#nothing could… possibly be wrong here…

[sonotpattismith]

let him make a woman out of me

pairing: martial arts!sukuna x preacher's daughter!reader word count: 13.5k content: angst, religious themes, religious trauma, low-key sacrilegious at points, implied sexual harassment/abuse, mentions of miscarriage, smut, 18+ a/n: this was just supposed to be a self-defense trainer sukuna fic, but I was listening to Ethel Cain and my religious trauma jumped out idk what happened SORRY- also thank you to @yoyoheart for the inspo :')

You had never been sure who’s wrath you feared more: your father’s, God’s, or the world that both of the aforementioned possibilities sheltered you from. Perhaps they were all one in the same, as your father lived to enforce his own version of God’s will, and the world of the small community surrounding you bent to their every whim. 

Of course, you had never been so naive as to believe there wasn’t a whole other world beyond the confines of your father’s commandments and God’s watchful eye, even though you had never seen it— a faith you had learned from the very Bible that shackled your mind— believing without seeing, the presence of the other world lingered all around without your needing to touch it to acknowledge the fact. 

None of these things though could have prepared you for the trials and temptations ahead of you; not your father’s scorn, not God’s promises, and certainly not the world that had kept you barred for so long— because you never knew this was what all these things were hiding from you.

Nothing could have prepared you for Sukuna. 

Here you were though, staring up at the martial arts gym in the middle of a city you had never known, with hopes that it would help bring you that much closer to feeling confident in the world you were always a fingertips brush away from. Second doubts were creeping into your muddled mind though, because the man emerging from the back of the gym at the sound of the front door jingling with your arrival was monstrous, unlike anything you’d ever seen before, but everything you imagined Lucifer’s deceptive beauty to be. 

He was tall, ducking his head ever-so-slightly through the archway as he took a long swig from his water jug. Even the way his long finger’s wrapped around the plastic appeared perilous, the flimsy material bending under what looked like it was supposed to be a casual grip. Tugging the wire from one of his headphones down, he raised a brow at your timid stance while leaning his hands on the front counter. 

“You my six o’clock self-defence beginner?” His question rang in your ears, making your heart pound violently against your chest. 

This was supposed to be who would be training you? He looked like the very people you were hoping to learn how to defend yourself against, what with the menacing marks that littered his otherwise captivating face. He reminded you of what the scripture had said about how even Lucifer masqueraded as an angel of light. 

“Oh, um…” Your gaze flickered, taking note of the way the sleeves of his compression shirt strained pitifully against the swell of his biceps. This man could kill you with a flick of his wrist should you make a wrong move. Twisting your fingers into the hem of your hoodie, you mustered the courage to respond to him as his brows rose in an exasperated go on expression. “You’re the… martial arts trainer?”

“There a problem with that?” The subtle edge in his tone had your breath hitching, every doubt that you were sure you had buried when you left your hometown flooding back to you. 

“No! I just…” Your anxious voice trailed, and the silence in the modestly sized gym had a premature sweat breaking out onto your neck— you were alone with this man. “Is there maybe a um… female trainer?”

His face remained intimidatingly neutral for a few seconds before the slightest of amused smirks broke the sudden tension. Pushing off the counter, he trailed around to the front, a motion that had you inching back in a manner you could only hope was subtle. Instead of stopping in front of you though, he moved past you and toward the front door. You watched with furrowed brows as he pushed it ajar before shoving the door stopper between it and the frame. 

“Look princess— this is my gym.” He explained with a resigned sigh. 

For a moment, Sukuna had contemplated rolling his eyes at your request. It wasn’t that he was offended— no, he was far too accustomed to the intimidated stares and shuffles away from his vicinity. Still, irritation was a state of second nature to him, built up over years of needing to put up with the aggravatingly shallow individuals that had plagued his life since he was a teenager and first sprouted both in size and fear factor. 

Taking a better look at you though, he had to remind himself of how he came off most times. Your comparably small frame was swallowed up by his shadow, and by the way your wide, dewy eyes darted about the gym, it told him that perhaps he needed to tone it down a notch. After all, you were a kind-looking girl all by herself in a gym with a six foot something bodybuilder who couldn’t understand it when people told him he had a perpetually murderous look in his eyes. 

Standing up once the door was successfully propped open, he made his way back over to you as you tried to conceal your shell-shocked expression. Meanwhile, the assessing glint in his ruby eyes as he dragged his gaze up and down your tense figure did nothing to ease your nerves. 

“So, no, I’m the only trainer here.” He finally continued before meeting your eyes once again. “What are you here for?”

“Um… what am I here for?”

“Why are you taking these lessons?”

 You blinked apprehensively up at him as memories of your life leading you all the way here to this stranger’s gaze flooded your mind. Gulping down the lump in your throat, you tried to straighten your posture in an attempt to appear more confident than you actually felt. 

“I want to protect myself.”

He nodded firmly at your answer, leaning his elbow against the counter. 

“And do you think anyone fucks with me?” He fought back an amused smirk watching you flinch back at his crass words. It made him wonder what the fuck you were doing here, as it was becoming abundantly clear that you were likely heavily sheltered. In his experience, girls like you always had some helicopter parents doing all the protecting for them, even at their grown ages. Your lips twitched nervously as your eyes continued to flutter up at him. “Hm?”

“No— no, I don’t think anyone… bothers you.”

“And why not?” At this point, you were almost sure he just enjoyed seeing you sweat as he continued to press with a mocking tilt of his head. Sensing your apprehension, he nodded encouragingly. “Go on, I’m a big boy— I can take it.”

“Well, you’re— y’know, tall and… big.” You weren’t sure what other term to use without flat out calling him scary, but he seemed to have understood you anyway— much to your relief. 

“So, you’re telling me you’d rather have some pipsqueak trying to teach you how to kick someone’s ass?” 

“Oh… well I guess that—”

“Oh—” The pink haired man mocked before pushing off the counter to head toward the center of the mat that was covering the majority of the gym. “Get your ass over here, we’re already running behind.”

Despite the nerves still taking hold of every inch of you, you quickly sprang into action at his command. Setting your bag down by the counter, you gave one last hesitant glance his way before tugging down the zipper of your jacket. Shrugging it off your shoulders, you were left in your long-sleeve top that, despite covering nearly every inch of you, made you feel unnecessarily exposed in his presence. You tugged at it in hopes it would stretch into a less form-fitting material as you walked to stand before him. 

“Take that off.” 

“W-What?” You stammered out, crossing your arms over your chest defensively. He jutted his chin toward you. 

“Your necklace— if it gets caught on something while training it’ll fuck up your neck. Don’t wear jewelry when you come here.”

Your fingers slowly creeped up to curl around the cross that dangled from the dainty chain around your neck. It was the one your father had gifted you after your first Communion so many years ago, and it hadn’t left your body since. With a small nod, you reached up to unhook the chain. Your fingers trembled though, slipping and sliding the hook out of your grasp as your face began to heat in embarrassment. 

“Sorry.” You attempted a nonchalant smile, but it appeared more like a grimace as you continued to struggle with the clasp. 

Sukuna watched you silently, the way your eyes wouldn’t meet his, the guilt that swam behind them as you fought to maintain your composure long enough to do what he’d asked of you. 

He had been teaching self-defence lessons for a few years now— not as long as he’d been involved in martial arts, but long enough to recognize certain cues and quirks in the people that passed through his gym. It had begun out of irritation, all the kids being brought into a martial arts class by their parents because they were getting bullied, all the women fearing the rising crime rates in this city— weak people bothered him, they pissed him off like nothing else. 

When deciding to begin teaching individual lessons geared specifically toward self-defense, Sukuna tried to tell himself that it was because he wanted at least one less wimp walking out into the world each time he finished a class— that, and the extra income certainly didn’t hurt. It was beginning, though, to teach him harsh truths about himself and about the world he had convinced himself he hated for so long. 

It was never weak people that bothered him. No, instead he was quickly coming to the startling realization that he saw himself in each frail recruit. Of course, it was never the version of himself that he had now grown into, but the young boy who had been alienated by the world under the false pretenses of love and righteousness. Sukuna had to be reminded each day that where weak people were— the self proclaimed righteous were never far behind, and nothing infuriated him more.

In the midst of your mortified fumbling, you hadn’t noticed that he’d stepped closer to you, reaching behind you to push your hands away and nimbly unhook it himself. You peered up at him through your lashes as though too scared to meet his gaze head on as his large hand came back around to hang in front of you, dangling the cross just beside your nose. He was glowering down at you, sharp eyes seeming to assess your every breath, and, for a moment, you were sure he could see straight through you. 

“Thank you.” You mumbled sincerely, holding your palm up for him to carefully drop the necklace in the center of it. 

The towering man stepped back to allow you to place the jewelry safely into your bag before rejoining him. In the minuscule interaction, you came to the comforting resignation that he had already had the chance to use that grueling size of his to his advantage, but the only use he put to his hands thus far was to help you. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little nervous is all— I was being judgmental. Let’s start over.”

“No, remember that.” Sukuna insisted with a nonchalant shake of his head. He raised a splayed out hand in front of him before nodding toward it. “Punch me.” 

“Punch you?” You repeated, eyes flickering apprehensively between him and his large palm. “Aren’t you supposed to… I don’t know— put gloves on or something?”

His expression deadpanned at you, and you could practically hear that unimpressed glint in his eyes asking you— are you serious right now? The borderline exasperated look on his face actually managed to break through your nerves for the first time since you’d walked into the small gym. A horribly concealed, breathy laugh escaped you as you realized the ridiculousness of your question. It made him look away from you for a moment, fighting back a tired smile of his own that showed just how long he’d been working today. 

Quickly collecting yourself, you squared your shoulders to show him that you were ready. He nodded at you, barely adjusting his stance to prepare for whatever force your comparably small fists would deliver. His scarlet eyes observed your form as you hurled your balled up fist forward with what looked to be all the strength you could manage. You wouldn’t have the chance to see if it dealt any damage because you were quickly curling back, cradling your fist into your chest with a pained groan.

“That’s why you need to correct your form before you jump into anything else.” He explained simply, not at all phased by your pathetic attempt at a punch as he cracked his neck concerningly loud. 

“If you knew that, why didn’t you teach me that first?” You gaped in exasperation, wringing out your now throbbing knuckles. 

“Because now you’ll never forget to fix your form, huh?”

The first thing you learned about Sukuna is that, when there was an option to learn the hard way— he always took it. It didn’t matter that he was lightyears taller than you, or that the only thing you’d ever hit in your life was your pillow, or that you were a girl. In that hour that you were his student— he was going to make sure you learned. 

Despite the dull ache that remained in your hand the remaining hour as he demonstrated the proper posture to take, even down to how you should be breathing, it was exhilarating to have been taken seriously for once. His corrections, though gruff and direct, were never the condescending tone you had grown so accustomed to among the men who you grew up alongside in the church. 

They, like your father, had so many stories to tell you of the heathens that were often drawn to the city with allures of its greed and idolatry. These caricatures they’d conjure up would leave you shaken at night as you prayed to the Lord for any alternative— stuck between the fear of what may be awaiting you should you leave the safe confines of your hometown, and the isolating horror of what it may mean for you if you stayed. 

It began to make you wonder though as you placed your water bottle back into your bag and shrugged your hoodie back on. You questioned the tales you had been fed your entire life— because none of them had ever mentioned that the people in the city, who had a knack for giving into the sins of the flesh and denying the name of the Lord, would also be the first to speak to you instead of at you. Perhaps it was just Sukuna though— you wouldn’t know.

“I have you down for the same time next week.” He instructed firmly while moving to shelf the weights he’d been having you use to practice your form. “Better be practicing too— I can tell if you’re bullshitting me.” 

It had only been a little over an hour, but you had somehow felt as though you’d already grown accustomed to his intense way of speaking. Then again, there was also the possibility that it was sliding off your shoulders because he was treating you with the kind of basic human decency you hadn’t even known was possible for so long. Additionally, you took comfort in the fact that you knew what he was thinking— what with him being so terribly honest even about what pissed him off. You didn’t have to guess what atrocities might be hiding behind sickly sweet, feigned smiles and traitorously kind words.

So, you only smiled and nodded affirmatively at him as you bid him a goodnight. From behind you, he only grunted in response, casting one last look at you from over his shoulder as you left the gym, still practically bouncing with adrenaline. That exercise-induced dopamine hit only lasted so long though, because you were soon reminded of how far you’d parked your car as you stared out into the now pitch-black night surrounding you. 

Your fingers fiddled with the straps of your bag as you lifted yourself onto your tiptoes to survey all the dimly-lit alleys between yourself and your vehicle. All your skepticism about the fear-tactics you had been fed your whole life flew out the window in favor of recalling all the stories about what happened to girls like you out in these big cities. Gulping down the anxious lump in your throat, you bounced on your heels apprehensively. 

Slowly sliding back, you found yourself pulling open the door to the gym once again, where Sukuna was cleaning the space up for the night. He looked entirely absorbed in the task at hand, headphone tucked snuggly into his ears and face scrunched initimidatingly firm. It made you hesitate, but you weren’t able to concern yourself any longer about if you were being a terribly annoying inconvenience to him, because he caught your hovering form in his peripheral. 

“You forget something?” He questioned with a calculated raise of his brow. 

Chewing on your cheek, you remembered the fear that look struck in you the moment you’d seen it first— the subtle temper that seemed to be permanently lurking behind it and how his stature did nothing to comfort his observers. 

“No, um…” You pursed your lips, your blunt fingernails rapping against the door as he watched you expectantly. At the ridiculousness of your own request, you found yourself flushing.

“Spit it out.” 

 “Do you think you could walk with me?” You finally squeaked out at the sound of his impatient order. He blinked incredulously at you a few times, so you clarified. “To my car? I-I just parked kind of far and…”

Your words trailed in embarrassment as he watched the way you glanced behind you uneasily, but he knew. How could he not? He’d been doing this for far too long, after all.  

Though the man had his own, begrudgingly personal reasons for being in the line of work he was in, it always ended right when that hour was up. Knowing that he had already done all that he would have been able to in the time allotted, there was never any pull for him to try harder or dig deeper. Of course, it could also have been attributed to the fact that he’d never been one to care much for connection— not when what he had learned so early on about connection severed so many critical parts of him at such a young age. 

Still, it was the very reason his typically automatic refusal faltered. The look in your eyes was humble, flickering between him and the darkness that lay behind you. Your gaze held a vulnerability not unlike the kind he so vehemently detested— the one that had once glimmered in his own eyes. 

With a soft click of his tongue, he tugged his headphones out and shoved them into his pockets. Your lashes fluttered as his long legs began striding toward the door, and you stepped aside for him to push through it. Already a few yards ahead of you, Sukuna paused and swiveled his head around to see that you were still at the door.

“You coming, brat? Or do you need to be carried too?” Despite his taunting words, his tone didn’t hold the malice he intended it to, and you knew it too. With a soft, wobbly smile of appreciation, you quickly fell into step beside him, nodding in the direction of your car. 

It was silent as you two walked beside one another, the only noises permeating the peace being the thuds of your feet against the concrete and the jingling of his keys deep in his pockets where he had shoved his hands. Sukuna’s crimson eyes regarded you discreetly from his peripheral, noting the way you walked as though the ground might give out on you at any second. It was becoming clearer to him by the second that you were new to being out in the world on your own— at least that’s what your shifting eyes and tense shoulders told him as the rowdy conversation of a group of men grew closer with each step of your trek. 

Even through your attempted subtlety, he picked up with a sharp precision the way you inched ever-so-slightly closer to him at the sudden intrusion. Casting his eyes to the side, his fist clenched twice in contemplation before he pulled it from his pocket and rested a guiding hand on the nape of your neck as you two passed the group in what he hoped would be a message to chill the fuck out.

The motion stung at your nervous system for a moment before you felt his fingers tighten as the two of you brushed against the men on your route. The protectiveness that came like a second nature to him spread a subtle warmth through your chest, one you were sure to stomp out before you let it fester anymore. Now a safe distance from what sounded to be a drunken group, his grip on your neck eased up. Clicking his jaw, he felt a sense of relief for a fear that wasn’t his to shoulder as he wondered what would have happened had you not come back for him.

The worn down car beeped a few feet away from you as you clicked at the key, and Sukuna’s hand slowly fell from your neck. 

“Thank you.” Your tone was overly sincere for an action as miniscule as walking you to your car, but it only added to the growing, twisting sensation in his gut that said something was off about the look in your eyes. Despite this, you smiled up at him, far more assured than the tense one you had given him when you still feared him. 

“Yeah, whatever,” He muttered, shoving his hands back into his pockets as you tugged open your door and settled in. Finally taking the chance to glance over you again, the man leaned his hand against the dingy vehicle. “Don’t park so fucking far next time. There’s a lot behind the gym.”

In the growling irritation that laced his tone, you were still able to detect that he was trying to help you— even if he wanted it to seem like you were deeply inconveniencing him. Still, you didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness, so you nodded ardently. 

“Behind the gym, got it.” 

His lips twitched up softly at your sincerely affirmative tone, but he made sure to turn his face away before you could see it. 

“Not everyone’s out to get you.” Sukuna grumbled as you clicked your seatbelt on. Perhaps he was jumping the gun with his assumptions, but he had a sneaking suspicion about the way you view the world around you. Your teeth sunk into your bottom lip at his words. “And get a can of mace, will ya? Not always gonna be around to play knight for you.”

He didn’t give you the chance to respond, closing the door firmly with his monstrous hand. Waiting until he heard the soft click of your door locking, you watched as his broad frame stalked away from your car. 

God won’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you could bear.

It was meant to provide you solace as you recalled the scripture, however it only fed your doubt the entire drive to your apartment, thoughts of how his warmth felt against your skin haunting your once steadfast beliefs. 

It was more than his sinful beauty that plagued you though— it was the wisdom he seemed to keep about the very things that terrified you. Like a gatekeeper into the depths of your naivety, Sukuna seemed so sure of his every move and belief, and, in turn, he seemed to hold that same confidence in you. It was so foreign to you to receive that confidence without the need to prove yourself first— always guiltily fragile before proven innocently competent. 

You busied yourself as best you could in the days that followed, trying to build your new apartment from the ground up and make it into some semblance of a home. It was with a haste that you came though, only a duffel bag on your shoulder and certainly no furniture to liven up the space. With the limited budget you were working with, you spent a day searching though thrift stores and garage sales for decent enough pieces that would suffice for your living space. 

With each bill you pulled from the modest wad of cash you kept hidden within a sock at the corner of your bathroom cabinet, the looming reality of being truly on your own was settling in, and you wondered who the hell would hire you with only babysitting experience. It was just another reason to curse your upbringing, never having prepared you for the real world, because in their version of it, teaching you to bring up a child was all the preparation you needed. 

You shook your head in an attempt to veer yourself away from where your thoughts would eventually take you. In your journey of self discovery, you were quickly learning that pitying yourself wouldn’t save you from the uphill battle of moving forward. 

A determined huff escaped you as you finally located the parking lot Sukuna had told you about the week prior. Though you no longer feared him in the way you had upon first meeting, it was the energy he emanated that had you needing to hype yourself up to enter the gym for your second lesson that evening. 

He was doing warm ups when the bell on the door chimed alerting your arrival, his long legs spread into a near completely horizontal line on each side of him as he leaned to the right to grasp onto his foot. His movements were almost supernaturally fluid, and it was jarring to see such precise agility coming from a man with such an imposing figure. The hem of his black, compression shirt had ridden up in the midst of his stretch, revealing the wickedly small sliver of his sculpted back. 

There was the smallest of parts between your lips as you found yourself leaning forward with each centimeter the fabric continued to crawl up. The abrupt lifting of his head snapped you from your pathetic gawking though, his scarlet eyes finding yours instantaneously. 

“What’s wrong with you?” He questioned brashly, taking note of the subtle flush in your cheeks. He twisted his torso to crack his back before standing easily from his place on the mat to gather a few gloves and weights for the lesson. 

“Oh— nothing.” You shook from your thoughts long enough to smile at him, to which he only responded with a quirk of his brow and an unconvinced grunt. 

“You practice like I told you to?” 

You nodded at him, dropping your bag carefully onto the side of the counter before moving to unzip your jacket. This time around, you had half a mind to pick a less form-fitting t-shirt lest you be forced to anxiously readjust yourself between every move. 

“I tried. I don’t really have any weights though, so…” 

That subtle vulnerability, the unnecessary embarrassment in all your explanations was driving him insane. It made him want to shake you, to scream at you to fuck the world and stop being so damn scared of everything. It’s not what he was here for though, so he pushed the timid twitching at the corners of your lips to the back of his mind and nodded for you to stand before him and demonstrate the form he had spent so long perfecting with you the week prior. 

You felt like shifting your weight under his scrutinizing gaze as it dragged from your firmly planted feet up your parted legs and to the controlled stiffness in your spine. Sukuna circled around you, akin to a predator stalking its prey— at least a helpless lamb in the jawls of a wolf was exactly how you felt at the moment. 

He hummed, placing one hand on your shoulder and the other at the center of your back to straighten your posture. Nodding to himself at the correction, he almost allowed his hands to fall when he caught sight of the deep bruise forming on your forearm. 

“The fuck happened to you?” The man questioned with a laser-like focus, lifting your injured arm to emphasize what he was inquiring about. 

When your eyes fell upon his target, that infuriatingly familiar blush coated your cheeks once again. Pulling your arm from his grasp, you traced a gentle palm over the nasty mark. 

“I was… trying to put together a coffee table.” You murmured bashfully, not lifting your gaze for fear of his reaction. 

It was silent for a moment. 

“A coffee table?” Sukuna repeated as though perhaps he’d just heard you wrong, a subtle exasperation in his tone. You only nodded. “And what, did it grow fucking arms and fight back?” 

At this, you giggled hesitantly, but his seriousness only made your laughter bubble up uncontrollably. Had he not been so perturbed at your claim, perhaps he would have found himself fighting back a smile at the sound. Quickly adjusting to fix your posture once again, you shook your head in an attempt to fight off your tickled smile. 

“No, no, I just—” You shrugged sheepishly as he stared impatiently down at you. “I’ve never had the chance to do stuff like that before, so I don’t really know how to use all the tools.”

“Right,” He responded doubtfully, still eyeing the blackening mark just above your wrist for a moment longer before he released it. “You at least get the shit standing?” 

“Well… no, but my landlord offered to come over after he got off work to help me with it.” 

This made Sukuna pause mid shoulder stretch, a volant sense of unease seeping into his chest. Slowly lowering his arms back down to his side, his cautionary gaze struck you sharply. 

“Your landlord?” He began lowly, making you nod hesitantly. “Offered to come to your house to help you build a table— at night?”

You gulped at his warning tone, the growing expression of exasperation on his face gave you pause. The disbelief in those crimson eyes suddenly made you feel sickly insecure about the decision that you were so confident would fix your little dilemma. Picking at your nails, you cast your eyes to your feet where they still sat planted firmly in the mat below you. 

“I mean, yeah. I don’t really know anyone—”

“So you were gonna let a stranger into your place by yourself?”

“You were the one that told me that not everyone was out to get me.” Your feeble attempt at a defense only made him scoff disbelievingly under his breath, hands on his hips as he looked to the side in frustration. 

“Yeah, but—” He clicked his tongue with a shake of his head, and it was clear that he was trying to reign in his temper. “I’ll teach you how to put the damn table together. Don’t let that asshole into your place, so help me god.”

You gaped at him as he moved around you to shift around the weights that he’d set out for today’s lesson with no real rhyme or reason. Sukuna only knew that if he didn’t do something to distract himself from the possibilities of what kind of scumbag you were about to let into your space, he would have barrelled out the door to find the asshole himself. 

