#now I have a very plain last name that is easy to spell

[hoshigray]

𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 | toji fushiguro

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Your ex-husband bringing the kids over for trick-or-treating is one thing; him wanting to spend the night at your place is another. But it's just for the night. There's no way one night can rekindle some old feelings...right?

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: ex-husband! Toji x fem! reader - explicit content; minors DNI - the reader is around their mid-30s - Tsumiki (age 11) and Megumi (age 9) - mutual pining - kissing/makeout sessions - unprotected sex - Daddy kink - breast sucking + nipple play - fingering (f! receiving) - oral (f! receiving) - spooning + mating press - cervix fucking - breeding kink - praise - clitoral play (pressing and grinding) - pet names (baby, good girl, mama, princess, sweetie, sweet thing) - you and Toji have been divorced for five years - cameos: Gojo, Utahime and Mei Mei - mention of drool/spit and tears - humor bc I'm [not] funny.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 7.6k (....dawg.)

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: happy Halloween, everyone!! so, randomly missed writing ex-husband! toji bc it's lowkey my favorite, soooo yeah, this is what we're doing to celebrate the end of the month! anywho, happy October, beautiful ppl, and tysm for reading my works!! Alsooo, ty for 2.8k!!!

“Trick-or-treat!!”

“Gasp—Oh my goodness!” 

“We came to celebrate Halloween! Also, Megumi forgot his toothbrush here again.”

Opening your door to children at the sunset of Halloween day isn’t out of the ordinary or anything special. However, it’s always a pleasant surprise when it’s two kids you hold dear to your heart. You greet them with a hug, two siblings you know too well to say you’re acquainted with. If anything, you’re practically family. 

The raven-haired brother, referred to as Megumi, speaks up. “It’s not my fault! Dad was rushing me last time.”

“Because you had to bring your stuffed animals last time, holding us back for your baseball practice.” Tsumiki, the older sister, snapped back. The two argue amongst themselves in front of you as you try to mediate. It’s no avail until another voice comes to the fray.

“All right, chill out, you two.” The voice belonged to the person approaching the porch stairs, your eyesight capturing the familiar figure walking up with two duffle bags. The one standing tall before you was the father of the children, Toji Fushiguro. Who’s also known as your one and only former husband. “Get inside and finish y’r homework, or else we’re goin’ back home.” 

The siblings stop bickering and head inside, taking off their shoes at the foyer and walking upstairs. Now that they’re gone, you turn to the man with the jet-black hair, his viridian orbs focused on you. The weather was chilly, so the man wore his usual dark denim jacket over his plain black sweatshirt, matching his jeans. “You look good, big guy. What’s in the bags?”

He greets you with a curled lip, and the scar on the side of his lip lifts. “Picked them up from their after-school sports, so it’s their sports gear and costumes for tonight. Mind helpin’ me here?” 

“Hmmm,” you merge your facial expressions to that of faux pondering, turning your back to Toji. “Nah, can’t. Got dinner to finish making.”

“Hmph, should’ve known.” He makes his way through between you and the front door. “Wouldn’t wanna break your pretty nails carrying heavy shit, huh, princess?” 

You glare at him using the nickname, hating his patronizing gaze. “From what I remembered, you would never let me carry the heavy stuff because you thought I was too fragile and easy to break. So how about that, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?”

“Really? I don’t remember sayin’ all that before. You must’ve put me in a spell.” 

“Probably, I’ve been told I’m quite cute~.”

“Mmm, nah, more like an old hag of a witch.” Toji barks a laugh at your offended reaction, and he immediately ducks and heads for the stairs when you throw a sandal at him.

“At the very least, say I’m a cute witch, fucker.” You say the final word under your breath, grabbing the sandal you threw and heading back to the kitchen.

To say you and Toji were acquainted with one another would be the biggest understatement of the century. The two of you met a decade ago, fell madly in love, and married within a year of the relationship. When you tied the knot, Tsumiki had to have been two years old, and Megumi just turned one year old. You two had been together for four years after that, and you could confidently say those were one of [if not THE] best years of your life. You often second-guessed yourself being in a relationship with someone who had children, fearing that they wouldn’t like you or ignore you.

However, those worries were blown right away as the days went by. Every time you spent time with the children brought you three closer than ever; it was to the point that they saw you as their mother. How sweet! And there’s no denying that Toji loved you. The man would break someone’s nose for you  — yes, it happened before, and it wasn’t pretty — for you were his sweet little thing that kept him going.  

Well, if it was so great, why the divorce? Let’s just say you weren’t Toji’s first love. That title would have to be awarded to the Megumi’s mother. Even in her unfortunate passing, you can tell that Toji loved that woman like no other. It didn’t make you jealous or anything, seeing the man you love still mourn for a dead woman. Hell, you’d probably do the same if you were him. But, you can’t lie; it felt like you were cast over a “shadow” when it came to her influence. It was damn near suffocating to bear, especially in those four years of marriage. So, for your sake and his aching heart, you pulled him aside and suggested a divorce. And Toji didn’t fight you on the proposition, signing the papers and setting you free from the thick air.

Although things ended between you two, that didn’t mean things stopped being what they were. If anything, it was as if nothing happened at all. Even if you still don’t live under the same roof, you still make time to hang with the Fushiguros, whether invited to some occasion or exchange phone calls or texts to check up on them. Even now, five years after your separation, it warms your heart knowing that you get to interact with the people you care about. 

There are moments you find yourself missing living under the same roof with all three of them and living alone can be pretty lonely. But all in all, as long as they’re comfortable and trust you enough to be around, there’s no need to change things up again. Like right now — the four of you sit at the dinner table eating before the kids go off trick-or-treating.

“Are you going to trick-or-treat with us, Y/n?” The brown-haired child sitting next to you asks while finishing up her dinner. 

“Sorry, not this time, gotta be at a Zoom meeting for my job in a few minutes. But I do have someone else to take my place. Gojo will be here at around—Why are you two making that face?” You stop mid-sentence to notice Megumi and Toji at the other side of the table, displaying disgusted facial expressions at the mention of the white-haired other’s name.

“Why him?” They said in unison.

“Why not??” You question their irritation.

“He’s so annoying…” Again, in unison. Proof enough that they’re father and son.

You sigh as you get up to take your plate to the sink. “Oh, come on, you two, it’s not like he’ll be with you guys the entire night. He has a party at a friend’s he’s going to later.” 

“Isn’t he too old to trick-or-treat?” Tsumiki questions, noting that Gojo is way past his undergraduate years. 

“He is, but whatever gets that prick any free sweets,” Toji answers his daughter before getting up to put his dish in the sink. 

You exit the kitchen, head into the living room, and sit on the couch. The laptop you had placed there was ready to open and unlock, and you clicked on applications and windows to look through before your meeting started in the next three to two minutes. He should be here about—

DING-DONG!!

Now.

Right on cue, you motion for Toji to grab the front door, and he follows your command. “Kids, Gojo’s here!” You shout out to the two kids who still sit at the table. “When you’re done eating, you can go upstairs and put your costumes on. But whoever finishes last has to do the dishes.” You can hear commotion from the table as the brunette rushes to put her dish in the sink and dash for the stairs. Megumi groans to himself; you giggle when you hear him mutter an “Aww man…”

You pull out your headphones to connect to your laptop, put them in their respective ears, and prepare yourself for the meeting. Ignoring the faint passive-aggressive tones of your ex-husband when greeting Gojo at the door…

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Your eyes flutter open, noticing the lighting change around the living room. The orange sunlight no longer decorated the space, substituted with the gradual darkness that overtakes you. The only source of light you can figure out is the flashing from the television screen.

Aside from the TV, there are no other signs of life. There aren’t any signs of Tsumiki or Megumi around playing or causing a raucous. It could only mean the two are still trick-or-treating with Gojo. 

One blink, two blinks. I must’ve fallen asleep after the meeting… You hum while sinking to the couch, burying your face into the pillow. 

But…since when did your pillow act like it was breathing with a heartbeat? And…I smelt that cologne before…How?

“Ya awake now?”

You raise your head, realizing you are not lying on your couch. Technically, you were; however, you were lying on something else on the furniture with you – more like someone. 

It’s then you realize that you were lying on Toji during your entire slumber, him leaning on the end of the couch, one leg spread to make room for you to sleep on him while you sit on the other. And you can guess that you had your head on his chest, snuggling up to his warm figure. He looks at you with his green eyes now darkened by the room, yet you can see their glow from the television light. And that small smile he gives you, the scar on the right side of his lip lifted upward. The familiar butterflies in your stomach flutter like before. Like old times sake…That must be embarrassing, huh?

You frantically try to get off of him, “Sorry about that, I thought—“

“No, no,” Toji places a stern hand on your back, keeping you from moving further. “You were comfortable.” 

You stare at him for a few seconds until your face contours to a look, and a smile starts to creep up while you situate yourself back to your original position, pressing your face back on his chest to listen to the beats of his heart again. “I recall having this couch all to myself not too long ago, so where’d you come from?”

“Well, I wanted to watch some sports highlights, but I figured you’d kick my ass if I pulled you off and had you sleep on the floor instead.” With the click of your tongue, he chortles. You bet your ass I would. “So, I decided to have ya sleep on me while I watch TV.”

“What’s wrong with the other side of the couch? It’s quite vacant and enough for a big guy like you.” 

“True,” his hand rubs circles on your back, an old habit he did when he used to have you like this. “But then I’d be lonely.” 

You titter. “That’s big for someone who said he thrives on being alone.”

“I thrive being alone when I’m working.” You’re glad he can’t see your eyes roll; he’d probably grab you by the cheeks like a child. “Besides, why would I wanna be alone when I have you for myself.”

And there it is, your cheeks begin to warm up. Or was it because you’re so close to him that his heat is transferring to you? That’s probably it, yeah. Let’s change the subject…”How long was I out for? I remember the kids left around 7:30-ish.”

“Mmm, it’s going to eleven right now.”

Three and a half hours? Damn. “It’s past their bedtime.”

Toji scoffs. The abrupt motion of his chest rising is satisfying in a way that makes you even more comfortable. “You still think they’re gonna sleep with all that sweet shit they got?” He snickers some more as you shake your head.

“They know better. When you guys get home, be sure to put their candy bags on the top shelf of the closet for the morning.” 

“Still traumatized from that one time?” 

“Uhhh, yes??” The memory flashes to you for a quick moment, but the dread from before still haunts you. Megumi was six years old and Tsumiki seven, returning home from trick-or-treating and immediately tasting their labor from that night. However, what you didn’t expect was for them both to eat almost half their bags. Let’s just say, thanks to their sugar rushes, they didn’t drop dead until the hour hand touched two of the morning. “Unless it’s the weekend, never again.”

The way the older man chuckles is so therapeutic — it nearly makes you want to fall asleep again. “You weren’t the one chasin' Megumi all over the place tryin' to get him to sleep. Little squirt gets his speed from me.”

“Awww, poor you~” You can sense the glare as you respond in a condescending, sing-song tune. “You and him are always butting heads. Like father, like son.”

“Tch, hate that sayin’ so fuckin’ much.”

“Why? ‘Because it’s true?”

“Shut up.” The hand he used to rest his head comes down to pinch your nose. You wriggle out of his hold with giggles, but he happily keeps you grounded to him with his stronghold and a leg wrapped around to prevent yours from moving. “He only listens to you. Such a sweet lil’ baby to you, huh? Puttin’ my own son against me.”

More giggles prompt out of tiny guilt, and you bring up a hand to rub on his chest. “He’s such a bright boy now. Growing up so big and fast.”

“Miki, too. That girl is way too smart fr' me to catch up. And she’s becoming so kind and strong, crazy to think she made me play teacups when she could barely go down the stairs by herself.” Toji hums, the vibrations felt on the pads of your fingers. “Think she gets that from you.” 

You shook your head. “They’re your babies. They do amazing things because they have a big guy like you to catch them if they ever fall.”

“Hmm, fair…But let’s not pretend I’m the best dad in the world. Fuck, never in my life did I think I’d be a dad, especially with two kids. I didn’t know shit back then — still! I still don’t know shit.” You don’t say anything, just listening to him voice his thoughts to you. Because he knows you’d listen – you always do. “If you weren’t there for them, I don’t think they’d be shining like this. Y’re definitely the thing that brought us up together. They look up to you so much. Ya did so well with them.”

Nodding aimlessly, his black sweatshirt grazing on your cheek. “Thank you. Same to you. Didn’t do so bad yourself, big guy.”

“Mmm.”

Nothing is said between you two after that. The only thing that makes noise is the voices coming from the television. The volume lowered, an initiative you could guess from Toji wanting you to get some rest. The silence was too awkward that it might torture some, but it was fine where it was. There was no need to change it, especially when you were comfortable in each other’s embrace.

That is, until Toji asks, “Do you miss it?” The rubs on your back go slower, his fingertips drawing a ticklish sensation.

“Of course I do. All the time.” You answer honestly, turning your head to rest your chin on him. Your eyes glimpse directly at his, giving him a tiny grin. “Why ask? I know the kids miss me being around; what about you? Miss me nagging and putting you to work all the time?”

He sneers at your comment. “Every day.”

It was such a simple answer, yet it had the power to wipe that smirk right off your face. Your eyes locked in his sight, and your heart tuning to an irregular rhythm. Oh, come on, Y/n, get a grip! “Ahem—Toji, I hope you know that I never stopped missing everything we had — I never will. Those years that we shared were probably the best I’ve had. We had happy moments, others sad, of course. But, God, do I miss it all. I miss it so much. I miss having you guys here. Miki and Gumi and—“

“Me?” Good Lord, if this man doesn’t stop looking at you with those goddamn eyes of his, such captivating orbs that say more than he lets on. Your breath hitches, and so does the hand on your back. “Hmm? Ya miss me, baby?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why’d you have to call me that? And it gets worse when he places his free hand on your cheek, his thumb brushing your skin while the forefinger teases the lobe and tragus of your ear. Goddammnit…

“...Yes,” your voice was down a whisper, which could easily be mistaken with the television. But you know Toji heard you, loud and clear. “Especially you, Toji.” You said it. The words that he wanted to hear from you. They felt so forbidden to say, yet it was the truth. You avert your gaze away from him. But you knew that wouldn’t work, not right now. Toji taps your cheek with his thumb, and your eyes sheepishly return to his.

He doesn’t say anything, and that makes your heart beat at an unbearable rate. It’s all you can hear when you stare into his deep emerald eyes, the sound of it ringing your eardrums as if you could puke. Your throat running dry, so you gulp to ease the uncomfortable bob. If something could just happen to end this anxious torture, that would be great. 

And then your prayers get answered: something does happen. Toji slowly brings his face closer to yours — your body goes rigid, and you instantly face away before the inevitable happens. No, I didn’t mean that!

“Aht aht, don’t do that, baby.” His hand slithers from your cheek to your chin, forcing you to face straight at him. “Lemme see you.”

“Toji, wait,” your voice travels out in a shaky breath. “We shouldn’t be doing this. We can’t cross this line anymore.”

He listens to your pleas, but his body does otherwise. Placing a gentle kiss on your forehead while the hand on your back snakes downward. “Why not?” His gruff voice dialed down to a whisper.

“Because—Mmmm…” Toji interrupts you by licking the helix of your ear. Oh, you slick bastard. “We’re supposed to be done…” 

“That’s not stoppin’ me from takin’ care of my sweet thing.” Jesus Christ, you almost melted from the way he whispered that to your ear. He’s pulling out all the same old tricks, and it gets more hellish by the second as you try not to give in. “So, y're gonna let me take care of you like I always do, right, mama?”

Both his hands now rest on your ass, groping it while your hips sway as if they have a mind of their own. The leg between yours comes up slightly, making you ride on it. The heat on your cheeks has already blossomed to your ears, making it hard to think straight. Gripping his sweatshirt, your hips ride his thigh to ease the throbbing sensation that grows with every motion. Good God, you shouldn’t be doing this. You know you shouldn’t be doing this. However, it’s been so long that you felt wanted like this — wanted by him. It’s all the same – his voice, his hands, his words, his body, and the names he calls – yet here you are turning into putty. 

“Haaahh, Mmmfff…Toji, please,” Toji withdraws his face from your shoulder, leaving him to examine your expression. You must look so dumb right now, with your hooded eyes and shivering lips. But, at this point, do you even care? “Please…Treat me right.”

One moment, you see his gaze narrow with a devious glint. Next, you’re taken aback when Toji slams his lips on yours, kissing and sucking your bottom lip until you give him access. With a moan, you open your mouth for him and sink deeper into the kiss. Your hands come around his neck, keeping him focused on you and you alone. Not that he would have it any other way.

His strong hands continue to knead your asscheeks while you hump and grind on his thigh. Nibbling on your lip, you whimper helplessly for him. It strokes his ego, knowing he’s making you like this, the fucking bastard. He takes in your tiny cries happily, shoving his tongue to play with yours. You give in to him, almost losing your balance riding his thigh, yet Toji’s lips never leave yours.

You break the kiss to get an imperative breath, panting loudly and sweetly for him as Toji kisses and licks your ear. The sounds make your lower region twitch. “Hnnmm, fuck…That’s my girl. So fuckin’ good fr’ me always, Y/n…” You can feel him slide a hand up to the hem of your leggings, forcing it inside for his thick fingers to brush up on the bare flesh of your butt. You gasp sharply. Him squeezing your butt has you biting down on his sweatshirt. “—Hahhh, Oh God, Toji,” With every squeeze, he inches closer to your panty-covered chasm, where you know he’d find a damp spot. Please touch me. Please, please, plea—

CLACK-CLINK!!

The two of you are frozen stiff when you hear the sound of the door opening and closing, the foyer lights turned on. “Alright~, we got you guys home. See ya later!” That was Gojo’s voice, indicating everyone was finally back from trick-or-treating. This means that Tsumiki and Megumi are about to see you on top of their father, his hand in your leggings and smacking lips with yours. Your eyes shoot wide with horror — immediately remove yourself from Toji and stand up from the couch to pull your bottoms up. You barely had the chance to peek at Toji because the kids already run to the living room to find you two.

“Y/n, Y/n, look!” The brunette was the first to greet you with her adorable pink Barbie cowgirl costume. She and her brother, dressed as Sasuke Uchiha, cheerfully showcased their pillowcases full of candy. “Look at all this candy we got!”

“Wooow, you guys really went on a haul,” you can only hope they can’t see you sweating bullets through your fake reaction. “Wh–Where’s Gojo?” 

“He dropped us off here a few seconds ago and left for the party,” The raven-haired boy answered while scanning his pillowcase.

You only nod along until you frantically wipe your mouth, realizing the tiny trail of spit from the corner of your mouth. “Umm—Ahem, well then, I’m glad you two got all that candy. Now, let’s hurry up and get you guys home so you can get ready for school tomorrow!” 

But the children didn’t move an inch. Actually, they looked like they were going to tell you something. You lift a brow. Oh no, they’re going to look at each other. They looked at each other and then glanced back at you. Oh, God, no. “Uhhh, Y/n, we were thinking.” Big sister Tsumiki is always the one who asks the following question. “Can we stay over?”

You inhale a massive breath, yet you do your best not to exhale a heavy sigh. “Kids, you promised to keep the overnight stays to three at max per month. This will be the fifth!” 

“Yeah, but it’s dark out. Plus, it’s way past our bedtime.” The younger chimes in with a tiny pout. “We’ll be asleep by the time Dad gets us home.”

And here comes Tsumiki with the tag-team response to add on. “And that means he’ll have to make continuous trips back and forth from the car. Picking me and Megumi up, getting our bookbags, the bags full of candy, the whole thing! We already packed up our PJs just in case.” 

You stood there staring at the two in astonishment. There’s no way they thoroughly planned this out. There’s just no way… And to make it worse, they were making valid arguments. You open your mouth to say something, but the two give the best puppy eyes they can. The wave of guilt hits like a train, internally cringing. You turn to Toji, who still sits on the couch, and the motherfucker only gives you a shrug. Wow, what a helpful father he is.

You groan into your hands, shaking your head while looking at the kids who wait for your verdict. “…Alright, you can stay as long as you PROMISE to put those candy bags in my bedroom closet. Deal?” The happy smiles and aggressive head shakes should answer your question. “Good, now go ahead and take your showers before you head for bed.” They rushed to the stairs by the time you finished that sentence, so enthusiastic about staying the night at your house, and you can’t help but smile hearing their footsteps run up the stairs. 

With that being said, you turn to the older man again. Your brows are trenched down, but your smile is still present. “So, you legit just sat there and let those two tag-team me like that? In my own house?”

Another shrug with a dumb smirk on his handsome face. “Told you: too smart fr’ me to catch up.” You shake your head before exiting to get the kids and guest rooms ready, leaving him with the television. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The midnight hour has finally danced its way into the darkness of the night. Halloween is finally over, and the month of October is no more. The pitter-patter sound of the rain cleanses the neighborhood of its merits and festivities that partook hours ago, ready for a new phase of the year to take over.

After having the guest room ready with sheets and sleepwear for Toji and kissing the kids goodnight, you rinse your stress off with a nice shower and put on your pajamas to get ready for bed. After you turn the lights off, you drape the comforter over your figure as your body sinks with the cozy sheets and pillowcase. Your eyes close while focusing on the curtains of your window, the only light piercing inside being the lampposts by the street. 

…Well, at least that’s what’s supposed to happen. But that’s not the case because you’re not the only one lying comfortably on your mattress. Instead, Toji is here with you, in your room, on your bed, his chest to your back, and his hand roaming inside your oversized shirt. Your lips are now connected with his, sharing your erotic moans with his enticing groans, and you get a little louder as his fingers cup and play with your breast.

“Mmphh…Ahhhh, I thought I told you you’re sleeping in the guest room—Nmmff!” He tweezes your nipple with his forefinger and thumb roughly.  

“And I thought you’d be smart enough to know that wasn’t gonna happen.” Toji kisses the crook of your neck, drawing near your ear for him to whisper. “Besides, look at you. Still sleepin’ with no underwear on?”

“Hmph, only when I have a man around the house.” That answer got you another rough tweak on your nip and a purposeful gnaw to your ear. You knew he’d react like that, never liking the mention of another man leaving your mouth – especially during an intimate time like this.

“That so? What man you know that can handle all this?” Toji then moves from his side to be between your legs, pulling up your shirt to fully expose your chest. And your breathe hitches while his free hand travels down your abdomen to your bottoms.

“Ahhhh, no one. Just you...” You look at him with half-lidded eyes, taking in his reaction to what you said. The salacious grin on his face becoming broader should entail that he greatly loved that retort.

He brings his face to your other unattended nipple, “Good answer, princess.” The nub of your breast enters his mouth, and the wet warmth of his tongue greets it with lapped motions and grazes from his teeth. Despite that, it doesn’t distract you from the fact your bottoms are pulled down with ease and are thrown to the bedroom floor, leaving your cunt out for him, your erotic fluids seeping and glistening from the outside lights. 

Toji plays with your folds until he can stuff his pointer finger into your chasm, the insertion resulting in your body’s jolt. It’s been a long while since you had his thick digit inside you, playing and scraping the inner walls to evoke whimpers. God, it felt so good, this satisfying feeling returning to awaken your body to his touch. He interacts with your body as if he’s the only person who knows how to get you going – and it’s the truth. No one can put you in a blissful haze quicker than this man. And you’d prefer to keep it that way. 

The addition of his middle finger into your leaky entrance startles you, the thick digit making its way in with such vigor that he uses both fingers to scrape the velvety texture of your walls. Your eyes are now screwed shut at the growing commotion between your thighs, and the heat within your body flourishing all around gets to your head. “—Khmm, Oh fuuck, Toji. Please, don’t stop.” 

With a soft ‘pop’ noise from his lips, Toji replies to your demands. “I’m sorry, what’s my name again?” You giggle with trenched brows. Of course, how could I forget?

“Nmmph, D-Daddy, pleaseee, I’m so clo—Ahhhann!!” He puts his thumb to your clit, grinding down on it unexpectedly. “I wanna cum, pleaseee…”

“Hmmm, good girl,” he teased, laying down kisses, nibbling on the skin of your stomach and inner thighs until he arrives at your leaking slit. Your body jerks up from the bed when you feel the cold, wet muscle slowly lick on your clitoris before ravaging your folds. The sounds of his mouth on your cunt are so lewd to the ear, slurping noises from his lips with the lapping motions of his tongue claiming your come are too much for you. And when he uses his hand to swipe and pinch your clit? Oh, it’s a wrap. Your release comes out without control, biting down on your bottom lip to make sure your cries don’t leave this space for the kids to hear. Their room is on the other side down the hall; tonight isn’t the night for too many risks.

When your trembling body calms down and subsides, Toji withdraws his face from between your thighs. Your essence paints his mouth, and he wipes his chin clean while licking the remnants that coat his scarred lips. “Hmph, missed tastin’ you like that.” You open your eyes when your high finally evades you, watching your ex-husband pull down his sweats. His erection springs out and hits his stomach, your mind going rampant with thoughts as you ogle at his freed limb. Shit, it’s been so long. Will that shit even fit me again?

“Don’t think it’ll fit, baby?” Damn him, he loves teasing you. Toji then discards his black wife-beater, at long last revealing his well-built, brawny physique that has you drooling for him. He uses his hands to maneuver your legs—your knees pushed to your chest as your legs propped up on his shoulders. A position you’re all too familiar with. Your eyes don’t leave Toji’s cock as he aligns his cock to your slick-coated folds. “Take some breaths fr’ me, sweetie. Can’t take care of you when you’re all tense.”

You take up on his advice and begin taking deep breaths, reminding yourself to maintain the steady pattern as he pushes the tip of his dick between the lips of your cunt. Every inhale is where he nudges into the hole of your inner cavern, and every exhale gives you time to breathe out the pain that comes in for a split second. This carries on until the cockhead wedges itself perfectly into your vagina, along with the inches of his girth that stretches until the base kisses your lips, the tip of him kissing your cervix. Tears swell up in your eyes, taking more deep breaths to prepare yourself for what’s about to come. 

“Oooh fuuuck…Heh, yeah, that’s my baby right there. Fittin’ so perfect fr’ me, mama…” He puts his weight on you, keeping your figure unmoving under his bow. 

“Nmmmf, Daddyyy,” you’re forced to take in all of him, and drool trails down your lips with no hope of taking care of it. “…I’m so full, you’re too much…”

“I know, sweetie, I know.” He wipes your spit after kissing your forehead. How gentle compared to what you’re about to go through. “Gonna move now.” His thrusts start slow for the two of you to adjust to each other; the feeling of his length’s veins coming in and out of your chasm is so euphoric, and the kisses to your cervix want your body to writhe and squirm. But you’re bent into this position for a reason: forced to submit to him no matter what. So you do just that.

Yet your horny haze gets more potent once he picks up the pace, rutting into you with increased speed. Your slit, still sensitive from earlier, gets overstimulated with the constant grazes on your gummy walls and jabs to your tender cervix. It takes everything in your power not to come so early.

“—Hahhhh, Nmmph. Oh, shit, shit, shit…” Toji groans above you, the thrusts of his pelvis increase to an irregular rhythm, grinding deep into your cunt to the point of uncontrollable babbles escaping your lips. His bullying on your insides results in you gripping his length hard, causing the older man to hiss and moan at your contractions. “—Ohhhfuuuckk!! Jesus Christ, baby. Y’re gonna make me go crazy.” 

As if that wasn’t already happening now that he pistons his cock into your wetness, your brain turning into mush from the onslaught of ruts to your puffy wet chasm. Tears stream down your face, and more drool follows down with more precise hits to your delicate canal. The pounding in your head makes it hard to think of anything else, the squelching noises and paps of Toji’s balls hitting your cunt making it worse. 

“D-Daddyyy, I’m—Ohoooo!! Oh, Jesus, ohhhshit!” You can’t formulate a proper sentence, too engulfed with the electrifying sensations coursing through your body. 

“Damn, you feel too fucking good—Hnngh!!” Toji places his forehead on yours, resting his entire weight on you while his hips have a mind of their own. “‘Bout to make me knock you up…”

Oh, good Lord. The mere thought of having a child is the last thing that should be on your mind. But in a time like this, who in their right mind would be thinking straight? “Nnnfff! Oh God, pleaseee, fill me up, Daddyy!” Green eyes narrow with trenched brows. “—Pleasepleasepleaseee!! I want you to fill me up so bad, I want it, I want—Hyaaaaa!!” 

How can he deny your desperate, teary pleas when you’re urging him on like this? “Heh, you’re so fuckin’ sexy, mama.” Toji captures your lips with his, your mewls taken by him as you sink further into your pleasurable thrill.

Sporadic thrusts of his pelvis produce more raunchy noises in the joining of your sexes, his heavy balls smacking on your cunt as he drives the base of his cock straight into you. Your slit is now a puffy mess, come and slick form a soapy mess that Toji now harbors a milky ring around his girth. A few rushed, sloppy thrusts heighten your high once more, and then Toji presses his pelvis down to the hilt on one final, harsh thrust, unloading his seed into your aching folds. And your climax follows in a few seconds, the walls of your cunt fluttering on his pulsating dick as your essence soaks him. Your muffled shrieks are received by him, quivering under him until the aftershocks wash through your body. 

Once you two breathe at a steady tempo and the nerves of your sweaty bodies fall still, the kiss is broken with heavy pants and a string of spit that links you two together. Toji buries his face between your neck and shoulder, licking and kissing your skin as you’re allowed time to experience your clarity.

“Hmmm…You know I’m not done yet, princess.” Toji mumbles to your ear before stationing your legs off his shoulders for them to rest.

“Yeah, I know, big guy.” You tease him with a breathless laugh, kissing him on the temple. “Always wanting more…”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

“…So, you’re telling me you had your ex-husband spend the night? Not just the kids?”

“Yup, that’s what happened.” 

This morning was different from your usual routine – well, you can’t say it’s different if you have done it before, huh? After five years of divorce, you thought you’d be so used to waking up and getting ready for work without worrying about others. However, this morning proves otherwise.

It felt natural walking into the kids’ room and lightly shaking them awake, telling them to get ready while you whip up something quick for them to eat as Toji showers (using your bathroom, by the way). Watching the kids run down the stairs and eat breakfast puts a smile on your face, reminiscing about the good old days when they were younger and teenier. It sometimes feels surreal doing the same thing for them now that they’re getting older and taller. But seeing them bicker and interact with each other in your presence never fails to warm your heart.

When Toji’s finished freshening up and loading his kids’ stuff in his truck, it’s time to bid them farewell for their departure for school. You give them final touch-ups on their hair and outfits, reminding them to be safe and not get into trouble (especially Megumi, now that the boy’s been getting into fights). And before they rush to the car, you hug them and give each a kiss on the cheek. Here is where the warm feeling inside your heart begins to deteriorate, not wanting to let them go. Yet, for their sake – and education – you release them and hope for the best.

The last to leave was Toji, who came from the kitchen to the front door with a paper plate wrapped in foil in one hand. His name is written boldly by a black Sharpie. “This fr' me?” 

