highway towards Mikado City, having gone past Infinity Forest and the borders of Neos City, and he knew if he continued, he could easily reach the other side of Starpoint Area and visit other countries, exploring the wide world all on his own. This was something he genuinely enjoyed, the freedom to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and no one could stop him. He trusted this feeling, embraced the sensation and entered a new adventure.

However, instead of allowing his insticts to take over, Sonic skidded to a halt and entered a nearby open field, getting up on the top of a highway billboard, then turned back to the highway as he sat down and observed the cars passing by him. He knew that, while he could go anywhere he desired, he would always return back to his friends, especially since he knew that there was a new adventure on the horizon.

''Com'n, it'll be fun!''

''So, you want us to use Cross Layer Highway as our personal racing track, ignoring the fact that there is traffic there?''

''Heh… well, nothing happened… so far. I'm sure things will be fine. Besides, don't tell me that you're afraid of a bit of traffic.''

''Hmph. You'll be eating my dust.''

''You'll have to catch me first!''

Sonic chuckled at the memory of him convincing Shadow to go on a race on Cross Layer Highway. The dark hedgehog clearly had some reservations about racing in an area with so much traffic, but after a bit of banter, he accepted the challenge. It was fun overall, both weaving across the highway and trying to outspeed each other. It was an activity both enjoyed to the fullest, with Sonic even spotting Shadow smirking at him whenever he got ahead. The blue hedgehog then shook his head, feeling a sense of hollowness in his chest.

''Great, Shadow hasn't been gone even for a day and I already miss him,'' he grumbled. ''Admittedly, this is different than him going off somewhere on his own. This time, no one knows if he and Touka will return.'' He then grimaced, getting up, still balancing on the top of the billboard. ''Oh, what am I talking about, of course he'll come back. It's Shadow! There's nothing that can slow that guy down!''

Satisfied with this sudden burst of faith and confidence, Sonic smiled, only to get a message from Tails on his AR Visor. At first, he gave it a suspicious look, well aware that the team wasn't supposed to communicate like it, but he still opened the screen, only to find an URL link next to a message that said ''Sonic Adventure 2 Mod''. Curious and trusting Tails, he opened the link, only for the holographic screen to crackle and flash red, and Sonic was shocked to see The Eggman Empire logo appear on it.

''Tails, what did you…?'' Sonic trailed off when the logo disappeared and Tails' face appeared on the screen.

''So, you got my message! Great!'' Tails exclaimed.

''Uh, what did you do, little bro? Why did I see Egghead's mugshot on my screen?'' Sonic asked.

''The link you used is an app that directly connects you to the private chat room on the EggNet. That way, we don't have to worry about ARMS spying in on our conversations,'' Tails explained.

''Wait, the EggNet?'' Sonic was both surprised and impressed that his little brother thought of using Dr. Eggman's private computer network for communication. ''Won't Eggman know what you've done?''

''Oh, he already does, but we managed to restrict his access to the chat room,'' Tails explained. ''Warren is sending out the links to the rest of the group. Let's hope that Shadow will open his.''

''I'm sure that he will,'' Sonic replied, grinning happily. ''Should I stop by at the Workshop?''

''No, you don't have to,'' Tails replied. ''Just keep an eye out for Shadow contacting us.''

''Will do!'' Sonic did a two-finger salute, feeling quite optimistic about their situation, with Tails then vanishing from the screen.

[...]

Shadow's ears flicked as he heard soft buzzing and opened his eyes, reaching underneath his pillow and taking out the AR Visor he kept hidden there. He turned to the bed on the other side of the room, taking note of Touka being fast asleep, her back turned to him and then sat up, throwing the blanket over his head before answering the call.

''Sonic, why are you calling me at 2AM?'' Shadow stared at the small screen that was showing Sonic, who was lying in his bed. Sonic, in turn, gave him a sheepish smile.

''I couldn't really sleep, so I wanted to check on you,'' Sonic replied innocently, having realized the moment he saw Shadow's annoyed expression that he really shouldn't have called his rival this late. However, he spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed, until he decided to call Shadow for his own peace of mind.

''Well, I can sleep and you just saw me a few hours ago during the team meeting,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his eyes narrowed as he wondered whether there was something more to this conversation. ''Is there anything you want to talk about? I sincerely doubt that's the only reason you had called me.''

Sonic fell silent for a moment, then sighed, a small smile forming on his lips, as he should've known that Shadow would be blunt about this. ''It is really dull without you.''

''I suppose you just got used to us having our daily sparring matches, so it is not surprising that you would feel like that,'' Shadow replied, keeping his voice in a whisper to make sure that Touka doesn't wake up.

''Yeah, you're right…'' Sonic trailed off, wondering if he really should continue the conversation. He knew that Shadow had a mission tomorrow and he probably shouldn't interrupt him like this, but on the other hand, he was genuinely happy to see him and hear him.

''Sonic?''

''Huh, yeah?''

''You're staring at me.''

''Oh, sorry.'' Sonic was flustered to be caught like this. Was it really that obvious?

Shadow sighed, wondering what this situation even was. His mind was still occupied with the mission, so having Sonic call him out of nowhere to talk to him was a bit jarring, albeit not unwelcome. Perhaps having someone to take his mind off the things that troubled him would put him at ease, if only a little bit. ''How was your day?''

''My day? Well…'' Sonic had to admit that he was genuinely surprised that Shadow would initiate small talk. ''Lucas, Warren, Tails and I had talked to Loki, the wolf Commander of the Hunters, and he knows about ARMS, but doesn't trust them because of an accident where an Irregular like us was taken by them and never appeared again. I don't think that the Hunters are too familiar with ARMS.''

''I wouldn't be surprised,'' Shadow said, narrowing his eyes. ''After all, ARMS treats Irregulars like dangerous weapons. They even wanted me to absorb as much of Touka's BioEnergy as possible, so I was forced to use Chaos Surge to stop it.''

''Are you okay?'' Sonic asked worriedly. ''I know that you're not to keen on using BioEnergy, even if it's for a Chaos Surge.''

''I'm fine, since Touka has also recovered from the ordeal. I'm concerned what ARMS might do if they attempt to investigate my Chaos Surge ability. They might go after the rest of Team Neos,'' Shadow told him, rubbing his temple as he felt an oncoming headache.

''Don't worry about us, worry about yourself,'' Sonic told him, giving him a confident smile. ''I wish I could just bust into ARMS HQ to get you out.''

''If it weren't for the current circumstances, I would've done it by myself,'' Shadow told him. Sonic gave him a sympathetic look.

''You know, I am a bit jealous that you get break into Eggman's base,'' he said, smiling cheekily. ''I bet it's going to be exciting.''

''You could join us,'' Shadow suggested. Sonic sighed.

''I wish I could, but you know, that would blow up our cover. I also don't want to get my friends into trouble by doing something stupid,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rose an eyebrow, giving Sonic a scrutinizing look, leaving the latter confused. ''Uh, Shadow? Is something wrong?''

''I believe that's the first time I heard you say something sensible. Maybe you aren't the real Sonic and were replaced by a look-a-like,'' Shadow told him. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Sonic groan in annoyance and saw him roll his eyes.

''I know I can be reckless, but this situation is different,'' he said in an exasperated tone, then muttered, ''I also talked to Lucas about there being a possibility to break in, and he told me that we can't do that.''

''There is a reason Lucas is the leader and you aren't,'' Shadow said in a teasing tone, only to add in a more resolute tone. ''Not many would have enough sense to admit that.''

''Not many have the humility to admit that,'' Sonic said proudly.

''Humility? Your ego is the size of a skyscraper,'' Shadow said, with Sonic snorting in amusement.

''Right back at you, Shads. You aren't better than me, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic could see the faint smile on his lips, making it clear that the dark hedgehog was amused by their banter. It made him feel quite happy to see his rival being this relaxed. ''In any case, you have to tell me what happened once you return from the mission. I want to hear all of the details.''

''I will, because knowing you, you'll probably spam my inbox with questions about what had happened,'' Shadow told him in a dry tone. Sonic gave him a sheepish smile.

''Sorry about that,'' he said, knowing well that Shadow was referring to the event right after their meeting with Mephiles and Toshiro, where Sonic just wouldn't leave him alone. ''I guess I should let you sleep now.''

''I didn't mind having a conversation with you, even if it was this late,'' Shadow said, surprising Sonic, who smiled back warmly as he looked at the screen. ''Good night, Sonic.''

''Good night, Shads. I miss you,'' Sonic said, the holographic screen before him turning black. Sonic then lied back down on his back, taking a deep breath, only for his brain to finally process what he just said to Shadow. He turned on his side, a faint tint of red spreading across his fawn muzzle, his emerald green eyes wide as he placed his gloved hand on his chest, feeling his heart race as if he just returned from his nightly run. Wait! Why did I tell him that? I mean, I do miss him, but that wasn't necessary! I just hope Shadow hasn't noticed anything, because that was just weird.

Meanwhile, Shadow placed the AR Visor back under his pillow and lied down, pulling the blanket over his shoulder, turning on his side and staring at the wall, his mind in a disarray. Unfortunately for him, the image of Sonic giving him a soft and kind smile just wouldn't get out of his head, and he groaned, furrowing a brow as he tried to fall asleep.

''Of course that idiot misses me,'' he grumbled under his breath, trying to ignore the wave of warmth that spread through his body and the tint of red appearing on his tan muzzle. ''Who else is going to be his rival?''

[...]

Sonic took a deep breath, exhaling as he was lying on the soft grass in Eden, staring at the blue sky above him. He had been wondering how Shadow was doing, wishing that he could've joined him and the rest of the group, but for obvious reasons, he was pretty much trapped here. He hated this waiting game, even though he knew that this was the only thing he could do.

''You don't have any news from Shadow and Touka, right?''

Sonic looked up as Silver walked up to him, holding a can with water he was using to water the nearby rose bushes. Sonic shook his head. ''I wish I did, though, but I can't even call Shadow now, since ARMS might be spying on him. I have to wait for him to call me. It's really frustrating.''

