#neither of you are allowed to give relationship advice. please take several seats

[charmixpower]

Bloom: Tecna. You and Timmy are always texting, chatting, and emailing. You never spend any time face to face

Stella: You're having an all virtual relationship, which is like virtually impossible

I'm going to strangle them

Please refer me to exactly where Tecna invited the both of you into her relationship, I'd love to see it

Look at how upset she is!!! Crimes!!! Crimes!!!!

[solinarimoon]

Fields of Wildflowers chapter 9

Fields of Wildflowers

Chapter 9

A Sihtric x OC story

AN: This is my first attempt at writing smut!  Please let me know how you like it! If you want to read the previous chapters for this story, you can find them here. Or you can read my other works here.

Warnings: This chapter contains sexual content and is not for individuals under 18 years old.

Word Count: 3895ish

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“May I join you, Finan?”

Cwen paused to see the Irishman's reaction.  He sat, elbows on knees and face in hands along a bench outside the new Queen of Mercia’s chambers.  

Startled at her words, he sat up abruptly.

“Cwen, of course.” 

Seeing who it was interrupting his thoughts, Finan resumed his slumped and dejected posture.

Cwen’s feet made soft echoes as she padded across the floor to take a seat next to him.

The hallway was thick with heat from the summer air.  Dust moats swirled in the sun’s rays that filtered in from the adjacent window.

Cwen leaned back against the wall and took in the sight of her companion.

“Something weighs on your mind?”

Finan ran his hands over his face and sat up to match Cwen’s posture.

“Other than the current illegal occupation of the city by a jilted rival king?”

“Yes, other than that.”

“Well, you might say something weighs on my mind, yes.”

Taking a breath and staring down at his hands, Finan spun one of his rings. Cwen waited several minutes for him to continue.

“I thought this would be a chance for Uhtred to find another path.  Another destiny for him to fall behind,” Finan leaned forward once more to rest his elbows on his knees.

“When we failed to win Bebbanburg, when we lost Beocca, it broke him. And we lost everything.  Starting over here, in Mercia would have been a fresh beginning for him. For all of us. A place to finally find some peace.”

“Are you so sure that is out of reach now?”  Cwen had not had time to process the turn of events with Uhtred abdicating the throne to Aethelflaed.  Not as Finan had it would seem.  What would this mean for any future with Sihtric.

To have only begun to explore the depths of their feelings then possibly have that torn away from her had not crossed Cwen’s mind until that instant. Suddenly, she felt as if a snake had coiled itself inside her ribs, slowly constricting her heart. 

“Are you thinking about Sihtric now?”

“Yes.” 

Finan did not pry her to speak further of her relationship with his brother in arms. Instead he returned his attention to twisting his rings and ruminating on his own concerns. 

Cwen’s mind raced as she thought about losing Sihtric and the comfort and companionship she had found in him.  Without ever even realizing it, she had begun to place him into her future.  Seeing herself years down the road, it was Sihtric she saw at her side.  But now those images seemed hazy.  As if they had lost their focus with this new information.  If Sihtric were to leave Mercia with Uhtred, where would that leave room for her in his life.

Finan shifted his posture on the bench. It brought Cwen out of her own thoughts to glance at her friend.  Cwen pushed the distressing images to the back of her mind and focused her attention on Finan.  The man looked miserable.

“Have you talked with her?”

Finan’s hand stilled but his eyes remained downcast. 

“To Eadith?” She pushed. 

Cwen watched as Finan raised his head to gaze out the window and take a breath. It was small but his head gently swept from side to side. 

“I know that there is so much yet for Sihtric and myself to understand and discuss with one another. But I can say for my part, I do not regret allowing him to know my heart. We have not discussed it but I plan to now.  Knowing that our futures are uncertain I must speak with him.  But I am sure he does know I care for him.”

“You both would need to be blind to not see it.”

“Well I could say the same to you and Eadith both.”

Finan turned his head to meet Cwen’s face still remaining hunched over upon himself. 

“There is mutual affection between you both. And I do not know her plans for the future but I do feel you should speak with her. But who am I to give you advice?” Cwen finished crossing her arms over herself and turning her eyes to meet the window once more. 

“I would say you are a friend, Cwen. And one who we have all come to value a great deal.”

Cwen shot her eyes towards the Irishman and quirked a skeptical smile. 

“Do you not believe me?” Finan said with a light chuckle. 

“No, I do. It is just hard to accept when I have guarded myself for so long. Even before Eardwulf, I did not easily allow people into my life. Ever since losing my mother as a young girl. Even with Aethelflaed, I’ve kept her at an arm's distance you could say.  She is a few years older than I am and I love and respect her. And I have no doubt she cares about my friendship as well. But I could never bring myself to confide in her about Eardwulf. About what he would do to me. I told Sihtric I did not want to speak it aloud and make it true. But I also did not want to allow myself to let someone else in so close. It may sound strange,”

“It does not sound strange to me. We all deal with our grief and our turmoil differently. I doubt I would ever have formed such a bond with Uhtred or the others if Uhtred had not endured slavery alongside me. So I understand guarding yourself.”

The pair sat in companionable silence for several moments more. The sound of rustling coming from the door to Aethelflaed’s room caused Finan to stand. When the door did not open, he sat back down and leaned against the wall with his legs outstretched. 

“In case you’re afraid of speaking about your feelings with Sihtric, can I offer some advice since you’ve given me yours?”

“Even though it was unasked for?” Cwen replied with a wry smile. 

“Aye, even though it was.”

“Please continue, Finan?”

Cwen met Finan’s eyes as he turned to face her. 

“Trust him, Cwen.  He will not hurt you.  I have never, in all my years knowing the man, never seen him as I see him with you.”

Pausing to process Finan’s words, Cwen spoke softly, “what do you mean Finan?”

“I mean the man can not keep his eyes from you. It started at Saltwic. At least that’s when I noticed it. But he could not help himself for staring at you. I don’t think you noticed,”

“I did,” Cwen replied meekly. 

“Well whatever is between the two of ya, he is fiercely devoted to you and your protection. He is a loyal man and a strong warrior.  But I suspect you could bring him to his knees if you wanted to.  He isn’t a man of many words like myself.”

“Oh, you cheeky Irishman,” Cwen interrupted while lightly smacking his arm. 

Chucking, Finan continued, “But I know him well. And I know he would do anything to protect you, lady. To keep ya happy. To see you are never hurt again.”

“I trust him, Finan. Like I have never trusted anyone before. And we’ve barely even spoken of our feelings with one another. I want to say that this is just silly girlish fancy. To think so much of a thing without time spent exploring it more. But time has not allowed us that luxury. And even without that luxury, I know it in my heart. I can trust Sihtric to be gentle with my love.”

“Your love, Cwen? Is it love for you both then?”

“I have not spoken the words. But in my heart I know, for myself it is.”

“Aye. I have seen love before. So I can say by comparison, it is love.”

“Thank you, Finan. I did not come here to speak of these things but I am happy we have.”

“Me too.”

After a moment's pause, Cwen chuckled. 

“I expect you to let me know once you’ve spoken with Eadith.”

“Och, you won’t let this go will you?”

At that moment, Stiorra rounded the corner and stopped to stare at them. 

“What is it?”

“Get the Lady Aethelflaed. You all must see what is happening.”

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Cwen stood atop the ramparts next to Aethelflaed and Finan.

Uhtred and Osferth were approaching the gates from the main road followed closely by Sihtric bringing up the rear on a secondary path.  They all had scores of men following in their midst.  

They had raised the Mercian fyrd to bring support to the new Queen of Mercia.

“Lady Aethelflaed, your fyrd is here to support you,” called Uhtred.

While the lady spoke to her countrymen, Cwen’s eyes found Sihtric’s.

Her lips parted into a bright smile which Sihtric returned.

Leaning in to whisper in her ear, Finan said, “I told you I saw it.  And you’ve proved me right.”

Cwen gave no response.  She was too preoccupied watching Sihtric as he and the others made their way back inside the burg’s walls.  Aethelflaed had been able to appeal to King Edward’s rational mind and prove they could and should be allies once more.

Quickly, Cwen made her way down the stairs and across the yard to the stables.

After her words with Finan, Cwen knew she must make time to speak with Sihtric alone.  There was so much to discuss and so much that should not be left unsaid.

As she rounded the corner, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes found him.

He had not dismounted his horse, but instead appeared to be coaxing the grey mare and running his hand down her neck. He had not noticed Cwen’s presence yet.  She took a moment to just watch him.  The line of his jaw and the strength of his arms.  His strong gentle hands stroked the animal, speaking quiet words to still it’s hoofs.  Cwen imagined those hands on her own body, stroking, caressing.

The heat in her body ignited once more. She felt a swelling between her thighs and a pull low in her core.

Sihtric brought his eyes up from his horse and found hers.  Slowly, he brought the animal to her side and his eyes bore down on her.  Neither of them were smiling now.  Their faces both instead betrayed a deeper desire. Sihtric licked his lips which caused Cwen’s own to part as she released a sigh.

“Come with me,” Sihtric commanded as he guided the horse over to a hay bale.

Cwen stepped onto the bale and immediately felt his strong arm wrap around her waist to bring her onto his saddle.  

She rode in front of him, feeling the strength of his grip as he kept his hand securely on her waist.  Her waist twisted to place her back against him with both legs still placed to one side.  She could feel the heat from his breath on her neck and it sent rivers of pleasure down her spine.

Struggling to find her voice, Cwen managed to ask, “Where are we going?”

“Away from the world for a while.”

Cwen brought her finger to interlace with those gripping her hip.  Slowly, as they rode through the gates and past the camps set up outside the walls, Cwen moved his hand to settle on her torso. She felt his fingers grip and squeeze her and she desperately wanted to shift his hand lower on her body.  To feel his touch caressing her sex.  

Instead she arched her back against him and felt his lips ghost along the curve of her neck.

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

They did not make it far.  Distantly, Cwen could still hear the sounds from the camp.  But they were far enough to evade prying eyes.

Sihtric brought his horse into a copse of trees.  The ground was softly covered with moss and a warm breeze drifted through the branches.

As smooth as a cat, Sihtric dismounted from the horse, somehow never breaking his hold on her.

When he moved to ease Cwen from the saddle, he kept his body close.  Cwen slid along him as he controlled her down off the mare.

Keeping his arms wrapped around her, Sihtric slowly lowered her until her lips met his as he guided her down until her feet met solid ground.

Cwen’s hands gripped his shoulders tight and she fisted her fingers into his shirt.

She felt his hands hungrily move to wrap her waist and take grip of her neck.

Their mouths opened, tongues daring to explore.  

Cwen could feel Sihtric’s excitement against her stomach. Thinking of his arousal brought forth even more desire in Cwen and she released a mewling sigh against his lips.

Hearing her sound, Sihtric released her mouth and brought his lips to nip and suck along her collarbone causing Cwen to release even more quavering breaths of pleasure.

“Sihtric,” she breathed, speaking his name like a prayer.  The swelling between her legs was leaving her throbbing.  She felt her body writhing under his touch and was shocked to know how much she wanted more of him.

“Sihtric, please.”

Sihtric moved to pull back, “I am  sorry Cwen. I know I told you I would move slowly,” but Cwen cut him off by capturing his lips once more with hers. 

This time it was slow. Full of meaning. 

When she broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. 

“I know what I said. But I also know things have changed.  Before it seemed we would have time and now,” Cwen paused, bringing her hands to rest behind his neck.  “Will Uhtred stay here now?  Will you stay, Sihtric?” 

Sihtric brought his head back to better meet Cwen’s eyes.

“I can not say, Cwen.  But as much as it pains me, it is likely we will leave and return to Coccham or venture somewhere else.”

Cwen broke his stare to rest her head against his chest.  Her hands moved to grip his waist and pull him close.

“I will return to you whenever I am able. We don’t know what our future will be but I know I want you in it.  However I can have you, Cwen.  If you will wait for me.”

Sihtric’s hands drew long slow lines along her spine.

Cwen took a moment to breathe in his scent and calm her beating heart.  He smelled of open fields and horses and damp woods.  Natural and soothing. Steeling herself, she tilted her head back to stare up at him.

“I do not want to wait to be with you, Sihtric. I want you for my future as well,” her eyes shone as she saw the desire mirrored in his face.

“But take me now, Sihtric.  Here and now while I know you are mine.”

She barely had time to finish her words before she felt the heat of his lips crash into hers once more. His body flush against hers and their hands grasped at one another as if scared they would disappear. With chests heaving, Cwen broke apart and turned her back to him.

Sihtric’s hands never left her body and his lips left bruising marks running along her neck.

Slowly, Cwen stepped away from him and brought her hands up to undo the laces of her dress.

She felt him reach out to help her lift it over her head leaving her clad only in her thin, cream colored shift.  Cwen’s breath stuttered as she slowly lowered the sleeves from her shoulders, feeling gooseflesh appear on her skin despite the steamy summer night air.  The sun had almost completely set, leaving gentle streaks filtering in through the trees.

Free from her arms, she allowed the shift to slide down her hips to pool at her feet.

She heard Sihtric take a sharp inhale of breath then felt as his feet moved towards her and his hands grasped onto her bare hips.  Slowly, Cwen turned her body to meet him.

His eyes hungrily took in her nakedness and Cwen watched as he licked his lips.

Cwen shivered as his hands left her to remove his jerkin and leather.  Once unencumbered, he wrapped her in his arms once more and took her mouth with his.  

Cwen had never been naked in front of a man before and found the thrill of it and of Sihtric’s hands on her bare flesh made her nipples harden and her core become slick with desire.

“Touch me, Sihtric,” she whispered against his lips.

Sihtric took his mouth from her and locked his eyes on to her own.

Cwen left out a small gasp of pleasure as she felt his rough fingers slowly slip between her folds and find the wetness of her desire.

At feeling her excitement, Sihtric could not contain the hungry growl that escaped his lips and he felt his member twitch.

Slowly he began to work his fingers across her, massaging and exploring.  

When he finally slipped a finger inside of her, Cwen’s legs quivered and she felt herself lean into his hand so he could more fully cup her sex.

Another moan of pleasure escaped her lips as he entered a second finger and rocked his hand back and forth across her bundle.

“Lie down, Cwen.” Sihtric spoke low and commanding.

Gently, Cwen lowered herself to the ground while SIhtric's fingers continued their exploration, half holding her from falling and half teasing her with pleasure.  His free hand supported her lower back.

Once she lay beneath him, breathing husky and low, he removed himself and stood.

Cwen’s eyes watched him as he lifted his own shirt over his head, tossing it to lay with her own forgotten garments.

Next, he undid the laces of his breaches and slid them off himself, releasing his erection.

He stood, his nakedness matching hers and stared down at her.

Cwen swallowed the saliva poling in her throat as she took in the sight of him.  Lean muscles from years of training and fighting, littered with scars from battles and survival.  She watched as he stroked himself before kneeling down to settle between her legs.  He leaned his hard body to support himself on his elbows above her, meeting her eye.

“You must tell me, Cwen.  I would do nothing that you feel unready for.”

Cwen could feel her body begging to feel him, begging for release. Her next words shocked her, having never wanted or spoken of something so lurid.

“Take me Sihtric. I want you inside of me.  Teach me what being with a man is supposed to be like.”

Sihtric brought one hand up to stroke her face and she leaned into his touch.  His member was hot and swollen against her thigh.

