#one of those ideas I had (though it wasn’t only sc focused) that I’ll never write

[laufire]

Halloween Treat for @blairwaldcrf ― Vampire Hunter Caroline AU.

In a world where Caroline left Mystic Falls to leave with her father, he raised her to be a hunter. She returns to her hometown, following the tray of the infamous Ripper of Monterey after his resurgence.

[shutupandshipit]

Sharpen Your Blades - Ch.11

Summary: “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

The thinning of Aizawa’s patience was evident in the twitching of his brow. “If you stop asking questions, maybe I could finish explaining.

”With a huff and roll of his eyes, Katsuki glanced away from their coach.

“City Hall and the SC want us to give them more variety. We are a team solely made up of single skaters. Every year, we dominate the rankings for single skate while Shinketsu dominates the pairs, so this year both cities are being required to split their skaters evenly between singles and pairs with at least one pair coming from out top five.” There was a collective intake of breath, but no one commented, choosing instead to remain silent. “Unfortunately, for us, it’s a lot easier to switch from pairs to singles. With our male to female ratio, alpha/beta/omega ratio, and those of you actually experienced with pair skating, we’re at a disadvantage. So, I’ve decided to choose your partners for you.”

…..

Or where Katsuki and Izuku are forced to be partners so they can continue to compete, but the blood in the water may be thicker than anyone realized.

Pairing: Bakudeku

Rating: T

Chapter: 11/20

Previously <- Chapter 10: Alpha Wanted

Chapter 12: Parents and questions they shouldn’t ask -> Next

Author’s Notes: So, there's songs in this chapter! Yay! They are Never Enough by Loren Allred and Tightrope by Michelle Williams (don't @ me about them being from the Greatest Showman, I know it's trending, these songs just fit them so well). You'll notice that there are also two links, and those are to figure skating videos that are the closest to how I imagine the programs to be. If you mute the video and play the song over it, they match up pretty well. I had a really easy time finding one I liked for Izuku, but a much harder time finding an example for Katsuki. I really like Yuna Kim as a model for Izuku and Yuzuru Hanyu as a model for Katsuki, but Yuzuru's style just didn't fit what I was trying to portray in this chapter. That's okay though! Of course, I don't own the videos. They belong to their original posters and creators. Let me know if the links don't work, and I'll find a different way to share them. I hope you guys like the chapter. I had a really fun time writing it, and I can't wait to post for next week!

Chapter 11: Solo

Izuku stepped onto the ice for the first time since his injury. Terror washed through him. His heart raced in his chest. His hands shook violently. His breath quickened. He clutched at the wall to keep himself steady. A fear weighed heavy on him, fear that as soon as he let go his hip or ankle or knee would simply give out. That the break that had healed months ago would suddenly shatter apart again.

Just because he knew it was an irrational fear didn't mean he knew how to fight against it.

“Just take it slow, young Midoriya, there's no need to rush. You've been doing strength training for a few months now, but being back on the ice is a different kind of taxing,” Toshinori said close by, hands stacked on his hips while he watched Izuku all but cowering against the wall.

“I'm not getting tired. Nothing hurts yet, I'm just...” He trailed off, unwilling to admit his fear.

“Scared? I understand. That's a normal reaction after an injury as severe as yours was. I was scared too the first time I got back on the ice after my injury, but it will get easier. Like I said, take it slow. Soon enough, you'll be sprinting and jumping just like you used to, but we've got to start small first.”

“Right,” Izuku whispered, squeezing his eyes closed. They remained there for long moments, and it was only when the scent of sweet spices assaulted his nose that he was able to open his eyes again.

He found Katsuki's familiar red eyes watching him. Katsuki who's hair was pushed away from his forehead with sweat and seemed to be in the middle of a training exercise with Mr. Aizawa. Katsuki who's scent of excitement was beginning to make the rink smell startlingly like snickerdoodles.

Izuku had forgotten what Katsuki's scent smelled like when he was excited, and it made his mouth water.

Embarrassed, he ripped his eyes away. Once upon a time, he had been the reason for that smell. He was desperately jealous of whoever or whatever had provoked such a reaction in his old friend. Whatever it was though, it had nothing to do with a useless deku like him. Maybe one day very far away, he could be the reason again, but he had a long way and a lot of work before then.

Swallowing, he struggled to stand up straight and push carefully along the wall. With each step and each second of feeling Katsuki's eye on him, he felt his confidence slowly inflate.

.....

November Week 2

Izuku stared down at his phone, mouth turned down in a frown as he waited impatiently for Katsuki to respond, but the little icon telling him that his partner had even seen the message remained blank. It was strange to say the least. Katsuki was the most punctual creature he knew and had ever known. The only time he'd ever skipped class or been late for something were times when his rut had hit suddenly or he'd been uncharacteristically sick. To put it simply, Izuku could count on one hand how many times Katsuki had missed something.

He was only holding up three fingers.

"Let's just go, Deku, I don't think he's going to come tonight," Uraraka suggested, still sitting in the same place on the bleachers that she'd been sitting since she and Kaminari had followed him from his apartment. Team practice had been early that morning instead of later, and the pair of omegas had made the unanimous decision to have an omegas' day. So far, they'd had lunch where the pair had pointed out every marginally attractive alpha to cross their paths, gotten mani-pedis, gone window shopping for potential Christmas presents, looked at venues for the team Christmas party, and gone into a sex store specifically catoring to omegas with a wide range of heat aids. Kaminari had been adamant about going in when they passed by, and after more than a little prodding from both of his friends, Izuku had agreed.

Now, a black bag was tucked away in his gym bag with an item that made him both hot around the collar and simultaneously hot between the legs. The item excited him, but he was loathe to admit that to either of them. He'd only ever had a few encounters of the sexual nature, and those hadn't been very good. Other than that, he really didn't think much about his pleasure. He didn't even really masturbate which had seemed to send the omegas into a frenzy. There had been so many noises of astonishment and disbelief from both Kaminari and Uraraka that he'd hid in the lingerie racks for the better part of a half hour until they'd coaxed him out with the promise of ice cream and figure skater themed lingerie sets.

He hadn't thought his lack of sexual appetite was all that strange. He'd been on suppressants for years. Katsuki had been the focus of all his attention since they'd been kids. He'd always just been more focused on figure skating. He wasn't the only one in the world who felt the same. The asexual spectrum existed for a reason, and he was a staunch believer that he was of that spectrum.

Uraraka and Kaminari had followed him back to the rink, fully intending to drag him away after for a sleepover and movie night.

"Yeah, man, let's just go. What's the point of waiting around any longer? We're just wasting time at this point," Kaminari piped up, head hanging back between his shoulders as he leaned against the wall. "This is just typical Bakugou. He doesn't really consider other people's feelings, you know?"

The comment set Izuku's teeth on edge, and with effort, he unclenched his jaw.

Izuku wasn't particularly annoyed. He loved his friends and loved the sense of community that being with the other omegas gave him, but he wished they would just stop talking. He tried very hard to remind himself that no one had known Katsuki as long as he had, and for a good portion of the time they had known him, Katsuki had hiding behind a mask.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Izuku smiled and said, "He'll be here. He just must have gotten tied up with something with his class. He'll be here."

Uraraka smiled, but he could tell that she wanted to sigh. Maybe she even wanted to roll her eyes. "Will you skate for us while we wait then? If he doesn't get here in time, at least you'll have had a chance to practice. You don't have to skate your program, but maybe something else?"

For a moment, Izuku just considered her idea. He smiled. "Sure. That sounds good." Connecting his phone to the speaker that Toshinori left in the rink for them to use on their off time, Izuku quickly found the song he wanted.

.....

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Katsuki hissed as he tore across the street, flipping off a car as they slammed on their brakes and subsequently on their horn. He couldn't stop though. He was fucking late. Really, really fucking late! He hated being late, always had and always would. Being late for his nightly practice with Izuku just pissed him off all the more. The worst part of it all was that his phone had died sometime during the day so he didn't even have a way of letting his partner know that he'd be late.

The situation had been unavoidable though, and Katsuki swallowed passed the thick lump in his throat.

Two of his students had gotten hurt, and memory of the blood splattered ice made bile rise in the back of his throat. He had turned his back for a single second to correct the form of the new five-year-old he'd taken on. Just a moment had been all they needed. Two of his students had tried the same lift Katsuki had tried with Mina off ice, and just like her, their foot had slipped. The blade had sliced deep into their would be partner's thigh and started gushing blood before either of them had really realized what had happened. There had been an ambulance and paperwork and worried parents and Katsuki trying to keep his head on straight in the mayhem. Now, the adrenaline was wearing off, and he could feel himself crashing. Crashing hard.

There was only blood and ice and screaming and green curls and pain twisting Izuku's face and pain twisting Katsuki's chest. He was having a hard time separating the two memories, and while he knew that was dangerous, he didn't know how to stop it.

So, he ran. Ran to catch Izuku before he left the rink, and ran to stave off the no doubt mount panic attack.

Out of the corner of his eye as he passed a store front, he caught the flash of forest green fabric. Screeching to a stop, he backtracked to the window. Someone had dressed mannequins in winter wear. It was clear that each had a theme and that each set of clothing had been handmade. One wore all pink. One wore woodland colors with a bright orange fox-eared beanie. Another was dressed from head to toe in sparkly purple fabric. The one that had caught his attention was the most subdued with the beanie as the only spot of color.

The beanie was forest green like the gloves he'd bought for Izuku. Floppy white lined bunny ears lay across the mannequin’s forehead with little tassels that hung on either side of the mannequin's cheeks. Minutes ticked by as Katsuki kept staring, imagining green locks poking out from beneath the edge as he tugged on the tassels to pull a smile from its wearer. Green eyes going wide as he handed it over, actually presenting his omega with a gift face to face. A whispered, "Thank you," as round freckled cheeks reddened-

"Evening, young man."

If Katsuki could have literally jumped out of his skin, he would have. Jerking his head towards the voice, he stared at the old man that stood in the doorway of the shop. He hadn't noticed, but unlike a lot of shops in the city, this one seemed to be part of a small home. The wood around the window was weathered and old with peeling robin's egg blue paint. Swallowing, Katsuki tried to find his words. If he'd just been staring into this man's home, it was no wonder he'd come out to find out what Katsuki's doing. "Evening, old man," he finally replied gruffly.

A smile cracked across the old man's ancient face, and he leaned out to see into the front window. "My wife's work. She knits all year long with the best yarn she can find so that alphas like yourself can gift something special to their omegas. Or betas, of course. Times are changing. It's more common to see alphas or omegas marrying betas or even their same dynamic. I think that's lovely." His smile only grew as Katsuki blinked at him nonplussed. "Sorry, I tend to ramble. My wife says it's a problem, but I don't think so. Did you have a special someone in mind? Would you like to take a closer look?"

"I'm... late... to meet... with the omega I'm courting," he said haltingly, unable to resist the other alpha's probing. That happened sometimes with the older alphas. It felt like a sense of community to him, one he resisted, but appreciated when he actually took their unsolicited advice.

"You're only getting more late, but this young omega might like a gift in return. It's not an apology, but it could be the start of one."

"I-"

"If you didn't want to take a closer look, you would have already walked away. You don't have to buy anything, but you could keep it in mind."

Sound logic, and with a sigh, Katsuki nodded. Only a few minutes later he had bought the beanie, and a few minutes after being gushed over by the old man's old omega wife, he was sprinting even faster than before. He felt lighter with the beanie clutched in his hand though, and the only thing in his chest was the anticipation of handing the gift over to Izuku.

It felt like there had been a lot of helping hands in his courting of Izuku, but it also felt like he'd been squandering the chances. With any luck, this would push the scales back in his favor. He hadn't heard anything else about the date Izuku had gone on, and sadistically, he hoped it hadn't gone well for the alpha.

When Katsuki finally shoved into the rink, he let out an explosive sigh of relief. Music played through the rink, and he seemed to have come in right at the crescendo. Not only that, but he immediately recognized the song.

' All the shine of a thousand spotlights/all the stars we steal from the night sky/will never be enough- '

Slowly, Katsuki stepped out enough for him to fully see the rink.

There was Izuku, occupying the whole rink with his presence if not his body. Whenever Izuku skated -really skated, not what he did in practice- it was impossible to look away from him. And in that moment, it was even more so.

Out on the ice, Izuku moved more elegantly than ever. There was no wobble in his stance, no hesitation in his jumps. There was a languidness to his movements that made something deep in Katsuki's chest ache to join him. And then he saw the look on Izuku's face.

He clutched the beanie even more tightly. "Why does he look so sad?" he whispered to himself.

He nearly jumped out of his skin for the second time that night when he heard Uraraka speak up from beside him. He hadn't seen her or Kaminari on the bench, too absorbed in his partner.

"I think you know, Bakugou. It might not be obvious to him, but you and I aren't dense."

On the ice, Izuku lifted his open palms toward the ceiling, staring up at them longingly. ' Towers of gold are still too little/these hands could hold the world but it'll/never be enough/never be enough- '

He watched Izuku until the end of the song before going to take the seat between Kaminari and Izuku's bag. As discreetly as possible, trying to make it look like he was getting into his own bag, he carefully slid the beanie into Izuku's bag.

Then he went to grab for his skates. An image flashed passed his eyes. Crimson blood on stark white ice. Fear and pain in forest green eyes. Tears on freckled cheeks. A young girl’s hand clutched in his as he used his pheromones to calm her.

"Kacchan, you made it!"

Sucking in a sharp breath and doing his best to calm the sharp rise and fall of his chest, he glanced at Izuku leaning over the wall. The omega's cheeks were flushed, pushed up high on his face from the force of his smile.

"I was worried you weren't going to."

There was a subtle undertone to his words, something that went along with the song that was now repeating through the speakers. Katsuki swallowed, and squeezed his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. He couldn't practice with Izuku tonight, couldn't touch him, not in his state. He'd fuck up. Make a mistake. Get them both hurt. He shouldn’t have come.

He pulled his hands away from his bag. "Had an emergency during lessons. One of my students got hurt. Phone died." His sentences were clipped, short, just fragments that lacked any of his usual harsh tone.

"Did you see my program? It's what I had been planning for this year before Mr. Aizawa's announcement."

"Most of it. Missed the first part."

Izuku's smile never faded, but it softened marginally. He pushed away towards the rink entrance, and slid on his guards before moving over to Katsuki to crouch in front of him.

"Do you want to talk about your student? Were they seriously injured?"

Katsuki felt his mouth begin to twitch into a sneer. He forced it down, ignoring the feeling of two extra pairs of eyes on them. This moment felt private, and he wished they were alone so he could just open his mouth and spill his guts. Instead, he just said, "No."

Still, izuku smiled. He didn't stand as he asked, "Will you skate for my blog? My readers are always asking for more videos of you. I'll stay on this side and just record. Can't trust these two to get the proper shots."

Katsuki hadn't known Izuku had talked about him on his blog, and the knowledge made his alpha purr contentedly. The meaning behind Izuku's words took a moment longer to hit. He was offering him an easy way out. Time on the ice alone and an excuse to not be on the ice together for the night. He didn't know if Izuku was doing it on purpose or simply just wanted to let him skate, but the thought sent a ripple of affection through him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he finally said, yanking his skates from his bag.

…..

Izuku could tell that something was wrong, and he could tell it had something to do with the student that had gotten hurt. He didn't know exactly what was wrong, what was going on inside that blonde head. If he could have opened up Katsuku's brain and climbed in, he would have done it when they were twelve. No, younger. When they'd first met.

But he couldn't. They're relationship was only just getting better, and he didn't think he was allowed to or should push for a more complete answer.

The ice was the only thing he could offer. Still, he was surprised that Katsuki had so easily taken it, but he was thankful that he had.

Standing on the side of the rink while Katsuki queued up the music and pushed out to middle ice, Izuku felt himself grow giddy with anticipation. While he was desperate to feel Katsuki holding him close like he always did while they skated, he'd been waiting for a long time to get a video of Katsuki that wasn't a competition video.

He was almost vibrating as the first cords of the music played through the rink. When the singing began, he sucked in a breath.

' Some people long for a life that is simple and planned/tied with a ribbon/some people won't sail the sea cause they're safer on land/to follow what's written/but I'd follow you to the great unknown- '

' Please, let me not be imagining this ,' Izuku silently prayed every time Katsuki's eyes met his across the ice.

Katsuki's programs were usually sharp and energized and to the point. He was beautiful and skillful when he skated, but he'd never been one for delicacy. Katsuki was almost savage when he skated, and Izuku loved that about him.

Now though, Katsuki was skating like he was dancing ballet, all strong purposeful movements. All flourishing hand placements and arm sweeps.

And the look on his face was one of painful longing. ' So I risk it all just to be with you/And I risk it all for this life we choose- '

Behind Izuku, his attention was drawn to his friends as they whispered.

"Is it weird that they chose songs from the same movie?" Kaminari asked, voice just above a whisper.

Uraraka snorted. "I think it's weirder that Bakugou has watched The Greatest Showman more than anything else."

Izuku allowed for just a bare second to glance over his shoulder at them. "Shh," he hissed before swiveling back. He fell back into the skating without trouble, but something in the back of his brain wanted to tell his friends to leave. This program felt far too personal for them to be watching. Not only that, but Izuku almost wanted to be the only one to ever have seen it. He wanted to have this part of Katsuki all to himself even if he knew he'd never be allowed such a thing.

When Katsuki glided over, cheeks glowing and eyes looking more grounded than they had before, he asked, "Is that what you were hoping for?"

Staring Katsuki straight in the eye, he whispered, "More. Far more."

[queerchoicesblog]

Epilogue: Underwater (SC Titanic, Zetta x Adele Series)

As promised, here the epilogue of the Zetta x Adele Series, folks. 

This is the very end of a project that meant me quite a lot to me and got me through the last terrible year. Thanks to all those who supported it: hope you enjoyed it and will enjoy this ending.

In case you were wondering, this song inspired the whole series, particularly the last chapters:

I will skip the tag list for once since it’s pointless anyway. 

➡️ Ch. 1, Ch. 2/1, Ch. 2/2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8/1, Ch. 8/2, Ch. 9, Ch. 10/1, Ch. 10/2, Ch. 11/1, Ch. 11/2, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15 , Ch. 16, Ch. 17

_________________________

Almost a century after the sinking of the RMS Titanic and to celebrate Canada becoming the first country outside Europe to legalise same-sex marriage, the Canadian Film Institute decided to work side by side with several LGBTQ+ organisations across the world to put together an exhibition focused on the early queer cinema and the many queer stars who were forced to hide their true selves in the Golden Age of cinematography, spanning from 1890s till the aftermath of Second World War. "A testament to the role the LGBTQ+ community played in the history of cinema and that we have always been here, even if people hardly saw us" as a journalist wrote on a queer magazine. After the recent discovery of some private documents, the curators were overjoyed to include an icon of the 1900s - 1910s cinema like Zetta Serda into the retrospective and cast a new light on her extraordinary career sadly soon forgotten after the advent of the sound era. Yet, the silent picture star was mentioned as a model and 'endless source of inspiration" by many queer movie stars like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo all part of the retrospective. Rumor has it that as soon as she landed in America, Marlene Dietrich demanded his agent a meeting with Mrs King.