''I'm sure that they will be fine. We know that Shadow is quite capable of holding his own,'' Silver said in an assuring tone. Sonic sat up, crossing his legs.

''Yeah, you're right. Still, I wouldn't mind joining him,'' he replied. Suddenly, there was a flash on his AR Visor, with Sonic realizing that it was an incoming call from Lucas. The same happened to Silver's AR Visor, but the grey hedgehog joined Sonic as he answered the call.

''We have some good news!'' Lucas said, being on the same screen with Tails and Warren. ''Touka, Shadow and Rouge have completed their mission and we got access to the ARMS file.''

''That's geat!'' Amy said excitedly, clasping her hands, with the rest of the team also murmuring happily.

''Yeah, but we kinda ran into an issue. The file is locked under four passwords and we need to figure out what the hints mean to access the file,'' Warren said.

''Then, don't let us wait,'' Lily said. ''What's the first hint?''

''It says 'My full name','' Tails said, looking at his teammates. ''Any clue what that means?''

''Maybe it's referring to the person who wrote down the hints? How many tries do we get?'' Minami suggested.

''Only two before the file gets locked,'' Warren replied. ''Tails and I didn't want Eggman to access anything.''

''So, whose name should we write?'' Tails asked.

''Let's go with Touka Kageura. If it doesn't work, we'll have to choose between, ah-'' Warren said, a smile forming on his lips as he realized that this was the correct choice. ''Three more to go. Next one says 'What did I take from you, Guardian?' I think this one was set up by Rouge specifically for you to decipher, Knuckles.''

Knuckles' eyes narrowed as he thought about it for a moment. ''It was a red jewel.''

''Are you sure, Knux?'' Sonic asked. Knuckles nodded.

''I'm confident that she was referring to what happened at our first meeting,'' he said. Tails typed in the password, only to smile when he got to the next one. ''Okay, so this one is a bit weird. It says 'Sonic Heroes Team'.''

''That's a reference to the Sonic Heroes video game, which features four teams of three as playable characters,'' Minami said. ''Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Dark and Team Chaotix.''

''So, which one should we go with? Team Sonic?'' Silver asked. Lucas shook his head.

''No, I think the answer is Team Dark, since Shadow and Rouge are part of that team. Not to mention, Dr. Eggman did mention that this Egg Base contains the E-100 Series of robots, and if my gut feeling is correct, they might run into E-123 Omega there,'' he explained.

''Is that a good thing or a bad thing?'' Amy asked.

''Well, in the video games, Omega wants to get revenge on Eggman, and if this version is the same, then this is a really good thing,'' Minami explained.

''Okay, last hint,'' Warren announced, raising an eyebrow. '''What is our relationship, Hedgehog?' That has to be set up by Shadow for…''

''It is rival, teammate, friend… In that order,'' Sonic suddenly said. He couldn't help but grin as he recalled his conversation with Shadow. ''We kinda had a conversation... I can't believe he would use that as a password.''

''It worked! All right, we'll sift through the data here, but it will take a while. Wish us luck!'' Tails said. The holographic screen soon closed, with Sonic and Silver exchanging cheerful glances. It seemed that things were finally working in their favour.

[...]

Shadow glanced towards Touka's bed, knowing well that she was quite exhausted from using up most of her BioEnergy and hoping that she was already fast asleep. Still, he laid awake for a few more hours to be sure, since he didn't want her to eavesdrop this conversation. After all, they had already discussed matters earlier with the rest of Team Neos, introducing Omega and telling them about the Commander knowing about Chaos Surge. Lucas, in turn, told them how he, Warren and Tails got an angry call from Dr. Eggman, who chewed them out for their stunt with the passwords, but they didn't care much. They assured Team Dark that they would sort out the data as soon as possible and cut the call. Still, Shadow had one more call to make, as per his promise.

''Shadow!''

''Keep quiet, Hedgehog!'' Shadow hissed at Sonic, peeking under the blanket to make sure that Touka was still asleep before returning back to the call. Sonic gave him a sheepish smile.

''Sorry, Shads. I'm just happy, and surprised, that you decided to call me back,'' he said in a hushed tone.

''I had a promise to keep. However, I don't have much to tell you about our raid on the Egg Base,'' Shadow replied. ''Omega destroyed all of the Badniks inside, and while we had a brief fight, Rouge quickly ended it.''

''That's fine. At least you have something to talk about, while I don't,'' Sonic replied. ''Nothing has happened today, and I feel really bored.''

''You could just leave and go somewhere to have an adventure if you feel like that,'' Shadow suggested. Sonic shook his head.

''And miss any upcoming action? No way. This is just a lull before the storm,'' he said, his emerald eyes sparking with excitement. Shadow furrowed a brow, sighing.

''I suppose that this is an answer I should've expected,'' he muttered under his breath, pausing for a moment. Sonic still had that stupid grin on his expression, and Shadow decided that it was time to wipe it off his expression. ''So, what was that about missing me?''

Suddenly, Sonic got really flustered. ''Uh… I- It's nothing! It was just a slip of the tongue.''

''Was it?'' Shadow had to admit that seeing Sonic losing that cocky attitude was quite amusing. It truly felt like another of their challenges, except this one required some proper thinking and wording to leave the other a complete mess.

''Y-Yeah!'' Sonic had no clue why he got suddenly so flustered, but he didn't like the look Shadow gave him. It felt as if the dark hedgehog was reading his mind, clearly not believing any of his excuses, and Sonic hated that he got rattled so easily. Admittedly, he was also fascinated by Shadow's ability in being able to match him not only in a battle, but also in their conversations. Any quip Sonic would make would immediately be countered by a remark from Shadow, whether it was the blunt truth or an actual quip, and Sonic loved how these kinds of conversations managed to keep him on his toes. He was also certain that, despite Shadow's aloof attitude, his rival was also enjoying these kinds of conversations and he wanted to keep them going as long as possible. Sonic then smirked, realizing what the perfect response to Shadow's question would be. ''Why are you even asking? Wait, do you miss me?''

Much to Sonic's amusement, Shadow huffed in response, clearly trying not to show that he was also slightly flustered by this question and deciding to not dignify it with an answer. Sonic, on the other hand, knew that he won this one and decided to add another layer to this conversation. ''Aww, you do miss me! I feel so honored.''

''Why would I miss someone as irritating as you?'' Shadow replied in an irked tone.

''If you actually thought of me as irritating, you would've ended this call a long time ago. But, you didn't, which means that you like to talk to me,'' Sonic teased him. Frankly, he really liked getting this kind of reactions from Shadow.

''I could end the call right now,'' Shadow threatened. Sonic's ears folded for a moment, showing that he clearly didn't want to end this yet, only for them to perk up again.

''You could… but you won't,'' he said, issuing another challenge. Sure, this one came with a risk that Shadow would actually make good on his threat, but this was just too tempting and Sonic wasn't someone who would shy away from taking any kind of risks, especially if it made him feel this excited. Surprisingly, Shadow kept the call going.

''Keep telling yourself that,'' he said. ''After all, you need me to keep yourself entertained.''

Sonic opened his mouth, only to close it again, feeling as if he was just kicked in the gut. What Shadow just said was indeed true, even if Sonic didn't want to admit it, but instead of getting riled up, he decided to take it in stride and counter attack with a remark of his own. ''Fine, I'll admit that that's true, but only because you won't admit that you also need me.''

''What are you talking about?'' Shadow responded, his eyes narrowing. He didn't like the smug grin Sonic was giving him.

''Don't tell me that you also didn't get bored without me around to keep you company,'' Sonic teased him. Shadow just rolled his eyes, but then the same dark thought from before entered his mind. He fell silent, and Sonic's smile faded as he realized that his rival got serious.

''It would be better for you not to be here,'' Shadow said.

''What's wrong?'' Sonic asked, now a hint of concern in his voice.

''ARMS knows that you and the rest of the team are Irregulars, and if they learn that you are also capable of Chaos Surge, they would turn all of you into their weapons,''Shadow told him in a grim tone. He wasn't too surprised when Sonic gave him a confident look.

''Don't worry, I'm sure that we could handle that,'' he said. Shadow shook his head.

''Not if they attempt to destroy your sense of self. Rouge and I may be exceptions, but there is no way of predicting of what they might do to you,'' he explained.

''I understand. I'm not going to be reckless unless the situation calls for it,'' Sonic said, with Shadow being genuinely surprised by his mature response. To see and hear him take things seriously for once did leave a warm feeling in his chest.

''Let's just hope that things will turn out right in the end,'' Shadow said.

''I'm sure they will, Shads,'' Sonic replied, smiling confidently and giving him a thumbs up. ''Just hold on a little longer.''

Shadow nodded in response, and he couldn't help but smile a little at the assurance he got.

[...]

''Hey, Shads.''

''I see that you had actually remembered to whisper during these calls,'' Shadow said, with Sonic rolling his eyes. It was in the middle of the night, and while Team Dark and Team Neos had already exchanged information in regards to the situation with Mephiles and Toshiro, Shadow decided to also call Sonic, feeling that this has already become a habit. He also knew that Sonic would be thrilled to finally have something he could talk about on his end, so he immediately added, ''You had said earlier that you and Silver had confronted Mephiles.''

''Yeah, and I wish that we had managed to deal with him at that point, but he got away,'' Sonic replied, sounding a bit frustrated, then snorted, trying to cover his frustration with some humor, ''So much for being The Fastest Thing Alive if I can't catch up to Mephiles or find him for that matter.''

''Finding Mephiles has nothing to do with your speed. He is someone who lives in the shadows, coming out only when nobody expects him,'' Shadow responded in a matter-of-fact tone. He was well aware that Sonic hated the fact that he couldn't stop Mephiles from hurting the Hunters or even the ARMS agents and Irregulars, so he simply made a logical statement. However, going by the smirk that had formed on his lips, Sonic understood the message a bit differently.

''Thanks for trying to cheer me up,'' Sonic told him, with Shadow giving him a puzzled look.

