#one push and he crumbles that's all it takes what a pushover

[botmilf]

One time Wyatt got REALLY high from an edible her coworker gave her after work and Ratchet carried her off to bed and as he laid her down she wrapped her arms around his neck and wouldn't let go. Ratchet: I have work to do.

Wyatt: NOOOoohohohoo I just wanna like...keep looking at your eyes. You're so PRETTY!

Ratchet didn't get anything done after that.

[soobrat]

a bet and a promise; jcm

🖱️⤻ pairing; afab!reader x fratboy!q 🖱️⤻ word count; 6.2k 🖱️⤻ genre; smut 🖱️⤻ synopsis; your friends have a serious gambling problem and they've created a betting system so punishing that you have no choice but to play along. unbeknownst to them, they've just forced you to interact with someone you've been trying to avoid 🖱️⤻ warnings; q is a fuckboy, dubcon (q pushes mc's head back down when you try to come up but mc is okay with it), dom!q, sub!reader, reader is slightly bratty, piv, pet name (bunny), brief fingering, blowjob, brief face fucking, breast play, cowgirl then missionary, q can be casually cruel, reader is also slightly a pushover

⌨️⤻ I love asshole the boyz idk about you. Also I love how dramatic mc is in this lmao.

Your friends take good care of you. They’re perceptive and protective so there’s no getting away with hiding that you’re hurt about something. You’re thankful for them. Here’s the thing, your friends also love a good bet.

“Missy… you’re up!” Kim Jimin delivers a swift pat to your back that makes you jolt forward. You’re completely lost, and looking around at the circle of girls does nothing to help. “Up?”

“I bet fifty bucks you won’t go up to Ju Haknyeon and do aegyo.” She leans forward with a sinister smile. And so the game begins. You’re somewhat new to the group, so they agreed to spare you for now. Turns out “for now” is over.

You cautiously glance over at Haknyeon and his frat buddies. They’re a rowdy bunch, raising their red solo cups as they engage in loud conversation. They’d ridicule you until you ran home crying for sure.

“Come on, be serious.” Lee Soojin elbows Jimin, making her perk up. “What? It’s been long enough.” You let out an exhale of relief. Of course Soojin would step in, the logical and caring person she is. 

“No, not that. Ju Haknyeon is easy.” Soojin scoffs.

Her words nearly cause you to crumble to the floor. They were going to kill you tonight. This was your first bet for god sake. 

“That is not true! He would laugh right in her face.”

“You guys are so cruel.” You whine and they immediately ignore you. “Yeah, but you know who’ll be way better?” Soojin leans in but her eyes are focused on the rowdy boys. “Ji Changmin.”

You feel as though your heart had fallen out of your ass and splattered onto the waxed wooden floors. 

“Hey…” Park Soeun finally adds more to the conversation than reactionary noises. She gives you a quick look to check how you were fairing. You were staring at nothing with your mouth lolled open like your face had gone numb. She winces before looking to Soojin and Jimin. “What about Lee Jaehyun? That would be fun right?”

Jimin and Soojin ponder for a moment. “I can see him snickering and going “what the hell?” which could be fun.” Soojin considers. They’re all so casual about sending you to potential social suicide.

“But that’s not as good as Changmin. That would be stellar.” Both girls exchange a look that communicates how golden this bet is. Soeun sighs beside you, giving you a comforting rub on your back but nothing could soothe the imprint Jimin’s hand left. 

“I wanna spice it up though. I bet one hundred dollars she will go through with it.” Soojin raises her eyebrows and is met with a surprised sound from Jimin. “Now we’re talking. But you do know if you lose you’re in the trenches with her?”

“I’m confident on this one.”

“You guys have a serious gambling problem!” You finally pipe up after shaking your initial shock

“Shaddup.” Jimin pushes you out of the comfort of the circle. The outside world is so cold, full of unfamiliar faces and opportunities for awkward conversation. But most of all, facing Changmin again. As you inch slowly toward the group you see his figure on the opposite side of their circle. A lollipop stick hangs loosely from his lips, a flash of orange pops through when he adjusts his tongue. 

He had a lollipop on that chilly night, too. The last Saturday of October and the last time you were at a party. You’re convinced he scared you from them for good. You didn’t like them in general, but you fought through your introversion for your friends. It took a lot of begging and offerings to get you to this one. You kept asking why they couldn’t just go without you but now it’s very obvious. Parties are the perfect place for painful bets. The more painful the bet, the more likely the bet maker will get paid.

Bets were not the reason you ran into Changmin. Poor Jungeun was the victim that night. You were looking for a bottle of liquor she requested to get her through her dare. The kitchen was completely empty making you wonder if the closed floor plan made it more discreet. It was dark but you used your flashlight to look amongst the bottles for the one she requested. 

All you heard were loud voices approaching before bodies started bumping against you. The kitchen was at full capacity in no time and people had the nerve to cram in even more. As if they couldn’t tell there were already too many people there. You cradled the bottle in your hand and wondered how the hell you were going to get out. People were pushing themselves flush against you without a care in the world. 

An elbow flying way too close to your eye socket made you throw all caution to the wind and start pushing people. They couldn’t see anyway, and you were politely mumbling “excuse me’s” on your way out. You used counters bordering the kitchen to map your escape when you run headfirst into somebody. Already annoyed by how reckless people were being you groan loudly to clearly communicate your irritation. Why hasn’t someone turned the lights on by now?

“Someone’s having a bad time.” 

For a second you didn’t recognize the voice of the man you ogle at for an entire lecture. The same man you’ve dedicated pages and pages of your diary to. “No, but it’d be nice if people used their brains for one second.” The moment you stop speaking a blinding light was being shone on your face.

“You couldn’t be talking about me, right sweetheart?”

The light inhibited your vision but the sound of his smooth-tongued affect was enough for you to identify him. Your brain filled in the blanks of his crooked grin and gaze with a hint of condescension. Everything about him should turn you off but there's just something about him.

Your attempt at sentences is cut short when the lights finally come on, long after you actually wanted them to. Now Changmin can take in your pathetic body language in all its glory. He just scoffs, as if in disbelief at who had gotten smart with him. “Are you always this rude to strangers?”

“I– I w– um…” You were downright panicking and it sent your brain into overdrive. Coming up with a response was hard when all you could focus on was how warm he felt pressed against you. The firm plane of his chest had no choice but to be in direct contact with your arms cradling the liquor. A person behind you knocks you even closer so your faces are nearly touching.

“You really hurt my feelings,” Changmin feigns emotional turmoil before dropping it almost immediately. “you should give me that alcohol as a repayment.”

“No, I’m giving this to my friend.” There they were, your first coherent words to Ji Changmin, the man of your fucking dreams. Well, not really, your first sentence was even worse.

“You just keep wounding me, princess.” He pops his lollipop from his mouth before sliding a finger under your chin to lift your face. “How are you gonna make up for it?” His lips coasted along yours making your brain completely useless. Your heart was beating so fast that you considered going to the hospital. The two of you being so close to kissing did a lot of things to you and none of them were good.

You imagined meeting Ji Changmin in the kitchen of a house party time and time again like they do in movies. You both would complain about how parties suck and you’d be uncharacteristically smooth until he throws you over his shoulder and takes you into a vacant bedroom. This was nothing like you imagined. It was humiliating and he was reveling in it. You knew he was an asshole but you were too naive to think he’d do anything to upset you. 

“I-I gotta get this to her-”

“At least promise you’ll make up for how rude you were.” He pouts and you feel your ears start burning hot.

You barely escaped with your dignity but you finally managed to get out of that hot, sweaty hell hole. You promised him, of course, but only because you prepared to avoid him like the plague. He probably laughed about you and your stupid shocked face with his friends. 

You take your time getting close to him because the minute you’re face to face it would confirm whether or not he sees you as some big joke. Chickening out on the bet was not an option because not only would you have to fork up your meager paychecks, but it’ll also be your turn again and again until you properly follow through with one. They’re going to know if you don’t actually walk up to him. They can see on either side of their huddle. The only blindspot was right in front of Changmin. And what were you gonna do, just awkwardly stand in front of him and hope he doesn’t say anything?

Every option felt like pure torture. He and his friends already think you’re pathetic. They’d probably be so confused, thinking you officially lost it. You physically cringe as you imagine going through with this. You were getting embarrassed regardless, but there was no way in hell you were doing aegyo.

Since they couldn’t see you, they were going to go up and ask Changmin if you actually did it, so there was only one solution. You plant yourself in front of him with a huff, gathering the tiny bit of courage in your body to look at him.

He chuckles as he takes you in, leading everyone else in the huddle to look at you. “Looking extra sexy tonight baby.” Sangyeon whistles and you break eye contact. Before he can even say anything to make you give up you rush out your request.

“My friends are making me do aegyo in front of you for a bet and I refuse to do so so could you just tell them I did when they ask you okay thank you bye-”

A chorus of wary woah’s make it hard to leave but you still try, your suddenly stiff legs stepping away from the group. They’re causing commotion so that’s good, makes it look like you did what you were dared to.

“Why should I.” Changmin raises his voice over the commotion and actually makes you stop. Shit, that was your one out and you never considered he would reject you. Of course he would. You’re a nobody trying to order him around. You turn back, your tail between your legs as you squeeze your eyes shut. 

“It’s just a stupid bet, I know you don’t care anyway.” You try to appeal to his nonchalant image but he immediately shoots it down. “No, I meant why should I help you when you didn’t follow through on our promise.” He ends his questions like a statement and you can’t help but think you’re not supposed to answer. He’s just pointing things out, he doesn’t want to hear your excuses. 

“I-I’m sorry, I got really busy and I just never saw you again.” Your tone is unconvincing but it might just work. He probably never noticed you before you met in the kitchen. “Ah,” Changmin steps toward you, away from the huddle where everyone can see. “So you’ve been too busy to come find me?” He coos as he brushes your hair out of your face. You flinch away subconsciously but he doesn’t retract his hand, something you’re quietly grateful for. As his eyes rake over your features you can’t help but block out the noise in this intimate little moment. He’s fucking with you, you’d have to be an idiot not to see, but you can’t help your breath being taken away as his fingers coast across your jaw.

“But you still manage to stare at me for the entire duration of our class together. Kinda like you’re doing now.” His more assertive words shatter the illusion you just made for yourself, letting all the noise break through and overwhelm you as you grapple with your mortification. Blood can’t even rush to your face, you’re way past acute embarrassment. The feeling of everyone looking at you and every laugh possibly being directed at you makes it difficult to do anything other than look around, rooted in your spot. “Let’s revisit the promise, shall we?”

You’re back to looking at Changmin and his raised brows but you can’t focus. You run out of the frat house and suck in the fresh air. You plant your hands on your knees as you huff, laughing derisively. You were stupid if you thought you’d be able to avoid him forever. And you were even more stupid if you thought you could convince him to go along with your plan. Why you were the ultimate dumbass? You thought that maybe Changmin would’ve been courteous to you. Maybe he didn’t tell his friends and laugh at your expense. Clearly you’re just a desperate joke to him. Well, there goes another crush.

“Hey, need a ride.” Changmin jogs out beside you, smiling to illustrate just how guiltless he was. He had discarded his lollipop at some point, but the orange stain on his tongue remained. You stand up straight, attempting to fix him with a serious look but your self-pity seeps through.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about this.” You raise your arms in confusion before letting them fall back to your sides. “Your friends aren’t here right now, so you don’t have to talk to me anymore.”

"It’s not about them. What's funny is how hard you're trying to hide that you wanna fuck me." 

Now you feel the blood rushing to your face as you gasp. “No, I- it’s not funny, Changmin.” You insist, but you can’t quite get the bite you desperately need.

“I'm serious.” Changmin steps in front of you and keeps you from leaving with a complicated expression that you try to unravel. “You at least wanna kiss me. I don't understand why you're holding back, just do it." He steps forward as if to egg you on. You open your mouth to protest, but you can’t tear your eyes away from his lips as if you’re insane enough to consider it. Is this why he fucks with you? Because he’s waiting for you to act on your urges? Or he thinks that if he picks at you enough you’ll jump him out of pure frustration. Your heart kicks at your ribcage, alerting you to how much it’s working.

Changmin pushes in only an inch closer until you have nowhere to look but his sultry gaze. You gasp silently, feeling arousal take root and blur your reasons for apprehension. The two of you seem to magnetize, slowly drawing nearer until you only slightly feel his lips. Your heart leaps and your brain screams at you to just devour him already.

“Go Changmin!” His huddle had traveled outside in search of him, hooting and hollering at what they see. You snap away, ducking your head and covering your lips as if it’ll conceal anything. Jimin is the first of your friends to push through the huddle before they’re all speed walking toward you. “Hi Changmin! Can we talk to our girl?” Jimin says in a high voice that’s very unlike her. She and the rest of your friends seem to be brimming with anxious energy as they look at either of you. 

“Sure.” Changmin smiles before directing a pointed look at you, and you know it’s about that damn promise. Once he’s reunited with his group they crowd around you. You back away, “What is up with you guys?”

“We know you didn’t do the dare.” Jimin starts with her usual tone, bar a little anxiety peeking through. You sigh, wilting as you await their celebration. “Yeah, yeah whatever how much do I owe?”

“We’re gonna drop it.”

Your eyes snap open before you look at Jimin warily. “Why?”

“In the strangest turn of events, you seem very friendly with Changmin now and I just feel like that’s enough turbulence to last you a year.”

–🖱️▷

Your mom might have been right about you being a sexual degenerate. All you did today was masturbate at the thought of Changmin and debate following through on your promise. Everything and one is screaming at you to leave him alone. Your friends even apologized for making you interact with him once they found out about your crush and avoidance of him. With no bet or anything pressuring you to face him again, you should be saying good riddance. 

“At least promise you’ll make up for how rude you were.” He pouts and you feel your ears start burning hot. You’re not even sure what that means and his body against you isn’t helping you think straight. 

“O-okay? I will…” You don’t know what you agreed to but it was fine. You already decided you’d never speak to him again. He looks down at you like he’s unimpressed with your answer. “You will what?”

“I’ll… make up for it?” You drop your confusion with a frustrated sigh.

“How about this, if I can’t have this bottle, maybe you can get me a different drink.” He stops to pull his lollipop from his mouth. He moves it to yours, tapping it against your bottom lip. You focus on the deep brown of his irises as you wordlessly poke out your tongue and scoop it into your mouth. “At your place. Promise?”

It was bad, really bad. You forgot where you were, sucking on the ball of candy he just had in his mouth while your mind went to downright deplorable places. But the bliss was oh so sweet. Drowning in his eyes while your stomach dissolved into a pit of lava. You craved that feeling again, and you need to feel more than a whisper of his lips. 

He wrote his number on your hand and you let him. Mostly because you were transfixed with how he held the cap of the marker in his teeth. Of course he kept a marker to write down his number in his pocket, because that’s who you were dealing with. This is the same man that made Hyunjin cut her hair off and cry during your morning lecture after he broke things off. Thinking about his effect on you makes tears and a pixie cut seem worth it. Just a little taste, that’s all.

You pull up his contact where his number resided for “safekeeping” and open a new conversation. 

___: I wanna make good on my promise

You chew on your lip, plopping on your couch but keeping your eyes trained on the screen. Milliseconds felt like years as you waited for a response. Your body was already getting excited at the idea of seeing him again. And feeling him in ways you had to stop your mind from wandering to during class. 

Changmin: good ;) I’m free in about 20 mins, is that too soon?

In a last ditch effort to preserve your dignity, you wait, ignoring your core screaming at you to hurry the fuck up. This man could very well ruin your life, the least you could do is make yourself seem less keen. You’re proud of yourself for making him wait this long in the first place. 

___: nope, I wanna prove I’m not a promise breaker

Changmin: of course you aren’t

Changmin: that would make you bad news

Maybe you are with the things you’re fantasizing about. A few more texts exchange flirts and your address before your promise is finally fulfilled. Well, not yet. He still has to get here. If milliseconds felt like years, the minutes it took him to get here felt like they were aging you substantially. Technology is advancing, generations are passing, and are those flying cars whizzing by? But it happened, there was a knock at your door. 

Pulling your door open revealed a smirk you should be used to but aren’t. You can’t push past your brain fog of seeing his dark hair hang over his brows to make a coherent sentence. His eyes are already drinking you in and it’s too much to handle. You’re a bit thankful that he lets himself in, closing the door behind him. 

“I-I, you… there’s alcohol in the kitchen, I’ll get it.” You motion disinterestedly behind you, still in a daze while you stare at his torso wrapped in a tight black t-shirt. 

“No,” he says almost under his breath, pulling you closer by your raised arm before grabbing your face. Your body goes limp as he brushes his bottom lip against yours before capturing it in a short kiss. You lean in for more, throwing your arms around his shoulders and pushing him into the door. His hands slide down your back before squeezing your ass through your jeans. Changmin drinks the moan you let out, tongue delving inside your mouth. 

Never had you felt as slutty as you do now, rutting against his crotch in search of friction. He lifts one of his hands to tug on your hair and you open your mouth wider. Your tongues swirl around each other in a lewd display of how turned on you both are. “wasn’t the drink I had in mind.” He mumbles with a smirk, punctuated with isolated pecks before devouring you once more. 

Your hands find their way to his waistband, unbuttoning his jeans before dragging his zipper open. You sink your hand into them, cupping his hot bulge and squeezing which makes him groan. He bites your lip and mirrors your actions. His hand ends up inside your underwear, feeling the embarrassing mess you left behind. “Fuck, were you touching yourself?”

You nod, trying to dive back into his lips but he pulls away. “Thinking of me?” You bite your lip, nervously peaking through your lashes before nodding again. He chuckles before kissing your forehead, the tip of your nose, and finally leaving a peck on your lips. The flutter of your heart is undercut by his hand suddenly closing around your throat. “You should’ve waited.” He says so low it’s almost inaudible. 

Strangled noises wiggle their way out but you don’t get to form a syllable before he’s resuming your heated kiss. His fingers push past your swollen lips and spread you wider with a slight ache. His fingers are a little thicker than yours and you didn’t use your dildo tonight. He takes care of that, scissoring you open while he sucks on your tongue. You’ve never moaned so unabashedly before but he brings it out of you with such ease. 

“You made me wait for how long and you couldn’t even wait 20 minutes?” He waits for your response as he stares down at you as if his hand isn’t tightening around your throat. Telling him how long you were actually waiting would make you look better but back talk didn’t seem smart right now.

“‘m sorry.” You croak out before squeezing his bulge again.

“Feel nice?” You can’t tell what he’s referring to until he slips his hand from your pants and cups your hand over his bulge. You nod despite the restriction and he seems pleased. He licks your bottom lip, looking as if he wants to devour you whole. “Lead me to your room.”

He finally lets go of your throat and pulls your hand out of his pants to hold it. With your breathing irregular you guide him to the bedroom. Every resounding thud of your heart feels like it’ll send you to an early grave. You’ve never been so cock hungry in your life. He lets go of your hand and shuts the door behind the two of you. You watch as if in a trance as he takes off his jeans and underwear. He isn’t facing you so you don’t see his hard cock. You take the time to appreciate his ass though. 

Cutting your ogling short, he turns around, and you watch him the entire time he walks over to your bed. He lies on it with his legs spread, so mouthwatering as his long cock stands at attention. He strokes it, fingers grazing over each vein when it should be yours.

“Since you love my dick so much, come play with it. I need to catch up anyway.” His lidded eyes rake up and down your frame, making you feel much barer than you are. You climb onto the bed, crawling up to what you crave most. He drops his hand away and you can hear him let out a soft noise just in anticipation of what you’ll do next. 

Mimicking him moments before, you close your hand around his shaft, core clenching at the groan you’re rewarded with. Situated between his legs, you’re surrounded by his warmth while you pump his hot length. He bucks into your hand each time you drag your fist down. A bead of precum falls from his slit and rolls to the rim of his head. You lick it up, following the trail until your tonguing at his slit. He exhales shakily, watching you with knitted brows. As you press the tip of your tongue against it, saliva travels down and pools where your tongue and his hole meet.

Your pumping becomes more rigorous the more turned on you get from pleasuring him. You couldn’t get enough of his taste, the way he feels against your hand and tongue, or his reactions to you. His soft, rhythmic moans make your stomach flutter. You lift your tongue, watching the strings of your spit and his precum connect the two of you. Impassioned, You dive down and captured his tip in your mouth. He throws his head back as you suck and swirl your tongue. 

You have to move your hand down to compensate for each inch you take in until you pull your hand away completely and feel him at the back of your throat. “You’re so nasty~” He muses about your passionate mouth you assume. Your ears perk up when you hear the sound of paper flipping. Your eyes flit up to see your diary previously and stupidly set on your nightstand in one of his hands. He laughs when he catches you looking, pushing your head back down to choke on his cock when you try to shoot up. 

He bucks into your throat as he keeps you down, face flush as he reads through the pages. “Here it says you want to fuck over and over until there’s so much cum between us that it fuses us together?” He laughs in disbelief. “That’s really disgusting, bunny.”

The mortification you feel merges with your overflowing lust until you can just sputter and moan in response. He lifts your head by your hair, allowing you to speak, but you just want his cock again. 

“Anything to say? Wanna defend your ego?”

“I want you to cum down my throat.” You reply breathlessly. A thick layer of saliva coats your mouth, chin, and starts down your neck.

“That’s about what I expected from someone who’d write shit like this.” He tosses the diary back on the nightstand. “Your brain is rotted from all your lewd fantasies.” Instead of pushing your mouth back on his cock he pulls your body on top of his. “We’re all caught up now.” He gives you a few meager pecks that don’t satisfy you nearly enough. 

You sit up and peel your shirt off your frame and he reaches to fondle your bare chest. Lifting from his lap, you pull off your sweatpants and underwear and toss them to the side. You use your shirt to wipe all the spit from your face and neck and it’s finally time. Though, his hands on your chest prevent you from leaning down and making out with him to your heart’s content.

“I wanna kiss you.” You whine, grinding your crotches together. His jaw quirks open, watching you with a twinkle of endearment in his eye.

“Will you whine and beg for it?”

“I will if you want me to.” It’s the fullest your voice has sounded since he walked through your door. So unabashed in declaring your obedience to him. Content with being under his spell. 

“I love girls like you.” He whispers, still not letting up only squeezing the flesh of your breasts, keeping you in place.

“Please?” You gasp lightly as you rut against his dick.

“Again.” He demands so quietly that you barely hear it. You’re completely immersed in a bubble, feeling separate from everything else as you focus on him. “Please? Please.” You beg shakily, close to your breaking point.

“Sit on it, bunny.” He effectively rejects you and you huff, reaching below you to position his tip under your swollen lips. He flicks lightly at your stiffen buds, pushing them in with a salacious hum when you sink down on him. “Good bunny.”

You sink until you’re fully seated on him, wiggling your ass to contrast with your betrayed pout. You wait and wait, grinding on his cock in the meantime, but he just continues to fondle your tits and deny you his lips. You watch in awe as he moves his lips to your hardened nipples, suckling and licking them all while he watches you smugly. You’ve done nothing but be a good girl. “That’s not fair.” You whine, raising your hips and dropping them down to earn the very reaction you receive. His lips leave your nipple to moan then hiss, grabbing your hips and squeezing them.

