#new bodies of water to walk around! a place i’ve never been!

[finitevariety]

long weekend so i’m going on a trip autistically

[munsonmuses]

•Sounds of Satisfaction•

Eric (AQPDO) x Fem! Reader

Warnings: mentions of the end of the world. Smut, unprotected sex, p in v, fingering, light oral (f receiving)

I know it just came out. I know it’s new. But damnit…I needed smut with this watery eyed man let me tell you-

Authors Warnings: this was not proof read

Word Count: 1.7k

Eric’s body ached terribly. The impact from the water, swimming one handed. Running on empty for days as he carefully curled up with Frodo. Legs shaking and mouth flapping like a fish out of water, trying to form any thought as he sleepily looked around.

They’d been adrift for about six hours now, on open water and swaying with the waves. His empty stomach queasy from poorly digested stale pizza, bourbon, and fear. Looking around quietly before Frodo wriggled from his arms. Running off as Eric followed. Clamoring desperately as he weaved through bunches of people. “Excuse…excuse me…clear the way. My uh…my cat!” He squealed. Making his way through to a sight strangely comforting.

There you were, eating from your rucksack and carefully feeding Frodo pieces of beef jerky as his paws held your fingers expectantly. Eric blushing in shame as he walked over.

“I’m terribly sorry for his…behavior. He’s very curious, a risk taker.” He laughed nervously as you hummed softly in understanding. Pressing a cheese cracker to your tongue as you looked him over. “You’re from England…” you murmured as he nervously nodded. Sitting beside you and grunting as a massive bag of trail mix hit him in the chest. Gratefully opening and picking through it.

“I just got back from um…my trip across Europe. A study abroad program…didn’t expect this…” you murmured. “I was in my cab…and my parents were waiting for me…and then what looked like stars fell from the sky…then uh,” you mimicked the sound of an explosion while bubbling out your hands. “Parents gone, my little apartment in tatters and my life in shambles…” you murmured as he pursed his lips. Eyes filled with pity as he carefully placed a hand on your knee.

The two of you got to talking. Sharing names and experiences, Eric giving you the cashews from the trail mix as he frowned to himself. Carefully leaning his sleepy head on your shoulder as he hummed in thought.

“Where do you think we’re going?…” he whispered as you rubbed his scalp lightly. “Probably some sort of island or compound…somewhere safe.” You mumbled as you carefully stood. Eric’s big, wet brown eyes boring into you as you gestured for him to follow you as you entered the bottom of the ferry. Finding a storage closet as he eagerly trailed behind with Frodo in step. Watching as you piled up blankets and softer clothes from your bag into a pallet to sleep on.

“Is this um…where you’ll be sleeping?” He asked nervously as you hummed. “Yes. Yes it is…? Why…?” You murmured as he frowned to himself.

“Can…can I lie with you…?” Eric was clingy, terribly so. Thousands of miles from home. Nobody to stick by. He needed someone to keep him grounded in some way. His eyes watching you as you pushed air through your pursed lips.

“Yes but you have to take off the slacks and shoes. I don’t…I don’t think I can fathom sleeping next to someone dressed like a lawyer.” You muttered as he smiled wide. Removing his tie and kicking off his sneakers. Wriggling off his terribly stained slacks as you sighed.

Stripping of your layers, you stood in your thin tank top and your leggings. His face pink in flustered confusion as he shivered. “I um…I can see your…your um…” he gestured to your chest as you looked down.

“My…my what? Oh my nipples. I am a woman and it is cold Eric.” You insisted as he frowned. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a naked woman before~” you teased as he looked away. “I’ve seen magazines, and pornos! I’m not…im not completely unaware.” He insisted to himself.

He hadn’t…seen a naked woman before, or even like…a barely clothed one in real life it seemed. Pursing your lips as you sighed. “I’ll gladly put on a sweater if it’s bothering…you…” your eyes travelled downward to a very nervous, very stressed, and very hard Eric as he bit his lip harshly.

“Eric…you’re telling me you nearly died a virgin?” You whispered as he whimpered in embarrassment. “I hadn’t had time, to do things like that? For fear of like…losing my way. I came here for one reason. Law school.” He insisted. Picking at his fingers anxiously as you gently took his hands and pulled them apart.

“Well…we’re relatively safe now…and you’re not terrible looking~” you teased him lightly as he scoffed in gentle frustration. “Would you like…for me to be your first time?” You murmured softly as he bit his lip. Thinking about it as he nodded slowly. You were the only person he knew in America with the current situation. Plus you were pretty. With full lips and big batting lashes and a dusting of pink on your cheeks from the cold and-…his thoughts kept spinning in his head as he whined. He felt perverted, to acknowledge how he’d been thinking of you.

“Yes please…” he murmured as he let you lead him to sit on the soft pallet you’d made. His eyes watching you tentatively as you carefully took his hands and placed them on your hips. “You can touch me Eric…just be gentle…can’t be too loud…it’s the end of the world after all,” you teased as he carefully nodded in agreement.

“Can we um…can we have you lying down…and me on top? If that’s okay?” He whispered. Thumbs rubbing idle circles on your hips as he waited for your approval.

“Yes we can do it in missionary…and thank you for asking it’s very sweet,” you assured as you slowly lied down. Eric following as he straddled your lap and tenderly moved up to cup your face. “May I kiss you…?” He whispered as you laughed lightly. Pulling him down to kiss you.

It was clumsy and messy, his body relaxing against you as he held your face between his clammy palms. Tongue swiping across your bottom lip as you allowed him in. His whimpers desperate as he rutted against your thigh. He was *big*.

He whimpered in need as his kisses trailed along your jaw, down your throat. Slowly working up your tank top as he audibly whined at the sight of your breasts. Nipples pebbling from the cold as he continued to kiss down your collarbone. Warm hands slowly working up your sides as he shuddered.

“You’re really fit, you know?” He whispered. Left hand lightly taking hold of one of your pert breasts. Gently kneading it between his wanton fingers and panting lightly to himself. His mouth wandering lower till it lightly nipped the soft skin of your chest. His knee slotted between your plush thighs. Hands slowly working their way down as you sucked air between your teeth. His mouth needy as he left hickeys across your full chest.

“I um…im going to try something…” he whispered nervously as he carefully backed up. Pressing his nose against your soft stomach as he clumsily took the elastic of your underwear between his teeth. Pulling it down with a bit of a struggle. Getting them off as his eyes widened.

“Wow…um…you’re…you’re beautiful…” he complimented as he lifted your left leg just a bit. Pressing warm and wet kisses along your inner thigh before ending at your clit. Placing a firm and warm peck as his fingers delicately traced your lips.

“Thank you…Eric-“ you’d been holding your breath. His passionate and gentle ministrations were addictive as you watched his face dip between your legs. Moaning lightly as his fingers pressed into you. Looking up at your face to make sure he hadn’t hurt you.

His fingers were thick, and careful. Lightly pumping and curling as he fingered you. Not wanting to cause any harm as he bit his lip gently. Drawing a moan from you as he covered your mouth. “Mmmm…shhh~, we don’t want to get caught.” He insisted lightly as he gently rubbed your clit with his thumb.

His motions were calculated, eyes never leaving your face to make sure you were okay. The soft and wet sounds of your cunt the only real noise besides your muffled breathing. His big brown eyes blown up in need as he whimpered loudly.

“When we get…wherever we’re meant to be, you’ll stay with me…” he was asking, though it came out as more of a gentle demand as he wriggled his fingers a bit deeper. Starting to increase the speed of his motions as you gripped the fabric beneath you.

“Fuck-“ it barely came past his mouth as he shuddered aggressively. “I need you…” he retracted his fingers. Your body clenching around nothing as he worked himself out of his boxers.

He was thick, a nice vein along the underside of his shaft as he pumped himself with his soaked hand. Watching you desperately as he pushed between your thighs and eased himself into you.

His grip on your mouth tightened as your lashes fluttered and back arched. Groaning softly to himself as he eased each inch till he’d fully hilted himself inside you. Twitching lightly. He’d cum soon. Inexperienced and desperate.

He slowly rolled his hips. A testing motion to see if it felt as good for you as it did him. Tears pricking your eyes from overstimulated need. His lips lightly kissing them away as he began to thrust.

“So good for me…so pretty…” he whined lightly as he held you close. His thrusts short and deep as he rocked into you. The space a bit cramped as he hissed through his teeth. “Oh your cunt was made for me…” he murmured as he rocked his weight to make sure he could get as much friction as possible. “Such a pretty girl…” he crooned as he held your gaze.

His breathy moans came from between his plush lips. Nervous and needy as he grit his teeth lightly. Legs trembling as he panted loudly to himself. “So fucking good…” his words were simply repeating. Brain fried from lust and exhaustion.

“Fuck fuck fuck-“ his hips stuttered as he pressed himself deep into you. Letting himself cum as you moaned into his hand. Holding his wrist as he slowly lied on top of you. Exhausted pants leaving you both as his hand slipped from your mouth.

“Thank you…” he whispered, eyes closing. Finally able to rest.

[hhmnya]

LIKE OR LIKE LIKE, SIM JAEYUN.

femreader⠀ ♡ㅤ fluff f2lㅤ───ㅤ1428wc

cw. alcohol consumption, reader is drunk

“i’ve never seen her drunk before,” sunghoon points to where you’re leaning against the wall.

jake turns to look at you, watching as you talk to chaewon. you’re continously taking sips of your drink, a sleepy smile on your face as you listen to your friend’s (most likely) drunk ramblings. he can tell you’re tipsy, at the very least; your body is swaying, it seems like you’re having a hard time staying upright.

“yeah.. i’m gonna go lay her down before it gets worse. i don’t want her to wake up sick,”

sunghoon gives jake a knowing look, shrugging as he takes a sip of his own drink, “predictable,”

“what?”

“nothing,”

sunghoon grins, patting jake on the head before walking away to—jake assumes—bother his girlfriend. the older boy shakes his head, running a hand through his already messy hair, turning around once more to watch you.

this is the first time you’ve ever gotten drunk, he thinks. you’ve mentioned before that it’s because you’re scared of how you’ll act, not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of them. he’s glad that you’re more comfortable now, and at least you’re only here with them, your friends, and not at some party full of strangers and weirdos.

he watches as chaewon pats your back, albeit a little forcefully, before she leaves to find someone new to bother. he also watches you attempt to follow her but give up halfway through your first step. he smiles to himself, heading over to where you’re standing—or leaning.

“oookay, no more for you. you can’t even stand straight, dude,” jake takes the red solo cup away and out of your reach, giving you an amused smile. you pout but you don’t put up a fight—you can’t, not fully anyways. if you could, though, you would tell him that he’s being dramatic; six shots and half a cup of jungle juice is hardly anything.

“c’mon, you can go lay down in my room, you look tired,”

“okay,”

you make a move to walk by yourself but jake steps behind you, placing his hands on your waist so that he can guide you away from your friends. it feels like your senses are heightened to a dangerous level because why do you get goosebumps the moment he touches you? you squeeze your eyes shut, forcing your heart to calm down.

somehow you make it to his bedroom without stumbling a whole lot (this is 100% thanks to jake; you were sure that you wouldn’t have been able to do it yourself), and he taps your side, signaling for you to sit down on his bed, which you do.

he kneels down and pulls your shoes off, setting them on the floor. he pats your thigh, leaving yet another wake of goosebumps on your skin, “stay here, ‘kay? i’m gonna go get you some water,”

“i don’t want any,” you whine, “i’m tired, not thirsty,”

“yeah, well, you’ll be thirsty in a little bit,”

“no, i won’t,”

“yes, you will. you’re drunk,”

you huff, throwing yourself back on the bed, “am not. also you’re so annoying. i don’t want water, i always drink water,”

jake snorts at your antics, tucking his head away as he tries to keep from laughing too loudly. after a few seconds, he calms down and looks back at your figure, smiling fondly. you can’t see him, your eyes closed as you hum some random song that he hasn’t heard since he was ten years old.

you look so serene, he doesn’t want to disturb you. he figures he can just tell sunghoon or someone to come bring some water or he can wait for you to fall asleep.

“i’m sad,” you huff, sitting up slowly.

“why are you sad, hm?” he rests his head against your knee.

you frown at him. his words felt slightly condescending. not that you really cared, in fact it kind of made you feel dizzy. wow, he’s just terrible. looking at you all worried, taking care of you while you’re (not) drunk.

“because of you,”

he sits up at that. he looks like a dog who heard the word ‘snack’ or something. of course, he wasn’t happy. he looked more worried than before, in fact.

“me? what’d i do?”

“you’re just annoying,” you whine, “you know, i like you and it’s kinda funny ‘cause i’m, like, so obvious about it,”

“you like me? like like me?”

“well, actually, i love you,” you pause, “you’re not very smart, now that i think about it. how’d you even graduate? did you cheat? i think everyone knows but you. this is so awful, i can’t believe i had to go and like someone so oblivious. you’re lucky everything else cancels that out,”

“wait, wait, wait. you love me? that’s..” jake asks, his face flushed, completely disregarding everything you said after your confession, “yn, you’re.. you know, you’re drunk,”

“oh, okay,” you push his head away, “look, i’ll tell you tomorrow, ‘cos i really mean it and you’re so annoying and it’s, like, oh my god,” you say something else after that but he can’t tell what. not with you speaking as fast as humanly possible paired with drunken slurring.

he nods slowly, processing your words, “yeah.. okay. you can’t forget, alright?”

you grin, poking his cheek, “duh, i have an amazing memory,”

your amazing memory may be your downfall. surely, you had drank enough to wake up the next morning with zero memory. isn’t that what usually happens when someone gets so drunk they tell their best friend that they like them? not even like, you said you loved him.

and now you’re laying in his bed, face pressed into his pillow, absolutely mortified at your past self’s actions.

you’re never going to speak to him again. you’re going to get up, put your shoes on, and sneak out. yeah, it’ll seem like you’re doing the walk of shame, god forbid anyone catches you, but that’d be less embarrassing than having to talk to jake.

you don’t get the chance to attempt to escape, though, because jake walks in right as you’re weighing your options.

“hey, are you awake? it’s two in the afternoon,” you hear him place a glass on the nightstand as he sits next to you.

you could pretend that you forgot.

you feel his hand rubbing your back, “i heard you groaning, get up,”

“i don’t want to,” you mumble into the pillow, pressing your face into it harder.

“i can’t hear you, you know,”

you groan loudly, picking your head up, “i don’t want to get up,”

“why? are you embarrassed?”

“i didn’t do anything embarrassing,” yes you did.

he nods, “nah, you didn’t. i was just checking, you get embarrassed easily,”

you’re quiet for a moment after that. his hand is still rubbing your back and you can feel your heat beating against your chest. you want to pretend that you forgot about last night but for some reason you can’t. you want to bring it up despite feeling nauseous at the thought of being rejected.

“i like you,”

he smiles, “yesterday you said you love me,”

you gape at him and he laughs loudly. you want to kill both him and yourself.

“i’m sorry—i’m kidding.. i like you too,” he hums, tilting his head, “no, actually, i love you,”

you frown, “you’re embarrassing me,”

he laughs again which makes you want to both laugh and hide away from him, “god, you’re so cute. i kinda wanna kiss you, is that okay?”

you almost say yes before you remember that you just woke up not even twenty minutes ago and you are not going to kiss him with bad breath. especially not when you were drinking the night before.

“i just woke up,”

he leans forward, close enough that you can just barely lift your head and you’ll be able to kiss him, “so?”

“no,” it pains you to do so but you turn your head away from him. you know he won’t kiss you if you don’t want him to but you’d probably fold and kiss him if he kept staring at you like that, “you can.. uh, later. after i brush my teeth,”

he turns you over onto your back, smiling above you brightly. you gasp at the sudden movement, your heart racing yet again (you should go to the hospital), “promise? i really wanna kiss you right now,”

you laugh, reaching your hand up to move his hair out of his face, “yeah, i promise. i really wanna kiss you too.”

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Let It Snow

Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Fandom: MCU

Summary: When the power goes out at the Facility, Pietro makes sure you’re keeping warm.

Note: Takes place in an “Everybody is alive and lives at the Avengers Facility” AU. Wanted to kick out one more Christmas/Winter imagine before getting into the New Year’s stuff.

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 1.5k

Reader Is: Gender Neutral, an Avenger.

To be honest, you didn’t notice it at first, the slight chill in the air. You continued your work, typing away on the loud, typewriter-style keyboard on the fancy, expensive computer Bruce had built for you (with Tony’s money, of course).

And then it got…worse.

Your toes were numb and you were shivering, despite the long sleeves you were wearing.

You slid your feet into some slippers and walked out into the hallway, arms huddled around yourself as you wandered from your room, down the hall to where the thermostat was. You gave the up button a cursory press, waiting for the screen to blink to life and tell you what it was set to, but it didn’t.

Huh. Well, that was something, wasn’t it?

“(Y/N). Hello.” Vision materialized beside you, causing you to jolt in shock. “My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine, Vision. Do you know what this is all about?” You asked, shivering and motioning to the busted thermostat.

“It appears the furnace is broken. Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are attempting repairs now, but it may take quite some time.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” You nodded, “Thanks for the info.”

“Of course. I do recommend you bundle up. It seems your body temperature is steadily decreasing.”

“Will do.” You saluted and pivoted on your heel, just in time to catch a face full of Pietro as he sped down the hall, sliding to a stop.

You ever so gracefully fell on the floor, staring up at him, disgruntled. “Nice one, Sonic.”

He chuckled, offering a hand, but you got up on your own, dusting yourself off. “What is the problem?”

“Furnace is busted.” You explained, patting his arm as you began walking away.

Pietro started walking backwards, keeping pace with you. “Where are you going?”

“To get into something warmer. Might be a while.”

One of his eyebrows quirked up. “Well, you know, I’ve heard skin to skin contact is the fastest way to warm up, if you need some help with that. I do have ‘improved homeostasis,’ as Banner puts it.”

“I’m good, thanks.” You deadpanned, shutting your door in his face. You could feel him lingering there for a moment before running back down the hall to his room, you presumed. You chuckled and rolled your eyes. Pietro was a flirt. Always had been. But things like this never worked out with people like him. Not in your experience, at least.

You changed into a cozy, zip-up onesie, feeling a lot warmer than before, especially with the hood over your head. You got back to your tying for a while. A few hours at least…until the lights went out.

“Great!” You threw your hands up, rolling away from the desk in your dark room.

In a huff, you stood up and walked to your window. It was a blizzard out there, inches and inches of snow on the ground. There was a knock on the door and whirled around to answer it. Part of you expected it to be Pietro standing there, but instead, it was Steve with a flashlight.

“Oh, hey. Is this because of the blizzard?”

“No, Tony says he snipped the wrong wire.” Steve shook his head. “Or something. Might be a while before it gets fixed.”

It was already getting late, and you were planning on going to sleep soon, but now, you weren’t so sure you should if you didn’t want to wake up a popsicle. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

You said, turning back to grab your phone and your water bottle to refill it before you figured out exactly what it was you should do in the meantime.

***

About an hour later, Pietro found you on the couch in the living room, shivering and reading a book by the light of a tiny, battery powered reading light. You were bundled up and, due to the lack of windows, you were pretty sure it was the warmest room in the facility. But as the temperature continued to drop, it didn’t seem to matter where you were.

“(Y/N), what are you doing in here?” He said, concern etched deep into his accented words. You met his eyes, wrought with worry and only offered a shaking shrug.

“I don’t want to g-go to sleep until the h-heat comes back on.”

He shook his head, crossing the room slowly for once, taking his time with each step. He sat beside you, not even bundled up beyond a hoodie and some sweatpants. For the first time in your life, you envied his powers. Carefully, giving you every opportunity to shove him off of you, he gently lifted your blanket, guided your book to the coffee table, and crawled on top of you, settling his body atop yours and sandwiching you between himself and the couch. He pulled the blanket back on top of the both of you, adjusting his head into the crook of your neck.

You were stiff at first, but at his warmth, you all but melted, eyes closing in bliss, your arms relaxing around him as you chased that feeling. His warmth. His scent, that sharp, woodsy cologne he was so infatuated with.

“Is this alright?” He asked, voice low and raspy.

You nodded, relaxing further into his hold, letting him warm you up. You pulled him closer, relishing in the feeling of your shivers slowly stopping. “Pietro…”

“I won’t say anything. The others don’t have to know.” He assured you, meeting your eyes before settling down again.

“I’m not too worried about that.” You whispered, suddenly overcome by it all. His proximity, his voice, the way his body felt melded against yours. It was right, what they said. Fitting like puzzle pieces.

“You’re not?” He asked, mischief at the edge of his tone. “Who are you and what have you done with (Y/N)?”

You scoffed. “You know, contrary to popular belief, I don’t dislike you, Pietro.”

“I don’t dislike you either.” He replied with a chuckle. “Kind of the opposite, in fact.”

Your heart picked up a quicker rhythm, cheeks flushing. You were kind of thankful the two of you were cuddled up in the dark. You hoped nightvision wasn’t one of his secret powers, or you were sure you’d never see the end of it.

“Please say something.” He murmured at the silence.

“You…”

“I thought it was obvious.” He muttered, words quick, flat at the edges.

You let another moment pass, choosing your words.

“I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to—”

You touched his face with a cold hand, guiding his chin so you could attempt to look him in the eyes in the silvery rays of light streaming in the window. “I like you, too.”

He grinned, breath catching in his throat. “You mean it?”

“I have for a while.” You confessed. “Since that first training session when you bulldozed me on the track.”

“I did not bulldoze you!”

“I don’t know, I felt pretty bulldozed, laying there, flat on my back, feet knocked out from under me.”

He chuckled. “I was trying to impress you.”

“Mission accomplished.” You laughed at the way frustration crept into his words. “I could never forget about it. My very first week on the team and already, someone was out to get me.”

“Oh my God.” He rolled his eyes, the words sounding unsure on his tongue. He shook his head, gaze softening as he reached up, a careful hand brushing the hair out of your face. “Are you warmer now, drága?”

“Much.” You nodded, brushing the tip of your nose against his. “I do have another idea for warming up, though…”

He smirked. “Such as?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Please do.”

You rolled your eyes, and looped an arm around his neck, tugging him down to you and crushing your lips to his. He hummed in agreement, calloused fingers hooking your jaw, keeping you close as his kissed you tenderly, passionately, lips soft and perfect and experienced. He was the perfect distraction from the freezing room around you.

Then, suddenly, there was a loud thrum and the power kicked back on, bathing the room in light. You squinted, the appliances in the kitchen all beeping as they came back to life.

Pietro shielded his eyes with a hand, still hovering over you. You stared up at him for a long, quiet moment, still not entirely sure it had happened until he dipped back down and pressed a long kiss to your cheek, his stubble tickling your skin.

“Now let’s get you to bed, hmm?” He asked, helping you off of the couch as the facility gradually warmed back up. The two of you walked down the hall together and you yawned.

“What were you two doing down there?” Bucky asked, standing in his doorway. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“I was just letting (Y/N) know the heat was back on.” Pietro shrugged. “I am the quickest, you know.”

“Uh-huh. Right.” Bucky nodded, suspicious, but backing away into his room anyway.

You got to your door and stopped in the doorway, turning to look at Pietro. His hand grabbed at your waist, tugging you in for a kiss that you gladly returned. When you parted, you watched him speed down the hall, hoping that when you woke, it wouldn’t all be some sweet, winter dream.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

maybanks sister

Part 4, chapter 4- Ladybug

summary: a run in with Rafe causes your old feelings to come back to the surface, igniting the flame you’ve been trying desperately to ignore for months. A voicemail from your dad has you reeling. Meanwhile, your brother and the rest of the pogues are getting into their usual trouble, but this time, it comes with a risk.

Warnings: uhm mention of daddy issues, pogue/kook shit in the beginning, JJ and Kiara get the bends

PREVIOUS CHAPTER | SERIES MASTERLIST

You first met Rafe Cameron when you were 16.

A job at the country club meant that you saw a lot of wealthy, spoiled, teenagers, who had more than you could ever imagine of having.

You remember the day so vividly. You left the house while arguing with your dad, you and him going back and forth while you walked out of the house.

“No, no! You can’t make that decision for me.” You shoved your finger in his chest. He stared down at you, narrowing his eyes. He grabbed your wrist, you letting out a cry at his grip.

He shoved you back, “Go, Go!” He shouted at you, your bottom lip wobbling and the tears in your eyes falling down your face.

You hopped on your motorcycle, revving the engine as he continued to yell, drowning out the sound of his shouts, much to his annoyance. You drove away, knowing you’d have to come back a few hours later.

In a way, your job was your escape.

You were working as a server, just getting done taking some older man’s order before going to Rafe’s table nearby.

You put on a smile as you approached the table, Topper and Kelce sat next to him, Rafe had his eyes set on you when you walked in front of them, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked you up and down, as if examining you like you were from some other planet.

You’ve seen him in passing, sure. But you’ve never been face to face, you’ve never spoken. You did know all about his family, how his dad was a pogue before he became a kook, building his empire off of developing homes.

You could only dream of something like that.

He had a small, cocky smirk on his face. He’s never seen you before, but, god you were hot. For a pogue.

“Hi, I’m y/n and I will be your server tonight! Can I get you guys started off with some drinks?” You questioned, clicking the pen you held in your hands, preparing to write it down on your little notepad.

Topper nodded at you, ordering first. “Just get me a water.”

You nodded, scribbling that down before looking to Kelce. “Uhm… I’ll just get a coke.” Kelce spoke, Rafe chuckling at his decision. You wrote that down as well, now turning to Rafe.

He had his hair slicked back, a hat thrown backwards over it. He gave you a small smile, pretending to look through the options, even though he already knew. “I’ll just get a coors banquet.” He spoke, looking up at you, fixing the hat that was on his head.

You nodded, writing that down. “I will be back with all of those drinks for you,”

Your eyes lingered on Rafe when you went to turn around, watching the way his eyes traveled down your body.

Kelce raised his eyebrows at Rafe, noticing the way he stared when you walked away.

“I’ve never seen her before.” He murmured.

“I think she’s new or something.” Kelce shrugged. “Wait, don’t tell me you think she’s-“

“She is hot.” He spoke, Kelce shaking his head.

“She’s a pogue, man.”

He didn’t care.

Now, 5 years later, you both were doing the same song and dance around each other. It felt as if things never changed.

You had left the house and the shop to grab some things, what was meant to turn into a quick trip, turned into something you didn’t expect to happen today.

The grocery store is the last place that anyone wants to see people that they know. When you’re at a grocery store, you want to get what you need, and leave before you could be spotted.

With Zeasys words from earlier ringing in your ears still, swimming through your mind, you were distracted as you walked through the aisles.

The threat of rezoning everything, the threat of you losing the only house you’d ever known, the threat of losing the place you grew up, was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

You grabbed the energy drink from the shelf, thinking and sighing as you grabbed more, practically throwing them down into the cart. You grabbed a couple of beers that you knew you would need to survive these last couple of days, before turning and going to the other aisle.

When you got there, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You pulled it out, seeing a text from JJ. You walked, pushing the cart in front of you.

lil dumbass

Where are you? We found out where it is.

You sighed, grumbling something under your breath before replying.

At the store. I’ll be back soon.

You looked down at your phone, waiting for him to reply. You didn’t glance up when you walked away from your cart to grab something, and instead, you ran straight into someone.

“Shit-“ you mumbled, your phone flying to the floor and you tripping over him, before he grabbed your waist.

“Sorry.” You spoke, not looking up yet, your cheeks warming up at the embarrassment.

“Y/n?” Wait, you knew that voice. You snapped your head up, pushing yourself off of the mystery man.

Oh, great.

It was Rafe.

He bent over, grabbing your phone and handing it to you. You snatched it, him swallowing,

“Rafe.” You replied, “funny seeing you here. I thought you like… would get your groceries delivered or something.”

He chuckled, “It’s… nice to see you.”

“Yeah.. last time I saw you, I was breaking up a fight between you and John B.”

He grimaced, you smiling, going to continue to walk, before he grabbed your arm, pulling you back.

“Look- wait, can we talk? Please?”