''I wasn't- That wasn't my-'' He tried to clear this up, only to realize that Sonic already knew that, giving him a wide smile. Shadow exhaled sharply. ''Fine, I suppose you can interpret it that way.''

''You know Shads, you can be as cruel in your honesty as you want, but sometimes the stuff you say feels quite comforting,'' Sonic told him, with Shadow just nodding in acknowledgement. ''So, do you have any idea what Mephiles wants from you? We all agreed earlier that he was antagonizing the Hunters and ARMS to get to you.''

''I believe that all he wants is another battle, just like last time,'' Shadow replied, a grim look appearing on his expression as he remembered their last encounter.

''He'll also probably try to manipulate you, just like he tried to do with me and Silver. Don't give in!'' Sonic said, pumping his fists and giving Shadow a resolute look. Shadow was a bit surprised to see Sonic suddenly turn into his personal cheerleader, but decided to play it cool.

''I'm not going to be swayed by anything Mephiles says. I have unfinished business with him and I'm going to focus on that,'' Shadow told him.

''I'm glad to hear that. Too bad I nor the rest of the team can join you in this battle,'' Sonic said, recalling the earlier conversation. Since Team Dark was going to be at the Codex Research Facility, the possibility of Team Neos helping them was brought up, only to get quickly dismissed when Lucas pointed out that if ARMS finds out that they know about Codex, Team Dark would get in trouble. Therefore, they would have to sit this one out, even though all of the team wanted to join in regardless of the danger.

''I know that I can trust the rest of Team Neos to not interfere, but I doubt that you would just stand at the sidelines,'' Shadow commented.

''Well, I'm trying my best not to do anything reckless lately. It also helps that I hear your voice scolding me whenever I make up my mind,'' Sonic said, sounding somewhat proud of his achievement. Shadow was a bit stunned for a moment, feeling a wierd mix of amusement and that familiar warmth he sensed whenever he talked to Sonic.

''So, you're telling me that whenever you think of me, it's me scolding you for doing something reckless? I don't know whether I should feel offended or flattered,'' Shadow replied in a deadpan tone. Sonic snorted.

''Maybe I should've put this in a different way…'' Sonic suddenly shook his head. ''You know what, forget it. I'd be happy to hear you yell at me whenever I do something stupid so long as I know that you're back at home safe and sound.''

Shadow fell silent, a faint tint of red spreading across his muzzle. His crimson eyes were wide, and he was stunned by Sonic's sudden confession. It was quite unexpected, but at the same time, he knew that Sonic said that because he genuinely cared about him. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was glad that this was the nature of their relationship. It still puzzled him that they were able to tell each other things the other needed to hear, or understand exactly each other's moods without needing to say anything, but he preferred it that way. He wasn't someone who engaged in pointless conversations, but somehow every conversation he had with Sonic ended up in some kind of revelation for Shadow. He felt as if he was learning more about himself this way, and one of the things he understood was that he was going to match Sonic in anything.

''I suppose it would get a bit boring without having you to annoy me, so I'd do the same for you,'' Shadow said, his tone being the usual business-like way he spoke, trying to ignore the strange fluttering feeling in his chest. Why did I even say that?!

''D'aaaww, that's so sweet coming from you, Shads! I appreciate the sentiment,'' Sonic replied, feeling quite happy that he had managed to get Shadow to admit how he felt about him. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly when Shadow shot him a glare.

''Don't think anything of it, Hedgehog. This is just a courtesy. I don't want to be in your debt,'' Shadow growled. Sonic waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

''Yeah, yeah… But you have to admit it, you do care about me,'' Sonic teased him. Shadow was silent, still glaring at his rival, but Sonic knew that this was less because he was offended and more because both knew that this was the truth. He then held up a finger. ''How about this? I admit that I care about you, and you admit that you care about me.''

Shadow folded his arms in defiance. ''That's not going to happen.''

''Maybe you won't say it, but you do care about me,'' Sonic pressed on, still having that dumb smile that irritated Shadow. Despite Shadow managing to keep an unreadable expression, aside from his trademark scowl, he knew that his rival was struggling with this conversation, clearly not wanting to admit the truth, either because of his pride or because he was just too embarrassed.

Shadow, on the other hand, had to wonder how in the world had he ended up in this conversation. Somehow, Sonic had the uncanny ability to rile him up with just a simple smile, and being the stubborn person he was, he wasn't going to back down from a challenge, even if it led him to confess stuff he never wanted anyone to know, not even Touka. ''I have already stated that if the reverse were to happen, I would go to save you. There is nothing else to discuss.''

''Yeah, yeah…'' Sonic was still grinning, while Shadow just frowned, both staring back at each other in silence. Even if some things were left unsaid, they knew exactly how they felt about each other.

[...]

Sonic raced from Eas towards the western side of Neos City where Infinity Forest was with a determined look on his expression. Sure, he did promise that he wouldn't be reckless and he certainly was going to leave this battle to Shadow, but that didn't mean that he could watch from afar, just to keep an eye on Mephiles. It wasn't as if he was bored from the lack of action; no, absolutely not!

''You're such an idiot!''

Sonic grinned, completely ignoring the Shadow-like voice in his head as he got to Sentoraru and made his way towards Westoru, avoiding pedestrians and cars. He was actually quite in high spirits, as Tails and Warren had informed him and Lucas earlier that they were close to finishing sifting through the data they got, and what they had found was actually rather shocking. They haven't told them yet what it was, but Tails said that this would get them into a lot of trouble with the public. In Sonic's mind, that was good enough.

The azure hedgehog then sped through Westoru and towards Infinity Forest, trying to remember the path towards the Codex Research Facility. It has been a while since he had been there, but he was certain that he would be able to find it. However, what he didn't expect to find was a huge structure made of crystals and surrounded by fire.

''Yikes!'' Sonic realized that this self-imposed mission might be a bit harder than he thought. The crystal wasn't transparent, but more of a purple and red hue, making it impossible for him to see inside. All he could conclude was that there were several layers of crystals placed at the field, keeping him away from whatever battle was happening inside the structure. Sonic then smirked, clenching his fist. ''Well, something like this has never stopped this hedgehog!''

He leapt into the air, curling into a ball and burrowed into the ground, creating a hole just in front of the structure. Less than a minute passed and he emerged again from the hole, breathing heavily and raising an eyebrow. ''Great, even the ground is crystal. Mephiles made sure that no one can enter it.'' He then shook his head. ''No way! If I cannot find a way inside, how will Shadow and the others find a way outside? I have to solve issue as soon as- aaagh!''

Sonic was startled when suddenly a bunch of figures made out of pure shadow and darkness appeared, confronting him. ''Ah, so Mephiles also left a couple of guards. At least things won't be boring!''

[...]

Sonic shredded through the shadow-like entities, pinballing from one to another easily, but the issue was that he also needed to avoid the flames and the crystals that were keeping him from getting through the wall. He had actually managed to run around the structure, taking note that it was way bigger than he initially thought. He had to give it to Mephiles, the guy was determined to make sure no one gets inside those walls.

''Woah!'' Sonic suddenly stopped due to a black hole opening right beneath him. He sunk, trying his best to free himself, but when he looked up to find a branch or something to lift him up, he saw the crystal walls suddenly turn black and purple. His emerald eyes widened. ''Oh, no…''

However, before Sonic could move, everything turned black. Only a moment later, the light returned and he was quite disoriented, only to hear a car horn and quickly leap off the street. It took him a bit, but he realizes that he was somewhere in the eastern part of Souto. He was quite baffled when he realized what had happened.

''How in the world did Mephiles teleport me to Souto?'' he muttered under his breath, his gaze turned towards the west where Infinity Forest was. A sense of worry bubbled in his chest, but he shook his head. He knew that Shadow could handle this.

[...]

Suddenly, a giant entity rose from the darkness, its body consisting of shadows, crystals and flames, with the crystals forming the armor around its formless shape. It sprouted four arms, breaking the crystal ceiling and causing shards to rain down. There was a sudden chill in the air as they heard Mephiles laugh darkly, his voice like ice and filled with nothing but calculated intelligence and insanity.

''Your heart was filled with nothing but hate for this reality and its people! So, why don't you join me in destroying it?!''

Team Dark couldn't see Mephiles nor Toshiro anymore, as it seemed as if they had been swallowed by the entity they had created. All they could hear was Mephiles' voice, seemingly speaking through the entity. Touka, Rouge and Omega turned to Shadow, with Touka and Rouge's expressions clearly showing concern for Shadow, and even Omega was apprehensive to the whole situation, his cannons already pointed towards the entity Mephiles had just summoned. Shadow, on the other hand, was just staring at the entity silently, his expression unreadable. He then turned to his teammates, his expression slightly shifting to that of pure of determination, only to face the entity once again.

''I may have hated this world once, because it stole someone precious from me. I also feel no obligation towards it or towards its people. Even if the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have,'' Shadow responded, reaching for the golden rings on his wrists, twisting them and letting them fall on the ground. He could feel the Chaos Energy flowing through his body, almost bursting out, his hands crackling with energy. ''That said, you made a mistake endangering those I care about!''

Suddenly, everything stopped, and time and space warped. The entity couldn't even move, despite Mephiles efforts to break through. For some reason, he wasn't affected by whatever was going on, and his attempts to control this entity – Iblis – have failed. Then, Shadow appeared right in front of the entity, his size diminutive in comparison to the monstrous being, but his whole body was sparking with orange energy, his eyes glowing as he gathered all the power he could muster. His fingers were curled and he placed both of his hands together at chest level facing the same direction, with the palm on the back of the other. He knew that he only had one shot, and he could sense the Chaos energy, Mephiles' Chaos energy, within this monstrosity. All he had to do is to aim.

''CHAOS BLAST!''

