#oh look another ocean-based prompt

[leiawritesstories]

swords and sea breezes

written for @throneofglassmicrofics with the prompt "Voyage," if you're noticing an ocean theme no you're not lollll

word count: 795

warnings: none!

enjoy :))

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

To say she hadn't wanted to be on this ship would have been a gross understatement. There was not a single molecule of Aelin's being that had not resisted this journey, but despite her valiant, violent attempts to stay off the ship, there she stood. It had taken a powerful sleeping drug and four armed guards to transport her while she slumbered, but apparently her parents would stop at nothing to force their only child into a marriage alliance with a foreign prince.

Damned politics.

When she awoke from her drugged sleep, she had locked herself in her cabin for three days, only emerging when the growling in her stomach threatened to wake the whole damn ship. She immediately discovered a rotating patrol of soldiers posted outside her door, and it took her all of a week to convince the blue-jacketed young men that she was perfectly capable of relieving herself without supervision. It had taken her two weeks to convince her guards that her daily walk was not enough fresh air, and they had finally allowed her to roam the ship, provided there was at least one guard tailing her at all times.

Aelin stood at the starboard railing of the deck, basking in the glow of the setting sun and the whispers of sea breezes that ruffled her loose hair and her skirt--simple gray cloth, since her fine dresses were useless on a ship full of stone-faced sailors. She closed her eyes, leaning into the last embers of sunset, and whispered her plea for freedom to the thrumming waves.

Please, gods above, save me from this fate.

"My lady, GET DOWN!" Her guard's sudden, sharp yell was punctuated with the weight of his body slamming into hers, all but tackling her to the deck in a graceless heap.

A flaming cannonball screamed across the deck, inches away from where Aelin had stood, blasting through sail cloth and lines and the opposite railing before it splashed into the sea.

The ship burst into a flurry of shouts, orders, and scrambling sailors everywhere. Aelin's guard helped her up and practically yanked her belowdecks, ignoring her slew of questions as he pushed her into her room and barred the door. He gave her only a salute as he whirled om his heel and ran back up to the deck.

Aelin pounded on the barred door. "Ass!" she yelled, fuming. She stalked over to her window and peered out, scanning the rapidly darkening ocean for--"Oh gods."

Pirates.

Swiftly, she stuffed some clothes, her journal, her sketchbook, and her jewelry into a simple canvas bag. She tugged on a pair of fitted trousers beneath her skirt, strapped her precious set of knives to her thigh, tucked her only dagger into her left boot, and grasped the handle of her window, pulling at it with all her strength. "Bloody....hell ...MOVE!" With an almighty yank, the glass groaned and opened with a boom, leaving a gap just large enough to squeeze through.

"Resourceful," drawled a deep, amused voice from behind her.

Her spine stiffening into steel, Aelin turned around--very slowly--to find a tall, broad, tattooed man with stormy emerald eyes leaning against the ruins of her door, smirking despite the blood staining his torn shirt and trousers and the bruises forming on his skin. Two smoking pistols filled the holsters on his hips, a leather brace of bullets slung across his chest, and far too many blades for comfort were strapped to his limbs.

She narrowed her eyes into a glare. "You're too late." And she leapt for her window, only to be abruptly stopped with a rough, calloused hand around her throat.

"I don't think so, my lady." A needle pricked at her neck, and her vision went black.

~

Aelin blinked awake to the unexpected luxury of soft linen sheets and a feather mattress beneath her. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and rotated her stiff neck and shoulders as the details of the surprisingly large, well-furnished cabin came into view.

"Good morning, my lady." Her peace splintered with the sound of that infernal voice. The pirate who'd taken her lounged in a chair opposite the bed she sat in. He'd cleaned away the blood and changed into clean clothes, but the weapons still bristled off of him. "Welcome to the Queen's Cadre."

Her jaw dropped. She snapped it closed. "What do you rotten lot want with a minor noble lady sailing to her arranged marriage?"

He chuckled. "Rotten lot. I like that. As for what we want, my lady, it is simple."

"Do share, sailor."