“You will never need to know that pain again, lady.”

And he kissed her.  He kissed her with a tenderness and an honesty that brought tears welling into Cwen’s eyes.

She felt him reach down to guide himself to her entrance and he met her eyes questioning once more. In answer, Cwen raised her hips to meet him and he pushed himself between her lips and into her core.  

Cwen’s back arched and Sihtric watched her body react to him as he brought himself fully inside her.  Slowly, he began a rhythm of thrusts, shallow at first, allowing her body to adjust to him, then deeper and deeper.

Cwen felt her walls quaking as he stretched her.  As she allowed herself to relax and enjoy the fullness of him, she brought her knees up to wrap around the tight muscles of his ass.

Feeling her move in time with him, Sihtric gripped her hip, leveraging more pressure on her bundle of nerves between them.

Cwen felt his lips along her neck once more and the sensation was nearly enough to push her over the edge.

Sensing her nearing her release, Sihtric pulled his chest up so he could watch the stunning woman beneath him.

“Look at me,” Sihtric commanded, gentle but firm.

She met his eyes, their bodys still pulsating together to an ancient, primal rhythm.  Her mouth was agape, cheeks flushed, and hair sticking to her forehead from a fine sheen of sweat.

“Come for me, Cwen.”

And she did.  Her release rippled through her as Sihtric continued to hold her gaze.  His thrusts meeting her body and sending waves of ecstasy to every fiber of her being.  Cwen gripped onto the sculpted sinnews of his lower back as she arched and pulled him even deeper inside of her.

Watching her come undone beneath him was the single most eroitc and beautiful thing Sihtric had ever seen.

When he could tell she had reached the end of her high, he slipped his arm beneath her and shifted his knees to bring her up and on top of his lap. 

Sitting face to face, she kissed him deep and slow.  Regaining her senses, she began riding him, feeling his own climax building as he watched her.

He brought his hand up to stroke her chest as she arched her neck back to allow him full access.

Cwen continued to ride his length, his thrusts to meet her becoming more frantic and frenzied.

When he reached his peak, Sihtric wrapped his strong arms around her waist and held onto her as her fingers pulled at his hair bringing his mouth to meet hers.

When he was finished he fell back onto the mossy earth, bringing Cwen with him to lay nestled underneath the crook of his arm. Both of them breathing heavily and chests heaving.

“You are the most breathtaking creature I’ve ever seen, lady.”

Cwen raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

“I want you to know I did not plan to bring you out here with this in mind.  I only wanted time alone spent with you, but when I saw the look on your face in the stables,”  he paused to tilt her chin up so he could capture her mouth once more.  Murmuring against it he continued, “I could not help myself. I am drawn to you like a moth is to a flame.”

“I know what you mean, Sihtric.  And you do not need to explain yourself.  I wanted this and you did everything to make sure I was alright with it.  No one has ever looked at me, made me feel the way I do when I am with you.  I have never let a man know me so intimately.  And I am glad to share that with you.”

“You are my future, Cwen.  No matter where I travel, my road will lead me to you.  I can not lose you now.”

“You have me, Sihtric.  All of me now and all of my future,” she mused while cupping his cheek and placing a gentle kiss along his mouth.

They lay entwined together until the sun had set and the wind began to blow cooler through the branches. 

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[apiratewhopines]

Thanks to @teamhook for the updated artwork. She’s the only person I know who will provide a gift for her own gift 💝

Thanks to @motherkatereloyshipper for helping me pick Killian’s hometown in this story and for being an all around lovely person

Midnight

Chapter 2 — The Stroke

Summary: In which our heroine does what she does best

Chapter 2 of 7 on AO3

“And my imagination will feed my hungry heart,

Leave me one thing before we part”

-A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Louis Armstrong

The spot he was referring to was an out-of-the-way pub serving the greasiest onion rings in existence and a lively clientele that didn’t notice it was one o’clock in the morning and all decent people were in bed. After days of getting by on breakfast bars and the memory of what a full meal tasted like, Emma thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Melancholy tunes droned softly in the background as she demolished enough food to feed an army. The pretty waitress earned her respect when the woman didn’t even blink at her handsome companion, and she liked to think she earned it back when she ordered three of their daily specials without a trace of shame.

Ignoring the way Killian watched with an expression close to awe as she stuffed her face, she happily gulped down a cup of coffee and observed, “Nice place. Come here often?”

“Not as much as I used to,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink. “Tell me about this man you’re hunting. Is it personal?”

“Please, don’t make me lose my appetite. Surely we can come up with something else to talk about,” she groaned around a mouthful of beef and melted cheese. He had removed his leather jacket when they entered the pub, and his black short sleeve t-shirt stretched across his biceps in a manner entirely too distracting for comfort. Their high-backed booth made it feel as though they were on an island all by themselves, the dark wood and Tiffany lamps creating a cozy cocoon while still allowing a view of the nearly deserted dance floor.

“Ah, definitely personal then. Did he insult your honor? Break your heart? Have you ever even been in love?”

It stung how quickly he was able to see through her. Did she wear her heartache like a stamp on her forehead announcing to everyone she was an idiot? Ignoring the last question, she replied, “He hurt the only person who ever cared about me out of petty revenge. Neal Cassidy broke me. Now I’m going to return the favor.”

“Chills, darling.” His tone was teasing, but she thought she saw him shudder at her words. “I guess you don’t abide the notion of turning the other cheek.”

“Not when the first hit cost me my home, my possessions, and my peace of mind.”

“So he’s the reason you haven’t eaten in days and don’t have any luggage? Sounds like a lovely chap.”

“I don’t need your commentary or your sympathy, Captain. While I appreciate your help tonight, and I definitely owe you one for the meal, I think my past is closed for further discussion. Let’s talk about you instead. What’s your story?”

“I don’t have one, love. What you see is what you get.”

“What I see is someone dodging my question. Guess I’ll have to fill in the details myself then. Let’s see…thirty-something-year-old man who lives a life of boredom and pines for more while feeling stuck in his white picket fence world. You have a decent career in a field that pays well but decided to start a side hustle to meet new people and have something to do after eight in the evening.” Gesturing with her chin toward his forearm, she continued, “Currently nursing his own broken heart over the woman who loved and left him. The only thing I can’t figure out is what part of England you’re from.”

“Well, aren’t you the perceptive one,” he answered with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Although, I would argue it’s cheating since I have my emotional baggage inked on my skin for everyone to see while you carry yours around like an invisible tumor on your soul. As far as where I’m from, a man likes to maintain a little mystery.”

“Come on! You really aren’t going to tell me anything about yourself? After I guessed all that about you?”

With an unfathomable look, he smiled softly and said, “Fine, I’m from Cambridge. Now you know all my secrets. And allow me to call your attention to how well my devious plan worked. My first evening with my side hustle, as you call it, and I’m already having a late night rendezvous with a beautiful woman. One full of food and dancing.”

“There will be no dancing, Captain. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more food.”

“Not sure where you’ll put it, love, there’s no more room on the table. But I’m game if you are. Come on, one dance, and I’ll buy you a whole pie.”

She wanted pie but not as much as she wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted it so badly her mind raced with images of skin on skin and restless hands exploring. Then her stomach twisted at the knowledge they would say goodbye soon. They probably should have already said it, truth be told. As she debated what harm could come from giving in just this once, he extended his hand and pulled her gently from the seat. Slowly, she felt a small section of her walls crumble and gave him a reluctant smile. “One dance.”

The soft music wasn’t loud enough to allow for an appropriate selection of dance style, but she didn’t mind when he gathered her close and swayed gently in time with his soft humming. She felt his breath stir the hair around her face and realized this was a mistake. Now that she knew how it felt, it would be harder to deny herself an encore. Especially knowing tonight was a one-time thing.

“Tell me something, Swan. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No, I don’t believe in love at all,” she answered. Her words conveyed her deeply held conviction that poets and Hollywood movie producers invented love to make people so miserable with the lack of it, they had to seek out fictionalized versions to find some measure of happiness. Her tone, however, sounded as though she was open to being convinced otherwise.

“That’s a shame. I think you’ll miss out on a lot of what life has to offer by being so close-minded and scared.”

“If I were scared, which I’m not, I have every reason to be. One of my foster moms told me a long time ago that love wouldn’t buy me a diamond ring, and it was as easy to be in a relationship with a rich man as a poor one. Easier really. I used to think she was a witch, but now I think she had a point.”

“Bloody hell, what exactly did that man do to you?”

She felt his direct gaze like a physical thing caressing her even as his eyes flickered with disappointment. “I told you. He broke me. And my bank account.”

“Money isn’t everything, love.”

“Excuse me if I ignore advice telling me to count my non-monetary blessings from the man who picked me up in his Beamer. It may not be everything but not having it leaves you with nothing.”

“A person who needs forty dollars a day and makes forty is richer than someone who has everything and needs more.”

“Now you’re just being silly,” she said as she slipped from his arms. “And when a rainy day comes? What then?”

“I recently took up being an Uber driver in my spare time, love. I imagine I’ll make more on rainy days.”

Laughing as she looked at his endearing face under the dim light, she shook her head. “About my pie…”

—

She knew what she was doing. She lingered over the large platter containing a sampling of every type of pie the surprisingly eclectic menu had to offer. She watched him with affection as he critiqued each in turn, always saving the bites with whipped cream for her. The best parts, in other words.

She was stalling.

The night hadn’t turned out as she expected. While her main goal was unfulfilled, she couldn’t make herself think of it as a loss when her sides hurt from laughing, and her troubled heart felt at peace. It was a pity it had to end. And not because she had nowhere to go, although that was certainly the case.

Slowly they made their way back to his car, neither one speaking as the noises of the summer night buzzed in the background. She’d said a lot of goodbyes in her lifetime, eagerly in most cases, but was strangely reluctant to add this one to the list. “Well, Captain, it’s been an expensive night for you. I think you better drop me off at the nearest bus station before I cost you any more.”

“You’re always trying to bring the conversation back around to money. Get in,” he ordered as he handed her into the car.

The air in the cabin of his luxury sedan felt heavy with expectation. Neither of them spoke nor hardly moved a muscle. She considered asking him to turn on the radio but didn’t want to miss out on the last few moments of hearing his even breathing next to her. Minutes passed, and it took her a while to notice they had left Storybrooke and were heading back toward Misthaven. “How much further to the bus station?”

“We passed it several miles back. You’re going to stay at my place.”

Under normal circumstances, this would be where she prepared to kick someone’s ass, but she knew deep down, as surprising as his announcement was, she had nothing to fear from him. Well, nothing except a repeat of the broken heart fiasco that was getting harder to remember with every second spent in his company. “Oh no, I’m not. What happened to no strings and no funny business?”

“Calm down, Swan. Our deal stands. I’m working the rest of the night so you’ll have the place to yourself. Trust me, the bed in my guest room is much more comfortable than a seat at the bus station.” Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached into one of the compartments in the console and pulled out a key. “There are some shirts in the dryer if you need something to wear. Help yourself to whatever you want. If you hang around until nine, I’ll even make breakfast. If you don’t, leave the key under the Welcome mat.”

“I think you better keep your key, Captain. There are two ways this could end, and neither one is pretty.” She gave him a sidelong glance and was mildly irked to see him grinning at her.

“Only two? Please enlighten me with your power of premonition.”

Heaving a sigh of frustration, she wished he would be logical about this whole thing. Sure they had attraction in spades; the very air around them seemed to crackle with electricity whenever their eyes met. But she knew it would fade, and the only thing left then would be goodbye. Better to skip the messy part and go straight to the end. “The first is I stay and have breakfast, and it turns into the day and then another night….”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, love. And the second?”

“I leave the key under the mat, and we never see each other again.”

“Hmm, option two is decidedly less appealing. I’ll take what’s behind Door Number One, please,” he joked.

“You think so until reality sets in and you realize you’ve taken in a stray with a score to settle and not a cent to her name. It won’t be long before the sight of me in your shirts makes you cringe, and you resent having to share the couch with a woman who has nothing to give.” She would know having been in a relationship with a person who was only capable of taking, and she vowed never to do that to someone else.

“I have half a mind to hunt down this Cassidy fellow myself after seeing the hit job he did on you. Listen, Swan, the key has no strings. Breakfast is just food. Whatever happens, happens. But if you think I’m going to drop you off at a deserted bus station with only the clothes on your back, fetching as they are, you’ve got the wrong idea about me in more ways than one.”

“I’m not yours to rescue, Captain.”

“You could be,” he whispered in a voice that made her skin tingle. He tossed her a half-hearted smile, eyes stormy with the knowledge she was going to turn him down. Again.

“The fact we both want me to be is warning enough it’s a bad idea. Come on, Killian, let’s call it a night now so we can remember it fondly in the years to come.”

His jaw clenched, and she was worried he was going to fight with her sensible argument. People didn’t meet people in the middle of the road and form attachments in one night. This wasn’t a fairy tale, and she was as far from a princess as a person could get.

Although she had to admit he made a rather fine prince.

Pulling off into a nearby gas station, he turned to her and said almost threateningly, “We’re not through discussing this.”

Then he stepped out and slammed the door as the sky opened up.

—

It was a dirty trick. She knew even as she did it, but it was for his own good. For whatever reason, he felt like he needed to protect her, and she needed to save him from himself. So she waited until he walked into the convenience store and made a run for it.

That’s not to say she didn’t have a brief moment of whimsy. She couldn’t stop herself from placing a kiss on the key he had casually tossed to her as if inviting her into his home and his life wasn’t a big deal. Then she carefully placed it on the dash, grabbing the newspaper from his backseat as an afterthought, and scurried away before she was caught.

Like a rat.

Maybe Neal was exactly the kind of man she deserved.

The rain beat down in a punishing way, her makeshift umbrella getting soggy and soft under the onslaught. She was so busy looking over her shoulder, convinced he was going to search for her and half hoping he was successful, that the sudden absence of the storm took her by surprise.

“Here, miss, it’s raining cats and dogs tonight,” the sturdy doorman of the fancy establishment she was passing said as he reached out to place his umbrella over her. The burgundy awning extended to cover most of the sidewalk and, despite the late hour, classical music was drifting from the open door. Limousines lined the street, spilling well-dressed patrons as they approached the swanky club.

Before she could maneuver out of the way, she was swept into a tide of rich fish, all glammed out and ready for the party to start or continue as the case may be. She overheard one woman, whose hat was so large she had to tilt her head to make it through the door, complain, “Regina’s parties are always so dull even nature weeps.”

Deciding a boring party indoors was better than a lonely night in the rain, Emma changed her stance and walked over the threshold with her head held high like she belonged there. She noticed the plaque on the wall as she entered read The Rabbit Hole and couldn’t help but think it was aptly named. With its marble floors and curving staircase, it was no wonder this wasn’t one of the stops on the Captain’s tour of town. This place was as high-end as they came.

There was a man collecting tickets at a small side table and, with only a minute to improvise, she was glad to see the stubs were roughly the size of the photo she was toting around, one of the few remaining possessions to her name. Without a moment of regret, she turned the photo face down, relieved the love note Neal had written on the back was faded and worn, so only his faint signature was legible. Luckily, the sheer volume of people entering the place meant the employee merely took it from her without looking to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

Following the crowd into a large ballroom off to the side, she saw a black grand piano played with a precise kind of violence by a wild-haired man in a tuxedo. The room was packed to the gills, the group she straggled in with taking the last seats on the far side of the room. The audience was appreciative but far from silent, conversations carrying on as if private concerts of this caliber were a normal everyday occurrence for them. Every time Emma thought she found a place to rest her sore feet and sorer heart, someone took it before she could get there and, in one near miss, she almost flattened a lap dog that warranted his own seat for the show.