A curator drove all the way to Montreal to meet the last known heir, a certain Mrs. Julia Nowak, who greeted him on the threshold of a cosy downtown apartment. She offered him a coffee and a slice of a Polish sweet bread: the recipe was a family heirloom, she explained, beaming. She was in her late fifties, a therapist, she said. Her hazel eyes gleamed when she added, in a pleasantly soothing voice that betrayed a hint of excitement: "I must confess I am so incredibly happy that you contacted me about the retrospective. I adore the idea and I will make sure to attend it. Also" she nodded to a wedding picture hung to the wall "did you know that my wife is in politics? She campaigned for the legalisation...yes, Madeleine Fournier: see, you know her! We got married right after the law passed. If anything, your call and project made me twice as happy". She took a pause, smiling over her coffee in remembrance. "Anyway, back to the matter of your visit...yes, as far as I know, I am Zetta's last heir. As you probably know, my family wasn't officially related to her but she stated otherwise in her will". She moved to the couch and gestured the curator to follow her as she opened up one of the boxes and chests piled into the living room and picked out an old album, the leather cover worn at the edges. Dust waltzed in the air as she opened it with caution and gentle care. She showed him a slightly discoloured black and white picture of a young couple kissing for the camera in front of a church. Another wedding picture, from a different era. "Nana Hileni and Papa Maciej's wedding picture. I still remember them even if they both died when I was barely a teen...as if one couldn't bear to live without the other. Or so I like to think. She would help me with the homework, mathematics particularly, and he baked this bread for me till he was too weak to do so. He always claimed that he won Nana's heart with his pastries but she always denied it laughing". She passed another picture of the same couple proudly standing in front of the Nowak family bakery in Hoboken. "Frankly, I believe that Papa's broad shoulders and Marlon Brando smile are more likely to blame for this coup de foudre" she laughed. "And he knew how to deal with her no-nonsense attitude and vice versa. They...balanced each other, if you wish". She picked another picture and handed it to him. A woman was looking down in tender adoration and awe to a baby nestled in her arms looking up at her, outstretching a tiny arm in an attempt to touch her face. "There! This is Dad" she pointed at the baby before turning the picture where someone wrote 'Alex meets Auntie Adele'. Turning it again, she pointed at the woman. "This is Adele Carrem. Or Auntie Adele as I've always heard calling her. Nana's sister and Zetta's publicist and companion" Putting it back into the album, she carefully picked a bunch of other old pictures. "You surely know who this one is" she smiled, handing out the one on top. The photo was rather grainy but you could still recognise the same kid, slightly older, around two, sucking his thumb, cuddled up in Zetta's lap. The actress had aged a little but her features were unmistakable and it was endearing to see her sitting by the fireplace to read that kid with the sleepy face a bedtime story. "Sadly, I have never met them. I wish I did, oh you have no idea...but stories of them lived through in our family" Julia continued. "My Dad loved his Aunties - as he called them - dearly and by what I've heard and read, they loved him in manner as if he was their own. He knew little of them or Zetta's career back then...to him they were just the sweet ladies who would buy him ice-cream in Central Park or take him to see his favourite pictures over and over again at the movie theater. He said he will never forget the afternoons he used to spend with them in a Manhattan cafe that no longer exists around Christmas: Nana and Papa worked like crazy as the festive season approached and the glorious cup of hot chocolate with an elegant puff of cream on top with the Aunties became a tradition to him. He kept it alive somehow as he did the same with me". She handed the curator a bunch of other pictures: Zetta cleaning up Alex's face smeared with jam, the both of them laughing; Zetta posing with Maciej and her Dad at a table in the Hoboken bakery. He eventually mirrored her smile seeing a five years old Alex at the beach all engrossed in building a sandcastle with Hileni and Adele, and he standing at the water edge hand in hand with Miss Carrem, looking out into the distance. "These are family pictures. I'll show you the Zetta's private memorabilia we cherished". Julia searched a little, opening an old chest and handling every item inside with tender care. When she found what she was looking for, she showed the curator an elegant set of smaller boxes containing letters, dried flowers and photos. "I have already received an offer to get these published. I'm still pondering it. Before agreeing, I want to consider throughly if this is a thing they would have wanted, even if they're no longer here" The curator nodded as she kept searching. He skimmed a few letters and smiled as his eyes fall on the photos hidden away in those boxes: the two women sitting together and chatting at Hileni's wedding, Zetta's reading a script, lazily sprawled on a chaise long in her apartment. Some had short lines handwritten on the back, like a promotional picture with "Missing you" written by Zetta herself. The curator showed another to Mrs Nowak: a visibly excited Miss Carrem proudly showing to the camera a document announcing her voter registration. On the back, in Zetta's penmanship: "On the way to vote...my sweet Adele won!". "Oh you didn't know? Auntie Adele was a suffragette! I couldn't believe it when I first heard it! Nana told me that she was in and out jail when they lived in London because of protests. You know, like those suffragettes you read about in history books but less famous. Yet she fought for women's rights and kept fighting for them even in America. She was quite disappointed though by some major decisions of some feminist movements and eventually joined a socialist Union 'more rightfully welcoming working class individuals, immigrants and black brothers and sisters'. It's all in those letters but yeah, you couldn't possibly know. So little is known about her outside family". A little smile drew on her face as she put back the photo. "That photo was taken the day of the first election open to women. I checked the date. I suppose Zetta wanted to immortalise the moment...it was sweet of her, huh? Auntie Adele must have been so proud and overjoyed that day! You know, my Dad was born in 1920 when women's right to vote was legalised nationally and Nana once told me that Auntie commented the lucky coincidence saying she was incredibly happy her nephew would get to live in a fairer world. She was a true force of nature...she never talked much of the sinking of the Titanic just like Zetta and Nana actually but when one day Dad asked...he was barely a child and probably found an old article about the tragedy...Auntie Adele minimised but Nana assured him that her sister saved her life that night, risking her own to go down to the belly of the sinking ship to bring her to safety. Auntie simply shrugged, saying that it was what sisters do and that they made it to the lifeboats only thanks to Zetta, who shouted protests to stubborn officers and eventually found them a spot on a boat. I cannot even bring myself to imagine how scary that must have been: I cried so much when Madeleine took me to see Leo and Kate...to think they were there and it was all real!" She picked a few other objects out the box: a Shakespeare Sonnets book in a leather cover with golden engravings, with a little handwritten dedication 'To Adele, my sonnet 116. Happy birthday! With all my love, Zetta'; old scripts with annotations, a framed photograph of Adele and Zetta slow dancing barefoot in the living room of a gorgeous Long Island mansion. "These have a sentimental value" Mrs Nowak noted, her voice betraying the flicker of emotions as she picked it up. She took a deep sigh and continued. "I remember the day I told Dad I was gay as it was yesterday. We had always been quite close so it came natural to tell him first. We were in his car, he had come straight from college to pick me up at ice-skating practice. I..I dropped it in the middle of a conversation, bracing myself for the worst. I heard so many bad stories about coming out to your parents I was terrified of the consequences but I couldn't hide it anymore. I mean, yes, in public: bullies get even nastier if they know and I didn't want people shouting me "dyke" at school. But I needed to get it out of my chest...with someone at least. He kept quiet for a moment and I felt like drowning in shame. But then he spoke". A nostalgic tender smile formed Julia's lips. "He said he had two amazing Aunties that contributed to make his life a wondrous adventure. It was thanks to them that he, the son of a baker, could attend a prestigious college, for instance: they offered to pay for it without asking a penny back. They also helped him write his first romantic letter to his childhood sweetheart and consoled him when the little girl turned him down. But his Aunties had a secret, he added. He said: to my kid eyes they were no less a couple than Mom and Dad and at home we all treated them in manner but one day Mom made me promise to behave differently when we were in public. In public I would refer to her sister as 'Auntie Adele' but call Zetta by her name. He didn't get it and it took some getting used to. He soon noticed that even the Aunties behaved a bit differently out in the sun: they wouldn't hold hands or use endearing words in the street or when other people were around. They simply behaved like good friends did. He understood it later when he, as stubborn as a mule, asked them directly". Julia gently grazed her fingers on the glass of the framed photograph, caressing it. "And they told me everything, he said. That they were in love, just like mom and dad were, but people out there could be uncomfortable and extremely rude to women loving other women and men loving other men. That they kept their companionship a secret in public because those people had no problems with women being friends and they didn't want to have bad words or worse happening to them. I remember asking him what he thought about it. He smiled. 'I cried. Since Auntie Zetta mentioned people claiming that women like them were sick and would burn in hell, I actually started crying. I sobbed desperately in her arms, crying that I didn't want them to burn in hell, I loved my Aunties and I was happy they loved each other. Eventually they explained me it was just a vile lie spread my malignant people. But I got quite a scare and kept staring at them with puffy red eyes and my face wet with tears for a while. It required lots of cuddling to bring a smile back on my face'. He shook his head, laughing of his endearing naivety. Then he pulled over and looked at me. He continued: 'I still don't get why people keep spreading those mean lies but I know for sure that my Aunties weren't sick and didn't end up in hell and so won't you. Don't believe bullshits like that for a split second, okay? And I also want you to remember that it doesn't change a thing for me and mom too. You will always be my little girl, our little girl and we love you'. We shared a long hug before driving back home. On the way back he insisted to buy my favourite chicken and waffles for dinner, saying mom's veggie soup could wait. For my birthday, a month later or so, he asked me to follow him to the attic and showed me this chest. To meet the Aunties that 'would have surely been there for me'". She tipped away a tear. "I told you I married Madeleine right after the legalisation of same-sex marriages. My wedding was also the last public event Mom and Dad attended together before his health worsened irremediably. He passed away last year". For a moment she looked on the verge of tears but she recovered quickly. "Sorry...anyway, that day Dad insisted on walking me down the aisle even if he was getting weak. He beamed with pride when a friend fixed a rainbow ribbon to his jacket. Later at the lunch he read a speech he had written for the day, his hand shaking. He shared the story of his Aunties. He said that despite the hardships their situation forced upon them, they had quite a happy life together, a happiness carefully hidden from the world. He wished us to find something similar to what they shared without needing to hide anymore. He said Adele and Zetta would have been so happy and proud to celebrate with all of us that day" Mrs. Nowak picked the Shakespeare Sonnet book and gave him a fond look. "He brought this to the wedding. And he read for us the sonnet 116, the one Zetta mentioned in her dedication. You know, the one that starts with 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..." ----------------------- A few months later the exhibition on old Hollywood queer cinema and artists opened. Each artist had a room that soon filled with a crowd of enthusiastic visitors. In the first half, in a room arranged as a turn of the century nickelodeon with velvet chairs, all the memorabilia of Zetta Serda's public life: panels explaining the various stages of her career and the birth of her myth, promotional pictures of her performances, articles about her and a copy of a gazette announcing her wedding with the director Richard King. On the wall, on a screen her entire filmography rolled up in loop, bewitching spectators after a century. In display cases: the gorgeous sapphire necklace she wore on her last night on the Ship of Dreams and at the movie party of Surviving the Titanic, and a replica of her Cleopatra costume. The aging Queen of Egypt with a tragic love and destiny immortalised by Shakespeare was her last role back on the theater stage before retiring from the scenes. Old scripts with her personal annotation were displayed with photographs taken on sets and mundane events. The wall hosting the motion-picture screen cut the room in half. On the other side, the hidden half of her life. Her life with Adele no one suspected back then. A life kept secret that now unveiled in front of the eyes of the visitors. The curators discovered that finding public pictures of Miss Carrem was nearly impossible, true to the nickname she acquired as time went by: The Shadow. She stayed at Zetta's side until and even after she stopped acting, showing rare loyalty and devotion, but ever surrounded by this mystery allure. No one, even the most stubborn reporters managed to know anything about her and she was soon dismissed as a Titanic survivor, possibly a fan, who worked as Zetta's secretary and somehow gained her respect. Little they knew about the depth of their relationship and what stacks of secret letters and family memories revealed of the life of Miss Carrem. A panel finally told her story and her secret achievements: Adele, or better Adal, kept fighting for a fairer world and society her whole life and marched for women's right to vote on the famous parade in 1915. She also passed the teaching of Edith Garrud to her American sisters. The only pictures of her came from the Nowak family, except for one. The only photograph of a public appearance of Miss Carrem as well as the only known public appearance of Zetta and Adele. An old grainy photo accurately framed showed Adele shaking hands with The Unsinkable Molly Brown on a podium. In her free hand a shiny medal and a few steps behind the mayor of New York. According to the panel, the survivors' committee founded by Mrs. Brown decided to award Miss Carrem a medal for bravery and a generous check "to help her and her sister starting a new life in America". With great surprise, Miss Carrem received the medal and the check, thanked the board but refused the honors. Instead, she asked to deliver them both to the family of a certain Charlie Stoke, a stewart that lost his life in the sinking to save her life and those of many passengers. She added that her friend expressed the desire to study naval engineering one day and she wished that the money kindly offered to her would be enough to establish a scholarship for boys like him across the ocean. In another picture, Miss Carrem and her sister chatted with Moll Brown in company of Zetta. Eventually, other philanthropists and wealthy socialites signed checks for her cause so that the Stoke family received a generous contribution too. And today, as another picture confirmed, the faculty of naval engineering of the University of Newcastle hosts a marble engraving of Charlie Stoke: to his memory a scholarship had been instituted one year after on the anniversary of the sinking. Since 1913 it has been helping students of poor background to get an education and improve their life. Zetta herself became a philanthropist during her Renaissance and ever since. The first act of her new phase of her life was joining the Moll Brown survivors committee to provide help to the second and third class passengers families and survivors. Some said that the tragedy she witnessed touched her heart, other claimed that it was to be attributed to the influence of her publicist. Jokingly, she used to say that after all, she had too much money yet all she could have wished for in her life, so why not doing some good with it? A considerable donation under her and Mr King was received by the main hospital during the Spanish flu pandemic; she was particularly active in providing financial help to struggling neighbourhoods and female education institutions. In the middle of the room, a long glass display hosted the Shakespeare Sonnets opened at sonnet 116 and a selection of the private correspondence between Zetta and Adele. My darling, You will receive this letter tomorrow morning when I'll be already off to Chicago. The suitcases are ready and packed, this is a goodnight note scribbled the night before leaving you to remind you how much I love you and care about you. How much I'm going to miss you even if - thank God! - we won't be parted for long... Do not forget you promised me to write every day! Write to me, Adele, write to me whatever thought crosses that gorgeous mind of you: you know I could you rambling for hours without getting tired of the sound of your voice, of your sparkling wisdom. I wanna know everything. So don't be shy: I'll be waiting your letters with tender impatience. Can't wait to be in your arms once more. Adoringly yours, Zetta - Dear, dearest Zetta, I went to Central Park today with Hileni. It was a gorgeous spring day, sunny, a gentle breeze blowing: 'simply too beautiful to be wasted inside' as my sister put it. Did I tell you that she's still exchanging letters with the delivery boy from the hat shop? I thought they were over but apparently he invited her to the nickelodeon next week. Anyway, walking in the park with her I suddenly realised how I wanted to share that spring wonder with you. When are you coming back to New York? Tell me soon, please. And even 'soon' won't be soon enough: you're always on my mind since you left. But yes, tell me soon so I can make you promise we will go for a walk before the weather becomes too hot. Do you think I can wrap my arm with yours? Is it professional enough for a publicist? Even just for a few steps: oh you have no idea how I would love that! Or maybe you have? I hope so: it'd mean you miss me as much as I miss you when we are apart. Oh, I almost forgot: all settled with that magazine you mentioned before your departure! I negotiated a two pages long interview, plus pictures. And a cover mention. Hope I did well: you have already fired me as your secretary, I must prove you I am just what you're looking for in a publicist... Can't wait to see you again! Loving you always, Adele Only one letter was copied on a panel of its own on the main wall side by side with a blow-up of the picture of Adele and Zetta slow-dancing barefoot and free, for a blessed moment immortalised in a discreet shot. Adele pressing a tender kiss on Zetta's forehead, drawing a soft smile on the acrtress' lips. Many visitors commented it was heartwarming to see such a photograph that conveyed the intimacy and the warmth of affection radiating from the dancing couple. Some said that Zetta was even more beautiful like that: free, hair slightly askew and genuinely happy, loved. What stole their hearts away though was the letter attached to it. It was no surprise that the curators decided to name the retrospective Underwater. Dearest Adele, Forgive me for the tone of this letter. I am writing it down in bed while I cannot sleep and my mind runs back to you as if we could meet halfway between the miles separating us, in a world of fantasy of our own. It's ridiculous how much I miss you! I want you near, I need you near all the time. Take tonight: if you were here with me, I would be heavenly sleeping in your loving embrace. Most unfortunately, you are not and I'm lying here, insomniac, thinking of you. And about my life. No, don't frown. I am not getting all sad again. It's...bittersweet. And - I'll spoil you the ending so you will stop worrying, hopefully - it gets better the more you proceed. Have you ever felt trapped underwater? I did, my whole life. Always hiding, always measuring words, gestures, gazes not to let them see, not to let them know...so little time to go up and break the surface. Drop the mask and breathe. In, out. Once, twice. In my lowest moments I repeated to my myself: how are you gonna survive? One day an acquaintance with a remarkable passion for the sea explained me and the other bored commensals that you can keep someone alive by breathing oxygen into their mouth underwater. Pretty much like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation helps an unconscious person to regain consciousness. I found it interesting but doubted his words. Then I met you, Adele. My dearest, wondrous Adele. And I learnt that yes, you can't breathe if you're constantly underwater...but you won't drown if you have the right person swimming by your side in those deep waters. Put your lips on me, Adele. Touch me, hold me in your arms. And I can live underwater. With your love, I can live underwater. We can live underwater. I love you. I want to cover a full page of these three simple words: I love you. I want to cry them out and entrust them to the winds, to the night. But what for? Who cares if the world knows or not? I'll whisper them over your lips when we will be reunited. So you can breathe underwater. Counting down the hours separating us, my love. Eternally yours, Zetta

[hurtfairchild]

Clary/Jonathan, 3k, Rated E

Tags: Canon Compliant, Explicit Sexual Content, Vaginal Sex,  Drug Use, Drugged Sex, Sibling Incest, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post-Episode: s03e19 Aku Cinta Kamu, Bone Chandelier, Morgencest, Public Sex

@bannedtogetherbingo2020 prompt: Sexy & No Good

Read on AO3

Clary just sent Jace back to the Institute after he betrayed and now she wants to have fun.Somewhere in between, fun turns into wanting to fuck her brother so badly she can't help but give in.

The dust settled behind the portal.

The sour odor of Seelie blood overwhelmed Clary suddenly. The music was still pounding, restless, in the background, someone having forgotten to turn it off.  She closed her eyes for a moment. In her veins, the angel blood alight with power was burning like a drug. She was so annoyingly sober…

She turned back towards her brother, her eyes locking on him. Blood seeped from where the Seelie Queen, that bitch, had bitten him. Clary hissed. No one touched her brother. No one, not even Jace.

Jonathan’s face was distorted with a mix of pain and pride. She could understand why. She’d just gotten rid of Jace. And though she knew she should probably be sad about it, the only thing she could feel right now was relief…and…arousal?

She paced towards Jonathan, smiling at him and reaching for her stele. Gently, she reached up, her fingers tangling into his hair as she pulled his head aside. His hair was soft under her fingers, the blue lights of the club making strands shine like blood. Her stele glided over the iratze on his throat, and he shuddered sensibly.

“Are you alright, big brother?” she whispered. “Did the bitch hurt you?”

She sent a glare at the Seelie Queen who was still standing there looking righteous as ever. How easy it had been to defeat her, she who posed herself as the biggest threat in the entire realm. She who had until this very moment instilled fear into Clary. All she could feel now was anger at how cruel and sadistic the Queen had always been, and a great burning desire for revenge.

Jonathan’s hand rested on her arm then, bringing her attention back to him. His eyes were darker than usual, pupils a little blown. She’d never seen him looking like this before. Hungry.

“I’m okay, sister. Your iratzes are powerful.”

Clary knew they had to go but all she wanted was to stay in this place a little longer and enjoy the moment. She and Jonathan hadn’t really been able to let loose much, and she was craving to dance with him, to be close to him as the beat of the song resounded through their bones.

“I don’t want to leave this club just yet,” Jonathan whispered, a perfect parallel to her thoughts. “I want to have some fun, now that buzzkill Jace isn’t there anymore.”

Clary nodded. “I…” She looked over at the Seelie Queen. Immediately, an idea of a plan to keep the party going blossomed in her mind. “Take care of her, I’ll take care of the doors.”

She walked away from him, and she could feel his eyes on her like trails of fire, down her back, onto her ass, down her legs and back up again. She felt a wet warmth pool in her groin at that feeling and she swallowed. Usually, it was Jace that made her feel like this. When he was training with her, or when they were in bed together. She shook the thoughts away and focused on the great wooden doors of the club.

She slammed them shut, grabbing her stele. Without thinking, she started drawing. A deflect and locking rune mixed themselves in her mind and on the wood, sealing the two panels together. Golden light surrounded the edge of the door as well, until there was no difference between door and wall. Until everyone in the club was trapped there until Clary and Jonathan were done.

Clary swallowed. Her pussy was getting wet. She shifted a little before walking back towards the main room of the club.

Jonathan had strapped the Seelie Queen down on a chair, thick and sturdy-looking chains snaking around her entire body from neck to feet. There was no way she was getting out of there without them cutting her out. Good.

Jonathan stood, leaning against the pillar. People had started dancing again, probably ordered to by him. His gaze on her was heavy. She could feel it like a weight as she walked through the crowd. He was staring, almost unblinking. Though they stayed on her, they didn’t seem fixed to any specific point of her body. His eyes flicked between her face, her chest and her legs, almost without stopping. Clary felt more of the wetness in between her legs.

He wanted her. He’d wanted her since she’d had the knife up to Jace’s throat, and maybe even before that. His eyes had been on her for days at this point, watching, mapping the curves of her body as much as he could without her undressing. She remembered the way he’d watched her change back in Paris. It seemed like forever ago but the awe and hunger were the same.

Her heart started beating a little faster when she neared him. The club was hot and sweaty still, even more so now that people had started to dance again. She felt hot too, her dress tight and a little too warm with its long sleeves. Why had she decided to wear this to a club?

She stopped in front of him, smiling. Jonathan responded with a smirk, and his eyes were still alternating between staring at her cleavage and her face. Clary tried to look at him and see something she wanted too. She was wet but he wasn’t very attractive to her. The way he looked at her was burning her, was making her feel hot and desired and made her want to get closer to him. But he wasn’t hot.

He wasn’t hot the way Jace was, he looked a little too much like her reflection in the mirror, he wasn’t as tall as Jace. His face was strangely angular. His lips were a little too pouty. And they were siblings. Yeah, they didn’t know each other, and was it really that different from her story with Jace? Back after Valentine had told them they were related. But…

She wanted him too. At least she thought she did. Those lips on hers, on her breasts, his hands on her body. She could almost feel it.