“But—”

“But what?” His abruptly challenging tone made you flush. It wasn’t out of fear though, it was the finality in his tone that was stirring that familiar warmth in the pits of your stomach that only seemed to make its star appearances when he was nearby. 

It wasn’t his intention to come off so harshly— though it never was, that sharp tongue was simply ingrained into his bloodstream— but there was a fierce protectiveness that stirred in him that needed to guard that infuriating innocence of yours the way no one bothered to protect his. Taking note of your flushed cheeks, he released a calculatedly controlled sigh before softening his tone as best as he knew how to. 

“Quit overthinking it. I’ll show you how to do it so you don’t gotta be asking assholes to help you for stupid shit.” He grumbled, finally coming back around to stand in front of you as he nodded for you to get back into form. 

It took you a few moments, too busy staring up at him with a type of gratitude he wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of. To be fair though, he was holding out something that you too had yet to grasp at, and it was the chance of independence Sukuna was forcing into your unsuspecting hands. Your eyes shone even through the downright ugly lighting of his gym, flaring your presence throughout the space in a way the very walls were unworthy of. 

He could barely look at you as the two of you exchanged numbers after your lesson that evening, feeling for the first time in so long defenseless against what your perfectly intact soul would do to him should he continue meddling with it for too long. That fear didn’t stop him from knocking— perhaps a bit too firmly— on your door just a few days later, because if anyone was going to be blinded by whatever fucking sunshine you miraculously still kept in your pocket while living in a city like this— it sure as hell wasn’t going to be your creep of a landlord. 

“You live in a fucking shoe box.” Sukuna commented gruffly as he ducked in through your front door. 

This made you glance around the modest apartment, but your estimation couldn’t possibly be correct now that his imposing figure was taking up so much space. There was a subtle sense of your heart racing in your through at the sight of him, hair rustled and damp as though freshly showered, in his joggers and the t-shirt you had been praying would be loose enough to not showcase each rippling muscle in his abdomen. It seemed your prayers had fallen on deaf ears though— much like they seemed to have been your whole life. 

Sukuna was big, and devilishly handsome, and generous— and he was a man in your apartment unchaperoned, and you couldn’t tell if the notion scared you or excited you. It made you wonder if whatever threat Sukuna was so sure your landlord would pose to you would have been safer than the temptation this man wafted toward you with each confident step into your space. You felt small beside him, even more so here than you ever did in that gym. 

“I moved in a little bit of a hurry.” You explained with a bashful huff, finally finding the courage to shut the front door. 

Quickly falling into step behind him, you followed as he stalked toward the heap of wood on the floor of your living room. 

“Shitty roommate?” He guessed absentmindedly while squatting down to inspect the disheveled instruction manual on the floor, setting down the toolbox he’d brought with him.

“Uhhh, yeah, I guess you could say that.” You offered a forced smile as you allowed yourself to fall back onto the couch behind him. 

The pink-haired man abruptly lifted his head at the sound of the second-hand furniture creaking softly under your weight. His brows were raised into his hairline as he shook his head expectantly at you.

“Uh-uh, you better get your ass over here, Princess. I told you I’d show you how to do it, and I’m fucking showing you.” 

His sharp command had you springing into action, hopping off the couch to kneel down beside him. From so close, the scent of the musky body wash that still clung to every inch of him. Hiding your sheepishly tickled smile, you nodded affirmatively at him. He regarded your eager posture with a sidelong glance, the anticipation you held for learning how to put together a damn coffee table softening his brash expression ever so slightly. 

“What— your old man never teach you how to use a damn screwdriver?” His grumbled question, though accusatory, held more curiosity than he was willing to admit that he held for you. 

“He always said that was… man’s work.” The soft laugh you attempted didn’t conceal the regret laced in your tone, especially not from Sukuna’s keen senses. 

Your explanation had a scowl forming abruptly on his already intimidating face. That grossly outdated sentiment sounded so familiar to him, and he found himself pressing to confirm despite the way his question may reveal a part of his past he tried to bury under all his muscle and tattoos. 

“Jesus freaks?” He didn’t look at you as he made his assumption, instead focusing on laying out the tools you two would need. 

“He was— is a preacher; my dad.” 

It was all beginning to click into place— your near irrational fear of the world around you. The odd slip up in tenses wasn’t lost on him either, and it only added fuel to the fire of his building questions. 

“Preacher’s daughter, huh?” Sukuna whistled lowly in amusement. You hung your head down so your hair would curtain your face. “Surprised they let you leave the nest without a ring on your finger.”

He had been half expecting you to reciprocate his banter with that bashful defensiveness that seemed to roll off your tongue so easily, but you had fallen silent as he picked up the base of the table. Pulling his lips into a thin line, his eyes seemed to unconsciously drag down toward your neck, noting that it was still bare of the cross he’d unhooked from it weeks prior. An inexplicable guilt panged deeper at his chest with each second that passed within your silence. 

“Eh, I think it’s all bullshit, anyway.” He wanted to ease that tension he’d unknowingly placed upon your shoulder. A determined sigh escaped him as he shifted onto his knees. “Grab me one of the legs.” 

At this, you glanced up at him in surprise, lips parting gently, too thrown off by his confession to be relieved that he’d shifted the topic from your leaving home. With a fluttering gaze, you did as he asked. 

“What do you mean?”

“All that religious superiority crap— it’s all bullshit.” His reiteration only made you scoff out an uncertain laugh. A smirk tugged at his lips at your shock. “Quit blubbering and watch me. You’re doing the next one.”

“So what do you believe then?” You challenged, leaning against your hand that lay splayed out just beside his hip as you observed the way his hand curled around the grip of the power drill.

“If you’re asking me if I believe in some all knowing god or fairy or whatever the hell it is you people come up with to feel better about yourselves— then no. There ain’t no higher power, I don’t buy it.” 

The dull buzzing of the tool filled the small space separating the two of you. About a minute passed before he finished securing the respective screw, and he pulled back to assure you were still paying attention. Your eyes narrowed along with your accusatory smile. 

“You don’t really believe that.” 

“You don’t think so?” He muttered with a small smirk, nudging at your arm for you to take the power tool from him. 

Your breath hitched as his warm hand enveloped yours over the grip to press down against the two fingers you had placed over the trigger. The heat from his chest was radiating against your shoulder that had subsequently pressed right into him. Once he was sure you had grown used to the weight of the hefty tool in your grip, he slowly released your hand. 

“I think you only want to believe that.” You weren’t sure where you had found the nerve to test him in such a way, but something in the way his haughty smirk faltered subtly as you turned back to observe his reaction made you believe that there was some truth to your words. “It just sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself, is all.”

“Yeah? And what about you?” He prefaced his rebuttal by sweeping the hair from your neck, revealing the absence of your own symbol of belief. The sudden brush of his fingertips across your sensitive skin made your fingers stall against the trigger. “Never put that pretty necklace of yours back on.” 

“So?” You tried desperately to sound more confident than you felt at the moment, but the breathlessness that lingered in your tone betrayed you.

“So, maybe you’re trying to convince yourself that you still believe it, too.”

It was his fierce defensiveness over the walls he’d built around that part of him that was talking right now, stomping so carelessly over what was clearly a sensitive topic for you. No matter how much you didn’t want to hear it though, you knew he had dug deep, and you couldn’t understand how he had seen right through you. 

The guilt of your doubt was unlike anything you’d ever experienced before. Laying awake at night these days, you prayed and prayed for signs and answers, begging the Lord to tell you that what you had to do to protect yourself wouldn’t damn you. You were running though— running from the very temple you were meant to be tethered to. Would God grant you his mercy still? And if he was a merciless God, would it be so blasphemous of you to turn your cheek against him?

Your pained vulnerability reflected in your dewy eyes as they bore into his. Sukuna’s jaw ticked, taut with the type of vexation he only reserved for himself. It wasn’t his intention to wound you, only to disarm you against looking too deeply into him. If you pried too far, perhaps you would understand that he wasn’t just terribly astute. Rather, the doubt etched across your gentle features was much like a looking glass into his own past— he saw himself.

Sukuna blinked slowly at the war waging on in your mind against righteousness and safety, and he saw a young boy ostracized in the name of the Lord. He saw a boy frenzied in his turning the already frayed pages of his Bible in search of answers that would have been blurred by his tears should he have found them. In spite of all the ways his faith excommunicated him, even he couldn’t deny the way the promise of an all merciful God comforted him even as he was tearing himself away from such sentiments. 

“Don’t listen to me.” The man finally grumbled, turning from you to survey the screw you’d just secured into the table. It was a bit crooked, splitting the wood surrounding it ever so slightly, but it was secure nonetheless. “It’s good to… believe in something bigger than you. Hold onto that.”

Because God only knew how lonely it felt to have been burned so savagely that he was rendered incapable of belief, but the sting of the Father’s loving punishments always hurt much more. 

Sukuna left you that afternoon with a freshly built coffee table and more confusion than someone who seemed so sure of himself should have been able to provide. Sinking down on your couch, you eyes remained glued to the fruits of yours and his labor, your mind running over all the eye rolls of feigned annoyance he’d offer whenever you’d mess something up. None of them ever negated the subtle pride evident in the twitch of his lips every time you’d beam up at him with the hope that you’d finally gotten a technique down. 

No matter how quickly he tried to backtrack, his words only fed the ever growing mountain of doubt that had sprung up before you had even packed your first bag to leave home. It sounded personal to him, as though he was speaking from painful first-hand experience. Just a few months ago, someone so confidently spouting heresy in such a way would’ve had you running the other way, back to the safety of conformity. Now though it only seemed to draw you deeper into his contrasting orbit. 

Each lingering, crimson stare and brush of his calloused hand worked their way into perspiring dreams, accompanied by sensations of longing you weren’t sure you had ever allowed yourself to feel. Either that, or the neatly groomed, prim and proper boys of your church you had been surrounded by growing up could never come close to permeating the barrier the Lord had put up in your mind against sinful thoughts of temptation. 

Sukuna though— Sukuna was temptation incarnate. He was everything you had been warned against, and he seemed to have been pulled straight from Ezekiel, boiling over with each accusation the Lord wrought against Lucifer. He was the seal of perfection, that sharp tongue of his full of wisdom, and his flesh perfect in beauty. The signs all pointed toward deception— yet, much like a naive and longing Eve, not even the fear of damnation could hinder you from how sweet that forbidden fruit might taste against your awaiting lips. 

“Focus.” Sukuna growled as you were knocked onto your back for the third time that day. 

Though it took every ounce of courage left in you to show up for your next lesson the following week, that gnawing urge to let your fingertips brush against the fire outweighed any survival instinct you held for your poor soul. It might as well have been for not though, because you couldn’t for the life of you concentrate hard enough to brace yourself for the test attacks he continued sending your way. 

The trainer wasn’t fairing any better though. This had somehow become personal to him. Each strike he was able to land and stance he was able to dismantle struck an unanticipated irritation in his chest, because if he was able to disarm you so easily— surely someone else with less favorable intentions would be able to as well. He tried to be tougher on you, push you harder, but, in truth, it was difficult for him to focus on his own technique each time he pressed himself against you in demonstration. 

It was borderline pathetic. Sukuna had been in this field for years now, and he prided himself on the level of professionalism he always maintained with his students. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he never allowed himself to toe the barrier of professionalism and connection, because they could pant and press against him all they wanted, but it never meant anything to him— not until you. 

That type of determination in your eyes wasn’t uncommon for the women who came in for self-defense classes, but his fatal mistake was digging deeper. Now, despite the puzzle pieces still being strewn about and disorganized, he still held an ample amount of them to begin to be able to see the bigger picture. 

“I’m trying.” You huffed out in frustration, brows drawn together in subtle embarrassment as you took his outstretched hand to help you up. 

“Bullshit.” He spat out instantaneously as you stumbled up with the force of his pull.

 Shooting a palm out toward his chest to steady yourself, you tried to keep your eyes trained on anything but him. It was no use though— he had been picking up on each little lingering eye and flushed cheek of yours since last week, and it was driving him insane. 

“Shouldn’t you be teaching me how to like… I don’t know not get kidnapped?”

“Should I be?” He challenged immediately, and this time his bewitching eyes caught yours with no real intent of ever letting them go. The question was calculated— prying. Sukuna wanted to know why you were here, that much you could tell.

“Aren’t you the teacher?” You tried to reciprocate that same level of trial, but this type of banter was new to you— especially with a man. 

“Aren’t you the one paying me?” 

Sukuna’s lip curled up at the way your resolve slipped under his logic. Nonetheless, he hung his head for a moment as though collecting himself before stepping back a few paces. Once backed up sufficiently, he nodded at you. 

“Okay— new lesson. Try to escape.”

“What am I escaping?” You laughed hesitantly, looking around the small gym like a child would scope out potential hide-and-seek locations. 

At once, a wolfish grin lit up his face, casting his eyes ablaze with a dangerous glint that had you regretting asking for a change of pace in the first place. A nervous gulp forced its way down your throat.

“Me.”

No quicker than you could process his response was he lunging forward, his monstrous hand closing around your forearm in a crushing grip. You yelped in surprise as he tugged you forward. 

“C‘mon, you would’ve been in the back of the van by now, Princess.” He taunted as he watched you struggle against him. “What would you do?”

With a grunt, you tried to pull away from his hand’s demanding weight, but it only made your wrist ache with the strained effort. 

“Ground your feet again.” The man demanded, continuing to yank at your arm. “Forget your posture and your ass is getting taken.” 

It took a disciplined focus to halt your attempts to fight against him long enough to plant your socked feet into the mat once again. With the proper distance and subtle bend of your legs, it had admittedly become easier to keep yourself from falling against his firm tugs. 

“See where my thumb is?” His free hand reached up to pat at where his thumb curled around his middle finger on your forearm. “It’s the weakest part of my grip. Twist your arm out toward the weak spot instead of fighting against the strongest part.” 

With a fluttering gaze of determination, your face scrunched up as you maneuvered your arm against the Achilles heel he’d revealed to you. A triumphant laugh escaped you as your arm twisted underneath his own and subsequently broke free. There was barely an opportunity given for you to give a hop of glee, because Sukuna wasted no time lunging forward once again. The motion made you squeak in surprise, jumping into action to race across the gym, where his thundering footsteps weren’t far behind. 

“What happened to your victory dance, Princess?” The man taunted as you ducked behind the counter, knocking over your abandoned bag in the midst of your pursuit. He prowled on the other side, knees bent ever so slightly as if waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce on you. With a mocking tilt of his head, he offered you an intoxicating smirk. “What— you think a kidnapper’s gonna let you go just cause you got out once?”

“Well, I was hoping he would—” You jolted to the right as he pounced to the left as though to swoop in on you. An anxiously tickled smile tugged at your lips. “—grant me a little mercy considering I got it on my first try?”

“He was granting you mercy by giving you a head start.” 

A shriek left you as you watched him hop over the counter with ease. Adrenaline was coursing through your veins as you barely escaped his grasp, his fingertips catching against the fabric of your t-shirt. In the back of your mind, you knew you should have been taking this seriously, and your activated fight or flight response certainly was. The less disciplined part of you though— the one still riding on the high of her newfound freedom— couldn’t help but like the game of cat and mouse he had sprung upon you. 

It was something in his predatory eyes and lascvisious smile, with his canines glittering under the dim lights above you— it was almost making you want to be caught. You wanted to know what he would do, how his victory would translate against the grips of his sinful hands. 

That shuddering falter in your step as the blood rushed down your body made sure you’d find out soon though, because his arms were quickly taking advantage of your misstep, wrapping around you from behind to clutch at your wrists. You couldn’t stifle the gasp that ripped up your throat as he pressed himself against your back.

“What now, hm?” Sukuna challenged as you finally began to struggle against his grip. 

You could barely concentrate enough to hypothesize what might be the right technique to use here, because heat was bursting from his chest and soaking through your clothes like rays of the sun, and it was rendering you useless, your breathing laboring with each nudge of his chin against the crown of your head. 

“Drop your weight.” He finally offered, and it sounded as though he was expending no effort to keep you secured. 

Against his chest, he could feel each ragged expand and deflate of your ribcage as it became clear it wasn’t only him being affected by the proximity. Though his mind was telling him to hold you tighter, keep you this close just a bit longer, he wasn’t sure how long he could maintain his composure without causing a serious problem. 

With a shuddering nod, you allowed yourself to fall into his grasp, your t-shirt sliding up with the sudden movement. 

“Faster— all at once. You’re supposed to catch them by surprise, make them lose grip.” His arms quickly hoisted you back up in tandem with his barking order. “Do it again.”

You nodded deliriously at his command, nearly drunk on the scent of his body wash lingering on his perspiring skin. Doing as he said, you quickly kicked your feet out from underneath you, your weight falling limply into his arms. 

Sukuna grunted softly, and you had assumed it was from this catching your now dead weight. You were painfully unaware of how the swell of your ass had rolled against his groin on your way down, and he was fighting forces greater than demons to continue this lesson. Glancing up toward the ceiling in a desperate attempt to shift his focus, he sucked in a calculated breath. 

“Good, now wriggle out with your hips, make it impossible to keep the grip on you.” 

He regretted his instruction as soon as it left his mouth— because just as you began writhing out of his grasp, no mouth of counting back from one-hundred, or repeating multiplication tables he hadn’t thought of since middle school was able to stop all the blood remaining in his brain from rushing to his dick. 

“C’mon,” The man grunted half out of desperation for this to be over with already to maintain any sense of professionalism he could still manage. “Use your feet— kick me— get out.”

In your hazed oblivion, you did as you were told, swinging back to land a barely impactful kick to his shin. When that did nothing, you reared back once more, this time making sure your foot collided with his knee. This maneuver finally did him in, though his arms remained locked around you as his leg gave out under him.

You tumbled to the ground along with him, the air temporarily abandoning your lungs at the impact of his firm chest against your rib cage. From under you, he groaned from what you thought was the force at which he hit the ground. Unbeknownst to you though, it was the fact that you were now frantically shuffling around to apologize to him, and you had sat directly onto his growing… dilemma. 

“I’m so sorry.” You gasped out, your hands that had finally been released falling forward on either side of his head to support yourself. “Are you…”

Your breathless concern trailed off as you looked down at him to find he was already staring up at you, ruby eyes half-lidded with a certain hunger you weren’t sure you could place. Despite this, the intensity of them made an incriminating heat spread between your legs. Unlike you, Sukuna had experience in this walk of life, and he could pinpoint that look in your eyes that told him he wasn’t alone in his wandering thoughts. Still, he felt it was far from his place to make the first move— not when you’d clearly never been in such a position before. 

So, he stayed perfectly still beneath you, save for the ragged rise and fall of his chest as your hair curtained around him and enveloped him in your scent. The tips of his fingers dug into the cushioned mat beneath him. 

The tendrils of temptation swirling in his heated eyes made you realize that it was no wonder you had been so quick to believe the cautionary tales you were told about lust growing up. In all your years being raised alongside what were meant to be God’s children, his born again men, all of the lecherous gazes sent your way in the midst of sermons or while receiving the body and the blood— every last one of them held the threat of caged animals. 

God said to abstain from the passions of the flesh because they’d wage war against your soul, but the scripture failed to mention the white flags your heart would so quickly wave when met by the eyes of the right beholder. Sukuna wasn’t sin, or lewd temptation— he wasn’t the morning star that would soon capture you in his fall from grace, despite how the uncharted emotions he stirred in you led you to believe. He couldn’t possibly be all those things— not when he was staring up at you as though your poorly timed awakening was a gift you were bestowing upon him. 

The apprehension in your gaze was palpable, and, though he couldn’t be sure what his encouragement might mean, he allowed his head to tilt in the subtlest of nods at you. You hoped all the romance novels that you’d hide under the shoebox in your old bedroom hadn’t failed you as you leaned down with a timid quiver of your lips to offer your first kiss to him, one he could feel all the years of repression hidden behind. 

A baritoned hum reverberated in the back of his throat as he allowed his eyes to shut, relishing in the feeling of your exploration. The sound served to validate your reserved actions, allowing you to melt against the way his doughy lips molded against you with all the confidence of an experienced man. Your chest gradually lowered against his, the hands that had since been idle by his head instinctively sliding up to grasp at his strapping shoulders that flexed dangerously under your touch. 

It felt as though that incandescent ball of energy that had been building in your chest since the moment you first laid eyes on him was traveling up your throat, trailing a blazing heat in its wake while it spilled from your whimpering lips to find its home in him. Sukuna’s neck strained up to hungrily leverage a better angle to take whatever it was that you were willing to offer him. 

The way your hands remained ever so timid in their exploration, one remaining balanced on his shoulder as the other trailed hesitantly up his neck— it was filling him with a warmth unbeknownst to him if from the anticipation of your next move, or the burning fondness that seemed to gnaw at his stone heart each time he was reminded of the innocence that had been forced on you. Whichever it was, it had his hands finally moving from their respectful place on the ground to lace your fingers together, guiding your trembling hand up to brush against his flexing jaw and heating cheeks until the message was set in stone that you could do with him whatever you pleased.

The sudden reassurance made way for your fingers’ insatiable journey up the remainder of his face and into his pink tufts of hair. Sukuna moaned unabashedly at the sensation of your once shy grip curling into his roots, the sound sending shockwaves through your already buzzing system as he bit at your bottom lip before his tongue raced out to chase the subtle sting away. 

You arched against him, and it was then that you became painfully aware of the unfamiliar stiffness pressing against you. Though you knew that you had already crossed that strictly set moral line separating your human instinct from the parts of you that you could actually accept, it was still evident that this was completely different territory than a mere kiss. Even so, you couldn’t deny the way his concealed arousal excited you, pulling you like a magnet deeper into his allure.

The hand you had remaining on his chest curled into the fabric of his compression shirt as you pressed your hips down in a way you hoped was subtle. Of course, he could feel every breath and tremble of you though, and most definitely heard your gasp when your small shift caused him to press sinfully against your own heat. 

It wasn’t what he had expected, not with how much courage it seemed to have taken for you to give into your temptation to simply kiss him, but he was pliant beneath you. Sukuna was offering up his own body to the altar of your self-discovery— and despite all the verses he swore to erase from his mind, he could suddenly recall through his wanton haze that the Bible referred to one’s own body being offered in sacrifice as the utmost form of spiritual worship. It was far from him to agree with the very pages that tormented his youth, but as you experimentally rolled your hips against him to chase that pooling desire spreading through you, he was sure that he was a man of the Lord once again. 

Your lips parted from his, foreheads still pressed together while the barely audible, breathless moans slipped from you. He watched your expression fervently, taking note of that subtle frustration that creased between your brows in the pursuit of a relief that your clumsy ruts were insufficient to provide. Reaching up, his hands closed around your waist to adjust you over his straining length. 

“Try now.” Sukuna instructed in that husky tone of his that only made your affliction that much more damning, slipping a strand of your hair carefully behind your ear to get a better look at you.

Ever the obedient student, you did as he said, though it hardly took any effort on your end as his urging hands aided in the steady rhythm of your thrusts. It wasn’t long before you were steadying your hands against his chest, too overwhelmed by the foreign pleasure to be embarrassed by your pitched moans. 

Faster than you could grasp, everything that you had been told for so long was being pushed to the back of your mind to make room for him. He was rendering you utterly speechless with only his half-lidded stare and charitable hands. Sukuna thought if he didn’t keep his hands glued to your hips that they may be tempted to drift up your top, ablaze with an infuriating curiosity of what it was you always hid under those baggy shirts. 