Thrusting both of his hands forward, he fired a powerful blast of energy, the beam tearing right through the entity, not only powered by the Chaos Surge and the latent Chaos Energy that was concealed by the Inhibitor Rings, but also by Shadow's strong emotions and desire to protect everyone. He could hear a wail of distress as the entity, which had just formed before him was shredded, its wretchedness only gracing this reality only for a moment. Shadow was not going to allow it to exist any longer than that.

Then, everything went silent, and Shadow closed his eyes. Everything went dark, and he found himself falling into a deep abyss. His body couldn't move anymore and his mind was as empty as the nothingness that embraced him. Or was it?

''Shadow? Shadow?!''

Shadow could feel a sense of warmth, and he forced his eyes to open despite the pain and numbness. He never felt so broken and exhausted before. Staring back at him was Touka, having somehow managed to catch him mid-fall, her eyes having gone from crimson back to dark brown with that hint of red in them. She looked just as exhausted as he was as she cradled him in her arms, kneeling on the ground. On her right was Rouge, holding one of Shadow's Inhibitor Rings and looking relieved to see him alive. On her left was Omega, holding Shadow's other Inhibitor Ring, and while he certainly had no expression to show, it was clear that he was quite impressed by the destruction the dark hedgehog had caused.

As for Mephiles and Toshiro, they were gone. The crystal walls were still standing, but only barely, as more and more cracks started to form inside them, shattering and falling apart. Shadow narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the empty field, aware that despite the destruction he had caused, they were probably still alive, only barely escaping his wrath.

''What was that?'' Rouge broke the silence, still shocked by what had just happened. Shadow wanted to answer, but Touka was faster.

''That was Chaos Control, but in the sense that Shadow had stopped time itself,'' she responded. Rouge gave her a baffled look and turned to Shadow.

''Wait, you can actually do that?!'' she asked, her voice a bit too loud for Shadow's comfort.

''That is only possible with the power of Chaos Surge,'' Touka added, sighing tiredly. ''Even then, it is a technique that drains both of our energy, so we have good reason not to use it too often.''

''It was my last resort, and I was fortunate Mephiles had drained all of his own energy and Toshiro's BioEnergy to summon that entity. It only took one blast…'' Shadow explained, trying to get up. His and Rouge's ears the flicked as the group heard the helicopter getting closer and closer. None of the members of Team Dark were happy to see it, as that meant returning back to ARMS HQ and have to endure their frustrating stay even longer. Still, they were too exhausted to fight back… well, three of them.

''If you don't wish to return, I will just shoot the helicopter down,'' Omega offered.

''No!''

''Absolutely not!''

Touka and Rouge made an ''X'' sign with their arms, denying Omega the opportunity. They were well aware that they would suffer the consequences, because there was no way they would get away with this. Shadow, on the other hand, remained silent, having put the Inhibitor Rings back on his wrists and deciding to leave this conversation to his older sister and the treasure hunter. He managed to recover enough to climb into the helicopter on his own, wondering how long it would take for him to get back to his old condition. He pressed the lower part of his palm against his forehead, knowing he'll probably sleep like the dead in their graves the moment he was back in his bed. The helicopter then took off, but not before another scream pierced the air before it could be drowned out by the noise of the helicopter.

''Shadow! Shadow!!''

''Wait, is that Sonic?!'' Touka gasped in surprise, as the door to the helicopter hadn't been closed. Shadow immediately got up, his eyes wide as he leaned out of the helicopter, holding onto a nearby strap. To his bewilderment, Sonic was shouting and waving at him, and he could see the playful grin on his expression. Shadow mentally facepalmed, and despite saying nothing, it was obvious from Sonic's expression that there was nothing he needed to say. Sonic was simply relieved to see that Shadow was fine, while Shadow couldn't help but crack a genuine smile and even chuckle lightly, well aware that there was nothing that would stop Sonic from supporting his friend and rival, regardless of the methods.

Sonic, you're such a reckless idiot… Thank you.

[...]

Eggman had landed the Egg Carrier at a more wooded area close to ARMS HQ, but fortunately far enough to keep it hidden from it. Team Neos has already walked out of the aircraft, all of them powered up via Chaos Surge and waiting in anticipation. There was a sudden flash of light, revealing Shadow as he had Chaos Controlled to their location, giving them a firm look. Sonic walked up to him with a wide smile, only to get confused by Shadow's response.

''You're late again, Hedgehog,'' Shadow told him. Sonic was puzzled, only to realize what Shadow was referring to and snort in amusement.

''Well, I wanted to be here several days ago, but you know how things are…'' Sonic said, with Lucas approaching the two.

''We're ready to go. I guess Touka, Rouge and Omega are also ready,'' he told Shadow.

''They should be at the main building at this point,'' Shadow said, getting surrounded by the rest of the team. His eyes then flared up as he extended his hand. ''Chaos Control!''

[...]

''I assume you already know who we are, but I'd still like to properly introduce myself,'' Lucas said, stepping towards the Commander. ''My name is Lucas Kinomoto, and I am the leader of Team Neos. You have made the mistake of kidnapping two of my teammates, which is why we have attacked ARMS HQ. We are here to bring them back home.''

''Forget it. I won't let any of my agents go, and as for you, I will have all of you arrested and imprisoned,'' Commander Williams threatened, feeling furious about this situation. This group of teenagers and their Irregular ARNavs just stormed a military base, beat up his agents with the help of Team Dark and were now making such a ridiculous demand. He was not going to let them get away with this.

Upon hearing this, Sonic turned to Tails, holding out his hand. ''Tails, give me the the Miles Electric.''

''Uh, sure,'' Tails said, a bit confused, only for Sonic to walk up and sit down on the control panel, now being at a height where he was eye-to-eye with the Commander.

''I will give you one last chance,'' Sonic suddenly rose his voice, with everyone inside the room turning towards him. He was uncharacteristically serious, his tone low and calm, to the point that even Shadow was giving him a stunned look, as he never saw Sonic act like this. ''Release my friends, or you will suffer the consequences.''

''No, I won't-'' Commander Williams cut himself off when Sonic shot him a cold glare, pressing a button on the Miles Electric. Suddenly, a new window popped up on the screen, showing a red uploading line, already getting to 5%. ''Wait- What is that?''

''This is all of the information we have gathered about ARMS, and it is being uploaded online for all the public to see,'' Sonic replied. Commander Williams' eyes widened.

''You're kidding me!''

''You hurt my friends. I'm dead serious,'' Sonic told him in a cold tone, then smirked. ''It also pays off to have a genius as your little bro.''

He then turned to Tails, who was now hovering next to him, and both gave each other a high-five. Commander Williams remained shocked.

''Y-You're bluffing! There is no way you could've had any access to ARMS-related information…'' he trailed off when another screen suddenly popped up, obscuring the line below, which was now at 13%.

''They aren't bluffing, Commander. In fact, they had made an alliance with me. My own genius allowed them to access any information ARMS was hiding,'' Dr. Eggman said. Commander Williams turned back to Team Neos and Team Dark furiously.

''So, all this time, you worked for Dr. Eggman?!'' he growled, only to get startled when Eggman scoffed.

''Bah, as if! Team Neos is not affiliated with the Eggman Empire, and the only reason we're allied at all was because of your foolish actions,'' Eggman told him, clasping his hands and placing them on the panel in front of him as he leaned closer. ''As you have already learned, the terms of the negotiation for Team Neos are the release of Team Dark. I'm here to add my own terms…''

''Do you really believe that I would do anything like that?!'' Commander Williams shouted furiously. Eggman just rolled his eyes.

''So stubborn…'' he muttered. ''I believe Kinomoto and the Blue Rodent have told you that you have no say in this and that it would be smarter for you to just go along with our demands.''

''Y-You can't just blackmail me!'' Commander Williams protested, but seeing the line at 50%, he realized that he was running out of time.

''You blackmailed Shadow and Touka, so we decided to do the same,'' Sonic responded, then glanced around at the room, locking eyes with Shadow, who nodded in acknowledgement. Commander Williams gritted his teeth, gazing at the line on the screen again and seeing that it got to 53%.

''You-'' He was clearly struggling with his decision. On one hand, he knew that he would lose Project Shadow if he agreed to this, a project that had been in development for more than a decade. On the other hand, he also knew that he was screwed if any of the military secrets get out to the public. Not only would he lose his position, but he would be the one sitting in prison for this. He hissed through his teeth, ''Fine! Agents Sakamoto,…'' Commander Williams almost flinched when Touka shot him a venomous glare. ''Agh, Agents Kageura, Shadow, Rouge and Omega are free to leave.''

''You will also swear to never pursue them again and to let them have their freedom to live their life as they wish,'' Sonic said, earning a hateful glare from the Commander.

''Not only that, but ARMS will also not meddle in the business of Team Neos, as well as delete any information you have on us. We are not your enemy, Commander Williams. We just want to protect Neos City from anyone who wants to hurt the people that live there, be that an Irregular or a human,'' Lucas added, earning the same hateful glare as Sonic did.

''Lastly, ARMS will also not meddle in the affairs of the Eggman Empire, or any battles between Team Neos and myself,'' Eggman said, with Commander Williams giving him a somewhat confused look.

''What?''

''It seems that you either don't understand or don't know, but I don't like having outsiders interrupting this game. The only players allowed so far are Team Neos and their allies. ARMS doesn't have that privilege,'' Eggman told him.

''I won't just stand on the side and watch-''

''That's why we're here,'' Sonic interrupted him, giving the Commander a determined look. ''This is what we do. This is what I do! We are all willing to fight for what is right.''

''You're just a bunch of teenagers…'' Commander Williams trailed off when Touka and Shadow suddenly stepped up.

''Yeah, we are teenagers, but you still forced us to work as ARMS agents,'' Touka pointed out angrily. ''All we wanted was to live a normal life outside the Codex Research Facility and you took that away from us! We didn't ask to be created or live this kind of life!''

''Don't make this harder for yourself, Commander. Your hypocrisy will be your downfall,'' Shadow added, arms folded across his chest. Commander Williams looked back at the line, which was now at 79%. Time was of the essence.