“You mad at me?” He asks insincerely, clearly not caring about how he’s torturing you. When you huff he just starts flicking his tongue against your nipples again. You whine, giving up on your pursuit to focus on properly riding him. You bounce on his cock, earning whispered praises as he watches you with satisfaction in his eyes. “Atta girl, keep it up.”

Each drop of your hips sends him plunging so deep you can taste him. It borders on overwhelming but you can’t stop. It seems to have the same effect on him as he clenches his teeth and sinks his nails into your breasts. Focusing on teasing you was hard when your lips were all fat and swollen, encasing his cock in a soft paradise. You don’t see it coming when his hands slip from your breasts, falling forward until your chest to chest. You smile wistfully and brush your thumb over his lips. The slight annoyance on his face from giving in earlier than expected was extremely sexy. You run your tongue along his bottom lip, gasping when he grips your ass and starts slamming you over his cock. 

His presumed plan was working so far, distracting you from getting your way until you finally close the space. Despite his annoyance, he kisses back eagerly, grinning when you can’t keep it up with his incessant pounding. You just rest your lips against his, breathing each other in as you moan helplessly. Something about your pitiful whimpering unleashes a feral side of him. 

“Uh huh? Feel good getting your pussy plowed?” He growls, filling the room with the sound of his cock plunging deep inside you, burying himself to the hilt. The sound of your cunt suckling desperately to milk him for all he’s worth. He bites your lip and tugs at it before grabbing your jaw. “Want me to fill you up until I’m spilling out of your little hole? I can do that for you.” He laughs cruelly, your whines and pleading expression spraying the fire in his groin with gasoline. Your mouth drops open, noises muted as you clench ever tighter around him.

“Gonna cum, bunny?”

You nod incessantly, chasing after your high as if never else ever mattered more in the world.

“Don’t you fucking cum.”

You let out a panicked whimper, “Please??”

“Uh uh.” He shakes his head at you with a threatening glare. “You cum when I say so. You said you’ll do what I want you to. I want you to hold it.”

Hold it? You only heard about this in the filth you consume. It never worked when you actually tried it. You were on a one way train to disobedience and it worried you as much as it thrilled you. “I-I can’t! I can’t!”

“You better.” He delivers a punishing smack to your ass, making it much harder for you. You squirm against him, his arm anchoring you flush against his body. You had no choice but to be this close, to only focus on him and the viscous slam of his hips. The pressure builds fast, faster than your attempts to clear you brain and try not to be a brat. Oh, but being a brat was so tempting. What would a punishment entail? Changmin spanking you, overstimulating you, tying you up? All those sound like wet dreams you’ve had, swearing into your pillow when you woke up and realized it wasn’t real.

And just like that, your hand are clenching his biceps as your cunt spasms around him. You cry out, your orgasm crashing over you like a ton of bricks and continuing to loom for longer than you could handle. Your body twitches against his, begging incoherently to be punished.

He flips you onto your back and you smile blissfully, hoping he’ll scold you, slap you. Maybe you liked it when he teased and tortured you. Even before he stepped in your house. 

“What did you say? Punish you?” You go to nod but he grabs your cheeks, squishing them and forcing you to look at him. “You have a mouth. Use it.”

“Yes. Please.” You breathe. He scoffs. “You can’t help it. Just a desperate whore by nature, huh?” You shake your head and he coos sardonically. “Yeah, I know you can’t.” He delivers a swift slap to you pussy that has you gasping harshly and clamping your legs shut. “Oh, what? I thought you wanted to be punished? Open your fucking legs.” He doesn’t let you open them by yourself all the way, just shoving them open and slapping your mound again. You start to shut them but he glares at you. You whimper and spread them far, clenching your eyes shut. You can hear how full your channel is with your slick, and how saturated your lips are with each smack. The filthy noise bounces off the walls, filling you with even more embarrassment. You can’t turn and hide your head in your shoulder with his hand holding your head still. You just wince and whine, taking your punishment. It’s the least a brat can do.

Once your legs are shaking he places himself between them again, shoving just his tip into the entrance. “I’ll give you what you wanted now.” And with that he bottoms out with a swift slam of his hips, his dick twitching inside you when you squeak. He grabs both your legs and swings them over his shoulder, getting a good look at how each languid roll of his hips affects you. You’re a mess, mumbling and whining like an idiot for his cock. And he loves it. “Good fucking bunny.”

His hips thunder against yours, stuttering once pleasure starts to crawl up his legs like fractal branches of electricity. His eyes roll back, fingering curling into your flesh until his knuckles turn white. You’re even wetter than before, and he can feel you start to clench for dear life again. Getting this worked up to your pussy getting spanked? Changmin really loved girls like you. 

“You love it. You love it when I fuck with you.” His voice cracks slightly, losing all control as his climax starts to sneak up on him. “Yes! Fuck– I love it so much!” Your voice is unstable from his thrusting and from the incoming orgasm shutting down your body. Your confession kicks his climax into high gear, his hips going static as he starts to fills your pussy. He drops your legs and pulls his cock out, spraying it over your folds and then on your lower belly. He moves closer to shoot the rest of his substantial load onto your tits and you hold them up for him.

When he finishes he looks down at you like a painter admiring his latest masterpiece. Maybe it was a little hasty to consider you a keeper, he should know better with how clingy girls get with him, but he couldn't help it. You look so joyous to be covered in his cum, smiling goofily with a hoarse chuckle.

"You're golden, sweetheart." He leans forward and plants a short kiss on your lips.

He was gone as fast as he arrived, but he remained ever present. You were officially chained to the man. Willing to do whatever would make him moan and cum for you like that again. It’s a shame because you really liked your hair.

likes and reblogs are very appreciated! 🖱️⤻ tbz masterlist

[training4theapocalypse]

Pushover (Jeffrey Steinberg x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: SMUT, Rough sex, Degradation, Dub-con, Dom!Jeffrey, Sub!Reader, Breeding kink, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex M receiving, PIV

Summary: It's the apocalypse and you're stuck in an ecosphere with the last nine other people in the world - including Jeffrey Steinberg. If he could stop talking down to you for one second you could show him how useful you'd be to him.

A/N: Just be aware I wrote this in a day because I needed to get some feelings out my system. I've never written for an in-progress piece of work before so if Jeffrey turns out to be an even worse person than we already know I am sorry. This takes place roughly at the end of Ep4 of Evergreen.

Masterlist

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Chapter Text:

“Hey, second fiddle! Get in here.”

“Don’t call her that.”

You open the control room door where Hannah and Jeffrey are staring at the screens. He leans back in his chair to look past Hannah, standing next to him, to get a good look at you when you enter. His dark curly hair is messed up like he’s been stressed out and running his hands through it.

“So, Finn’s assistant's assistant -”

“You know she’s not my assistant, Jeffrey. She’s Finn’s second assistant,” says Hannah scathingly.

He waves his hand dismissively. “Hannah says you actually might know something about this firewall?”

“Yes.”

“How does Finn Gorale’s second-favourite pet know how to get past the firewall?” He raises his eyebrow.

“I know how to code. Finn let me work on the firewall for my professional development.”

“Ugh.” He rolls his eyes. “He really had you all lapping up the big happy corporate family thing here, didn’t he?” Jeffrey rolls his chair back from the control panel. “Go on then, show me.”

“Jeffrey,” Hannah warns. “Don’t let him speak to you like that,” she adds to you. 

“I’d be happy to show Mr Steinberg anything he wants to see.”

The corners of his mouth turn up in a wry smile. He liked that. And he has dimples. You’re stuck in an underground ecosphere with the billionaire AI mogul who you’ve had a ridiculous crush on for a long time. Of course, he has dimples. As if he couldn’t be any more perfect.

Ever since he gave the commencement speech at your graduation ceremony a few years ago, Jeffrey Steinberg has been the subject of your fantasies. Obviously, you applied to work for Jeffrey’s company straight after graduation but without success. You suspected that Jeffrey was kind of a misogynist - his executive assistants were all exclusively men. Finn, for all his flaws, at least didn’t seem to care about your gender. 

“I’d better go help Axel and Aida with the harvester,” says Hannah, she pauses on her way out. “Don’t let him push you around.”

You keep your eyes on him as the sound of the door shutting and locking itself electronically beeps when Hannah exits the room.

You’re not sure what you wouldn’t let Jeffrey Steinberg do to you. You’d be more than happy for him to push you around, bend you over the console, fuck you any way he wanted to. Your so far one-sided feelings for him have only intensified while you’ve been stuck in this hellscape of an ecosphere with only nine other people for company. 

As an executive assistant, normally you can hold your own around egotistical men. Put them in their place with your sharp tongue. But something about Jeffrey’s disdain towards your very presence here makes you crumble. You’re desperate for him to notice you. Notice how useful you could be to him. Even if he were to decide your only usefulness amounted to you waiting in his bed for him on your knees every night.

You flush, embarrassed by your own lewd thoughts. It’s your ninth day down here. Not only are you socially starved but you’re also way more aroused than usual. Your girlfriends used to joke that you needed locking up during this time of the month when you were ovulating. Like a werewolf at full moon. You feel feral.

“Er, hello?” Jeffrey’s voice snaps you back to reality.

You clear your throat and teeter on your heels over to the console. He doesn’t deign to give you his chair, instead, he rolls it back to watch you lean over the keyboard.

“I just need to look up when Hal-9000 was last rebooted,” you say, clicking around, and searching for the date.

“You can say it’s name. It can’t hear us in here.”

“It can hear everything. It’s everywhere.”

“I disabled it in this room. Cortex, can you hear me? Cortex? There’s been an accident, Cortex, Finn’s assistant is choking to death in the control room. It’s the cute, innocent one, not the bitchy one, so you’d better hurry!” You glance at him over your shoulder to see him smirking. “See?”

You turn back to face the screen quickly before he can notice your smile. Cute. You open files on the screen, checking the reboot data.

You can feel his eyes on you. You’re not sure if he’s staring at what you’re doing on the screen or the way you’re bent over in front of him. Either way, you like it.

“You said when I first got here that we’d never met before. But that’s not true, is it? I know you from somewhere.”

“Not likely. But you gave the commencement speech at my graduation a few years ago.”

“You graduated from MIT?”

“What, like it’s hard?” You discreetly pick up the pace of your searching, keen to show off how quickly you can crack the firewall issue.

“MIT… I’ve got it.” He snaps his fingers and points at you like he’s just realised something. “You applied for a job with me. Does Finn know he was second choice? Or is that why he made you his second choice?” His sudden revelation isn't convincing. You have a feeling he's been sitting on this information for a while.

“Finn might be a shitty boss but unlike you he actually hires women.”

“Woah, woah, woah - who says I don’t hire women?”

“Your last five assistants were all men. None of them have lasted as long as I have with Finn, by the way.”

“Look, I’m not Finn. I can’t spend my day around a fuckable assistant without doing something about it. That means all the applications from the pretty ones go straight in the bin, no matter if they went to MIT.”

“That’s a textbook example of misogyny.”

“Well, what are you going to do about it? Call the EEOC? It’s not like they exist anymore.”

You say nothing. You hate that he didn’t hire you. But at least you know it’s because he thought you were pretty - so that’s something, right? And could you honestly say you wouldn’t have tried to fuck him at the first opportunity, even if he was your boss? Maybe he was on to something.

“Cortex hasn’t been rebooted since the day before doomsday,” you say, finally finding the data.

He brings his chair forward to look at the screen. You shift uncomfortably on your feet in your high heels. 

“Sit here,” he says, nudging the back of your knee with his. You pretend to hesitate, only so he can’t tell how eager you are. You sit down on his lap. “Good girl. See, this is the type of shit I’d be pulling if you were my assistant. Anyway…” He reaches around you to grab the mouse and is quiet for a moment while he takes in the information. His other hand rests on your upper thigh.

“You said Finn was a shitty boss. But are you still loyal to him?”

He tilts his head, scanning your face for any indication of dishonesty. You meet his gaze, glad for an excuse to look into his green eyes.

“I’ll be as loyal or disloyal as you want me to be.”

“Very good answer.” He says, his fingertips on his free hand brushing the inside of your leg. “As it happens, that’s exactly what I want. Out there, I want you to pretend to be loyal to Finn. But in here, I want you to help me locate Finn’s private servers.”

You bite your lip before throwing caution to the wind. “I have conditions.”

“Let’s hear them, then.”

“Out there I want you to show me some respect. No more talking down to me in front of the others.”

“Alright, that’s fair en-”

“But inside here -” you feel butterflies in your stomach. “- I want you to disrespect me in every way you know how. And I want you to do it now. As a show of good faith.”

Jeffrey exhales deeply and you feel something hard pressing against your hip. 

“God, you would have been a fucking terrible assistant” He shakes his head. 

Oh shit.

“I never would have gotten anything done,” he says, looking at you with an unmistakeable glint in his eye. From the sideways position you’re sitting on his lap, he draws your leg up onto the armrest, spreading your legs apart and forcing your minidress to roll up, exposing your underwear.

Oh shit.

He runs the back of his hand across your pussy through the fabric before suddenly yanking your underwear to the side so he can draw his fingers along your slit, finding the swollen bundle of nerves at the top. 

“Fuck,” you whisper and turn your head, bringing your lips close to his - almost touching. He smells good. Expensive.

“So wet already.” He rolls his wet fingertips around your clit. “What a wet, fucking desperate little slut you are.”

“I’ve been like this every day here,” you confess.

“So I should have trusted my instincts and let myself into your room after those drinks on the first night?” Jeffrey keeps circling your clit, making you squirm in his lap.

“Yes, fuck yes.”

“What would I have found, I wonder? You fucking yourself like this?” He slides a finger inside you. 

You part your lips panting at the intrusion, feeling his finger curl up inside you. He sucks on your neck. Fuck - there’s going to be a bruise there tomorrow. His mark on you for everyone to see.

“No - wait! The others will notice if I have a hickey.”

“So?”

“I - I want them to respect me out there.”

His finger moves in and out of you and you feel you pelvic muscles tighten under the pressure. You might want the others to respect you but he knows you want nothing of the sort from him in here. And he’s taking your request seriously.

“So put some fucking makeup on it to cover it up. I see you wearing it out there - the world has ended and you’re the only one still bothering with makeup. I wonder why?”

He knows why.

“Fuck, and this tight little dress. Who’s that for?”

He knows who it’s for.

“And those ridiculous shoes. I mean, for God’s sake we’re living in a ecosphere.”

He slips another digit inside you, and you welcome it gratefully as he keeps crooking and stroking his fingertips against you g-spot. Every movement he makes inside your soaking wet cunt pulls a helpless little moan from you.

“Fuck, Jeffrey, I -, I -” Pleasure ignites up low in your abdomen. The increasingly wet sound of his fingers fucking you, giving away just how turned on you are, threatens to push you over the edge.

“You’re not seriously about to cum already, are you? Fuck, you really are a desperate little whore.”

“I am,” you choke. “Fuck, and I’ll do any- anything you want.”

You’re tumbling headfirst into your high, the beautiful way his fingers are pressing into you is too much. He feels your pussy clench around him and starts drilling into you with unprecedented speed. From the way he holds you you can’t move, can’t do anything except just accept your impending climax.

“You’re damn right you will. Come on, be a good little assistant and cum for me. Or is that too big a task for you?”

It’s not. 

You’re so pent up you wail - the noise you make for him sounds like something from a shitty porno. Everything seizes up around his fingers, tight, hot and burning - and then it releases like a spring. Jeffrey keeps finger fucking you through your orgasm, draining every last ounce of bliss from your body until you shudder into a quivering mess on his lap.

“That was a decent start. You sound fucking great when you do that by the way. Do it louder next time.”

You nod, blinking stupidly at him.

“Right, enough with the Bambi eyes and stand up. I need a good look at you.”

Legs trembling, you get off his lap with difficulty and smooth out the front of your dress. He sits up straight in his chair and makes a circle motion with his finger, instructing you to turn around. You feel your cheeks burning as you turn on the spot slowly so he can he observe you.

“Don’t get shy on me now. Do it again. But this time I want to see all of you.” He leans back in his chair. “Take everything off.”

Steping out of your heels, you feel relief as your feet meet the the cool tile floor. You grab the hem on your dress and lift it up over your head before throwing it aside. You pause for a second, standing in your lingerie.

He locks eyes with you. “Everything.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I’m more interested in seeing what I asked for. Maybe you’re used to Finn letting his assistants take liberties but I expect you to do as you’re told.”

You unhook your bra and slip off your underwear, tossing them at his feet. He raises an eyebrow with impatient expectancy and you remember to turn again.

“You know, I’ve thought a lot about what would happen if Nico’s work in the DNA bank couldn’t proceed.” He says, and you hear his desk chair roll towards you and he grabs your hips from behind. “And I’ve decided you’d make the best breeding stock. I mean, God, these hips.”

He spins you back around to face him and you bite your lip.

“Purely scientific of course. And obviously, I’d be the one to do it. We’d need to calculate when you’re at your most fertile and I’d cum inside you say… three times a day.”

“And what use would you have for me the rest of the month? Just help you with the servers?”

“I’m glad you asked… Kneel.”

You sink to the hard tile floor and watch him as he undoes his belt buckle. 

“Do you know what to do? Or do I have to give you detailed instructions for every simple thing?”

“I know what to do.”

You crawl towards him and slide your hands up his thighs. They’re more muscular than you would have guessed under his expensive, tailored suit. Unzipping his pants, you pull his cock out. You knew he had big dick energy but at the back of your mind you wondered if he was over compensating.

He’s not.

He’s rock hard. And thick. As you run your hand up his cock, a single bead of precum leaks from the top making your mouth water.

You look up at him and present your tongue before slowly dragging it along the underside of his cock. The critical look he’s giving you falters when you flutter your tongue across his head, tasting the salty liquid.

Jeffrey threads his fingers through your hair, getting it out of your face as you swallow as much of him as you can, drooling all over his length.

“Oh fuck, look at how sloppy you are,” he says with a sharp inhale when he feels the head of his cock touching the back of your throat. You suck and swirl your tongue around him and you pull back up, meeting his eyes again. He’s looking down at you with his lips parted in awe of the way you’re working him.

“Did Finn ever get you to do this?”

You shake your head, your mouth still full. Never.

“He was a fucking idiot. You’re going to be doing this every day from now on.”

God, the way he bosses you around makes you moan around him as you set a pace, sucking up and down. You accidentally take it too deep and gag a little.

“Don’t stop. Come on, yes, fucking choke on it.”

Desperate to prove you can, you keep going, gagging and panting as your head bobs up and down, every so often touching the base with your lips, burying your face in the neat smattering of hair.

“Yeah, you like this, don’t you? Gagging on my cock like this? You submissive little slut.”

You whine, choking on his cock as far as you can take it. You look up at him again with tears in your eyes.

“Right, breathe. Get some air,” he says, with a surprisingly gentle tug of your hair. You pull up, gasping and he grips his cock with his hand and starts pumping his fist up and down. He stands up and you sit back on your knees, looking at him towering above you.

“Open your mouth, I’m going to cum all over that pretty litte face.”

“I’m ovulating.”

He stops tugging at his cock. “What?”

“It means I’m fertile right now.”

“I know what it means. God, you have no idea what you’ve just let yourself in for. Get up.” He extends a hand to help you to your feet. Your knees ache from kneeling on the floor. Jeffrey walks over to the console and presses a few buttons. 

“Bend over,” he says, gesturing to the console. You look at it apprenehsively.

“What if I press something?”

“You just watched me lock it. Are you sure you went to MIT?”

You’re not thinking straight. You lean over the console in front of him and you hear him moving behind you. You’re not sure what he’s doing until you feel two hands on your hips and a soft, warm heat gliding between your folds. His tongue slides over your pussy, and obscenely, you feel it pushing at your entrance. 

Jeffrey pulls back and delves his fingers inside you so he can gather your slick. He stands up, coating his cock with your your juices and presses his head against your aching pussy. You inhale deeply as he guides himself slowly into you, stretching you even more than his fingers did.

“Shit, you’re so fucking tight,” he groans as he bottoms out, filling you up completely. You clench around his cock deep inside you, every nerve ending below your waist lights up brighter than the console underneath you.

He starts thrusting into you, setting an urgent pace that you’re barely ready for. You let out a long, low whimper, made uneven by each thrust of his hips into the flesh of your ass.

“Fuck, Jeffrey…” Is all you can manage to moan as you feel the familiar tension building in your pelvis, squeezing around him as he mercilessly buries himself into you.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so fucking long,” he says through gritted teeth. His hands slide around under your body and he grabs your tits, anchoring himself even deeper into you.

“It’s - it’s only been nine days,” you pant over the wet sound of his flesh smacking yours.

“You really think I binned your job application?” He brings one of his strong arms to wrap around your stomach and uses the other to find your neck and pull you close to his chest, still ramming his hips against your ass. “I agonised over it for weeks - fuck - I almost brought you in for an interview just so I could fuck you over my desk. Hire you to be my little fucktoy.”

He sloppily licks your neck and jaw and you turn your head to kiss him. Your tongues barely touching from this angle. He pulls out of you with a frustrated groan and turns you round to lift you onto the console, your bare backside pressing on a dozen different buttons.

Jeffrey pulls off his own shirt and you can barely contain the mewl that escapes your lips when you see his toned chest. You hardly have time to appreciate it before he sheathes himself into you again making you arch your back in pleasure.

He kisses you once - deeply, needily - then puts all of his weight on you and fucks you - hard. 

“Taking my cock like such a good little slut. I knew you’d be like this.”

Everything pulls up inside you, tight and molten hot. You sob and clutch his muscular shoulders, wrapping your legs around his little waist as he keeps pounding into you. It’s exactly what you always dreamed it would be. Hot, rough, degrading.

“Jeffrey, fuck, I’m - fuck - so close.”

“You feel so fucking good,” he moans, pushing his face into the crook of your neck, ramping up the pace of his hips fucking into your open legs - you barely notice the console digging into your back, every plastic button leaving indents on your soft skin. You squeal, trying to grapple with the orgasm flashing brightly deep in your abdomen. “Such pretty noises.”

Electricity floods your body, sparking up in your brain like an overloaded circuit board. 

“Are you going to cum for me? Come on.”

You cry like a woman possessed as your cunt twitches and releases all over him, your orgasm ripping through your body as he fucks you remorselessly through it.

“God, you get so fucking tight when you do that,” he shudders, feeling your pussy contract involuntatrily around him.

“Cum inside me - please,” you whisper, your instincts telling you that this is what will set off his own relief. “Please, Mr Steinberg.” Your sweet murmur in his ear makes him burst. His groan jumps up a pitch as his teeth find the juncture of your neck and he bites down, cumming hard inside you. With a last few shuddering jerks of his hips, he comes to a stop.