He didn’t though, and perhaps that’s why you felt emboldened enough to chase the pleasure you’d been told was corrupt all this time. You couldn’t possibly feel the immorality the congregation always spat upon the act, because his hands were so much different than the pleasure-driven ones that grabbed at you with no regard to your own wishes. Sukuna’s hands were driven by a desire to teach you as they had been doing so diligently for weeks now, eyes studying you much like they studied your posture before you’d take a swing at him. 

Your release was building, swirling within the pits of your stomach and so incriminatingly evident in your shortening gasps, your scrunched face and nails that dug into the firm muscles of his clothed chest. The groan that escaped him sounded so melodic through the blood coursing in your ears. It left your fingertips brushing against the waves of your release, encouraged by the knowing glint in his eyes. 

A muted gasp of his name began to fall from your parted lips, but he only nodded at you hazily. 

“I know, Princess, c’mon.” 

The safety of his encouragement had you tipping over that rapidly building precipice, squeezing your eyes shut until he tapped at your ass with a firm command to look at him. It was when you opened your eyes back up though, a peculiar type of fuzziness clouding the edges when a glimmering caught your attention from your peripheral. Your gaze drifted up to where the dull lights were catching on the charm sprawled out on the floor by your fallen bag. It was your cross necklace— the one that had been lying forgotten at the bottom of your bag for weeks now. 

The sight of it clutched at your already racing heart, bringing you to a stammering halt as you jolted back with a mortified gasp. Sukuna quickly sat up at the sudden abandonment of your release.

“What—”

“I-I’m so sorry.” You whispered frantically, your fluttering gaze desperately attempting to hold back the tears lining your waterline. 

You flinched back when his grip on your waist tightened with concern, and it was enough to make him release you all together. His hands fell slowly in bewilderment while you shuffled backwards until you were off of him. 

“The fuck do you mean ‘sorry’?” His tone was harsh as always, but he just wanted to understand the sudden fear in your energy that hadn’t flared up in his presence since that first time you two met. 

“I shouldn’t have…” You shook your head, a trembling hand coming up to cover the lips that you’d allowed to act so blasphemously. “It was wrong, I—”

“Did it look like you were doing anything fucking wrong to me?” 

“But I should have known better— I do know better.” At this point, it appeared as though you weren’t talking to him anymore, but to yourself, to whatever part of you was telling you that what you two just shared was anything other than pure. Shaking your head, you stumbled up to your feet, and Sukuna quickly followed suit. “If they found out—”

You stopped yourself, almost as though you knew you were about to open a can of worms that he would not be so easily coaxed to close back up. He narrowed his sharp eyes at you. 

“If who found out?”

“I should leave—”

“Like hell you should.” Sukuna hulking arm shot out over your head to shut the door you were frantically prying open. The tears you had been desperately withholding were stinging furiously at your fluttering eyes. “Who are you trying to protect yourself from?”

At his astute question, you only looked down, somehow feeling both exposed and safe entrapped by his imposing figure. 

“Huh?”

“I don’t know, Sukuna.”

“You don’t know.” He chuckled bitterly with a nod, staring at the wall by your head with a far off look in his eyes that told you he wasn’t letting this go anytime soon. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve learned then, huh?”

An urging hand was placed at the small of your back, and he was leading you quickly back to the mat. 

“Please, just let—”

“Nah, we’ve still got half an hour left.” Sukuna firmly shut down your plea before nodding for you to get into proper form. “Go ahead and take me down.” 

It didn’t matter how unwavering you attempted to make your glare, his firm stance didn’t falter as he awaited your first move with a calloused expression that contrasted so starkly against the passionate way he was gazing up at you just minutes prior. Sinking your teeth harshly into your bottom lip, your body trembled as you adjusted your posture and lunged into a side step to swipe at his feet. 

It was just as he’d taught you— always using your opponent’s size against them to knock them off balance. You had done it perfectly too, but this time around he wasn’t so lenient in falling over in demonstration as he normally did. This time, he had a point to prove, and his firmly planted feet didn’t falter at your sweep as he took the opportunity to reach down and swallow you up by your midsection. 

A grunt of frustration rolled from you as he hoisted you easily into the air. You kicked out your legs, trying with every last ounce of your waning energy to hit his groin, his shins, stomach— anywhere that might allow you to escape. It was all for naught though, and he was absorbing each of your comparably weak blows as he kneeled to the ground and pinned you beneath him. 

“Escape.” The practically fuming man commanded again, pinning both your hands at the small of your back. 

Your flaming cheek was pressed against the cushioned mat, beginning to gloss over with the sheen of sweat your exertion was producing. Each exasperated pant that escaped you was bringing you closer and closer to understanding just what it was that he was trying to prove, yet you still strained against his grip and jostled your shoulders desperately. 

“What are you gonna do if whoever the fuck they are find you, huh?” He had lowered himself until his chest was pressed against your back, his lips brushing against your feverish ear. 

The since built up tears finally boiled over as the last shred of hope and energy abandoned you, falling limp against the mat as the salty waves cascaded freely down your cheeks. His grip on your wrists slowly eased up, and that harsh scowl was being replaced with a more resigned frown. 

“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.” Sukuna rationed with you. 

In truth, his resolve was breaking with each heaving sob that spilled from your lips. Finally releasing you all together, he watched in barely concealed unease as you made no attempt to move from your position on the floor. So, he instead worked to pull you up himself, shoving your trembling form against his chest as his eyes remained locked blankly at the counter behind you. 

“I left— I-I ran away.” Your confession was barely comprehensible through your desolate sobs. “I didn’t tell anyone, I just left. I had to leave. I had to—”

“What do you mean you had to?”

Your nose burrowed deeper into his sternum before you shook your head. 

“I tried; I tried, and I prayed, and I begged God to lead me back on his path, but I just… I couldn’t do it anymore.” You continued to babble as you clutched at his shirt. The more you spiraled down the memories you left behind, the more scared he was becoming of what you might tell him. “I thought he was trying to test me— test my faith, but how could I trust in a God that abandoned me like that? That let them…”

Your face scrunched with the trailing of your words. It made a ball of nauseating dread pool in Sukuna’s stomach, his face hardening once again. 

“Let them what?”

“They told me that lust was blasphemous, that God’s children didn’t give into sins of the flesh, but they used the same hands to pray as they did to wander when offering me my blessings every Sunday. What was that supposed to tell me about my God?”

The man’s jaw clicked with the force of his clench as he absorbed your infuriated explanation. Your tears were rapidly becoming ones of rage, continuing to recall each time you stood in waiting, dreading your weekly eucharist as you knew how the associate preacher’s hands liked to stray too far as he performed the sign of the cross against your chest. 

“I thought I was doing the right thing.” You cried, pulling away from him to shove your face into your hands. “So why do I feel like I’ve damned myself? Like I’ve turned against God’s will?”

“God’s will wasn’t for you to be used by those lowlife fucking perverts hiding behind the Bible.” Sukuna finally snapped, trying with everything in him to level his voice lest he displace the rage swimming through his veins. 

“But how am I any better, Sukuna?” Your sudden outburst took him aback. “I gave in too.”

He scoffed incredulously at you. It wasn’t you that he was so bothered by though, it was the depths in which those people had sunk their claws into your psyche that irked him so deeply. Grasping at your jaw so you’d look him in the eyes, the solemn expression on his face made you shiver. 

“How are you any better? Because you wanted it this time, and so did I.” He emphasized, and your damp face flushed furiously at his words. “Don’t you dare fucking compare what they did to you to what happened back there.”

Clutching at the wrist of the hand that grasped you, you tugged at it to no avail, shaking your head once again against his hand. 

“You don’t get it—”

“Oh, I don’t?” Another menacingly bitter laugh slipped past his lips. “You don’t think I grew up hearing the same bullshit? That I had to beg forgiveness for shit that wasn’t my responsibility to be sorry for?” 

The grip you had around his wrist faltered as his words sunk in. You allowed your eyes to rake over his tattooed face, as though you couldn’t believe that someone who appeared so starkly different than you had once absorbed the very lessons that had placed you before him in the first place. 

“I had a twin, you know— least I was supposed to. Preacher used to tell my mom that God took her baby away because she gave into temptation out of wedlock.” 

The tremble in your bottom lip didn’t stop him from driving his point home, not even when your eyes began to pool once again with regret. 

“You know I still remember that damn verse line for line? No matter how much I tried to forget it.” Sukuna’s desolate tone continued to tug at your heartstrings, but it was almost freeing to hear that perhaps you weren’t the only one forced by your circumstances to question the faith that had been thrust upon you. “‘But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away from his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.’”

His thumb reached up to swipe at the fresh tears that began to fall from your sorrowful eyes despite the fact that it was his grief that was filling the space between you. He had finished his drawn out battle against his own spirit long ago though. 

“You think that’s what I am? Death conceived? That I was a punishment from God cause my mom wanted to fool around?”

“No— I don’t think that.” You finally cried out firmly, and it was the first decision you’d made in quite awhile that you felt confident in. “You’re none of those things. I won’t believe that.”

“How do you know that?” He tested, drawing you closer to him with a burning desire to kiss away each tear that dared disturb that kind face of yours.

“Because you’re good, and you’re kind, and you’re everything they ever told me to be afraid of,” You heard the sharp inhale he tried to conceal, because of all the sharp tongues that had spat troves of profanities at him, no one had ever called him good. “But they were wrong about you, and so was I.”

Humming deeply at your explanation, he tilted his head at you. 

“So, what the fuck makes you think they were right about anything else?” 

His challenge lingered in the heavy air between you, your breaths mingling as you stared down at the lips that had just spun your world on its axis. It had been a lifetime of being told that your body wasn’t to be trusted— that it would test and betray you time and time again. At the very least, despite the notion acting as a marionette puppetting each thought and breath you’d experienced thus far, there was some sort of safety in the familiarity of your cage. 

Still, Sukuna seemed to be awaiting you outside the confinement of your apprehension with all the beauty you once thought akin to the devil himself, but you had come to realize that he was the closest thing to holy you’d ever held within your grasp before. You wrestled with the part of you that had been conditioned to believe your worth was in your virtue and your purity, and the part of you that thought his lips were proof that man truly was created in God’s image.

He could see the storm brewing behind your apprehensive eyes, biting back the sharp lecture that was instinctively conjuring up in the back of his mind that would shake at your shoulders to snap out of the chains they’d bound your mind with. Instead, a strained sigh fanned out across your face, and he was suddenly reaching behind you to grab your abandoned necklace. 

“I’m not telling you to give all this shit up.” He murmured, twisting the cool, silver cross between his fingers.

 Looking down at the pendant, you weren’t sure that you could recall a time that it ever appeared so blinding. After a moment of contemplation, he lifted it carefully before draping it across your neck once again. Your nose brushed against his chest as he leaned forward to secure the clasp in the back. Of all the years it spent weighing down on your chest, you couldn’t help but feel that Sukuna had taken a certain weight off of it that had since been suffocating you. 

The tips of his hair tickled at your cheek as his head dipped down to press heated kisses to your jaw. Your lips parted, head falling to the side unconsciously to allow him more room. The gentle moans he was procuring from you made the corners of his lips twitch up as they trailed down your neck and left goosebumps in their wake. It wasn’t long before his descent led him to the pendant laying proudly against your chest, and he pressed a final kiss to it before lifting his head once again. 

“But don’t let it make you believe shit you don’t want to, you hear me?” You only nodded, eyes transfixed on his lips as they drew closer to yours. His thumb pressed down against your chin to hold you in place for him to offer you a fervent kiss, sighing yearningly into you before pulling back. “If I’m not a sin then you sure as hell aren’t one either.”

You smiled softly at his words, chasing his lips while your hands twisted more confidently up his nape and into his hair. 

Truthfully, you weren’t sure if it mattered to you anymore whether or not Sukuna was sin incarnate, or a test of your faith, or God’s punishment to an unholy woman, or whatever it was that your father would so ardently convince you of. Right now, his hands were traversing your waist with a tenderness no man had ever bestowed upon you, and his heathen tongue was knocking at your lips in search of permission to enter. You understood more with every inch of you he kissed why Lucifer had fallen from grace with the hope of being worshipped himself.

Your father, if he was even looking for the daughter that had fled from his feigned mercy, would simply have to forgive you of your sins.

a/n: where my ethel cain girlies at

masterlist | requests | talk to me ❤︎

I love hearing everyone's thoughts! ◝⠀(ᵔᵕᵔ)⠀◜

[pacofprunes]

WILDFLOWER — “she was crying on my shoulder, all i could do was hold her”

you had both been set to watch over to make sure nobody tried to attack you guys. the third game was terrible. it felt like kill or be killed and you felt like so much blood was on your hands. you saw so many people you considered yourself to be pretty close to die right in front of your eyes. daeho was sitting across from you, actually watching out while you just stared at your lap.

“you tired?”

you look up. his eyes were so pretty but you didn’t really remanence in them for too long before putting your head back down. tired of this game or tired and you wanna go to sleep? you didn’t ask, just shaking your head no before puckering your lips out to the side and messing with your lip with your fingers. the nerves just messing with you. you two just sat in silence again, but of course he’s the one to break it.

“all we can do is move forward. we have to put it all behind us, it’s all we can do.”

put it all behind us? how could you possibly do that? he just upset you more honestly and you let out a sigh before pressing your face into your hands. feeling them start to slip off your face as your tears start to dampen them. he couldn’t see you were crying, but he knew you weren’t okay. it was obvious, nobody was okay.

“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to be so blunt or harsh or—”

he cuts himself off before swallowing and getting up. you feel the bed dip beside you before he wraps his arm around you and he moves your hands off your face, they easily slide off and his eyes are stricken with even more concern. he didn’t want to speak though, not wanting to say the wrong thing to you before he flinches, you pushing your face into his shoulder, holding in your sobs as well as you could to not make them super loud, but they were still audible. your hands move up and start gripping on his bloody jacket for dear life. he moves to face you more instead of sideways and pulls you into an actual hug, rubbing your back while it heaved up and down. he couldn’t tell if he was helping or making things worse, but by the grip you had on him, he couldn’t pull away even if he wanted to.

you mumble a load of sorrys into his shoulder before he just shushes you. he tried to push all his emotions and thoughts to the side about this all, but when in a position like this, he wanted to cry with you. he hadn’t even realized that he was until he started to notice your own jacket getting damper, turning a darker shade of green. he just keeps seeing your teary face in his mind now. sure he only saw it for a brief second, but it was etched in his mind. it would be until he died. he waits until you still a little and your grip loosens before he pulls away. your eyes completely drenched in tears. he takes his thumb and wipes the ones continuing to silently come down. he speaks up.

“i’m sorry.”

you shake your head no back and forth, the tears spraying everywhere. he had nothing to be sorry for. you take your sleeve and start wiping your face completely before shoving your face back into your hands. he moves his legs completely up onto the bed, criss crossed before grabbing your wrists and pulling them down, looking you in the eyes.

“we’ll get out of here.”

we’ll. we’ll. we’ll get out of here. it was on repeat in your head. he may have been lying, he didn’t know what would happen. he was freaking out himself. but he sure as hell would try his hardest to get you both out of here. and he’d protect you forever, even if it meant he’d lose his own life. you just stare into each others eyes before you pull your wrists out of his grip and wrap him in a tight hug, arms around his neck before he slowly reciprocates it. he wanted to treasure this moment as long as he could, not knowing how many more chances he’d get to do this with you, or if this would be the first and the last.

[miniwheat77]

Lies. (Captain Price x Reader.)

!SHORT FIC, nsfw, smut, price being a meanie, p in v sex, unprotected sex, pregnancy, MINORS DNI!

“Why don’t you have any kids Cap?” Ghost asks.

“Ah, old man’s been shooting blanks since his 20’s.” Gaz smirks. “Christ Garrick.” Price rolls his eyes. “He’s not wrong but.. I’m unable to have kids.” He sighs. “I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s alright. After I broke up with my high school sweetheart, I didn’t want any.” He laughs. “Why not?”

“Terrible break up, didn’t want to go through it again.” He sighs. “Understandable.”

That's also what he told you when the two of you got too drunk at the bar. The entire task force had gone out drinking. Those are the words he whispered into your ear when you whined about him finishing inside of you.

Neither of you know how it happened, too much to drink. Shared glances. It led the both of you to being in the pub bathroom. Luckily the music was loud enough to conceal the sound of the two of you in the bathroom. You shouldn't have trusted him about it, but he was your Captain after all. You trusted him with your life.

He had a death grip in your hair, your face pressed up against the wall as he hammered his hips into yours. “Wait- you don’t have a condom on Captain.” You hiss. “I can’t have kids, just trust me.” He growls.

“Fuck!” You hiss. Tightening around him.

———

A few weeks later, you're approaching him. You've got the stick behind your back.

"Y/N? What can I do for you?" He asks. The two of you hadn't spoken about what happened that night. You'd kept it to yourselves and returned the professional relationship the two of you shared before.

“Just had a question. Are… are you sure you can’t have kids?” You’re standing in front of his desk. He's looking at his laptop on the other side. “Yeah. Why?”

“You’re completely sure?” You swallow hard.

“Yeah, the girlfriend I had in my 20’s made me get tested, opened the envelope herself.”

“Hm..” you mumble. “What’s going on?” He asks.

“I think she faked your results sir.”

“What? Why do you say that?” He puts his pen down, finally looking at you. “Because. You’re the only person I’ve slept with and I’m very pregnant.” You raise the pregnancy test. He freezes up. “What? Y/N… that’s not possible.” He sighs. “It clearly is. I haven’t slept with anyone else.”

He shakes his head. “Y/N. I don’t know why you’d lie about this. But it’s very out of character.” He sighs. Your eyes widen, you can't believe him. "You're joking. I'm not lying about this."

He shakes his head. "Excuse yourself from my office please." He sighs.

You can't believe this.

———

It's a few weeks later.

John decides to confide in Gaz about it. He talks to him about how he thinks it's best you're removed from his base and relieved of your duties on the task force, seeing as you're pregnant. Gaz approaches you and knocks at your door.

You answer it, seeing the look on his face.

"What's going on Gaz?" You ask.

He sighs. Pushing past you. "He... he told me about what happened. He sent me here to... tell you that he's taking you off the base."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"No.. sorry Y/N." He mumbles.

"Okay. Whatever. Nothing I can do to change it."

"Is it really his?" He asks. You look at him, bewildered that he'd even ask that. "Yes. It's his. I haven't been with anyone else in years, you know that Gaz. We were drunk and..." You trail off with a groan. "I can't believe him." You sit down on your bed. "Could always prove it to him with DNA." He shrugs. "I guess so but obviously he doesn't want this so I guess I'll figure things out on my own. Thanks for stopping by Gaz. How long?" You ask.

"He said he's starting the paperwork today. A month at most." He nods.

You turn your back to him and he feels bad. He doesn't know what to believe.

———

A couple weeks later, John is in the grocery store.

“John?”

He turns to look at her, he hasn’t seen her in years. Not since they’d split up in his 20’s.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.” She smiles. “Oh. Hey.” He nods.

“Still in the military I see.” She smiles. “Uh.. yep. Captain now.”

“Married? In a relationship?” She asks. “Oh uh.. it’s complicated.” He laughs. “Really.” She smiles. “I figured you’d be married with kids by now.” She laughs. He freezes. “Uh.. yeah."

Kids? Why would she say kids?

"I actually had a question I’ve been waiting to ask.” He throws the box of granola bars into his cart. “Did you fake that paperwork all those years ago?”

She laughs. “I did. Yes. I wasn’t ready for kids and didn’t know how to tell you.” She laughs. “You.. did know that. Right?”

“Yeah, course I did. I’ve got a baby on the way.” He mumbles. “On the way? Jesus.” She laughs. “Late.”

He nods. “Yeah. Very late.” He laughs. “I’ve.. I’ve actually got to get going.” He turns away. Leaving the cart behind.

He has a fucking baby on the way.

She thinks it’s weird, but John was always secretive.

When John is out of her sight, he’s in a full sprint to get to his truck.

He reaches the base, surprised by the fact that he doesn’t get pulled over on the way with how fast he’s going.

He gets inside, hurrying down hallways. Nearly running right into Gaz. "Captain? What's going on?" He asks. He takes a deep breath. Wiping his face. "I'm an idiot, that's what. I just ran into my ex-girlfriend and she told me she faked those results all those years ago and that fucking baby is mine. Do you know where Y/N is?" he asks. He's out of breath. "I think she's just getting ready to leave, Captain. Better hurry." He smiles. He watches him rush down the hallway to your room. A story he didn't expect he'd ever tell between the two of you.

He should knock but forgets completely, barging right into your room. A gasp leaves your lips and you scramble to cover yourself. “Shit! I- sorry.” He should cover his eyes but doesn't. Shutting the door behind himself. “Christ John! What are you doing?” You throw a shirt over your head, but not before John sees it. Your growing baby bump.

He feels like such an ass.

“Y/N…” he sighs. Before you even have a chance to put pants on, he’s closing the gap between you. He grasps your hand, forcing you back into the bed behind you. You sit down on the edge and he drops right to a knee. He kisses the back of your hand. “I owe you… the biggest apology.” He sighs. “What? What’s going on?” You try to stand but he doesn’t let you. “I.. I found out that she did fake it. That.. I can have kids.”

He clenches his eyes shut, holding your hand to his face. “And I am so sorry for how I’ve treated you.” He breathes.

You don't know what to say. You just look down to where he's got your hands. You still don't have pants on.

"You should be sorry." You breathe. "I'm leaving tonight, thanks for the apology."

"You can't leave. Not yet."

"You signed that paperwork. You can't take it back now."

He shakes his head. "Yes I can." He stands.

"Why would you? You don't want this." You look up at him.

"This is my fault. I'm the one who..."

You look up at him, a sly smile on your lips. "Who what?"

You cross your arms. He raises his eyebrows. Surprised smile on his face. "Oh it's like that?" He laughs. "I'm the one who told you I couldn't have kids and came inside you."

"Yeah. I trusted you and you treated me like shit and called me a liar. You were gonna take me off your base."

"I swear I thought you were lying, I believed her when I shouldn't have. That fucking... snake." He sits down next to you. Pulling you into him. "I'm sorry darling. I am so fucking sorry." He sighs. You rest your head on his shoulder. "I'll forgive you but you better make it up to me." You roll your eyes. He laughs. "Anything you want doll. Swear on it."

"For now uh.. can I put pants on?"

He laughs harder than he should. "Yes. You have my permission to put pants on."

You punch his shoulder playfully. "I know exactly what I want, too."

"Yeah, what's that?"

———

"This is really what you wanted?" Gaz looks at you, leaning forward from the middle seat where he sits in the back.

You look happy as a clam in the passenger seat of your Captains truck. Mouth full of fries.

"Mhm."

You've got a McDonalds bag in your lap, having convinced John to take the entire task force to get McDonalds.

"Christ you're adorable." Gaz laughs.

"Maybe he should get her pregnant more often, since we get stuff out of it." Soap laughs. He's holding a burger in the back seat next to Gaz and Ghost. Gaz sits between the two of them. "Agreed." Ghost laughs. He's got his mask pulled up just enough to eat his food.

John rolls his eyes in the drivers seat. "Christ. Didn't even need to physically be able to have kids to have them."

He raises his own fries to his mouth. Each of you laughing.

———

“Oh. Hey again John.” She smiles. It’s the same store, a different isle this time. He glances at you, seeing you approach. “Oh um.. is this… your niece?” She asks. “No. This is Y/N. My wife.”

Her eyes nearly bulge out of her head. “Jesus.. didn’t realize you liked them so young John.” She laughs. “This her?” You side eye her while looking at him. He nods his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She laughs nervously.