“No, it’s for Shiu Kong, for dealing with you all the time.” You stick your tongue out at Toji as he glares at you, not even moving out of the way while he exits through the door. “You better eat that when you get to work, you have a terrible habit of skipping lunch.” 

“Whatever ya say, mom.” He pesters you with the title, knowing you’re technically not a mother anymore. Yet it only makes you smile knowing he notices your maternal side. 

“Don’t forget to text me when Tsumiki’s soccer game is next week.” You watch him go down the porch stairs. 

“Will do.”He whistles. 

“And Toji?”

The man stops walking to turn to you, his forest green eyes fixed on you so quickly that you almost forget what you want to say. Or what you wanted to do. You place your fingers on your lips and blow a kiss with an outward gesture. It was an old habit you did whenever he left, something you can’t seem to get out of practice with. It’s embroidered in your mind at this point. 

And when he catches the kiss with his free hand and places it on his chest, it makes your heart skip a beat. Toji grins, “I’ll be damned if that was fr' Shiu, too.”

You snicker with a shaken head. “Drive safe, Toji.” Closing the front door, you stand there for a while. Your smile doesn’t falter; it gets bigger as you replay the moment instead. Thinking about him, hearing him, seeing him, it all drives you crazy. And that’s a good thing…right?

“I don’t know, sounds like you still kinda care about the guy.” 

“Of course I do,” So here you are, sitting in your living room enjoying the rays of the sunset decorating the space, in a video call with your best friends, Utahime and Mei Mei. You reply to the former’s comment. “Just because I don’t have the ring on my finger doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about him. I mean, he’s the father of two lovely children.”

“Shoot, you’re better than me, then.” The dark-haired woman admits. “But you’re kinda proving my point, Y/n. Even when you don’t have the ring on, you two act like the same old couple, and it’s definitely not just for the kids’ sake. Let’s be real here.” 

You try to interject, but the pale-blue-haired other, Mei Mei, intervenes, “I agree. It’s one thing if you let the children stay over, but he also wanted to spend the night. Sure, he could’ve been tired from driving all day and such. However, if you’re still seeing a man for the last five years – while legally unbound – and he says he wants to spend the night under your roof, which is rare, that should ring some bells at least.”

“I know, it did…” you nod along with what your friend is saying, throwing your head back with a heavy sigh. “But it’s not like he’s never spent the night here before, nor is he banished from stepping inside.” 

“Oh? Then why is this time different from the others?”

Utahime jumps in after Mei Mei’s chirp. “Yeah, you’re telling us about all these nostalgic lovey-dovey feelings as if you’re falling in love with him all over again. What, did you two have sex or something?” 

An open mouth, yet no words come out, leaving you in a predicament. You could’ve just lied or swerved the subject to something else. But you didn’t. And the two women on the screen lift their brows with hooded eyes, a look meaning a thousand words. You couldn’t even explain yourself either because a sudden knock on your door captured the attention of all three of you. 

You stand up and walk towards the door, your friends still on call on the phone at hand. Opening the door, you’re almost stunned to see in front of you. Tsumiki and Megumi with nervous smiles, and their father at the car collecting the same duffles bags from last night. You’re kidding.

“Hey, kids.” The two of them gulped from not calling them by their names. You bring up the phone to face the screen to them. “Say hello to Auntie Mei Mei and Utahime.” The women on the line smile and wave at the children, who sheepishly wave back.

“Hi, aunties.” Megumi greets them, and then his eyes drift back to you. “So, Y/n—“

“What did you forget this time?” Straight to the point, no room for excuses.

“It was Miki this time! She forgot her soccer cleats.” The older sibling gawks at her younger brother for calling her out.

“Tsumiki, I know you have cleats at home.”

“I do, but these are special! You bought them for my birthday, and I’ve been wearing them to every game ever since! So, I was scared when I couldn’t find them at home.” The brunette was quick to defend her stand. “Also, Dad doesn’t feel like driving up here and then back. So…can we…”

You close your eyes and bring the phone to your face to shield your vexation. Twice in a row, the sixth time this month. You can hear the giggles of your friends from the other side of the phone, adding more fuel to the fire. You don’t look up until you hear heavy footsteps on the porch, seeing Toji holding both duffle bags with a hand and shoulder. He stares at you as you stare at him, a silent conversation on how to handle this situation. And when he shrugs with lifted brows, you realize it’s no use and release the long-awaited sigh.

“….If I see one more thing being left behind here, you guys can’t come back till December, understand?” It wasn’t anything serious, but enough for the kids to know you weren’t joking. They nod their heads in unison while you roll your eyes. “Okay, get in here.” They rushed inside with gleeful laughs, the shuffling of their backpacks following along with them. Your eyes then drift to Toji as he walks up to you. “Did you forget something here, too?”

“Yeah,” you lift a brow when he drops Megumi’s bag to the floor. Before you can register his hand on your chin, you squeak when he brings his lips to yours. It lasted for seconds, but the kiss was sweet and tender, sucking on your lip before letting go with a playful bite. “Meant to give you that when you woke up. Thanks fr' the food, mama.” 

Toji picks the bag up and walks inside your home to put the bags in the rooms, leaving you standing on the porch with an astounded expression. You couldn’t appropriately calibrate your thoughts until you heard faint laughs from the phone. Then, you realize your best friends witnessed the entire scene that transpired. 

Utahime, with the slyest leer, was the first to say something. “Oh yeah, he laid that pipe on you good, without a doubt.”

“Mhmm,” Mei Mei agrees with a chuckle. “And I'm guessing he’s gonna do it again tonight. Isn’t that right, Y/n?”

You end the video call with a heated face. “Sh-Shut your damn mouths!!” Again, you groan into your hands before returning inside. Thank God I still have those birth control pills...

♱ 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

© 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲2023 – reblogs + comments are appreciated wholeheartedly ☆ header art by rororogi mogera + dividers by the amazing @/cafekitsune!!

[demifiendcruithne]

today on digital devil saga 2 is criminally under-researched (aka crui is a nerd about a 20 year old game)

so i finally got the impulse/opportunity to test out something i've been suspecting for a while but have never seen any documentation on: dds2 has some form of STAB* mechanic with elemental spells for playable characters, based on their associated element (the one they resist + the one their unique gun combos use)

*for non-pokemon folk: STAB == same-type attack bonus. so for example, a chimecho (psychic type pokemon) using extrasensory (psychic type move) will deal more damage than a non-psychic-type pokemon with the same special attack against the same target

i have more tests i intend to make when i have spoons (i'm just grinding mantras for the superboss and noticed it while fighting wild narasimha because that hecker disables my berserker ring), but so far i've tested with my three active characters fulfilling the following:

are fighting the exact same narasimha who has no elemental weakness/resistance/etc (savestates were used and run multiple times; the rng is not fixed until a move is actually used, so i could get multiple data points quickly by making a new savestate every time i loaded it to advance the rng)

have 99 magic

are level 99

have no elemental boost or amp skills equipped

have no rings equipped that may affect damage, outside of boosting magic stat to 99 for consistency

use two different dynes; one of their associated element, and one not. the former consistently did more, and with repeated runs i cannot write it off as damage range.

under cut: many images; by virtue of being in endgame, these will have some spoilers for endgame in plain sight. if you're reading this and haven't gotten to the final dungeon, i highly recommend you go do that and come back later. once you've reached the final dungeon, you're safe to check it out.

(but seriously - i can't stop you, but i highly recommend actually. playing this game first. it's great)

if you're reading this, you've either gotten to the final dungeon or don't care about spoilers; in case of the latter, i'll do a quick explanation of our last party member momentarily. i have been a little misleading because they are. very much a BIG spoiler. but first - gale resists force, and does more damage with zandyne than bufudyne; likewise argilla with earth/teradyne/ziodyne.

(bufudyne was a random pick for gale because i had only five for omoikane reasons, but in hindsight it was a good one...)

now - for those unaware, this last party member's name is seraph. they're a fusion of two other party members both of said party members were associated with/resisted ice, and i'm near-certain that they also got the boost to bufu spells (i can check this at some point, i have a backup save right before endgame) the same way gale and argilla do.

but what's seraph's elemental affinities? no weaknesses, no resistances. so what does this mean here?

extra screenshots because the first agidyne was a high roll - literally the highest i've seen on a non-stab unboosted dyne against a narasimha. yet it's still clearly estranged from gale's zandyne and argilla's teradyne.

the other part? seraph's bufudyne does the same as gale's, and the same as argilla's ziodyne and their own agidyne, the same as expected without stab.

i'm not sure what else to say about this thus far besides putting a list of further tests to do eventually / get proper data for:

100s of attempts so it can be statistically analysed better. easy to code the data collection into seraph (my helper program, named after this seraph because. yeah), possibly more difficult to analyse but my partner got me into this game he can deal with the consequences (being asked to do data stuff) :v

including cielo and heat as well, probably after i beat satan and grind them up as a victory lap (in the mantras sense not the internment facility sense)

earlier save reloads for data for serph, sera, and roland - i doubt they'd be any different, but regardless

other elemental spells - both the basic and -la levels, the ma-s, the maxed out mantra ones, and the dances. is the boost approximately consistent?

does it affect combos? i believe it doesn't, same as amp skills and the like (and because i feel like i would have noticed by now), but will get data for both participants initiating

does it affect items? i feel like that's unlikely, but worth trying

is there a 'reverse-stab' for someone's weakness? i don't think so, but i'll get the data for free and if there's a trend i just got to test the ailment damagers for cielo

likewise, is the elemental boost innate like the gun combo elements? almost certainly. but it would be funny if equipping x resist made your x do more damage. and also not really that helpful?

does seraph get a boost on almighty? my first instinct would be yes, purely because of seraph's gun combo doing almighty damage; it's near-useless if you got reincarnate but still worth checking. and if so, does ragnarok behave differently from megido+/last word?

on that note, does seraph resist almighty? i... wouldn't be surprised - status only says no weakness, not no resistance, but almighty resistance tends to be invisible anyway (looking at you, devil survivor 2 that shows everything else) (you're fine just using as an example)

that would be a lot harder to test but if i get a party of seraph / someone with dragon ring / someone else with all maxed stats and just find something with megido+

anything else i might have forgotten

if you hack pyriphlegethon onto heat does it do more damage. i don't think i can test this one but i would. honestly be curious

but yeah. this is pretty cool, maybe i'll check for it in dds1 as well. if anyone else checks any of this out and makes a writeup or anything please ping me i have autistic hyperfocused on jrpg mechanics for over two decades :v

[liberty-or-death]

“The wildfire in the fields can’t be extinguished, the spring breeze blows and it grows again.” Wei Wuxian’s Spell (MDZS only) (Farewell on the Ancient Grassy Plain 赋得古原草送别 by Bai Juyi 白居易)

Before I proceed, I just wanna say that this was the poem that inspired me to take up translation. 😍😍. I learned and analysed it back in school, so when I read it in MDZS, I knew I had to make a post about it. Yes, I know I’m such a geek. Everyone wants to translate wangxian smut but I was aiming for this. But LOL the my translation never got there FML so here it is anyway.

If there was a list of “top 10 famous Chinese poetry”‘s online, this would definitely be it along with Li Bai’s 静夜思（Through the Quiet Night). In MDZS, Wei Wuxian uses this poem in Chapter 76 to animate the effigies. So just what does it mean and what is his relation to the novel?

This poem was written in the Tang Dynasty by Bai Juyi. In the poem, the author sends off his old friend on his journey , and bades him farewell.

There’s an interesting backstory to poem. Firstly, this is a “赋得” which means that this was a poem that the author wrote for exam purposes. 😂. So yes, this was his examination essay. The topic was “to bade farewell on the grassy plain”.

So the story is that the examiner Gu Kuang looked at his essay, then commented “米价方贵，居亦弗易 Chang An’s rice is expensive, it’s not easy to freeload! (this is a pun on the author’s name. He shortened the poet’s name to Ju Yi 居易, which means to stay for free)”. But as he read on, he was subsequently very impressed with the poem, particularly the famous line (which was used in MDZS) “野火烧不尽，春风吹又生 The wild fire in the fields can’t be extinguished, the spring breeze blows and it grows again.” And since then, the poem has been praised for the way it describes the grass full of life, its symbolism (the never say never ideal), the imagery and sadness when he sends his friend off.

离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。

The ancient plains are filled with lush green grass, it withers and prospers every year

野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。

The wildfire in the fields can’t be extinguished, the spring breeze blows and it grows again. (This is the famous line/idiom)

远芳侵古道，晴翠接荒城。

The scent of spring grass from afar has invaded the ancient path, a sea of green has permeated the abandoned city

又送王孙去, 萋萋满别情。

I’m here to send my friend off, the lush grass is filled with my parting feelings.

ANALYSIS - with relation to MDZS

"野火烧不尽，春风吹又生 The wildfire in the fields can’t be extinguished, the spring breeze blows and it grows again,” is now a commonly used idiom to describes tenacity and grit; the grass that thrive again after it has been burned by wildfire.

When I first read this, I felt this poem was a shout out Wei Wuxian. He persevered when faced with adversity multiple times. And imagery of “spring grass” in this poem is particularly fitting descriptor of him; it’s full of life and adaptable to any circumstances. It even grows in the most barren of conditions, such as the ancient paths and the abandoned city. (Burial Mounds, I'm looking at you XD)

Secondly, the last line of the poem also reminds me of Lan Wangji. It gives off an image of someone sending off a friend, but he can’t send his said friend off the entire way, so he hopes the grass which have grown everywhere would do convey his feelings. isn’t that lwj when he realises Wei Wuxian has passed away the first time? :( Or perhaps that's Wei Wuxian's feelings when Lan Wangji and himself were on different paths (The Ghost path vs the orthodox Cultivator Path)

Additional Links:

Wei Wuxian's Spell - "Her Shy Charming Eyes"

More MDZS Meta

Poetry Analysis

[byuntrash101]

Incubus: Coming of Age (Part 2)

Pairing: Incubus!Baekhyun x You

Genre: fantasy, smut 🖤

Tags: plot (typical me), demon boy (incubus), monstrous cock (like ya ain't ready), breeding kink, oral (f & m), overstimulation, breath play, dirrrty talk and more~

Raiting: 18+ (21+ it's even steamier than the 1st one 🙈)

Word count: 5.7k (the bock got me inspired haha)

Summary: Baekhyun left an indelible mark on you that one night. But the thing is it was a year ago! and that damn demon never came back... Maybe you should just forget about him... Well only maybe of course ;)

Part 1

General Masterlist

Hey guys this is the final part of this very steamy two shot ^^ I hope you guys will also like it. Please tell me what you think ^^

Tag list @lovebuginlove @ohh-baekhyun @bobohumyonlyboo @smolbeanmika @making-me-blush @wooya1224 @yixing-jaehyun @baekklove @lalalala-lav @deligxt @xofanfics @byunsugar @dixnysustae @to-all-the-stories-i-love @artisticcgroove

...To a Man

How am I supposed to go back to a normal life after that?

Well in fact... you didn't. It was over a year later and Baekhyun never came back. Every night you were hoping that somehow, he would come visit you again. But every night you laid in your bed disappointed, actually, even worse: frustrated.

Because after that fateful night you never touched yourself to your handsome boss Doctor Park Chanyeol again. Actually, you completely lost interest in him. Sure, he was still very handsome and gentlemanly but you just... didn't care anymore.

To be completely exact you didn't touch yourself to Chanyeol, but you still did have intimate sessions with yourself... Well, you tried at least. Because nothing, NOTHING... came close to what you felt when Baekhyun took care of you that night. Actually, you knew no human being, no simple mortal could possibly fuck you that way. It's not something a being of flesh and blood can do... It's something only an unholy creature could do, something only a demon could make you feel.

So, every time you succumbed to the urge of relieving yourself by letting your fingers play with your folds it ended in either, a complete failure where you couldn't even drive yourself to your peak or a lukewarm, disappointing and frustrating orgasm...

A whole year...

A whole year spent fantasizing about a teenage demon that only used you to pass a stupid exam then vanished from your reality without failing to completely shatter your whole world...

So yeah... it sucked...

You sighed to yourself, staring at the same old ceiling of your room. It was one of those nights where the tension was just too much, but you didn't feel like going through the hassle of actually pleasuring yourself knowing damn well it was going to be temporary and frankly dissatisfying.

You turned to your side, determined to chase off the frustration by getting some good sleep. Exhausted you drifted pretty quickly into a deep slumber.

But the sleep was anything but good... You found yourself covered in sweat, wrestling in your sheets, engrossed in a fever dream. Not much of it made sense but you felt like hands were roaming your body, like an usually warm embrace was enveloping your form, you felt like rugged flesh was lapping at your ear. You heard like jerky breaths, lowly grunts, like an unnaturally deep voice talking to you...

Missed me... Kitten?

"Baekhyun?!" you shouted as you sat up in your bed, eyes snapping open.

You looked around in a slight panic, your night gown clamped to your sweaty skin and your chest heaving up and down.

"Fuck" you cursed yourself under your breath, disappointed when you realized your mind played tricks on you again... You're just here alone in your room, soaked in frustration... and arousal.

"God damn it" your curse again as you slip your night gown over your head and kick the covers off your heated skin. You are left naked on top of your bed. Immediately the cold air sends goosebumps on your humid skin, hardening your nipples.

You let you fingers slip to the crux of the problem. You know there's only one way to finally be able to chase away the memory of Baekhyun, even if it's only for tonight.

The cold fingers on your drenched heat draw a sharp breath off your lips. You're so excited about this stupid fever dream, so excited about him that only a few rubs already have you with your toes curled up in pleasure. You fist your sheets tightly.

"Aaaah... Baekhyun" you softly moan his name. With eyes closed shut, you try to recall the way he felt inside you, the way his eyes glowed red, the way his low voice sent shivers down your spine...

Oh... Kittennn~...

It was like you could hear him... you gave no rest to your sensitive and throbbing nub...

"Baekhyun I'm gonna cum" you whisper to yourself. Pleasure slowly taking over your entire body. You slip a finger inside your drenched heat to aid yourself to your peak a little quicker. Then another one. You aim directly for your sensitive spot and you feel yourself tightly clenching around your fingers. You're so close... so soclose.

"Aren't you going to wait for me?"

This time...There's no doubt.

Your eyes snap open again as you stop what you were doing and you are met with Baekhyun staring you down at the foot of the bed, licking his lips, eyes already wavering with a tint of red.

But for a second you doubt. Is it really him? You can't help but to ask yourself. He looks so different. Sure, the spare shaped black tail still loosely dangles behind him but other than that his whole aura changed. The boyish features are completely gone. Instead, he looks broader, like more muscular. His plain black tee is tightly hugging his fit and toned body, making it easy for you to see abs peaking from underneath the constrictive fabric, abs you can't recall from the previous visit. His matching jeans let you see through their rips his smooth silky skin and generous thighs... But the most noticeable change is definitely his horns. The cute 10 cm (4in) tall skin-colored horns were replaced by huge 30cm (1ft) long ones. They were directly sprouting in a spiral from his forehead and stood proud on top of his head. Their base was black but as they went up it faded to a dark and deep blood red.

Overall, he looks so much more mature...

He isn't a boy anymore... he's a man.

"Baekhyun?" you start hesitantly as the demon already slips beside you in bed. "Is that really you?" you can't help but to ask.

"Yes... Kitten... It's me" he whispers in the low voice you missed so much. Bringing his lips close to your ear and you feel his rough tongue lap at your sweet spot, the familiar sensation draws a shaky breath out of you. For a minute you don't say anything you're just there, under his spell as he plays with you. In the midst of all this you didn't even notice you were stark naked, or maybe you just didn't care. You don't want to protest quite frankly, you let him do, you let him gently nibble at your bare collarbones and plant gentle kisses on your neck. You let him because... that's what you've been waiting for... For a whole fuckingyear.

But then you shake your head, snapping out of it... You leave his side taking the sheets to wrap around your naked body and get up, knowing that his soft kisses keep you from thinking rationally.

"Baekhyun..." you turned your eyes back to him "you changed so much". He chuckled and the red glow faded to slowly disappear as he gets up.

"Yes... I know, a lot can change in 12 years..." he casually says while stepping closer to you.

Wait... What?!?!

"What 12 years? No, it was just last year" you correct him, and he takes your hands in his slender black stained fingers.

"Maybe to you... but not to me" You suddenly recall the demonic blood moon years... Maybe that's what he meant... "I'll be turning 30 this May."

Your jaw drops... how was that even possible?! But then again, here you are questioning the passing of time for an.... Incubus... so what's crazier really?

"You remember what I told you about breeding?" Baekhyun's voice pulls you out of your thoughts.

"Yes... that it is an incubus sole purpose, right?" you say absent mindedly, still dazed at the situation. But you're brought back to the present moment when Baekhyun squeezes your hands tightly and dives in your gaze with his piercing dark brown orbs.

"Yes, I came back for that..." he leans in and you instinctively lean your head back giving him unconditional access to your neck. Baekhyun's voice goes down an octave again, lips only millimeters away from your ear. "I came back for you..." he whispers before he licks around your sweet spot, making your heart loudly thump in your chest and your toes curls on the cold wooden floor of your bedroom. You bite your lip trying to restrain your voice.

"I'm going to breed you" his voice is hypnotizing, "You will bare my children and bring them into the world" You can't even wrap your mind around what he's saying, "I chose you, y/n. I only want you" His voice his putting a spell on you. "I can fuck any women I want but..." his hand is now wrapped around your nape, and the other one gently pulls on the sheets that you let fall to the ground without resistance.

"Baekhyun what do you mean?" you ask in a jerky whisper, only focusing on his hot breath on your ear. He ignores your question.

"I need your approval to breed you, y/n..." His blunt nails grazed against the naked skin of your lower back, you start to softly moan, you're completely wrapped around his fingers. "So, say yes, y/n... Say yes Kitten" he says before his large palms grope your butt cheeks closing in the last centimeters that were left between his clothed body and your naked one, sending radiating heat from your core to your entire body.

What are you supposed to reply? Are you supposed to say no? How could you do such a thing after waiting for him for a whole year, everyday growing a little more desperate, a little more frustrated... How could you possibly say no, when his hands were roam your body like they have always known you. When he whispers with that voice in your ear. When minutes ago, you would have given anything to have another night with him...

You... just...

Can't.

"Okay..." you whispered ever so quietly, barely audible even for your own ears.

You feel Baekhyun's cheek lift against yours as he smiles. When he pulls back, you can see his pointy teeth glistening under the full moon, like they did a year ago, he's wearing the same evil smirk that you know so well, or maybe this time he's even more devious...

Fuck...

Right there something snaps, something changes. When Baekhyun looks back the red glow in his eyes is more intense than ever, his expression is wicked. Lust dancing in his dark orbs as he licks his lips with appetite.

You don't even notice the red glow around your naked form before you feel your feet being lifted from the ground. Baekhyun smirks at the confusion plastered on your face. His magic makes you levitate and harshly throws you on the bed, almost smashing your heard on the headboard. You should be stunned but the scene taking place right before your eyes keeps you conscious and focused.

The red glow now circles Baekhyun and in a fraction of second his clothes are gone. Not dropped to the floor, just gone. They completely vanished. And he stands right before you in all his glory. You can't help but to let your eyes trail his body.

His sharp jawline, long narrow neck, his collarbones. The muscles of his pecs and arms moving and mesmerizing you. The dangling black tail. The toned abs already lightly sparkling with sweat.

Then your eyes finally go below the waist band.

You do remember the enormous… thingBaekhyun fucked you with last time. How could you forget? You could never. That's why you know for a fact that this thing right there in front of you, rock hard, lightly twitching and oozing precum at the slit, is actually bigger.

Your jaw drops to the floor. The veiny and pulsing monstrous cock is as lengthy as your thigh and as thick as a soda can. When you look closely it seems like the sides are beaded. Your heart jumps in your chest. Because you know that huge ass cock is made for pleasure. Tingles start to bubble in the pit of your stomach, and you unconsciously press your thighs together.

Baekhyun can't help but to smirk when he notices fear and anticipation swim in your confused eyes.

He steps closer to you.

"Oh Kitten" he starts as he crawls in bed to you. The wicked smirk still dancing on his lips, red glowing eyes fixed on you. "We're going to have so much fun."

Then with the familiar flick of his wrist your legs fly open at his will. You gasp in surprise. And Baekhyun's smirk goes wider when he notices how your folds glisten with juices.

"Kitten look at you..." He says gesturing his chin towards your most private part. "You're always so wet for me" his low voice send shivers down your spine as embarrassment rush to your cheeks. But the spell maintains your legs nice and spread out for him.

Baekhyun leans in closer to your drenched heat teeth and tongue out.

You gasp loudly arching your back when you feel his rugged tongue aiming directly for your clit. Still very sensitive from almost cumming a few minutes ago.

"Mmmmh... Kitten you taste even better than last time" he purrs, lips pressed to your core, the vibrations sending electricity in your body.

Baekhyun takes his sweet time gently lapping at and around your nub to tease you, while cascades of juices flow out of your impatient center. You can't endure the teasing anymore, not after all this time, not after a whole year. You unconsciously buck your hips up, grinding your pussy on his tongue while a tiny pleading whimper escapes your lips.

Baekhyun stops in his track. You're taken aback when glowing red eyes look back up at you and he shakes his head fainting disappointment. But the smirk is quick to comeback.

"Baby" his warm breath fans your delicate parts. "Don't be so fucking greedy" he says before sinking his pointy white teeth in the sensitive little bud. The sting pulls a scream out of you while you grip the sheets. Immediately after Baekhyun's tongue plunges inside your hungry little hole, reaching the deepest part right away. At an alluring speed, his long tongue comes in and out of you, each time poking your sweet spot. Your loud moans echo through the empty night, the familiar knot, quick to tighten again after this much teasing.

"Baekhyun don't stop" you plead, feeling your release coming. Baekhyun's red orbs sill fixed in yours while his tail lazily dangles behind him.

The incessant stimulation of your g-spot got you clenching around his long and rugged tongue while you finally cum, letting go of the knot. You scream in absolute bliss.

That's it... this feeling... The sensation you've been craving.

"Fuckkkk" You cry out.

Baekhyun parts himself from your throbbing center for a moment, allowing you to ride out your high at your own pace. Your chest is heaving up and down, sweat is pearling between your breasts.

"Baby, don't think it's over just yet" he says smirking again. "I have so much more in store for you..."

Right then, you still haven't fully recovered and Baekhyun dives down to your soaked folds again, but this time his hot and wet tongue only focusses on you swollen nub. You scream out in surprise and pleasure. Immediately your back arches again.

His tongue somehow feels like vibrations, the feeling is intense and suffocating, and you know you won't be slow be thrown into another strong orgasm again. Your hand instinctively flies to Baekhyun's hair, resting in between his two horns, fingers harshly pulling at his luscious raven black locks.

"Is Kitten cumming again?" he says with a mouthful.

You can't even process an answer as the crushing orgasm washes over you again, excessive amounts of your arousal coating your tights and linking your center to the sheets. You moan out with no restrain, making no effort whatsoever to keep your voice down.

When he's done Baekhyun sits back up on the bed. You don't even notice how he strokes his huge monstrous pole in his fist.

"Kitten, I hope you're not tired yet..." you jumped when you felt is unnaturally hot tip glide against your folds. "Because it’s my turn now"

He shimmied his way to your parted thighs. Like last time he rested his cock on your stomach to measure it up to you. Now there's no doubt the thing is much much bigger than last time. A year ago, it reached to your midriff, now the red tip is comfortably placed between your boobs. In a sort of trance, you wrap your hands around it, the both of them can barely circle the girth of his dick. It's huge... Abnormally long and terrifyingly thick... but you can't wait to feel the thing inside you.

Baekhyun smirks when he notices you eyeing his member with burning desire. He pulls his hips back and aligns himself at your entrance. His tip teases you as you bite your lip, gathering your wetness for a smooth crossing.

"Look at me Kitten" your eyes shoot back to Baekhyun's glowing orbs. "Look at me while I make you take my cock" You let a tiny whimper out when you feel him pushing himself inside you. The tip gently and slowly parting you. Baekhyun grunts in your ear.

"Fuck Kitten, you're so tight for me baby" he breaths out in his low voice.

With every centimeter it gets better and better, you feel no pain at all only divine pleasure. You feel each one of the beads along his shaft, each one more pleasing than the last. Last time just that one slow stroke made you cum. And you know, history won't fail to repeat itself.

"I'm gonna cum" you whisper in a strangled breath, your eyes still locked with Baekhyun's. His smirk goes wider at your frowned brows and trembling lip. But he keeps on steadily pushing his cock inside you, spreading you further and further.

"I know" he whispers before violently pushing the last few centimeters in. The unexpected and overwhelming pleasure washes over you as you sink your head back in the pillows, a long string of moan falling of your lips while your cunt twitches uncontrollably around Baekhyun, a satisfied grin playing on his lips.

"Kitten" he says while pulling back slowly as you are still high from your climax. "I don't think you're ready for me" You difficulty open one eye to look at him and nod to contradict him. Baekhyun chuckles. "You think?" he asks popping his dick out of you while your walls desperately clench around nothing.

"Yes" you whisper, squirming, craving for him to fill you up again. "Yes, I missed you so much" the words roll of your tongue before you even realize it. Baekhyun lifts an eyebrow.

"Really Kitten? You missed me?" you nod again. "Well... you only waited for a year" you gasp as his hot tip circles your aching little nub before going back to your entrance. "I waited for 12 years" he says in an unnaturally low grunt.

He slams his hips into yours in one powerful and shattering thrust which sends you right back to screaming again. His movements are fast and precise each time he sends his big cock smashing against your g-spot. The pleasurable feeling is unbearable.

"Baekhyun... Aaaahh..." you moan his name, as you get dangerously close to the edge again.

"Yes, moan for me Kitten" he says through greeted teeth. "Aren't I a lot better than last time?" he pants out.

You can't believe it but it's true. You didn't think it was possible but yes. He got incredibly better at fucking you to the point that you're ready to pledge your pussy to him for eternity. For him only. You'd do anything to be fucked like this every day until your body eventually gives out from exhaustion.

"Yesss.... Aaaaah... fuck" You shout closing your eyes under the pleasure. Your loud and unrestrained moans make Baekhyun smirk.

"You're mine" he growls continuing to fuck you deep and hard. "Fucking look at me I told you" He plants his nails at the side of your face, making you wince and also open your eyes. The red glow is brighter than ever. "Say that you're mine" he commands.

"I'm yours" you whine locking eyes with him as the clenching of your cunt warns Baekhyun of how close you are.

"Kitten, are you gonna cum again?" he chuckles eyes locked into yours, furiously pumping his abnormally large cock inside your now shapeless hole.

"I'm gonna make you mine Kitten. I'm gonna pump you full of cum. Do you want that Kitten?"

"Yes please" You beg in a short breath, your release getting dangerously close.

"Good girl" He grunts getting close to your ear, his rugged tongued licking the shell of it. "Now cum. Cum around my big cock while I fill you up to the brink with hot cum."