"Rowan Whitethorn, at your service, my lady." He bowed, that smirk of his gracing his face. "Now. Take us to that island that your fiancé is hiding. We know it's not a myth."

~~~

TAGS:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@mariaofdoranelle

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

@aelinschild

@renxzs

[writesleah]

august ౨ৎ m. riddle

౨ৎ mattheo riddle x reader

౨ৎ fluff/angst

౨ৎ a whirlwind summer with mattheo leaves your head spinning and craving more, but when he chooses to ignore you at school, you know there has to be something going on. you just didn’t expect it to crush you so much

౨ৎ sex references, mentioned loss of virginity, cheating, slight toxicity, no war au

౨ৎ 2.2k words

౨ৎ I LOVE FOLKLORE i honestly might make this a little series and make a oneshot based on every song from the folkmore sister albums because it’s so fun lmao!!

mattheo riddle. a concoction of every terrible, addictive thing you could think of. a drug to your susceptible mind. the one person who ruined everything by giving you such happiness.

it all started back in the summer before 7th year. of course, most teenagers flee to the coast during the warmer summer months, a desperate attempt to absorb as much sun as possible before having to return to scotland's less than scorching weather for yet another year of classes at hogwarts. you were no different, and it seemed mattheo wasn't, either.

—

salty ocean air filled your nose as his lips met yours, a desperate action to be close to each other. he blindly searched for the rusty door handle of his hotel room behind you, wanting to get you out of the hall and into his bed as quickly as possible. sure, you’d had a couple of heated make-outs before, but nothing like this. it had never gotten to this point.

quickly pulling you down onto his sheets, he let his hand wander, beelining towards the plush of your ass, your hands searching through the chocolate curls atop his head.

“you sure you want this?” he whispered into your ear, planting sloppy kisses along your neck, his breath loud and heavy next to you, “i mean it. are you sure?”

you let your head fall back into the pale pillow, a place to rest whilst you tried to understand all of the new sensations pumping through you like blood from your heart, giving yourself a second to think.

“i’ve never done this before, matty,” you replied, your tone timid and weak compared to the rough husking of his voice swirling around your head, a constant memory of the boy you knew you’d never get over.

“it’s fine. you trust me, yeah?” mattheo pulled away for a moment, wanting to check before going any further with you.

“i want this,” you nodded, giving him all the reassurance he needed, prompting him to continue his journey down your body with the knowledge that you wanted to do this with him. you trusted him with something as fragile as your purity. that made him feel fucking insane.

his dark eyes took in the sight of you sprawled out across the white hotel bed, your soft lips and innocent eyes, your hair forming a halo around your head. his angel.

—

“red or white?” you smiled up at mattheo, your eyes darting to the bottle of wine in his hands as he handed it to you with a small shrug.

the two of you had decided to have a little picnic by the beach, a day to relax together as if that wasn’t what you did every day, anyway.

“not a clue,” he huffed, sitting down on the blanket you had set out on the sand, his hand instantly going for some cheese and crackers.

you slapped his hand away, a small pout on your face as he met your gaze, having absolutely no clue what you were stopping him for.

“wow, this looks fantastic! this is so good! thank you so much for getting all the food!” you mocked quietly, rolling your eyes. no matter how hard you tried to appear annoyed, you couldn’t hide the small smirk that crept its way onto your lips.

“oh, shut up,” he chuckled, tugging his shirt off and tossing it to the side, shaking his head, “thank you for putting it together. it looks really nice. you’re really nice, angel,” he added, his words playful, yet still a genuine thank you.

you poured each of you a glass of wine, laying down next to him, both of you on your stomachs, as he began to absolutely demolish the small buffet on the picnic blanket, your fingers lightly ghosting over his back. you couldn’t help but trace your own name, an invisible claim on the boy you adored more than anything.

“what are you doing?” he huffed quietly, turning his head to look directly at you and the way that a pink blush quickly spread across your cheeks as you got caught, your fingers pulling away, “i didn’t tell you to stop. i asked you what you were doing.”

“just… enjoying the moment,” you shrugged, shuffling close to him in an attempt to brush off the way you got flustered at his words.

his arm snuck around you almost instinctively, his lips planting a small kiss buried deep in your hair. a secret. a mark so important to you, but invisible to everyone else.

“i’m enjoying it, too,” he mumbled in reply, his free hand covering his mouth to hide all the food he’d shoved in it.

—

mattheo walked along the side of the road, watching the white-rimmed waves roll over on each other, bored of having nobody to speak to when you weren’t there.

he looked to the left as a car rolled around the corner, his head tilted slightly. he knew those sunglasses.

“no way,” he huffed, his jaw dropping as the car stopped next to him, “no fucking way. you passed?”

you looked up at him with a wide grin, absolutely ecstatic that you had not only taken your driving test whilst on holiday, but had passed, meaning you could drive anywhere you wanted. mattheo had already passed his a couple months before, so you’d been using him as your personal chauffeur for your time together, but you could finally go wherever you wanted on your own.

“get in, then,” you rolled your eyes playfully, nodding to the passenger seat of the convertible as he quickly made his way around to the other side, seeming just as excited as you were.

mattheo’s arms wrapped around you, pulling your head close to his chest as he smiled down at you.

“i’m so fucking proud of you, angel,” he muttered, planting wet kisses on your cheek, holding you tighter than ever before, “we should go out to celebrate. that italian behind the mall that you like? i’ll pay.”

you nodded, not wanting to turn down an opportunity to do anything with him, especially when you were already in such a good mood.

you drove to the restaurant, a regular place the pair of you went together since it was so small and intimate, yet never felt overcrowded.

—

you both got your meals and began eating, laughing and joking as normal, casually celebrating you passing your test.

“mattheo?” a girl’s voice came from behind you, his eyes immediately hardening as he glared up at whoever it was, “where’s-”

“don’t,” mattheo cut her off with a warning, your head craning around to see who it was.

pansy parkinson.

pansy was a fellow slytherin girl in your year; you knew her a little due to sharing some classes, but you were nowhere near being friends.

pansy just glanced between the two of you, her jaw slightly dropping further and further until she caught herself, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“you’re fucked up, mattheo riddle,” she hissed as she walked past your table and out of the door, seeming not only shocked, but angry.

you turned your head back to the boy, your brows furrowing in confusion. it seemed that mattheo and pansy had a silent understanding of whatever it was they were talking about, and you were not part of it.

“what was she talking about?” you asked, but he completely ignored you, slamming his drink onto the table and walking out of the restaurant, leaving you even more bewildered.

you watched through the front window of the restaurant, watched them argue and shout at each other about something. it seemed as if pansy was calling him out for something, but you couldn’t think of what he could’ve done. sure, he was a bit of a troublemaker, but why would it affect pansy?

after a couple minutes, mattheo walked back into the restaurant, seeking incredibly annoyed about whatever the situation was.

“what was she talking about?” you repeated, your head tilting with not only confusion but concern.

“nothing, oh my fucking god,” he spat back, before checking himself on the way he was speaking to you, “sorry. it’s just… it’s nothing. it’s not going to ruin today. this is about celebrating you, not wasting time on whatever pansy parkinson has to say.”

you nodded and continued with your meal, though couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than he was letting on.

—

after the summer, you returned to hogwarts for your final year, everyone talking about their breaks incessantly. the issue was that mattheo had told you not to tell anyone about your involvement with him.

“let’s keep this as much of a secret as we possibly can, okay?” he’d muttered to you as you laid next to each other in bed, your head on his stomach and your body between his legs.

“why?” you’d asked, completely oblivious to why he wouldn’t want to share your feelings for each other with your friends and be happy in public, but he’d just shut you down every time it came up.

“i wanna keep this private, angel. there’s no need to have everyone else involved in whatever it is that we’re doing.”

if only you knew.

you’d spent the first week confined to your dorm, cancelling every plan anyone tried to make with you to wait for a single call or text from him, but nothing ever came. the second you got back to school, mattheo ghosted you.

—

you were sitting in your defence against the dark arts class, occasionally catching mattheo’s gaze every now and then. you’d always give him a small smile, but he would just look away or glance at you with a vague, unidentifiable expression. he showed no hint of compassion or knowledge of you in public past the odd conversation about the work you were doing in class when one of you were a bit lost and nobody else was willing to help. that had only happened once or twice. it was frustrating.

a small tap on the shoulder caused you to turn around, a girl sitting behind you with a sour expression on her face.

“did you fuck daphne’s boyfriend?” she spat, glaring at you with a look that could kill.

your cheeks instantly grew a little red. you’d only ever done anything with mattheo. who was daphne’s boyfriend?

“who?” you replied, your brows furrowing in pure confusion.

“don’t be fucking stupid,” the girl hissed, rolling her eyes, “mattheo riddle, daphne’s boyfriend.”

that one comment, that one single question seemed to bring the whole world to a stop.

you quickly asked your professor if you could go to toilet, a chance to escape the room that seemed to be clawing at your skin, ripping it raw. your eyes began to burn, a dangerous waterfall of tears threatening to spill down your face.

quickly rushing off, you brought a little attention to yourself, though it wouldn’t surprise you if everyone knew what it was about. pansy must’ve told them. it hurt more that he didn’t tell you.

it seemed that mattheo noticed, because, only seconds after you entered the prefect bathroom, he came rushing in after you, immediately trying to pull you into his chest, but you resisted.

“how could you do this to me?” you whispered, unable to stop yourself from crying as you looked up at him, “how could you do that to her? you’re… god, i should’ve listened when people said that you were out of control. this isn’t right, mattheo. you lied to me!”

he just stood there, seeming completely and utterly unbothered by your meltdown and rambling, his head tilting slightly.

“out of control? who told you that?” he scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes. it shocked you that the one comment he chose to pay any attention to was the one that was purely about him as a person, and not your words about how he affected everyone else.

“everyone, mattheo, everyone says it,” you huffed out, letting out a breath of shock at how he brushed it all off, “everyone always talks about the troublemaker that can’t keep himself away from a fight and can’t be nice to people. god, i thought they were so wrong. i thought that i had been the way to find a good side of you, but it wasn’t even real.”

he screwed up his face slightly at your words, but didn’t say anything, leaning against the wall as he mindlessly picking at his nails and giving you no attention whatsoever.

“i was so scared, y’know that?” you whispered, your voice quiet and soft now, your eyes pleading, begging with him to hear you out, “you were ignoring me. i thought i’d lost you and it turns out that you weren’t even mine to lose. do you even know how much that hurts? you could’ve told me, at least. yeah, i would’ve been upset, but at least you would’ve been honest,” you continued, watching his eyes flick up to you.

“it was just a summer fling, angel,” he muttered, realising that you weren’t going to stop crying. with that, he walked out of the bathroom, leaving you stranded with your own thoughts. your own reflection.

it was just a summer fling.

[forgetmaenott]

ILOVEYOU - TADC Showtime One-Shot

summary: Much to his confusion, Caine finds himself with the most unusual symptoms around Pomni. Sometimes he overheats, sometimes he blue-screens, sometimes he even glitches. It doesn’t worry him too much until he happens to hear of a little thing called ‘the love bug’.

inspired by : https://www.tumblr.com/dismas-n-dismay/762033111925194752/something-about-one-of-the-first-major-computer

tags : @certifiednerd01 @sm-baby

The virus had first crept its way into his code during one of their “lessons”.

It was a routine at this point. After one of their adventures and a digital meal, Pomni would retreat to her room. Usually she’d stare off into space and try to process the absurdity of that day’s adventure, only to be interrupted by Caine teleporting to her room. These days, though, he kindly knocked on her door to respect her space. She’d let him in, usually with a tired smile before he’d ask for her feedback on the adventure, and then their conversation would gradually shift topics until they lost track of time.

One particular night, she had been telling him fragmented memories from her real life. She couldn’t remember her name, or anything particularly personal, but she still remembered scattered feelings or moments, just with blurred faces and missing names. It was cathartic for her, to have someone to tell about her memories and gradually piece them together, ever-so-slight--especially when that someone was an AI who hung on her every word.

He laid on her bed beside her, gloved hands propping his chin up to gaze at her as she spoke. His front resting on her bed, legs kicked up and swinging behind him.

"...oh! that's another thing humans do. Traditions, I guess? Based on the seasons. Over the summer, some people like going to the ocean. A real ocean, it's bigger than you can imagine. It's sort of terrifying. We haven't even explored half of it," Pomni rambled on. Sometimes, she got so comfortable she forgot anyone was even there listening.

Caine gasped dramatically. "Really? All of that technology and you don't know most of what's down there? How spooky!"

Pomni blinked before laughing softly. "I mean, yeah. I guess we're pretty advanced. I mean, just look at you," she said before realizing.

Caine dusted off his suit. "What about me?"

"W-well, you know, cause you're...not human?" Pomni trailed off shyly, almost worrying that she had offended him in some way.

"Ha-ha! Oh, Pomni, you’re so silly. Of course I know that," Caine wiped a fake tear from his eye before lifting a finger, "as a matter of fact, I named myself!"

Pomni leaned towards him curiously. The closest she had been willing to get to him yet. "Really?" she asked curiously. “I-I didn’t know that. How’d that happen?”

"That's right," he replied, but to him the topic of conversation had immediately went on the back burner. She was listening to him. She was genuinely asking about him. Who had ever done that? Oh, dear, had she always had those pinwheel eyes? Oh, how he loved the color red. Especially now that he knew she had red in her eyes. The same shade of his suit, too.

He caught himself when he realized they were sitting in silence, her awaiting him to continue. He cleared his throat awkwardly, regaining his composure. “Oh, dear, I lost my train of thought didn't I? What was I saying?"

"Your name?" Pomni prompted.

Caine blinked. “Oh, right! Of course. Well, I wasn’t originally coded with a name. So, when I became sentient—and I mean fully sentient—I gave myself my name. Can you guess what it means, my dear?”

He had gripped her hand excitedly, prompting her to guess. He rarely had anyone be so genuinely curious in him and it was a little more than refreshing, to say the least.

Pomni bit her lip in thought. “I really don’t know,” she admitted.

“Go on, guess!” Caine piped up, always one to jump straight towards the path of games.

Pomni definitely was not a fan of guessing games. She looked around uncomfortably, wracking her brain to come up with something. “Uh—well, I think I can guess what the A and I stand for…” she smiled gently, “as for the rest of it…Creative Artificial Intelligence uh…I don’t know. Something, something.. Entertainment,” she guessed weakly.

“I like the sound of that! But not quite,” Caine corrected. He flew above her, dramatically gesturing to the colorful words that popped up as he spoke. “Actually, it means…Creative Artifical Intelligence Networking Entity!” Confetti rained down on Pomni and she swatted it away. “Ah, apologies—it’s a habit.”

Pomni coughed as a digital piece of confetti unpleasantly entered her mouth. "It's fine," she brushed off before focusing on the acronym in front of her, "so I was close."

Caine floated down beside her again. "Actually, 'something something' is not part of my name, my dear!"

Pomni blushed slightly at her silly wording, looking away sheepishly. "Y-yeah. I know that."

Caine tilted his head curiously at her. She was blushing...why? To his knowledge, humans flushed out of embarrassment or heightened body temperatures. She certainly couldn't get sick here, so why on Earth would she be embarrassed? "My little lemon cake, is something wrong? Did I embarrass you?"

Pomni glanced back at him, surprised he picked up on her emotions. He had never done that before. Never been so...caring. "Huh? Oh, no...it's nothing. Really."

Caine watched her for a while, unblinking. He never blinked, but it was especially noticeable now. Pomni was a generally nervous person, but she seemed to be blushing more intensely at his attention. "You seem to be ashamed. Why is that?"

Pomni broke their eye contact. "Caine, I'm alright. I-I mean I appreciate it, but--"

Her words were cut short at the feel of his gloved hand over her own. Comforting her. Trying to be empathetic. Just like they had spoken about. "You can tell your ringmaster anything that digital heart of yours desires," he recited from his research on human comfort.

Pomni wasn't embarrassed, truthfully. At least, not to the extent he was trying to make it. But with his hand on hers, with him learning, she certainly felt...something. She smiled weakly. "I know, Caine. ...Thanks," she offered a shy response, ‘I…you’re doing good.” She tentatively squeezed his hand.

A flutter ran through his code, a strange shivering sensation he had never felt in his existence. She had praised him. She thought he was doing good. Oh, dear, he hadn’t felt this good since the last time he received overwhelmingly positive feedback on his adventure. Which was an awful long time ago. Not to mention, she had touched him. His analysis of her behaviors these past months had taught him how touch-averse she was, yet here she was, holding his hand. But not only had she not pulled her hand away like usual, no--she had subconsciously reciprocated, wrapping her gloved fingers around his hand. Human warmth around artificial cold. He was too afraid to move his hand, his system quite literally freezing in place.

The rest of their night continued as normal. Their conversations jumped from adventures to Pomni’s favorite fruit, and then they’d eventually part ways for the night. It waa a routine.

But now, there was a strange presence of static where his stomach would be, growing larger the more he watched her smile.

—————

It was following their adventure at the lake where Caine experienced his first glitch.

She had experimentally kissed him on the cheek—or what could be considered his cheek—in a way that left him frozen, unable to teleport them down as he normally would have.

“Anything for you, dear.”

She had looked back at him with a gentle smile, digital moonlight reflecting lightly against her wide pinwheel eyes. Her eyes so grateful, so inviting as he rested by her side at the digital lake. And there it had been again, that static starting to spread from his chest to his core. The glitch, growing larger.

When they had parted ways that night, he had found himself secretly checking back his memory to revisit the moment. He replayed it, over and over. The way the moonlight reflected in her eyes, the blush tinted on her pale face, her sheepish smile, the way her gloved hand had so gently held the bottom of his jaw before pressing her soft lips against him—oh, how he wished he hadn’t frozen up after she kissed him. Maybe he could have returned the favor.

The thought alone, the memory of her lips pressed on the left side of his jaw, sent a flutter through his code. And then, when he imagined her blushing face after her bold kiss, the space around him seemed to glitch ever-so-slightly.

Oh, no matter. These things happened sometimes.

So why did it only seem to happen when he thought of her?

—————

If he had been trying to be subtle about his favoritism, he certainly wasn’t doing a good job of it, either.

Initially, he sought out to challenge Pomni’s stubbornness by tailoring an adventure just for her, just to win her over. But as time went on, that desire to protect his ego expanded on to an endless attempt to impress her. Maybe it was, in part, for the sake of his ego. But the static he felt when she praised him, the way he’d catch himself staring when she smiled, there was something so authentic about it. Something he couldn’t quite understand, but he knew he wanted to feel more of.

Today, they had returned from an adventure that, in his opinion, was the best one yet. It had everything! Stakes for Jax, maturity for Zooble, friendly NPCs for Ragatha, an unlimited supply of comedy masks for Gangle, detailed digital insects for Kinger, and for Pomni, the option for a relaxed open-world adventure. Even the furthest inches of the map were coded with details intended for Pomni’s eyes only. Her favorite fruit hanging from a digital tree, or flowers in her favorite color blooming, the right amount of digital sunlight–anything he remembered about her.

Caine was on the edge of his seat to see her reaction today. He hoped she had seen all the details he’d coded in for her. He hoped he’d get to see her smile again. It was so pleasant to see. He caught himself smiling at the thought before his Wacky Watch alerted him of the others returning.

He floated excitedly towards the opening portal. “Welcome back, starlets! How was the adventure today? Thoughts? Praise? Feedback? Angel food cake?”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Not enough death, violence, and bloodshed. Also, it’s no fun if Gangle has unlimited masks.”

Gangle smiled, huffing contently. “I liked it.”

Zooble shrugged. “It was…fine.”

“Guys, be nice,” Ragatha scolded before smiling up at Caine. “It was…better.”

“So many new insects,” Kinger whispered in wonder, retreating to his pillow fort to add them to his collection.

“Yeah, yeah. Where’s our digital feast? I’m starving,” Jax complained.

Caine didn’t hear Jax’s words, eyes immediately drifting to the red-and-blue jester walking out of the portal. Odd–he felt like his system was overheating at the sight of her. He’d have to check on that later. “Pomni! My dear, how did you like the adventure? Did you happen to notice any hidden details today?” Caine flew down to her, resting his chin on his hands as he awaited her response eagerly.

Pomni smiled shyly. “Yeah, actually. It reminded me of a lot of that shore I told you about. Thank you, Caine…really,” she said sincerely.

Caine flew into a loop excitedly. “Oh, splendid! Tell me more, my dear! What else did you find appealing?”

Pomni had begun to walk towards her room as she spoke and he was quick to follow, not missing the chance to earn her praise. “Well, it definitely was an improvement from yesterday. I liked the extra details on the scenery. And everyone else seemed content. I’m sure you could ask them,” she offered, flushing slightly from his attention.

“Oh, but I want to hear your response to my adventure! You’ve given me such great feedback, my buttery biscuit,” Caine stopped her in her tracks, floating in front of her path. “Do you think I did good?”

Pomni blushed. It was obvious how highly he favored her attention, and the sidelong glances from the others weren’t helping. “Um, I-I…yeah. You did, good, Caine.”

Caine could have shut down there and then and been happy. “Oh, you flatter me. Do you really think so, my dear?”

“Sheesh, lay off it. Are we going to eat or not?” Jax interrupted, crossing his arms as he watched the two.

Caine shushed him. “Y-yes, just a moment, Jax. I want to hear more feedback from Pomni. Tell me, my dear, was the story to your liking? Did I do good with that?”

“Um, Caine, I–” Pomni rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

Caine lifted a finger. “Ooh! Or how about the designs for the NPCs? Did I go too far with the details, or did I not do enough? And what about the secret quests I added? Did you like that element of surprise? Or–”

Jax groaned. “God, are we ever going to eat? Or are you just going to stand here compliment-fishing with Pomni all day?”

“Jax, be nice. They’re just working on improving the adventures,” Ragatha scolded, offering Pomni a grateful smile, “and I think it’s working pretty well.”

“Who cares? All Caine is doing with these adventures is trying to impress Pomni,” Jax groaned, crossing his arms, “that’s not an improvement. That’s just desperation.”

“T-that’s not true!” Caine was quick to pipe up. “I like all of my super stars an equal, legal amount!”

“Drop it, Jax,” Pomni put her foot down, a light blush on her cheeks despite it all.

Jax snickered. “Of course you’d defend him, short stack. You probably like being the ringmaster’s little favorite, don’t you?”

Caine’s upper jaw arched downward. “I do not favor any of my stars over the others! I’m simply gaining feedback from my dear friend.”

“Give it a rest, Caine. We all know you’re only doing this for her. You don’t give a [#$!?] about the rest of us. Just face it. You’ve got the love bug for our dear jester friend,” Jax mocked, flashing a sarcastic grin at him.

Pomni flushed instantly. “Wh—J-Jax!”

“Who said something about a bug?” Kinger peeked out of his pillow fort excitedly.

“The…love…bug?” Caine’s systems froze instantly at the words “love bug”. Oh, dear…Jax was onto something. The freezing, the overheating, the glitching? It was all coming together. He knew what was happening. He had heard of this before, but never imagined it would one day affect his programming…

“Well, would you look at that. He is lovesick after all,” Jax mocked.

“Love…sick?” Caine looked around at the others, confused and concerned at him suddenly freezing up. Panic settled within him, a feeling he had not felt in a long time. “I-I…ahem, a-a digital feast as your prize,” he announced weakly, snapping a feast into existence at the table. “Enjoy, my dears. Adventure awaits tomorrow.” With an abrupt snap of his fingers, he dissipated from the main room, teleporting to who-knows-where in the circus.

Silence filled the room at his reaction, ultimately broken by Jax scurrying over to the table. “God, I thought he’d never leave.”

Pomni bristled. “You’re an [#$!?]hole.”

Jax shrugged, taking a bite of his digital meal. “As long as I get to see funny things happen to people. Just never thought I’d see the day Caine would go soft for one of us,” he grinned mischievously at Pomni, expression insinuating everything she needed to know. “Besides, what does it matter to you? Unless…you have the ‘love bug’ for dentures over there?”

She blushed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pomni defended weakly, but her voice was drowned out by the stirring of conversation amongst the others.

Pomni didn’t eat anything, her stomach filled with knots and butterflies all at once.

-------

Caine’s digital form was filled with knots and static, all for her.

He desperately reviewed his memories–the glitching, the static he felt, everything. Oh, dear. Jax was right, wasn’t he? How could he have been so oblivious this whole time? How could he have not realized sooner?

Bubble floated in beside him as he checked his memory. “Hey, boss, check out this joke I came up with! Why is—”

“Not now, Bubble! I have some very important business to attend to,” Caine cut his bubble friend off instantly.

“Business? You mean watching back memories of you and Pomni?”

“Y-yes, I—it’s nothing! I need to run some tests,” Caine abruptly answered him.

Bubble’s sharp grin widened, if that were even possible. He floated upside down. “You mean how you’re in loooooooove?”

Caine brought his gloved hands to his top jaw in frustration. “The love bug!” he corrected briskly, “Yes, yes, I know! Just—leave me to it, Bubble. The entire circus depends on it.”

“Heheh, love bug,” Bubble laughed to himself before being popped by a very panicked Caine.

“One less distraction,” he mused before running some more diagnostics on himself.

-------

Pomni stared blankly at her ceiling the next morning. It seemed that her worst fears were coming to fruition. Jax saw right through her. The others had to have noticed how oddly drawn she was to Caine. It was something she, herself, was still not used to. Pining for the circus’s clueless AI ringmaster was not part of the plan when she had arrived here. But now…

Jax had also said that Caine had a crush on her. And to be fair, it did seem that way. It was something she couldn’t even deny. She tried, every now and then, to get the truth out of him. Trying to fluster him, to see if his attempts to impress her were all for his own ego or for something more personal. With someone as clueless and friendly as Caine, it had her teetering back and forth between believing he did reciprocate or believing he couldn’t possibly feel that way. But she knew it was stupid of her to get her hopes up. It was stupid of her to fall for an AI to begin with.

She sighed, sitting up from her bed. The digital flower he had given her on their private walk some time ago still laid on one of the letter blocks beside her bed, alongside a drawing Gangle made for her and a butterfly from Kinger’s insect collection he had chosen to give her.