You raised your eyebrows at the man, thinking for a moment. He took his hand off of your arm, you shrugging, leaning against the shelves behind you.

“You wanna talk? Right now? In a Walmart?” You asked him, to which he glanced around, before turning back to you.

“I don’t care where.”

“Okay, then. Talk.”

He pursed his lips together, before opening his mouth. He had a spark in his eyes, you couldn’t quite place it. It was new, you don’t know what, but something had changed. He seemed…different.

“Look, I’m- I’m sorry for how I acted.” He started off, your head tilting to the side, intrigued by what he had to say.

“I was shitty- I was being shitty to you, and I shouldn’t have ignored you like that, and I know that- that you’re mad at me, I get it, alright? I’d be mad at me too.” He pointed to himself, “Before you left, on the tarmac, I asked you to promise me that we’d talk when you got back.”

You remembered it vividly, nodding along. “What about it?” You asked him.

“And when you tried to, I- I pushed you away, and I got angry, and I got worse. I didn’t know what to do with myself without you, y/n.” He breathed out, your breath hitching at his words. “And I know I’ve said this before- but I’m trying, I’m trying to change. I want to change. I’m gonna- I’m gonna try to be a better man.”

You looked up at him, that same old look in your eyes, the one he knew so well.

“I just… I just wanted you to know I’m sorry. That’s it.”

You stayed silent for a moment. “You were mourning.” You replied quietly, him looking at you now.

“That’s not an excuse.” He mumbled, shaking his head.

Shit, when the hell did you two get so close?

You could see him contemplating it as you were, both of you remaining silent. His hand went to your face, cradling it in his hands. He leaned in, your eyes widening for a moment.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured against your lips, before smashing his lips into yours, both of them moving in unison. You missed this, you missed him. It felt so right.

You felt your phone vibrate again, hesitantly pulling away from him with an apologetic look, glancing down at the now cracked screen. He furrowed his eyebrows at you.

lil dumbass

You coming back soon? We’re about to leave.

“Shit- Rafe, I’m- I’m sorry. Uhm, I have to-to go.”

“What?” He asked, grabbing your arm again.

“It’s my brother, and I have to go do something, I’m sorry.”

He nodded, don’t lose your shit on her, Rafe, he thought to himself.

“Alright. Okay. But uh…. Could you unblock me? So we can talk later?” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at you.

You nodded, giving him a small smile. You practically ran out the front doors, leaving your cart behind, and hopping back onto your motorcycle.

You sped over to the house, making your way into the back, and down the dock.

“Hey, sorry, sorry.”

“Took you long enough.” JJ replied, you stepping into the boat with him, Pope, John B and Kiara.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Ran into an old friend.”

JJ raised his eyebrows at that, you holding your hands up innocently, untying the bowlines.

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” Sarah spoke, you all waving bye to Sarah and Cleo on the docks.

“Yo, guys, lighten up. Okay? All right? You’re making me nervous.” JJ spoke when Kiara put her hand on his shoulder, glancing around at the boat to see everyone looking at him.

“Why can’t I do it?” You asked them all, finally tearing your eyes from your brother.

“The doctor told you to take it easy on your leg,” JJ pointed out, you groaning.

“It’s healed!”

“Nope.” He replied, “You’re not doing it. Besides, I got this. I dove before…”

“Since when did you dive?”

“Like-like once- but it’s gonna be fine. Listen, worst that can happen, it’s not there, old farts disappointed, we go home. Pogues win. Okay? That’s the worst. In the meantime, though, who wants to crack one with me?”

“I do!” You quickly exclaimed, standing suddenly and waiting for him to drink it.

He opened and sipped on it, pouring it down his throat, before John B took it from him.

“No, hey, hey, hey. No. No drinking.”

“All right. It just takes the edge off.”

You raised your eyebrows at John B, telepathically asking for it.

“That means you too.” He spoke, holding it in his hands.

“Damnit.” You murmured, sitting back down with a defeated sigh.

“John B, we’re in coast guard territory now.”

It was night, your eyes fighting the urge to close, yawning and stretching while sitting.

“Should be about 20 yards. One o’clock.”

JJ was behind the wheel, Pope turning to him. “Hey, slow it down!” He spoke, JJ slowing the engine. “We’re at the drop site now.”

“JJ, what’s our depth?” John B asked him.

JJ clicked the monitor, reading the numbers. “Seventy eight.”

“Okay. Ready?” John B turned to Pope, who nodded.

“Here we go.” He mumbled, “Switch out, you guys get ready.” Pope told Kiara and JJ, “John B, keep us in position.”

You stood up now, helping Kiara zip up her suit, her getting more nervous by the minute.

“Honestly, it’s kind of like surfing the point, you know?” JJ told Kiara in an attempt to calm her nerves. Maybe his too. “We’re upstream, and then the rip is just gonna… take us out.”

“Yeah.” John B nodded.

“Right.” Kiara replied, JJ grabbing a spear gon and tossing one to her.

“Is that necessary?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowing at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I mean, reef, fish-“

“And the man in the grey suit.” You added.

“That too.”

“Don’t forget your safety stop, all right? Fifteen feet for three minutes. Hear that, JJ? Fifteen feet, three minutes?”

“Copy that.” JJ replied, putting his mouthpiece in and breathing.

“Or what?” Kiara asked.

Pope tilted his head to the side. “The bends, remember? Nitrogen in the blood, excruciating pain, death, et cetera, et cetera…”

JJ exhaled, turning to Pope with narrowed eyes, shaking his head.

“She should know. It’s part of it.”

“So dark.” You murmured.

“Hey, you good?” JJ asked Kiara, her looking up at him.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He held his hand out, her grabbing it and standing up next to him. “Let’s do it then.”

The both of them fell backwards into the water, slowly making their way down. Your leg bounced up and down, standing and leaning over the edge.

“Pope, the tides turning. How long do you think you can keep it?” You asked him, him looking to you.

“They’ve only got about 45 minutes of air, so should be quick.” Pope replied, both him and John B looking at the monitor.

Pope picked up the radio, it beeping as he held it to his mouth. “Hey. You all good over there? See any cutters?” He asked over the radio, waiting for a response from Cleo and Sarah.

“Nothing yet.” You heard Sarah’s voice say over the radio, “no sign of the coast guard. But we’ve got some fog moving in. Once that hits, we’re blind.”

“Shit.” You mumbled, looking behind you to see it is indeed rolling in fast.

“Copy that.” Pope replied.

“I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t making me feel a little bit nostalgic.”

John B nodded, looking out into the ocean. “One night only. In and out.”

You sat there, your leg bouncing up and down, your fingers having a slight tremble to them. Jesus, what was up with you?

You pulled out your phone, glancing at a text that Rafe had sent you before you lost service.

manwhore

Hey. Was just wondering how everything is. Text me when you can, please.

A small smile formed on your face as you read that, scrolling down to see the rest of your notifications when you noticed a random number had left you a voicemail, you furrowing your eyebrows at it, opening it up.

You scrolled down to it, putting the phone next to your ear to listen to it more clearly.

“Hey, ladybug.” The voice spoke quietly, your eyes widening as you recognized the voice and the nickname. Your breath hitched, the grip on your phone loosening.

What the fuck.

“It’s… your dad.”

This was such a bad time to be listening to this voicemail, your nerves already shot and your heart racing more than it was before. This was the worse possible timing.

You could click out of it, ignore it for now and never know what he would say. But, a part of you needed to know.

“I just wanted to… check in with you. I uh… heard about… the house and the auction and shit…” he let out a chuckle, “Anyways… I know you’re probably still mad at me. I know that you hate me, but I just wanted you to know that I-“

It cut off suddenly, you looking down at your phone in utter and complete shock. You clicked on the voicemail again, and it ended there.

A surge of frustration coursed through you. What the fuck? What if it was something important? Something you needed to hear?

Your racing thoughts spiraled into a chaotic whirlpool, but abruptly, the heavy silence was shattered by Pope's voice, slicing through the silence like a knife.

“Hey, we’re drifting. Take it back to starboard.”

“Shit.” John B mumbled, while you’re still in shock by everything that occurred in those 2 minutes.

John B spun the boat around, “Alright, hold it there. Tides definitely turning.” Pope mumbled, you now standing off.

You tried to shake it off, going over to the both of them. You ignored your thoughts for now, you’d deal with that later.

“Sarah and Cleo definitely lost us by now.” You pointed out, Pope nodding and John B sighing.

“How much time we got, Pope? Where we at?” John B asked him, glancing around the fog covering him.

“Fifteen minutes.”

“This fogs gettin’ thick.”

“They got this.” You murmured, more so trying to help your own nerves.

You all stood there for a moment, before Pope turned around, you following his gaze.

“Do you hear that? It’s a boat.”

“Shit!” You exclaimed.

“Chill, just chill.” John B mumbled.

“Don’t tell me to chill, kill the engine!” You told him, John B doing so as quickly as he could.

“Are the warning lights off?” You asked him.

“Okay. It’s off. Everything’s off.” He replied. “Just get low, all right?”

You all got down, hiding behind the wheel.

You heard the shouts of some men, your eyes shut as you silently hoped they didn’t see the boat.

“Let’s make another pass!”

You all watched the boat pass right by you, waiting until it went by to speak again.

“How much time they got left?” You asked Pope.

“Five minutes.”

“We gotta get ‘em out.” You spoke, standing up, John B following.

“Let’s start looking for them.”

You and Pope went to the edges of the boats with flashlights, staring and looking into the water until you heard splashing noises, along with the heavy breathing of two people.

You snapped your head towards the sound, pointing your flashlight at them.

They both started to yell, you groaning and continuing to try and use your flashlight.

“Shit.”

“Come this way. Hurry up. Let’s go! We see you. Stop screaming.” Pope said, both of them looking towards the boat now.

You rushed to grab the ladder, helping them up onto the boat along with John B.

“Wait. Where’s your BCP?” John B asked as he helped Kiara onto the boat.

“It’s gone.” She breathed out.

“What? What do you mean it’s gone?”

“I mean it’s gone!”

“You all right?” You asked them, helping Kiara stand on the boat, regaining her balance. You looked back down to JJ, holding your hand out and grabbing him up as well.

“There was a guy that tried to kill us!”

“We saw a boat out here, too. They were armed.” Pope said.

“We need to get out of here, like, now, John B!” You exclaimed as soon as JJ was on the boat,

“No you don’t understand there’s a guy down there-“ JJ spoke.

“JJ, I know! But there’s a boat. We just saw it pass, and we need to leave.” You told him, grabbing onto his arm and helping him stand up.

“Grab the ladder, grab the ladder let’s go.”

The both of them breathed heavily, sitting down next to each other now.

“You alright, bro?” You asked him again, worried at the state he was in.

“I’m fine. Just get out of here.”

John B started the engine, starting the boat and beginning to drive as fast as he possibly could out of there.

“Alright, what the hell happened?” John B asked when you guys finally got onto the dock, you tying up the bowline.

“Someone tried to kill us.” Kiara spoke, you all turning to her now, Sarah and Cleo now running down the dock and to the boat.

“What? Why would someone try to kill you? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. They were going after the fucking necklace or whatever.” You told Pope.

“That amulet was worth something.” Cleo said. “That old man is keeping somethin’ from us.”

“Agreed-“ you spoke, turning to JJ with a furrowed eyebrow when he let out a groan.

“My stomach feels like shit.” Kiara exclaimed, holding her stomach in pain.

You and Pope looked at each other with wide eyes. “Did you guys even use the safety stops?” You asked, Pope going to JJ and holding his eyes open.

“I’m gonna say it one more time. Someone was trying to kill us. We did not make the safety spot.”

“Shit.”

Pope grabbed JJ while you grabbed Kiara, helping her stand and her staring at you confused.

“They have the bends, we have to get them to the hospital, like, right now!” You told the others, you and John B helping Kiara off of the boat and dock while the others helped JJ.

“Nice and easy. You’ve just got a couple bubbles in your blood right now.”

“I’ve got bubbles in my blood?”

“You’ll be okay, Kie.” You murmured, all of you dragging the both of them to the Twinkie, you speeding to the hospital.

“Who was down there with you guys?”

“No idea, Pope. But- y’all are not gonna believe this.”

You glanced behind you, to see JJ pulling something out of his pockets. The amulet wrapped up in a towel.

“You found it?”

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“That’s the thing you was looking for!”

“Why don’t you tell us sooner?” John B asked, holding it in his hands.

“I was too busy dying.” JJ replied with a grunt.

“You’re a rockstar, girl!” Cleo exclaimed, fifty thousand!”

“Holy shit. Holy shit.”

“Fifty K.” JJ groanedz

“It was worth it.”

“Cha-Ching.”

“Almost there.” You murmured to them both, watching them both clutch their stomachs and roll over in the backseats.

Between your Rafe problems, your daddy problems, and your money problems, JJ at the moment was your biggest concern. It was as if when he was in danger, everything else flew out the window. As much as you hated him sometimes, he was your brother.

It was always an unspoken rule between the both of you, whenever the other was in danger, you dropped everything for them.

It was why you were currently speeding down the roads, almost getting into multiple different crashes and being close to totaling the car when you finally got to the hospital.

You ran to the back, helping your brother stand up, the others helping the both of them inside the hospital, you all telling the people at the front what was wrong, giving them all your info.

“Uhm- can I be put down as their emergency contact?” You asked the lady at the front, who nodded at you, you filling out everything and handing it to her.

“Their vitals and mental status is stable, and the pain scale is moving in the right direction. But they still need time in the hyperbaric chamber. They just bought themselves 12 hours in the tank.”

You looked at the both of them in the tank, the nurses words remaining in your head. You gave her a small nod as she walked away, looking back at the both of them.

JJ turned to you, flipping you and John B off. You smiled, flicking him off right back.

“I need a drink.” You murmured to yourself when you walked out of the hospital, walking down the steps and hearing John B debrief on the couple.

“While we wait, I say we go back to Genrette’s, and demand cash for this amulet.” Pope spoke animatedly, holding it tightly wrapped in his hands. “I don’t know about you guys, but after all we’ve been through, I think we’re owed a lot more than 50k.”

You quirked an eyebrow. “Hell yeah, Pope. That’s what I’m talking about. I like it.”

“Yeah, you’ve been hanging out with JJ and Y/n too much.”

“I’m just saying, whatever dude is hiding from us is worth a lot more than 50k. We need to go see him. Now.”

“Hey, Pope, listen buddy..” John b spoke, walking over to him, wrapping his arm over his shoulder. “I think that’s a damn good idea.”

Taglist:

@rafesgiirl @fals3-g0d @tiaamberxx @callsignwidow @saintnourah @calmoistorm @ethanthequeefqueen @theoraekenslover @just-levyy @hallecarey1

[lipglossanon]

Bound For The Floor

dogman!Leon S. Kennedy x puppy!fem reader (one shot)

Dedicated to 🍁 anon! I hope you enjoy it!! 💜 😘

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, reader is mid 20’s with Leon being older, appearances from Ark Thompson and Chris Redfield, jealous Leon, masturbation, dirty talk, oral (f receiving), unprotected sex, knotting, biting, aftercare

looked over a smidge 🤏

Title from Bound for the Floor by Local H

It’s raining the day you’re brought home. To your new home. You’ve been chosen by a man with kind eyes to keep his other hybrid company while he works. He smells nice and he’s gentle when handling you so you’re more than amenable to joining his little family. Ark is his name, kinda funny but you think it’ll be super easy to remember since it rhymes with bark— something you’re very good at when called for (not that good pups bark a lot). 

He talks to you on the drive from the adoption agency to his home, explaining his routine and describing the dogman you’ll be living with from now on as well. Ark even shows you a picture of Leon on his phone while you’re stopped at a redlight, making your tail wag in excitement at meeting the rugged looking hybrid. 

In shy, halting words, you tell him about your short stint at the adoption agency. Raised with only caretakers, they finally gave you over to the agency fairly recently in the hope of finding you a forever home. You’ve experienced nothing but kindness and understanding with the outside world which might make you a little naive; however, it does nothing to dilute how happy you are at the opportunity to have your very first owner. 

“Leon, we’re home!” Ark calls out into the empty foyer as he sets all of your things down on the floor. 

Your eyes are comically big as you take in everything around you, nose scenting the air and picking up a delicious smell that has you drifting further into the house. A gruff hum pulls your attention to the hybrid Ark had called Leon. 

You smile at him, tail wagging nonstop, “Hi!”

His lip curls in distaste but he only stares you down without saying anything. 

“Leon,” Ark’s voice lilts in warning, “be nice.”

Leon rolls his eyes with a snort, but walks closer to you.

“Hello,” he grits out and your tail wags harder. 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” you smile even bigger. 

“Get along, okay?” Your owner ruffles your ears and you turn your bright smile to him. 

Nodding, you hum in agreement. Ark shoots another stern look to Leon and walks off further into the house. 

“You smell nice,” you offer up to the serious dogman in front of you, “I’ve never smelled anyone as good as you before.”

A red flush bridges his nose and cheeks as he shrugs, “Yeah, right.”

You pout, “I mean it. Can I scent you?”

His body stiffens in place as his look shifts from disbelief to sheer surprise. 

“Uh, I guess—“

“Great!” You walk forward until your chests are nearly touching, “I’ve only ever done this with my litter mates, so I’m unsure on how to scent someone else.”

You can see Leon swallow as he tilts his head, “Oh? You smell like a kennel.”

You laugh, missing his gaze raking down your body, “Yeah, I’ve been waiting on our owner for a day and they keep us in a kennel so nothing happens before the adoption.”

Leon nods although you’ll come to find later that his adoption was much rougher and less pleasant than your own experience. 

You lean forward and bury your nose against his neck, whimpering when you can smell him unencumbered. You breathe in freshly mown grass and a spicy musk that has your mouth watering. Snuffling against him, you don’t realize you’re rolling your hips against his. 

Leon hands grip your hips but he only helps you rock yourself against him in a way that makes you whine and pant against his skin. Distantly, you feel his nose press against your neck and breathe in your own scent. He growls and you whine, tilting your head so he can nip and lick at your soft skin. 

With a low growl, Leon pries himself away from you even as you chase after the pleasurable feeling coursing through your body. 

“Behave, pup,” he murmurs in your ear and you let him pull away. 

“Leon,” you whine at him, pawing his chest as you watch him close his eyes and take a steady breath. 

“I need to go find our owner, stay here,” he walks you over to the couch and presses you down on the soft cushions.

When you go to rise as he steps back he holds his hand out.

“Stay. Be a good girl for me.”

You go hot all over, “Okay.”

His eyes darken but he turns and leaves the room, bringing Ark back after a few minutes.

“I feel hot,” you slur out, eyes pleading up at the men in front of you.

Leon stands behind Ark, stiff as a board while he watches. 

“Poor thing,” Ark soothes, softly rubbing your ears, “looks like Leon may have triggered an early heat.”

You sigh as Ark gently massages your ears and temples.

“Leon, can you take the rest of her things up to her room? I’ll carry her up and we’ll let her rest,” your owner says over his shoulder and your eyes track Leon as he leaves the room. 

“I want—“

“I know,” Ark sighs, “but let’s get you settled in and some meds in you. Tomorrow you’ll feel better.”

“M’kay,” you mumble, slumping into his chest as he picks you up bridal style. 

You feel him set you on a soft bed and coax you to swallow some icky tasting medicine before allowing you to drift off to sleep. At some point in the night, that delicious smell from earlier seeps into your brain and has you maneuvering until your face is buried in a warm chest. A low pleased rumble makes you press the dough of your thighs together as you sink deeper into sleep. 

The next morning you wake up to the door opening. 

“Leon,” Ark’s voice sighs out, “I thought I told you to let her rest.”

Arms snake out to wrap around your back and pull you further into the warm body in front of you. 

“I was here in case she needed something,” the dogman’s rough voice sent goosebumps skating across your skin. 

Ark’s palm brushes across your ears and you giggle and turn in Leon’s arms to look up at your owner. 

“Are you feeling better?” His brown eyes pinch with worry. 

“Much better,” you smile, “just a little tired.”

Ark’s eyes crinkles when he smiles in relief, “Good. I’ll let you rest some more. Leon can help you if you need anything.”

Your owner ruffles first your ears then Leon’s before slipping back out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Feeling shy, you shimmy away from Leon and climb out of bed. 

“Thank you for looking out for me,” you tug on a loose thread on your shirt.

He grunts in acknowledgment and you look over into his face. His blue eyes stare you down for a split second before he climbs out of bed as well. 

“Yeah, well s’only the right thing to do,” he mutters, “make sure to take those meds.”

He jerks his head to the nightstand behind you and you see that Ark must have brought up medicine and water when he checked in on you. 

“I will,” you nod, smiling at the grumpy dogman as he brushes his hair back, “thanks, Leon.”

“Don’t mention it,” he waves you off, following in Ark’s footsteps as he slips out of your room. 

You quickly take the heat suppressants and smile to yourself. It’s nice having a friend. Crawling back into bed, you shove your face in the pillow Leon used and sigh happily. He just smells so good! Your tail thumps against the bed as you breathe in his scent more. A small whine parts your lips as your cunt grows hot and wet, clit throbbing as the smell of fresh grass and spice fill your nose. 

You can’t help yourself as your fingers slip beneath the band of your underwear to tease across your slit. Panting against the pillow, you hump your fingers and let yourself pretend they were bigger and thicker. It doesn’t take long for you to cum, slick coating your hand along with the gusset of your panties. A yawn overtakes you and before you can get up to change, you fall asleep with your face buried in Leon’s scent. 

After that weird welcome home, Leon pretty much keeps to himself. When Ark’s around, he’s nearby, but acts aloof and distant if you try to befriend him. You’re really bummed out, and you don’t want him to snap at you like he did at the neighbor’s hybrid, a nice boy named Steve, so you just try to be polite and stay out of his way. You’re pretty much glued to your owner’s side anyways. He smells almost as good as Leon, like fresh coffee and leaves, so you’re constantly trying to sit in his lap. 

Leon always snarls his lip when he sees you snuggled up to Ark, letting him pet your ears and tail while he watches tv or reads. The first time you offered to move so Leon could get his ears rubbed, he turned his nose up and sat on the other side of the room; since then, you ignore him and happily enjoy Ark’s soft head pats.

But, every now and then, Leon does something nice that makes your heart flutter and leads you to think he likes you more than he shows. Falling asleep on the couch and then waking up in your bed, seeing your favorite food already prepared for lunch, or even simple chores being done before you get to them. Those little things have you seeking him out in thanks, but he always waves you away with a gruff word paired with a small blush on his cheekbones. 

One day, you come home from your walk with Ark only to smell someone new. Your ears perk up as your owner chuckles and gestures for you to walk on into the house while he takes off his shoes. Quickly beelining to the living room where the smell is stronger (a nice blend of sandalwood and vanilla), you stop in place to see Leon laughing at something another dogman is saying. 

“Oh, hello,” you give a shy wave to the two sitting on the couch. 

Leon glances over at you, eyes darting from you to the hybrid next to him. The stranger gives you a wide smile, drawing your eyes to his heavily stubbled jaw. 

“Hi, I’m Chris, you must be Leon’s new pup,” he grins over at the quiet dogman. 

You feel a flush of warmth spread throughout your chest from his words.

“She’s not my pup,” Leon mutters under his breath, but you still hear it making your smile a little dimmer. 

Chris ignores his friend and pats the spot open to his left, “Sit next to me so I can get to know you.”

You nod your head and walk a wide half circle to avoid being in Leon’s space to sit on the couch beside Chris. Quickly taking in his appearance, your tail wags when he smiles at you again. 

“I’ve been meaning to come over for a while. If I’d have known Leon had such cute company, it would’ve been sooner,” he angles his head to wink at you and one of his ears tilts back. 

Smiling, you shrug, “Well maybe you can visit more now. I love making new friends.”

Chris laughs and it causes your tail to thump against the couch. Unbeknownst to you, Leon tenses and elbows Chris in the ribs. 

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay, I’m pretty sure my owner is looking for me by now,” Chris lumbers to his feet and you have to crane your neck to keep eye contact.

“I’ll see you to the door,” Leon stands next. 

You wave while Leon practically steers Chris out of the room. 

“It’s nice meeting you,” Chris calls out before rounding the corner. 

“You too!” You move from the living room to watch Leon close the door behind his friend. 

“He’s nice,” you offer, smiling at the dogman. 

Leon grunts, “Chris is okay.”

You pause, not really understanding why Leon seems upset with you. 

“If-if you want to hang out alone with him, I can ask Ark to take me for walks when he visits,” you fiddle with your shirt hem, “I don’t want to get in your way or anything.”

Leon doesn’t say anything and you nod, slipping off to your room. Your chest hurts with disappointment leading you to curl up in a ball in the center of your bed, falling into a fitful sleep. Later the snick of your door shutting has you raising your head up, eyes slowly adjusting to the figure walking to your bed. 

“Leon?” Your voice rasps with sleep. 

“Yeah,” he whispers, kneeling on your bed before shifting until he can lay down, pulling your back to his chest, arms encircling your waist.

You stiffen against him, confused as to what he’s doing there. 

“I’m sorry,” he presses the words against your ear, “I’ve been pretty rude to you and it’s nothing you’ve done. From here on out, I’m gonna treat you better.”

You hum happily, “Thanks, Leon.”

“Can I sleep in here tonight?”

“Sure,” you yawn, sleep already tugging your eyelids closed, “‘m happy we’re friends.”

“Friends,” he laughs to himself, “right.”

Weeks go by and Leon is true to his word. He’s more friendly and hangs around you even without Ark being around. He’s also way more touchy feely to your delight. Constantly scent marking you before you leave the house on your walks, going so far as to let you borrow his clothes if Ark is taking you to the park or even out while he shops. 

It makes those butterflies in your chest swarm and your heart beat fast whenever he does those kinds of things. And since he never asks for his shirts back, you wear them to bed, hands tucked into your panties as you breathe in his scent and get yourself off. You would feel a bit bad, but you see how Leon stares at you the next day—like he can smell the effect he has on you and it makes your skin buzz. 

There’s no telling how long this would have gone on, but luckily for you, Ark forgot to refill your meds and he’s out for the night, leaving you and Leon home alone. You truly only meant to tease the handsome dogman, make him feel as out of sorts as you do when he’s around; however, you didn’t realize how much being off of your medicine would affect you. 

Just being next to him on the couch as you watch television is making your palms sweat and your nipples hard. Trying to sit still is impossible. The more you shift around, the more uncomfortable you are until Leon’s hand comes down on your thigh like a hot brand on your skin. Whimpering, you press the dough of your thighs together, squishing his fingers in between the soft skin. 

“What’s gotten into you?” His low voice rumbles through your ears making your cunt leak into your panties. 

Not thinking it through, you sit up into a kneel and clamber onto his lap. 

“It’s hot,” you whine, grinding yourself down onto him, “want you to make me feel better, Leon.”

“Wha—“

You swivel your hips and feel his cock thicken underneath your ass, pressing against the seam of your shorts and making your eyelashes flutter. 

With a groan, Leon grabs your hips to stop them from bouncing down on his bulge. 

“Sweetheart—“

His voice dips out into a low moan as you lap at a sensitive spot on his neck before licking the shell of his ear. You feel his cock twitch and kick against your clothed pussy and it makes you whine. 

“B-bad girl,” he hisses, head falling back against the couch, ears flopping, “bad girl, bad p-puppy, oh fuck.”

You nip his bottom lip before messily licking into his mouth, grinding down on his thick cock as he leaks enough precum to stain his sweats. 

“Puppy, stop,” he groans, “we can’t, oh god, you need your meds and Ark—“

“He’s out with friends,” you pout, rocking your hips just right so your clit rubs against the seam of your shorts sending a sharp zing through your body, “and I don’t have any more medicine.”

“You never listen,” he growls and your tail droops. 

You let out a surprised squeal when Leon shifts off the couch to press you down into the floor. 

“Need me to stuff your pussy, huh?” he bites your ear, making you whimper, “‘m gonna be the only one sniffing around your greedy little cunt.”

Your eyes roll back when he dry humps your pussy, grinding the thick outline of his cock right against your wet slit. 