Jonathan reached for her, his arm snaking around her waist and bringing her to him. Their bodies collided, the strong lines of his body fitting against hers in a surprisingly seamless way. Where her head usually fit right under Jace’s chin, Jonathan and her were almost eye-level.

She could feel his breath on her upper lip, could see the dark need in his eyes. It made her body ache.

“Let’s dance, Clary,” he whispered.

Clary swallowed, letting herself be pulled into the moving and writhing mass of bodies. It was hot, it was sticky, it made her feel like she was going to implode. His hands on her waist were heavy and warm, and she couldn’t stop thinking about his body against hers.

They stopped where the crowd was a little thicker, where people around them pushed them closer together, and they started dancing. Jonathan kept her close, too close, and she wanted to push him away just to be able to breathe a little deeper, just to avoid for a moment the pull of desire. The closer she was, the more she wanted him.

It was magnetic. His hands moved down from her waist to her hips, pulling her closer to him from there, pushing his hips against hers. She shifted, grinding against him without meaning to. She felt something rub against her crotch, something hard and thick and his gasp made obvious that it was his cock. He was hard. Hard for her.

Heat burned through her veins suddenly. Wetness pooling in her pussy and she knew her panties were getting soaked by her arousal, but she didn’t care. His fingers were holding onto her so hard it almost hurt, and he was still staring, hungry.

Clary rolled her hips against his, grinding in hard, gasping as she felt his hardness against her pubic mound. He growled low in his throat. She was too empty and too sober and she needed something to make her feel high. Her mind was zeroing in on the feeling of his hard cock against her crotch, their clothed hips grinding against each other on beat with the pulsing song around them.

She gasped for air as he rutted against her particularly hard. Suddenly, he flipped them over. His clothed erection slotted in the crack between her asscheeks, as he kept her so close she thought they would fuze together. One of his hands left her hips and reached up. He pulled down her cleavage and grabbed her breast through her bra. Clary moaned. She hadn’t been touched like this in so long.

Jonathan was rough, pulling on her breast and twisting her nipple. She cried out, hips bucking against his. Jonathan growled again at that. He pressed kisses against the back of her neck, sometimes licking at the sweat shining there, drunk on her scent.

Clary rolled her hips almost continually now, Jonathan rutting up against her.

She tilted her head back, groaning as he twisted her nipple again. People were staring. She didn’t care. The chandelier over her head shone briefly silver before it started dripping seelie drugs onto her, like a warm silver rain on her face, her hair, her skin.

She opened her mouth. Drops landed on her tongue, bitter and sweet. Her senses were easily overcome by the taste. Jonathan’s lips were still on her neck and he was alternating kisses and nips, hard teeth against her heated skin. It made her shiver every time. Made her move back against him.

The drug worked fast. The world looked like she was seeing it through a prism; a bit broken and definitely hazy around the edges. His body against hers was hot, firm, demanding. He rutted against her again, his cock hard against her ass. An aching need suddenly overwhelmed her.

Need for him, for his touch, for his voice in her ear, his cock in her pussy, his body over hers. Need for release, for pleasure, for him to please her. She could have chosen anyone in this club, demanded they fuck her, and they probably would have; drugged up and maybe afraid of her. She didn’t want to ask anyone else.

The wetness in between her legs was only for her brother. A small part of her, still sober, screamed at her that it was wrong. Jonathan was her brother, her flesh and blood, wanting him was wrong, fantasizing about how his cock would feel inside of her was wrong. Needing him like this was wrong. She should be needing Jace, if anyone, but she wasn’t and it was wrong and disgusting and-

She licked her lips, catching more of the bittersweet drug. The voice stopped talking.

Clary turned around. Jonathan’s face was alight with desire, his eyes dark, the silvery drops of Seelie drug dripping from his dark red hair like rain. He was beautiful. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

Clary leaned in suddenly, kissing Jonathan hard. He was almost hesitant at first but soon he was kissing her back, bruising and deep. His hands roamed over her body hungrily, mapping every inch of her. He grabbed her ass, massaging it roughly. Clary moaned against his lips. She reached up, her hands tangling in his hair.

They stumbled back, Clary walking backwards. The crowd parted for them until her back hit a pillar. It was rough, made of skulls and bones that dug into her back painfully but she didn’t care. Jonathan’s hands, Jonathan’s lips, his teeth, his tongue, his cock hard against her crotch…

He’d been hard for what seemed like forever now… They couldn’t keep rubbing on each other like this, or he would come outside of her, and she couldn’t have that. She couldn’t have him come and then get soft and not fill her, not fuck her. She needed him so badly. She couldn’t think about anything but how it would feel to be fucked by him.

“Clary,” he whispered against her lips.

Her name was like music to her ears right now, said in that husky, desire-saturated voice of his. She loved the way he said her name, whether it was cajoling or begging, whether he was happy or mad.

Clary let go of his hair. She reached down under her skirt, pulling down the lace panties she was wearing underneath. She shimmied a little and they fell to the floor. She stepped out of them and grabbed his belt. Jonathan’s mouth was sucking hickeys into her neck as she worked to undo his belt, his pants, and take his cock out. Drugs and desire made her motions uncertain and she struggled for a moment, but soon she could push his clothing down enough for his cock to spring out.

Jonathan groaned loudly, teeth digging into her skin, when she wrapped her hands around his cock. It was long and thick, hard and leaking over her fingers. In the dark and in her haste, she didn’t even think of comparing it to Jace’s or Simon’s.

She leaned back against the pillar, a skull digging into her side. She picked up her left leg, wrapping it over his hips and bringing him closer. She guided his cock to her folds. Jonathan grabbed her hip as soon as he felt the head of his cock find her entrance. He thrusted in.

Clary let out a cry. She was wet and ready and it didn’t hurt, but the thrust was hard and deep. His cock filled her completely. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he shifted. He pulled back slightly and thrusted in again. Clary’s cry of pleasure disappeared in the beat of the music.

“Fuck me,” she groaned against his ear. “Fuck me, Jonathan.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. His beautiful face was almost distorted with pleasure and drive as he started to fuck her. The pace was hard and fast, barely leaving time for her to comprehend the motions.

The pillar’s skulls and bones were an uncomfortable background. She knew she would bruise from them. Good. She’d have even more reasons to remember this moment.

“You feel so good, sister. It’s like you were made for me,” he said. Shame and disgust threatened to overwhelm her for a second but his pubis ground into her clit and she just moaned. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” Jonathan continued. “Dreamt of how your pussy would feel. I know I shouldn't have but I couldn't help it. And this... It’s like heaven.”

Clary hadn’t wanted him before. She’d even been disgusted by the idea to the point of nausea. And yet… Right now, she couldn’t imagine anything better than being fucked by Jonathan, her brother, in the middle of a crowded dance floor, high on Seelie drugs.

Her eyes hazily turned to where the Queen was sitting, staring at them with an unreadable expression. Clary smirked. She pulled on Jonathan’s hair a little, tilting his head back so she could kiss him. She closed her eyes, let her mind focus on the way his lips felt against hers. The way his cock felt inside of her, pounding into her tight pussy, driving her against the hard bones of Shadowhunters killed by Seelies.

She came suddenly. “Jonathan!” she screamed, her eyes rolling back at the thundering pleasure. She’d never felt anything like this before. She was on fire, and Jonathan was fucking her through it just as punishing as before.

Clary’s heart beat so loud she could hear it over the music and Jonathan’s grunts and hard breathing. She felt empty, weak, wet with sweat and her own spend. She melted against Jonathan’s body, limp and pliant from her orgasm. He could have done anything to her.

Jonathan’s fingers dug into her skin, nails in deep enough to draw blood. Clary yelped at the sudden rush of pain and the pleasure still coming in waves from her oversensitive pussy. Jonathan slammed in as deep as he could.

He screamed her name as he came inside of her. She felt his semen hot and wet spill inside of her; his cock twitching, his hips thrusting a little to ride the shockwaves of his orgasm. She held onto him.

Clary was dreading the moment he would pull out, and it came too fast, leaving her achingly empty. She wanted more, needed more. Jonathan didn’t seem to want to give her much more right now.

He put her leg down and let go of her. Her knees were weak and she almost toppled over. Her entire body ached.

She watched as he put himself back in his pants and straightened up his clothing. Her skirt was still bunched up slightly, semen trickling down from her pussy. Jonathan’s fingers tucked her sweaty red hair behind her ear.

“Look at you, sweet sister,” he said. “You’re wrecked.”

Clary felt wrecked.

“I would activate your iratze, but I want you to feel me for a while,” Jonathan pointed out. “Let’s go back to the apartment now.”

Without meaning to, she nodded and stood up a little straighter. They unchained the Queen and she broke the rune keeping the doors locked.

Clary’s thighs were sticky with Jonathan’s semen as she walked. It was uncomfortable. Her panties had been forgotten on the floor of the club. What had she done?

Drugs were dissipating and so was the glow of her orgasm and… Clary’s nausea came back. Not at the idea of what Jonathan might want to do, but at the memory of what she’d just done with him, how much she’d wanted it, how hard she’d come. Much harder than with anyone else before.

They arrived at the apartment quickly, and Jonathan immediately moved them to the other side of the world to evade capture.

Clary showered the sweat and semen off. Bruises from the skulls and from his fingers were already blooming on her pale skin. She went to bed, in the giant bed she had felt terribly alone in before Jace’s brief visit.

She tossed and turned, sick to her stomach with the knowledge that her pussy still ached; a deep desire for Jonathan’s cock. If he was to come barging in the bedroom now, she’d let him. She’d let him climb in bed and fuck her again.

Three knocks resounded at the door.

[vintage-story-time]

Family Games by Ray Todd

Chapter 10

Glynn poured a drink of bourbon for his mother and took a can of beer for

himself. He still felt a little funny, walking around in front of her bare

assed, but she didn't seem to mind being naked. In fact, she acted proud of her

nude body, and he sure didn't want her to cover up any of it. He would never get

tired of looking at her.

She was sitting on the couch, with her polished legs crossed, so that only a

tufting of her ebony pubic hair peeped out, and right now the long nipples of

her captivating tits were flaccid. But the heavy breasts themselves stood out

magnificently, ripe and full. They swayed when she reached out for the drink he

handed her.

"Thanks, dear; I need this. You're a marvelous lover, Glynn, so good that I'll

never let you go. Even when you grow up and get married, I'll visit you every

time your wife is away."

He sat down beside her and took a long, cooling swallow of beer. "I may never

get married; I love you too much, and no other could ever be so beautiful."

"How sweet. Am I really as exciting as that other girl you laid?"

Up close, her skin was flawless, pale and translucent; he could see the tiny

blue veins beneath it. He said, "She was the first, and yeah -- she's pretty

exciting. But you're special; you're the best." He wished he could tell her who

had taken his cherry, but this wasn't the time.

And when he thought of Lorena, he remembered that he was also supposed to be

working the plan along, making some of the moves that might keep his mother and

father married. He couldn't possibly let her go now, and had to do everything he

knew how to keep them from breaking up. It had been a hell of an idea Lorena

had, the kids seducing the parents, but where did he go from here?

Watching his mother finish her drink, he said, "How could dad stay away from

you?"

She put down the glass and raised her arms over her head, stretching. The

movement threw her tits out, flattening them just a little as the skin grew taut

over the delicious mounds. "It was just as difficult for me to stay away from

him, at first. I need loving, dear; I need a lot of loving. Now that I have you,

things are going to be much easier. You make me so crazy that I do things with

you I never have with your father, and I love them. Teaching my son all about

sex is going to be the most fabulous thing that ever happened to me."

Glynn drank some more beer. "Maybe you don't want to talk about him, but I wish

you would. You know, I told you about hearing the two of you screw, and how wild

it made me. Wow -- if I had ever seen you making it, if I'd ever watched him

kiss your tits and feel your pussy, I'd have gone off without even touching my

cock."

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Get me another drink, dear, and I'll tell you how

it is. One time I brought home a huge mirror and fixed it beside the bed, so we

could watch ourselves fucking. But your father didn't like it."

Hurrying, Glynn splashed her glass half full of whiskey and carried it back. He

could feel his prick moving and a new strength growing inside his balls, even

though he would have sworn that he was completely drained. He wanted to hear all

this, and hung on each of her words with rapt attention.

"I would have liked it," he said.

"I was crazy about it," his mother murmured, "Seeing myself being screwed was

great, but I had to take down the mirror. I've often wondered how it would be,

right in the same room with two people who were fucking, watching every

movement, every wiggle of her ass and seeing the way his prick slid in and out

of her cunt."

Glynn emptied his beer can. His cock was rising, hardening. "But about you and

dad -- how does he go about it? What -- "

Sleepy-lidded, her sultry eyes focused on his, and her damp, red mouth said,

"Suppose I tell you all about the time I got pregnant with you? Would you like

that, darling? All right, then: we had been at a party and were pretty high by

the time we got home. We didn't even take showers, but started taking off our

clothes right here in the living room. In fact, he fucked me right on this very

couch."

Glynn's breath caught in his throat and he put his hand on his mother's plush

thigh. She uncrossed her sleek legs to give him room, so he moved on in to pet

the crisp, ringletted hairs of her enchanted pussy.

"I was so hot that night," she recalled, sipping her straight bourbon. "I wanted

to fuck and fuck, and your father stayed with me for a long time. He stretched

me out here, and lifted one of my legs up to put the foot on the back of the

couch; my other foot was on the floor. He pushed a sofa pillow under my ass and

fingered inside my blazing cunt until I came on his hand. Then, when I was

really boiling over, he crawled in between my legs and fed that gigantic prick

into my pussy. I thought we were going to break the couch, we slammed so hard at

each other. I came with him, I remember, and he pumped so much semen into me

that I overflowed, and we had to have the couch recovered to hide the stains."

Sighing, Glynn asked, "And that was the time you got pregnant with me?"

His mother saluted him with her empty glass. "Yes, and what a fortunate screw it

was. Now I'm sitting here naked with my son, looking at his long, hard prick and

thinking what a wonderfully ironic thing this is. I only wish I could have your

father brought in, all tied up, and prop him against that wall, so he would be

forced to watch his horny son fuck his equally horny wife. We'd make his eyes

pop out, wouldn't we, dear?"

Before he could answer, she put her glass on the coffee table and slipped off

the couch, twisting her full, ripe body around so that she was between his

spread knees. He knew then what she was going to do to him, and hot lightning

raced up his spine.

"Sit very still," she breathed. "Don't move, and I'll do everything."

With his legs veed wide, when she kneeled erect, his mom's tits were right at

his upright shaft, and he watched with bated breath as she cupped the delectable

melons and leaned forward to place them on each side of it. Glynn saw the

swollen head of it poking from between the white mounds, and felt the caress of

the twin nipples.

She rubbed her tits up and down, squeezing them together, and with every sliding

motion her nipples slid over the throbbing head of his ironhard prick. He

couldn't help waggling a little, but she hissed a warning at him, and he forced

himself to stay quiet, since his mother wanted to do this her own way.

She let her breasts fall apart then, and dipped her head forward to draw the

perfumed mist of her black hair over his painful cock. Glynn reveled in the

tickle of it, in the indescribable feel of the silken hair as she ran its luxury

along his shaft. He dug his fingers into the couch when his mom's cheek brushed

the head of his rod.

Taking it in one hand, she pressed it against her face, rubbing her cheek and

chin over it, guiding the knob over her forehead and her closed eyes. He could

feel the gentle scrape of her eyelashes, and a shiver traveled the length of his

tensed body.

Slowly, teasingly, she kissed the bulb, her lips soft as the lighting of

butterflies. Several times, she kissed it, paying a loving homage to this sex

organ that had developed within her own body in the beginning. She toyed with

it, bent it slightly, and allowed it to snap back erect.

He thought, she's going to do it -- she's actually going to suck my prick! It

was something he hadn't even dreamed about with her, not until after his sister

had done it to him. He had always imagined fucking her, riding between those

terrific legs and pounding his hard cock up into the special richness of her

velvet cunt, but the image of his mother eating his shaft hadn't come to mind.

Now it was about to happen, and he couldn't control the little muscle spasms

that shook him. When her tongue came out and licked the end of his glans, Glynn

fought a groan behind locked teeth, but had to let it escape as she curled that

artful tongue around the edges of the knob. When his mom ran the end of her

tongue down into the slot, he clawed at the sofa and his heels drummed a tattoo

on the carpet.

Her lips came down and around, and her tongue temporarily retreated so that the

cockhead could follow into the hot cavern of her mouth. The distended flanges

passed through her teeth and lay for awhile along her supine tongue, then she

moved her head and he felt his glans against the roof of her mouth.

"Mmmm," she said around his shaft, and drew still more of the rigid meat into

her mouth, so that at last the tender head bumped itself against the matchlessly

soft satin of her throat. Her fingers were at his balls, fondling and probing,

and her other hand was wrapped around the root of his prick, holding tightly,

pressing down and releasing in rhythm.

Glynn's head was turning from side to side, and he bit into his lip when she

started to apply suction, as she pulled his cockhead deep and shoved it back out

with her tongue.

The cheeks of his ass clenched at the slippery sucking, as she moved her head

slowly up and down and the inner velvets of her cheeks flowed back and forth

over his knob. Of their own volition, his hands came hesitatingly up and held

her head, his fingers going deeply into her bountiful hair. She didn't seem to

mind now, and he rested them there.

Her own hands moved, too, sliding down his thighs and behind his knees to fondle

the calves of his legs. They came back up, gripped his knees again, and urged

them up. Glynn slid forward a bit and hiked his pelvis, lifting his feet from

the floor and helping his mother drape his legs around her shoulders.

His feet rubbed up and down her back and he could feel the resilient pressure of

her tits in his crotch. She tipped his cock down slightly, and gnawed on it, her

tongue busy over the head. Glynn's fingers clamped harder into her hair, and he

began to hunch at her mouth, moving his shaft deep into it, nudging the back of

her throat.

Fucking her head; he was screwing her face, pouring the prick into her mouth,

into his own mother's loving hot mouth, and she increased the sucking, bobbed

her head more quickly up and down, timing her pumping motions to his thrusts.

"Oh, mom! Ooohh -- I can't take it -- so hot -- you're eating me, eating my cock

-- you're sucking me off and I love it -- oh! Ah! Oh you beautiful cocksucker,

I'm about to come. I'm going to let it all go in your mouth and down your throat

-- c-coming; COMING!"

Groaning, she pulled harder as he shuddered and gave one more hump that ground

his pelvis against her teeth. The orgasm came roaring up from his leaping balls,

sizzled along his swollen shaft and burst from the head of his prick in a deluge

of semen. Holding tightly to her head, rolling his hips and digging his heels

into the curve of her smooth back, Glynn spurted his hot juice into his mom's

throat. She took it down, lapping and swallowing, sliding the sweet creamy

fluids thirstily into the narrow cave of her throat, chewing gently upon the

dripping knob to bring forth more.

Glynn thought that his backbone was turning to water, or to more come, and that

she would suck him completely dry. He didn't give a damn if she turned him

inside out, if his balls shriveled up and fell off. It was so farout, such a

crazy, groovy sensation that he turned weak and his legs fell away from her

shoulders. When his feet hit the carpet with a thump, his mother seemed to come

back from some far and ravenous place.

With a final licking of his cockhead, she lifted her face and let the bulb slip

wetly from her smiling lips. "Was it wonderful, dear? Did it just tear you

apart?"

Glynn couldn't trust his voice not to squeak, so he nodded, his head kind of

loose and rolling on his neck. She kissed his flinching belly and drew her

tongue up his chest; then, leaning into him and pulling his face down to hers,

she stuck out her tongue.

"Here, lover; taste your own wet semen."

Inside his mouth, her tongue moved around, fondling his teeth and cheeks. There

was a flavor of musk unlike hers, a different spice that had been manufactured

deep within his own testicles. Gasping, he broke the sticky kiss and gulped deep

breaths.

"My turn to bring you a beer," she said, and climbed from between his spread

knees. He watched her go to the bar, seeing the enticing swinging of her hips,

the jiggle of her ass and the supremely graceful scissoring of those tapered

legs. Dizzily, he wondered if any kid his age had ever been so damned lucky.

Any guy would give his left nut to have a crack at that beautiful ass, and give

up the right one for a chance to get that kind of head given him. Glynn thought

that his father must be out of his tree completely, to even consider giving up

such fucking. But he really didn't want his old man moving out, not even if that

meant he'd have his mother all to himself.

There was still that other thing he had, the need to watch his mom fuck, and

there was nobody he would rather see in action with her than his father.

Besides, Lorena was no doubt going ape over the old man by now, digging him as

much as Glynn was enjoying his mom, and she wouldn't stand for his leaving. He

didn't want his sister to follow, either. That would be too much of a split, and

Lorena was a crazy piece of ass herself. No harm in fucking both of them, he

thought, her and his mother.