He lies there on to of you, his heart hammering in his chest as he heaves breathlessly, the last spurt of cum coating your insides. The numbness fades and you realise just how uncomfortable this is, with him on top of you on the hard surface.

“Shit, the console was a bad idea,” he sighs eventually, pulling out of you carefully and cupping your leaking pussy before his cum can spill out over the unit. 

He reaches over your head and grabs some tissues from the box on top of the desk and does what he can to mop up the mess you’ve both made. You slide off of the surface, holding onto his shoulders for balance.

Jeffrey drags the abandoned desk chair over and sits down, pulling you onto his lap again. His curly hair is even messier than when you first came into the room. He lifts his head up to kiss you gently.

“You’re not really fertile right now, are you?”

“Unfortunately. I’ll get a morning after pill from David though - discreetly.” 

“Good. There’s no way we’re actually going to repopulate this hell hole.”

“We could have a lot of fun trying though.”

He smirks and you see those dimples again. God, those dimples.

“Right, you’d better get back out there before anyone realises how long you’ve been missing.”

“They have no idea how long breaking through a firewall takes. They probably think we’re in here mashing buttons like those hackers on TV.”

“Well, the buttons are certainly mashed,” he says, looking over your shoulder at the sticky surface.

You brush his curly hair from his face. “Do you… would you want to do this again? Same time, same place tomorrow?”

“Absoltely not. What a mess. We’re lucky the whole place didn’t go into critical failure. Come to my quarters. Tonight.”

“I’m busy tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ve got several hours scheduled in for contemplating my existence as one of the last human beings on the planet.”

“Don’t you manage diaries for a living? I’m sure you of all people could find a way to squeeze me in.” He looks at you expectantly.

“Maybe...” You get up and step into your underwear. “Make it my room. And bring a strong drink.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says, handing you your dress and watching you pull it over your head as he buckles his belt again. You put on your heels and walk over to the keypad on the door. You open it.

“Will that be all, Mr Steinberg?” You ask.

“Yes, thank you.” You step out the door. “Wait.” You turn to look at him over your shoulder. “You would have been a fucking great assistant, by the way.”

“I think you were right the first time. We’d never have gotten anything done.”

Chapter 2: Nice Guy

[iturbide]

Do you have any thoughts (or headcanons) on Emmeryn for like. writing her? The game gives us so little, I have a lot of trouble with it, but I refuse to give up and write her out!

OH MAN I HAVE A TON OF THOUGHTS ON WRITING EMMERYN I honestly love getting to play around with her and I wish I had more opportunities to really do so.

She may look frail, but much like Lissa, she's not delicate, and actually a lot stronger than she appears. Emmeryn experienced firsthand what her father's strength could do when he used it carelessly, and she had made every effort to be gentle in all matters; however, when her emotions are running particularly high, she can slip and be more forceful (things like hugging her brother extra tight when he gets back from a dangerous mission because she's just so relieved to see him safe).

Similarly, while she may appear calm and measured, it's actually a mask that she's spent years perfecting, starting with interactions with her father and proceeding through her early years as Exalt. Emmeryn is much more emotional than she lets on, but she's had to be this perfect icon for so many people in her life -- a guardian for her siblings, a leader to the Ylissean people -- that it's become habit by now to wear it. When the mask does slip, it's usually because something has pushed her to a breaking point (though her partners can see the full measure of her trust in them when she purposefully sheds it).

Mask or not, Emm is a very compassionate person, and despite her cultural upbringing, she makes every effort to treat everyone -- regardless of their history or heritage -- with kindness and respect. Because of this, she tends not to react instantaneously to anything: whatever her gut reaction is, she does not voice it, instead taking a moment to examine it before speaking so that she can avoid causing offense with a thoughtless remark.

Emm is a pacifist: she has no intention of making war the way her father did, only of defending her nation's borders when needed. This does not, however, make her a pushover: Emmeryn is much more stubborn than her brother, and staunchly refuses to back down when she sets her mind to something. We get at least a glimpse of this when news arrives about Maribelle's kidnapping: she turns both her brother and the captain of the pegasus knights down when they insist on making Gangrel pay, insisting instead on speaking with Gangrel directly to try finding a way to peace.

This can, however, be something of a double-edged sword. Emm's pacifism extends to the point where she hesitates to use the power that she has at her command, having seen the horrors wrought by its abuse under her father. This can lead to its own kind of abuse -- specifically by those who realize that they'll never be punished for disobedience because she won't bring her power to bear against them. This rarely happens out in the open, of course, but I suspect that it's much more widespread than she would ever want to believe.

Above all else, Emmeryn loves her siblings and her country. She walks the street without any barriers between herself and her people, clear proof of her trust and affection for them. I suspect that, along with her routine bureaucratic and legislative duties, she makes time whenever she's able to hold audiences for the common folk, listen to their grievances, and offer what aid she can to ease their burdens. She recognizes that they are the heart of the nation, and Ylisse would crumble without their support; her popularity stems in no small part to how she tends to their needs, rather than prizing the nobility over all else as her father had.

Again, though, this is something of a double-edged sword, as she has not done herself any favors with the nobles. Between the way she favors the common folk and her stubborn refusal to give them the benefits they got used to under the former Exalt; while they're polite to her face, more than one noble is frustrated by how she's chosen to rule the halidom. Their pushes to have her marry are not only so that she will have an heir to continue the Exalted Lineage, but in hopes that her spouse will be able to wrench some measure of favor back to the family that weds her; on top of that, some have far more wicked plots to depose her entirely, like the hierarch who sold her out to Gangrel for the likely promise of power.

[bokugaos]

his present.

pairing: suna x reader

length: ~900w

tw – dubcon, defloration, unprotected sex, slight coercion

just about the time that suna fucks his big cock into your small guts, you remember exactly why it is such a dangerous idea to not only hang out with your brother’s teammate after his birthday party has ended, but also let him take you to his room.

it’s not like you had any ulterior motive—you genuinely liked his company, and you already knew him since high school days anyway—but you also haven't seen any need to be particularly on-guard with him when he did get you to come with him alone.

in your mind, there had been no need to be suspicious of his whole invitation, and suna has been an extraordinarily good host, considering how it wasn’t even him who set up the party in his living room earlier.

however, that impression had lasted to about the time the man has gotten the tip of his cock to kiss up along your pussy lips.

you shouldn’t have trusted him to not hurt you, and you should have trusted suna least of all to be nice to you when slipping you over his massive dick like an ill-fitting condom.

there’s not enough slick and way too much stretch, and you can’t find your breath for the longest time. It’s stuck in your throat, burning about as much as your poor cunt as it gets stretched way beyond its limits.

“wait!” you yelp when you finally can manage to catch one of the words uselessly flying around your head. you don’t know what you were thinking, letting him flip you on your belly and drag your panties down. feeling his cock in your hole like a baseball bat makes you realize that even with much foreplay preparation, this would have been a poor, pathetic attempt.

suna, of course, does not stop. he makes a mildly interested sound in the back throat, but ultimately does not even pause as a token show of good will.

you have horribly miscalculated this entire situation you’re in.

you are howling in pain but he is used to hearing all that. to him, all the sounds are the same. you can be as sloppy and slutty as you want – once he starts working his dick into you, you start singing the same, melodious song he loves.

he does not pay it much mind. you have been practically drooling for his cock from the day you met him, and in his opinion he is only being a good friend of your brother’s in finally giving you what you’ve so clearly been so desperate for.

it’s not his fault that you’re a whore, but it must have been a while since you last got put through his paces. your walls are wrapped deliciously tight around his shaft, and he’s only stuffed about half of his cock into you yet.

with every new push and squeeze, you are howling for mercy or reprieve that you will not find within him. maybe it has been more cruel to make you think that he wasn’t ‘all that bad’.

it’s of no concern. he is leaning forward, fisting your hair with his fingers, and uses it to pull your head back as he pushes deeper into you. your insides are molten and wet, and trembling like a virgin’s cunt around him. it would be positively divine if not for your tough cries that are slowly but surely hitching into slightly hyperventilating sobs.

god, how pathetic… did it really just take one cock pushing a bit meanly into your cunt to make you crumble like a wet tissue?

were you a pushover, just like all those other women? or had he been misreading you and given you more credit than necessary?

he forces in the last few inches of his cock, and you yowl like a cat in heat, head thrown back and vein throbbing at the side of your throat. your thoughts stop and take a turn when you think he can’t push in anymore—the head of his cock finally meeting your cervix. he chuckles lowly while you gurgle and your insides tremble around the massive cock that feels like it is sawing you clean through the middle.

you’re hiccuping out sobs when he finally starts to pull back, and when he stares down to see the way your pussy lips are spread, wet and pouting and swollen  from the massive intruder, he can see blood smeared on his shaft. “is this your first time?” 

“i like to play with sluts though,” suna croons in dismay. he fucks back into you on the couple inches he has dragged out of him, and you sob.

“they know how to take dick,” he continues, more conversationally now as he fucks you in a calm rhythm, ignoring your shouts. “they don’t necessarily can, but they sure know how to at least try and make it work.”

“you can take it, don’t you?” your shaking arms give in and you hide your wet face in the crook of your elbow, away from suna who is ranging above you like a mountain.

he really should have done this earlier instead of waiting until today to do it. but the look of your surprised dismay – his ultimate present—might not have been as sweet.

[angstyaches]

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Hungry People?

This is my first hunger fic in a very long time. How the hell are you supposed to title these things?!

It’s also the first ever fic from the Lucyverse, as I’ve decided to call it (basically, any fics that follow the day-to-day lives of Lucy’s flatmates).

CW: hunger, overworking, getting stuck on public transport.

___

Autumn waved as she entered the coffee shop, flinching as the little bell over the door went off to announce her arrival. She glanced up at it, gesturing with her palm for it to calm down, as though it should have somehow known she wasn’t a real customer. Payton’s heart skipped a beat as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and scampered away to an armchair by the window, not wanting to disturb her partner while they worked.

She was so freaking cute.

“Busy today?”

Payton tore their eyes off the back of Autumn’s head and turned to look at Jake, who had only started his supervisor shift five minutes ago. He was inspecting how much money was in the till as Payton laid out a fresh batch of muffins in the food case. The wafting scents of cinnamon and banana and chocolate were all so enticing that Payton could no longer ignore the fact that they’d had to work through lunch. Going an afternoon without food had left them with an ache in their stomach that had only been aggravated more by the stress of keeping the constant stream of customers satisfied. It had rained unexpectedly all afternoon, which had sent floods of park visitors running for shelter and warm drinks.

“Very,” Payton replied to Jake. “I don’t think we had any free tables for about four hours. We barely had time to wipe them down between customers.”

“Christ,” Jake grumbled, closing the till. “And you managed okay, even though Stephen called in sick?”

Payton gestured around themself, displaying the fact that nothing appeared to have burned down or crumbled. Part of them wanted to complain further about the toll the day had taken on them, but it felt better to just act confident about it. “Everything was fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“They should be paying you as a supervisor, you know,” Jake said. “I’ll talk to Anne about interviewing you.”

“Really? That would – that would be really cool.” Payton blushed, partly from the praise from their superior, but mostly because their stomach chose that moment to twist inside of them, releasing a long, rumbling growl. The music in the coffee shop was low and calming at this time of evening, but… maybe it would still muffle the sound?

When Jake double-glanced towards the front of Payton’s apron, it was clear that the music had muffled nothing.

“Sorry.” Payton placed a hand over their belly. “When Stephen couldn’t come, it meant I couldn’t take my lunch break.”

Jake frowned and glanced at his watch. “Your shift started at ten thirty, right? You haven’t had a break since then?”

Payton shook their head.

“Fuck it, go home. I’ll tell Anne you clocked out on time.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, you’ve only got another half-hour anyway, and the place is dead now.” Jake gestured to the room of thirty-six seats, of which only five were currently occupied. “Plus, your girl’s already here. No use in keeping her waiting.”

Payton was already wriggling out of their apron and heading for the door that led to the break room and lockers. “Thank you so much.”

Once they were in the break room, silence crashed over Payton like waves. The shop hadn’t been loud just now by any means, but they hadn’t been away from a din of any kind for almost ten hours. Their ears rang as they put their apron and work shoes in their locker and gulped a half-bottle of water that they found in there. The liquid hit their stomach like a solid lump of rock, but luckily it was lukewarm, and the discomfort didn’t linger for too long.

Payton didn’t linger either.

They tugged their jacket on over their buttoned shirt, wishing they’d brought something with a hood today, in case it decided to rain again before they made it to the tram. Maybe Autumn had thought to bring an umbrella, they reckoned, sighing in premature relief at the thought of her, waiting in the shop for them. They quickly pulled their headband off, brushing their dark bangs downwards and tossing the band into the locker for the next day.

As they pushed back through the door to the coffee shop, Payton felt like their feet had ceased to exist, leaving behind ankles that just floated through the air with a human body propped over them. They saw the back of Autumn’s head near the window, and they smiled to themself, momentarily forgetting the hunger and exhaustion and stress.

“See you tomorrow,” Jake called from behind the till.

Payton shot him a half-hearted salute, never slowing on their beeline to where Autumn was waiting. Well, it was less of a beeline than Payton would have liked; as though to personally inconvenience them, the coffee shop was full of tables and chairs and sofas, which needed to be manoeuvred around.

“Ooh!” Autumn exclaimed as arms snaked around her shoulders from behind the armchair. She dropped her book into her lap and reached up with one hand to tickle the back of Payton’s neck. “Hello, baby. Finished early?”

Payton mumbled an inaudible confirmation against her hair, not caring that they were probably messing up her ponytail. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Autumn said. “A little tired.”

“Me too,” Payton sighed, lifting their head but remaining slumped against the back of the armchair. They felt a gentle cramping in their stomach as they reconsidered their answer. “And hungry.”

“Huh.” Autumn reached up and tapped her book against the top of Payton’s head. The gesture was unnecessarily gentle, as though she’d hit them with something thicker than a paperback print of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. “Well, luckily for you, I’ve got all the makings of your favourite waiting in your fridge.”

Payton’s stomach clenched again, their heart lifting slightly. It had been tricky to get Lucy to agree to it, but Autumn had her own key to the apartment; not only did she call around to visit Payton so often that she might as well have lived there too, but there were often issues at home that she opted to spend the night away from.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

“Your famous sausage rolls?” Payton sank even harder against the back of the armchair, partly to be dramatic, but partly because their body literally weakened a little at the notion of Autumn’s cooking.

Autumn smiled up at them from the cushions. “Pastry’s already made. Just got to assemble and bake them. I got us some oven chips too. Oh – I forgot to check if you had any beans in the cupboard, though.”

“We’re four college students; of course we’ve got beans in the cupboard,” Payton assured her, loudly enough to disguise the fact that their stomach was growling again as they pictured the dinner they hadn’t known awaited them.

“Excellent point.” Autumn scooped up the strap of her shoulder bag and slipped her book inside. She smoothed down the hem of her pinafore as she stood up. “Ready to go?”

“Way beyond ready,” Payton smiled, watching her scoop up the umbrella that was resting against the arm of the chair.

 ***

Payton wriggled uncomfortably in a scratchy tram seat, unable to find a relaxed position where they didn’t feel painful pressure building up in their stomach. It was really starting to ache, now that there was nothing to keep Payton’s mind busy. They would have loved nothing more than to be home already, biting into the flaky pastry and warm, soft filling of Autumn’s sausage rolls and finally getting something into their cramping belly.

“You alright, baby? You’re quiet.”

“Am I?” Payton laughed. Their head was spinning just a little, and their voice was starting to sound shaky. “Sorry, I’m just very tired.”

It didn’t feel good to lie to Autumn, even if it was less a lie and more a concealment of the truth. She would never say the words out loud, but Payton knew that she thought of them as a pushover, both in matters at work and at the apartment. There were a lot of aspects of their job that she called unacceptable, and if she’d had her way, they would have quit the coffee shop by now. They had no idea how she would react if they became a shift supervisor and had to take on even more responsibilities, but Payton reckoned that was a discussion for another night when things were a little more certain.

In the meantime, it was best not to say anything about having to skip lunch.

Slipping their hands into the pockets of their open jacket, Payton subtly rubbed their middle, feeling their empty stomach roll around in distress. They tensed and held their breath, hoping to prevent any noises from emerging.

There was a sharp jerking motion as the train slowed to a stop. Autumn gasped lightly and put out a hand to stop herself from sliding forward in her seat. They both looked at each other and held the gaze for a moment before a voice crackled over the tram’s intercom.

“Apologies, folks, it’s just a minor technical issue. Service will resume shortly.”

“Shortly?” Autumn mumbled in annoyance. “Talk about vague...”

“Damn it,” Payton sighed, sinking lower in their seat and pushing their hands deeper into the pockets of their jacket. “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Autumn chuckled; she was still sitting fully upright, leaning towards Payton’s seat as she tried to see up to the top of the tram. “Assumptive of you to refer to yourself as good people.”

“Not me, baby. I was talking about you.”

“Oh. Aw. Thank you.” Autumn smiled and reached out a hand, both to acknowledge Payton and to give herself some balance as she craned her neck. 

The hand landed lightly on Payton’s belly, which - in their slumped position - acted as an almost-flat surface for her to lean on as she continued peering up through the carts. She was probably expecting to see tram staff coming through, explaining the situation to the passengers; what she probably wasn’t expecting was to feel rumbling movement beneath her palm, which was accompanied by a loud, pinched growl.

Payton let out a little groan too, turning their face to bury it against Autumn’s shoulder.

“What’s going on, baby?” Autumn half-laughed, her eyes trained on Payton’s stomach as it vibrated under her hand again. She teasingly ran a finger between the buttons in their shirt, gesturing as though to peek under the fabric. “You hiding an angry tiger in there?”

“I told you I was hungry.”

“Yeah, but...” Autumn gasped and rubbed a wide circle across Payton’s belly as it roared again, prompting them to glance around and make sure the seats close to them hadn’t magically filled up with people in the last few seconds.

Autumn, on the other hand, had had her attention drawn away from anything to do with the tram, and towards a particular, grumbling organ. “Baby, what’d you have for lunch?”

Payton groaned again, wriggling a little further down so that their knees were pressed against the seat in front of them. They felt a red blush in their cheeks as Autumn sat back and peered down at their face.

They sighed, eyes trailing down to where Autumn’s hand was still resting on their belly. “The shop was really busy today, and the shift supervisor couldn’t come in, so I ended up working through lunch.”

Payton then held their breath again, both in anticipation of their stomach letting out another whine under Autumn’s palm, and of her response.

“You’re so good, baby.”

Payton raised their eyebrows. “Am I? You’re not mad at me?”

“Of course I’m not mad at you,” Autumn sighed. “I obviously don’t like it when you don’t take care of yourself properly, but I also wish I had your level of dedication.”

A smile played on Payton’s lips as they nudged the side of their head against Autumn’s waist. “Jake’s gonna see about getting me bumped up to supervisor.”

“And he should,” Autumn laughed, lifting her other hand to sweep Payton’s eyes out of their eyes. “You’re amazing at that job, and no one ever tells you enough.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Autumn leaned down to kiss the side of Payton’s head. “Just promise me that you’ll use your powers as supervisor for good. Like giving yourself lunch breaks.” She gently tapped one finger against Payton’s stomach. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Payton mumbled, burying their face as their chest fluttered. The glow of being praised and worried about lasted only a precious moment though, because there was still an empty belly in the vicinity, and it was determined not to let itself be forgotten in all the chatter.

“You’re mad at Payton though, aren’t you?” Autumn pursed her lips as she spoke to their stomach, as though she was talking to a cat. She patted her hand against Payton’s belly as it grumbled. “That’s okay, I’d be mad too, if my owner spent the day giving yummy food to customers and not me.”

The mention of food sent Payton’s thoughts drifting back towards the dinner that had been promised, and they groaned again, this time nudging their head right into Autumn’s lap. She bit her lip and glanced around at the nearby seats, once more confirming that there was nobody else in the cart.

“Comfy down there?” There was a tiny twist of irony in Autumn’s voice, but her tone was mostly genuine. 

“Kind of,” Payton said, using both hands to keep Autumn’s pressed to their aching gut. They glanced up at the grey ceiling of the tram, at the darkness that lay just outside the window, hopelessness welling in their chest as their belly rolled unhappily. “Just so hungry.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just wish I knew how long we were gonna be stuck here.”

“Me too,” Autumn sighed. “But no matter how long it takes us to get home, I’m still going to cook for you the minute we get in.”

“Mmm.” Payton smiled to themself and closed their eyes, letting go of Autumn’s hand as it began to work slow, gentle circles into their belly through their shirt. “Thank you.”

[asscandles]

Hey thanks for clarifying before now can I have some friendship(maybe secret crush)headcanons for Fuyuhiko, Peko, and Toko with a friend(reader) thats llike your generic dumbass but they are just like a soft dumbass, they are just too cute to get mad at no matter how stupid they are. So basically a giant cuddly dumbass that just radiate baby energy. Like they(reader)just run up to them saying they want to show them something cool and its just a pretty rock but they look so happy. gender neutral.

ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ʟᴏɴɢ, ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜᴛ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴜɴ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ, ꜱᴏ ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ɪᴛ! ʙᴜᴛ, ɪꜰ ɪᴛ ɪꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ, ɪ’ᴍ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ!

ɪ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀᴛ 3:26 ᴀᴍ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ʟᴀᴛᴇ, ɪ’ᴍ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴋᴀʟꜰꜰᴅᴊᴋꜰᴀʟ

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ

Peko Pekoyama

“I--What are you doing?”

You stand on the counter, arms extended straight out at your sides. You continue staring ahead with an expressionless face. “I see no god up here… other than me!”

Peko sighs, and you immediately look down at her with round eyes. “Oh, but you’ll always be my queen, Peko! I want you by my side forever!”

Since Peko is always wielding/cleaning her sword, you carry around pastel-colored bandaids and a small first-aid kit in your backpack.

You’re usually by her side, so your absence is always noticed quickly, if not immediately.

You once fell asleep somewhere you shouldn’t have, leaving Peko to ravage the island, searching every nook and cranny until she finally found you curled up in a corner of the airport. All she could do was sigh and crack a tiny, relieved smile. She transfers her sword to her hands before easing you onto her back. Her heart swells when you mumble something and wrap your arms around her neck. All the way back to your cottage, she chides you quietly.

“It’s not safe to be so vulnerable out here. If you’re going to fall asleep out here, do it while I’m with you. Then, you can sleep as soundly as you want.”

M A T C H I N G  B R A C E L E T S

You excitedly gave Peko a card to celebrate the anniversary of your friendship. Peko snorted upon seeing that all of the drawings inside were either stick figures or poorly colored. But you just looked so happy… she couldn’t even bring herself to tease you about it.

You both refuse to speak of this, but one night, Peko woke up to the flickering of a faint light and feverish whispering. She had switched into attack mode in a fraction of a second, only to stop dead in her tracks. You had been standing in the middle of the room, doing the renegade by the light of your phone. You froze upon her reaction. Both of you sat there, staring at each other for a solid twelve seconds. You then proceeded to finish the dance, looking her dead in the eye. Peko may have be tired, but she’d be damned if she let you do it alone. So, she does it while standing on her bed, but clearly lacking energy and motivation.