Finally, after pushing her way through a narrow row, she found a place and asked the man in the next chair with a hint of desperation, “Is this seat taken?”

Shrugging a silent negative with brooding eyes that lit up when she neared, she tried to ignore the searching glance he gave her as she dropped into the chair and surreptitiously removed her shoes. She could tell by the hint of a smirk he noticed the movement, but at least he had the good grace not to comment on it.

He was handsome in a careworn kind of way. His tousled dark hair and thick stubble were eerily similar to the Captain’s look, and it made her shuffle in her seat with guilt. The man kept staring, his light-colored eyes settling somewhere between gray and green, keenly taking in her appearance and finding it amusing if the continued presence of his smirk was any indication.

As the final notes of the concerto echoed through the room, a burst of applause started. Now that she was fed and able to sit for a few moments, Emma realized she was exhausted. It was a bone-deep weariness far beyond fatigue, and she was fairly confident it could be traced back to a man with blue eyes and more charm than any one person should be allowed to have.

She wondered where Killian was now. If he had already given up or if he was wasting more time and losing out on more money combing the streets looking for his erstwhile damsel in distress. Emma knew what she did was for the best as surely as she knew she would be haunted by the feeling of his arms wrapped around her for a long time.

After a brief break, the musician approached the piano again. Before he could start hammering out another song with the intensity of a madman, a raven-haired woman stepped in front of the instrument. She called out in a commanding voice, “Pardon the interruption but does anyone recognize this man? It would seem there was a mix-up at the ticket counter and someone accidentally handed in a photograph instead of their invitation to this private event.”

Resisting the urge to sink deeper into her chair, she furtively looked around as the audience murmured amongst themselves regarding the unusual disruption. She could tell by the sardonic tone of the woman’s voice and the way she emphasized the word private she wasn’t convinced it was an innocent mistake. A scene would be made if the guilty party were found and couldn’t provide the appropriate documentation.

“Really? No one is going to come forward?” With an annoyed look at the assembly, she sulked, “Fine, I won’t waste any more of your time.”

She saw the woman hurry to the corner and carry on a quick conversation with a few men before the group disbursed and fanned out to cover the room. Feeling her luck was running out, she slipped her feet back into her shoes with barely a wince and slowly stood under the watchful gaze of her neighbor.

She needed to escape for the second time that night, but now she had hundreds of witnesses. Nonchalantly, she surveyed the room, trying to determine the best way. During this perusal, a man caught her eye, and she froze as he began to cut across the room to her side. So much for a stealthy getaway.

Her pursuer had an air of refined boredom with an edge of mischief. His graying hair was an attractive finish to a lean, well-dressed form. Cocking an eyebrow in disdain or maybe curiosity, he spoke quietly to not draw the notice of the surrounding crowd. “A word, madam.”

“With me?”

“Indeed.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Squaring her shoulders, she ignored the way her neighbor watched with rapt attention as she resolutely marched toward her fate.

@teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @motherkatereloyshipper @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @xsajx @klynn-stormz

[florencwrites]

ever since phoenix 〚dreamwastaken〛

in which clay has earned himself the name dreamboat, short; dream. a mcyt spin on macgyver where reader deals with remnants of trauma.

(!) blood, mentions of emotional trauma, kidnapping (!)

"Soooo," Jack trailed cautiously. He was not a man of deliberation per se, however, he knew when a certain level of carefulness was needed. This was one of those times. "How are you and the missus?"

"Fine." Brief and effective. That's Clay for you. "Now is not exactly the time for relationship advice, Jack."

"So you agree, you need relationship advice." He scanned the room again, gun tight in his grip; leading his gaze. "Boxed yourself there, pal."

"Let's talk about this after I've disarmed this, alright?" A huff of annoyance from the crouching blonde, his face a mere few inches from the ticking device. A device that normally would've taken him barely a minute to take apart, but with his good friend hanging from his lips; it took a little longer than expected.

Jack, in response, cleared his throat loudly, raising his eyebrows in mock warning. "I'm just saying, something's not right and maybe genius over here needs some help." He rolled out the tension in his shoulders, his gun still pointed at the entrance. He shot his eyes back to his friends after his lack of reply, only to see him dropping the now useless device. "I don't need your help, we're doing fine."

Clay rose to his feet, dusting off his pants before pushing past Jack to head for the reinforced door. Of course, being the armed one of the two, Jack pushed himself back in front of him, clearing the hallways before continuing their journey through the complex. Their backs pressed against the rough concrete, bullet holes still decorating them almost entirely. Reaching a junction, Jack lowered himself slightly before peeking his head around the corner. "Clear."

The pair moved onto the next hallway, Clay mirroring his companion's steps almost entirely. "Come on, Dreamboat, just admit there's some things that little brain of yours just can't wrap itself around."

"There are many things my brain can't comprehend, love isn't one of them." He rolled his eyes, knowing fully well that Jack had his back turned to him anyways. "It's just chemistry, simple."

"You're wrong, I'm telling you." A sing-songy tone to his words, Jack taunted the blonde some more. "Chemistry's just the first step, my friend. After that, it's all up to you."

"We've got company."

"Fine, do your thing. We're talking about this later." A promise, one made while firing several rounds of bullets into enemy lines.

-

"You might be the dumbest genius I've ever met." Sheer annoyance laced the older man's tone, immediately tracing his words with a swirling sip of lukewarm beer. The other side of the dialogue, too, showed serious signs of irritation. A drawn-out groan while throwing his head back, Clay replied, "Fine, I'll bite. Why?"

"Well, where's the lady of the house?" He threw out the bait. However, Jack had neither been a man of patience, so as Clay opened his mouth to answer his rhetorical question, Jack already intercepted him, "Bet she's real tired, huh?"

"Yeah, how'd you- Nevermind." He glanced over the look on his friend's face, soon realizing he bit right into his hook.

A sigh, a genuine one. Reaching forward to lean his elbows onto his knees, staring into the flames of the firepit they had grown so used to. "So, what does she sleep in?"

"Dude! Gross, I'm not answering that."

"Bet it's that beige shirt of yours, right? The one with the big red letters." He never once averted his gaze to meet Clay's, keeping them entirely trained on the fire. Clay furrowed his eyebrows, his emerald eyes slowly making their way to the bottom left corner of his vision, a tell he often showed when deliberating his next move. He then, too, leaned forward to rest on his knees. Once again, mirroring Jack's motions. "It- it is."

"Please just tell me what's going on, Jack." And at last, his normally monotone features showed a glint of desperation.

"It's the last shirt you wore." Another swig of beer landed itself in his mouth, quickly swallowing before continuing, "You wanna know why she's always so tired when you see her?"

"I'll give you a hint, it's not Lyme's." Finally, a light chuckle from his side, followed by a faint hum in affirmation. "She doesn't sleep when you're gone, dude."

Finally, the pair met eyes. A saddened shimmer in both their glances, Jack continued, "All the signs are there."

A nearly audible click in the genius blonde's head. "She's been having nightmares."

"She's been having nightmares." Jack affirmed for him once again, "Trust me, I know what they look like."

They shared a pause of breath, allowing themselves to take a deep breath simultaneously. How could he have been so stupid, of course, she was having nightmares. All the things she went through back in April, all those questions he was forced to leave unanswered. The exhaustion radiating from her pale skin, for weeks now. Jack was right, she had been sleeping in his shirts constantly, sometimes even once he was sure he had put in the laundry basket just hours before. "God, I should have known."

"There's nothing you could've done, Dream." Another sweet reassurance, one that didn't mean a whole lot to him right now.

"I could've known- I should've known." He abruptly pushed himself from his seat, leaving his emptied bottle by the pit. "She doesn't feel safe here."

"I don't think that's it, mate, I think she just feels unsafe anywhere." He followed his friend's face to where it was now stood next to him on the patio, peering up to try and meet his eyes. "Anywhere that's not with you, probably."

"She doesn't deserve any of this." Pacing slowly between the pit and the wall a few feet from him, the man was wrecking himself with guilt, already. Quickly, Jack intervened, noticing his friend's 'spiraling look' from miles away. "Hey! Hey, hey. No one deserves this alright?"

"She should've never been there.." Running a hair through his locks, Clay sat back down by the fire. His head now covered by his hands, leaning forward to hide his features entirely in guilt and perhaps shame, too.

"That," A gentle pat landed itself on his back by Jack as he used his other hand to finish off his beer. "That, I agree with you, pal."

-

Sheer terror painted her face that day, bound and gagged in some concrete box. In the movies, they always say how it was 'cold and eerie', and however ghostly the situation might have been, there was no cold in this room. Not a single cooling breeze, just pure and unfiltered heat. The concrete was entirely warmed up, too, the only thing that refreshed her even in the slightest was the chilling nature of her shackles, the ones that restrained her to the sticky leather chair she was stuck in.

She assumed it was leather, she had no real way of knowing. Her vision had been blocked by some kind of rag, a different texture to the one that was balled up in her mouth. The duct tape used to secure it in place was pulling at her skin, uncomfortably so.

So, with her hands bound, vision blocked and mouth gagged, there were but two senses left to her. Three, if you include the dooming shadow of possible death that loomed in her head. She'd do anything to just hear his voice right now, he'd know what to do.

Instead of his voice, there was a soft ticking in the room. More specifically, on her abdomen. A scorching hot box was tightened to her abdomen, burning the feeling of its ticking into her mind. She was sure there'd been no way this thing was actually that hot, but the idea of it being stuck to her, it killing her, was enough to leave scars on her stomach.

The other sense that was left unaltered, was her nose. Her sense of smell. Iron, mold, sweat. The last two were logical. She'd been locked in there for hours, in the absolute heat of southern America, there was no way she wasn't sweating up a storm. Mold, she was probably in a basement somewhere, her feet had given away the concrete flooring. But iron, iron wasn't something you usually smelt. Rust, maybe. But this was metallic, and it wasn't from her shackles. If it were, she'd have smelt it was before now.

The screeching of a metal pipe on the concrete walls shook her, the gag keeping her from letting out a loud squeal. Someone was in here with her, for the first time in hours, someone was in here with her. A few faint tuts, heavy footsteps carrying themselves around her perimeter.

A sharp blade running itself along her cheek, barely not breaking skin. "Tik, tok, tik, tok, tik tok."

She scrunched her eyes even tighter as a hand dropped onto her head. The single thing that brought her comfort right now was the fact that there was no way this lunatic would detonate the bomb on her abdomen while in the room with her. "Wonder what's taking him so long, aren't you?"

He stopped talking, his steps carrying him back to wherever he came from. However, his taunting continued in her head for the coming hours she was left to fend for her own. Tik, tok, tik, tok, tik tok.

What's taking him so long?

-

She struggled immensely against her restraints, abruptly having been awoken by cold hands on her sides. The man's hands hadn't ever been this cold before, they were horribly sweaty and warm, almost to a sticky extent. "Shhhh."

Familiarity washed over her body, her muscles almost instantly untightening at the sound of him. "You have to stay still for me, okay? I have to get this thing off you first."

"Dream, unblind the poor girl first, will ya?" Jack's mellow voice called out from a few feet beside her. The rag was gently pulled from eyes. His assuring tone filled her ears, his comforting face inches from hers. God, she'd never been this happy to see Jack. "There she is."

She tried desperately to get some words out, however, her mouth was still filled with cloth, and while hesitant, she knew there was probably a good reason they hadn't taken it off yet. "Water! Water, get her some water, she's gonna need it." Jack was quick to order one of the agents to get her something to drink, knowing the feeling very well, having been kidnapped a dozen times back in his day.

"It's connected to another device," Clay exclaimed from before her, his hands very carefully working around the wires connecting her to this bomb. For some reason, it had been scarier in her mind, when she hadn't been able to see it. Now, seeing it rest on her stomach didn't scare her nearly as much as the menacing ticking that had haunted her for so long. "Riley, do we know who's behind this?"

A faint hum from the wire in his ear, she couldn't decipher it. Meanwhile, Jack was rattling her shackles, trying to at least free her hands. However, according to her boyfriend, not a very good idea, "Don't!"

"What? You scared she'll strangle you?" A mocking choice of words from her dear friend, almost allowing her to chuckle. The drought in her throat, however, still wouldn't allow her to make a single peep. "No, Jack, taking off the chains would detonate this entire thing, like the gag."

Jack formed an 'o' with his mouth, shooting his eyes around the room in slight embarrassment, "Where's that water the lady ordered?"

For some reason, the minutes after they had found her felt impossibly longer than the hours she had spent alone. Nevertheless, after 24 minutes exactly, there was a breakthrough. His voice soft, gentle, Clay carefully removed his fingers from the device while simultaneously asking for Jack to put his back on."Okay, try again."

A loud snap and several clangs later, her hands were freed, eyes crunched in expectancy of death, it didn't seem to come. Hastily, she clawed at her mouth, only now realizing the rag had been encased in metal bars and colored wires. Dream carefully lifted the contraption from her face, immediately letting her fall into his arms sobbing.

And so, he let her cry. Bawl her eyes out, drown out the sheer terror she must've felt during these hours he had lost her. He ran his arms around her back, pulling her impossibly tight into his own torso. "You're okay, you're okay."

"I've got you, I've always got you."

-

The night following his conversation with Jack was the first night Clay had seen her cry since that day.

She sobbed into his arms as he assured her that she would always be safe, no matter where he was or what happened between them. He would always keep her safe.

The nightmares disappeared when she was with him because there had never been a doubt in her mind that she was safe when she was with him. She slept incomparably well the first days after every mission, because even if he wasn't in the bed next to her; she knew he was there. She slept well, because the smell of his shirt encased her every sense, rendering it impossible for her to not feel safe, with his cologne evident lingering through her sheets.

[gottawriteanegoortwo]

Creativitwins - Talking in the Garden

Following on from ‘Helplessly in Love’, Roman and Remus have a serious conversation about Remus’ motives and the topic of love as a whole.

Word Count: 1,771

(if you ship the twins, I’ll throw a frisbee at you)

-

Roman paced back and forth across the walled garden. This quiet place was considered the most obvious ‘neutral zone’ in the realm of the Imagination both siblings resided over. It was neither overly inspired by fairy tales, nor overrun by monsters and decay, making it the perfect harmony between both halves of Creativity. Playing the role of a Secret Garden, it granted the other Sides an entry into the Imagination without the fear of getting too lost on either side. To the left, there were elegant red rose bushes, trees with ripe and delicious fruit, and wooden frames helping clematis plants climb high overhead and guide you to the elegantly carved maple door. On the right, the grass turned darker. The path was lined with weeds and venus flytraps that would gladly snap at ankles that stepped too close. The trees were barren, yet birds would regularly perch on the branches. Poison ivy climbed the wall surrounding the walnut door with identical carvings to the opposite door. In the middle, a large pond housed a variety of colourful koi and piranha that cohabit the waters peacefully. In the open court between the two doors were two stone stools. When the twins would squabble in their younger days, they would eventually meet here and claim a seat to talk through the problem. It was something that rang true to this day.