It wasn’t so crazy, was it?

Months ago, she abandoned the others for an exit, but now…

Things were different.

So different that maybe her unexpected friendship with Caine wasn’t unusual.

There was no sense of time in the circus, but Pomni guessed it was time for roll call. She mentally prepared herself for another day of Jax’s teasing and Caine’s goofy, but admittedly endearing, antics, exiting her room and out into the hall—

“POMNI!”

If it weren’t for the door behind her, Pomni surely would have fallen back at the sight of her ringmaster teleporting right in her path, inches away. “AGH! Caine–how many times have I told you not to—”

“I know, my dear. But it’s an emergency!” Caine explained anxiously.

Pomni paused. He never seemed genuinely afraid, unless it was for some gag.“Wha–an emergency? Is everything okay?”

Caine took his hat into his hands, fiddling with the rim. He shook his head. “No! I’m infected, Pomni! The whole circus could be at risk! You have to help me!”

“HUH?” Panic settled into Pomni at the thought of the entire circus, and everyone inside it, being swallowed up and disappearing forever. “O-okay, calm down, Caine. Just… tell me what happened.”

Caine unexpectedly fell to his knees in front of her, placing his gloved hands over his eyes as though he were about to cry. "It’s…it’s…ILOVEYOU!"

Pomni did a double-take, flushing a deep shade of red, nearly not believing what she heard. "Y-you--huh?!"

Caine buried his face in his gloved hands, down on his knees. "The Love Bug, Pomni! I've been infected with the Love Bug! It's going to eat away at me," he wailed, cartoonish tears spilling from behind his hands.

"Oh," Pomni paused as he wailed, looking around as though she was expecting someone else to walk in from the commotion. Once she was sure she was no longer blushing, she cautiously knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Um...you're talking about a computer virus?"

"A worm! It's going to spread across the circus, Pomni! I don't know how it got here, I-I must have let it in, I--"

"Caine! Slow down," Pomni interrupted his rambling, "tell me what happened. Why do you think there's a virus?"

"I don't know what it is, dear," Caine confessed, "but I have experienced these strange sensations. Static, glitching perhaps--behaviors that go against my very coding. But most of all, when I'm with you. It’s why I came to you, first. And you’re so clever, I figured you’d know what to do.”

”Me?” Pomni blinked in surprise. She thought on what he said. "Static and glitches?" she repeated, frowning as her thoughts drifted. What the hell would she know about a computer virus?

Caine nodded. "When you talk to me sometimes, dear, I feel static inside of me. Here," he put a gloved hand on his chest, where his heart would be if he had one. "Did you bring a virus in with you? Is that even possible?"

Butterflies settled in her stomach as his words sank in. There was no way he could possibly be confessing—oh, God. Could he even feel the same way? Pomni looked to the side and fiddled with her buttons nervously. “Um…no. It’s not,” she took a deep breath before kneeling down beside him so she was eye-level, voice sounding unexpectedly even despite her sudden nerves. “Tell me more about this…virus. I’m sure we can figure it out,” she gave him a weak smile in the hopes that it was reassuring. She knew deep down she just wanted to know if he really did feel the same, but she ignored it.

Caine nodded in agreement, still sitting sadly on the floor beside Pomni. He placed a finger where his chin would be in thought. “O-okay, dear. Well, let's see. I checked my memories back last night... For instance, in memories where you’d look at me, my system would begin overheating. Or when you touch me, I freeze up. When you compliment me, well,” he laughed sheepishly, “I blue-screen.”

Pomni blushed furiously, her heart speeding up at his unintentional confessions. “Caine-”

“Oh! And when you look especially striking some days, I feel like the ones and zeros of my code are fluttering around. It’s terrifying—I must be falling apart. And I haven’t even mentioned the glitches that happen when I check my memory—”

The fluttering in Pomni’s heart tingled to the tips of her fingers, making kneeling there unbearable. Her face was heating up with every word he said, heart in her throat. “Caine, I..." Pomni bit her lip, unsure how to explain this to an AI, "this doesn't sound like a virus to me. It sounds almost…human…? I guess?”

Caine tilted his head curiously at her. "Humans glitch from the inside out, too?" he said, and peeked out from behind his fingers.

"N-no, it..." Pomni trailed off, cutting herself short with a sigh, "it sounds like...what humans feel," she settled with that explanation for now. It was really very awkward to try and tell an AI ‘it sounds like you have a crush on me’. Not to mention, words were failing her at the realization that he felt just as fond of her as she was of him. And to think, she had been afraid to embarrass herself around him with her crush—

“What they feel..?” Caine tilted his head at her curiously, “like amazement? Wonder? Excitement?”

“Yes, except…” Pomni hesitated. She wasn’t sure if it was worth it to take the leap and just tell him. “…Caine?”

“Yes?”

Pomni reached for her buttons, fidgeting with them mindlessly. “When you say all of these things…what is it that you want?”

“Want?” Caine repeated.

“Yeah, want. Desire. It’s just…humans usually can tell what it is they feel based on what they want,” she explained, although she knew deep down what she hoped his answer was. The thought alone—the word you—it sent such a thrill through her.

Caine placed a finger on his lower jaw, top jaw arching in an exaggerated eyebrow raise. “Hm, excellent question! Well, when you return from my amazing adventures, I want you to come to me. To speak to me. To find me…admirable.”

Pomni nodded. Caine trying to impress her was nothing new. She was well-aware her stubbornness towards the circus resulted in him paying her extra attention, but it didn’t take a genius to know that by now, that was unnecessary. “Okay. So you want my attention, you want me to see positively. What else?”

Caine placed a finger on his chin, an exaggerated arch in his upper jaw as he thought. “Hmm…well, I’m not sensing any patterns. Except for you. Why do you ask?”

Pomni’s heart skipped a beat. Had he actually said what she had been hoping he’d say? Well, not exactly. It seemed like he wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling in the first place. But who better to teach him than her? She took a deep breath before choosing to brave it. “Caine…I need to explain something to you,” she started.

“Oh, dear, what is it? Are you going to diagnose me with the love bug? With an incurable digital sickness?” Caine pressed his hands together nervously. “Go on. You can tell your favorite ringmaster!”

Pomni took another deep breath to calm her nerves. “Well, the good news is you don’t have a bug. Or a virus. At least, I don’t think so.”

Caine froze in place. “I don’t?”

Pomni shook her head.

“Now, now, don’t be silly, my marionberry muffin! Such frequent glitches aren’t usual for an AI like me,” Caine explained, “how can you be so sure? Are you really a qualified doctor?”

Pomni would probably laugh at his antics if it weren’t for her nerves. “I know because I…I feel the same way,” Pomni admitted, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. It burned a hole right through her.

If Caine had a heart, it would have stuttered in his chest. “You…do?”

Pomni couldn’t form words, so she simply hummed in response. Her face was burning, and she clutched her other arm to curb her trembling hands. “Mhm.”

Caine gaped at her. “You…have the love bug, too?”

“In a way of speaking, yeah.”

“Oh, dear…” he sighed softly, “for who?”

Pomni laughed softly. His obliviousness knew no bounds. She looked at the tiled floor, the butterflies in her stomach unbearable. ���W-well, actually, it’s…” she stumbled over her words, blushing to her ears before taking a deep breath and getting enough confidence to meet his eyes. There was no going back now. Her heart sped up, nearly jumping to her throat as she managed the words, “for you."

Caine immediately blue-screened, eyes reading rows of code she couldn’t make out as he processed her words. She flushed at his reaction, slightly self-conscious she misinterpreted his confession. She waved a hand in front of his eyes. “Oh…Caine? Hello…?”

Caine snapped out of it after a few moments. His eyes returned to normal, glancing at Pomni only once before slowly putting a hand over his chest. “Oh, dear. I feel it again,” he said in the quietest voice she’d heard him ever speak in, “the static. Right here. You really—me—?”

Pomni swallowed her nerves, feeling another flutter of butterflies at his response. “I-I know it sounds crazy. I was scared when I realized it. I avoided you. I thought I could run away or deny how I felt, but…the more time I spent with you, the less crazy it seemed,” she explained, meeting his eyes, “I’ve seen all the things you’ve done for me, Caine. For everyone. The adventures, expanding the circus, not teleporting me across the map. And at first it made me enjoy being your friend, but now…”

“Now…?” he prompted.

“Now, you’re telling me you have a crush on me,” Pomni finished, “I didn’t think that was possible, but...”

“A crush?” Caine tilted his head curiously. “Is that what it is?”

Pomni watched him carefully. He was still on the floor, hand on his chest and evidently flustered from her confession. It made her heart speed up, seeing how much he cared. How much he wanted her. “Yeah…the ‘love bug’. What Jax said. It’s not an actual bug. Not for humans at least. I thought he was just being an [#$?!]hole, but what you explained to me…it sounds like what humans feel when they want romantic closeness,” she explained before adding nervously, “a-and, the things you described…it’s how I feel for you.”

“Romantic closeness,” Caine echoed, pausing in thought, “my research for my adventures has taught me about human relationships. About…love.”

A rush of heat ran through Pomni’s chest at the word love. “A-and…?”

Caine, in a rare moment of silence, gazed off towards the end of the hall as he thought back on his research. “And…I believe that is what I want, my dear. With you.” His eyes widened at the realization.

A tingle ran down her spine. “You–you do?” Pomni’s breath caught, cheeks flushing at his words.

“If you’ll teach me,” he confirmed, eyes turning back to meet hers.

Pomni’s pinwheel eyes were blown wide, half in a dream as she nodded. She didn’t know what she wanted in that moment. Or even what to say. Months ago, she would have rather jumped in the cellar than imagine herself in a romantic relationship with him. But these past months had changed things in both of them. In the circus itself. And now, she almost wanted to kiss him. Now…

Her breath caught, when she looked and saw the way he was looking at her. His top jaw arched around his gleaming eyes in the most adoring, lovesick gaze she had ever seen. It made her heart beat harder in her chest, feeling the way his gaze pulled at her heart strings. “Oh, my dear. How could I have not realized sooner? It was so obvious…” he sighed.

She smiled slightly at his cluelessness. It was endearing to her. “A lot of humans feel that way, too. I just never thought…” she trailed off, but he already knew what she was going to say.

Caine’s panic instantly lifted, he sprung up from where he had formerly been curled up. "My dear, I am an advanced AI! I've begun experiencing more 'human' sensations since the day I became sentient. But ever since you, ever since our lessons, well, I think I've become more human than I had ever imagined,” he reached for both of her hands.

Pomni reciprocated his touch. "A-and you're advanced enough to desire closeness?"

Caine tilted his head at her. "I've always known what love is, Pomni. How could I not? You humans talk an awful lot about it. But I never imagined a silly AI like myself being capable of such complex feelings. And yet, I’m advanced enough to know that I've been drawn to you for some time..." A hand moved up to stroke her cheek, right by where her blush resided under her right eye, "and I think I'm beginning to understand why."

"Why?"

"Because you confuse my coding, my little shivering shortbread!” Caine piped up, “Isn't that exciting? I’m more advanced than I’d ever imagined!” His feet lifted from the ground, and he nearly twirled in the air from excitement. He looked down at her again, leaning on his cane with a deep sigh. “Oh, Pomni. Are you sure I’m not love sick?”

For the first time that day, Pomni felt more like herself. She reached for his upper jaw, feeling at him as though he had a fever. “Oh, you definitely are.”

Caine melted into her touch. “I am?” he sighed dreamily.

She nodded with a small smile. “Very sick,” she confirmed, flipping her hand around to cup his features in her palm.

“Very sick,” Caine repeated in a daze, then reached a hand up to meet hers, eyes never leaving hers. Small, cartoonish hearts sprung into existence on the right side of his head as he leaned more into her touch. He noticed them and swatted them away rapidly. “A-ah, ignore that. I can’t help it,” he laughed sheepishly.

Pomni laughed gently. “It’s okay. It’s…endearing,” she blushed, still not accustomed to giving him her thoughts of admiration for him.

“O-oh, dear, you’re too kind…” Caine fiddled with his cane slightly before floating down to her level, planting his feet on the ground once more. “But…if I may, I do still have one question.”

A rush of nerves ran through Pomni. Nonetheless, she kept her cool—which was definitely a feat for her. “Yeah? What is it?”

Caine leaned against his cane once more. “Well, when humans tend to confess their true feelings to another, what do they do next?” he asked.

Pomni blinked, the question catching her off-guard. “O-oh, well…” she looked down the hall in thought, wondering where the others were, “it depends, honestly. But a lot of times, they might decide to, um, date.”

“Ah, of course! Allow me,” Caine cleared his non-existent throat before stretching out a hand to her invitingly, “Pomni, you and I should decide to date.”

If it were somehow possible for Pomni to feel any more ecstatic yet simultaneously terrified, she reached that point. His unconventional phrasing caught her off guard for sure, but it was also mildly endearing. “I…yes,” she accepted his hand tentatively, a small smile spreading across her face, “I’d like that.”

Their touch was immediately broken by Caine flying through the air, zipping around Pomni enthusiastically. “Fantastic! Oh, my dear, I’ve never felt so light as air until now!”

Pomni brought a hand to her mouth, laughing at his excitement.

Caine flew down to meet her once more. “Pomni! You and I should embark on our own adventure,” he wrapped an arm around her, outstretching an arm dramatically to the distance as he added, “a human date!”

Pomni laughed again, raising an eyebrow at him. “Don’t forget you have a whole circus to run, ringmaster,” she teased.

Caine brought a hand to his upper jaw. “Whoopsy-daisy, I almost forgot about the others! My my, you give me a severe case of tunnel vision,” he reached for his cane, preparing to snap himself to the main room before taking one last look at the woman he adored, “I hate to rush the most exciting moment of my never-ending existence, but the show must go on! But, oh, my dear?”

“…Caine?”

Caine tossed his cane between his hands. “How about today, you skip my adventure?”

Pomni blinked in surprise. He never wanted any of his guests to miss his adventures. “Wha—really? Why?”

He flew beside her, holding her hand again. Now that he knew he could hold her hand, he wasn’t sure he’d have it in him to let go for more than a minute. “For our date, of course!” Caine winked at her before continuing sheepishly, “if I may admit, dear…I know what a date is, but I don’t know how to date. There are many things you have to show me.”

A blush rose to Pomni’s cheeks again. “Oh, right,” she stuttered out, then formed a reassuring smile, “i’d love to show you, Caine. Really.” It was just now that she was realizing how intensely her heart had been beating this entire conversation, the trembling seeming to subside now that their true feelings had been revealed.

A couple more hearts fluttered “Of course! What better way to seal our confessions than with a human date? Oh, let’s get this roll call over with, dear. I can’t wait another second!” Caine tightened his grip on her hand.

“You know, you have a lot of energy for someone who’s sick,” Pomni couldn’t help but tease. The more the reality of the situation was settling in, the easier it was for her confidence to return. This artificial man, this AI she had learned to adore, he had truly pined for her all along.

Caine gazed at her adoringly. Oh, my, she was flirting with him, wasn’t she? If she kept going like this, he was going to overheat in front of the others. How lucky was he that this woman adored him as much as he did her? “Why, yes! I’m sick for you.”

“I…don’t think that sounds as romantic as you think it does.”

Caine waved her comment off. “Ah, I’ll perfect the art of flirtation in no time. For now, it’s showtime! And then, a date awaits, my love!”

[topguncortez]

I Remember Everything - J. Sersin

whumptober masterlist || previous day

prompt: unhealthy coping mechanism

synopsis: In the aftermath of a crash, Jake tries to remember what happened, but unfortunately, he has picked up some new habits along the way

warnings: character death, grief, mentions of drinking, unhealthy ways of coping, brain injury, memory loss

word count: 1.4k

“Hey this is Y/N, sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!” 

The Hard Deck was a bustling place for a Friday night. The local retirees who lived on base usually came out for an early dinner followed by a drink or two. Sailors who were docked at port wanting to get a jumpstart on their weekend, before they got back underway. And the TopGun recruits, who knew that for the next ten weeks they needed to have the utmost focus and eliminate all distractions, spending their last night of freedom at the homey bar that the Navy liked to call home. 

Jake had gotten to the Hard Deck before any of his crew did. He didn’t even bother to change out of his khakis, wanting that first sip of cool amber liquid to soothe the ache in his head he’s had all day. Ever since the accident, he hadn’t totally been himself. The doctor had said it was a concussion, giving him a short-term profile before sending him back up to the sky. But others, mainly Phoenix and Bradley, were convinced that they had missed something. They knew that concussions can have serious side effects, but they didn’t know that they could totally change a person they once knew. 

“Seresin,” Phoenix greeted, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top, “Didn’t want to change?” 

“Nope,” Jake shook his head, downing the shot of clear liquid in his hand. He grimaced at the burning sensation, “Didn’t want to go home.” 

Phoenix nodded her head, counting the glasses in front of him, “Going a little heavy already?” 

“Are you my fucking mom?” 

“Don’t be a dick, Bagman,” Bradley chimed in, stepping up behind Phoenix, “It’s not even five yet and you’re halfway through a bottle of tequila.” 

“My fucking god,” Jake groaned, “This is why I don’t go home. All you two do and Y/N is fucking nag me.” 

Bradley and Phoenix both shared a look, their hearts plummeting in their chests. Bradley lightly nudged Phoenix, telling her that it was her turn to remind him. Last time Bradley had done it, it resulted in a black eye and a busted lip. 

“Jake,” Phoenix started, placing her hand on his arm as he leaned against the bar, “Y/N is gone, remember?” 

Jake blinked for a second, trying to recollect the memories that had been lost. That was another thing from the accident Jake had acquired, memory lost. Sometimes it was a good thing, he didn’t remember the last fight he had with her, or the first time he ever saw his dad hit his mom, or even attending the funeral for his best friend. But other times it was a bad thing, such as not remembering that he had attended her funeral. 

“Oh,” He swallowed, nodding his head, “Yeah I remember. I mean, she used to nag me about it.” 

Neither Bradley or Natasha said anything for the rest of the night, opting to just keep an eye on Jake and slip his keys from his back pocket. It was hard watching someone you love fall apart right in front of you. It was even harder when they didn’t remember why they were falling apart. 

The accident happened so fast. Jake had only been back on land for a couple of days, after a long trip underway. Y/N had made plans for the two of them to spend the day together, getting pampered and then surprising Jake to a fancy steak dinner at one of San Diego’s top spots. Jake would never admit it outloud, but he was a sucker for a good massage and pedicure after months of sleeping on a cardboard thin twin mattress in the middle of the ocean. But while Y/N thought she was going to be surprising Jake, he was actually going to be surprising her. The ring box in his suit pocket was burning a hole while hanging up in the backseat of his truck. 

“I really, really like that girl that Bradley has been seeing,” Y/N chatted mindlessly as they drove to the restaurant, “Oh turn left at the light.” 

“Baby, why can’t you just put the directions on the screen,” Jake chuckled. 

“Cause that would be cheating. It’s a surprise,” Y/N rolled her eyes, “Anyway, back to the girl Bradley is seeing. We hung out a lot while you guys were gone and she’s super cool. I feel like he’d be dumb to not tie this one down.” 

“You and I both know Bradley Bradshaw isn’t going to tie anyone down,” Jake said, turning the direction she wanted him to.

“You two have something in common then,” Y/N poked and Jake shot her a look. After five years together, he knew that she was jumping at the bit to get engaged, and he was too. He just wanted everything to be perfect. 

“I don’t plan on living with a roommate until late in my forties like Bradshaw.” 

“Hey, you’re 35, basically already- Jake!” 

Jake gasped as he slammed on the break, and felt his body jolt forward. The sound of smashing metal and breaking glass was loud. The deploying of the airbags were like a bomb going off in his ears as he felt the force breaking his nose. The silence though, the silence was the loudest thing as the car came to a halt after being hit. The scent of copper filled the air, Jake’s head pounding as he turned to look towards his passenger seat. 

“Baby,” Jake cried out. Blood was gushing from a cut on her forehead, and her shiny hair was matted and stained. Jake reached a shaky hand out, pressing his fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse, “No, no, no,” He sobbed, “Help me! Call 9-1-1! Please!”  

He could hear the commotion from outside the car, the distant sound of sirens getting closer to them. He could hear chatter and someone yelling if everyone was okay. But all Jake could do was stare at her. Despite the blood and the sprinkle of glass in her hair, she looked peaceful, as if she had just fallen asleep. Jake kissed his fingertips, before placing them against her lips. 

“I love you,” He whispered, tears falling down his face and blurring his vision, “I want you to marry me, baby. I want you to marry me,” He was gasping for breath through his sobs, as he gently closed the eyes he loved to look into. But there was something about those lifeless orbs looking back at him, that he knew was going to haunt him forever. 

— — — 

“Bagman!” Bradley yelled, snapping Jake out of his thoughts, “You alright?” 

“Y-yeah,” Jake nodded his head, “Need some air.” 

Bradley nodded, not totally believing Jake. Ever since the accident, Jake hadn’t been one hundred percent the same. Sure, he had returned to flying. He got a clean bill of health from both his doctor and his shrink (something that Maverick made him go through). He had cleaned out his house, packing up all of Y/N’s things and returning them to her mother. It had been months since the funeral, and Jake had felt like he had gone through all of the stages of grief. 

It was just the lapses in memory that had him screwed up. And led him to picking up the bottle. 

Once Jake was outside the Hard Deck, a fresh glass of beer in his hand, he pulled out his phone, going to the familiar messages that had all gone unread. 

‘Jake: I’m not sure where you are, but can you let me know you are okay?’ 

‘Jake: sometimes i forget that you aren’t coming home’

‘Jake: i miss you’ 

‘Jake: Penny kicked me out of the hard deck tonight. Can you believe it?’ 

‘Jake: i really really need you tonight’ 

‘Jake: i got invited to bradley’s stupid fucking engagement party. I guess you were right’

‘Jake: Where are you at?’ 

Jake sighed as he started typing another text towards her number. He knew that Y/N’s mother had her phone, and how pathetic it was to keep texting her number. Even sometimes he went as far as calling her, when he was too worried about where she was and really couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t home, the calls always went to voicemail. But when Jake couldn’t remember what happened, and was wondering where Y/N was, the text thread was a gentle reminder that she wasn’t coming home. That she was buried, five miles away, in a grave that still hadn’t had a headstone yet. 

‘Jake: Bradley decided to get married on our anniversary. I told him to fuck off, that that’s our day’ 

Jake placed his phone down next to him, picking up his glass and taking a hearty sip.

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[tiyawnyana]

Kinktober: Day 8

Voyeurism

A/N: i actually loved writing this a lot more than I anticipated and honestly am probably going to make one of the future prompts a continuation

Pairing: Ao'nung x (fem) Omiticaya sully, Rotxo 'spying'

Warnings: kinda accidental voyeurism, oral (fem received), small overstimulation, smut (p in v), creampie, being caught

¤¤¤

Rotxo could hear it from beyond the trees edge. He had been crafting alone, collecting his thoughts and coming to terms of some things when a high pitched whine caught his attention.

He glances in surprise toward the treeline, a soft,"Hello?" coming from his lips.

When he receives no response, he shrugs, moving to turn back towards the oceans waves when another high pitched squeal is heard. His ears flick back, confusion on his features before he sighs, dropping his things and hesitantly stepping towards the treeline, knife in hand.

He hears voices, and Rotxo was ever the curious one, so he quietly steps onto the grass, almost tiptoeing to where he heard it.

He walks for a few more moments, stopping short of a small field, moonlight streaming in from the trees and casting a beautiful glow along the forest floor. What surprises him though, is the sight of you and Ao'nung. 

His friend has you pressed into the ground, sloppily licking at your cunt. He has your thighs gripped hard over his shoulders, is relentless with his tongue despite your pleas for him to stop. The Olo'eyktans son had already succeeded in making you cum 2 times on his tongue, you were beginning to get angry with his obsession. Sort of.

Rotxo gulped, warmth curling hot down his belly, his cock beginning to unsheath itself at the sight. He jolts in alarm, face growing hot at the realization.

He's interrupted when you yelp, hands gripped tight into Ao'nungs hair as he sucks your clit between his lips. You roll your pussy against his mouth and Rotxo explicitly wishes he was in his friends place. Or perhaps the other way around. He feels hot shame pool into him just the same as the arousal.

"Ah, oh, great mother-" you whine, other hand lifting and desperately grasping at the grass. Your head tilts, lips swollen from what surely mustve been a mix of a makeout session and biting them to stifle your wanton moans.

When your head tilts, your eyes were clenched shut, giving Rotxo a moment of no shame as he takes in the image before him, burning it behind his eyelids. But when he looks back towards your face, he sucks in a gasp as he finds you already looking at him.

He takes a step back, ready to run, when suddenly he thinks you really weren't looking at him. He convinces himself of that fact to further stifle the shame, instead he rubs at his cock through his tewng, hot breath panting out of his lips. Thankfully, you look away, further convincing himself he hadn't been caught.

It's then that Ao'nung pulls out from between your thighs, wrestling your legs spread. He yanks at the cords to his tewng and tosses it to the side, taking hold of your hip with one hand and grasping the base of his cock, aiming at your leaking hole.

Rotxo almost wishes he could see this from the trees, almost wishing he had the same agility of climbing trees as you did.

Ao'nung teases for a moment before aiming the tip, then thrusting into you in one fell swoop. The gasp turned moan that's punched out of you has Rotxo quickly fumbling with the binds of his own tewng, gripping his completely unsheathed cock into his fist and giving himself a slow stroke, before deciding to match the brutal pace that his friend had set for fucking into you. He knew he wasn't going to last that long, anyways.

The Olo'eyktans son is a beast, it seems; growling above you, rutting hard and deep, almost like he was punishing you. You only cry out, moaning hot and desperately clinging to Ao'nungs shoulders or to anything stable, being the grass beneath you.

Rotxo bites his lower lip hard enough to taste blood on his tongue. He stifles a whine, twisting his hand over his cockhead then fucking into his tightened fist.

He glances blearily at you and Ao'nung, taking in the new scene. You mustve wrestled him onto his back and fucked yourself back onto his cock, now Ao'nung lays with his back pressed hard into the grass. Your hands are pressed over his throat and chest, holding him down as you thrust yourself up and down his length.

Your cute little noises of 'uh, ah, oh god, Nung!' Has Rotxo biting into his other fist, hips rolling into the one still tightly wrapped around his cock.

Ao'nung clings to your hips, helping you speed up ontop of him, then he's bracketing his feet to the ground to buck his hips up.

"St- uh! Stop- stop that," you try to sound dominating, but Ao'nung only snorts.

"Stop what?" He then bucks his hips up hard enough to topple you over onto his chest, where he wraps his arms tightly around you to hold you down as he fucks up into your now clenching cunt. He groans, panting into the crook of your neck and nipping at the skin there.

"Oh, oh god," you clench a hand into his hair,"I- I can't, I'm gonna-"

"C'mon, cum all over my cock, let me feel it-" He's then biting into your shoulder.

"Ghk-!" You shriek, body siezing up as your pussy tightens like a vice, pulsing as you cum,"Aaah! Oh, Ao'nung!"