“Oh.. nothing. He just mentioned something about a woman he’d had a past with. Something really fucked up she did where she told him he couldn’t have kids and he believed it for the longest time. Is.. is that really you?” You scoff. “I.. I mean I’ve done some fucked up things but that… that takes the cake.” You laugh. “I.. I was young and stupid-“

“Yeah. I mean. I have to thank you, it really worked out. I mean. John can really lay it down.” You cross your arms with a smirk.

“He has kids you know.” She mumbles. “Yeah. With me. And he’s a great dad.” You smirk. Stepping to the side. She can see your little girl sitting up in the cart. She’s chewing fiercely at her dad’s jacket. “Well.. congratulations. I have to get going.” She turns away.

He smiles. He liked seeing your aggressive side.

The both of you make your way up to check out, pushing your daughter in the cart.

"You alright?" You ask him. "Mhm." He sighs. Wrapping a hand around your lower back, tugging you closer to him.

"I'm gonna fuck you so hard for that." He growls into your ear.

"Jesus!" You laugh.

[itsnesss]

𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧 | minho (xo,kitty) × fem!reader

OO1. OO2.

summary | you struggle with your feelings for minho, knowing he's in a relationship with stella. after an intense conversation about your kiss, you decide to distance yourself, despite the undeniable connection between you two

warnings | emotional distress, relationship complications, heartbreak, mentions of kissing

word count | 1.7 k

author's note | it would help me a lot if you liked, commented and reposted so that more people read what I write and don't forget to follow me, thanks ᡣ𐭩

The way back to the cabin felt endless. You wrapped the towel around your body so tightly that your fingers hurt, trying to keep your breathing steady. Min Ho's kiss still burned on your lips, like an impossible-to-ignore burn.

When you entered the room where you were sleeping with Yuri and Juliana, they were both fast asleep. You climbed under the blankets, but sleep didn’t come. Only the memory of Min Ho, his intense gaze, his voice whispering words that should never have been said.

"What about what I feel? Or what you feel?"

You squeezed your eyes shut. None of that mattered. It couldn’t matter.

...

The first rays of light filtered through the windows when you finally decided to get up. You went downstairs to the kitchen and found your friends already gathered. Yuri and Juliana were serving themselves coffee, Q and Dae were discussing a board game, and Stella was hugging Min Ho, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked at her phone.

Your stomach twisted.

"Look who decided to show up!" Yuri exclaimed with a smile. "We almost let you sleep, but Min Ho insisted we wake you up."

Your eyes quickly went to him, and you found him staring at you intently. He didn’t say anything, but there was something unsettling in his expression.

"Thanks for the gesture," you responded, pretending indifference as you grabbed a cup of coffee.

You tried to stay occupied during breakfast, participating in the conversation as little as possible. However, every time you looked up, you found Min Ho watching you, even when Stella was talking to him.

And then, Stella spoke.

"Since the snowstorm has passed, we could take a walk to the lake," she suggested excitedly. "It’s not too cold, and the view must be incredible with all the snow piled up."

"Sounds like a great idea," Q said, stretching.

"Hope you all have good shoes," Dae joked. "I don’t want to be the one carrying anyone if they slip."

"You say that as if you won’t be the first one to fall," Juliana retorted with a smile.

Amidst laughter, the group prepared to leave.

You tried to convince yourself that it was just a walk. There was nothing wrong with that.

Except Min Ho was there. Except every time Stella held his hand, your chest tightened.

The path was beautiful, surrounded by snow-covered trees. The cold air helped clear your mind a little, but not enough.

Min Ho walked ahead, alongside Stella. She was animatedly talking about something on her phone, while he simply nodded, not too interested.

"He’s looking at you again," Yuri whispered beside you.

"What?"

"Min Ho. He hasn’t stopped looking at you since we left the cabin."

You quickly shook your head. "That’s your imagination."

"Uh-huh." Yuri gave you a look of *don’t lie to me*. "Something happened last night in the hot tub, right?"

You almost choked on the air. "No! Why would you say that?"

"Because I know you. And because he looks at you like you’ve killed his dog and at the same time like he wants to kiss you again."

"Yuri," you warned, feeling your cheeks burn.

"I won’t say anything," she promised with a mischievous grin. "But you have to tell me later."

Before you could respond, Min Ho stopped and announced:

"I’m going to look for more firewood for the bonfire tonight."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Stella asked.

"No, stay here. It won’t take long."

Your heart stopped for a second.

"I’ll... take a walk," you said to Yuri and Juliana, quickly walking away before anyone could ask questions.

You followed the path Min Ho had taken, the sound of snow crunching under your boots. You found him a few minutes later, picking up some fallen branches.

When he saw you, he dropped the firewood and crossed his arms.

"I knew you’d come."

You rolled your eyes. "Don’t think you’re that important."

Min Ho let out a low laugh, but his gaze was serious.

"Are you going to keep pretending nothing happened?"

You took a breath. "I don’t want to talk about it."

"Well, I do."

His tone was different. It wasn’t the usual arrogance, nor his playful tone. It was deeper. More real.

"You kissed me last night," he said firmly.

You clenched your jaw. "It was a mistake."

"It wasn’t."

"Yes, it was," you insisted, your chest burning.

Min Ho took a step toward you. "Tell me you didn’t feel anything."

"Min Ho…"

"Say it."

You clenched your fists. You couldn’t. You couldn’t tell him that because it would be a lie.

"You have a girlfriend," you reminded him.

"I know."

"Then this is over."

He took a deep breath. "I’m going to break up with Stella."

Your eyes widened with surprise and fear.

"You can’t do that."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn’t deserve that," you said, your voice trembling. "I don’t want to be the reason for that."

Min Ho ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "You’re not."

"Of course I am," you insisted. "If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be thinking about this."

Min Ho shook his head. "No. This was happening before. Stella is amazing, but she’s not…"

He stopped, but you understood what he didn’t say.

"She’s not you."

Your chest ached.

"Min Ho, don’t do this. Don’t complicate things more than they already are."

"And what do you want me to do? Stay with her just because it’s the right thing?"

"Yes," you said, even though every part of you screamed no.

He stood in silence, watching you.

"Leave me alone, Min Ho."

The words came out before you could stop them.

Min Ho blinked, as if you had slapped him.

"Is that what you want?"

You nodded, your heart breaking in your chest.

He pressed his lips together, then nodded stiffly.

"I understand," he murmured.

He picked up the firewood and started walking back to the cabin without looking back.

You stood there, with the snow gently falling around you, feeling like you had just lost something you would never have again.

tags | @msromanreigns2023 @imagineme2you @yuwaimo @cassiewritessalot @lavnderluv

[aemondapologistfrfr]

As You Wish

aemond x betrothed!f!reader

is it broken pt 2 but can be read alone!

Summary: There are only days until you and Aemond are to wed but you can’t help yourself. You call for him in the middle of the night to see if he can help you find sleep. 

Warnings: 18+ innocent reader taking the last of aemonds control, swearing, vulgar language, mention of masturbation, fingering, oral(f), p in v, loss of virginity, breeding kink, overstim 

Authors Note: no plot just begging for aemond - i think i need to be sedated after this tbh

Word Count: 2.6k of pure filth 🤗

                                         ᓚᘏᗢ

ততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততত

Aemond groans when he hears rapid knocks on his chamber doors. Who could possibly be knocking on his door at this hour? He shakes his head deciding to ignore the intrusion. He slams his book shut when the knocks come once more. He walks down the stairs and rips his door open staring at his guard with a raised brow. 

“What is it?” he flares his nostrils. “What could possibly need my attention right now?” he looks down at him expectantly. 

“Your betrothed requires your presence.” Aemonds heart starts beating faster. 

“What’s wrong? Is she alright?” he’s stepping out of his chambers and sealing the door behind him. 

“She wouldn’t say.” the guard calls after him as he stalks down the hall. 

Aemonds mind races with what could be wrong. Are you ill? Are you hurt? Oh Gods what if something happened to you? As he approaches your chambers your guard looks at him with wide eyes. He steps out of Aemond’s way and nods before leaving the hall without a word. Aemond knocks once before slipping into your chambers and quickly scanning them, taking note that nothing is out of place. He clenches his jaw when he sees you kneeling on the ground with your head lowered.

“What's wrong? What’s happened?” he steps closer to you. “Tell me.” he whispers, tilting your chin up.

“Please, I need you.” you bring your hands up to his thighs and he takes in your pleading eyes.

“What do you need of me at this hour?” he clicks his tongue. “It’s indecent for me to be here.” he groans watching you lean into his hand. 

“Anything you’ll give me.” he notes the small whine in your voice. “I’ve been trying all night but my fingers can’t make me feel the way you do.” he watches your eyes well with tears. “My cunny just keeps crying. I think it’s crying for you, Aemond.” you scoot closer to him. “Please, please,” you look up at him begging.

“We’re to be wed in a couple days.” he hums, brushing your hair back. “Surely you can wait.” you let out a small whine. 

“I can’t.” you shake your head. “Aemond, please. I need you now.” you press your forehead against his leg. 

He watches you cling to his leg and continue to plead and whine. He shouldn’t but.. The way you’re on the verge of tears over wanting pleasure is slowly eating away at him. It’s only a couple more days, he could wait but.. Who would find out? What does it- Aemond is pulled from his thoughts as you run your hand over his length. 

“Please, Aemond please.” you grab onto his hardening cock. “I need you desperately. I- Thank you,” you almost sob as he scoops you up and carries you to the bed. “Thank you, thank you.” you press your lips to his neck.

“All this and you still didn’t come?” he chuckles seeing the wet spot on your bed.

“No.” you bury your head in his neck. “I’ve been trying all night. You made me feel so good. I want you to do it again.” you hold him closer. “Please, Aemond my cunny is begging for you.” he feels his cock twitch and tosses you back on your bed. 

He watches you bounce up and down before he starts to crawl over you, pulling your slip up slowly. Discarding the fabric he’s greeted by your pebbling skin. “What do you want tonight?” he dips down to circle one of your nipples with his tongue. You grab one of his hands and lead it between your thighs, whining when he just leaves it there. “Use your words.” he mumbles against your chest. 

“Move your fingers.” you whimper when he wiggles them once.

“Like this?” he chuckles.

“No.” you rock your hips. “Put them where it's wet, like right here.” you guide his fingers to your slick bud and let out a soft moan. “Please,” you gasp as he slowly starts to circle his fingers. 

“Slow like this or like-

“Yes,” you cry out when he moves his fingers faster. “Please Aemond,” you arch into his mouth as he takes the peak between his teeth. 

You're bucking off the bed as he continues to swirl his fingers through your wetness. He kisses across your chest as whimpers fall from your lips in a sweet melody. When he takes your other peak into his mouth he chuckles, feeling you squeeze your legs around his waist as you let out a soft cry of his name before his hand is met with your pleasure leaking out of you. 

“Better?” he continues to move his fingers enjoying your small gasps. 

“More please, Aemond,” he kisses up your chest to your mouth and moves his fingers even faster. “Mm, I’m- please,” you whine into his mouth.

“Are my fingers making your little cunny feel so good?” he smiles when you nod your head quickly. “Are you going to fall apart for me again already?” he kisses down to your neck and sucks softly. 

“Yes, Aemond please,” with a couple more circles of his fingers you’re going taut beneath him. 

“You’re perfect.” he whispers in your ear as he slowly removes his hands. 

“More.” you breathlessly plead, grabbing onto his arm.

“My Gods,” he shakes his head with a smile. “Will you ever be satisfied?” he listens to your soft pleas as you squirm under him. “Maybe after I lick your cunny you’ll go to sleep.” he begins to kiss down your body.

He’s given up trying to have restraint with you and lets his mind race of just how thoroughly he plans to take care of you tonight. His hands grip your thighs and press them open on the bed as he licks a stripe up your center. The moan that comes from your throat has his cock growing even harder. The only sounds he can hear are himself slurping at your wetness and you whining, making him pull you even closer. 

“Yes,” you squeak when he presses his tongue into your core. 

You feel his chuckle when your toes start to curl as he licks up to your bud. He flicks his tongue quicker and you arch off the bed, gripping onto his arms. Your body is humming with pleasure and you feel another wave building. He moves one of his hands and your leg immediately presses against the side of his head. He circles a finger around your center and he hears your gasp.

“Do you want me to make your cunny feel better on the inside too?” you nod your head quickly.

“WIth your cock? Please, yes,” you whine, nodding and spreading your legs wider.

“Your cunny isn’t ready for my cock yet.” he chuckles, slowly pushing his finger into you. “Tell me how it feels.” he dips down and starts to slowly lick at your bud again. He feels your legs tremble as you start to flutter around his finger. 

“More.” the word let out on a heavy breath. He starts to move his finger faster along with his tongue. “Yes, yes,” you gasp as he starts to press another finger into you. “Aemond,” you plead, rolling your hips on his fingers.

He glances up at you and groans when he sees your hands grabbing onto your breasts. He moves his fingers faster when he feels you start to squeeze around him. Your whimpers become more high pitched and he lets his eye close when your legs clamp around his head. His fingers become coated as your pleasure starts to seep out of you. 

“Aemond,” you arch off the bed as he continues with his movements. “Mm, I’m gonna-I,” you pulse around his fingers with a small cry. 

Your legs slowly loosen around his head and he lifts up to watch you breathe heavily and reach out for him. He rises off the bed and smirks when he sees your cunny still softly flutter around nothing. He starts to remove his clothes and you prop yourself up to watch him. You take your lip between your teeth as he discards his trousers and starts to crawl back onto the bed. 

“Will you fill me tonight?” you blink up at him as he hovers above you. “Please,” you reach between the both of you and grab his cock. 

“Gods,” he grunts, pressing his forehead against yours. 

“Aem, please,” you whine, swiping your thumb against his leaking tip. “Husband,” you whisper and what was left of his control leaves his body.

“You don’t even know what you’re begging for.” he wraps his hand around yours and removes it from his cock.

“You,” you shutter as he trails his tip through your witness. “Your cock,” you rock your hips. 

“Mm,” he presses his tip against your bud. “I’ll fill you with more than just my cock.” he slides it back down and presses against your core. 

“Please,” you whimper. 

“Shh, shh,” he presses his lips to yours. He lines himself up and slowly starts to press into you. “Gods,” he groans as he continues to push into you. “How are you feeling?” he watches you slowly peel your eyes open.

“Full,” you gasp as he finally settles inside.

Aemond focuses on his breathing as you start to relax around him. You whimper as he starts to circle your bud and slowly pull out. The sounds coming from your mouth become louder as he starts to pump into you. Your arms wrap around him and pull him down to your lips. He keeps his pace languid as you dig your fingers into the back of his neck.

“You feel so good.” he pants. You let out soft moans of his name and he smiles starting to move faster. The breath is knocked from him when you wrap your legs around his waist just before letting out a string of whines. “How are you feeling?” he’s trying his hardest not to pound into you. 

“I feel you everywhere.” you whisper, arching up into him. “Please move,” you jerk your hips and he grunts. 

“I don’t know if I can move slowly right now.” you shake your head at him. 

“Then fast.” you whimper, rocking your hips. “Anything, please.” the words are stolen from you as he snaps his hips into yours. 

“You can always tell me to stop, okay?” he pulls back and searches your cracked eyes. 

“More.” you jerk your hips again and he chuckles. 

“As you wish.” he snaps his hips back into yours and watches your face scrunch with pleasure. Your moans begin to pour out of your mouth when he starts to pick up his rhythm. 

“Aemond,” you claw into his back as he circles your bud once more. “Yes,” you gasp and pulse around him. 

Aemond grunts and continues to snap his hips into you as you squeeze his cock. You hold onto him as if you’re falling, letting your moans spill out of you as they please. Pleasure becomes your only feeling as you feel him slide in and out of you. You’re pleading and pulling against him for more and he shakes his head before pounding you into the mattress. 

“This little cunny is going to be filled with more than just my cock.” your eyes start to roll back. “Going to fill it with my seed and watch it leak out of you.” he feels his stomach tighten. 

“Please,” you whisper. 

“And I’ll keep filling you until you’re swollen with my child.” he falters as his pleasure starts to fall over him. “Gods your cunny is milking it from me.” he groans, pressing into you one last time. 

“Again.” he can’t help the laugh that escapes him at your breathless plea. “More.” you pull him down to your lips. 

“Aren’t you tired yet?” he lifts up and searches your face. 

“Please, one more time.” you jerk your hips up and he starts to harden once more. “Please Aem,” you whine and he leans down to kiss your neck. 

“Then I’ll keep filling and fucking you until you can’t speak or open your eyes.” he starts to rock his hips into yours. “Fuck you straight to sleep.” he softly bites at your heated skin. 

“Please.” you hold him closer. “Yes,” you whine as he starts to slowly harden inside you one more.

He listens to your small whimpers as he continues to push his seed into you. Lifting himself up, he leans back to watch his come coat his cock as he presses in and out of you. His eye snaps back up to you when you grab his arm. He grabs your arm and places it over your head and he leans back over you. 

“Give me your other.” he whispers against your lips. You lift your other wrist up to him and he engulfs it with your other and you blink up with him. “That’s my good girl.” he snaps his hips into you once. 

“Harder.” he offers you another hard snap of his hips and you whine beneath him. His fingers dig into your wrists as his thrusts become demanding. “Mm, I.. I,” he watches your eyes roll back as he starts to press you into the mattress with each stroke. 

“Fuck,” he curses lowly, feeling you pulse around him. “Your cunny is begging for more of my seed.” he lets out a breathy chuckle as you nod your head beneath him. “Look at you.” he hums letting go of your wrists but you’re too blissed out to move them. 

He leans back and starts to pound into you while watching your breasts bounce with the intensity of each thrust. The whimpers coming from your mouth are nonstop and spur him on even more. He brings his thumb down to your bud and you let out a small scream before falling apart around him. His pleasure is quickly approaching watching you slide around the bed and babble. 

“I’m.. Mm, mm ple-“ you gasp as you feel him start to fill you again.

“Your greedy little cunny is squeezing all my seed from me.” he groans, rolling his hips. Your legs fall from his waist and he watches your chest heave. “How are you feeling?” he sees you struggle to crack your eyes open.

“Mm,” you whine as he starts to pull out. His eye watches his seed slowly leak out of your trembling cunny. 

“Are you satisfied enough to go to bed now, sweet girl?” he lays next to you and smooths your hair off your face. 

“Stay.” you whisper, turning to him. “Please.” you cling onto him. 

“I’ll stay.” he wraps his arm around you and you lay against his chest. He opens his mouth once more but hears your even breathing and softly hums before trailing his fingers down your spine. “Sleep, my perfect wife.” he leans down and presses his lips to your forehead. 

ততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততততত

masterlist  ⏾  wips  ⏾  taglist

besides my on-going aemond series i don’t have anything else for him on my wip rn so slide w ideas maybe 👉🏻👈🏻

@ka1afbr @ninihrtss @daintylittlesunflower @primroseluna @alexxavicry @misspendragonsworld @papichulo120627 @ashovertheriver @gabriella-aesthetic @moonymoo1 @faenyra @uwuuness @lizzylovebooks280501 @nostalgiagoth03 @multilover19 @summer-and-sunflowers @eternalwinters @rere10 @sxlsvv @sarahrosw36q @tricksterreaper @somethingsaladsomething

[revelboo]

Skin and bones part 12 when 🙏

Now!

Skin and Bones Pt 12

Megatron x Reader

• Leaning slightly over you, he brushes his mouth against your cheek and your head lifts, hair in disarray and those eyes sleepy. And you’re warm where he’s lying against your back, an arm draped possessively across you. When is the last time his recharge has been so peaceful? When he’s not been haunted by nightmares? The Nemesis could survive a rotation without him. And maybe Starscream won’t try anything for a little bit, no one will need him to solve idiotic problems and he can just have this.

• Face heating as he murmurs a growling ‘hello,’ you remember the feel of his big body caging yours. How gentle he’d been after, cleaning you and himself while peppering little kisses against you. And that had slid into another round of urgent love making. The thought snags at you and you shove it down. It’s just sex. Once love gets involved, it’s going to end up hurting you. Know you’re already falling for him hard despite knowing better. “Hey, you.”

• “Still awkward?” He asks teasingly as you smile, little fingers tracing shapes on his arm. Nothing about this is awkward to him, it’s like a reprieve from his past. Like maybe he can move past his mistakes and start over. Think about a future. About possibilities. “We could just spend the rotation right here,” he murmurs, lips brushing your neck to make you shiver. “Talking.” And not wondering if humans and Cybertronians can bond. About how good it would feel to find out, to feel you stroking through his spark.

• Turning in his arms to look up at him, you reach up to cup his cheek, thumb tracing the warm living metal of his face. Alien but so familiar to you. “Just talking?” There, warmth spills through you as one corner of his mouth twitches slightly and he presses a kiss against your palm. The gesture so achingly soft. Making you realize you’re lying to yourself. There’s no risk of falling in love, because you’re already there. You love him. Swallowing down the sudden panic, his servos tip your chin up.

• “What’s wrong?” For a moment there, you almost look afraid, but then you’re forcing a smile, arching into him to brush your mouth against his. And his spike responds, stirring against your soft belly as your kiss becomes a demand. Your little hands on him, clinging. Distracting him, head lifting as you make a needy little noise, he catches your hands and shifts over you to pin them above your head. Pinning you helpless under him shouldn’t make him hurt to be inside you like it does. Imagining binding your wrists, pinning you open and spread for him to conquer and claim. Growling softly, he shifts a knee between your thighs. “Talk to me, little one. I know something’s wrong.”

• Why does he have to pay so much attention to you? Pick up on everything. It’s not like you can just say it. Can’t tell him that you love him, because you’re just too different. That this will end with your heart broken no matter what you do or don’t say to him. “It’s nothing,” you whisper forcing a smile. Realizing that maybe you don’t want to go home. That maybe you want to stay with him. And afraid that he’s only interested because this is temporary with no strings attached. You don’t think he’s like that, not really, but you can’t push the thought away once it occurs to you.

Previous

[bweeeb]

SHE

Summary: When Mattheo and Theodore really fill you up for the first time they guarantee that you will never get hurt.

warnings: English is not my first language. It's very short, nothing special. Maybe a start to something if you want.

Maybe you were the problem.You definitely weren’t the problem.But what if you were?For an entire month, you hadn’t dared to lower your head, but every time you entered your dormitory or prepared to step into a crowded room, the air emptied from your chest.You felt like you were walking in circles—this was supposed to be a better year.

By the Gods, every time your parents asked in letters about new friends and school activities, you bit your cheek so hard that you tasted blood, just to gather the courage to lie to them.You had left Ilvermorny because of the exclusion the girls always subjected you to. Your only friend had been transferred, leaving you alone with the terrifying feeling of never having a moment of peace in that place.Hogwarts was supposed to be a good school, a place where you could make new friends and have fewer blackmailers around. And yet, two months later, there you were, your books thrown to the ground along with a frog conjured by one of the Slytherins.— Hahaha, wow, thanks, that was really funny. You muttered with no emotion in your voice as you knelt down, using one of your books to swat away the slimy frog and gather the rest of your things.

— Are you complaining, you freak? I could shut that little mouth of yours right in the position you're in. One of them said, stepping closer and gripping your hair tightly, making your eyes water from the pain.

— She’s not even that ugly. I think I could actually get hard looking at her like this.Another one of them said, laughing along with the others.

— Fuck off, stop touching me.

You growled, feeling the tears spill involuntarily down your cheeks.— I can’t believe you’re a Slytherin—you’re a disgrace, that’s what you are.

Voices in the corridor started echoing closer.

— Hey, what the fuck is going on here?The Italian accent gave away Theodore Nott from his very first word.