"Here's to us," his mother said, giving him a can of beer and holding up her own

refilled glass. "May we always have as much fun."

"Oh, we will," he assured her, and wrinkled his nose as bubbles from the beer

tickled it inside. Was this a good time to talk to her some more, while they

were resting? He glanced over at the clock behind the bar and thought there

should be plenty of time, Lorena wouldn't let go of their dad in a hurry.

"Mom," he said, "did you ever think about swinging with anybody else? Maybe even

a -- a girl?"

She sat down in the big chair across from him, and crossed her legs. "Why not?

The way I see it, especially since your father insists upon being such an utter

ass, is that I don't have all that many good years left. If he doesn't want me,

then I'm sure others do, and that might include a little girl-to-girl activity,

too."

He saw that she was on the way to being smashed, and thought he'd try to steer

her away from drinking any more, but he was glad to hear her say she wouldn't

mind playing around with another girl in the act. From the things he'd read, and

pictures he had seen, Glynn knew that chicks sometimes dug other chicks

sexually, and even though that wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, it was

okay.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" His mother asked. "That little girl who got to you

before me?"

He drank more beer and said, "I kind of fibbed to you, mom. I've screwed two

girls before you, and I don't want to tell you about one of them; not yet. But

the other is my babysitter."

She sat erect. "What? That perfectly beautiful little thing with the exquisite

red hair? You have good taste, lover."

"I think she'd join us," he said. "I'm just about sure of it, because I laid her

and the other one together, taking turns with them, like -- so many strokes into

one pussy, so many into the other; they held hands all the time."

"Well," his mother said slowly, "and I was going to teach you. Could you really

get her to -- to make love with us? When?"

"Let's try for tonight," he answered.

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 20

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 1.8k

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: Feeling a smudge of angst today

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

Sitting at the high counter, your coffee was cradled to your chest, cell phone sitting in your free hand. By some miracle this morning, you were actually able to get out of bed when your alarm went off at then. Maybe it was the sleep that you caught back up on, or the fact that the weather was warming up to decent temperatures lately, but there had been a bounce in your step as you made your coffee. It felt fantastic to not have to rush around for once. For a few minutes, you were starting to think that getting up on time wasn’t a terrible thing and that today was going to be a good day.

Then the sound of wind chimes filled the apartment.

In that instant, the light-hearted mood you were in disappeared. Your body going rigid as you held the mug against your lips, the coffee aroma intoxicating and begging you to take a sip first. To put off checking the text for just a little while. If you looked at before drinking your coffee, your entire day was ruined.

With one last shred of hope, you picked up the phone while setting down the coffee. Maybe…maybe it was good news for once. As the text finally loaded on to the screen, the black letters worming their way into a message that made sense, you swore that the world was crashing around you.

“No,” you whispered. As your mind rushed to find a reason for this, your heart raced. You weren’t ready for this. Not yet. Running a hand through your hair, you took a deep breath to try and calm yourself. Maybe it would be better if your just skipped classes today and call it a mental health day.

You were in such a state that you never heard the footsteps hurrying towards your door, the jingling of keys going completely over your head.

“I’m taking you out on a date tonight.”

At the sound of Hoseok’s voice you jumped, eyes widening as you pressed your hand against your heart, the phone clattering onto the counter. It was beating so fast that you couldn’t believe it hadn’t jumped out of your chest yet. His sudden appearance had you doing a double take between him and the time on the microwave.

He was in a rush though, hurrying past you and into the bedroom, not even noticing that it was his shirt that you were wearing when he walked right by you.

“Wha…huh?” You asked. Setting your coffee and turning the phone face down, you turned towards him, trying to comprehend what was happening while blindly trying to reign in your emotions. In your defense, it was the best you were capable of saying for only being awake for ten minutes.

There was the clashing of metal and a few seconds later he was back in the living room, a pair of keys attached to a red lanyard bouncing in his hand. He redirected his path so it led to you, easily slipping his arms around your waist to pull you against him.

“I said,” he repeated, kissing the side of your neck where the mark was. A tingling sensation ran the length of your body when he did that, a sudden warmth that you always associated with Hoseok vanquishing the cold away. “That I’m taking you on a date. Tonight. Technically it’ll be our first date being together, but in my mind, it’s date number three.”

Raising an eyebrow, you tried to recount the others. “Remind me, what was one and two?”

Mischief lightened up Hoseok’s eyes as he grinned. “Chinese dinner at the Dance Studio.” Without missing a beat, he kissed the small wrinkle the appeared in the middle of your eyebrows. You weren’t even sure if that counted as a date. “Then, our movie night with Korean BBQ. And now, tonight. Date number three.”

You hummed in response, leaning the side of your head against his bicep. “You’re not counting the three days of your heat?” You teased. “I’m shocked.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes. For his own amusement, he flexed his arm that you were resting on, smiling as you gleefully giggled. “I thought about it. But I’m not some kind of fuckboy who counts sex as a date. I’m this old-fashioned thing that people once called a gentleman.”

There was no arguing with him. He was without a doubt, a true gentleman. With a slight shake of your head, you curled closer to him, feeling his arms tighten just the slightest around your body. The text was still running through your mind despite your attempts to focus on Hoseok. Once again, your heart and mind were competing against each other.

His chest rumbled with a soft growl as he leaned down to nuzzle the side of your face, gently kissing your cheek a few times. Whether he suspected your true emotions or not, he didn’t mention it. But you had a feeling that he did, or that he had some idea of what you were doing. It wasn’t just because he was hybrid – although that probably didn’t hurt – but because he always knew when you were even the slightest bit upset.

“Where are we going?”

Raising his head so he could look at you, his heart shaped smile melted your heart. “It’s a surprise.”

You pouted your lips, but Hoseok only retaliated by kissing them, making you giggle in amusement. He swore that he’d never tire of hearing you make that sound. Sighing, he pressed his forehead against yours, not wanting to leave your arms even though he had to. “You’ll love it,” he promised. “Not super fancy, but it’s fancy in its own special way.”

“Okay,” you softly whispered. Tugging on the grey Dance Studio shirt he wore, you regretfully leaned back. He obviously had only come back to pick up those keys. “What time tonight?”

“Be ready for seven.” He informed you. He had begun to pull away when he sensed it. Technically, he knew the entire time, but he didn’t want to bring it up just yet. Sometimes the simple gesture of holding you made it go away. It was a perk of being a hybrid, being able to sense emotions and whether or not that person wanted to talk about it.

When he first walked through the door, it was relatively small, something he passed off as you wishing you were back in bed. Or maybe you had to do some public speaking in a class that you were nervous about. But the longer you were in his arms, the stronger it became. You were anxious, there was no doubt about it, but it went deeper than that. If he focused long and hard enough, he was able to sense that you were scared.

He didn’t plan on telling you this, but he was scared too.

There hadn’t been any contact from Sue in the last day or so, and with the strange encounter with Beth the other day, it had become an unspoken agreement that no communication from Sue should be considered a good thing.

It was terrible that things had resulted to this, but there didn’t appear to be any other way around it. You didn’t want to lose your best friend and he didn’t want to see either of you hurting, he just wasn’t Superman. He couldn’t travel across the world to figure out how to help Sue while being there for you. If he were being honest, he already made his choice.

Sighing, you leaned back, stealing a glance at the microwave. It was ten fifteen. Plenty of time. “Okay. Seven it is. Now you need to get back to work. What did you forget anyway?”

“Keys to the supply closet,” Hoseok breathed out, kissing the top of your head. “I had to get something from there last time I used it and forgot to put the keys back.”

You hummed, shifting so your head was on his chest. There was a stirring in your heart each time Hoseok was close, and when you were like this, it felt almost impossible to step out of his arms. And with that message waiting for you on your phone, it only made the urge to drag him to bed and waste the day away in his arms that much more irresistible.

Seeming to understand your dilemma, Hoseok chuckled as he peppered your mark with kisses before finally planting one on your lips. “I gotta head back. I’ll see you tonight Strawberry.” Since you didn’t seem to be letting him go anytime soon, he figured a distraction was in perfect order. With a quirk of his eyebrow, he slapped your ass. Not enough to make it hurt, but enough to make you jump in surprise and allow him to sneak out of your arms. Even though he was in complete agreement with your thoughts.

“Hobi!” You squealed.

He just laughed. Double checking that he had the keys, he blew you a kiss from the door. “Remember. Seven tonight baby.”

“It’s a date.” You said, retrieving your coffee.

As the door softly closed behind Hoseok, you sighed in relief. The promise of a date made you feel like you were on cloud nine, but with a glance in the direction of your phone, you were carefully lowered back down to Earth. It didn’t ring since you set it down upon his sudden arrival, which partially made you happy. At least it was giving you more time to figure out a way to tell Hoseok. To come up with some plan and explanation for everything that’s happened, and will happen.

A month ago, while you would have been confused with Sue’s decision – especially since she had been so excited to go to Hong Kong – you would have been happy to have your best friend back. Now the mere idea of her being in the same town made you want to take Hoseok away from here and go somewhere far away, that way the two of you could have your happy ending without the risk of it being ruined.

Knocking back a mouthful of coffee, you reopened the conversation thread you had with Sue. She hadn’t sent anything else, but you still chewed on your bottom lip. There’s no knowing with her anymore. All you knew, was that the two of you were running out of time.

I’ve decided that I’m coming home early. I told the professor in charge that there was a serious issue back home involving my hybrid that’s requiring me to be there by next month or so. I’m not sure when, but I’ll be back sometime in April instead of May. If I’m lucky, maybe even sooner. I’ll let you know if there’s a change.

[rwbyremnants]

WARNINGS: Aftercare, near-fight. Also this chapter is pretty short.

So... I made an oops and posted chapter 9 as chapter 8 haha (on AO3). But I figure hey, it was already online so I'll just scramble around and add both chapters at once. Early Christmas gift or something!

=Chapter 9

The first to move was Glynda, who backed away from them both to sit back into her knees. Bowing her head slightly, she couldn't help but smile. "I hope I was to Master and Princess's liking."

"YES!" Winter burst out with a weak chuckle. "You… yes, that was… yes." A weak hand reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "It's… I don't know what I was expecting coming up here tonight, but this definitely exceeded those expectations!"

Giving a light tap on her hip, Qrow chuckled to himself as he said, "You're telling me! Jeez, you're so fuckin' tight back here…" Although he took a moment to lean to one side so he could spy Glynda for himself, and gave a nod in her direction. "And thanks for helping out there. Didn't think you would with it being me, and the close quarters and all."

"Oh hush." She smiled back, hopping back to her feet again instead to find her robe. "You stuck to your word in that I didn't have to touch you, I appreciate that. And we both agreed, the point was for Winter to have a good time."

"And I did," the woman in question sighed contentedly, reaching over her shoulder to tousle Qrow's hair. "How long have you two been planning this, this… sandwich with a Wintry centre?"

"About two weeks." Qrow continued to pant, moving his hands to her hip for a moment to prepare for his exit. He wasn't about to start until she was good and ready though.

"Yes, not long after you told me of… what happened." There wasn't an easy way to say it, but Glynda sensed it was the best way. Donning her robe again, she claimed a seat to one side of them. "I took the liberty of messaging Qrow to see how you were, as well, and we both came up with the idea. We thought it might help."

For a moment, Winter merely lay in Qrow's lap and processed what they had done, and why. She found it touching in a way that not much touched her anymore. Then she cleared her throat and whispered behind her shoulder, "I… am ready to get you out of me when you are, Master."

This last was said a bit teasingly, as their play had clearly ended. With a small smirk, he gripped her hips properly, slowly pushing her upward and off his length. Finally, he felt his member slide free, flopping to one side as it exited her body. Only then could he worry about removing the latex covering.

A shuddering groan floated out of her as she grew used to having nothing holding her sensitive ring of muscle open, the sensation of air upon her insides. "Ohhh… that was intense, wasn't it?" Grinning wryly over at Glynda, she said, "Thank you, by the way. For all of this. You didn't have to agree to another session with Qrow just for my sake, but you did, and I acknowledge your sacrifice."

"Oh hush," she dismissed, collecting Winter's robe as well to pass over to her once she was stood again. "You deserved a good session after the incredible one you gave me, and he seems to make you rather happy." Although, when looking back over to their master whilst he tucked his member away and tossed the condom, she smirked. "Well, a part of him does, at least."

"More than just that part," Winter countered with a chuckle. Then she told him more directly, "Don't forget there are wipes in the bag. In fact, I'd like one, if you don't mind."

Nodding, he pulled out the wipes and handed a couple over to Winter right away, then grabbed one for himself. As he cleaned himself up, he asked, "So, what did we wanna do with the rest of the evening? Thought about sticking around to watch some more of the scenes myself."

"Works for me," Winter said amiably as she took care of herself, as neatly and without mess as she could manage. "Unless you wanted to go somewhere else, Glynda?"

"Oh, I'm happy to tag along if you'll have me. I could collect a few more Dom cards while we're on the floor for myself. Perhaps one day I'll have my own personal arrangement with one Dom in particular."

It was clear what she meant. She had noticed both Qrow and Winter growing rather close in their time together, more than what was usual for a Dom/sub partnership. Establishing a steady routine. Even if they never mentioned it or brought it to attention, it must be something more intense for someone outside the relationship to notice it. But deciding not to bring it up, Qrow only picked up the last of his clothes, shoving them on as quick as he could so as to avoid delaying the two any further. Once ready, he held the door open for them.

"Ladies."

"Thank you, gentleman," Winter answered in kind, forcing down a giggle. Then she made a grand, sweeping bow and gestured forward. "Lady Snowmane, after you."

"Why thank you, Your Highness." Glynda played along, smiling back toward her as she followed out of the room as well, followed by Qrow once he'd collected their bag and turned off the lights.

A quick stair journey later, past a Cheshire who was wearing a grin that befitted her name, and they were back to the main scene room. There hadn't been too many additions, other than a few switched places and a few new viewers. Now that he knew what to look for, he noticed there were a few people wearing the lanyards in the area. How long ago that now seemed to him.

"A lot of new faces tonight," Winter remarked, apparently on the same mental wavelength. "Must be doing some kind of promotion… or maybe there's an event we weren't told about."

"Feels kinda good to know I'm not the new guy." Qrow grinned to himself. However, he found his attentions looking to one of the acts in the corner. A woman in leather, holding the leash for her pet wearing a choke collar around her neck. Just the ticket for him, exactly what was on his magazine that Winter found on their first meeting. Turning slightly, he said, "Be right back; gonna try my luck with some people in that corner."

As Winter's eyes were entirely focused on two men splayed out below a dripping candelabra, being toyed with by two women in spiky leather outfits, she could barely spare enough attention to say, "Hmm? Oh yes, fine. You do that."

"Sweet."

Wandering away from the group, Qrow headed straight over to the area of interest to him. It didn't take too long at all for him to strike up a conversation with one of the Doms, and even with the sub wearing the collar. In fact, she was more than willing to let him take the leash and lead her in a circle a couple of times. Certainly something to get him thinking of such activities in the future.

But despite collecting a few cards and being in a good mood, when Qrow turned back around to find the others again, such a happy mood vanished instantly. There was a sight in one of the other areas he didn't want to see again. That same well-dressed, ginger-haired menace was casually leaning against one of the walls, talking to a new attendant who was wearing a lanyard. For some reason – probably just a general dislike of the thoughtless Dom – he felt strangely protective over the newcomer, and so kept back for a moment to continue watching their conversation.

Which seemed to be going frighteningly well, considering he'd just laughed. "Well, lemme tell you now, Li’l Red. Your partner's in their right mind to let you experiment with this stuff here if it’s not exactly her bag. There's no better way to finish the day than with a release."

"W-well, I'm still not sure about all this," she was saying nervously, pressed right up against the wall. "I mean, it's kinda… out there, huh? So, um, I think I'll j-just keep watching a little longer, if that's okay?"

"Oh absolutely. But I can assure you, you won't find a better Dom if petplay's what you're into. Lemme give you one of my cards and you can consider it."

But the instant he did just that, pulled a crisp business card out of his pocket and went to hand it over to her, it was knocked away. Qrow had seen quite enough and marched over to the two, and was now grabbing the scalawag by his shirt and slamming him back against the wall with a great force. A slam that was certainly loud enough to distract a few of the club members.

"Wh-what-?!" was all the girl he had been talking to could get out, wide-eyed and alarmed by the sudden violence.

"You shouldn't be handing your cards out to anyone in here, pal!" Qrow was growling through his teeth, near enough holding the other up off the floor with how tight a grip he had on his shirt. All eyes were on him and the scene before them, something far different to all the others in the room.

But his victim only let out a breath before smirking. "Pal, hey, you're interrupting everybody’s scenes. Don't wanna scare the newcomers, do we?"

The girl's voice finally spoke again, but it was soft and completely incensed. "U-uncle?!"

The words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Qrow was far too distracted with the man he was pinning, growling loudly, "I'll show you a fucking scene!"

"HEY!" came a call from one of the other members of the club. One of two women that were experimenting with the candelabra had noticed the scuffle, and left her position to immediately walk toward them. As did a few others, Doms and subs alike. Folding her arms, the girl asked, "Is here a problem here, boys?"

"N-no, no problem," the short, red-haired girl told them, raising both hands to ward the Dom off. "This guy was being kinda pushy, and my- um… the guy here was trying to protect me, I think." But the way she said "guy" made it sound as if she knew who he was, very personally; she simply didn't want to let on to anyone else.

It took a long while for Qrow to calm down. Even when he could feel the eyes on him from all around the room, he still wanted to do nothing more than pummel the man within an inch of his life. For both scaring a newcomer, and for how he treated Winter. But he resisted.

That didn't mean he was going to hide his reasons from the group.

"You don't want this scumbag to be your Dom, newbie." He still hadn't noticed just who he was talking to. Was still far too distracted glaring into the other man's eyes. "Guy's been ignoring safe words, shaming people for using them. My friend was in tears for the shit he pulled."

"Those are some strong accusations there!" Roman Candle laughed nervously, placing his hands on the top of Qrow's to try and pull them off his shirt. But it wasn't working. "With all due respect, I'm not the one threatening someone right now. Why should she believe a newbie Dom and his fake story over me, an attendee to this fine establishment for years?"

"Because he has a witness."

At last, Winter had walked over to join them where they stood, arms crossed over her chest. Her face was set and grim, not at all the nervous mess it had been the day Qrow had to pick her up. Glynda was at her side, though she had elected to keep silent for the time being.

"A-and a second instance." From the back, one of the other members raised her hands. Another of the somewhat newer faces that wasn't around that first time they came here. “He spit on me when I tried to tell him I had enough - and we hadn’t discussed spitting at all!”

But she wasn't the only one. There were a couple of other women who raised their hands, stepping forward in addition to Winter. Enough to certainly get the people who were initially there to stop Qrow to think twice. And the would-be cocky ginger knew it. He was growing more and more nervous by the second, having to fake arrogance to get anywhere.

"Oh this is bullshit! So I might have a hearing problem and didn't quite catch that safeword – so what? People make mistakes!"

"This is a mistake you can't make, Roman. Not more than once… yet it looks like you have." Winter gestured around to all the hands. "You don't seem to be learning your lesson."

"Oh god," the younger girl was breathing, trying to edge along the wall away from the man who apparently would have provided a less-than-ideal first experience with petplay.

“What’s so bad about what he did?” asked a voice. As it turned out, it belonged to Cinderella, who was standing at the edge of the crowd with her arms folded across her leather-and-lace-clad chest. “From the sounds of it, he did stop when the safeword was used. There’s nothing saying you have to like being asked to end a scene that was showing promise until that point.”

“You’re already on thin enough ice,” Winter snapped at the brunette, who glared back. “Stay out of this.”

Finally, Qrow released Roman's shirt from his grasp. What was at first glared teeth had vanished to a sly smirk instead. While he hadn't done the satisfying act of knocking his lights out, he had achieved a similar enough goal. No one was about to play with Roman again after all this.

And when he looked around to the hands and the angry faces, he rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? After how long I've been here, you're all pulling this shit now? Unbelievable."

"Too long, apparently," Glynda grumbled under her breath. Not that she had a personal stake in the outcome, since she preferred female Doms, but a single friend being made to feel less than happy by his hand was more than enough reason to put in her two cents.

"Maybe you should leave for tonight," Winter told him firmly. "Think about your choices, and how you should probably change the way you operate. Or else things might get… unpleasant."

"Perhaps you should… or do I have to ask Candy to get security?" that Dom who had first approached asked, folding her own arms as she nodded in the bouncer’s direction. The forming crowd already had their attention, though they weren’t approaching just yet.

Finally, Roman let out an annoyed sigh. Straightening his hat, he glared once more at Qrow, then to everyone else who'd stood up against him, before calling up, "Neo, get our stuff. We'll continue our fun at home, away from all these… party poopers!"

And within a few moments, once his flustered sub had collected hers and his belongings and got dressed, they made their exit down the stairs. The small crowd that had formed disbanded, up to and including Cinderella, and everyone got back to their previous scenes they'd been playing out. Qrow had taken a moment to look in Winter's direction, but from how she had been simply smiling at Glynda, he could tell she was alright.