The low whispers are enough to rocket you over the edge. You scream in absolute bliss, twitching around his huge cock as you feel the hot sticky liquid rushing into you and overflowing out. Just like last time the quantity is insane, testifying of Baekhyun’s demonic nature.

When Baekhyun finally slips out of you, you feel your heat meekly clench around nothing, already missing Baekhyun's monstrous cock.

You are left completely dazed, lying on the bed, eyes still rolled back in your head, focusing on the fading sensation of your peak.

You don't even notice when Baekhyun stands by the bed and you also don't notice how, contrary to last time, cumming has not calm him down. The "thing" is still alive and lively. In other words... he's far from done with you.

"Kitten I'm gonna fuck your face now"

You don't have time to process the meaning of those words that you are pulled by your arm. Your body is lying across the bed while your head is resting upside down on the edge of the mattress.

"Open wide Kitten" Baekhyun's hot and wet tip brushes against your lips. Almost out of instinct you open your mouth.

Baekhyun presses himself inside your narrow mouth. The stretch is excruciating, the thing is too big. Way too big for your tiny mouth and you barely manage to take the head of his dick inside your crowded mouth. Baekhyun grunts loudly, indulging in the feeling of stretching your cute little mouth to his convenience.

"Fuckkkk... y/n"

When he reaches the back of your throat he starts to slowly pull out, taking his cock completely out. You cease the opportunity to take a deep breath. Good call! Because the next second, Baekhyun goes back inside you but with much less care. He places both of his hands on your cheeks gripping your face tightly to facilitate the penetration.

He has no mercy for your poor sore throat, his powerful thrust silencing you except for the wet and sloppy sounds that your mouth makes.

"How does your cum and mine taste Kitten?" he grunts again.

His voice sends shivers across your skin, your eyes roll back as your pained pried open jaw gradually goes numb. You want to scream yes but you can't. You want more, more of this intoxicating taste taking over your mouth and clouding your mind.

"Fuckkkk... Kitten... You're gonna make me cum" He whispers, his voice conveys the feeling of his high getting closer. "I'm gonna cum in your mouth baby. You want that Kitten?" You only produce a gargled moan but Baekhyun knows how eager you are to taste more of him.

He fucks your face a little more before whispering

"Such a good girl for me"

Only instants after you feel the stream shoot to the back of your throat, instantly filling your mouth. So many squirts crash on the inside of your cheeks and on your tongue, some even go through your nose. The bitter taste invades you and your entire body, making your head dizzy.

When Baekhyun pulls out you hurriedly swallow a big mouthful of thick and hot cum before drawing a sharp -and much needed- breath.

Baekhyun gently strokes your cheeks.

"You're such a good girl for me Kitten" he says before laying back on the bed. His back is settled against the headboard. And your eyes go wide with stupor when you notice that...Still... The monster has not... calmed down.

You feel exhausted and drained out by all the orgasms you failed to count. You can't even move a muscle... even if you tried.

But you don't have to because once again your body is enveloped by a red glowing light. With that you are lifted in the air. Baekhyun's magic spread your legs into an impressive split, suspended above him while he patiently waits for you with his hands behind his head.

Beads of sweat formed on his chest and rolled down his toned abs. Sweat also sticking his bangs to his forehead and his horns. He's absolutely gorgeous, he has the kind of looks that nobody would ever be able to turn down... and especially not you.

But he looks everything but tired.

Slowly his magic lowers you down. You gasp when his hot tip brushes against your drenched folds.

"I just need more of you Kitten. Can you handle me?"

You want to respond but already the steady descent as you stretched out around his girthy cock. Making you whimper as a response. Slowly but surely Baekhyun makes you go down, cunt perfectly angled with his huge dick. Each centimeter, each bead going inside you, feeling like agonizing pleasure.

When you are halfway through the red light around your body goes off and he drops you to take the rest of him in one go. And it’s too much for you. The way his cock smashes into your sensitive sweet spot while Baekhyun has his glowing red orbs fixed on the place your bodies meet sends you into the abyss again. This time the pleasure is so intense that not only your needy cunt absolutely crushes Baekhyun's cock with uncontrollable spams but also gushes of your juices come out of you in powerful streams, drenching Baekhyun's muscular torso. Baekhyun smirks as he clicks his tongue and shake his head.

"Kitten... You came again with the very first stroke" he says fainting disappointment, taking pleasure in seeing you struggling, shaking uncontrollably, eyes rolled back, jaw hanging open and toes curled up.

Then you feel yourself getting lifted again the red glow comes back around your figure. You whimper as you feel Baekhyun slide out of you. But right before the tip pops out, he smashes you back onto him. You arch your back as a delighted long string of moans escape your lips.

"Damn Kitten you're so tight" Baekhyun says through greeted teeth.

You can't even reply anything as he's already lifting you up with his magic. Each time he increases the pace until he has you jumping up and down his girthy length. The familiar knot tightens again.

"How good does my cock feel baby?" Baekhyun asks his red eyes fixed on you as he makes your boobs bounce.

"It's the best.... Baekhyun it's the best thing ever. I wanna be fucked like this every day" you answer in a delighted scream. It's visibly what Baekhyun wanted to hear as the evil twinkle in his eye intensifies.

"Yeah Kitten? You want that?" he grunts in the low voice you love so much, sending swarms of butterflies fly in your stomach. He goes faster again. The wet sounds of skin clashing bounce off the walls punctually interrupted by Baekhyun's grunts and your moans.

"I'm gonna c-" You want to announce but Baekhyun interrupts you.

"Not yet Kitten, this time you'll cum with me and when I tell you to" He makes you hover over his dick. Still, just above him. You squirm only wanting to be filled again.

"Say what you want Kitten"

"I want your cock Baekhyun" he raises in eyebrow. "Please" your pleads make Baekhyun smirk again.

"Yeah baby? Is that what you want?" he says as he slips the tip inside, the beaded shaft make you scream in bliss as Baekhyun slowly lowers you on his cock, legs spread wide, offering him the best view on your swollen and twitching cunt.

"Yes!!!" you scream while tears well up in the corner of your eyes.

But then Baekhyun's spade shaped tail swiftly wraps around your neck, the slick scales gliding on your skin send goosebumps in the nape of your neck. When the tail has made a full circle around your neck, Baekhyun suddenly tightens the grip.

"Then fucking take it" he smashes you onto his huge cock.

You open your mouth to scream but not a sound comes out. You are completely silenced. Only the wet and lewd sounds of your pussy can be heard as Baekhyun's tip touches the deepest part of you, forming a visible bulge inside your stomach. Tears of pure joy roll down your heated cheeks.

Baekhyun then goes back to his insane rhythm. Every time angling you just right to smash your sensitive spot. Gradually your mind goes blank as he fucks you furiously, your jaw hangs open and your eyes rolls back into their orbit.

"Look at me" Baekhyun whispers in his demonic low voice. Your eyes snap to him. "I'm gonna cum inside you" he continuous to whisper. You nod vigorously, cause you know it means he'll finally let you cum too. "With this one I'll make you mine. I'll impregnate you. I'll make your belly swell with my children" You nod again, streams of tears wetting your cheeks. The restriction of blood to your brain makes you see stars as the pleasure rises again to an unbearable level.

"Now cum. Cum for me Kitten" Baekhyun grunts.

You feel his cum flow into you, this last thing sends you over the edge into the most intense orgasm you ever felt, that's including the ones Baekhyun gave you in the past. This one is different. This one is too much. His big fat cock smashing into you, his drenched chest glistening, the dirty talk, the pet name, the commanding tone, the demonic voice, the tail around your neck, the thick and hot cum filling you up.

Your spread-out legs shake uncontrollably as Baekhyun leads you to completion. Just as you are on the verge of losing consciousness due to the air restriction but also the heavenly stimulation of your orgasm, Baekhyun loosens his tail around your narrow neck. A strangled scream escapes free of your sore throat as you are finally able to vocally express the immense pleasure you feel.

"Yes, that's it baby" Baekhyun purrs as he keeps you going up and down his length.

You cry out a long moan as your head is thrown back and your tongue hangs lose out of your mouth. Baekhyun slowly decreases the pace until it comes to a stop. He lifts you out one last time, as soon as his big member pops out of you, gallons of his cum flow out of you. Baekhyun lays you down gently next to him. Before linking his lips with yours and shoving his long and rugged tongue inside your mouth and you don't even notice the red glow marking you in the lower stomach region.

You lay there for you don't know how long, trying to gather your thoughts. You are completely drained, fucked beyond repair...

After a while Baekhyun stands back up.

"In three weeks, the children will be born" you difficulty open your eyes back to look at him. "I'll be back to take them... and you."

What?!?

"Wait... me? Also babies??? Plural?" so many questions shoot through your mind.

"Yes" Baekhyun says as he wipes himself with a piece of cloth he found. "I marked you as mine" It's only now that you notice the small drawing Baekhyun tattooed on you with his demonic magic. It's a language you can't comprehend.

"What is this?" you asked pointing to the tattoo.

"It means you are to be my wife". Your eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.

"WHAT?" You yell, flabbergasted.

"Yes, you know what a succubus is right, female incubus? " you nod unable to speak one more word.

"Well, no succubus are born. Succubus are only made. They are human women chosen by incubus to become their wife and bring their heirs to the world."

You want to say something, but you only stutter nonsense.

"Over the next three weeks you will kiss your humanity goodbye. Horns will sprout out your forehead and you will grow a tail. Your magic energy will increase, and you will slowly be able to use different magic spells. In three weeks, I'll bring you to the magic realm where you will live with me. And serve me with your body..." Baekhyun marks a silence "and heart."

"But... you... I-" Baekhyun sits next to you on the bed and cups your cheeks to make your troubled eyes meet his.

"Wasn't that what you asked for?" He asked in the most honey toned voice, his darks orbs fixed into your unsure gaze. He brushes his thumb over your bottom lip "Right Kitten?"

"Yes..." you whisper, hypnotized by his intense stare.

"Over the past year, your feelings for me bloomed, didn't they?" You felt blood rushing to your cheeks as Baekhyun's eyes were unwavering.

You didn't answer anything, but you didn't have to... Baekhyun knew exactly how to read you. Maybe because he felt the same way...

He got back up and with magic popped his clothes back on. Red smoke started to appear at his feet, gradually growing around him.

"I'll be back in three weeks... Wait for me Kitten, okay?" He said with that adorable boyish smile you haven't seen in a year, he winked at you before disappearing in the red smoke.

You rubbed your belly, where life had taken its domain. This time, you wouldn't have to try to go back to a normal life.

It was impossible anyway... and frankly you didn't want to.

[freddie-weaselbee]

Grade A Business//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Brief semi-nudity, slight language, two suggestive comments, y/n drools on fred but like in a cute way

Summary: As one businessman makes a trip across the ocean to talk to new investors, he meets his new partner, someone a lot more familiar than he was expecting. 

Prompts: Only One Bed with dialogue prompts “if we get caught, I’m blaming you” and “I don't want to be alone”

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: Day 2 of @theweasleyslut‘s 2k writing challenge

  Fred had never gotten used to traveling on Muggle airplanes. He never had a need to before, not with everything being a train ride, floo network, or apparition away. But as he and George progressed into adulthood, and the businessman life no less, they found themselves constantly on the move and needing a fast and easy way to travel without drawing suspicion. Except for the one time that Fred’s magical briefcase set off every airport security system imaginable, but he’d learned from that mistake. 

He was relieved to be exiting the JFK airport in New York City, clutching his luggage and thanking Merlin that his feet could now touch solid ground. Being in one of those huge steel contraptions was nothing like flying in a broom. He had no control over anything and it drove him absolutely insane. Luckily, he was safe now, and one step closer to being done with this awful business trip. 

At the beginning of their business endeavors, Fred and George would travel together, trying to pick up business at other locations for Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes. But as the shop grew and the locations became more and more foreign (so far having shops in Paris, Cairo, and Madrid) the brothers realized that the operations would have to be solo missions to allow for the other to run the shop for longer periods of time. Usually Fred didn’t mind taking the trips by himself. In fact, he rather enjoyed the alone time and flexibility in schedule. But this meeting was supposed to be a big one, and he was feeling quite nervous about having to tackle it himself. 

Big investors located in the states were meeting with him to discuss opening a joint operation in New York City, combining his shop with another renowned wizard business that they deemed would be most profitable. Fred groaned internally just thinking about it. He didn’t want to have to share this new shop with anyone, no matter what the new investors thought. What if the other co-owner was a horrible person? Or worse, what if they had no sense of humor? They’d ruin the Weasley reputation and make it some boring book store. Or puzzle shop? Honestly Fred didn’t know much about the other business, just that he already didn’t like it. 

Hailing a cab, a trick his sister-in-law Hermione had shown him years ago, Fred lugged all of his prototypes--skillfully hidden from Muggle eyes and detection systems by layers of spells--into the trunk before hopping in, giving the address of the hotel the investors had booked for him. He was about to shut the door when a panting scream startled him enough to make him stop. 

“Wait! Hold the cab!”

Doing as he was told, Fred kept the door open and allowed the stranger to climb in, suitcase and all. 

“Thanks,” you said, Fred noting your distinct British accent and strikingly familiar features. “I really need to get to my hotel, I appreciate it--”

“Y/N?”

Shocked, you finally looked at your ride partner’s face for the first time. Soft brown eyes. Freckled face. Bright ginger hair. 

“Fred?! Fred Weasley?” You knew for a fact you weren’t mistaken, this was definitely the Fred you remembered. Or maybe it could have been George? It had been so long since you had seen either of them. Since Hogwarts, in fact. 

Luckily, Fred nodded, confirming your belief that this was the older Weasley twin and saving yourself from heaps of embarrassment. “Y/N L/N, what are you doing here?”

Fred and you both wore matching grins, stretching from ear to ear. What an insane coincidence. What were the chances that you two would be in the same cab, in the same city, in the same foreign country?

“I’m actually here for business,” you said. “After Hogwarts I opened my own shop--”

“Excuse me,” the cab driver interrupted, wasting no time with politeness nor formalities. “But I have cars lined up behind me and I don’t know where you wanna go little lady. So let’s get on with it, if you will.”

“Oh, yeah of course. It’s, umm, oh shit which hotel was it? It’s on 53rd and 10th, I know that…” You trailed off, trying to remember what your hotel was called. You dug around in your purse, hoping to find a piece of paper with the name on it. “I think it was called--”

“Lotus Hotel.”

It was Fred who had interrupted you, once again, and once again you were just as bewildered as before.

“That’s right,” you said after a few seconds of confused silence. “Yes, yes the Lotus Hotel please,” you told the driver with confidence. Turning back to Fred you tried in earnest to understand what was happening. 

“So same location?” the driver asked, to which Fred confirmed before you were speeding off down the crowded streets of the city. 

“Oh, I get it,” you said in understanding. “Same hotel as me?”

“That is correct, love. What are the odds?” He wiggled his eyebrows in a half suggestive half just plain goofy manner, awkwardly shuffling so that his long legs had room amongst your many bags. 

“That is quite a coincidence,” you agreed. “Funny thing is, I didn’t even choose the location. I have a business meeting in the morning with possible investors and they set everything up for the stay.”

Fred’s mouth practically dropped open at what you had said. “You’re kidding. These investors don’t happen to be Robbie Goldstein and Rachel McMillan, do they?”

“Ok, you need to stop doing that,” you said, officially freaked. “That’s the third time you’ve predicted something and it’s starting to creep me out. You never were very good at legilimency.”

He hushed you quickly, hoping the cab driver hadn’t caught onto the magical term you just used. Thankfully, he was too focused on the roads to notice. 

“Ok, Y/N, one last question.”

“And then you’ll explain how you know all this?”

Fred ignored your question and continued with his own. “You said you opened a business. Are you perhaps meeting with another business owner to discuss a collaboration on a new store opening in the city?”

“Yes!” you said, eager to know how Fred could have known that. Was this another one of his pranks? Did he have hidden cameras in the cab somewhere? “How do you know all this?”

He only laughed, a joyous and very relieved grin overtaking his face. Sticking out his right hand, he grabbed yours and shook it eagerly. “Well, Miss L/N, it’s a pleasure to be reacquainted. I’m Frederick Weasley, your new potential partner.”

------------------------------

“You know, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Oh thank Godric, I was worried you’d think I was grown up and mature now.”

You laughed heartily as you dragged your bags out of the cab, thanking the driver before he grunted annoyedly and drove off. Your drive from the airport had gone faster than expected, mostly due to the fact that you and Fred had so much to catch up on. 

After he and George had left Hogwarts in their grand exit, they’d created the shop they’d always dreamed of, parking it right in the middle of Diagon Alley. You, on the other hand, went about creating your success in a much more conventional way. After finishing your last year of school, you started working full time at Zonko’s at Hogsmeade, trying to save up enough money to start your own business. 

Many long hours and tiring days later, you opened up your little place, a toy store and puzzle shop. It was a similar setup to what the Weasleys did, but as you described it, “my toys don’t blow up in the user's face.”

You were now very excited for tomorrow’s meeting, the one you had been dreading beforehand. Your business was much smaller than Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and this would be your first international location. You were afraid that the owner you would be forced to work with would be some stuck up rich big whig who wouldn’t allow you to keep any of your small business charm in the new location. But learning that you would be working with Fred, well that was a relief for many reasons. 

Fred rang the hotel desk bell, chatting happily about ideas for the shared shop and new products that fit with what both of you wanted to do. 

“Hello there,” said the hotel receptionist, coming around the corner. “What can I do for you today?”

“Two night stay for Frederick Weasley,” said Fred. “Should’ve been booked by Robbie Goldstein.”

The young man typed quickly into his computer before offering Fred a hotel key card. “Here you are Mr. Weasley, room 504. We serve complimentary breakfast from 6 to 9 every morning down in our west hall. If you need anything don’t be afraid to call down and we’ll assist you in any way we can.”

Fred nodded at the man. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” He turned to leave before you grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back. 

“Wait for me,” you said. “I’m not finished talking to you yet.”

Fred smiled and waited behind you as you took your turn at the desk. 

“Y/N L/N, also booked by Robbie Goldstein.” 

He clicked away again but paused for a few seconds, seemingly confused. “You said Y/N L/N?”

Starting to get nervous, you nodded. “Yes, that’s me. Is the reservation not there?” You didn’t want to think about having to find somewhere else to stay, especially because it was getting so late. 

“Oh no,” the man replied. “It’s here all right.” Ignoring the confused looks you and Fred were giving each other, the receptionist handed you a hotel key card and gestured to the elevator. “Thank you for choosing to stay with us. You’ll be staying for two nights in room 504. Don’t forget to enjoy our complimentary breakfast from 6--”

“I’m sorry,” Fred interrupted. “But that’s my room. You did say 504, right?”

“Yes sir,” he replied, not bothering to try to understand the predicament. “Mr. Goldstein booked one room for the both of you.”

Your eyes widened and you looked at Fred, silently asking him to help you figure this out. But instead, Fred just broke out laughing, having to brace himself on the front desk. 

“I guess that’s what you expect when you let two investors who specialize in pranking shops make the room accommodations.”

“This isn’t funny Fred,” you said, although you had to give Robbie and Rachel credit for this joke. Turning to the receptionist, you sighed and ran your hands through your hair. “There’s at least two separate beds, right?”

He glanced down at his computer screen before looking back up at you with a guilty smile. “Well, about that…”

------------------------------

“Alright, I’ll take the couch, I’m sure it’s a pullout, it has to be.”

Fred stood in the doorway watching you mumble mostly to yourself. As tired as he was and as much as he wanted to just lie down and sleep, somehow watching you freak out about the sleeping arrangements was a much better use of his time. 

He watched as you threw the pillows and cushions off of the couch and felt around for a lever, something, anything that would allow you a place to rest. Your face lit up as you felt a small impression and yanked with all your might, only causing you to thump backwards onto your butt on the hotel room floor. 

Kicking off his shoes, Fred jumped onto the bed, sighing as he let his body relax. “Come on in darling, there’s plenty of room for the both of us.”

He opened one eye slightly, just enough to see your reaction. You were trying again to make the couch open, although you both knew that it wasn’t a pullout. Nevertheless, you kept pulling at every spot you thought could make a difference. 

It reminded Fred of the good old days, back at Hogwarts when you two were so close. You were always so stubborn, and he didn’t realize just how much he had missed having you in his life. He always wondered what happened to you after he and George left, but with the shop opening up and the war around the corner, he never had the thought to write you or track you down. He hoped this time after you two parted ways you would still remain in touch. 

You groaned loudly, slapping the couch with one of the pillows you had thrown earlier. Nothing was going as planned and you couldn’t be more annoyed. 

“Fine,” you huffed. “I’ll just sleep on the couch, no need for a pullout.” You stomped over to the bed and angrily pulled the blanket from off of him. 

“Hey!” he shouted, trying to grab it back but you were too quick. “That’s not fair, it’s cold!”

“If you get the bed,” you said, wrapping yourself up, “then I get to stay warm. Now go to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning.”

He couldn’t help but giggle at the small bundle of you wrapped up in the hotel quilt, looking like an angry little burrito. Standing, he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it in the corner, followed next by his undershirt before he unbuckled his belt. He turned to face you slowly, feeling your eyes on him as they peeked out of your wrapping. 

You quickly turned your gaze and glared at the floor. “What are you doing?” you said, hoping Fred didn’t see the blush rising to your cheeks. He did. 

He continued to undress, leaving him only in a pair of red boxers that left little to the imagination. “Going to bed, as you said,” he replied nonchalantly. He grabbed a toothbrush from his suitcase and made his way to the bathroom, making sure to walk extra slowly and give you a longer show. 

“This is so unprofessional!” you yelled after him. 

“We’re not business partners until tomorrow, love,” Fred said with a mouthful of toothpaste. “As far as I see it we can do anything we want tonight.”

Rolling your eyes, you shed the large blanket and grabbed an oversized t-shirt from your bag, hoping you’d be able to change before Fred finished in the bathroom. As he emerged, he saw the tail end of you throwing the shirt on, flashing your thighs and part of your panties for half a second. He averted his eyes out of respect, but that didn’t stop his imagination from running away with what he just saw. 

You shuffled past him, taking your turn in the bathroom. How in the world had this happened? How had a nice catch-up with a friend turned into an awkward back and forth the night before the most important business meeting of your life?

All you wanted to do was fall asleep, go through with whatever tomorrow brought you, and pretend like this never happened. But as you came out of the bathroom, you saw that Fred had taken the blanket back, leaving you with nothing except your t-shirt and an uncomfortable couch. 

“Fred, let me have it,” you said, trying to yank it from his grip. 

“No,” he mumbled, voice muffled by one of the many pillows he was cuddled with. 

“Frederick Gideon Weasley, give me the blanket now or so help me…”

Instead of responding, he just reached out and patted you on the top of your head before rolling over and pretending to snore. He was infuriating. 

You sulked back to the couch, accepting your defeat. You pulled out all of the clothes in your bag, hoping they could form as some sort of makeshift blanket. But after a few minutes of shivering and curling into the smallest ball possible, you realized that you’d never manage to sleep like this. Fred was staring at you, partially amused and partially concerned. You looked away. 

“You can always share with me, you know,” he said, patting the bed next to him. 

You scoffed and turned away. “Like I said, Fred, we’re soon-to-be business partners. Imagine how that would look! I’m fine right here, thank you.”

After a few seconds of silence you snuck another look at him. He hadn’t moved an inch, and was instead looking more concerned than before. “You’re going to freeze to death over there.”

“Well maybe that’s because someone stole my blanket.”

“The blanket comes with the bed, and the bed comes with me. Take it or leave it.”

It took everything in you not to scream. You wanted that warm, soft, comfortable bed more than anything at the moment. You needed it. Oh but it would send such a bad message if anyone ever found out…

“If we get caught I’m blaming you,” you relented, trudging over to the bed and crawling underneath the covers, ripping the blanket from a very amused Fred. 

“Who’s gonna catch us, Robbie and Rachel? They’re the ones that set this up! Trust me, nothing’s going to happen.” 

“It better not,” you said. “And make sure you stay on your side of the bed, I mean it! No touching.”

“Oh come on, Y/N,” Fred said, rolling slightly closer to you. “You act as if we’ve never done this before. We’ve slept with each other dozens of times.”

Your face went red at his words, wishing he would have phrased it a different way. 

“You know what I mean,” he said quickly, hearing how his words came across. “But the amount of times we’ve cuddled up in the Gryffindor common room or up stargazing in the astronomy tower. It’s just me, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“We were also 17 and a lot closer back then,” you retorted, remembering the fond memories you had from your high school days. 

Fred huffed and returned to his side. “I’m not saying we weren’t. I just wish you weren’t acting so different now. It’s like we’re barely friends anymore…” His voice drifted off, wishing that he could go back and change the past. It had been 8 years since he last saw you. 8 whole years. Maybe things would’ve been different if he had tried to stay in touch. You’d never even visited his shop in those 8 years, never seen everything he was so proud of. He was stupid to think that one reunion was going to bring back a friendship that was practically already dead. He was even more stupid to think that maybe, just maybe, fate was giving him one last chance to shoot his shot, close to a decade later. What a right idiot he was. 

On the other side of the bed, less than a meter away, similar thoughts raced through your mind. 8 years. Why hadn’t you, in 8 years, made one trip to visit their shop. Sure, there was a war going on and you were busy starting your own shop, but things had been fairly calm the last few years. Why had you never reached out? Almost subconsciously, you reached out physically for Fred. Your hand brushed up against his back before you tensed and drew back. You both stilled for a few moments, before Fred rolled over, facing you. 

The two of you just stared at each other, both playing mental images of what your lives could have looked like the last 8 years if just one of you had done something. 

“You’re not seeing anyone, are you?” Fred asked, breaking the silence. You shook your head. He moved closer. 

“Are you?” you asked. He shook his head. You moved closer. 

Your faces were now about a foot apart. You moved your hand to rest it between your face and the pillow. Fred copied your actions. You laughed softly, the movement causing a strand of hair to fall into your face. 

Fred reached his hand out to move it before hesitating. “Can I?” His voice was so soft, so full of care. His hand hesitated in the air for a second before you nodded. He brushed the strands behind your ear, fingertips so gentle that you got chills up and down your spine. He let his hand linger before it moved to cup your face. “I’ve missed you.”

You smiled and leaned into his touch. “I’ve missed you too, Freddie.”

His hand left your face and moved down to your waist, eyes not leaving yours in case you ever grew uncomfortable. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer to him just like you used to do all those years ago. You buried your face in the crook of his neck and hummed contently, before both of you slowly drifted off to sleep. 

------------------------------

“Freddie, Y/N! How are ya!”

Robbie Goldstein, a plump man with fading hair ran up to greet you and Fred in the lobby of his and his partner’s office, shaking both of your hands fervently. 

“Hey Robbie,” said Fred, slapping the man on the back. “I’m glad to be here.”

“Same with me,” you said, glad you could finally meet the man with whom you’d been discussing business through letters in person. 

Robbie looked between the two of you, sly grin on his face. “Ah, so I see you’ve already met them. Wouldn’t happen to be because of a little mishap at the hotel last night, would it?”

You groaned internally, hating that someone else knew about the previous night, but Fred only laughed and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. 

“A great prank, I must admit, but Y/N and I actually go way back. I’ve known her since I was 11 years old, so nice try. I couldn’t imagine how that would’ve gone if we were complete strangers.”

Robbie’s face fell a little before he shrugged and nodded his head in defeat. “Well, what are the odds of that?”

“Astronomical,” you said, giving Fred a subtle tap with your foot. 

Robbie gestured for the two of you to follow him into the conference room where discussions about the new business would commence. “Well, I’m glad that you two seem to get along then, this is going to make things a lot easier. Oh, and don’t worry about arrangements tonight, I’ve decided not to let my joke stretch on and I booked another room for one of you for your last night in town.”

You breathed a sigh of relief, one that didn’t go unnoticed by Fred, and stepped into the conference room. “Thanks Robbie, that makes things a lot easier.”

“Yeah,” said Fred hesitantly, “thanks for that.”

He shut the door behind you and straightened up. There was no place for personal feelings in this business negotiation. He needed to do what was best for his company and yours, no distractions. No thoughts of crushed hope that suddenly plagued his mind. 

------------------------------

Fred hated the bed he was sleeping on. Granted, it was the same bed as the night before, but this time it felt different. It felt like it was mocking him. You had been the one to offer to change rooms and it seemed like you couldn’t wait to get out of there and to your own bedroom, free of any Weasleys. It made Fred sick to think about. 

He had just gotten used to the idea of something happening between the two of you. Last night, it all seemed perfect. You had cuddled the same way you had before, talked like nothing had changed. Hell, he even woke up with you lying sprawled out on top of him, a little trickle of drool falling onto his chest. He didn’t mind. 

But now, everything that happened the night before seemed like a dream. 

Fred knew he’d at least get to see you sporadically from now on. Your business negotiations with Robbie and Rachel went great, and the two of you, three counting George, were going to be combining forces and opening a joke and toy shop in the city sometime within the next year. It went exactly how Fred had wanted it to go, and yet so horribly wrong at the same time. 

He didn’t want to only interact with you as a business partner and casual friend. He wanted so much more than you were willing to give him, and having to see you and write you and work with you was going to be torture for him. He buried his face in the pillows, gripping the large blanket to his chest, wishing it was you instead. Stupid Robbie and his stupid pranks and stupid business and--

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Fred lifted his head to check the clock. It was 2 in the morning. Who in the world would be knocking this late at night? Fred slowly got out of bed, too tired to bother putting anything more decent on. He looked through the peephole of the door but his eyes were too blurry to make anything out. Groaning, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. 

Standing in front of him, clothed in the oversized t-shirt from last night and a pair of booty shorts, was you, looking nervous and embarrassed. Fred hadn’t noticed the previous day, but the shirt you had been wearing was one of his old Quidditch practice jerseys, all beat up and way too huge on you. He remembered the day he gave that to you, or rather when you stole it from him because you complained about it being too cold. Fred had to hold back a laugh at the irony. 

“I, umm,” you started, not knowing what to say to him. How were you supposed to explain that you missed him so much that spending one night away from him was too much for you to bear? How last night had been the best sleep you had in years because of how content and at peace he made you feel. How could you convey all of your feelings to him at this very moment?

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Fred wasted no time in picking you up, laughing as you screamed and kicked your legs around. “Fred Weasley, you put me down!”

He did as he was told and threw you onto the bed before jumping, arms and legs spread out, and landing straight on top of you. “I’m so glad you're here,” he said, peppering your cheeks with kisses. He pushed himself up, scanning your face to make sure what he did was ok, but you grabbed his face in your cheeks and pulled him down into a long kiss. Fred smiled through the kiss, almost laughing at how everything was working out. Maybe fate did have something to do with it after all. 

Fred pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against yours. “So,” he said, mischief glinting in his eyes, “how about we put this bed to good use?”