“First I wanna see if you taste as good as you smell,” he kisses you heatedly before moving down your body. 

He slips your shorts off and tosses them across the living room. Leon buries his nose between your legs, sniffing across your soaked panties. The fabric sticks to your chubby pussy lips allowing Leon to lick at your clit easily. 

“Oh, oh,” you moan, hands reaching down to tangle in his hair, softly rubbing over his fuzzy ears.

He grunts and laps up the slick leaking down your thighs before pushing your panties to the side to lap at your hole. 

“Taste so good,” his muffled voice causes vibrations that make your toes curl, “mmm could eat your little cunt all day.”

“Leon, please,” you hump against his mouth, eyes locked on his blown out gaze.

He hums and the vibrations make your clit tingle as more slick drips onto his tongue. The thick muscle slides in and out of your hole before he licks his way back up to your clit, softly sucking the swollen bud into his mouth. Your thighs tremble as his rough sandpaper tongue swirls around your pudgy clit before sucking it gently. 

“So good,” you whimper, thighs falling open as far as they can go while your tail wags, “Leon.”

He growls, tongue fucking your pussy until sloppy wet sounds fill the room. His broad hands grab underneath your knees to shove your legs up to your chest. Pulling back, you moan as he spits on your cunt quickly followed by him burying his face against your soaked pussy. His rough stubble makes you squeal and pant while he licks and sucks your pussy lips. 

“So soft and wet, pup,” he grunts, pulling back to finally shed himself of the rest of his clothes. 

He strokes his cock to take the edge off and your mouth waters at the precum beading at the tip. With a groan, he notches the tip against your hole and glides the fat head up to smack against your clit. He presses his hips flush against you and you whine, the feel of the blood hot skin of his cock pulsing against your pussy. 

“Look how deep it’s gonna reach, pup,” his voice rumbles low in his chest, making your nipples ache.

He uses his thumb to press his tip down against your skin as your bleary eyes take in how far his cock will be inside your needy cunt. 

“Oh god, Leon, s’too big,” you mewl, ears lying flat against your skull. 

With a warm chuckle, he pulls his cock back to slide across your pudgy bud, grinding the head against your sensitive clit until you’re whining and dripping slick onto the carpet. His cock presses into your pussy making you moan reedily, voice breaking into a gasp. 

He chuffs and gently bites the side of your neck, rocking his cock another inch into your clenching hole. 

“Pussy’s just small, honey,” he coos softly, sandpaper tongue licking up to the shell of your ear, “gotta stretch her out so you can take my knot.”

Your walls clench down on his dick making his hips stutter. His eyes darken and he pulls completely out. 

“How about we make it easier for this soft little cunt?”

Without letting you answer he flips you over into your hands and knees, one palm pressing down in the middle of your back and the other gripping your hip to raise your ass up. He slides in much easier in this position, bottoming out with a loud groan as you claw at the floor. 

Mewling, you press your ass backwards, working more of Leon’s thick cock into your dripping pussy. 

“Wan’ it,” you slur, nails digging into the plush carpet, “want your knot, Leon.”

He growls and buries his cock to the hilt inside your cunt making you cry out from the sudden stretch. Your walls clamp and pulse around his fat dick while you catch your breath.

“Good girl,” he whispers into your ear, making you shiver all over, “such a good pup for me.”

“Leon,” you whimper, pussy walls fluttering around his thick length as he slowly ruts into you.

He groans and pulls halfway out before bullying his dick back into your sopping wet hole. 

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he bites your shoulder, canines digging into your skin, “perfect pussy, made for me aren’t you, honey?”

 “Uh huh,” you gasp out your agreement, voice not wanting to work as Leon pounds your cunt hard enough you’re getting rug burn on your knees. 

He grips the base of your tail and pulls, making you scream— pussy fluttering and pulsing around his dick as your orgasm takes you both by surprise. 

“Good girl,” he coos, dropping your tail to grip the fat of your ass with both hands, “so good, gripping me so tight with that little pussy, working for that knot like a good pup.”

Shuddering, your body trembles as Leon keeps thrusting his fat cock right against your g-spot as the tip kisses your cervix. Drool spills from your mouth as you heave in deep breaths. 

“Want you to cum one more time, pretty girl,” he lightly spanks your ass making you whine, “one more and I’ll knot this pretty pussy til she’s nice and full. Don’t you want that? For your hot cunt to be bred til you’re stuffed to the brim?”

“Please, please, Leon,” you mumble, ass bouncing back against his thrusts, “want your knot, please, want it so bad.”

One of his hands dip below your abdomen to circle the swollen bundle of nerves coated in your slick. Your pussy clamps down on his dick as he softly teases your clit. 

“Oh that’s it, right there,” he kisses your neck, tongue lapping against your sweaty skin, “can feel you getting tighter. Cum for me, let me feel it.”

As Leon keeps hammering into your pussy, his fingers circle and tease across your pudgy bud until one last thrust has your orgasm whiting out your vision. Your ears ring so loud you don’t even hear as Leon curses against your neck while he snaps his hips against your ass before burying his cock deep in your spasming pussy. 

You wail when his knot locks you together, stretching your cunt even further as you feel his hot thick cum spill inside. 

“So good for me,” Leon groans, hands smoothing over your sides and back, “perfect, so fucking perfect.”

You sigh gustily, body going limp as Leon continues to fill your pussy with load after load from his thick cock. He shifts until you’re both able to lay on your sides comfortably, hands petting your body gently. 

“Feels nice,” you mumble, relaxing even further against him.

“Good,” he kisses the back of your head, “once I can pull out, wanna run you a bath. Gonna take care of you.”

Preening, you smile although he can’t see it, “That sounds so good.”

It’s quiet and relaxing as you bask in Leon’s soft touches and praise. As soon as he slips out of your sore cunt, he scoops you up into his arms and carries you into the bathroom. Setting you down on the edge of the tub, Leon works the taps and fills it with comfortably warm water.

Once he settles down in the basin, he maneuvers you to sit with your back to his chest. His warm hands rub at your arms and shoulders. 

“Let me know if you’re sore anywhere,” he kisses your temple. 

His softness is making your clit throb, loving how Leon treats you. 

After he works your arms and shoulders, he shifts down to your thighs. You moan low in your throat. 

“What if I’m sore here?” You bite your lip and grab one of his hands to shift it to your clit. 

He chuckles causing goosebumps down your body. 

“Oh? Need this fat pussy rubbed?” he slips his fingers down your slit before circling back up to your clit, “is she really sore, honey? 

“So sore,” you mewl, slumping against his chest as he teases across your swollen clit.

It doesn’t take long for his rough fingers to work another orgasm from you, pussy clenching around nothing as your clit throbs underneath his fingertips. 

“So fucking good,” he turns your head to kiss you messily, tongue licking into your mouth as spit drips down your chin.

Leon finishes washing you both off before helping you stand, wrapping a fuzzy towel around you before emptying the bath. Feeling extra sleepy, you don’t put up a fuss as Leon guides you into his room. Helping you slip under his covers, you sigh as Leon’s scent surrounds you. 

“Goodnight,” he kisses the side of your mouth making you turn and pout your lips for a kiss. 

Chuckling, he kisses you gently, running his thumb across one of your ears. 

“Goodnight, Leon,” you smile sleepily, snuggling into his chest. 

[literaila]

new pups

gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary: satoru brings home a couple of additions

warnings: satoru is annoying, reader is fed up with him, tsumiki is doing something (???), megumi is tired he needs a nap

last part | next part

*

year three

“ladies,” satoru calls, slamming the door instead of shutting it, even though you've scolded him about it for five weeks straight. “i’ve returned.” 

there’s the distinct sound of someone kicking the wall—probably just satoru throwing a bag by the door. 

you set down the pen you're holding, sighing at the sound. 

you used to live in a peaceful house, always clean, always calm, no boys to disrupt your wonderful lifestyle. 

and now you live with three kids. you probably haven't had a single moment alone since you moved in. 

and yet tsumiki looks up from the table, her eyes wide and waiting, and you watch fondly--glad that they're home. 

megumi rounds the corner, rubbing his eyes. his hair is a mess--complete with leaves and mud--and his face looks like it was stretched out by a car tire. but tsumiki smiles at him, not bothered by his appearance. “i’m here too," he says, walking up to the table where you're helping tsumiki with her homework, looking distastefully at the worksheets the two of you have lost track of. 

you smile at him. 

“hey, kid,” you say, pulling him to kiss his forehead. he tastes like sweat. “how was your class?” 

he shrugs, as telling as ever, then goes to the kitchen. 

satoru is next, as untouched as he was before he left, not a hair out of place, leaving a loud smacking kiss on tsumiki’s head—who loves it—and one on your cheek— which is promptly wiped away. 

“did you miss us?” he asks you, leaning against your shoulder with his entire body before you push him away. his blindfold is slipping from his face, and you snap it against his skin.

so he huffs and sits at the chair next to you, blindfold off, moving it even closer. seriously, he has never learned the meaning of personal space. 

“we didn’t have time,” you tell him, kicking his leg as he sits down. “we’ve been working.” 

he gives tsumiki a look. “blink twice if you need help.” 

she opens her eyes wide, making him laugh. her tiny fingers tap against the table, and you can tell that she's about to beg you for another break--just to go check on her room, she'll swear, or grab a glass of water. 

you've only been sitting there with her for an hour, but even you're feeling a bit restless at the math and reading comprehension worksheets you'd like to never see again. 

“shoo, satoru," you tell him before he can say anything else, 

"we’re almost done.” 

“but i just got here!” 

"you're going to disturb tsumiki. she's working hard." 

"i can watch," he grins at the little girl, "can't i, miki?" 

tsumiki looks between the two of you, nodding her head. "he's okay," she whispers to you, sweetly, and you pretend not to notice as the two of them share a wink and a smile, plotting against you, probably. 

"sit and be quiet," you point at him, turning away. 

"actually... could we take a break?" you frown at her, raising your brows. "there's not much left, and i promise i'll finish it all soon!" she pleads, taking satoru's signature sweet talking, "i just want to check on something real quick." 

you sigh, looking at what she's got left over, and, for how long you've been working, it's not that much (plus you could probably use a break too). "okay, but--" tsumiki is up from the table before the words are out of your mouth, her smile radiant, and she runs away before you can get another word out.

you snort as she leaves, then look to your best friend, frowning at him. "that's your fault." 

"i sat down," satoru deadpans. 

"i know you're teaching them to slack off when i'm not around," you tell him, moving your chair at least three feet away. just to get away from his crushing aura. 

satoru does not take this hint--nor any other one--and he moves with you like it'll physically kill him to be any further apart. 

"does avoiding homework and playing candy crush count as slacking off?" he asks you.

"yes." 

he nods thoughtfully. "oh, then yeah." 

you groan, stacking all of the papers on the table. your shoulders bump into his as you do so, his hands on your thighs, creeping as they try to scare you away. 

then they're gone, and he grins mischievously. 

"don't worry, megumi wanted to show you something anyway," he whispers, and then looks down the hallway, where the boy disappeared a couple of minutes ago. "megumi!" he sings. 

about thirty seconds later a scrunched-up body marches into the room, wearing pajamas already, dark circles that shouldn't exist for a nine-year-old under his eyes. 

seriously, what did satoru do? 

you nod at the boy and he looks quizzically at satoru, entirely bored and exhausted. 

"well?" satoru asks after they've been staring at each other for ten seconds straight. "aren't you going to show her?" 

megumi blinks, and usually, he'd probably argue at any request satoru made, but he looks too tired. he merely gives a half-hearted eye-roll, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

and then he turns towards you, looking briefly at the light above the table, rests one of his hands upon an open one, making an indiscernible shape. 

and almost before you can see them--you feel it, that unmistakable current of cursed energy, but satoru doesn't flinch, so neither do you. 

then there are two puppies at megumi's feet, barking excitedly beneath him. 

the two of them may be trying to give you a heart attack.

you stare for a moment--watching as megumi pats both of their heads, then looks at you, like he didn't just bring home two new pets without even asking you.

or like he's not just nine, creating creatures out of thin air.

you blink. the white one sniffs around megumi's feet, moving over to satoru to inspect him while the other black one sits by megumi, happy to remain there. 

"see!" satoru exclaims after he's had enough of the silence. he looks ridiculous bending down to pet the dog sniffing at his feet, who tries to nip at him in response.  

"you--" you frown, tilting your head, watching closely as they might disappear. "you made those?" 

"they're shikigami," satoru tells you, "aren't they cute?" 

"you just learned how to do that?" 

megumi nods. 

you gape for a moment more--so many curious thoughts running through your head, attempting to scare you away from your little boy and whoever he's supposed to be--but you shut them out. then smile. "wow, megumi. that--wow." 

his nose ruffles at you. 

"and you can summon them at will?" 

megumi frowns, but satoru nods. 

"and release them?" 

"he figured it out pretty quick," satoru says. "honestly, i was impressed." 

you stand up, ruffling his hair. "good job, buddy," you say, with obvious pride. 

how many parents can say that their child created two puppies and brought them home to them?

"they can't really do much." 

"i told you that they'll grow with you," satoru says, rolling his eyes. "maybe they have laser eyes."

megumi frowns at him.

"hmm," you watch them, the white one sniffing at you now. "they are cute. who could fight these little guys?" you say, cooing at the puppy, who basks in your attention. "they might shock curses into submission if nothing else." 

satoru laughs, slinging an arm around your shoulder as you rise up again.

you give megumi a frown, watching his slow blinks. "you tired?" 

he nods, not even bothering to deny it like he usually would.

"okay, go hang out. we'll get dinner ready." 

megumi walks off, the two puppies following after him. 

you brows furrow as you watch him go. "did you have to torture him to get him to summon them?" 

satoru rolls his eyes. "i just talked to him until he figured it out." 

"so, yes." 

"actually, he didn't say much. just kind of sat by himself and thought for a bit." 

"and you watched?" 

satoru grins at you, nuzzling his nose into the side of your face. 

"he looks like he's half dead." 

he shrugs. "took a lot out of him. puppies are hard work." 

he's recalling what you told him when he tried to get you all to go to the animal shelter a couple of weeks ago, you look at him pointedly. then away. 

satoru grins at you, pulling his head back, then pauses. "what? you're not a dog person?" 

"how much do you know about his technique?" 

"not a lot," he answers, simply, "i know that he'll probably rival me for strength. when he's older." 

"how are you going to teach him?" 

satoru shrugs. he doesn't need to worry about any of this, you think. he doesn't need to fear a single thing. 

and, really, he's always been a little too good for you. a little too strong for your soft demeanor, and easy heart. 

you bite your lip, considering it. how fast will megumi grow now that he's figured out the basics of his shikigami? how much longer can you keep him here, tied down?

it only makes you wonder what satoru was like as a kid, who he might've been if he hadn't always been him. 

"he's only nine," you whisper, soft, unbroken. it's not a confession or a worry. just the truth.

"you were nine." 

"i was ten," you correct, appreciating satoru's strong arms against your body, his effortless hold on you. 

he laughs, tilting his head at you. "i was born." 

you roll your eyes, pushing him off. enough of his presence. "yeah, yeah, honored one, whatever." 

he pulls you back, though, easy as ever. "it's normal," he reminds you. "he's got us. he'll be fine." 

you sigh, hanging your head against his chest. "we don't know anything about his cursed technique." 

satoru hums. 

"we have to figure it out," you tell him like you haven't thought about it every day for the past year alone. like you'll be able to figure out anything. 

"okay." 

"do you think there are books on it at the library?" you ask him, thinking about yaga's lessons--which, in hindsight, you should've paid more attention to. 

satoru frowns. "i'm not reading those." 

"well, no one's going to tell you about it." 

"you could. after you read the books," he grins, very pleased with this answer. 

"you're helping because there's probably, like, twenty different ones all contradicting each other." 

just the idea of the library is a tough one. who knows what information has been muddled over the years, or what you'll need to know for megumi, anyway? 

no matter what, it's gonna take longer than a day to figure it out. probably a decade, at least. 

"can't megumi just read them for himself?" satoru whines, shaking his head against yours at the same thought. 

"satoru," you pinch his forearm.

he groans. "fine. fine. i'll talk to yaga next time i'm at the school."  

"good boy." 

"don't patronize me," he pouts. 

"where did you learn that word?" 

"i can read, you know." 

"really? thought i was gonna have to teach you that too," you smile at him, pinching his rosy cheeks. he looks very pretty like this--always unchanging, unbothered. 

"i was the best in my class, i'll have you know," he tells you like you weren't there to experience that same class. 

"you mean laziest," you shake your head, stepping away, finally. "god knows why you turned out to be so strong." 

he grins again, leaning towards you. close enough to breathe in. "it's part of my natural charm." 

"great," your brows raise at him, "you and your charm can help me make dinner." 

"do we have to?" he whines. 

but satoru is very similar to your new puppies, in that as soon as you walk away, he follows, sniffing eagerly after you. 

*

"so," satoru says, sitting too close to you on the couch. he yawns, body sprawled against the cushions. 

you try to push his head away from your shoulder, but the effort is futile. he might as well glue it there. you wonder when he got the time to fill his brain with cement. 

you sigh, and dog-ear your book, knowing that he's not going to shut up for at least ten minutes. "what?" 

"i talked to yaga today." 

"about the books?" 

"among other things." 

you flick his forehead. "did you get us in trouble again?" you ask, frowning. "i told you to stop spilling my secrets to anyone who asks--" 

"it was an accident." 

you shake your head, rolling your eyes at him. but your hand subconsciously wraps around his shoulders, squeezing where it can, and begins to trail through his hair. 

after three years, you still haven't managed to get him to tell you anything about his conditioner. another reason why you hate him so much. 

"what'd he say?" you ask, after satoru's eyes close at the feeling of your hands. 

"he had an interesting idea." 

"was it your idea?" 

"no, not this time." 

"okay..." 

"well, you know how they're always running low on teachers at the school, especially now that yaga's principal?" 

"uh-huh." 

"and you know how we could use the help with training megumi, and that we're the best out there--" 

"no, satoru." 

"i didn't even say--" 

"i'm not teaching." 

"but you'd be so great at it," he smiles up at you, fluttering his eyelashes in an attempt to break you. 

so you look away because you refuse to fall victim to his whims again. 

"the missions are enough, i don't want to be responsible for anyone else but you and the kids." 

"you know you do." 

"i'm not doing it," you tell him, snatching your arm back to cross them across your chest. 

"it's not even that big of a change," he argues, "just, like, a very extensive year-long training program for incoming teachers--" 

*

next part | series masterlist

[chukys-mouthguard]

hey bestie 🙂 if you are comfortable can you write a heavy smut with angst for Vince Dunn x reader please ?

pleaseher

words - 3.2k

genre - slight angst, heavy smut

request - yes

warnings - 18+ content, minors DNI; daddy kink, degradation, lots of dirty talk, choking, oral (m+f receiving), p in v; sorry if i forgot any, this is the smuttiest smut I’ve written so I’m new to warnings 🙊

featuring - vince dunn x female reader

What a cocky son of a bitch.

Rolling your eyes as you tossed back a shot, you watched as Vince stood on the booth in his roped off section of the club. Bottle in hand as he chugged the vodka like it was water. His shirt now hardly buttoned as his chest was peeking out from underneath. Sweat beads glistened against his tan skin from the glare of the club lights.

Vince was an attention whore, he knew it and wore that badge proudly. Loving when girls would drool over him, practically taking their panties off after one glance from him to try and get him interested in them. Sure he dabbled in the occasional hook up with those girls, but they’d never compare to you.

The two of you had been an off and on thing for several months now. Never fully wanting to commit to dating, but the second you tried being with anyone else, you’d come crawling back to one another. Or, in your case, when you wanted Vince and he was too busy with other girls, you’d do everything in your power to make him jealous.

Jealous Vince was your favorite to put it plainly. The way he’d become protective over you, not wanting any other guys hands on you, or dick inside of you for that matter. Sure it was a game to you, to get him riled up knowing the sex was always amazing when Vince was that worked up. But you enjoyed teasing him and getting what you wanted.

Watching as he swayed back and forth to the music, bottle still in hand. His eyes briefly caught yours, and for a moment you almost folded. Wanting to walk up to him and pull him from the club by his collar. But you remembered it was Vince who cut you off a few weeks ago, wanting to explore other options. The reminder of that being the only motivation you needed to stick to your plan.

As you headed to the floor, his eyes followed you, turning into more of a glare as he saw you snake your arms around a random guys neck.

You’d been scoping the crowd all night, in need of a guy you knew would have Vince crawling in his skin mad. Settling on a tall, tan, blonde haired guy, nice build with a few tattoos. You’d begun talking him up at the bar earlier, setting the tone for the events to follow.

Joining him on the floor his hands immediately latched onto your waist, soon enough falling to grip your ass. Tossing your hair over your shoulder you found Vince’s eyes still on you. The vodka bottle tight in his grip as you could see his jaw clench from a mile away. A smirk coming across your lips as you spun around, firmly placing your ass on the man’s crotch, grinding against him as his hands freely roamed your body. Head resting on his shoulder as his lips found your neck in a few short kisses.

As you looked back towards Vince, he was no longer there. Soon enough he was making his way through the crowd towards you. While you were happy you’d gotten him riled up, the last thing you wanted to deal with was him getting into a drunk fight at the club. Trying to explain that to his coach at morning skate come Monday was not something sober Vince would enjoy doing.

“Wait here? Gotta run to the restroom.”

Giving a quick kiss to the man who’d practically had his hands in your pants on the floor, you headed off towards the restrooms. Only to be pulled from your path, Vince pinning you to the wall. Hands above your head as his hips held you in place.

“Think it’s a fun game huh? Putting yourself on display like that. Practically getting fucked on the floor in front of everyone.”

A smirk on your lips as you were pleased to know your plan had worked.

“Oh please Vinny baby, you wish I’d let you fuck me in front of everyone here.”

A hand dropped from holding yours to lightly gripping your neck. Vince loved dominating you, making sure you knew at the end of the day, regardless of how many girls he messed around with. You would always be his number one girl.

“Oh yeah? Should I pull those panties to the side and bend you over the booth in my section? Let everyone see what a whore you are for me? You’d probably love that.”

He voice sending chills down your spine as his lips traced your jawline as he spoke. His free hand exploring your body, stopping at the waist of your skirt which was now riding very high on your thighs.

“Only one problem, I’m not wearing any panties.”

You bit your lip as the look in his eyes went from lust to pure desire. Immediately needing every inch of you on him. His hand moving to the hem of your skirt, pulling it up even further in an attempt to call your bluff. But as his fingers glided along your folds, already dripping wet for him, you swore his pupils went black. A low groan coming from him as he smirked.

“Such a fucking whore. I love it.”

He pulled his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean as he savored the taste of you. “Mmm, so sweet for me baby girl.”

If you weren’t in the middle of the club, you would’ve had him take you right there. Not sure how much longer you could wait, needing him to have his way with you until you couldn’t walk.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna go tell my friends I had to head out, you’re gonna go get in daddy’s car and make sure you stay nice and wet for me okay?”

His lips hovering just above yours, though not giving in for the kiss. Earning a soft whine from you as he knew that’s what you wanted.

“And if I don’t?”

You wouldn’t dare disobey him, but the idea of testing him, knowing it would only make tonight more interesting, was one you’d gladly entertain.

A soft chuckle left his lips as shook his head. “Sweetheart, we both know that you’re gonna do what I say.” His thumb brushed across your bottom lip as he headed off to bid his group farewell. He’d given you his keys to go find his car in the back lot. Climbing into the passenger seat you impatiently waited, knowing that you’d be in for it once you got back to his place.

As Vince climbed in the driver's seat, his eyes glanced to your lap, noticing how tightly you’d crossed your legs.

“Someone desperately needs to be fucked huh?”

He laughed as a hand rested on your thigh, lightly gripping the skin as you were dying for him to touch you where you needed it most. But he knew you all too well, and he certainly wasn’t going to give in to you just yet.

Shifting underneath his touch, you did whatever you could to try and urge him to move his hand to the inside of your thigh. Craving to feel his fingers on you once again. But instead he pulled away, a whine coming from you as you pouted your lips.

“Such a needy little thing. You missed how I fuck you? I know you did. That’s why you pulled that shit at the club tonight. Teasing me and making me watch someone else touch you. I should’ve put you on your knees right in front of him. Let him see how good you take my cock.”

His grip on your thigh tightened slightly as he spoke, holding you from clenching your thighs to give yourself some much needed friction. Your pussy throbbing, aching to be pleasured by him.

“You’re gonna wish you never pulled that little stunt. Once I’m done fucking you, I promise you’ll never try to make me jealous ever again.”

A smirk on his lips while he eyes kept on the road, you weren’t sure if it was the alcohol, but something in you was wanting to be a bit of a pain right back. To combat his cockiness that you very much couldn’t stand, mostly in situations like these.

“Well maybe if you stopped leaving me for other girls, I wouldn’t have to tease and make you jealous. I’d be all yours, alllll the time.”

He pulled his hand from your thigh, breath hitching in your throat as you instantly missed the contact. Watching as he moved to undo his belt buckle, his button and zipper following suit.

The car slowing to a halt a he’d reached a red light, hurrying to pull his pants down, freeing his cock as it slapped against his stomach.

“Just for that comment, get your mouth on my cock.”

Your mouth watered as you eyed his erection from the passenger seat, feeling yourself only getting wetter by the second. Undoing your seatbelt to get on your knees and lean over the console. Tossing your hair over your shoulder before slowly taking his length in your mouth.

“Fuck.”

Vince threw his head back as he pressed his foot on the gas, doing his best to drive the speed limit, but the twitching of his legs was going to prove to be a challenge. His hips adjusted to give you a better angle, allowing you to deepthroat him with ease. His fingers tangled in your hair as he held you at the base of his cock, listening to you gag around him.

“Such a good little slut. Can’t talk back when you’ve got your mouth full of my cock huh baby?”

As he pulled you from his length, he let you catch your breath. Sitting back in your seat as you wiped the saliva from your chin. Seeing Vince’s apartment straight ahead, as he quickly pulled into the parking garage, not bothering to check his park job. More focused on getting you inside so he could finally have his way with you.

Vince hadn’t bothered to buckle his belt, letting it hang as he pulled you from the passenger seat. Finally placing his lips on yours as he pressed you against the car. His cock still rock hard beneath the fabric of his pants. Tongues fighting for dominance before he pulled away with a quick tug of your lip between his teeth.

“Let’s go, daddy needs to make sure you can’t walk tomorrow.”

Within seconds of closing the door, Vince already had you on the kitchen counter. His lips devouring yours as one hand held your throat, the other tracing your curves before finding its way under your skirt. A smirk on his lips the second he felt how wet you were.

“God I’ve barely even touched you and you’re practically dripping for me. I fucking love it.”

He pulled your legs closer to the edge of the counter, pushing your skirt up in the process. That cocky smirk back on his face as he kissed along your thighs, leaving love bites before he’d nestled between your legs.

“Oh my god, fuck!”

The second he’d finally given in, his tongue immediately lapping at your clit, you could’ve came. Feeling so desperate for his touch that your hands gripped his soft curls tight. Holding him in place with no chance of letting him go. He laughed at your neediness. Immediately pushing a finger inside to accompany the work of his tongue.

Your breath was hardly controllable as could feel yourself already close, not bothering to hush your moans as you were in ecstasy. Vince truly knew how to take care of you and find all the perfect places to have you melt in his touch.

“Yes, just like that. Fuck.”

Vince groaned at your nails digging into his scalp, not minding the tinge of pain as it only urged him to continue, slipping another finger into as he picked up the pace with his tongue.

You were shaking beneath him as his free hand tried to hold you still, not letting you move away from him. Your hips bucked as your head fell back, expletives pouring from your lips as you could barely form a sentence.

“You gonna cum for me? Be a good little slut and cum all over daddy’s face huh? Can you do that for me? I wanna taste you.”

His words pushing you over the edge as you came, covering his lips in your juices as his tongue slowed it’s pace, licking every inch of you. The overstimulation causing you to flinch at each flick of his tongue.