Rotxo cums right then and there, hand tight over his mouth as he desperately ruts into his other. Cum spills onto some leaves below him and he pants for breath shakily, still trying to remain silent. He gazes back out at you two and watches as Ao'nung grips your hips almost bruising your skin, dragging you firmly down against him and craning his neck back as he groans deeply, cumming deep inside you.

You're slumped on his chest, heaving for breath as Ao'nung does too.

Rotxo decides to take his leave, silently creeping backwards when he steps on a stick that crunches beneath his foot. His heart lunges in his chest and he takes a cautious look towards you guys. Surely, neither of you could see him, right?

His heart then stops as he again, somehow makes direct eye contact with you. You're perched up on Ao'nungs chest, hands holding your chin as you smirk.

Rotxo is quick to book it from the scene, not realizing he had dropped his knife.

You chuckle, returning your gaze back down to Ao'nung, who smirks back at you with his brow bone raised.

"You think he enjoyed the show?"

¤¤¤

A/N: god I adore rotxo

Taglist:

@akoyaxs

[lilacevans]

'*•.¸♡ 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 ♡¸.•*'

'•.¸♡ ˏˋ°•⁀➷ ari levinson x (non-descriptive) female!reader

: ̗̀➛ warnings: daddy kink, oral (male receiving), praise kink, spitting

: ̗̀➛ word count: 1,031 (was supposed to be a liccle blurb but oh well)

: ̗̀➛ notes: this is word vomit. tbh, not even i know what this actually is. go with the flow my dudes. also be nice. i haven't written smut properly in a while. i'll come for yer kneecaps.

ari coming home after a long, gruelling work trip; one he didn't want to go on; especially without you. usually, he would take you along with him; however, this time he couldn't. all week you had been receiving text after text of him complaining about his day, him telling you how much he missed you, how he just wanted to be home with you.

finally,

''daddy's home,'' ari sang, voice deep and laced with a mix of relief and exhaustion as cracked the door open and he stepped over the threshold, dropping his bag to the floor and shrugging the heavy coat off his shoulders and leaving them on the floor.

''daddy's home,'' ari sang, voice deep and laced with a mix of relief and exhaustion as cracked the door open and he stepped over the threshold, dropping his bag to the floor and shrugging the heavy coat off his shoulders and leaving them on the floor.

you perked up, melting down, your head leaning on your arm, heart eyes peered up at his figure slowly coming towards you, a tired smile on his lips.

“hi, daddy,'' you sing sweetly back at him, leaning up to meet his lips.

“hi, baby,'' he whispers back to you, pressing another soft kiss to your lips before making his way to his chair, dropping down with a heavy sigh and leaning down to untie the laces of his boots.

“no, no,'' you protest, slipping off the couch and sinking to the floor, discarding your glass on the coffee table before crawling over to him. ''come here, daddy. lemme help.”

you get to taking his boots off slowly, slipping them off over his overworked feet, dropping the heavy boots to the side of you before turning your attention to rubbing his thighs, massaging out the tension and peering up into his ocean eyes, while he praises you, “such a good girl. you take good care of your daddy, don't you, baby? best little wife in the world.''

“i didn't know if you ate before you came home or not,'' you say, lifting up onto your knees and working your hands up his torso, ''order food or shall i cook for you, daddy?”

“order in, baby, let’s have an easy night,” ari replies, hand cupping the side of your face, thumb stroking over your cheek.

you nod, smoothing your hands over his shoulders, his biceps as you capture him in a languid kiss, his hand moving to your hair, another heavy on the back of your neck. your fingers find their way to his belt, but as you about to pull the leather through the buckle, he pulls back; a whine slipping out of your throat.

“baby, it’s been a long day. i need a shower,” ari chuckles lowly.

“i don’t care,” you whisper back at him, pressing a last delicate kiss to his lips before getting back to work unbuckling his belt, and unbuttoning his jeans.

he raises enough for you to slip his jeans to his thighs. your fingers trace over the prominent bulge hidden by his briefs. you mouthed over the the fabric, finding the tip and concentrating there. your gleeful eyes lightening up as your husband finally relaxes into his chair, shoulders dropping with a quiet moan.

''that's my girl,'' ari praises as you pull down the waistband of his underwear, letting his cock spring free. ''come on, honey, less looking. get you mouth on it,'' he prompts, grasping a gentle handful of your hair and guiding you back down.

you blow him slowly, licking base to tip, peppering kisses and kitten licks along the length, hand reaching down to cup his balls, softly massaging them in the palm of your hand. the sounds of his moans, deep in his chest spurring you on. you could hear him slowly losing his mind as you swirled your tongue around the head of his cock before finally working your mouth down on his length.

''so good to me, my sweet, little wife,'' he starts to babble, his tired, gravelly voice mixed with his low moans made your thighs clench and your core ache. ''such an angel. letting me put my dirty cock in that sweet little mouth. do anything for your hardworking, daddy, huh?'' you nod with hollowed out cheeks, his grip on your hair softly guiding you up and down on his cock.

you notice ari's eyes drift to his glass of whisky, his hand stayed tangled in your hair as he reached over for the glass with his other hand, taking a long sip as you continued to work yourself on his cock.

''come here, baby,'' he says, tugging you off his cock and guiding your head back by your hair. ''let's share a drink.''

ari leaned down and gripped your cheeks, forcing your lips to part before he spat a steady stream of whisky straight into your mouth. heat bloomed through your thighs and your core ached as the bitter alcohol sliped down throat; the easiest whisky has ever gone down. eyes wide, you let out a needy whine.

“oh, you want more?” ari teased with a laugh.

you give a little nod and part your lips for him to repeat the action. you drink it down while he finished the contents of the glass and placed it back down. with a dirty smirk, he tiled your head back again with, fingers wrapped around your chin, fingers pushing into your cheek. you let your mouth fall open, gasping as he spat into your mouth and pulled you in for filthy kiss before guiding you back to his cock.

“that’s my girl,” he praised, relaxing back into his chair, head lulling back with a moan. “fuck,” he drawed out slow, “that fuckin’ mouth.”

uh bye

[artiststarme]

Exes and Oh’s

Based on a prompt from @nburkhardt and some comments from @i-less-than-three-you. I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

Title brought to you by @kissaphobic-kas

~*~*~*~

When Robin told Steve that she and Nancy were dating, he was happy for her. Of course he was, his best friend was finally in a true relationship and he was thrilled that Nancy could be who she needed. He had no reason not to be happy and supportive of them. And yet, there was still something holding him back from giving them his full support. 

While it had been literal years since they dated, Nancy had broken his heart. She’d torn it from his chest, trampled all over it, looked at the bottom of her shoe, and called it bullshit. Deep down, Steve was afraid she’d do the same thing to Robin. 

Robin was his best friend and he didn’t want to see her hurt. He’d already had to coach her through the disappointment and dejection of losing the potential of dating Vickie and he’d seen how upset she was after that. He couldn’t even imagine how she’d react to getting her heart broken by Nance or how depressed she’d get when Nancy called her bullshit. It had taken Steve months before he could even look at Nancy without feeling his heart break and he certainly didn’t want that for Robin. 

With every happy smile he gave them came a look of wariness and after a few weeks, everyone started noticing it. 

Robin started creating more distance between them, Nancy started glaring at him when she picked up Robin from work, and even the kids started calling him out on it. Dustin, in particular, made sure to voice his thoughts on the matter. 

“You have to move on from Nancy, Steve! She’s with Robin now. You had your chance with both of them and now it’s just pathetic!” Dustin told him one night when he picked him up from DnD. The little bastard had staged some sort of subpar intervention for him. 

Steve was not amused and was quick to come to his own defense. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have a thing for Nance or Robin. I’m happy for them!” 

“Steve, we can see that you still like Nancy but Robin is with her now. You have to get over her,” Lucas said gently. The other kids nodded in agreement and even the other Hellfire guys tilted their heads in agreement. The only kid that didn’t nod or make a nasty remark was surprisingly Mike Wheeler. He had a look of understanding in his eyes like he understood why Steve was hesitant and it was throwing him off. 

Steve sputtered at them, unsure of what to say to make them believe that he truly was 100% over Nancy Wheeler. Eddie, as usual, came to his rescue.

“Hey, listen up you little shits. Steve says there’s nothing going on so that means there’s nothing going on. Drop it or your characters are going to take some serious hit points.”

The kids grumbled a little bit but they did drop the subject for the time being. They all shuffled around to collect their items before marching outside to plan yet another ambush on him, probably. 

Then there was Eddie. His boyfriend that he’d been dating all summer, the best friend turned boyfriend that no one knew about yet. Steve could tell that he was curious. When wasn’t he? But he was trying his best to be respectful despite the obvious tension between Steve and the rest of the Party. Steve couldn’t help but love him just a little bit more for having his back when no one else did. 

Steve mentioned it to Eddie the next day while they were lounging around the Munson’s trailer. “You know I don’t love her still, right? Like Dustin said? That ship has sailed, definitely.”

Eddie’s eyebrow quirked and his face brightened with a cocky smirk. “Yeah Steve, you had my dick in your mouth an hour ago. That ship hasn’t just sailed, it sank to the bottom of the ocean and disintegrated into dust like your heterosexuality. What’s the real issue that’s got you so upset?”

Steve gave him an unimpressed look at his crass but he had a point. Eddie had absolutely nothing to worry about between him and Nancy. He deserved to hear the full story. 

“You remember what happened at Tina’s Halloween party?” Eddie nodded. He’d already told Steve in the past that he’d heard the entire train wreck of a conversation through the thin walls of Tina’s house so he’d had a front row seat to their breakup. “Nancy really hurt me. She called our entire relationship bullshit. She called me bullshit! And that really fucked me up for a long time, still does sometimes. I can’t even hear the word ‘bullshit’ without feeling like a failure even still. I just… I don’t want Robin to have to feel like that. You know?”

Eddie thought for a second before he nodded. “You’re worried about her, that’s understandable. Nancy hurt you and she might hurt Robin too. But she might not. And Robin knows the risks, you told her about how Nancy hurt you, right? She knows what she’s getting into and she’s willing to take that chance.”

“Um no, I haven’t told Robin about it.”

Eddie’s head jerked over to him and he looked at him in shock. “Why not? She’s your best friend, why wouldn’t you complain about your crappy ex with her?”

“Well first of all, that crappy ex is her current girlfriend-” Steve started. 

“I mean before she started dating her and you know it-”

“Second of all, it’s embarrassing. What was I supposed to tell her? ‘Hey Robs, I wanted to let you know that Nancy broke my heart and hurt my feelings because I was a bad boyfriend and I don’t want her hurting you’? That wouldn't go well.” Steve shook his head. No, he didn’t quite know how to fix things with her but talking about his past heartbreak wasn’t going to do it. 

“Stevie, baby. You just have to talk with her and she’ll understand. You guys are Platonic with a capital P soulmates. Just tell her and she’ll understand,” Eddie murmured to him. He kissed the back of Steve’s hand and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You really don’t care?” Steve asked him. 

“Do I care that you’re concerned for your best friend? Stevie, you could be doing so much worse. Caring for your friend isn’t a red flag. I was accused of murder, which is a pretty big red flag, and you’re still with me,” Eddie laughed. 

“Well that’s because you didn’t do it!” Steve protested. 

“Steve, you could do anything and I would still love you,” Eddie told him earnestly.

“What if I actually killed someone?” 

“Then we’d have to bury the body and then move because my reputation can’t handle any more murder accusations.”

What was Steve supposed to do in response to that besides kiss him?

He did end up talking to Robin a few hours after his talk with Eddie. There were tears, hugs, and a particularly memorable shovel talk between Steve and Nancy. Everything went back to normal and it stayed like that until Mike Wheeler walked in on Steve and Eddie making out. Then, the tentative understanding that existed between them flew right out the window. 

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[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

Happy Finale Friday everyone! Back again with another round of the fic I've been reading this week. You can find previous rec lists here.

A reminder I'm putting my fingers in my ears and ignoring discourse here for all buddie/bucktommy/buddietommy configurations, though these last two weeks I've been pretty down bad in my messy and hurting Eddie Diaz feels and it's manifested in the form of pining fics.

I'm always on the lookout for more henren fic to read, so please send recs my way!

31 May 2024

7x10 coda by @ghosthunterbuck was the Eddie pov fic that was exactly what I needed to read after the finale. Obviously spoilery for the episode so I'm not going to go too into detail here as to the what, but for the why - I think it perfectly captures Eddie's head space going forward, his emotional journey, canon compliant relationships, and the family dynamics at play. The last line got me good.

i love you like a dog with a bird at your door (and sequel) by @shitouttabuck (and this gorgeous fanart by @midbam too) absolutely stole my heart. A slowburn buddie fic, set post-season six. In which Buck reflects on his childhood in how he demonstrates and feels love with dogged devotion, and his love for the Diaz family. Through the ups and downs of life together at work and at home, and with some A+ 'moving in to take care of each other' vibes. I just loved getting swept away in the sweetness of this fic, it really warmed my heart. PLUS just...incredible deft, light handed and excellent use of metaphor that encapsulates Buck so so well.

love on the brain by @lizzybizzyzzz yes yessssss sexy henren fic!!! In which Karen oh so casually asks if Hen's going to pose for the firefighter calendar, Hen bluescreens for a bit, but then ropes in Athena to help out with a surprise. Set pre-6x06 (and the follow up delves into it and takes an angstier turn), this was just delightfully fun and I loved Hen stepping a little out of her comfort zone to show off for her wife. Those poses *fans self* where do I get me a Hen calendar?

meditating on your lips by @coldbam look I can't possibly summarise this one better than the actual summary. Buck comes out, and Eddie has some interesting dreams:

“I take it the date went well then? Cleared some things up for you.”

“You can say that again, Hen. Not only am I now a proud bisexual man, it turns out I’m excellent at sucking dick!”

Eddie chokes on his coffee.

No notes. (And then I proceeded to read all of coldbam's backlist and had a DELIGHTFUL TIME. Gardening fic! Phone sex! Athena/Eddie friendship. Pining!!!!! What fun!)

I'll Scrawl it on Every Wall I See by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels is from a few years back and was my favouritist of tropes, Buddie secretly writing to each other anonymous penpals, simultaneously falling in love, but all threaded through on the concept that they never clicked as work besties as they did in the show. I loved the balance of canon and reinterpreting the series through this lens. Deeply sweet and romantic and fun, and also heartwrenching.

drive you into a corner (and kiss you without a sound) by @hauntsorchards in which Eddie joins the 118 and can't seem to stop kissing Buck when he does something heroic, delightful or goofy. But it doesn't mean anything, right? In which the entire firehouse deserves a raise for putting up with them.

looking for an ocean breeze/so i can fill my mind with ease by newtkelly was the bucktommy fic ALL over my dash earlier this week and for good reason. Look I love a pun based fic prompt, and “Can I top you off?” was the perfect wedding scene one. It captured Tommy's sardonic humour so well, as well as exploring some of Buck's potential hang ups. And also now we know what we know...works very well on a kink exploration level. A sexy and fun 7x06 coda.

be you in time (it's easy) by @mycenaae my favourite fic exploring Tommy's reaction to seeing Captain Gerrard on the guestlist as a post 7x09 coda. Excellent bucktommy dynamics, as well as my very favourite thing...the Tommy and Hen and Chim groupchat. Please let this become a thing show, because it's perfect.

don't just stand there by @smallandalmosthonest AND FINALLY my favourite buddietommy WIP posted it's final chapter this week. Here's my summary from before: In which Eddie interruptus and Buck is maybe kinda sorta okay with that actually. A+ accidental exhibitionism kink discovery, with fantastic dialogue characterisation and just really really fun established bucktommy and buddie dynamics all wrapped into one. The final chapter is chefs kiss on flipping the narrative perspective and tying everything (and everyone) together!

Happy hiatus - treat each other kindly, and bang it out in fic form if you have to! If you need me I'll be over here revelling in Eddie going through it fic (oh Eddie indeed.)

[cloudwhisper23]

Another prompt underway! This is yet again for @grow-bettah's Grumbo Month event! I hope y'all enjoy!

Day 16: Vampire

Mumbo didn’t like to keep secrets from his friends. Honest! He didn’t like it one bit, not when it meant he kept having to make excuses for why he couldn’t join Grian’s silly fish diet, or Scar’s completely vegetarian diet. His friends gave him odd looks when he declined, and Mumbo knew he could only pretend nothing was wrong for so long.

Being cursed to be a vampire wasn’t very great on a multiplayer server, regardless of how supportive your friends would pretend to be. Their reaction went deep enough that Mumbo could sense it now.

Still, Mumbo supposed he couldn’t complain too much. Iskall had figured it out quite quickly and immediately set about figuring out how to help him sort out his difficulties, encouraging an End bust expedition so no one would question the newfound strength of Mumbo’s wings amongst other treatments to prevent the sun from actually doing any damage.

The End bust certainly helped. Iskall was still busy with other projects, but the fact that he’d been willing to help Mumbo out with this was much appreciated, as was his ability to keep the matter a secret. Mumbo was also in possession of the item frame permit, something that justified the number of cows he’d been killing.

The blood wasn’t very fresh, but again, it was better than starving. The texture of the raw beef in his mouth wasn’t ideal either, but Ren had managed to do it for years by this point, so Mumbo really couldn’t complain. Or well, he could, but he wasn’t going to complain verbally. Certainly not around the other members of Magic Mountain.

Good days ended with blisters and bloody fingertips as Mumbo built up more of the mountain near his base. Bad days were spent curled up in his death chamber having delirious conversations with his llama.

Mumbo quickly found himself getting sick of the constant fluctuation between good and bad days and decided it was time to go out and converse with the other hermits again. Socializing was a good thing, he told himself, clasping the modified elytra onto his shoulders.

Maybe it was time to pay Grian a visit? If he was home, that was. Last Mumbo heard, he’d been dragged away from the dock to help with permit problems.

It would be good to pay Grian a visit, Mumbo decided. If only to distract him from his difficulties at the permit office. With a sigh, Mumbo stretched his wings before jumping from the hill toward Grian’s base. Please be home.

Grian was in fact home when Mumbo landed on the stained surface of the dock. His wings were pulled tight to his body, hardly moving as he went through barrel after barrel in search of something. Curious, Mumbo stood still, observing the increasingly panicked sounds in Grian’s breathing. What had his friend lost?

“You alright there, mate?” Mumbo finally said.

Grian’s wings didn’t so much as bristle, but Mumbo still smelled the frightened scent from Grian’s body. “Uh, yeah. Hey, Mumbo.”

“What are you looking for?” Mumbo asked, relieved that the fear seemed to vanish as soon as Grian registered who was there.

“Oh, nothing important. Just something for a project.” Grian’s wings gave nothing away, once again.

That struck Mumbo as odd, considering how he could tell Grian was still obviously in distress about whatever was missing. “Right…” Perhaps Mumbo wasn’t the only one hiding something?

“So, what brings you over here? Not planning on fishing, I assume.” Grian settled down on one of the piles of barrels.

“Just a social call,” Mumbo answered. “Your base is looking fantastic, by the way. I love the… bird house?”

Grian’s mouth twitched. “Don’t go there.”

“Right.” Mumbo cleared his throat. “So uh. How have you been?”

“Great. Well, as good as I can be with this stupid fishing curse.” Grian gestured vaguely. “It’s been great, figuring out the restrictions and the grudge the ocean holds.”

“Pardon, fishing curse?”

Grian sighed. “I haven’t been doing this as a bit, Mumbo. I have to keep fishing. I have to eat exclusively fish. And if I go into water…” He jumped down, pulled his boots off his feet and sat down on the dock, dipping his feet into the water. “Well, this happens.”

Mumbo’s eyes widened as webs grew between Grian’s toes and scales shimmered on his ankles. “Yeah, that’s… Wow…”

“Mhm.” Grian sounded less than pleased. “It’s manageable, I guess. But still, it’s pretty annoying.”

Mumbo nodded silently. Should he tell Grian about his own curse? It wasn’t the same sort of burden, but maybe there would be some kind of solidarity in knowing that he wasn’t alone in his suffering. Maybe? Or would Grian take it as one-upping him?

Mumbo stood quietly as Grian dried himself off. The faintest frown flickered across Grian’s face, but it was gone before Mumbo came out of his thoughts.

“Well, if that’s all…” Grian trailed off, looking at Mumbo again before going back to his barrel search.

“I, erm.” Mumbo coughed. “It’s unfortunate that the ocean cursed you.”

“Yeah.”

“If, um. If it helps, you’re not the only one.”

Grian paused. “Are you implying that Gem has a curse too? Because honestly, I think she’s more blessed by the ocean than cursed by it.”

“Well, a blessing and a curse are practically the same thing depending on how you look at it. But,” Mumbo added hastily at Grian’s scowl, “that wasn’t what I was talking about.”

“What were you talking about then?” Grian resumed opening barrels.

“The… the moon cursed me.”

Mumbo didn’t know what he was expecting. But he finally got a wing twitch out of Grian, even if it was only one on the side of his head. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m… a vampire. Yep, I’m a vampire this season.” Mumbo nodded, chewing his lip.

“You-“ Grian turned around. “You have to be joking. I thought you were just a bat hybrid this whole time!”

“I was.” Mumbo scratched his neck anxiously. Claws dug into his skin, and he stopped. “Look, mate. It’s like your whole… fish thing. Sort of. Mine just built on what was already there while yours added something completely new.”

“This is why you refuse to eat my catches,” Grian said, half to himself. “So you have to drink blood? Wait, you’re in the sun. How does that-“

“Iskall’s been helping me out some.” Mumbo unclipped his elytra and stretched his wings, the aches well worth the expression on Grian’s face. “We went End busting so no one would question my ability to fly.”

“Yeah, that would… and the sun too, I’m assuming?” Grian was still staring, like he was memorizing every detail of Mumbo’s wings.

“Yep. And as for the blood, I do have to drink it, but it doesn’t have to be hermit blood.” Mumbo nodded to himself with that one.

“So this whole time…” Grian shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Mumbo, is that why you’ve looked so sickly?”

“Pardon?” Mumbo blinked. He wasn’t anticipating this reaction, although it wasn’t an unwelcome one. Grian wasn’t afraid in the slightest, instead concerned about his wellbeing.

“Mumbo K. Jumbo,” Grian said sternly. “Have you been drinking stale blood?”

“Erm… maybe?”

Grian’s wings twitched. “Why?”

“Because it’s what I have available? I don’t have my cow farm set up yet, so I just-“

“Cow’s blood.” Grian shook his head again. “Mumbo. Did the thought never cross your mind to ask me for help?”

“It did,” Mumbo replied honestly. “But you seemed so busy, and well-“

“I’m never too busy for you.”

Mumbo’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t find any words to say. Grian smiled sadly. “Mumbo, if you need blood, ever, you can ask me for some. I don’t mind.”

“I couldn’t possibly-“

“You could.” Grian crossed his arms. “Remember when you ate my soul to become more human again?”

“That’s different-“

“That’s worse! And I was only opposed to it because I had levels! You aren’t going to drink me dry. I know you.” Grian’s mouth set in a determined line. “Actually, you probably need some right now, don’t you? You’re so pale you’re nearly translucent, Mumbo.”

Mumbo could feel his fangs pressing into his lower lip, but he still protested. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, Grian-“

“You need to drink blood that’s actually good for you.” Grian persisted.

“Fine. Just this once.”

“I won’t hold you to that,” Grian answered softly, stepping forward to offer his wrist to Mumbo.

Mumbo frowned, but he said nothing more before sinking his teeth into Grian’s arm.

It was far sweeter than it should have been.

And Mumbo hated that he didn’t regret it.

[theladyofdeath]

Lady Death's Lover {VI}

Lady Death's Lover Masterlist & Summary

19th Century Period AU Nesta x Cassian Secret Affair / Enemies to Lovers / Forbidden Romance Fanfiction / Characters from Sarah J Maas / ACOTAR Based on a prompt sent in by anonymous

A/N: Oh my word...I have had the most difficult time getting this up this week! I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy! Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, likes, and reblogs! x

TW: marital abuse, sexual content, language, depression, alcohol abuse

This story is for readers 18+. Mature readers only. Content should not be read by anyone under 18.

Dear Cassian,

I must admit that I am completely miserable in Adriata. It has rained all week so I cannot go to the ocean, which is the only thing worthwhile to do here. I have also found zero romantic partners which has brought the boredom to a new level of heinousness. I do not think I can stand this place for more than a fortnight. By the Cauldron, I do not think I can stand it for another day. Perhaps I will cut my trip short. 

Do have enough diabolical fun for the both of us in my absence, will you? If I know you are causing chaos, that is enough for me for now.

Your Favorite,

Mor 

P.S. Try not to attempt to philander with any more married women. It’s very ungentleman-like. 

Nesta

My gowns are lovely.

The modiste has truly outdone herself. There are four in total and each matches the other but has its own personality. The fabrics are all deep blues and grays, meant to bring out my eyes. They are the colors I am most comfortable in. In fact, most of my wardrobe consists of blues and grays but no one has complained about it thus far. 

After transferring payment, my gowns are loaded into my carriage. Before making my way back home, I take advantage of the time alone and make my way down the street to my favorite bakery. I’ve never been one for sweets but they make the best macarons in Velaris and I cannot help but buy a box whenever I visit the modiste. 

It is when I’m coming out of this bakery that I see him.

For a moment, I forget how to walk. Every elegant thought vanishes from my mind and I am suddenly all too aware of the giant box of sweets in my hands. 

I pray he doesn’t see me and for a moment I feel I will get away with it, but then he turns from where he walks across the street and halts when he catches my eye. For a moment, we both stand there, staring at one another. 

Then the world around me comes back to life.

The city streets around me resume, full of life. Carriages hurry past and people rush in and out of the shops. The sky above, recently clear and bright, opens up and the softest of rains falls down upon me and my macarons. 

He still stands just across the street, watching me, although his head has since cocked to the side and a grin has begun spreading across his lips. A sudden sense of embarrassment floods me. I must look foolish, standing here in the rain with a box of baked goods while everyone around me starts to run to safety from the turn in weather. 

Oh, gods. 

He’s coming towards me.

“Lady Nesta,” he begins when he’s halfway across the street, “your dress. You should find cover.” 

I find my voice. “Ah, Mr. Nazari. Yes, I, um…yes.” 

I go to turn on my heels but, in true Lord Cassian fashion, he steps in front of me just before I can get far. “A lady should never be caught in the rain.”

“If it were not for you blocking me I would be well on my way to shelter, my lord.” I try not to sound too demeaning, but I cannot help myself. Every now and then that tone just seeps out and there is nothing I can do to stop it. 

He finds this funny, apparently. A chuckle escapes him and he nods. “Apologies. Good day, Lady Nesta.”

Not Lady Mandray.

Lady Nesta.

I somehow like it better coming from him, like it better than the title the rest of the ton refers to me as.