Tag List: @famdomhideout​ @amourtentiaa​

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Melting Wax, Crawling Vines: Part 2 (Vincent Sinclair x Fem!Reader)

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter ->

Warnings: panic attacks, fainting spells, implied past domestic abuse, implied intent to kidnap

Word Count: 2372

Vincent will make an appearance soon I swear

You figured you were slowing Lester down more than actually helping him, but he was a surprisingly patient and willing teacher. When the hubs were changed and you hopped back in the car, you were able to make it over the water with little to no problem. He drove you into the town, and stopped in front of an auto body shop. You watched as he got out, and quickly went to your side to let you out of the truck. You thanked him, before looking around the town of Ambrose. It was small, like you figured your new town would be. The only tourist trap it seemed to have was the House of Wax, but you didn't have time to look at it before Lester said,

"C'mon, Bo's probably inside." And nodded towards the auto body shop. You followed him, being able to hear music from outside the shop and passing some old fashioned gas pumps. Lester walked right in, yelling,

"Bo! You got a customer!" And you heard the sound of tools being set down before a tall man in his mid thirties stepped into the lobby of the shop. He had short dark hair, a blue cap, and a plain button down shirt and pants. He was wiping his hands clean of any grease, and he tossed you a smile right after he turned down the radio. Lester was quick to introduce you for you. He gave Bo your name, and the tall brunette held out one of his hands.

"I'm Bo. I'm the owner." He said, and you tried not to flush from the way he looked you over. You replied a small,

"Pleased to meet you." And you retracted your hand. You bit your lip, and Lester was quick to talk for you. You were grateful, as, for some reason, you felt slightly intimidated by the man in front of you. He seemed nice, charming, but a little sharp around the edges. But, hell, you brushed it off as plain paranoia.

"This young lady right here was having some car trouble up on the back road. I told her you'd be able to give her a tow." He said, and Bo nodded. 

"Yeah, we can manage that just fine." He said, and it seemed as thought this day was finally turning around for you. You'd have your car fixed and you'd be in your new town before nightfall. Well, you hoped. You added,

"Yeah, um, I couldn't figure it out myself, so Lester here was a real lifesaver to bring me to a, uh, professional." You said, and you watched the way the tallest of the two men smiled at you. He headed behind the counter, talking as the pair of you followed him. 

"Well, imagine that. Lester picked something up prettier than what he usually scrapes off the interstate. Should head by the back roads more often." He said, talking directly to the man besides you and cracking a small quip. You looked away and smiled to yourself. The man was handsome, and a flirt. If it wasn't for the situation, you were sure you would've walked away from someone so brazen. "Now, you headed anywhere important? Any time constraints?" He asked, throwing the rag over his shoulder. You were biting your thumb, and you pulled it out from between your teeth to say,

"I'm headed to a town about an hour out. Moving. Great day to get stuck." You said sarcastically, and both of them smiled at the joke. Bo shuffled some papers, looking down as he said,

"Yeah, it always happens like that, huh." He said, and you supposed he would know. You guessed that this was the part where you talked prices, but, after taking a quick glance at the clock, you realized just how much time had passed. Your stuff would be arriving, if it hadn't already, and you were still over an hour away. So, you said,

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be impolite, but could I use your phone? I have a moving truck that I'm supposed to meet." You were sure that if you didn't call, you'd worry the hell out of the people driving. You wanted them to know that you were safe, and maybe they could unload some of your stuff for you. You doubted they'd be so inclined, as you knew the men driving it. Bo gave you an easy smile, before agreeing with a,

"Sure." He handed you a cordless phone, and you quickly thanked him as you slung your backpack down to find the phone number to your new apartment complex. You pulled out a little planner you carried, found the number, and dialed it in. You stepped away from the two men as you waited for the person at the desk to pick up.

"This is Shandor Apartments. How can I help you?" An unfamiliar voice rang through, and you quickly said,

"Hi, this is," You gave them your full name and apartment number. "I was supposed to move in today, but I ran into some car trouble. I'll be up as soon as it's fixed, maybe in about," You paused to look over at Bo, and he held up three fingers. It was only a slight sight, but, for a moment, you saw what looked like scars on his wrist. You didn't stare, and instead took a step as you continued, "Three hours. I was wondering if you could tell me if the moving van has come yet." You said, and you waited for her reply.

"Yeah, it got here about fifteen minutes ago. You want me to tell those boys to wait with it?" And you grimaced at the thought of asking them to wait for three hours. You reluctantly said,

"No, no. Tell them they can head on back, and to just leave the keys to the unit with you please." Your 'moving van' was really just a small trailer attached to the back of a truck. You hadn't had much to take, and most of what you did had been left behind because of the memories surrounding them. Still, that didn't mean you were thrilled with the idea of moving everything by yourself. 

"Will that be all?" She asked, and you tried not to be offended by the indifference in her tone. You told her a quick,

"Yeah, that's it." And she continued with,

"Well, alright, miss. I'll tell 'em." And you half expected her to hang up. She surprised you by continuing with, "By the way, your boyfriend called and left a message." And you felt a shock go down the back of your spine. You tongue suddenly felt heavy and numb inside your mouth, and you stopped the small amount of pacing you'd been doing. You stared out the window of the auto body shop, blinking.

"What?" You asked. You hadn't meant to be so curt, but the woman didn't seem to mind. She kept going with,

"Your boyfriend, dear. He left a message and said," You listened to her pause, almost hearing the shuffle of papers. You didn't know if the room was spinning or if that was just you as she said, "He asked if you'd got in alright, and said he'll see you soon. He was such a sweet boy too. Very polite." And you almost couldn't make your mouth move. Horror had filled your veins, nearly suffocating you and tightly squeezing around your heart. Lester and Bo had been chatting behind you, whispering for what you assumed was the sake of your phone conversation, but they stopped when you leaned against the glass with a thud. Immediately your brain raced, trying to find any excuse to explain. It couldn't be. You'd been quick, sneaky. You'd even traveled separately from your friends, left at different times. You tried to force your mouth to work, but no sound came out. She continued with, "Oh, this part was a little strange. He said something about a bat? You left it at your sister's house and-" She hadn't stopped talking, but you'd stopped listening. In that moment, any stream of doubt left your head. You couldn't believe it, but, now, you had to. It was him. He had found you. He knew where you were going, and he would be there soon. He even knew what apartment complex you'd be in, and you didn't doubt the desk lady would tell him whatever he asked. He was always charming like that, able to talk into getting whatever he wanted. You'd seen him do it a thousand times, and you knew it wouldn't be any use to tell her anything. To tell your friends anything. It was too late. When you finally managed to force out a noise, your voice was thick and wet, like the tears you were trying to suppress.

"Thank you, ma'am. Have a nice day." And you clicked the end call button before the phone slipped out of your hand. You realized you weren't breathing, but it was like your lungs were frozen. You couldn't bring yourself to take in a breath. The night, that horrible night, was too busy replaying in your head. You heard the phantom crash of a window breaking, felt your heartbeat in your ears as you hid, saw the image of a crumpled body at the bottom of the stairs. You could practically feel his grip on your arms. Your knees had been just as weak then as they were right now, except there was no one to hold you up. No one to say those horrible words in your face, the ones that had given you nightmares ever since it'd happened. You think you can leave me? You think what she got was bad? When I'm done with you, you'll wish it was you at the bottom of the stairs. Those last five words replayed over and over in your head like a mantra. The bottom of the stairs, the bottom of the stairs, the bottom of the stairs. Your mind said. You couldn't hear Bo's question. Him asking if you were alright. Instead, your mind was asking you it's very own question. Who's the girl at the bottom of the stairs?

You fell to the ground, just like the phone besides you, and the world went black.

***

"What the hell." Bo said, standing over your body with hands on his hips. He picked up the phone, checking it for any damage before he looked to Lester. "What did you do? You give her something?" He asked, and Lester was quick to say,

"Me? No!" He'd placed his hands on his chest, as if he'd been offended. As far as Lester was concerned, Bo and Vincent were the weird ones of the family. He didn't judge, but he definitely didn't partake. Sure, he pointed people in the right, technically wrong, direction and dumped any bodies that Vincent didn't use, but anyone that wandered in with him was usually let go. As long as they didn't poke their noses where they shouldn't or see anything they shouldn't. "I was just tellin' you that I thought we should keep her! Y'know, so she can teach Vincent. I wouldn't give her nothing. She just," He paused, giving your foot a light nudge with his boot. "Fell." You stirred, but you didn't wake, and Bo was quick to push at his chest.

"Don't do that." He snapped, before he was fixing his hat with a sigh. At least they knew you hadn't just randomly kicked it. But, they couldn't just leave you in the shop and go tell Vincent about their plan. "Shit." He said, before he pushed the phone into Lesters hands. He leaned down. He picked you up, gathering you up and throwing you over his shoulder. "Let's get her back to the house." He said with a grunt, and Lester pushed open the door so he could walk through.

***

When you woke up, you blinked to try to clear your vision. You didn't know where you were, and you nearly launched yourself up before a hand caught your shoulder. It pushed you back down almost a little too easily, and you looked up to see Bo taking a seat on the corner of what you realized was a couch. You looked up at him, and then at the source of a low whistle.

"You took quite a tumble there, miss." The man said, and it took a moment for you to connect that it was Lester. You looked around, quickly taking in the sights of what looked like a living room. You guessed it must've been one of theirs, and you were leaning towards Bo at the sight of a pool-table. He seemed the type , you thought. You reached up to touch your head, which swam when you tried to lift it again. Finally, you fell back against the armrest in a defeated heap.

"Where- Where am I?" You asked, and Bo chuckled before he said,

"My house. You fainted back at the shop." He explained, and you tried to think back. Before your thoughts could head anywhere, you asked,

"What happened?" And Bo chuckled. You looked up, watching as he leaned forward and said,

"Well, we were hoping you could explain that one, darlin'." He said, his voice smooth and sweet like honey. You were too dazed to really notice how he was laying the charm on extra thick, and the moment you did think about it everything came rushing back. The fear, the horror, the confusion. You must've made a face because Lester added,

"And don't say heatstroke. I've seen heatstroke, and I ain't never seen someone look like how you did." And you bit your lip. You thought for a moment, wondering if you should lie. If you could lie. You weren't sure you wanted to get into it, but how else else could you explain your fainting spell? More importantly, how would you explain the worst night of your life? A night that only happened only a few short weeks before? Especially to two strangers. You looked between their imploring eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"Can I have a glass of water first, please?"

[souljoon]

Like a fool (pt.1)

pairing: teacher!jungkook x cafe owner!reader word count: 2k genre: fluff, smut, ex lovers au warnings: sexual content, slight dom!jungkook, sub!reader, unprotected sex (stay safe loves!)

synopsis: Everyone in the neighborhood knows you and Jungkook will inevitably end up in a wedlock despite the complicated status of your on-and-off relationship. While you want to keep a civil relationship with him, Jungkook learned not to care about labels long ago since the first time you two broke up. Whatever you’d say, he intends to keep his place in your heart taken for the rest of your life.

~~~

“Your beau is here,” Jimin prompted behind you.

Without turning in his direction, your attention to the carrot cake remaining glued to the carrot cake you were currently frosting about.

At this point, you wouldn’t even be surprised to see Jungkook on the opposite side of your bed in the morning. He seems to find it amusing to see you evidently pissed whenever he’s around. How couldn’t you? He not only takes over Jimin’s job but he often causes a scene with the customers in the cafe—which, to fuel more of your unspoken frustration, are students from the nearby community college.

You couldn’t admit how the attention he was getting from people of different gender identities still bothers you despite the mutual decision to call the engagement off. You understand your ex-fiance is a very attractive man. And his charisma could probably stir attraction from married women regardless of their age.

Over the course of six years of a complicated relationship with him, you two had already been in two break ups in college, citing his laid back self in college and your endless insecurities that urged you to try to get away from him, from the spell he had on you.

While you decided to pursue your dream to start your own cafe business post-graduation, Jungkook surprisingly landed on a teaching job in Jung-do High School which is also located in the same neighborhood two years ago. 

Footsteps are, again, back in the kitchen. “He just wore an apron. So I’m guessing he’s here until the shop closes.” It was Jimin, informing you yet again as if it was part of his job to report Jungkook’s every move to you.

This time, you sweep a brief glance behind. “Don’t let the counter vacant, Chim.” You say, cleaning up the cake board as a finishing touch to your masterpiece.

“He took over the counter, _____. How am I supposed to make him go away when he’s our own human advertisement. He’s attracting more customers!”

With a glare darted to his direction, you suggest, “Then I guess I should replace you with him, instead?”

Jimin visibly sulked, not really wanting to argue with you—his boss. “Fine!”

Six months. That’s how long you’ve been single since. Sure he had you wrapped around his fingers back then. But you wanted to prove to him and to yourself that you can live without him. However, it’s too impossible to keep up with it when he freely deems himself welcome wherever you are, maintaining his act of indifference toward the real score between you.

Intending to place the cake in the display, you finally went out of the kitchen-- ironically, just in time to run into him. Jungkook being the shameless ex-boyfriend that he is, took the cake in your hands.

He was wearing a gym class outfit— a pair of black adidas sweatpants, and a plain, white shirt over a black hoodie. If only you were not trying to stay as far as possible away from him, you’ll probably tease him about his own dress code. He doesn’t look like he just got out of his class as the teacher. He looked like he just went out of bed before he came here.

“Aren’t you supposed to be home?” You ask from behind him.

“I’m bored,” he simply replied.

“What do you mean you’re bored? Haven’t you just got off work?”

He spun around, startling you when you came face to face with him. If you couldn’t properly see his entire face before, you do now much to your annoyance.

He sighs. “I did. Look, I’m just helping Jimin-hyung out here. I won’t bother you, I swear.”

“You don’t have to because you’re not my employee, Kook.”

“Well, I could use some part time if you’re hiring.” Jungkook shrugs.

Here we go, again.

Your eyes narrowed to which roused him to raise his hands up defensively.

“Jagiya—”

“Lovebirds,” Jimin suddenly interrupts.

“What?!” You both snapped back at Jimin’s direction.

“Whoa, tone it down— you two. Restroom is right there in case you need to release the sexual tension. It’s getting intense out here.” He jests, making a shooing motions with his hands.

Jungkook wasted no more time and took it as his cue to grab your wrist, dragging you with him as he navigated the way past the kitchen into the storage room.

A temporary relief washes through you when Jungkook brought you in this enclosed, rather safe space instead of the restroom. However, dread slowly consumes your whole being when you hear the familiar sound of the knob locking.

Jungkook pivoted back, facing you. “Let’s talk here.”

Your eyes lingered down where his hand maintained his grasp around your wrist. “Why? There’s nothing else to talk about.”

“For the umpteenth time, I saw the landlord across the street like he was waiting for someone,”

You look up, quirking up an eyebrow at his sudden shot of a subject relating to Seokjin. “What’s your point?”

“I don’t trust him.” He deduces, childishly.

“What do you want me to do, find another leasing property? This shouldn’t concern you in the first place. You never once heard anything from me about Joohyun.” You mentally cursed, unable to stop yourself from mentioning the name of the woman he was seen in a restaurant a week ago.

“What’s Joohyun got anything to do with this?”

You scoff. “You know what, I don’t need to answer that. We’re not together anymore so it’s none of my business.”

Jungkook seized your attempt to leave, latching onto your arm just in time. As he pulls you back, you were met with the subtle amusement plastered obnoxiously on his face.

“We’re not done here, baby. So... Joohyun, really? My colleague?” A laugh slips out of him, seemingly pleased. You, on the other hand, felt insulted on his take of your serious remark. Your blood started rising up. So the rumors aren’t true?

You jerked away. Well... tried to, because your hand stayed locked around his firm grip. “Let me go, I need to go back to the kitchen.”

You stepped back when he abruptly inched forward. You were puzzled for a second, but when your back touched the surface of the door, you knew you fell from his trap as he steadied himself with his palms pressed flat above your head. You turned your face away, avoiding his heated gaze. But the gesture only gave Jungkook a room to nestle his head on the exposed skin of your neck.

The moment you felt his warm lips touch your skin, you squeezed your eyes shut. “You’ve been pretty good at keeping a safe distance from me, baby. You have no idea how much  I fucking miss you, missed keeping you all to myself like this.” He expresses in a thick, sultry tone.

You shake your head, knowing full well what he meant. “We c-cant, Jimin is--”

“--not here.” He finishes, pressing his lower body against yours and teasing your sweet spot with a gentle suck. The bulge on his mid-region was enough to make your panties wet instantaneously and your body heats up too quickly.

“Jungkook,” his name slips out of your mouth.

“Please tell me you’re still in birth control.” He desperately murmurs against your skin on the curve of your neck.

You frantically bobbed your head, lost at the hot trail of kisses he’s leaving on your skin.

With an eager pull of the strings on his nape and back, he rids the apron off of his front followed by a swift pull of his sweatpants with his boxers, just enough to release his hard member.

Your mouth instantaneously watered at the sight of the maddeningly pink head and aroused length, thick and hard just the way you remembered it the last time Jungkook fucked you. It happened in his car three months ago. You were too intoxicated then to control yourself from jumping up into his lap as he drove you back to your apartment. To keep your pride intact, you tried to steer clear from repeating the same mistake again. Not when you’re not officially back together.

Right now, you’re too sexually neglected to care about anything.

“I want you in my mouth,” you beg, not believing you sounded incredibly hasty than you actually have estimated.

He swats your hand off when he sensed your hand extending towards his crotch, “I’d love to fuck your mouth baby, but we don’t have that much time. I need to be inside your pussy,” You felt his palms scooping you up through your butt, sandwiching you between his body and the door. Your legs automatically weaving around his hips to steady yourself.

Then pushes your underwear aside, “This is probably the only reason why I love you wearing skirts. Easy access—fuck baby, so tight.” He barely sank his cock in, yet you could already feel the sting of your walls as they stretch around him.

Your hand flew to the back of head, eager to bury your fingers beneath his curly locks.

Just as you part your mouth to speak to encourage more his entrance, he suddenly propels his hips forward, pushing his dick to the hilt which roused a cry from you.

“Fucking tight! I’m gonna break you so much you won’t ever forget about me. You understand, darling?”

“Yes, yes, please fuck me!” You cried out, reeling from both the sting of your muscles caused by his forceful entrance, and the familiar warmth filling you full.

Without bothering to warm you up, he began a breathtaking pace despite his overwhelming intrusion. You didn’t mind, though. In fact, his thrusts were making your moans irrepressible and your thighs tremble in delight.

Jungkook places his head between the valleys of your covered mounds, not missing his faint grunts, lost in his own pleasure.

“You like that, huh? You like the idea of being fucked outside, baby girl? I’ve had enough this bullshit,” He growls with a series of rough jerk of his hips, forcing a cry of his name out of you.

“That’s right, moan my name. Just wait until I get you all alone tonight, I’ll make sure you won’t ever think of breaking up with me. Do you hear me?” He warns darkly, emphasizing the severity of his threat with a shove of his dick so deep his tip was heavenly kissing your precious spot from your insides.

“Oh god,” you lamented, deliriously.

You could already feel the building up in your abdomen just as fast as he started rocking into you. You’ve known him long enough for you to easily sense it was the same for him too, concealing his moans with his mouth latched onto your prickly skin.

“That’s right. Come for me!” he grunted in between powerful thrusts.

His command did the trick, sending your body forward as you exploded, your walls tighten around him with each snap of his hips against your pelvis. Soon enough, he jerked off his load inside you with a growl rumbling on his chest.

Grimace creases on your expression as he cautiously pulls his cock out, following his load combined with your juices gushing out of your pussy down to the insides of your thighs.

Barely recovered from the earth shattering orgasm you had for the first time in three months, you heard a series of banging coming from the other side of the door.

“You done, lovebirds?” Your eyes clenched shut in realization, quietly plotting the assassination of some guy named Jimin.

“Thanks for ruining the moment,” Jungkook retorts back. “Not a problem. You guys seriously need to get the fuck out, I ran out of beans in the jar and try not fuck each other here next time, yeah?”

Amused with the scene unfolding, Jungkook casually pushes your underwear back to its place, smoothening your skirt down as if nothing inappropriate had occurred here. He kisses the tip of your nose, before turning the knob of the door.

Couldn’t this get any more embarrassing?

~~~

Thank you for reading and apologies for any spelling/ grammatical errors. I havent edited this yet.  Part 2 will most likely be posted on Monday or Tuesday :)

[wishesunderthestars]

Ocean Waves // Ch. 1

Pairings: Wizard!Namjoon x Witch!reader

Summary: Wizards were arrogant and self-entitled, they looked down on witches when they were the ones who desperately tried to control magic, to become like them. Better than them. You had your own troubles, struggling to make enough money to escape the judgement of your community and the past mistakes haunting you. Getting involved with a wizard was the last thing you needed. But you had never been lucky.

Genre: Angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 12.2k

Warnings: none 

Talking books were a pain in the ass. They could talk miles around the same subject and never stop. The worst part? They were impossible to close if they didn't want to. Which witch had thought it would be a good idea to give voice to a know-it-all?

You had made the mistake of opening one and now it wouldn't shut up.

It was going on and on about all the different kinds of seaweed, their uses and complaining about people confusing them. It was causing you a headache. If someone associated books with ancient deep voices they were sadly mistaken. This one had the most high pitched voice you had ever heard and it was so loud the whole ocean would be able to hear it.

You couldn't care less about seaweed types at the moment. Why had you made the mistake of opening it? It depicted various ingredients for potions but it had become obvious it was most fond of seaweed. Titled "Guide to Underwater Plants and their Contribution to Magic", the writer had described thousands of plants in its pages and then he had made the mistake of animating it. You vowed to yourself that if you ever reached that lever of magic you would never repeat that. Too many speaking books had been made, way more than the world needed in the first place. Zero, that's exactly how many it needed.

"Chlorophyta, also called Prasinophyra, is a taxon of green algae. Depending on the author the name is used in two very different senses. In older classification systems, it refers to a highly paraphyletic group of all the green algae within the green plants, which includes more than seven thousand species. "

You put a book back in its place on the bookshelf carved into the cave wall. "Yeah, yeah."

"Contrary to popular belief not all species live in freshwater but about 90% of them do, 10% can be found in seawater in secluded regions."

"Amazing." You picked up another book. You were extra careful not to open another book that would make your headache worse. "You sound like a Wikipedia article."

A moment of silence. You read the first few pages of the book in your hands then put it back. Nothing interesting there. Rustling of paper that could only be described as aggressive came from the book on the stone table in the middle of the library.

"Did you just compare me to a Wikipedia article?" You clenched your eyes as the pitch of the voice got higher, it should have been impossible, but you had never been lucky. "The blasphemy, the insult! How do you wound me so? Are you so ungrateful to my services? Then I shall service you no more." The book closed with a bang echoing through the library.

You rushed to the table to pick it up and shove it in one of the shelves. You added the seaweed book to the list of people and now things you had managed to offend. At least it had stopped talking. Books were too sensitive these days.

The library hadn't been much help this time. You had been coming for so long taking comfort in the dim lights under the water and the lanterns with the silver flames. You found solace in the cave above the water where the books were kept safe from being soaked and destroyed.

The lower levels were underwater, much larger in size. They were like huge museums of things old and new, anything that would interest the sea creatures that gathered them. Some were displayed in glass cases and others on carved stone. Forgotten relics centuries old and statues of a different age. Beautiful jewelry worth a fortune was preserved by the librarians.

It was an underwater wonderland.

You collected your notes, divided them by kind and hid them away in your waterproof bag. You hadn't made many new ones. You would have to figure out the rest of the details for the potion yourself. You didn't look forward to that.

With one last look at the dry section of the library and the blue sky that was visible through a hole in the cave's ceiling, you dove back in the sea.

The water was soothing against your skin. You closed your eyes at the feeling of freedom.

"Did you find what you needed?" the selkie polishing one of the statues asked you. She was the head librarian and always had a smile on her face.

"I came close," you said. You had perfected the art of speaking and hearing underwater. It had taken many hours of practice and nearly drowning twice but it had been worth it. Your mother wouldn't have let you drown anyway. She had been the one to teach you. "Nothing too specific."

"I could help you look next time, not that I would be much help if you didn't find anything." The selkie ran a hot pink pad over the curls of the statue. The attention to detail of the sculptor was incredible, the man looked alive. He reminded you of the ancient statues in the western human civilizations and their beauty. You could recognize it didn’t originate there though, it wasn't that old, but the untrained eye could mistake them.

"I can try to do the rest on my own. I'll experiment a little, try it a few different ways until it works," you said.

Snickers followed your statement. "Oh no, we all have to hide. Y/N is doing magic again. On her own." More snickers. "Everyone in twenty miles from her house is in danger."

A group of mermaids emerged from one of the pathways. The mermaid's words were accompanied by the giggles of her two friends. They were swimming gracefully in the water, their hair floating around them like halos. Their words were much less angelic than their appearance.

You gritted your teeth. "Too bad for you. You better start hiding then." You kept yourself back from saying anything worse.

The mermaid who had spoken before giggled. "Maybe you should be the one to start hiding. There are much bigger fish in the ocean and they will swallow you whole."

Their giggles echoed in the chamber as they left.

The selkie looked at you with sympathy. "They are all talk, nothing else."

You gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry. Don't I know?" You tightened your grip on your bag, adjusting it over your shoulder. "Take care. I'll see you."

"See you around, little sea witch," the selkie said fondly.

You disappeared deeper into the library, passing through different rooms and narrow paths. The library was difficult to navigate at first but it grew on you. The longer you spent there you gradually unraveled its secrets and understood the structure, the way it was made. There was a method to its madness.

Out of the series of caves, the sun was but a faint vision above. A couple of fish followed you as you swam to the surface. They were drawn to you like moths to the flame, your magic drawing them in. Anna would joke about it, say that if you ever went hungry you could catch the fish surrounding you to feed your belly.

You went higher and higher, closer to the light.

Most water creatures didn't spare you a second glance. A group of kelpies were heading north, their manes swirling around them, and a mermaid was arguing with a water nymph about the pros and cons of sea shells as hair accessories.

You emerged by the rocks on the forgotten trail to the sea. The sharp points of the stones dug into your palms as you pulled yourself up. The water had smoothed parts of them and left others sharp enough to cut through skin with one wrong move, you had to be careful which ones you held onto. You stood up barefoot on steady feet. The underwater library was a twenty minute swim away from the shore at best. By all means your limbs should have been sore from going and coming back but you were used to it.

With a flick of your hand and a few muttered words under your breath the water clinging on your ripped jeans, crop top and hair slipped away like it was being pulled by some kind of magnet. It left your hair in a not so favorable condition but it was nothing some combing with your fingers couldn't fix. That way you at least looked a little presentable. Not that you had a mirror to look at but you had enough years of experience to have a general image in your head of what you looked like.

You pushed your hair back as best as you could to get it out of your face and started your way up. The rocky trail wasn't easy to navigate but you had a lot of practice. Under a larger stone, one the water couldn't touch,  you found your sandals. You had left them there before diving into the sea. Shoes restricted your movements underwater making you slower.

You slipped them on, happy to avoid the pain of the sharp rock edges poking the soles of your feet. You were used to it but it was nice to avoid it whenever you could.

Moss was growing between the stones, it wrapped around them creating patches of green amidst the black and dark brown landscape. You were careful not to step on them, they were slippery and the rocky terrain could be dangerous. If you slipped and fell your, head and body wouldn't stay intact.

You climbed up the familiar way with ease. Your bag was securely wrapped around your shoulders, the spell work cast on it still working wonders. As you went up, the rocks gave way to a dirt road.

A few trees surrounded the road. Pine trees and lemon trees provided shade from the sun during the day. You patted one of the older trees in the area and felt its life force thrum underneath your fingertips. A spark of warmth greeted you.

You didn't have to walk long to your house. It peaked on the horizon as you walked down the hillside. More trees were growing around the area and grass and different kinds of wild flowers were everywhere you looked.

The house was perched on the plain near to where the woods ended and on the other side the hill gave way and gazed over the sea. Vibrant red flowers, like small roses, bloomed on the vines climbing up the stone walls. They had been there as long as you could remember and they bloomed all year long. Thin lines of smoke were coming out of the chimney. The windows were open letting the early spring breeze inside, the gossamer curtains billowing in its pass.

As you came closer warm tingles ran through your body, the protective charms around the house were welcoming you. Your wards were very powerful, they could detect someone with unsavory intentions from miles away. The white stones littered around the grounds were only a small part of them.

You were the most proud of your garden. It took up a wide ring around the house. It was your mother's garden and you had learnt how to care of it early on. You planted all the kinds of herbs you would need for potions, salves and spells and some of your mother's favorite flowers. Lemon and apple trees had been around the path to the door since you had been little and moonflowers, that would open at night and release their sweet aroma, littered the window sills. They were your favorites.

By the door the charmed dreamcatcher danced with the wind. The white strings were made by kelpie hair and it was decorated with Phoenix feathers for added effect (both gifted voluntarily). Tokens like that were all over the house, inside and outside. You had picked up the habit and created charms and amulets of all kinds. It was easy and some of your best work.

You opened the door making the small bells ring softly.

As expected, Anna was sprawled on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through Instagram. Her long black hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her nails, painted black, made a clinking sound whenever they touched the screen.

"Did you find everything?" she asked, too engrossed to look up.

"I wouldn't go that far. I would say I found at least some things I can work with." You pulled off your bag and placed it on the kitchen table. The kitchen doubled as your "witchy laboratory" as your brother like to call it and its usual state was a mess. "I'm closer than I was yesterday. I count that as a win. Where are the boys?"

"John, upstairs. Nathaniel is out." Anna's syrupy voice carried to the kitchen.

Out of the bag you pulled out your spellbook. You liked to call it a spellbook but it was the combination of many notes and observations you had compiled over the years. Pretty much everything was inside.

"Where did Nathaniel go?" you asked.

"No idea, I didn't ask. Just be glad he won't be messing with anything you are working," Anna said. "Any explosives yet?"

"I don't use explosives, I'm not a miner." You flipped through the pages, pausing at a drawing of a vial next to a staghorn coral, like its name suggested it resembled the horns of a deer. "Should I start working now? If any of you have any plans that are going to distract me, please let me know."

"Nah, I don't think we do. I doubt John will be coming down until our shift starts."

That was good enough for now.

Your housemates could be loud to an extreme. Even their silence was loud. They filled the kitchen with noise, threw things around by accident or not, messed with your work and generally made a mess. They were the biggest obstacle to your work and you couldn't wait for the time you would have your own space. No more spilled potions, lion cubs Nathaniel was supposed to be babysitting running between your feet, torn or lost books, destroyed charms and constant talking and fighting. The last was the worst.

You were close to forgetting a time before all of them had entered your life. The time before Nathaniel was like a dream. Scattered memories of swinging high in the garden, pushed by a faceless father, picking flowers and swimming without an extra voice accompanying you and no over excited boy running behind you. Anna and John came later so your memories without them were clearer but still too far away.

Nathaniel was your mother’s best friend only son. You had grown up together but you didn't spend half as much time with each other as you did after his parents died. It had been a heavy blow to your mother, only a few months after your father had disappeared. In the same year she had lost two of the people most dear to her. After your father's disappearance, she was strong, she continued like nothing had happened. She read her books, attended on her customers, tended to her garden. When her best friend was killed at the hands of hunters everything stopped, the facade fell.