"Sorry about that, newbie," he spoke up at last, finally turning toward her. "Saw you looked a little uncomfortable so I figured- …Ruby?!"

All his young, apple-cheeked niece could do in response was smile awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her head. Luckily for both of their peace of mind, she was simply dressed in what Eastern cultures affectionately dubbed "gothic lolita" garb; a bit kinky with all the black-and-red lace, but her body was quite well-covered.

"Ummmmm… hey, Uncle Qrow! Wh-what's up?"

"You- I- the f… What are you doing here?!" He looked around for a moment to make sure no one was listening. The last thing he needed was someone pointing out relations between them to humiliate them both.

"W-well, I- thing is, I'm not really… like I'm not about to do all this stuff! I was just curious about-"

"Oh my God," Winter said, now that the danger had passed and she was finally focusing on who was talking to her Dom. Too bad Qrow’s hopes were dashed by her noticing. "You're… Yang's younger sister, aren't you?"

Ruby's smile was most definitely forced as her eyes flicked between the two of them. "O-oh, yay! Weiss's sister! Just… all the sisters, all over the place! This is… great! So great."

"How did you even find out about The Clamp? Penny knows you're here, right?" There were so many questions Qrow had for his niece. After all, this wasn't exactly the place he expected to see someone so young, and especially not someone who he thought had no interest in any sexual activities, period!

"W-well, yeah, we discussed this first," she went on, cheeks growing redder the longer she had to stand there discussing such things with her own uncle. "Um… Winter, you have very nice, uh, leather…"

"What? OH!" Looking down, Winter realized how uncovered she was; though thankfully, her own outfit for the evening did not have open areas over strategic spots, as Glynda's did. Wrapping her arms around herself slightly, she cleared her throat. "I, um… well, this is… a very interesting situation."

Taking a moment to step back away from Ruby, Qrow ran a hand through his hair. This really was the most awkward thing that could have happened during their outing to the club. Not only was it someone he was related to, but it was someone who could relay the information about them both to more people they cared about. And he knew in Winter's case, that was even less acceptable.

"Alright, well uhhhhh, you probably know the rules of this place; what happens here stays here. But I need you to promise you can keep that. Especially with me and Winter being here. That means no telling anybody – especially Weiss or Yang, no matter what. Got it?"

Ruby nodded, wide-eyed and completely ashamed of herself. Then she suddenly looked up, as if realizing something a bit late. Which she was. "Wait a second… what are you doing here?! And with Winter! Is…" Then she gasped and pressed both of her hands against her mouth. Even with it being muffled, the "Oh my GOD" was still just barely understandable.

She had clocked on. As much as Qrow didn't want her to, his niece realised what was going on between him and Winter. If anything, that was the part he was more concerned about, rather than just the kinkier side of it. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he laughed nervously. "Look, this is just as weird for you as it is for me, kiddo. How did you even find out about this place, anyway?"

"Well… that's my fault, I'm afraid."

Winter was the first to say, "Blake!" when she spotted the raven-haired woman coming up behind them. She was wearing a red leather outfit that left little to the imagination, with studs everywhere. Crawling along the floor behind her was Sun, on a leash and looking happy as could be about it. With the small crowd of them that had gathered, Qrow could barely believe how bad his luck had gotten. And to think initially his goal was to do something nice for Winter, and it had turned into protecting his niece from a not-so-trustworthy Dom. Throwing his hands up into the air, he resigned himself to the fact.

"Great! Everybody’s here, including my family. Kinky as hell. Just great. Maybe we oughtta move to Alabama."

"Well, I'm only curious about it," Ruby tried to remind him, but her words got lost in all the shuffle.

"She’s been asking us about this kind of thing for a while," Blake explained, not looking the least bit guilty compared to everyone else. "And she's old enough to drink now, so she's old enough to make this decision herself. Nobody had to 'make' her tell Penny; they talked it over all on their own."

Qrow scoffed loudly. "Oh, yeah, she's old enough. That makes it so much better! That makes seeing my niece in a sex club way easier to handle, totally! Are Yang and Weiss here too? Hiding in the hot tub? I wouldn't even be surprised at this point!"

Up until that point, Blake's pet had kept from speaking up. Not any longer. "Don't be dumb, man! They wouldn't do any shit in public, they’re famous. Obviously they have a room upstairs."

"They do not," Blake said in exasperation, but she did smile slightly at Sun’s joke. To Qrow, she said, "I'm sorry, I honestly didn't think you'd be back to the club when I saw you here weeks ago, and I haven't seen you since, so… I thought it wouldn't hurt anything to bring Ruby along, let her satisfy her curiosity."

"And that's all it was, Uncle! I swear, I just wanted to have a look around, see what I was missing out on! Not that, um, I'll be doing any of this stuff…" Wincing at something she spotted between the bodies surrounding her, she added in a lower voice, "That is not where candles are supposed to go."

Finally sighing in defeat, he knew things couldn't get any worse than they were. The main thing was Roman had left, which meant that Ruby had no risk of getting an untrustworthy Dom if she did ever want to try. And she was surrounded by friends.

"Look, do what you want, but just stay safe… and don't mention I'm here. Or any of us. I won't tell if you won't."

"Oh, I, um…" Glancing over at Blake and Sun, then at Winter, she sighed deeply. "I don't think I'll be coming back. Don't get me wrong, I'm still curious, but, like…" Her face squirmed a little as she looked up at him. "I… think maybe coming to the same sexy theme park as your uncle is… kinda weird?"

Blake couldn't help it; she had to laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I should have realized. I mean, I wouldn't mind texting you guys to make sure you never come at the same time, if that's any better."

"Hmm…" The girl was mulling it over, thumb and forefinger on either side of her chin as she tapped her black-booted foot. "Well… I was thinking about coming back before this happened… I just don’t wanna cross the streams. Y’know?" Nobody spoke for a moment. "Ghostbusters? Really, nothing?"

"If it helps, this was just sort of a… special occasion kinda deal. Last time we came was midweek." It was somewhat embarrassing they had to make this form of compromise with a family member, but it needed to be done. Scratching his head, Qrow looked over to Winter. "I guess we could do Wednesdays if we did wanna come regularly."

Ruby dipped her head lower. "Sorry! I mean, Blake and Sun never told me you came here… but, I mean, that's probably because you're not supposed to tell who comes… but if I knew, I wouldn't try to invade your territory!"

At that, Winter had to chuckle, laying a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder. She was adorable. When the younger girl flinched very slightly in discomfort, she patted it a couple of times and let her hand fall. "This isn't really Qrow's 'territory', either; he's only been a few times, so it's no more his than yours."

"In all honesty, I'm good whether we keep coming or not. I've only really got my eyes on one sub, anyways." And he meant it. Even if this was one of the stranger, and probably less ideal situations to bring it up, he really did mean every word: he only wanted Winter on his leash and nobody else. His curiosity about other scenes was solely with the intention of learning about the BDSM community, getting pointers.

While Ruby wasn't looking, he spared a quick glance toward Winter just to check her reaction, smiling. And of course, Winter returned the smile, softly but without reservation. What she said, however, was, "Perhaps I won't bring you on a regular basis, then. However… Blake, would you mind if I had your number so we can make sure there isn't any conflict?"

"Oh! Um, sure, here." Retrieving her cell from the bra of her kinky red number, she pulled up her number and held it out for Winter, who had to reach down into their "bag of tricks" for her own.

"You could just ask for mine," Ruby sighed. "I don't bite."

"Well, yes, but…" Winter had clearly been about to say something about her being Yang's little sister, but decided against it. Instead, she finished inputting Blake's number and held out her hand for the younger girl's phone. "Very well, I guess that would be wisest."

Yet again Qrow continued to scratch his head as they awkwardly stood together, trying to look away from both Ruby and Blake's outfits for the sake of his own sanity. Although, there was a small laugh that was distracting him from that. "What are you snickering at, butt boy?"

"Oh nothing." Blake's 'pet' was continuing to laugh to himself, shrugging his shoulders. "Just that you've definitely got the most out there story to tell if anyone ever says their life is the weirdest."

"No, he doesn't!" Ruby put in immediately as she took back her phone, waving her arms at him. "Nobody's telling anybody about this! Ever!" As Winter and Qrow both nodded their agreement with her, she glanced down. "Um, your name autocorrected to 'Princess'. Hang on, I'll change it."

Winter cleared her throat. "No, that's… well, whatever will help you remember."

In the awkward silence that passed as everyone exchanged numbers, Qrow continued to try and look around anywhere but in anyone's eyes, scratching his head nervously. Everyone else was no better, all wondering what to say. Finally, Sun perked up again, saying, "So… how about the cocktails here?"

He may have meant well, but all Qrow could do in response was roll eyes. "Go fetch some then, Fido."

[1358456]

Review Response, May 5-11, 2019

Heart got updated in this week, and... got very, very little to show for it. Instead, got some... fossils getting some reviews. Hehe...

And since I wasn’t home yesterday, I guess I’ll include the one review that I got at 5 am today.

Cycle #001

1) Tho lemme just say one more thing. In reality, Gold is a dick. And I think it's great that Crystal is trying to help him out on that aspect. I forgot to mention that in my last review. I mean, the things he does and says, but I also think it's innocent in a way. Almost like he just doesn't know better. Now I could just be romanticizing it, but I think Gold just needs to learn about how to treat other people, and especially WHY. Once he understands why, that'll be when he starts to learn how treat his friends and such. Besides that, ye Gold is an asshole. And I still don't know why I defend him, or why I think he's still a great guy.

Hm. This order is a bit messed since you dropped the review for the second chapter first, but... ehn. Anyways.

I wouldn’t say that Gold is a total dick. He at least pretends to be, but not even that deep down, he’s generally a good guy. Just doesn’t want anyone else to think that he’s a good guy. That said, he’s still a very BAD influence to the younger kids, which is what Crystal doesn’t like. So Gold just needs to learn to be a better example for the juniors. So I guess Gold is more of a jerk than a complete dick? Hmm...

Cycle #002

1) God Nicole! I know you said you have sweet stories, but for some reason I keep picking the ones that aren't. Ah well, maybe next time. Anyway, on to my thoughts on the chapter. This was very good! I can't tell you how many times I've read a fan fiction with a horrible plot, the characters with the wrong personality, or just really bad grammar. It feel really nice not to experience any of those. So really, thank you for this. Personally, I know how difficult it is to write something good, and be able to post it online. So congrats to you! Anyway, I felt that I understood both sides (that is Crystal's and Gold's POV on things), I was cheering fro Gold, but I was also agreeing with Crystal for trying to teach Gold a lesson. Though to be honest, I'm not so sure that Crystal should have been trying to change Gold so much, I mean, it's good to help him better himself. And that's what I liked, she gave him the opportunity to improve, she didn't force it on him (only encouraging him to do it with the promise of a date). But, nonetheless, Gold is Gold. If she can't love him for him, then maybe she's right in thinking that she'll never fall in love with him, which would make the whole baiting him with a date actually really cruel in a sense. But, I feel that this is Crystal's mistake, not yours. You wrote the story in a way, where this can't be seen as a pothole of yours, it actually goes with the story very nicely. So again, you did nothing wrong, Crystal did. Tho in reality this is just my opinion, you're free to think whatever you want. Anyways, keep up the good work! I'll make sure to post another review soon! (sorry for the long ass review tho kek)

I have plenty of sweet stories! You’re... looking in the wrong place? Hehe. Yes indeed, there are a lot of horrendous stories out there. I try not to add to the pile.

The important thing to note in this story is that Crystal does NOT and is not trying to love Gold. Her line of reasoning basically goes as: “I know he likes me, but I don’t like him. But if I can use him liking me to try to steer him into being a GOOD guy and not such a jerk all the time, then this is a great opportunity.” It’s something that has a decent probability of occurring, given Gold and Crystal’s personalities and preferences.

Heart #004

1) Y and white’s interactions with each other in this chapter were so good. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! Yay for friendly banter and interactions between multiple generations of Dex Holders!

... And that’s it for Heart, huh? Hm.

SC #001

1) Wow. I really don't know what to say. But I feel like I will continue to ponder this even when I'm supposed to be sleeping. A part of me hopes that the real Blue doesn't feel like this, but of course she would. Anyone would in her position. Oh, really Nicole, my heart ached for Blue in this one. I could feel her pain even though I don't exactly know what she's going through. The first thing that hit me in this chapter was when she says. "I got too attached." or something or other. This line was before the paragraph where she explained that she should have listened to Pryce. But even then, I knew. This girl was so influenced by Pryce when she was younger, she thought she had escaped him, but his teachings till live on in her. At least the small ones. The ones that slowly creep up, and once you notice they're there, it's too late to get rid of them. Yep, that was the line where I knew that Blue was completely and utterly broken. I mean, you get that sort of idea earlier, obviously, it's not hard to tell. But before there was a glimmer of hope, a little nit of light. That line completely destroyed that little ray, and really plunged the entire thing into an "Utter Darkness". (See what I did there?) Anyways, your writing was wonderful as usual. You really know how to play with emotions, and you also have a way with people almost empathizing with the characters (I say almost because obviously we've never experienced that, or at least I haven't). I would say more, but I've already said so much in this review. Thank yoouuuuuuuu, so very mucccchhhhhhh!

Given Blue’s past, this is a very likely scenario to occur if she is denied the warmth and care that she would need deep inside. Yes, Blue’s heartbreaking situation... during the time I tried to pair her up with Green even though neither are really compatible with each other... That sure explains why all that happened in Destiny! Poor girl, huh? :(

Thanks so much for the long review!! <3

SC #006

1) I can't even. This was amazing, what Black did was sorta cruel, but that's exactly the kinds thing you do to your best friends. But seriously, I'm tearing up here (not really, but let me be dramatic). This was short, but it was short and sweet, and sometimes that's the best thing that someone can offer. As usual, your grammar is on point. I realize that while reading your stories, my view sort of narrows (something I have trouble doing even with some novels), and I'm focused only on the story. It's a great feeling actually, being totally engaged and unaware of your surroundings. Haven't felt that in a long time, so thank you again! You're the best.

Hehe. Best friends trick friends into playing a horror game! Hehe. White was the most obvious victim for such a thing, which automatically meant that Black had to be the one to do it. And it works out! Hehe...

Thank you sooo much!

SC #009

1) Oooooooooh, Nicole I really enjoyed this one! This was with no romance, just simple and pure fun! Ugh, I live for these kids of fics. You, dear, are amazing. Your writing is engaging, and I honestly felt bad when each person "died". The end was also perfect, I had completely forgotten about Crystal, and you took advantage of that. I applaud you, and thank you very much.

Yep! Purely for fun game of paintball survival! Purely friendly no-doom, no-heartache, no-romance, no-holds-barred game for pride and not losing money! Ehehe... thank you!

Indeed. Crystal went forgotten just so she could end a stalemate and so that her seniors don’t lose their pride.

DE #027

1) Guh. It was adorable, from Diamond's sincerity to Platinum's hesitance. And they kissed at the end! Who knew you were capable of sweet stories. (Maybe it's time for an oldrival sweet one eh) I'm just kidding. I won't ask that outright of you 'cause I know it's hard work, but just letting you know, that f you do decide to make one. You know the person to send it to ;). In any case, I'm going to go read some of your other stuff (with reviews at the end of course!). But before I do that, lemme just say. That everything I've said in other reviews about your writing applies to this one, I just won't repeat it because after a while things can get tiresome. It's just! When Diamond asked Platinum if he was making her uncomfortable, I was like, "*squeal* He's so kind!". I kid you not, I want to squeal even now, but if I did my mother would look at me weirdly. Anyways, until next time!

Hey, I write a lot of sweet things and certainly capable of it!! Hehe. And... heh, that pairing is not going to happen anymore, so... sorry :(.

Anyways. Diamond is such a sweet boy. And he does (should) understand emotions better, so he’d know that Platinum would feel uncomfortable before she realizes it. And since he’s so damn sweet, he’d try to make her feel comfortable to the best of his abilities! Ehehe... and fun fact! From when Diamond makes the... comment, exactly 135 shooting stars are mentioned. 135...

SA #015

1) “It’s not like I was hit by spike cannon”. Hmmmmm

Heh. The power of foreshadowing~! ... That no one caught on before it actually happened 15 chapters later. Hehehe...

[kyojuuros]

ahh so I’ve been pretty quiet about my chapter thoughts and I’m sorry if there’s anyone who was genuinely curious about what I thought. I started writing up a big post about it but I don’t want to publish it until after we’ve gotten the official translations and/or Japanese raws in case there’s anything I change my thoughts on. I get tired of backtracking when I realize something isn’t the way I thought it was.

I actually quite enjoyed the content of the chapter and have been drowning in a mixture of angst, laughter and relief about a number of things. I’ve been ignoring tumblr purposefully to allow myself the time to let things sink in and genuinely enjoy the chapter rather than get caught up in what I assumed was gonna end up being another serumbowl-style fallout. So I’m not sure what the climate is over here, tbh. And I’m still not going to go seek it out.

But for a really short  oops it got too long bullet point ramble on my initial thoughts:

EMA makes me sad and I really need more backstory on the way Armin and Mikasa are behaving toward Eren. I can’t doubt that they still love him, but they clearly disagree with him and don’t like how he’s changed. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a flashback or at least some more exposition on this. A panel placement has me excited that my theory about Mikasa’s role in EMA separation might have been on the mark though.

Levi is undoubtedly concerned about Eren and also very upset with him and gave us one of the most pained expressions I think I’ve ever seen from him in the entire manga. I hope to see this further explored. I’m not upset about the kick. I neither think Eren deserved it nor didn’t deserve it. I’m neutral on that. I need more context before I can pass judgement.

Sasha’s death made me feel really hurt but I also had been expecting it since she spared Gabi’s life and also due to her lack of an active role in anything plot-wise. I’m going to miss the shit out of her, though. I’m not upset about her last words, as they seemed in character since Sasha thinks a lot about food due to her history, and they had just been talking about supper. I also saw it as a small tint of Isayama’s dark humor, but mainly I just chalk it up to her suffering massive blood loss and just really lightheaded and not even thinking about the fact that she was just shot. Not everyone’s last words are going to be meaningful, and often I find that kind of storytelling unrealistic. So in a way it was kind of refreshing to see Sasha so out of it before she died that she was still just focusing on what made her happy - food.

I empathize a lot more with Gabi now that Isayama finally allowed her to really emote and show the audience her real thoughts on her situation. I haven’t liked how he’s handled Gabi thus far, so this chapter was really refreshing in that respect. I can’t hate her for killing Sasha. Her homeland was attacked and people she loved died and she wanted revenge for that. It’s no different than Eren, the only difference being that she had a means to actually counter attack immediately where Eren never did. I’m really curious about her story arc and hope that her development can bring me to love her in the end.

Falco is fucking precious as always. I love how he tried to reason with Gabi and shows that he understands a bit more about the bigger picture. He will be crucial in Gabi’s development I think. I’m devastated for Colt losing his little brother though.

Ultimately I’m curious what’ll happen to Gabi and Falco when they get to Paradis.

Jean is MVP and his commentary after Flocke says to throw the kids out being “will this killing stop if we throw them from the sky!?” utterly gutted me. He’s managed to stay so level headed through all of this though it’s very clear how distraught he is. He accepts his role in this war and will kill people if it’s absolutely necessary, but he’s still the same Jean who’s always abhorred the loss of life in war and detests the idea of killing other people. 

Pieck was on point as always. I suspected that she was suspicious of Zeke. My question is why she didn’t act on it sooner or if she was still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt since she had trusted him so much until that point. 

Elenna, whatever her name ends up being, has piqued my interest immediately, especially if she’s truly Marleyan. Between her and Onyankopon, I’m really happy that Isayama is putting in Marleyan characters who are siding with the Eldians and want to see change in the system, or to dismantle it completely. The story has been screaming for this since Marley’s introduction, and I’m excited. 

Zeke and his interactions with everyone were gold to me. He was very cold toward Gabi and Falco and I’m left wondering whether he cared about them at all or not. Or if he’s just irritated they got in the blimp. The banter between Levi and Zeke has me dying in all the best ways and I hope to see more banter from them. I also love how when Levi was cornering Zeke, Eren interrupted and spoke of the pros of the plan that took place, and when Hange started cracking down on Eren, Zeke hopped in and did the same. I wonder how much they’ve interacted to this point. Yeagerbros is a relationship dynamic I’ve been dying for since chapter 83.

The way Levi and Jean address Elenna I think shows they all have enough of a history together they can talk interpersonally. So I’m curious what happened after her ship arrived on Paradis and if she took one of the bigger roles in constructing the alliance between Paradis and Zeke. 

Also, as of now, I’m absolutely convinced that Zeke is eager to work with Paradis and give Eldians their freedom. Nothing has given me reason to think otherwise yet. I’m going to do a lot of rereading to try and figure out his character a bit better. This chapter finally gave me the fuel I needed to do so, and I’m really excited. He bumped up a lot on my faves list with this chapter.