''Fine! You have my word that ARMS won't meddle anymore in any of your affairs, and you can live your life however you want. Now stop that upload!'' Commander Williams growled. Sonic got off the control panel, still holding the Miles Electric and strolling over to Shadow.

''I guess I'm not the only one who kind of ran out of patience. Should we go home?'' he asked, giving Shadow an innocent smile. Shadow smirked at him.

''We have no business here anymore. I agree that we should leave now,'' he said. Before the Commander could even react, both Team Neos and Team Dark gathered around Shadow, whose body was crackling with energy due to Chaos Surge.

''Chaos Control!''

''W-Wait!'' Commander Williams shouted, but the group had already vanished. His attention turned back to the screen, with Dr. Eggman being gone as well, but the line remained, showing that it was at 85% and continuing the upload. His eyes widened in shock and despair as he realized that Team Neos had no intent on cancelling the leakage of information.

xXx

''Finally! It's over!'' Lily exclaimed, stretching her arms as Team Neos and Team Dark found themselves back at the wooded area where the Egg Carrier was. ''Now we can go home!''

''I'd say that we should celebrate this! This is a big victory for us!'' Minami said, with everyone giving her a look of interest.

''Yeah, this calls for a big party!'' Sonic said excitedly.

''I suppose we could celebrate this at my home. Knuckles and I will arrange everything,'' Lily said, with he rest of the group cheering in approval and getting into the Egg Carrier, and Rouge and Touka trying to convince Omega not to blow up Eggman yet as they still needed to return home. The last ones to climb inside were Sonic and Shadow, with Sonic having given the Miles Electric back to Tails, the upload having been complete.

''That was a quite decisive behavior you had displayed earlier,'' Shadow commented, drawning Sonic's attention.

''You think it was decisive?'' Sonic asked in a sheepish tone, rubbing the back of his head. ''I don't know… I did come off as a bit… rough and cold, I guess.'' He then stopped walking, only to snort in amusement. ''Actually, when I think about it, I kinda sounded like you.''

Shadow rose an eyebrow. ''So, I sound rough and cold?''

''Well, now that I think about it… You actually sound way warmer than before,'' Sonic said, scratching his cheek and grinning. ''It's actually really nice and calming to listen to you talk.''

Shadow remained speechless, being genuinely surprised by the compliment. He then tried to play it cool. ''I suppose I will also have to listen to you talk as well.''

''Heh, I missed you too, Shadow,'' Sonic replied, taking note of how tense Shadow looked and just figuring that the latter wasn't going to admit that he missed his rival as well.

[...]

''Speak of the Devil,'' Rouge said, suddenly spotting the two missing teammates at the front gate. Touka and Shadow had soon joined them, with Touka carrying a plastic bag with her, looking around at the yard in front of the Crystle Mansion, clearly impressed by how fast Lily and Knuckles had arranged for the place to be decorated and food to be delivered for the party. As for Shadow, he was suddenly approached by Sonic.

''You're late, Faker,'' he said, giving Shadow a smug grin. Shadow snorted, just shaking his head, well aware what Sonic was referring to. Meanwhile, Touka approached Omega, holding up the plastic bag.

[...]

Sonic then looked up, spotting a dark figure on the roof of the mansion and smirked. He managed to find his way up to the top of the roof, with Shadow giving him a slightly questioning look, well aware that Sonic was about to interrupt his moment of peace.

''Do you mind some company?'' Sonic asked, with Shadow pausing for a moment, then shaking his head. Sonic sat next to him, with Shadow taking note of just how close he was, but he didn't mind his presence. Sonic gave him a curious look. ''Why don't you join the others at the party? After all, you're one of the guests of honor.''

''While I am happy to be here, this doesn't mean that I'm going to socialize,'' Shadow responded, glancing at Sonic. His rival just grinned, understanding well that Shadow still wouldn't socialize with other people unless necessary – even if they were his own teammates. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate them.

''It seems like things are gonna go back to normal,'' Sonic said, both him and Shadow watching over their friends as they had fun.

''I don't think that you can call this kind of life normal in comparison to those of other people,'' Shadow remarked.

''Yeah, but you can now live a life without having to worry that anyone from Codex or ARMS will go after you and Touka. I'd call that a 'normal' life,'' Sonic pointed out.

''I suppose you're correct in regards to that,'' Shadow responded, feeling a sense of relief. It was as if someone removed a huge boulder from his chest and he could breathe a bit easier now. He knew that Sonic was right and that with Prof. Sakamoto being dead and ARMS not bothering them anymore, he and Touka could live a life without having to worry that they would be used as weapons again. ''It is a relief…''

Shadow was startled when he was suddenly pulled into a hug by Sonic, his own heart racing and his tan muzzle turning a faint shade of red. His crimson eyes were wide and his body tense, with his first instinct being to push Sonic away. However, he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't explain it, but there was just something about being hugged by Sonic like this, something comforting, and he wasn't really sure how to respond. But, before he could even say or do anything, Sonic had released him, giving him an awkward smile.

''Oh, right… you don't like physical contact that much,'' Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. Shadow stared at him for a moment, only to sigh, realizing that Sonic was just happy that he was here and wanted to show it in a different way.

''Since it's you, I suppose I can give you a free pass this time…huh?'' Shadow was startled when Sonic suddenly pulled him into another hug, burying his nose into his shoulder and holding him tightly. Shadow, trying to ignore a familiar sensation of warmth, narrowed his eyes, adding in a deadpan tone, ''What I meant is that I'll give you a free pass for the hug earlier. That wasn't an invitation for more.''

''Too late, Faker. You won't get rid off me so easily,'' Sonic lifted his head, gazing into Shadow's eyes and grinning at him mischievously. Shadow remained unamused and, for a moment, he thought about his response. To Sonic's surprise, he suddenly felt Shadow's arms wrapping around his torso, with Shadow burying his head into his shoulder, pulling him as close as possible. Sonic felt a wave of heat spreading through his body, his fawn muzzle turning a slight shade of red and his heart beating like crazy. Rest assured, he never expected that Shadow would hug him back, but it wasn't an unwelcome gesture. In fact, he really enjoyed it.

''Heh, so you are a hugger,'' Sonic said, his voice carrying a comforting warmth, only for the smile to fade a moment later when Shadow spoke again.

''I don't mind getting a hug so long as it is from a person I trust. It was a source of comfort for me, especially whenever I couldn't deal with the pressure I was put under or when I suffered from nightmares,'' Shadow said in a calm, somber tone. Sonic felt his own heart breaking for Shadow.

''Shads…'' He wanted to offer words of comfort, but nothing came to his mind. His ears then perked up when he heard Shadow speak again in a sharp tone.

''If you tell this to anyone, I will personally throw you into Cosmo River,'' Shadow threatened, moving his head back and glaring at Sonic, but still keeping his hands around Sonic's waist. Sonic snorted, trying to sound as serious as he could.

''Understood,'' he said, offering a sincere smile. While Shadow still kept a stern expression, Sonic did take note that his gaze did soften a little. ''Thanks for telling me that. I'm really glad that you trust me so much.''

''It cannot be helped… After all, you are a thorn in my side,'' Shadow responded, with Sonic suddenly burying his head right into Shadow's white chest fluff.

''D'aaaww, I heart you too, Shads,'' he said.

Shadow sighed, knowing that, if Sonic had done this several weeks ago, he would've kicked his rival off the roof and yelled at him for getting so close. But now, he realized that he had warmed up enough to Sonic to let him do whatever he wanted. Shadow then buried his muzzle on top of Sonic's head, feeling the soft blue fur, and took a deep breath. It was certainly a confusing feeling, and he had to admit, it was a bit daunting to deal with it, but at this point, whatever wall he put between himself and Sonic had been broken down. He knew that he could trust Sonic with his own life, but he still wouldn't trust him with his own insecurities and show his vulnerable side… at least until now. As a matter of fact, he was looking forward to going back to their usual rivalry.

''So, do you want to race?'' Sonic's question snapped Shadow out of his thoughts, the latter having no clue how long they had remained in that embrace. Sonic, clearly clueless about that, grinned as he gave Shadow a confident smile. ''I had been itching to finally challenge you again.''

Shadow just gave him a haughty look. ''I see… I suppose I should've figured that you'd be eager to lose to me.''

''Lose?'' Sonic suddenly got up, scoffing. ''Only in your dreams, Shads. You won't catch me so easily.''

Shadow stood up, folding his arms across his chest. ''Hmph, don't get too cocky, Hedgehog. One distraction, and you'll be suffering a humiliating defeat.''

''We'll see in a bit! Ready?'' Sonic said, taking a running stance.

''Set,'' Shadow said, smirking as he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline.

''GO!''

There was a rush of wind, with the blue and black-orange blurs vanishing into the night, both determined to continue their rivalry and prove who the faster Hedgehog between them was.

Links:

#Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Starfall Arc & The Green Hill Zone Arc)

#Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Chaos Rising Arc)

#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Still Subject to Change Chapter 29 (NEW)

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Hello everyone! i decided to repost arc 1 of SSTC

(the chapters were way too long and had a bunch of typos but hopefully this will make reading easier)

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

if there are still any grammatical errors i’m sorry.

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Barsen could probably waltz into any room of the castle and nobody would deem him a threat.

Because he wasn't one, He was just the gardener and tended to all plants here, including the ones inside the castle even if those were just potted flowers and the like.

“Say how do you like the celebration party?

They throw one any chance they get so after a while its just boring”

He was probably right, being at a party was fun but at some point it was enough, also i was pretty sure the music had gotten even louder.

Looking over I was pretty sure some of the musicians were slightly inebriated.

“Well i liked the long yellow fruit”

It had been tasty, and cinnamon bread was something I already knew.

“The Banana?”

That surely wasn’t its name, was it?

“That’s what it’s called? Really?”

“Really, they grow on palm trees in bundles like grapes”

I just stared at him, I didn’t think he was making stuff up as he took his job seriously but at the same time the yellow fruit got more ridiculous by the minute.

Well he’d know better than me, I was no expert on plants.