After recent events had calmed down, Patton had taken the time during one of their tea parties to fill Roman in on events leading up to the group appearing in his room with Remus of all Sides. Not only that, Remus applied a ‘what would Roman do’ approach. No tricks, no attempts to make Thomas feel worse about matters… It was all rather strange.

“I’m going to have to call him eventually,” Roman muttered, tightly folding his arms as he lapped the pond for the third time. “Talking to myself about it isn’t going to give me answers, and I know I can’t leave this be… Ugh!” He forced himself to stop walking with a firm stomp of his foot. “Remus! Get to the garden now!”

-

The dark door draped in ivy was pushed open to reveal a rather confused Duke. It slammed shut behind him once he was in the garden, leaving the pair in silence for several long seconds.

“While I am one to gladly talk through problems, I don’t know what I did this time.” One of Remus’ traits was honesty, after all, and he had been trying to keep out of the way of the other Sides in recent times.

“No, I know. Nothing’s wrong. I just… I need to talk, okay? This is neutral territory so it’s not gonna make either of us feel out of place, or something.” Roman slumped onto one of the stone stools, hands interlocked to hide potential fidgeting. “I’ve been thinking about what you did recently - when you brought everyone to my room like that. Patton told me what happened… Why did you do it?”

“I told you already. Thomas needed the ‘love expert’, and he trusts you a heck of a lot more than he does me. No one else could get to your room too easily without you, so I was the only option left.”

“But you didn’t try anything. You didn’t hurt Thomas, or ruin the excitement. That would’ve been the perfect chance without me blocking you.” It seemed Thomas had kept his word and didn’t tell Roman about Remus’ good intentions. However, it came at the price of the topic pestering Roman once the excitement of love had faded enough to focus on other matters. “The first time you met Thomas, you wanted to hurt him. Why not now?”

“It’s really not as deep as you’re trying to make it out to be. Thomas needed you, I could help! It was for the greater good for Thomas, really.”

“You could have taken my place! It’s what you always say you’d do. ‘I’m Creativity too. I should be listened to as well’!” Roman’s impression of Remus was emphasised by a wave of his right hand, just like how his brother would do it. “You know about love, just like me. You could have given him advice and taken all the credit -”

“No I don’t.”

“- and showed… What?” Remus’ blunt interruption had Roman’s rambling screech to a halt. He gawked up at his brother with a wide-eyed, puzzled expression. In the pause that followed, Remus made his way to the other stone stool and sat on it. Compared to his brother, Remus was slouched forward with his arms resting on both knees.

“I don’t know about love. I never have.” Why beat around the bush with this? “Sure, I know what it means and what happens when people fall in love, but I can’t talk about it as you could. I don’t have the same desire to fall in love with someone, so why should I be the one trying to tell Thomas how to declare his feelings?”

“You… Don’t know about love?” Roman felt like he had been slapped in the face. Guilt bubbled in his stomach. All this time, did Remus lack any sort of positive relationship with anyone? 

“I did have friends once, you know. I have ‘loved’ platonically,” Remus scoffed. “But this whole ‘one true love’ or ‘wanting a boyfriend’ stuff you’re always on about… That isn’t what I’ve felt about anyone. I never brought it up when we were younger because I thought it wasn’t necessary, or that maybe I’d be proven when I found the guy of my dreams.” He let out a sigh with a quirked eyebrow when he noticed his brother’s reaction to this. “Oh, don’t act like I told you a shark chewed off my leg. It’s not that big of a deal. I could give advice, but it would be an outsider looking in. Since Thomas needed personal experience and better insight, he needed you. We always did say you were the one who could inspire others. I’d never be able to do that for love. But you could, and you did!” Roman has always been the hero. That’s why he was the favoured twin.

“... I’m sorry I never considered your feelings.” Roman’s voice was low as the pity stayed on his face. “All those times I tried to set you up with denizens in the Imagination when we were younger as part of our stories, all those times you’d side-step or find an excuse to worm out of it… I must have made you feel so uncomfortable.”

“Ah, ah, ah. Don’t start that. I’m not angry. This isn’t something to guilt you over. You didn’t know, and I didn’t understand. I only learned that being Aromantic was a ‘thing’ when Thomas was learning about all the LBGT strands and worrying about them all in case he offended someone.” At last, Remus’ confidence in the matter seemed to falter a little as he added, “It was a relief knowing I wasn’t completely ‘broken’.”

“You aren’t ‘broken’.” Roman blurted, hoping to stop whatever dark thoughts were bubbling in Remus’ mind. “You’re you. And while I might not like who you are, that… Doesn’t make you the worst.” The last part was admitted as a reluctant grumble. “Me wanting to fall in love doesn’t mean you’re wrong not feeling anything about it. Just like me not wanting any involvement in your sexual opinions on guys I thought were cute doesn’t mean I’m wrong either.”  Now it was Remus’ turn to look surprised once the penny dropped.

“You’re Ace?”

“I guess we both had something to learn today, huh? Not that this was why I called you here.” Maybe it was the magic of the garden, where the feud was left outside the walls and the brothers could simply talk. It allowed Roman to swallow some of his pride on the original matter. “Thank you. For, you know, not using it as a chance to take my place.”

“What can I say? I make a terrible Roman impersonator. Just like when the day comes that Thomas needs my help, you’d make a terrible Remus!” The darker Creativity twin grinned in anticipation. Roman was quick to take the bait with a cocky laugh.

“Oh please. We both know Thomas isn’t gonna resort to using your ideas.”

“This Hallowe’en might be the year. There’s gonna be a full moon this year too. He’d be a fool not to do something terrifying!” Hey, maybe Remus could try and get back in contact with Virgil to get him on the Duke’s side!

“Not a chance! I’ll get him to work on an epic, fantastical tribute to ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’! There’s a simply wonderful suit of an alternate costume that Thomas would look marvellous in!” Fuelled with passion, Roman sprung to his feet with a triumphant laugh.

“And he could try to persuade the cutie to dress as a Sally-inspired character?”

“Why would I… Wait, that’s - that’s not a bad idea.”

“Especially if he gets to wear something short and scandalous~”

“Aaand there goes that little bubble of respect. Good going.” Roman waved a dismissive hand as Remus cackled. “Look, I’m sorry that I was surprised you didn’t wanna hurt Thomas, but don’t ruin this for him, okay?”

“I had no intention to do so. Thomas deserves to be happy, right? There’s plenty of other chances to jump in and have fun! Can’t be too predictable, dear brother, especially when you have the upper hand on the topic!” Now Remus pulled himself onto his feet and turned on the ball of his foot to face his door. “Until next time -”

“Wait!” Roman needed to have the last word. He couldn’t leave like this. “You… You did a good job. Thank you for helping Thomas when I couldn’t.” A gust of wind picked up, briefly obscuring Remus’ vision with rose petals. When the breeze died down, the Prince was gone. Once he realised he was alone in the walled garden, Remus walked to the door to his part of the Imagination, only to pause.

A black rose had blossomed on his side of the garden, thriving despite the weeds that should have suffocated it. He had considered plucking it and taking it with him as a memento… But why kill it? Instead, he knelt down to gently brush his thumb against a thorn.

The black rose amongst weeds was like him with the other Sides - the oddity that shouldn’t exist. Yet they both do in spite of exceptions. In time, maybe both would prosper in their own way.

[crewhonk]

A Sign

In which Steve takes advice from how fellow avenger, roomate and best friend Y/N rolls with the punches after a huge life changing event. 

Warnings: swearing, break up, angry steve

Words: 2.1K

AN: dedicated to my best friend who’s shitty boyfriend broke up with her.

_____________

You and Steve had been friends since he had surfaced from the ice. You had met at the gym and had been transfixed by the way he seemed to be filled with so much rage— enough to destroy the gym on most days. On days he was in a better mood, he would only tear apart one or two sandbags. He was a gorgeous human— pure strength and agility and the turmoil of his mind gave him this dark and powerful vibe. 

You had approached him one day— it was a bad day. One of the benches was snapped in half and another mirror looked as if it had been hit with a twenty-five-pound medicine ball. His shoulders were shaking, and his hands were in his hair, head lowered and defeated. You approached him from behind your place at the reception desk, offered him a pocky stick with a smile and a shrug and the rest was history. 

You had been best friends for the following four years, getting an apartment with him in Brooklyn (which he paid for most of, much to your displeasure) and even getting a fish together. Even Sharon, who had stapled herself in Steve’s life was something you shared. You had become friends with her while she lived across the way, and the three of yours relationship developed into something that Steve never thought he would be able to have. He hadn’t been angry in a long time— no benches snapped, no mirrors broken, no bloody hands and more importantly no raging Steve. 

Until July 22nd, 2018 when Steve came home, slammed the door and stormed to his room without so much as a hello in your direction. You heard several loud crashes from his room, followed by angry, heart-wrenching sobs and then silence. You knew Steve would want to be left alone— he was less of a human when he was in this situation, and you knew that if it meant neither of you got hurt in the process, you would check on him at a better time. 

It was about nine later that evening when Steve shuffled out of his room, expression one of half shame, half devastation as he walked across the kitchen to where you were sitting against the breakfast bar and leaned into your shoulder. He nuzzled his way into your hair and just breathing you in— your scent was one of the most calming things to him and over the past four years, it was one of the only things that grounded him. 

That was another thing about your relationship— it was an intimate one— not in the sense that you both fucked like rabbits, but in the sense that you made up for the 80 years of isolation and lack of affection. Sharon was okay with it when she was in the picture, hell, she would often take pictures of the two of you being each others person. Like Okoye and her love of Wakanda, Steve had you and Bucky as his number one priority. You and Buck were the things that came first in Steve’s life. Over America. Over Sharon. Over Captain America. Over everything. You were Steve’s Wakanda, and nothing would ever take precedent. 

Maybe that was why Sharon had broken up with him. Maybe it was his undying faith in humanity even after the fall of SHIELD and the events of Ultron and the mass shootings. He was a golden retriever in a human body, and Sharon was just a person. 

You turned in your seat and pulled him to nestle between your thighs and tilting your head to the side to allow him to nose your collarbone. Your hair intertwined through the long blonde hair on his head and scratched his scalp slightly. 

“You okay, Cappy-Tan?” You asked. He hummed against your neck and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in. 

“Why am I not good enough?” He whispered, tears leaking onto your neck and sniffling lightly. He thanked all the Gods out there that your scent was so soft and comforting because without either you or Bucky he wouldn’t be here today. 

“Wait, Steve what did you just say?” You asked, straightening your posture and a bite in your voice. 

“Why am I never good enough. I give, and I give, and I give and I get nothing back. I save the world, and I treat everyone like they’re royalty and I am never good enough.” He said, choking on the lump in his throat and squeezing your waist tighter. At a loss for words, you simply wrapped your legs around his thighs and pulled him closer to you. 

“Steve. You are so good. You deserve someone who is going to give you the world, and it sucks that you haven’t found your person. You deserve the fucking world, Rogers.” You whispered into his neck, kissing it lightly. He let out a small whimper into your neck and you only shushed him softly, playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck and swaying slightly. 

“Take my mind off of it, please?” He asked, pulling back and looking down at you. You smiled, and your eyebrows pulled into an expression of sympathy at the way he looked so broken. His lower lip was moist and trembling, and his eyes were swollen and red. His hair was dull and flat and there seemed to be new wrinkles on his face that made him look worn and tired. 

“Wanna go to our spot, Captain?” Your hand caressed his scruffy face and he leaned into it, kissing your palm and nodding quietly. 

“I can’t be Captain, today Y/N. Please, I’m just Steve.” He whispered and you nodded, wiping a tear from his face with your thumb. Captain America was the only facade Steve could bear without showing vulnerability and with the bags under his eyes, he seemed to be tired of putting off that damn strong front. 

“Okay, Steve. Let’s go.”

__________

The crack of the dusty bowling pins was almost music to Steve’s ears. As was the sound of Bucky, Sam and Natasha’s laughter joining yours as you rolled the five pinball through your legs and watched anxiously as it snapped off the bumpers and into the third one on the left. You jumped up and down when your luck gave you a spare and you playfully stuck your tongue out at Sam who cried out that you were using your powers to cheat. 

“That’s not how Gravity works, Fly Boy! You’re just pissed you can’t throw a bowling ball to save your life!” You teased hip-bumping Bucky who grabbed the small ball with his flesh hand. 

“No metal arm, RoboCop!” Sam shouted, sipping his beer and winking when Bucky flipped him off. Natasha handed you your fruity drink and you took a huge gulp from it, smiling over at Steve who was drinking out of a flask of Asgardian mead. Thor had given it to him when he found out what had happened with Sharon and Steve had taken with a bittersweet thank you. 

While he seemed to be beaten by life, you had always taken life with a smile and a roll of the shoulders. Every breakup, and every fight, and every small misfortune had yet to break you and he truly admired your strength. He wanted to be like you one day, and as you laughed at a joke Nat yelled over the music. Your teeth glowed in the black light and the brightly colored lights danced across your gorgeous skin. It was littered with imperfections and light scars and deep scars and there was a way your rugged looks entranced him tonight. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was the lights. Maybe it was the way you bopped your head to the 80’s music he hated so much. Maybe it was the half-shy smile you shot his way, and the brief ‘you good’? Towards him. Maybe he needed to start to learn from you now. He was tired of carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and he just wanted to enjoy the second chance at life he had been given so many years ago. 

“Hey, Bud. You good?” Bucky kicked the side of Steve’s foot and offered him one of the flasks which he took gratefully. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” Steve shot him a half-fake smile and stood, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans and grabbing one of the balls. It was an easy strike— they only put on the bumpers for your and Bucky’s sake. He held his arms out to his sides and turned back, jokingly walking with too much swagger in his steps and bowing low when the four of you burst into cheers. He cracked out a cute and clumsy dance in his slippery shoes and walked over to you. He sat down next to you and you clutched your beer nervously in both hands, looking down at it while he looked at you. 

Your eyelashes fanned over your beautiful cheekbones and your hair was falling over your face. Your soft bottom lip was tugged between your teeth and god if he didn’t want to take a nip himself. 

No, he should never think about you that way. Not now— not the day he was dumped by his long-term girlfriend. You weren’t a rebound because you were so much more than that. His hand reached over to yours and pulled it from the glass while brushing his thumb over the back of your hand. 

“What’s up?” You asked, finally looking up at him and letting your eyes flicker from his lips to his eyes and back. 

“Nothin’ much. Just hangin’ out with the cutest best friend around.” He joked back, flipping your hand over and tracing the lines of your palm. You resisted the urge to take your hand back and scratch the tingling feelings away because he was so close and he smelled so good and wow. 

“Bucky’s over there, Gramps.” You pointed your chin in the soldier's direction, watching as Sam was teasing him relentlessly at the way he was trying so hard to figure out Instagram. 

“You’re so funny, Doll.” He said after a fake laugh. You only rolled your eyes and laughed as Natasha spun around three times and chucked her ball right over the bumpers and into the gutter. 

“Scary assassins drunk bowling. Never thought I’d see the day.” You mused. 

“Y/N?”

“Yeah Stevie?” You asked, looking up at him through your lashes. He sucked a breath in at how utterly beautiful you looked in this moment. 

“I think I’m really happy that Sharon broke up with me today.” He muttered, not looking away from your deep eyes. Your pupils dilated and a pretty peach blush spread over your cheeks, you looked down at his lips once more, and he swore that if you did that again he’d just have to kiss you. 