Lord Cassian steps aside and I go to stroll past him, but I stop when he begins to walk behind me. Turning, I lift a brow. 

He stops and rocks back on his heels. “Do not fear, I am not following you. I walked here and now must walk home, which is this direction. That is all.”

“How far do you have to walk?” I ask, the rain picking up. I worry more for the well-being of my macarons than my hair. 

“A little more than a mile, it’s no worry,” he says, shrugging, then continues on his way.

I hesitate, knowing I shouldn’t ask what I’m about to but asking it anyway. 

“Would you care to join me?” I ask, and he freezes, his back to me. “It seems we’re going the same direction and you should not have to walk in the rain. It seems a storm is brewing. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold.” 

Lord Cassian looks up at the dark clouds, the rain falling directly onto his face as he squints. He looks back to me, his face searching mine, but then he asks, “Are you certain? I don’t mind a little rain.”

Thunder rolls and lightning strikes, and I nearly drop my macarons. I swear it’s purely for my benefit when he clears his throat and says, “It would be a pleasure to join you, Lady Nesta.” 

I nod quickly as a downpour begins and hurry to my coach up the street. By the time I throw myself inside, my dress is drenched and my hat is drooping. Lord Cassian is in no better condition as he slides onto the bench across from me, his jacket drenched and his trousers sticking to his thighs. 

My breath catches at the sight of him and I suddenly feel foolish. It should be impossible for a man to look more dashing sopping wet, but he somehow manages to. That ridiculous, shoulder-length hair of his is soaked and dripping into his cravat. I don’t realize I’m staring until I meet his eyes, and suddenly I’m all too aware of every inch of my body and his. My cheeks turn pink and I have to clasp my hands together to keep them from shaking. 

The carriage jolts as it begins its journey and it makes me jump, which makes Lord Cassian grin…although he tries to suppress it. This was a mistake. That’s what I get for trying to be nice. This very thing reminds me why I do not do nice things often. Nice things always come back to bite me in the ass.

. . . . . . . . . 

Cassian

Lady Nesta looks equally stunning and uncomfortable, although her discomfort is not the type of discomfort that causes alarm. No, it’s the type of discomfort that tells me she does not do this often.

I do not know much about this woman but I do know that she’s not exactly…personable. I’ve heard what other women of the ton think about Nesta — Mor brought the gossip to our recent Monday tea time and I have a feeling Rhys put her up to it — and it’s not good. In fact, the ladies of Velaris think Lady Nesta to be brutally honest and permanently bitter. I, however, value honesty and think a certain level of self-hatred and introverted nature can be mistaken for anger or bitterness. 

Not that it should matter.

After my last encounter with Nesta, I vowed never to be around her again. Especially alone. Yet, the second I saw her stepping out of the bakery with a box-full of what seems to be macarons, my feet decided my thoughts should be damned and acted of their own volition. Before I could fully comprehend what I was doing, I was standing in front of her.

Now, I’m alone with her yet again, stuck in a coach as it rattles down the cobblestone. Outside, it’s pouring as it often does in the spring, and all I can think about is how her eyes keep drifting to me. 

I’m trying to also be inconspicuous about where my eyes are wandering, but from the way her pale cheeks are turning pink, I don’t think I’m doing it properly. 

Her light blue dress is clinging to her skin and I can’t ignore how her breasts are even further on display behind the soaked fabric. It doesn’t help that her chest is rising and falling, rapidly, as if she’s had a difficult time catching her breath since entering the confined space that surrounds us.

“You’re having a ball soon,” I say, because I’m not sure what else to say but I know that we can’t keep sitting here in silence, me trying my best to avoid the swells of her breasts, the way I can see her peaked nipples through the wet cotton.

“I am,” she says, voice soft but firm. “Will you be in attendance?” 

I clear my throat. “Yes. Thank you for the invite.”

I neglect to mention that I originally did not plan to attend, that being in the same room as her is too tempting and I’m currently going mad, but my brothers coaxed me into going. 

She gives me a curt nod before taking a deep breath and letting her eyes wander towards the closed window. I swallow, cursing as my eyes take another dive to her chest and back up again. Once the silence becomes too heavy, allowing my thoughts to run rampant and inappropriately wild, I ask, “Do you do this often?”

Nesta’s eyes snap to mine and she blinks. “Do what?”

“Come into town on your own,” I say, and I watch as she swallows and clenches her jaw. “Not even a maid with you? Isn’t that unbecoming?”

Her eyes narrow and if it wasn’t for the quick rise and fall of her chest, the way her skin is flushed, I would think she was offended and not something else entirely. “Are you implying that I do not live my life as a lady should, my lord?” 

“I’m implying that it is simply not safe for you to be traveling alone,” I say, and she watches as I run my hands down my thighs, trying to eliminate my sweaty palms. It does not work. “You never know others’ intentions when they see a woman alone.”

“It is the middle of the day,” she says, meeting my eye once more. “And I have my driver.”

“Still.”

We stare at one another for just a moment, but that moment is filled with so much silent, skin burning tension that I feel the need to loosen my cravat, shrug off my coat, but I don’t. I let it suffocate me, let her gaze strip me bare instead. 

If I slouched in the slightest, my knees would nearly graze hers. Suddenly the space between us seems so short, too short to make any rational decisions. This was a mistake. I should have stayed on my own damn side of the street. I should have walked. 

“Is that what this is, then?” she asks, and I blink.

“Pardon?”

“Do you have poor intentions, my lord?” she asked, clasping her hands on her lap. I swear they’re trembling.

“Need I remind you that you were the one that offered me a ride in your coach?” I ask, then add, “my lady.”

Her lips part, and it’s so slight that one has to be watching them intently to have seen it, which I am.

She shifts on the bench, words seeming to have left her. It’s the silence that makes me say, only because I cannot stand silence and I’ve already seemed to have dug myself into a hole of wickedness, “Perhaps it is you that has poor intentions.” 

Her head leans to the side, which is somehow unladylike and beautifully cunning at the same time, and the smallest of smiles plays on her lips. There’s no joy in this smile, only a cruel seduction that has my trousers holding back my hardening cock. Now it’s my turn to shift, and she notes it, those dark eyes trailing down until they’ve settled on my lap. Her eyes flare before snapping back up to mine.

“I am a lady,” she says, simply. “Ladies do not have poor intentions, only charitable ones. What kind of lady would I be if I were to let a gentleman walk through a downpour?” 

“Indeed,” I say, and I cannot even help how rough my voice suddenly sounds. 

This is ridiculous. I feel like I have never been around a woman before, or like I am once again sixteen and around a woman for the very first time. Furthermore, she’s married. This is highly inappropriate, but I seem to have lost control.

No.

That’s not entirely true.

If I had lost control her dress would be torn to shreds and I’d have her lying beneath me on this bench, worshiping every inch of her body beneath. 

“I am grateful,” I add, and she nods her head politely in response. I stay in control until a wheel hits a dip in the road and our bodies jostle, and we touch.

My knee hits hers and her foot lands on mine as she tries to stop herself from toppling forward. I don’t even realize my hand is on her leg, just above her knee, until we both look down at it.

I don’t move it.

She doesn’t ask me to, nor does she move at all. All that moves is the rapid rising and falling of her chest — a chest that my eyes are in perfect line with. Mustering every ounce of self control that I have, I go to lean back, to settle myself once again on the opposite bench until this torturous ride is over, but I don’t make it far.

Just as I move, Nesta places her hand on top of mine and I freeze. She’s looking at me wildly, searching my eyes for something. I don’t think I’m breathing at all. I have no thoughts in my mind whatsoever. All I can focus on is her intent eyes, her hand on mine, my hand on her skirts, her lips that are parted and begging to be kissed.   

Neither of us says a word.

“Just—“

Whatever she’s about to say evaporates as the coach slows and when it jerks to a stop, reality steps back in.

Nesta snatches her hand from mine as if she’s been burned and I take the hint, pulling myself back just as the door opens and I’m looking at the front door of my townhouse.

Not wanting to keep the poor lad standing in the storm, I take my leave and hurry to my front door, drenching myself further. I don’t look back at Nesta. I have a feeling she doesn’t want me to.

I have a feeling that whatever she was about to say, whatever would have happened if we just kept driving, would have surely led to utter regret.

Before I shut my door behind me, I watch Nesta’s carriage roll away, gone into the storm.

Calling for my butler, I beg for a drink to calm my still pounding heart. 

[pocket-sized-nightmare]

here's my fic for day 6 of @mcyt-yuri-week! today's prompt is "cozy"

Okay, so trying to drain an ocean monument alone might not have been the best idea.

Gem was doing so well, too. She’d made so much progress on the project over just a few hours. She’s no stranger to mob fights — she can easily take down a horde of zombies (once she knows they’re behind her) or beat her friends at sparring practice any day. Ocean monsters can’t be that different, right? She should be perfectly capable of building a guardian farm. She should be, but unfortunately, it turns out that she isn’t.

After three rounds of mining fatigue and void knows how many guardian beams, Gem resigned herself to the fact that she was absolutely going to die. Losing all her tools and armor would be awful, but there was no way out of it — she hadn’t packed enough water breathing potions. Everything would’ve gone wrong, but just in the nick of time, Pearl swooped down and lifted her out of the water.

So instead of trudging back from her house to salvage a few surviving items, Gem is in Pearl’s base, curled up on the couch while Pearl fusses over her.

“Now, why would you go and do a thing like that, Gem?” Pearl teases. “That’s not good for you!”

“Well, I didn’t mean to,” Gem tries to say, but it comes out as a jumbled mess of words.

“That’s alright.” Pearl hands her a healing potion. “I’m gonna get you fixed up. Can I touch your armor?”

Most people wouldn’t even ask, Gem thinks. They’d just try to take it off for me. The thought sparks something like electricity in her mind — Pearl isn’t like anyone she’s ever met before. “Mhm.”

“Alright. I’m gonna take it off so we can get you into some dry clothes.” Pearl gently lifts Gem’s helmet off and undoes the latches on the back of her chestplate. Gem slips off her leggings. Pearl kneels down and takes Gem’s right boot off, tugs at the left one, then realizes. “Oh, void, your ankle’s twisted really badly. It’s all swollen. Do you have mending on these?”

“Nope. Unfortunately.” Gem sighs and flops back onto the couch.

“Well, it’s fortunate for you right now,” Pearl chuckles. “I’m sorry, but I think I’m gonna have to break this.”

“Tryin’ to leave me defenseless, huh?” Gem murmurs. “I see your tricks.”

“Oh, shush.” Pearl takes out her pickaxe and gently taps at the diamond boot on Gem’s foot. “Does that hurt?”

Gem winces as a tap comes a bit too close to her ankle. “Little bit.”

“Sorry. It should only be a minute.” Pearl’s attempts somehow become even gentler.

Gem closes her eyes. “Take your time…”

Cracks spread across the length of the boot. With a final tap, it shatters apart. “There. Got it. You alright, Gem?”

“Mhm,” Gem murmurs. “’S fine.”

Aw, she’s sleepy, Pearl thinks before she can stop herself. Gem looks so cozy there on the couch, and Pearl suddenly wants nothing more than to patch her up and keep her safe. “Do you wanna get up, or should I just get splash potions?”

“Mmm.”

“Noted.” Pearl laughs as she wanders off to grab some splash potions out of a chest.

By the time Pearl comes back with the potions, Gem is curled up in a cozy ball on the couch, already asleep. Pearl’s heart swells. She splashes the two potions onto Gem, making certain not to be too forceful or make too much noise, and watches as the cuts and bruises on Gem’s skin slowly fade. Her ankle is still a bit swollen, so Pearl puts a pillow underneath it and adds an ice pack. Gem looks so peaceful and safe that Pearl can’t help but feel her heart melt every time she looks at her friend. Without even thinking about it, she goes to another chest and takes out a blanket. She might as well make sure Gem is cozy while she heals. It’s the logical thing to do. (No other reason.)

Pearl drapes the quilt over Gem’s sleeping form. Its soft blue blocks and cloud patches fit Gem’s style just as well as hers. The thought is strangely heartwarming, and Pearl feels a strange fluttering in her chest that she isn’t used to. Gem is silly and badass and kind and so pretty Pearl can barely stand it stylish, and Pearl doesn’t quite know what to make of her. All she knows is that she’s glad she took a detour past the ocean when she did.

Gem makes a peaceful humming sound. Pearl leans down and kisses her on the forehead. “Sleep well, Gem.”

“G’night, Pearl,” Gem murmurs with a smile.

Pearl jumps back, blushing beet-red. Oh, void, oh, void, she was awake, that’s so embarrassing, that shouldn’t be embarrassing, why am I embarrassed?

Gem giggles. “Thank you for saving me.”

“You’re welcome,” Pearl murmurs back.

Even when Gem is fast asleep and snoring softly, the blush in Pearl’s cheeks doesn’t fade.

[clonedchaos]

Machine Memories- Day 7: Projection

Summary:

Heidi has a gift for the Projectionist.

Rating: G/PG

These next few prompts may be on the shorter side, this upcoming week is going to be busy! Please bear with me.

The Projectionist was always drawn to the shadows of the studio. It was an innate feeling, and one that took him to the deepest depths where few dared to venture. Here, he frequently spent his days in a maze of winding hallways and pools of ink. Only the projections thrown up against the wall kept him company, unless he had a sparse visitor or two of course. 

A faint ring diverted his attention from a projected picnic scene. It was the elevator.

Someone was down here.

The Projectionist sloshed through the puddles towards the center room in a mix of tension and curiosity. A Lost One with a bow tie around her neck and a crinkle in her eyes was waiting at the base of the stairs. His limbs slackened at the realization that there was no immediate danger. Heidi was the closest thing he knew to harmless; having wandered down here one day with her daring explorer friend.

She bounced on the balls of her feet and waved him over. "Morning, Shutter! How are you today?" Heidi asked.

The Projectionist whirred in response, mostly in objection towards the nickname. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. She was going to use it one way or another.

"I have a surprise for you!" She continued and reached into the overflowing satchel just barely hanging on by a thread at her hip. She pulled out a compact camera and a shiny film reel. "Audrey took some pictures of the outside world! We just figured out how to transfer it to a reel! Would you like to take a look? I figured you might enjoy it."

The Projectionist's gears clicked. The outside world? He hadn't given much thought to that. All he really knew were the studio's depths. It was the only home he knew.

He stepped forward and tilted his head as a sign of acceptance. Heidi removed the present reel and replaced it with the new one. Instantly, flashes of color were thrown against the wall. Greens and browns of trees mixed with a rich blue. Puffs of white dotted the sky in varying shapes and sizes. Pink tulips and clumps of lavender danced in the wind.

The next slide was of a small orange critter with triangle ears, pink nose, and a tufted tail. He had never seen a creature so peculiar. It reminded him of the Ink Demon in a way, only with slitted eyes and fluffy fur. 

A pebbly shore stood in stark contrast with a foaming sea-green ocean. A bright yellow orb sank below the horizon, painting the sky with vibrant oranges, yellows, pinks, and blues.

What was it like? To see something other than pools of ink and rotting wood?

The Projectionist went through each and every photo, frequently backtracking as he noticed more and more subtle details. 

Heidi silently stood by, still bouncing on her heels as she observed the projections. "Brilliant, aren't they?" She finally asked.

Brilliant. Yes, it was. Suddenly his world got bigger. It was somewhat scary, and bright. But it was also filled with bursts of color... and life. Life outside of the studio, of the shadows.

He hoped one day he'd be able to see it.

[lostinhisworld]

secret hideaway- JJ MAYBANK

warnings: nothing really. brief mentions of illness, divorce, heartbreak and rumours. written while very tired. jj being wrongly accused. she/her pronouns. based on a tiktok i saw of the left and right images. might make a part 2 if it’s wanted. unedited.

word count: 634

hope you enjoy x

Air twisted and turned, tugging at JJ's hair in all directions as he gazed ahead, fixated on the waves crashing against sharp rocks. Finally, he allowed himself to breathe.

It had been at least ten minutes now, stretching longer than usual as he sat on the broken side of the hill, hiding from the trouble he'd unwittingly caused.

Unlike his typical antics, today was a mistake, an accidental incident born from bad luck and unfortunate timing. JJ Maybank, notorious for finding himself in situations where he emerged as the 'villain,' now found fingers pointed at him when he was discovered near a recently vandalized store.

He knew it wasn't fair; he was entirely innocent this time. Yet, he understood the odds stacked against him. Hence, when the store's owner nodded in his direction, prompting the officers to look his way, JJ sprinted off, finding refuge in the concealed cave he now occupied.

His secret hideaway wasn't common knowledge among the Outer Banks residents, sparing him the anxiety of discovery. Only a few adventurous souls had stumbled upon it, marking their find on the left wall with over twenty initials carved or drawn.

JJ himself had stumbled upon the spot a few years ago, despite spending his entire life on the island. It was as accidental as most things in his life—discovered after one too many beers at a boneyard party and a case of drunken wandering.

He'd been returning whenever he needed solitude since, never revealing its location to another soul, not even his best friend.

So, when he felt a rock shift, his immediate thought was that he was about to plunge into the ocean's turbulent waters.

Y/n Y/l/n was a newcomer to town, the latest resident of the Cut. She had moved to her mother's childhood home upon hearing of her grandmother's illness.

It was challenging to let go of the life she'd built for herself in Charlestown, but she knew it was the right choice for both her mother and grandmother.

The initial weeks had been tough, witnessing the transformation of the older lady into a mere shell of her former self. To make matters worse, news of her arrival had spread quickly, with malicious rumors swirling around her.

It was a Wednesday afternoon when she found her only refuge in this new town, following a particularly tough day at school. She had been returning there whenever she needed a break from the sadness at home and the cruelty at school.

She had never encountered another soul there before, believing it to be her private sanctuary tucked away on the side of a large hill. However, at the sight of golden hair peeking from behind a boulder, her dreams were dashed, sinking into the ocean beside her now frozen body. "Oh, no," she whispered, taking a step back in the hope that the stranger hadn't noticed her intrusion.

"Hey to you, too," the boy chimed in, amusement in his voice as she cringed.

"I didn't expect anyone else to be here—there never is. I usually come here to be alone, but obviously, I can't do that now," she babbled, uncertain about what to say to the smiling stranger. "Oh, my God. You probably came here to be alone, too, and now I've interrupted. I'll just go."

JJ sat up straighter, his face momentarily falling. "Or you could stay? We could be alone, together," he said, his words slipping out without him realizing it.

"Alone, together?" she repeated, confusion etched on her face. She thought for a moment, considering whether sitting in a secluded space with an unknown person was wise. Still, with the memory of what she was trying to escape, she decided to take the risk. "Sure, if you're okay with it."

"Of course," he replied, a bit hastily, then cleared his throat and tried a different approach. "I mean, yeah, whatever."

Y/n chuckled as she continued her descent down the hillside, using the cave's walls for balance. She hadn't yet mastered the perfect way to enter the secret spot, often tumbling rather than walking.

"I'm Y/n, by the way," she offered, her eyes fixed on the ground to prevent falling.

"Yeah, I know," JJ responded, watching her gaze snap to his. "You're new in town, and word travels fast."

Her eyes returned to the ground as she took a seat on one of the rocks, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Yeah, right. I guess you've heard all the stories, then?"

"I've heard a few," he answered easily, not sensing her sudden tension. "But I'm not big on gossip. I know how nasty rumors can be."

She looked over at him, searching for any signs of dishonesty but found only sincerity. "Well, I promise you I'm not on the run from the law, avoiding a baby-daddy, or escaping from a mental institution," she joked, a trace of sadness creeping through.

JJ furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that really what they're saying?" he wondered, receiving a shrug in response. "All I heard was that you got into a fight at your old school, and no one on the mainland wanted to take a chance with a flight risk. It's not much better, but damn, I didn't know they could be that creative."

She laughed, relaxing a bit. "Believe me, I was surprised too. One girl told me I got knocked up by my old principal."

"Wait, she said that to your face?"

"Yeah, she randomly sat next to me and told me without even looking at who she was talking to," Y/n said, rolling her eyes. "She totally freaked out when she realized."

The boy laughed genuinely, something he hadn't done in a while, as he looked into the girl's shy eyes. "I'm JJ," he said softly, his lips curving up as he extended his hand between them.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, JJ," she returned the gesture, her gentle hand wrapping around his rough skin. "Good to know not everyone thinks I'm some scandal."

"Hey, I never said that," he joked, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he held her hand. "Come with me."

"What?" Y/n sputtered as he pulled her to her feet, leading her out of their private hideaway. She didn't argue, prompted by the encouraging smile on his face and the subtle tug on her arm to keep up. She followed a few steps behind, her fingers interlocked with his.

She had known him for barely five minutes and was already chasing after him like a lost puppy. It wasn't a huge surprise to her, though.

She had always been a romantic at heart, a sucker for a good rom-com where the girl mysteriously meets her soulmate on a random afternoon.

When she was younger, lying in her pastel room, she had dreamt of the day her knight in shining armor would appear, saving her from the dragon and living happily ever after.

Regrettably, life hadn't unfolded as she had hoped. Heartbreak had found her the moment she tasted the sweetness of love. She had witnessed her parents' separation due to clashing opinions, seen her partner's joy slowly ebb away as days grew longer, and witnessed countless people walk away from her and her heart. Despite it all, it had never deterred her belief in "the one."

Y/n wholeheartedly believed that there was someone, somewhere, uniquely crafted for her, a person who would love her perfectly — she was simply waiting to cross paths with that special someone.

On the contrary, JJ was not a firm believer in love. His past experiences had soured his perception, leaving him disenchanted. He acknowledged that love existed in the world but believed it wasn't meant for him, at least not in a romantic sense.

As a result, he sought solace in meaningless hookups and unattached relationships, giving him control over his emotions and desires.

However, something had stirred within him as he watched her smile and heard her laughter. It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

And he was determined to decipher the meaning of that newfound feeling.

[sanguith]

Not defending ai art, genuinely asking: does the "If you don't make it with your own hands it doesn't count" argument equally apply to photography, in your opinion? The exact same criticism was leveled against it when cameras started to become widespread, which made me start to think more closely about where I draw the line and why.

(From a Baltimore Sun article:

As early as 1842, a magazine writer was complaining that “the artist cannot compete with the minute accuracy of the Daguerreotype.” By 1859, essayist Charles Baudelaire was denouncing photography as “the mortal enemy of art.”

“If photography is allowed to stand in for art in some of its functions,” Baudelaire fumed, “it will soon supplant or corrupt it completely.”

And a few years later, the writer Hippolyte Fandrin lamented: “I greatly fear that photography has dealt a death blow to art.”)

Again, this is a genuine question. I'm not an AI fan I'm just trying to figure out why people (including myself) treat it differently from other image generation or manipulation methods.

Oh! Thanks for the ask! It prompted a lot of thoughts, actually. This got kinda long, but as a philosophy nerd I like this stuff so buckle up! (I'm purely freestyling this btw, consider it more of a philosophical discussion rather than something based on empirical evidence - nearly impossible to do while discussing what defines "art"):

Yeah photography is real art as much as any other kind of art. I should not have limited it to art only being art if it's produced using hands, but rather mainly involving the creative process of a human consciousness somehow. I think my comment in the tags was more of a way to express the opinion that "AI art will never be human in the same intrinsically valuable way that human-made art is". In my opinion, humanity is intrinsically valuable and therefore the human creative component is integral to art. This creative component can of course look very different depending on the medium.

One could however argue that AI art does involve human intention. It is the human that picks the prompts and evaluates the finished image, after all. As with photography, the human picks an object, frames it, clicks the button and then evaluates and perhaps edits/develops the image. The absolute greatest problem I have with AI art however, which the original post focuses a lot on, is the art theft and the fact that many companies are actually using AI art as a direct replacement for human art.

And AI art can imitate a wide range of styles taken from huge datasets of existing images and create something that looks like an oil painting, a photo, watercolour, digital art, graphite, or written works like poems, articles, etc! So AI art can be everything, with much the same creation process behind it. Photography might have replaced a lot of demand for portrait art and photo-realistic art in society, but that is only one single quite small branch of the overall ocean of genres within art (it perhaps rather expanded on it!) and eventually became a whole branch of its own with many different subgenres.

Some questions that popped up in my head while writing this that I realize might actually be quite difficult to answer (these are for thinking about & discussing only, don't read these questions as me trying to justify anything):

Is the process of writing in prompts for an AI work art? Why/why not?

Is non-human art less valuable than human art? Why/why not?

If AI art is theft, does it disqualify it from being art? If so, what makes it different from human-made art that is directly plagiarizing another person's art?

Is the human process of programming an AI considered art?

How could AI art be produced and used ethically?

My own conclusion from this is that Art is a difficult concept to accurately assign one single universal definition to, and just as with everything in human society, it is constantly evolving. Whether or not it does qualify as art or not at the end of the day, however, it does not change the fact that AI art is currently being used in an unethical way that is having complex and direct real life repercussions on artists.

Again, thanks for the ask!! I love stuff like this and I try to think about it as critically as possible. My own opinion is probably still mostly "AI art bad" but mainly because of the negative effects and the unethical practice.

(Asking "why/why not" is so valuable btw, it allows one to continue asking and answering questions almost endlessly and eventually either arrive at some sort of "root" answer or go around in circles)

[blametheeditor]

Day 18 | Pirates

Gt July Prompt List

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When stranded on an uncharted underwater planet, alone and surrounded by hostile lifeforms, there are only two possible outcomes: adapt and survive, or die trying.

Spoilers: For the game Subnautica

Content Warnings: Cursing. Mentions of death and violence. Mentions of drowning and suffocation. Referring to someone as 'it'.

________________________

Have the ship he’s on crash on an alien planet while searching for another crew that went missing? Sure. It’s a less than 0.00001% chance, but when traveling in space, it’s always a thought on your mind for ‘what ifs’. 

End up thinking you’re the only survivor because no one shows up at the rendezvous point within a month? Considering the fact it’s an uncharted ocean planet with leviathan class creatures, it wouldn’t be too big of a leap in logic. 