But if they did grow on palm trees it was no wonder I had never seen one before, palm trees were more tropical plants as far as i knew.

Why was I thinking about the semantics of a damn plant anyway?

Man, my brain felt slightly foggy.

Maybe one of the many treats I ate contained some alcohol after all.

Also it was loud as fuck in here and stupidly warm too.

I’d get some fresh air after I found Rikaad.

Where was he anyway?

“Hey, have you seen Rikaad? Uh i mean the new King, I wanted to talk to him”

He was probably still guilty about the stabbing thing so I wanted to let him know that Oakley fixed it.

“Hmm, well i saw him last in the corner with the big punch bowl, i’m not entirely sure how coherent you’ll meet him though”

Eh, good enough, and knowing him he wouldn’t have had too many drinks.

“Really? Thank you! I’ll head over then, see you around”

He waved and went back to, well whatever he was doing before.

So Rikaad was in one of the corners that had a big bowl.

There were only four corners so that technically shouldn't take that long.

And one of the corners was occupied by the musicians that somehow managed to get even louder to cover the happy and drunk howling of some of the guests.

So that left three other corners to check.

And only two of them contained tables, so I only had to go through half the room.

Walking to the corner that was closest meant I wouldn’t have to walk through much of a crowd, a crowd that had gotten increasingly drunk over the course of the late evening.

Not the most pleasant company to be honest, but I bore it and did my best to avoid any sort of smalltalk from the inebriated patrons.

Weaving through the people was at least something I was already familiar with from my time on the street so I managed to not bump into anyone till I reached the corner.

No Rikaad here, hmm, but there was a plate of more cinnamon bread.

Yoinking one I went back to weaving through the crowd to get to the other corner while munching on the tasty bread.

hopefully Rikaad was still there and hadn’t left for some other table.

Oh wait, there he was, talking to Norrin who was pouring himself some of the punch with a ladle that looked way too fancy for my tastes.

Norrin just waved and gave a thumbs up as he saw me and I noticed that his face was slightly flushed pink, he’d had some of the punch for sure.

Whatever, it surely wasn’t bad if he still managed to hold a conversation.

Rikaad shoved his cup away, a cup that I was pretty sure contained alcohol that he didn’t want to drink judging by the face he’d made when he looked at it.

“Hello Donovan, how do you like the music?”

Back to smalltalk huh, not exactly my favorite part of a conversation.

Well, Norrin was here and until he left neither of us could talk about what we actually wanted.

“I think it’s Loud, like a bit too much so, but i’m gonna go outside later anyway”

The obnoxious music certainly wasn’t helping my brain defog and some fresh air would be nice.

At least the musicians could actually play the instruments, and where some of the better ones I’d heard.

Thankfully Norrin decided to leave at that moment.

“Maybe I can ask them to tune it down? I’ll be back in a bit”

He went up to the opposite corner to try and talk to the musicians.

I immediately turned back to Rikaad after making sure nobody else was within earshot.

“Uhh, well, about the stabbing thing;

Oakley managed to help me so it’s all good now, he used some magic paste or whatever it was so the stitches are gone too”

I didn’t tell him that Oakley had to rip them out, he didn’t need to know and besides it was good now, no pain no wound just like before.

Beides, hearing that what he had done in an effort to help me turned out to be dangerous just because he used the wrong items wouldn’t help.

Even if it had hurt as hell when they got ripped out.

I could see him slightly untense at the information and I hoped he would stop feeling so guilty about it.

“So you are okay now? No lasting damage?”

I nodded my head at his questions.

“No, I’m good, don’t worry, I just wanted to tell you that I’m fine now so you can stop dwelling on it.

Now you have fun at this party, i’m going outside for some fresh air, It's way too loud in here and the temperature is not helping my brain to stay focused and i wanna leave before i do something dumb or embarrassing”

“Your face does look a bit pink, just make sure you don’t fall of the cliff and avoid any Guards you don’t know, i’m not sure if everyone has gotten the information yet that you are a friend”

I nodded at him, I had planned to go back into the Ardua form and sleep on the rock Barsen showed us anyway, Since the shed was still a bit dusty and I had no idea how to navigate the castle, Nevermind that I had no idea which rooms were occupied and which ones were free.

As for falling off the cliff, I wasn’t THAT stupid and the atmosphere here was still somewhat tolerable for me, It literally was just a tiny bit too warm and loud that put a slight fog over my brain.

“I’m not that feeling that bad, it’s just a bit too loud and the air a bit too stale for my tastes, i’ll be fine, oh and if you see Robin tell him i’m back outside by the rock”

“of course, i’ll let him know should i see him”

At his affirmation that he’d tell Robin he saw me I left to go outside again.

As soon as the cool air hit my face I felt immediately better and the fog in my mind cleared.

After all, I was just a bit overwhelmed with that many people in one room, not to mention the overly loud music and way too many people heating up the room just by being there.

Eh, whatever, I already felt better and I wasn’t going to go back inside.

I decided that such events weren’t my thing. 

Aside from the tasty food, There wasn’t much to do anyway and I barely knew anyone.

Walking a few steps away from the castle so I was sure I wouldn’t bump into anything I twisted the gem on the bracelet and was promptly back in the Ardua form,

Shaking the stiffness out from my limbs.

Yeah, way better, and now i didn’t have to worry about anyone flipping out about my pointy ears.

By now word would have gotten around about the green beast that was friends with the king so this probably was the safer option to just hang around the castle as a whole.

There was also the fact that most people wouldn’t randomly attack something this big.

And the long legs were faster than my human form which was also a plus as I could get from the castle back to the rock in a matter of barely a minute.

By now it had gotten dark outside, it was still bright enough to find my way but I steered clear of anything I couldn’t identify.

At least the way back to the rock wasn’t that far and I made sure not to get too close to the edge as it probably was a lot more dangerous to get near in the dark.

Even if I found that I could see strangely well, but then again there was still light from the castle windows.

And the stars, they were actually very pretty even if the light from the castle made them a bit harder to see.

Just to be on the safe side I went to the spot where the boulder went under the dirt, so a good few feet away from the cliff itself.

I wasn’t keen on falling off of that should I fall asleep.

I’d end up impaled on one of those spikes, or drowning if the impact didn’t kill me.

No thanks, living is actually nice now.

Settling on the patch of grass next to the boulder I ended up staring out into the darkness for a bit.

This place was actually really pretty, the castle staff took good care of it even if the floorplan was absolutely moronic, like whose idea was it to build like this?

But so far the garden was my favorite place.

I briefly wondered if Barsen had any helpers or if he did it all by himself.

Surely not, he might be good but nobody could be everywhere at once, And just because I hadn’t seen anyone else working in the garden didn’t mean there was no one helping out.

At a sudden noise that sounded like a snapping branch I turned my head to whatever was disturbing the quiet that was here just a moment ago.

At first I saw nothing, which I attributed to suddenly looking at the light from the castle again, but then I could make out a human silhouette.

With the light coming from behind it was hard to tell who it was, especially since they were hunched over and seemed to have their hands over their ears.

The figure let out a high pitched whine and I suddenly recognized the voice, as well as the mop of red hair they possessed.

“Robin? Are you okay?”

I immediately stood up and went over to him to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

He was acting strange and only seemed to register that I was here after I spoke.

And he didn’t stop clutching his head.

I wished he’d step out of the bushes and into a brighter part so I could make sure he wasn’t bleeding.

“Donovan? I- i… what are you doing here?”

He sounded like hed been crying, oh fuck what happened?

I hadn’t been gone that long so what was going on?

I kneeled down, or at least what was the equivalent of that as Ardua and looked him over.

“Hey, are you okay? What happened? Why are you out here alone?

Are you hurt? Why are you holding your head like this?”

He didn’t seem to be bleeding from anywhere, but that still did not mean that he didn’t get whacked in the head.

He looked up at me and in the sparse light of the castle I could see half dried tear tracks that went down his face.

He was also slightly hyperventilating and trembling, What the hell had happened after I left?

Softening my voice as much as I could, I kneeled even closer to him, attempting to comfort him with my presence.

“Hey, talk to me, what happened?”

He suddenly wrapped his arms around the fluffy part of my neck and kept holding the fur while he trembled.

“I- I’m sorry, it’s just- just too much, way too much, it’s too loud, too bright and there are too many people! I- my brain can’t keep up, it’s just- ! “

He had started hyperventilating even worse as he spoke, and while I still wasn’t sure what was going on at least I knew now that he hadn’t been attacked or otherwise physically hurt.

“I’m not sure what exactly you mean, but if you want some peace and quiet you can just join me in lazing about out here?”

Since he was now very close to my vocal chords I took extra care to not be too loud and keep my voice soft for him.

He just mumbled something that definitely wasn’t words and shoved his tear stricken face into my mane.

Well, then I would have to figure it out myself.

Hooking one arm under him and holding him in the space between my neck and underarm I walked on three legs to the spot I had just left before and settled down again.

This time with a little ginger cuddled up to my thorax and hiding in the fur of my short mane curled up with his hands over his head as if to protect himself from some unseen foe.

The worst thing was that I had no idea what the hell was wrong or even how to help him.

I found it best to try again to get an at least somewhat coherent answer.

“Robin? I’m not sure what is going on right now, Can you tell me? I want to help but i don’t know how”

At first I thought he wouldn’t respond, aside from another high pitched whine, but then he finally gave me at least some information.

“My brain is screaming at me, that I need to go hide and that there’s too much noise, too much- everything right now! And it wont shut up!”

He sobbed out.

Oh, he had a bad brain day, err night, I've had some of those, shortly after my mother had died but they weren’t frequent and certainly not as severe as his.

Apparently all the stuff that had happened over the past month had just gotten too much as he attended the party where a ton of loud people were and not to mention that the room was stupidly hot too.

“Well, considering what has happened over the course of the last month that isn’t really a surprise, believe me my brain had trouble catching up at all!

And don’t worry, everyone gets overwhelmed sometimes, that’s just a thing that happens, you can stay with me for as long as you want”

He just tried to bury himself further in the fur of my neck, even if there wasn’t that much more to burrow into.