— Just stay out of this, man.Another voice, and it was obvious that Mattheo Riddle was the one with the rough, uninterested tone.

— Dude, she’s crying.Your whimpers were loud

—there was no way to deny it.

— Some cry, some scream with joy, I don’t decide that.Mattheo said, rolling his eyes.

— Come on, Mattheo, stop being an asshole.

— Shit. Hey, girl, are you okay?Mattheo stepped into the corridor and saw the malicious faces of the three Slytherin boys. But if it had been just any guys, Mattheo might not have immediately known something was wrong. But with that trio, something was always wrong.

— Fuck.

Riddle muttered, approaching with Theodore at his side in long strides. — You idiots, let her go.

— Stay out of this, Nott.

— So that means I can punch you, then.Before even getting a response, Mattheo punched the guy holding you hard, knocking him to the ground.

— What were you planning, huh?Nott asked, threatening the other two boys, who started shaking their heads while Mattheo kept hitting the one on the floor.

— N-nothing.

— W-we swear, w-we don’t want a-anything to do with that bitch.

As soon as those words left one of their mouths, Theo clicked his tongue against his teeth and punched the guy in the face, giving enough time for the other one to run away.

— Don’t. Talk. About. Her. Like. That.

He said, pausing between words as he increased the force of his punches.

— You and your friends better not even look in her direction, do you understand me?Theo heard Mattheo say to the other guy, gripping the bloodied collar of his shirt. As soon as the two ran off, battered and bruised, both boys turned their gaze to you—fragile, wide-eyed, clutching your books tightly.

— Thank you. You whispered, embarrassed, and quickly got up from the floor, wanting to get away from there as fast as possible. Then, you disappeared down the corridor, still under the watchful eyes of a very intrigued Theo and Mattheo.

— Dude, how many times do you think this happens?

— I’ve seen her around once. Should’ve paid more attention. She’s cute.

— No one fucking touches her.

— Not anymore.

[bloodblanks]

one umbrella cover two [mr. scarletella x reader] — chapter xiv.

You and Mr. Scarletella find each other again.

note: reader is not player (mc).

author’s note: dead dove: do not eat. this fanfiction will contain dark and explicit content, including heavy dub-con, stockholm syndrome, violence, and similar themes.

this specific chapter contains graphic depictions of suicide and self-injury.

please read at your own discretion.

<- previous chapter

Had he been wrong in hoping for something more?

He gently rotated his left wrist, allowing the Syrah to swirl in its glass. The movement came out a bit ragged; the deep laceration running down the length of his wrist was debilitating his motions. His right wrist was in much worse condition. The vertical gash on this side was much deeper, the blade having severed every blood vessel in its way, carving down into the fatty, gelatinous innards of his arm. He didn’t try to use it; his left hand was sufficient for holding the wine glass. Instead, he let the limb hang limply to his side, floating in the crimson waters of his much too extravagant bathtub.

As he brought the wine to his lips, taking a small sip of the liquid, he found himself ruminating over the choices that led up to this point.

From the completion of the project to the eventual residence he took up in the apartment—the chain of actions he enacted was nothing short of a spiral of infatuation, a descent into madness itself.

For he knew it wasn’t just mere curiosity anymore when he pushed on with the construction. He knew it was something deeper, something conjured up in the depths of his ghostly heart, a yearning for the mystery that surrounded this place.

How could he not?

It wouldn’t have been fair to expect him to deny himself of his attraction, not when the allure of the supernatural occurrences were a stark contrast to everything he’s ever known. Throughout his life, everything he knew of was controlled and predictable. This? This was anything but. This was the existence of something that stood utterly defiant to the world he knew.

With each passing day, each phone call made, and document signed as the project’s manager, he found himself deeper invested into the otherworldly force at play. Every minuscule incident, from the workers’ complaints to the news reports, fed further into his fantasies, as if they were fragments he plucked and gathered to build a concept brand new.

And that was what he fell in love with, completely enamoured by the idea of another world, conjured up to intricate detail in his mind, grander than any possibility on earth.

Because that’s what it was—a possibility. A chance, a potential at something greater, a reprieve from the crushing rain that submerged his world. It was an escape from the monotonous life he lived, a gleaming key to the shackles his family bound to him, and for it to appear at his apartment project—it must be beckoning him, too.

He had confided in the other realm, placed his trust in it when he finished the apartment complex at last, and instead of selling the entire complex as originally planned, claimed one of the flats for himself.

Father was highly displeased with his choice, but he had been smart enough to frame it as a desire for independence. Father liked independence. Father had encouraged independence since he was a child, especially in moments of emotional distress. He supposed he didn’t have much to cry about—everyone around him told him so—but during any moments of weakness, father’s response had always been the same; quickly shutting down any tears that fell.

It was much more work and much less profitable to sell the apartment buildings one by one, but he longed so desperately to find the other realm and the core of the supernatural instances occurring in this building.

If he resided here, he was sure to come across a being, a portal—something. What it was, he didn’t know, but he was vehemently excited to find out.

He worked vigorously during the day—talking to potential buyers, signing contracts, preparing leases. In the evening, despite the stress and exhaustion of the day, he was still energetic, hopeful about a paranormal sighting, even just a missing item; a crumb to add to his incandescent beams of hope.

However, as time passed without any unnatural occurrences—not even a missing sock—the blazing flame in his chest became harder and harder to sustain. The legal documents and affairs began wearing him down, his lack of autonomy now too difficult to ignore, the simple humdrum of everyday life eroding his dreams. Without any fuel to sustain the fire, the once majestic hope he had withered down to pitiful, dying embers.

The downpour grew fiercer, a violent storm saturating every corner of his world.

Perhaps he had been foolish for believing in the supernatural. As he drowned, immersed in his work and alone, he couldn’t help questioning his faith in the other world.

Had he been wrong, after all?

The static in his eardrums began to buzz louder, overshadowing all other sounds. It wasn’t like there was much for him to listen to, anyway. The only calls he received were about work, so mundane that he could recite his half of the conversation without needing to pause or think.

As he sat alone in solitude, he could hear his own thoughts amidst all the noise. A mocking, twisted mimicry of his own voice, echoing the same broken sentence.

You knew it all along, didn’t you?

No, he wanted to scream. It’s not true. But as the voices kept reverberating, as the static kept buzzing, as the rain outside kept splattering against his apartment windows, as the emptiness in his heart grew to be something excruciating, something unbearable—he was no longer able to run from the truth.

There was never any other world. He had only allowed himself to believe otherwise in desperation, in a miserable attempt to escape his reality.

Oh, but he was a fool, hopelessly and madly in love with the phantasm of the abyss, the afterimage branded behind his corneas when he closed his eyes at night. He was irrevocably infatuated with its call and beckon; he had allowed himself to become attached to his ghostly fantasies, only for the revelation to come crashing down twice as hard.

What a tragic existence he was.

He glanced down at the empty glass he had been drinking from. There was a singular streak of burgundy, the rest of the glass reflecting his hollow expression.

At that moment, he came to one final, decisive conclusion: if the other world wouldn’t take him, then he only had one other route of escape.

He refilled his glass of red wine. Walking across the room, he reached into his bedside drawer for the bottle of leftover painkillers from when he had his wisdom teeth removed. Unscrewing the cap, he placed the few remaining pills on his tongue, letting the wine wash them down.

He rummaged through one of his other drawers for a box cutter. Upon finding it, he returned to the dining room, retrieving his glass of wine and making his way into the washroom. He turned on the hot water, watching as the bathtub slowly began filling. When the water rose to the top, he gingerly stepped into the tub, letting the comforting warmth seep through his clothes and soak his skin.

It wasn’t long until the codeine worked its way through his system, rendering his mind fuzzy and body feeling much lighter. He pushed the box cutter’s blade out, placing it on his wrist.

For a minute, he hesitated. Not just out of sheer fear and his body’s built in survival mechanisms, but out of uncertainty. Was this really what he wanted?

Although his head was fogged over, he carefully attempted to ponder the question. He thought about what he would do if he put the blade away right now, before realizing he would return to his insignificant life, where everything had been predetermined for him. Where his family were all empty husks of people, his friends motivated by business potential, and romantic interest from women inseparable from his wealth.

Where him continuing to live meant no more than him dying.

In one harsh movement, he slashed down his forearm, skin and flesh instantly rupturing beneath the unyielding blade.

He inhaled sharply, gritting his teeth in a painful grimace as agony flooded his senses. Despite the opioid dulling the sensation, it was still unmistakably excruciating. He swapped his blade over to his other hand. This time, the incision was much more shallow, both due to his arm lacking strength and his nerves dissipating.

He dropped the blade. It clattered against the pristine washroom tiles.

After a moment—he needed to collect himself and recover from the blinding pain—he reached down to his side, picking up his wine glass. Spurts of red splashed onto the floor. He pitied whoever would have to clean this up.

Letting his other arm fall back down and sink into the water, he watched as scarlet emanated from his wounds, staining the once clear water, turning everything a brilliant shade of red.

He took a sip from his wine, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. The static and the rain began to soften, the everlasting cacophony finally coming to an end—a mellifluous coda.

As his eyes fluttered one last time, he could swear he saw a ghostly silhouette of a woman. How ludicrous, he thought. Even in my last moments, I can’t let go of this dream.

The wine glass shattered against the floor.

—

Me dead?

The vision he just experienced caused him to falter, stumbling as he teetered off balance, the sheer weight of the events nearly toppling him over.

Me dead.

He had died, hadn’t he? The memories were vivid and unmistakable. He had died as a human.

Strange, he thought. He had never feared death before, only ever looked at it as a state of being. You were either alive, or you weren’t. Death was not a concept to be afraid of, it was simply part of his existence as an inhuman entity. He had killed others without thinking twice, much like the other residents of his realm.

A lot afraid.

Yet, at this very moment, the thought of his own death was a cold, heavy stone splashing down into the well of his stomach, flooding his viscera with heavy, glacial waters.

Heart sound loud. Fast.

It was all he could hear, the sound of rushing blood through his bloodstream, pulsing in his eardrums, bouncing off his skull. Once again, he was feeling dizzy, lightheaded and nauseous, the floor shifting beneath his feet, the room spinning like a carousel.

Not understand.

It didn’t make any sense. None of this made any sense. If he died as a human, how could he have become what he is today? He’s never seen any of the dead humans in this place come back to life; not even as an entity.

He reasoned with himself that perhaps those recollections weren’t his, after all. They didn’t line up with anything he knew. If he had passed away then, he wouldn’t still be here, now. And the entity he saw—it couldn’t be possible. He wasn’t entirely sure if the entity was real or not. In the memory, it felt like a sadistic delusion his mind conjured at the last second. However, he knew what the human in his recollections did not; the other world did indeed exist. The entity could have truly existed, but that conflicted with the knowledge he had.

He was the first and only entity in this realm. He didn’t remember it too clearly anymore, but he distinctly could recall waking up here, alone.

Yet even with this knowledge, he found it hard to deny his relation to the visions. Because somehow, deep in his viscera—he knew they were his.

Need search human. Danger around.

But this was no time to contemplate his existence. He staggered as he recomposed himself, muscles tensed and alert as he tried to recall where your voice came from.

Left, right, no— Up.

He rushed around the corner in search of a flight of stairs, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he dashed up the stairs, stepping through the first room he found.

The inside of the room was blanketed in pure ebony. It wasn’t too unusual for spaces to be devoid of light; some of the residents preferred to lurk in the shadows. However, he didn’t think there would be anything relevant to find here, until his form materialized and settled and his leg knocked into an object.

To his surprise, he heard you shriek, his eyes widening as he realized he had located you.

“Y/N?” he breathed.

Silence filled the room, moments passing before you finally spoke.

“Mr. Scarletella?” he heard you reply, your voice just as breathy.

Find human. Find human!

A smile broke out over the entirety of his face, a grin tugging the corners of his lips up from cheek to cheek. In that moment, he felt akin to a Christmas tree, his body wrapped in a myriad of lights that all turned on at the same time. And his heart, oh, his heart was at the centre of it all, a brightly glowing star, completely illuminated by your presence. Shining at the thought of you being safe, being here, being with him.

Happy.

“Me find you,” he reassured you. “Not need afraid.”

You didn’t say anything. Instead, he felt your hands—adorably small—feeling around his legs, seeming looking for something solid to steady yourself.

He reached down, taking one of your hands in his. Instantaneously, your other hand clasped onto his, before he felt your weight as you hoisted yourself back up to your feet.

“You okay?” he asked, wondering to himself if he should look for a light or simply bring you out through the room.

Human not speak.

Once again, you were quiet, leaving him perplexed as to why you weren’t speaking. It was then that he felt your arms wrap around his waist, hands resting on his lower back and face pressing into his stomach.

His eyes snapped open with shock, his body frozen over like a lake on a cold December night.

You were hugging him.

It was the first time in the entirety of his existence that he knew of for this to happen. Never before had he been hugged. He had embraced you once, when comforting you during your initial meeting, but you hadn’t been too responsive. He didn’t blame you; you were scared and in pain.

This was different. This was you holding him, your arms wrapped around his body. This was your initiation, your gesture of affection. His heart soared, the organ ready to burst as it swelled with tender adoration for you.

Me adore human. Me adore you.

Just as he was about to speak—express his fondness for you—you uttered three words that simultaneously froze over and shattered the very space he was in.

“You find me.”

next chapter soon...

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thank you everyone for reading and supporting my work! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

[bomiten]

my favorite loser ⋆˙⟡

#%! oneshot (1,837 words) #%! tokuno yushi x gn!reader

requested by ༘⋆ anonymous

synopsis .ᐟ what's your loser classmate doing with the ball on the field? huh. maybe being forced to watch your brother's game wasn't such a terrible idea after all.

content warnings .ᐟ minor profanity, strangers to lovers, massive loser yushi, silly mean reader, consensual (?) bullying, is it really strangers to lovers if one person has been crushing for years?

✄┈┈┈┈ january 01, 2025 – 9:43 am.

A whistle sound blares through the entire field, effectively waking you up from where you're seated at the bleachers. You’ve been idle there for nearly an hour and a half, irritation bubbling from your core. You could have had enough time to shower and change out of your pajamas if it weren't for your brother rushing you. He’s barely even late!

How did you end up at one of your brother’s games, you ask? Here's what happened exactly..

“y/n! get your ass ready, let's go!”

you groan loud enough for him to hear, you didn't even want to go to his game! and now you're being rushed, how annoying.

“I’m coming!” you yell back when, in fact, you were not coming down anytime soon. If he wants you to watch his game, he has to work for it.

thinking that your brother has left from the stillness of noise in the living room, it leaves you absolutely shocked out of your wits when he comes bursting through your bedroom door.

he charges at you and lifts you over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes, causing you to erupt in giggles. now you know to never underestimate a football player's strength!

“you need to get out the house y/n” he sing-songs, the grip on your legs never faltering no matter how much you thrash and wriggle out of his hold “I will go out! just not to watch you suck at football!”

your brother snickers, already out the door and nearing the car, “you’d be surprised how wrong you are, really” just as the car door flies open, he throws you inside and shuts it before walking to the drivers side “I’m not captain for nothing”

you sit up with a sigh, you already know he won't shut up about how much of an amazing player he is. to which– you agree, truthfully. you’d rather not let him know, though.

And that's your morning flashback. Thinking about it genuinely makes your head hurt, anger already simmering. Stay calm, positive thoughts.

Just as you finish calming yourself down, loud cheers erupt and soon enough, you spot your brother smugly walking to the center of the field, his teammates trailing behind just as smug as him. Proud smiles, puffed out chests– you could tell this is their thing, they're in their element.

In all realness, football does interest you. With the way your brother geeks out about it since you two were young, you can't help gaining the same fascination. So, being seated at the players area bleachers truly has you on your toes, making sure to fight every urge to keep your smile concealed.

Just before another round of yells explodes for the opposing team, your brother’s team jog to where you're seated, situating their things on a bleacher each, the coach giving you a kind smile as your brother high fives you. Deep down, you're just as pumped as him, and he knows that too.

You throw your brother an encouraging smile, and then look at the rest of his teammates to do the same. Until– what? Yushi? What’s that nerd doing here!

You two share the same shell-shocked expression, before yours turns into something inevitably evil. What a sight to see! Your favourite loser playing such an excruciating sport. Yushi pales, eyes shaking and mouth agape. No way you’re watching his game!

He's so, absolutely, cooked. He can’t possibly embarrass himself in front of you! Much to his luck, your brother smacks him on the back, snapping out of his fright, “yushi! You’re a starter, okay? Okay!” Really, he’ll just kill himself. But he guesses this way better than being benched and getting an earful from you.

He's not really sure what expression he’s making, but from the way you giggle behind your hand, he figues it’s pathetic.

✄┈┈┈┈ january 01, 2025 – 12:13 pm.

The team was at their final set, a good 20 point lead. Honestly, you haven’t paid much attention to your brother, eyes glued on yushi, who, surprisingly, has played so well. Better than what you expected, atleast. I mean, really, what’s there to expect from a loser like him?

you bite your finger, currently yushi has the ball, running across the field as he aims for the goal. The opposing team's player that's running alongside him is positively three times yushi’s size. He bumps into the man, effectively making the player fall and roll over. You can’t help but feel anxious, will he even make that goal?

The whistle blows and the crowd cheers, he does make the goal.

And, well, he also gets punched in the face. Um..

“yushi!” You hear one of their teammates yell, running over to him and helping him to his feet. The amount of blood flowing out his nose is quite concerning. You look around the field for your brother. Oh.

Before you could even react to him charging at the player that punched Yushi, he’d already tackle him down and the referees are already separating them. He really needs to control his temper. sigh.

enough of that, you immediately jump on your feet the moment yushi was nearing the bleachers. “You fucking idiot” you exclaim, flicking yushi’s forehead, his teammates laughing. So much for controlling tempers. Guess it runs in the blood.

“couldn’t you have dodged that? What are you a football player for if your reflexes are slow!” You continue to scold him, his eyes turning the slightest bit watery before casting them down, deciding his shoes are far more interesting to look at.

Before you were able to continue your reprimanding, you felt a heavy arm sling around your shoulder, making you snap your head to the body next to yours. The sight of your brother’s face makes you gasp, instantly throwing his arm off of you.

“You-!” You half gasp and half shout, you hand smacking him behind his head, making the team laugh. “You fucking dumbass! Look at your face!” Your brother only shrugs, leaving you to walk over and sit at your chair, chugging his water in one go.

The commotion makes Yushi look over at you, cotton stuffed on both his nostrils. Poor boy, he looks like a wet kitten. Eyes glistening and a pout on his lips. How kissable.

What? What.

Weird observation.. anyways! Just as you were about to grab your bag, their coach clapped his hands together, announcing “celebratory lunch! You-” he gestures at you, “included!”

Sighing, there's really no escaping this one.

You plop down on your seat with a breath the moment their coach ushered the team back in the locker rooms. To which makes you groan frustratedly, because your brother takes way too long in the showers.

Luckily enough, the team owned ball was left on the seat next to yours. Bingo! You hop on your feet and run, throwing the ball on the field, giggling at the feeling of the grass touching your toes through your socks and slides.

How long has it been since you last played?

Running and kicking the ball around the field had you so occupied, you hadn't noticed a figure watching you.

“Um.. I didn't know you played..”

The sudden voice makes you yelp, almost tripping on the ball. You whip your whole body to see none other than Yushi, “what the hell, yushi!”

He squeaks, almost as if he expected you to have an explosive reaction. “Sorry..”

What a wimp. You roll your eyes and bend down to pick the ball up, before jogging back in front of him. “Where's your teammates, dork?”

Yushi juts his bottom lip out ever so slightly, eyes casting down once again, “finished first than them..” he murmurs.

“What?” You quip, “can't you speak any louder than that?”

Yushi huffs, cheeks puffed and glowing a hue of pink, “I said I finished first, so they're still inside” you stare at his face, the flush on him really makes him look adorable.

“Weirdo” your brain to mouth filter must've been upside down. Didn't you just say he was adorable?

Whatever. He didn't need to know what you thought.

Thinking yushi had nothing better to say (or do, other than stare at ball in your arms), you turn your back and run back to the field, completely shocking you when you turn to face the goal and he’s right there.

You click your tongue, “if you wanted to play with me, you could've just said so” admittedly, you found it endearing how he follows you around like a lost puppy. However he didn't have to know that “no need to creep up behind me”

“Actually..” yushi starts, fingers fiddling with one another, “why are you here?” you tilt your head, were you not allowed to be here?

You hum, “to watch my brother. Why” you smile, a remark already at the tip of your tongue, “did you think I was here for you?”

Yushi looks at you, the look in his eyes unreadable, “yeah”

huh? huh.

“What?” what? Yushi sputters at the look on your face, eye wise and mouth agape. “I– uh– uhm..” words, yushi!

You try your best to fix your expression, letting yushi explain himself, “uh huh?”

Yushi looked around to make sure no one was around. Huffing, he shuts his eyes tight and leans forward, pecking your lips. The soft feeling of his lips came as soon as it left. What the hell.

A beat, two, three. And you're bursting out in giggles, “what was that? You didn't even hold me at least!” yushi flushes a deep color of red from his cheeks, to his ears, down to his neck, his hands balled in a fist. He’s such a loser. So cute.

“I–” yushi yelps, head ducking down, “I thought you came to watch me” he whispers. It makes you laugh wholeheartedly, “so you kissed me?” Yushi whips his head up so fast it makes you worried for his neck, “no!”

“Then what is it, loser?” Yushi quirk your brow, his whole body flinching when you held his hand to drag you with him on the grass, sitting crisscrossed, “we’re not leaving here until you tell me”

yushi sits on his knees, hands balled on his lap, “I like you” he murmurs, “huh?” you tease, hearing him loud and clear from how close he’s sitting next to you. Yushi groans, an accusing finger pointed at you, “you heard me!”

He’s so endearing. “Okay, okay! Sorry!” You laugh, hand on his wrist, his skin steaming hot from embarrassment, “I heard you, loser”

yushi slumps on himself, “still loser?” there he goes again with wet kitten look, how could you possibly resist that? “Mhm,” you hum, dragging yushi down with you as you lay on the (dirty) grass. You turn to face him, slightly surprised that he’s already looking at you.

You smile, the kind that reaches your eyes, “my favourite loser” maybe coming to your brother’s game wasn’t so bad.

eek! yushi one shot with a new writing style, what do yew guys think? 😓 anyways riku smau update soon as a welcome back celebration yippee!

© bomiten 2025 - all rights reserved. please do not repost, plagiarize, translate, or share my work on other platforms. thank you.

[frostbiteisthenewjackieshauna]

A fractured line

summary: after your boyfriend breaks up with you, you find solace in your sworn enemy (and realize that obsessing over a girl for years isn't very straight of you)

a/n: listennn, I promise this is a Nat fic and I tried to keep the Travis part as short as possible, but there's tension between them from the beginning. it's also the first full length fic I've written in almost two years so be gentle guys!! constructive criticism is always appreciated! also if it does any good I already have an idea for pt 2 that involves sesbian lex and angst so let me know if you'd be interested in that!

warnings: break ups, shrooms, comphet reader, injuries, angst, no smut in this one, obviously swearing, bickering, reader has a redemption arc- mean girl!r in the beginning, mention of a fight- I think that's about it!

word count: 8.7k

You laid in Travis’ lap by the lake, feeling his slender fingers rake through your hair as you watched the illuminating sunset before you. Maybe, just maybe, if you were on a field trip with your friends from back home, sneaking in booze and huddling up to him on the drive home, you’d think this place was beautiful

“It’s getting colder” He said in a raspy voice above you

“Yeah, guess it is” You said, not taking your eyes off of the beautiful sky “No game huh?”