Hange was very upset and blunt with Eren and it hurts me, but I understand where she is coming from. Eren used them and that wasn’t okay. I really just need to know what the climate was between Eren and the SC. I felt that her relationship with Eren even before the time skip was strained after Shiganshina, so I wonder if they’d been struggling with each other this whole time, or if they did manage to move past the events of the serumbowl and this instead a fresher wound.

I was relieved to see Eren finally show some intense emotions when he learned that Sasha died. He starts with a quiet laugh and it shocks everyone so Jean calls him out for Sasha’s death (although I disagree that Sasha’s death was Eren’s fault, it was a “miscalculation” as Zeke would put it). But the comment seems to snap Eren out of the odd uncomfortable laughter and starts bringing out some anguish. So he’s been holding back a lot of shit the last few chapters and undoubtedly his own actions have started eating at him. He knows he did something horrible. I’m happy to see him let some of that out and off his chest. The Eren we know and love is still there underneath the newer, colder demeanor. 

I have some theories and other thoughts but I’ll cover those later. 

My bigger post later will probably just sound like this one again, lol, but I felt like getting some of those initial thoughts out there before my brain starts wracking into 50 different interpretations on everything as it tends to do when I have a lot of discussions. Anyway... yeah! I really enjoyed this chapter. Looking forward to 106! 

[crossroadsdimension]

Return

Man, what’s with all these one/two-word titles? Eh, it fits anyway.

So, this is a part of the “Brain Trauma AU” that @radioactivedelorean, @witete, @a-million-chromatic-dreams and others came up with a while back -- and one that I joined earlier this week to flood with fluff. Considering that I’ve been focusing on Ford’s recovery from being stuck in his own body as it shuts down around him, I think you can all guess what it is that this particular title means. :)

You can find all the other stuff we’ve written here!

The town of Gravity Falls was buzzing with excitement as people stood in the town square.

Fiddleford, who had come dancing down from the mansion an hour ago, wove through the crowd, offering confirmation from what he’d heard and letting people see the little card with the frilly lizard that he’d received as proof of it.

“I cannot believe Mabel got to go to another dimension and didn’t take us with her!” Candy scowled, then shook her head as the scowl softened. “But family is more important, and I understand that.”

Pacifica huffed and tossed her hair back with a hand. “I’m wondering about this giant alien woman everyone’s been talking about. Only McGucket’s seen her, and he’s shorter than the rest of us. I really doubt that anyone’d be able to carry Dr. Pines around, anyway.”

“I COULD CARRY HIM!”

Multiple heads turned. “Shhhh!”

Grenda ducked her head. “Sorry.”

“That’s just because you’re abnormally strong,” Pacifica responded with a shrug. “I doubt that any alien would be able to stand up against you in a test of strength.”

“Indeed!” Candy adjusted her glasses. “And--”

The air suddenly rippled in front of the crowd, causing all conversation to cut off suddenly as a rip in space appeared in front of them.

Bodacious T -- formerly known as Toby Determined -- started to bring up a bat covered in nails, but Fiddleford pushed it down and gave the reporter a look that caused him to stumble back.

“It’s okay. I know it looks dangerous, but this one doesn’t go anywhere bad,” Fiddleford said seriously. He paused. “At least, that’s what I think.”

The hole of space ripped a little, and then Dipper and Mabel stepped through, hand in hand, with bright grins on their faces.

“Dipper! Mabel!” Wendy started waving a hand wildly in order to get their attention.

“Wendy!” Dipper waved back as Stan came out of the portal behind them. “Long time no see!”

“Mr. Pines!” Soos’ voice wavered.

“Hey, hey, don’t you dare start crying on me.” Stan gave Soos a pointed look, and the man-child sniffled and rubbed at his nose. His expression softened. “It’s good ta see you too, Soos.”

“Where’s Dr. Pines?” Candy asked.

“He’s comin’, just give ‘em a second.”

The portal rippled again, and Jhessie stepped through, a rather disgruntled Ford in her arms.

“--can walk, Jhessie,” Ford was saying. “Put me d-down!”

Stan snickered, and Ford shot him an annoyed look as Jhessie carefully lowered Ford to the ground. As Ford’s sandaled feet settled on the ground, he leaned against a cane made of dark purple wood that shimmered, as though made of pure glitter. The grip at the top of it appeared to be made of silver, carved in the form of a little lizard-creature with frills on the sides of its head.

“I simply wanted to make sure that you had passed through my portal safely.” Jhessie patted Ford on the head kindly, making his disgruntled expression soften a little.

“...okay, I take back what I was saying before,” Pacifica said. “That is a really tall alien.”

“Ford!” Fiddleford scrambled out of the crowd and grabbed his friend in a hug. “Yer walkin’!”

Ford’s frown melted instantly into a grin as Stan burst out laughing.

“He’s been walkin’ fer a good two days now!” Stan said. “Took ‘im a bit, though.”

“Well, I’m just glad that yer able ta move around again.” Fiddleford smiled brightly.

“As am I,” Ford agreed.

“Cool cane, Stan Number Two.” Wendy slipped out of the crowd. “Did Mabel have a hand in making that?”

“Yup!” Mabel bounded over to the redhead. “Jhessie let me dunk it in glitter! Isn’t it awesome?”

“For sure!” Wendy held out a hand, which Mabel promptly high-fived.

“What’s with the little lizard thing?” Pacifica asked.

“I-it’s an axolotl,” Ford corrected.

“The Axolotl is an important deity in the multiverse,” Jhessie explained. “My temple is dedicated to him.”

“What, you mean the place where you took them?” Pacifica pointed at Ford and the other Pines.

“That is quite so. The technology I have available to me in my dimension was able to do far more to assist Ford rather than maintain the state he was in. I have done everything I can, and although he is capable of moving about on his own, he will not be without his scars.” Jhessie put a hand on Ford’s shoulder. “I would stay and answer more questions, but I am afraid that I must take my leave of you.”

“You mean you can’t stay a day?” Mabel asked, disappointed. “But -- but you have to meet everyone in Gravity Falls!”

“While that is true, I’m afraid I have other versions of your great-uncle to assist in recovery, so they may continue traveling and eventually find their own ways back to their dimensions.” Jhessie looked at Mabel kindly, then turned her attention to the townsfolk. “I will now take my leave of you.”

With a slight bow of her head and a small smile, Jhessie turned and stepped back through the portal, which winked out of existence.

There was only a short pause before the Pines were peppered with questions on all sides from the people of Gravity Falls.

“COOL IT!”

Mabel’s yell caused the questions to trickle to a halt.

“Thanks, pumpkin.” Stan ruffled her hair before looking at the townsfolk. “I know you guys are worried, but ya mind givin’ us a bit ta get settled back in the Shack an’ arrange fer a ride back ta Piedmont fer the kids? We’ve, uh..we’ve got a lot ta think about.”

“Don’t you mean get back to your boat, Mr. Pines?” Soos spoke up.

“Nah, Soos. Unfortunately, those days are behind us, short as they were.” Stan clapped a hand on Ford’s shoulder, being careful not to throw him off balance. “We can probably find other things ta do around here.”

Ford nodded, but his eyes had a bit of a melancholy expression in them now.

“What do you mean?” Wendy frowned. “That was your dream, wasn’t it?”

“Well, yeah, it was. With how Ford’s legs are he’d never adjust ta the sea too well, so we just figured we’d stay on land where it’s easier.” Stan frowned. “Sides, Jhessie shot down the idea pretty fast.”

“Sh-she’s j-just c-concerned for our w-w-wellbeing.” Ford made a slight face as his words stumbled over each other.

“Yeah, but we don’t need a second mom.”

“If you’re not gonna go out to sea, then what are ya gonna do?” Fiddleford asked.

“Hang around town.” Stan shrugged. “Ford’s got a couple things he can do yet.”

“P-papers to write,” Ford explained. “Sc-scientific dis-s-scoveries to record.”

“Ya ain’t doin’ more field work, though.”

Ford shook his head sadly at Fiddleford’s questioning stare. “Th-those days are behin-nd me.”

“Then you’re going to need help, old man. Right?”

Ford looked up as Pacifica folded her arms across her chest.

“Pacifica!” Gideon hissed from somewhere in the crowd. “Ya don’ talk to the Author that way!”

“Shut up, I can do what I want,” Pacifica called back. “Look, Dr. Pines, if you want to keep doing research on stuff here, you’re gonna need help. Candy and Grenda have already been running around bugging the gnomes and doing who knows what else -- they’ve probably managed to find some stuff that you haven’t.”

Ford’s eyes narrowed.

“Pacifica….” Candy adjusted her glasses nervously. “I really doubt that we have found things that Dr. Pines has not discovered yet.”

“I bet he hasn’t studied a Hawktopus before!” Grenda grinned widely.

Ford reeled back with a spluttering noise. Stan burst out laughing.

“He labeled that thing ‘too stupid to study’ in his journals, so you got him there!” Stan laughed as Ford shot him a sour look.

“YES!” Grenda threw a fist in the air. “We can fill you in on all its awesomeness!”

“I highly doubt it’s that ‘awesome,’” Ford muttered, scowling.

“You shall have to wait and see,” Candy said with a knowing wink. “We will come by when you are settled in.” She turned and walked out of the plaza, Grenda following after her.

“We’ll bring you the one that I’m keeping in my house!” Grenda called back.

Ford spluttered again.

“Guess I’ll see you around. Or something.” Pacifica shrugged and followed after them.

Ford stared after them with an incredulous expression as Stan burst out laughing.

“Those kids are a hoot,” Stan said as he recovered himself. “You’re gonna like ‘em, Poindexter; I guarantee it.”

Ford looked at him with a lidded stare that suggested he might think otherwise.

Stan chuckled and patted Ford on the shoulder. “Come on; let’s get back to the Shack and get things settled in. I’m gonna have to drive down to where I’ve got the boat to get our stuff, obviously, but I think I left a few things here to make do for a couple days.”

“We could call Mom and Dad and get them to bring the stuff up,” Dipper suggested. “I mean, they are gonna want to pick us up.”

“And they’re gonna wanna see you, too!” Mabel chirped. “So we could do that, right?”

Stan tapped his chin in thought. “Well, I don’t see why not. Would save money on two bus tickets. We’ll call ‘em when we get back to the Shack.”

“They’re gonna be so happy to know that Grunkle Ford’s okay!”

Ford smiled at Mabel’s exclamation as she started to dance down the street towards the Mystery Shack.

“We’ve got a car nearby if you guys need--”

“We’ll be fine walking, Soos.” Stan waved off Soos’ suggestion. “Ford’s been stuck in bed long enough.”

Ford smiled a little at Stan’s statement.

“We’ll come by the Shack and make sure you boys are settling in later.” Susan smiled at the two of them and winked her lazy eye. “Wink!”

Stan spluttered a little as the townsfolk scattered back to their homes. Gideon and his father remained there for a moment, but a look from Dipper and a raised eyebrow from Stan caused them to bolt.

“That kid’s got a few more things ta learn before he’s gettin’ anywhere near yer research,” Stan muttered.

Ford grunted in agreement. He turned and started moving down the street, cane clacking against the ground with every slight-unsteady step. Stan followed along next to him, Dipper staying ahead. Mabel was already a pink, sweater-y blob in the distance.

“It’s definitely gonna be different from here on out, huh?”

Ford gave a short hum and nodded in response to Stan’s question. The grip on the axolotl-handle of his cane tightened a little. “M-my research is g-g-going to be dif-f-ferent.”

“Yeah, since ya can’t be out there yourself.” Stan nodded. “Some of the time, anyway. Those kids’ll be a big help, though, I can guarantee that.” He gained a sly look. “So, what was it about that ‘Hawktopus’ that made it too stupid to study?”

Ford groaned.

[soldierswar]

Devil Eyes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary (Request) :(Anon) OMG I saw the Sebastian pic you reblogged, and baaaam an idea popped up haha. Would you write something where Bucky is a mechanic and one time you go there cause your motorcycle broke down and you've heard he's good. So when you get there he's wearing a muscle Shirt, is all dirty and Looks pretty hot with his metal arm. So after you watch him fix your bike you can't resist the way he also Looks at you, so it happens that you end up in shower together. Later then he asks you for a proper date? :)

Warnings: Smut. You know the drill. ;)

A/N: I am so sorry to the anon that sent me this weeks ago and it took me FOREVER to write. I’ve been going through some stuff these past few weeks and it was really tough to get focused on my writing. But I promise to all of my followers that I will start posting more often, both reader inserts, and more chapters for Ineffable. I love you guys. <3

This is the photo. 

“So, how long have you been doing this?” You asked, trying not to sound as if you were salivating at the flawless form in front of you trying to fix your motorcycle. His skin was glistening in the strong light he had shining over him, (Or the motorcycle, but no need to get into details) so that he could have proper sight of the structure before him in the dark garage.

           “I don’t know, a couple of months.” He replied, looking up at you for a moment before grabbing for another one of his tools.

           “It’s not something I do often, really. But I don’t know, I guess it’s just kind of relaxing.”

           You nodded, not being able to take your eyes off of those perfectly toned biceps, and the shine that emitted from that metal arm of his only turned you on even more.

           “Stay cool, (Y/N). You can do this.” You chanted over and over in your head.

           The truth was, you had been crushing on Bucky for a while, now. Keeping your cool, and not saying something incredibly stupid around him was a very difficult task for you. Even though you would try to come up with almost every excuse in the book to see him, you still couldn’t figure out how to act around him. Were you acting too cool? Too serious? Too sarcastic? Too funny? It was all just a spinning headache that you wished you could resolve by now.

           “This is a nice bike though,” he stated, still very concentrated on the task at hand.

           “Y-Yeah, really.” You stuttered.

           “I was planning on riding through different parts of New York and then it just broke down for some reason.”

           But right at the end of your sentence, that’s when it happened. You tried to look cool around him once again and leaned against something you shouldn’t have leading you to fall on the hard, concrete ground with some odd dusty substance to fall out of its container right onto you.

           “Oh, gosh. Y/N! Are you okay?”

           He automatically came to your side, noticing you were covered in…whatever that stuff was.

           “Yeah, I’m fine.” Your voice shook. You were so embarrassed. And very surprised at the sudden contact you had of his hand around your arm, picking you up off the ground.

           You were flustered, and nervous, and 8 different levels of embarrassed. There was no way you looked anything near attractive anymore.

           “Here, let me help you.” He said, a look of genuine concern in his eyes.

You were speechless as he took you inside the compound to the bathroom.

“Um…You can use the shower I here.” He said.

“I can just throw your clothes in the washing machine and, yeah…I’m sorry.”  

“Okay…Thanks. You said as he handed you a towel.”

You started to feel cloudy again. Your heart was racing, and your palms started to sweat. And it wasn’t because of the steam from the already running shower. You were incredibly nervous, at what you were about to do. But you knew you had to do it at this moment, or else there was no going back for you.

You stepped forward towards him, and pressed your lips to his.

It was sudden, and very unexpected. And you feared that he would pull away, and that he would be mad, or upset with you. You had no idea if he had feelings for you in any kind of way. Honestly, it was a pretty stupid move on your end.

           But much to your surprise, he didn’t pull away. He pulled you closer, and kissed you harder, and deeper. His kiss was intense, and ravenous.

You couldn’t believe that this was happening at this moment. It was all you had been dreaming about for months. He was also a much better kisser than you had ever imagined in your shameful daydreams. He knew exactly what he was doing, and I was more than willing to let him take control.  

           He pushed you against the wall pressing his body against yours, and you pushed back letting your bodies push closer and closer together.

           You let out a gasp when he parted his lips from yours and moved down over to your neck. His kiss left your breathless, and the way he was working your neck caused a fire to erupt in you that you had never felt so strongly before.

           He moved his way up your jaw slowly, and smiled against your lips as you ran your fingers through his long, brown locks of hair.

           You smiled back at him, and signaled toward the still running, and steaming shower. He raised both of his eyebrows at you as of a way of saying, ‘Let’s do this’.

           You both quickly removed all of your clothes and made your way into the shower right before you started kissing along his jawline down to his neck, the same way he had done with you just a moment ago. You left red marks right along his collar bone area as he moved his hands up and down your torso. The sensation of his flesh hand mixed with the contrast of his metal arm that was slightly hotter than the other now, due to the hot water felt so good, you could already feel your hands trembling slightly.

           “Oh god, (Y/N) I want you so bad. I have for a long time, now.” He said, lust overpowering his voice. You could feel his cock start to get hard against your thigh.

           You started to move your hand lower down his torso until you reached his long, thick length and slowly started to move your hand up and down his shaft while keeping your bodies close enough for the underside to rub against your upper leg.

           His soft moans against your lips were absolutely perfect, you felt like you were on fire. You wanted more, you needed more of him.

           You kneeled in front of him until you were face to face with what you wanted most, and wrapped your lips around his tip circling your tongue slightly. He let out a sigh, and softly tangled his soft, flesh fingers through your hair, with his metal arm resting on your shoulder as you bobbed your head up and down his shaft, using your hand to fit where your mouth couldn’t reach.

           You moaned around him, causing soft vibrations to move up his body that lead him to shake just a little bit. The soft sounds he made, mixed with the feeling of him pulsing in your mouth made you feel as if you were on fire. So, you used one of your hands to toy at your clit to relieve some of the pressure, causing you to send more vibrations up his length.

           He yanked you up, as soon as he noticed what you were doing and turned you around, pressing your face against the wet shower wall.

           “Don’t think I can’t see what you were doing with yourself, doll?” He whispered seductively against your ear, his hips, and his hard member pressing slightly against your ass.

           “You ready for me, doll?” He chuckled darkly, reaching forward and circling your bundle of nerves with his metal fingertips as he carefully he guided himself to your entrance.

           Your breath hitched at the feeling of him entering you, slowly. He was barely inside you and you could feel him already start to stretch you out.

           You whimpered with your forehead pressed against the wall. His pace quickening as he felt you adjusting to his size.

           His hands moved up and down your torso as he continued pumping in and out of you at a perfect pace. Every sensation that you were feeling had you melting. The water rushing down between your bodies, the contrast of his flesh and metal hands on you, the slight stubble on Bucky’s face brushing against your shoulder, the sounds of his breaths and moans synchronized with yours, and the perfect feeling of him hitting your most sensitive spot every time he thrust into you. It was pure bliss.

           Suddenly, you started to feel a familiar twinge that began to form in your stomach that spread throughout your entire body.

           “Are you gonna come for me, doll?” He said darkly against your ear as your walls started to twitch around him.

           “Yeah,” You whimpered.

           “Don’t stop.” Your fingers started clawing at the walls as you came closer and closer to your release.

           “Come for me. Come, doll.”

           And that did it for you. His words had you come undone like a train wreck. Your knuckles pressed hard against the wall, your entire body almost convulsed in tight, sporadic movements, and you gasped for the air that was knocked out of you. You didn’t even realize that he had reached his own release barely a second after you did.

           You turned around facing him. Both of your breaths began to slow down, and you rested your forehead on his bare chest.

           “Can I tell you a secret?” he asked as you continued to catch your breath.

           “What is it?” You sighed in contentment.

           “I don’t think I have a clue how to fix your bike…I just had to see you.” He confessed.

           “I hope you’re not mad at me.

           You started laughing against his warm skin and looked up at his gorgeous, blue eyes. The ones you had been mooning over for the past few months.

You kissed him softly, and tenderly. It was much different from the sexually charged first kiss you had had with him not too long ago, but still just as electric.

           “Oh, well… How are you gonna make that up to me, Barnes?” You inquired, playfully.

           He let out an almost embarrassed, but very lighthearted chuckle.

           “Well, miss (Y/L/N). How about we get out of this shower, and you let me take you to dinner and a movie.”

           You smiled at his words, not even caring about your stupid bike anymore. You finally got what you really came for.

           “I guess I’ll have to check my schedule.”

[anniversary-magazine]

Architectural Photographer Ben Hosking ⏤ The Hand to Give and The Hand to Take

How do we decide to draw a line, a series of exact points, that carves one nation from another? An abstract squiggle, drawn from the mind and ink on a map to a boundary in the flesh? In 1948, in the wake of India’s independence of two hundred years of British Colonial rule, one such arbitrary line was gauged by a single hand. It was a line that would give the people of the Indian subcontinent two nation states – India and Pakistan, the idea being that Hindus could peacefully inhabit one, and Muslims the other.  But in the mass migration that followed to fulfil this decree, it was a line that would also take away two million of their lives, leave fifteen million homeless and seventy- five thousand women raped as arson, riots and massacres erupted throughout the country.

The drawing of this line re-routed the capital city of Punjab, Lahore, away from India, and placed it in in the newly formed Pakistan, requiring a new capital city for the state. So, amidst the anguish, bitter bloodshed and displacement that plagued the Punjabi people, it was Le Corbusier, the famed Swiss architect at his zenith at seventy, whose hand was asked to plan, design and implement this new city.

 Le Corbusier’s directive for the city from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India, was to build ‘a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past.’ The city became Chandigarh, or ‘stronghold of the goddess Chandi’, a goddess known for her ferocity and capability of destruction, the flipside of her powers to manifest.