Pulling his fingers from you he immediately brought them to your lips, to which you gladly accepted. Hollowing out your cheeks as you kept your eyes locked with his. Seeing his eyes filled with desire as he looked down at you and the mess you’d made on his counter.

“So fucking sexy. I need those lips back on my cock. Now.”

He lifted you from the counter, setting you down and immediately you dropped to your knees. Stroking his cock while he grabbed a fistful of your hair.

Your eyes locked with his as you took him into your mouth, bobbing your head painfully slow. Watching the way his eyes rolled back as he let out a low groan. Soon enough his hips started thrusting to match your rhythm, the sound of you gagging like music to his ears. Eyes watering as your mascara started to run, his hands holding you in place as he fucked your face. His grunts making your pussy soaked, surely leaving a mess beneath you.

“Mmm yes, your throat is mine. You hear me? Fuck you’re such a good slut letting me fuck you til your makeups running down your face.”

Vince pulled himself from your lips, sensing you needed a break to catch your breath. Pulling you to your feet he crashed his lips to yours before grabbing at your thighs to lift you up. Legs wrapping around his waist as his cock brushed against your wet folds. A soft whimper coming from your lips as your head fell back, Vince taking the opportunity to kiss and bite at your neck.

He carried you down the hall, tossing you onto the bed as he finally discarded of his clothes. Allowing you the chance to gawk over his physique, something you’d never get tired of looking at. Making your way to the edge of the bed your fingers traced over his chest and down to his abs, while he hands pulled at your shirt before making quick work of your bra. Tossing it to the side before his lips found your breast, his hand taking the other in his palm, pinching at your nipple as he laid you down.

The feeling already having you writhing beneath him, arching your back into his touch as your nails marked up his back. Earning a growl from him at the burning sensation.

“Ready to show me what a good girl you are while you take my cock?”

You nodded at him with wanting eyes as his thumb traced over your bottom lip before dipping past, instinctually you sucked on it. Vince smiling at you as he teased you with his cock, loving how wet you still were for him.

“Please…Vince, I need you. Now.”

He loved hearing how needy you were, begging for him to give you what you wanted. Without warning he’d thrust into you, a gasp leaving your lips as your eyes rolled back. Hands gripping his biceps while his held tight to your hips. Thrusts slow but hard, his eyes fixated on how your tits perfectly bounced with each buck of his hips.

“How’s it feel baby?”

“So fucking good, you know only you can fuck me like this.”

“Mmm, you know I love hearing you say that.” A few more thrusts and Vince felt himself nearing his climax, though not yet done with you. “Show daddy what a good girl you can be while you ride his cock.”

Vince quickly pulled himself from you as he laid down, pumping his cock while he followed your motion, climbing into his lap as you lined him with your heat.

As you slowly lowered yourself, feeling every inch of him stretch you, the two of you moaned in unison. Hands resting on his chest to help steady you as you slowly began grinding into him, the way you rocked your hips had Vince melting beneath you. Though he absolutely loved fucking the shit out of you, watching you lose yourself as you rode his dick was so much better.

“Feel good baby? Bouncing your ass on my cock and being a good girl? God you’re such a whore, creaming all over my cock with your tits bouncing in my face. I fucking love it.”

One hand left your hips as it moved to grip your throat, Vince loving that you weren’t afraid of him being rough with you. Tilting your head back to give him a better grip as your bouncing was now out of rhythm. Feeling yourself beginning to tighten around his cock, whines leaving your lips as he caught on, thrusting his hips up to push you over the edge.

“You gonna cum for me? Cum all over my cock?”

“Yes daddy, I’m such a good little whore, cumming all over daddy’s cock.”

With a slew of expletives, your hands fell to his chest as you quivered on top of him. Legs shaking as you came, Vince rocking your hips to guide you through your climax. Just as you felt the euphoric high fading he’d pulled himself from you, a gasp leaving your lips at the loss of him.

He quickly stood up as he stroked himself, bringing his own climax closer as his grunts were low and sporadic.

“Knees.”

Climbing from the bed you took your spot on the floor in front of him. Gazing up at him, wanting eyes as your hands gripped his thighs.

“Cum for me daddy, please. I’ll be a good little slut and take it all, I promise.”

Hearing you call him daddy always sent shockwaves through his system, the words so beautiful spilling from your lips. As his head fell back and you heard a deep fuck come from him, you took his length in your mouth. Hands taking over stroking him as you flicked your wrist until you could feel him buck his hips, his warm seed hitting your tongue.

Vince quickly gripping your chin, “not yet baby,” opening your lips you’d showed him how good of a girl you were, taking every drop, his cocky smirk on his face as he lightly closed your jaw. “Such a good girl, swallow every drop baby.”

He watched as you swallowed, the action alone had him ready for round two. You weren’t normally one for the extra dirty actions, but with Vince you threw all of that out the window as he had such a hold over you you’d never thought twice.

Pulling you from your knelt position, Vince laid you down in bed before grabbing you a tshirt to throw on. He simply grabbed some boxers before he climbed into bed next to you.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you pulled a stunt like that just to get me all riled up, so I’d fuck you like crazy.”

“Well, it worked didn’t it?”

[evera-era]

heal me.

there’s a new medic in town, and ellie williams is about to find out who she is.

ellie williams x fem!reader, pt 2 here

warnings: fluff, mention of cuts/wounds, medical setting, suggestive themes. wc 1.3k

a/n: first time writing an ellie fic! if this does well i might post a second + third part <3

Ellie hated anything to do with doctors. She could take care of herself perfectly fine, she swears. But Dina witnessed her earning a nasty gash during a patrol, and wouldn’t shut up about it unless she got it checked out.

Word was that there was a new medic in town. Ellie’s pretty sure she’s seen you around Jackson. Walking around in those dumb white clothes, tending to everyone who needed you.

You’ve seen her too. Sneaking glances anytime you could. I mean, Ellie was pretty, and it was no big deal, right?

That is, until a flash of auburn hair ducks into the med clinic, and you nearly jump out of your skin.

Ellie clears her throat. “Uh… you guys are pretty much done for the night, right?”

She’s hoping you would say yes so she could just go back home and rest. Watch a movie, maybe. Have everyone fuck off and leave her alone.

You nod, clicking your pen, when you notice her clutching her side. “But I’ve got time for one more.”

You were on call, anyway, so your shift was never really over.

Fuck, she thinks. Ellie has always had trouble asking for help. She could take care of herself just fine. It didn’t help that you were so nice — nauseatingly so — but she figures that’s why you’re the town medic and she’s not.

“Follow me,” You add, motioning her over to the first room on the left. Even though meds were hard to come by, bandages were plentiful, and you weren’t gonna pass up the opportunity to tend to your crush.

Totally innocent crush.

“So, what was it?” You ask, eyes scanning over the girl as she takes a place on the edge of the hospital bed.

“Some fuckers we ran into, lone group. Nothing too serious... think they were looking to steal shit.” Ellie mutters. “But one took a swing at me and I fell on something sharp. My friend’s been bugging me to come here, get it checked out.”

Your conversation pauses as you take her vitals. Everything is in a normal range.

“The group…” You break the silence, looking down. “Are they a concern?”

“They’re gone, if that’s what you’re asking.”

You felt a light blush rise on your cheeks. Ellie was so strong, and brave. It showed, even in the way she just talks about her patrols.

You flit your eyes back up, trying to refocus. “So can I see? The wound?”

“Oh. Right.” Ellie’s fingers dip down to grab the hem of her shirt, and pull up. For a moment, you only see her toned stomach. You try not to get distracted.

Then you see the bandage under her ribcage.

Your fingers are gentle when they graze over the gauze. It’s a barrier, but Ellie swears it’s like you’re touching her directly. You move to peel it off of her.

Ellie absentmindedly sucks her breath in through her teeth. You whisper a small apology.

“It’s not… bad right?” She says after a moment. “I mean, I’ve had worse.”

She made a mental note to get onto Dina. This whole thing made her look like a fucking pussy.

“I’m sure you have,” You smile meekly, examining the cut. “No… not bad.”

After washing off your hands, you pull up a chair in front of Ellie. She watches you carefully as you sigh.

“Won’t need stitches, and no signs of infection.” You add. “But I can at least disinfect it and send you off with some new dressing.”

“I mean, it’s fine, I can—“

“No, let me.” You say quickly, cutting off her retort. “You’re already here, right?”

Ellie opens her mouth, then closes it. You had a point. She merely nods instead.

You reach down for the bucket of clean water. When you come back up, you notice Ellie has removed her shirt completely. The only thing clinging to her upper body is a flimsy sports bra.

“Oh,” You all but whisper accidentally.

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

The rag becomes stained as you wipe the area. A few swishes, and the water in the bucket has turned a cloudy mahogany.

“So… your friend,” You add. “Was it Dina?”

Ellie raises her eyebrows slightly. “Uh, yeah. Yeah.”

“She must really care about you.” You say quietly. It takes Ellie a moment to realize what you’re implying. She’s quick to answer.

“Oh, yeah. Not like that anymore, though. It’s… just friends now.”

You take that as confirmation that their relationship ended. And even though in a way you were happy to find out Ellie is now single, it would be rude not to apologize.

“Oh.” You mumble. “Sorry.”

She looks down. “It’s cool.”

You disinfect the wound with some alcohol before applying new dressing with gentle fingertips. You smile up at the brunette.

“Good as new.”

She feels herself smiling back. She wants to kick herself; she didn’t even wanna be here in the first place. But now it doesn’t feel like a mistake after all.

“Thanks,” She says. Her gaze has softened.

You grab something out of the cabinet. Ellie realizes it’s fresh bandages when you outstretch your hand to her.

“So, just… use these. Every couple hours, change it out, till it scabs over. If you ever need more you know where to get it.”

Ellie knows this. But she realizes that she likes hearing you talk, so she thinks of something else to ask.

“Uh, and how do I know what to look for? If I have an infection?”

“Oh,” You say. “Here, lay back. I’ll show you.”

Something about the way you’re hovering over Ellie has her stomach fluttering. You were so tentative. Why hadn’t she tried to talk to you sooner?

“Gotta check it everytime you change your dressing. If it smells weird, or feels hot…”

Your fingers trace over her body yet again. Her eyes are stuck on you, the way your hair falls into your face. The way your lips move to explain everything. Not to mention how soft your skin felt on hers.

She thought the whole “hot nurse” trope was something that only happened in movies. It was pretty clear now that she was wrong.

“Got it?”

“What?”

Shit. She wasn’t listening.

“Do you get it now?” You repeat, looking down at Ellie.

She blinks before propping herself up with her elbows. “Uh… yeah. Think so.”

You smile again, leaning back so you’re no longer positioned over her. You take your place against the counter.

Ellie didn’t hear a word. But she’ll make the effort now to be extra gentle with herself, because of you. If that’s worth anything.

Silence fills the room once again as Ellie pulls her shirt back over her head. You sneak in one last glimpse before she’s fully clothed.

“If something changes you can always come back and see me.” You add with a breathy laugh. “I’m in here, like, all the time.”

“Oh yeah?” She asks, looking up at you. “I’ll have to stop by again sometime, then.”

Your heart skips a beat. Is she trying to flirt with you? No, it’s probably nothing.

You clear your throat. “Hopefully not under these circumstances.”

“Right,” She says. Her eyes widen as she realized she’s extended her stay. “I’ll, um… I’ll go. Get out of your hair.”

Ellie’s never used that expression before. She nearly facepalms. So stupid.

But then you laugh a little, and it’s such a beautiful sound when it hits her ears.

“I don’t mind.” You add bashfully. “But… you need to rest and get better. Go back to kicking ass, all that stuff.”

Ellie feels her face wanting to turn red again. You were so sappy, and shameless with it. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention, really. She didn’t think people like you even existed at all anymore.

She merely hums, unable to find the right words to say. If she sticks around any longer, she might actually develop feelings for you as if she hasn’t already. So she opts to bid you goodbye.

“Well… see you around.”

You nod, watching her head for the door. You hold the clipboard to your chest in an effort to soften your heartbeat.

“Night, Ellie.”

— part two

[whimsicalpolitical]

Tongue pierced anyway // Matty Healy x Reader

a/n: let’s just forget about the healing part of a piercing right ;) and I’ve never had a tongue piercing so let’s forget about this as well.

content warning: smut, dirty talk, praise, oral (m receiving), 18+ mdni

summary: you surprise Matty after a show with your new piercing

based on this request

────────────────────────

Waiting for Matty to come backstage has never been this torturous. You pulled out your phone at least 30 times in the last 5 minutes, to admire the glint of the silver stud against your tongue.

You’re very sure that Matty’s gonna love your little surprise, but it’s going to be hard to hide it, before you’re on your knees.

The backstage buzzes with excitement as the muffled sounds of fans echoe through the walls. You shift nervously, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt as you wait for Matty to finish his set. The anticipation is almost unbearable, your heart pounding with a mixture of nerves and excitement.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door swings open, and Matty saunters in, sweat glistening on his skin and a smile lighting up his face. His eyes meet yours as he takes in your appearance. Sitting on the couch, clinging to your phone.

“There you are, love.” He says, walking towards you, his white shirt open, showing his tattoos and his black trousers which are tight around his thighs.

Honestly, you don’t have a plan. You just down want him to notice your piercing when you’re kissing, you just have to prevent a french kiss.

“How was the show?” You ask, as he settles next to, intertwining your hands, giving each knuckle of yours a kiss before he moves to kiss your cheek.

“Outrageous, the crowd was mental,” his face is glowing, glistening even and the smile on his face doesn’t seem to fade. Making music is everything for Matty and it just turns you on so much.

“It’s cause of you,” you say, starting to kiss his neck, “fans love you Matty.” Matty hums as you throw his shirt from his body.

“Flattering me much, love?” You feel his hand at your neck, trying to attach his lips to yours and you let him. The second you feel his tongue against your lips you pull away.

“You deserve it,” you whisper, dropping to your knees, running a hand over his crotch, squeezing his bulge. “Let me suck your dick?” Matty groans above you, nodding his head.

“Fucking go for it yeah,” Unwilling to waste another second you tug down his boxers, he lifts his hips just enough for you to drag them below his ass and free his swollen cock.

Matty exhales in relief as the cool air tickles his searing skin. You take a moment to truly admire him, your mouth watering as your gaze fixated on the girth of him, his weeping tip flushed dark pink with a prominent vein running along the underside of his shaft. Wrapping your fist securely around the stiff and hot base, you place a single peck to the head.

You drag your tongue up his cock, tracing the cold piercing with. Matty’s head shoots up at the coldness, his thighs trembling. His dick becomes insanely hard.

“Jesus fucking christ, you fucking didn’t,” he says, pulling you from him by grabbing your hair. “Fuck, let me see.”

He groans out, leaning forward then gripping your cheeks as he grabs your tongue and pulls the pink muscle out of your mouth. The shiny ball in the middle glistens in the dim lights. He huffs out a scoff, as his tongue digs into his cheek when you start to jerk his cock, hand squeezing slightly around the base.

“You like it?” You ask innocently and his back hits the couch again, watching you. “Got it for you Matty.”

He actually moans, thrusting his hip up into your hand. “You have no idea how fucking hot you are.”

“Fuuuck,” he groans, drawing out the vowel as a heavy breath. His fingers drag through your hair roughly, gripping the back of your head. You push yourself forward, taking more of him in until he is pressing into your throat, and you swallow tightly around him. “Christ, feels so fuckin’ good.”

As his hips buck upward again, you gag around him, tears springing into your eyes. He moans lowly, cursing under his breath at the feeling of your throat contracting around him. “Don’t deserve you.”

You work your tongue over his weeping slit, enjoying the way his grip on your hair tightens as you pay close attention to the most sensitive part of him.

“Fucking hell,” he groans, his eyes closing at the feeling of your piercing stroking him. “Can’t-“ he mumbles, thrusting up faster.

You know he’s close, the new feeling on his dick completely overwhelming him. One hand of his tugging at his own curls, trying not to cum so fast, and the other on your hair, not letting you get off him.

“I can’t- fuck-,” He tightens his grip on your hair, his hips instinctively thrusting into your mouth as he surrenders to the overwhelming sensation. His release finally washes over him in waves, his body trembling with the force of it as he empties himself into your waiting mouth, and you swallow the hot spurts down your throat eagerly, savoring the taste of him.

"Holy shit," you choke, voice raw, when you pull off of him. You use the back your hand to wipe over your face, stains on the sleeve of your hoodie.

You get up from your knees, settling down on Matty’s lap, “wanna know how it tastes?” You ask and his eyes widen, a grin spreading across his face.

His lips find yours and he wastes no time slipping his tongue through your lips, eagerly wanting to feel your piercing on his tongue and when he does he groans into you. “Turns you on huh?” You tease, sticking out your tongue at him.

“Minx,” he chuckles, slapping your ass, making you yelp. “I love you so fucking much.” You crash your lips on his again, your hands all over his face, trying to hold on to this moment.

“My favorite girl,” he says as your back finds the couch and he settles on top of you but only for a second. “Dinner first and then you’ll get your reward?” He asks and you nod.

“Can’t wait,” you wink and watch him put on his pants again. He laughs, shakes his head and pulls you up. “C’mon love.”

He’s still in shock because of your surprise and you’re very sure he wants you to show him again later.

[crimsonstonetranslations]

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo volume 11 - file 01

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Volume 11 - Worth of a Spirit ( prologue )

file 01 - box

-

1 -

Along the sidewalk that stretched next to the river, a group of students could be seen riding their bikes, gliding as they cheerfully conversed with one another. Cynically watching the sight of those students some distance ahead of him, a man stood on the sloped riverbank.

Why did it become like this? If only such a thing had never happened, that girl could’ve been part of that group of students.

Yet fate had other plans, and her bright future had been cruelly snatched away. It wasn't just the girl. The man had lost a lot, too. His future had vanished in an instant.

Still, regret wouldn’t bring back time that had passed. He was forced to lead a life he never wanted for himself. The man stared at the water gates visible in the distance. Exhaling a long sigh, he slowly began to walk.

“Hey. You over there—” A voice could be heard out of nowhere.

At first, the man hadn’t realised that those words had been directed at him. Hence, he continued to walk without stopping or turning around. “Why are you walking away?” said the voice again.

Hearing it the second time, the man eventually realised that the voice had been talking to him. It was the voice of a woman.

The man turned around to find a woman standing there. She was probably in her late twenties. Her hair was long, her body tall and slim, just like a model.

Even so, the man didn’t think of her as beautiful. The aura enveloping said woman felt heavy, perhaps even terrifying.

Besides, looking at her closely, the woman’s left wrist ended in a stump and she was wearing a prosthetic hand. “You’re referring to me?” the man asked back.

“Yes. You—” The woman smiled, flashing her white teeth. The woman was speaking familiarly, yet the man didn’t recognise her. He didn’t understand why this woman reached out to him.

“Um...” “There’s no need to be afraid,” the woman extended her hand and pinched the man’s arm with her fingers.

The man pulled his arm away in reflex. The woman thought the man’s panicked reaction was amusing, laughing in delight. The man suddenly felt embarrassed in response.

“I’ve come to help you,” said the woman. Gusts of wind swayed her long hair. Something smelled sweet. He had no idea whether the smell had originated from this model-like woman's body or it had been carried by the wind from elsewhere.

“Help me? What do you mean?” said the man cautiously. However he thought about it, it was strange for an unfamiliar woman to talk to him like this. This might be the new modus operandi of a sect or some kind of shady organisation.

He knew he should’ve quickly walked away without responding, yet his legs refused to move. Most likely, he was starting to take interest in this woman.

“Right now, you’re trapped in a box,” said the woman. “A box—”

What was this woman talking about? At this point in time, he was moving about freely. He wasn’t inside any box.

“Yes. I’m not talking about physically.” “Then, what are you talking about?”

“About—here.” The woman lightly pressed on the man’s chest with her finger.

Even though she wasn’t using much strength, the man lost his footing and staggered backwards. The place where the woman had touched felt hot. Heat that was accompanied by pain—

“I’ll show it just for you,” said the woman happily as she placed the bag she had been carrying on the ground and swiftly took something out of it. It was a wooden box the size of a cremation urn—

Perhaps made out of kiri wood. The box looked expensive. Just what could be inside of it?

“Would you like to know the contents?” the woman asked as if she could read his mind. At the sight of the woman’s alluring face, the man began to feel rather than as if, his mind was genuinely being read by the woman.

“I’ll show it to you just for a bit,” said the woman, touching the front side of the box. Apparently, the front part of the box was slidable.

After pausing as if to watch his reaction, the woman slowly shifted the front side of the box. The box’s contents became exposed.

However, the man didn’t know what it was at first. Not because it was dark or something.

What laid within the box was beyond his imagination, it took some time before he could comprehend it. Inside the box—

Was a bottle. A large, cylindrical bottle, typically used for brewing homemade plum wine.

Inside, the bottle was filled with liquid. Had that been all, he wouldn’t need to be surprised.

Even so— Within the liquid was a floating human head.

The skin was swollen and while one could recognize that it was a human’s, it was no longer in a state to distinguish whether it was a man or a woman. Long, black hair that belonged to the face inside the bottle swayed inside the liquid.

Is that a real human head? The man immediately got rid of the question inside his mind.

No. That would be impossible. No one would put a human head into a bottle and then carry it everywhere with a box. It was probably just a meticulously crafted doll head. No doubt about it, someone must’ve intended to scare him by doing an excessive prank such as this.

The voice inside his head tried to convince him that way. Despite that, his heart refused to accept it. Not his sense of reason, but his gut feeling telling him that head wasn’t fake. “He is my beloved person—” said the woman with a tranced expression.

Beloved person? In other words, after the person she loved had passed away, this woman couldn’t forget about him and carried his head everywhere she went?

Was this akin to the Abe Sada case, who had murdered her lover and had brought his manhood everywhere with her? “Wrong,” said the woman, shaking her head.

“Eh?” “He isn’t dead yet,” she said.

Again. This woman could read his mind yet again. “Not dead yet?”

“That’s right. He’s still alive—” Reacting to the woman’s words, the eyelids of the head inside the bottle began to move.

The pair of wide open eyes were stained as red as blazing flame— -

2 -

Saitou Yakumo felt the gaze as he read a book in the Movie Research Circle clubroom. A gaze that felt too powerful to be mere imagination.

He sighed deeply while slipping a bookmark into the paperback book he was in the middle of reading. Placing the book on the table, he lifted his face. A woman had been standing at the doorway of his room for an unknown amount of time.

She was frail with a small stature. With her head lowered, her face wasn’t visible, but she appeared to be around the same age as him. There hadn’t been anyone earlier where the woman was now standing. The door was also closed the entire time. Even if he had been engrossed in reading, it would be impossible for anyone to have entered without him noticing at all.

“What brings you here?“ Yakumo tried to ask, but she gave no reply.

The woman simply stood there without moving an inch. Yakumo then tried covering his left eye with his left palm.

Along with it, the woman’s figure disappeared. As if she’d never been there in the first place— With a small sigh, Yakumo put away his left hand and the woman’s figure returned to his field of vision.

So it’s true, he mumbled inside. Yakumo’s left eye had been red from birth.

Not just red in colour, it also allowed him to see beings that an average person couldn’t see. Spirits of the dead—in other words, ghosts. The fact that she was only visible to his left eye meant the woman before his eyes was no living human, but a ghost.

All because of his red eye, Yakumo had endured countless suffering thus far. Humans would feel reassured if they were the same as their fellow peers. They felt safe when obscured within a group.

Yakumo didn’t intend to criticise that fact. For the kind of people who chose to form society based on groups, such a thing was inevitable.

However— Such a decision had another side to it. Without mercy, they would reject those who were different from them.

Yakumo’s red left eye had been a target of that rejection. “Disgusting.”

“What’s with that eye?” “Don’t come any closer, you monster.”

He had no idea just how many hurtful words he had been subjected to because of his red left eye. Having received such a treatment countless times, Yakumo realised he couldn’t be with other people.

Ostracised from the group and forced into solitude, Yakumo had chosen to build a wall around his heart, shutting himself inside as means of self-defence. As he became a middle school student, he had used a black contact lens to conceal his red left eye such that his outward appearance wouldn’t be feared.

Yet, doing so hadn’t put his heart at ease. He had merely been hiding it. The fact that his left eye was different from others had remained unchanged. Besides, the thought that his secret might get exposed kept him anxious.

He couldn’t blend well with others despite already concealing his red left eye. Because he knew that people would ostracise him as an abnormality once they discovered the truth.

In the end, Yakumo stayed away from getting too involved with others and chose to be alone. Of course, his differing appearance hadn’t been the only reason he had suffered.

Being able to see deceased spirits that others couldn’t on the daily in itself was a form of suffering. The world of the living and the realm of the dead—constantly being able to see both caused the barrier between the two to blur, until he himself saw his own existence as something dangerous.

Spirits lingered after their death because they had unusual attachments left in this world, often negative emotions such as anger, hatred, jealousy, or envy. While Yakumo could see them, he couldn’t do anything despite being blatantly exposed to such unpleasant emotions.

It wasn’t something he could handle all by himself. Living while pretending not to see and not to hear was hard enough of a struggle.

Hence, it hadn’t taken long before Yakumo considered his red left eye to be a curse. That eye had made him feel like he was being tied down. During middle school, he had even tried to gouge his own left eye out with a cutter, unable to bear it anymore.

And yet in that state, countless people had saved him. The parents who had raised him, as well as his uncle, Isshin, continued to watch over Yakumo in whatever situation there may be. Without that man’s kindness, Yakumo might have ended his own life ages ago.

Nao, his little sister from another mother who would always greet him with a smile. That sincerity of Nao’s had saved him more than just once or twice. The detective who had rescued Yakumo when he had nearly been killed by his own mother, Gotou, was also among those who had helped him. He had been involving Yakumo in various spiritual cases over and over to help Yakumo in facing spirits of the dead. While his methods could get warped and clumsy, he had always shared Yakumo’s pain.

And— The person who had described the red left eye he hated so much as beautiful, Haruka—

When he had heard that word directed at his red eye, for the first time in his life, Yakumo had felt accepted, that he was allowed to live. That singular word had completely changed his worldview.

Haruka had also been the one who had told Yakumo that his red left eye and its ability to see spirits of the dead hadn’t been a curse, but a light to save others instead. The list goes on. Akemi, his teacher who had passed. Detective Ishii, newspaper journalist Makoto—he had received countless help that it would be impossible to address each and every one.

Yakumo had intended to be solitary, but reality was otherwise. He simply hadn’t noticed all the people concerned for him because of the wall surrounding his heart. He had realised the fact thanks to the drastic transformation of his world caused by Haruka’s influence.

Through all the help he had received, Yakumo had learned to make use of that unique ability of his. Now, he could lead his life without needing to hide his red left eye.

That was why— “Why did you come here?” asked Yakumo to the woman.

Why did the woman before his eyes wander this earth? If he knew that reason, he might be able to save her soul. Will that really save her?

A question emerged in Yakumo’s mind.  So far, spirits of the dead would disappear once their ties had been severed. And yet, Yakumo himself had no idea where they disappeared to.

Just where did they all go? What was death like, really?

What would actually become of spirits, or that so-called consciousness? Yakumo could only see the spirits that lingered about this world. He couldn’t so much as imagine what the world beyond that would be like.

Perhaps for those spirits, a wandering existence might just be a happier one. Yakumo shook his head several times to get rid of that thinking.

Save the unnecessary thoughts for later. For now, he should listen to what the figure before him had to say. Yakumo took another look at the woman.

Her head remained lowered, obscuring her face and expression. Was the emotion she harboured that of anger, hatred, or jealousy—he couldn’t identify it well, but he could feel just how powerful that emotion was.

“Help…” said the woman as she lifted her gaze slightly. “Help?”

“Please. Help me…” “What do you mean by helping you?” asked Yakumo.

The woman’s lips showed a slight movement. She wanted to express something, yet her body had disappeared before that. He grew frustrated.

This always happens. Spirits of the dead weren’t present as an object the way living humans do. Their existence was unstable and would become unmaintainable over the slightest change, just like a reflection on a water surface.