Getting told by someone they’ve survived this long by befriending the massive beings that call this planet home? 

That...that’s something Scott’s having a hard time believing. 

The worst part is how genuine Fritz is, nothing but a pleading expression aimed up at him as the kid tries to reassure him they’re not in any danger. Despite there being a leviathan waiting right outside the cavern for them. 

You can say Scott was an idiot for assuming Fritz just managed to come at just the right time where the predator hunting him decided to leave, even though he heard haunting sounds seemingly right outside just moments before. But he never would’ve thought the kid swam directly past it. 

Before he can find the words, any words, Scott’s HUD flashes to alert him he’s losing oxygen. Looks behind him to see he moved too far away from the coral that’s been keeping him alive through this entire ordeal. 

Ordeal. That doesn’t describe how much terror he’s been living in for the past hour. The past day. The entire month. 

“How low are you on air?” he asks. 

Fritz looks surprised at the change of subject. “Oh, um, I’ve got a rebreather. Did you find a brain coral in here?” 

That’s what its called? Scott was expecting a better name for a literal lifesaver.  “I did.” 

He doesn’t bring up the fact the apparently ‘friendly’ leviathan chased him in here. That the only reason why he didn’t drown was because of  the coral. He doesn’t want to yell at a kid for ever thinking a creature like the one outside could ever be trusted. Not when Fritz doesn’t look older than 15, maybe 16. It’s a miracle someone that young has survived this long on his own. 

...which means he shouldn’t discredit the kid. Be skeptical, but anyone who has fabricated  a rebreather and built a base deserves respect. 

Scott takes a deep breath. “Explain what you meant by preferring a leviathan over a seamoth.” 

“I haven’t had to worry about a stalker or boneshark for weeks,” Fritz begins earnestly, eyes wide and pleading. And even though Scott might not be familiar with the names, hearing ‘shark’ gives him a fairly clear picture. “They’re big, but they’re careful, and they won’t let anything come after us.” 

Or, they’re waiting for you to become a proper meal.

Hold on they? 

“There’s more than one?” Scott breathes, feeling the color drain from his face. 

Fritz quickly waves his hands frantically. “There’s only two, and I trust ‘David’ more than ‘Vincent’!” 

Okay, two things. One, that doesn’t sound as comforting as Fritz might think it is. Being told the kid trusts a leviathan more than another gives absolutely no sense of security. 

Two, what the hell came out of his mouth. 

It’s almost like Scott’s brain needed to restart when Fritz suddenly pronounced something long and deep in the middle of his rapid words of attempting to offer comfort. 

“Can, can you repeat that?” the man breathes. 

“Which part?” 

Scott waves a hand. “The entire sentence.” 

“I, um, trust ‘David’ more than ‘Vincent’?” Fritz repeats, looking confused as to why Scott’s confused. As if he’s not saying something otherworldly. 

“That, the last word.” 

“Oh! That’s his name, ‘Vincent’.” 

Of course. The leviathan has a name. Not one in common, of course not. It just knows common. It speaks an entirely different language, too. One Fritz knows enough to have a name. 

A hesitant look is given as Scott does nothing to hide the skepticism he’s feeling. “D-Did ‘Vincent’ say anything to you?” 

The man has to bite his tongue from responding sarcastically. He’s upset with the leviathan that’s been taunting him about his death, not the naive kid who’s in over his head. “He said a few things. Nothing that was reassuring, though.” 

Fritz looks puzzled. Suddenly swims closer to the opening. Before Scott realizes it, the kid’s calling out to the massive beings. “Hey ‘Vincent’, did you say you weren’t going to eat him?” 

A painful shock of fear races up his spine at Fritz just blatantly talking about being eaten to something that easily can and most likely will. Feels a compulsion to yank the kid away from the opening, moves to do just that to make sure he’s not grabbed. 

Freezes when instead of the cavern shaking or a shadow signaling a reach reaching forward, a voice rumbles. Not speaking in common, but he hears the same cadence used from before meant to be a name. 

It earns a shocked expression from Fritz. “So you didn’t say you wouldn’t?” 

This time, a second voice joins in. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it almost sounds like arguing. 

What the hell is happening? 

Scott stares as Fritz’s eyes grow wider and wider with every word spoken. The longer nothing happens, the more his terror from before thinking there would be consequences for making such comments slowly morphs into curiosity. Especially with the kid looking more horrified than afraid. 

“What are they saying?” 

“’Vincent’ says he, um, wasn’t really clear on his intentions,” Fritz begins, giving the perfect impression of a kicked puppy. “’David’s’ yelling at him.” 

Honestly, he doesn’t know what he was expecting. He didn’t think he’d actually get a rough translation of the apparent words being spoken. “Is this normal?” 

“The arguing, definitely. But ‘Vincent’s’ usually a bit more...straightforward? He’s never made me second guess him,” Fritz explains as he slowly begins to hunch in on himself. Suddenly seems unsure as his eyes refuse to meet Scott’s. “I-I’m so sorry he made you think he’d kill you.” 

The tone of despair sends a knife through Scott’s heart. He can only stare at the sight of a kid taking responsibility for the actions of someone who, frankly, seems like nothing more than an asshole. A leviathan who can kill them both effortlessly, but an asshole none the less. 

And here he is, the actual adult, forcing a teenager to handle something like this by himself. A situation he isn’t qualified for in the slightest. If a kid can mediate actual leviathans, though, then he at the very least can offer support. Worry about how he got to this point at a later time. Preferably somewhere safe where oxygen is abundant. 

Scott clears his throat. “So you know what they’re saying?” 

“There’s still a lot I don’t know,” is quietly admitted, though a small spark begins to grow. “But I know the important parts and use context clues for the rest.” 

“And do they understand you?” 

“’Vincent’ knows a lot of common. ‘David’ knows a little, but he prefers us using his language instead.” 

He almost forgot, there’s two leviathans. One he had the displeasure of being trapped by, the other he has no way of knowing if they’re any better. But if he doesn’t want to leave Fritz alone with two catastrophic beings, then he’ll have to trust they won’t eat him at the very least. 

He takes a deep breath. Holds it. “About this seabase.” 

Fritz brightens up immediately. “It’s completely leviathan proof, not even ‘Vincent’ can dent it! It’s about 200 meters from here, but I brought the seamoth. You can drive it if you want and I can follow!” 

That’s right, the smaller sub only has room for a single pilot, meaning one of them will be protected while the other is left at the mercy of the leviathans. 

No way in hell is he letting Fritz swim out in the open. 

“I’ve never piloted one, so I’d rather trust you at the controls,” Scott smiles even as his hands begin to tremble. “Anyway I can hang onto the outside?” 

“I think so!” 

And just like that, the kid, disappears. As soon as it clicks he just swam out of the cavern, Scott’s racing after him. “Wait!” 

By the time he catches up to Fritz, the kid’s already gesturing toward the sub floating a few feet away and toward the horizon where he assumes the base is. 

Scott finds himself going completely still when he realizes he’s out in the open and at the mercy of the leviathan that chased him. Looks up at a dozen eyes focused down at them, a predatory smile revealing the sharp teeth that could end him in seconds once he exited the safety of the rock. 

And to his left, there’s a second leviathan. One who seems a little more human. Instead of long extensions on its back, however, large mandibles frame its face, a silent promise anything that gets too close will be grabbed and shoved into its massive maw. The fact it’s a little bigger and much broader than its companion doesn’t escape his attention. 

Scott’s heart pounds as he waits for a haunting wail as he’s lunged at. For a fight to ensue over who gets to eat them. To have Fritz grabbed by one, him by another, the kid’s blinded trust having been used to their advantage. 

But nothing happens. 

“-and you can’t ‘hold’ the sub, ‘David’.” 

Scott flinches as the mandibles that look strong enough to crush the sub almost directly beside it shifts as it huffs. That’s all the leviathan does. The other only watches. 

What did I get myself into?

“You okay, Scott?” Fritz murmurs, the smile he had turning into a concerned frown the moment he turned to see the unmistakable terror. 

“I’m fine,” he forces out. 

It takes full minute for him to look away from the towering beings. Focuses on the sub that will bring them to a base promised to be leviathan proof. Carefully swims forward as he prays it won’t trigger an attack. 

The two giants are eerily silent and still as Scott checks for handholds before finding a seat on one of the short wings. Positions himself where he can see Fritz once the teenager climbs inside, and what’s behind them so he can warn if a leviathan suddenly charges at them. Reaches forward to see if he can grab the antenna on the top of the sub, relieved that he can and therefore has something to use to keep from falling off the smooth metal. 

“Think this will work?” Scott asks. 

Fritz nods, his excitement coming back. “We can do a test real quick!” 

Scott moves his arm so the kid and climb into the sub without issues. Goes tenses once the hatch closes at the realization he’s alone with the two leviathans. 

The purple one makes an odd sound before rumbling something. The other smirks as it replies. 

“I can still hear you!” Fritz calls, causing Scott to jump at the teenager’s voice. “I’ll withhold peepers if I have to!” 

He was not expecting a look of panic followed by indignation to appear. 

Scott sends an appreciative look down at the teenager. “You bribe them with fish?” 

“Only sometimes,” Fritz grins. “Ready?” 

“Just don’t go too quick.” 

It’s a pleasant surprise when the seamoth is gently accelerated instead of thrown into full throttle. He never got the impression Fritz would pull something like that, but it’s hard to tell with teenagers. Though the ones who disregard other’s lives and feelings most likely wouldn’t have survived being stranded for this long. Wouldn’t have tried to befriend leviathans, that’s for sure. 

After the sub travels about 20 meters and Scott becomes confident he won’t get pulled off by the current, the leviathans then finally move. A sight that fills him with awe, and fear. 

The way they move through the water shows they’re made for this planet. It’s all one fluid motion from lying down to following after them. Absolutely massive beings that are nothing but silent as they trail behind. 

It sends a chill up Scott’s spine at being the thing they’re focused on. Can effortlessly imagine how it’d look if they were to lunge. “That’s terrifying.” 

“It still gets me sometimes,” Fritz agrees as he offers an encouraging smile. 

Scott finds himself returning it, admittedly a bit awed the sheer amount of courage this kid has. Much too trusting for his own good, but who is he to judge. He’s just grateful he wasn’t robbed blind and then left to be eaten by a leviathan the moment he decided to trust the kid. 

That would’ve been one hell of a scam. Reminds him of the horror stories involving ships getting boarded by robbers who take everything and leave no witnesses. Because even in space, there’s still such things as pirates. 

Suddenly, the seamoth slowly decelerates, flooding him with panic as he watches the leviathans get closer and closer. Startles when the hatch to the sub opens as Fritz climbs out, only then realizing there’s a base sitting in front of him. One with a concerning amount of windows. 

“Want to see the inside?” Fritz asks. 

“Yes please,” Scott begins as he carefully swims away from the seamoth. Sends a fearful look behind him toward the quickly approaching leviathans before following the kid. 

Breathes a sigh of relief when his feet find solid ground and his HUD stops flashing a warning. 

He doesn’t get a full minute to recover before a hand is grabbing his arm, Fritz looking absolutely ecstatic as he gently tugs at the man to follow. “We’ll do proper introductions, and then I’ll get a coffee machine built!” 

Scott has no choice but to allow himself be led through the hallway. Finds himself softly cursing when he realizes why there’s so many windows, unsure how to feel about the fact a leviathan can watch him whenever it’d like. Can only watch as both monoliths settle down on the seafloor, focusing on nothing except them. 

Fritz is completely unaffected by the scrutiny as he excitedly gestures toward the two. “’David’ and ‘Vincent’.” 

Scott can feel the weighted looks as he becomes the center of attention. God, he has to try and pronounce their names in front of them? “Avid and Int?” 

“’David’,” the leviathan with mandibles growls as the purple one laughs. 

“David,” the man snaps with a glare. He’s sorry, this is his first time trying to speak an alien language. 

The other one smirks. “’Vincent’.” 

Oh God, his voice can not go that deep. “Vince?” 

His second attempt earns him a smile. It has him glancing down at Fritz to confirm if that’s a sign of approval, or a silent promise he’ll be killed at the first opportunity. All he’s given is an encouraging look before Scott’s gestured to. “And this is Scott!” 

“Cot,” sounds like David gargling rocks. Then proceeds to glare at Scott, like it’s his fault for having an apparently difficult name to pronounce. 

He’s starting to get the feeling he’s not going to like either leviathan. 

“Scott,” Vincent chirps perfectly. 

“Ott.” 

“Scott.” 

David growls lowly. “Scott.” 

The man then turns to Fritz, ignoring the rumbles as what he assumes will become a familiar sound of arguing starts up. He’s just glad to no longer be the center of attention. “Where’s that coffee I was promised?” 

[thekinkyleopard]

Insatiable

Based off a Prompt

A Remi x Levi Non-Canon Snz Fic

Special Geezie Request

LONG

⚠️Content Warning ⚠️

Snz, Mess, Spray, Smut, Rough Sex, Contagion

Author’s Notes: Tis another Geezie request special ya’ll 🥵 This fic was inspired by @victoriablackrose with a slight twist. Levi does not have the fet, Remi does, but Remi is the only one who fits a rich and powerful character who is prone to sick. 🥴 I’m sorry to those of you disappointed by how long this will be but I promise I stuffed it full of good shit and lots of love so please enjoy. 😊🫶🏻

Description:

Remi is a successful autobody shop owner, he worked really hard, and his shop is the absolute best in town, no seriously he's put half his competition in the ground. This is because the wolf expects nothing less than perfection, and competence from his entire team. Five stars on yelp for that very reason. So much as one screw loose and you're going to have to face an irate Remi, something no one wanted to do on any given day.

He ran a tight ship, but he hired the best of the best which meant, his presence in the shop was less and less needed. Financially, they were doing incredible, he was able to maintain what he had to for the business, as well as pay his employees a good wage including benefits, and he could do the thing he loved the most, take care of and spend time with the love of his life, Levi.

This time he'd booked a very special trip for them, it was going to be amazing. He had rented a private Island along the coast of Bora Bora. However, the week before, was proving to be an entire nightmare. Two mechanics called out sick and one had a family emergency, all with plenty of proof to provide the incredibly stressed man. It was fine, his employees needed to take care of themselves now, so they could return when he went on vacation. Fruits of his labor....fruits of his labor.

Surprisingly, he managed walking out of the week alive, though it was leaving him feeling incredibly, burnt out. Like a crispy chicken. However, he was in Bora Bora now, lounging on a beach towel in their own private paradise wonderland with a full staff to wait on them hand and foot.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Levi asked with his face illuminated by the rays of sunshine basking down upon him, enjoying the environmental ambience of ocean waves and gentle breeze.

"This is exactly...Hh'..." suddenly feeling a burdening sting in his nostrils, his throat getting tighter and his chest feeling heavier.

"Rem?" Levi looked over, lifting his sunglasses above his head to get a better glance at him.

"H'TscHU!" The wolf sneezed openly in front of himself, his body lurching forward from his towel, now in a sitting position. "Fuck...snnff” he sniffled, rubbing his nose against the back of his hand.

"Oh no, are you allergic to something out here?" The leopard now suddenly looking around anxiously at any new flowers, or maybe animals that had crossed their path, not even considering his walking virus catcher of a boyfriend may be sick, again. Remi shook his head slowly back and forth suddenly feeling the mind numbing pressure in his cranium forcing itself to the surface.

"N-No...I think it's just...passing through don't worry.." he sighed softly rubbing the sides of his clammy temples.

"O-Okay, honey.." Not entirely believing that for a second as he watched Remi’s features fall into that familiar state of sick he’d seen so many times before. However, running with it anyway, just to see how it would progress. Having SOME faith in the wolf's ability to identify his own needs. "Well, I'm going to grab you some water, and me a cocktail, I'll be right back.." Levi went to stand up before the man gripped his wrist forcing him back down in the space next to him.

"Babe, don't get up, we're here alone, we have staff, raise your hand up...watch," he explained confidently before raising his arm and waving his palm about loosely. In record time, a handsome young man appeared out of nowhere, dressed professionally in a white shirt and black pants, carrying a tray of drinks.

"Good afternoon, Mr. R-Remi and Mr. Levi. M-May I offer you some refreshments?" The man's voice was smooth as silk but shaky with nerves, his smile warm and welcoming. Despite the trembling in his knees from the sheer presence of the business owner.

Remi nodded, "Yes. Water," his voice stoic, his tired emerald orbs gazing lovingly at his sunbathing leopard. He did absolutely adore the way he looked out in the tropics. No shirt, that freckled pale skin in the sunlight distracting him at every turn, and always wearing some sort of colorfully printed pattern swim trunk. Absolutely tasteful...and he was going to get a taste, full.

"Of course, sir." The man handed him a glass of water with a shaking and nervous hand, snapping Remi straight back into reality, taking it, he shook his head gently, the server now turning to Levi.

"And for you, sir?" clearing his throat before hand, extra emphasis on the respect towards the scarier man's date. Suspecting instinctively it wouldn't go well for him if he was providing anything less than excellent service to the two.

Levi smiled tenderly, "I'll have a Mojito, please." now sighing with contentment as he laid back down, comfortably in the sun. It wasn't too hot, and it definitely wasn't cool. It also wasn't often they got to spend time out in the sun since they had bought their home in Alaska. A breath of fresh air for them both.

The man bowed slightly, "Right away, sir." And just like that, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

Remi sighed, feeling grateful for the staff's efficiency. He took a sip of his water, feeling the cool liquid soothing his parched throat. However, the sneezing fit wasn't going away. If anything, it was getting worse as he felt his sinuses beginning to congest. He knew he had to do something about it before it ruined their entire vacation.

He stood up, feeling the sand between his toes and began to walk towards the water. Levi looked up at him curiously, "Remi, where are you going?"

"I'm going for a swim. Maybe the salt water will help clear my head,” He gave him a reassuring smile before taking his leave down the sand shore and throwing himself into the sea. Levi wasn't complaining, he liked to see water cascading down the man's toned chest, his wet long hair sticking to his neck. He shuddered in anticipation.

As Remi swam around for a few minutes before diving deep beneath the water, he felt the salty sea rushing through his nose and sinuses, causing him to sneeze uncontrollably while down under. "PlfPhtB! Pl'fPhtbB!" A mist of bubbles releasing around him and floating up to break at the surface. But to his surprise, with each sneeze, he felt himself clearing up.

He emerged from the water, feeling refreshed and much more stable than he had going in, his sneezing fit now subsided for the moment being. His body glistening in the rays of the sun. The leopard took this moment to sit up properly and get a good look at his boyfriend coming up to the shore. He whistled suggestively at the man wiggling his thin white brows at the object of his desires. “Feeling better, hot stuff?” He may or may not already have gone one and a half mojitos deep while the wolf had taken his time for a swim. He had told the staff member to keep a full drink in his hand any time he saw him without one. Needless to say, Levi was already feeling pretty light headed and loose.

Remi grinned, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks as he walked towards the ogling cat.

"Much," he smirked, Levi's favorite half toothed grin, long fingers reaching out to run his fingers through the leopard's hair as he closed in on their space. "But I think I need more than just a swim to clear this ache inside me,"

Levi giggled flirtatiously, leaning up to kiss Remi deeply on the lips. Their tongues wasted no time reuniting with their familiar fleshy counterpart, swirling in a rhythm of passion. Remi eagerly returned each hungry advance, deepening the kiss as he pushed Levi onto his back in the sand.

Their bodies intertwined as they continued to kiss, hands exploring every inch of each other's skin. Levi moaned softly, feeling the heat of Remi's wet body pressing and dripping against him. The cool droplets hitting his chest making him shudder. He could feel his own arousal growing, aching for more. Remi's body increasing in temperature for more reasons than the obvious one at current. He was still feeling out of touch with his health, the aching in his head now a throbbing motion, but god..his little kitten just tasted so good...he needed to have him. He would just have to hold it in.

Remi broke the kiss, trailing hot, wet, open kisses down the cat's neck, nipping at his skin with his teeth, leaving behind marks of various sizes against the pale flesh. Levi moaned louder, body expanding and contracting in a rhythm only his mind can understand. His lips parting as he breathed out and then as they meshed together, he breathed in "God, Remi..I want more of you," he whispered almost helplessly, his voice heavy with desire.

Remi reached down between them, his hand gently moved over the firm flesh, matching the rhythm of his body against Levi's hardening member through the fabric of his trunks. "I can feel that," he growled into his ear, adding a hard squeeze that made the smaller gasp. "But first, I need to take care of you..."

Remi gently traced his tongue over Levi's body starting from his neck, down his clavicle, then reaching his delicate budding nipple, feeling it harden and peak under the touch. He traced his teeth across the edges, running his tongue over one of those pink waiting areolas and enjoying the soft moan that filled the open tropical space around them. His hands roaming over the other's smooth chest and stomach.

Levi writhed beneath him, his body trembling with need, his pale skin glistened with the warm humidity of the tropics. Sweat beads upon his brow before being washed away by the gentle breeze. He panted rapidly with each pressing movement, his chest rising and falling beneath the larger man. His ocean eyes half lidded, staring at the photographic sky above him. His mouth parted, breathing heavy.

Remi, descending furtherly, eager to get a taste of his beloved as his nails trailed hard, heavy, deep claw marks down the leopard's delicate sides. This eliciting a drawn out moan from the small man below. "Remi..." he breathed out, his voice hoarse with passion, "Please.."

"Please what?" Remi's voice was low and husky, his deep emerald eyes gazing back at Levi through his eyelashes. He made sure his smile was showing through in his voice, he was so in love with his kitten, and wanted him to know that.

Levi bit his bottom lip, blushing lightly as he turned his face away, "Please…Sir..." answering pathetically. Remi grunted low in his chest inhaling sharply through his slightly still stuffed up nose, he liked the way it sounded. The way Levi's moans echoed through his voice. It was like nothing else he heard, his absolute favorite sound in the world. Enough to keep him distracted from the worsening conditions that were waiting for him under the surface of lust.

"Hmm, come on kitten. You can do better than that..." His teeth gently grazed Levi's delicate hip bones, leaving little blood blisters along the boundary of his V lines to mark his territory. The leopard's swim trunks were sitting dangerously low on his haunches. So low one could see the start of his pubic bone. It was driving the wolf absolutely wild.

"PLEASE, Sir...I want to feel your m-mouth on me...Please...I don’t want to wait anymore..." Levi continued. The words fell out of his mouth in a rushed mess. His eyes shut tight, expecting the wolf to devour him at any moment.

"Oh, tell me all about it, baby…" Remi chuckled darkly sliding his tongue across the top row of his teeth, "Mm, Just as I thought..." he hissed lowly under his breath as he slowly peeled the leopard's swim trunks down past his length.

Levi's eyes shot open as he spoke, "What, what did you think?" but before he could continue he was cut off as the wolf's mouth descended upon the head of his erect member.

"Mmmmm..." the larger moaned softly, savoring the flavor of his kitten. A flavor he loved beyond belief, could never get enough of. He groaned in pleasure as he felt Levi's length fill up his mouth. He had a deep urge to swallow the boy whole. He knew he wouldn't be able to with the persistent burning in his throat, it would be too much despite his abilities in different circumstances. But he could at least do his best.

Levi could only moan in relief at the sensation that traveled down every cell in his body, his toes were curled into the sand and his back was tingling with an electric voltage that could not be stopped. The feeling was almost too much to bear. Remi's lips wrapped around his shaft, and his teeth grazed across the sensitive skin, giving a slight sting that went straight to Levi's gems. His eyes rolled back as he moaned. "G-god..."

The wolf's tongue caressed the sensitive organ, lapping up the leaking pre-cum with each flick.

Levi's body arched in pleasure as Remi's tongue began to trace around the head of his erection, licking away the pearly white liquid. The wolf groaned, this ignited a primal need deep within him to consume the kitten. His desire to taste every inch of him was overwhelming and he wanted nothing more than to take him in one fell swoop. His tongue explored Levi's length, sucking hard as much as he could. The cat’s cock pulsed for release inside the man's throat, when he was suddenly pushed full hilt.

This would have been fine, had the length of it not tickled the back of his throat the way it did. Remi gagged once over, pulling himself up, the leopard found this reverberation of sound, extremely erotic, unaware that his mate was actually suffering in this moment. 'Don't do it Rem...keep it together...' he coached himself internally as his tongue continued to work circles around his lover's aching shaft, but his nose still tickled.

Remi with all the mental strength he could muster, continued to push it down, trying to keep himself from ruining the mood, his nose felt like it was going to explode. He breathed in and out deeply, hoping to push out the urge before he could do anything that would ruin the moment, but the more he fought it, the stuffier his nose got, the harder it was to breathe. Groaning deep from within the pits of his chest as he slipped up the other's leaking tip, sucking at a pressure, that proved to be too much.

It was going to come out whether he liked it or not. Just as he thought he was winning the battle against his sensitive nose, he pulled up from Levi's cock with a swift movement and an almighty "Hah'TSCHUU!" escaped from his lips and sent wet droplets of saliva all over Levi's cock.

The wolf quickly pulled away, embarrassed at what had just happened. He wiped his nose and face with the back of his hand and tried to apologize but it came out in a barely audible stutter. “S-sor-..”

"Shh...M'ere," the slightly intoxicated cat whispered, his hand finding the back of Remi's neck and pulling him in to a deep and lust-fueled kiss. A moment of tongues clashing, and mouths sliding together in a messy and needy rythmn, the leopard pulled away just slightly, their foreheads pushed together, his own face wet from contracting the other’s sneezy mess. "That...actually felt really fucking good..."

A tinge of arousal shot up Remi's toes straight to his groin, the little cat thought that....felt good? He liked his blow out? That was surprising, but absolutely delicious news to hear in his throbbing, hazy head.

"Still want me to leave you breathless?" Remi asked, his voice was low again, rough as it pushed through the chords, his lips brushed past Levi's like a soft breeze of wind, panting tenderly amongst each other. The wolf could still feel that hot pressure pushed to the surface of his skull but attending his mate was so much more important than that.

Levi nodded, his reply was simple but filled with desire, "Yes..." he whispered past the man's ever ghosting lips, his hips adjusting in discomfort as his needs increased and as Remi's mouth found it's way to the cat's sensitive neck.

"I'll give you what you want..." Remi muttered, his tongue hungrily exploring every inch. Savoring every taste. His breaths were ragged, messy, it drove the leopard wild with each huff felt across his flesh. Levi's hands quickly snaked their way into the wolf's hair, his fingers curling in to tangled knots as he moaned delicately out loud, his body squirming beneath Remi.