“Why’s that?” Your voice was quiet, but Steve could swear that your voice was the loudest thing in the world at that moment. 

“Because I must have been overlooking that person who has given me everything for as long as I knew them. And maybe, when I figure out how to live without Sharon I can pour all of my love into them.” He smiled down at the way your lips parted slightly. His hand pressed against the side of your neck, the weight of it grounding you as his lips pressed softly to your forehead. It sent a warmth through you and you shivered happily.  

“I’m sure they’ll be waiting when you’re ready.” You kissed his chin briefly and his cheeks flushed a deep red. 

“Let them know that I’m more than grateful for them and their patience with a one-hundred-year-old.”

“He’s waited long enough for someone to love him more than the world itself.” You grinned at the way his eyes darted down to your neck, up to your lips and then into your eyes. “Its time the world waited for him to heal.”

“Hey, Issac Newton. Stop being all lovey with your man and bowl already!” Sam howled to you, as you blushed heavily and flipped him off. You squeezed Steve’s hand once more and shot him a smile before taking the ball and rolling it down the lane. 

Strike. 

[wistfulcynic]

Another Brick In The Wall, Chapter 4

Notes: Not trying to be a tease, but I'm afraid that Killian is going to keep his secret for a few more chapters at least. But! There have already been quite a few hints about what it might be, and this chapter is chock full of them. Let the speculation begin!

New, serious-this-time-summary: Emma Swan, sheriff’s daughter, mayor’s niece, quarterback’s girlfriend, is the undisputed princess of Storybrooke High. She is smart and confident and used to getting what she wants. What she wants is Killian Jones, the new boy in school. But Killian is not easily manipulated, and reluctant to allow the dark secrets in his past to touch the girl he is rapidly falling in love with.

Rating: T+

Read it on AO3: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 

Chapter 4: 

Killian sat on the sofa in Dr Hopper’s office, staring at his hands. The psychiatrist waited as patiently as he could. It was taking longer than he’d expected to establish trust with this boy. Killian was remarkably guarded with his true self and by far the most intelligent person Dr Hopper had ever counselled; he was able to anticipate most of the doctor’s questions and to evade them with a smirk and a clever twist of wordplay. It was tempting to write him off as a garden-variety cocky smartass, but Dr Hopper could sense the pain beneath the smirk and knew from his discussions with Liam what Killian was likely suffering. He wanted to help the boy, but Killian was not making that easy. 

Today, for the first time, something was different. Killian’s emotions were much closer to the surface, almost visibly bubbling beneath his skin. Something was clearly troubling him, something new and recent. So Dr Hopper waited, carefully not pushing. 

“I kissed Emma,” said Killian suddenly, the confession almost bursting from him. 

Dr Hopper concealed his astonishment with effort. “Emma Swan?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral. There was only one Emma in Storybrooke, so it must be her, but she and Killian seemed an unlikey pair. 

“Yeah,” said Killian, still addressing his hands. “You remember before, I told you there was a girl… the one friend I had at school.” He looked up, and Dr Hopper nodded encouragingly. “Well, that’s her.”

“And you kissed her?”

“Yeah. I mean, she kissed me first, but I definitely kissed her back.” 

“And how do you feel about that?”

Killian hesitated for a long moment. “I don’t know!” he finally burst out, his face twisting in distress. “I’ve been thinking about it pretty much nonstop since it happened, and still don’t know what to do. I mean, I really like her, and she’s made it clear she likes me, but… she’s just so… she’s so…” He groped for the words, and again Dr Hopper waited. “She’s so beautiful,” he said finally, his voice dropping so low it was nearly inaudible. “And kind and funny and smart and just— just perfect. I can’t— I can’t drag her down to my level.”

“And why do you feel you are so far beneath her?”

Killian gave him a sardonic smirk. “You’ve talked to my brother,” he said. “You know what I did. How could I touch Emma after that? How could I even think it?” He held himself stiffly as he spoke, as if waiting for judgement, for condemnation. Dr Hopper offered neither. 

“So I’m hearing you say that you think what you did was bad?”

Alarm flickered across Killian’s face, followed by pain and shame and finally determination as he closed himself off again, locking away his emotions. Leaning back on the sofa, he propped a foot on the coffee table in front of it and shrugged one shoulder, the cocky smirk back in place. “It ended badly,” he said carelessly. “But I’ll fix that when I get back to England.” 

Dr Hopper swallowed his frustration, reminding himself that today had been a breakthrough, albeit a short-lived one. “And what about Emma?” he prodded, hoping the risk would bear fruit. 

It did. Killian’s cocky composure slipped away and for the first time in their acquaintance Dr Hopper thought he actually looked like what he was: a sensitive, troubled sixteen year old boy, lost and hurting and too young for what he was dealing with. 

Killian looked down at his hands again. “I guess I’ll just ghost her,” he said, sounding like he hated the words even as he spoke them. “It won’t be easy since we have classes together and fencing club, but it’s the best way.” 

“But if she likes you as you said, won’t that hurt her feelings?”

Killian swallowed hard, looking as though he wanted to cry. “Better to hurt her now than later,” he said hoarsely. “She’ll get over it.” 

Dr Hopper leaned forward, squaring his shoulders so he was facing Killian directly. Almost against his will, the boy looked up. Dr Hopper smiled kindly, holding his gaze. “Killian, I know that you don’t like taking advice, but I’m going to offer you some anyway and I hope you at least consider it. From what you’ve said it sounds like Emma truly cares for you, and that is something you need in your life. You’re right that she’s a kind person, I’m sure if you tell her you just want to be friends, she’ll understand. You don’t have to tell her everything, just that you don’t want your relationship to be romantic. But don’t cut her out of your life. That will accomplish nothing except to hurt both of you.”

Killian nodded, and smiled a real smile for the first time. “I’ll think about that,” he said. “Thanks, Dr Hopper.” 

Dr Hopper resisted the somewhat uncharacteristic urge to cheer. “You’re welcome, Killian,” he said.  

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

Several minutes later, Killian left Dr Hopper’s office and headed for Granny’s, so deep in thought that he entirely failed to notice Neal, who had darted behind a bush when he’d emerged through the door, smiling gleefully as he absorbed the juicy bit of information that Emma’s new friend was seeing the shrink. Resentment bordering on hatred simmered in Neal’s gut as he watched the taller boy cross the street and enter the diner. He owed Killian big time for getting him in trouble for drinking, getting him fucking suspended from the football team, he thought. The smug little shit needed to pay for that, and now Neal had an idea of how to exact his vengeance. There had to be a good reason why Killian was seeing Dr Hopper, all Neal had to do was find out what it was. 

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

Killian found Emma exactly where he knew she’d be: sitting in a booth at Granny’s with her cheerleader friends, sharing some onion rings. They always came here after their practice; more than once Emma had invited him to come along, but he’d declined. She saw him immediately when he entered, her face lighting up with a relieved smile that doubled the weight of guilt in his chest. She should be furious with him for the way he’d acted, instead she looked thrilled to see him. Seriously, what was he supposed to do with a girl like that? 

He marched determinedly over to her, ignoring the speculative looks her friends were giving him. “Can we talk, Swan?” he asked. 

She nodded, already sliding out of the booth, smiling, standing far too close. “Should we go upstairs?” she said, in a voice that only he could hear, and he felt a stab of alarm before he noticed the mischief dancing in her eyes. 

“You’re teasing me,” he said. “I suppose that’s a good sign. Let’s go sit outside.” 

Emma grabbed her coat and followed him to a table just inside the fence that surrounded Granny’s outdoor seating area. She was intensely relieved to see him. He hadn’t been at fencing club the day before or at school that day, and she’d been so worried she’d nearly ditched school herself and gone to find him. 

He took a deep breath. “I owe you an apology,” he said. 

“Killian—” 

“No, I do. I shouldn’t have run off like that.” 

For a few short, precious minutes after he’d begun to kiss her back on Saturday night everything in Emma’s world had been perfect. His lips on hers had been soft and hot, his tongue in her mouth a revelation. Emma had never been kissed like that before, like the kiss was being done with her and not to her. With Neal it had always been like grappling with a determined octopus, but with Killian it was almost a dance. He took the lead, guiding but never pushing her, giving even more than he took, one hand resting at the small of her back and the other in her hair as their lips clung and their tongues stroked, making her head spin and her entire body tingle. Then abruptly he had pushed her away, or rather pulled himself away, Emma had realised after replaying the whole thing in her head half a dozen times. He had pulled himself away, breathing hard, his hands shaking and his eyes wide and almost terrified. 

“I’m sorry,” he’d said, his tone begging for understanding, but understanding of what she’d had no clue. She had kissed him, so why should he apologise? But he had leapt back when she’d tried to touch his arm and fled from the room, disappearing completely until five minutes ago when he’d strolled into Granny’s looking nervous but determined. 

He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, Emma, I don’t want you to think that I don’t like you, because I do, far more than I should, but I can’t date you.” 

“What makes you think I want you to?” asked Emma, reacting to the stab of hurt she felt before she could think. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, I did kind of assume from the way you laid one on me Saturday night that you wanted to be more than friends. Was I mistaken?” 

She shrugged, torn between wanting him to know how she felt and wanting to protect herself from what she was certain would be rejection. “Maybe I do,” she replied in a small voice. “Do you not?”

Killian heard the hurt in her voice and it twisted in his gut, shaking him into admitting more than he’d planned. “I do want it, I’d be an idiot not to, I just— I can’t.” He clenched his fists in frustration, desperate for her to understand but unable to explain without telling her things that would make her hate him. “I wish things were different, Emma, I really do, but they’re not and I can’t change them, and please, I want to be friends but I can’t give you more than that. I’m sorry.” 

She was silent for so long he began to panic, then she nodded. “I won’t say I understand because I don’t, but I appreciate you coming here and telling me the truth,” she said. “And while we’re being honest, I should tell you that I know you’re hiding something, something big and scary that’s eating away at you.” He started to reply, but she cut him off. “I’m not going to try to force you to talk about it,” she assured him, “but if you ever do want to talk, Killian, whatever it is, I’ll listen. And of course we can be friends, if that’s what you need.” Tentatively, she reached out and placed her hand over his fist, relief rushing through her when he gripped it hard. “I’m always here for you,” she said softly. “No matter what.”  

His eyes were brimming with emotions, so many that she couldn’t make out what they were. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered. “Why do you bother with me?”

“I—” she began, then cut herself off. Some confessions were not for Granny’s outside tables. “I guess I just like you,” she said with a small smile. 

He returned it. “I doubt I’ll ever understand why,” he said wryly. “But I’m not going to turn down such a gift.” He squeezed her hand once more before withdrawing his. “I should go, I was supposed to be home half an hour ago, Liam will be worrying. See you in school tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “See you tomorrow.” 

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

Emma went home herself after Killian left, no longer in the mood to laugh with her friends. Although she was glad they’d cleared the air between them, there was still a heavy lump of disappointment and hurt in her chest, one she didn’t have any idea how to deal with. 

“Something wrong, Duckling?” asked her father, coming into the living room to find her sprawled on the sofa staring at the ceiling. 

“No,” she replied automatically, and David looked at her sharply. 

“Are you sure?” he pressed. “You know you can always talk to me if there is.” 

“It’s nothing,” she said, then sat up. “It’s Killian.” 

“What about him?” asked David cautiously. His daughter’s crush on Killian had been painfully obvious for weeks now, and while David generally approved —certainly a smart, thoughtful boy like Killian was vastly preferable to that little shit Neal Cassidy— if Killian did anything to hurt his baby girl David would make certain he lived to regret it. 

“I kissed him,” said Emma. 

David’s brows snapped together in a scowl, and he had to forcibly remind himself that Emma was eighteen now, she was going to kiss boys. He knew she’d at least kissed Neal, if not more, though he didn’t like to think about that. “Did you,” he said, keeping his voice steady. 

She nodded. “I kissed him and he kissed me back, and oh, Daddy, it was just wonderful. But then he got upset and left, and now he says he just wants to be friends.” She took a deep, unsteady breath as tears formed in her eyes. “He’s got something he’s hiding, something that’s hurting him, and it hurts me to see it. It’s holding him back somehow, eating him up and I— I just— I can’t stand to see it. I think I might love him. Oh, God, that sounds crazy doesn’t it?”

“No, of course not, sweetie,” said David, moving over to sit next to her and pulling her into a hug. He remembered the overwhelming power of teenage puppy love all too well; he and Mary Margaret had been even younger than Emma when it had hit them. 

Emma sobbed into her father’s shoulder, wishing she could crawl into his lap as she had done as a little girl. “I know it’s silly to be so upset just because he doesn’t feel the same,” she said. “But it just hurts.” 

David frowned. He was pretty sure that Killian did feel the same; he had seen the way they interacted at fencing club, the way they looked at each other, and he’d seen the look they’d exchanged before Killian emptied his pockets at the party. If Emma had made her interest plain and Killian had turned her down there must be a serious reason for that. Teenage boys simply didn’t say no when pretty girls asked them out. Particularly not pretty girls they were clearly crazy about. 

David thought hard. He’d had a few conversations with Liam Jones and had found him a pleasant young man, but his deliberate vagueness on the subject of what had brought him to Storybrooke now took on a somewhat sinister aspect. It might not hurt to do a bit of digging, David thought. He liked Killian and was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but if there was something he was hiding that could hurt Emma, David wanted to know what it was. 

More Notes: It's a bit short, this chapter, and only lightly edited, but it's needed to set up the stuff that's coming...

[dantesunbreaker]

Glaz x Fem!Reader

I don’t know man... This is just what I was in the mood to write, so I did. Originally this was going to be for my last fic, but I thought it worked better with Glaz. This boy is just so sweet.  Hopefully somebody out there will enjoy this.

Walking briskly through the door of the cozy four bedroom house he shares with his lover, and hopefully future wife, Glaz carries his bag of gear in one arm and a small bag of groceries in the other. Y/n had politely asked him to pick up a few things from the store when he had called her earlier to inform her that he was going to be home in just a few short hours. Well... more like she did it as polite as she possibly could for a woman that is three months pregnant and forced to be home alone.

With raging hormones, near constant cravings for strange foods, and almost daily bouts of morning sickness that would last throughout the day, Glaz feels that he can understand and accept any possible irritability from her. Some of it, he actually feels he may deserve. Ever since the announcement of the pregnancy, it seems that he keeps being sent away on mission after mission. Only a few days pass at home before he is being called out once again. It isn’t his fault, and he is sure that Y/n likely doesn’t harbor any ill thoughts towards him. Still, he can’t help but feel like a failure as both a partner and father already. Especially since Y/n didn’t create the baby all on her own. How is he supposed to be a good father if he is never around?

Luckily, after the last mission he just completed, Six made a promise to try and pass off any missions for him to the other operators so that he could spend some time with his expecting girlfriend. She could only guarantee a month or two at best. It isn’t much, but it is better than nothing. Already it is more time than Glaz has been able to spend with Y/n in the last four months. Once the baby is born, he can take an extended vacation to be with his child and girlfriend, but until that point it is unclear how much time he will have.

“Моя любовь, I’m home!” the sniper calls as he manages to open the door despite both arms being full. First he drops his bag of gear into the closet before he carries the groceries into the kitchen, setting the bag on top of the counter.

“Can you bring me the chocolate? Oh please tell me you didn’t forget to grab the chocolate,” Glaz hears Y/n call from the living room, so he grabs the specially selected chocolate bar and heads towards the source of her voice.