Hunting supernatural beings was illegal. It had been outlawed decades ago, yet some people just refused to give up. There weren't that many but enough to cause worry and fear. They were enough to make you double check if someone was following you and never lose your focus in case you needed to cast a spell to escape when you were outside the supernatural communities. The risk was much greater outside.

You didn't see the bodies but your mother came back with her voice so hoarse from screaming she couldn't speak for days. It was only natural that Nathaniel would stay with you, no questions were raised about it and no one complained. And so the werewolf became a part of your little family.

John and Anna's story was different, the reasons similar.

"What are you making?" Anna was leaning on the doorframe between the kitchen and the living room. Her phone was in her hand, hanging by her side.

You stopped measuring the white liquid in the vial you were holding. "I thought you wouldn't distract me."

"I don't have any plans that will distract you. I'm bored," she whined. "What are you making?"

"I told you about this yesterday. It's for a customer."

"Oh right, the memory potion." She grimaced. "I don't understand how that's supposed to work. If his memories are gone, they won't be coming back with a potion. What if someone stole them? You can't grow them back."

"Memories aren't trees, of course I'm not growing them back. The potion isn't going to make the memories suddenly appear," you tried to explain as you opened the cupboards looking for the ingredients you needed. "Some memories are suppressed, living deep in the subconscious. That can happen because of trauma or simply because the brain deemed them not important enough. They haven't truly disappeared. This is one of the mildest potions, it is supposed to bring the missing memories to the front slowly, one by one."

"Interesting." Anna stepped away from the wall and came closer. "Are you going to crush that?"

You had an orange coral in one hand. "It's going to melt in the potion. If I do this right, it won't need crushing. Careful!"

Thanks to Anna's fast reflexes the vial was saved from crashing to the floor. However, you didn't feel that thankful when she was the one who had knocked it over in the first place. Vampires were supposed to be graceful and elegant, it was just your luck you had ended up with the only two clumsy ones ever made.

You continued working on the potion. Anna got bored of you and your monotonous answers and returned to the living room with her phone. Instagram was far more interesting than potions, apparently.

Thumping was coming from upstairs. It could be nothing else but John jumping up and down like maniac, listening to heavy metal or rock ‘n’ roll or any other kind of music with a loud beat that had drawn his attention. You needed to cast the silencing spell between the rooms again for all of your benefits and your own peace of mind. It wore off too quickly and with four people living in the house, you couldn't do without it.

The last ingredient was the most important. It was one you hadn't found exactly the correct technique for, but based on most of the potions it was used in you had to add it with precision and slowly. Not a drop more. You kept your hands steady, holding your breath. One, two, th-

"Y/N!"

Surprised, you squeezed the dropper harder than you should have, a copious amount falling into the mix. The potion turned green instead of royal blue. An epic failure.

You growled, throwing the dropper to the side. What had you asked for? A few hours to let you work in peace. Why couldn't they do that? You didn't go and sabotage their jobs. Now the potion was destroyed and you should start all over again. In two days the potion had to be ready for the client and you were miles away from that, it seemed. You had to test the method, let it brew overnight and make sure it was effective. But in this house, you doubted you would be able to do that.

"What the heck do you want?" you shouted back.

Nathaniel appeared in the kitchen, chocolate brown hair tussled. "Have you seen my favorite top? The dark blue sleeveless one? The one I wear with the black choker?"

You gripped the sides of the table, your long nails digging into the wood. "That's it? That's what you wanted to ask me? You ruined my potion!"

Nathaniel sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Technically, you-"

"Don't finish that thought if you want your body to stay intact," you growled.

"Not finishing that thought." He lingered by the door as you picked up the ruined potion, and after casting an easy spell on it so it wouldn't be dangerous to any creatures or nature, you disposed of it by throwing it outside the window. The earth shallowing up the liquid rapidly. Nathaniel shifted on his feet. "Did you see the shirt?"  

You narrowed your eyes. "No, I didn't see the damn shirt. It's either in your room or the laundry basket. Choose and take. Unless it sprouted wings, then good luck finding it," you said forcefully.  

You could feel Nathaniel's eyes on your back as you cleaned the vials you had used one by one. "Okay," he dragged the vowels as he spoke. "I'll look there."  

"Geez, what's up with her?" You heard John's voice from the living room. The silencing spells definitely needed to be recast.  

By nightfall, you had come close to melting a cauldron and ruined another two potions. You were close to perfecting it, though. Your three housemates had left for the club shortly after dusk. Anna and John worked at a supernatural club as bartenders, clubs needed charming bartenders and vampires were nothing if not charming. Nathaniel worked there too as a bouncer. His height, wide shoulders and muscles made him perfect for the job.

Having the house to yourself was a blessing. By all means, you should take advantage of the nights they were gone but you were a morning person and it was more difficult working at night, it didn't help that a lot of spells needed daylight to be cast properly.

In a drawer, there was a talisman for protection you had put together a few days ago. The small pouch was a deep purple, on the front a rune was sewn in it. It was in the old language of the people of the sea, so old only few words survived the trial of time. One of them was adorning the talisman, meaning "protection". A white stone, with a thin blue line like a crack running through it, was inside along with a few anemone petals and a couple seashells.

You made metal talismans too, like rings and charms for necklaces, but the process was more difficult. Carving the rune into the metal was a struggle and the spells could be too time consuming.

The forest was very close to your house and it was mostly quiet at night. Many supernatural creatures lived in its embrace or around it. It wasn't dangerous usually but you were cautious as you treaded the path to a small clearing. You liked working under the moon, away from the house, the memories and the responsibilities.

You pulled out the talisman from your bag and continued working on it.

You were twirling the white thread in your fingers when you heard the footsteps. They were approaching.

You leveled your breath, keeping it to its normal pace. You recited every spell you could use in your head. Speed, power and counterattacks. Which spell would be best for each supernatural creature?

The steps were coming closer. Whoever it was, they were taking their sweet time. If it was a predator, a wild werewolf for example, they would have smelt you from miles away. They could be playing with their pray, playing cat and mouse. Or it could be someone else simply out for a walk at night.

You didn't move, didn't make a sound.

A tall shadow emerged from the trees. Taking a better look at him, he wasn't a shadow anymore. His silver hair was shining under the moon, like beams of its light had landed and stayed there. He was wearing a long tan coat, like a cloak, and he was carrying four books in his arms.

Familiar tingles went up your arms, like when you were doing magic. Hia aura spoke to you.  

Magic.

"Oh." His eyes widened as they landed on you. You hadn't moved, waiting for his move. "I didn't expect to find anyone here."  

You raised your eyebrows, placing the pouch in your lap. "Clearly I didn't either."

His magic crawled up your arms, leaving the ghost of its touch behind. If you focused on it, you could see deeper into his energy. Potions might not be your strongest suit, but since a baby you had been very sensitive to magic, you could sense it in the air, you could feel the different kinds of magic, but you hadn't been exposed to it much and you couldn't recognize them. The man's magic was different to what you were used to, subtle and refined. It wasn't free and earthy.

You narrowed your eyes. A wizard.

What was a wizard doing here? Wizards stayed in their libraries and grand universities. They didn't just take strolls in the woods unless they were looking for something, they preferred to act mighty and knowledgeable in luxurious rooms with the most prestigious of companies. They bragged as if magic was their own creation just because they had managed to master a part of it. Magic wasn't in their blood like it was for witches, maybe they had an inkling, but it was nothing like the way magic flowed through witches connecting them with nature.

Yet they viewed witches as inferior when they were the ones who forced magic and as much as they studied the most powerful wizard couldn't hold a candle to the power a witch could achieve.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just looking for a quiet place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The whole forest is quiet."

Instead of being annoyed at your sharp tone, the wizard smiled sheepishly at you. Twin dimples appeared on his cheeks. You had an urge to scowl. "That's right I guess. I was walking around and stumbled upon the clearing. I didn't mean to interrupt." You scoffed looking down at the talisman, you hoped that if you didn't say anything, he would eventually leave. Tough luck. "Are you making a talisman?"

You rolled your eyes. "No, I'm sewing a pouch for fun. What do you think?"

His cheeks were tinted in pink but that might have been a trick of the moonlight. Moonlight was well-known for fooling your senses. "You're a witch, aren't you? Protective talismans are a challenge, it's tough to get them right."  

It had taken him long enough to realize. You were about to come up with another sarcastic retort but that would only keep him here longer. It wasn't that difficult to see you didn't want company, yet he insisted on staying. "I get them right just fine."

The wizard's eyes widened for a moment. "Do you live around here? One of our customers told us about a witch who made a few protection charms for her, she said they were the strongest and most efficient she had ever used, they stopped two goblins from sneaking into her garden on two different occasions."  

You remembered that customer, she had come to you a few weeks ago, looking for a way to ward off unwanted visitors who ravaged her garden. She was a nice woman, long auburn hair and flowy dress. She must have been some kind of nymph but you couldn't be sure. He had said their customer. You had never heard of wizards working before, they usually lived on the money of the rich, who funded their Universities. A wizard selling any kind of magic sounded more ridiculous to you than the already ridiculous meeting with a wizard in the forest.

One of the druids had mentioned something about a new magic shop. You had overheard him while you were gathering herbs for a potion, but he hadn't mentioned anything about a wizard. Witches were the ones who owned magic shops. Wizards made fun of said magic shops.  

A magic shop in the area wouldn't be good for businesses. Luckily they were selling things out of your expertise, like healing potions and some rare ingredients. Potions weren't your strong suit but you could make some money out of them. The ones related to the sea were the closest to your comfort zone, but it was a long process. You were already struggling as it was, not many people trusted you for important work and it cost you.

"Protection charms are routine work," you said curtly.

The wizard shrugged. "I'm awful at making them, I tried a few times but they would barely work. Jin is a little better than me but his aren't that strong either. Ah, I forgot, sorry. My name is Namjoon. We moved here a few weeks ago and opened a shop."

"I have heard," you muttered, glancing at his extended hands. You might be pissed at being interrupted and at the stranger's insistence on not getting lost, but you had some manners. Begrudgingly, you shook his hand and told him your name.

"You're a sea witch, right? I've never met a sea witch before." You came close to rolling your eyes again. Of course he hadn't met a sea witch before. Pure elemental magic was rare in witches and the witches who had it wouldn't hang out in the places wizards did.

You cut the white thread in a sharp move and balled the unused part in your fist. It was clear Namjoon wouldn't leave you alone to your work. You got up, dusting off your clothes. "Excuse me, but I have to go. It's late."

Taken aback, Namjoon looked up at the sky, like the moon could tell him the time. Didn't wizards have phones? "Oh, yeah. It was nice meeting you." The dimples popped out again, you averted your gaze.

"You, too," you said before disappearing in the trees. Great, you didn't have any other place to go. The trek to the sea was long and dangerous at night and you weren't in the mood for a midnight swim. A couple mischievous hobgoblins frequented the rocky grounds and you didn't feel like becoming their next target.

There goes your night.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

You were woken up bright and early when your housemates made their appearance. The door banged once against the wall and one more time as it closed. Nathaniel really needed to control his strength when he was tired. The door couldn't take much more before it flew away from the hinges at best or shattered into splinters at worst. When Nathaniel's werewolf strength and senses had started manifesting when he was sixteen as his first shift was coming closer, everything and everyone around him had suffered. He had broken your favorite couldron, three of your vials, the door to his room, a broom and the most memorable; the toilet, to this day you still didn't know how that had happened. He had also come very close to squeezing you to death hugging you.

He had cut off your airflow for approximately three minutes.

John was singing off-key to an EDM track that wasn't meant to be sung without some form of autotune. It was a rare John ability, but he somehow made it sound like a failed heavy metal track.

The house was in desperate need of recasting the silencing spells between the rooms. They were wearing off far too quickly. But what did you expect when some of the loudest people did everything to overload them?

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and sat up in your bed. Light was streaming in from the window, the rays stopping at the foot of the bed. The thin curtains didn't do much to stop it. It was nice waking up to a partly illuminated room, without having the sun shining straight to your eyes and blinding you.

Feet were climbing up the stairs. Nathaniel was heading to bed, after being awake all night at the club. John and Anna were at an advantage, as vampires they didn't have to sleep. They still got tired though and spent the mornings bitching about the rude clients or fawning over the attractive ones or gradually getting over an alcohol-blood hungover. Vampires couldn't get drunk the conventional way but they had found a hack. If they drank blood from someone drunk, they would get drunk too. Of course, they had managed to create a drink for that.

You changed into a pair of black jeans. They had faded from all the times they had been washed, diving in the sea wearing them also caused some damage. You picked out a simple white blouse that would allow you to move comfortably. You had given up on wearing nice clothes because a potion or a new spell could easily backfire. Climbing down the stairs, you caught sight of John and Anna sprawled on the couch, and partly on each other, watching a morning show on TV and making fun of the hosts. You couldn't blame them, the dress the woman was wearing made her look like a colorful lamp. But who were you to judge?

"Good morning." Their keen hearing hadn't missed you moving around. The weak silencing spells didn't help.

"Morning," you greeted them, going straight to the kitchen. You hadn't eaten a large dinner last night and you were ravenous. It was a pity that eating too much was bad for swimming.

You pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge, careful of the vials you were storing inside, and a box of cereal from one of the cupboards. A tentacle slithered around your wrist but you tapped it with a spoon and it retreated. That octopus-like creature had been staying in your cupboard for a few years now. Really, it was harmless but it could scare some customers away. There was a spell you could use to banish it but it was nice enough and didn't bother you. It actually bothered you less than your housemates did. Occasionally, it would open the cupboard and pass you the ingredients you needed. Also, it had an appetite for mice and cockroaches, which you didn't mind at all and firmly encouraged.

One of your books was open in the table on a page about weather-related spells. You had been doing some late night studying and had left it like that before stumbling up the stairs way later than you should have. Weather spells weren't very popular and there were many different kinds that required different levels of magical abilities. As an elemental witch, you should have been able to execute most of them with ease. Should, but you hadn’t tried your hand at them in a long time. Well, it didn’t hurt to do some research, you thought, as you flipped through the pages as you ate your breakfast.

You didn't have many customers, so most of your days were dedicated to doing your own studying and perfecting easy spells and potions or learning new ones that might be useful in the future. The sound of the TV accompanied you as you poured a few vials together and watched them change colors into a pastel yellow. You stayed still for a few minutes and when no foul-smelling cloud followed, you counted the potion as a success and transferred it into an oval-shaped bottle.

"Hey, did you hear of the new magic shop in the area?" Anna was leaning against the doorframe, her long black hair clipped back with a claw clip carelessly. Even that looked good on her. She was still wearing the short red dress that hugged her curves just right. The nightclub didn't have a dress code for their employees and Anna used that in her favor.

You stored the bottle with the rest of the successful potions in an enchanted cupboard your three roommates weren't allowed to touch. "I heard. Where did you hear?" It was obvious but you still asked. Word got around fast in the club.

"There was this guy, really cute, " she said. "Really cute and really hot. He pulled off both so well I'm jealous. A fairy. You should have seen the way he danced. His friend was also rather handsome but I didn't get a good look at him." Her lips formed a pout, red lipstick immaculate like she had just applied it. "I hadn't seen them in the club before so I asked. They moved here a few days ago from somewhere in the North, I forget the name of the region now. It started with R... Rio- Or was it N? Anyway, that's not the point. They are new and two of his friends own the shop. I think we should pay them a visit."

You thought back to the night in the forest and the tall wizard, who whenever he smiled dimples appeared on his cheeks. There was no chance you were going to his shop. The last thing you wanted was getting involved with arrogant wizards. Your magic was already belittled and ridiculed by the people in your community, the last thing you needed was wizards calling your magic inferior.

"Why on earth would we go to the new magic shop?" you asked, trying to hide the disdain in your voice. One perfectly drawn eyebrow lifted. You hadn't succeeded.

"Why wouldn't we go to the new magic shop?" Anna came closer, sitting on one of the mismatched chairs around the table. "Are you afraid they'll steal your clients? They don't just do spells and potions. They sell ingredients too, they might have something you need."

"I don't need anything, I can get my ingredients myself. I have everything I need here." You motioned to the cupboards, the baskets of herbs and the random boxes you had stored some of the most odd supplies. "And why would I be afraid of losing my clients? It isn't like I have many, anyway."

Anna's expression softened. "You have just enough clients and you're getting more. They are loyal, they know no one can cast water related spells the way you do. Ms Rogers wouldn't go to anyone else to clean the water in her stream and Mr Klutze will always come to you for talismans. I just think the new shop is worth checking out. Maybe you could exchange some tips, magic user to magic user."  

As if. You scoffed. A wizard and a witch exchanging magic tips, that sounded like a bad joke.

"I'm fine where I am. I'm busy, anyway," you said.

"You aren't busy," Anna stated. "You don't have any orders. Your time will be spent more constructively if you come with me to check out the new magic shop."

"Anna, I really don't want to go," you pleaded.

It didn't change anything. "That's why you have to go. You need to socialize more. Who knows? Maybe you'll make some new friends."

You very much doubted that. You might not have that many friends but you weren't that desperate to turn to wizards. And if those wizards ever learnt what you had done, you would become a laughing stock for them and their friends. At best. At worst, they would demand you stop practicing magic, something that would only happen over your dead body. Not a nice path to go down in the morning.

"Why are you so intrigued anyway?" You raised your eyebrows at Anna who seemed to be counting your potion bottles. "Does it have anything to do with how good-looking the owners' friend is."

She didn't deny it, thankfully taking her perfectly manicured nails away from your bottles. "They were both good-looking. Who knows? Maybe they have more cute friends."

You closed the spellbook on the table, afraid her meddling would ruin something and your spellbook was too valuable to become her victim. "You can find handsome men everywhere. It's like a weird vampire ability. I don't want to get involved in your romantic escapades."

"You’re my best friend, of course you will be involved in my romantic escapades. If you don't come with me to the magic shop, I will go by myself. I'll get every random ingredient I can find and tell them you were too shy to come yourself so you sent me." She grinned, her fangs peeking through.

Your heart stopped. You could swear it did. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, but I would," she said, her words tilting in a playful melody.

You groaned. Anna knew you so well she could be your worst nightmare. "Okay, fine. I'll come. Are you going to go like this?"  

She looked down at her dress. "What? Don't I look marvelous in it?" She laughed at the look you sent her. "I'll change, I'll change. Be ready in a few." She stopped herself before leaving, saying over her shoulder, "Don't even think about running away. You need to get out of the funk you have buried yourself in."

Funk. You scoffed. You hadn't buried yourself in a funk or whatever Anna claimed you had done. You were perfectly fine and as social as you needed to be. You had your job and your clients and the selkie you talked to at the library. And you had the three of them who wouldn't get out of your hair. That's all you needed. For now.

The remnants of a protection charm John had destroyed by spilling a glass of water on it was left on the counter. The water interfered with the magic and rendered it useless. You had to cleanse it and throw it out before the remaining magic seeped into something it shouldn't.

Your roommates somehow never failed to sabotage something you were working on at least once a week. The kitchen was small, not leaving much space for the four of you to move around but it was the only place you could use. You didn't have your own magic shop like your mother used to and you had learnt from her to never practice complex spells or brew  potions in your bedroom. You didn't make a lot of money, not nearly as much as your mother did. But your mother was a trusted witch in your community, everyone came to her with any problems they had. She could do everything. And you... You were trying.

In a small jar, hidden deep in the cupboard that didn't house any tentacle creatures, with a pastel blue ribbon wrapped around it, a small metal book-like charm *filled* with positive energy dangling from it, you had stored your savings. Money to open your own shop and finally move from this community that had done nothing but laugh at you. You would go north at the Great Waterfalls, where you knew no one and no one knew about your mistakes. Or maybe you would settle in one of the human cities, one by the sea, they were many more than the supernatural communities.

The supernatural world's relationships with humans had been getting better and better and at this point it was completely normal to see fairy run coffee shops in human cities or gargoyles employed as guardians for libraries or museums. Supernatural beings mingled with humans, became friends and co-workers. Because of that a lot of half-blood children were born. Children of forest nymphs and humans who had a magic touch with plants, ones who had inherited alluring voices from sirens but the magic wasn't strong enough to control the listener's mind. But a few of them had more supernatural than human blood. Genetics were hard to guess and as society developed and old boundaries were broken down, questions they hadn't bothered with before surfaced.

You sighed, cleaning the table and hiding away anything that could potentially harm your roommates. Your magic wasn't particularly dangerous, the ingredients you used were mostly natural, like corals, seashells, herbs and crystals, but there were a couple you would rather not have Nathaniel messing with.  

On your way to store some herbs in the cupboard, you stopped in front of the mirror hanging on the wall. The oval-shaped mirror with the gold lining snaking around the edges had been there all your life, above the counter and close to the window. The kitchen wasn't the place someone would expect to find a mirror but it fit in a weird way. You combed your fingers through your tousled hair and winced a little when you met a few tangles. You hadn't put on any makeup thinking you wouldn't be going anywhere. Did you have enough time to go upstairs and apply some? Anna liked to take her time getting ready.  

No, you were fine. You looked fine. You didn't need to get dressed up or look like a movie star. It was just a visit to a shop and you had no one to impress.  

Anna swirled into the living room wearing an elegant black jumpsuit, complete with a wide belt and golden jewelry. If there was one thing Anna was amazing at, that was fashion. She dressed herself like she was going to a photoshoot for the cover of Vogue. You looked severely underdressed next to her.

With a wide smile she opened the door and motioned for you to follow her. It was a nice day and Anna lowered her sunglasses a little to take in the vibrant colors. Contrary to popular belief sunlight didn't hurt or kill vampires, although they did tend to dislike it. Because they were pale, they were prone to sunburns therefore they avoided it. Anna attempted to solve the problem by layering a ton of sunscreen on her skin. She had been through a phase as a young vampire in which she had taken to carrying a parasol around, but had eventually given up on it because it didn't fit her style. And she was tired of carrying it. Although you could never forget the time she had smacked a more-than-shady man with it when he had grabbed her waist.

You took the path through the forest, Anna told you it was faster that way. You had no idea where the shop was located so you followed. Anna had her way of gathering information so you weren't the least bit surprised she knew where the shop was. Maybe the fairy boy had told her.

The forest was full of life in the morning. Small animals running around the ground, squirrels jumping from tree to tree. A nymph was scolding a small rabbit for something, stopping when she saw you and shouting a greeting. The trees rustled with it. Anna winked at her. She had helped her approach the boy she liked a couple of years ago and they had been together ever since. Anna was a quite friendly vampire, connected with every kind of creature.

The trees were getting further with larger spaces between them, the path leading up to a more modern building than what you would have expected to find in the middle of the forest. Climbing roses creeped up to the second floor wrapping around the roof. The lovely white blooms must have been magicked to reach that high. The walls were painted a soft peach. The balcony, surrounded by a white railing, was filled with colorful pots. Various kinds of plants were growing in them, many spilling over the balcony. In the middle of all the plants, there was a small table and two chairs.

Anna skipped ahead, motioning for you to follow her. You took a deep breath and straightened your back. You could deal with this, you had dealt with much worse than going to a magic shop of two wizards.

She pushed the half-opened cherry wood door. The open sign was written in careful calligraphy. Fairy bells jingled as you walked inside, their melody sweet and welcoming. The shop was moderately large with many selves lined with crystals, herbs and vials. The world of magic contained in one room. Waiting.

A man with black hair was standing behind the counter flipping through a book. Whispers of autumn brushed your skin every time he turned the yellowed and torn at places pages. It was spring.

Upon hearing the bells, he looked up at you with a wide smile. You were the only ones inside. You reckoned it was pretty early for a stroll to the magic shop.

"Welcome," he greeted you, his bangs falling into his eyes. "Can I help you?"

Anna strolled to the counter, her eyes flitting over the artifacts. "We heard you came here recently and my friend here would like to take a look around. She'll probably know what to get better than me." She turned to you with a smirk. You held yourself back from cursing her into a bat. You had been considering it for years. "I'm Anna," she introduced herself. "I met your friend Jimin last night. Or this morning, if you'd like."

She roped him into a conversation with ease while you hid between the shelves. The aura of the shop was pulling you in, tucking you into its depth. This feeling wasn't something you would use to describe a warlock's magic. It flowed through you, seeping into your bones and warming you inside. You looked between the crystal balls at the handsome stranger.

He wasn't a warlock. He was a witch.

You frowned. What was a witch doing here?

A yellow crystal slipped from your fingers when Anna called your name. You caught it last minute, placing it back with a relieved sigh.  

Anna had made herself home, standing against the counter with one hand in the pocket of her jumpsuit. "This is Y/N, she's the one you heard about. She's a sea witch." You hadn't wanted to strangle Anna as much since she had got into a fight with a siren who had been badmouthing you. She had landed a killer punch, though.

The man turned his blinding smile to you. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Seokjin. Our customers have told us about you. We didn't expect to meet an elemental witch here."

If there were multiple customers who had told them about you, all of it couldn't be good. Most of it wouldn't be good. There were many who preferred to travel all the way to the communities on the other side of the forest to find a witch than come to you. One mistake and it had cost you your credibility. The worst part was that you couldn't blame them. You should have never agreed to do the job.  

"You have a lot of things here," you said, trying to steer the conversation away from yourself. "I think I saw a snow crystal from the White Peaks."

"Oh, yeah," Seokjin chuckled. "That has been with us for years. Someone gave it to Namjoon, I think, as payment for a spell. Namjoon manages the shop with me, it was his idea. We have managed to stack up on a lot of stuff over the years. Knowing the right people helps a lot. I'm not a fancy witch like you, I'm a plain old green witch but I'm very handy with potions."

Green witches were the most common. They utilized herbs and traditional forms of magic. There were many types of witches, each specializing in different branches of magic. But the basics were the same for every type, like potions and herbs. You could have done without the potions.

The bells sounded again as the door opened. Someone walked inside, his upper body hidden by the boxes he was carrying.

"Hyung, the delivery from Fornwick arrived today. Where is Namjoon hyung? He was supposed to help me." One of the top boxes trembled and Seokjin rushed to take it. "I could carry that."

"You could drop that and it's expensive," Seokjin chided him. "We'll be just a moment," he said to you.

He took some of the boxes but not enough to reveal the other's face and they carried them to the backroom. Anna turned to you with one of her arms resting on the counter.

"Did you see him? I told you they would have more have more handsome friends." Anna didn't toss out compliments at random. When she said someone was handsome, they were handsome. She was a sweet-talker but an honest one.

You couldn't deny that Seokjin was handsome but you were more focused on the fact that he was a witch owning a magic shop with a wizard. Witches and wizards had a long-standing rivalry. A centuries old rivalry. Your mother was a strong believer that no wizard would ever do anything other than look down on witches. Your mother's words were what you lived by and yet...

"Are you looking for a date?" you asked.

Anna pursed her lips. They were the same shade of red as her nails. "Maybe. Maybe not. I just like meeting people. And looking at pretty things. Look how lucky I am."

You couldn't argue with that. Seokjin came back soon after, a boy younger than him trailing behind him. He had chestnut brown hair and wide doe eyes.

"This is Jungkook, he's staying with us and helping with the shop," Seokjin said. Anna looked at you, raising her eyebrows. You had become a master at reading her eyebrow-talk. Another handsome one. Seokjin introduced you and the younger boy nodded, staying behind him. He asked if he could help with anything before Seokjin dismissed him.

Anna was in her element, picking up the talk with Seokjin who seemed to be enjoying himself. You inched away, getting lost between the shelves and the magical items calling to you. A pink crystal for positive energy. Dried wisteria, it could be used in so many spells. Sunflower powder, add a pinch of it in your tea and you would feel happier.

You reached for a small pouch of dried goblin daisies (they were very hard to grow and even harder to pick, they tended to bite) when you collided with someone coming out of the backroom. The shock combined with the push made you lose your balance, sending you back and flat on your butt. You winced at the pain blooming on your behind.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry!" The voice was familiar. It was just your luck. Namjoon was standing over you, one hand extended as if he had tried to catch you but hadn't been fast enough. He rushed to help you to your feet and pick up a few pouches you had knocked over when you fell.  "I wasn't looking where I was going and then you were there. It was too early so I thought we wouldn't have many customers..."

"Joon!" Jin was suddenly next to you, delivering a slap on the back of Namjoon's neck. "Yah, you knocked the poor girl over with your clumsiness! Didn't I tell you to be more careful? No one ever listens to me. Are you okay?" he asked you.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you said, dusting yourself off to hide your embarrassment.

Anna held up two fingers. "How many is that?"

"I didn't hit my head. You do that when someone hits their head."

She looked down on her fingers. "Do you ? Still, how many is it? I wish I'd seen you fall. I just heard the thud."

You rubbed your backside. It still hurt, it had been a hard fall. "Thanks for that. I'll remember it."

"Did she look funny?" she asked Namjoon. The wizard looked like he didn't know what to say and you wanted to hide in a cave underwater and never surface again. You should have never agreed to come with Anna in the first place. Nothing good could come out of this visit.  

If they had heard about you, the unsavory things wouldn't have escaped their notice. You were unreliable. Your magic was out of control. You were putting people in danger. You had heard it all. What were you doing here? They were the ones who would replace you. Your customers were already few and far between, no one came to you for important things. With a new magic shop in the community it wouldn't be long until those few customers preferred this place. You couldn't blame them. Who would choose you with your history, doing spellwork in a kitchen, over this?

You bit the inside of your cheek. "Yes, Anna, it was really funny." The vampire's grin faltered. You grabbed the pouch with the goblin daisies a little harder than was needed. "I'll get this. I need to go, I have work to do. How much is it?"

Seokjin gazed at you and the pouch. "Just take it. Consider it a welcoming gift."

You clutched the pouch in your hand, ready to protest but Anna beat you to it, "Shouldn't we be giving you a welcoming gift? You're the ones who moved here."  

"We wouldn't be opposed to any gifts," he said. "But please accept this one. You can come here whenever you need anything."  

You said your goodbyes and left the entracing shop behind. The pouch warmed up your hand, your fingers caressing the cotton material. Anna didn't say much on your way back. Her back straight and eyes looking ahead. You hadn't expected much from the visit but it was obvious she had.

The pain had ceased, leaving behind a dull throb. Your fall replayed again and again in your mind like an endless current. The force pushing you back, grabbing at the shelves, at anything to keep you upright, your hand knocking against the pouches and dragging them down with you and that wizard and his stupid silver hair standing over you with his mouth forming an o. Your first time at their shop and you had embarrassed yourself beyond belief. They wouldn't need more than that as confirmation for what was being said about you. Not that there was any chance they wouldn't listen to all the gossip surrounding you. You just hoped you hadn't ruined any of the pouches.  