Ambushing Peko with affection is not uncommon for you. It happens rather often, you clinging to her waist and pleading with her, “Hey, tell me that story again! You know, the one where Fuyuhiko was being held captive and you swooped in with your sword and saved the day!”

When you found out that Peko loved fluffy things, you were ecstatic. You bundled her into your cottage immediately, showing off a small collection of stuffed animals that you had managed to cram into your backpack before your arrival at the island.

Peko selects a white cat plushie as her favorite. From that point on, it is your child. No arguments.

You tend to get lost, so Peko sarcastically suggested tying a balloon to your wrist so that you would be easier to find. But, you totally caught her off guard when your eyes began to sparkle and you shouted, “Can I pick the color?” When she doesn’t answer immediately, you grab her hands and hold them close to your own chest endearingly. “Pretty please? With marshmallows and cookie crumble and whipped cream and sprinkles on top?” Peko obliges. When the balloon is finally secured around your wrist, you are absolutely fascinated by it.

You often fawn over Peko’s skills; but when you do, you use interjections and sound effects because you aren’t able to convey your excitement with just words.

Okay, but she’s actually worried about you lmao

“You have… a lot of mosquito bites. What happened?”

“What? They’re not bites! They were giving me kisses, silly!”

You’ve tried multiple times to surprise her with tickle attacks, but they never work. The only time it went according to plan, you managed to get your hands on her for exactly 0.7 seconds before she turned the tables on you.

Platonic dates? Platonic dates.

You’ve 100% made her flower crowns whose petals match the color of her eyes. 

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

“So… I saw some sour candy in the supermarket. If you lend me the money, I’ll give you half of the rocks I found.” :)

“Considering the fact that you get an adrenaline rush from successfully flipping a pancake, a single piece would kill you immediately.”

Everyone who discovers you two are friends is immediately suspicious. When I say suspicious, I mean, “(Reader), whatever blackmail he’s holding over your head, you don’t have to be scared. We can take care of this together.”

But after witnessing a few of your interactions, they learn of one irrefutable fact.

The embodiment of rage and vulgarity bottled up in human skin does indeed have a weakness.

And that weakness is you.

It didn’t take long for Fuyuhiko to become aware of your appreciation for stickers and your tender heart. That being said, when you’re upset, he won’t object too severely when you request to smooth stickers all over him. He would prefer to keep this interaction private, but if someone does happen to catch him with giraffe stickers on his cheeks and rainbows on his jacket, then he’s going to wear them proudly, goddamnit.

And if anyone has anything rude to say about it, then I hope they can speak sign language, because all they’ll be seeing is hands.

You’re aware of his insecurities, and you can understand why he feels the way that he does. But that’s where you come in. You always seem to approach him at the right moments. 

By now, you’ve figured out that he doesn’t always need words to reassure him. It’s enough if you’re just there, ready with open arms and a glass of water. Fuyuhiko doesn’t cry often. But when he does, he ends up dehydrated more often than not.

Let’s be honest. After Fuyuhiko lost his eye, his depth perception was most likely shit. You were always at his side, one hand on his arm as you gently guided him from room to room. You watched over him.

Accidentally knocking over a drink? You were ready to wipe it up. Searching for something he lost? You were there, helping him look. Tripping or bumping into things? You were there with a first aid kit to patch him up.

You try to match his level of sass, but you’re highkey too nervous to swear and you usually stutter the last word of whatever witty comeback you manage to come up with. Fuyuhiko secretly thinks it’s adorable, and he doesn’t want you to lose that part of yourself. That’s why he always defends you when it comes to verbal beatdowns.

You once drew a face on an egg, and when Fuyuhiko questioned you about it, the only thing you could offer was a deadpan “our son.”

“What the hell--that’s an egg.”

“No! His name is Linguini and he’s our child!”

Fuyuhiko is exhausted bro.

You’ve approached him countless times, eyes glowing with awe and insisting that you need to show him something really cool. It’s usually just a rock or a piece of glass, though. He always has the urge to poke fun at you for it, but it fizzles away when he sees how utterly bewitched you are with your find.

One time, he had walked into the room to see you standing on the arms of an office swivel chair, knees bent and arms extended as you fought to maintain your balance. You seemed to be fairly steady.

Still, that didn’t prevent him from nearly falling into cardiac arrest on the spot.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

It had startled you, and the chair rolled out from underneath you. Fuyuhiko rushed to catch you. You both tumbled to the floor in a knot of limbs, lying there in varying degrees of pain. You were laughing. Fuyuhiko was absolutely most fucking not.

“Thanks for breaking my fall!” You had chirped, gesturing to the arm lodged under the small of your back to protect it.

“You little--” Fuyuhiko’s voice had been strained, but his tight-lipped grimace dissolved into a sigh at the sight of your smile. He disentangled himself from you and pressed the pad of his index finger into your forehead. Your lips formed a small “o” shape, your eyes crossing to try to keep track of his finger. “You need to be more careful from now on. I won’t always be here to catch you.”

“But, you’ll still patch me up afterward, right?” You poked his forehead back.

He huffed and pulled away from you. “To the best of my ability. But don’t push it.”

Toko Fukawa

Initially, the only reason that Toko set aside her natural distrust and suspicion of people in order to befriend you was because she thought that you were simply too innocent and simple-minded to ever think badly of a friend.

She thought that having such a sweetheart glued to her side would disperse her dubious reputation and make her seem less suspicious during class trials.

Yep… That’s the only reason she keeps you around...

Not because of the way her heart feels all fuzzy when you embrace her… Or because of how your eyes sparkle whenever she offers to let you read one of her new works… Or because of how relaxed she feels when you weave her hair into intricate braids…

Not at all…

Hahahashutuphahaha…

She often scolds you for being such a pushover when people disrespect you, but she means well. You insist that it doesn’t bother you, but she’s an expert on human emotion. She is a writer, after all. She knows that it haunts your thoughts for a while afterward, and she hates seeing you like that.

You’ve noticed that Toko bites her nails when she’s stressed, so you’ve decided to combat her habit by applying nail polish to her nails. That way, you figure, the taste of the nail polish will deter her from tearing at them with her teeth. She also has the option of picking off the nail polish, which is probably less harmful than chewing on them.

You also kinda sorta... believe that video game cheat codes work in real life, so you’re often moving around and jumping, shouting the combinations as you go.

“Right! Right! Left! Up! Left! Down! Right! X! Y! Now, confess your sins!” You command during a class trial, pointing vaguely toward the accused. Toko just quietly shushes you, dark circles rimming her eyes as she pats your head.

You’ve adopted the habit of narrating the things you do, like whispering “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” when sliding your feet into your shoes and “shimmy, shimmy, shimmy” when slipping your charm bracelet past your hand onto your wrist. Coincidentally, Toko has also subconsciously started doing the same thing, and she cannot think of anything more irritating.

She once jokingly told you to stop being so dependent on her. You promptly flushed scarlet and snatched the box she had been carrying out of her hands, insisting that you were more than capable of taking it to storage yourself. You had marched indignantly out of the room and headed left, only for Toko to call out, “Uh, storage is the other way.”

You reappeared a moment later, now stomping in the opposite direction. “I knew that!” You huffed.

You’re aware of Genocide Jack, but you aren’t afraid. You whole-heartedly trust that your friendship is enough to outmatch Genocide Jack’s bloodlust, as naive as it may be. Your only response to Toko’s confession of having a split personality is to gift her a cherry-flavored lip balm with a bright smile. At first, Toko is confused. You explain that whenever Genocide Jack makes an appearance, their tongue is always lolling out of their mouth. You’re concerned that their lips will get dried out, and you want to do your best to prevent it.

Did Toko’s heart just burst? Maybe.

Toko shares her romance novels with you, but only the ones without sexual interactions. She believes that you’re far too pure for those. Plus, she would really not rather answer your questions about anything of that nature.

Toko is determined to preserve your purity. She’s very protective whenever someone shows the slightest bit of sexual or romantic interest in you, and has even referred to you as her baby before.

Whenever Toko gets insecure or anxious and covers her face with her hands, you gently remove them from her face with a soft giggle of “Peekaboo!” Toko doesn’t fight you as you carefully pull her into your arms and rest her head against your chest. In fact, she finds herself surprisingly close to tears when you inquire, “Hey, you want to hear a lullaby? I can’t remember who sang it to me first, but it always helps me calm down. So, I want to share it with you!”

There will be times when Toko is too busy writing stories to pay you any attention. But no matter! After a moment of consideration, you have an idea. You gather blankets and pillows and settle onto the floor beside Toko’s seat. Your arms loop themselves around her leg, and your head finds its way onto her thigh. It isn’t long before you doze off, Toko watching you in silent shock, face rosy with bashfulness and eyes wide.

Toko is very adamant about covering up her legs due to both the tally marks scored across her skin and the quote-on-quote “sturdiness” of her thighs. You, however, have an entirely different outlook. You reason, “the bigger your thighs, the more snacks you can hide under them!” 

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Take My Hand ~ Lucifer x Reader

For so many, even those who know him, Lucifer is an enigmatic riddle that will never be solved. A question with no answer. A blank, white puzzle.  He keeps his stoic facade at all times, overworks himself on anything Diavolo gives him, and if he runs out of work, he finds more, from somewhere that nobody, even the young Prince, has no idea.

He’s always so strict and proper, dresses royal and there is seemingly no imperfection to him. Hell, even Asmo, the most narcissistic brother, is not-so-secretly jealous of his beauty and dominant and mysterious aura that engulfs him, that makes him even more enticing than one could think.

So what is the mysterious of this overly strict Fallen, the one that God loved the most, the one that led the Rebellion of the Celestial War aeons ago, actually hiding? What emotions is he so desperately trying to hide behind those sharp, ruby eyes of him that read into you like infrared?

What kind of fragility is trying to hide being that frozen block that became his heart that aches and burns harder than the Sun itself?

Perhaps that is something that only someone with a fresh perspective shall witness, someone who walks around like a ghost, unnoticeable, yet her eyes are wide and attentive, that can peer right into the depths of anyone’s soul.

They are complete opposites, and yet, they are more alike than anyone could even begin to realise - That is, if they are so adamant to be ignorant, as they’ve always been.

Apart from Solomon, not one, but two other humans were brought into Devildom, and that is because fate made it so that Lucifer chose a girl that had a sister.

A twin sister.

So of course, you cannot separate twins, so Diavolo was okay with bringing both of them, thinking it would be reminiscent of the 6th and 7th brothers, especially for their personalities are like light and day, like the Sun and the Moon, both of them beautiful, yet completely different.

And that was quickly made obvious once they arrived, for the brothers quickly swamped all over the younger sister, since she was a lovable, social butterfly, an extroverted free soul who loves to fool around and bend the rules to breaking point.

The older sister, however, was an introvert of few words, yet all of them were meaningful. She was incredibly diligent and hard-working, studying since the first day in RAD, she was much too busy to even bother going out of her way to break the rules, and had to do everything in her power to get her sister out of trouble, including doing her homework, to avoid detention.

The eldest brother, the most attentive, was quick to realise that all the brothers were attracted to the sunshine like moths to the fire that they didn’t even bother approaching the zircon wrapped in a velvet handkerchief.

He was, however, completely drawn to her...Or maybe it was the mystery surrounding her that he was interested in? He read once, in a human book, that the most intriguing is the journey, not the destination, yet he couldn’t help but wonder if it was similar to going to one’s soul.

Y/N’s soul was pure, it was bright, it was beautiful and tempting, which went in complete anti-thesis with the facade she pulled for everyone - And just like twins are, like Yin and Yang, she was truly the complete opposite of her bright sister that held a dark soul.

But days began to rapidly pass by, and with each day, countless of problematic events happened, that made Lucifer, and not only him, pissed off beyond belief, at the younger sister, and the older one was forced to bare the consequences and solve the problem..

These continuous occurrences started eroding her soul, bit by bit, darkening it, overshadowing her light, and it was beginning to concern the raven haired man, for, in the end, it was still his job to make sure the humans are okay and comfortable in Diavolo’s Kingdom.

Exams were coming along, and Lucifer could see Y/N was beginning to become much paler and less talkative. He didn’t see her as often outside of the classroom, and even to meals that they would always share together...And he began to worry.

He knows very well that humans are very frail, weak and sensitive creatures, that constantly needed to be taken care of, and he knew very well that she wouldn’t have much until she’d collapse.

“Does anyone have a pen, please? All of mine have been completely used up, and I need to urgently finish an assignment.” 

Speak of the devil, Lucifer thought, as his D.D.D.’s notification sound popped on his study desk, where he, himself, was also working on his own assignments, and he chuckled at the coincidence, and pondered over if he should tease her a bit, to provoke her, or not.

Something that Lucifer always loved was to push someone’s boundaries...Not some pushover like Mammon, clearly, but strong, dominating people, much like Satan, much like himself. He wanted to see how far can he push someone until they get angry, until they lose their composure, until they show their true face, until their facade crumbles, and they are no longer the self they show to everyone.

It’s satisfying seeing others step on their pride...

Since he would never do that, clearly. He isn’t the Avatar of Pride for nothing.

Asmo: Nope! I only have my personalised, engraved pen, and I can’t give it to everyone! Beel: Sorry, I accidentally ate all my pens while trying to write my homework. Belphie is sleeping. Levi: I don’t have pens, I write everything on my laptop. Satan: I always misplace mine. I only have the one I keep in my notebook. Mammon: Lol, you’re doing homework? Hah, what a dork! Sorry, I ain’t using Goldie to buy pens! Why not ask your sister? Anyka: You bought 10 pens barely 2 weeks ago, how the hell did you even finish them? Y/N: I have a lot to do. Do you have any spare pens? Anyka: Lol nope x Ask Lucifer or idk Barbatos??

The opportunity is shining, so...Should he start provoking her? Or would that break her even more? This should certainly be interesting... And if anything happens, he always knows when to put a stop to this charade. “I have a spare fountain pen, if it would do.” he sent her a DM, waiting for an answer. “Perfect. Are you in your study, or your bedroom?” she sent an immediate answer, which made him smirk. “Study. If you beg me nicely, I can also give you the ink for it.” he was playing with fire, and damn, was it exhilarating. “You...Want me to...Beg? For a pen and ink? To do my assignments? I don’t think Diavolo would be pleased to hear that.” she typed after an obvious few moments of hesitation. “Sometimes compromises must be made in order to achieve your goal. You are aware, I am sure, that if you do not finish your homework for tomorrow, you will receive detention.” this was getting very interesting, and he couldn’t wait to see what her next step would be. “Fine. I will ask Barbatos then. Thanks for the offer. Have a pleasant night.” she cut him off with clear acid in her words, which made Lucifer chuckle in satisfaction.

She was though, and entertaining. What an adorable little lamb.

And it was true, she asked Barbatos, who told her that he couldn’t go over to the House of Lamentation, for he has to take care of Diavolo, and he refused to allow her to leave the dorms without someone by her side to make sure no stray demon attacks her.

That was a true bummer.

So...She had to step on her pride to get a stupid pen to finish her assignments.  It wasn’t even homework, but she still had hours of work she had to do. It was barely midnight, she couldn’t even attempt to go sleep now.

Going to sleep means obvious overthinking, which means lack of sleep, so better be productive and work, then destroy yourself more than you already are, doing nothing, while staring and cursing the ceiling.

Y/N sighed, breaking the pen in two out of anger, and wobbly got out of her study chair, making a bee line to Lucifer’s study and knocking on the door, waiting to hear the approval word to enter the room. She barely opened the door, walking in front of the seated form of Lucifer, who held his spare fountain pen almost mockingly in front of her.

He was watching her like a hawk, every movement analysed as if under a microscope, almost as if he was carefully searching for any flaw or mistake she would make. However, he could see she wasn’t well. She was sleep deprived, her complexion was much paler than normal, she had dark bags under her eyes...And her posture was slouched, almost sloppy. Lucifer knew she has always been a diligent person, so the homework couldn’t possibly be long overdue. She would have done it in the day it was given. So...What was the urgency? Could it be that...She was...Just like him?

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to beg for a pen, but, Lucifer, may I please borrow your pen? I promise to return it to you tomorrow, buy a new ink, to your preference, as soon as classes are over and I can go to proper shopping.” her voice was tired, just like her mind and body. She held no emotions in her words. It was almost as if she was intentionally damaging herself to make up for-

Oh.

Perhaps she wasn’t as different from him as he thought she was, and now, at least, he can better understand why she was deteriorating as fast as she was.

“You can keep it, I don’t mind. However, as the head of the student council, and the one who has to overlook this exchange program, I would have to advise you to take better care of yourself and rest, instead of overworking yourself.” Lucifer told her, with a less condescending voice, only to receive a sarcastic scoff, which confused him. “Tell me that when you’re going to follow your own advice.” and she left.

A chuckle escaped his mouth as soon as the door was closed, and for the first time in ages, he actually went to bed early...For his standards. He had to be very attentive of this one, however...She was much more interesting than he believed.

And the first thing he saw in the morning, as he stepped in the classroom, he saw Y/N handing a file to her sister - A file with all the homework for the whole week, that is - And now he could understand why she was overworked. She was going about life in all the wrong ways...Not that he should be one to talk. He knows his own faults, but admitting them to another is a complete different matter.

But things were going to take a horrid turn for the worst, beginning with Diavolo calling everyone for the Student Council meeting, only to announce that the exchange students were going to have a lowered pass/fail line anymore, but will have to work and achieve the demons’ standards and rise to the challenge given.

“If you’re going to control a demon’s powers, you need to have a proper understanding of them and how they should be used.” Diavolo said, which made him realise that the twins, somehow, managed to make pacts with all of the brothers...All of them, sans one. That one being himself, of course. “Hey, whoa, that’s a bit sudden, don’t you think? Exams are just around the corner!” Anyka protested, obviously shocked. “RAD exams are surprisingly tough.” Belphie nodded in agreement. “I’m sure both of you are going to do great, especially if you’ve studied a little bit throughout the semester.” Diavolo smiled, as usual, and the older twin mimicked no emotion on her face. “But...! But I haven’t! I had fun with the brothers all this time...What am I gonna do?! Y/N, say something!” the younger twin shook her sister, waking her up from her trance. “Hmm...? What should I say? He’s right.” she shrugged, not bothering to look at anyone. “I’ve already considered that, and I have a plan. Satan, you are going to be tutoring Y/N and Anyka up until the day of exams.” Lucifer dumped the responsibility on the blond brother, who was barely able to say anything from the shock of being put on the spot. “Oh, that’s perfect! Thank you soooo much, Satan! You’re the best!” Anyka jumped on the 4th born, who chuckled awkwardly. “Thanks, but I can do this by myself. If this was all, then I’m going to see you during the exams. Bye.” she gave a brief peace sign, before leaving to her room, no doubt continuing her studying.

Obviously, Lucifer knew she had it in the bag if she focused. She’s a smart girl, she won’t have any problem...If she stays healthy, that is.  There was something about her that made him want to approach her, to hold her face, to look her in the eyes and tell her to stop doing this to herself. There was something about her innocence and heart that made him want to protect her at all cost, even if that meant protecting her from herself. He pondered offering to tutor her, but what could he even tutor her about, when she clearly knows everything there needs to be learnt about the exams?

He wanted to kiss her hands and reassure her that everything will be okay, and he wanted to hold her tight and help her fall asleep without having running thoughts through her head all the time.

But he can’t do that, can he? If he were to approach her, she’d run away, like a scared little baby fawn trying to find her mama, while being chased off by a hunter. He had to be gentle with her, delicate, to lure her into a sense of security and safety...A warm haven by his side...

But can he really manage to do that, when he’s supposed to be the Big Bad Scary Wolf who punishes everyone and doesn’t allow happiness in the dorms, as per so gracefully described by his lovely brothers?

The first day of the exams came much faster than Y/N realised - She had no idea how time flew by so fast, it felt like she just blinked and bam, exam days - So here she was, drinking her 3rd coffee for the morning while writing her answers for the exam.

Caladrius Blood was the third ingredient for that famous ancient elixir that required Powdered unicorn hood and bittergrass root, for the Magical Potions exam from that morning...

A forest, what covered the surface of Devildom shortly after it came into existence, the answer for the History exam from the afternoon...And a three-legged crow being the relief sculpture at the entrance to the Devildom royal tomb...

Yes, these were all incredibly easy questions, she had no problem, clearly. And that was the same for the 2nd day, with the hexes and curses... And then came the practical exam...Seductive Speechcraft test.

She looked around the classroom with a frown, knowing she had to pair up with someone, but all the brothers were crowding around her sister, and she could only sigh, looking down with her arms crossed, not knowing what to do.

“Would you like to pair up with me, Y/N?” Lucifer’s voice rang soothingly in her ear, making her turn around, her eyebrow raised in confusion. “You...Want to pair up...With me?” she asked in a slow, unsure voice, which made him smile and nod. “Yes, is something wrong with that?” he bent down slightly, getting closer to her face. “No, of course not. I was just...Surprised that anyone wanted to pair up with me. Anyway, we should get started.” she nodded, looking away from him and guiding him to a more secluded part of the classroom. “You have to be the one doing the seducing. I am really curious how you are going to proceed. Could you, perhaps, be...Scared?” with his infamous smirk, he looked smugly at how her otherwise unfaltering facade began to break slightly. “No...It’s just...If I knew I was going to be the one doing the seducing, I would have put on some make up this morning, so I wouldn’t look like I just woke up from death after being buried for 100 years...No, make that 1000 years.” she corrected herself after taking a quick look at her reflection on her D.D.D. “I can assure you, your appearance, for us, demons, won’t change a thing. It’s the words and gestures that matter.” he let out a soft chuckle, watching her nod in acknowledgement. “Okay, if you say so, then I will have to believe you. Can you promise me that you won’t attempt to kill me...Again...No matter what I say or do? Trust me, I want top grades, and I’m going to do anything in my power to snatch them.” her voice now was much firmer, and it sounded clearer, more confident. It was clear that her pride and ambition were on the line, and he wanted to see how she was going to seduce him. He could feel electricity running through his veins from the excitement. “Yes, of course. I won’t do anything to you. In fact, I will be the human, and you will be the demon. You have all the power now. Amaze me, Y/N.” he watched her turn to the side slightly, as if preparing her A-Game face - He was expecting her to try out an impersonation of a succubus, since they were plenty in Devildom, but what she did...Was beyond Lucifer’s power of comprehension.

Her eyes held a glimmer of innocence and pity, her soul somehow seemed to glow with purity and light, just like it was when she first arrived. Her demeanour wasn’t assertive, confident and mysterious, but held a tint of submissiveness and glowing affection, as if she wanted to touch him, but she was too afraid to approach a deity.

He thought that, as he gazed with interest at the girl in front of him, only to be shocked completely by how sweetly alluring her voice could sound, and he almost felt the need to have her cup his face so he could melt into her warm, soothing caress.