Lying on her back, Y/n rests on top of the couch with the hand knitted blanket his mother made for her when she got news of the baby. His mother has already done so much for the couple. Since Mrs. Glazkov does not work, Glaz often asks her to come stay with Y/n while he is away on missions, at least for the first few weeks. It keeps Y/n from feeling lonely, as well as gives her the opportunity to ask advice from someone that has already had children, and his mother enjoys being able to fret over her unborn grandchild and future daughter in law. Every chance she gives, Glaz’s mother chides him for not having already married her. Most of all though, it reassures Glaz that nothing is going to happen to Y/n while he is gone. It makes him believe everything will be alright, and thus keeping him from being distracted on the field. That is a risk he can’t take, especially now that he is going to be a parent.

“Yes, моя любовь, and it is dark chocolate just as you asked for,” the Russian sniper approaches the couch, heart fluttering at the way her face lights up upon seeing him.

Somehow her beauty still manages to surprise him, robbing him of breath when he sees her. Even now, with the ever of slightest bulge to her belly, Glaz swears that she is still the most beautiful creature to ever walk this earth.

“Well come on over, don’t just keep standing there and staring at me,” Y/n teases as she shifts on the couch in order to make room for him. “I promise I won’t bite. Not feeling that frisky yet,” she gives a playful wink as she pats the cushion in invitation.

With a reserved chuckle, Glaz saunters over to the couch and drops into the seat with as much grace as he can for being so tired. Settling into the plush cushion, he allows Y/n to lie back over his legs, head resting in his lap. As soon as Glaz places the wrapped chocolate into her grasp she is greedily tearing into the packaging so fast he isn’t sure he even caught the movement. It is almost scary to watch.

“Would you like a bite?” Y/n asks after taking several bites from her chocolate, some having melted and smeared across her lower lip. She quickly swipes it away with her tongue. The candy bar is raised up towards his face so it hangs just under his nose.

“Ah, no thank you dear,” Glaz smiles, carefully lowering her hand with the chocolate as he hopes he hasn’t offended her. Last time he was home he refused to try some weird concoction of food she made, and it set her into hysterical tears. He doesn't want a repeat of that evening. “I do have some good news though.”

Y/n doesn’t seem ready to burst into tears as she brings the rich chocolate back to her mouth, nibbling along the corners. Curious eyes stay locked looking up at him, waiting for him to make his grand announcement. Although, it can’t be nearly as exciting as the news she dropped on him three months ago.

“Six made some arrangements with the mission scheduling. For the next month or two I should be able to stay here with you. No being called away on a mission at a moment’s notice. I can finally be here with you and our little miracle,” there is such a pure look of fondness in his twinkling eyes as one of his hands moves to caress the growing mound of her stomach.

Glaz desperately wants nothing more than to be both a good and loving partner to Y/n, but also a good father to their unborn child. Yet he is constantly crushed buy the deep seeded fear his constant absence will prove to have too negative of an impact on their relationships.

“I know it isn’t much, but it is all I can promise right now,” an almost sad smile begins to form on his usually peaceful face. So Y/n quickly reaches up to cup his face in her hands, forcing him to look down at her.

“It is enough, Timur,” her words are firm as she reaches up to peck him lightly on the tip of his nose, happy that he washed away his face paint before coming home. While paint was sometimes fun in the bedroom, she really did not enjoy it getting into her mouth that often. “Don’t you ever doubt that you are enough for both of us. I understand what your job is like. Sure, it may be hard when you are gone, but I know that you are out there doing good. I can’t be mad at you for that, and neither will our child. We both will always be here for you when you return.”

A few tears escape and roll down Glaz’s cheeks, but Y/n swiftly brushes them away with her thumbs. Rapidly she presses butterfly kisses all over his face until he can do nothing other than laugh as he wraps his arms around her and attempts to pull her away. The way she looks at him suddenly leaves him with zero doubts. Maybe he is a fool for even thinking it would be any other way.

“You know, since you should be here for at least a month or two you might be able to come with me to my next appointment,” Y/n hums as Glaz moves them so they both lie on the couch, her resting back against his chest between his spread legs. “The doctor says it might be possible to determine the gender at that point.”

“I still haven’t seen what they look like. I’ve been gone too much,” Glaz murmurs, tears completely forgotten as he strokes her hair with one hand,  caressing her stomach with the other. “I love you both so much. Вы оба - искра в моей жизни.”

[megotama]

Plot & Story meme

ONE PLACE

♦AZIM STEPPES

TWO VILLAINS

♦ Aldenard/Eorzea - For over two years, Kulain has been a stranger in a strange land. From the time when she was first brought west from her homeland in Othard, she has been thrust into a culture that she had little hope of ever understanding. She has faced bigotry, and persecution constantly but as a testament to her Xaela roots, she has found ways to survive and stay true to herself.

♦ False Xaela - A derogatory term that Kulain, and her tribe, has defined as those Xaela who have chosen to turn their backs on their entire heritage and culture. Through her forced travels in Eorzea, she has watched as Xaela from many different tribes simply give up and allow themselves to be indoctrinated.

THREE RELATIONSHIPS

♦ Kulain & Roka - If there was anyone on Hydaelyn who meant more to the Qalli woman than even her own parents, it would be the Raen spitfire, Roka. Their relationship over the year and a half since they met has not always been the smoothest; yet neither of them would ever hesitate to rush to the others defense. To the Qalli, it is an honor for any tribesman to call an outsider friend but to go as far as Kulain has done speaks volumes for the bond shared between the two women. As a heart-sister, Roka holds a very special place in the Khatun’s life, and the opposing perspectives and personalities of the two blend perfectly, rather than clashing.

♦ Kulain & Sandji - While she may have had several men come into her life, and make her feel love in her own heart, not a single one has ever touched her as deeply inside as the Qalli male, Sandji. He is her mate, and the one man she would consider binding herself in the traditions of the Sarantduu. His brash confidence and ego thrill her, while her own zen-like wisdom tempers his abrasive personality. They are equals in strength, skill and endurance; a fact they have had to prove to each other several times in tests between the Qalli lovers.

♦ Kulain & Galgan - An ill-fated union from the first sun the two ever met. After twenty-five years of keeping herself pure, Galgan was the man who finally claimed Kulain’s virtue. It was this man, and his cheating, that turned Kulain away from wishing to fully embrace the Eorzean culture. Their eleven sun marriage ended in heartbreak for her, and a deep seated disdain for the Miqo’te people.

FOUR ITEMS

♦ Five opaque purple aether crystals - These hand-sized crystals are NEVER far from Kulain. They are kept together in a specially made leather pouch attached to her waist, either on a belt or another attachment. In the few cases, she’s unable to wear a belt, she has interior pouches sewn into her clothing to keep them close.

♦ Hunting Knife - A gift from an eorzean smith she and her first companion, Jaliqui, befriended. The knife was Kulain’s first introduction to eorzean smithing techniques, and the blade has served her well, always remaining hidden somewhere on her, even when she’s supposed to give it up at entertainment venues.

♦ Small leather pouch - This is a recent addition to the few items that Kulain carries. The smoothed pebbles and cut gems had been left over a period of a few moons for her to find. They were gifts left by her suitor, Qalli-un Muunokhoi. As she collected each of the offerings, she did not know exactly who was leaving the objects, but the more she found, the more fond she became of the giver.

♦ Decorative leather straps - These are the ornaments she has entwined in her hair. Besides the aether crystals, they are the only surviving remnants of her life on the Steppes before being forced to live in Eorzea. Crafted with bones, beads, and small metallic rings, these leather straps were a visible indication of her earned position and rank as ugdan of the Sarantduu.

FIVE CHARACTERS

♦ Roka Sakurae

♦ Qarajin Qalli

♦ Everianne Leroux

♦ E’tania Sedi

♦ Tuft Ananke

SIX MOMENTS

♦ Mama! I’m a shaman - At the age of three years, like every child born in one of the six remaining shaman lines, Kulain was tested by the Elders to determine if she had the ability to become a shaman. The Sarantduu legends spoke that only those with Nhaama’s Kiss were blessed by the Duskmother to become shaman. Kulain’s mark is located underneath her right horn, close to her scalp line. Her mother was not pleased with this.

♦ Please. We’re supposed to wait - After her naming day, Kulain was betrothed to a Jhungid prince at the age of one. At this point, her entire life became a mixture of training to be shaman and learning from the Elders how to be a prince’s wife. This arranged marriage was meant to create a lasting peace between the Jhungid and Sarantduu. Part of the agreement before their wedding was that Kulain would spend time at the Jhungid camp learning from their Elders. At a very young age, she learned about her betrothed’s sexual appetite when he forced her to pleasure him with her hands.

♦ In front of the entire tribe - Before her wedding, the Sarantduu held a Festival of Courting. The Jhungid royalty and their entourage were invited to attend the ceremony as part of the week long celebration. The centerpiece of this particular evening was the six bell long song to honor the tribe’s First Shaman and First Warrior, and Kulain was tasked to sing this difficult piece.

♦ Flight from home - Initially, the Doman Rebellion seemed to be proceeding well. They had fought the Garleans and gained ground, and it appeared they might win their freedom. A swift retaliation of Imperial reinforcements broke the lines and decimated the combined forces. Forced to flee with a mixture of Xaela and Domans, Kulain was led to the coast where ships were waiting to sail for safety. Little did she know that her destination was going to be the foreign shores of Eorzea.

♦I won’t let them suffer - After spending moons in the refugee camps of Ul’dah, and having her food stolen by corrupt Brass Blades, and her shelters destroyed, Kulain found herself hired by a free company that claimed to offer assistance and work. It did not take long for her to learn that this was only a front for the company to appear more benevolent than they were. Together, with her soon-to-be husband and a Raen, the three of them began their own charitable free company to do what the other companies did not.

♦ This is my tribe - Nearly a full year from her arrival in Eorzea, Kulain found herself unwittingly thrust forward into a position of leadership she never dreamed of becoming. She was the queen of a small tribe of Xaela, almost all of them shared her thoughts; to keep to their traditions, and not let the culture of Aldenard steal it from them.

SEVEN QUOTES

♦  “♪We have crossed that stream already.♪” - Kulain’s belief is that constantly looking into the past is not very healthy. She prefers to keep moving forward, to keep moving ahead and not let the obstacles of life deter you.

♦  “♪ It is what is.♪” - Perhaps her best known phrase, to the Qalli woman it is her way of accepting either the person or circumstances she faces. She is acknowledging that some things can be changed, and somethings can’t.

♦  “♪ I can only be whom I am.♪ ” - This quote has a variant where she tells someone that they can only be whom they are. This is the meant as both confirmation and affirmation, to tell someone how much she truly admires them. The quote itself is her way of telling someone that she is going to do what she thinks is right and best based on what she knows.

♦  “♪ My horns are yours when you need them.♪” - As a shaman, she was trained to listen closely to people’s problems and to offer them wisdom and advice to help guide them. She is very reluctant to outright tell someone how to live their life, and offers words for them to think about on their own, and come to their own decisions.

♦ “♪Grandomother used to say my heartsong could swallow Hydaelyn.♪” - Kulain’s capacity for caring has been both a positive and negative in her life. This aspect of herself has been taken advantage of, in the past, and despite those harsh lessons she refuses to close herself off.

♦  “♪ There is beauty in the world’s song.♪” - No matter where she is, Kulain can close her eyes and combine all the ambient noise that normally surrounds a person into an actual repeatable harmony.

♦  “♪ There is only truth in my song.♪” - She doesn’t lie. Ever. If she’s unsure of the integrity of her knowledge or information, she will state it.

Tagged by : @rokachan & @ladyrivienne

Mentions - @everianne-ff14 @etani-a @tuftananke @gabesgrafix (A very special thank you for being a part of my RP journey in FFXIV!)

Tagging: Anyone and EVERYONE! Do this! It’s so fun to delve this deeply into your character. Tag me if you do, please!

[btsjeonjazz]

Petname Babygirl II pt.2

yoongi x reader

genre: smut, punishments, dom!yoongi, sugardaddy!yoongi, boss!yoongi

warning: dirty talk, choking, hitting

word count: 7.8k

You discussed the rules of your agreement before turning overtime into sexual favours in behalf of the man who pays you for your body.

You tried to rush to the exit without Yoongi noticing you were gone. His acquaintances said their goodbyes – so did you – before you made your way home.

The conversation inside the storeroom was present the last two hours you had to spent at your company dinner. Maybe the sex with Yoongi clouded your rightful judgement but you definitely said ‘yes’ as he asked you to become the man who pays you for sexual favours.

You held your hair, thinking about it while running away from the hotel. On the street you waved a cab to you, climbing on the back seat and telling the driver your address. Only then exhaustion creped into your bones, thoughts of your recent dialogue filling your head.

“Hear me out, baby girl.”

You did not move, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say. His eyes never left your face as the words left his pink lips.

“As I just said, I want to offer you something. Just listen till the end before you start speaking”, he said, stepping closer to you. “I’m a busy man, the chairman of our company. You can guess that I don’t have time for an actual love life. Even the sex is cut short since a few months. After sleeping with you I thought about giving you a chance for a different kind of relationship but you were gone as I came back that morning.”

You watched him in concentration, your gaze following every word that left his lips.

“Since you are here now, I want to ask you if you want to do what just happened more frequently. On my calling. Me saying when and where, how often, with my rules. Of course I would give you everything you want, except for romantic feelings.”

Confused you tilted your head. Was he implying what you thought he would?

“Do you mean something like prostitution? Sorry, but I’m not into it”, you said wide eyed, separating your bodies as far as the small room allowed. Yoongi just sighed.

“Listen, the sex is fucking satisfying with you. And even if you deny it now, it is obvious that you feel the same. You devour me with your eyes even now! And you could end the agreement any moment.”

He was right, you found him undoubtedly hot, exciting. Yes, even now you felt your juices dripping down your inner legs. But was sex worth selling your body? Selling your pride? Or were you just afraid of getting hurt? Doesn’t this reciprocity meant just sex? And if it was that with Yoongi you were sure that the intercourse would be amazing every time.

“And I guarantee you, it won’t affect your job. You do excellent work, so it would be just a personal matter between the two of us. You just have to stay ready for me, baby girl.”

Why was he so charming as his brown, almond eyes pierced your own. Sure, it was more than tempting to sleep with Yoongi, but for free.

“I give you time to think about my offer, just don’t wait too long”, he made his way towards you, gripping the key that closed the door to turn it around. Before he could do so you reached for his arm. Your cheeks were bright red as you tried to hold his gaze, his brows pulled up.

“We have to decide the rules together. I’m down for nearly everything but I want to be sure.”

He backed away from the closed door, crossing his arms in front of his chest. A victoriously gummy smile pulling his lips up. You inhaled loudly, realising what you just said.

“So, you’re down to do it?”, you heard his voice suppressing a feeling of relief.

You hesitated but nodded at him. “I’m down.”

“It will be for the best if we discuss the conditions monday morning in my office. I hope you don’t change your mind in your free time tomorrow”, Yoongi’s eyes sparkled, reaching for the key a second time. “Wait for me after dinner, I will drive you home.”

With that he adjusted his tie back at its place before opening the door and walking towards the workers exit.