But was the instability of their existence really to blame? Perhaps it could be the fact that only Yakumo’s left eye was red. If only both his eyes were red, he might be able to see their existence more clearly.

Having thought that far, the face of a certain man came to his mind. The face of Yakumo’s father, Unkai. Both of his eyes were red and could see spirits of the dead just like Yakumo.

Even so, Unkai hadn’t used that ability to help them. He had taken advantage of others’ weakness, manipulating them, and had led them to destruction. Unkai had passed away, yet he was obsessed with living and had lingered in this world as a spirit, all the while aiming for Yakumo.

He intended to use Yakumo as a replacement for his body that was no longer in his possession. Unkai had defined bodies as a box that could be filled in with a soul. That was how he had come up with such a twisted idea.

Yakumo sighed deeply. He had no idea who that woman was and what she had tried to say. Nevertheless, having known her existence, Yakumo couldn’t ignore her.

He would never have imagined that he would be having thoughts like this. To think that nosy trait of Haruka’s might have rubbed on him—

It made Yakumo smile unknowingly. -

3 -

Gotou Kazutoshi went through the temple gates with a crutch. After passing the main temple, the man continued walking until he arrived in front of the entrance to the living quarters.

He hadn’t been back for three weeks. Hence, as soon as he was home, he felt just how much he had missed it. Gotou had been involved in a case and had been hit by a car. He had been unconscious and had to undergo treatment in the hospital for a while. After he had gotten permission from the doctor in charge, he could finally go home today.

The cast on his leg had yet to be taken off and he was still bandaged all over. Despite that, based on how he could go home by himself like this, he had more or less healed. Even the doctor had been surprised by his recovery.

“I’m back,” said Gotou as he opened the entrance door. That instant, his daughter Nao ran in full speed, jumping to embrace the man. Gotou nearly fell over.

His wounds stung a little, but that pain immediately disappeared. Whilst stroking Nao’s head, he became immersed in the reality that he had come home safely. During the case that had occurred three weeks ago, Gotou had gotten hit by a car after chasing Nao who had then disappeared whilst being possessed.

He had imagined the worst would happen. Therefore, the fact that they could touch each other like this was an incredibly joyous occasion. Nao wasn’t Gotou’s biological daughter. He had adopted her.

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t had any concerns when adopting Nao. Thoughts of whether he could love Nao who had no blood relation to him had come to his mind more than just once or twice. However, that recent incident had made him understand. Whatever blood ran through her veins, to Gotou, Nao was his daughter.

“Oh, you really came home by yourself?” his wife Atsuko said in disbelief. Atsuko had offered to pick up Gotou upon his discharge from the hospital, but that offer had been rejected outright.

The man had felt embarrassed at the idea of a grown man such as him needing to be picked up. Besides, he had wanted to confirm how much he had recovered. “Yeah.”

“Are you really fine now?” “I managed to come home all by myself, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I’m good now.”

“Good grief,” said Atsuko yet again with a smile, still partly in doubt. “There, Nao. If you don’t let go of Dad, he can’t get inside, you know,” she said, pulling Nao’s hand. Nao’s hearing was impaired. Yet despite not being able to hear Atsuko’s words, she seemed to have read the situation and let go of Gotou.

Gotou took his shoes off and smiled as he entered the house. Earlier, Atsuko had referred to him as ‘Dad’. The word which he had just experienced for the first time tingled in his ears.

He never would have guessed the day he would be addressed as such would ever arrive, but he was overjoyed. Gotou entered the sitting room in a good mood, but that feeling was destroyed instantly.

“Looks like you got discharged from the hospital safely,” said the man sipping tea in the sitting room—Eishin. Eishin was a monk and an old man pushing his eighties. Despite this, his sturdy physique didn’t reflect his age and he was in such good health, it was irritating.

A monk of significant position who handled matters in this area, yet to Gotou, the old man was merely a pest. “Why are you here?” asked Gotou in displeasure.

Even though Gotou had been in a good mood just now, Eishin had to make it all disappear. “I have some business with you.” Eishin smiled in satisfaction.

“I have no business with the likes of you,” Gotou denied firmly as he sat on an empty spot. “Don’t be mean like that. How narrowhearted of you.”

“Shut up! Nothing good ever comes out of being involved with you.” The case that had led to Gotou being hit by a car had also come from Eishin.

Without Eishin, the case would’ve happened regardless, but that wasn’t the issue. Not just the last case alone, misfortune had always befell Gotou while being with Eishin. “Go away soon,” Gotou said as he swayed his hand. 

Yet Eishin didn’t move. Gotou had known by now that Eishin was thick-skinned. “You sure you want to act like that towards me?” Eishin threatened with a smile rich in meaning.

Gotou felt a horrible premonition. “What do you mean?” he asked in return.

Eishin’s smile grew wider. “Just under whose permission are you living here?” Always the sharp-mouthed grandpa.

Being told that, Gotou couldn’t deny anything. Gotou’s family currently lived in the temple’s living quarters. A place that normally forbade those who weren’t monks, like Gotou and his family, from residing there.

Gotou, Atsuko, and Nao could live peacefully like this thanks to Eishin’s influence. Gotou had only recently left the police force and switched jobs to become a private detective, so his income wasn’t stable. Furthermore, he had no savings, so getting kicked out from there meant the entire family would be out in the streets. “Damn monk,” Gotou could only say so bitterly. While completely reluctant, he didn’t seem to have a choice but to listen to what business Eishin had with him.

Atsuko took the initiative of bringing Nao out of the sitting room. “So, what business do you have?” said Gotou, glaring at Eishin.

Honestly, without asking he more or less had an idea on Eishin's purpose of visit. “Oh, so you’re willing to listen at last?” Eishin clasped his hands together as if he’d just remembered.

What an obvious display. “Actually, one of the families supporting the temple asked for help. Apparently, their daughter is being disturbed by a spiritual phenomena.”

I knew it. As Gotou had suspected, it appeared that Eishin wanted Gotou to resolve a spiritual phenomena.

After quitting the police force, Gotou had been working as a private detective specialising in spiritual phenomena. Maybe he should listen to Eishin’s story with enthusiasm as it practically meant he was getting a job, nevertheless, he couldn’t feel happy about it.

If an incident were to occur like before, he might actually lose his life this time. “I refuse!” Gotou said harshly.

“You should decide after listening,” “Once I’ve listened to it, I won’t be able to ignore it,” stressed Gotou.

“Right,” Eishin put his hands together. “In that case, I should jump straight into telling it.” “I’m saying…” interrupted Gotou, yet his conversation partner ignored him and began speaking. As it turned out, he had unknowingly said something he shouldn't have.

At this point, he was forced to give in. “She’s called Nakamoto-san. She has a daughter in high school named Sana-san. It seems that Sana-san had seen a ghost.”

“The ghost appeared at home?” “No. She said she had seen it on her way home from school.”

“On her way home?” “That’s right. On the sidewalk alongside Tama River, near the water gates.”

“Ah. Over there...” Gotou knew that water gate.

He’d been there previously due to a case. It was impossible for him to forget that place as he had experienced something troubling there. “Apparently she saw a girl standing there.”

“Was it really a ghost?” Gotou spontaneously displayed his doubts. That kid wasn’t Yakumo. If she had merely seen a girl standing, she shouldn’t have been able to tell whether that had been a ghost or not.

“I had the same thought. That was why I asked about it in more detail.” “Then, how was it?”

“In a season like this, the girl she had seen had been drenched from head to toe, even though it hadn’t been raining—” Certainly, that would be strange.

It didn’t seem plausible for someone to jump into a river in the middle of winter such as now. Even if it was summertime, a girl standing around while drenched would still be odd. However—

“Maybe she had seen her after the girl had just got out of the river after falling in by accident?” “Said daughter who had claimed to see a ghost had thought so too at first. Hence, she had asked the girl, ‘are you alright?’ Something along those lines,”

“And then she had disappeared?” asked Gotou. Eishin shook his head. “She hadn’t disappeared.”

“So, what then?” “After asking her that question, the drenched girl had spoken in a trembling voice.”

“What did she say?” “I never wanted that—she said.”

“Never wanted that? Never wanted what?” “I don’t know either. There was still more to the story, though,”

“More?” Eishin didn’t continue his story immediately.

He added a pause to pique Gotou’s curiosity before opening his mouth. “The events at the time had ended there. But ever since that night, she said the drenched girl had been constantly standing outside her window.” “That’s—”

Scary. The image of a drenched girl came into Gotou’s mind.

“Furthermore, the distance grew lesser over time.” “Is that really the case?”

“At first, she had only seen the figure of a human. After three days, she had come to realise that the figure belonged to that girl,” “......”

“She claimed that the drenched girl had now arrived all the way in front of her home.” “Left the way it is, she might eventually enter her room, is that it?” asked Gotou. Eishin nodded firmly.

A ghost that drew closer with each passing day—simply imagining it was terrifying enough. It made Gotou understand why the family had hoped for a monk’s assistance. Even so—

“What will happen if the ghost enters her room?” asked Gotou. Eishin tilted his head. “I have no idea either.”

In horror movies, she might get dragged into purgatory once the ghost entered her room, but those were merely works of fiction. Following the theory that Yakumo had frequently mentioned, ghosts were clusters of human emotions with no physical influence whatsoever.

Put another way, even if the ghost got inside the room, nothing would happen. Still—

Ignoring her would be too pitiful. The girl must be restless out of fear for the ghost that was closing in day by day. It wouldn’t harm her physically, yet her mental state might be burdened.

“Well, that’s how the story goes. So, why don’t we go over there and hear her out directly at least?” said Eishin, grinning wide. “Fine by me, but will we be able to handle it?”

That was the primary concern. “If the case turns out to be tough, we can just rely on Yakumo as always,” Eishin said with no filter.

Gotou disliked the old man’s trait of constantly throwing the responsibility to someone else. Yet he had no way to deny it, as Gotou had begun work as a private detective specialising in spiritual phenomena with the same idea in mind. “Geez. How carefree,” Gotou grumbled as he sighed.

- 4

- Ishii Yuutarou looked up at the house before him, swallowing his saliva until his throat made an audible sound.

A Western-style building two stories high, with brick walls and ornamental decor on its window frames and doors, the house had to be elegant back in the day. There was a reason to say ‘back in the day’.

According to the information, this house had been empty for about two years. With the windows dirty, its interior wasn’t visible, while the front door and rain gutters had rusted into discoloration. Half-dried vines crept up along its walls. Weeds grew lush in the garden to knee-length height. The olive tree next to the house had grown so uncontrollably that its branches covered the entire house.

The house emanated an aura that those who enter would find themselves cursed. Rustle, rustle—

“Eek—!” The abrupt noise going into his ears made Ishii shriek as he jumped. Then came the caws of a crow.

It had been nothing but the sound of a crow flying away from the garden of that house. “So jumpy,” said his superior next to him, Miyagawa Hideya, poking his head lightly.

While small in stature, Miyagawa had a bald head and a sharp gaze. Witnessing his figure dressed in formalwear, he appeared more like a member of the yakuza instead of the police. This place might not be scary for Miyagawa, but it was different for Ishii.

He had a keen interest in books and everything related to the occult: ghosts, monsters, UFOs, UMAs, legends and the like. There had even been times when he became engrossed in such literature during his pastime. Despite that, he merely enjoyed them as reading materials and nothing more.

Having to experience them first-hand was a completely different story. Ever since he had gotten involved with his former superior Gotou, and the university student who could see ghosts, Yakumo, he had witnessed many spiritual cases and thought he had built up a resistance over it by now, but such wasn’t the case after all.

Scary things would remain scary regardless. “B-b-but… if there’s really a ghost…”

“There’s no way,” said Miyagawa, poking Ishii’s head yet again. Why Miyagawa could be so convinced, Ishii didn’t understand in the slightest.

It had all begun three hours ago— A call had connected to the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division, where Ishii and Miyagawa were part of.

They had received consecutive reports of a ghost appearing in the vicinity of a luxury home, so they came onsite to check. Their division was impressive in name alone, as their main workload was to sort the paperwork of old cases, abandoned after they had been left unsolved. Instances where their work had been ridiculed and looked down upon hadn’t been unusual.

As a result, troublesome matters such as this were often handed to them. “Anyway, let’s go check,” said Miyagawa, pushing the metal gates to the house open without minding Ishii’s feelings.

The squeaking noise of rusted metal rubbing against each other sounded unpleasant. Ishii wanted to just wait outside, but doing that would be considered neglect of one’s work. Scraping out all the courage from the depths of his heart, Ishii then walked following Miyagawa.

Weeds brushed against his legs. Upon closer observation, the walls were cracked all over, looking like they might collapse any minute now.

So the saying that houses would turn decrepit in the absence of an inhabitant was really true. However, abandoned buildings such as this weren’t uncommon. In recent times, many houses have become desolate and unmaintained because of inheritance problems or from families choosing to only live with their nuclear family members.

The house Ishii and Miyagawa were about to enter was among those abandoned houses. With a little investigation, they had found out that the woman who had owned the house had passed away about two years ago, and her next-of-kin hadn’t come forward afterwards, so the house had been left as it was.

Strange. Ishii sensed something off.

The old woman used to live here alone. If a ghost were to appear, it should’ve been the ghost of that old woman. Yet the testimonies of witnesses who had seen the ghost had claimed that the ghost had been of a middle school girl.

Thinking in that direction, most likely they had mistaken what they had seen. Ishii convinced himself with said thought to gain his courage. “Let’s go in,” Miyagawa mumbled before reaching for the doorknob of the front door.

He turned the doorknob, pulled it, and the door opened with the creaking sound of something being dragged. The entryway was spacious and across from it extended a long corridor.

It was dark even though it was daytime. Whether the place had been built like this or the overgrown tree branches were in the way of sunlight— Whichever it was, Ishii felt as if time flowed differently inside this house.

“What an eerie place,” Miyagawa grumbled as he went in with his shoes still on. Ishii was briefly on the fence about taking off his shoes, but upon seeing all the dust accumulating on the floor, he immediately went after Miyagawa.

Miyagawa went along the corridor and opened a door to his right. It seemed to be the living room; its floor covered in carpet, along with a sofa, a table, as well as a fireplace.

They must’ve looked luxurious in the past, yet they were all dusty and worn down now. “There’s no one here,” Miyagawa set his eyes across the entire room.

“You’re right. Let’s head back.” “What are you even saying?”

Miyagawa poked his head for the third time. “B-but…”

“No buts. There are still a lot of other rooms. Let’s split up and check them all.” It had been Miyagawa’s strength to maintain his enthusiasm over work despite all the complaints. Unlike Ishii who wanted them to just go home right now.

“I’ll check the second floor. You check the other rooms on the first floor,” ordered Miyagawa before directly ascending the stairs without waiting for Ishii’s reply. Ishii knew it would be more efficient to split up, yet he was afraid of going around the first floor by himself. Still, he doubted he would get away with a mere poke in the head if he continued to stay still at a place like this.

It’s fine! There’s nothing! Reassuring himself that way, he opened the door to the room across the living room.

It was a Japanese-style room with an area of around eight tatami. He would never have imagined there would be a tatami room in a Western-style building such as this. Compared to the living room from earlier, there was nothing here. “Nothing’s here,” said Ishii, closing the door without going inside.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, he walked through the corridor and stood before the door at the end of the hall. He only needed to check this room, afterwards all that was left would be the toilet and bathroom. Ishii slowly pushed the door until it opened.

The creaking noise whenever he opened a door creeped him out every time. The room to which he had pushed the door open was a room ten tatami large. The floor was covered in red carpet, and placed in the middle of the room was a bed that looked like ones used to care for the ill.

Next to it was a wheelchair and a few tools that appeared to be medical equipment, though he had no idea of their exact purpose. The owner of this house had been an old woman. Perhaps she had lived out her final days whilst being looked after in this room.

As he thought that— A strange sound was caught by his ears.

Fu fu fu. He didn’t know what sound it was at first.

Fu fu fu fu. The sound could be heard again.

By this point, Ishii realised what the sound was. It was—

The sound of laughter. He had thought there was a group of people chattering outside at first, but that wasn’t the case. The sound just now had clearly originated from inside the room.

So the stories of a ghost girl appearing around here had been true after all. “Hey—”

In contrast to the laughter from before, this voice sounded crystal clear. I mustn’t look.

That was the command instructed by his brain, yet against the wishes of his thoughts, his body turned in the direction where the voice had come from. “Eek!”

Ishii froze in place. There should’ve been no one just now. Yet he didn’t know how long a girl had been sitting on the bed, staring into Ishii as she swung her legs back and forth.

She was smiling innocently and casually, but Ishii found it extremely terrifying. “Hey, tell me where?” asked the girl with a smile.

Ishii fell sitting down from all the shock. The next second, the girl hopped down from the bed and walked towards Ishii.

I need to run, he thought, yet his body couldn’t move an inch. “Gyaaa!”

Ishii screamed with all his strength. -

5 -

Ozawa Haruka stood in front of the last door on the first floor of the two-storey prefabricated building behind building B. This building was lent out by the university to be used as clubrooms for student circles and organisational activities.

A plate with the words <Movie Research Circle> hung at the door before Haruka. In reality, such a circle didn’t exist.

The owner of this room—a university student named Saitou Yakumo—had filled out some paperwork, tricking the university so that he could turn this room into his place of residence. “Hey—” greeted Haruka as she opened the door.”

“It’s you,” said Yakumo who was sitting on a chair lazily. His face may be good looking, yet his messed up hair and heavily drooping eyelids like someone fresh out of bed made him appear sloppy.

His appearance, paying no heed to the season with the white shirt and jeans, further supported that impression. “You’re so cold even though I came all the way to visit,” grumbled Haruka who then sat on the folding chair in front of Yakumo.

Though Haruka commented on his attitude being cold, there was a vast improvement compared to before. Previously, the words ‘it’s you’ used to be preceded by an unpleasantly said ‘oh’. Yakumo wouldn’t even look at Haruka’s face.

When they had just met, the man had been acting like an unsociable, eccentric character, but he slowly began to change over time. He no longer hid his red left eye with a black contact lens as he had before, and his words towards Haruka had become slightly more amicable.

Especially since the events of the last case, said tendency felt more prominent than ever. On the topic of that case, Haruka had unknowingly said something that resembled a confession towards Yakumo.

After saying such a thing, Yakumo should’ve taken notice of Haruka’s feelings. However, he had yet to give any reply in response.

At some point, Yakumo had seemed to want to express it, though his words had remained vague in the end. Haruka herself didn’t want to forcefully demand an answer.

She was comfortable with the distance they had now: more than friends yet less than lovers. Honestly, though, she was scared of hearing Yakumo's true feelings. If Yakumo were to say he wanted them to remain as friends or that he only saw her like a little sister—Haruka wouldn’t have the confidence to get back on her feet.

“I don’t recall ever asking you to come,” said Yakumo, interrupting Haruka’s daydream. “I don’t recall being asked either,” Haruka puffed out her chest.

Back then she could only quietly endure Yakumo’s insults, but recently she was able to talk back. Perhaps that meant the one who had changed wasn’t Yakumo, but Haruka herself. “You’ve got nothing to do?” asked Yakumo as he held back a yawn.

“Yup. Nothing.” said Haruka straightforwardly. “That’s not something to brag about,” said Yakumo in disbelief, but Haruka felt she had the right to be proud.

She had passed the qualification test to become a teacher and had landed a job that would start in the upcoming April. She had also gained enough academic credits to graduate. Only thing left to be done was to finish her undergraduate thesis. Despite her involvement in various cases, she had proven to carry out her tasks diligently.

When Haruka expressed that with enthusiasm, Yakumo let out a long sigh. “That doesn’t mean you have to come here. You can go on a graduation trip or do part-time work, there are various things you can do.”

Yakumo’s words had a point. Her university days wouldn’t remain for much longer. Spending time with friends was also important. However, to Haruka, the time she spent with Yakumo was just as irreplaceable.

After graduation, she wouldn’t be able to carefreely visit Yakumo like this anymore. While she hadn’t heard of Yakumo’s plans after graduation, whatever it may be, the fact remained that the distance between them would grow wider. This room may be barren with nothing but a table, some chairs, a fridge and a sleeping bag, yet Haruka’s most unforgettable memories throughout her campus life was of this room, where she had met Yakumo for the first time.

If only she hadn’t met Yakumo back then—surely Haruka’s university days would’ve been completely different. And not just her university days. Her life itself would have changed.

Her encounter with Yakumo had led to her involvement in all sorts of cases. Her life had been put in danger more than just once or twice. Yet the truth remained that she had gained a lot from it.

Haruka had also gotten to know people she would never have met, had she led the average university life. Throughout those meetings, she had learned many things and had created memories too many to count.

That was why, as much as possible, Haruka wished to spend what few university days she had left in this room. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got plans to go on a graduation trip. I’ve also been studying in preparation for my job.”

“Good to hear that you have a lot of plans. My bad although you came all the way, but I have things to do as well,” Yakumo held back a yawn as he slowly stood up before putting on the coat that had been hanging over the backrest of the chair. “You’re going somewhere?” said Haruka, to which Yakumo frowned in response.

He appeared to debate whether to talk about it. “I want to investigate something for a bit,” said Yakumo, scratching the tip of his nose.

“Investigate something?” “A spiritual phenomenon.”

Courtesy of Yakumo’s unique ability, he had often received requests in regards to spiritual cases. Haruka too had met Yakumo because she had wanted to ask him to solve a spiritual case.

Ever since then, Haruka had often brought him spiritual cases, earning the label of troublemaker from Yakumo, but lately the number of cases she brought had dropped significantly. “Did Gotou-san ask for your help?”

Aside from Haruka, the person who had often brought spiritual cases to Yakumo was undoubtedly Gotou. “No.”

“Then, was it Ishii-san, or Makoto-san?” “That’s not it either,” Yakumo shook his head.

“So, a new person’s request?” Rumours that Yakumo was an expert in spiritual cases had spread widely enough within and outside the campus.

Someone must have heard about it and had come to seek his assistance. “It’s not a request.”

“Eh?” Yakumo, investigating a spiritual case without being asked? What’s the meaning of this?

Unable to comprehend it, Haruka tilted her head, causing Yakumo to let out a bitter laugh. After going silent for some time, Yakumo scratched his nape and began talking. “Last night, a ghost showed up in my room—”

“The ghost came here?” “That’s right.”

“Who was it?” “The face wasn’t clearly visible. Only thing I know is that it was a female ghost. Just that...”

“What?” “To me, she looked like she was suffering greatly.”

“Suffering...” “Yeah. I don’t know the specifics, but she seemed to be harbouring a deep sorrow—that was how it felt.” Yakumo narrowed his eyes, staring somewhere far.

Maybe he was picturing the image of the ghost that had appeared the night before. “And so you want to do something for her,”

“Well, I might have caught some of your nosiness…” Yakumo turned his face away and ruffled his bedhead hair. Watching the sight of the man before her, the corners of Haruka’s eyes grew hot and without realising, her tears nearly fell.

Is that so— Yakumo could understand the feelings of the ghost he had happened to see and had taken it upon himself to help without being requested by anyone.

All this time Yakumo had always hated his red left eye. He had even deemed his red eye as a curse. That was why he had remained passive over spiritual cases and had refused to be involved. Only after much convincing from the people around him would he reluctantly take action.

Despite so— Now Yakumo was willing to look into a spiritual case without anyone asking him to.

This was a first. During the previous case, Yakumo had called the man with two red eyes, his biological father and subject of hatred this entire time—Unkai—using the word ‘father’.

Perhaps Yakumo might have been able to accept his existence in a positive light ever since. He might have started to believe that his left red eye wasn’t a curse, but rather a power that could bring salvation. Hence, he was willing to face the ghost out of his own volition.

“I’m going too.” Haruka said so without so much as thinking.

- 6

- “Please help…” asked the woman sitting in front of her with a ghastly pale face.

Her hair was unkempt, her eyes bloodshot, and her skin was noticeably dry. She appeared to be exhausted. This woman had reached out to Hijikata Makoto yesterday.

To be more precise, she had sent a message through the enquiry form on the website of the newspaper company Makoto was working for. It contained a request for help over being followed by a ghost.

Normally, a newspaper company wouldn’t have acted upon receiving such a message. They wouldn’t respond or would merely advise the sender to make a police report. Yet for some reason, this case had landed on Makoto’s lap.

The reasoning was obvious. In the office, Makoto had been labelled as an occult lover.

Unfortunately, Makoto hadn’t acquired that label out of love for the occult. She had merely ended up being involved in such cases ever since she had encountered a university student who could see spirits of the dead—Saitou Yakumo.

Because of that, her image at the workplace had become odd, and the person who had seen the message had passed it to Makoto half jokingly. She could’ve just refused, but Makoto had chosen to meet up with the message sender.

It would be easy to dismiss being followed by a ghost as a ridiculous, laughable thing, yet based on her experience so far, such a story could end up becoming an unexpected case. That was the reason she had contacted the message sender and had requested her to come down to her workplace meeting room.

“Could you explain what happened in detail?” asked Makoto, and the woman nodded. Even so, she didn’t speak immediately. Perhaps this woman was still somewhat panicked. At times like this, urging her wouldn’t be a good idea.

Makoto waited until the woman had calmed back down. Some time passed before the woman spoke in a dwindling voice, “I found something strange...”

“Something strange?” “At our university there’s an archival facility that is about to be renovated, so some of the documents stored there are to be relocated to an old warehouse across the road from it,” the woman said in rapid fire out of fear.

But at the sudden mention of ‘our university’ and ‘archival facility’, Makoto couldn’t follow the story at all. She hadn’t even learned the name of this person speaking to her. She might have made a mistake in asking her to talk in detail straight away.

“Wait a minute. I suppose I got the order wrong. First of all, could you introduce yourself?” said Makoto to restart. “Sorry. My name is Yasui Maki. I’m a student at Meisei University majoring in medicine.”

Her voice had grown calmer than before. Meisei University, where Makoto’s acquaintances—Yakumo and Haruka—studied was a university notorious for its difficulty. All the more when it came to its faculty of medicine.

“Majoring in medicine? How impressive,” “Not at all,”

“The archival facility you mentioned, was it the one at the western gate of Meisei University?” Makoto asked, and Maki nodded. Makoto had never set foot at Meisei University’s archival facility, though she knew of the location.

The place had been used as a laboratory by the Japanese ground forces during the war, and according to rumours, weapons and the raw materials used to create them had been discovered there. Among them were objects deemed problematic from the perspective of both humanitarian and international law. Truly a dark relic of the past. Despite that, Meisei University maintained part of the building as an anti-war message for citizens of the future, transforming it into an archival facility.

Aside from the structure that had been made into an archival building, there was another building that had used to be a lab and now became a warehouse. Having been built in the beginning of the Showa era, the building had aged quite a bit. Renovations of the archival facility might have also been planned because the building had weathered from its age.

“So, you were helping to relocate documents from the archival facility to the warehouse for temporary storage, right?” asked Makoto. Maki then gave a nod. It wasn’t uncommon to enlist the help of their own university students to reduce labour costs.

“There were quite a number of items and the work continued until late into the night… That was when someone found a door in the warehouse.” “A door?”

“Yes. Not your typical vertical door on the wall. It was on the floor. Like a basement...” “And then you guys opened that door?” asked Makoto.

Maki’s expression turned worse. “Yes. I was against it, but Shinozaki-kun was insistent…” “Only the two of you went inside?”

Maki shook her head before saying, “No. I think there were six people in total.” “And then?”

“After opening the door, there was a ladder leading down to the basement, and everyone descended there. Down the ladder was a large room.” “What’s the interior like?”

“There were a few shelves on the wall, and aside from documents, there were rows of medicine bottles.” “Like a doctor's examination room?”

“Slightly different from that. There was an old operating table too. It felt like an operating theatre or an autopsy room...” Could it have been one of the facilities used by the Japanese ground forces?

Makoto had that thought initially, but she set the idea aside immediately. If the strange object the woman had mentioned in the beginning had been there since wartime, it had to have been at least eighty years of age. For it to remain there untouched felt unnatural. “I see.”

“Then, there was where we found something peculiar.” “Something peculiar?”

“A box—” said Maki in a trembling voice. “A box?”