“S’not the first time, it happens a lot to me and i don’t know why, I don’t do anything that the others don’t, so why me?

Why’s my brain like this?

I try my best to keep it together but it never works”

He sniffled a little and continued to try and disappear into my fur.

Oh, so this was not a new nor unusual occurrence for him, no wonder he tried to ditch the party by hiding out in the garden.

And the fact that he hyperventilated must have been because he had a panic attack before me speaking snapped him out of it.

“Is there ANYthing i can do to help you?

If not we can just stay here for a while”

He curled up against my neck and mumbled.

“I just wanna hide somewhere till my brain is quiet again, but i don’t wanna be alone, but i also don’t wanna see anyone’s face right now”

Well, those were a tiny bit conflicting with each other, What the hell was I even supposed to do with that information?

With his form curled so close to my throat he couldn’t see my face, and it was sorta hidden, he wasn’t alone either.

But maybe that was still too exposed for him?

Or too loud as I could still faintly hear the party in the distance and see the stupidly bright light from the windows.

“I- well what can i do?

I’m not the smartest in such stuff so please tell me”

He pressed himself even more into the fur of my throat, if that was even possible and mumbled into it.

“I- i just want to Hide, somewhere were the outside world can’t get me”

“Hide? Where? Do you want me to bring you to Oakleys tower?

Oakley might even be able to help better than I did, but if he didn’t want to see more people right now then I would just try my best and hope that it would work.

“No, I- i want you to hide me, can you hide me again? Like in the snow?”

Like in the snow? What did he-

Oh.

Surely that wasn’t what he meant?

“i- like when you were cold?

Are you absolutely sure that’s what you want?”

feeling him nod i could hear the softest voice answer

“Mhm, i just wanna be somewhere where the outside world can’t get me, but i don’t wanna be alone either, and i know you wont hurt me”

He wanted to hide with me, go back in THERE of all things too.

And only because he thought it would help, and that he was absolutely convinced that I would not hurt him.

How the FUCK could i say no to him? I couldn’t, not when he displayed such an amount of trust in me that I would keep him safe.

“Only if you are absolutely sure, and if you get scared for any reason tell me and i’ll get you out as fast as i can, okay?”

He made an agreeing sound and slowly uncurled a little so he could reach my face.

While getting out of my mane he used one hand to brace himself on my face, and his hands were tiny, HE was tiny.

If he truly thought this would help him then i would do it, even if i didn’t understand it, i said i’d help him so i would even if it was rather unusual.

I carefully shifted around him so I had enough space to move my head properly and he wouldn’t have to awkwardly climb over my legs.

He just stood there for a second, hugging himself with his arms and slightly hunched over,

He was so small, he already wasn’t a tall human but with me as Ardua he was just so tiny, and with him standing there so vulnerable right now it was as if a breeze could knock him over.

I took a deep breath before looking at him again.

“Okay, last chance to back out, are you SURE about this?

If you don’t wanna say anything, tap three times and I’ll stop, okay?”

He was still shaking, and I had no idea how long such an episode usually lasted but I was sure that if he thought it would help then I’d do it.

He just leaned forward and put his slightly shaking forehead against my snout.

I could feel that his head was cold and clammy, yeah, he needed help.

“M’ sure, go ahead”

He mumbled out in a shaky voice.

That was probably all the confirmation I was gonna get from him.

So without further ado i opened my mouth, waiting for just one second in case he backed out at the last moment.

He didn’t, instead he reached out and grabbed hold of one of my teeth.

Admittedly that was a very weird sensation, but since he seemed to be okay with it I brought him fully into my mouth, making sure to shield my bottom teeth with my tongue so there was no chance he could get nicked by one.

I gave him a few more seconds before I closed my mouth and sealed him in, then I waited a few more seconds, sort of expecting him to tap three times and ask to be let out.

There was no tapping, instead he just kind of sunk into my tongue, relaxing the tiniest bit.

This was weird as fuck, but i didn’t do it for myself, I did it to help my friend.

If someone had told me a few months ago that i would actually have friends i’d have laughed at them, but now I actually did have people to care about.

And a lot of other unbelievable stuff happened too of course, like right now.

Since Robin still hadn’t asked to be let out I decided to slowly tip my head back, giving him one last chance to back out before I swallowed.

Robin just put his arms over his head, not in an attempt to stop though,

It was more like he tried to make himself slimmer.

He really was okay with this, well he had suggested it, weird as it was.

Tipping my head fully back I let him slide a bit before taking the first swallow.

I waited for one second to see if this would cause him to freak out but there was nothing aside from the trembling that had persisted since he walked into me.

I gently swallowed again, Placing my paw softly against my throat, I was barely able to sense the bulge traversing down before it made its way behind my collarbone and out of reach from my limbs.

Another swallow then sent him spilling into my pouch and I held my breath, there was still a chance that this could cause him to freak out.

He did not freak out luckily, The only movement he made was to right himself and get out of the sort of upside down position he had initially landed in since he’d gone in head first.

He was still trembling though, so I thought it best to check up on him in case he just froze in a fight or flight response.

“Robin? Are you okay? If you are scared i’ll let you out right away”

“No, I’m- i’m okay, i’m calmer now, this is actually helping”

Thank FUCK he wasn’t freaking out, and it really was helping? How?

At least he wasn’t trembling as much anymore, if that was from finally calming down or his adrenaline running out I couldn’t tell.

I hoped it was the former.

“Hey Robin? Not to pry but uhh, How is this helping?”

If he didn’t want to answer that was also okay, but I couldn’t deny that I was curious as to WHY.

I could feel him shift for a second before he answered, or at least tried to.

“I- well- i just-”

He seemed to flop over and I was pretty sure I heard an annoyed groan before he tried again, this time a lot more coherent as the words just spilled from his mouth.

“Sometimes the world is just too loud, there’s noise everywhere and- and if it gets too much I just can’t anymore!

And it’s so bright too! Some days it hurts my eyes.

And then it’s too quiet again which makes me really anxious that people don’t like me and don’t want to talk to me!

But here it’s- it’s sort of calm? Like it’s not silent, I can hear your Heart and everything and I know I’m not alone but-,

I- I feel like nothing can get me while I’m here, I feel like I don’t have to stare people in the face to find clues to what they actually mean!

I get it wrong most of the time anyway, and you’re the only one that always tells the truth so I don’t have to guess if you actually mean what you said or not!

And there’s no light to hurt my eyes! I mean it’s not completely dark.

Just sorta very dim so it’s not scary either.

I mean you’re not scary, at all, you’re nice to me even if you don’t have to.

I just- sometimes I feel like there is too much space and I don’t like it!

But- it’s nice to be able to escape reality, At- at least for a little bit.

I- I’m sorry for rambling, if you don’t want me here now i’ll leave!

I know i’m weird-”

“It’s okay, I’m weird too, I mean look at me, I’m a big green catlike creature with flowers growing on its back and a pointy eared bastard, and sometimes a giant”

I interrupted him before he could talk himself back into a less than ideal headspace.

How about I’ll promise you something? Is that okay?”

“Mmh?”

He seemed a bit confused that I would offer to promise him anything.

Well as half Fae it was binding, so i could not back out, ever.

PREVIOUS / NEXT / OVERSIGHT

[missingmayuri]

Embrace Of The Second

Akon X Reader

You had never quite gotten used to not seeing her stood there by his side day by day. Her absence was still felt after all these years since her passing. For a long time Captain Kurotsuchi seemed empty inside, despite how well he hid it from most.

That's probably why the decision of a replacement was so swift and just. Akon had forever also been by his side and while not in the same vain you understood his decision. It was a man the Captain trusted with his innermost secrets for many a year, a man who knew him as well as Nemu did, even down to his morning routine. Yet the sight of the horned lab member in proper uniform sank your heart, feeling the loss of Nemu Kurotsuchi ever harder in your soul.

Akon was an almost perfect fit, loyal, trusting, rational just to name a few of his qualities and yet you couldn't seem to shake how wrong the whole situation felt and it left your body shaking as you stared up at the code passing you by, unable to take it all in. Today was one of those days, the days reality all hits. All those memories from the attack and the impact it had on your once humble afterlife.

You couldn't concentrate.

Taking breaks from work was never your style so you were sure Hiyosu wouldn't mind if you took a few moments to compose. As expected he didn't even try to stop you. He watched you leave into the dimness of the hall, being swallowed by the darkness until you emerged on the lighter side of life.

The wind blew past you, taking a deep breath to help calm yourself as you led your back against the wall of the tower. Being so high up meant the air was silent and the walls of the lab were made as such to be soundproof, apart from the emergency alarms of course which could be heard clearly inside and out. It made for the most serene place in the whole of the Soul Society. It brought a smile to your face.

It was ironic that the place where the most innovation was made and in the past where the most blood was shed would be so peaceful.

It made the place below you seem worlds apart from your current location. Here was quiet yet just behind you and down below it was chaos and order, having never truly returned to form no matter how hard the new Head Captain tried.

Your thoughts were shaken by a familiar smell beside you.

Smoke.

Cigarette Smoke.

There was only one person you knew smoked in the whole department and as testament to his skill and new title you didn't even hear him approach, let alone light up.

"You seem out of sorts today eh?"

Akon stood closely beside you, obviously on a break of his own. You could tell by the untucking of his shirt, something he used to do when you both and Hiyosu took group breaks in the past.

"What's eatin' ya?"

You couldn't find it in your heart to answer, just stare at the badge on his arm with a few wayward tears in your eyes. Pretty quickly your actions are noted and the badge is removed.

That's the Akon you knew. Forever the pleaser and forever the quick thinking and understander and with a clearly heavy heart and a deep saddened sigh you feel the warm embrace from the new second and his thin frame.