 Photographer Ben Hosking first discovered Chandigarh as a young student living in Melbourne. He and his flatmate, an architecture student, came across a poster outlining all of Corbusier’s works and became intrigued by how the brutalist master’s European architecture translated into this South Asian environment. They vowed they would visit the city on the completion of their studies.

Although the trip never eventuated, Chandigarh remained in the back of Hosking’s mind’s eye as he graduated from his photography degree and focused his camera lens on architecture throughout Australia and Asia. But in 2014, he travelled to Chandigarh and posed his lens to its iconic buildings and proud people. Here he found his renown as a photographer and his Australian nationality opened doors to interiors that may have otherwise been unseen. The photos you see here are from this trip.

 Within his series of photographs, there is a photo of Le Corbusier’s hand sculpture; a palm open to the wind, held like an Indian mudra. The monument was completed in 1985, twenty years after his death, and so was never seen by him. But the hand was a motif that was prominent throughout Le Corbusier’s life, a hand which to him symbolised “the hand to give and the hand to take.”

 We sat down in conversation with Ben a few months before he plans to go back to Chandigarh to finish this series of photographs, to talk about his impressions of the city, Le Corbusier’s work there and his experiences photographing this modernist city of hope.

SC: Tell me how you first came across Le Corbusier and his team’s work in Chandigarh?

 BH: It would’ve been over ten years ago now. One of my close friends who’s an architect, we were both at university so we were quite young, we would’ve been around twenty-two or twenty-three, and we were going through all of Le Corbusier’s work, and she had a poster that listed every single project of his.

 We were talking about his work and we planned a trip to India. We didn’t end up going but we had always planned on going once we graduated from university. I studied photography and she studied architecture and both of our worlds ended up colliding. But that was the initial fascination in seeing such a Euro-centric architect’s work in the East, not just Japan, which is still such a first world country. That was something that intrigued us at the time.

 It wasn’t until three or four years ago, I was still thinking about it, and I wanted to shoot some of his work, but I didn’t really want to go and do any of the well-known projects in Europe. Even as beautiful as they are and as important as they are, it didn’t really hold that much interest for me. Whereas a lot of his stuff in India, hadn’t been seen as much. Even though Chandigarh sets a precedent for urban planning in a good way and in a bad way, I think that was far more interesting.

 I started organising access to different places in Chandigarh and the southern city of Ahmedabad as well. I guess at that point it wasn’t really a reality but I’d already organised a lot of sites to through and meet different people there so I couldn’t really pull out by that point. I guess it was a double-edged sword, it was good in some ways and bad in others, because I ended up stuck there in the middle of summer where it was forty-five degrees and old people were kicking the bucket left, right and centre, so it was the worst time of year to go, but an amazing experience nonetheless.

 I think that was the initial attraction, it feels so long ago. I’ve planned on going back every year since, and I’ve got a flight this year, but I haven’t been back for two years.

 SC: So you started the series and you feel like you haven’t finished it?

 BH: There’s enough there – I’ve got the imagery in front of me, and there’s quite a lot. But I feel like I can …I’m not sure….it doesn’t feel quite there yet.

 SC: I can imagine, because there’s so much there – it’s a whole city. There is big architecture, monuments but even little things. I know that he even designed the sewerage covers and tourists rip them off and sell them on eBay.

BH: Everything’s been flogged off you know. Everything that’s small enough to move. There was a New York or LA Times article about all the government officials selling off the chairs to European auction firms. You can see the Jean Royère chairs for 40 or 50 thousand euros if they’re in good shape. And it’s quite an interesting experience because they can sense an opportunity there, and I mean, why wouldn’t you? I guess it depends on the way you value it. If they’ve lived in it or sat on those chairs their whole lives, they probably think they’re terribly uncomfortable, and they probably are!

 I can understand – it’s an office chair and they can buy a house for the same price. It’s opportunism, but I can kind of understand it at the same time. You can’t see a lot of those things anymore, because they’ve been flogged off or a lot of the Swiss or French market have gone in and bought it all. But the buildings are obviously still intact and a lot of them are in amazing shape.

 SC: Is that because they’re under a historic act to preserve it?

 BH: I think just before I photographed it, it was added to the UNESCO world heritage list. It might have been two or three months before that, that I went, so I knew it was happening. And I thought, maybe I should go before they change anything, because it would be policed in a very different way and you might not be able to gain access to any of it, in the same way you did before.

 I think it’s more that there isn’t the budget to change the buildings or put modern infrastructure in, not so much because it is highly valued in any way, and I don’t think it still is. I think that if it was anywhere else in the world, you’d still have all the sewerage covers and chairs and all the knick-knacks that Le Corbusier designed, would still be there and accounted for. I’m not sure what it is. No one’s really shown a great amount of interest in it till the last ten or fifteen years. Before that, without the internet, a lot of people didn’t know it existed, unless of course you’re an academic or an architecture professor or something like that. It flew under the radar.

 SC: Do you think the residents of Chandigarh have a sense of pride about it?

 BH: I think they do now, absolutely. And that’s only because of the recent interest, because you have professors leading school tours there throughout the course of the year. I think now they realise it’s of such significance, because I think it was Le Corbusier’s last project. I think he died towards the end of it and he got to oversee a lot of it. I think that because it’s considered such a clean city, the people of Chandigarh put a lot of pride in their city and the Punjab people in general.

   SC: Le Corbusier’s work is quite divisive, people either love it or hate it, and you mention that Chandigarh sets a precedent for urban planning in both a good way and a bad way. So, what from your point of view are the positive and negative aspects of Chandigarh?

 BH: I’ll start with the negative. I would say it is that there is so much security in and around the buildings and it feels very much like a police state. The officers and the army are just everywhere, and I can understand that due to the insurgence and tensions that surround it due to assassinations and that sort of thing. It feels very strange, despite being openly friendly. In an urbanism sense, it’s very difficult to get from point A to point B, and it just wasn’t a success because the public transport is terrible. You’re forced to get a car or a took-took and it’s terribly difficult to get anywhere, especially in summer where you can’t be out in the heat, even if it is a relatively green garden state. Way-finding is awful, and everything about getting around is incredibly hard.

 The positive aspect is that his work is scattered throughout the whole city and whatever projects weren’t his, he still had an influence on. You can still see his style and ethos reverberate through that. I would say that is the most positive aspect about it. Even just going to the art schools, or even offices, you can just walk straight in and everyone’s very open about that. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t a westerner, but you can go right in and benches are still there, a lot of his concrete floor work is in beautiful condition, and aspects of these buildings, you see the most mundane, inane looking objects, to the complete opposite in the High Court. That’s the most beautiful aspect of the city itself. In comparison to Brasilia or another city which is not so well preserved, I think it’s quite special.

 SC: Coming from a knowledge and understanding of architectural practice before you went there, what were you hoping or expecting to see, that became fulfilled when you were there?

 BH: I wasn’t expecting or hoping to see that much. I’d seen three or four projects so my expectations were relatively low. I didn’t understand the scale of it prior. It’s not until you’re there, you know – universities, schools, medical practices, everything is by him or his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. I didn’t actually have any high hopes of photographing any of it because of how heavily policed most of those buildings are. So, it was only really circumstance at the time. I took all my camera equipment with me, but there weren’t any pre-ordained plans to actually take it seriously. I had access to go and view it, but I didn’t think I was going to photograph it.

 SC: Was it hard to gain access in that respect or were they pretty open to you photographing?

 BH: I had to organise beforehand when I sent reference letters form university lecturers, and architects, basically signalling what I do and who I’ve worked for. Afterwards they were quite open to it. There’s a lot of bureaucracy in India so it took quite a lot of time to get things done, but after that it was fine.

 SC: When you talk before about how much security surrounds the city, you can see that in your images of the guards. Can you tell me about shooting them and what their reactions were?

  BH: I’m not sure if I should disclose this anywhere, but even though I had prior access, money did exchange hands with some of the guards to make it happen, such is the way. The guards that are in those photographs are from the High Court. It was very sensitive, as there was an upcoming election at that time for either the state of Punjab or Haryana – one side of the building is Punjab, the other side is Haryana. Because of a previous assassination in that building, there are guards everywhere, littered with AK47’s. I think that was from the independence movement of Punjab state from the 1980’s to early 2000’s, so that is why the guards are literally everywhere.

 But I think being a westerner you have certain freedoms that you wouldn’t have if you were Indian or Asian. The fact that I was Australian as well helps facilitate the process, because the cricket is absolutely massive, so as soon as you say you’re Australian it opens up doors, even though I have no interest in cricket, I made the most of it.

 One of the guards, who is up the top on the rooftop, was one of my guides through the building and he didn’t want me to take photos anywhere but by the time we got to the top, he kind of relaxed a little bit. That’s when I started shooting. I think he had a barbeque up the top there and left me on my own for a little while. There was one part which was the Parliament Sitting building and I wasn’t able to shoot anything in there, I had to hand over everything. I think that was the site where one of the ministers was killed or assassinated, so that’s probably why I wasn’t allowed to sit in the chairs there, which I can understand.

 SC: For me Chandigarh is such an interesting city, because at the time that it was built, it was made from the ashes of this horrific partition where millions died and millions were displaced. And then Nehru, as the first Prime Minister of Independent India after two hundred years of British rule, gave Le Corbusier and his team a directive to turn Chandigarh into this new capital city based on hope. The layout and architecture was meant to be unlike anything that had been before in India, and I was wondering what your feelings were personally witnessing these monuments, at this certain time of history?

 BH: When you talk about hope, I don’t necessarily see the ideology behind Le Corbusier’s work fitting in with that idea, but in terms of the architecture itself I would say that his certain brand of modernism is more appropriate for India than what it was anywhere else. Having these huge, concrete, monolithic structures that actually work incredibly well in that environment, but don’t necessarily entrance as they would in Berlin or Switzerland.

 But going back to when you talk about Nehru and that period, I never tend to feel overwhelmed by a building. There’s Gaudi in Barcelona, but never actually modern architecture. That was probably the first time I actually felt overwhelmed, going to Chandigarh and seeing the High Court and everything else. The sheer scale of it and the amount of work that’s gone into it as a city, it doesn’t even exist today – nothing’s come close to it. So, I would say it reflects that period really quite well, unlike anything else I’ve seen before. The monumentality of it all. I still think it’s incredibly relevant today.

  SC: When you talk about how suited it is for India, these monolithic concrete structures, do you mean in how it houses the population?

 BH: I guess more its environmental features. The concrete which is quite cooling in the shade. In that sun, it’s so stiflingly hot, and it would almost be fifteen degrees cooler in the shade, and its really quite cool inside. If you have that sort of building in Berlin in winter, it’s quite awful and it’s snowing outside. It’s perfect in a lot of ways for the West Asian climate, and that’s the first thing that you notice if you’re forced to walk around with all your camera equipment on the off chance that you might stumble upon something. You walk under the canopy of a building and you think ‘Thank God, we’re here.’

 SC: What was the building or monument there that really spoke to you?

 BH: I think it would be the High Court, the scale of it. It’s quite unbelievable seeing these tiny little figures as you walk along marshalling out the front, it feels very strange in comparison to this huge concrete building. I had to go there twice, because the first day I went they had a sitting day in court, a trial of some description, I think it was about corruption. So, I wasn’t allowed internally, so I had to organise another day to go inside, but I wasn’t allowed to photograph anything or anyone inside. I’m hoping if I persevere or push a little harder I may be allowed to photograph inside.

SC: So are you going back to just Chandigarh?

 BH: Maybe Ahmedabad as well, as there’s the Mill Owner’s Association Building there designed by Le Corbusier and which I’ve got some images of. It’s from all the old mills around Ahmedabad from when it was the textile epicentre of the world. There’s a private house there too. There’s a lot there, and there’s an architect called B.V Doshi who came from the same lineage of architects, so he has a lot of work in Ahmedabad as well.

 SC: What surprised you most about the city?

 BH: The amount of money – It’s quite an affluent city because of the huge parliament there, so you have all the political offspring and the university is one of the best in India as well. That’s quite apparent. I just thought it was normal, but because I went to Chandigarh first and then Mumbai and Ahmedabad second, it was only then I realised how different it was to the rest of India, and how clean it was. You can kind of see the pride in the city from everyone you meet. I got a sense of the hospitality of the Punjab people, and I don’t often say that – I’ve travelled through Asia for the better part of fifteen years now, and that was one of the things that stood out. I still get correspondence from Architecture students there and it felt quite wholesome. I think that’s lovely.

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 16

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 3,069

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: Angst, just a little time skip

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

You were humming along to a song that was playing on the radio, a stack of books in your arms as you organized them on the shelves. It was nearing closing time, and with the cold weather and shorter days, no one was rushing in to buy a book at the last minute. Which meant the last half hour was devoted to peace and quiet. It had actually been busy this afternoon. Not that you were complaining, but it was nice to wind down and relax at the end of the work day.

It had been a week since that beautiful morning. Even just thinking about it had you blushing. Hoseok had almost made you late for work that day, but you made it to your shift with minutes to spare. You still weren’t entirely sure who had been trying to reach him.

The silence was broken by the ringing of a phone, stealing your attention. It wasn’t the shop’s phone, but yours. Wind chimes filled the room. Still holding the books against your chest, you swiped the green button as you brought the phone up to your ear.

“Hey Sue,” you cheerfully greeted. “How’s Hong Kong?”

“Wow, you’re actually answering your phone. I was starting to wonder if you had forgotten how to use it.”

The smile you had slowly slipped away. You didn’t consider yourself an overly sensitive person, but right then and there it felt like Sue sucker punched your feelings. It had been so long since you’ve heard your best friend’s voice that you were expecting a happier greeting. “You just called.” You spoke, glancing at the door to make sure no one came in. “Is something wrong?”

Sue sighed on her end. “No, well…yes. But that’s not the point.”

You frowned. What was going through her mind? “It seems like it is.” Making your way back to the bookcase, you sat down on the floor to work on the lower shelves. “You can tell me anything Sue. You know that.”

“I know,” Sue agreed. You couldn’t see her, but you had a feeling she was chewing on her lip like always. “Katie sent me a text the other day.”

“Yes, Katie is known to text people.”

“She said that she’s been seeing Colin hanging out with someone else. Another girl.”

The witty comment that you were prepared died on your tongue, obviously no longer appropriate to say. “Oh my God.” You said instead. As much as you hated Colin, Sue loved him. You didn’t want to see her hurt.

She laughed. “Yeah. And you know what, I thought she was lying. So she sent me a picture that she took.”

“Oh no…”

“Colin was kissing some girl on campus. I can’t even go confront him about because guess what, I’m on the other side of the world while he’s hooking up with some other girl. Apparently, he’s been with her since I left.”

“I’m sorry Sue.” You murmured. The task that you been focusing on was long forgotten. This reminded you of all the times that you had called her after having your heart broken. If she was still here, you’d close up early and head on over to her place to comfort her. But the distance was too large this time.

“I tried calling you,” Sue suddenly said, her voice bitter. “When I first found out that he’s been cheating on me. I called you and then Hoseok. But neither of you answered back.”

You had been holding a book when she mentioned Hoseok’s name; your wrist slackened and it took everything to not let it drop to the ground. “When…when was that?” Licking your lips, you hoped that it wasn’t when you were thinking.

“About a week ago. Would have been morning for you.”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you tried to find some explanation. You couldn’t just outright tell her what went on that morning. To do that would mean having to tell her about your feelings for Hoseok.

On one hand, you wanted to tell her everything. How it felt to be in his arms, the way his kisses made your head spin and cleared your mind at the same time. As your best friend, you couldn’t help but want to spill every detail.

But on the other hand, it felt weird to be telling Sue that. She was Hoseok’s owner and, if you were being honest, things have been odd between the two of you. Since she’s been gone, every text has been strange, if not borderline rude in Hoseok’s case, and extremely short. At times it felt like she was treating you as a babysitter and not her best friend.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” you said, fumbling over your words. “I don’t remember what we were doing. But if I had known you were calling, I would have answered.”

Sue was quiet, and for a second you thought you were caught red handed. That somehow, she knew that Hoseok and you were now together. Automatically your hand reached for your neck. Hoseok hadn’t marked you yet, but that didn’t stop him from kissing and licking the area whenever he had the chance.

“How is Hoseok?” She asked instead.

You sighed in relief. “He’s really good. He’s been putting in a lot of extra hours at the Dance Studio.” You weren’t mentioning his solo dance in the show for the sake of it being his surprise. He should be the one to tell Sue, not you. “We went out for Korean BBQ recently, and he’s been helping me study for an exam I have coming up.”

“He hasn’t been annoying you?”

You bit your lip at that comment. Standing, you left the books where they were and went to the desk, leaning against the wood. The way she worded her question, it felt wrong and left you feeling uncomfortable. “Never.” You automatically answered. Hoseok has never annoyed been annoying. Not in the three years you’ve known each other, or now. “He’s amazing.”

 Outside, Hoseok, Namjoon, and Yoongi were making their way towards the bookstore. Their laughter filling the empty streets. Ever since that morning, Hoseok’s made it his job of meeting you at the store when you had to close up. The idea of you being there alone never settled well with him before, and now that the two of you were together, it made him worry. The Dance Studio wasn’t that far from the bookstore, if anything, it was just a ten-minute walk.

“I can’t believe you’ve only just realized that she’s your mate.” Yoongi teased. “Any one of us could have told you that.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes, hefting his gym bag higher up on his shoulder. “You’re just jealous that I found my mate. You and the others still have to find yours.”

“Hey, I have Katie, mind you,” Namjoon reminded them.

Yoongi just ignored that, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. It was still winter and as a house cat hybrid, Yoongi would much rather be stretched out in the sun than walking in the cold. “I’ll find my mate one day. Until then, I’ll keep producing music and sleeping.”

“At least he has a plan,” Hoseok joked, making them laugh once again.

They were almost at the bookstore, the lights inside making it easy to spot you from the dark street. His smile softened as he watched you, books stacked on the desk, your gaze focused on a green book on top of the stack. If the three of them really focused on the phone call that you were obviously taking, they might be able to hear both sides of the conversation.

“She looks upset,” Yoongi murmured. Hoseok frowned as he glanced at Yoongi, noticing the way his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

Looking back at you, he noticed the way you kept touching your hair, whether it was just twirling some of it or even running your fingers through it. And if it wasn’t your hair, then it was your face, or your neck. He knew you well enough to know that those were your go to habits when you were nervous.

“When was the last time you talked to Sue?” Yoongi suddenly asked. Reaching the store, Yoongi came to stop, forcing the others to stay with him. Which was odd, since they all knew that he hated the cold. “Are you even going to tell her?”

The question threw Hoseok off. He didn’t even know how to answer Yoongi. After you had left for work, he had turned his phone back on, prepared to send a shit ton of angry messages if it was one of the guys that had spammed him. The only person that he’d expect to do that was, Seokjin. So, for it to be Sue completely shocked him.

He never told you who it was, hoping that you would forget about it. The texts that she had left were unlike anything. Sue was angry with him, almost borderline pissed, wanting to know where he was, and demanding that he pick up and call her back. It was almost like she had switched personalities with Colin. Then when he did call – thinking that she was hurt or in danger – her phone rang and rang until she finally picked before he was sent to voicemail.

The conversation only lasted a few minutes, he apologized and blamed it on work, but it was obvious that she didn’t believe him. He still wasn’t entirely sure why she had spammed called him. For the rest of the day he was worried, trying to come up with some reason that could explain it. He felt terrible, and even though she gave him so much independence, there was still a part of him that was scared she’d give him up. That he would have to live at the homeless center again.

The only thing that reassured him, that got him to smile, was when came home that night. You were like a breath of fresh air in spring. Even if Sue did make him leave, he still had you. You would never let him live like that again.

“A week ago,” Hoseok finally answered. “And I…I don’t know. I mean, we can still date when I go back to Sue’s. But I have no idea how she’ll react to Strawberry being my mate. They’re best friends. Then there’s the fact that Sue’s my owner.” He ran a hand through his hair. It was complicated to say the least.

Namjoon, who had been quiet up until then, nudged a snow clump out his way with his foot. His hat was pulled down on his head as his scarf wrapped around his neck multiple times. “At least you can marry her one day.”

A hushed silence fell over the three of them, suddenly remembering the laws. You weren’t his owner, so he could marry you one day. Namjoon on the other hand, would never be able to. Katie was his owner and mate. And the law clearly stated that a hybrid and their owner weren’t allowed to marry to each other.

Guilt washed over Hoseok. “Namjoon I…I’m so sorry,” he softly said. “I forgot about the laws. I didn’t mean to –”

“It’s okay.” Namjoon interrupted. Looking behind him, he lifted his hand in a wave before turning to face his friends again. Despite the quick smile he gave them, his brown eyes resembled an ocean. “Really, we’ve accepted it. Can you tell her I said hi? I think I’m gonna head home, be with Katie where it’s warm.”

Hoseok opened his mouth to apologize and say he didn’t have to leave, but Namjoon had already turned around and was making his way home, shoulders slouched and hands buried in his pockets to fight off the cold.