“You are unbelievable, y/n!”, you groaned after sorting out the conversation about him being your sugar daddy. The driver watched your action through the driving mirror but did not say a word. In no time you arrived at the front door of your new small apartment. You dragged yourself up the stairs, opening your door while tossing your shoes aside. You decided to take a hot shower to relax your tired bones but even that did not help to distract you from the nagging thoughts of Yoongi’s words. Only the shelter of your sleep let you finally slack off until your boss appeared in your dreams.

To distract you further you decided to spent the sunday at you parents’ house, baking cake with your mom while your dad worked his way through their garden. It was a lazy day, talking with your parents and spending time with them without thinking about him and your future as his sex slave.

The next morning was the complete opposite. You woke up earlier than necessary, taking a long shower and spending some time in your kitchen sipping on your hot tea.

  Ana: Hey, do you mind working overtime the next days? I need you help, pleeease

  you: Sure, you owe me one ;)

That meant you had to work longer and think less, you thought grinning to yourself.

The office was far more hectic than the last week as you entered the 18th floor to get the files you would work on from Mrs. Rita. On your way to her bureau you could see that something was up wondering what was the case this early.

“Mrs. Rita, good morning. Did something happen? It’s like hell in here”, you asked as you saw the older lady running around giving instructions to the other employees.

She looked at you with a drained expression. “Mr. Min is back. We expected him to come back tomorrow and right now nothing is ready. Neither the work is done nor did we clean up this weekend.”

“Oh okay, but do you mind giving me the rest of the files from last week?”, you asked nicely not to overstretch her nerves.

Kind of confused she looked at you: “Mr. Kim already collected them a few minutes ago, Miss y/l/n. He said that Mr. Min wanted to go through them with Miss Jung and you.”

Your heart stopped for a moment. That was definitely not the morning of your dreams.

“Thank you”, was all you said while walking slowly to the elevator. You were just so nervous meeting him again. There was no reason to avoid him as you already told him yes, but the uneasy feeling did not leave you.

A ‘ding’ signalled you to step out of the metal booth, heading straight for your desk. To your surprise Ana was earlier than you, Mr. Kim right next to her a chunk of files in his large hands.

“Good morning, Miss y/l/n. Your task will be to work on today’s cases with Miss Jung and Mr. Min, so please do me the favour and follow me”, the tall guy told you giving you your share of work.

You did not say anything while entering the elevator you just exited to go up two floors above to your boss’ office.

“I’m so nervous around Mr. Min, y/n. He gives me goosebumps, I don’t get it”, your co-worker whispered in your ear so the assistant would not overhear her phrases.

If she knew how nervous he made you, you thought. “Just relax, at the dinner he was..very friendly towards us.”

Mr. Kim knocked on the alabaster glass door of Mr. Min’s office before entering it. The man with the grey hair sat on the chair behind his big wooden desk, black framed spectacles on his nose. One of the clients cases you worked on last week in his hands he looked up. As if nothing happened between the two of you he stood up to gesture Ana and you to sit down on the chairs in front of his desk.

“Good morning, Miss Jung, Miss y/l/n. Mr. Kim might already told you but today I want to point out the mistakes as well as the good points in your latest works. Normally I don’t have time for this but it makes my work a lot easier if the preparatory work is done precisely”, Yoongi said, giving both of you your edited files back. With a red marker several lines were underlined, a handwriting that was not yours filling the edges of the papers. While Mr. Kim always complimented your work, and even Yoongi did, you were disappointed with yourself. He was the boss, so it was normal that he found more mistakes in your works but so many? And some were obvious even for you.

“Don’t worry Mr. Kim’s preparatory work looks the same”, Mr. Min tried to sooth  Ana and you while holding up a pen and leaning forward to show Ana her gravest faults. They discussed some issues he found most important and you could see how heat shot up the cheeks of the pretty woman next to you. Attentive you listened how he explained what she had to pay attention to, to decrease his work afterwards.

“No, it’s more important if you look for flaws in the reports, don’t concentrate on the good points. Nobody wants to hear them anyway”, he said, tipping his pen on a red line on the papers.

Sighing Ana nodded, seeing how wrong she did her recent work.

“Everything’s fine. This is why you are here today, so don’t worry and take a new map. Prepare it while I explain the next steps to Miss y/l/n”, your boss shot her an encouraging smile, the same he gave you as you gagged on his dick on saturday. A shiver ran down your spine as you remembered this scene.

While he handed Ana a report you watched his expressions. But they never changed as his eyes wandered to your face. Unlike you. The rose hue of your cheeks deepened while you looked down on your own work, waiting for him to start speaking.

“Miss y/l/n, for your first week your prepared documents are nicely done”, he began, giving you a slight smile. “You should pay more attention to solutions though. Write them on an extra paper, I will consider advices from my employees and I’m keen to see how you would evaluate some cases.”

Your head shot up, looking at him with a confused expression. “That’s it?”

Yoongi pulled his eyebrows up, tilting his head to the side while glancing your way. “I’m content with your work, so yes, that is all. Or do you have any questions?”

With fast movements of your eyes you read the remarks on the edges. You had several questions and formulated them as to why he answered them carefully.

“But I really don’t understand why you underlined it, Mr. Min. Could it be counted a hidden solution? Whereof should I recognize it?”, you tried to get how you could be of help to him. You did not even understand what he just told you and the red pen that filled your work was more confusing than helpful to you.

Your boss sighed and stood up from his chair to come around to you. Ana shot you a glance, her wide eyes traced with shock that you spoke against your boss. You on the other side just wanted to detect the things he did, learning how to do a better job.

Yoongi leaned forward, his chest close to your back. You could feel his fresh, hot breath against the skin of you neck while his hand grabbed the pen that lay next to your hand on his desk.

“I wrote notes here..here and on here”, his voice was so close to your ear that you could not even follow his hand as he circled the notes he talked about. Yoongi was too near for you to concentrate. Your gaze was not on the papers in front of you but on the pink lips of your boss while his low voice filled the office. He looked so kissable right next to you. And his scent! It filled your nose while he leaned further into you, never looking you in your face that was just a few centimetres away.

Suddenly you felt his free hand, that was hidden from the sight of your co-worker, caressing your side. He stroked further down until his hand got to the fabric of your jeans where his fingers traced up and down. “I want to bend you over my desk and fuck that little pussy of yours, baby girl”, an unnoticeable, low whisper reached you as he pressed his lips shortly on your ear.

Your body stiffened, afraid of Ana listening in on him. But as you glanced at her you could see how she scrabbled over her work, brows furrowed in concentration.

“That wouldn’t be so nice, Mr. Min”, you said aloud tapping your one hand on the file while the other petted his on your knee. A low chuckle, only you noticed, fell from his lips.

“You know what isn’t nice? The fucking jeans you’re wearing”, another lewd comment as he slapped your thigh lightly. With one last touch of his fingers on your stomach, as he slowly pulled his hands away, Ana’s voice filled the room.

“Mr. Min, I think I’m done.”

He smiled at her, holding out his hand to grasped the file before sitting back down across from you two.

It was a common feeling that spread through your lower stomach. He made you crazy, the fact that he did it in front of Ana was just fuelling the heat in your core. Therefore you pressed your thighs together, the tingling feeling amplifying as you saw how Mr. Min’s hand disappeared under his desk, hidden away from you and Ana.

“I will look it over, Miss Jung. You are free to take a break. I will ask Mr. Kim to give it back to you tomorrow”, Yoongi said, motioning to the door.

Clearly relieved your co-worker made her way back to her own desk two floors underneath. But before she closed the door behind her, she shot you an encouraging smile, signalling you to relax.

“We need to discuss another matter, y/n”, the man in front of you reported, leaning his chin on his folded hands. “First of all, why the hell did you run away? I told you to wait.” His stare was calm but his voice showed how impatient he was with your actions.

“Ah, yeah.. that..”, you stuttered not knowing what to tell him. How nervous you were about all this? How it might affect your own feelings towards him?

“Wanna back out, y/n? That would not amuse me but if that’s your wish”, he sighed annoyed, leaning back against his chair. The tone of his voice suddenly much colder than before.

“No! No, I’m just not used to such situation. It would be my first time to deal with paid sex”, you mumbled, fidgeting with your hands in your lap.

It was not what he expected but a little grin appeared on his lips while he watched your stiff features in front of his eyes. “It will be my first, too.”

Wide eyes flew to his face, searching for the truth in his words. If that was true it made it easier for you to accept him as the man you had to give your body to.

“If it helps, you can declare your conditions first”, he said after a while of tension as you just looked at each other, unsure of beginning the theme. He gave you a blank piece of paper and his red pen so you could write down your own rules for the agreement. You felt sweaty as you rolled the pen in your hands, thinking what you would be able to give him and what were your limits. His dark, almond shaped eyes inspected your expression while you put your thoughts to paper, marking the white slip in dark red. The pen left several sentences before you tilted your head to the side, reading your precepts a second time. Content with propositions you put the pen back next to you, holding sheet of paper up to read it aloud.

“First of all, I’m not into having sex with you with some random people. Either the two of us, or nothing happens. You are refrained from having sex with other women without a condom. If I say stop, you have to stop, I don’t care how close you are at that moment. I also don’t want you make any allusions in front of my co-workers..”, you had not many conditions but one thing you absolutely despised. “Not the ass, Mr. Min. Choke me, hit me, bite me or call me degrading names, but the ass is forbidden territory!”

Yoongi’s dark brows were pulled up, listening to your demands. Luckily it contained only things he would say himself, except for ass play, but he would be able to speak you into it, he was sure.

“Cute rules, y/n. Now let’s listen to mine”, he laughed, crossing his legs. “Before we have sex without protection I want you to get tested, after work.”

“So do you”, you said confidently, interrupting his speech.

“No hard feelings, no cuddling afterwards. You will get my private phone number, so be ready every moment. Answer within ten minutes maximum and from tomorrow onwards you should wear easy removable clothes. Skirts, dresses whatever suits you, just don’t wear pants in the bureau”, his voice sounded kind of disgusted as he spoke from you wearing pants. “I like if woman do what I say, be submissive; y/n. Therefore I want you to obey my commands otherwise you will get punishments. We will test your limits if the time comes. I also don’t want to share what’s mine. That means that you are forbidden to fuck other guys, not even with condoms or whatever. On the contrary can you request everything you want from me. And what is possible to buy with money”, he made a short break in which his words slowly sunk into you. Up until now everything seemed just as you imagined. It was easier than you thought, listening to his rules and deciding if you were content with them.

“The last thing is, that coming to my apartment means absolute discretion. Nobody needs to know about my offer to you, understood? The details will crystallize themselves by time.”

After his announcement the office was filled with just your low breathing, thoughts running wild about what the other talked about. Then you moved by leaning forward giving him the sheet you wrote your own conditions on.

“I guess the fronts are clear now”, you said aloud, waking him up from his trance.

His grey hair bobbed up as he nodded, biting his pink bottom lip. “I like doing business with you, Miss y/l/n. You should hurry back to work if you don’t want to anger your boss.” His laugh reached his eyes and even if he was a shameless man if it came to his sexual desires, did he seem like a cute boy as he laughed, showing his gummy smile.

“Pleasure is mine, Mr. Min.”

You stood up to turn around but before you walked out his office, you shot him a suggestive smile. This was when your adventure began.

“God, Ana, what the hell have you done?”, your voice was laced in utter frustration as you overlooked Ana’s reports this thursday afternoon. “Didn’t we agree on you focusing on the needed points? You marked everything again.”

An apologizing smile played around the woman’s full lips, trying to sooth your overworked state. The last three days were a constant routine of late night sessions at work, short nights of sleep and the pestering feeling that Yoongi would call at an incongruous moment. To your surprise did he not contact you the last days. He had your number but did not even try to animate you for a quick fuck. Considering the fact that you had overtime every day thanks to Ana’s mistakes were you quite happy about that.

“It’s already five, how should we give the report to Mr. Min? We will never be able to finish it on time”, Ana said, her voice trembling. It would be her second file in two weeks that she would not be able to finish punctually.

“Don’t worry, if we work it out together we can do it”, you smiled tiredly at her, taking the file to your own desk and flying over her scribbled notes. It would be a long, long night, you thought as you saw all the wrong rudiments.

The watch ticked on the white wall above you. The last employees were already leaving, even Mr. Kim said his goodbyes minutes ago. You knew that Ana and you were the only people in the company at his point. Except for Min Yoongi.

“Y/n, let’s stop here. My eyes are burning and I developed a headache. Seriously it might take two more hours before we finish it”, Ana said hands in her blond hair. She looked exhausted. You were not the only one who had long nights. As it was mostly her fault she had to stay, too, sometimes even longer than you helped her. Therefore you felt sorry for her, even if you were just as tired, you made a suggestion.

“Go home, I can do it alone. If you promise me to sleep tight and come back fresh tomorrow”, your voice was loud as you stood up, stretching yourself.

“But, y/n..”, she just said, standing up as well before hugging you shortly. “Thank you. If you need anything you have to tell me!” Her response came quick, you thought, at least try to act as if you don’t want to leave.

Nodding you pushed her towards the elevator. “Now hurry up, I have to work.”

“I owe you one, again”, Ana smiled apologizing, waving you while being able to go home.

You fell back into your chair, surveying the last remaining pages of her miserably prepared file. Oh, it will take you several hours, you thought looking at the watch. Ten already? Goodbye sleep.

“You’re still at work, busy as a bee, huh?”, a low, familiar voice resonated through your empty floor.

“I’m not down for joking around. It’s past midnight and I want to go home”, you said annoyed, scribbling another phrase on the edge of the paper.

Instead of going away Yoongi walked to you, leaning over your shoulder to see what you were doing at this time of day. Fast you hid Ana’s name with some pages you already prepared. He noticed your stiffening shoulders at his presence, grabbing them before he slowly pressed his thumbs into your aching neck. A loud moan fell from your lips at his touch.

“Don’t distract me, please. I need to finish this”, you said squirming yourself out of his soft hands. His grip only got stronger, massaging your delicate skin that was hidden behind the fabric of your white blouse.

“I had the plan to call you tonight, baby girl. You know you aren’t allowed to refuse my requests”, his low voice got closer to your ear until his soft, warm lips kissed the sensitive spot on your neck. His strong hands stroked your hair to the side to get better access to your skin.

“I don’t have time for that, Mr. Min”, you tried to repress the feeling of falling into is touches. Instead of answering you, he turned the chair around, glaring into your eyes.

“You know how I tried to be nice to you? I even kissed your neck to stimulate you. But your refusal annoys me, baby girl”, his calm voice changed into a lustful, demanding one. “And the last time you even had the nerve to run away from me.” An unamused laugh filled the floor. “Now be a good little girl and suck me off.”

Perplexed you gulped. If you had known how fast he switched from a quite delicate man – he never really was like that – to the demon he resembled, you would have never tried to refuse his attempts. Therefore you stood up, straightening your tight grey skirt before you got on your knees in front of him.

“I take the lead today, so don’t even think about doing something I don’t demand from you”, he growled, unbuttoning his suit pants, pulling them down and grabbing your hair into his solid fist. “Unfortunately I won’t be gentle today, baby girl.”