Makoto tilted her head in confusion. “Yes. There was a box. It was made out of metal and was rusted here and there, shaped like a coffin.”

“......” “That wasn’t all. The box was covered in lots of talismans.”

A box plastered with many talismans— “Certainly, that would be odd.”

“Furthermore, there were letters carved onto the lid,” said Maki, leaning her body forward. “What sort of letters?”

“Take a look.” Maki took out her phone from inside her bag, and after operating it for some time she handed the phone so that Makoto could see.

The phone screen displayed a single photo. It must’ve been taken using a flash in a dark room. The box Maki had mentioned was captured there with a bluish white light shining over it.

Makoto could also see the countless talismans pasted against the box. Yet the crucial detail that was the engraved letters couldn’t be seen clearly. Maki, seemingly having read Makoto’s mind, operated her phone to zoom into a particular section of the photo.

Indeed, some letters had been carved there.

This box shouldn’t be opened.

The letters had to have been carved using a sharp object. The box was fairly old and the carved area also appeared to have rusted. “Maki-san, did you see the inside of this box?”

Maki grimaced. “I didn’t see what was inside, but…” she said, covering her face with both hands. Just what had she gone through?

The time spent waiting for her answer felt unusually long to Makoto. -

7 -

“So, where do we start?” Haruka asked Yakumo, who was leaving the Movie Research Circle clubroom. Though they intended to investigate the spiritual phenomenon together, Haruka wouldn’t be able to make a move without knowing exactly what she needed to do.

“That’s the troublesome part,” said Yakumo, scratching his head in annoyance. “Troublesome?”

“As I said earlier, I saw the ghost, but her face was unclear. I could predict her age, but that was all.” “So, you wanted to look into the ghost’s identity, but you don’t have enough clues to do so,” said Haruka, and Yakumo laughed.

“What’s so funny?” “You can finally use your head a little,“ said Yakumo as he placed a hand on top of Haruka’s head.

His words just now were implying as if Haruka had never used her head all this time. Though annoyed, Haruka set aside her desire to retaliate. After all, that had indeed been the case from time to time.

There was a part of her that didn’t try to think for herself, always relying on Yakumo to find the answer. However, they’ve investigated many cases together, so she could more or less read Yakumo’s mind.

“So, what are we going to do?” asked Haruka, returning from her thoughts. The main problem was how they were going to find out the ghost’s identity despite not knowing her face—

“Firstly, we can request Ishii-san to show us a list of people who were murdered, got into an accident, or went missing, and then search within that list.” They’ve used that method countless times until now.

Ghosts were spirits who wander from some form of lingering attachment to this world. They often weren’t people who had died naturally from illness or age, but had experienced unnatural deaths related to cases and the like. Murder victims, accidents, and missing persons cases were a good category to begin the search.

“The thing is...” “What is it?”

“I’ve tried calling Ishii-san’s phone, but there was no answer.” Yakumo’s voice sounded disappointed.

Haruka understood how he felt, but it couldn’t be helped. Ishii was a police officer on duty. He didn’t have the sort of free time university students do. “He’ll call back eventually.”

“Right,” said Yakumo with a shrug. Ishii was a meticulous person. As long as nothing was in the way, he wouldn’t simply let their call go unanswered. They just had to wait until Ishii had the time to call them back.

Haruka then felt something was off. “Even if Ishii-san showed us that list, wouldn’t it still be difficult to identify who the person is?”

Yakumo hadn’t seen the ghost’s face clearly. The number of murder victims may not be a lot, but when combined with accident victims and missing persons, it would surely add up to a high number of people.

Over eighty thousand people went missing every year. With simple calculation, there would be eight hundred thousand missing people over the span of ten years. Even if they narrowed them based on gender and age range, it would still amount to a lot. Furthermore, even if they scanned through the list, comparing it to the ghost that had appeared in front of Yakumo felt like it would be difficult.

“As for that, I have a way to narrow down the list, so no need to worry,” said Yakumo with a smile. “How do you plan on doing that?”

“The ghost showed up in my room. What do you think that means?” asked Yakumo. Normally Haruka would have immediately asked, ‘what do you mean?’ without thinking it through, but this time was different.

Even she knew what Yakumo was trying to say. “This is within the campus grounds. It would be unnatural for a ghost that has nothing to do with this university to come to your room.”

Yakumo nodded in satisfaction. “I thought so too. Even if she just happened to come to my room, it feels unlikely for her to be wandering around the campus for no reason.” “So that means the ghost is someone with a connection with this university,”

“Precisely,” Yakumo snapped his fingers. If they were to narrow the list down to that of students, instructors, and staff at Meisei University, then the total number should become fairly limited.

Identifying the ghost Yakumo had seen would no longer be an impossible task. “So we can only wait for Ishii-san to call back for the time being…”

“I don’t want to just sit around and wait,” said Yakumo firmly. “Do you have some other method?”

“Yeah.” “What are you planning to do?”

“Don’t you know?” “I don’t, so I asked.”

“Simple enough. We’ll just ask.” “Ask? As in we go around and ask people who that woman is?”

“Not like that. Before coming to my place, it’s possible she was already wandering within the campus grounds.” At that point, Haruka finally understood what Yakumo was trying to say.

“So there could be other people who have seen that ghost—is that it?” “Basically,” Yakumo said, full of confidence, yet it felt overly reckless to Haruka.

“Don’t tell me you plan to go around and ask the next person you see?” “That’s just how information gathering works,” said Yakumo, as if implying ‘what are you talking about?’— to Haruka.

Gathering information by means of asking around may be effective for larger organisations such as the police, but it felt impossible to gather witness accounts with the two of them alone. Meisei University was a large-scale institution. The total number of students combined could easily reach thirty thousand people. Even the campus grounds were vast in size; there were many buildings Haruka had never been into.

Unfortunately, this method could hardly be considered efficient. Yakumo has a bright mind and he was an expert at making analysis based on what little information was gathered, yet on the contrary, his way of gathering information was often inefficient.

Previously, while investigating a certain spiritual case, he had also retrieved a list of students’ names, and at the time he too had intended to look through them manually one by one. Even though it would’ve been faster to search through the database, he hadn’t thought that far.

“There’s no need to go around and ask, I think it’ll be faster to gather information through social media,” Haruka suggested. Yakumo made a clearly displeased look. “It’s the same as going around and asking, right.”

“It’s completely different. We could ask people to spread it and gather information efficiently.” “Spread… what are you saying?”

Yakumo frowned. What a rigid-minded person, not grasping how convenient the internet could be despite being a youngster himself.

Haruka felt as if she’d discovered Yakumo’s weakness and unknowingly burst into laughter. She sensed a glare aimed at her—

Yet Haruka wasn’t scared at all. Rather, she felt it was adorable. Even so, as Yakumo might get cranky from being continuously made fun of, Haruka eventually cleared her throat and held back her laugh.

“Anyway, let’s try spreading through Twitter that we’re appealing for information. If anyone knows of such a story, we’ll meet them and ask about it, how does that sound?” said Haruka. Yakumo sighed a little as he went back to sit on his chair. While he didn’t give a reply, he seemed to agree with Haruka’s suggestion.

Haruka typed ‘please share’, stating that she was looking for anyone who had seen a female ghost around Meisei University grounds and made a post on Twitter. Aside from that, she also sent the same message in her club and seminar LINE groups. This way, a decent number of people on campus should see it.

“What a boring era,” mumbled Yakumo. -

8 -

Gotou and Eishin visited the residence of Nakamoto Sana, who had claimed to experience a spiritual phenomenon. The house was located within one row of similarly designed ready-to-move houses at a newly built residential area near the Tama River.

From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The roads within the residential area were neatly paved and the buildings were designed without fences between them, giving it a sense of openness.

It made Gotou doubt whether a ghost had truly appeared in such a place. Well, standing around here wouldn’t solve anything. They first needed to meet the girl who had seen said ghost.

Eishin sounded the intercom and the mother who had sought their assistance soon greeted them. As usual, Eishin introduced Gotou with the strange name ‘Kumakichi’. Gotou wanted to protest, but held himself back as arguing here would only be a waste of time.

The mother spoke, “My apologies for consulting about something strange despite your busy schedule,” as she bowed over and over. They were being ushered up the staircase, and walked all the way until they reached in front of her daughter Sana’s room on the second floor.

“Just this far is alright. Leave the rest to me and Kumakichi—” said Eishin. The mother appeared a little puzzled, though she simply said, “I’ll be in your care,” before excusing herself and went down the stairs.

“Well then. It’s time to show off your ability, Kumakichi,” Eishin said with a mocking laugh. “Kumakichi this, Kumakichi that, so noisy. My name isn’t Kumakichi. Besides, I can’t see ghosts like Yakumo, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Is that something to brag about?” Eishin snorted, laughing. It certainly wasn’t something to brag about. Besides, for what reason would he come here if there was nothing he could do—

Still, he couldn’t go home just like that. Even if he had to seek Yakumo’s assistance, he needed to confirm what had actually happened.

Gotou changed his mood and knocked on the door. No answer.

Is no one inside? No, the mother had brought them here, so surely she wasn’t out at the moment.

As the door wasn’t locked, Gotou turned the doorknob and opened it. That instant—

“Hyaa!” A scream could be heard.

Covered in a futon from head to toe, someone was curled up in one corner of the room. She must be Sana.

Gotou intended to enter the room, but immediately halted his legs upon seeing the odd state of the room. Even though it was daytime, the room was dark.

The curtains hanging over the window were completely shut. That wasn’t all. The windows were covered with tape and cardboard. No wonder it was dark.

Gotou felt around the wall, pressing the switch there to turn the lights on. “No! Don’t turn on the lights!” Sana screamed, covered in futon and trembling.

This level of fear was unusual. “Sana-san, right? You can be rest assured. We came to get rid of the ghost,” Eishin gave a friendly greeting as he crouched in front of Sana.

Responding to Eishin’s voice, Sana finally popped her face out of the futon as she trembled. Her complexion was pale and her eyes were bloodshot.

She seemed to have trouble sleeping out of fear. Witnessing the state the girl was in, it made sense that her mother had gone to consult a monk such as Eishin. “I’m a monk named Eishin. The man standing there is a spirit medium named Kumakichi,” Eishin said, pointing at Gotou.

Kumakichi again! Gotou really wanted to protest, but it felt inappropriate to bicker in front of Sana who was so terrified she ended up in that state, so he nodded in silence.

“In order to get rid of the ghost, we’d like to hear the story in detail, is that alright?” asked Eishin, and Sana gave a small nod. Eishin threw a look at Gotou for him to take over.

“There are a few things I’d like to ask,” Gotou began, attempting to imitate Eishin with the use of a gentle tone. “Y-yes,” Sana answered despite looking terrified still.

“When you said the ghost kept coming closer, what was it like exactly?” “She could be seen from that window. At first I only saw a figure that looked like her in the distance. The following day she was already at a distance that made her clearly visible...The next day, she was even closer than before...” Sana explained as she pointed at the bedroom window. The window was facing out to the road in front of the house.

Gotou approached said window, about to open the curtains when Sana let out a high-pitched scream, “Don’t! She might get inside if you open them…” she said with a voice close to tears. Sana seemed to believe that the ghost would enter the home at some point. Terrified at the thought, she remained guarded and shut herself in her room.

“You don’t go outside?” “How could I go out? If I go out, then that ghost will…”

The words that trailed after were vague. Gotou had often been consulted over spiritual cases such as this. Yet, to be honest, most of his clients had merely been mistaken. Fear had taken control of them to the extent that mere everyday things would seem terrifying.

Though, based on the reaction of the girl in front of him, Gotou felt Sana might have really seen a ghost. “When you saw that ghost, did she say anything?” Gotou landed another question, further fueling Sana’s fear.

“......” “Eh?”

Gotou couldn’t grasp her whisper-like voice. “I never wanted that! That’s what she told me!” Sana yelled.

“Do you know the meaning of those words?” Gotou tried asking again, but Sana merely shook her head. Nevermind that, she even covered her face with both hands and started crying, so they could no longer continue the conversation.

Even if they continued to stay here, there wasn’t much more information they could gain. They seemed to have no choice but to involve Yakumo. Gotou discussed the fact with Eishin and decided to retreat home.

Upon leaving the Nakamoto residence, Gotou and Eishin walked, heading to the location where Sana had seen the ghost. On their way there, Gotou stopped and panted.

Although they didn’t walk too far, his forehead was covered in sweat. Walking with a cast and crutch consumed more stamina than he had imagined. It might have been better for him to refuse.

Gotou stared at the distance, watching the surface of the calmly flowing stream of Tama River. On the opposite side of the river, a few white herons were resting their wings.

Gotou was suddenly reminded of the case from way back. It had been the first case he had handled with Ishii when he had still been working in the police force. I wonder how Ishii’s doing now?

He didn’t spend long sinking in his feelings. They had only met each other several days ago. Gotou didn’t need to be missing his ex-subordinate. And yet, why did he feel this way?

Perhaps what Gotou was missing wasn’t Ishii, but the days he had spent as a police officer. When he had caused a scandal, Gotou had been partly carried away by emotions and resigned.

He never regretted the fact. But— At the time he had been so fired up, rushing into things without giving them much thought.

“What’s wrong? Tired already?” said Eishin who walked beside him in a mocking tone. What an irritating bastard of a monk.

“Shut up. Whose fault do you think that I’m like this?” Gotou clicked his tongue and continued walking. “Proper adults don’t throw responsibilities to other people.”

Eishin’s way of speaking annoyed Gotou, but despite saying that, Eishin seemed to be adjusting his pace to match Gotou who was using a crutch. Even despite that, Gotou had no intention to thank him.

As they approached a large Western-style house that seemed old and abandoned, a scream reached their ears. The unusual scream made Gotou stand on guard.

Eishin stopped as well, looking around to find the source of that scream. What was that just now?

Soon after Gotou thought that, the entrance to the large house nearby opened with a bam and someone burst out from within. “Uwaaa!”

Said person screamed whilst running fast at Gotou’s direction. Gotou wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t react the way he wanted as he was still in a cast. Before he knew it, he was being jumped right from the front and crashed on the spot.

“Ow...” Incredible pain spread through his hips.

Not only that, all the injuries he had sustained from being hit by a car felt painful at the same time. Who is it even?

Gotou pushed, shoving away the person who had crushed him from above. Seeing the face of the person rolling to their back, Gotou’s eyes widened instantly.

“Ishii!” “D-Detective Gotou!”

“Why are you here?” His question overlapped with Ishii, wording out the same exact question.

- 9

- A man sat among the grass near the embankment and gazed to the other side of he river—

He could see two men walking there. What they were talking about couldn’t reach his ears, not even their faces could be seen very well.

And yet— He knew they were different from him.

How did it become like this? That question emerged from the depths of his mind.

Said question had appeared over and over all this time. Searching for an answer wouldn’t change the current state he was in, nor could what he had lost return to him.

Nothing would change no matter how much he tried. That fact tortured him endlessly.

Why was he the only one who had to suffer like this? He hadn’t done anything.

That’s right. He hadn’t done anything. That day, suddenly the person he treasured had been cruelly snatched away. Even though he hadn’t done a single crime, his life force was simply extinguished for no reason.

He was angered and saddened by the fact. However—

That had merely been the start. Society was merciless towards the weak. They would relentlessly stomp on those weaker than them as if taking out their day-to-day frustration.

They could casually ridicule those who were suffering, ruining them without pity. Even screams of pain wouldn’t make them stop their actions.

To them, it didn’t matter who. Anyone would do, so long as they were weak. The man had been out of luck, having to face such a thing. If their positions were reversed, he might also do the same.

He shuddered at the thought. Shouldn't those who picked at the aching heart of another without noticing no longer be called humans?

They didn’t realise that fact; this was what made the man’s heart grow heavier. And that wasn’t the only tragedy.

The man tried closing his eyes, covering his ears, distancing himself from those evil deeds carried out unknowingly as he could protect his heart that way. Even so—

That wasn’t the case for some. There were those who would face such malicious actions upfront, blaming themselves, experiencing regret, reminiscing days that would never come back.

And then— As if inevitable, their hearts were destroyed.

Even worse, that destruction didn’t stop at their own hearts. Gradually, it would influence those around them, eventually affecting the man’s life, further escalating over time.

That had taken away his job, his close friends, and the future he was meant to have. Even though he hadn’t done anything, everything was taken away from him as if they were evil people.

The man tightly clenched his fists. Hands that were covered in dust, rough, and bony. Before everything had happened, his hands hadn’t been like this.

Back then his hands hadn’t been dirty in the slightest, and his fingers could even be considered slender. The life of earning an income from doing day labour was now reflecting on his hands. Not even his tears would come out anymore.

Lowering his head as he growled, he took notice of someone standing behind him. Even without turning around, he had an idea on who it was.

That woman. “I can change your fate—” said the woman.

Those words slid right into his ears, sounding incredibly sweet. However, as opposed to what he felt in his ears, the man’s heart ached. The pain gradually spread, like a long needle slowly being pierced in.

He knew. He should’ve stood up, quickly ran away from this woman, forgotten everything, and let himself live this nonsensical life. Despite that—

“Is that really real?” asked the man, still staring at his fists. “Yes. Really. I’m not lying. You might be able to help the person you love.”

“That’s impossible at this point.” The man shook his head. The face of his loved ones flashed inside his mind.

Even though they should’ve had many happier memories, at times like this, what always came to mind was what he saw of them for the final time. “Is it truly impossible?”

“Eh?” He knew that it was impossible, yet he grew surprised at the woman’s tone, asking back full of confidence.

The man eventually turned around to face the woman speaking to him. The woman formed a thin smile on her red lips.

“You saw it, didn’t you? What’s inside the box—” Indeed, he had seen it.

The human head inside the box— And the state it had been in. Even though it should’ve been dead physically, the head had opened its eyes.

As if it had been alive still. Could that have been a trick? Or—he tried thinking about it, though he couldn’t find an answer in the end.

“You can still make it. You can still take back your future.” Those red lips shifted like they breathed a life of their own.

- 10

- “Ah, what about this one?” said Haruka as she showed her phone to Yakumo.

The screen displayed one of the spiritual phenomena that had been gathered through her appeal in social media. It claimed that at Building B wandered the ghost of a male university student who had committed suicide by jumping a few years back.

“Well, it’s possible,” said Yakumo upon reading. For some reason, there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Something wrong?” asked Haruka. “About what?” Yakumo asked in response with drowsy eyes.

“You don’t seem too enthusiastic.” “A little, I guess.”

“Why?” “Social media may be efficient for gathering information, but I can’t help doubting their credibility.”

“Is that so?” “People could simply type a few lines and send it out. It’s easy for them to lie.”

Yakumo’s words had some truth to it. When it came to information from the internet, including social media, locating the sources could be difficult, thus decreasing their credibility. But— “Even if we asked directly, we could still get lied to.”

“We could easily tell whether they were lying or not through their expression and movement.” “Well, that’s true,”

It was impossible for someone like Haruka, but someone as sharp as Yakumo should be able to see past a lie with ease. “Well, at least I know that this information is fake,” said Yakumo firmly.

“Why do you think it’s fake?” “The location.”

“Location?” “That’s right. The information stated that the ghost appeared at Building B, right?”

“Yes.” The Movie Research Circle that was Yakumo’s room was located behind Building B. Based on the location, Haruka had instead thought it was likely about the ghost Yakumo had seen.

“Furthermore, it said it was of a student who jumped to his death a few years ago.” “Right,”

Reaching that explanation, Haruka finally understood. If the ghost had been haunting around Building B since a few years back, Yakumo would’ve taken notice a long time ago.

“Besides, the gender was different,” said Yakumo, holding back a yawn. “Ah, you’re right.”

Reading it carefully, the information had stated it to be a male student, while the ghost Yakumo had seen was female. As Yakumo had said, there seemed to be issues with its credibility.

She began to think it would be better for them to ask around directly, when a knock could be heard from the door. When Yakumo spoke, “It’s not locked,” the door opened and a woman appeared.

“Makoto-san!” Haruka exclaimed upon seeing her face. She had gotten to know Makoto, a newspaper journalist, from a previous case. Ever since then, they had been involved in a number of cases together.

The woman might have an intelligent and graceful appearance, yet she also held strong beliefs and conviction as well as being especially proactive in taking action. “Good day. I see Haruka-chan is here too,” said Makoto with a smile.

“Yes.” “So, how are things with Yakumo-kun after that?” Makoto whispered in Haruka’s ears.

It was so sudden, Haruka was at a loss for words. “Ah, no, that...” Seeing Haruka panic, Makoto laughed. “Still more than friends but less than lovers?”

Being told that made Haruka deeply embarrassed and her face turned red. “Makoto-san too, how are things going with Ishii-san on your end?” responded Haruka, dejected. She could vaguely sense that Makoto had feelings for Ishii. On top of that, their relationship seemed to have gotten closer as of late.

“We’re in the same boat, are we,” Makoto shrugged. “You guys aren’t dating yet?”

“Well, we both have a lot going on.” “Busy, huh,”

“That’s why we both have to keep going so we won’t miss the timing.” “Yes...” replied Haruka, laughing bitterly.

Honestly, Haruka felt she had already missed the timing. Leaving things as they were, it felt like her relationship with Yakumo would remain unclear and reach its end. And yet, she didn’t dare to breach this subject.

Keeping this up, she would end up graduating from university, parting ways with Yakumo without anything happening, and regretting it all. “So, what’s the matter today?” Yakumo asked, mixed with a sigh.

He might have gotten fed up watching two women chatting in whispers so his gaze turned cold. “Ah, right. Truth is, there’s something I want to discuss,” Makoto opened the conversation in a formal tone after adjusting her posture.

Reading the situation, the thing Makoto wanted to discuss had to be related to a spiritual phenomenon. “Here,” said Haruka, offering her seat to Makoto and then moving to the chair next to Yakumo.

After waiting for Makoto to sit down, Yakumo asked, “So, what do you want to discuss?” From his expression, Yakumo also seemed to have suspected that this had to do with a spiritual phenomenon.

“Actually, there was a woman who asked for my help, saying that she was being followed by a ghost.” As she began telling her story, Makoto’s face turned more serious than usual.

“The ghost didn’t appear out of nowhere, right? Was there anything that caused it?” asked Yakumo. Makoto nodded firmly. “This woman was doing the work of relocating items from an archival facility to a warehouse, and chanced upon a door in that warehouse.”

“A door?” “Yes. The door wasn’t on the wall, but placed on the floor leading to the basement.”

“Then?” “She went down into the basement with the people that were with her, and discovered a room that looked like an operating theatre.”

An underground operating theatre. The mere idea of it made Haruka uncomfortable. “Almost like in a horror movie,” said Yakumo with a thin smile.

“Right. And then apparently, they found a strange object there.” “What object?”

“A box—” “A box—” Yakumo mumbled as he frowned.

Haruka was the same. Even when called a box, they could come in various shapes and sizes. There were donation boxes, boxes for offering, makeup cases too were boxes, even shoe racks could be considered boxes. It was difficult to imagine what this box could be like.

“It’ll be better for you guys to see it for yourself,” said Makoto, reading their minds. She took out a tablet device from her bag, placing it on the table. A photo was displayed on the screen.

It had been taken in darkness using a flash, and as Makoto had stated, captured in the photo was a box. Something was strange about the box—

Like a coffin, the size was large enough for a human to fit in, yet it wasn’t made out of wood, but metal. The box was fairly old; its surface appeared rusty. Strangest thing of all was how the box had a lot of talismans pasted over it.

The owner seemed to have been afraid of the box’s contents and had sealed it in a hurry. “This is…” Haruka turned towards Yakumo.

Yakumo made a troubled face for some time before sighing. “These talismans are for sealing.”

“Sealing?” “Yes. These are talismans used to seal demons in the teachings of Onmyodo and the like.”

“I see,” Haruka replied as she shivered. It would’ve been better if it had merely been one or two talismans, but what exactly was being sealed inside that it had to have that many talismans pasted onto it?

“Don’t tell me that woman and her friends opened this box?” Yakumo threw a probing look at Makoto. “Yes,” Makoto replied.

“What was inside the box?” Makoto didn’t answer Yakumo’s question immediately.

She drifted her gaze here and there as if searching for something, before looking at them with eyes that had lost their hope. “She didn’t see what was inside.” she shook her head.

“Is that so...” Yakumo mumbled as he stared at the photo of the box. “Apparently someone else opened it—” said Makoto, cutting off her sentence and giving it a pause.

The woman merely went silent for a second or two, yet to Haruka it felt much longer. Moments later, Makoto continued her story. “Once the box was opened, a man appeared in the room.”

“That isn’t just one of their friends?” “No. She said she didn’t recognise the man at all. Besides—”

Makoto cut her sentence in the middle yet again. She seemed to be debating whether she should tell the rest of the story or not.

“What is it?” asked Yakumo, demanding the continuation. Makoto firmly nodded as if hardening her resolve before opening her mouth. “Apparently the eyes of the man that appeared were both red...”

Haruka’s back shivered. Only one person came to mind when talking about a man with two red eyes. Yakumo’s father, Unkai.

He had passed away, yet not only had he continued to wander this earth as a ghost, he was also aiming for Yakumo. He was obsessed with living and wanted to use Yakumo’s body as a replacement for his own, which he had lost.

To think he intended to sacrifice his own flesh and blood so he could stay alive; Haruka felt nauseous just thinking about it. Makoto might have been hesitant to proceed with her story as she had thought the man with two red eyes had an involvement in this case.

“I see—” mumbled Yakumo. Neither his expression nor voice appeared to be shaken. Not because he was hiding the wavering of his heart, he was merely accepting the fact the way it was.

“I’d like to confirm the truth of this woman’s story, but I have a bad feeling… so I thought, could you go there with me?” Makoto dropped her gaze to her feet, feeling apologetic about it. She must be feeling guilty as it was possible that this case might force Yakumo to face his father once again, the man with red eyes.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t resolve a spiritual case alone. On the other hand, Makoto couldn’t abandon someone in trouble either. She must have been conflicted about the fact.

“I understand. We can’t ignore this case, especially when there’s a possibility that man might be involved,” answered Yakumo. Tension left Makoto’s expression in an instant.

“Thank you very much,” Makoto bowed deeply. “So, where is the location?”

“The warehouse across the road from the archival facility of Meisei University.” At Makoto’s answer, Yakumo’s facial muscles quivered.

- 11

- The sun was beginning to set—

This archival facility that had used to be a laboratory didn’t have the appearance of a building that had existed before the war began, thanks to renovation work that had taken place a few times. Even now, renovation was underway, so the building was surrounded by a protective mesh sheet and no human figure could be spotted there.

In contrast, the warehouse located on the other side of the road had an unusual appearance. Walls of the flat concrete-roofed building were cracking here and there, its surroundings were covered in weeds, and overgrown trees lined up as if trying to hide its existence.

The windows were also cracked in multiple places, while the metal door at the front had changed into a reddish brown colour from rust. This warehouse had also used to be a research facility before the war, just like the archival facility, but it must have never been renovated.

“It sure feels terrifying,” mumbled Haruka, standing next to Makoto. Makoto agreed completely.

To clarify the truth of Maki’s testimony, she had come here along with Yakumo and Haruka. Until they have gone inside, she shouldn’t make any prior assumptions, but try as she might, she couldn’t rid herself of the terrible premonition she felt.

Even this building itself gave the impression of a large box. It led Makoto into thinking that this building cast by the reddish sunset was like a box sealing away something awful.

She might have felt that way due to the building’s history. “Haruka-chan, have you been to this place before?” asked Makoto as she stared intently at said building.

Haruka shook her head left and right. “No.” Meisei University itself was massive. The campus grounds too were large in its area, and this place was nearly a kilometre away from the prefabricated building where Yakumo lived. It couldn’t be helped that she had never gone here.

Even if she had, the state of this building was obscured by trees. Haruka would surely miss it if she hadn’t paid closer attention. “Are you guys aware of what the archival facility and warehouse used to be for?” Makoto asked another question as she looked interchangeably between the two buildings.