A hand touched his back, and Hoseok turned to look at Yoongi. The older hybrid gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s these fucked up laws fault, not yours. I’m gonna walk with him though and make sure he gets home safe. I’ll see you around.”

“See you around.” Yoongi gave Hoseok a hug before breaking out into a jog to catch up with Namjoon, calling out his name so he would slow down.

He took in a deep breath, his hand gripping the strap of his bag tighter. This night had gone from amazing to crappy all in minutes. He didn’t mean to make it sound like he was complaining, especially when Namjoon wasn’t able to marry Katie. But he really had no idea what he was going to do about Sue.

Whimpering in frustration, he kicked the chunk of ice that sat in the middle of the sidewalk. Nothing about it was fair. Not knowing what else to do, he walked up the few steps leading to the bookstore and went inside, the Christmas bells jingling above him. It was almost time for you to lock up and usually, you were all smiles. This time however, you leaned against the desk with your back facing him, cellphone on the table. As he walked around to where you stood, he saw that you had your face buried in your hands.

The screen on your phone was still lit up and when he saw Sue’s contact picture, he closed his eyes and sighed. It seemed like neither of you were getting a break about this. “I don’t know what you and Sue were talking about, but it’s going to be okay.”

You nodded, feeling Hoseok’s arms wrap around your waist. He eliminated the short space between the two of you, hugging you tightly to him. But apparently, it wasn’t close enough. Without even giving a warning, he lifted you up on the desk, fitting himself between your legs so he was able to look at you.

“Sue broke up with Colin,” you softly spoke.

“What?” Hoseok asked. His eyes scanned yours in disbelief. Had Sue, really broken up with Colin? They’ve been dating for three years, and as much as he cared for Sue, he couldn’t say that he’d missed the bastard.

“Yeah. Katie sent Sue a message, apparently Colin has been cheating on her since she left for Hong Kong.” You paused to lick you lips, reaching a hand out to push the hair out of the Hoseok’s eyes. “She found out a week ago. And called us. Morning our time.”

His throat felt like it was closing up, enabling him from speaking. That was why she had spammed called him. She was hurt. Pressing his lips together, Hoseok pressed his forehead against your neck, inhaling your scent deeply to try and calm down.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was her?” You whispered, bringing him close by wrapping your legs around his waist while being mindful of his tail.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he spoke. “She was so mad when I didn’t answer.”

You listened as he explained it all, bringing your arms across his shoulders to hug him. “I think she was mad at me too. Or at least, that’s the impression I got.” Leaning your head on top of his, you let your mind wander back to the phone call. Sue was mad because of what Colin had done, that was understandable, but it wasn’t fair of her to take it out on Hobi.

Earlier, the thought of telling Sue made you uncomfortable. Now…now it seemed downright dangerous. “Maybe…maybe we should wait to tell her. About us. At least until she’s calmed down.”

There was only so much that you knew about the laws that didn’t work in the favor for hybrids. You knew that they couldn’t marry their owners, but you didn’t understand what happened when a hybrid mated with a human, who wasn’t their owner.

To your surprise, Hoseok leaned back, rubbing his eyes. “I agree. If we tell her now, it’ll probably feel like we’re rubbing salt in the wound. Even though that’s not what we’re doing.” He sniffed then leaned forward, gently kissing you. His lips were a little dry from the cold air, but the kiss was still just as sweet. “I know baby, I know. I hate lying to Sue too. But we have no idea how she’ll react.”

Placing your fingers on his jaw, you gave him a small smile, wordlessly letting him know that you understood, even though you were the one to suggest it. As true as it was, it said a lot that the two of you were nervous - even a bit scared – about telling Sue the truth.

Hoseok kissed you once more, and when he pulled back, ran the length of his nose against your cheek, trying to convey to you through touch that it was going to be okay.  “Come on sweetie, once you lock up, we can go home. I’ll even cook.”

That made you smile. “Okay,” you murmured, taking the hand he offered you and hopped down from the desk.

As you went around locking up, Hoseok felt a weight settle on his shoulders as he watched you. He saw how this made you feel, and even without you saying it, he knew that your friendship with Sue had changed and it wasn’t just because he was dating you. Ever since she went away, things changed for all of you.

Half of him wanted to fix all of this. To be the better man and make everything troubling you to disappear. Even if that meant having everything go back to the way it was before Sue left. At least he’d still be in your life.

Then there was the other half. The side that was selfish and greedy. That was more hybrid than human, who growled at the thought of not being able to be with you the way he was meant to be. You were his one and only, he wasn’t going to give you up. The only way he would step back would be if you told him that you didn’t want to be his mate, that you didn’t want the mate mark. Until that happened, he was staying right by your side.

Hoseok knew the truth though. When it came to your safety, he was going to do whatever it took to protect you. And if it ever came down between Sue or you, he’d pick you every damn time.

No matter the consequences.

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 13

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 2,170

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: None

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

The restaurant was nearing the end of dinner rush by the time you arrived, which meant that Hoseok and you were able to get seated at a booth in a moderately quiet area. It was a blessing that there weren’t any kids nearby.

“It’s been way too long,” Hoseok groaned, leaning back in his seat across from you.

“Sue doesn’t take you?” You couldn’t help but ask, slipping your jacket and purse off and stuffing them against the wall. Before leaving, you had exchanged your hoodie for a thin maroon sweater that had triangle cut outs along the neckline and chest. You even slipped on a pair of black bootie heels and threw on light makeup. All while mentally telling yourself that this was in fact, not a date. You had not asked Hoseok out on a date. It was just two best friends going out to dinner.

Hoseok frowned as he took a deep breath. “No. I think the last time we came here, Colin had been with us. He didn’t like going out to a restaurant and having to cook the food himself.”

It was impossible for you to not roll your eyes, making a face at the mention of Colin’s name once again. That didn’t unmissed by Hoseok who softly chuckled. “It’s alright, the guys and I have been here a few times on our own. Just hard to get all seven of us in one place for food at once.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have made time for us to come down here.”

He just shrugged, taking a sip of the soda he had ordered. Before he could say a word, the waiter came by with the raw meat and vegetables, setting everything, including the side dishes, on the side. With everything sorted out and the grill that was built into the table was turned on, he promptly left.

Under the restaurant’s lighting, Hoseok was undeniably handsome tonight. He was wearing all black. A leather jacket, his t-shirt, his ripped skinny jeans and boots, were all black. And with his wonderfully skin kissed tan skin, something you were jealous of from time to time, it made you wonder if he had dressed like this on purpose.

“Don’t worry Strawberry,” Hoseok spoke, smirking as if he knew that you were checking him out the entire time. “I’ll man the grill. I know how much you suck at doing this part.

You immediately pouted, resting your elbow on the table to lean your cheek against your palm. “I don’t suck, I just have poor technique.”

Hoseok laughed as he put the meat on the grill, his eyes crinkling up in the corner as he shook his head. The light above you reflected back on the silver rings he was wearing, making you die on the inside. Somehow, some way, he found out about your weakness for men wearing all black and rings. There was no way he dressed like this when he was just hanging out with his friends.

Then again, it was the majority of the female population’s dream to see the guy they liked dressed all dark and mysterious.

“Besides, I’m here with you now. That’s all that matters.” His brown eyes met your gaze, his words going around your mind on repeat as he gave you a tender smile. One that said more than words ever could.

Oh, dear God. If that didn’t make you want to lean across the table and kiss him right then and there, you didn’t know what would.

You had seen that smile before, had even envied that smile, but you never saw it on Hoseok. You saw it every time Namjoon looked at Katie, his mate. Despite the fact you never understood what Sue saw in Colin, she gave him that same smile.

It was a smile that you always wished your ex boyfriends would look at you with but never did.

Pressing your lips together, you were the first to break eye contact to look back down at the grill, hoping you weren’t blushing. Even if you were, you’d blame it on the heat from the grill.

Hoseok was proud though, his smile widening when you finally looked away. He had been kicking himself ever since you mention dinner earlier. After all that he had planned and put together, he somehow managed to forget that.  However, this was better. Eating his favorite food with the woman he’s in love with…nothing could get better than this.

If he kept playing his cards right, you’d be his girl, and he’d be able to tell you about being his mate. All he needed now was to figure out why Sue had sent him those texts, have you accept him, and he’d be the happiest hybrid alive.

The sizzling of meat drew him back from his day dream. Grabbing his chopsticks, he flipped the meat over. “Can you start putting some of the vegetables on?” He pointed to several of the cups so you would know which ones.

With careful hands, you used the chopsticks to scoop out the food. It might not he been as if fast if Hoseok were doing it, but you preferred taking your time, especially when there was a hot grill right in front of you. “How was Namjoon?” You asked, remembering that he hadn’t mention it when you got home.

“Uh, pretty good.” He slowly answered, focusing on one piece of meat that he couldn’t get a grip on. “Took him to Seokjin’s finally.” The last thing he wanted to do was lie to you, but he didn’t want you finding out the exact truth just yet.

“Is he still making those exotic coffees?”

Hoseok raised an eyebrow as he moved around the vegetables you placed on for him. “Yes, and somehow they manage to not taste as nasty as you’d think.” He was silent for a moment, and then continued. “You know you can go down to the café whenever you want, right? It’s not only for hybrids.”

“I know, but that’s your guys spot. Plus, I’d feel like I’d be stepping in on guy time for some reason if I just showed up.”

“Should I tell that to the other female hybrids who go to Seokjin’s?”

You had been stirring the ice in your drink with your straw when he said that, your hand pausing, eyes lifting to look up at him. “That’s not what I meant,” you softly said.

The sudden emotion you were hit with surprised you. It wasn’t the fact that he talked to other women, it’d be insane for you to be jealous over something like that. It all quite literally, came down to genetics. Those women were hybrids. You weren’t.

Deep down you know it was stupid to get jealous over. The logical side of you kept reminding you that hybrids took humans as mates too. But the emotional part pushed that away, convincing you that Hoseok wanted a female hybrid for his mate. Someone who he could relate to. Someone who wasn’t his best friend.

Hoseok glanced up at you, sensing the wave of sadness despite the neutral expression you wore. His mind raced to figure out what it was that made you suddenly feel this way, hoping that it wasn’t something that he said. An instinctive whine tried to escape his lips, but he pressed his lips together to force it back. He didn’t remain silent for long.

“Come with me next time,” he blurted out, catching you off guard. “To Seokjin’s café. Next time I go, come with me.” That had to be the reason you were suddenly sad, Hoseok thought. If you went with him then all would be well. Right? Plus, he really the idea of being able to take you out again, so much so that his tag wagged against the back of his seat.

The corner of your mouth curled up in a smile, but your mind and emotions were arguing back and forth. There was still a chance that Hoseok’s mate would be a hybrid, and there was nothing that you would be able to do about it. You were just going to have to accept it when that day came.

“You sure?” You asked. Lifting your head off your hand, your fingers tugged at the sleeves of your sweater as you glanced at the food. With a start, you were surprised to see that the majority of it was done cooking. He just started to dish some of it out, handing you a bowl of white rice.

“Yes Strawberry,” Hoseok firmly said. He even stopped what he was doing to look at you, trying to fix whatever happened. Whether or not it was even his fault, he wanted to make you happy again. “I’m not saying that because Seokjin would love to see you at his café, although I’m pretty sure he would. But because I want you there. And it won’t be you intruding on guy time, I promise. We can plan out a day, that it’s just the two of us drinking coffee that shouldn’t taste good but does while scarfing down Jin’s pastries.”

You licked your lips, prolonging your answer. There was no special meaning to his words. If anything, they were just words with a promise of one day getting together to hang out. At least, that’s what you were trying to convince yourself of.

Words were always just going to be words, but the way he said them, that made all the difference. He spoke with such an intensity that your heart quivered that was why you reacted to them. There were no words that left for you to say, because as simple as his were, they were extraordinary. Maybe you were overthinking, reading way too far into what he was asking.

For the rest of dinner, everything seemed to be smooth sailing; Hoseok’s face relaxing as his tail wagged underneath the table when he finally got to eat. He even got you to laugh when he caught a pickled cucumber in his mouth after convincing you to toss it for him. Your mind on the other hand, was still processing it all. It continued to do so long after the two of you left the restaurant to go back to the apartment, disappearing into your respective rooms.

Dinner was still on your mind at midnight, your Literature textbook sitting abandoned on the blankets next to you. Emerson would have to wait until tomorrow for his deep thoughts about life, there was only one person occupying your mind tonight, and he was sleeping in the room next door.

Your heart raced as you remember the way his hand felt on your back when walking out of the restaurant. Soft and reassuring, a promise that he wasn’t going anywhere. Then again when entering the apartment. The gesture was so simple but it instantly brought forth daydreams of him living in the apartment with you, permanently instead of temporary. You tried to tell yourself that wasn’t possible as you dressed for bed. You weren’t his owner, Sue was.

That didn’t stop them.

These moments and daydreams, sudden as they were, continued to come even faster. Going to the café together, him showing you how to dance, long walks whenever and wherever the two of you felt like it, waking up in his arms. They were so sweet and so short that they left you wanting more. Sniffing, you blinked and the furniture in you room blurred. Tentatively touching your cheek, you were shocked when your fingers came back wet with tears.

With your head leaning back against the headboard, you pulled the blankets up to your chin as you stared at a picture of you and Hoseok on your nightstand. You remembered that day. The two of you had been sitting on the couch waiting for Sue to hurry up, planning an all-day trip to the mall or somewhere. Hobi had been on his phone when you suddenly called out his name, quickly smiling when he saw that you had it on selfie mode.

“Why Hobi?” you barely whispered to yourself, taking the textbook and setting it on your night stand before rolling over to your side. “Why did you have to make it sound like a date?”

The only way you were getting an answer was if you went to his room and asked him yourself, but you couldn’t. You were to scared that when you asked, he would just say he meant it as two friends getting coffee. Like how he and Namjoon went there earlier.

If that was the answer you got, your heart was going to be broken beyond repair. It was too late to back out of it now. You said yes to him Hoseok during dinner, but under the wrong context. You’re aching heart wanted to go to Seokjin’s with Hobi as a date, but your mind forced you to settle for a friendly get together instead.

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 7

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 1,614

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: None.

Tag List: @joyful-jimin and @carolithe

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

You didn’t get home until around eight that night, sending an apology text to Hoseok saying that you were picking up Chinese food to make up for being late. He didn’t send a text back which slightly worried you, but you calmed yourself by telling yourself that he was probably either in the shower or he had fallen asleep. Either option wasn’t unusual. After a hard day at the studio, you typically found him out like a light on the couch or his bed.

With take out in hands and your mouth salivating at the smell alone, you were all too eager to unlock the front door and get inside, ready to send yourself into a food coma until tomorrow morning.

“Hoseok,” you called out, unlocking the door. “I bring forth dinner!”

Except, he didn’t come to greet you. He didn’t even look over the couch to see if you needed help with anything. You set your keys and the plastic bags on the counter, frowning as the door shut behind you. The apartment was dead quiet, the only light that was on was the lamp in the living room, and that was because you turned in on this morning in-case the two of you weren’t back by the time it got dark out.

“Hoseok?” You asked again.

Still with no answer, you went around into each room only to discover that he wasn’t anywhere. You checked your phone in case he had sent a text, but there was nothing. Usually he sent one if he was going to be back late so as to not worry you.

Thoughts of where he could be floated in and out of your mind, but only one place kept coming to mind.

Grabbing your keys and the takeout, you head back out and lock up your apartment. If he wasn’t where you thought he was, you might just be screwed.

 To say that you were grateful that the Dance Studio was still open, was an understatement. It only took walking a couple feet inside and making a right down the hall to hear the blasting music.

Following the sound, it eventually led you to a room with mirrors on three of the walls and a bar attached to one of them. The wall across from you was mirrorless, painted a light blue with two windows looking out the front of the building. You could see your car from here.

In-between the windows, a cork-board was hanging up. Pictures of the dancers were tacked up along with letters and notes, either thanking their dance instructor or were encouragements for the kids staying at the company. Higher up on the wall was a clock.

As you walked up to the room, you leaned against the door frame, simply watching as Hoseok danced. His movements came so quick and fluid as he danced to the rap music. You found yourself nodding along and smiling as he continued, having no idea that you were even there. That alone had you staying quiet. You never got the chance to sneak up on any of your hybrid friends. They always smelled or heard you coming. Hoseok was too caught up on practicing to realize he wasn’t alone.

He didn’t stop until the music came to an end, by then his chest was heaving and you could see the sweat that had gone through his t-shirt. His gym bag was against the blue wall, which meant he hopefully, had clean clothes in there to change into.

Running his hand across his face, Hoseok walked over to his bag, still not noticing you as he crouched down in front of it, unzipping the bag and pulling out a towel and water bottle. His back was to you as he chugged the cold liquid, only stopping when it was emptied but he already had a second one out. This time he only took a couple sips before setting it down. Wiping his face with the towel, his body suddenly tensed up and he spun on his feet, standing up in the process as he stared at you.

“Strawberry?” He questioned, his voice breathless as his chest still heaved. “What are you doing here?”

You held up the bag of take out and pointed at the time. It was already eight thirty. “I got home and you weren’t there. So, I brought dinner to you.” Stepping into the studio, you smiled as he turned off the cd player, meeting him halfway. This close to him you were able to smell and see the sweat droplets that clung to him. Even his ears were wet with sweat. You were willing to bet that his tail was in the same state too.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I just lost track of time. I hope I didn’t worry you.” He gave you an apologetic smile, only looking away to wipe his face and the back of his neck.

“I’m just happy you’re safe.” You raised an eyebrow as you caught another whiff, this time exaggerating and waving your hand in front of your nose. “You smell wicked bad. Go take a shower and when you come back, we can eat.”

Hobi laughed, reaching out and tightly hugging you despite your squeals and protests of him smelling. “Oh please. Just imagine, you’re only getting a small taste of what it’s like for us hybrids. Not all humans smell as good as you, Strawberry.”

For the second time today, you felt your cheeks blush. Not wanting him to notice it, you pushed him away and sat against the wall, holding the bags of food close to you. “No shower. No food.”

“Alright fine,” he rolled his eyes but his smile lit up his face. “I’ll shower.”

“Thank you…” your voice trailed off as he pulled his sweat stained shirt off, revealing muscles that you only saw during the summer when all of you went to the beach or the pool. This time though, they seemed even more beautifully crafted than usual. He wasn’t insanely buff like you knew some guys aimed for, but his muscles were crafted from all the hours he spent dancing and honing his talent until his performance was perfect.

Hoseok didn’t realize the effect he was having on you until he took a deep breath in. Just by looking at him shirtless, your scent had changed again. It wasn’t bitter like when you were annoyed with Colin, or sweet like it had been when the two of you went to Munchies. Right now, it was richer than it’s ever been. It was like those chocolates that were only sold around Valentine’s day.

With another inhale, he was able to pinpoint what it reminded him of; dark chocolate squares with whipped strawberry cream inside. He knew for a fact, that despite you not liking to eat strawberries, those were your absolute favorites.

It was intoxicating. He couldn’t think of a time when you smelled like this. Even with the smallest breath, your scent was making his heart race. He blinked and rolled his head to the side; his pupils enlarged and his eyes were dark with lust and desire as he looked down at you, especially your neck.

Your mouth had gone dry, your tongue flicking out to wet your lips. His eyes immediately locked on to the movement, blush rising to your cheeks once again. Neither of you moved, just staring at each other in a way that was all new, but at the same time, felt so perfect and normal.

“Hoseok,” you whispered, your mind foggy as you tried to remember what you were going to say. There had been plenty of times that you saw him shirtless, it wasn’t a surprise for you. But this time, in the Dance Studio, alone with only Hoseok who just finished practice and was only wearing jeans, it was all so different.

At the sound of you saying his name so sweetly, a low growl escaped him, breaking the trance that the two of you were in. He recovered quickly though and in a matter of minutes he was out the door with his bag, heading straight to the showers.

Blinking, you stared at the spot he had last been in, the sounds of his growl resonating in your mind over and over again. But then waves of guilt washed over you. This wasn’t you. You never ogled at your friends, sure you’ve snuck peaks out of the corner of your eyes. Openly staring though? Again, that wasn’t you. For some reason you couldn’t explain, it was like you were seeing Hoseok for the first time.

Hoseok stood under the shower head, allowing the hot water to spray down his neck and body. His arm was propped up against the wall and his eyes focused on the drain, watching as the water swirled around in circles. Taking a shaky breath, he wiped his face free of water droplets trying to forget about your scent. He’s been around you when you had an ex around, sure he’s smelled lust before, but nothing to this extent. One sniff and he was ready to jump you. All he wanted to do was mark you and make you his.

He was starting to get the faintest idea of what was happening, the sudden changes that he was noticing with himself and you. Why was it only starting now? It should have been instantaneous. The moment the two of you met, he should have known. Before he could be completely positive, he needed to talk to someone who’s been through this. Who knows what it’s like and can confirm that he’s correct.

That you are his mate.