John wasn't in the house and Nathaniel was still sleeping. At least he had remembered to lock the door before leaving. The times you had returned to the house to find the door unlocked were many. Although the protection spells around the house were strong and you reapplied them often, that didn't mean it was alright to be careless. You placed the pouch in the cupboard with the rest of magical herbs. Herbs' prices depended on how rare they were. Goblin daisies only grew in very specific parts of the world and few people dared to pick them up. As useful as they were, they were hard to find. And Seokjin had gifted them to you. Probably as an apology for his friend crashing into you.

You heard the kettle being turned on. Anna had followed you into the kitchen and she was pulling your your favorite mug out of the cupboard. A cup of your favorite tea was left on the table. Anna had a silent way of apologizing.

Sipping on the tea, you started your research on goblin daisies. You knew a lot of potions and spells they were used for but you had never used them before. That meant looking up the quantity you should use. Using too much would make any potion or spell too aggressive and no one wanted their potion fighting them.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

 Nathaniel was babysitting again. And whenever Nathaniel was babysitting, you were all babysitting. Anna had conveniently made herself scarce, off to visit a centaur friend of hers (or that's what she told you), leaving you and the two men of the household chasing after three lion cubs and a baby panther. Nathaniel really needed to find a different day job. For the sake of your house. And your sanity.

"Tom, don't climb on the couch! Your nails-" You had to pull off the little lion, maneuvering him so he wouldn't rip the back of the couch. The couch was saved but his nails sunk into your shirt and he refused to leave your arms.

They were still young and they couldn't control the shift well. Shapshifters were complicated creatures. When they shifted shapes something inside them shifted too, not enough to forget who they were or lose control of themselves, but their instincts were different and they were much more likely to follow them in their other form. It was easier for young Shapshifters to give into their animal side a little more.

Tom had your shirt caught in his claws and his hind legs around your waist. You would have found it cute if they weren't digging into your skin, most likely leaving marks behind. He was wrapped around you like a baby ten times harder to get off.

All had been well at first. Their parents had dropped them off early in the morning for a small trip to the nearest city, promising to come back by nightfall. The four children had been entertained by Nathaniel for the first two hours. Watching TV, playing games, Playstation, Nathaniel had tried every trick in the book in the past year. You had been brewing a potion, forgetting one minor detail. It erupted into a small explosion when it was ready. An explosion that had scared all four of the boys, who shapshifted the moment the boom sounded.

The three lion cubs were the sons of your mother's close friends, the couple were both lion shapeshifters. The small panther was their adoptive son and he was the youngest of the four. He used to be the most shy, staying quiet while the other three created a ruckus. Now, he had grown closer to you and he was just as bad as the rest.

John was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, Nathaniel running after a lion cub in circles around him. One tentacle had sneaked out from the cupboard and it was holding another cub upside down from its foot while it writhed around, playfully trying to bite it. John was throwing something at the cupboard.

"John, stop throwing milk chocolate at it, I think it's lactose intolerant," you called, Tom still holding onto your shirt. John pouted. Noah stumbled on John, Nathaniel didn't have to stop running and the three of them ended up in a John-Nathaniel-lion pile on the floor. The tentacle let the lion cub fall and it landed on them. Seeing the pile, the Panther who had been occupying itself with a cat toy, ran to them.

It took some more time before you kicked them all out of the kitchen. You had a charm for clean water to make. Ignoring the cubs' whining, you shut the door. You would spend some time with them later. The charm was relatively simple, a shirt incantation and a few supplies, all tied into…  

A deep sea crystal. And you were out of them. You groaned, rummaging through the cupboards and the shelves, only to come up empty. Expected. You had completely forgotten you had used the last one. Those crystals were hard to find and you didn't have enough time to go looking in the ocean. That would take you the whole day. There was one thing you could do.

Crap.

"I'm going out," you shouted to the boys. The replies came in various forms of protests. You didn't stay long enough to let them pull you back.

You remembered the way you had followed with Anna and the magic thrumming in the path wouldn't let you go astray. You missed the presence next to you as you walked alone. Anna was good at talking and diverting the attention away from you. Alone, you were too exposed. You didn't know what to do with yourself.

The house peeked from between the trees, flowers blooming all around it, the trees leaning close to it as if pulled by the magic inside. You climbed over a root sticking over the ground and landed on your feet, you had been doing this as long as you remembered. Taking a deep breath, you pushed open the door hearing the sweet melody of the bells.

The shop welcomed you, drawing you in. Sunlight spilled through the windows, showering the room in a golden glow, the crystals shining and casting rainbows on the walls. This time it wasn't Seokjin behind the counter. It was Namjoon.  

There we go.

Namjoon was writing something in a notebook but he put the pen down when he saw you. "Oh, hey. I mean, welcome." He cringed at his awkwardness. It seemed like you weren't the only one in this state. "Can I help you with something?"

You swallowed down anything you could say to embarrass yourself. "Yeah, I'm looking for a Deep Sea crystal."

Namjoon strode to the shelves in the middle of the shop and you followed him, that's where most of the crystals were. "I'm sure we have a few here. What do you need it for?" His hand hovering over an oval hot pink crystal paused. "If you want to tell me, of course. It's alright if you don't."  

You glanced around for anything to catch your attention but you came up empty. You could tell him, it wasn't a complicated spell. Very difficult to backfire. "It's a spell for clean water. They are having some problems in the western part of the forest. The water is so dirty they can't drink it."

"Taehyung told me of that, he said it was affecting some of the creatures. They were looking for a solution." Namjoon crouched down to look through the lower shelf. "Uhmmm, I also wanted to say sorry. About last time." He pulled at his collar, revealing a glimpse of his collarbones. You turned back to the shelves. "Jin hyung was always saying that I would hurt someone else with my clumsiness, not only myself."

You shrugged. He had already apologized, you hadn't expected he would again. "It's alright." It hadn't felt alright at the time but a few days' distance and you could admit to yourself that you had overreacted. You had been embarrassed and felt horribly cornered and it had brought out the worst of you. "Are you working alone today?"  

"Not exactly. Jin hyung will be out with Hoseok until later tonight, so I'm taking care of the shop for now." Hoseok. He must be another friend. Namjoon stopped and took a crystal in his hand. A royal blue so dense it would look like a stone, not a crystal, in the absence of the morning light. "Here we are. A Deep Sea crystal purified and ready for use."

Taking the crystal, you weighted it in your palm. It was indeed purified and cleansed of any traces of magic other than its own raw form. "This is perfect. I'll take it."

You followed him to the counter and gave him the money he asked for. It was a smaller amount than what you had expected to pay. You wondered if Namjoon still felt guilty for knocking you over and instead of gifting you things like Jin, something you wouldn't accept for the second time, he was reducing the price of what you bought. You hoped it wasn't that and the crystal was simply cheap. Your pockets cheered that they wouldn't have to part with much.

"Do you want anything else?" Namjoon asked.

You looked down at the crystal in your hand. "No, that's all."  

He opened his mouth but it seemed like he couldn't find anything to say. He closed it and opened it again. "Have you been staying here for long?"

“I haven’t stayed anywhere else.” The magical community nestled in the forest, the sea and the surrounding area had always been your home. Your mother’s warnings about hunters had prevented you from venturing far and soon you had stopped asking her to take you with her to trips outside the communities.

Supernatural creatures had been living peacefully among humans for decades but the laws didn’t stop those so intensely afraid of difference. Hunters were diminishing in number year by the year but sometimes you wondered if there would really be a time no supernatural creature lost their life because of fear. Witches had it the easiest in recent years. You looked like humans and your services were useful to them. Humans chased your power and made their own kind. Wizards. They couldn’t hunt you for something they were striving to become.

“It’s nice here,” Namjoon said. “Calm. It’s very different from the city.”

It was only expected that Namjoon was coming from a big city. Humans had built grand Universities in their largest cities, the ones the world marveled at and was attracted to them like moths to light. There, they taught how to channel magic, force it in an unnatural way. Magic wasn’t meant to be controlled, it was meant to flow. You didn’t control magic, you guided the stream.

But humans didn’t understand and they didn’t want to.

“I’ll be going now.” You nodded at Namjoon, turning to leave.

“We’re here for whatever you need,” he said a little hurriedly, like he had panicked and decided on saying the first thing on his mind instead of staying silent.

You looked at him over your shoulder, standing behind the counter in a shop he co-owned with a witch, wearing a denim jacket over a white shirt. The only thing standing out about him was his silver hair. Another thing way too different from the image of wizards you had in your head.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you said.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

 You were incredibly stupid. The amount of stupidity required to end up in your position was astronomical. Earlier in the day you had visited the underwater library to find some information for a potion. Everything had been like any other day and you hadn’t stumbled upon any mishaps, finding the book you needed rather quickly. The weather had been getting progressively worse, you could see it in the way the clouds gathered and the waves lashed the rocks.

In a hurry, you had run to your house, failing to notice the protective charm falling from your pocket. Thunder was striking when you remembered to look for it. The storm would hit full force soon, trees trembling dangerously, the sky lighting up every few moments followed by deep rambles. But you needed the charm. The client would be coming to get you tomorrow and you had neither the materials nor the time to make another one.

“Where are you going?” John shouted over the whistles of the wind. It was whipping at the door and you struggled to keep it open.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” you shouted back and you only heard half of his next shout having closed the door behind you. It was something following the lines of “Are you crazy?”.

You were lucky your house was built so close to the shore. Your mother had found the spot and deemed it perfect, near the sea and the forest. She used to tell you it was everything she needed, if she didn’t feel the magic of the sea an emptiness grew inside her. Spending all your life next to the sea, you had never experienced that and you wondered if your connection to the ocean run deep enough to ever do.

The force of the wind made you lose your footing a couple of times but you powered on. That charm was hard to make and the longer it stayed there the more chances the waves had to claim it. You scanned the floor as you stumbled forward. The way you took to the shore was always the same and you could tread it in the wind. You found yourself wishing for lightning. You didn’t dare to take your phone with you in this weather and the clouds had turned the afternoon into night.

That’s exactly what I needed, you thought as a raindrop landed on your cheek and before you could take another step, thunder struck and the rain descended on you. You started running. There was no way you wouldn’t get back home drenched to the bone. In the distance you could see the rocks and the sight gave you more strength.

You halted. There were people there. Two of them. They were leaving, trying to escape the rain when one of them slipped. You watched as he fell behind, the wind carrying him, and landed face first into the water.

He disappeared.

It was enough to set you into motion.

“Stop! Don’t jump in!!! You’ll both drown!” you shouted, hoping his companion heard you over the wind.

“I have to do something!!!” You could now see his transparent wings and bubblegum pink hair and how he stumbled under the force of the weather. He was a fairy and a tiny one at that, shorter than you and probably as light as a feather.

You reached the edge of the rocks, tearing your eyes away from him. You didn’t say another word before jumping in.

Please reblog and comment, it motivates me and keeps me writing.

A/N: This has been in my drafts for a very long time and in my desperation to get away from studying but also do something productive I found myself returning to this project. It will probably be some time until I can write anything else but I have another chapter of this work completed so I thought it would be as good of a time to post this as any.

P.S.: For those who have read Eunoia, the John in this story is a completely different character from the John in Eunoia. This John is a very old character of mine and I had completely forgotten the two of them ended up with the same names.

[citydreamgrls]

the empty diary - part one

fred weasley x fem!reader

summary: it had appeared out of the blue, a diary that contained an odd power, one which would backfire and reveal her true feelings to the one she wished to hide it from most.

an: this is the first part in a new mini-series, i hope you all enjoy !!

words: 4,051 

warnings: smut in later parts 

The book had appeared on top of her cases when the girl had arrived in her dorm the previous day, its crimson red cover sticking out amongst the dark wood trunks. It had been a small surprise, the pages between all empty to her eyes as she scanned through it quickly. But something had drawn her to the mysterious object as she felt the leather slip between her fingers as if it was somewhat familiar.

Since it was empty, and there was no one who was asking after a lost diary, the girl decided to use it as just that. Spending most evenings of the first few weeks back at Hogwarts hiding herself away to spill out those nagging thoughts; thoughts that she’d never before had the idea to write down.

Most days she could time it so that Hermione was busy helping Ron with transfiguration work and not sitting around watching her write furiously, doing her best to not interrupt. As much as she trusted Hermione, she knew how curious her best friend could be at times and wanted to keep this one thing private for as long as she could manage.

It wasn’t long, however, as she’d imagined.

“y/n-” Hermione had burst into the room, catching the girl off guard, who had learnt to zone out all noises while she wrote. Which meant she hadn’t noticed the rushed footsteps pounding up the stone steps to their room before it was too late. “What’s that?”

The girl did her best to act casual, her little desk which she was sitting at normally gathering dust, and slid the book beneath some forgotten homework from last year.

“Oh… nothing.” She panicked, and blurted out, knowing full well that no excuse would satisfy Hermione’s interest more than the truth.

“Show me,” A hand reached past her, pushing papers away to reveal the red leather standing out amongst the white sheets.

“It’s really- Hermione!”

No amount of body blocking could have stopped the girl’s friend when she was determined, regardless of how much she tried; Hermione was a surprisingly strong girl.

“Stop it!” Y/n cried out, laughing when she felt the girl hovering over her reach down to tickle her. Grinning at the way she crumbled beneath the feeling, whining out about foul play.

Hermione’s hands had already grasped the book, frowning at its blank cover and holding it heavy in her hands. The other girl, now released from the temporary torture of tickling, stood beside her friend and tried one last time to reclaim her new diary.

It, in a clumsy turn of events, fell to the floor. The pages audibly flicking through themselves, as they watched it cascade to the ground as it was slower than time.

Y/n silently prayed, begged and wished that it would land with the covers closed over her intimate thoughts, fearful of how the girl beside her would react to something so personal. But as two pages laid out before them both, and the girl held her breath, it seemed as if fate heard her call as the pair stared down to see a blank response.

She let out a little breath, forgetting that she needed to reclaim the book before Hermione got a chance. The girl in question, however, seemed confused by the book before her.

“What?” Y/n scoffed, following her eyes to see what had made her speechless in the last ten seconds or so. Joining the silence as their jaws dropped agape at the sight before them both.

“Am I going mad?” Hermione asked, seeing the ink appear slowly on the once empty page, words coming into view in the form of sentences y/n had curated herself only moments before her friend had burst into the room. She just shook her head at the empty question, too amazed by what they were witnessing to bother talking.

Shaking hands reached for it, worried it may combust between her fingers as the girl held it tenderly. Hermione’s name was printed in bold amongst the rest of the words, something she herself hadn’t done.

“Did you write about me?”

“Only good things,” She smiled, trying to avoid her prying eyes, but it was no use.

“I think it’s been charmed… but by who.”

There was a silence between the two girls as their mind’s whirred for a moment, the faint echo of passing owls sounding amongst their breaths. Y/n was close to a scream when Hermione lunged towards her, taking the book from her and throwing it onto the bed with a panicked look, a thought having plagued her mind suddenly.

“We shouldn’t trust it, not after what happened to Ginny in second year.”

“Oh come on Mione, you-know-who isn’t going to try the same trick twice.”

“Well, where did you find it then?” She demanded to know, her hands resting all too comfortably on her hips like an angry mother.

“It was just… onmycases.” The girl mumbled, now understanding where the hesitance was coming from.

“Where y/n?” Her voice was stern.

“On my case, it was just laying there for me.”

“Well then we definitely can't trust it!”

“I’ve had it for weeks already, and still nothing bad has happened, I think I'm safe.” A laugh sounded from her mouth, more to reassure herself as she picked it up again, the leather still feeling natural between her skin.

Her friend didn’t seemed convinced and took it from her yet again, making y/n groan out in annoyance as Hermione paced the room, trying to study it for herself.

“Give it back Mione!”

“I just want to try something-” “It’s private!” “I’m not interested in your crushes y/n,” She scoffed, but noticed the entry she had dedicated to how good Oliver Wood had looked at the first quidditch practice.

“Oh come on it’s not a crush- what are you doing?”

Hermione held her wand out, muttering as many spells as she could think of to try and reveal the whole book to her, having noticed the stray empty pages between entries.

“I wrote on those, what’s it doing?” The girl asked, peering over her friend's shoulder as she refused to stop walking round their dorm.

“I think it’s charmed to the reader, here, you hold it.” “Well, it’s not like it’s mine or anything.” She huffed, finally taking it back and flicking between pages. Where Hermione had seen blanks, she watched the words reappear. “See, now it’s coming back.” “Not for me, that one’s still blank.” Her friend furrowed her brow, thinking intently as the girl placed the book back down on her pokey desk.

“I think it’s been charmed so that whoever reads it only sees entries in which they’re mentioned. You can see all of them because you wrote them, but I could only see the ones which you had written me into.” Her brain spilled out this theory so confidently that all y/n could do was nod in agreement, seeing no flaws to what she was stating.

“That seems, risky, right?” She offered up, unsure of what else to say.

“Very, but somewhat safer than muggle diaries at least.” Hermione giggled, laying back with a sigh. “I only came up for a textbook, but it seems like Ron’s troubles are nowhere near as interesting as this is.”

“I’m glad I can at least entertain,” The girl rolled her eyes, “Hey, maybe we should test this out a bit more.”

“That way we can know whether what I think is right, great idea!” Hermione seemed excited at the prospect of an experiment, regardless of how mundane or easy it was.

“We can use Ron and Harry!”

-

The two girls peered around a bookcase, spotting the redhead and four eyes struggling to think of an original thought between them as they waited for Hermione to return. She rolled her eyes, knowing they’d get nothing done without her.

“Give it here,” Y/n took the red book from her friend, spotting how possessive they’d both become of it.

“I was keeping it safe for you, this could be bad in the wrong hands y/n,” She hissed, not wanting to draw the boys’ attention until they were ready. “Now, write Ron’s name in here and Harry’s on another page. That way we can see which one they can see when holding the book.” The top student explained simply, the girl beside her just nodding as she scribbled quickly, their sneaky stances now garnering a bit of attention around them.

“Done. Let’s try it out.” She smiled, holding the book amongst others she’d brought down with her, hiding their plan behind the lie of another outstanding essay to complete.

“Finally!” Ron huffed, seeing the girls arrive after enough time waiting.

“Well, if you actually listened to Mcgonnagall during class then you wouldn’t need to wait for me to come and hold your hand.” Hermione snapped, taking her seat beside the boy as y/n joined Harry.

He seemed unfazed by the bright red leather slipped between her plain school books as she placed them down, he was too preoccupied by a girl making eyes at him from across the library.

“I just don’t get why I need to know all this, I don’t even want to take Transfiguration next year so it doesn’t matter, it’s a waste of time.” Ron was groaning as Hermione watched her pull out the diary subtly, sighing and flicking open the pages. She hushed the boy beside her as y/n began further writing next to his name, he watched her with a scowl before she held up the page to him.

Ron, Mcgonnagall’s in here you git! Be quiet.

“Is she, oh bloody hell.” He put his head down after reading the words she’d written out for him, Hermione nodding to her when she hadn’t been able to see it herself. It was a lie of course, the Professor’s very rarely spent time in the library, and Ron probably knew it deep down, but it was enough to prove that their theory was right. The girl’s friend stared at Harry, who was still distracted from the rest of them, signalling that she should still try it with him.

Harry, is she your new girlfriend? ;)

She wrote, sliding the message over to him, and nudging his side with a giggle. It made the dark haired boy blush but still he scoffed and denied that he’d been making eyes at anyone. Ron had seen the quiet exchange and frowned, seeing a blank page from his point of view.

“Was there anything on there?” He whispered to Hermione, who dismissed his question with a sigh and quickly changed the subject to keep their little secret.

-

The two girls sat awake on their beds that evening, having proven the true powers of y/n’s diary and agreed that something this simple was unlikely to be dark magic. They had tested as many spells on it to show if it was capable of more, but it seemed that hiding irrelevant entries was all it could do.

“You should keep a locking spell on it, and probably keep it safe, if someone managed to get it open that would be awful.”

“Who do you think would be the worst person.” Y/n inquired, her brain worn out from all the possibilities she’d run through.

“Oliver Wood.” Hermione teased.

“Shut up! I don’t like him.”

“There’s someone though, right? I saw some words about a boy.”

“Not really.”

“It seemed like you were interested in them.” She let out a small laugh in the dimly lit room at her friend’s blatant lie, knowing that when she liked someone she would deny it for the rest of her life until she too believed it not to be true. “It’s not a bad thing to like someone.”

Hermione did her best to reassure her friend, but the girl seemed caught in her thoughts as they welcomed the silence between them, her wand spinning between her fingers mindlessly. She decided to drop it, seeing how uncomfortable it had made her, but surprisingly it was y/n who spoke up.

“I don’t think they would feel the same way, that’s all.” Her voice was quiet, and reserved. A world apart from how she usually acted around her best friend.

“Who is it?” Hermione asked, seeing the hesitance on the girl’s face as she thought about how to answer.

“You really cannot tell a soul, I mean this.”

“I promise y/n, no one will know.” She placed her hands into the girl’s, squeezing tight to try and relax her as best as she could.

“Okay, well, it’s nothing big it’s just an interest that’s it. And really, I’m not too sure about it myself.”

“Okay, go on.”

-

A few days passed, with Hermione and y/n successfully keeping the diary a secret between them. Not that Ron and Harry would have ever been that bothered by it, or its powers, at all.

It was yet another night spent studying in the library when things went wrong. The girl had been there for a good few hours now, her diligent friend always one to motivate her whenever she needed it. The diary had been forgotten amongst her other books, its locking spell casted safely over it.

Still, that spell wasn’t completely safe and they had done all they could to strengthen it, but someone would most likely be able to crack it open after some research into counter spells.

They had chosen a small table by the windows, the beginnings of a storm crashing against the glass as hushed voices floated around the large room. It was private, and not many people seemed to pass by, so when Hermione went to find yet another book to help with her latest essay, the girl decided it would be a chance to write in the red bound book for a little while.

She held her wand and whispered the words to open it up to her, its pages flittering to the next empty piece of paper within. The quill in her hand danced around as she wrote all about her day, about the storm, about the people in her classes and about the boy she was learning to like with every second spent in his presence.

Beyond the castle walls the wind blustered against the stone, the howls tunneling through the hallways and creating a small breeze at her feet. She shivered, ignoring the cold as best she could and focused instead on the words she wrote.

“God that rain sounds awful!” A voice boomed nearby, dragging her away from her thoughts hurriedly.

“Do you think quidditch will be cancelled?” Another droned on, obviously annoyed at this prospect. She recognised the twins immediately as their footsteps reached her side.

“I hope not- oh y/n you’re still here?” George asked as they both stopped. She shut the book quickly, looking up from where she sat to smile politely. Both boys towered above her as they stood with hands in their pockets.

“We saw you earlier with Hermione, but you looked busy so we didn’t dare interrupt.” Fred laughed lightly, peering over at her work beside her. “You got much to do?”

“Uh not too much, Hermione is here somewhere but she’s-” “Off being a goody two shoes?” Fred teased.

“Hey, that’s mean.”

“Sorry, I should have included both of you in that statement.”

The girl had wondered how long it would take for the twins to start annoying her again, their greatest pleasure in life was seeing someone bothered by them and that never excluded herself.

“At least I don’t fly around like a maniac every other night,” She huffed.

“Hey, quidditch is very respected.” George snapped back.

“Yeah, for teenage boys that is.” She scoffed, ignoring their grimaces and pulling out her potions book.

“Yeah well-” Fred was cut off by the sound of glass smashing somewhere else in the library, the storm from outside flying in with no regard for the panicked students. Screams sounded out as more and more windows caved into the growing pressure, and the girl stood up to see if she could spot Hermione amongst them.

“We need to go!” George cried out to his brother, who grabbed the girl’s arm. She took it back, needing to find Hermione first before getting out.

“Y/n!” Her friend called out over the howls of wind, appearing from behind a stack of books and taking her friend’s hand. “Come on!” She dragged her away from the table.

“Wait, what about-” SHe started, remembering the red diary laying unprotected on the table. She hadn’t had time to cast the spell over it, and now as they ran through the small crowd of students she had no chance to turn back.

“Y/n come on!” Fred yanked on her arm again, giving her no option but to follow as he overpowered her protests easily.

-

They weren’t allowed back in until the next afternoon, once the room had been cleared of smashed glass, and the windows were repaired. It was quiet now, the storm having been and gone, and the sun shone in calmly as if nothing had happened.

“Over here, this was where we were yes?” Hermione asked, spotting her pile of textbooks stacked neatly on their table. A few pages had been ripped at the edges, and she could see obvious signs of water damage. But mostly, it was salvageable.

“I can’t find it!” Y/n said, rushing to shove everything out of the way. The diary was nowhere to be found.

“It’ll be here, just keep looking.”

The girl threw herself to the ground, crawling beneath the table where she’d had it last and looking in all the dark corners. But no matter where she looked, the red leather was missing.

“I’ll go ask Madame Pince, she may have picked it up if it looked important.” Hermione told her friend as she slumped into the chair, her head falling between her hands in despair.

It was open, unlocked for anyone to look inside. Whoever had it may not be able to read anything, but if it got passed around to someone mentioned then it was over. The girl collected the things that had been left in the midst of the storm and remembered how adamant the twins had been to get her out, especially Fred.

They could have easily taken it while she was distracted looking for Hermione, not to mention that they would revel in knowing her every secret. But that was the last thing she wanted to believe, as it would mean she would need to drown herself in the black lake out of embarrassment.

Since she learnt of the diary’s power, she had been careful not to mention him by name, knowing that it would immediately reveal itself to him if found. But, what about the ones before when his name was repeated over and over, when she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to write about him, or her feelings towards him. It just felt right.

Now, it was all wrong. What if there was more, what if the power stretched to intention too. If it knew that the person reading it was being written about, without blatantly stating their name, would that mean it would still reveal itself. She hated that her and Hermione hadn’t thought of this idea until now, when it was too late.

“It has to be the twins!” Y/n stated, when her friend returned from the librarian’s office empty handed, her eyes wide and determined.

“You really think so?” “Who else would want to have that kind of upper hand over someone?” “It would be their best prank this term, even if it’s a bit cruel.”

“We need to get it back! Remember what I said the other night, all of that could be unveiled if they are the ones who have it.” She urged, getting to her feet in an instant, forgetting all the things they needed to carry back to their dorms and storming out of the library.

-

Fred would have recognised the red cover from a mile away, it had been clutched between the girl’s hands for weeks now, obviously full of secrets since she felt the need to cast a locking spell on it. She thought she had been subtle about it, but he had seen her do it every time she closed it in the great hall or the common room.

But it wasn’t in her hands, it was poking out of a pile of books a random second year boy was carrying. He frowned, leaving George’s side to follow the Ravenclaw boy round the corner and down an empty hall.

“Hey!” He called out, making the younger boy jump in surprise. “Is that yours?” He pointed to the book in his arms, making his eyes widen in fear at the tall redhead. Everyone knew who they were, but they were always known for being easygoing. Now his stern tone instilled fear in the boy’s face as he got closer. He shook his head, the red book falling as he scrambled away in a panic, not wanting to stick around to find out what Fred would do if he found out it was stolen during the storm.

“Little bugger.” Fred mumbled, picking it up and seeing the page that it had fallen open onto. He could hear footsteps running after him and quickly shoved the book into his robes, turning just in time to see his brother turn the corner with a look of confusion on his face.

“What was that all about?” He asked.

“Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw something…” Fred trailed off, quickly losing George’s interest.

“God, anyone would think you’re going mental.”

Maybe he was. Racing after someone over a diary that wasn’t even his, but he had seen the unmistakable scrawling’s of y/n’s writing. Then his name, as clear as day.

-

Fred waited until everyone in his dorm fell asleep before taking out the diary, casting a quiet lumos spell and slipping beneath the covers to secretly read what was inside. He started with the first entry, his name appearing first before the other words faded into view.

Dear Diary,

Maybe I’m going mad, or someone has cursed me to think this way, but something feels different about Fred Weasley. For the first time in years I can definitively tell that it is him when he’s stood beside his brother, instead of having to guess like I used to. It’s like I can finally pick him out in a room, when before he just blended into everyone else, yet when I see him he’s just getting on with his life and doing nothing special.

He’s taller than he used to be, and he smiles more, and his voice is deeper than I realised. But maybe these are all things that I’m just noticing now, because I want to know more. Everything about him makes me want to know more, and I can’t explain why, it’s pure curiosity.

Now when he talks to me, the same way he has done for years, I feel excited and nervous and all these other emotions I wouldn’t have expected to relate to Fred. It’s as if I see him as a new person, like we’ve just met… properly.

Maybe I am going mad, or maybe this is all a prank to him to make me feel this way, but until I fix it I will just have to live with it. I’m hoping writing it down may help hide how I feel from him, for a little while.

Fred’s eyes read fast, each word dragging him in deeper and deeper into her mind, as if he could see every thought as it was produced. He read it over and over, slowly and carefully, to make sure what he had seen was true.

He could never show anyone this, that would crush her, but he enjoyed this little secret. The boy liked knowing that she saw him differently to all the other boys in her life, but what made him the happiest was that he was the only one to know what she was thinking.

[doexoeyes]

Of Finches & Firsts

Ok so here’s a fic I actually have on Wattpad and AOO3 but I decided to bring over here. On those sites I wrote a character for this story, but on here it’s gonna be Draco x Reader ♡ Only thing to note is that your last name in this story would be Finch (so to make sense of the title and some other little parts of the story) as well as you’re a Hufflepuff. Sorry to the other houses,I adore you all but Draco and a Hufflepuff is just to juicy to pass up (in the first book he literally say’s they’re the worst) so just trust me when I tell you that it’s all for the story. Anyways I hope you enjoy and if you’re interested in reading the original, here are the links:

Archive Of Our own link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26707513

Wattpad link:

https://my.w.tt/ZoUHpu1e59

Summary: "A Hufflepuff? Crushing on a Slytherin? Sounds like the start of a terrible joke to me, but ok." You’ve harbored feelings for Draco Malfoy since your first year at Hogwarts. Secretly, of course, and very much from afar. But when you’re finally taken out of your role of being a background character in his life, will it be what you always wanted, or what you wish you never knew?

         Chapters

Chapter 1 ♡ Chapter 2

Chapter 1: The Firsts Of Many

The first time you ever saw Draco Malfoy was at the sorting hat ceremony your first year at Hogwarts. You thought he was striking upon first sight, with his silver grey eyes contrasting with his nearly white hair. You knew he would leave a lasting impression upon whoever looked at him, and you very much envied him for it. You felt like you were as plain a Jane as they came, especially when compared to him. You couldn't keep your eyes off of him for the rest of the night, drawn to, not just his features, but the mysterious aura that surrounded him.

When your name had gotten called for the sorting, you were incredibly nervous for many reasons:

1. For the house you were going to be sorted into that would shape your life for the next 7 years.

2. For the several hundreds of eyes watching you go up the steps.

3. For the white haired boy who you seemed to have developed the tiniest little crush on.

Thankfully, you made it up without tripping and making a complete fool of yourself and were pleasantly surprised to find out that the house you'd be sorted into was:

"Hufflepuff," the storing hat declared, and a thunderous applause followed suit.You smiled, looking towards the table with the yellow cladded students as they cheered and waved you over. You couldn't wait to tell your father, who was a proud Hufflepuff himself, that you were now one, too.