“Yes. I’ve never been here before, but… if I recall correctly, this place used to be a lab for the army, right? How horrifying, even though it was in the middle of the war…” said Haruka, her voice instantly turning glum. Her response was understandable, considering her knowledge of what had transpired here.

From what she had heard, during the war, Japanese ground forces had been developing and researching weapons of war in this place. Biological weapons as well as poisonous gases hadn’t been an exception. One theory stated that they had also performed human experimentation. A brutal act not permissible by both international laws and humanitarian perspective.

“You’re right,” Makoto replied in agreement. On the other hand, the research findings of the time had also contributed to the subsequent development of science and medicine that followed.

Despite so, the fact that their actions were unforgivable remained unchanged— “Yakumo-kun, have you been here before?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head. “I knew the existence of this place. But considering its origins, this place is rather dangerous for me,” he said, scratching on his dishevelled hair.  Hearing the man’s words made Haruka exclaim, “Ah!” 

She must’ve thought of the reason why Yakumo wasn’t keen on getting near this place. Makoto was the same.

Without a doubt, many lives must have been lost from the research that had been conducted here. To Yakumo who could see ghosts, casually strolling at such a place was a dangerous thing to do. The ghosts from back then might be wandering about still.

Thinking up to that far, Makoto suddenly felt concerned. Yakumo might be seeing a lot of ghosts at this point in time. “Are you alright?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo laughed bitterly. “Yes. For now—” “Is it alright for you to go in?” asked Haruka, also looking at Yakumo with worry.

“Over seventy years have passed. I don’t think any of them would still be wandering until now.” Hearing Yakumo’s answer made Makoto come up with a question.

“Ghosts will eventually disappear over the years following their death?” If they were to disappear as time passed like melting ice, that would mean all spiritual phenomena would resolve over time.

“I wonder. Honestly, I don’t know that far. Just that, if we were to assume that ghosts are clusters of emotions of the dead, that emotion might change with time.” “So it’s unlikely for them to endlessly hold grudges—is that what you mean?”

“Maybe. But it may not always be the case.” “Since there are people who would keep holding grudges no matter how much time has passed?”

“Yes. In the end it depends on the person. Besides that, the environment can play a factor too.” “Environment?” Makoto tilted her head.

“One’s emotions could never change if they’re continuously left alone at a place with nothing around.” “Right,”

“But this is within campus grounds. Should there be any ghosts wandering after they lost their lives in this research facility, they should realise that the times have changed and the person they hate has also passed.” “So they would give up and accept their own death?”

“Perhaps—I suppose,” said Yakumo with a laugh, as if ridiculing himself. “Could I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?” “Normally we’re unable to sense the presence of ghosts, but as for them—can ghosts sense the presence of living humans?”

Makoto didn’t know why exactly she only became curious about that fact now. No, that wasn’t it. She’d been wanting to know, but hadn't gotten the chance to ask about it before.

She might have avoided the question unknowingly as well. “I think they took notice of our existence. Only thing is, I don’t know how they view us from their end.”

“So we won’t know until we die, huh—” Yakumo may be able to see ghosts, but in the end he was merely a living human being. He had no way to find out what happened after death.

“Thinking about it makes me scared,” said Haruka with a confused look on her face. Makoto understood the emotion Haruka felt.

Instinctually, they felt afraid as it was a realm that no humans or living beings were allowed to enter. “Right,” Makoto replied in agreement.

“Well, what happens after death is better confirmed once we’re dead,” Yakumo joked, turning Haruka’s expression into a serious one. “Stop it. Don’t you dare go and confirm it even if unintentionally,” said Haruka, pouting.

Yakumo then patted Haruka’s head in silence. What a beautiful display, almost like Makoto was watching a youth film. Though, she got rid of the thought right away.

In movies, conversations such as this one were often followed by someone’s death— “Enough talking here. Let’s get inside,” said Yakumo, taking out a key from his pocket and inserting it to the keyhole on the door.

The archival building was closed for renovations, while the warehouse was constantly locked as well, so Yakumo had paid a visit to the educational affairs office and had made up a story of how he’d forgotten his belongings while sorting through the archives yesterday and had borrowed the key. Yakumo then turned the doorknob and opened the door to the warehouse.

- 12

- Haruka entered said building whilst hiding behind Yakumo—.

The interior was spacious; only pillars were present and there were no walls dividing the space into rooms. Boxes were piled messily next to a wall, and parts that seemed to come from old machinery—whatever it might be for—were also scattered about.

Rather than being stored neatly, it gave the impression of piling up unused objects sloppily. Glancing at it like this, she wouldn’t have known that a basement existed.

“Around which area did they find the door?” asked Yakumo. Makoto pointed further into the space. “Apparently it was next to the innermost pillar.”

“Let’s check it out.”  Without hesitation nor fear, Yakumo began walking in the direction Makoto had pointed.

Haruka and Makoto walked alongside each other, following after him. Upon arriving in front of the aforementioned pillar, Yakumo crouched to confirm something.

It didn’t took long for him to mumble, “So this is it—” With closer inspection, one could see a square panel made out of metal installed on the floor. Yakumo slipped his fingers into the gaps of the panel and slowly lifted it upwards.

Following the squeaking sound of metal rubbing against each other, a dark, square shaped hole revealed itself underneath the panel. Yakumo took out the penlight tucked in his pocket, shining it upon the hole.

They had no idea what awaited them at the bottom of the hole, but they were able to see a metal ladder attached leading down to it. This door seemed to be connected to the basement.

Normally, people never would have noticed that there was a hole leading to the basement in a place like this. “Looks like we have to get in to check it out,” muttered Yakumo.

Haruka’s body suddenly tensed up, and her hands began to sweat. Indescribable fear crept up at the thought of them getting in there. “You can stay here if you like,” said Yakumo, who sensed Haruka’s feelings.

It was a bad habit of Haruka’s to double down upon receiving such a treatment. “I’m going too,” she said, making Yakumo let out a bitter laugh.

It might have been obvious how she was forcing herself. Even so, having said that, Haruka couldn’t back down anymore.

Nor did Yakumo say anything afterwards. Biting the penlight on his mouth, he slid his body down the hole before descending the ladder. Makoto was next to step down the ladder. After waiting for Makoto to descend, Haruka held onto said ladder.

The metal ladder was cold and rough, probably from rust. She meant to descend carefully while ensuring her footing didn’t miss, but on the final step of the ladder, her foot placement was off.

Haruka lost her balance and nearly fell, luckily Yakumo managed to support her. “T-thanks,” said Haruka, hurriedly distancing herself from Yakumo afterwards.

Her body had merely been touched, yet her temperature shot up immediately and her face flushed. She desperately tried not to let it show. After adjusting her breathing and calming down her feelings, Haruka took a look around the basement space.

Merely relying on Yakumo’s penlight as the light source, one could say she could hardly see anything at all. She couldn’t even gauge how big this basement space was.

Only thing clear was that the air there was cold. There seemed to be a leak somewhere, as the dripping sound of water echoed. Haruka felt as if they were inside a limestone cave.

“I never would’ve thought a place like this existed...” Haruka mumbled, but her voice reverberated across the room. “Right,” Makoto agreed.

Although Makoto was nearby, Haruka could only vaguely see Makoto’s silhouette because of the darkness. A clack sound like a switch being pressed could be heard, and the lights then turned on.

Hung at the centre of the room ceiling was a small lightbulb emanating an orange light. It was by no means bright, yet sufficient to see the room in its entirety. “The lights are working,” said Haruka.

Standing next to the wall, Yakumo nodded. “Seems so. As the power’s running, it means someone might have used it recently,” he said, patting the side of the switchbox installed on the wall. Now that she could see, Haruka then gazed across the entire room.

Unlike the exterior, both the floor and walls were made out of bricks. There was a bookshelf at one corner of the wall, with books and documents alike shoved messily there. On another corner were steel shelves with rows of what appeared to be medicine bottles in them.

Then, what stood out the most was an old table seemingly made out of stainless steel, placed at the centre of the room. No, that wasn’t it. She had seen it before at the hospital where Hata worked. It was an autopsy table.

Why would an autopsy table be in a place like this? While she was in the middle of thinking, Yakumo slowly walked towards the shelf containing books.

Haruka exchanged glances with Makoto before following suit. Yakumo, standing in front of the bookshelf, traced the spine of the documents with his finger, before taking out one document and flipping through it.

Something might have caught the man’s attention as in the next second he stopped his hand partway, his brows furrowed slightly. Just what could be written there?

As Haruka had such a thought, Yakumo brought said archive and moved in front of the autopsy table. “I see...” Yakumo mumbled after staring at the surface of the autopsy table for some time.

“Did you find something?” asked Haruka. Yakumo made a complicated expression. “I think they probably conducted human experimentation here.”

“Eh?” Haruka doubted her ears.

She knew that this warehouse had been a research facility used to research and develop various weaponry under the leadership of the military. However, she refused to accept that said research had included human experimentation. If that had truly been the case, their actions would be unforgivable.

Conducting experiments using human bodies would be far too inhumane. “It was written in this document.”

“How cruel...” Haruka’s voice trembled without realising.

“I thought so too. But our reason for coming here isn’t to discuss that.” Yakumo tossed the document onto the autopsy table, turning to the further parts of the room.

Haruka followed him and turned her head as well. A black shadow was there.

For some reason, she felt that section appeared especially darker than everywhere else. That wasn’t all.

Amidst that darkness laid a box. “That’s…”

“Yes. Seems like that’s the box,” Makoto nodded towards Haruka. Thinking how a spiritual phenomena might happen once the box was opened, the object felt terrifying to Haruka.

As opposed to Haruka, who shrank completely, Yakumo walked towards the box with no hesitation. “So this is the box in question—” said Yakumo, lightly touching the lid.

Haruka was honestly very frightened, but she couldn’t stay frozen in place. She slowly approached the box Yakumo was touching as well. Just like in the photograph, the surface of the box was pasted with numerous talismans.

Someone must have been terrified by its contents, and had hurriedly closed it off and covered it in talismans. The thought of it made the box appear all the more terrifying. Yakumo felt around the lid with his finger as if checking something.

“You’re going to open it?” said Haruka spontaneously. Yakumo stopped the movement of his hand for a moment, letting out a small sigh.

“We won’t find out anything just by looking at the exterior.” Yakumo’s words had a point.

Besides, they had come here in the first place to open the box and confirm its contents. “I wonder what could be inside the box?”

Makoto’s sentence may be a question, but to Haruka, she sounded as if she was expecting something. “We’ll know once we open it—” Yakumo spoke before slowly lifting the lid of the box.

Haruka felt as if something stifling was rising like smoke through the small gap of the slightly opened lid. What is that?

Haruka’s thoughts were interrupted by an odd smell that intruded her nose. Reflexively, she covered her nose and mouth as a smell that made her choke, like that of rotten meat, wafted in front of her nose.

Makoto turned her face away as well, unable to handle it. Meanwhile, only Yakumo who, despite grimacing, continued exerting his strength to lift the box lid until it was open.

Haruka hesitantly turned to look. The contents weren’t visible as it was dark.

Yakumo seemed to feel the same way. He switched on his penlight, shining the contents of the box. Haruka couldn’t make out what object the illuminated form belonged to at first. 

However— Gradually, she came to understand what object it was.

It was— A human corpse.

Laid within the box was a human corpse that was missing its head—

[joekeeryswife]

joe keery has such strong dad energy, especially in recent photos from italy. can you write about joe traveling in italy with you and your baby daughter? i just know he’d be the type to wear his kid around and splash in the water with her, and fall asleep in the sun with her on his chest, and feed her little bites of pasta. with you, he’d make sure that your vacation was relaxing and that you felt treated like a goddess. insecure about wearing a bikini? joe can’t stop blushing when he looks at you in it even if you’ve been married for years. while the baby is napping, he massages your feet and cuddles with you. in turn, you set up reservations at his favorite restaurants and plan manageable but gorgeous walks around the city. idk man just dad!joe on vacation

Italy - j.k

a/n: hello angels. how have you all been? i’m so sorry i’ve been MIA lately but i’m back and better than ever! this request is adorable! let’s get into the imagine. it’s not proof read so please bare with me if this is shit lmfao, im still trying to get back into the swing of writing, i also can never seem to figure out how to end my imagines so if anyone has any tips please LMK!! for the ending the outfits are in the little collage🫧

taglist🫧

@johnricharddeacy @theshireisonfire @ssababe @phantomxoxo @livsters @hellfire1986baby @ladyapplejackdnd @alexxavicry @m-rae23 @sheisjoeschateau @kaverichauhan @missabsey @chxrrysprxut @thefrontofmymind @nightmonkeyparker @carinacassiopeiae @cherrymedicine13 @waratah-moon @minsugafour @k-k0129 @limelight23 @alwaysteveswife @krazykatkay456 @lma1986 (it’s been a while so lmk if you want to be removed 🫧)

“baby come on we wanna get to the pool, what’s taking you so long-” Joe barged into the bathroom without knocking making you jump out of your skin. after having your daughter Florence a year and a half ago you had been insecure about your new body.

you were curvier then before, had a few stretch marks scattered all over your body which had faded but in your eyes they were so visible. you just didn’t feel like yourself and with this being your first holiday since having her, you were nervous.

nervous that you didn’t look as good as you did before, nervous that you were gonna get papped and people online would say awful things about you, nervous people were gonna stare.

but to Joe, the sweetest man ever thought you’d never looked better. you had carried a whole human for 9 months and you looked incredible. “Joe, you scared me” you placed a hand on your chest and turned to look at him.

Joe looked at you, eyes darting across your body, seeing you in a bikini for the first time in over a year made him feel tingly. his face heated up “you look beautiful baby, jesus christ you’re gorgeous” he saw your eyes light up slightly.

Florence was in her playpen which you had brought along to keep her occupied, Joe had made sure she was safe before coming to look for you. even after five years of being together and three years of marriage, just looking at you made Joe feel giddy. he was so lucky to have you in his life.

you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he couldn’t ever get over your beauty. Joe knew what you were doing in the bathroom, he had caught you one too many times and he hated that you felt insecure.

he walked toward you and pulled you into him “my pretty girl” he kissed your head as he hugged you closer. “you’ve never looked so beautiful” you smiled shyly. there was something about Joe, he always knew how to make you feel beautiful. he had a special way with words.

“come on, don’t want to keep you and flo waiting any longer” you said as you pulled yourself away from the hug. he ran back to Florence who squealed when she saw her dad, the two of them were best friends and although it made you jealous their relationship was your favourite thing ever.

seeing the two of them bonding was the most adorable thing in the entire world. even when she was in the womb he would spend hours and hours speaking to your bump with her kicking you in response. “my angel, let’s go. mama is almost ready” you heard him say as he picked Florence up out of the playpen, she squealed in delight as he did.

-♡-

the three of you were lounging around the pool, Italy was boiling hot and luckily the hotel you were staying at had a kids pool and an adult pool. Florence was a baby who loved the water, she never cried when having a bath, if anything she enjoyed it.

splashing around with her toys was her favourite thing to do. she loved your pool that you had back home, every time it was hot Joe would take her into the pool. your friends kids were a bit older than Florence and she loved watching them play in the pool too.

as soon as you and Joe got situated on your sun loungers he grabbed Florence and walked straight to the kid section which was thankfully right in front of you. you watched Florence splash the pool water with her toys, the biggest smile on her face.

Joe was sat opposite her with the exact same expression on his face. it was honestly scary how much Florence looked like him. they had practically all the same features except she had your eyes, she was a carbon copy of him.

aside from the fact that Florence and Joe where best friends and looked exactly like each other the worst of it all was when Florence said her first word which was of course ‘dada’. you had prayed that she said ‘mama’ first but nope. it wasn’t like it actually hurt your feelings, your daughter had days where you were the favourite parent and it made you tear up when she finally did say ‘mama’ for the first time.

Joe and Florence had only been sat in the kid pool for thirty minutes before his back started hurting but the look on his daughters face made it all worth it. other than you, Florence was the best thing to ever happen to him. before her, he didn’t really care about being a dad. it wasn’t something he had ever thought about. but that sunny Friday afternoon, the day you told him, showed him the positive test, he never thought he could love someone as much as he loved her.

“dada” Florence said as she looked up at him and lifted up a purple octopus for him to take. “oh thank you angel” he took the toy from her small hand. Joe watched Florence with the softest smile, she was the most adorable thing ever and he couldn’t get over the fact that you guys had made something so beautiful. Florence paused playing with her toys and yawned. Joe knew exactly what that meant, she only yawned when she needed a nap, it sounded odd because everyone yawns but the little eye rub after her yawn made it obvious. she was tired.

after waking up early (6:37am to be exact but who was checking? definitely not Joe) eating breakfast and all this playing in the pool, the girl had worn herself out. “come on sweetheart, you look like you’re about to fall asleep” Joe said as he stood up, picking up her few toys and shoving them in her pockets and then bending down to pick her up. she had her small arms lifted in the air, her eyes squinting as she looked up at Joe.

he picked her up and made his way back over to you. you where laying on the sun lounger now reading a book with your airpods in. you noticed Joe walking back with Florence hugging him tightly. you took one airpod out and smiled at the two of them. “you okay?” you asked, sitting up. Joe picked up the towel that was on his sun lounger and wrapped it around both him and Florence. “yeah, she just got tired. i mean, it’s around the time she usually has a nap isn’t it?” you looked at the time in your phone and nodded. “yeah, she’s actually stayed awake a lot longer then i thought she would”

Joe sat laid down on the sun lounger, making sure Florence was comfortable before he started running his hand up and down her back and through her hair. it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, her breathing slowed and she was completely relaxed against him so you went back to your book, letting the two of them have their moment.

it was about 10 minutes after Joe and Florence had sat down and the soft snores was the only thing you could hear from the two of them, it didn’t take long for Joe to fall asleep. he was just as tired as Florence was. you turned your attention to the two of them and felt your heart melt. your two favourite people in your company were the moments you treasured the most.

-♡-

“come on Joe i know it takes ten hours to do your hair but we are gonna be late” you said jokingly as you picked up Florence who was dressed in a white dress with the cutest sandals you’d ever seen, it was the last night in Italy before you went home tomorrow night and you wanted to do something special for Joe. he had planned this whole trip for you, knowing you needed a break from your town and the paparazzi (it’s not like you hit a break from that because they followed you everywhere!).

he needed to be appreciated just as much as he appreciated you and sometimes you struggled to do that with Florence. you weren’t saying that you didn’t love being a mum because you did, however sometimes you and Joe hardly spoke to each other because you were so focused on her.

“i’m coming honey, sorry” he came out of the bathroom with his hair perfectly styled, per usual, and he was wearing a comfortable but smart outfit. black jeans, blue t-shirt, let’s just say he looked perfect. he sat on the bed and put on his trainers and started doing the laces up, he stood up and kissed you on the cheek “you look beautiful baby” you smiled and thanked him with a a passionate kiss.

“and look at my angel” he took Florence out of your arms gently “you look perfect my sweet girl” he kissed her cheek a few times which made her squeal and hide her face in his neck. “right, let’s go, we can’t be late for whatever your mama’s planned can we?” you had seen a a popular restaurant all over social media which about fifteen minute walk from the hotel you were staying at which you also remembered was Joe’s favourite. he had been to Italy a few times and had always gone there with his friends and you had told him a few months ago when planning this trip that you couldn’t get a reservation which he was actually a little upset about. you and him hadn’t ever been there together and he wanted to take you there because he knew you’d love it. it was a surprise for him that you actually did get one. it wasn’t the best surprise out there but you knew it would mean something to him.

as the two of you walked hand in hand, Joe had Florence on his shoulders laughing as her dad played around with her. after about twenty minutes (due to Joe messing about) you guys approached the small town where the restaurant was and Joe’s eyes lit up, he could see the restaurant sign and turned his head to look at you.

“are we going in there?” he squeezed your hand slightly as his body filled with excitement. “yeah, i got us a reservation and wanted to surprise you. it’s not a huge thing but i knew you would like it” his heart melted, that’s one thing he loved most about you. always remembering the little things he had said and trying your best to get those things sorted. he had said about going here ages ago and honestly he had forgotten about it but you, you didn’t and you made sure you got one.

“aww honey, that’s so sweet of you” he let go of your hand and pulled you into his side and wrapped his arm around your waist. he kissed your cheek softly as the two of you continued walking towards the busy looking restaurant.

once sat inside the restaurant you sat opposite Joe with Florence in a high chair at the end next to both of you. she was babbling away in her own little language. Joe replied to everything she said as if he knew what she was saying but it made her happy, she had a smile on her face showing her four small teeth. “last night in Italy. is it bad that i want to live here forever?” Joe said as he turned his attention back to you.

you shook your head “no, it’s beautiful here” you smiled, if you could move to Italy you would, the houses were beautiful, the people were lovely, the views were gorgeous, so what was stopping you?. “maybe we could move here. i mean, not now obviously but sometime in the future we could” Joe said as he ran a hand through his hair.

“also just changing the subject, i really appreciate you doing this for us” he started but you rolled your eyes jokingly “Joe, all i did was make a reservation it’s not that big of a deal” you laughed but he took ahold of your hand and looked at you “it is to me. you went out if your way to get us in here and that’s just a small piece of what you do for us. you take care of flo when i’m away working which fucking kills me but you keep it together, make sure she’s okay and even make sure i’m okay and i’m not even there before you make sure you’re alright yourself. when we are at home together the only time we see each other is when we are in bed and at that point one of us is usually asleep. i know you miss up our date nights and even just being together in general” he was stroking your hand gently as he spoke.

“this vacation has been the best thing for us because we’ve actually spent time together which we rarely do. we have completely different schedules so i know it’s hard but after this movie is over i’m taking a break and i’m going to focus on you and flo. you’re my main priority and i need to spend time with you.” he kissed your hand and smiled.

“we do need to spend more time together and i do miss our dates, they were my favourite” his smile softened and his grip on your hand tightened ever so slightly. “i know, so that’s what we are doing. i’ll get someone to look after Florence and we will do something together” with happy your heart melting you leaned over the table enough to kiss him. you could feel him smile into the kiss which you always loved him doing, you didn’t know why, you just did.

“i love you” you said as you pulled away to sit back down “i love you more” you felt your cheeks heat up. you heard a small whine from the little lady who was sat next to you which made you both turn to look at her. she had the smallest frown on her face which made both you a Joe laugh “and we couldn’t forget our favourite girl” he said pulling her out of her high chair and placing her on his lap, smothering her with small kisses which made her giggle, making your heart melt at the sight. your favourite people in the world.

[goldenroutledge]

next to you

pairing ⤜ rafe cameron x reader

word count ⤜ 1.1k

summary ⤜ mornings with your husband, rafe.

warning(s) ⤜ this work contains a MAJOR season three spoiler! but other than that just fluff? might be on the hurt/comfort side just a smidge

a/n ⤜ he looks so BOYFRIEND in this outfit! i’ve been having so much writer’s block i haven’t written in a year at least, but my babygirl mila @msgorillagripcoochie inspired me with this idea <3 this isn’t canon rafe btw literally none of my work is canon compliant

rafe cameron masterlist

© goldenroutledge || do not plagiarize, repost, or translate my work in any way

Steam fogged the mirrors of the en-suite bathroom, slowly dissipating with the cooler air being let in from the bedroom. White towel hanging around his hips, Rafe sat at the edge of the bed you shared, staring down the vast space of the walk-in closet.

Fidgeting with the ring on his finger, nerves coursed through his body, and it was in times like these that he remembered the days of drinking scotch before 11am. But that was a thing of the past, he reminded himself just as quickly as the thought popped into his mind.

Today he was meeting with an old teacher from his alma mater, who grew to be one of his favorites. Probably his only favorite.

Rafe was never a scholar or anything, something Ward didn’t allow him to forget. He just learned differently, from someone like Sarah who could barely show up to school three times a week and still pass every exam.

It wasn’t until Rafe found himself with a 67% in his social studies class and less than a month left in the semester to turn his grade around that he was forced to attend office hours.

The first day was embarrassing. He felt like an idiot in the first place, seeing as his horrible grades pretty much spoke for themselves. But even more so now that he had to stay longer at school because he was an idiot.

Rafe stayed silent for the most part. Letting the professor do most of the talking, letting him know which assignments and topics he needed to perform well on to end the class with a passing grade.

It wasn’t until that Friday, his professor knocked some sense into him.

« “You know you’ll never learn anything if you don’t ask questions, right?”

Rafe rolled his eyes, tired of sitting prisoner in the chair of his teacher’s office. “What do you want me to ask?”

“Anything.”

“I don’t have questions.” He lied unconvincingly.

“Every time I teach you, Rafe, I can see the gears turning in your head. You’re a smart kid. But I can’t help you excel if you don’t engage. I get it, alright. I felt stupid asking a bunch of questions in front of everyone in school too but I need you to be receptive. Help me help you, Mr. Cameron.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“Okay. We can start with assigning you a peer tutor.”

Rafe wanted to laugh. Or cry, he wasn’t sure. The whole thing was just ridiculous to him at this point.

“She’ll be someone you can talk with about the material, ask questions to, someone you can trust to help you get back on track. Are you familiar with Y/n Y/ln?” »

Little did he know, Mr. Murphy would be getting the boot by the school board. Something about budget cuts, as if the kook parents of the island didn’t give enough donations to the school to keep the water fountains at a perfectly cold temperature.

Not because their books were falling apart or because their desks were chipping. Because people are selfish, and the new headmistress of the academy felt like the money could be better spent remodeling her office. It was laughable, really.

Today, that professor was back on the island, and reached out to Rafe to meet with him following the news of Ward’s death. Not that he mentioned that specifically in his email, though it was mostly implied that he’d wanted to check up on Rafe after everything.

And with all the questions he’d probably be asked today during this lunch with his old mentor, all he could ponder over was what he was going to wear. Perhaps it was a method of procrastination, to get his mind off of everything else.

Rafe sighed. “Y/n?”

At hearing his voice echoing through the house, you slid your bookmark in between the pages and followed his voice upstairs into your shared bedroom.

“You called?”

“I need your help.”

Your eyebrows raised involuntarily at the sight before you; no matter how many times you’d seen Rafe almost naked (and actually naked), he never failed to make your heart skip a beat.

“Help getting dressed?”

He nods, confirming that you’re always good at reading his mind. “Dress me, please?”

You chuckled, pulling some articles of clothing from the hangers and drawers. It was just lunch, so it wasn’t like he needed anything too business-y. His striped blue and orange shirt had always been one of your favorites, though he seemed to look good in almost anything.

You threw a pair of boxers over to him, keeping your back turned as you still rummaged through the closet. No matter how irresistible he was, there wasn’t any time for funny business this morning.

“There’s no need to be nervous, y’know. Mr. Murphy has always liked you.”

How do you always know what he’s thinking, damnit. “Yeah. I guess.”

He pulled the striped shirt over his head while you found pants for him to wear.

“Just don’t want him to think I’m still the same loser I was back then.”

“You’ve never been a loser, Rafe.”

“Maybe not in your eyes.” His lips stretched into a small smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He put on the pants you picked for him, sitting back down to look up at you.

“Definitely not in my eyes.”

His hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer so his head rested on your stomach. The tips of your fingernails lightly scratched the back of his neck as you embraced.

“Do you remember the science fair? Freshman year?”

Rafe hummed in response. “Ward thought it was stupid. I asked him to come and he didn’t. Said he would be too embarrassed when I lost.”

“And then what happened? You won the whole damn thing.”

“I won the whole damn thing.” He smiled against your skin, repeating your words softly.

“You’ve never been a loser.”

Kneeling down, you placed your hands on his thighs, and gave him a sweet kiss.

“You’ve already accomplished so much.” You affirmed, reminding him of the businesses he had taken over since Ward died. Still, Rafe was unsure if he could rise to the occasion.

You took the ends of his jeans and cuffed them, knowing he’s terrible at doing it himself. They always come out uneven. And conveniently enough, he likes spending these quiet moments together. Neither of you would trade them for anything.

“I married you.” He cooed, taking your left hand in his and letting his thumb glide across the ring on your finger. “Best decision I’ve ever made.”