“Nope.” He said, feeling almost butthurt

“We’re so fucked” You said with a snort. You never had an issue with being mean blunt, even though it always sometimes sounded bitchy and outright rude. You were almost lost in your thoughts, but then felt him lean down awkwardly to press a kiss to your lips.

Truth be told, the only reason a girl like you started dating a guy like Travis was to get closer to his dad (and maybe become team captain). He didn’t question it much— dating someone as pretty and as popular as you was the usual Wiskayok boy’s wet dream. It worked well enough, coach did seem to favor you and you being the bitch you are, didn’t feel bad for Travis at all, but it had come right back to bite you in the ass— realizing you were falling for him was like a cruel punch to the gut. It was all you could think about, you never caught feelings for anyone before, not really, all you ever did was try to get something out of someone, but what does any of it matter out here? What do you matter, what is even the point of—

���You okay? You look like your head might explode” He said, you finally looked up at him

“Nothing, nothing I’m fine” You bluffed, looking back at the sky

“You can uh— you can talk to me y’know?” He said, something like that sounded a little wrong coming from him

“Mhm” You hummed, looking back at the sight before you

You heard a bit of ruffling signaling that someone was approaching you and you raised your head from Travis’ lap, sitting up next to him

“Ugh, it’s you” You groaned. Natalie Scatorccio. You didn’t like most of your teammates anyway, but she was something else completely. There was something about her that drove you crazy and you had no idea what it was.

“Nice to see you too Y/N” Natalie said with a scoff “Came to get you. We need your help with chores” She said after which you let out a dramatic groan, laying back down

“Sweep the fucking porch yourself” You called out, putting on Travis’ discarded flannel as it was getting chilly

“Oh you’re not sweeping the porch, princess” She said teasingly “You’re helping Shauna carve up the deer”

“I’m absolutely not doing that” You said, not bothering to get up, all while Travis watched the interaction with immense amusement

“What? It’s not organic or somethin’?” Natalie questioned, walking over to you, you stood up, tugging Travis who was now standing right behind you

“Yeah! I actually care what goes in my body!” You said with a snort, seeing her eyes darken just a little

“You’re such a bitch. Seriously, fuck you.” She said, trying to appear intimidating, though it wasn’t going too well. After a beat she walked off and you huffed out a laugh

“She’s not that bad, y’know?” Travis said and you turned around to face him. You hated your soft spot for him

“You wanna take her side now?” You said, deflecting. So typical.

“I didn’t say that, I’m just saying, you’re even meaner to her then the others. Plus, didn’t you say you wanted to try to be nicer and all that?” He said, at which you just chuckled, looking up at him

“This lighting is agreeing with you”

“Why thank you”

____________________________________________

Next morning, everyone gathered in front of the cabin, watching Taissa as she announced her plan to go searching for help. It was ridiculous, really. You all knew there effort would be fruitless, and that it was a huge risk.

“Like I said, we’re not on an island. If we go south we’ve gotta run into something eventually, a road, a town, anything!” She said, trying to reason with the girls. Safe to say, Van was very opposed

“Okay but you can’t just take our stuff” You said, leaning forward as Travis’ hand traced patterns on your lower back

“Yeah, I’m all for what you’re trying to do Tai, but the gun has to stay” Natalie said, you almost scowled at the thought of having the same idea as her.

“Then I’ll take some things that we don’t use every day. The compass, one of the axes—“ Taissa started again

“There’s a flair gun at the dead guy’s plane” Jackie chimed in

“Don’t tell me that you of all people are on board with this.” Van said in disbelief

The conversation flew by from then on, you completely zoned out.

Soon enough, you made your way to Travis’ room, seeing him packing a bag. What the hell does he think he’s doing?

“What are you doing?” You asked him as your eyebrows knitted together

“Oh uh— not to sound like a sexist asshole, but I think they could use a guy out there” He said as you sat on the bed

“You’re leaving?” You asked, sounding upset, the tone surprising both of you “I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine on their own”

You took the parfume he was going to pack, fiddling with the cap

“Yeah but still, the more people there are—“ He started, seeing the look in your eyes. You glared at him like he was saying the most ridiculus thing known to man

“I— Travis, don’t. Please, okay? Let them go through with their dumbass ideas, you don’t have to be part of it. Stay with me.” You said with an involuntary pleading gaze. It didn’t take him much convincing to stay- your puppy eyes and soft voice were things he rarely witnessed, and he took note of how genuine you really sounded.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” He said softly, you got up on your feet, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your lips against his. His hands landed on your hips as he kissed you back just as eagerly. You smiled into it, breaking the kiss while his hands stayed where they were. You were still just a few inches away from him, giving him a small smile. These were the kind of moments you relished in. You brought the forementioned perfume to your nose, sniffing it and and grimacing

“God, this is gross” You said putting the cap back on and tossing the bottle onto the bed

“Yeah, my mom gave it to me before we left, thought it’d be a good disinfectant or something” He said, smiling involuntarily as the pads of his thumb rubbed your clothed hips

“I think you’d actually make it worse if you put this on someone”

You two heard commotion outside, signaling the girls were saying their goodbyes

“Got anyone to bid farewell?” He asked jokingly

“No.” You answered simly with a smirk, kissing him again as you both fell back on the bed

He started peppering kisses all over your face and neck while you laughed, holding onto his shoulders

“Travis!! There’s a number of girls in this fucking cabin, I would not hear the end of it” You said, still chuckling. The boy above you let out a dramatic groan into your neck but hovered back up to kiss you once more

“I’ll go see what’s going on” You said, getting up. You did turn around once more before you left, seeing him grin like an idiot. When you left, you seemed to walk into an intense conversation shared by none other then Jackie and Shauna. Come to think of it, Shauna had been weird since the whole ‘shark week’ thing. Seemed almost tense, though it was very subtle.

“Y/N, hey. Uh— a bunch of us are gonna go to the lake, you wanna come?” She asked, earning a sharp look from Jackie, simply for inviting you

“Yeah. Yeah, sure” Shauna was one of the girls you got along with fine, though the same couldn’t be said about her best friend. Jackie was someone you truly resented, it’s like everything you longed for, she got, everything. Of course you could never say that out loud. It’d make you seem awfully insecure- which you definitely were, but no one needed to know that. Shauna seemed to have picked up on the slight tension in the air, which became more unbearable as each moment passed

“Let’s just go, okay?” The brunette said, hurrying off to get dressed

As you got dressed and went down to the lake, you started a casual conversation with Lottie— people had noticed you became nicer out here. Maybe it was the impending doom, or maybe just the fact that you’d go nuts if you didn’t talk to anyone. They weren’t sure, didn’t care what it was and definitely didn’t voice it. Most of the girls were simply glad they got to see the unguarded version of a person that most of them knew since kindergarten. But God bless Lottie, she was eagerly talking about something, but you were too focused on someone else to even notice.

“Nat looks nice without all the makeup, right?” No no, there was no way you just said that out loud, or looked at her enough to notice, was there?

“I- yeah, guess so” Lottie, being nice as she is said

You mumbled a ‘yeah’ as Lottie carried on with whatever she was saying, not being able to help your eyes which wandered back to Natalie. Whenever she was around you she had her guard up, and this was the first time you’ve seen her laughing and having fun with friends. She always fascinated you in a way. Her careless attitude and aloof demeanor were something not many people had the courage to show. You wondered how, maybe even envied her for it a little. But not the way you envied Jackie. It is a hard feeling to explain.

“Wanna go into the water?” Lottie asked, snapping you away from your thoughts

“Huh? Oh- oh, sure” You said, getting up

She soon disappeared to go talk to Laura Lee, Lottie that is, while you teetered on the edge, the lake being cold and all.

“C’mon, don’t be a wuss!” Natalie yelled while you graced her with an eye roll as a reply

You made one more step and sighed— which soon turned into gasp at the feeling of being splashed with the frigid water by none other then-

“Natalie what the fuck?!”

“Dude it’s for just shits and giggles!” She yelled out with an eye roll of her own “Just get in here!” She spoke again. She was being actually kinda nice, which made you think for a moment, but then you remembered what you’ve been trying to acomplish— be at least civil to people. Nat was definitely a good place to start, so you held back a snarky remark or an uncalled for insult and just jumped in. It wasn’t a welcome sensation, to say the least.

“Get on top of Nat, we’re playing chicken!” Shauna said, hung on Jackie’s shoulders. You did reluctently climb onto Natalie while Lottie and Laura Lee cheered. You pushed Shauna with all your might, laughing and raising your arms up once you defeated them. You could feel and hear Nat laughing under you as she tapped your thigh. The slight touch sent a shiver down your spine, but that’s obviously because her hands were cold.

“Good job!” She said, seeing Jackie and Shauna swim out

“Yeah yeah” You muttered, but before you could finish, she threw you off her and into the water. You let out yet another surprised gasp as your back scraped against the rocks underneath the water, though you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You were finally letting yourself be free for a little, and fuck did it feel good. The both of you laughed, holding each other underwater since she did fall on top of you.

“Wait wait wait—“ You started, fixing her eyebrows that were all mussed up, all while her eyes raked over your face, which you didn’t seem to notice.

“Uh- thanks.”

___________________________________________

The day went on, and after a couple of hours well spent lazing around and playing games, you lot did agree it was best to head back and start on “dinner”. You put one of Travis’ many flannels over your bikini (that was originally meant for the hotel pool) and grabbed your bag, walking back after.

“Hey! Wait up!” Natalie called out, rushing a little to catch up to you

“You talkin’ to me?” You questioned, turning around and slowing down a little

“Yeah, obviously…anyway you uh— you wanna go berry hunting before sundown? Could be fun” Nat asked with a tinge of hope and a small smile

“Yeah, no. Not my idea of fun.” You responded, turning back and walking now that she caught up and was by your side

“Well what about a card game or something before dinner? I just figure coach would—“

“What do you want, Natalie?” You asked, a bit annoyed, stopping in your tracks

“I was just—“ She started, but you cut her off

“We’re not friends…I mean— you know that, right? Jesus.” You stated bluntly

The blonde snorted before responding: “Yeah, we sure aren’t.” Nat said bitterly, walking off, or better yet, stomping

As soon as you all got back, you went to the room Travis slept in, seeing him reading a book. He looked kind of nice like this- without a care in the world, even though there was a lot to care for

“Hey, d’you have fun?” He asked, looking up and smiling softly. He probably didn’t even realize it.

“Yeah, I’m exhausted.” You said, dropping the bag on the floor and plopping down on the bed immidately

“No no no- don’t get the bed wet!” The boy exclaimed, which was valid, yet you did groan at having to get up again so you just dramatically rolled down, hitting the floor with a thud

“You are so extra.” Travis told you, chuckling, “And you need to stop stealing my clothes, I will run out of things to wear”

“You? I only packed clothes for a week! I’m actually going insane!! And I miss conditioner…and blowouts, and face masks. And cheeseburgers, I should’ve never held back” You stated groaning, the boy above you just chuckled at your little rant. He looked at you like you hung up the stars, which was cute in a way. However, you were so used to that look by now, you could barely register whether it was genuine. Still, you always felt like he didn't listen. Like- ever. Calling you random and extra were almost the only things in his vocabulary whenever you said more then two sentences.

“Travis! Y/N! Dinner is served!” Someone yelled— most likely Shauna, signaling you to finally make your way over and eat something.

____________________________________________

“There’re no queens in that deck, y’know?” Natalie said to Travis, walking into the cabin, though he didn’t respond

“Wanna try to hunt? I’m goin’.” She said— they were the designated hunters, but it was a bit of an unvocalized rule that one could take a day off if needed

“You go. You’re better at it anyway” He said, still fiddling with the deck

Nat snorted, packing her back before responding: “Your girlfriend is an asshole, y’know that?” The blonde asked rethorically, to which Travis just chuckled

“Am I interrupting something?” You asked, leaning against the doorframe and crossing your arms over your chest

“You’re good.” Travis called out

“And what are you doing this fine morning?” You asked Nat teasingly

“Hunting.” She stated bluntly, walking past you, which earned her a signature eye roll and scoff

“Well she’s got a twist in her panties…you know, I looked through that, there’s no queens” You said to Travis as your gaze softened, sitting next to him

“Oh I’ve heard” The boy responded, looking back at you before leaning in to give you a kiss “You slept through the entire morning, you feelin’ okay?”

“Oh no, yeah, I was just tired after all day yesterday…Any food left?” You questioned with a hint of hope

“Uhh, yeah. Jackie wanted to eat it but Natalie wouldn’t let her for shit.”

“…Oh” Well that did take you by surprise, I mean you tehnically weren’t rude to her but not exactly nice either

“Yeah, I’m gonna go to the lake, check out the fish traps” Travis said,

“Mmkay” You mumbled, giving him a peck on the cheek before he got up.

Now you were left all alone, a tad bit bored— you even considered doing chores, but after eating your hard earned food, definitely.

It felt like a fucking eternity, truly. You figured sweeping the floors couldn’t be all that bad, yet you were huffing and puffing as if you worked on a field all day. Although you could’ve been just biased— as a soccer player you were athletic anyway.

“Oh hey, you’re back!” You said excitedly, noticing your boyfriend had returned, letting the makeshift broom lean against the wall, “Wanna go for a walk? It’s pretty warm— is everything okay?“ You asked, noticing the look on his face that was much colder than the one he usually put on around you.

“Do you have just— like, no shame?” He questioned, leaving you wondering what the hell this was about

“Excuse me?” You asked with a small scoff, going up to the doorway

“Be fucking team captian? That is what you wanted?” He asked in disbelief, towering over you.

At this point, your throat felt dry and you weren’t sure what to do. Fess up? Bluff? Just say you don’t care and leave? But that’s the main issue of it all. You did care, for some reason. And you were afraid of losing him this way, especially out here.

“Look, I’m not gonna lie-“

“No?”

“No. Listen, maybe in the very beginning, yeah, I tried to get closer to your dad or whatever but the more time went on the more I started caring about you and-“ Your voice trembled. It was a weak response, a dumb excuse but it was the only one you could give

“Y/N I thought you wanted to- be together!” He stated, looking you right in the eye. It was always this way with him- beating around the bush before it becomes too much and one of you completely explodes. This time, it felt different, felt more serious.

You were on the spot, unsure of what to do or how to salvage the only relationship that actually meant something to you.

“I don’t know how to fix this. I’m not even sure you want me to.” A beat. “I just— I made a mistake”

“Yeah, well apparently so did I.” He said, throwing his arms up in disdain

“What the hell is that suppoused to mean?”

Your question was left unanswered as the boy simply walked away. You could hear the sound of his footsteps fading, your heart sinking a little more with each one. You hated it, all of it. The fact that this whole thing happened, this gnawing feeling, your eyes which were now watery, the shame and guilt or letting him find out in the first place. How the fuck did he find out?

“Y/N?” You heard a soft voice call out

You didn’t have to turn around as the mystery girl moved to stand next to you, placing a gentle hand on your back

“Nat? What is it?” The whole thing happened in maybe five seconds, but to you it felt like hours

“I heard the— are you okay?” She asked in the softest voice you’d ever heard from her. It took you by great surprise.

You looked at her even though your vision was mostly blurry, she stood close to you, trying to gauge how you’re feeling. There was absolutley no point in lying anymore so you just shook your head, which softened her gaze further.

“No no, it’s gonna be okay, let’s go for a walk, yeah?” She said and, you didn’t even fully register what she said. You also didn’t see her shooting Jackie a sharp glare- in fact, you didn’t notice Jackie at all.

Once you disappeared into the woods, the two of you settled down next to a small stream. It was quiet, and far away from everyone’s prying eyes. The blonde next to you pulled a flask out of her jacket pocket, handing it to you. You silently accepted, taking a generous gulp of…something. It was absolutley disgusting and made you grimace

“God, what is this?” You asked, passing it back to her, she chuckled before answering

“Vodka.” She said, taking a sip for herself

“Right…so how much did you hear?” You questioned, turning your head to look at her

“Not much. Just that last part.” She said, handing you the flask again “So what’d you do?”

You raised your eyebrows and sighed, taking one more swig before answering

“I uh- had a bad reason to get with him in the first place.” You said, practically scolding yourself

“Yeah, I figured it was something like that. But c’mon- it’s so obvious how much you care about him now” The blonde said, moving a little closer to you

“Not to him apparently.” Your voice trembled as your eyes watered again. God, this is not happening, you thought to yourself, not sure whether to be upset or embarrassed.

Here you were, sitting in bumfuck nowhere, feeling like the dirt on someone’s shoe and smuging your ridiculously expensive mascara over Travis Martinez. But there was Natalie too. She let you lean your head on her shoulder while rubbing soothing circles on your back. She made it all a little better. A little bareable.

“Do you think they’re okay?” You questioned after a series of sniffles and soft sobs, doing anything to get your mind off of this

“Hm?”

“Taissa…and the others.”

“Oh. I honestly don’t know.” She said, she knew she didn’t need to sugarcoat it around you. You shuffled just a little closer to her

“Thank you, for this, really.” She tilted her head down to look at you, and realized you were in fact, being genuine.

“Anytime.”

“I feel like- you’re the only person who’s not going insane out here. I mean Jackie and Shauna are being weird and Lottie’s fucking losing it—“ You started, realizing you were ranting

“Yeah, see how nice I really am? I’m sharing my very limited booze with you.” She said teasingly, to which you rolled your eyes, though this time it was playful

“Yeahhh! It’s radiating off of you.” You muttered, casually laying your head in her lap.

At this point, you were embarassed, upset, a little tipsy and definitely got a wave of post breakup clarity, so you weren’t exactly thinking about your course of action, though you did feel her stiffen up a bit. After a beat she eased into it, letting her hand travel lower to rub your back. It’s funny- this was a similar scene from a couple of days ago, though if anyone told you who it’d be with, you’d laugh right in their face. This time you couldn’t gaze at the sky, though you did gaze at its reflection in the small stream of water in front of you.

“How do you do it?” You asked in a low, raspy tone, not letting your eyes move away from the sight in front of you

“Do what?” Natalie responded, her movements stilling for a moment

“Not care. About anything. Or y’know, other people?”

The girl above you huffed in amusement, her gaze softening once you turned to lay on your back, looking up at her

“We all care, Y/N. Some of us are just good at hiding it. You are good at hiding it.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

You glanced into her eyes- a beautiful blue which almost matched the sky above you. At this moment it was all erased- the petty fights, disagreements, arguments, icing each other out during practice, almost beating the other up in the locker room after (it only happened once); all gone. There was just a girl above you, she looked like a different person and truly felt like it too. Maybe you were the one that changed. Maybe she was always this way, but you’d never given her a chance. However you swore that if you looked at her from a different angle, you wouldn’t recognize her.

“So are we okay now?” She asked, moving some hair away from your face. Her voice had an uncertainty to it, it wasn’t the first time you went hot and cold on her out here

“Yeah, we’re okay. Friends even?”

“That sounds good.”

“Let’s go back, yeah? It’s gonna get dark soon.”

Nothing could’ve prepared you for what you saw when you got back. You sure did get a few curious and skeptical glances simply for being together, but nobody said anything; They were preoccupied with Misty, Akhila, and Mari who were explaining just what happened to Van. It was gruesome, and it left you wondering how the hell she was still alive. Natalie and you rushed over, gathering any nesseceties to start tearing off into the woods and looking for them, even though you dreaded the impending search.

It was getting significantly darker and the group was losing any hope of finding Taissa and Van anytime soon, or at all. Maybe no one wanted to admit it, but everyone was out of their minds with panic and worry.

“Are you sure this is the way you went?!” Shauna asked Misty

“I- I don’t know, it’s dark, I can’t see anything!” The girl responded, she was cut off by flames that shone distinctly behind the trees.

“It’s them!”

The entire group ran towards their missing friends, catching the two girls collapsed on the ground. It was even worse than you thought- Van was unrecognizable and Tai looked plain exhausted and spent.

You never did well with blood and gore— or anything similar to it, Nat seemed to have caught on it, squeezing your hand reassuringly. Only then you realized she was actually holding it.

She never for a second let go of you, until you made it back to the cabin. You lot arranged a makeshift surgery table for Akhila to stitch Van up. It was a truly nauseating sight, a few girls, including Natalie were holding her down while Lottie, Jackie and you stood back, watching in horror and disbelief. Just as she was halfway through with it, you couldn’t handle it anymore.

You quickly ran outside attempting to get fresh air and take deep breaths, though it was in vain as you were hunched over and holding onto the pillar with one hand, emptying out the contents of your stomach moments after. It’s not like there was much anyway.

As you were finishing up, you heard someone storm out and make their way to you. Until you could make out who it was, they already walked up to you.

“Are you alright?” Travis questioned, placing a hand on your back

You thought for a moment, narrowing your eyes. Like what the fuck were you suppoused to say? How did he even have the balls for this? Anyhow, you didn’t have a chance to respond as today’s knight in shining armor ran out as well.

“Let’s go to sleep, yeah? You need it, after today.” Natalie stated, already pulling you along with her, you just nodded, eternally grateful for her spectacular timing

The blonde entered the cabin with you, dragging your sleeping bag over next to hers. As soon as she did you laid down, and she followed by with you. The couple of you stayed like that for a moment before she spoke up.

“I’m glad we kinda cleared the air up. I mean if you think about it, we’re kinda two sides of the same coin, right?” She whispered with a breathy chuckle

“Yeah, me too. You know, I never really apologized for—“ You started, trying to find the words

“Being an asshole? A complete douchebag?”

“Yeah, that.” You said simply, a small involuntary smile graced your face

“It’s okay. I’ve seen you out here y’know? Like— how you’ve tried to be more calm and shit…Not that I’ve been watching you or anything just—“ Nat’s little praise rant was cut off by an annoyed Mari

“Jeeeeesus, you’ve been fighting for years and wanna have your little heartfelt conversation now? Just let us sleep.”

To that, Nat and you let out another couple of those breathy chuckles before she whispered once more

“Night, Y/N/N”

“Night.” You whispered back, turning your back to her. You could feel her soft breathing even out against your neck as you drifted off, feeling a sense of safety. Something you hadn’t felt in a long time, even before you crashed.

It felt like less then minutes of sleep as you got rudely awaken by none other then Laura Lee, banging…something. You couldn’t make it out, not this sleepy. You groaned, raising your head in sync with Natalie, whose arm was clung lazily across your midsection. The two of you were so close that once you sat up, you could feel her slightly ragged breathing on your cheekbone.

“You’re gonna fly?” The sentance by Lottie took you out. Until just now, you were too drowsy (or maybe just distracted by Nat and your’s proximity) to pay attention to what the blonde in front of you was saying— she wants to fly the abandoned plane?

“But you don’t know how.” Nat said, sitting up straighter

“I’ve read the flight manuel, and I checked the gas tank, it’s full!”

“You cannot be serious.” You stated in disbelief

“Look, I used to watch my grandpa fly, he even let me stir a few times, I know that I can do this! And you can’t deny that Van need serious medical attention.” Laura Lee said. You felt gnawing deja vu, remembering everything that happened just the other day when someone was convinced they could find a way to get the fuck out of here.

“She’s not the only one.” Jackie said. A beat. “Shauna, tell them.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion, shooting a look to Natalie, which she returned. After a few seconds of slience, Shauna spoke.

“I’m pregnant.” The statement took everyone by surprise, it was followed up by a few gasps and a very curious Misty Quigley. There were also a few questions, though the only one that truly reached you was-

“Did it happen out here?!” By Mari. The thought and implication of the question itself made your stomach drop a little, though you were very relieved when Shauna replied with a firm no.