“Lucifer...Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Have you noticed how your health is starting to decline? I know you are a demon, and a few hours cut off your usual sleeping schedule won’t mean much for you, but you are exhausted, Lucifer. I hate seeing you like that...Overworking yourself...Finding more work to get piled under, even if you’ve already finished your assignments. I worry about you, and your health...But more...I worry about the reasons for your overworking. I know you’re trying so hard to keep away all the intrusive thoughts that keep plaguing your mind...You think that working to exhaustion is going to keep your mind busy, so you’ll sleep without having to overthink.” hearing those words, Lucifer truly wondered if she had veela or succubus genes in her family, or if her tongue was laced with the sweetest poison there is. She slowly approach him, gingerly holding both of his hands, looking down, imitating a timid kitten, and guiding him to the nearest chair behind him, so she could be at his height...Just a little above, creating the perfect angle to change from a submissive expression, to a more dominating, seductive gaze.

“You’re always so concerned about your brothers, wanting to make sure everything goes perfectly, to the plans that you create, because if things go out of control, you are afraid they will have to suffer...Just like it happened when you led the Rebellion. You still feel guilty for what happened. You are afraid that they regret following you...And so, you are purposely hurting yourself...And this self-inflicted pain became your own sense of comfort and defense. You are afraid that, if somehow, you indulge in your pleasure and the pain disappears, things are going to go out of control completely. You are afraid of the unknown and what it could bring...But trust me, Lucifer...I promise you...They love you. They love you, just as much as you love them. They don’t regret following you. You are a family, and they are happy and content staying together, all 7 of you, together. You deserve to be happy too, Lucifer. You deserve to allow yourself a day off from all this mess, and indulge in your pleasures.” she was so close to him, whispering in his ear, then crouching down, holding his hands, keeping them together and kissing them softly, sending shivers down his spine...But more, he froze completely on the spot. He was shocked...His mind was almost completely blank...Because...How could she possibly know all of this? How can she speak like that? She’s just a human...So...How...? Surely, his brothers had no idea, so how could she, a mere human who came by less than an year ago, understand and know him so well? His heart was beating fast, and it was in pain. It was expecting...It was conflicting everything he ever stood for. A day off? A day for himself? A day of self-care? A day...With her...?

“Won’t you allow me to take away the pain, just for the night? Allow yourself to feel something else other than pain and misery. Allow yourself to be happy. To feel emotional pleasure. Allow yourself to be yourself again, only for a night, because Lucifer, you are not a robot, or a machine, you are not programmed, wired, or running or petrol or gasoline. You have a beautiful heart that feels so much, but you are afraid of the myriad of unknown emotions that are desperately trying to burst out and scream at you to let loose...Because you can. You showed me that you are capable of letting loose, when we were stuck in Levi’s game. Do you remember, Lucifer? We were up on the roof, you had your hair in my lap, and I stroked it gently...You were smiling so beautifully...So carefree...Because you had no worries on your mind or heart. You were yourself. And you were happy.” she put her forehead to his, speaking softly, barely above a whisper, but despite her tone, her words spoke loudly, strongly, into his heart, making it pump faster and faster, energy shooting through his every nerve, vein, artery and capillary...His mind was completely captivated, and his heart was captured. Without even realising, his lips were parted and his eyes were wide from the shock, imagining himself in this utopic paradise that she created merely with her words.

“All you have to do is take my hand and follow me. It’s simple. You can do it, Lucifer. Let yourself feel. Let yourself be...What do you say?” she was perfect. She didn’t break her act for not even a split second. The sparkle in her eyes was there from the beginning to the end, and he could feel her fast-beating heart - It was regular for her, as she had the heart rate of a rabbit - It almost seemed natural for her to persuade and sweet-talk anyone like that. Without even realising it himself, he took her hand, looking at her eyes with an expression of wonder, awe and complete fascination...Until she gave him a devilish smirk, and her eyes started glinting with mischief, which made him frown slightly in confusion.

“I won.” was the last thing she said to him before pulling away from him completely, retorting to her bland and pained, exhausted demeanour. “If I made even Lucifer look at me with glazed eyes and made him take my hand, to take him to some dreamland oasis, then I’m sure I deserve the highest mark in the class.” she chuckled with a deadpan expression on her face, not looking at him. “How...Did you do that?” he asked in a low voice, almost not believing what just happend. “Oh, that was possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever done in a long while. You see...I hold great pride in being incredibly intuitive, perceptive, detail-oriented and being able to properly read people...And their hearts. If I had Asmo, I would have told him that he has an amazing personality, and he’s not just all-looks. If it was Mammon, I’d have showered him with praises. If it was Beel, I would have played the family, Lilith and guilt card...And the list goes on. If you, however, are asking how I managed to say all the right words to you...Well...It’s a bit different...And personal.” she spoke, looking at the teacher with a half-smirk as she was given the highest mark, and rightfully so. “What could be so personal that you managed to speak to me as if you are some ancient demon who has been luring people for aeons with her sweet words laced with acid?” he stood up, looking down at her with a stern expression, yet his mind and heart were fighting a war of conflict. “...I told you everything I would have liked someone to tell me all this time.” the raven haired man could see sadness clouding her face, before leaving to her room.

That was a true experience for Lucifer, he couldn’t deny that to himself, and more, for the whole day, no matter how much he tried to work - Her words kept haunting him, and as soon as he picked up the pen, he immediately thought back at the exam and threw it back on the desk.

He tried taking a hot bath, tried listening to that TSL soundtrack, but she was the one to give it to her, after she spent a fortune on Akuzon for his birthday present, but of course, he thought back at her, and he had to stop the music altogether.

Everything he did, he was reminded of those words that held the flavour of the Poison Apples he eats so often, and it was driving him insane. He could feel his brain overheating, and the pressure on his chest was so great that he wanted to dig his nails into his chest and rip apart the flesh, take out the heart and stomp on his heart, because he couldn’t take it anymore.  He was a demon, and he was a heavy sinner - He NEEDED to grab her hand and escape the horror of reality. He needed to feel that he wasn’t bound by space, nor time, a body or a brain - He needed to be just one soul, bound to another, to feel no more pain, no more reality - Only euphoria, content, happiness, pleasure.

He couldn’t believe he was so willing to give in to his desires, and it was only because of her. It was HER fault. And yet, her last words before her departure from the classroom kept echoing constantly - 

“I told you everything I would have liked someone to tell me all this time.”

He was right all along.

She truly was like him. She was the only one who could properly understand him, and likewise, he was the only one who could take her pain away.  Maybe it was his guardian-complex, having to constantly look after someone, needing to be useful to someone... He needed her, as much as she needed him... Because, unlike him, she could easily waste away, as she is nothing more than a human resembling the first Snowdrop in Spring. He could resist until the end of this world, just as he has done until now, but she couldn’t.

The endless train of thoughts was interrupted by yet another knock on his door, that proved to be the same person that plagued his mind - The little lamb walked into the wolf’s den, almost as if summoned, out of her own accord.

To bring him back his fountain pen, along with the promised high-quality ink...It made him chuckle at how adorable and thoughtful she was being, without realising.

“...You are troubled by something. Do you...Want to talk about it...Or should I leave you alone? I did say some pretty heavy words today, I understand if you wouldn’t want to stay in the same room as me for a while.” she gingerly put the items on his study, not looking up at him. “How come you never looked me in the eyes until then?” he asked, looking at her from the office chair. “I...Was never able to look anyone in the eyes, in my life. Now even my sister or my mother. It makes me start panicking...I get intimidated and scared...So I look away. I forced myself to behave the way I was supposed to, but it was the last thing from comfortable. Don’t take it personal.” she chuckled awkwardly, stepping back. “I was surprised that your words had such an impact that I was ready to follow you...But would you follow me? Would you be able to do the very thing that you told me just today? Would you be willing to strip away that facade of yours, take care of yourself, and allow your heart to feel again?” he asked, stepping slowly in front of her, almost resembling a predator prowling to its prey. “...I don’t want to break down and cry, because if I do...Things will only go downhill, very fast and very hard. I’m...Usually on a downward spiral, but when the wave hits...It takes a long time to swim back to the surface...And I’m sure for how many more times will I have the strength to move and breathe.” she muttered, shuffling on her feet, and Lucifer could understand very well. He could see how frail she has become, and it was all because her brain was working against her so heavily, for whatever reason that was eroding her so badly. “If you promise to stay by my side, I will be here to hold your hand and pull you out of the stormy tides. I will walk next to you for your whole journey, until you get tired of me. You just have to take my hand and let yourself be...Let yourself feel. Let out all the pent up emotions, then smile at me, because you have a beautiful smile, and I haven’t seen it in ages. I know you are afraid...It is frightening walking alone, in the dark, with so many monsters around you, ready to gnaw and maul at you...By I will be there, waiting for you, guiding you with a flashlight, ready to hold and protect you...So...What will you do, Y/N? Do you seek salvation and happiness, or are you ready to give up on yourself and want to succumb to the bottomless pit of the abyssal ocean you were thrown into.” he mimicked the way she talked, the way she moved, the way she articulated her words, as he took his gloves off, touching her face and softly caressing it, bending slightly to peer into her eyes.

He could see that she was afraid - She was beginning to tremble, her eyes were glossy, brimming with tears, her bottom lip was quivering and the conflict of good and evil was obvious inside of her - Her hands were in the air, ready, but not entirely, to grab his hands...

“All you have to do is take my hand and follow me. It’s simple. You can do it, Y/N. Let yourself feel. Let yourself be...What do you say?” he mimicked her own words, wanting to see if it would be enough of a push for her 

Choosing was truly a mortifying experience, but she was strong, he knew that - And that was made obvious when her shoulders finally started shaking, her breath becoming ragged....

And she threw her arms around his torso, letting rivers and rivers of tears fall down her already exhausted face. Her body was so small compared to his, so small...And so cold, in his warm arms...He couldn’t help but hold her tighter, stroking her hair soothingly, putting a kiss on the top of her head.

“Please take care of me, I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I-I don’t want to leech off of you...I’ve always been everyone’s therapist...And I know how much it sucks...B-But you’re the only one who ever bothered to show me any kindness and understanding. Please, Lucifer, don’t let me drown...I’m so tired of swimming...I can’t go on.” her sobs were so pitiful and broken that it shattered his heart and resolve, and all he could do was guide her to the bed, knowing she was too weak to sit up for too long, and started rocking her gently, as he would do with his brothers long ago, in the Celestial Realm, whenever they were upset or had a nightmare.

“Don’t worry, Y/N, I’m here, and I’m not going away until you tell me to. You won’t drown...You grabbed the lifeline the second you took my hand, and I’m going to make sure you keep floating above the sheen of the water and have no problem breathing.” he reassured her, knowing very well how hopeless it feels being in that situation...But now they could at least cling onto each other for help, support, love brightness.

“How...? How did you know everything...?” she asked, clutching on his shirt, almost as if the harder she pulled, the better the chances of survival. “Because the very words you told me are what you needed to hear the most.”

[dl-oblivion]

Can I get headcanons for what types of parents the m boys would be + Subaru as well ? Thank you!

These headcannons are a little random, so if you want me to go into better detail about any particular boy, please feel free to ask.

⚠️Possible TW⚠️

Ruki:

- Ruki would be a strict, but loving parent. He knows just the right amount of discipline, and care he needs to enforce. Pushing his child to express themselves, while making sure they stay on top of priorities. (He’d probably be the best dad out of all his brothers tbh.)

- The vampire would spend a lot of time with his kid, teaching them skills/life lessons. His favorite thing to do is cook dinner, and have his child help in the process. Spending time with his kid would also mean silent reading time, and pushing them to do their best in regards to education.

- Ruki would read a ton of books about parenting. Thinking heavily on his words and actions. On the surface it seems as though he knows exactly what he’s doing, but inside he’s stressed. Keep in mind he grew up in a broken home, that was stripped away from him at a young age. He’s never had a properly established father figure to look up to. Ruki knows he’s going to make mistakes, but tries to be the best father he can be.

Yuma:

- Yuma would be a tough, and aggressive dad. He’d think it’s important to teach his offspring about hard work, and the cruel world around them. Once they were old enough, Yuma would teach them how to fight, especially if they were a girl. That being said, he has his tender moments. Example being, if his child is having trouble falling asleep, he’ll let them sleep on his chest, while telling recounting from his childhood.

- The kid would spend a lot of time in the garden, learning from a young age how to balance chores, school, and hobbies. Free time would come few, and far between. Yuma always needs help with something.

- Once his offspring started growing up, and wanting independence, is when the relationship might crumble. The vampire would definitely get into a ton of arguments, and even physical altercations with his child if they started “rebelling”. His lover would ultimately be the one to scold both him, and their child into understanding each other.

Kou:

- Kou would seem like a pretty normal dad on the surface, but lowkey traumatize his kid. He will always attempt to look good as a dad, but won’t be a pushover. If his child does something worthy of punishment, he won’t hesitate to put them in their place. If he’s out in public, and they create some kind of scene, oh boy. He’ll look calm, but once they get home, bitch better run.

- As soon as his child is able to understand language, he starts teaching them about the give, and take mentality. Sadly, it would turn into one of those cases of generational trauma, unless his kid was able to break the cycle.

- Due to his status, and him being an idol, he will appear a bit absent at times. It seems as though he’s always rushing to go out, or on the phone with his agency. Kou wouldn’t put it above his family however, and listen to his child whenever they needed. Let’s say he’s on an important phone call, and his kid comes up to him with something they really need to tell him, he’ll put the person on hold.

Azusa:

- Azusa would be an overbearingly loving parent. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but kinda does a decent job at being a dad (comparatively that is). The only thing he would do wrong, is maybe attempt to hurt them, but I’m sure his s/o would teach him why that is wrong before anything happens.

- He’d always check in on his child, and want to spend time with them. Azusa would feel a bit heartbroken by his kid if they said they needed space. Eventually he would come to understand it, and respect their privacy.

- As a father, he might be a bit of a pushover, and play good cop (for the most part). He’d be there to comfort his child if they just got yelled at, or spanked. If his child was gonna do something he disagreed with, he would argue, but not necessarily stop them. If it was something really bad (like going out to go drink/do drugs), he’d lock them up in their room.

Subaru:

- Subaru is a panicky, but aggressive dad. He worries about his child a lot, and if he’s doing a good job. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if they were traumatized because of him. With that being said, he’s still gonna discipline them, and know when to put his foot down.

- He has a hard time showing affection, but figures out how to eventually. He first starts by taking them to the garden, and progresses towards being comfortable enough to let them sit on his shoulders, and sleep on his chest. 🥺🥺

- Once his child was a bit older, he would tell them about his upbringing, and how to defend themselves from anybody attempting to take advantage of them. The way his mother was used, he never wants to see his own offspring go through that.

[argylemnwrites]

He Knew

Pairing: Colt Kaneko x MC (Ellie Whitnall)

Book: Ride or Die (post book 1)

Word Count: ~4600

Rating: R (language, referenced sensual content, referenced violence)

Summary: The five times Ellie came back, and the one time she didn’t

Author’s Note: Written for @rodappreciationweek Day 2 - Colt Kaneko. This is my first time not only writing Colt, but also my first time writing for one of my Choices couples that don’t end up “happily ever after.” I adored the bittersweet endings we got in ROD, and I wanted to keep that vibe here. This is pretty different from my usual writing tone/genre, so be forewarned - this is not a happy tale, but the crumbling apart of a relationship. It think the warnings listed in the rating section cover the content here.

It wasn’t really goodbye. He knew she’d be back. There was no way she would be able to stay away, to just fall back into a world where her only thrills came from acing a test. That was too easy for her. She needed more, the push, the challenge, the adventure. He knew because he was just like her.

He wasn’t sure exactly when she’d be back, though. He was sure she’d be back in LA for Thanksgiving, but he didn’t expect her to come looking for him then. Besides, the shop was still in ruins. He wouldn’t be easy for her to find at this point. He rode past her dad’s place early on Thanksgiving morning and saw her blue Shokai Fourier sitting in the driveway. But he didn’t see her then.

Same thing about a month later, her car parked in the driveway when he drove by a few days before Christmas. But it didn’t surprise him that she wasn’t ready to come back to his world, not just yet. That first semester of college probably had enough novelty to keep her from getting too bored. New friends, new freedoms, new knowledge.

It’s not like he wasn’t busy, too. Hunting down the remnants of the Brotherhood while not attracting any unwanted attention was a new mission, one that required a new sort of careful calculation and anticipation. He wasn’t the type to sit around pining, moping, waiting on some girl, just like he was sure she wasn’t longing for him. They were alike in that way - they didn’t let their emotions define them.

It wasn’t until the anniversary of Pop’s death that he really felt it, deep down, that he… fuck it, that he missed her. Because no one else got him, not the way she did. No one else was quite like her. He was a few drinks in, sulking in the room he was renting from X’s old roommate when he did the thing he swore he would never do - he pulled out his new phone and searched “Ellie Whitnall” on Pictagram.

Her hair was darker, no longer highlighted, but still pulled back in that ponytail. And that damn sweatshirt was nowhere to be seen. Instead it was her in a crop top and a skin-tight pair of jeans in a line with six other girls, a smile on all of their faces as their arms wrapped around each other’s backs. Her lounging on the grass with one of the same girls, textbooks sprawled out around them as they both laughed. Her eating a slice of pizza in some tiny restaurant, a blond dude who looked like a preppy douchebag sitting in the booth next to her.

She looked good, happy enough. It made him proud, but the worst parts of himself wished she was just a little miserable. Not just because he was mourning and miserable himself, and misery did fucking love company, but because she didn’t belong in a world that was bland and ordinary. She burned too bright for such pedestrian experiences. She would see that soon, and she would be back. Until then he just had to keep working on avenging his father’s death, making the Brotherhood pay for all the shit they’d done. And that’s what he did, not noticing as May and June passed by. But then July came.

He was working at the sideshow, trying to find out where Wallace had last been spotted when he saw her on the dance floor. She was wearing a little white tank top and a light blue skirt that was short enough it barely covered anything. It took all his willpower to listen to what the little punk was telling him and not just march over there and kiss her, welcome her back where she belonged. But business had to come first. Besides, she was only dancing with her brunette friend, Riya, and the guy who had worn the orange tux to prom.

“I knew you couldn’t stay away” he murmured into her ear when he finally, finally could join her. She tensed at first, as he came up behind her, snaking his hand around her waist, his fingers tracing along the thin strip of skin between her shirt and skirt, but she relaxed into him when she recognized his voice. She spun to face him, her arms reaching up to rest on his shoulders.

“Who says I’m here for you? Riya and Darius just wanted a taste of what I was up to last spring.”

Colt shook his head. “Nah, you wouldn’t have worn that if you weren’t here for me,” he said as his eyes traced over her gentle curves, settling back on her face, just as beautiful and determined as he’d remembered.

“It’s July in LA. Some of us actually dress for the heat.”

He chuckled lightly, leaned down, and kissed her. She tasted the same, her fingers felt the same as they crawled up his neck and clutched onto his hair. When he tugged her out of there and handed her his spare helmet, her arms felt the same as she wrapped them around his chest. And when they got to his new studio apartment in Broadway-Manchester and stumbled towards his mattress as they stripped as quickly as they could, she felt the same as he sunk into her, both of them moaning in relief.

After, they talked all night, lounging on his mattress, drinking cheap beer and eating the string cheese they found in his pathetically empty fridge. About her classes and seminars, her roommate from some tiny town in Nebraska who had never seen an escalator before coming to Langston, and her upcoming research project. About his plans to reopen the auto body shop next year, now that the heat was finally dying down and he could go back. About how Ximena was still around, ready to help out, but how Toby had made his way north to San Fran, working for some startup that was looking to get into the high-tech auto accessory game. About how Mona would be up for parole in a few months.

“When do you head back?” he finally asked as the sun started to peek through the window, his hand tracing along her spine as she curled up against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Tomorrow,” she said, after a moment, “Dr. Frisch wants me to start on my research next week so that we can get a prototype built before the end of the fall semester.”

Colt swallowed before sliding his fingers under her chin and tilting her head up, looking straight into her brown eyes. “You happy?”

She nodded gently. “For now.”

“Not bored?”

“Not yet.”

“Just want to make sure they aren’t wasting your talents.”

“Colt…”

“Just remember, you shouldn’t settle for bland.”

“I know, Colt. I know.”

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

Even though it had been over a year since he last saw her in person, he knew she would be back someday. She had his new number now, and every so often she would send him a little text or photo. They had no agreement, had made no promises to each other, still her messages were sometimes flirty, sometimes sexy. The blond idiot still hung around her Pictagram, but if she didn’t feel obligated to keep things between them… friendly or some shit, it wasn’t any of his business really.

The summer after her sophomore year at Langston, she stayed out east, hired on for some summer research program. But Colt was busy, too. The shop was open again. It wasn’t officially under Colt’s management, not until the statute of limitations ran out next year, but he had a couple of mechanics he’d hired on, keeping things on the up and up for the moment. Everyone knew Colt was running the show.

One day in October, he was at the shop, on a creeper under some rich asshole’s Porsche Cayman GTS when Ricky, his newest hire, called out for him.

“Hey, Kaneko. Some chick is here and says she needs to talk to you.”

He rolled his eyes as he pushed himself out. Ricky was talented, but he was far too much of a pushover. “I’m in the middle of this, Ricky.”

“I know, boss… but she kinda acted like you guys were… she seemed like she knew you personally.”

Wiping his hands on his pants, he strode over, ready to tell off whatever entitled little girl thought she could demand to see him, but then he caught sight of her. The sweatshirt was back, but her hair was even darker than it had been last summer. 

“Ellie? What are you doing here?” He was shocked by her appearance in his shop, in the middle of the semester, and every instinct to tease her about not being able to stay away went out the window when he saw the look on her face, so hollow and lost. He ushered her into his office, closing the door and hearing it all. How her dad was in the ICU at UCLA after he’d suffered a massive heart attack. How she’d had to go on a leave of absence for the rest of the semester.

“The doctors think he’s going to be okay, but I can’t… I can’t go back to the house alone. Not after everything,” she finished, perched on the end of his desk.

“You’re here by yourself?”

“Riya transferred to UC Oakland to be with Darius, so other than you… I don’t really know anyone here anymore.”

So the blond douche didn’t come with her. Either he was even more of a dickwad than Colt pictured, or he wasn’t that important to Ellie. Either way, it was all Colt needed to know. He tugged her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He didn’t tell her things would be alright, because unlike some people, he wasn’t stupid enough to try and lie to her. To make her promises he couldn’t keep.

So he did what he could. He took her back to his apartment, poured her shots of tequila, and fucked her senseless. There was nothing he could do to make things better. But he could make her forget, at least for a little bit. It’s what she would have done for him.

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

“Ellie coming tonight?” Ximena asked as Ricky spread out the takeout on the table in the breakroom.

“Haven’t seen her around much lately,” Ricky said, opening the containers of fried chicken.

“She’ll be back,” Colt said with more confidence than he actually felt. It wasn’t that he doubted that she’d be back… eventually. But she was pissed at him. Really pissed. And he wasn’t sure how long it was going to take her to cool off.