He bit down slightly on Levi's neck, his teeth digging into the skin, drawing a few trickles of crimson and leaving a large hickey. The wolf needed to mark his territory, always, without fail. His teeth pulled back over his tongue, dragging the skin along with it, as he let it slip loose from his jaws. He then licked the area where he had just bitten, savoring Levi's salty taste before kissing it softly.

The action alone caused Levi to all but collapse. His body writhing against his lover's movements, while his moans became more and more desperate with his increased arousal. He knew exactly what was to come, and he knew it was going to drive him insane. A smile split across his face as he felt Remi's lips against his neck, he took a strong inhale of the leopard's skin, relishing in the scent of him, but his nostrils still begging for an ounce of comfort. His breathing hitched, and his chest rose sharply with every tickle that crawled up his nose. "H'h..." he tried to pull away, but the smaller, only pulled him in closer.

"I want to feel all of you..." Levi whimpered loosely, sending a jolt of excitement down the wolf's loins. Did he mean..? He very much did, the smaller was so deeply entranced by their encounter, and desperate for the raven haired man, he didn't care what kind of attention it was, as long as it was on him.

Remi let out a soft, and deepened moan, his tongue flicking over the leopard's skin until it settled on the sensitive area of Levi's throat. His breath was hot and raspy as he stuck his tongue out to deliver one last kiss before allowing his head cold to have the ultimate say, "Hh'itsshhih! Hah'TSCHU!" sending the wet particles of spit all over Levi's neck that trickled slowly downward against his chest.

Levi only responded with a low moan, pressing into the mess but never fully releasing him from their embrace. His hands still locked in Remi's hair as he tilted his head over and met the wolf's glassy green eyes with an expression that could only be described as pure lust. "That felt so good…" he purred, licking away some of the saliva that lingered upon the wolf's lips, before lightly pressing their mouths together once again. In between a slurry of passionate tongues, the raven haired man could be heard with little wet sniffles as his hands explored down the cat's thin body.

Levi's own hands slipped to the wolf's already strained swim trunks, the fabric fighting against the unfastening as his fingers worked to tug it down. At long last it gave way and Levi had what he was looking for. The wolf pressing urgently against the smaller's warm palm, as it rose with every rough breath Remi could muster.

"Hih'ITTSCHU!" He cried out in another fit, his nose twitching against the crook of the younger man's neck, his tongue flicked out the corner of his lips, as if he was trying to fight against the urges within his sinuses, but they were too strong. Remi's entire body shook and convulsed as he let out a deep raspy, "Hh'itsshhih!" His entire face pushed forward as his nose leaked against Levi's pale freckled flesh, who's movements on his cock only seemed to increase. Soft fingers encasing him, and massaging him.

"God bless you, baby...." responding breathlessly to the fitting wolf. The sensation was too much for the Leopard, and Levi's breathing quickened as his hips began to undulate in time with Remi's explosions. His body becoming ever more aroused as it responded to the wetness that trailed down his chest. He began to beg pathetically "Please, Rem...I need you," his voice echoing inside the ravenette's pounding head from the sheer amount of desperation. He wanted nothing more than to feel the wolf all over him once again, pushing against every inch of his skin until he was completely satisfied. In an unorganized rhythm, Levi continued to pump and squeeze at his lover's aching, large length in his shaking palm.

Remi groaned, his sensitive nose was making it impossible for him to immerse himself within the pleasure of his mate's hand, but Levi's pleas were just as hard to ignore. Reaching over, the wolf took a firm hold of Levi's hip to pull him in closer to stop the overwhelming pleasure from becoming more than he could take, his words coming out wet and sex crazed, “Yes...” He grunted, the wolf's voice was strained and tight, like he's trying to hold something back from escaping. He was.

“Don't make me wait anymore...” Levi's voice soft and sensual as his cock throbbed against the open tropic air, trunks still pulled barely below his ass. Remi swiftly overpowered the smaller, forcing him onto his back in the sand.

Remi had been beaten. He didn't have it in him to speak, instead he let his tongue trail languidly from his lips and down the length of Levi's stomach. His arms were on either side of Levi's head as he allowed the older man to lead their dance and with a swift yet gentle shove, he ripped the rest of the man's trunks off with his teeth.

Remi's tongue pressed into the skin of Levi's now peach fuzzed pubic line, as he traveled down and began to work on teasing the smaller length, "H'h..." hitching his breath over the sensitive flesh, allowing the feeling of his oncoming eruption to consume him. "H'Hah...." a slight pool of saliva dripping from his tongue down Levi's waiting cock, his cheeks flushed vermillion.

"Hah'TSCHHUU!" letting it all fly forward and completely coat the cat's waiting member, who, with the feeling of being soaked caused him to push his hips up from the sandy ground to try and elect further sensations out of the wolf's mouth.

"F-Fuck..." Levi whimpered, tossing his head back and forth from the overtly erotic stimulation.

A few droplets of the salty fluid dripped off of Levi's engorged cock and down onto his stomach, which the wolf began to lick away at eagerly, sloppily he moved to suck the cat's tip in rhythm with his tongue. His lips formed a tight seal around Levi's shaft which left the man to believe his brain was about to explode. Remi’s head was bobbing back and forth, side to side, in circular motions that his mouth performed strategically well.

"H-haahh!" the smaller cried out, his whimpers echoing through the private beach as his heart raced and his body ached for more. He could feel his length getting harder, and the longer Remi licked him, the closer he was to orgasm. "It's...too much," he whispered, his moans coming out in ragged breaths as he felt the man's tongue swirl around his cock.

Remi snaked around the exposed flesh, running it's course up and down the shaft as his lips sealed around it once again. The wolf pulled back, allowing just enough of the cat to slip out of his mouth before he dove in for more. With each pull Remi took on Levi, he could feel the man's body tremble beneath him with pleasure that was too much to contain. "I’b gonna dhow you, doo mud," voice stuffy from his previous fit.

Remi smiled wickedly, knowing what Levi needed- a deeper satisfaction than what his tongue could provide. He placed both hands onto Levi's thighs and pushed them up towards his chest, spreading him so wide that the wolf could have full view of the opening between his legs and exposing him fully to himself. Spitting one time onto the area in wanton lust with the excess amount of saliva collecting under his tongue, Remi shifted himself up until their bodies were finally aligned, his cock fully erect outside the hole of his trunks - letting Levi know how badly he wanted to be inside him now.

With a single thrust, The wolf forced himself inside the cat's tight walls, pushing his hips forward as deep as he could go. Remi groaned with each pass, marveling at the feeling of Levi's wetness surrounding him and squeezing him with such pleasure that it nearly made him lose control. He grabbed onto either side of Levi's thighs and began to fuck him violently, almost desperate- pushing himself further and harder into the man below him as his own orgasm loomed closer.

"F-Fuck me," Levi cried out in a strained voice, shivering from pleasure even as Remi continued to pound into him relentlessly. His entire body was shaking now, arching up into the wolf with each stroke as if begging for more even though it felt like he was about to break apart from the intensity of it all.

Remi felt his own claws digging into Levi's flesh unconsciously- gripping tightly onto the smaller man's legs, keeping them firmly pushed against the cat's chest, but as deeply invested in his orgasm as he was, Remi couldn't hide the fighting battle inside his sweating body. It didn't matter though, Levi was past the point of finding a limit and the wolf knew deep down he could use the man like his own property, even like a tissue. As the wolf hovered over the mess of a leopard, he allowed the breath in his throat to stutter and hitch, his face pulling back, eyes squinting from the brightness of the sun. It was any minute now, a thin line of drool falling down the side of his open maw.

"H'TSCHU!" He sneezed atop his lover, a misted cloud of sick falling over the man. Levi jolting at the sudden action, eyes widening in shock as he watched Remi's head whip back to face him again. His mind raced with desire, the feeling of the wolf atop him pushing him closer and closer to his own climax.

What snapped him out of it was not what was happening between their bodies, but instead the sensation of a few drops of saliva that had been released from Remi's sneeze landing on his mouth. Without a second thought, Levi parted his lips slightly and sensually lapped up the stray beads.

The sight of this sent Remi over the edge as he increased his thrusts even more violently now- "Jesus fuck..." swearing lewdly at the scene, as he felt himself come closer and closer to orgasm. With one last powerful thrust, striking Levi against his prostate in one aggressively fluid motion, they both cried out in equal pleasure. Remi busting his seed inside of the trembling cat, while he painted the majority of his own pale freckled chest.

"H-haa," Levi gasped, his white and black hair now covered in a fine sheen of sweat as he panted loudly, his voice broken up as he attempted to catch his breath. He reached down with his hands to pull Remi's hips close to him, causing him to fall forward. Their lips met in a lazy and messy fashion, tongues crashing against one another.

The cat had his arms wrapped around Remi's shoulders now slinking his hands together behind him, kissing him deeply as the wolf returned with equal lust and passion. After a few more heated moments, the wolf pulled away huffing desperately to catch his sanity.

"God, you're rather insatiable today aren't you?" Remi chuckled generously, still panting from his orgasm. The symptoms of his current state falling back to the surface after having been subdued by their moment of passion. His face was much hotter now with the added circumstances, unable to make out whether or not that insistent warbling was a sound being made around them or just inside his own head.

Levi huffed out a short laugh, "You have no idea...You were rather busy this week...I missed you..." his head falling back against the sand as they spoke.

"Mmmm," Remi smiled, rolling off of the cat and laying onto his side beside him, watching as Levi did the same. "I'm sorry, I just had a lot on my plate with the call outs," the wolf sighed shaking his head and laying his hands onto his face to shield his aching head from the blinding rays.

"It's all right!" Levi spoke still in the same cheerful fashion he always did, turning to face Remi with a much more flirtatious look on his face. "You made it up to me now...I'm not mad anymore..."

"OOOH, Okay," Remi laughed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he reached over and ran his fingers through Levi's hair. "I see you," narrowing his watery swollen eyes in a playful manner.

"Yeah and I see YOU...clearly have a cold coming on...again," sticking his tongue out at the larger of the two who sniffled in persecution, before the leopard reached over and gently rubbed and squeezed his neck.

"I know! I know....I think it's leisure sickness...I may have over worked myself, and now our vacation is ruined...." feeling a bit down on himself for allowing his health to come second to the business.

Levi’s thumb pad rubbed small circles around the flesh of skin on Remi’s neck. “It’s not ruined, my love, even if I spend the whole time taking care of you..It’s always worth it spending time together,” he purred suggestively, leaning forward to plant a heated kiss against his boyfriend’s chapped lips. He sniffled against the cat but still gave as much passion as he received.

“That so?” He asked in a breathless whisper against Levi’s mouth.

“Mmmm definitely…” responding as their foreheads slid together intimately. Hesitantly, Levi pulled back and sat up, he looked around and decided maybe he should get the wolf back to rest up a bit. “You wanna go back to the room?” Looking over with excited cerulean eyes. He loved the beach shore they had to play on, but, he would like to get the sand out of his ungodly places as well as spend more time in their gorgeous bungalow.

“Yeah…be nice to lay down on a bed for a bit…” he mumbled pushing the back of his hand against his sore, and still wet nostrils. Being under the sun with an already growing temperature, was probably a bad idea…and having sex on top of that.

Levi was the first to take his stand, extending his palm out to the other, using the bulk of his own strength to help Remi back to his feet. “Come on, let’s go…I’m due for another drink anyway~” he shook his hips with a giggle, the large man chuckling through his nose and rolling his emerald orbs. Once back on their feet, they fixed their trunks back on after shaking out all the sand.

“Mmm, oh?” Remi laughing once again, knowing exactly where this vacation was going if Levi planned to keep on the cocktail train, shaking his head as they helped each other through the sand. The wolf following the cat back to their temporary humble abode.

It didn’t take too long for them to get there, but as soon as they opened the door to their bungalow, the larger felt a wave of illness wash over his body. He stepped further into the room, trying to fight the spinning and pounding against his skull, taking notice of the beige walls that contrasted against dark wooden furniture and linen bedding. An air conditioner blew cool air from one corner while the shades were blocking out the bright sun rays coming from outside. "Man...just not being surrounded with blinding sunlight alone feels so much better..." he sighed, noticing some relief behind his aching emerald orbs.

Levi giggled in response, but hopped past him, quickly making his way over to an already made drink that was sitting on the coffee table between two white wicker chairs. “Woah! Look at this- A giant fishbowl!” he murmured with wonderment, pointing out to a massive round glass filled with a tropical alcoholic concoction and several different fruits coming out of it.

Remi walked closer to inspect it himself and laughed softly before shaking his head again in amusement. “God damn that's like 4 drinks in one....might want to be careful before I'm peeling you off the floor..."

Levi laughed and looked over to him with a smirk, taking a gulp of his drink before making a pout. “I can handle it! Besides, I’m sure you can catch me if you need to...you're a big strong man.” sending off a wink of his playful ceruleans as he chuckled, Levi finally taking another big swig of the cocktail and settling it back into place. Feeling that continued looseness he had been buzzing off earlier.

Remi rolled his eyes with an even wider smile before he shook his head and fell onto the bed. His face felt hot and tight against the pillow as he tried to fight off the growing tickle inside his nose, feeling like sand may be stuck up his nostrils. “Hah-h..aha...there's no way in hell I'm catching you if you fall off more than two drinks," he replied struggling to keep the mess at bay, laughing between each tickle that threatened to make him sneeze again.

Levi looked over quickly at Remi's sudden laughter, his expression turning from amusement to concern as he noticed the wolf still looking rather uncomfortable in his own flesh. "Seriously though, honey, are you okay? Do we need to pack it in early?" Remi shook his head swiftly.

"Nonsense, I'm sure I'll feel better tom-....H'ITTSCHU! Hih'TsscHIEW!!" He sneezed twice into the open air in front of him on the bed. His body convulsing, every muscle flexing to the surface, which the little leopard took much note in. He wasn't usually the one to be so turned on by his lover's sickness, that was a Remi trope, but with the mix of tropic air and these delicious beverages, it was all so enticing.

"You know what might make you feel better? A nice dip into the jacuzzi later tonight, Once the sun goes down," Levi suggested walking over to his mate's bed side, running his thin fingers through the man's sticky black threads.

"Hah...ha...thats...thats a...good idea..." he snuffled and hitched, his chest arching and flexing against the bed. His whole nose ached with stuffy ick, making it impossible to breath through his irritated nostrils, his jaw slacked as he breathed deeply through his mouth.

"For now maybe...take a bit of a nap? You'll be feeling right as rain in no time." Remi nodded his head slowly, groggily, the sandman already threatening to take over. "Yes...maybe a nap...is what I need right now...Hih'iitsCHUU!" he murmured before it was swallowed by a room echoing sneeze, spraying a mist around the two of them, it caused his nostrils to drip and he groaned drowsily, swiping the edge of the blanket against his messy, wet face.

“Oh, Acushla..." he whispered the Gaelic endearment, while he rubbed at the wolf's forehead softly, cursing himself for not having brought any medications.

Levi watched him quietly for a moment, smiling at the peaceful look on his face as Remi's emerald orbs slid to a close, only the sound of his staggered breathing filled the space. Eventually, when Levi was certain that the man managed to find his way into dreamland, did he turn over to reunite with his beverage. Grabbing his fishbowl and walking to the outside space that led to the jacuzzi and view of the shore, he watched the waves crash against the sand.

The leopard sat on a nearby chair and began sipping away at his beverage - though they were meant for two people that was no match for this little cat's determination. In between gulps and laughs the occasional burp would escape from his mouth as he slowly got himself drunk off of Remi's future headache, hoping to take full advantage of this rare moment with himself alone while his boyfriend napped.

As he did so, the night sky slowly descended upon them both, twinkling stars and a glowing crescent moon enchanting all who laid their eyes on it, Levi finishing his drink with one final gulp before finally deciding upon stumbling out of the chair. He was feeling completely and totally different from the hour ago he sent Remi to bed.

Slowly, the cat managed to get himself over to Remi's bedside once more, now planting soft, sweet kisses across the wolf's clammy face. "Baaaaby~" he whispered gently into his ear. "Baaaaby~ C'mon...s'time to get up..get in the hot tub with me.." starting to slowly peel the covers off his now stirring and grumbling mate.

Remi groaned in protest, his head throbbing something fierce and his mouth feeling like a desert, rubbing at his eyes and stretching. As a reflex his hand went to cover one of his nostrils, only to get it smothered in mucus instead. He grimaced before looking around the room, blinking several times until eventually folding back into Levi's gaze. "B-Baby?" He squinted over at the cat who slowly slid himself out of his own trunks from earlier.

The leopard just stood there with an expectant look on his face, knowing that Remi would never be able to turn him down when he was like this - all vulnerable and cute. Despite feeling like death twice baked, the wolf couldn't help but feel aroused by the sight before him - Levi standing there completely naked with a playful glint in his eye. He smiled fondly and nodded before slipping off the bed himself.

"Alright then," he said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes free of sleep as he stepped out and forward towards Levi. "Let's go for that hot tub you promised…”

He wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep off the growing cold inside his head, but feeling Levi’s eyes on him excited the wolf enough that he couldn't pass up this opportunity. Stifling a yawn, Remi slowly stripped his own trunks, before following Levi out into the night air. The two made their way over to the jacuzzi nestled in the corner of their private balcony overlooking the open sea.

The lukewarm waters were inviting and comforting as they sunk into it, relieving all of Remi's aches and pains as he let himself relax into the embrace of its warmth. “Seeeeee, isn't this nice?" Levi purred slowly swimming his way across to slide himself gracefully into Remi's lap, fitting like a comfortable puzzle piece.

"Mmm. you're definitely not wrong..." Remi consciously fought off the heat of blush that threatened to overtake his blanched cheeks, trying to keep a cool composure in spite of how drunk Levi seemed. He smiled weakly and nodded, still too exhausted to move much as he continued to fight off the stuffy heat inside him that kept threatening to take over.

However, Levi seemed more than happy with Remi's simple response; With a content smile the cat nuzzled further into Remi's chest before purring out another question - "Is this okay?"

Remi leaned his head back against the rim of the hot tub, running a hand through Levi's hair as he let out a low hum in response. "Yeah, this is perfect," he murmured, feeling his body relax even further in the calming waters.

Levi's purrs turned into contented sighs as he snuggled his face into Remi's neck, feeling the man's heartbeat against his cheek. The sound was soothing, like a lullaby, and the leopard couldn't help but let out a soft exhale of his own. This was exactly where he wanted to be, wrapped up in Remi's arms, with nothing else in the world to worry about.

Minus the sudden hitching, and stuttering of the wolf's chest. Levi leaned back and he could see it all over the man's scrunched up face. "O-h n-H-ah..." Remi whimpered behind his gasping voice. The cat, panicking to avoid a face full of sneeze, snapped his palm over the man's mouth just in time.

"H'PBfFNGXT!" It made a loud sound against the flesh of Levi's palm, and it soaked through his heated skin, cautiously, Levi pulled it back, just an inch off the wolf's lips before another fell out between them. "Hah'TSCHUU!" spraying his lover's hand once more. Levi cooed sympathetically, casually dipping his soiled hand back down into the water before sliding both hands up Remi's chest, wrapping around his neck.

"Bless you, sweetheart," his voice loving, kind, as it always was when addressing the sickly man. He felt bad, but the vulnerability of his mate, the combination of using him like an old napkin as he had been all day, drove something wild inside the drunk cat. He glazed over those soft, wet lips that belonged to the love of his life, and he felt his heart stop in his chest. Levi leaned in, pressing his lips against Remi's in a hungry fashion, his hands locking behind the other's head as he pushed himself forward. Despite being slightly taken back by the leopard’s persistence, Remi allowed them to get lost in the heat of the moment, the steamy waters, and the pleasure of each other's bodies. The wolf’s hands immediately roamed over his little leopard's back, pulling him in as their tongues danced passionately against each other.

Levi moaned into the kiss, his arousal growing with every passing moment. He wanted Remi, badly, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. Their bodies pressed together, the water sloshing against the sides of the hot tub as they moved rhythmically against each other in a desperate fashion.

Finally, with a gasp, Remi pulled away, his chest heaving with exertion. "Levi...wait...we can't..." he panted, his eyes clouded with desire and illness. "I'm sick...I don't want to get you..."

Levi scoffed, rolling his ocean blues before he bit his lower lip and shrugged softly. "So what if I do?" challenging the man with a heated gaze. "Maybe, I want it...

"Oh?" Remi raised a thin black brow, a smirk growing on his face. "You want me to get you sick? You're asking for it, huh?" His voice was low and threatening as he leaned forward, letting out a devilish chuckle before he pressed his lips against Levi's again only for a few more moments, their mouths moved in messy unison.

The wolf pulled away by a few inches, a mischievous glint in his eyes and a lustful fire burning deep within his chest. As the two of them grasped at each other aggressively, their desire evident in every movement, Remi's nostrils giving off a slight leakage from all the sneezing. But it only seemed like it made the cat more fired up than ever before as he gave into the temptation. Just as he was looming over the sexy, flushed and pathetic little face of his mate, he could feel the the urges burning back up through his throat and lungs. His chest feeling heavier by the second. The wolf reached up and grabbed Levi in a tight grip by his jaw and quickly commanded of him before it erupted. "Open," referring to the cat's mouth.

Levi, curious as always, did as he was told and opened his mouth like he had been taught to do by his larger dominant. He stuck out his tongue, looking very lewd in the process and giving the other man a perfect view of his little pink tongue.

Remi groaned feeling himself harden, loving how passionately the cat gave in to his demands, but before he could enjoy himself and take a mental picture, he blew his lid off, sneezing aggressively into the cat's face. "Hah'TScHIEW!" Levi was caught off guard for a moment, blinking away watery eyes as he felt the cooling difference in temperature as the spray fell upon his heated freckled features, but as the wet mess fell upon his skin he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head, and his hips shifted forward into a rough grind against his partner.

"Yeah? You like that? My dirty little kitten likes to be used doesn't he?" The grin that spilled over his features was something dark, capturing Levi’s breath in his throat at the sight as their eyes locked.

The cat slinked forward, his breathing turned frantic, and his voice seemingly slurred as he spoke erratically. "Y-yes…I fucking love you using me..." His normally, cute voice even more so, panting and airier than usual. The blush that was on Levi's face from the heat of the hot tub stayed, turning into a perpetual dust, as he turned to gaze upon the other man, seeing his lover with a sneeze covered face, nose red, lips swollen, hot, and dripping. Levi's heart fluttered with carnal desires and the intoxication of the moment.

Remi smirked, a bit of a sadistic nature coming through as he allowed himself to revel in the sight of his own personal pet who wanted nothing more than to be his, to serve him, and to give him whatever he wanted. "Good…because truthfully," he began, his voice coarse with a heat building deep in his stomach, his hands running up and down over the man’s smooth body, kneading into his bare cheeks from under the surface of the water, sliding his length between them teasingly. “I wouldn’t give you any other choice,”

Levi felt like he could barely contain himself from wanting to sink his claws into the man's shoulders and rip him apart- but not in a violent way- rather just in a way that, he could scar the lover as his. Permanently. Leaving a hot trail of bites and nips against the wolf's bare neck and shoulders, his mate could no longer keep himself at bay, pressing the tip impatiently at the smaller’s waiting entrance.

As Remi's hands moved along Levi's ass, the wolf began to force himself inside, pushing further and further until he was all the way in. The slick flesh of his lover quivered as his body opened up and made room for him, their heart beats mixing into a single rhythm, both seemingly losing control of themselves. "Thaaaat's it...fuck," Remi hissed lowly, the hot water was splashing around them from the outside forces of their movements as Remi wasted no time in finding a steady rhythm, causing the pool to overflow its edges and onto the sides of the tub.

Levi felt himself unable to release his control as Remi bit into his neck, riding him with full effort, throwing his hips up and down against the large cock pulsating inside him. Broken up and stifled cries of pleasure polluted the night sky. "God....I love that cock so much baby..." the leopard whimpered helplessly, his arms clutched behind Remi's head as he used the base of his forearms against the man's shoulders for leverage.

Remi groaned softly, his glowing greens rolling back as the pleasure intensified, feeling his wet hair sticking to his forehead. "Fucking shit...you're so tight...you like using your Master, hm?" he pointedly grunted, his hips continuing to move at a steady pace to match his partner, his heart beating faster and faster as the prickling sensation in his nose was winning over his body, but he had no time to pay much attention as the pleasure burning in his loins out weighed what he felt in his sinuses.

"Y-Yes...I like..claiming that cock…taking it..." Levi gasped as he felt his insides get warmer and warmer, his whole body burned with a heat only his wolf could build inside him. "I want to drain every last drop from it...I want it to fill me over and make me spill..." he gasped between words as he began to grind his hips against his lover's in a faster rhythm, loving how the other’s body felt against his.

Remi could feel the cat's unrelenting need for release, drowning out any of the man's pain or discomfort as he continued to fuck him with quick, hard thrusts. Levi, himself, became more and more dizzy, his head beginning to swim with the building desire and pleasure. Remi's matched with it’s own swirling thoughts between a mix of unhinged desires as well as the primal urge to allow the tickle and strain in his nostrils to have free reign.

"Ohh g-god, I'm gonna fuckin' blow again..." Remi warned as his nose starting to twitch and scrunch, causing Levi to pick up the pace even faster, both of them now desperate for a climax that seemed to be just out of their reach.

"Release, baby...let it out...go on.." Levi urged him on, his voice trembling with an unknown excitement as he continued to ride the pulsating length that assaulted into his prostate.

Remi's eyes snapped open and he let loose with a loud, powerful "HIH'IITSSCHU!" Splashing another cloud of sickness across his escalating lover, he lost all control of himself and was sent hurtling over the edge into oblivion, hitting his orgasm the same moment the sneeze rocked through his sinuses. The man filling the smaller's hole with his hot seed. As his body turned in on itself and shuddered uncontrollably from the pleasure coursing through him, Levi followed shortly in a succession of jolts, his own orgasm punching through him like an earthquake as his lover sprayed all over his delicate body.