When it's Draco's turn to be sorted, you made sure to pay very close attention. A small silly part of you wanted to cross your fingers and hope that he'd somehow be sorted into Hufflepuff just like you.

Of course, that was a very optimistic wish.

"Slytherin," the hat announced, and all those hopes quickly came tumbling down because if there was one house you knew you weren’t going to be able to fit in with, it was Slytherin.

There went your chances of being potentially noticed by Draco Malfoy.

Letting out a sigh, you were able to manage a small smile as you clapped for the boy along with the rest of your fellow schoolmates.

You spent the entire year making new friends, learning spells, studying up for exams, and never having the opportunity to talk to Draco, your only regret of the year.

For Draco, his first year at Hogwarts consisted of him developing the reputation of being the school's bully. Most of his antics we concentrated heavily on Harry Potter and his friends, but he truly didn't spare anyone that wasn't a part of his Slytherin crew.

Still, this didn't lessen the small crush you had on him since the day of the sorting. Despite his actions, you really felt that the boy was much more than what he projected to the world.

The first time you ever got to talk to Draco Malfoy was during your second year, when you had accidentally run into him as you rushed to your potions class.

You were too busy worrying about making it in time to class, really not wanting a reason to make Snape chastise you, that you had forgotten to pay attention to your surroundings. A disastrous recipe for running into someone, which was exactly what ended up happening.

"Hey!" he said with a grunt as his books fell from his hands.

You, mortified, hardly even noticed it was Draco at first, as you immediately leaned down to pick up his books.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I'm a complete klutz. I should've been paying more attention, I just-" as you got back up from the floor, books recovered & in your arms, you froze as your eyes made contact with his striking silver ones.

"Yeah, you definitely should have! Next time, try not to run into your superiors, first year," he said in distaste, brushing off the sleeves of his robe.

You stood there, shocked into silence, feeling your cheeks warm and mentally trying to coach yourself through the moment.

Take a breath, don't sound so nervous.

"A-actually, we're in the same year. I...umm...I first saw you at the sorting, but we had History of Magic together. I sat a row ahead of you," you corrected, biting your lip.

He tore his gaze away from his sleeves and locked eyes with you again, a chill going down your spine.

"Really? Strange. I don't remember you. Then again, you Hufflepuffs are so forgettable," he stated with a roll of his eyes. 

"I'll take those," he said as he grabbed the books from your hands and walked off.

Just like that.

 No 'thank you', no apology. Not even an offer to walk you to class which you happened to share this year as well.

You watched him walk away, cheeks definitely as red as Gryffindor's robes at this point, feeling dejected and absolutely embarrassed. You always imagined what your first conversation with Draco would be, as pitiful as that sounded, but in your head it definitely never went like this.

You ended up late to potions class and got lectured by Snape in front of the whole class, including Draco himself and wondered if he remembered who you were, or if he once again erased you from his head and permanently labeled you as a 'forgettable Hufflepuff'.

The rest of the year went on as normal after that, nothing too special.

The first time you really understood what your feelings for Draco Malfoy were was in your third year, on the train ride to Hogwarts.

You watched from the window as the train passed through the lush scenery of grand trees & clear blue skies, hands fiddling with the sleeves of your sweater. Your best friend, Mauve Ambrose, was seated beside you, gossiping about potential romances ("I think Ginny is head over heels for that Harry Potter kid and everyone knows it. Except, you know, that Harry Potter kid.") and who was to have the 'biggest glow up' of their entire year group ("My money is on Longbottom. Remember that I called it, ok. I want a witness to prove that I said it first.").

Hearing the candy trolley pass by, you perked up and politely excused yourself from your friend, walking out of the compartment. Your eyes searched for the trolley, determined to make it to it before the last of the chocolate frogs were taken, and caught it making its way towards the back of the train.

When you approached the trolley, you waited for the attendant to continue on along with one of the students as they picked out a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Once the attendant turned towards you, you smiled wide, ready to request a chocolate frog, when you felt someone approach from behind you.

"A chocolate frog for me, yeah? And make sure it doesn't have Dumbledore's card. I have like 10 of that old bat," said a familiar, snarky voice.

You turned and your breath immediately caught in your throat; it was Draco Malfoy.

"You're in luck, there was only one left. Although, I can't really confirm if this one has a Dumbledore or not..." the attendant said, handing him the box.

You frowned a rather sad frown, disappointed. Perhaps one would blame the Malfoy boy for taking your turn (you did get there first after all) but in truth, he wanted what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to get it.

In your mind, all was fair in candy and war.

"Hey, aren't you the girl who ran into me last year? The Hufflepuff?" he asked, eyes looking you up and down.

You felt so small in his presence. Although you were both about the same height your first year together, he towered over you at this point in time.

"I...y-yeah. That's me. Umm...my name's Y/N, actually. And congrats on the frog. I came to get one but you managed to get the last one," you said, trying to keep it cool on the outside when on the inside you were a mess of nerves.

You really wanted Draco to like you. Not in a big, important way, no. Just enough to remember your name, at least.

He continued on staring at you silently, even when you finished talking. His gaze felt like a microscope on you and you could feel your cheeks heat up.

"You have weirdly shaped eyes," he says bluntly after a moment and you really wished you knew a spell that would have the floor swallow you whole.

"Umm...." you were unable to come up with a response.

You wish you were witty or funny or charismatic, but socializing did at times become quite difficult for you, and you weren't gifted with a quick mind or a sharp tongue.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go enjoy my frog now," he said as he walked away.

You were not surprised to feel the slight sting of tears forming in your eyes. You took a deep breath and tried to calm yourself down. You hated the fact that you were actually so sensitive. Your parents tried to make you feel better about it, stating that it just meant that you had a big heart.

“Well,” you thought, “if having a big heart meant it was easy for me to cry, then it didn't seem like a very good thing to have”.

Keeping your tears at bay (at least until you could sit down and put your sweater over your head so no one could see), you walked over to your compartment.

It was when you were nearly there that Draco's head popped out from his compartment's sliding door, startling you. You let out a small yelp, putting your hand over your mouth almost immediately after.

"Here, have this," he stated simply, as he reached his hand out towards you.

To your surprise, it was the chocolate frog box Your eyes widened, staring at it before cautiously retrieving it from his hand, switching your gaze back to him.

"I only wanted it for the card, and it's another stupid Dumbledore one" he claims, and before you could say anything, he slides the door shut, leaving you standing alone in the middle of the walkway, chocolate frog in hand.

It was then that you noticed that the box had its wrapping still in tact, meaning it was never opened in the first place.

Once you made it to your compartment and sat back down in your seat ("Nice! You got Celestina Warbeck," Mauve stated excitedly as she opened the box for you), You realized that your little crush on Draco Malfoy had turned into an actual one.

The first time you ever got to experience what it was like to fall in love with Draco Malfoy was in your fourth year at Hogwarts, a few weeks before the Yule Ball.

[ladyeliot]

The September Foundation Grant

Request: @iawaythrown Avengers x Teen reader. The reader is a brilliant engineer, that makes (grade A+) battle armor & weapons. The Vulture and the reader works together by selling these illegal armor & weapons. (The Vulture even gives the reader profit because the reader lives alone) The reader learns at school (The R is the quiet/loner kid) about Vulture getting arrested and they soon decide to leave New York and disappear. They grab all their money and leave but is followed/arrested by Tony and Peter at the reader house. They learn that the Vulture snitched on him. Ending could be up to you.

Pairing: Vulture / Iron Man / Spider-man x Teen!Reader

Warnings: Illegal work.

Word count: 1829

A/N:  Sorry it took so long! / Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

Anything could happen in New York City. A place that never slept, that was always awake at all hours, where criminals and children went everywhere hand in hand. Everything was hidden, but also in plain sight, if you knew where to look. Its streets were a labyrinth, but they always led to a way out, everything had an end. Its neighbourhoods were small communities distributed by culture or social status, but that did not prevent them from relating to each other. A teenager raised in Queens might have different limitations than one raised in the Upper East Side, but it all depends on the person. What I mean is, you never know what your life is going to be like in New York City.

Your mind was in constant operation, even if you wanted it to, it never stopped, it never rested, in a millisecond the thought passed through it 'when was the last time I slept'. You were in a hangar near the Harlem docks, this lucrative activity occupied a large part of your free time after high school, taking up your weekends as well. You could call it 'extracurricular activity' or also 'gainful employment', or maybe a combination of both, after all you were improving your engineering skills and earning money for it.

You had been enrolled in that new business for more than five months, your expectations for the future had changed, now you weren't so sure if going to university was what you really wanted. You were not driven by the easy money, what you were doing was much more than that, it was money, knowledge and all the adrenaline possible to do something legally binding. All the talent that you thought would be wasted and that you had never been valued was now being used to do something else, to be someone in the world, even if it was in the hidden world.

You designed, created and crafted technologically advanced combat armour and weaponry, you built things you hardly thought you would be able to make. All you needed was the time and the facilities that Adrian Toomes had offered you. He discovered you, he had set his sights on you and trusted you, something that many other people had not done before. In your past years you dreamed of getting a position at MIT, but now it was no longer among your priorities, at least for the time being.

Adrian's discovery came about in the most natural way possible. You were attending Midtown School of Science and Technology, and one day during a chemistry class the teacher had the brilliant idea of paired assignments, so you were paired with Liz Toomes. Liz is a really intelligent young woman, the problem in question was the wide difference between your characters, your quiet countenance and your passivity for social relations caused discomfort among your classmates, but leaving that aside, you decided to go to her house to do the work. It was there that you met her father, Adrian, who found your project notebook when you dropped it on your way to Liz's room. He was clever, slipping in a note with his personal phone number expressing his interest in your projects. At first you were completely shy of the idea, but eventually you agreed, otherwise you wouldn't be in that situation.

The first project you did was an improvement to his exo-suit, he had been working on it for years, but for reasons you didn't know he didn't want to tell you who had helped him make it, he just told you that you had everything you needed at your disposal and that he wanted to see what you could be able to do, and so he did.

Since that day the small business you had in your hands had evolved, Toomes was in charge of the public-facing transactions, and you were hidden away carrying the full weight of engineering. But that didn't mean that when you went back out on the streets you became a normal teenager again.

On a Monday like any other Monday, New York City was glowing in the sunlight. On the drive to school we went over in a steady stream what we had studied for the maths exam you had in the fourth period, although it was really something you had passed a long time ago. You kept yourself hidden under a pair of headphones, listening for anything that would prevent you from interacting with people. Your day-to-day actions when you walked through that door were mechanical. You walked thirty-three steps down the main corridor, turned right, twenty-seven steps to your locker, entered code 5432, opened it and took your books, dropped off your lunch, closed it again and headed for your class, trying not to bump into anyone who crossed your path. That, day after day.

But that day, that second between songs, when your ears came back to the real world you heard a word "Vulture". Your senses quickly focused on the conversation that group of girls were having, you stopped the music and without looking at them you sharpened your hearing.

"My cousin just sent me the video," one of them said, showing her mobile phone to the others. "He was arrested tonight, on the Harlem waterfront. Isn't Spider-man cool?"

"Wow!" exclaims one.

"I can't believe the Vulture is Liz's dad," adds another girl. "By the way does anyone know anything about her?"

That conversation caused a pang inside you. You quickly, but as calmly as possible, closed your locker and headed in the opposite direction of the entire student body, heading back outside. You knew what this meant, your mind had explored various scenarios about the possible events that could happen if the FBI or anyone else discovered you. You knew what you had to do, how to do it and where to go, you had created a plan in your head. You didn't trust Adrian to take all the blame and you would come out of the situation unscathed, you were a minor and could always appeal to a corrupt situation, but that wasn't your style either.

Step by step you were fulfilling your plan, the first thing was to erase any traces that implicated you in those events, you had to go home and get rid of everything you had in your possession that implicated you, both physically and virtually, then it would be better for you to disappear for some time, you had plenty of money to do so and you knew that your family would not care too much where you were.

You went into the house, you had hours ahead of you until one of your parents returned. You went to your room and began to tidy up every gadget or item on your bed that connected you to the crime. It took you very little time compared to how long it took you to erase your fingerprints from the virtual world, it was obvious that you kept your figure hidden under a pseudonym, but every weapon or armour that the FBI had confiscated had your fingerprint on it, a fingerprint that could lead them to you.

The hours passed, you knew that sooner or later your parents were going to walk through the door, time was running out for you to catch a bus out of that city. You opted to pack up your things, leave that note and continue erasing data during the long trip to Arizona, but it was too late. A loud noise from the hallway alerted you that your time had come to an end.

"Ms. Y/L/N, you know what they say about sometimes you have to run before you walk?" Iron Man appeared before your eyes. "Too slow."

The armour that stood before you cut off your main passage to the exit, though you knew in your gut that there was little you could do against it without outside help. Slowly you reached inside your backpack and pulled out one of your unfinished projects, a laser that fired a powerful beam at the armour. That mere distraction allowed you to turn around and head inside your bedroom with the intention of climbing out of your window and down the fire escape, however as you were about to do so a body burst through the window, launching a slimy mass that stuck you to the wall of your room.  In front of you Iron Man and Spider-man, both staring at you, and you feeling the most vulnerable being at that moment.

"Wow!" Spider-Man picked up the laser from the floor. "This is cool! What kind of energy does it work with?"

"Hey kid! Put that down," his ally informed him. "Okay, do you know why we're here?" he asked waiting for an answer that never came. "Not very talkative, I understand, I was going to explain it to you anyway, do you know Adrian Toomes? I guess so, at least he knows you, he gave your name." your face hardened. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't be that surprised."

You remained impassive, listening to his every word and trying to form a plan in your head that would help you escape the situation.

"Listen, I have no intention of selling you out to the police," suddenly the Iron Man suit vanished, revealing the figure of Tony Stark before your eyes. "I admire you, I really do, well I don't mean I admire that you joined a group of criminals and created technologically enhanced weapons and sold them, but I admire your skills.

"Isn't that what you've done?" you finally interjected, responding to her retorts.

"Oh! She speaks!" he pointed at you, looking at Spider-man. "Good point. But to the point, you decide, you either come with us and decide to join the good side, or we leave you here for your parents to find you, explain everything that's happened and then to the police. You decide. The clock is ticking."

Your mind was reactivated again, it was clear that there were two options and only one of them was within your prospects. It might take you a while to forgive yourself for what you were going to do next, but it was your only way out. You nodded slowly and clenched your jaw tightly as you surrendered to those in front of you.

"Good choice," Tony said with a nod as Spider-man released you from those webs that had invaded your body.

From down the hall you heard the front door open and two people walked in, engaged in conversation, your parents. Your eyes widened exponentially.

"Just in time," Tony said. "See you later, kid. And you and I," he looked at you, "are going to explain to your parents about the September Foundation Grant."

Requests/Taglist Open (DM)

MAIN MASTERLIST

[suffering-with-fiery]

Rune translations and Bottom theories (I did my best!) (: It's long! I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG!!!! You've been warned. (Potential TWs below the cut) yeah Hyoga doesn't have a good time here.

I should probably start calling Hyoga "Hyouga" instead since I'm pretty sure it's spelled with a 'U'... but I probably won't. Apologies.

Bottom English translation by Tackmyn Y! (I can't speak Japanese, again, apologies, though I was able to make my own version of Autophagy)

Potential TWs (I dont want to harm anyone by going on this rant): Autophagy (medical terms), nightmares, demons tormenting a guy, Hyoga being unhealthy in more ways than one, mentions of death/murder, self esteem issues, mentions of destructive behavior, manipulation, violence.

Yeah, my boy Hyoga ain't having a good time in this theory.

I feel the need to clarify that this is all speculation. So uh. Everything here is just what I've been thinking about since I hopped into this rabbit hole.

Sinfan (I'm not sure what order they go in, it's quite hard to tell):

["Death"

"I"

"Revive"

"Spirit"

"I"

"Something with shape"]

I'm not fully sure what "something with shape" means, but there's a possibility that Sinfan could be referring to Hyoga, (a doll/wax figure) or maybe that Sinfan needs something with a shape to be able to exist. Sinfan could need a vessel to stay on the mortal plain and go undetected while staying alive.

Sinfan needs a vessel. And with that thought, it launches into indecipherable theory crafting.

Hyoga summoned Sinfan when he was 12 years old. Thinking he found a vessel, he called upon Pabometh, another grey demon, to help torment Hyoga so the two could get their wish.

Hyoga, at the time, is young, dumb and susceptible to manipulation, meaning it could be easy for Sinfan to grasp the situation with an iron grip which follows Hyoga into adulthood.

"Revival" could also be referring to "Rebirth," symbolized by a butterfly. It could also mean that Sinfan/Pabo has the powers to revive people. Maybe as a last resort if they need it.

In Hiiragi Kirai's album trailer on Youtube, Hyoga shows up in a scene with 'D' and 'B' in calligraphy on each cheek. They could mean "Death" and "Birth" respectively.

Lines from Autophagy:

"I just wants a peaceful life." Likely means Hyoga wants the demons gone so he can live how he wants to. (Who wouldn't?)

"The voice inside my head? Huh... how odd." Also implies that the demons are still with him.

"My body pulses, memories from my past bringing pain." Means that in Autophagy, Hyoga remembers his past, but it hurts him.

""You can't avoid it in life, so it's best to just deal with it." You say, but you dont seem bothered." Is most likely Sinfan talking to Hyoga. It could also mean that Hyoga can't avoid the demons, so he should just deal with it.

"I can't stop now, so pretend nothing happened!" Could be Hyoga trying to ignore the demons, or maybe he did something he shouldn't have. (Always knew those were prison tattoos...)

"I want to wash my skull out! I want to say bye bye! But yet I didn't do it..." Could mean that the demons are still with him in Autophagy and likely still tormenting him.

"I won't stop, I can't look back." Might mean Hyoga is trying to move on, but with the demons still in his head, he can't, so the "Let me forget!" after the instrument solo might be him wishing that he never remembered in the first place and trying to get the demons to take them away again.

"Just stay away from me!" Could be Hyoga distancing himself from everyone he knows, or trying to get the demons to go away.

"Hello! HAHAHAHA Hello! HAHAHAHAHA!" Might be Hyoga as he slowly loses his remaining sanity due to constant tormenting and pressure from the demons.

"A A A A- 'Allo/Allow/Arrow" could all imply different things, so I'll give a short on all of them.

"'Allo!" Is just an abbreviation of "Hello."

"Arrow!" -According to a quick google search- is a common symbolism for peace and philosophical ideas, and used for protection and hunting. It could mean that Hyoga just wants peace and quiet, which is enforced by "I just want a peaceful life." in the beginning.

"Allow!" Could mean that the demons are trying even harder to bend him to their will and take him over as a vessel. They want Hyoga to allow them to posses him so they can do whatever they please.

Pabo only has 2 that I can see:

["Nightmare"

"Save (?)ime"]

It might be "time" but I couldn't make out the rune symbol there.

"Nightmare" hardens my thought that Bottom is just a massive nightmare set up by the demons to torment Hyoga, that the song is sung from the perspective of one of the demons (likely Pabo), and that Young Hyoga(tm) in the video is Pabometh playing the part of his repressed/forgotten memories.

This is all assuming the song is, infact, sung by the demons.

Lines from Bottom:

"You're keeping me alive! Today, today, you're killing me!" Could go both ways (Pabo/Sinfan and Hyoga) For Pabo it could just be another variation of the next line I'm about to talk about.

For Hyoga it could mean that he wouldn't be able to function if he didn't have the demons (Sinfan might posses him to make him fit in so nobody notices, keep him from dying from mortal wounds, and he's lived with them so long he might not know what to do without them), but with them he's slowly tearing himself apart from the inside out due to their constant tormenting. Metaphorically or literally is anyone's guess at the moment.

"Autophagy" (his songs name) is a medical term for "self eat" which normally happens when your body is starved, so it eats it's own cells to survive as long as it can. It can also correlate to certain diseases. Autophagy in these terms might also be referring to emotions. It's possible he's been stewing in any sort of negative emotions to cause such effects. (I.E: Guilt, fear, self worth issues,) which could make his resolve weaker, making it easier for Pabo and Sinfan to torment him/possess him. The longer it goes on, the closer he could be to self destructing.

"A wax figure/a doll is keeping me alive/killing me." Is more related to the demons in my eyes. "Wax figure/a doll" is likely referring to Hyoga. Hyoga could be their only tie to the mortal realm, (Sinfan being more prominent because he was summoned first, and by Hyoga himself.)

It could also mean that they need to inhabit his mind/body in order to survive and make it easier to torment Hyoga. If they both are in Hyoga's mind 24/7 while he suffers from nightmares (which cause lack of sleep, keeping his body in a perpetually weak state), no self worth, and a fragile mental state ("I wanna keep you out of my fragile mind!") while he tears himself apart, it would mean it would be harder to stay with him without something happening.

Due to that, it's likely that the very thing keeping them alive and in the mortal realm is also killing them at the same time.

It may be worth mentioning that a line in Bottom is "You think you're a god to me?" while 9lore translated Rinen's (Möbius') tattoo on his chest, which reads "Be still and know that I am god." It could a a coincidence, but I thought I'd mention it just in case (:

Throughout the entire song the demons are mocking and belittling Hyoga. (I.E: "Defying all logic, you're nothing but evil." "You're so stupid! You scumbag, scumbag, scumbag!") Most of the angry rant type of thing happens when Young Hyoga (tm) is on-screen. (It could be a tactic to make Hyoga not want to remember/manipulate his memories/tear down his resolve even more/or just plain upset him.)

"I mean, who, who, who are you?" It's been made clear that for the longest time (according to WOOMA) Hyoga didn't even remember his own name. "Who are you?" might be Pabo trying to get into Hyoga's head and make him question his own sanity.

"What the hell are you to me?" Implies that Pabo also want Hyoga to question why Pabo is here. Sinfan was summoned by Hyoga, but Pabometh was likely summoned by Sinfan to help tear down Hyoga. That means the two don't have much history, and Hyoga most likely doesn't know why Pabo is here for awhile.

It's "you to me" instead of "me to you" so Pabo could also be trying to get Hyoga to try and notice him in a positive way so that the nightmares stop. I'll expand on that some more a few (a lot) of paragraphs down.

"Inside my heart is- such a rage! Such a rage! So I'll grab you, grasp you, and crush you flat!" Is a line I find interesting. It also leads directing into another line; "The symptom of the unforgettable emotion is my burning intent to murder, which is absolutely right." Pabo would likely be talking about Hyoga, which implies that if he could, Pabo would murder Hyoga himself, but since the "wax figure" is needed to keep both him and his accomplice, Sinfan, alive, he can't.

It also implies that Pabo is extremely angry with Hyoga, for a reason I can't particularly pinpoint, except maybe for the fact that Hyoga's becoming more and more unstable and not safe for Pabo and Sinfan. The only problem is, it's Pabo and Sinfans fault he's like that. They're the ones that chose Hyoga as a vessel while simultaneously destroying him.

However, it's possible that Pabo's aim was to devoid Hyoga of anything and everything, (I.E: memories, emotions, etc. etc.) so that he was just that: a vessel. But with Hyoga being so destructive to himself, the whole plan could have gone awry and Pabo's only thought was how furious he was at Hyoga for messing up his chance to be in the mortal realm undetected for good, meaning he wishes he could destroy Hyoga and just get it over with so him and Sinfan could wait until someone else summoned them so they could take advantage of that.

""How deplorable you are! How deplorable you are!"" Is a line that has a chance of Hyoga himself having said it due to it having quotes on it. It also implies that he he could be fighting back, so his resolve might not crushed completely. However, a show of strength like that would likely just enrage Pabometh even more than he already is. It also doesn't help the positive impression he wants Pabo to have of him.

"You're involving yourself with me again like a clingy, clingy neighbor!" Sounds like Pabo, again, insulting Hyoga. If we go off of another part of this fever dream I've cooked up, (Hyoga not knowing what to do without the demons, but with them destroying himself), sounds like Pabo doesn't want to be with Hyoga anymore, going as far as hating him so much he's festering in it.

The "again" makes it sound like Hyoga's tried to communicate with them more than once, being unsuccessful each time. Hyoga could be trying to latch onto them, either to take them down with him or trying to get the nightmares to stop. Like I said, for a while Hyoga could have been trying to get positive attention and make Pabo like him.

"The low-end is going to manipulate me." Could be Pabo addressing that he knows what Hyoga was trying to do and calling him out for it.

"Brimming with momentary anger, rot away quickly, quickly, quickly!" Again, Pabo is talking about his burning hatred for Hyoga.

"I'm always losing! How, how dare you!" Implies that even with all the nightmares and torment, Hyoga has just enough willpower to keep Pabo from getting his wish, angering him even more.

And finally, a line from Autophagy:

"Oh, rise seeds of evil, bursting with malice!" Might be Hyoga finally giving into the demons and becoming their vessel if they take away his painful memories and stop hurting him.

Pentagram:

["-r Guide(A) N(?)E A(?)R"

"The ability to know wh-"

"Grant me the power to be strong in spirit-"

"Grant me the wisdom to understand-"]

With it over Pabo, it's possible that this was the one that summoned Pabo instead of Sinfan, although with it also under Hyoga, it could be Sinfan's. Who knows, it might also be boths.

In the ending scene with the pentagram, the colors of the other songs are visible, meaning that it's possible all of them are connected.

(I could go on for hours about the small loopholes that I think mean all the songs are connected in specific ways. Either way I know they're all from the same universe.)

With all their colors on it, it might mean they all have a demon of their own.

I'm still working slightly on the pentagram, I'll probably keep ya updated if I can find out what the rest of it says (:

If anyone can find the full version (preferably readable) of the pentagram, that'd be lovely (if it even exists)

(If you find more runes in "Bottom" or another Hiiragi song I'd be happy to see if I can translate it (: I'm not very good though, and I can't speak Japanese-)

English translation of Bottom used by: Tackmyn Y (I don't know where you are but you're a lifesaver)

Find any spelling errors, let me know! I'll see if I can fix 'em (:

If you read this far, what're you doing??

Have an absolutely amazing day!!! <3

[whatifidontwanttobethesavior]

Bonded

Cadmine slept fitfully the first night in her new home, her brow furrowed and face streaked with dried tears that had fallen from her eyes for a good while before she had finally given in to her body’s exhaustion. She had ached in more ways than one as her new husband had kissed her hand and instead of lying with her in the manner of which a man did with his wife, Vidmir had left her. He had told her she was tired, and that they had all of eternity for such things, but Cadmine hadn’t been able to help feeling a bit… disappointed? She knew that she should have been relieved, that most women would have been glad for the chance to rest properly after such a long day but before Cadmine knew it, she had broken down in tears. Her heart had ached inside of her chest, though whether it was from the beginnings of the change slowing it down or the fact that her husband had decided not to stay the night with her Cadmine couldn’t tell. It could also have easily been homesickness, having to sleep in a new place that she had never been to before or a yearning for her parents who had always bid her a good night before she’d gone to bed. She had stained the satin cover of the pillow beneath her head, the crimson material darkening even further beneath the wetness of her sadness. Eventually she had grown cold without Vidmir’s presence beside her and shifted on top of the covers, fighting with them until she had been able to squirm her way beneath them. It was warmer under the blankets and Cadmine had fallen asleep at last, her hair sticking to one cheek, her hand brought close to her face. She nuzzled against the flannel of  her husband’s pajama sleeve, breathing in the scent of him and causing a fresh flood of crying to be released from her eyes as she felt a sudden yearning for his presence. She wasn’t sure why he had chosen to go elsewhere for the night. Even if he had decided that being with her physically wasn’t something they needed to do right away, she still would have felt better to have him lie beside her. The red room felt much larger, more empty, and a lot more foreboding without him there.

When Cadmine woke it was to the swish of curtains sliding across a rod and the smell of food. She stirred, rolling and rubbing at her eyes, her hair an absolute mess on her head she blinked, trying to take in her surroundings. She was confused momentarily, the place unfamiliar at first until she remembered. She had been married last night. This was the home of her husband, her home now, and this was the room he had given to her. The handmaiden, Gunhilde, had just opened the large velvet curtains, letting in the light of the moon, brightening up the dim settings. Cadmine knew that with the change her eyes would adjust in time so that she would be able to see much better with limited light but at the moment, she welcomed the addition. She was able to more clearly see the room now but even so, she could have done with a few more candles. Or some electric lighting but an old castle like this simply didn’t have such a thing.

“Good morning, my Lady.” Gunhilde greeted in Cadmine’s native tongue, the sound of her words reassuring to the young wife. Cadmine managed a small smile as she began to press back the blankets a bit, but Gunhilde rushed forward holding a bed tray to place over her lap instead. Fine china sat on the gleaming wooden surface, plain white pieces with simple golden rims. Cadmine stared down at her favorite breakfast, a simple piece of sourdough toast with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and topped with thin apple slices. There were also scrambled eggs and some bacon off to one side, as well as a cup of what smelt like her favorite morning tea. “The Lord said you might be quite tired this morning and to not put you through any unneeded strain. I do hope your night went well, Lady Nezhdanov.”

Cadmine blinked, surprised for a moment as she registered her new name. She had heard it the night before of course, but it hadn’t quite clicked until now that her name was no longer the same as it had once been. She was a married woman and thus, had taken her husband’s surname as her own. How did one even go about spelling something like Nezhdanov? Cadmine would have to learn. Looking up from the tray across her lap, Cadmine’s eyes fell upon Gunhilde, looking all the world like almost every other handmaiden Cadmine had ever had. She wore the usual uniform of a dress and apron, stockings and good shoes made for working in, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. In a way, it was comforting for Cadmine and she felt her nerves easing a little bit, though her eyes flitted towards the door, wondering if her husband was awake yet.

“It was fine.” Cadmine stated simply, turning her attention back to Gunhilde. “Have you eaten? I’m not very partial to eggs if you’d like them.”

“Ah yes. Your parents said that, but the Lord wanted to make sure you got enough of your energy back. Neither of you will be able to partake in any blood except one another’s until after the change is complete, as is the tradition.”

“Oh, right...” Cadmine sighed, looking down at her tray again and noticing the severe lack of her usual blood slushie. It pale in comparison when she remembered the absolute ambrosia that was Vidmir’s blood though. She didn’t know if a slushie would satiate her ever again in the same manner of which it once had now that she knew what it was like to drink fresh from the vein of her husband. “Is he awake, do you know?”

“I’m afraid not. Master Lucero said he was not to be disturbed but you are welcome to do as you wish throughout the castle until you are ready to retire back to bed for the night.”

“Oh.” Cadmine felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, the realization that she probably wouldn’t be seeing Vidmir again until it was time for him to return to this bed. They would drink from one another again and then… what? Was he going to take her as his? Or perhaps he would decide upon that first so they still had enough energy for feeding left. The memory of his lips upon her neck the night before, the way his teeth had sunken into her flesh and then the pleasure that had forced away the pain of his venom. Just the thought of it had Cadmine’s cheeks heating with color, her thighs tightening beneath the red blankets. She had desired him and even now, as she pondered the idea of becoming one with her husband, Cadmine was both nervous and excited. Surely tonight. He had probably just been too exhausted from yesterday’s busyness to continue. And afterwards, he would stay with her. They could lie together, close in that way couples were supposed to. For now, she would simply have to be patient until he came for her.