It was absurd that she was angry with him when he was the only one who wasn’t handling her with kid gloves, instead treating her like the grown-ass woman she was. Her dad was recovering just fine, but Ellie kept putting off going back to Langstson. When she’d told him she’d pulled out for the spring semester, though, he’d told her exactly what he thought about that. That she was being stupid. That she was only sticking around out of guilt over her last few months of high school. That she was wasting herself.

“What happened to you telling me I would always have a spot on your crew?” she’d yelled at him, tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Not like this, with you just bumming around, aimless. Fucking around, not really doing anything. You’re better than that, Ellie.”

She’d stormed out of his apartment after their fight, and he hadn’t seen her in eight days. He assumed she was with her dad. It wasn’t worth dwelling on. She’d be back once she’d cooled off and realized he was right. But the days continued to tick by, with no sight of her around the apartment or the shop. After three weeks, he rode past her dad’s place, but the Shokai Fourier was still in the driveway, so he knew she was still in LA.

Finally, almost one month later she showed up at the shop, just as they were wrapping things up for the day. She walked straight into his office without so much as saying hello to anyone, so Colt took his time, finishing up with the spark plugs he was replacing before he joined her. She was sitting at his desk, scrolling through his spreadsheets, reviewing the shop’s finances. So damn presumptuous.

“I didn’t realize you were an accountant now,” he said, crossing his arms as he closed the door. 

She spun in his chair, glaring at him. “Just seeing if you can afford to hire a mechanical engineer.”

“By my math, you’re only half a mechanical engineer at this point. That has to earn me a bit of discount on your salary.”

“I’m here to negotiate. If I’m going back for two more years at Langston, I need to know it’s going to be worth it. So make me an offer.”

Colt couldn’t fully suppress a smirk as he quirked an eyebrow at her. “What, am I supposed to write a number on a sheet of paper and slide it over to you?”

“I’m being serious, Colt.”

He rolled his eyes. “The offer’s the same as it’s always been - equal partnership, you and me, running this place.”

“And that offer will still be on the table in two years?”

“It hasn’t changed in the past two and a half, has it?”

She stood up with a nod at that, crossing the small office to stand in front of him, staring up at him, somehow looking imposing from five foot two.

“Should we shake on it?” he asked, widening his eyes to tease her, just a bit.

“I think we can do better than that,” she said before she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him with all she had, shoving him back against the door in the process.

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

Colt glanced at his phone. 11:45 pm and no new notifications. She was supposed to be back from Riya and Darius’s wedding today, but as the minutes ticked by, he wasn’t sure if she was more upset than he’d anticipated.

Technically, they were both supposed to be back from the wedding today. But he’d gotten word about some… hot merchandise that was too good of a deal to pass up late on Friday, and so he’d shot Ellie a text to send Riya and Darius his congratulations before he turned his phone off. He’d figured she’d understand. She was as ambitious as him, after all.

But seeing as it had been radio silence all day Saturday and now Sunday, he was wondering what sort of Ellie was going to walk through that door. Either she was pissed, or something had happened to her, but he didn’t think she’d been in any danger in Napa.

His finger hovered over her name in his contact list. She hadn’t answered any of his calls earlier today, so he didn’t have much hope for this one. Just before he pressed down to foolishly call her yet again, headlights flashed through the front window of their apartment’s living room. She was home.

Less than a minute later, the deadbolt turned. There was Ellie, her little duffel bag in one hand, a garment bag in the other. She looked exhausted, and when she glanced up and saw him sitting at their little table, he noticed that her eyes were bloodshot. She didn’t say anything, just shook her head at him as she walked straight into their bedroom.

“Ellie, come on-” he started, chasing after her, but she slammed the door right in his face.

“I don’t even want to look at you right now,” she called through the door.

“It was three million worth of merchandise for only four hundred thousand. I couldn’t pass it up.”

The door flung back open, Ellie practically trembling with anger as she braced herself against the door frame.

“I was the fucking maid of honor, and my plus one didn’t show up!”

“None of them like me anyway.”

“Hmm, I wonder why,” she practically sneered at him as she shoved past him, stomping into the bathroom, slamming that door this time.

“You know we need to move more volume if we want to keep growing the shop. You’re the one who wants us to expand our territory into Vermont Knolls.”

“Fuck you!” echoed through the door.

“What do you want me to say? I made the call that I thought was best for our business.”

“How about ‘Sorry, Ellie. I was a total asshole’ as a starter?”

He winced at that. He probably should have led with an apology. He just didn’t think it would piss her off this much that he’d missed the wedding.

“Ellie, I am sorry. I just thought you would be fine with it since you told me to skip your cousin’s wedding last spring so we could close that deal-”

“-You didn’t even ask me this time.” she called out.

“I didn’t have time. And they are your friends. It’s not like I left you all alone with people you don’t know.”

The bathroom door swung open, but Ellie pivoted on her heel, sitting back down on the toilet seat.

“You say I’m your partner,” she said with a heavy sigh, “but you always make these decisions without me.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, this was a no-brainer. The pure profit on-”

“I don’t mean business partners. I mean in our… personal life.”

He frowned at that, crossing his arms, “What the fuck are you talking about? Where is this coming from?”

Ellie just shook her head. “I don’t know. Sometimes it just feels like… like no amount of growth at the shop will ever be good enough for you. Like you are never off the clock.”

“I’m not ever off the clock. That shop is Pop’s legacy, and with you, it’s grown bigger than he could have ever imagined. I don’t know why you’re acting like this was all me. We’ve built everything we have together. You’ve always been hungry to prove yourself in this world.”

“Look who’s talking! Don’t you ever think that maybe your father wouldn’t want you sinking into this world so single-mindedly after he tried to keep you away from it for so long?”

It was an old argument from her, one he hadn’t heard in years. “My pop made a lot of bad decisions. Underestimating what both of us were capable of was just one of them.”

Ellie’s phone chirped, and Colt felt lightheaded as he watched her stand up and pick up a pregnancy test off the counter next to the sink. “Well, I hope you do better than him,” she said, shoving the piece of plastic into his hand. “This decision’s all mine, and I’m keeping it.”

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

It was his own fault she was staying with her father for a few nights. He’d been careless and just a little too reckless. The contact on the new stock of Tesla Model S’s had been a friend of Ricky’s friend. He should have vetted him better. He’d been too blinded by how good of a deal it was. But it was a mess from the start, and now they owed a crew in West Adams seven million in either cash or vehicles. At least he hadn’t gotten arrested. He’s pretty sure Ellie would have murdered him if that had been the case.

But he’d gotten them involved in a bad deal. It was 100% his fault. Not only was Ellie pissed at him for not being appropriately cautious with their business, but pregnancy had reduced her fuse significantly. She’d gone off on him when he’d returned from the drop with the terrible news. He didn’t blame her for wanting to take a few days away from him and the shop. He figured it would go a long way if he’d worked out a safe way to repay their debt by the time she came back, hence staying late in his office, trying to brainstorm the quickest way out of this mess.

At some point he must have nodded off in his chair at his desk, because suddenly he bolted awake, disoriented and panicked, grabbing for the handgun he kept in his top drawer before he recognized Ellie standing in his doorway. He let out a rough breath and moved to offer her his chair, but she just shook her head.

“It won’t be worth the effort it takes to stand up again,” she said, reading his intentions in a second. “I was waiting for you at home, but when it hit midnight and you weren’t back, I thought I might find you here.”

“I thought you were gonna stay with your dad for a few more days.”

“He was asking a lot of questions about us that I didn’t exactly want to answer. Besides, I figured you might need some help coming up with a plan.” Her hands rested on top of her stomach. She still had three weeks until her due date, and Colt had no idea how was going to stand up if she got any bigger. Not that he told her that.

“It's my mess, Ellie. I can take care of cleaning it up.”

She shook her head, rubbing her hands along her bump. “That’s the thing, Colt. Your messes impact all three of us. So even if it’s not my fault we’re seven million in the hole at that moment, I need to help you fix things. And the two of us working together has always gotten us better results than either of us working independently.

“But Colt, I need you to take a step back from this ‘high risk, high reward’ approach. It was one thing when it was just you and me, but we both need to be a bit more careful going forward. Our kid deserves parents that are alive and not incarcerated, alright?”

He sighed but nodded. “I just don’t want us to lose our edge. But I get it, Ellie. I do.”

She sighed as well before she said, “Come on. Pack up your stuff and meet me at home. We can work on solving this from the comfort of our bed, okay?”

“Sure thing. I’ll see you there.” 

She gave him a little smile, so forced and empty it nearly shattered him, before turning and walking out the door. He wished he knew how to earn her trust back. But she was like him. She had high standards. Fixing things with her was going to take ages.

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

Colt ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm his breathing. She had to come back. She had to. She had his daughter.

This fight had been bad, worse than any other than he could remember. When Ellie had seen the news coverage of Shaw’s shanking in prison, she’d turned to him, horror etched across her face. She hadn’t even needed to ask if it was him. She’d just known that he’d ordered it.

He tried to get her to understand, to see that he’d only done what he had to do. Shaw had his initial parole hearing coming up soon. If he so much as breathed a whiff of freedom, not only was their entire shop and crew in danger, but so were their lives and Margot’s. He was just taking a necessary precaution.

But she’d not wanted to hear any of it. She’d marched into Margot’s room, throwing her clothes and toys into a bag before hefting her out of bed and marching her out to her car, strapping her into her booster seat while she was still sound asleep. Ellie hadn’t so much as said a word to him as she drove off. Of course she’d ignored every call and text from him since that time.

He’d taken to riding past her father’s house daily. Her Shokai Fourier was always there, but he was never lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her or Margot in the yard. It had been nine days since he’d seen his kid, and he was getting desperate. He didn’t know what to do.

He sat along the edge of the cliff, watching the waves crash along. It wasn’t calming him tonight. Nothing was going to calm him. He didn't know how long he sat there, but eventually he heard a car engine approaching behind him. He would have known that paint job in his sleep. The engine quieted and he felt Ellie approaching him, sitting down next to him, almost close enough to reach out and touch. Almost.

“This is it, isn’t it?” he asked, staring out over the Pacific, inhaling the salt of the sea air.

“Colt… I can’t raise her in a home where killing someone is an acceptable solution to a problem. You had to know I wouldn’t be able to stand by you when you ordered that hit.”

Her words stung, burned his soul. Of course he’d known that. She’d always had her lines her morals didn’t allow her to cross. But how did she expect him to just sit there and let a threat to the safety of his family potentially walk free?

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” she asked. He could hear the tears in her voice, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her, to see revulsion and disgust in the place of love and trust.

“What is there to say? Nothing I can do will make you come back.”

He heard her sigh before he felt her fingers, tiny and gentle against the back of his hand. He turned his hand over and threaded their fingers together more out of habit than anything. He knew her well enough to know that this wasn’t a gesture of love or hope.

“Colt, I’ll always love you, but…”

“I know, Ellie.”

“Are you even sorry?”

He paused, thinking over her question. He knew what she wanted to hear, but he’d always respected her too much to attempt to placate her with pretty sounding lies. “I don’t regret it at all,” he finally said, “I did it for both of you.”

She didn’t recoil from him at that. He hadn’t said anything she didn’t already know in her soul anyway. She’d always understood him in ways others just couldn’t. After all she was just like him. Just like him in so many ways.

They were only really different in one key way. She tried to pretend that there was a way to live the life they did and to be “good,” to keep to some sort of moral code. He knew that wasn’t the case. Or maybe she was just a better person than him. It was hard to tell right now, when he felt so hollow and drained.

“We’ll work out times for you to see Margot,” she said after a few minutes of silence. “I think we probably both want to keep lawyers out of this.”

Colt just grunted in acknowledgement. Ellie gave his hand a little squeeze before she tugged her hand free. She pushed herself up off the ground and walked back to her car. He couldn’t bring himself to watch her drive away, so he just stared ahead as he listened to her ignition start.

It was goodbye. He knew she’d never be back.

Permatag: @choicesficwriterscreations @walkerswhiskeygirl   @riley--walker​  @bebepac​ @ravenpuff02​ @oofchoices​ @octobereighth​ @drakewalker04​ @kimmiedoo5​  @mfackenthal​  @thequeenofcronuts​  

[notyetneedcoffee]

Crossroads

Answer to Lexi’s 1k @the-omni-princess Challenge! Congrats!

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader; some Steve x Peggy; very Steve-centric

Warnings: ANGST and loads of it! 

Author’s note: This is my AU of Steve’s final Pym jump from End Game

____________________

The silence reminded him of the nights during the War. After the raging battle, even the animals and bugs refused to reveal their whereabouts. Although tonight he wondered if even the forest mourned Tony Stark. Steve Rogers sat alone in the middle of a glade not too far from the cabin Tony had called home. He tried to sleep, attempted to rid himself of the bone-weary exhaustion, but his mind would not shut down.

He knew everyone assumed his withdrawal, his moodiness and pain, stemmed from the battle and loss. A part of him felt immense guilt that they should be right, but they weren’t. After all these years of war on various scales, he felt the pain of loss differently. It just was a fact of life.

What spun his mind into a maelstrom of conflicted thoughts, tore his gut up with guilt, was something completely personal. Every option his highly strategical brain considered ended in pain and suffering for people he loved. Every option terrified him.  

He’d seen Peggy.  

It’d only been a moment, but seeing her young and vibrant sent his world spiraling. She wasn’t ravaged by age and Alzheimer's. As strong and lovely as the picture he carried with him, but in the flesh. Every missed opportunity and regret hit him all at once. It pulled at his heart, making him want to hold her like the awful pain of the years never happened.  

The threat of Thanos did allow him to think about it. So, it just took up residence in mind.  

Then there was the battle.  

Those once lost were back. Sam in his ear. Bucky fought his way to his side.  

He’d seen you.  

Among the chaos, with your beautiful face set in grime determination, he caught a glimpse of you battling your way through the aliens. Fierce and powerful, you looked exactly the way you had the day he’d lost you in Wakanda. All the nights of passion, the solace and trust found in one another, lit his chest. Seeing you made him fight harder, renewed his strength.  

The war was won. Friends were lost. Bodies were battered. Steve found himself holding you, but unable to do much more. Those who were lost tried to fathom being gone for so many years, to comprehend the changes to the world. You clung to him and wept. He’d missed you. He felt such relief having you in his arms. 

Guilt ate him alive.  

“You look like you’re planning all kinds of stupid.” Bucky’s voice came out of nowhere, making Steve jump.

“I’m just thinking.” Steve sighed.  

“Like I said, stupid.” Bucky sat down on the log next to him so close their thighs touched.  

Steve laughed without any humor. He felt tears push against the back of his eyes. Bucky’s arm wrapped around his shoulder. His head fell forward into his hands. He was exhausted.

“Rhodes filled me in on a few things.” Bucky squeezed his buddy’s shoulder. “Sounds rough, particularly for you and Natasha.”

“God. Nat.” Steve choked. He looked up at the stars, sniffing back reluctant tears. “I am so tired, Buck. I don’t have any fight left me. None.”

Something inside Bucky crumbled. He knew Steve meant it. That kid who got up time and time again after getting his ass beat, ready to go again because it was the right thing to do finally couldn’t. He just nodded, squeezing his friend tighter, not trusting his own voice.  

“Part of me just wants to go back to a simpler time, make different choices.” Steve whispered, hating himself a little for saying it. “Not take on the fight, not take on the pain, and just live a simple life.”

“Yeah,” Bucky cleared his tight throat. “Although even when we were kids, things weren’t so simple.”

A long silence stretched before Steve moved away a little. “Not talking about when we were kids. I mean actually going back.”

Bucky froze. No.  

Steve glanced at his friend, the hurt look staring back doubled the guilt eating away at his gut. “I saw her, Buck. Peggy.” He returned his focus to the stars. “I never stopped loving her.”

Torn between wanting to hit him and wanting to shake him, Bucky stood up. He paced, stopped, and paced some more. Steve stared at his hands in silence. Finally, Bucky stopped in front of him. His words were tight, ground out through clenched teeth. “Never mind me, or Sam, or anyone else on the team... what about Y/N? You don’t love her anymore?”

“Of course, I love her.” Steve’s face crumbled.  

“So you’re just going to abandon her?” Bucky snapped.

“She’s strong, a fighter...”

Buck cut him off. “Yeah and Carter was always such a pushover.”

Steve pushed his hands through his hair. His voice broke, cracked with pain and exhaustion. “I can’t do it anymore. Bucky, please. I can’t fight anymore battles. I don’t have it in me. I’ve given up my whole life for everyone else. Always. I just...” A sob ripped free, and he stuffed his fist in his mouth.  

“Pal,” Bucky put his hand on Steve’s head. “If anyone deserves to have a happy ending, it’s you.” Tears of his own slipped down his face. “You know I have your back, no matter what. If never seeing you again means that you’ll be able to have a happy life, then there’s no way I would hold you back. I’d hate it, but it would be worth it if I knew you were happy.”

“Buck.” Steve sniffed. “I don’t mean to...”

“Just be sure before you tell Y/N. I mean be absolutely positive.” Bucky’s face went hard. “Don’t break her heart and then change your mind. I swear I will break your neck.”

“What if I don’t know?” Steve whispered.  

“Then don’t say anything to anyone.” Bucky sighed. “If you don’t come back, then I’ll explain it.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not. I’m telling you, that’s how it should go.”

“Buck,” Steve stood. They embraced, hugging tight. “Love you, punk.”

“You too, jerk.” Bucky squeezed him hard, praying to whatever powers that be that he would not have to tell everyone who loved Steve too that he would never be coming home.  

__________________________

“Don’t do anything stupid ‘til I get back” Steve tried to smile. ‘I still don’t know. Don’t say anything.’

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Bucky forced a smile, too. ‘Be sure, whatever you do.’

Steve stepped up on the platform. The first jump would take him to Asgard. 

Thor gave him very specific instructions on how to return the Aether. Steve chuckled when Thor told him to put the hammer down anywhere, but on a window sill would be best... less damage to the building when he called it.  

He arrived in a cavernous hall, surrounded by stone and gold. Unfamiliar scents filled the air, pleasant and rich, but he could not place them. Steve heard footsteps and ducked behind a corner. The person stopped close. He waited, silent.

“You must be a very close friend of my son’s.” A woman spoke. “Come out. I won’t raise the alarm.”

Steve cautiously stepped into the open. She was regal in every sense of the word. “Why not?”

“You are able to wield Mjolnir. It’s no small feat.” She smiled gently. “He was here earlier. The future is not going to be kind to Thor.”

He swallowed, taking a deep breath. Thor confessed to him privately he’d seen Frigga. Now seeing her for himself, Steve understood why. He didn’t even know her and he wanted to tell her everything even if he knew he couldn’t. She just radiated a calm, a peace he wanted to drown in.  

“It’s not kind to any of us.” Steve sighed. “I have to return this to Dr. Foster. I don’t want to, but I can’t risk not doing it.”

“Alright.” She smiled sadly. “Let me see what I can do to help. Follow me.”

He did, without question.  

“I don’t want to know what is going to happen, what has happened to you. It has something to do with the Infinity Stones, though doesn’t it?” Frigga glanced sideways at Steve. His jaw clenched. She slipped her hand into his elbow and grinned when his arm instinctively came up to properly escort her. “Did my son tell you anything of my power, my upbringing?”

“Thor say you’re the kindest and wisest person he’s ever known.” Steve answered. “You taught Loki much of his magic and that you see things, the truth of things.”

“That’s one way of putting it. I can follow of the strings of destiny.” She patted his bicep. “I can tell that you, like my son, stand at a crossroads. Perhaps the most important one of your life, because this one is a decision all your own. I don’t know what, but I know it’s deeply personal and profoundly painful.”

Steve stopped, staring wide eyed into her calm face.

“I find when I cannot unravel the answer, I lean on wise counsel.” Frigga led him on. “I may not be the best counsel for you. There is an Ancient One more familiar with your ways that is close to where you call home. Before you do anything else, I would seek out her.”

Steve’s mind jumped to the encounter Banner told him about with the woman who gave him the Time Stone. “Do you know her?”

“No, not personally.” Frigga smiled. “But she protects not just Midgard but all of Yggdrasil. Those of us with the ability definitely know of her.”  

They stopped before a large door ornately carved. “Give me a few moments, then come in.”

Steve waited, listening intently. Nothing but the distant sounds of the city reached his ears. Finally he pushed open the door, peering inside. Frigga stood over the sleeping form of Jane. She waved him over assuring him that the little mortal would not feel a thing, nor would she remember. He felt a little sick when he injected the Aether back into Foster.  

He stood back, staring into Frigga’s kind eyes before deciding to change his plans. Reprogramming the controls for the jump to take him to New York instead of Morag. Extending a hand, Steve took her small hand in his. “Thank you, for everything.”

“When you see my son, tell him to take care of himself.” She pulled him close and kissed his cheek. “Take care of yourself, too.”

Steve nodded, unsure how he would do it, but willing to try.  He stepped back and pressed the button.  

________________________

The jump dropped him on the roof of a building. He looked around, seeing the Chitauri battle not far away. His stomach dropped, the memories of the losses still keen. Another day when everything changed. A battle won, but the world’s innocence died. Aliens were real, and they were as bad as people ever imagined.

“It seems as if Dr. Banner was true to his word.” A calm voice spoke.

“I’ve come to return the stone to you.” Steve turned to see a small, bald woman in eastern clothing. Although nothing like the Norse Goddess, she radiated a similar calm...a powerful presence, like a monolith unmoving among the storm.  

With a wave of her hands, the green stone rose from its container and return to its home in the Eye hanging around her neck.  

“Captain,” She stared at him in a manner that left him feel exposed. “Walk with me.”

She turned, entering the building. Steve followed. Inside the temperature dropped, not uncomfortably. The dim light reflected off the well-polished wood. Cases held artifacts and books lined the shelves.  The air smelled spicy, like raw incense.

“Time is an interesting thing. It is complex.” She spoke melodically as she wove through the glass cases. “It is linear, yet not. It is set, yet holds immeasurable permutations. What is not complex is our journey through it. With every moment, every experience, we change. We incorporate all that we learn as time passes, yet if we move through time we do not unlearn what we know.”

Steve felt his brow pull together. “I suppose we are all molded by our experiences.”

She paused at an hourglass, looking at sands drop a few at a time. “I think you are looking to unlearn what time has taught you. I’m afraid you cannot dial back who you are as easily as rolling back the hands of a clock. Somethings are too powerful to unmake, some threads of who we are cannot be broken.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Steve frowned. He just wanted to rest, to have his turn to be happy.

“You are tired, Captain.” She stepped closer, arms folded behind her back. For all of the intensity, she looked upon him kindly. “We often cannot see clearly through weary eyes.”  

His eyes closed, feeling the burn of frustrated tears again. Steve ground his teeth together. “I am.” He sighed. “And I have a lot more to do before my mission is complete.”

“I would offer you safe place to rest, but I don’t think you will accept.” The edge of her mouth tipped up with a hint of a smile.