“It doesn’t matter when it happened, okay? It just matters that we get them both help.” Jackie said, looking around the room to get her point across

“Wait— if it didn’t happen here, who is the baby daddy?” You chimed in, only half joking, to which Nat chuckled beside you

“It doesn’t matter.” Jackie shot back

“Okay- no, Laura Lee, I’m not letting you do this. It’s not even close to safe.” Coach said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, at least to you

“There’s no safe anymore Coach Scott. Winter is coming, If I don’t do this then- we’re all gonna fucking starve.” The girl shot back at him. Her swearing did take you by surprise. And it’s not like Ben could do anything to stop her anyway. You couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope at the whole ordeal.

Not more than fifteen minutes later, all of you gathered to help clean up the plane, and take it out of the shackles that the woods themselves created. At this moment, you found yourself talking to Nat yet again.

“Okay okay, what is the first thing you’re gonna do when we get back?” You questioned, tearing the vines around the left wing

“First thing? Oh I was gonna say take a shower but realistically it’ll be lighting up a blunt” She responded with a chuckle “What about you, princess?”

You truly tried to ignore the little overlap your heart made at the nickname she always teased you with, you did.

“Uhh…well mine will be taking a looooong bath. And doing an everything shower after” You answered

“The fuck is an ‘everything shower’?”

“It’s literally everything you can think of doing to butter yourself up. Like- hair wash, exfoliating, shaving and then after a blowout, maybe a face mask or something” You explained, feeling almost too upset by not being able to do any of those things. But you had bigger things to worry about. Like y’know- staying alive and stuff

“Your dreams are much more expensive then mine.” She replied to which you chuckled.

And you didn’t notice. You didn’t notice her eyes lingering on your features because your own lingered on something else. Someone else.

Rather yet, your longing gaze lingered on Travis, who was apparently having a very entertaining conversation with none other than Jackie fucking Taylor. She had to take that from you too?

See that’s the thing about addiction- you never really notice or think about anything else. You didn’t even notice when the girls first called out that Laura Lee was ready to go, you just kind of walked along.

Everyone was hugging her and saying their goodbyes. She embraced every single person without a second thought except you. You saw the glimmer of hesitation in her eyes when she approached you. Could you have been that fucking bad?

You went in and wrapped your arms around her anyway. It wasn’t the time to be petty.

Coach made one last attempt to try and talk the girl out of her risky plan, but she didn't budge. The blonde took off, she was really fucking doing it. She was flying.

Every single one of you were ecstatic, cheering and running towards the edge of the lake. This had given you all more hope then anything else in the past couple of months. You could be back home so soon. A thought that crossed your mind was having a spa day with Nat, you're sure she'd never been pampered that way before. You thought about exploring this new friendship out in the real world, which sent a thrill through you. You reached for her hand since she was right beside you, and she happily held it. Everything in this moment was perfect.

"Is that smoke?" Jackie asked, your brows knitted together as you tried to look for the source of her concern.

You didn't have to look for long. Mere seconds after, the plane exploded with a big flash. The shriek you let out was practically inaudiable compared to the loud 'bang' the explosion caused. You were startled, falling flat on your ass on the cold sand beneath you, the force with which you fell pulled Nat down with you too.

She snuck a hand around your waist, gripping you tightly as you both let out soft sobs of disdain and shock. The sight of Lottie, crumbling down because of the sudden loss was too much to bare. You couldn't even begin to imagine how it must feel, losing a person so dear to you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the crisp morning the sunlight beamed through the cabin, waking you from your restless sleep. It had been weeks after the incident, but the weight of it was still very present. A few girls that were up greeted you, and you grumbled a quiet 'morning' to them. It wasn't good- you simply acknowledged that it was morning.

Your eyes fell to Natalie's sleeping form beside you. She looked oh so peaceful, one of her hands rested on your hip and the other was above her head. Her lips were slightly parted and they formed a small pout. All the muscles in her face were relaxed and her chest rhythmically rose and fell. She was beautiful. You snuggled up to her, hoping to get a bit more rest before the day. You felt her stir a little, seeking your warmth even in her sleep. After a few minutes you noticed her breathing differ, as well as her lips curving into a small smile against your shoulder. The two of you had grown impeccably close since your break up with Travis, the day she comforted you like no one else ever had, or would.

"Hey."

"Hey Nat." You said, turning to face her

"Sleep well?" She asked, removing the hand from your hip and placing it under her head

"Nope." You responded simply, popping the p

"Yeah I figured...I'm starving" She muttered, burying her head further into your shoulder

You let out a bitter chuckle before responding, "Welcome to the fuckin' club"

The two of you laid there for a bit, relishing in the calm atmosphere- knowing it wasn't gonna last much longer.

A few hours had passed by, and the entire group was now awake and huddled by the fireplace while Mari worked on making breakfast, the meal being none other then a bunch of worms Shauna and Akhila brought back. You sat at Nat's feet, hugging your knees close to your chest with one arm as the girl finally handed you your food. Your face contorted in a slight, involuntary scowel at the sight

"Just pretend it's fries or something, yeah?" Natalie spoke above you, to which you silently nodded

"God, I can't to this" Mari said, disappearing for a moment. Once she returned, she had a jar of some kind of liquid with her

"What is that?" "Was some berries I was trying to save, but i think it might've turned into booze? I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a drink."

"Do we think it's safe?" Tai asked with a hint of reluctence

"Do we care?" Good point.

"I don't!" You called out, extending your arm

"I have a few more." "If we have booze let's have a party." Jackie said in a flat tone- one that wasn't characteristic for her in the slightest

"Yeah, cause we have sooo much to celebrate" Taissa responded sarcastically

"Do we need a reason? We're gonna be dead in a few weeks." Jackie said, which yeah- true, but it was weirdly unsettling hearing it from her. She was the team's spirit, always hopeful and ready to offer reassurence and a smile. Even if you weren't fond of the girl, you wondered what could've changed her perspective so suddenly.

"...We packed dresses for the awards dinner. And it's gonna be homecoming soon"

"There's gonna be a full moon tomorrow" "Well there we go! We have dresses, we have booze, we can decorate...have sort of a moon homecoming." Jackie said, trying to convince the group

"More like a doom homecoming" Taissa said jokingly- though Van didn't seem to find it funny as she practically ran off

"A doomcoming" Lottie said, seemingly a bit out of it, but you did snicker at the idea. And so did Nat.

"Now that's a party idea" She said, looking over at Lottie

You leaned back, resting your head on Nat's knee

"Yeah, alright, a doomcoming- we'll drink rotten berries and celebrate our impending death.”

After that, you found yourself by Natalie's side, looking for branches, twigs, leaves, and little flowers, or anything that could help with decoration, really (which meant she was looking and you were walking along with her).

"So how've you been?" She asked, tearing something off a tree

"You know, you ask me that every day and the answer never changes" You replied, looking down at your grown out and chipped manicure

"Maybe I hope it will." She said sarcastically with her signature grin, turning to face you. Her expression suddenly became a bit more serious "He asks about you all the time, y'know?" She said reluctently, as if she was debating wether to voice it or not

And oh, yeah, him. That. You didn’t really care anymore, as bad as that sounds. Sure, it was tough at times, with him being around all the fucking time, but it had been a month or so, and to say Nat made it all easier is a rude understatement.

"You two really got nothin' better to talk about then me, huh?" You said sarcastically, picking a little white flower from the ground. She chuckled a little before speaking again

"I just thought you might wanna know he does miss you." She said, there was a bitter edge to her tone

“Maybe. But there’s no point in digging through the mud. All you get is dirty.” As you said this, you noticed the look on her face- none other than relief. You just wondered why she’d be relieved you don’t want anything to do with Travis anymore. But of course, you didn’t think too much of it.

"Do you wanna- go together?" Nat asked, fiddling with the makeshift decorations in her hand

"Like to the dance? Sure, I guess. I never went with a friend before." Ohh, you sweet summer child.

"First time for everything I guess" She said, walking again

You followed up behind her, ranting mindlessly about random stuff and the things you missed most about being home. She pretty much just listened, chiming in from time to time. That's what you loved about her, she always let you talk about anything yet never seemed to grow bored. Not only that, but in future conversations she even brought up little details you'd told her. She was listening. Soon enough you got back to the cabin, saying a quick bye to her before going inside.

"You done with that?" You asked Jackie, pointing to her pink caboodle

"Uh yeah, you can have it!" She said with a small smile

You muttered a quick 'thanks' , picking it up and applying a bit of make up, even though you kinda hated having to do your eyeshadow with your hands.

"Looks pretty." The girl said simply

"Thank you." You responded, not taking your eyes off the mirror. This is what you hated most about her- how fucking nice she was. If she was at least a bitch, you wouldn't feel bad about being a jealous idiot. Little did you know why she was being even nicer all of a sudden. But just like everything else, you brushed it off. Didn't think about it at all. Not when someone else was on your mind- there was no room for her.

What you couldn’t stop thinking about was Natalie. She looked, like, pretty today. Like, really pretty. You could only imagine how she’d look tonight. And yeah- you thought about her a lot. Almost whenever she was away, you thought about her. You didn��t know- but she was the same way. Sue you guys! You finally got a good friend that you can rely on and hug and smoke weed with and kiss! Woah- anyway. Yeah, that thought was a momentary lapse. Back to makeup.

Once you were done with all that, it was time to put on your dress. Which you couldn’t fucking zip yourself, ugh.

“Someone? Help please!” You shouted out, being met with hurried footsteps soon enough

“What? What? Oh, right, dress” Nat said storming in- maybe she thought a snake attacked you or something

You just snickered as she walked up to you, standing behind you to help you with the zipper. It felt oddly intense, really. First, she let her hand drop from your shoulder to you hip, then finally dragged the damn piece of metal up your back. If you didn’t know her, you’d think she was trying to act out a scene from a soap opera. But really, she was always this way with you- which is normal! Girls help each other out, is what you learned out here, Natalie just does it better then most. You finally turned around to look at her, raising your eyebrows and giving her an amused grin

"Well you sure clean up well" You said, leaning against the wall and crossing your arms over your chest. And you weren't lying. She looked fucking hot in a leopard print dress.

"Right back atcha...you done with your hair?"

"Uhh yeah, why?" You asked, furrowing your brows before she held a finger up and excused herself, leaving you wondering what the hell she was doing.

It didn't last long though, as she emerged back through the door in under a minute, holding two dainty makeshift tiaras that seemed to be made out of a few twigs in her hands

"I know it's kinda cheesy but- I figured you didn't make anything and all of the girls will probably put something in their hair, so I thought I could make us like- matching ones. You don't have to wear it!" She said, pretty much rambling. All you could think about is how thoughtful this was. And as she said, yeah, it was cheesy, but who cares! This might be your last party ever, might as well go all out.

"No no, Nat, I really love it. Thank you." You told her, glancing at the mirror as you put it on.

"Pretty." She said simply, and you tried to pretend it had the same effect on you as when Jackie said it earlier, or anyone really. Even Travis, though he never said it a lot.

"We should go...make our fuckin' amazing grand entrance and all that." She said, shuffling from one foot to another

"Yeah, let's go"

"Let the doomcoming begin!" Lottie called out as you all entered. It was a good thing, all this. Made you almost feel normal. Y'know- a teen girl, going to a high school dance, longing for a girl, boy.

First that went in were Jackie and Shauna, no surprise there, soon followed Mari and Akhila then Ben and Misty. After them, you and Nat came in while she held onto your arm. The two of you settled into a corner as she handed you a glass of the rotten berries.

Almost immediately after that, a small smile graced her face and she tugged on your arm, pointing back to the entrance. Pointing at Tai and Van. It was such an endearing sight, really.

"Are they-"

"Duh."

*kiss*

*cheering*

"Nat and Y/N too though, right?"

"Oh definitely!"

"Tonight's special, here" Natalie said in her usual sarcastic tone, giving you some of the broth Mari had made for tonight. I mean you were starving anyway, so you downed it almost immediately as the two of you engaged in conversation with some of the girls.

Bit of time had passed, and now that (almost) everyone was well fed, you moved onto the drinking. The berries were fucking terrible, but at least it was something.

"Stop." Lottie started as everyone turned to look at her, "We should have a moment of silence for Laura Lee."

"Yeah."

"To Laura Lee." "To Laura Lee."

Afterwards, the first to speak was Nat, "So, what now?" She asked beside you in anticipation

"Oh, now we just need the DJ to pump up the volume."

"What we need is a slow dance!"

Everyone looked around in anticipation before Lottie started humming 'Kiss by a Rose', to which everyone followed suit until someone played it on their walkman.

Natalie and you awkwardly turned to each other before chuckling. She took the liberty of wrapping her arms around your neck, whereas your hands landed on her hips.

Normally, you would've been seething at the sight of Jackie and your ex right in front of you, but you were too distracted by Natalie's slender frame dancing along with you. Not only did she block the view, but everything else around you. You still did feel a bit uneasy, and you fucking hated it.

"You wanna get out of here? I have real booze." Nat asked, of course she noticed. Fully noticed your discomfort with the situation.

"Please."

The two of you sat on the cold ground, taking a quiet breather, God knows you needed it. Both of you had been so stressed and tired, just like everyone else. Still, being with each other brought you a strange sense of comfort. It was weird- you'd only been friends for about a month, maybe even less, but it didn't make your connection any less strong

"Do you think Travis and Jackie will hook up tonight?" You asked suddenly- you felt strangely lightheaded. Could've been the booze.

"I uh... I mean I dunno." Oh how obvious it was she was trying to make you feel better.

"They probably will, right? He's so stupid." You muttered, bringing your knees close to your chest and resting your head on them.

"Hey, look, who cares, right? He's just a dumb boy, and he has no idea what he's missing." She reassured

"I mean like, yeah, he's a dipshit, but still. I don't even think it's about him, I don't know how to explain it..."

"Well you felt safe with him. Maybe you weren't in love with the person but just, y'know, being loved, liked, whatever. You got off on it." She said, still not drinking. That you noticed, and you were a little proud- she didn't ask for the bottle, not once. "And I don't mean like your puppets and arm pieces back home, more as truly appreciated."

"Damn Nat"

"See? I'm a total philosopher!" She responded with a small grin, one you learned to love

"Yup. Sure are. Oh also!" You started, laying down which she did too, "I don't think I ever like, formally apologized for always being a hugeee cunt. So- I'm very sorry."

"Well you're very forgiven. See how a near death experience softened you? Plus you apologized about fifty times." Nat said teasingly, turning her head to look at you

The two of you were just frozen in the moment, staring at each other whilst you laid so close your arms were touching

"Nat I feel reallyyy weird"

She giggled softly before answering, "You're high, so-"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah uh, you remember that time Misty poisoned coach?" "Mm."

"I think she put whatever that was in the food. Shrooms probably." Nat clarified, her eyes still boring into yours

"Seriously? Is it dangerous or something?" You questioned

"I mean, I don't think you can die from them." She said matter-of-factly

"Good enough for me. Dude this is an amazing buzz" You groaned out, tearing your eyes from hers and throwing your head back

She chuckled softly in response, still looking at you. And she wasn't ogling you or anything, she was fucking admiring you.

"You're stunning." She stated simply, her voice raspy and raw.

"Nat-" You started, but there was no way you could get any words out.

It could've been the shrooms, could've been the literal impending doom of knowing you were a dead girl still somehow walking. Maybe it was the loneliness of having your, admittedly toxic, safety net ripped away from you, or maybe the fact that you became a whole new person in the course of the last few months. You didn't know what it was, but you knew there was some kind of force pulling you towards this girl in a way that was more then friendly. Realizing that in the moment was like a soft caress, like one you'd never felt before. Accepting this was accepting a part of yourself you always knew was there, but it was buried deep down within you. But right now, you didn't care, for whatever reason mentioned. You just saw. You saw a beautiful, sensational girl before you.

Then you felt. You felt your heart do a somersault in your chest the moment you leaned in and brushed your lips against hers.

[atthepotters]

Knotting is Perfect

Omegaverse, first heat/rut, breeding kink, fated mates

Hinny

Explicit

3 chapters

29K words

Written for @hpknotfest

Harry was attending a party when Ginny came up to him and asked to speak to him. She informed him her heat was coming, and that he triggered it. The ever dutiful and caring alpha, he got her out of there as quickly as possible, but a first heat and rut is never without their hiccups.

Chapter 1

Harry was enjoying the party at the ministry as well as he could. Which meant not that much. He sipped his drink and then set it back down, surveying the room. Everyone was chattering happily to each other, drinks passed around and laughter bubbled from  conversations here and there.

A sudden streak of red caught his eye, and his gaze paused, smiling when he realised who it belonged to. His smile faltered quickly when she walked up to him wide-eyed and distressed.

“What’s wrong?”

She locked eyes with him. “You and I need to leave right now.”

“Why?” He looked around for any sign as to why but nothing was out of the ordinary.

“I—I can’t tell you here.” She blushed a deep deep pink.

[tealmisthams]

Hello! I'd love to request Foxiyo and Accidental feelings reveal

(it was so hard to just narrow it down to one request!!)

Thanks so much for the request! 💙

I really enjoyed writing this one and, as necessary as my word limit is, I'm currently regretting it because I really wanted to keep going. 😆 I guess it's up to you to decide what happens next. 👀

It’s also here on AO3.

Fox cast a swift glance at his surroundings, ensuring that no one in the Galactic Senate hallways was paying him any attention as he approached the door to Senator Riyo Chuchi’s office. Confident that no one’s attention was focused in his direction, he casually knocked on the senator’s door and then froze. One of the few benefits of senators paying clones little mind was that standing at attention made him nearly invisible.

He waited exactly one standard minute before knocking once more. After the second minute, he checked once again that no one was watching, before overriding the lock on Riyo’s door and slipping into her office.

A quick glance at his chrono verified that it was now 1003, three standard minutes after the designated time of his and the senator’s daily caf appointment. They had established a protocol in which, if Riyo hadn’t been able to return to her office by the time Fox arrived at 1000, he would enter of his own accord. They weren’t doing anything illicit, of course. They were merely meeting for caf and a brief discussion, nothing more, but they had still decided that it was best to keep their meetings as discreet as possible.

They didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea and Fox made sure that his own mind didn’t get the wrong idea either. Riyo was his… friend? Not his coworker, that was for sure. She wasn’t an acquaintance either, though. Probably best not to put a label on it. More than likely, she didn’t see it as anything meaningful anyway. Whatever it was, caf with Riyo was the highlight of each of Fox’s dreary days. However he felt about her—and there was no real use in analyzing it—he resolved to just be thankful for whatever time they spent together.

Riyo’s office was empty, as expected, so Fox sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, as he always did, to wait for her. He pulled off his helmet and set it on the table. She’d likely be here any minute.

That was when he noticed the datapad perched at the edge of the desk. He was just about to shrug and pay the device no mind, when a word on the screen caught his eye. The datapad was not only unlocked, but open to a message conversation. Fox had never been one to invade someone’s privacy, especially not intentionally, but his brain was too quick. It processed the words on the screen before he could force himself to look away.

P: Have you figured out what you’re going to do about Fox?

R: Not yet. I just don’t want to ruin what we have now.

P: But if you have feelings for him, isn’t it worth taking a chance?

R: That’d be wonderful, but I don’t think he sees me that way.

“Fox, what-?”

Fox practically leapt out of his seat and away from the datapad, when he heard Riyo’s voice.

“Senator! Sorry, your datapad, I didn’t mean…” He couldn’t remember ever being this flustered in his life.

He felt heat rushing up his neck and he was certain his face must be as red as Riyo’s was now purple. She quickly snatched the datapad off the desk and held it against her body, almost like a shield.

“No, don’t be sorry!” she insisted, her voice equally shaky. “I’m the one who left it and now you must feel so uncomfortable. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Fox stared at her for a moment. If someone had told him that Riyo could ever have feelings for him—feelings that reflected his own—he never would have believed them. But between the content of the messages he just read, the blush on her face that still seemed to be deepening, and the way her gold eyes were shimmering earnestly when she looked at him… the evidence was difficult to dispute.

“Did you,” he paused to awkwardly clear his throat, “mean what you said in those messages?”

Her gaze shifted away from his. “Yes.”

“What if I…” His voice faltered. He’d been trained to face all sorts of unexpected situations, but this was uncharted territory. And yet, it was territory that a part of him desperately wanted to become familiar with. Fox forced himself to take a breath and his next words were quiet, but steady.

“What if I have feelings for you too?”

The Love Drabble requests are still open! Review the pairing and prompt options here and send in an ask! 💕

[spnjediavenger]

I Need My Brother (Chapter 4)

Title: I Need My Brother (Chapter 4)

Type: multi-chapter; matt murdock x sister!reader, foggy x teen!reader (platonic!), Claire x teen!reader (platonic!)

Warnings: canon-typical Daredevil situations/injuries, blood, angst, run-on sentences

POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNINGS: panic attack description

Spoilers: MAJOR S1 SPOILERS

Notes: The panic attack description is a mix of my own experience and some I read online - this is not how ALL panic attacks are experienced.

As always, love and/or constructive/friendly criticism is welcome and encouraged!

Word count: 1491

Need to catch up? (Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3)

Y/n was sitting in the living room of the apartment late one night. Matt, again, was chasing down a lead. Y/n was thankful they at least had a little break as promised before Matt started getting back into everything again. Her nerves were a bit on edge tonight, however. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something felt wrong. 

“Matt!”

Y/n jumped as Foggy yelled from outside the apartment, pounding on the door and jerking her from her worried thoughts. He was clearly upset…and drunk…

Y/n rolled her eyes as he ranted and went to let him in when there was a crash coming from Matt’s room, making the girl jump a second time.

“Matt?”

Y/n ignored Foggy’s call and grabbed the pepper spray in her pocket. She got up and steadily made her way towards Matt’s bedroom. As soon as her eyes set on the ‘intruder,’ she screamed.

From outside, Foggy sobered up instantly and called to the girl. When he didn’t get a response he ran up to the loft of the apartment to get in.

Inside, Y/n ran over to her brother and caught him before he could hit the ground, the girl almost falling over from his weight. Dropping the pepper spray, she took her phone out and dialed Claire.

“Claire, CLAIRE! I NEED YOU NOW! IT’S MATT!” she threw her phone aside and lowered her brother to the floor, tears streaming down her face. “Matt, Matty please, PLEASE don’t do this to me again. Matt, I need you!”

Foggy stepped on the broken step from the loft, alerting Y/n to his presence. The man was stunned at what he saw.

“Y/n? What the hell is going on?!” Foggy yelled in shock.

“Foggy, there’s no time right now! Get rags from the kitchen and the first aid kit above the sink, quick! He could die!” she cried, putting pressure on the worst of Matt’s wounds until Foggy came back. “Matty,” she begged quieter as she pulled his mask off and lightly slapped his face to try and get him to wake up. “Matty, please don’t do this to me, you promised, you promised. I’m begging you. I can’t do this. FOGGY HURRY!”

Foggy ran back, items in hand, nearly falling to the floor. Y/n scrambled to grab the items and instructed Foggy to unlock the front door and come back to help her. He did as he was told and came back in a daze. “Y/n…I’ll repeat…what the hell is going on here?”

Said girl was shaking from head to toe as she tightly wrapped the lacerations on Matt’s arms and legs to stop the bleeding so she could start stitching up the ones on his torso if Claire didn’t get there first. “F-Foggy, please. I-I can’t-”

“Ok ok, sorry. Just take a deep breath, tell me what to do.”

Claire soon burst through the door and ran in, medical bag in hand. “Alright, everybody move back, give him room.”