“After you’ve eaten, I can help you dress and we can do whatever you please, my Lady.”

“Alright then.” Cadmine agreed. She lifted the toast and bit into it, relishing the familiar taste of her usual breakfast. She ate it down heartily, wanting to have plenty of strength for tonight, sipping at her tea. When she was finished, Gunhilde removed the tray and set it off to one side. She moved to the large wardrobe and tugged it open, revealing Cadmine’s usual assortment of dresses. They were pretty things, but very old fashioned if she was to be honest. However, she was still happy to see them at the moment. “May I have the green please? The light one. I do believe that is my favorite.”

Gunhilde appeased her, pulling the sage colored dress from the wardrobe on its hanger, lying it down on the bed. It took time and effort for Gunhilde to figure out how to help Cadmine dress and get into her wheelchair. Cadmine could do most of it on her own, though the many buttons down the back of her dress made things more difficult than they had to be. At least she didn’t have to deal with a rotten corset and back brace today. That had been demolished by her husband in the limo the night before. Her leg braces, however, were more familiar and easy to put on, not making her feel so confined and helping her stay upright easier when she stood up to get her dress down and then, sit in her chair. She leaned back into it with a sigh, letting Gunhilde do up her hair in it’s usual tight bun with a cover. When asked what she would like to do, Cadmine frowned and then shrugged, suggesting maybe they could go exploring a bit. The handmaiden agreed and rolled her out of her chambers, heading down a long hallway that was still more dimly lit than Cadmine would have liked. It was a good hall though and the thin wheels on her old chair moved easily along it, not catching like they tended to on most things.

“Gunhilde, may I go fast?” Cadmine asked after a moment, reaching down to grab at her wheels’ handrails. Gunhilde laughed.

“It’s your house, my Lady. Master Lucero said the Lord was very clear. You can do whatever you desire.”

Cadmine smiled at that and then pushed herself forward, using her arms to get herself going much more rapidly than before. She’d never been allowed to race about back home but it was something she did enjoy. Going slow had never been fun for Cadmine but there was always the worry that she’d fall out of her chair if she raced about. She couldn’t run, so it was the closest she could get. She released a bit of a laugh as she reached the end of the hallway and found herself in the main entrance hall full of paintings from last night. Gunhilde had picked up her own pace to keep up, holding her bun a bit to keep it in place but she had a smile on as well. She wasn’t all too much older than Cadmine to be honest, only in her early twenties. They ended up racing circles around the entrance hall for a bit, Cadmine only getting caught on a rug every now and then when she wasn’t careful and nearly sending herself toppling because her chair couldn’t handle  it. Soon after though, they picked another hallway and started down it, intent on getting the lay of the land for now. Cadmine wanted to figure out where all the main rooms were so she wouldn’t get lost.

[strigital]

Do tell about Nim, I couldn’t find much info about her through your blog and I am dying to know more about this werewolf lady

well grab a pint and sit yo booty down, cause our bard of the evening tonight is Nim and she's drunk as all hell and ready to weave some outrageous stories!! 🍻

in all seriousness, thank you for asking! 😭💗 she came about back in ye oldie days of hype over the 11th of november 2011, and since then refuses to give up the title of my fav oc!!

now, a Paarthurnax would say: lets-a go!

a quick recap of the events in Skyrim:

Naali Saryn was born sometime in 4E 130 on mainland Morrowind as a result of a quick fling between an unknown Dunmer girl and Lucien Lachance and Kassandra Saryn's (The Hero of Kvatch's) son.

Sometime in that year, the baby was found aboard a ship bound for Raven Rock and when no one came forth to claim her a couple of elderly and childless ash yam farmers decided to take her in until her family was found.

The family, of course, was never found, and so they raised her as their own for the next sixteen years. They called the girl Nim - short, sweet, meaningless, and easy to shout out into the fields where the little brat is out adventuring when the house chores are yet to be done.

Nim grew up alongside her best friend Teldryn (don't believe his tales about his past, there's a reason why he wears a helmet in his hometown). For years the kids dreamt of leaving Raven Rock behind and making it big in the big city. And idea which really annoyed Nim's ol' Nana, who believed that everything needed for a simple happy life was right here on Solstheim.

After one particularly nasty fight with Nana about the ordeal, Nim gathered a bag of things and slipped out in the dead of night to catch an early morning ship with Teldryn.

They stuck together for a while then went on their separate merry ways. He - to Blacklight, she - to Leyawiin. Once in the wild, Nim had to quickly figure out her place in the pecking order. The romantic life of crime seemed to be the most attractive for her, but getting on top could never be easy. Especially for a young, inexperienced, and naive girlie. So she ended up running with the wrong kind of crew. Ended up in some truly dark places. Barely got out alive. Learned from her mistakes. Wore the scars of abuse like armor and made sure that since that day no one in this world or any other would play her for a fool, use her or put a finger on her without her permission.

By the time she turned fifty, Nim was well known amongst certain circles as the kind of scoundrel, thief, bard, and wench one should not trifle with. But her luck had to eventually run out, and so it did on the night of the fabled Umbacano Mansion heist, which failed so badly Nim had to either leave Cyrodiil or end up in a Thalmor owned torture chamber.

Skyrim seemed like a perfect place. After all, in a kingdom torn apart by the civil war, no one would even notice yet another greyskin refugee, right? Well, the Thalmor did. And so she ended up on a cart bound for Helgen to have a date with an executioner. But then Alduin showed up to crash the party before he himself got rudely interrupted by another dragon, who swooped in to save the Last Dragonborn.

After the narrow escape, Nim concluded her duty to warn Balgruuf of the dragon threat and went on to start a new career as a merc with the Companions. She and Aela became fast friends and when the prospect of joining the Circle came up she gladly accepted a sip of her new sister's blood. To never again be helpless and weak? To rip apart any fool who'd take her for just another elf wench who can't put up a fight? Well of course it was worth giving up the ability to sleep and having to get used to all smells suddenly becoming ten times worse!

After that Mirmulnir showed up and ended up as another ornament above the throne in the Dragonsreach. And Nim got stuck with a title which she would wear with great discontent for years to come.

Eventually, she ceased trying to run away and hide from her destiny, accepted her role as the Last Dragonborn, and begrudgingly began her quest to save the world. On her journey, she met and became tight friends with Yollokmir and Alasil who taught her how to speak, fight and fly like a dragon. With their help she inherited Konahrik's legacy: his mask embued with his soul, his citadel far up in the mountains - the NebenLok Zeikangaar - and the right to revive and lead the order of dragon riders sworn to defeat Alduin - DovahDein.

As she gained power and the word of her great many deeds spread across Skyrim, she managed to get quite the following of fellow men, mer, and Dov, willing to follow her into Sovngarde and beat the hell out of Alduin. Alas, she failed. Twice.

At that point, Alasil informed her of a special someone who might be of help in their quest against Alduin and who might prove difficult to convince to join her cause. That was the first time in fifty years that Nim got to visit her home. Unfortunately, Solstheim had changed. And upon arrival, she learned that her Pa passed onto the realm of Azura soon after her departure, and her Nana... well, she wasn't young anymore and suffered greatly due to all the ash ruining her lungs... and when the islanders got called to the All-Maker stones night after night by a mysterious spell, she just worked herself to death. That was the only thing Nim wouldn't forgive Miraak for, not until he swallowed his pride and sincerely apologized for being responsible for his potential mother-in-law's death.

And with Miraak's help, they finally sent Alduin back to his Maker, enjoyed a few peaceful years until High King Ulfric became a bit drunk on his power and needed a good ass whooping as well. Then Miraak suddenly found himself as the new king and Nim... she just did her own thing. As always. The end?

Oh and all the while running about, gathering forces, growing her Dragonborn powers, hunting Dragon Priests and Alduin's henchmen, she also meddled with the Thieves Guild, put Karliah in charge and became her right hand, managed to become an advisor on all things dragon at the Mage's College, ended up teaching lute and songwriting at the Bard's College (she's taking a break since Viarmo can't seem to handle her teaching tactics), earned the title of Thane in every hold and became a good friend to the Dawnguard fellas (Isran is more than happy to teach her kids the ropes of monster hunting) after kicking Harkon's ass into Oblivion. In what little free time she has Nim also manages the Lakeview Manor and leases the ash yam farm back in Raven Rock for some extra cash. All in all, a busy woman!

and some tidbits about the dovahmom:

Although Nim is perfectly aware of her real name, she chooses to use the one given to her by Nana. Both as a sign of respect and because, frankly, she dislikes both the Sarynes and the Lachances, who are, in her humble opinion, just a bunch of pricks. Somehow, the ghost of her murdered grandad finds this opinion of hers kinda funny.

Her friends sometimes describe her as "cyrodiilic brandy in a cup of tea": she's this small elf girl with pretty blue eyes and a smile on her face and you think that she'll be very pleasant and cute and shy and then... then you realize she drinks like a sailor, swears like one too, can beat anyone into the dirt (thanks, Hircine) and doesn't take shit from nobody. She openly speaks her mind and doesn't give a shit about what someone might think of her. She does what she considers the right thing to do, never plays nice with those she dislikes, never pretends to be someone she isn't. She's feisty, sassy, brassy, and, quite honestly, just doesn't give a fuck.

Nim is in almost complete control over her inner beast, partly thanks to her draconic blood, partly - to the ring she got when she and Sinding had that little party on a moonlit night in that grotto. She only loses control over herself when both moons are full and thusly will travel deep into the wilds a few days before the magical night. This way the only people that might get hurt are bandits, necromancers, hags, and the like. She and Aela also managed to get a small werewolf pack going, named the Whitemane Pack after the old man himself and dedicated to those who wish to take control over their inner beast, hunt with honor, and cause the Silver Hand as much grief as possible.

Nim is raising Blaise and Sofie as her own since they both were just wee lil' war orphans (the babes are in their teens now). She never quite really knew why... Nim was never a wifey nor a baby momma kind of woman. In fact, she can't even have children in the first place and, honestly, always thought of this as a blessing - never having to worry about contraception like all those other girls and just having fun without a care in the world! Her friends sometimes joke around, saying that she might've finally "ripened" for the motherhood, but she doesn't care. She loves Blaise, Sofie, and Sissel (thanks, Miraak, you're so good at kidnapping children!) and is content with being their famous Dragonborn mom. Post-Alduin Miraak, however, is secretly annoyed for not being able to get her pregnant. Oh well, the man can dream...

Oh yeah! Nim plays the lute and sings too! It's a skill she picked up across taverns all over the continent when she realized that bards get free drinks and a bed, as well as ample opportunity to sniff out and seduce prey. And even though her days of hunting for good-looking rich fools are long behind her, she still performs in inns and taverns across Skyrim. Firstly, it brings in a fair amount of money, and secondly, it's good for her Voice! And also just plain and simple fun.

Also, people get terribly surprised when she, a Dunmer, doesn't act like one at all! Nim might've grown up in Raven Rock, a Dunmer settlement, but she spent the rest of her life traveling the continent and then living in Skyrim. She's more Nord-ish than some Nords! And the Nords actually really love it! It's so so easy to just get plastered with the homegirl, punch some faces and pass out on a heap of hay behind the inn, just happy to be alive on this fine snowy day. The only truly Dunmer thing about her is the occasional "n'wah!" which escapes her potty mouth. I mean, she doesn't even like sujamma all that much and would rather have a pint of mead! Whatever Ancestors she has must be spinning in their graves fast enough to generate electricity.

uuuhhh I think that's all the important stuff? i might've forgotten, in which case, I'll add it later... meanwhile, have some more Nim content:

^^^ the fanfic is slow, but it's moving... at a snail's pace. my advice: don't expect updates, so that when they do come, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

[malucy31]

Time in On Our Side

Here's chapter 2 a day earlier 😊

cw: nothing too heavy, but this version of Magnus isn't the happiest version of Magnus...

Chapter 2/3 - Times of joy, times of sadness

Read on ao3: chapter 1 - chapter 2

They talk and the weight of the centuries separating them evaporates.

Magnus tells Alec stories he has already heard, minus some details that make him wonder if his warlock husband didn’t invent them. He hopes he will remember everything so he can tease him a little when he gets home.

A twinge of sadness takes hold of Alec whenever he realizes that Magnus isn’t trying to find out more about him. His Magnus would. Danger be damned, he would try. He would have a lot of reasons to after all. Curiosity, suspicion, or simple intuition. Magnus’s magic never lies, and Alec knows he felt something. It must be gnawing at him.

But this Magnus doesn’t even bring up the subject. It would be fine if Alec couldn’t detect resignation underneath it. Now that he feels awake and perfectly healed, he can see it as brightly as the Sun on a clear blue sky. This Magnus is sad. The spark of joy and life that Alec is so used to seeing in him has been smothered. It sparkles every now and then, when he brings up the kinds of subjects and anecdotes he knows Magnus loves. But the moment the conversation dies down, a heaviness falls on the small kitchen like a lid. The only times his Magnus was like that are times Alec would rather not think about.

He takes a sip of wine, wincing at the sour taste a bit more than he normally would. It makes Magnus huff a laugh and the lid vanishes. Small victories and all…

It’s when Magnus gets up to check on his sandalwood blend that Alec looks around and notices something that makes his stomach drop. There are no windows in the living room. In fact, now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t seen any window outside the small room adjacent to the apothecary and the kitchen.

This is very unlike Magnus. Magnus loves natural light. Their loft has floor to ceiling windows everywhere. On a whim, Magnus sometimes redecorates the whole place and replaces walls with windows just because the light is incredible. Alec has seen Magnus lie in the sun for hours when he is having a bad day, or when he has exhausted himself with a spell.

Having no windows makes no sense. Why would he want to avoid the Sun?

Magnus’s voice snaps Alec from his thoughts. “I’m still missing an ingredient.”

He watches him sit down across the table again, taking his napkin back on his lap and reaching for his glass of wine.

“I swear, I will find it.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Alec sends him back his smile, adding something about how much he loves the scent of sandalwood, but Magnus must feel that something has shifted in Alec’s stare because he sets down his glass with caution, scrutinizing Alec the way he must be doing too.

“What is it?” Magnus eventually asks.

Alec is about to say something about the windows when something else catches his attention. He would slap himself for not seeing it earlier, but he is so used to seeing his Magnus underneath any kind of armor the warlock owns that he doesn’t always pay attention to what lies on the surface. Even today, Alec still reads between the lines, still sees Magnus’s kindred soul and open heart, the tenderness in his gaze. He still sees the most generous and beautiful man he has ever met.

But how could he not notice the obvious thicker black eyeliner? The way it enhances the dark hazelnut brown of Magnus’s eyes a little more than usual? A little differently? There isn’t a single round edge about him. His hair is spiked and even his jewelry seems to be part of a shield. I dare you to come close and find any weakness, it says. Even if there is something a little different about it today, the basic lines remain. Show them what they expect. Don’t be too much.

Alec is suddenly overcome by the need to protect him, to be the shield between him and people who can’t fathom that there’s no such thing as too much when it comes to Magnus. He just is, plain and simple.

If they were home, Alec would run a hot bath for his tired husband and kiss words of reassurance and love on his skin, remove his makeup with careful gestures until it’s just them. No armor, no one else. Only them and the walls they built around their life.

But he isn’t home, and neither is Magnus.

Alec’s chest tightens when he puts two and two together. He doesn’t know everything about Magnus’s life, but he knows enough to understand what is happening. Magnus needs protection for the same reason he has no windows outside from the rooms where he spends his time, his safe haven.

He is entering a battle that will last a few centuries, and he probably already knows it.

This battle has a name that, to this very day, makes Alec’s muscles stiffen, calls out his soldier reflexes.

Camille.

Alec doesn’t ask about the windows. He doesn’t need to.

Magnus will never open up to a stranger about this anyway, no matter how easy the conversation is. Even if he did, Alec will be gone in a few days and what good will it have done? The thought sends him into a downward spiral. He knows what is ahead of Magnus. Centuries of abuse, of loneliness, self-hatred, and despair.

This Magnus doesn’t need to be forced to open up by someone who will disappear from his life. He needs something strong enough that he can hold on to. He needs hope.

And Alec has an idea.

“I was thinking of a way to repay you for healing me and welcoming me into your home, but I don’t have any money… So, what about a small clue about who I am? Something harmless.”

“Please, do tell!”

Magnus’s eyes sparkle, and Alec is almost certain he can see his golden irises flickering for a second. There, trapped in the brown glamor that is supposed to make him presentable, a hint of gold. A hint of his aching soul searching for an escape, looking to this stranger for an answer to a question Magnus has been asking for centuries.

A pang in Alec’s stomach echoes that ache, the want and need to give Magnus everything he has ever wished. In times of joy as well as sadness, said their wedding vows. No matter the version of them, Alec will always give Magnus all his love.

“What you felt in me, what made my body accept your magic and kept you out at the same time. It’s magic.” Alec pauses for a second, considering exactly how much he can say without raising any suspicion in Magnus’s mind. His idea sounds too bold now. He could lie, invent something about being some kind of warlock, but he can’t. Not when Magnus’s eyes are begging for something, anything, as long as it’s different. The words are out before his brain has time to process them.

“It’s my husband’s magic.”

Magnus’s eyes widen and Alec is glad he didn’t backpaddle.

“Your… Your husband?” He pronounces the word with such delicacy that Alec’s heart breaks.

“Yeah, my husband.”

“H… How?” His voice is almost a whisper, his smile full of centuries-old, dried tears and smothered dreams.

Alec fights hard against the reflex to sit closer to him, take him in his arms, never let go.

“Where are you from?” Magnus asks.

“Far away.”

“You don’t say… You seem…suspended in time, like you… I couldn’t even find the words.” Magnus lowers his gaze, shaking his head and quickly trying to erase all trace of emotion on his face. But it doesn’t fool Alec. Longing is already coloring his tone. “I won’t know more, will I?”

Alec is about to apologize again when Magnus raises a hand between them. “You know what? It’s okay. Like I said, there is clearly something unique about you, and I wouldn’t want to put you or your husband in danger by knowing too much. But thank you for trusting me with this.”

Alec doesn’t know how to respond to that. There are too many things he could say and none of them would make sense to Magnus, so he nods, smiling.

“There’s one more thing I would like to know about you, though.”

“What is it?”

“Your name. You haven’t told me.”

“Oh, Gideon. I’m Gideon.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Gideon. I’m Magnus.”

Alec can feel giddiness forming on his lips. How many people get to relive a first introduction?

When the conversation resumes, Alec can’t help noticing a difference in the way Magnus holds himself and speaks. Less guarded, more himself. It sparks something in Alec’s stomach, a need to be home already, an urge stronger than he has felt in the past month and a half. He can’t wait to be home, can’t wait to hold his husband in his arms and have living proof that Magnus did overcome everything, that Camille is a long-forgotten nightmare.

Neither of them realizes how late it is until Magnus has to conjure up some light in the form of tiny bulbs floating above them. The light they cast reminds Alec of home again, of improvised date nights in the middle of nowhere, of late dinners when they refuse to go to bed before the other one has returned. It makes it even harder to pronounce his next words.

“It’s late, I should… I should get back,” Alec says, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Where are you staying? Let me walk you back. The streets aren’t safe at night.”

Alec is about to decline when he realizes that he has no idea how to go back, no cell phone to help, and that Magnus hasn’t invented portals yet.

“If that’s not too much trouble, I’d like that.”

“No trouble at all, but before you go, let me give you something in return of this lovely night.”

“Magnus, you don’t—”

He snaps his fingers, and a small pouch appears in his hand, the scent already tickling the corners of Alec’s mouth. Sandalwood. “Since you liked the scent… It’s not exactly what I want it to be yet, but maybe you and your husband will find the missing ingredient. You’ll have to let me know if you do.”

Magnus adds a wink as he hands the pouch to Alec in a way that reminds him of his own Magnus. It feels so good that Alec lets his grin grow wider than he has in a month and a half.

“Thank you. I’ll… I’ll let you know if we find something, but I’m sure you have the solution around here.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, but he can’t help it. He knows what ingredient is missing, it’s actually right there on the table, and he doesn’t always get the chance to tease Magnus.

For the first time since Alec woke up, he recognizes Magnus’s smile. It’s a smile that ends in a very soft laugh, the one that modifies his voice a little and makes him sound like a young man with no burden on his shoulders, no heaviness on his heart. It’s beautiful. He is beautiful.

Alec misses him so much.

*

He knows he can’t bring Magnus to the Shadowhunters’ lair, so when he recognizes the streets, he comes to a halt and stops in front of an inn.

“This is it… Thank you for everything. I… I really wish I could give you more to thank you.”

The moonlight accentuates Magnus’s soft features, but it also accentuates the ache in his eyes. Alec didn’t know he could want to take him in his arms even more than he has for the last month.

“You already did, Gideon.” He smiles, but sadness lingers at the edges of his lips. “Hope is a rare and valuable thing. It’s usually fleeting, but yours… There’s something about you, you radiate joy, hope and freedom. You let me have a glimpse and dare I say, a taste of it. It was an honor to meet you. I wish I could meet your husband too. Maybe someday?”

“Maybe, yeah…”

“In the meantime, tell him Magnus Bane sends him his best regards, will you?”

“I will.” Alec knows he has been reduced to monosyllabic words, but he can’t do more in this instant. His voice is choking with emotions.

“Thank you. I needed this, I needed to meet you, more than you know… Good-bye, Gideon. Travel safely, and I hope we’ll meet again sometime.”

There’s a lot Alec would like to reply, but no words could ever convey the depth and extent of all his feelings, not in this time or place. There is no space here for their love. There can’t be. Magnus doesn’t give him the time to say anything. He is already walking backwards, and that’s probably for the best.

“I hope so too. Good-bye…” Magnus stays trapped in his throat as he watches him walk away. He can’t shake the feeling that he didn’t give him enough. He shouldn’t have let him go before there was only joy on his face, in his eyes… Alec almost calls him back, but he can’t. Not for another two or three centuries at least. This had to be enough.

[yelena-bellova]

Don’t Be Afraid: Poe Dameron x Solo!Reader - Chapter One

*gif is not mine*

Chapter One: War Waits For No One

Series Masterlist

Plot: Reader is part of the Solo family and is a Commander in the Resistance. The war weighs heavy on her, but not as heavily as the war within her. Torn between who she wishes to be and who, deep down, she knows she is, she fights to protect her family, her galaxy and the man she might just love.

Warning: None

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: OKAY. So I just kind of dreamed this up one day while I was feeling creative and I figured I’d try it. I’ve been a Star Wars fan all my life but have never really tried writing for it. I’ve got a lot of plans for this series if it works out so I hope you guys like it! Poe’s not in this chapter, this sets up a bit of the Reader’s story, but you’ll get a healthy dose of him in the next chapter. If you’d like to be tagged, let me know. Forgive any typos or mistakes, my hands still aren’t functioning at 100%, and may the 4th be with you 💫

It happened again.

The dream.

I awoke gasping for air and throwing my arms out to their sides to remind myself I was in reality. I felt the scratchy blanket that laid across me, rubbing the material between my fingers to draw myself further out of my head. Pulling it off, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands. My heartbeat wasn’t slowing down and my breathing was still ragged, it was like I hadn’t woken up at all.

The dream had been occurring since I was a child, but it had begun increasing in intensity over the past few months. The number of bodies that lay at my feet increased, the screams grew louder and the two figures in the distance came closer. After all these years, I still couldn’t make out their faces through the smoke in the air. All I could see with certainty was one was clothed in black and one was clothed in brown.

“Don’t be afraid...” one of the voices called out.

I rubbed my eyes as if I thought I could wash what I’d seen from them. It felt like my subconscious was trying to warn me about something. Like something was coming and I needed to prepare myself. The dream had began feeling significantly more real. I could tell this was going to be an “off” day, I’d be analyzing this till I fell into bed again and inevitably started the cycle again.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the hiss of the ship door opening and quickly closing. I ran a hand through my hair and left my spot in bed to start my morning. I could hear a familiar Wookie grumbling but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. 

“Well how was I supposed to know they were gonna be there? And shh, you’ll wake her up.”

Now that voice I could hear just fine.

“Too late, she’s already up.” I said as I walked out into the open area of the ship.

Han and Chewie turned to face me, guilt flooding their faces over thinking their squabble had woken me. They’d woken me up so many times before without knowing that I didn’t feel like correcting them this time.

“Sorry, kid,” Han said while coming to wrap an arm around my shoulders and shoving a white paper bag in my hands, “Does breakfast soften the blow at all?”

I opened it and stuck my nose inside, breathing in the spices of the pastries. “It does when they’re my favorite.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and made my way to the nearby table. The ship we were currently residing in was far from the Millennium Falcon, but it did it’s job just fine. That didn’t stop me though from missing the former though...

Chewie followed close behind and sat opposite of me, ruffling my hair as he passed by. I smiled at him as I handed him a pastry before sinking my teeth into one of the two remaining. 

“What trouble did you run into this time?” I shouted out to Han, he was already in the cockpit checking on something. 

”It was nothing!”

I looked up to Chewie with a raised eyebrow, as quietly as he could (which wasn’t very quiet at all) he explained what had happened while they were buying breakfast. 

My eyes widened, “You ran into another bounty hunter?!”

“We took care of it and walked away alive, it was nothing.” Han explained as he exited the cockpit and strolled over to the table casually.

“Meaning you shot him, caused a scene and ran.” I stated, no doubt that I was right.

He stumbled over his words as I smirked at him, “Cockiness is not a good look on you,” he said with a finger pointed my direction.

“Only look I’ve got,” I scooted further into the bench and Han took a seat next to me. The both of us went silent, not wanting to bring up the subject we were happily dancing around. Each visit I made inevitably had to come to an end. And while Han wasn’t big on showing emotions, I knew saying goodbye was just as hard on him as it was me.

Instead of beginning the conversation, I awkwardly slid the bag containing the last pastry in it towards him. Han shook his head slightly, “Nah, take it. For the trip back.”

I looked over to him and gave a sad smile, one that he mimicked. Chewbacca let out a small whine, he didn’t like seeing me leave any more than Han did. I reached across the table and held the Wookie’s paw, trying not to laugh at the amount of crumbs that surrounded his mouth. There weren’t many warm and fuzzy moments when travelling with Han Solo, but this was one of them.

But it had to end at some point.

“I got a look at the transport schedules, there’s one headed to D’Qar in about an hour and a half. Otherwise you’d have to wait till tonight.” Han stated, breaking both the silence and a little bit of my heart.

I nodded solemnly and looked down at the table, “I really should get back sooner than later. I packed last night, I can go change and we can be on our way.

“Ok,” Han mumbled, rising from the bench so I could get out. I hesitantly moved out, allowing him to retake his seat. Before I could take a step out of the room, Chewie let out a roar that called me back. I turned and smiled as I prepared to listen to his request. Instead he simply flipped a switch and the table came to life. It was the same game him and I used to play in the Falcon.

“Well, I don’t know why I’d subject myself to losing to you again...” I lamented, “But since I’m leaving...” I sat next to Han again, who had a close lipped grin on his face. He looked like he was savoring the moment.

As always, I lost the game. But I won a few extra minutes with two of the most important souls in my life.

—————-

Sooner than desired, I was standing near the doors of the transport ship with my bag at my feet. I’d draped a black scarf around my head and was finishing tying it. Not that I was as well known as someone like Han Solo, but it didn’t hurt to take precautions. The rest of my ensemble contained my favorite dark green jacket, a plain black shirt, tan military issued pants and black combat boots. Nothing that would raise any eyebrows or suspicion that I was anything but a wanderer just passing through. A life where I didn’t need to pray nobody recognized me seemed out of reach, but I could dream...I shook myself from my thoughts as Han and Chewie approached.

”You better stay in lest you start another shootout,” I retorted, eliciting a laugh from Chewie. Han shot him a look that could kill before turning to me. HIs expression softened immediately, taking my hands into his and sorting through his head for the right thing to say.

“You know I’d stay longer if I could but-“ I began,

”War waits for no one.” Han interrupted, a small smirk lifting one corner of his mouth.

I nodded and tried to keep my tears from spilling out. As if it was a reflex, Han pulled me into his arms. I buried my face in his shoulder and let my tears fall silently, him pressing one of his hands to my hair as if to keep me there longer. And if I wasn’t needed elsewhere, I would have stayed. The time I got with him was precious and hard to come by but most importantly, it was easy. It was easy to forget about the war, the First Order...The further along the war progresed, the harder it became to leave him.

I squeezed him one last time and ordered myself to pull away. Han kissed the side of my head and patted my shoulder, “I’ll miss ya, kid.”

“I’ll miss you too, old man,” I smirked, before turning to a very depressed Chewbacca. I smiled and hugged him tightly, but definitely not as tight as he was squeezing me. Even though I could barely breathe, I didn’t care at all. After a moment, I pulled back and ran a hand over his arm. “Give him hell for me, will ya?”

Chewie happily nodded and let out a small roar, causing Han to roll his eyes. I turned away from my friend and squeezed Han’s hand one last time. With his free hand he pressed the button that opened the door to the ship, I couldn’t stall any longer. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed down the ramp, but not before stopping at the bottom and turning around.

“Y’know, she misses you. She’d never admit it, but it’s clear as day.”

Thirty something years of mixed memories washed over Han’s face, but the most visible one was love. Unconditional love. Cruel circumstances had torn both of them apart, but that didn’t stop me from trying my hardest to reunite them any chance I got.

He chuckled, “And she never will admit it. Nice to know she hasn’t changed.”

I smiled, others might have thought he meant his last sentence sarcastically but I knew it was the opposite. Han took joy in knowing that his wife was still as stubborn as the day he met her. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

I waved to him and Chewie and stepped off the ramp into the Rattatak shipyard. I knew Han would watch me until I was completely out of his sight. Even though I was more than capable of handling myself, it made me feel safer knowing someone was looking out for me. Locating the nearby ticket station, I walked up to the machine and placed my credits inside it. Selecting D’Qar as the destination, the machine spit out a ticket with the planet’s name spelled in a bold font.

A loud announcement played saying it was the last call for my flight and I hurried over to the docking bay. It wasn’t a paticularly packed flight, there were only maybe five other passengers. I was the last one to board and I settled into the very back of the ship. No sooner than when I hit the seat did the ship lurch out of the bay and into the sky. I pulled out the communicator I’d hidden in my pocket on and typed out a quick message,

On my way. Be home soon.

After shoving the device back in my pocket, I opened up my backpack to grab the remaining pastry from breakfast. My eyes fell on another object barely visible, but definitely there. The silver hilt, the scratch marks from being dropped a lot in the early days of learning, the trigger to ignite the weapon..

Don’t be afraid...

Don’t be afraid...

I quickly latched the pack back up, I didn’t have the energy or desire to think about that subject right now...

I just wanted to eat my food and get back to base.