“No.” Steve took a deep breath. “I have a long way to go.”

“Very well,” she led him to a large round window where they could see the battle raging in the distance. Turning, she placed a hand on his chest over his heart. “You are a good man, Steve. Through trials and strife, you have remained true to yourself. What’s more, you have evolved. You’ve grown.” A calm smile spread across her face. “Like so many things in the universe, the more you grow, the more you realize how small you are. The more you know, the more you realize you have yet to learn. It can be burdensome, exhausting. But it can also be an exhilarating adventure if we can see it through fresh eyes.”  

Steve knew he should be contemplating her words more deeply. He knew he should heed Frigga’s words and seek this woman’s counsel. However, it just caused the pain in his head to increase. He didn’t want to consider the cryptic meaning behind this woman’s words. He wanted to fold Peggy in his arms, in a simpler place, in a simpler time, and just sleep for days.

The strange woman stared at him, making him feel like she could see straight through him to question his inner most desire without ever saying a word. A defensive urge surged, but he fought it back. Strange called her the Ancient One. Frigga said she defended the world on this plain and others. Getting defensive over her stare, especially when he carried so much doubt was foolish. 

That small smile touched her lips again. “Be well, Steve. May your path eventually lead you to happiness.”

Steve stared out the window at the battle once more, another memory rising to the surface. Out there, among the populace running for their lives, you were helping Clint after he crashed through a window. You helped him evacuate the building and fight off invaders. It was the turning point that brought you into his life. It was the day you decided to give up your job at the FBI to join the Avengers Initiative.  

Guilt twisted his insides, and he choked out “thanks” before turning to leave. He had to return the scepter to Stark Tower. He stopped when she called out his name once more.  

“At least allow me to help you get to your next destination safely." She held out one hand and formed a circle with the other. A portal opened.  

He could see the corner of the elevator banks in the lobby of Stark Tower. Steve’s mouth opened slightly. Did this woman really know what he was thinking? It was exactly where he wanted to intercept the Hydra Agents. “Thank...thank you.”

She gave him a nod, and he stepped through.

_______________________

Returning the Power Stone turned out to be thankfully uneventful. Steve hoped, as he climbed the mountainside on the Vormir, that the Soul Stone would be equally quiet. He did not see anyone. All of the intelligence proved out, no cities or even life forms to be seen.  

“I never thought I would see you again.”  

Steve brought his shield up, shooting with the other hand. The black clad figure only looked down at himself, unmoved as if the bullets passed straight through. Johann Schmidt laughed, red skulled face cracking in a grotesque mirth.  

“Captain.” He held out both hands. “You cannot kill me. I’m already in purgatory.” 

“What?” Steve didn’t relax his stance.  

“I made the mistake of trying to control a Stone and have been paying the price.” 

“You’re...” Steve swallowed past the vice grip around his throat. Clint’s words echoing in his mind about the red floating guy who made them choose. “You were here when Natasha sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone.”

“Yes. A soul for a soul.”

“I’ve brought it back.” Steve strode forward, fury growing with each step. “I want her back.”  

“Ah. Interesting.” Schmidt’s red face tilted sideways, studying him. “Her soul would have worked for you as well.”

“A soul for a soul. That’s what you said.” Steve growled. “I want her back.”

“Yes, because you are tied to her, returning the stone will release her.”  

Steve gasped.

“Though not the way you wish, I think.”

Cap tried to grab him but got a fist full of black mist. “What do you mean?”

“If you return the stone, her soul will return to your life somehow, though not in the form you knew.”

“Like, what? Reincarnation?” Steve frowned.  

“No. Yes.” Schmidt shrugged. “The souls that weave together over time touch and change over lifetimes. If you return the stone, her soul will be free to join the tapestry again.”

“How?”  

“Throw it into the abyss.” The black spectral hand pointed to the edge.

Steve approached the edge, acutely aware this was the last place Natasha was alive. His breath grew shallow. The pain of her loss stabbed his chest. He never properly mourned Nat, his sister in every way but blood. He trusted her, loved her, would never be the same without her.

Finding himself looking down into a deep chasm, the bottom obscured by black fog, Steve threw the stone. He gave a silent prayer that she would be free, would touch his life again. As the stone disappeared, a golden orange shaft of light shot skyward. Brilliant, like the burning of the setting sun over the desert. The light spread radiating heat. Then vanished.  

Steve looked down to see a solid stone floor far below in the chasm. He stepped back from the edge with a sharp intake of breath. Then it hit him. Faint, but undeniable, Steve could smell her. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. Natasha. Another breath and it was gone.

He turned around, remembering Schmidt, but didn’t see him anywhere. Perhaps it was true. Perhaps Nat’s soul was free and that somehow, someway, it would touch his again. The thought brought a little bit of warmth back.

There was only one stone left to return. Steve set the controls for New Jersey 1970.

______________________  

Returning the Tesseract was simple now that Steve knew his way around the secure sections of the Army base. He made his way through the halls towards Peggy’s office, nerves moving him forward, but having no idea what he would say. The lights inside the office were office, creating both a surge of anxiety and relief.  

Making certain no one noticed, he slipped inside. In the dim light he saw the photo of himself on the desk. Not after the procedure, but from when they’d first met. It warmed his heart that this was the version of himself she chose to remember.  

He set it back down and looked around... and froze.

He did not notice the far wall last time. It was full of framed photographs and certificates. A large photo of Peggy and her family held a place of honor in the center. Her husband was a kind looking man, her children were beautiful. They looked to be young teens in the photo.  

Another photo showed her and her daughter when she was a baby. Another of her son in his little league gear. Peggy and her husband stood beside Howard Stark and John F. Kennedy in one picture. 

Certificate and diplomas memorializing Peggy’s hard work and advancement were presented side by side with her family. She showed everyone she could fight the good fight and what she was fighting for...all on one wall of photographs. 

All the memories Peggy told him about. 

Steve found himself sliding to the floor, back against a file cabinet and hand squeezed tightly over his mouth. He wanted to scream. All her hard work, everything Peggy did for the world, and he hadn’t even considered it. She wouldn’t give up. If he showed up in 1945, she wouldn’t understand wanting to hide from the world. Even if she agreed, she would never do any of these things. 

His eyes locked closed as he fought back a sob. It was all a foolish dream. There was no going back. The Ancient One spoke the truth. He may be able to go back in time, but he can’t undo what time did to him. He was not the naive soldier Peggy knew. Steve choked. He felt battered, and bitter, far too cynical to even pretend to be that man again.  

Still, every fiber in his being screamed to hold her. The tears she shed every time he visited her in the nursing home killed him a little bit. He wanted his dance.  

Turning to the filing cabinet at his back, Steve quietly dug through the files until he found what he needed. An old address and an old date.  

_______________________

Steve reached the house just as the sun went down. The curtains were open and he could see Peggy moving back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. His palms were sweating.  A brand new 1947 Buick drove by as he crossed the street to the front steps. His heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears as he knocked on the door.

Peggy answered with a smile, but her eyes went huge and filled with tears. Her hand covered her mouth.  

“Hey, Doll.” Steve reached out, taking her by the elbow and stepping inside. “It’s okay.”

“St-Steve.” Peggy breathed. He nodded. Her hand came out and touched his chest, his face. Tears fell. She stepped forward and he wrapped his arms around her.  

Steve sighed, holding her closed, breathing her in. Some deep empty gash began to stitch closed. They stood there for a long time before Peggy’s curiosity grew. “How?”

“We need to talk.” Steve’s fingers traced over her back. “Can I – Can I just hold you for a minute more?”

She nodded against his chest.  

“I’m going to tell you something that’s pretty hard to believe.” Steve buried his face in her hair. “And I’m going to ask you to never tell anyone about it. Ever.”

“Steve,” She gave a tearful chuckle. “You’re back from the dead. You’ve got hard to believe covered.”

He pulled back, cupping her face in one large hand. Steve’s mouth covered hers, soft and sweet. Tentative, Peggy kissed him slowly. He found himself instantly conflicted. Relishing in the simple kiss, one he only dreamed of having, he simultaneously missed the ravenous intensity of the kisses he shared with you.  

“How? Steve? What happened?” Peggy pushed back.  

“Best we sit down.” Steve led her to the sofa. He took her hands in his.  

Steve didn’t know where to start. He’d thought about it, considered all the best options, but there still did not seem like any good options. He turned to face Peggy more directly. His brows drew together.  

“What happened after the crash?” Peggy asked.

“I was frozen... for about 70 years.” Steve stared at their joined hands.  

“What?” She breathed.

“I’m - I’ve come back from, well, a long time from now.” Steve looked into her wide eyes. “I can’t explain how. I shouldn’t even be here. I just had to...” He bit back his words, fighting to control himself.  

Peggy let out a slow breath. “That means... oh Steve. It would be a completely different world. Everyone you know. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” He shook his head. “I, um, found friends...people that became like family. But everything is so...” Steve’s face pinched, tears threatening to fall. He whispered. “I just really missed... I wanted to have that dance.”

Her hand ghosted over his face and he opened his eyes. “What happened? I’ve never seen you look so...”

Tears fell as he finished for her. “Tired. I’m tired, Peggy. I’ve fought, and fought, and I don’t think I can do it anymore. I’ve seen things, battled things, that make the Nazis look like pussycats. There’s no more clear right and wrong. There’s no more good answers.”

“Stevie.” Tears fell down her cheeks matching his. Her fingers stroked through his hair. “I’m so sorry. But if you have this ability, this technology, then can you keep these things from happening?” She watched him shake his head. “Too easy, huh? What about your friends?”

“Lost some of the best. Nat, Tony.” Steve’s face crumpled. “Tony is, was, Howard’s son.”

Peggy’s hand covered her mouth as Steve went on.

“He was brilliant, Peggy. Smarter than Howard ever imagined. He sacrificed everything. Now his little girl...”

“She has you, right?”

Shame flushed fresh over Steve. He’d never even consider Morgan. “Yeah, she has a lot of us. Every one of the Avengers will look out for her.”

“Avengers?”

“Um,” Steve frowned. “We’re a collection of highly skilled, gifted, agents of a sort. We fight the bad guys.”

“And there’s a lot of Avengers.” Peggy asked, still smoothing his hair.

“More that I would have thought possible when we first started.” Steve nodded.

Peggy held his face in her hands. “You are always the one to lay on the wire, to lead the charge. Steve, maybe you need to let your friends fight some battles, too.”

“They do...”

“Steve. Maybe you can let them fight a few without you.” Peggy’s worried expression finally registered in his tired mind. “You don’t always have to be the one leading the charge.”

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. “Always so smart. You’re going to do amazing things.”

“Don’t tell me.” Peggy placed a finger over his lips. “I want to be surprised.” He sighed. “We’re not going to meet again, are we?”

“You said you want to be surprised.” Steve whispered. His lips trailed over hers again. She pulled back before the kiss could deepen. “Never stopped lovin’ you, though.” He confessed.

“Me too.” Peggy cried. She sniffed. “I should let you know, though, there’s a very good man who wants to marry me.”

Steve sat up a little straighter, wiping his face before give her a smile. “You love him?”

“Yeah,” She wiped her own tears. “Although, I’m making him wait. There’s things I want to do first.”

He laughed. “That’s my girl.”

She laughed as well, taking his hand again. “Even though you’re out there somewhere, and I’m not going to have you in my life,” Peggy swallowed hard, “I’m so happy you’re still alive and have people who care about you.”

Steve stared at her for a long time. “Do you think I could have that dance before I go?”

____________________

You stepped up between Bucky and Sam when Bruce announced that Steve missed the return time. Sam looked confused, but the look on Bucky’s face made your heart sink. He knew something. You took his hand.  

“You came?” He asked.  

“Tried to get here in time to see him off but I was held up.” You chewed your lower lips. Pulling him away from the others, you dropped your voice. “He was really distracted, hurting, before he left.”

Bucky nodded.  

“So was I.” You squeezed his hand harder. “God, Buck, I have the worse feeling. But I don’t know what I’m thinking right now. With everything that happened, learning about what we missed, losing Vis and Nat and Tony. Feeling like shit and now finding out...ugh, I’m just losing my mind right now.” Big tears filled your eyes.

He took you by the shoulders. He did not want to say anything, not yet. Steve just missed the return time a minute ago. “Finding out what, Doll?”  

You reached into your back pocket and handed him your phone, a readout open on the screen. He looked it over carefully, twice. You cried as his eyes lifted back to you.

Wrapping you in his arms, Bucky rubbed your back. “Just breath, okay? When did you...”

“Just now. It’s why I’m late.” You held tight to his chest. “I should have done it earlier. What something happens and Steve...”

“Bucky!” Sam shouted.

You both looked up to see Steve walking toward you all from the lake. You felt Bucky take a deep breath. You let out a small sob. He placed his hand at the small of your back. “Come on.”

Sam was just pulling away from a hug when you come closer. Steve looked at you, seeing the tears in your eyes. “Buck?”

“No. She’s got news.”

“Sweetheart,” Steve pulled you closer, thumbing away a tear at the corner of your eye. You pulled him closer to kiss him. Your lips pulling at his lower lip, before your tongue slid along his, drawing a low moan from him.  He pulled you close, burying his face in your hair. He whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” You pulled back some.

“Being an idiot.” He sighed. “A tired, stupid, idiot.”  

Steve stood up straighter. “I need to tell you guys something. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I never thought I’d say this but, I’m stepping down.”

“What the – wha?” Sam sputtered.

Steve stepped away from you and gripped Sam’s shoulder. Every bit of anguish showed in his eyes. “I can’t do it, man. Not now. These last years, these battles, just took all I had left. I’ve thought about it.” He held out his shield. “I want you to hold on to this.”

“You’re full of shit.” Sam balked.  

“No.” Steve shook his head. “You do what I do, remember? It’s you.”

Sam hefted the shield. Bucky smiled. “Doesn’t look like complete crap.”

“Piss off.” Sam laughed.

“So, what are you going to do, then?” Bucky asked Steve.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to just get things working across the world again. I’d like the Avengers to have a positive impact on the changes without having to resort to something like the accords.” Steve answered thoughtfully. “I think it’s work that would rejuvenate me. I’m tired of breaking things. I’d like to create something instead.”

“Sounds like you’ll be doing a lot of that.” Bucky’s smile spread ear to ear.  

“Buck,” You rolled your eyes him as you slipped under Steve’s arm. “Come with me.”  

You led Steve back toward the water. He held you close, voice tight. “Sweetheart, I’m really sorry. I’ve been...messed up. I should have been at your side every minute. I know I said it before, but my god, life just fell apart with you gone. Coming back, and everything is different, is such a shock. And it’s only been a few days...”

You stopped, facing him. “Steve, do you really mean you’re stepping down from missions?”

“Yeah, Sweetheart. I’ve got to.”

“Good. Me too.”  

Steve’s quizzical look caused you to pull your phone from your back pocket.  

“I didn’t make when you left out for your mission, because I was having this rerun. I didn’t think it was possible, but the test is conclusive.” You handed him the report.

Fresh tears filled Steve eyes, these washed away his pain and filled him with joy. He read the words again and again, pregnancy: positive. A bright smile met your own, he breathed out in awe. “I’m going to be a dad.”

You nodded as he swept you up in his arms and spun you around. He kissed you deeply, thoroughly. Finally, smiling against your lips, Steve said. “Love you. Thank you for being there for me, for being here for me. You and this little princess are everything to me.”

“Princess, huh?” You cuddled into him. “Already sure it’s a girl?”

“Just a hunch.” Steve kissed your hair, utterly confident in the turn he’d taken at the crossroad.

TAGS:

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[animetrashlord-007]

Tumblr Takeover

Word Count;; 2.2k

Genre;; Fluff

Pairing;; Ushijima x Reader

Summary;;

You groaned as you scrolled through your Tumblr profile, glaring at the content that seemed to have no end. What used to be your messy, themeless blog filled predominantly with anime, nightblogging and the occasional debate, now contained volleyball. Only volleyball.

[The cringe is real, folks]

Notes;; Published: 2017-04-06

My Masterlist

   You groaned as you scrolled through your Tumblr profile, glaring at the content that seemed to have no end. What used to be your messy, themeless blog filled predominantly with anime, shitposting and the occasional debate, now contained volleyball. Only volleyball. You slammed your laptop shut before packing your school supplies and running out the door. Your teacher would never let you hear the end of it if you were late for the third day in a row, even if you tried to pass the blame onto a certain third year. It was his fault after all; he altered your entire blog overnight without asking beforehand, and the early morning discovery put you into a temporary state of shock. You growled and quickened your pace - no sane teacher would accept that excuse and you had no intention of gaining detention because of a volleyball-obsessed dork. Once you reached class (on time, much to your amazement), your irritation faded. As much as you hated to admit, it wasn't his fault. You should have expected this to happen sooner or later. You knew what you were getting into when you shared your account with him. He had told you his intentions at the beginning: Ushijima wanted to share his love of volleyball with you and your poor followers.

   It wasn't like you disliked the sport either; you knew your school’s team well enough to attend their matches (with only mild persuasion necessary on their part) and, while you could see the appeal, it wasn't your first pick for a hobby. In fact, it wouldn't be your second or third pick either, but if you had to choose a sport… you might consider it. In all honesty, the thing you enjoyed most about volleyball was the players. Shiratorizawa’s team was determined and they had talent. Somehow your admiration for their abilities had led you to befriending each of them to different degrees. When you saw Tendou in the halls, you’d yell manga references at one another, each quote becoming more obscure than the last, until the bell rang and you both bolted to class. Goshiki did his best to avoid you after watching you challenge Shirabu to an impromptu dance-off, which, to his horror, his upperclassman accepted. Neither of you were being very serious as you dropped it low and pumped it up, laughing at how stupid you both looked, yet Goshiki claimed to be scarred for life. At lunch most days you pretended to study with Yamagata and Ohira whilst spamming Semi with memes and vine compilations. He once blessed you with a response, and had it not been at two in the morning after a long night of studying, you would have been impressed with the video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” on loop for ten hours. Never in your life would you have suspected to be Rick Rolled by your senpai, but you weren't one to back down from a challenge. Feeling invigorated, you continued to spam him every chance you got. To his regret, that included sending TED talks about asexual reproduction in various species in the dead of night when you were unable to sleep.

   “I think the real question here is why the hell do you watch videos about animal reproduction at midnight every week?” Semi sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow before throwing his towel at you.

   “Gross! I don't want your stinky towel!” You snapped, tossing it back. You grimaced as you stretched, the obnoxious cracking of several joints resonated throughout the gym. After being hunched over your textbooks for the first half of their practice, it was nice to stand up and move your tired muscles. Goshiki muttered a protest to your presence under his breath, which you elected to ignore.

   “No way, she still sends those to you?” Tendou bellowed, slapping his friend’s back with a grin. The setter shrugged, shooting you glare before walking back onto the court, leaving you with the middle blocker. His grin fell into a devious smirk upon seeing your narrowed eyes. Knowing full well what his mind was focused on and that he had no intention of letting his inquiry go unanswered, you stalked toward the door. He kept pace with you, poking you as he continued, “You can't avoid it that easily.”

   Feigning naivety, you quipped, “I don't watch them, I just send them to Semi to bug him.”

   “Oh, no, no, you don’t. Not that question, the one before that. Why don't you annoy Ushijima like you do everyone else?”

   You allowed a quick smile to flicker across your features before turning to the boy who was still following you to the door and ignoring his coach’s calls to return to the damn court already. Pure bliss flooded your mind as you pursed your lips, hand lifted over your heart in mock despair as your eyes quivered. Giving yourself a mental pat on the back for being on the verge of tears, you whispered, “I annoy you, Satori-kun?”

   “No! Of course not! I just meant-”

   “I'm sorry, Satori-kun, I'll leave you all alone from now on,” a single tear flowed down your cheek and you just about imploded with pride. Who needs to take theatre courses when you have this much natural talent?

   “No, no! Don't cry!” Looking to his teammates for help, he pointed at you with exasperation. His silent pleas were met with snickers as they each turned their back on the scene.

   On the outside, you were a delicate mess. On the inside, however, you were rejoicing. No longer was his mind on why you acted just a touch different with the team’s ace (since evidently nothing slipped past those maroon eyes of his), but rather on how to stop the waterworks that threatened to break before him. All that was left was to run out of the gym, celebrate your narrow escape, and continue to avoid him until you could formulate a believable excuse. You didn't want him to catch on to the small crush you had developed on Ushijima, but more importantly, you didn't want him to know about your Tumblr. He would never let you live down your low-effort blog after he had shown you his organised manga-themed one. Nevermind the the flack you would receive about how much of a pushover you had become to allow Ushijima full reign over it. Perhaps you could lie and say that the third year intimidated you, so you didn't want to push your luck around him. Maybe fortune would favour you and Tendou would drop the subject completely after this disaster. Knowing him, however, that was unlikely.

   “I'll just go, since I annoy you-”

   “What did you do this time?” A gravelly voice resounded across the room. It sent shivers down your spine as you faced the sound. Ushijima towered over you, a mix between confusion and disappointment aimed toward Tendou. The redhead just laughed before running back onto the court.

   “Hey Wakatoshi-kun, did you finish your exam?” You fumbled with your bag strap as you tried to sidle out of his vision. Much to your dismay, his eyes followed you with an intensity that would make a weaker person crumble.

   “What did he do?” Reiterating his question with a deepening frown, he moved in front of the door and blocked your escape.

   “Oh, you know Tendou-kun. Everything he does is annoying. Well, I've got to go!”

   “Before you leave, did you see our Tumblr? I changed it a little.”

   “A little?” You repeated, bitterness tainting the smile you flashed toward him, “You changed it more than a little, Ushijima-kun. My favourite part of it would have to be the ask from a mutual about why I'm suddenly a volleyball blog, and if I'm sharing my account because it seemed even more all over the place than usual and I just loved waking up to a new theme as well. Yes, it was very nice, Ushiwaka-kun, very nice.”

   “You should try regulating your breathing, you look flustered. I am glad you liked it, however. I spent a decent amount of time on it,” he nodded, brushing past you to join his team in their practice. Unbelievable.

   “Oi, you! We're not done here! I'll be calling you tonight, so, uh, prepare yourself!” You shouted after him, huffing at his thumbs-up. A tinge of pink painted the tips of your ears when Semi and Shirabu smirked at you, which bloomed into a full blush at Tendou’s, “You can call on him anytime!”

   The rest of the day whirled by in a blur. You couldn't procrastinate on Tumblr without being reminded of your new theme, which turned off your desire to slack off in general. You finished your homework early, then you finished next week’s as well. Something seemed off, but you didn't stop to question it - you were motivated to work for once and you didn't want to jinx your flow. Even after finishing two essays, you had time to kill before you could call Ushijima. Since he was tardy to practice, he would undoubtedly stay late to make up the lost time. Heading to the kitchen, you grabbed out the ice cream and threw yourself down on the couch. With nothing left to do, binge-watching Netflix would feel rather guilt-free for once. Your relaxation was cut short when you heard a knock at the door.

   “I don't want to buy your shit, go away!”