Just then you looked up to see his hot dick above you. Your mouth watered at this sight, hoping he would make the sex session pleasurable for you as well. With warm fingers you traced over the vein of his cock to his red tip. Then you leaned forward giving his delicate skin wet kisses, beginning at the shadow of his trimmed hair, nibbling with your teeth, to his shaft where you made a mix of wet kisses and licks that reached his top in slow motion. At the contact Yoongi began to hum. As you did not want to have trouble you started to press your hot tongue onto his glans, making eye contact with the man who hovered over you. His view locked into yours as a cold expression was drawn on his attractive features. You never lost connection to his dark, lustful oculars while opening your mouth as far as you could, taking his dick in. Slowly you deepened your motion until his cock was coated in your saliva fully.

“I like it if you’re submissive”, Yoongi said, patting your cheek a little too strong, “Put your hands between your thighs and suck on my dick, baby girl.”

You obeyed immediately, putting your sweaty hands between your clothed thighs. Whereas you bobbed your head, taking him in further with every move of your head. The fist in your hair increased its strong hold as he separated his legs a little wider, making sure his position was solid. From then on he started to move on his own, hips tardy pressing into your face at first before Yoongi sped up his pace, his dick hitting the back of your throat. Several gags escaped you while tears initiated to fall from your eyes, your nose touching his stomach over and over again. Just then you began to accustom to his length.

“I give you the advice to breathe through your nose”, you got the feeling that his advice was laced with scorn and hidden action because he shoved his pulsating dick violently into your open mouth, holding you in place through the grip in your hair. Merriment was shown on his face, bottom lip sucked between his teeth trying not to show his heavy breathing. “Do you like holding your breath, baby girl?”

Confused you tried not to pull your hands from the position between your thighs to signal him to stop joking around. But before you could do anything, he enclosed his big hand around your head, thrusting his full length into your mouth. Luckily he gave you the tip to inhale and exhale only through your nose. He repeated his actions a few times, grunting louder with every move of his hips.

“You do a good job, letting me fuck the pretty little mouth you have, baby girl. But don’t you think it’s time for a punishment? You didn’t behave like you should by running away on saturday and by trying to refuse sex with me.”

Your eyes remained on his lips even as he finished his little speech, panic and arousal flooding you. On one hand you were not sure what he meant but on the other side did the unexpected turn you on, blood beginning to boil at what was going to happen.

A superior smirk creeped on Yoongi’s lips, his darkening eyes burning their way into your soul. Then he began to repeat his previous movements, this time changing the angle to have even more access to your wet mouth. Whereas you tried to latch your tongue around his moving dick, making him feel even better. A feral sound filled the place, making your core tighten, leaving your pussy soaked without getting touched.

“God, you turn me so fucking on”, Yoongi growled, hitting your cheek again more violently this time. His hand left your face burning, leaving red marks on your skin. At his actions you moaned, wetness dropping on your panties. You hoped Yoongi would not notice that your hands found their way towards your aching pussy, wanting to being touched as well. Your eyes stayed on his face that was traced with pleasure until he noticed what you did. In one go he pulled out of your mouth.

“You really think I’m blind? Stop touching yourself. Hands behind your fucking back!”, his voice was so low, leaving you shuddering beneath him. But you did as he said, whimpering as your hands left the spot on your core, that oh so gave you the needed friction by pressing your fingers on your tingling clit.

Suddenly Yoongi grabbed your chin, pulling your face up before he pinched your cheeks, positioning himself before you again. This time he just shoved himself right into you, making you gag again. But unfortunately his next move was unpredictable. He fucked your throat a few times before his one hand enclosed around your hair again, holding you pressed against his stomach, his dick buried in your mouth, only letting a tiny gap for you to breath through your nose. Low grunts leaving his mouth he leaned forward pressing your nostrils close, making you choke on his dick that he pushed forward closing the remaining gap he left for you to breath. Tears rolled down your marked cheeks while you looked straight at Yoongi’s face.

His eyebrows were furrowed, lips agape and eyes shut in pleasure. You could hear him whimper as your throat began to contract itself around Yoongi’s erect cock.

“Baby girl..”, was all he said before you tapped at his thighs, a signal to let you go.

Without delay he pulled himself out your wet cave, grunting at the loss of your warmth. You had to inhale deeply, catching up on the missed oxygen. Light coughs fell from your lips while you held your hands around your neck. Through the concentration you did not notice how wet your panties were by now. All the actions Yoongi did on you, made your core tingle with excitement, leaving your folds in heated anticipation for his dick. While you tried to find your composure, your boss pulled you on your feet, ripping at your white blouse until the buttons sprung off. Incredulous you watched his actions, feeling how anger made its way in your bones, a mean remark laying on your tongue. But before you could say anything he gripped your waist, pushing you to the edge of your own desk. The back of your legs felt the hard, cold material of the table as he lifted you up on it before Yoongi’s hands roamed around your torso, feeling the soft fabric of your bra tracing down to the hem of your skirt, sliding it up till it lay loose on your waist revealing the wet spot on your grey underwear. You were so damn wet that it even painted the fabric of your dark tights.

Yoongi licked his pink lips, while pulling up his dark eyebrows. “Why are you always so ready for me? I did not even touch you and you are soaked, baby girl”, he shook his head in pretended disappointment. “Did my actions turn you on that much?”

A small whimper left your dank lips, nodding hastily at his words. “Yes, Mr. Min. I’m so ready to be fucked by you.”

He hummed in agreement, the habitual degrading smirk on his lips as he saw how needy you were. You saw how he looked at your desk, a mess behind your back.

“Fuck, baby girl, stand up”, you heard him saying as he turned around to walk to the next free desk. You followed and hopped on it, sitting in the same position as before. Your hands found their way to Yoongi’s chest, trying to pull him into a kiss, but he fended and pushed your torso down in a swift movement. The desk you lay on felt cold through the thin fabric of your top.

“Spread your legs”, a demand followed from the man who stood in front of you.

You could not see him as he stripped the tights and panties you wore down, exposing your heated folds to the chilly air in the office. “I’m so lucky having such a slutty pussy to myself.”

His words made you shiver in agitation, quietly cursing him for leaving you wet and needy.

“Please, Mr. Min, I need you to fuck me. I beg you”, you whined, hands running down to your wet core. You laid your fingers on your heated folds, stroking heavily to feel the needed touch of at least something.

“So eager?”, your boss’ voice was lustful but you thought you heard disgust in it. “I never allowed you to touch yourself, did I?”

“N-No”, your voice was weak, leaking with anticipation to finally feel his touches on your skin.

“Exactly, baby girl”, Yoongi said slapping your hands away before he smacked your aching pussy. Heat rushed through you while you bent your back at the striking tickling his slap left. A second hit followed that made you squirm, your lap throbbing for him. Yoongi did not sooth the spots – he did it last time neither – ere he smacked your clit for a last time, more forcefully, letting you cry out in slight pain that evolved into arousal. You wanted him. No, you just really needed to already feel his dick filling your insides.

A short silence filled the floor as you saw Yoongi fishing for something in his wallet he pulled out his suit jacket. You saw the small foil and recognized it to be a condom. Your eyes traced the outline of his veins that were shown on his hands as he opened the package and had to admit that his big hands were one of the most sexy things you had ever seen on a man -well, except for his dick. With experienced fingers he covered his swollen dick with the protection medium before he spread your legs further apart. Two of his bony fingers pressed against the opening of your entrance. Small moans leaving your lips before you felt how he eased them into you. Several sounds filled the room while you wiggled underneath your boss’ body.

Without really moving his fingers he pulled them out, licking his digits clean. You just watched him in awe, the coin in your lower stomach pulsating, only waiting to be snapped.

“Please”, was all you got out before he got hold of your legs, pulling your body onto the edge of the desk. Your head lay on its surface so you were only able to feel what he did and not to see how he finally stepped closer, letting his cock slide through your folds to get the condom coated in your juices. Whimpers escaped you as he abruptly hit his covered dick onto your bundle of nerves, leaving you panting beneath him. It was the same spot he just hit with his long fingers that made you feel lust detonate in the spit of your stomach.

“I hope you’re as tight as you were month ago”, his voice was laced in anticipation.

Trembling your body ached for him while you felt how he pushed his tip into you. As you were not used to have sex for a while this light motion made you groan. Step by step he shoved forward before he filled you entirely.

“I can barely fucking move”, he pressed through his teeth holding onto your legs while starting to move his hips slowly.

“Oh god, Mr. Min, please be rough with me”, you cried, wanting to feel more of him. He just fit so perfectly into you that your folds contradicted around him on their own. As time passed he sped up his pace into a merciless one so you had to find support by grabbing the edges of the desk. Your breasts bounced with his thrusts but you did not care as you propped yourself on your elbows to see how he was doing.

Sweat was flowing down in tiny drops from his forehead, his face traced with concentration. But his eyes lay on you, dark oculars that stared right into your face, trying to imprint this picture into his head. You had problems to stay in position while reading the expressions on his face. Therefore he started to hold your waist, speeding up until you heard how high and heavy his grunts got. You yourself felt the coin slightly turning, but not enough for you to come.

“I coming, baby girl. You did your job too well at the beginning”, his breathy voice announced as his movements became sloppier, wet sounds echoing from the spot your bodies met. You were totally content with his release whereas you moaned his last name in a kind of mantra to yourself. This alone and the sight that played in front of him, made him spurt out white drops of cum into the condom he wore.

You on the other side were exhausted from your position while watching as Yoongi closed his eyes, moving his hips tardy in and out of you as he rode out his orgasm. Your hands ached as you straightened your back, positioning yourself into a sitting form while he slid his dick out of you. You followed him with your eyes as he pulled of the used condom from his dick and throwing it into one of the employee’s bins. As you were still tuned on, your bare pussy rubbing on the glass surface of the desk, you whined as he pulled up his suit pants. You were sure he wanted a second round as you did not come by now, but unfortunately it was not the case.

“Make me come, Mr. Min”, your weak voice whined, squirming on your spot. “I’m still so hot.”

Yoongi looked up, adjusting his belt. “Next time, maybe, if you behave like you should, baby girl.”

You shook your head a no. “Come on, I’m a good girl.”

Your begging did not help as he just pulled one brow up, shaking his grey thatch. “You have work that should be done to tomorrow morning. I give you twenty minutes to finish them or I drive home without you.”

With that he just fucking left you high and dry, the second time in one week. He could not do this, you thought. You let him fuck you however he wanted but did not even make you come!

Despite this fact you were kind of satisfied with what you did. Eventually you were the one that had to make sure that he was pleased and not you.

Sighing you stood up, sliding your panties and tights back up before you pulled down your skirt. Just your torso was a disaster. He ruined your new blouse. Therefore you tried to cover at least your breasts with the ripped top of yours ere you made your way to the remaining work you had to finish.

The distraction was not the best as you could not concentrate any more. You were freaking exhausted and tired by now. And to be honest, you wanted to go home.

At last you decided to scribble some notes on the edges of all remaining pages, a little soiled but better than nothing. The watch told you that Yoongi left twenty-five minutes ago and so did the chance to get home with him in a luxurious car. You packed your bag and dressed into your black coat before you turned down the lights and made your way out of the office.

If you would’ve been faster, you could be on your way home, safe and warm, you cursed yourself but as you exited the entrance of your company a black, expensive car parked in front of it. The window of the passenger’s seat was down so you saw the familiar grey hair sitting of the driver’s seat. A small smile played around your lips while you walked to the car.

“Mind if I get in?”, you said showing him your teeth as you smiled at him brightly. Never had you thought that Min Yoongi would wait for someone else.

“You are five minutes late”, was all he said but instead of driving away he motioned for you to hop on. You barely closed your belt as he drove away from the company.

“Ah, my address”, you began but his beautiful hand waved you to be silent.

“I know where you live, I’ve read your resume”, he just said, never looking at you while he drove you past a quiet city. Only street lights letting you see the expressions the man next to you felt. But you could not read anything out of them. He was not the type to be emotional, you thought while observing him.

Your thoughts were laced with the memories you two made a few minutes ago. Even though you were so close to him right now you felt as if your distance was further than it ever was, but exactly this is what you had agreed on. Just sex, no hard feelings.

“Is there anything you want to have, y/n?”, he broke the silence, eyes kept on the streets.

You thought about his words for a moment before you decided that he definitely had to compensate you for something. “You destroyed my new blouse. I went shopping two days ago and now it’s ruined”, you said, nodding to yourself.

Yoongi’s head shot towards you. “That’s all?” He seemed to be quite surprised about the fact that you wanted nothing more than a cheap new top from him. “I expected to hear something..more costly.”

“Why? Just get me my blouse”, you said, relaxing in the seat you sat on.

A quiet laugh was heard from your boss as he shook his grey thatch. “So easy to please.”

“Have a problem with that? Then buy me some jewellery or something”, you snorted turning your face to the window, watching as the houses got past you.

A few minutes later he stopped in front of your new apartment, letting you get off right before your door.

“My employees should sleep well and do their work precisely”, Yoongi said pulling his brows up while you got off his expensive car. “Tell it, Miss Jung.”

With that he was gone.

Ups, he had definitely seen her name on the tag of the file. First thing in the morning you had to tell-

No you better not told her that he saw her name on the report as he tried to seduce you.

This night you stayed awake, thinking about the sex with Min Yoongi while touching yourself. The memories making you come pretty fast but you felt dirty for thinking about him and the fact that he had you wrapped around his finger even though it was just sex.

The next week was traced with your first meetings, seeing how Yoongi was busier than ever as he had to made sure the contract with your new partners was done fair and square. Many times after your late night session he requested you for sucking him off while he had to work on some files for his trip abroad. It was thrilling to hide beneath his wooden desk, not being allowed to tease, just making him relax in the form of pleasurable blow jobs. Nothing more and nothing less.

“Good job, baby girl”, he said without looking up while you crawled back up from your hideout underneath his desk.

“Always a pleasure, Mr. Min”, you told him wiping away the remaining cum on your lips. You adjusted your clothes while walking around his workplace looking at the trophies on one of the many shelves to see that they were from his youth as a basketball captain.

“Can you look at the package that lies behind you on the chair?”, Yoongi motioned for you to turn around just so you could see a nicely wrapped present on one of the chairs in front of his desk. Curiously you opened it to find a white piece of soft fabric in it. A new blouse. The material was from a better quality and even the brand was one of the most famous ones. A cheap top would have been sufficient, you thought but was happy to be able to own something as costly as this.

“Thank you!”, your voice was cheerful as you inspected your new top.

“Sure. You better take it with you next week”, he just said, head bend over his work.

“Next week?”, you asked, confused about his statement. Was something going to happen next week that you had not noticed?

Yoongi leaned against the backrest of his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Are you dense, y/n? We are going on a business trip to complete the task around our new contract.”

Realisation hit you. How could you forget the trip abroad with your boss, you thought, the company was all over it. Embarrassed you walked to the alabaster glass door to go back to work stopped dead in your tracks at your boss’ next words.

“Don’t forget to bring your best dessous, baby girl”, Yoongi smirked licking his pink lips before he continued his work.

The next week should show you how real business was done with Min Yoongi.

[bloom-agreste-cheng]

JUSTICE FOR TECNA! Is this Nickelodeon trying to tell kids an online only relationship isn’t good and that face to face interaction is preferable? Yes.

Bloom: Tecna. You and Timmy are always texting, chatting, and emailing. You never spend any time face to face

Stella: You're having an all virtual relationship, which is like virtually impossible

I'm going to strangle them

Please refer me to exactly where Tecna invited the both of you into her relationship, I'd love to see it

Look at how upset she is!!! Crimes!!! Crimes!!!!