Y/n’s eyes moved frantically to Claire at her request. “N-No, I-I can help.”

“Y/n you’re shaking and his wounds look deep,” at this, Y/n let out a sob. “And you’re emotionally compromised. I promise, I got this.”

When Y/n made no motion to move, Foggy gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. When Claire cut Matt’s shirt off to reveal his wounds, Y/n immediately turned around and bolted to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach, Foggy close behind her to hold her hair back. When nothing else came up, Y/n collapsed to the floor, gripping her hair in her hands, and sobbed hysterically, rocking back and forth on her knees and hyperventilating.

“Sir, you need to get her to calm down before she passes out,” Claire called from the living room, having heard from Matt that Y/n had a history of panic attacks. 

“How do I do that?!”

“Distract her mind or have her hold something cold to distract her body from the symptoms of the panic attack,” Claire called again, trying to keep focused on the dying man in front of her and simultaneously make sure his sister didn’t knock herself out.

“Ok, come here, kid,” Foggy grunted as he scooped Y/n up bridal style. He took her into her room and set her down on her bed facing away from the doorway. “Stay here one second.” He ran into the kitchen, trying not to look at the carnage of his best friend on the floor, grabbed some ice from the freezer, and ran back to Y/n. “Here, hold this,” he said, handing over the ice to the hyperventilating teenager.

She shakily grabbed the ice and looked up to meet Foggy’s eyes. “Wha-what am I g-gonna do, Foggy?...He-He can’t-...I-I need my brother…”

“Hey, look at me, he-...he’s gonna be fine, alright? You have your friend here and she seems like she knows what she’s doing. And something tells me she’s done this before,” he said the last part more to himself than anything. “Just…I don’t know, focus on me, ok? Can you do that?”

Breaths sawing in and out, Y/n nodded, still meeting Foggy’s eyes as tears fell down in rivers from her own.

Foggy offered a smile and grabbed her hands, giving them a squeeze and feeling the melting ice between them. “Focus on what’s around you in this room. Talk to me about what you see.”

“Y-You…Your hair’s messy…and you’ve b-been sweating…and crying…how much did you drink at Josie’s?”

Foggy chuckled and playfully pushed her shoulder, making her chuckle a bit as well.

“Sorry,” she continued, sniffling. “I know it’s been a bad day for all of you.” Her eyes flashed to the doorway and Foggy turned her back towards him.

“Hey, focus on me, remember? Focus on this room”

She nodded. Y/n looked past him to the window in her room; it wasn’t nearly as distracting as the others in the apartment. “I can see faint flashes of colored lights from the billboards outside…less cars are out now than earlier in the night but…but I can still hear sirens-”

“What about your room, kiddo?” Foggy redirected her, knowing the sirens might set her off again.

She sniffled a bit before continuing. “It’s cooler. But that’s ok.” She ran a wet hand over her bed beneath her. “My blankets are soft…I like it to be colder so I can snuggle with more blankets…it comforts me…”

“Hey, the more blankets the better if you ask me,” Foggy said, sensing a little embarrassment from her. Y/n smiled a bit.

Finally feeling calmer, and all the ice melted from her hands, Y/n pulled her sleeve down to wipe her mouth from the leftover vomit. Foggy used his own sleeve to wipe the tears from her face, using one hand to hold her head so he wasn’t too rough.

“Why don’t you go rinse your mouth out, wash up, and get changed? I think you’ll feel a little better,” he suggested, noticing Matt’s blood on her shirt and hands from where she had carried him. 

Y/n nodded, got some pajamas, and let Foggy lead her to the bathroom to keep her eyes away from Matt. He waited outside the door and watched Claire as she finished up. They had a short conversation before the nurse tapped on the bathroom door.

“He’ll be ok, Y/n,” she said in finality, releasing a tired sigh. ”You can come out and see him if you want. You know the signs to look out for and how to change bandages.”

At this, said girl exited the bathroom looking fresher, but wouldn’t look at Matt. She hugged Claire and thanked her, a couple stray tears falling down her cheeks.

“Let me know if anything happens or if you need to talk, ok?” Claire said, hugging her back and smoothing a hand through her hair. The girl nodded against her and Claire left, giving one last glance at Matt before sighing and walking out.

Y/n looked up at Foggy. “Foggy can you- I mean…I just…I want to sleep. Can you…can you stay with me, please?”

Foggy smiled. “How can I say no to those doe eyes, huh?”

Y/n giggled a bit. She and Foggy walked back to her room; Foggy took his suit jacket off and climbed into the bed, allowing Y/n to cuddle up to him. It took him back to his college days with Matt, when his friend would be out for the night, presumably with a girl, and he was watching Y/n for him. She had been in her early teens at the time and, despite insisting she didn’t need a babysitter, she came to enjoy Foggy’s company and began seeing him as another brother. Things hadn’t changed. And they were both thankful for this.

[megplant]

Killshot - Part Two | Tangerine/Fem!Reader

Summary: Rival assassins! Continuation of Killshot (Part One here) - You ran into Tangerine & Lemon at the tail-end of a job gone wrong. It’s time to skedaddle.

Warnings: Canon typical violence, language, blood, weapons

——————————————————

So, picture this:

You’re in the back of a tiny car. Black leather interior stuck to your thighs. You’re crammed against the window by stacked luggage and duffel bags. And, you’re handcuffed. Oh, and your wrist is probably broken.

You cradle your hands close to your chest to prop up your broken wrist as comfortably as you can. You’re jostled every few seconds by another bump on the deserted dirt road which sends a sharp lance of pain down your arm with each movement.

There’s two men in the front of the car. They have been arguing, loudly, for the past ten minutes. Neither of them have as much as acknowledged you since they detained you in the backseat.

These two are possibly the most annoying twosome you have ever met. You have a splitting migraine, and it’s not just from getting your head bashed in earlier.

“-dunno why the hell you keep putting up with this fucking bird, and now we’re tits up in the middle of nowhere without the money-”

“Would you fucking drop it, you’re getting on my fucking tits-”

“-And I got blown up, did I mention the part where she literally blew me up?!”

“Only 17 fucking times, Mary. Christ - you didn’t even get hurt, look at me-”

“-Blown. Up. Bruv! Blown up!!”

You tune them back out, sighing and resting your head against the window. The cold glass pressed against your sweaty forehead cuts through some of the haze in your head, and you start to take stock of your situation.

Obviously, you can’t actually let the Twins capture you. There’s plenty of bounties and warrants out on any number of your identities that they could choose to cash in on. You simply can’t trust them enough to pass up a potential payout that big.

Besides, your employer will be waiting on your kill confirmation.

So, you need to escape. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except you’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.

The villa you’ve just helped these idiots escape is in the middle of the goddamn Scottish Highlands. The paranoid old man that lived there was some kind of Baron or something.

Whoever he was, he must have been important or wealthy enough for somebody to want him dead, anyway. That’s where you come in.

You and the Twins, you amend, irritated.

Competition is just another part of your job. It’s to be expected. But, not them. Not him.

You have been keeping tabs on the Twins since your run-in at the Duke’s last year, but the last you’d heard they were cleaning up some russki sleeper cell in Belgrave - which was absolutely nowhere near the UK.

But…then again, how long ago was that tip-off?

Sloppy.

So, they were here. Fine. It’s not unusual to go up against them for the same jobs, but - why this one?

This Baron wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill contract for you. You had additional objectives here.

It was not unusual for your employer to ‘double-dip’ by using certain contracts to simultaneously work towards their own mysterious agendas. They would add certain caveats or extra targets to contracts whenever they needed something to happen quietly.

Your additional objective, as it was described to you, was to ‘make a mess’ of the Baron’s security systems. At the time, you’d just assumed the higher-ups were interested in some data stored there and were using this contract to procure it for their own purposes.

The Twins would have picked up this job as part of their usual freelance work, and you know them well enough to know they would have only been interested in the payout. Anything bigger at play here likely wouldn’t have been on their radar at all.

It was just a simple job for them.

Not quite so simple for you, unfortunately. Any added duties or parameters on a given contract changes nothing for you. You’re always expected to complete the contract, no exceptions. The Firm’s policy on that point is very clear.

All agents will successfully complete all assignments. No exceptions.

You know you fulfilled their added objective with ease - the precision mines you’d planted strategically throughout the server room had done their job. That explosion wasn’t just the perfect distraction for a getaway, after all.

Killing the mark had been just as easy. Tangerine had guessed correctly that you were here on a honeypot, the jackass. But, it was too easy of an in to pass up. All you’d had to do was remove the Baron’s usual call girl, and insert yourself in her place.

Everything had been going smoothly - until Tangerine. He was the one stumbling block in your otherwise perfectly simple and flawlessly executed plan.

You’d run into him in the maintenance halls, where he was sweeping for troublemakers like you. At the time, you’d been in a hurry to drop a tail since you’d caught some unwanted attention during your exit from the old man’s study. A hooker covered in blood making a beeline for the secure server room was probably worth stopping, after all.

You’d already dispatched the two guards that were chasing you and planted your mines (notice the adaptability, you’ll highlight that in the report), but you were sure there was still someone else tailing you. So, distracted and in a rush - you’d been reacquainted with Tangerine’s knuckle dusters.

Your little explosion had only gone off a minute or so after you’d fled the server room, so if Lemon really had gotten caught up there, he must have been right behind you. You were impressed, actually - he’d been doing a good job tailing you.

So, the job was done. You fulfilled your extra objectives. You got out clean. You just needed to ditch the Twins and make contact with your handler and you’d be in the clear.

Your eyes are closed while you puzzle out your situation, resting your head against the car’s window. When you decide to break your silence, you speak without moving, only opening your eyes enough to watch the two men in the rearview mirror.

The rasp in your voice is more pronounced as you attempt to speak up, and it forces you to cough and wheeze before you can find your voice.

You watch Lemon glance between you and Tangerine. His eyebrows raise, knowingly, though he keeps his lips pressed into a thin line. Lemon has never been your biggest fan.

You smile, sharp, unable to help yourself from goading them both. You keep your eyes glued to Lemon’s, grinning smugly. “Tell me - how far behind me were you, Lem? The old man must have been getting cold by the time you got there.”

Tangerine slams the brakes, and you smack face-first into the back of the passenger seat - unable to catch yourself with your hands cuffed together. You sputter indignantly, righting yourself as gracefully as you can. Just as you’re opening your mouth to tell him where to shove it, he cuts you off-

“That’s enough out of the bloody cheap seats. I will happily shove you in the boot if you don’t behave, dammit!” He grinds the words out, a vein in his neck standing out as he clenches his jaw tight.

You believe him.

You sit back slowly, finding Tan’s piercing blue eyes boring into yours through the rearview. You try your best not to smile as you make a show of zipping your lips and throwing away the key. His mustache doesn’t so much as twitch. Joyless bastard.

Still - you know from your mission prep that it’s at least another hour to the nearest petrol station, and you aren’t keen on spending it pretzeled in the damn boot. You’ll be quiet. For now.

As Tangerine starts driving again - spinning the wheels on the country road and sending dirt flying as he hits 75 kph in 2 seconds flat - you can hear another argument start up between him and Lemon. This time their tones are hushed and urgent - they’ve finally realized you’re listening.

Most likely, they’re arguing about what the hell to do about you. You still haven’t confirmed the kill, so technically the contract on the Baron is still open. You hope they aren’t coming to that realization on their own, since you’d really hate to kill them for trying to take credit for your kill.

Your employer has their policies, after all.

Your mind races, flipping through your various contingencies. You want to stop and get your bearings and figure out what to do, but with Tangerine pushing 100kmph you’ll have to think fast.

It’s too dark to get any idea of where you are based on the scenery flying by - and it all looks the same out here, anyway. Darkness swims around the car, only some flecks of dirt and debris kicked up by the tires catching the light from the headlamps.

You shift in your cramped seat, anxiety starting to claw its way up your chest and into your throat. The handcuffs are rubbing your wrists raw, and there’s definitely not enough air in this car.

You know there’s a simple and obvious solution to this problem. You have a panic button embedded in your tacky bejeweled earrings and a burner phone tucked into your bodice. Neither of the Wonder Twins bothered to pat you down or check you for contraband before shoving you in the car, they just took your weapons and cuffed you.

You only have to reach one - earrings or phone, and you can call for backup.

You should just call it in. An extraction team would be here within the hour, if you call it in.

You would almost certainly be signing Lemon and Tangerine’s death warrants if you call it in.

Your handler will kill you if you don’t call it in.

You watch Tangerine’s bloodied hands gesture erratically while he argues with Lemon. The pale light from the headlamps backlight him in a fuzzy glow. It illuminates a perfect sliver of his profile to you, the sharp angles of his face captured in stark relief against the dark outside the windows. He’s as animated as you remember, and your chest swells with nostalgic fondness as you watch him drive and argue.

You picture his hands, so warm and so full of life, laying still. Forever.

You are so fucking stupid.

You settle back in your seat with a resigned sigh and, for the better part of the next hour, you pretend to sleep.

The Twins’ arguing dies out eventually, and you imagine they’ve reached some kind of conclusion about what to do next. You don’t bother to try and figure out what their plan will be, since you’ll be driving this trainwreck from here on out.

After a while, the bumpy dirt and gravel access road turns into true pavement. The fast pace Tangerine has set on the dirt roads only picks up when he hits smooth asphalt. It feels like the car is flying down the winding country roads, and the absence of turbulence provides a blissful reprieve to your senses.

There’s too much empty time before you reach the petrol station and despite your nerves, you do end up dozing fitfully; pulled under by the hypnotic thrum of the engine and the endless black.

——————————

You can’t have been asleep more than ten minutes, but you wake with a gasp - your eyes fly to the rearview mirror and catch Tangerine watching you. He must have seen you jump. You don’t like the flash of concern you see in his eyes, so you play to type and fix him with a childish glare.

“Are we there yet?” You whine, your voice filling up the cab after so much silence.

It grates on your own ears, so you know Tangerine gripping the steering wheel tight enough to make it creak is an authentic reaction. Your satisfied grin is too.

“Service station coming up.” Lemon mumbles in response, clearly too tired to put up with your bullshit himself.

“Oh, good - I’ve been needing the toilet for miles!” You shift around in your seat, pretending not to see the looks the Twins are sending each other.

They won’t want to let you out of their sight - rightfully so. But you do need to get this show on the road.

Turns out, Lemon was right. You can see the service station off in the distance as you round a bend. The buzzing fluorescents light your way like a garish beacon.

You keep quiet as you approach, apprehension starting to settle heavily around your shoulders. Your plan isn’t so much a plan as a goal, with that goal simply being to get away from the Twins. So, you aren’t feeling as prepared as you usually like to be.

You pay sharp attention as the small town car slowly turns off the main road and into the empty asphalt lot that contains the station. There’s a bank of petrol pumps taking up most of the lot, lit up dayglo white with those beckoning fluorescents. You can see a small shop with a worker inside, and a larger building for the toilets beside it.

Tan takes a circle of the lot around the buildings - paranoid as ever - which lets you notice a few small egress windows lining the back wall of the toilets.

Tangerine finally parks the car in between the two tiny buildings, and you reach for the door handle, looking forward to stretching your legs -

“- Hold on!”

He barks sharply, with enough volume to make you flinch away from the door sheepishly.

“What? I have to pee! You’re really not gonna let a lady use the toilets?” You’re fixing them with an incredulous look, absolutely offended at their total lack of decency or chivalry.

They simultaneously look from you to each other, and start arguing silently with grimaces and exaggerated hand motions. You watch it quietly escalate, amused. Eventually they must reach some kind of consensus, as Tan throws his hands up and lets out a loud, exasperated sigh.

“Fine! Lem, go fill ‘er up, I’ll take our guest to the ladies since it’s apparently so fucking urgent.”

“Gee, thanks ever so..” You mumble under your breath as you finally let yourself out of the cramped back seat.

The extent of your injuries slams into your consciousness once you’re out of the warm cocoon of the heated cab. The cold air hits you like a freight train, painful and sharp. You stagger slightly, all the blood rushing from your head as you try to stand.

The asphalt threatens to meet your face but Tangerine catches your elbow, and you’re able to steady yourself.

There’s a beat of silence as you catch your breath and will your eyes to focus on him. You’re hyper aware of him intently studying you. The car pulls smoothly away, heading towards the petrol pumps.

“Alright, love?” He asks softly, breath fogging in the air between you. It’s too quiet, too intimate, too familiar, too genuine and it makes your voice stick in your throat.

You just nod quickly, clearing your throat, and pulling your arm away as you straighten yourself out. You take a step forward, and there’s no trace of shakiness in your limbs. Not one wobble on your hooker heels. It takes a great deal of effort to force your body to look composed, but you keep that off your face when you turn back to smirk at Tangerine. You pretend to ignore the disapproval you can see coloring his features.

“Can I please go to the loo, now?”

He just rolls his eyes at you with a scoff, and jerks his head in the direction of the bathroom. “Fine, march, then - and no sudden movements, I’m not in the bloody mood.”

“Sure, I’ll be a perfect angel, but-”

You gesture with your handcuffed hands to the sign telling you to get a key for the toilets from the clerk inside. “We need the key.”

He’s already glaring up at the sky like God is purposefully coming up with ways to annoy him, so you just keep talking.

“And you can’t very well bring me along in handcuffs - look at the state of me, he’ll call the cops in a second. I s’pose you could just leave me out front here, alone, while you go inside and leave me here by myself for just a second…”

You’re already holding your handcuffs out towards him, a cheeky smile on your face. Tangerine lets out another long-suffering sigh, and digs in his pocket for the key. He grabs on to your wrists, holding you still while he glares you down.

“You stay where I can see you, and no funny business.” He says, twisting the key in the lock and gently unlatching and pulling the cuffs away.

But, he doesn’t let go of your wrists, even once the handcuffs are off and slipped into his pocket. You aren’t stupid enough to try and pull away, and you wait patiently for him to feel he’s sufficiently made his point.

“Relax, Tan. You’ll wrinkle.”

He simply holds your gaze for a moment longer, before finally letting go of your wrists and sweeping you forward with his other arm. It doesn’t escape your notice that he keeps his arm locked around your waist, keeping you right where he can see you.

Paranoid bugger.

Your wrist throbs dully, but you experiment with flexing and testing it while Tangerine escorts you. Dislocated, you reckon, not quite shattered like you thought. It hurts like a bitch if you clench or overextend, but you’ve had worse - it won’t get in your way.

Tan shoulders open the door to the convenient store, pulling you inside right beside him. The door jingles jauntily, and you’re pleased to see a dead-eyed teenage boy behind the counter. He offers the two of you what could have been a greeting, but was really just a grunt and a nod.

You’re already being prodded forward to the registers by Tan, impatient as ever.

You lean against the counter, tucked up against Tan’s side and feigning boredom while he asks for the bathroom key. Some conversation ensues about needing to make a purchase to use the loo.

Tan grumbles about paying for the petrol while your eyes dart around the shop, cataloging everything within reach. The lighter display catches your eye - cheap plastic ones in garish colors. Right next to them, at perfect height for children’s grabby hands, candy, toy cars, and a few boxes of bang snaps.

Perfect.

While Tan's busy paying for a pack of smokes to secure the toilet key, you palm a neon green lighter and two small bang snap boxes with practiced ease. They slide neatly into your empty thigh holster.

The intricate movements sends a sharp reminder of pain through your wrist, making you grit your teeth. Soon. You'll fix that soon enough.

Your non-plan is swiftly taking shape into a sort of okay plan before your eyes, your mind racing through next steps and back up options.

"Ready, love?" Tangerine's voice breaks through your thoughts, jangling the key in front of your face impatiently. You snap out of your thoughts quickly, jumping to action.

You push off the counter with an exaggerated sigh, pushing past him.

"Finally! I have got to use the bloody bathroom!"

Tan keeps up with you easily, his arm finding its way back around your waist as he steers you towards the bathroom. You glance over and see Lemon by the petrol pumps, methodically going through the motions of filling up the cars tank.

He catches your eye and gives you a warning look that you pretend not to notice.

The bathroom door creaks open with a protest of rusty hinges. You both stare at it for a moment. It's exactly what you expected - big empty concrete room with a single toilet, sink, and yes - there's that lovely emergency window.

Tangerine does a quick sweep of the tiny space before stepping back. "Five minutes," he says firmly. "Door stays unlocked."

You flutter your eyelashes at him. "What, you don't trust me?"

"Not even a little bit, darling." But there's something almost fond in his expression that makes your stomach twist.

You shut the door in his face.

Moving quickly, you snatch handfuls of paper towels, stuffing them into the tiny bin along with whatever else you can find - toilet paper, empty toilet rolls, paper cup from the sink, ancient magazine rotting in the corner.

The bang snaps come next, hastily linked together with strips of toilet paper into a makeshift fuse leading to the door. All the extras get heaped into the bin.

Your wrist screams at you with every movement and the shaking is impeding your finer motor skills. Might as well take care of that now.

You brace yourself against the sink and get a firm grasp on your bad wrist. You take a deep breath, and twist. The crack of bone sliding back into place makes your vision white out for a second, but the relief is immediate.

Sharp, lancing pain had given way to a deeper throbbing kind of pain. The kind you could more easily keep pushing through.

"Everything alright in there?" Tangerine calls through the door, making you jump.

"Just peachy!" you sing back, keeping your voice as easygoing as you can.

You snatch up the end of your little dynamite toilet paper rope, moving to the window. It takes some careful maneuvering - these heels weren't made for cat burglary - but you manage to wiggle through without making too much noise.

You have to flick the lighter several times before the flame will catch. You blame your trembling fingers on the pain, ignoring the nerves. The flimsy paper finally catches and you watch the fire sprawl neatly down your knotted rope.

You drop from the window and the first pop goes off just as your feet hit the ground outside.

It gets really loud, really quickly.

The firecrackers start going off in rapid succession, echoing enough in the small space to almost sound like real gunfire. Acrid, black smoke from your improvised trash fire starts to unfurl from the window above you.

You assume Tan can see it, too, because you can hear him shouting something and banging on the tinny door. You locked it, of course, so he’s trying to bust it down.

Crouching low behind the back wall of the toilets, you can hear Lemon shouting over the still-popping firecrackers. Then, his footsteps pounding across the asphalt.

You're already running.

The car sits alone at the pump like a gift, engine purring quietly, front door wide open. You throw yourself into the driver's seat, hands finding the gear shift just as you hear Tangerine's voice rising in alarm - and getting closer.

"Lem, wait - FUCK!”

He had realized your game a second too late, and was sprinting back to try and intercept you.

“The bloody car, LEMON!”

Tan was gesturing wildly in your direction, and Lemon finally got it, whipping around with his pistol drawn.

But you're already peeling out of the lot before he can get a shot off, tires screaming against the asphalt. In the rearview mirror, you catch one last glimpse of the Twins - Lemon with his gun drawn, Tangerine's face twisted in fury and something that might be grudging respect.

You can't help but laugh as you floor it onto the empty highway, the night swallowing you whole. Your wrist aches, your dress is ruined, and you're pretty sure you've lost a heel somewhere in the chaos.

But you're free.

And really, that's all that matters.

[front-facing-pokemon]

is it just me or do the pokémon look kinda weird today

[cubbihue]

Indeed, Why did Peri get assigned Dev as his first godchild?

Peri’s assignment was as correct as any other fairy’s assignment!

Which is to say that somewhere, out there, there is a fairy with great experience, a fairy so good at their task that they can handle even the most extreme cases.

And that fairy has been given an “Extreme Case” child whose biggest concern is “Quick Sand”.

As far as the system is concerned, Dev is classified as “Simple”. A perfect beginner’s child for a beginning godparent like Peri!!!

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