“That it was.” You cheesed, letting him pull you up to straddle him. “Next time you think you’re not accomplished, Rafey…” You peppered soft kisses to his jawline. “Remember that you’ve got me.”

taglist: @ilovejjmaybank @missevi @nxsmss @cameronsrafe @msgorillagripcoochie @bibliophilewednesday @tovvaa @rudybarnes @annab-nana @babeyglo @reawritesthings @moniamaybank @outerbankspreferences @laneylaneylaney @jjpouggues @pogueslandia @mildkleptomaniac @whcclxr @mrs-cameron @it-was-never-meant-to-be-boys @alanniys @amourology @luversgirl + rafe cameron taglist: @bradleybeachbabe @chrisevansfuturewife @drewstarkeysbitchh @littlementalpolaroids @destourtereaux @kookkyra @iammirrorball

it’s been a while since i’ve posted writing so if anyone wants to be removed from/added to the taglist please don’t hesitate to let me know! 💌

[theodoresgirl]

PLEASE write more cheshire!fem!reader x Killian Jones 🙏🏻

i loved it sm. i’m actually quacking. (i was the one who requested it!!)

Maybe this time, he meets her again and there’s like a strong tension between them and reader is saying strange things and he just wants her to stop so he kisses her!!🤭🤭

and if your comfortable with it, the kiss leads to smut? if not, then fluff is great too!!

Just shut up - Killian Jones x Cheshire Cat!Reader

Killian Jones x Fem!Reader a/n: im sorry it took over a month and that its not good. Im sorry TnT

Part 1

Y/n had found a portal back in Wonderland and got curious, The portal transferred her from Wonderland to Storybrooke. Though not the way she would’ve guessed.

She screams as she falls from the sky, She luckily lands in the lake next to the docks. She shoots up out of the water screeching, She looks around paddling towards the docks. “So cold, so cold” She repeated as she grabbed the edge of the dock and pulled herself up. It was freezing, It was the middle of winter, and It was probably -20 degrees in that water. She groans and stands up ringing out her clothes' excess fabric out. “Water. It had to be water. I hate water.” She mumbles and starts to curse under her breath, shivering. 

“I hope you don’t mean that. It’s better when it's on a boat, and not 5 degrees outside..” Y/n looked up hearing a familiar voice from one of the boats docked. Killian stepped off his boat walking over to her with a towel. “Cats don’t like water, Captain.. Sorry to break the news to you.” She shivered looking at the towel and at Killian. “Such a shame.” He shrugs and unfolds the towel. “Where did you come from then, love?” 

“I feel through the sky.. And landed in a body of water. ” She looked at Killian still shivering. He wrapped the towel around her and rubbed her arms with his hand and hook. “This’ll dry you off some..” She rubs her upper arms trying to get warm. “Okay, come on. Let's get you new clothes and a warm shower.” Killian grabs her by her belt using his hook and walks towards his ship. 

She blinks following along not wanting to be cold anymore. “So Cap, This is where you live?” She asked, grinning trying to think of a pun to make. “Not at the moment. I’ve been staying in a room above a diner, The cold isn’t pleasant to sleep in.” Killian unhooks y/n and steps onto the Jolly Roger to grab a bag, He steps off the ship before placing the arm with his hook behind y/n and gilding her to town. “Is that where we are going then?” “Yeah, It's got warm water, and you’ll be able to get a room for as long as you need it, Granny is a sucker for helping new people.” 

Killian and Y/n walked into town, Y/n was as cold and frozen as an ice cube. They headed up to his room to clean y/n up before going to eat and get a room. Killian opened his door and y/n walked in going straight for the shower. Killian tossed his bag onto a table and went to the dresser. He starts to rummage through the drawers looking for some clothes y/n could wear temporarily til he could get one of the girls to take her shopping. 

Killian took out a black Poets shirt and some sort of comfy pants he’d never worn. He walked over to the couch in the room he’d paid for and laid out the clothes for her. He could hear the shower turn on, He walked over to his bed and laid down to wait for y/n to take a shower. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, He began to let his mind wander through scenarios of what would happen once she got out. His heart started to race as he pictured her in his clothes.

He didn’t hear her turn the water off and walk out of the bathroom. “Are these mine cap?” Y/n spoke, picking up the shirt. Killian sits up looking at Y/n in just a towel. Her hair was stuck to her wet skin, skin shimmering against the light. He nodded, not saying anything, What was he gonna say? You look amazing with your hair sticking to your back. That sounds crazy.

Y/n looks over at Killian, “Stuck in your imagination?” Killian shakes his head snapping back, “Not at all. Yes, those are yours.” Killian gets up and runs his hand through his hair. Y/n slips the shirt on as she drops the towel. “Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality.” Y/n looks over at Killian who is facing the wall, His heart is racing. “Hmm?-” He turns around to look at y/n. Y/n holds the pants in her hands and grins talking in riddles. Killians' eyes twitch a bit, “Just put the pants on so we can go eat.” He walks past her into the bathroom to splash his face with water. Y/n slips the pants on and ties it so they stay up. Killian walks out of the bathroom, and heads to the door. Y/n followed behind him continuing talking in riddles or rhymes.

Killian takes Y/n to Granny's diner to order food to go. Then grabbing a room key for Y/n. They headed back to Killian's room to eat.

Killian opens the door to his room and Y/n rushes inside and over to the couch. “Giveeee! It smells delicioussss.” Y/n licks her lips looking at the bag that holds the food. Killian shuts the door and walks over to the couch and table, He puts down on the couch setting the bag on the table. Y/n grabs the bag and takes their food out while Killian takes his boots off. 

Y/n started to eat, Finally keeping her mouth shut. Killian grabs his food and leans back to eat. It was quiet while they ate. Killian ordered a burger with ketchup, Pickles, lettuce, and cheese. Y/n ordered chicken strips with fries and ranch.

Killian finishes his burger and gets up walks to the window and opens it a bit. “A little hot there captain?” She smirks. He looks over at her, Not saying anything, he knows he can’t lie to her, and He can’t admit she was right. “Captain?” She raised an eyebrow still smirking. “Captainnn~” She kept taunting him by repeating his name. 

“Something isn't working up there love'' Killian rubbed his temples, Y/n climbed over the couch and walked closer to him, “If you haven’t noticed I’m not all there, Captain~” She tapped her head loving how irritated he seemed. Killian glared at her before filling the leftover space between them and kissing her. She hesitates for a second before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing back. He puts his hand on her waist and his hook brushes the skin on her collarbone, The cold metal meeting her warm skin. She shivered at the touch.

He breaks the kiss and pulls back licking his lips. Grining, She pulls back “So i’m guessing you were in your imagination earlier.” Killian kisses her again before answering her with a nod. “You have no idea love.” “Why not show me.” She kisses him, deeper this time. 

She moves her hands to his chest and pushes him towards the bed. He backs up towards the bed and sits down still kissing y/n. Her arms return to hanging around his neck. She stands between his legs pressing against him. He pulls down the oversized pants she had on, She steps out of the pants and kicks them away. She unbuttons his jeans and belt, He stands up picking her up and putting her on the bed before pulling his jeans and boxers down.

He breaks the kiss and starts kissing her neck, as she moves her hands to the bottom of his shirt and pulls it off him. “Want me to stop-” before he could finish his sentence she cut him off. “Killian just shut up.”

Killian strokes himself before lining  himself up with her entrance, “You're the one who rhymes.” She rolled her eyes opening her mouth to say something but let out a gasp as he pushed in. He kisses her deeply, holding still for a minute while she adjusts. 

He starts to thrust continuing to kiss her, Both running short of air. They break the kiss both catching their breaths. He holds his hand on her waist and plays with her hair using his hook. She smirks, blushing, Her heart was racing. He continues thrusting, She places her hands on his shoulders gripping tightly. 

She moans, leaning her head back arching her back. He puts his hook on her waist. "Love, you are absolutely breathtaking." Killian complimented her. She grins before moaning. She raised an arm to grab her hair and hold it above her head. Killian and her continued for awhile until they both hit climax. 

“K-Killian” She gasps arching her back cumming, 

         Killian moans, He keeps thrusting before pulling out and releasing on her lower stomach. He plops down next to her, Both of them were panting heavily. “I like it when you say my name.” He smiles.

[verinarin]

𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨; 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

in which he lets her measure his body for a new set suit for him, riddling him with her innocent touches; his view meaning the fic is written in his point of view

fluff with a lot of tension, like drenched with it. Gallagher lowkey being obsessive and loves to tease and spoil his little lady; 2K words!!

It’s Saturday.

She said she wouldn’t be home until later tonight, so I’m alone for the rest of the day. I’ve been sharing my roof with her for around 3 months now. Funny, I seem to forget how quiet this place is without her. At this hour she would be on the couch with the television on, her favorite shows would air around this time.

Am I being a creep for knowing her daily schedule like this?

Hope not, I mean that brat has been stickin’ beside me ever since day one.

Ah shit, it’s supposed to be the other around. She’s my secretary, but here I am acting like I’m some sort of personal assistant of hers, ah that little minx had me all wrapped around her pretty little manicured fingers huh?

Can’t complain though, not when she does her job perfectly.

It’s just that I rarely wanted her to work, to begin with. Her day consists of following me around like an assistant yet she treats me like I’m her assistant instead. Ahahaha I ain’t setting up a good example as her boss, but then again no one could blame me.

I mean with those fucking doe eyes and pouty lips, she’s the type of woman people wrote on their poetry. At this point, It’s clear as day that I miss that little brat. Y’know I’ll just take a quick shower before she comes home, I don’t want her to drag me to the bathroom again like yesterday.

Stepping into the shower made me realize that every single thing here smells like her. Her vanilla-scented shampoo bottle sits next to mine, her body scrubs, her soap. Damn, I never realized how much product she used, no wonder she cooped up in her for a good hour or more, being a pretty lady like her looks like hard work, perhaps harder than my line of work.

She smells like heaven afterward though, so I won’t complain.

Never mind, I would actually complain about one thing.

The fact that her scent drives me crazy sometimes, not to mention the fact that while working she often clings to me like a second skin. The amount of questions I get asking about why my clothes smell like vanilla and roses is crazy. The other hounds, hell even Siobhan tease me for smelling like a lady.

Well, as long as I don’t reek of smoke and alcohol like I used to I guess it’s a good change. As the cold water rinses through my body, I start to worry about her. She’s an adult, she would be fine traveling around Penacony, but why am I worried about her like I’m her old man? Probably because she didn’t tell me where she was going, this girl goes on a shopping spree almost every week and the one thing she never forgets to bring is her walking ATM, which is me.

Should I go look for her?

Nah, she must’ve needed some time alone. She’s probably sick of an old geezer like me, all I could entertain her with is my crappy dad jokes and a little mixology classes here and there. She seems to like my cringe dad jokes though weirdly enough and she also learns quickly on mixing beverages.

Once I finished rinsing my worries away, I put on a pair of sweatpants. I sigh as I brush my damp hair back remembering that I forgot to bring my shirt inside, my age is starting to catch up on me. Oh well, it’s not like she’s coming home soon. I let out a small chuckle as I looped the small towel I used for my hair around my neck.

The mirror in front of me reflects my rugged face, my fingertips graze upon my stubble feeling the sharp little hairs protruding from my cheek. I’ve been thinking of shaving it clean off for a while, but I remember her weird fondness for my stubble. That girl loves rubbing the back of her hand across my face like I’m some sort of a dog, which in this case relates to my line of work funnily enough.

I figured I’d let it be for now, can’t have her whine about my appearance now like she did last month when I talked to her about cutting my hair short. Her argument was if I did cut my hair she wouldn't be able to play with it anymore, such a silly girl that one.

I should fix myself a cup of coffee before cleaning around the house, it ain’t like I have anything better to do other than waiting for her like a lost puppy. I let out a hefty yawn as I walked towards the kitchen. It's easier for me to find things these days since she arranges it in a specific way. Before her, it took me around 5 minutes to search for the coffee bean, but now I can see the labeled jar from far away.

I couldn't help but let my lips curve into a small smile as I twisted the jar open, the charming scent of the coffee beans she picked emanated through the air, that little lady has good taste I must admit. Heh, she must’ve learned it from me. She used to be a tea gal before she met me, but now it seems she quite enjoys a little more caffeine here and there.

Can’t help to let out a small smirk as I brew myself a cup of coffee. She utterly consumes me at this point, every single damn thing reminds me of her it ain’t funny. I never thought I could still feel this giddy like a teenage kid at my current age, but then again she had always said that I still have my child-like wonder.

I rest my body against the counter, the cold marble hits my bare waist making me wince at the sudden temperature difference. After this, I’ll do laundry and then afterward I should start preparing for dinner.

As I lost myself in my thoughts I could hear the sound of a key twisting inside the keyhole, ah she’s home. “I’m back. Miss me, old man?” she muses as she turns her head towards me.

“Nah, I’m starting to miss my short-lived tranquility though,” I smile, pressing the rim of my glass against my lips to hide my smirk. She on the other hand has her eyes wide open, her mouth wide agape.

She stares at me a little too long before I finally break the silence between us, “Why'd ya look at me that way kid ?” I ask as I gaze toward her small face, analyzing her expression.

“You’re practically half naked, but wait that’s good actually,” shit, I forgot about that. She starts to walk towards me with a nasty smile, oh she’s scheming something alright.

“What? why is it a good thing? you've never seen a man’s body before ?” I snicker, masking away my flustered interior.

“Oh because I could clearly measure it now,” she smiles. Now hold on, measure what ??!!! The seemingly ambiguous sentence drives my mind toward possibilities that would definitely put me behind bars.

“Measure what huh ?” I let out a small chuckle, I put my cup down and leaned towards her eye level.

“You definitely won’t fit a size XL,” she sighs. Well ouch! cut me some slack little lady. I might be slacking off on my training, but I’m still in good shape. “What a way to break this old man’s heart you little brat, fyi I’ll definitely fit a size L,”

“Said that to your shirt. The poor thing needed its button to be stitched back up yesterday,” okay maybe she’s right but it still stings, my lips curve downward as I look at her, she’s out here breaking my heart to pieces.

“I’m not saying you’re putting on weight, what I’m saying is I want to measure your measurements so that I can buy you something custom-made,” she caresses my chest as her eyes lock towards mine.

I could feel my heartbeat drumming against my eardrum as her touch burned against my skin, marking it as hers. Fuck, feels so fucking good to feel her touch. Is it greedy for me to want more of her?

Her pink ‘nd soft lips curve into this delicate smile.

Fuck, she looks so pretty like that.

“Oh, what’s the occasion for dressing up this old hound ?” I smile as I lean forward to close the gap between us, trying to take control of my not-so-innocent thoughts about her lips.

I can’t recall anything worth celebrating between us, maybe the fact that I’m cutting down on smoking, but that’ll be worth something when I fully ditch it.

She merely chuckles before lightly hitting my chest like I’m telling her a funny joke, “You are an old man after all, how can you forget that three months from now is going to be the annual family?”

Ah right….

I was never the person who enjoyed those fancy parties, but hey I have her by my side so maybe I might change my stance.

“Those types of events were never my thing,” I avert my gaze, my finger drums against my nape.

“Well those types of events are my thing, so you’ll come right?” I mean with those puppy eyes, of course I’ll come.

“Fine, I guess this year’s gala could be bearable with you by my side,” I could only sigh as I stroked her hair, truly she dictates the same way as an old friend of mine.

With a smile that rivals the sun curving on her lips, she pulls out a measuring tape from her purse. Ah, so this is the ‘measuring’ part she talked about.

“Since when you’re a tailor,” I snicker as her fingers trace the long tape to find the zero mark.

“Oww hush, you’ll be the first person I’ll measure so be kind,” she mutters as she unravels the tape, “Alright lady,”

She leans closer to me as her finger holds one side of the tape beside my bare ribcage, “Stay still,” she mumbles, easier said than done.

How can I stand still when her fingertips press against my skin? It’s my damn Achilles heel. She’s too close, way too close. I don’t know how to act nor what to think when she’s soo damn close to me, the air feels stuffy and the atmosphere feels way too intimate and somehow sexual?

Kill me now.

She almost has her small face pressing against my chest, my bare chest to be exact which made this seemingly harmless interaction so dangerous.

Her other hand still struggles to find the tape behind my back. “Your chest is too broad,” she complains, I just let out a snicker at her statement which made her lose her focus.

“M’sorry anything I could do to help ?” I couldn’t do anything though, I could only extend my arms to the side to let her in, closer to me.

“Just stay still,” she huffs. Alright then, I’m cool as a cucumber. Without any warning, her cheek presses against my chest as she hugs me.

The warmth of her skin seeps through my cold chest, now this warmth burns inside me. “Ah! This works,” well I’m happy for her but there’s practically no distance between us, not even an inch.

“Stay still ol’ hound,” I must’ve been moving too much. I look down at her, her fingers skillfully bring the other side of the tape in front of my chest.

Now her forehead rests against my chest as she struggles to read the number that transpires, “Uhhh how do I read this again ?” she huffs.

“Can’t read a simple measurement now ?” my hand finds its way back toward her head, brushing a loose strand back behind her ear.

“Don’t tease,” well of course I’m going to tease as if I’m not the one who's secretly flustered as hell.

“Alright got it, now I’m going to drag this down to your waist,” she smiles as she drags both of her hands down and tightens the tape around my waist.

I never thought of myself to be a squeamish person, but I am now. “Oh wow, your chest and waist ratio are quite something….”

“What d’ya mean by that ?” I ask as she looks up towards me, “Your waist is quite slim and also your shoulders are broad so you do have that hourglass silhouette…” she muses to herself.

Well, ain’t that interesting…..

“Oh yeah your shoulders and back !” she naps herself back from her trance, cute.

With that, she took a couple of minutes to measure my upper body to the best of her abilities. Albeit the fact that I need to crouch down a bit for her to be able to measure my shoulders and back.

She takes a couple of steps back with newfound determination exuding her. I guess it’s from the fact that she’s getting the hand of measuring me.

“Are we done now ?” I ask, rather impatiently. Her fingers still linger in any direction she wants. Mapping every single inch of me into her memory.

“Still a long way to go,” she huffs. I see that she wants me to be as still as a mannequin, the things I do for her…

She hums a familiar tune, a song I like to hum. She crouches down bringing the tape around my hips, then she circles back in front of me, “Pardon my intrusion,”

Well the sentiment is rather too late now, she had been breaching my personal space since the very beginning. She couldn’t help but rest her forehead against my lower stomach as she looked down, reading the tape.

“Take your time, s’not like I could go anywhere,” I sigh as I stroke her hair, letting her silky smooth locks stream through my fingers. “I thank you for your coordination,” she snickers as she looks up at me, pretty little thing she is.

So stinkin’ cute. I smile as I cup her cheeks, letting my thumb graze against his lower lip, “Anytime, Lady,” I reply, before casually folding my arms back against each other.

Why the fuck did I just do that?

“I’m going to go lower now, I need to get some measurements for your pants,” she continued her current action without any signs of discomfort, thank god. “Oh wow even a pair of pants, you spoil this ol’ hound too much,” I feel as though my chest cavities were filled with cotton, making my heart all warm and soft.

“We both know you spoiled me rotten, Gallagher,” she cuts me, the tape now encircling around my thighs.

“Have I now?” Honestly, she deserves more than I could afford.

“You have you silly hound. Now let me repay your kindness,” her face now rests against my thighs as the tape travels slightly lower.

“Heh is this your way into getting to my pockets again,” I snicker, knowing that it’s one of her best manipulation tactics. Acting all cute and then stealing my money.

“Hey! I’m spending my own paycheck on this mister,” she protests as she stands up. “Oh, she’s a big girl now. She doesn’t need my money anymore right ?”

“Well technically no,” she looks away to the side, biting her lips in annoyance.

“She doesn’t need my money, but I’ll give it to her anyway because she has me wrapped around her little fingers,” I cup her cheeks, guiding her face to see me. “Cuz she’s my lil lady,” I smile as I press our forehead together, I can feel a thin imaginary veil between us.

“Of course I am and you’re my old hound,” she wraps her arms around my neck as my hand rests on her waist.

The thin barrier that puts a blur in our relationship, but somehow it just feels right, whatever we are it’s perfect. I don’t need more or less, just her warmth against mine.

[azrielslightintheshadows]

Princess

Azriel x f!Reader.

One of the series I’m currently working on. Enjoy!

Summary; Reader is Mor’s new friend that she found in the winter court while she was away for business. Y/n has been raised as a princess since her parents wanted to wed her to a noble fae in order to climb the social ranks. When her parents are brutally murdered y/n is left alone without a clue about the harsh reality or the brutality of the world. Mor finds her and takes her back to Velaris afraid of what might happen to her if she was left to live on her own. Will y/n survive the hate she will receive from certain members of the inner circle -including her mate- regarding the way she grew up?

Warnings; angst, mentions of abuse, trauma and death, swearing

Masterlist.

Princess Masterlist.

Chapter 8

How did she know? Does everyone know about the bond? Am I trapped here?

Some people say that the best kind of love is the one that awakens the soul, that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. They are right, that’s the reason why you and Azriel would never work, you didn’t want to reach for more, he planted a fire in your heart, but it wasn’t one that kept you warm, no… it burned your heart to ashes and like a phoenix it rises from them to give him the pleasure of burning it again and again. And peace to your mind? That’s a nice joke.

You kept crying until your body collapsed, pulling you harder against the floor, and your lungs clenched choking you with all your sorrows.

“This monster will always have a claim on you.”

Your blood boiled at the thought, and your body twitched with the need to get as far away as possible, to never look back and if necessary… to end your life so he will never be able to touch you.

You felt soft hands wrapping around you in a warm embrace.

“My sweet girl what did I do to you by bringing you here?” Mor spoke and her eyes watered.

“Its okay” you croaked. “You didn’t know that this would happen.” “Such a kind soul” she whispered and caressed your hair.

“Mor… please help me get out of here… please”.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked.

“Rita’s”

She nodded and got up. You grabbed a bag and filled it with a few clothes making her furrow her eyebrows.

“I’m not leaving Velaris, I will stay with a friend for a while.” You reassured her and she nodded.

You both tiptoed out of the house, and she winnowed you to Rita’s. “Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, and you shook your head.

“I’m fine, thank you for your help. I would really appreciate if you kept this a secret for now.”

“Okay but you will meet me here in three days. I want to make sure that you’re okay.” She spoke.

Make sure that I’m okay or that I didn’t leave? Am I your prisoner? You wanted to scream but the fear of returning to the house of wind choked you and the unspoken words pierced your mind like thousand blades making you flinch.

With a nod you entered the club and almost crawled to the bar, staring at Aeden’s eyes desperately. Your friend immediately read you and jumped over the counter, hugging you tightly and kissing your temple.

“What happened dollface?” he asked.

“I…he..all of them…” you sobbed each word and he shushed you.

“It’s okay… I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

Clover glanced at you worriedly and cocked his head in question making Aeden shake his head. They had a conversation with their eyes and after a nod from Clover your friend grabbed your bags.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He said softly and guided you outside.

You walked down the road and turned right.

“Here” he said and climbed a few steps. The building looked warm and welcoming, just like Aeden and you couldn’t help but smile.

You entered his apartment, and it was just like how you imagined it, cozy and warm, a proof of his friendly character. He immediately placed your bags in a small closet and hurried to the room to change the sheets.

“I don’t want to be a burden…I can go if you want it’s okay” you sniffled.

“Nonsense, you’ll stay here for as long as you need, heck even forever.” He chuckled “But if you decide to stay forever you will pay half the rent.” A breathy laugh left your lips.  “Thank you.”

“Well it’s been a while since I had a beautiful female in here so thank you for making me look cool to my neighbors” he winked and finished making the bed.

“I will make something to eat” he stated and walked back into the small kitchen.

You followed him and grabbed his hand “Let me…as a thank you”.

He smiled kindly and nodded, taking a few steps back and sitting on the kitchen table.

“You know we’re going to eat on the same surface that your butt is currently touching” you wrinkled your nose.

“Thank the Mother I washed it today” he feigned a relieved expression and you giggled.

“You’re disgusting”

“I’m letting you stay here, and you treat me like that?” he gasped “You’re such an ungrateful little lady”.

You shook your head with a smile and started exploring the kitchen gathering everything you needed.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Mor returned to the house of wind and rolled her eyes when she noticed everyone there sitting around the dinner table. She took a seat next to the warlord making Azriel quirk a brow.

“You usually sit here” the shadowsinger spoke.

“And today I’m sitting here.” She scoffed.

“We should wait for y/n before we start eating” Feyre said, and everyone hummed.

Mor lowered her gaze at her plate not wanting them to suspect something.

“I’ll go get her” Rhys said and walked to the hall.

“I don’t think she wants to sit with us.” Cassian spoke.

Rhys froze beneath the arch of the hall. “Why?”

Elain lowered her gaze and Cassian stared at the shadowsinger.

“Az?” Rhys questioned.

“We had a fight, I said some horrible things.” Azriel said with a cold expression.

Nesta scoffed making everyone turn to her. “Oh your quiet and kind spymaster has fucked up everything”

“What do you mean?” Rhys pushed, glaring at his brother.

“He has been spending his nights in Gwyn’s bedroom, lying in bed with her and reading books, my poor friend is completely in love with him, and he is taking advantage of that to feel less lonely. He didn’t even tell her that he has a mate, Emerie told us today. Do you know how bad I feel for them? I told poor y/n the other day that I could see something between the two of them and that he spends his nights with Gwyn as a heads up. I feel so stupid for telling a female something like that about her mate.” Nesta was glaring at Azriel.

“She wants to break the bond” Elain joined the conversation. “And I told Azriel because of a vision I had.” She glanced at Cassian for help.

“He burst into her room…” Cassian’s face flushed with embarrassment for their actions. “Many words were said. He told her that the monster -he will always have a claim on her.”

Azriel stared at the wall across him with a cold expression.

“Are you kidding me?” Rhysand was seething, his night-kissed power trembled the house. “We brought a scared and lost female here to help her find herself and you all treated her like shit?”

Feyre gaped at them, and disappointment flashed in her eyes. “She is such a kind soul…”

“I knew you two had problems, but I never expected this from you.” Rhysand told Azriel.

“She annoys me Rhys. I couldn’t believe that I have such a weak mate. You know how many enemies I have…. If I pursued her, I would put her in danger. Everyone who wants to get to me will target her. So, I decided to let her go but I can’t reject her… you know how faes have gone mad after rejecting the bond.”

“She wants to break it, if she can do that there won’t be any remains to make you go mad” Mor finally spoke.

Azriel shook his head and glanced at Elain “She will die”.

Everyone frowned.

“I saw her dying while breaking the bond… Azriel is strong enough to survive but she isn’t.” Elain informed them “That’s why I told him. I didn’t want to tell her because I’m afraid I will destroy her future, I don’t know how my powers work yet and I’m not willing to test them on her life.”

The High Lord took a deep breath. “Okay we won’t tell her but you will leave her alone. You will either become her friends or just leave her alone. If you can’t do that, me and Feyre will take her to the River House.”

“She enjoys training, I think its best if she stays here. Emerie and Gwyn want to be her friends and I think I want that too.” Nesta shrugged.

“There won’t be a problem with Gwyn?” Feyre quirked a brow.

Nesta snorted “It’s Azriel’s fault, and Gwyn knows it. She actually feels bad for Y/n and herself”.

Azriel nodded “I won’t bother them again”.

“Good I’m going to fetch her and all of you will apologize” Rhysand used his High Lord voice, and everyone nodded.

They remained silent and all snapped their heads to Rhysand when he came back, his face pale.

“What?” Azriel asked and raised from his seat.

“She’s gone” the High Lord mumbled.

“What do you mean gone?” the shadowsinger asked again and sprinted off. He entered your room, his shadows darting away covering every corner of the house.

She’s gone. Some of her clothes are missing too. His shadows whispered and then he felt them piercing his mind.

Idiot. We’re losing her.

Azriel walked into the dining room again, his whole body shaking.

“I’m going to find her” and with that he walked out and jumped from the balcony, his wings stretching wide and his shadows scattering around the city, making it look darker like it was mourning. Mourning a love that never happened.

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