"I miss her too. Didn't deserve the ending she got"

You and Akon had always been close, some say more like partners then workers. You were but also a child when Akon arrived, back when Urahara was running the show and Hiyori was never one for good decent company. You spent a lot of time with him and over the years a few extra feelings blossomed, that much you could admit. He and you both knew where your relationship stood so intimate moments like this were not out of the ordinary but also not common either, more reserved for times of true torture and anguish.

You could feel his heart against your ears, gripping his pristine black clothes tighter. Was it to stop him vanishing too? To stop him leaving? Perhaps so but in that moment you find yourself resting your face onto his chest, tears from your eyes soaking whatever surface they could find.

A hand ran it's fingers through your hair comfortingly, a soft chuckle in the air.

"Hey. I'm still here. You ain't ever getting rid of me"

You couldn't help but grin, no doubt in your mind that he was telling the truth. He had never been one for lies, always blunt and to the point.

"Besides. I can't go anywhere yet. I got things I ain't done"

You pull away and look up to those murky eyes, shining like the sun itself. You tilt your head in confusion before a soft pair of lips grace yours with their presence.

Your eyes were wide with shock, a little horror and happiness. His breath was minty despite his habits and you could swear he was wearing lip gloss,lips tasting like cherries.It was truly every emotion at once and before your mind could even comprehend the situation it was over, Akon towering over you with the most genuine smile you had seen in at least the last ten years.

"I couldn't even think about leaving before making ya happy and since nobody is happy all the time I can't leave cos I gotta be here to help ya with that"

You flung your arms around him tightly with the most genuine smile you too had displayed in years.

In that moment life felt right again, for the first time since the war. Nemu was gone but she was beside you, much like Akon would be from here on out.

If perfection existed. This world was it and you were ready to face it.

[marchswifey]

Perhaps

JPM x fem reader • 1.4k words

a/n: Hello! this his is my first fic so it sucks really bad, english is not my first language so i apologize for any mistake. I hope it didn’t turn out too cringe :) If you want to give me tips, please i need some!!

Warnings: fluff, sex, use of the word daddy, reader being childish

"Perhaps dear…"

Yet again, the response that he gives everytime you ask if he has the same feelings as you.

You met james a month ago when you first checked in at the Hotel Cortez. The first night you went to the bar and while you were talking with the bartender, Liz, a man wearing pinstripe suit with a thin mustache, 20s style walked to the counter and offered you a drink while complimenting your ravishing beauty.

Of course it ended with you both naked on his luxury room. His first plan was to murder you like he always does with his victims, but something about you stopped him from taking away your life, neither he knows if that’s your beauty or the way you two spent the night in a way he had never experienced, not even with the Countess. The sure thing is that you've captured his attention not just for a sex and murder evening.

And here you are, in his room, turned deflated to your side of the bed wondering for the million time why he always avoid to say the words that you want to hear so badly from him.

He notices your upset behavior and takes a small strand of your hair playing idly with it "Sweetness, what makes you so upset hm?" His deep brown eyes look right at your gloomy face waiting for your reply, while keeping his signature warm and charming smile you have fallen for months ago at the bar. "What's wrong?" he continues.

You don't move from your position still facing away from him "I'm tired" you simply say, James lights his cigar before putting a hand on your bare shoulder "That makes the two of us, eh darling?" he sighs "Why don't we rest together so i can caress that pretty hairs of yours" seeing you still silent he chuckles at your childish behavior before pulling you to his chest with one hand on your hair and the other on the cigar that he smokes in the mean time "Ah that's better".

The next morning you wake up alone in your room, you look around for James without managing to find him so you stand up and head to the shower. Later that day you hear a knock on your door, you walk towards it and once you open it James with a beautiful bouquet of flower shows up "My darling, i noticed something that bothered you last night so i asked Liz to find me the most gorgeous blue orchids she could find, your favorites, in hope to make you feel better" you move away from the door letting him in "you shouldn't have bothered" you say dryly.

"Oh I know how much you love orchids my lady, even more than red roses" he takes a look at you, he is able to tell how much you are upset, his hand cupping your cheek

"What's troubling you my lady? I promise I'll solve whatever it is" he looks very serious, no charming smile on his face now "You know what upset me" your voice sounds bitter.

"Dear, i'm a ghost but i can't read minds" His hand leaves your cheek and goes to your hips, playing with the end of the dress that you're wearing "Tell me" you sigh "You don't love me"

He stays silent for a second then chuckles raising a eyebrow "Oh, why would you think that?"

"For you it's just a 'perhaps' everytime i ask you" you sit on the bed sadly.

His eyes soften and he lets go of your hips. He sits next to you kissing your shoulder. "You're being too sensitive darling. is that what you're worried about? a word?"

"Am i not good enough for you? Maybe i'm not like the girls you were used to court in the 20s, or maybe i'm not like your beautiful wife or whatever she is for you. Sometimes i wonder why you didn’t kill me in the first place" you vent, he immediately shake his head in disbelief

"Oh, no my sweet, what a silly girl you are. You are more than enough for me, you are my universe, the way you make me feel...I haven't felt that way in more than 50 years, please darling don't be upset by this nonsense" he lowers his head, and keeps it like that for a minute, then he looks up at you, he puts one of his hands on your thigh while the other one touches your cheek "I adore you, you're adorable and you have a body that would make Picasso cry of joy" He lean your face closer to his and kisses you with his hungry lips. "Would you find it in your heart to forgive me for not expressing my feelings earlier, my sweet?" he waits for an answer while looking into your eyes lovingly. Hearing his sweet words your heart melts making you smile slightly "Of course James, that was a bit childish of me"

He kisses the tip of your nose happy to hear the words of forgiveness and squeezes you tighter like he is afraid of you pushing him away, "There it is. That's the beautiful smile that I love so much. Come here, my darling." He pulls you onto his lap, holding you tightly as you hide your face in his chest "So you love me?" you ask jovially "Yes darling" his warm comforting voice with his brahmin accent resounds in your ear "I truly love you more than anything on this planet."

He holds you firmly and lovingly, he then says "Now, you will stop pouting and listen to daddy" He chuckles as he gives you little pecks on your forehead while caressing your back, his fingers running down your waist. "My sweet.." he moves his hands from your waist to your thighs leaning in and starting to kiss you passionately

His kisses go down towards your neck finding the perfect spot to tease and he whispers "I think you have a sensitive spot here..." you let out a whimper as he sucks on your neck he runs his fingers over your ass, squeezing slightly before moving them down to your thighs

His fingers move down further, tracing over your inner thigh and brushing against your panties chuckling as he feels you moving your hips against his fingers. "So sweet and responsive darling..." his hand slips into your panties, finding your core and circling his finger around it. "Yes, I can feel how much you want me dear" his finger strokes against your clit, teasing it while you whimper frustrated wanting more

"Aw you don't like being teased, sweet thing? I guess we'll have to move straight forward then" he push you onto the soft sheets raising up your dress sliding it out of your body and then kneels between your legs, pulling off your panties and tossing them aside. His hands trace up your thighs, caressing your skin hungrily.

He takes your hard sensitive nipple between his lips, suckling it as two fingers slide inside you, moving in and out of your wetness making you moan loudly.

"Do you like that, my precious one?" you let out a loud moan as a response, James smirks down at you enjoying the look of desire on your face as he leans down to kiss you. You feel his body hover over yours as he quickly undoes his trousers and underwear, positioning himself at your entrance.

His eyes are locked on yours as he begins to move back and forth inside your wet folds. After a few minutes James grunts quietly, feeling his climax approaching quickly as he pushes inside you, feeling you tightening around him as you cum all over his dick. He lets out a deep moan, his seed spilling inside you as he gasps for such an intense orgasm, then he falls in the bed next to you.

"That was incredible," you roll over laying on his chest, he smiles down at you, brushing a lock of hair away from your face. "I love you, my goddess"

The lights of the Cortez are dimmed and you slowly fall asleep tenderly in his arms.

[my0vershareworld]

𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣?!

Pairing: Szayelaporro Granz, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, Nnoitra Gilga, Coyote Starrk x GN!Human reader (platonic)

Genre: Fluff, Crack, Headcaanons.

Requested by anon: This is a silly Headcanon but can you do Szayelaporro,Grimmjow,Nelliel,Nnoitra,and Starkk with a close friend or S/O (Whatever you prefer) that bites there shoulder when they hug them unexpectedly

Szayelaporro Granz

the first time when you did it it surprise and alert him far too much

but other than that he isn't so effected by the thing you do with his shoulder, he'll let you do it and pat your head like a cat

but if he was annoyed he'll dodge your hug and make you fall on your face

actually doesn't mind it much but if you ruined his clothes..that's fine he have a tons more clothes to wear anyways

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

got startled and hiss at you before grabbing your hair and throw you

absolute animalistic

once he got used to it he'll bite you back..hard..very harder-

one time he make your whole shoulder bleed that day

mind you a lot if you did it in front of other people since he don't wanted to be seen as soft or weak

other than that he'll bite your shoulder back most of the time

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanch

the hug, she found that friendly. but the bite was something that taken her by surprise and she squeak

but she'll took the bite as a playful bite and bite back, but unlike Grimmeow she bite back softly as a playing manner

she'll start doing the same with you by coming up behind you and tackle you into a bear hug and then bite your shoulder and giggle

never minded when you bite her since it doesn't hurt much and actually like doing it back at you

she finds it adorable

Nnoitra Gilga

is skin is tougher than a steel. so pretty much rip your teeth first of all

either way he doesn't felt much and just giggle when he sees that your teeth are fucking hurting, he finds it amusing that you do that to him despite the fact knowing that his skin is tougher than a steel

will dare you to bite his skin again

if you didn't, good

if you did, teeth gone

Coyote Starrk

woke him up and startled him, badly

he'll fucking scream but then seeing is you he just..stare at you and goes back to being 'too tired for your shit'

once he get used to it he'll just let you bite him, he won't mind just don't do it too harsh..but eh is fine I guess- arrancar are physically stronger than normal humans anyways

just stop minding whenever you bit him and after those time he just started to know that whoever bite his shoulder like that is you and he just go 'hey {Name}'