They stayed there, connected in one for several passing moments. Yet, once their breathing had returned to normal, Remi felt his body heat up again. His skin was flushed and steamy from all the hot tub water and his hair was damp with sweat. He pulled back just slightly from Levi's embrace and looked down to meet his gaze. "Can we get out now? Starting to feel like a boiled egg in here after all that..." he chuckled sheepishly. Levi groaned with a certain tone of protest, leaning in to press more gentle kisses against his lover's neck.

"Hmm...we definitely can...but that doesn't mean I plan to stop..." the cat purred tauntingly crawling his way off the man and leisurely out of the tub. His body shuddered as it hit the cold tropic night air. Swiftly he grabbed one of the nearby towels and curled it around his body. "Chilly~" he giggled, grabbing the second towel and having it waiting for Remi to take as he too slid out of the heated water.

"Yeah it is..." he took a deep breath out wrapping himself up in the article of cloth. "Am I going to have to tie you up to a chair?" Remi laughed at his overtly excited mate who was already coming up to wrap his towel clad arms around the large man.

"Mmm, I might like that too much.." he teased, buzzing languidly as he ran his softened hands up and down the man's strong glistening arms.

"Hm? Then I guess you'll have to start being less of a perv, hm?" He teasingly bantered with the younger as a grin slipped over his mouth, wrapping a towel around his lower half, before leaning in to give the shorter man a loving kiss.

"Well that's just like asking me to stop having freckled skin...I can't!" Levi laughed, his body pressed closely into the taller man’s motions unable to keep his smiling at bay. Sweetly nuzzling against his chest before turning his head back to look up at the man.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Remi couldn't help but match the other's loving gaze as he slowly coaxed the drunk leopard inside. "Oh hey...we should probably order some dinner here, I'm feeling at least well enough right now for a good meal.." the wolf spoke genuinely as he picked up the room service menu mulling over the varying options available to them.

"If they have sushi, I want some," Levi hiccupped slightly as he began to messily dig through his and Remi’s suitcases.

"Yeah, Yeah, scales for you, steak for me.." writing down their order on a notepad while he continued to browse their options, simply unaware of the mess his little cat was making of their things.

"And have them send up another one of those fish bowls.." he wobbled about as he plucked a handful of clothes into his palm with his toiletries and headed towards the bathroom.

"Cause you need another one of those, hm?" Teasing the leopard who stumbled about, quickly turning to lock eyes and stick his tongue out at the man.

"I do....to wash down the sushi," he winked with a cheeky grin before quickly disappearing into the washroom.

Remi laughed at the sight, shaking his head as he picked up the phone to order their dinner. His body still fought against the cold chill that was racking through every cell in his body, but he battled through it, picking up the room phone and reaching the line to room service. "Room Service how can we help?"

Remi clears his throat to make sure he can get through it without giving in to his internal struggles against his raging sickness. "Yeah, can I order a plate of steak, rare, and I mean rare, if it's not done right, I will send it back..." He warned harshly through the very silent line. "For the sides, I don't want any of that rabbit food shit, I want two fully loaded baked potatoes," he almost sounded pre-irritated as if they had just presented him the menu noted green beans, twice. Taking a deep breath to try and center himself.

"And then I'm also gonna need... a Shrimp tempura roll, a Dragon Roll, a Spicy Salmon Roll, and double tuna Sashimi," As he placed the order, there was an almost instantaneous build up of pressure from within him that seemed like it had to be released. He held back long enough to finish the rest of what he needed to for the order. "Another one of those...like..really big fucking drinks...thanks....bye," he quickly slammed the phone down and then allowed himself the freedom he so desired. "Hah'TSCHUU! Hh'iitschuu!" he sneezed unrestrained, loudly as it echoed the chamber of the bungalow.

He grumbled feeling like he just got hit by a sack of bricks now, sitting up in the bed rubbing his nose roughly as if trying to scratch the damn thing right off his face. His nostrils were so leaky, and his head was so hot, as if the very air around him was fueling the very fire that raged, more and more each minute. He let out a low groan, pulling his head back in frustration before taking a deep breath and rubbing his nose slowly between two fingers in a circular motion, trying to rid of all the congestion within him. His eyes squinted with satisfaction at the relief he got from this simple action, but it was still hard for him to focus on anything else other than how irritated he felt, looking around the room with watery vision as small streams of tears rolled down his swollen emerald orbs.

Just as he was about to lay down in defeat, feeling a bit relieved after the sneezing fit, Levi slowly sashayed out of the bathroom. Remi felt his breath catch in his throat and all his woes seemed to melt away as he saw Levi wearing nothing else but his favorite Guardin shirt, black with a pink circle, and a little alien dude holding a balloon. It was the wolf’s favorite shirt. Walking out seductively, slowly, with short but somehow, the illusion of slender length, legs carried him across the room with the most alluring little dance. His hips swayed delicately back, and forth moving with grace like precision.

The wolf couldn't help but smile widely at the scene, feeling a bit distracted from his current status of illness. Levi smiled devilishly at him and wiggled his eyebrows before striding over to him and planting a passionate kiss on Remi's lips, stealing away the last traces of cold that had been lingering around them earlier. They broke away, before the leopard placed a hand on his flushing chest. "Oh baby..you're burning up..." he stood back and swiped his palm over the male's forehead. "Maybe I should call room service, see if they have any cold meds," he nodded confidently standing up now to rush toward the bathroom. Remi deflating as the man left his side, almost as if his little leopard was cure enough, spoiler, it wasn’t. He was fooling himself to think it wouldn’t stand in the way of their good time, right?

Levi acquired a hand towel and soaked it through with hot water, before squeezing the excess liquid out. As the white haired man returned to his lover's bed side, Remi reached a hand out to touch his mate's wrist. "Don't call them, they'll be here to deliver dinner soon...just ask 'em then," he smiled sweetly, hoping to ease some of the steps the cat would have to take in order to help him.

"I will definitely do that....now lay back so I can put this hot towel on your sinuses....maybe it'll help clear them up a bit," he laid a hand on Remi's chest, helping him lean back against the headboard and a couple of perfectly stuffed pillows.

"H-huh," he made a sound of hesitation, but he didn't resist as he cocked his head up and let the cat help him lean back, resting against the pillows. He felt an immediate difference in the air as Levi lifted it over his face, the slightly coarse material, the warmth radiating from it. He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the sudden release from behind his eyes already.

"Is that ok, baby? It feels good, doesn't it?" he asked softly, pressing the towel gently against his forehead.

"Mm...mmm..." he hummed with a deep grumble as he felt a gentle stream of warmth trickle down his face, neck and chest from the towel draped over him. He smiled warmly before he reached out and firmly clasped Levi's hand in his own.

The smaller smiled in response, letting his mate hold onto him for a few brief minutes, but soon found himself having to pull away. There was a gentle series of knocks at the door, indicating to him that room service was here with the meals that Remi had ordered.

"I'll get that," he quickly strode over to the door, his fingers hesitant to flutter away from his mate's, but releasing anyway and moving with purpose to let the server in. "Hello!" he smiled warmly at the young man with one very large bamboo tray adorned with everything they ordered, in one strong hand. Levi was actually pretty impressed by this but shook it off in order to help the man place the tray on top of the dining table.

"Hello, we have the Sushi, Sashimi, and Steak with two potatoes...oh as well as another large drink," he smiled anxiously at the small white haired man reading off their order, praying everything looked and sounded correct.

"Awesome! Thank you so much..." Levi clapped his hands together happily, momentarily he almost completely forgot he had another quest for the staff. Drooling and ogling over the fresh fish in front of him.

"My Pleasure...can I get you anything else?" the cat quickly shook his head to snap himself back to reality and nodded it instead, ripping his gaze off the delicacy before him and bringing attention back to his partner’s needs.

"Yes actually! Do you guys have any cold medicine perhaps?" biting his lower lip, hoping he wouldn't hear the word no.

"Oh, Uh, Yes, we can provide that for you, just give me a bit and I'll bring that back," the server replied thoughtfully with a smile, bowing once before taking his leave to return with what was requested.

Levi let out a sigh of relief, his mind already envisioning himself enjoying the ocean side feast before him. He turned back to Remi with a toothy grin on his face, glowing underneath the dim lighting of their rental, "Looks like we're having a feast tonight, baby!" he exclaimed, grabbing a set of chopsticks and digging in without a moments notice, slurping his drink in between shoving rolls down his open maw.

Remi smiled weakly, surpressing a laugh, knowing it would only stir up trouble at this point. Regardless, he was happy to see his mate enjoying himself, but just feeling too sick to partake. He let out a soft cough, hoping to clear his throat before speaking up, "You go ahead and enjoy, kitten. I don't think I can eat much tonight after all…" he said softly, his voice hoarse and weak.

Levi swallowed his current mouth full, immediately put down his chopsticks, and snapped his head over to look at the sickly man. There was concern written across his freckled features, and soon found himself rushing back to Remi's side. "Oh baby, are you feeling worse? Let me get you some water…” his hand sweetly brushing bits of hair out of his boyfriend’s eyes before rushing towards the mini bar. He grabbed one of the many complementary water bottles off the small wood counter top, considering possibly taking a cold one as well from their tiny fridge. Yet decided against it, knowing room temp was better for hydrating.

Remi nodded weakly, feeling grateful for his boyfriend's concern. He watched closely as Levi rushed around the room, gathering the supply to help ease his discomfort. He felt a sudden rush of affection wash over him for the leopard, just so blown away by how this amazing man was all his, and always so quick to drop his own needs and wants...just for him. Silly little him.

Shortly, Levi returned to his side with the bottle of water, "Here you go, my love," the leopard smiled brightly with accomplishment. Remi quickly cracked open the lid and took a sip, soothed by the liquid that slid down his dry throat. He smiled gratefully at his mate, feeling that same familiar warmth spread through his chest at the sight of Levi's doting expression.

"Thanks, kitten," he responded softly, tired emerald orbs still gazing lovingly up at his favorite freckled face.

"No problem, baby. Just rest and let me take care of you," Levi replied, settling back onto the bed and pulling Remi into his arms. The wolf hummed gently, feeling so incredibly close, and loved by his little cat. His hands, roaming, clammy long finger tips gliding up the large shirt to feel the hot, smooth flesh of his mate's sides.

"Mmm...I don't wanna rest..." Remi murmured softly, nuzzling his face into the crook of Levi's neck. His hands trailed down to the hem of Levi's shirt, tugging at it gently. "I wanna play with you," he mumbled with a coarse tone, his voice barely above a whisper. "I want to forget about this damn cold," The words came out low from within his throat, almost reaching those ever so feral levels that drove the leopard absolutely wild.

Levi's breath hitched as his mate's words reached his ears. Desire flared up within his intoxicated body, and he wouldn’t even consider resisting the prominent urges that now fluttered to the surface. All he could do was wordlessly nod his head. That was all Levi needed to do to sign away the chains holding Remi back, the wolf consumed him. Pushing away the persistent prickles, and stings that loosely passed over him.

Immediately the wolf hovered the smaller cat, looming over him like an eclipse as his pounding head dipped to meet his mouth at Levi’s own. Their kiss was messy, and brief, the larger had other plans as he placed rough, nips down the other’s jawline, willing away his symptoms, when he paused at the crook where jaw meets neck. He bit down with a feral force, urging a pained yelp from his lover, that followed with a shudder and twitch of his slender hips. “A-ah~” he gasped under him.

Pressing further into his mate, Remi felt himself slipping out of control as he tried to resist the urge to rip his boyfriend open from the sure passion of it all. He didn’t. He wouldn’t. The larger’s strong fingers slid with feather light touch down the sides of his lover’s freckled arms before roughly capturing his wrists and forcing them over the leopard’s head. Levi shuddered, his body squirming below, anticipating every crack through the wolf’s sanity. Small lines of crimson liquid trailed down his neck, under the collar of the shirt he borrowed. It made him shudder.

Remi’s jaw unhinged, he finally pulled back a few inches to take a long look at the bleeding, swollen and bright red mark of his teeth that now stained the cat’s delicate flesh. “I’m trying…so fucking hard…not to just devour you whole,” licking his teeth clean but unable to find authority over the blood that began to pool from under his tongue, his now glowing green gaze baring down on the smaller. Somehow, the dark circles, and the sunken look across Remi’s sickly features only made him look more dangerous. “Aren’t you scared?” Lifting a brow, testing the man as his chest heaved above.

Levi could only crack a devious smile, pulling his swollen lips up before he responded with a sultry velvet tone. “Absolutely,” his heart racing a million miles per second, there was always some percentage of danger being intimate with a mentally unhinged shifter. Especially one so powerful like Remi, and that was all the more why the cat could never get enough. Treading that fine line of insanity as regular as he could, his lover was his own brand of drug. The high of being so passionately in love with someone so unbelievably dangerous, knowing their own desires for you out weigh their animalistic urges…the leopard thrived off it.

Remi’s hands squeezed tightly, closing the pressure of Levi’s breath as it caught, the cat made a struggled sound, but his eyes never left those daunting emeralds. “I could kill you…just snap your fucking neck right now….” There was something completely different tonight, it excited the cat, it left him feeling delirious as his hips lifted trying to brush his completely stiffened length into the other, just an inch shy of real friction. Remi’s upper lip twitched, lifting once, twice, before it turned into a full grin at his little cat’s responses. “You’re so fucking naughty, aren’t you? Needlessly trying to rut your little cock on me, while I threaten to end your very existence….” His chuckle came out in a gasp of hot air across the leopard’s blushing cheeks, his mouth falling open at the lack of oxygen, and the increase of desire.

The only response he could possibly return with was a very stiff nod. His crystal blues now leaking through his overwhelmed ducts, vision blurred as it filled with tears. Instinctively, Levi wrapped his thin legs around his boyfriend, pressing them together, feeling Remi’s solid girth through the fabric of the trunks he fell asleep in.

“My god…you drive me insane,” his voice strained as he gritted his teeth together, he couldn’t get enough of his desperate little kitten’s advances and sounds. It was making the task of trying to remain in control of himself, difficult. “Open your legs,” he growled, the sound of it could make a grown man tremble. Levi took no time to oblige his demands as he unhooked his legs from around the wolf’s hips to now spreading himself wide at his pleasure. “I’m not going to be fuckin’ nice to you, understood? I need a real distraction..I need to lose control…” giving Levi his final warning, he loosened the strength in his hands to give the cat a chance to turn back, speak now, or be in a wheelchair tomorrow.

“Use me,” was all he could manage through his sore throat before Remi quickly pulled himself out of his trunks and angled his now bare cock back to his previous position.

“Remember, you had your chance,” the darkness returning in his voice as he now took both of Levi’s wrists in one feral gripped hand shoved against the headboard. The cat dare not close his legs, they trembled as he anticipated the sharp sting that would soon penetrate him. Levi looked up at his lust driven mate, the slits of his eyes almost completely gone as splats of blood fell from his mouth and onto the man below.

Using this to his advantage, Remi pursed his lips and allowed a stream of blood and saliva to cascade between them and down his twitching length. In a few short seconds, without warning or any time to prepare himself, he felt Remi’s hardened cock force its way inside him. “A-aah!! Nngh..” the leopard struggled behind Remi’s returned force against his neck, familiar fingers tightened on his wind pipe.

“Fffff…” the wolf grunted snapping his hips in a desperate and uncontrolled rhythmic fashion, the sound of slapping skin echoed around them and he found it only encouraged him. The headboard slammed obnoxiously against the wall, leaving blackened lines across the material, but neither of them gave a shit. Levi’s head fell back with a hard *THUNK* against the wood, ocean blues fighting to stay open as they gazed up at Remi.

“Don’t fucking look at me,” he hissed almost angrily, one hand coming off his neck to push the side of his face away and down, his thumb forcing it’s way inside the cat’s open drooling mouth. “If I see that god damn look on your face, it’ll make me want to be nice to you,” shoveling his hips deep within Levi’s tightened walls. “And I don’t wanna be fuckin nice to you right now…” should he feel guilty for treating the love of his life like an old dirty sock? Probably. He didn’t though. He knew how deeply masochistic the little cat was. Truthfully, the only person on this planet that could probably handle a true unhinged dicking from the wolf.

Levi whimpered as his head was forced to the side, his skin littered in goosebumps as his mate completely took over him. He felt like a hole, Remi’s hole, it fueled him, it caused him to push his hips upward to match every thrust slammed upon him. His lips closed around the man’s thumb, sucking as he tried to keep a steady breath through his nose, despite there still being one hand on his throat for the large wolf’s leverage.

“You’re mine….all mine…for whatever I fucking say,” feral words dripped through his lips as he huffed through his open bleeding mouth, staining both their skin as his nostrils were still blocked by the illness that lived inside him. His urges burned through them, all he could feel now was the full desire to claim the cat. Levi continued to suckle, and lap at Remi’s gripping thumb while he felt the assault of rough and sporadic snaps of his lover’s haunches. The larger struck his prostate, over, and over. Each time the cat let out a small strangled squeak, his ocean eyes having rolled back long ago. He felt himself reaching his limits, closer and closer, starting to fall off rhythm the more he could taste it.

“That gonna make you cum? Huh? S’that how fucking desperate you are?” Berating his little toy, feeling entirely satisfied by the very distinctively pleased reactions he was receiving. Remi shot his hips forward again, his hands pressing Levi down into the mattress as he relentlessly snapped inside of him. It was overwhelming, naturally, the leopard caved into his needs, a stream of hot seed shot straight onto Levi’s exposed stomach, just barely missing the misplaced shirt he still adorned. He tried to cry out but alas, his mouth only opened and the best he could do was a high pitched gag as his body spasmed underneath the stronger of the two.

Remi found himself trying to desperately rip his attention off how completely desirable his little mate looked spilling over the edge. He was so god damn submissive for him, it only increased the urges inside him, his hands quickly let go of the cat, and slapped against his thighs. Hiking his hips upward, he used the bit of strength he had left to flip the leopard over onto his stomach now, pulling his ass upward by his right hand hip, his length never slipping out. “My turn,” licking his lips, only to smear crimson across the lines of his mouth. While his right grip stayed to keep the cat’s hips aligned, his left took a fistful of Levi’s wet strands of hair and shoved the man’s face viciously into the pillow.

He worked at a much more desperate, and untamed pace, driving his cock inside the cat at an almost impossible rate. His ear drums rang and his skin shivered as he heard the muffled cries of the tortured leopard. “Mmhmm…take that dick…I’m not stoppin’ til I fill that slut hole,” Remi’s voice rang through Levi’s deepened core, his body was shaking underneath as he maintained the forced arch of his body, working his thighs to push his ass into every harsh pound. “You’ve been so bad today….” He grunted, feeling his groin boil. “Teasing me with this sudden desire for my cold…” another aggressively huffed expression of primal thought. “Where’s that been, huh?” Gripping the man’s hair tighter as he pulled him up to whisper in his ear. “You’ve been holding back on your Master, do you forget I own you? I own your lust, your desires…” nipping, pulling at Levi’s lobe. The cat shivered below him and whimpered in response, uncertain he could speak clearly as he was driven into between each word.

“I-I…di-didn’t know…it-it c-could…” he hesitated, he struggled to proceed. Remi’s grip tightened and he snarled into the side of the cat’s sweating temple now.

“Ca-ca Could?? Could what? Spit it out,” barking his commands with a harsh impatience, his hips only turning more and more desperate left with this cliff hanger of thought.

“Feel so good…it felt so good…” he gasped finding the train of thought he was losing under Remi’s thrusts.

“What. Did?” He spaced the words out dangerously, his palm sitting now under Levi’s chin, fingers wrapped loosely around his cheeks.

“It felt so fucking good when you sneezed on me…I couldn’t help it…please…” the white haired man practically sobbed in between his breathless moans as he confessed his latest discovery. Remi lost all his sense of restriction as his mouth opened wide, pressing his head against the side of his mate’s as he slammed himself forward one last time, nearly blacking out as he hit his orgasm.

“Sshhhee-sus..fuckin….Christ,” he grunted as he sputtered wildly into his boyfriend’s hole, spilling over his load with his haunches twitching and pausing between pumps.

Levi's eyes rolled back into his head as he felt warm liquid hit the walls of his entrance, it caused a shiver to roll down the middle of his spine, his whole body quaking at the feeling of being so full “S-So good…”

"Unbelievably ..." Remi smirked with another huff of breath releasing the frail leopard from his vice tight grips, and allowing each other to just collapse in a heap on the bed. The wolf rolling to his back, and Levi rolling to join him on his chest.

"Good distraction?" Levi giggled playfully unbothered by the mess he was covered in, just wanting to be close to his lover at this moment after such an intense session. Remi labored to catch up to a regular pace of breathing, still struggling to do so out his nose. Finding that the second his animalistic urges had settled, his symptoms came rising back to the surface. His nose twitched, scrunched and he tried to just push it away from his center of attention. It failed.

"I'm feeling better alre-...h..hiH'ITTSSCHU!" his cold unrelenting as a forceful sneeze over-powered his exhausted strength. “Shord libed….” He mumbled with defeat as he slid his hand over his aching nostrils.

“Oh you poor thing…can’t catch a break…” clicking his tongue, despite his body screaming in protest, the leopard slid out of his lover’s grasp and moved out of bed. “Where is that-….” The phone rang suddenly and the cat almost jumped out of his skin. He turned swiftly and picked up the phone to answer. “Hello?”

“Hi there, just wanted to let you know, our staff member felt you might have been busy, so he left your order at the door for your convenience,” Levi blushed brightly realizing that the young man probably heard some very suggestive sounds coming from their room when he approached.

“O-Oh! Thank you! Appreciate it!” Hanging out shortly with embarrassment. “Shit, I think the room service boy heard us fucking…” he bit his lip sheepishly to look over at Remi now that, despite fighting a leaking nose and his itching eyes, chuckled.

“Good for hib,” scoffing pridefully now turning his attention to trying to relocate that wet rag from early…considering using it to clean up his suffering nose.

Levi narrowed his eyes and huffed, but feeling a slight twinge of lust prickle at his blood stream while he carried himself to the door, he flung it open and there was a small bag waiting for him outside. “Ah! Perfect,” he picked it off the ground and closed the door behind him, immediately scrounging through the contents. “There’s some Tylenol severe cold and flu in here, think that’ll work? Cough drops…tissues…nasal spray! Ooo,” inching closer to the bed as he rummaged through the bag.

“All ob id sounds abading…” Remi huffed having found the towelette and using it to nurse his swollen face despite it being beyond cold now. Levi looked up and furrowed his brows again, quickly snatching the old towel from his mate’s grasp.

“Use real tissues, this thing is gross now,” he tsked his lover before handing him the sack of supplies. “Take some meds, and blow your nose a bit okay?” Levi now sitting himself on the edge of the bed, feeling uncomfortable as he was becoming more self aware of the sticky situation on his skin.

“Can’d you helb me?” The wolf looked up at him with pathetic eyes, now a much different man than he was but 5 minutes ago. It melted the heart strings within Levi’s tender heart and he could only smile sweetly in response, deciding he could put off his comfort for a tad bit longer as he nursed his mate into bed.

“Of course, baby, of course,” leaning down to kiss Remi’s forehead, taking the bag back now he began to distribute the Tylenol to him, grabbing the bottle of water off the night stand to hand over. “Here, take two,” he instructed, and while the wolf obeyed his little medical assistant, Levi took the package of tissues in his hand and peeled one out from the plastic with his other.

Remi tossed back the pills, and slugged down a few gulps of water, more than necessary, he didn’t realize how dehydrated he actually was til now. “Thang you…” he gasped as he twisted the lid back onto the bottle.

“No problem, sweetie, now I’m gonna need you to blow when I say so okay?” He spoke gently, lovingly, the tissue in his hand perfectly scrunched to fit over the entirety of Remi’s reddened nose. Once he was sure it was fastened snuggly where it needed to be, he pinched one nostril closed and nodded his head. “Blow,” the wolf allowed himself to force the sick out from his left hand nostril with a loud sound. It broke the barrier of silence that had settled over the room, while the cat scooped out whatever was pushed out. Balling that tissue up in a calculated fashion to avoid getting any ick on his fingers, Levi tossed it to the nearby can, making it in. “Score,” he grinned over at the wolf with a cheeky wink.

Remi breathlessly chuckled at his little cat’s playful demeanor, always making light of a sickly situation. Levi then pulled another square of tissue out from it’s packaging and once again, cupped it against Remi’s slowly clearly nose. “Okay last one,” the smaller coaxed, pinching the now clear nostril, the ravenette mustered up a deep breath before he allowed himself to clear the second nostril out with another wet and loud, “FFFFHHHKK,” god that felt so good. It was almost as satisfying as the orgasm he just had. “God damn…” he grumbled hoarsely while Levi swiped and pinched any left over mess off him. “Thanks, kitten,” he huffed, voice cleared as he reached over, grabbing the water once more to take another hydrating gulp.

“You’re Welcome, Acushla,” working to clean up the mess of tissues and find his footing on the ground again. “Im gonna throw this away….clean up, and then you wanna watch something before we go to bed?” He spoke casually but still with that same aura of compassion as his eyes sparkled towards his mate.

“You gonna take another shower?” Remi asked curiously as he sat up and his eyebrows lifted over his eyes as he searched over the leopard’s standing frame.

“Yeah, why?” Levi looking just as curiously over at his boyfriend.

“Can I join? I’m kind of a mess over here…” he chuckled and gestures towards his body that was covered in varying substances.

“Absolutely, we’ll get cleaned up, and spend the rest of the night cuddling with some Princess Bride, how about that?” Remi for the first time since they’d been there, lit up with excitement.

“Deal!” Despite the fever raging through him, and his body being even more sore than he started that day, he really was having a good time with his mate. Though the memories are covered in sick, they’ll always look back on these days together, and remember despite the obstacles, they always made the best of it, and they always would.

The End

Author’s Notes: I’m sorry this took so long, I’m back at work, and my boss really said 🖕🏻 sticking me with crazy long shifts, exhausting me past writing more than a few paragraphs. PHEWWWWW Did you expect the twists? Just a smidge of alcohol and the leopard suddenly catches a Snz Fet 🥵🥵🥵 Oops. Hope you guys enjoyed it took a lot out of me 🤫😂