   “It's Ushijima,” a palpable pause, “and I'm not selling anything. I have your textbooks. You left them in the gym.”

   You groaned at your own stupidity. How could you have let Tendou work you up enough to abandon your textbooks? On top of that, you allowed your desire to scold Ushijima to blind you to your obvious lack of study material. Without it, the likelihood of errors had increased exponentially. You smacked yourself with a pillow; now you would have to double-check all your homework. Anxiety tickled your numbing thoughts as you turned off the television. You didn't make any effort to meet him at the door, “Ugh, just come in already.”

   He offered a nod in acknowledgement as he entered the living room and placed the books on the table. He sat down next to you, smiling as he grabbed the dessert from your hands. You were used to him being in your home after many an afternoon spent showing him how to use Tumblr. What came as a surprise was watching him eat the ice cream. Most days he would return it to the freezer, disregarding your pleas. You took the chance to observe him while his own gaze fell to the carpeted floor. The embodiment of a proper gentleman, he maintained perfect posture. He was still in his school uniform, and he always looked tense in it, but he seemed to loosen up when he was in your home. You knew he had taken a shower at the school, which he usually did after practice, because his hair had been styled once more. You always appreciated how the minty scent of his body wash lingered throughout your house even after he left. His clothes seemed tighter, clinging to his damp skin, providing an even more exquisite view of his muscles. Eyes falling to his legs, you let your mind wander and toy with the notion of seeing those thighs bare of clothing. You didn't notice when he turned to you at last, still lost in your own somewhat perverted thoughts. Coughing to gain your attention, he cocked an eyebrow, “Enjoying yourself?”

   “Shut up, you smell nice.”

   He blinked, a tinge of red dusting his cheeks, before continuing, “What did you want to talk about?”

   “I was going to call you. You didn't need to arrive at my house unannounced and start eating my food,” you mumbled, hitting his arm, “but I wanted to talk to you about getting your own Tumblr. Or, I guess since you already took over mine, I could start a new one.”

   “Why?”

   “What do you mean why, doofus? When I showed you my Tumblr, I didn't intend for you to take it over. I just thought you might want to see that someone posted one of your matches and it was getting notes,” you sighed, hitting his arm again. He chuckled at the effort, lifting a spoon of the frozen dessert to your lips. You swore under your breath as your cheeks exploded with crimson heat upon swallowing the treat.

   “I'm sorry,” he placed the tub of ice cream on the table before facing you once more, taking your hands within his, “You mentioned how your blog was personal to you, and I enjoyed that you shared it with me. I enjoy spending time you.”

   “Oi, you can't just say things like that! Dammit, Bakatoshi! You're making me blush!” You slapped his arm once more, earning an amused grunt from the attractive volleyball-obsessed idiot. He leaned in to you, tucking some loose strands of hair behind your ear.

   “It was nice having something that was ours,” You could feel his breath on your lips as he caressed your cheek. Your heart skipped a few beats, waiting for him to make his move.

   “Geez, just kiss me already, Wakatoshi-kun!” You closed the gap, lips smashing against his. If he was surprised by your forwardness, he didn’t show it. Instead he entwined his fingers within your hair, returning the kiss with equal passion. Patience was never one of your strong suits, not that either of you were complaining.

[s13e06]

2019 Draco/Reader Secret Santa Fic Exchange - Baby It’s Cold Outside

Hello, this is my fic for @eltanin-malfoy‘s Secret Santa Fic Exchange! I’m really excited about reading everyone’s work and I hope that you all like mine as well!

Draco / Female Reader

Warnings: swearing, depictions of violence, and allusions to sex.

Words: 3.6K

Prompt:  “a songfic based on 'baby it's cold outside”

 -

Well, this was certainly dreadful. Certainly, nothing could save your mood now, you were sure of it. You walked slowly towards the back of the large room, watching all the people laugh and slosh their drinks around in their hands messily. Why had you even agreed to come? Ah, that’s right. Because you were a pushover.

An exaggerated sigh left your lips as you followed along the wall, completely avoiding the eyes of anyone else there. You weren’t sure where Pansy was considering she had sworn up and down to meet you at the door upon your arrival. Promising all about how this was surely to be the night of your life.

Total rubbish.

Once you were positioned in the back of the room you let your eyes scan over the crowd of people. Not one familiar face was found, causing an uneasy knot in your stomach. Not to mention that by the looks of it everyone seemed to be well into a drunken state.

Removing your gaze from the swarm of dancing bodies you began to exam the area. You didn’t know whose house this actually was but it was actually quite nice. The lounge was vast and welcoming, decorated rather tastefully from what you could tell. You even noticed a deep brown staircase to the left side of the room, looking as though it was freshly polished.

Starting to become annoyed with the whole situation you pulled out your phone and began to send Pansy a very strongly worded texting asking where in the hell she was. Knowing her she was probably somewhere in the house taking shots as a crowd of people cheered her on. The thought alone made you grumble silently.

You weren’t sure how long you had been leaning against that well looking displeased, or even how long it had been since you sent that text to Pansy. But before you could even process what was happening you noticed a man begin to approach you.

Your first instinct, of course, was to look to either side of you just to make sure he wasn’t actually coming to meet someone else, but of course, just your luck, there was no one there but you.

Locking eyes with the man you began to grow a little nervous. He was handsome. Too handsome. No, this was something that you weren’t good at handling. However, you’d be damned if you let him find that out so fast.

“Hello there. What’s a beautiful girl such as yourself doing all alone” he asked as a flirtatious smile took over his face.

Immediately upon hearing his voice, you felt your blood run cold. You blinked once, twice, and then three times.

You knew this man.

But no, it couldn’t be. There was no way.

You stared at his face intensely, taking in every detail.

It was him.

“Draco Malfoy” was all you said as your mouth fell open in what you could only assume was a very unattractive manner.

Looking back at you rather confused you watched as Draco’s face began to shift, looking rather curious as he raised one eyebrow up slightly.

“Do we happen to know each other?” he asked with a growing smirk.

A scowl set onto your face as you began to remember everything you knew about the pompous little rich boy you had the displeasure of attending high school with.

He must have noticed your unimpressed look because of the playfulness slowly began to drain from his face with each passing second. Rightfully so too. This boy from ally you could remember was one of the most entitled and whiney people you’d ever encountered. Not to mention he was a relentless bully. The only things he had going for him was his looks and family money.

“Unfortunately, I know you quite well” you began while slowly crossing your arms in front of your chest. “We attended school together, in the past and because of that I am painfully aware of what type of person you are.” You finished with an eye roll.

You couldn’t believe the nerve he had to come over here and try to sweet talk you. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t even recognized you at all. It’s not like you had any sort of relationship with him back then but you were both in the same year for goodness sake.

Draco still hadn’t said a word. It was obvious that he was thrown off by what you’d said. His silence was beginning to annoy you even more.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me” you huffed out while pushing yourself past him a little dramatically.

You briefly glanced back as you headed toward the kitchen, he was watching you leave with a frown on his face. You faced forward again and made a disgusted sound to yourself as you leaned against the kitchen counter.

The kitchen was somehow even more impressive than the lounge had been. However, just like the previous room, this one was also full of drunken idiots. Which was understandable considering this was the source of the alcohol. You felt a little uneasy as you looked at the countless glass bottles sitting atop the island. The thought of drinking amongst all these strangers was a little uncomfortable.

One group of men, in particular, had piqued your interest by the way they were all huddled together as I discussing something in secret. They seemed to be less intoxicated than the others as you noticed their steady movements while talking to each other. You found it rather odd but you supposed there was nothing too suspicious about it so you broke your gaze away and began to play with your thumbs a little.

A few more minutes passed and to your dismay, there was still no reply from Pansy. Normally you would have just called for a cab and left but you, unfortunately, were short on cash seeing as how pansy promised she’d be able to cover the lift home as long as you’d made it there.

What a terrible night this is turning out to be, you thought to yourself in dismay.

Just then, however, someone’s deep voice disrupted your thoughts.

“Hey there, sexy. What are you doing over here all alone?” the man spoke to you, standing far too close for comfort. “Why don’t you and I get out of here and go somewhere more private?” he asked while leaning closer to your face.

Everything about this guy was screaming creep. Something about him was just so off your instincts were screaming at you to run, yet your body seemed to be paralyzed in fear.

“N-no thank you” you stuttered out as you put a hand between the two of you, signaling him to back away.

But he didn’t.

“Aww come on now, sweet thing. Don’t be like that. Say, why don’t you have a drink?” he offered while holding out a cup of vibrantly colored liquid.

Had he had that with him this whole time? Something about this situation was starting to seem dangerous as you eyed the plastic cup in his hand.

He was shoving toward your hand urging you to just take a sip, assuring you that it was delicious and you just needed to “loosen up”.

You began to panic as he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He kept pushing the cup to you as you shook your head and to your horror in the next second you felt his other hand reach out and grab onto your arm forcefully.

The fear you felt kept you from moving as tears began to form in your eyes. How would you get out of his situation? Why was no one in the room helping you?

Just as you felt a teardrop start to slide down your cheek, the man’s body was ripped away from you in the blink of an eye. In your blurry vision, you were able to make out his body now on the floor as the man who’d thrown him off you stood above him.

You blinked rapidly to clear your vision as the tears began to dry away. The shock of the situation leaving you more confused than frightened now.

Once your senses had come back to you you’d easily recognized your savior.

His platinum blonde hair was a dead giveaway as he stood with his back to you, screaming at the man below him while delivering harsh kicks to his side.

You just stood here at a complete loss for words as you watched the scene before you play out.

“WHAT KIND OF SICK BASTARD ARE YOU? ENJOY FORCING YOURSELF ONTO WOMEN AND MAKING THEM CRY? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF I HADN’T SHOWN UP? YOU FUCKER, I OUGHT TO KILL YOU” He screamed at the cowering man below him.

Your attacker lay on the floor looking pitiful and weak as he blubbered out apologies to Draco.

Draco however, wasn’t having any of it because in the next second, his fist came down to swing forcefully into the man’s face causing you to gasp loudly. This was starting to escalate rather badly and wanting to avoid anything further you reached out to Draco’s shoulder and pulled him to you, stammering out that it was enough now.

Draco turned to look at you with an unreadable expression before silently nodding and standing up again. You took his hand and began to lead him out of the kitchen. But before you could pull him far he delivered another swift kick to the man’s side, just as a farewell.

No words were spoken to between you two as you hastily led him outside with you, knowing no one would be out there in this weather.

The cold air fills your senses as you took in an unsteady breath, letting go of Draco’s hand in the process.

You felt all your composure crumble as you broke out into quiet sobs in front of him. Any embarrassment you might have felt in the situation completely replaced with the relief that washed over you.

Draco watched you silently. Unsure of what to do as he reached halfway to you before rethinking the movement and pulling his hand back.

“It’s okay” you reassured him between sobs. “Thank you so much for everything” you let out breathlessly as you held yourself in attempt to feel comforted.

“Don’t even mention it, you shouldn’t have to thank me for something like that” he spoke to you softly.

Your cries began to soften as your body continued to tremble with anxiety. You wanted to feel safe again. You wanted to pretend this had never happened.

You looked to Draco and contemplated your next move carefully.

“May I please hug you?” you asked a little embarrassed.

He didn’t even need to consider it before you felt his arms wrap around you.

Completely enveloped in his warmth you felt your body begin to relax.

Who would have ever thought that you’d be in Draco’s embrace like this, feeling so safe and secure.

You sighed softly as you tightened your hold on him.

He let out a little huff as you squeezed him tightly, followed by a little laugh from him.

“Sorry” you whispered to him with a chuckle.

“It’s quite alright,” he said while gently stroking your back. “How are you feeling now?”

You hummed in response before slightly pulling away to look up at him. “I feel much better now thanks to you.” you smiled at him.

He looked down at your face as a timid smile broke onto his own.

At that moment you thought that he actually looked quite cute like this. Especially with the pink that grew apparent on his cheeks. You figured it was probably just due to the cold though, trying not to think about just how warm his body was.

“Shall we go back in now?” he asked you a little unsure. “It is rather cold outside”.

You looked at him a little anxiously before he spoke again quickly.

“I know where we can go that you won’t have to worry about anyone else if you’re ok with it” he stammered. “I can even leave you alone there if you’d prefer it” he finished trying to be as considerate as possible.

You laughed a little at this even though you found it incredibly sweet.

Forgetting all about your previous hatred of Draco Malfoy, you nodded your head and let him take you back inside and up the staircase.

You both stopped in front of a closed-door at the end of a rather elegant hallway.

“In here,” he said quietly while pushing the door open.

As you stepped inside and looked around you found that it was someone’s bedroom.

Where you even allowed to be in here? What would the host think?

“Have a seat on the bed if you like, I’m going to go take care of something really quick” he told you with another unreadable expression. It was almost as if he was thinking about something unpleasant.

As much as you didn’t want to be alone, you found yourself trusting him.

You just nodded to him and sat on the large bed as you watched him disappear, closing the door behind him.

It seemed like hours had passed before Draco returned. You had stayed sat on the edge of the bed the whole time he was gone, not wanting to snoop around a stranger’s room.

“Where did you go?” you asked him curiously.

HE sat beside you on the bed with a huff before turning to you and smiling.

“Let’s just say, you won’t ever have to see that guy again. He’s been taken care of” he told you.

You weren’t sure what he meant by taken care of and you would certainly go mad thinking about all the different possibilities to such a vague answer so you questioned him further.

“What do you mean by taken care of?” you asked a little timidly.

Draco seemed to puff his chest out a little before speaking.

“Well, I had him arrested of course. No one comes into my house and assaults my guests like that without consequences.” He finished looking a little proud of having served some justice.

You nodded your head to him in understanding before you realized what he had said.

Wait, this is your house?” you questioned him a little surprised.

Then again he is quite wealthy so it shouldn’t be too much of a shock.

He laughed a little at the look on your face before replying. “Yes it is, and this is actually my room as well,” he told you.

Suddenly you felt a little bashful about being alone in the room with him sat on his bed no less.

He must have noticed your shy behavior because he was quickly scooting away from you on the bed as he grew a little flush in the face.

“But don’t worry I would never dream of laying a hand on you forcefully.” He said nervously.

“It’s ok, I believe you” you said to him with a smile, trying to shove down the butterflies you felt while watching him scramble to reassure you.

“Would you like to play some chess with me?” he asked a little suddenly while gesturing to the corner of the room.

You followed the direction he was pointing to with your eyes and found a chess set sat atop a rather nice looking table, along with two regal-looking chairs facing opposite to each other.

Looking back to him with a smile you spoke. “I’d love to” you said as you watched a similar smile appear in his face.

Halfway through the first game, you found that he was a force to be reckoned with. Your chess skills were certainly nothing to laugh at but in comparison to him, it was almost hilarious.

“My my, Malfoy, you certainly are skilled aren’t you” you laughed.

“I never promised to go easy on you” He chuckled in response.

Before you knew it he had you in checkmate and you gracefully admitted your defeat with a smile.

The man before you was certainly nothing like you’d remembered and you even felt bad now for holding it against him for so long. You had no idea he could be so kind and fun to be around.

“You know, it appears that I may have misjudged you,” you told him with a serious look. “I’m sorry for being so rude to you earlier”.

He blinked in surprise at your sudden apology before quickly letting out a guilty sigh.

“No, honestly you were completely within your rights. I was a complete arse when we were in school. I thought I was better than everyone else in every way.” he said looking a little embarrassed.

“What changed then?” you asked him interest piqued.

“Well… my father got arrested for embezzlement.” He spoke bluntly. “After seeing that I knew that I never wanted to be anything like him. I knew that the person I was wasn’t who I wanted to be anymore.”

You frowned a little at his confession. Even though it was for the better, you were sure there was nothing easy about watching your father go to prison.

He saw you open your mouth to say something before he held a hand up to stop you. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to say anything about it. It really was for the better after all. For both my mother and I.”” he finished with a little bit of a forced smile.

“Well... I’m glad you are who you are now. I like this new you” you said to him while reaching a hand across the board to rest atop his.

The action itself came across more flirtatious than comforting and suddenly you were painfully aware of that fact as you both began to lean towards each other, knocking a few chess pieces over as you did so.

When you got close enough for your noses to touch you began to hesitate. Were you really doing this?

Draco seemed to notice you waver because you suddenly felt his hand turning to squeeze your own comfortingly. His eyes silently asking if this was ok.

Deciding not to waste another moment you took the leap and connected your lips with his. Both your eyes fell closed as you kissed each other softly, neither one of you sure of how far to take it.

After breaking away for a moment you opened your eyes to look at his face. Seeing him look back at you, you began to feel extremely embarrassed. You couldn’t believe you did that.

The butterflies in your stomach were going crazy as your heart began to pound rapidly.

For a moment you both just stare at each other before your gaze shifted to the clock that hung on the wall.

There was no way it was already so late! How could you lose track of time like this?

“I-I have to go” you stammered to him while hastily standing up.

Draco looked shocked as he stood up with you.

“What’s your hurry?” he asked with a sad frown, feeling a little rejected.

“It’s just getting so late… and well I’ve left my friend somewhere here and what if she starts to get worried?” you said rapidly, knowing very well you were just making excuses to escape your own embarrassment.

“I understand that, where is she?” he asked a little sadly.

You quickly realized your excuses weren’t going to hold up seeing as that pansy had replied to you about an hour ago saying she was planning on partying for at least a few more hours.

“Ah well, I’m not sure. But maybe I’ll just catch a cab on my own and get home” you said desperately.

He gave you a rather curious look.

“Are you sure? It’s quite cold out and with all the snow it would be hard for a taxi to find its way here” he said.

You knew that of course.

“Oh I’m sure it’s fine,” you said with forced laughter knowing that any second now you would throw all logical thought out the window and snog the hell out of Draco.

“Really, you should at least wait it out a little longer, you’ll freeze out there after all” he replied sheepishly.

The way he stood there before you looking like a kicked puppy was enough to break you. Who cares what anyone would say the next morning. Who cares what Pansy would think about your choice in company.

After all, it was so very cold outside. It would be a shame to leave so soon.

“Alright… you’ve convinced me” you let out with a little laugh, watching as a smile spread across his face.

“What would you like to do now??” he asked you while glancing back at the chessboard briefly.

You looked at it as well while contemplating your choices.

His was no time to be a coward you thought. It’s all or nothing!

With a newfound resolution, you slowly began to walk up to Draco until you were practically stood toe to toe.

He looked down at you a little puzzled.

“This” was all you said before reaching up and pulling his lips down to meet yours.

His body stiffened a little at your movements before it relaxed and his hands were at your waist.

Your sweet kiss quickly became feverish as you both began to shuffle towards his bed. As soon as the back of your knees hit the edge you had an idea of where this was going and honestly you had no protests.

Honestly, you were quite thankful for the cold outside.

-----

AN: wow so this turned out a lot different than I had previously imagined and I definitely went off prompt here. I’m really sorry, It wasn’t as much of a songfic as I would have liked. I hope whoever chose this prompt isn’t too disappointed! This is the first thing I've written after my very long hiatus and I’m ready to get back into things slowly but surely. I hope you all like it regardless!! Let me know what you think!

[kotosnoozy]

a rite of passage

Unbeknown to both the general public and applicants alike, Saotome Academy’s S Class has an interesting unofficial tradition for the first day of school.

[DO NOT tag this with ship tags other than RinRyuu]

It's 11am when Mr Hyuuga first checks his watch.

Syo can't imagine anyone else notices - he wouldn't have if it were anyone else, it being such a small action and all. But sitting in this classroom with this teacher has been his dream for as long as he can remember, so now that he's finally here he can't help but be a little overzealous in taking everything in.

The morning's been chock full of introductory protocol - several lists of rules and regulations, a campus tour with the other class and the president of the agency, and a myriad of horrendously awkward ice-breaking activities. Throughout it all, Mr Hyuuga has been single-minded in his behaviour, keen to drill into all of them through his own actions that he won’t suffer tardiness, slacking or inattention.

Until this slight contradiction, anyway.

Syo thinks to treasure the moment - Ryuuya Hyuuga is a beacon of perfection in his mind, a marble Adonis brought to life, flawless in all his stalwart, brawny glory. To see him display even the slightest disregard to his own personal ethos is a rare reminder that he isn’t a god brought to earth, but a normal human being. A true fan knows they should appreciate their hero for all of their aspects, flaws and all, and so he takes the gesture in with a flicker of a smile and nothing more.

The second time it happens, merely 2 minutes later, it’s as Mr Hyuuga starts to worry his lip. When his brows furrow (further than their semi-permanent scowl, that is) Syo starts to suspect that it isn’t an endearing character flaw at all, so much as something isn’t running according to plan.

What, however, is impossible to say.

Mr Hyuuga has been on the ball with everything. Required textbooks, intranet logins and study guides have all been provided, desks have been triple checked for anything that might remain of the previous S Class. He’s even gone so far as to make sure they all have an alarm clock, or at least an app on their phones with a similar function, so there’s as small a chance as possible that they’ll be late. The entire morning has run like a well-oiled machine, exception being the human-spanner-in-the-works, President Saotome himself, but even he seemed to avoid letting his antics run on too long for fear of Mr Hyuuga’s wrath.

Syo can’t help but let his eyes dart around the room for what might be perturbing him. The desks are orderly, no bags falling in the aisle, not a uniform out of place--

Other than, of course, that of Ren Jinguji a row or two back. His tie hangs loose around his neck, and he sprawls in his chair lithely, elegant in his feigned nonchalance. All that gives away his lackadaisy as a farce are the buttons of his shirt, popped to expose his entire chest - Syo’s fairly certain he’d started the day with the shirt fully buttoned, and had loosened one for each irritated click of their teacher's tongue (what a jackass). 

Jinguji’s brow slips as he looks at him, angular face twitching into a microscopic scowl. He feels himself tense, worried he’s already managed to draw the scorn of arguably the most influential boy in his year. 

Then his eyes flicker, just for a second, from him to their teacher, accompanied by a slight head tilt. The bold blue of his eyes seems to hold a question: ‘What’s up with him?’

Syo feels himself beginning to scowl too, lips drawing into a thin line. He shakes his head quickly - ‘I don't know.’ - as Mr Hyuuga checks his watch for a third time, running a hand through his hair as he continues to read.

Jinguji stares at Syo for a long second, eyes narrowed, before pursing his lips. His mind seemingly made up, he swings his chair back forward onto all four legs, jostling his desk so hard that he knocks Saotome’s golden boy Ichinose forward into his own desk. Ichinose’s head whips around, furious, as the other boy raises his hand to get Mr Hyuuga’s attention.

Their teacher doesn’t manage to finish his sentence, let alone ask his new student what he wants - Jinguji quickly makes it apparent that he doesn't care enough for manners to wait a mere five seconds.

“Mr Hyuuga, why d’you keep checking your watch so often? Seems a little hypocritical to be so impatient for lunch after the constant warnings about inattentiveness, don’t you think?”

The tension in the room skyrockets as perfect silence falls over the class. Syo catches his own horrified expression reflected in the face of the girl sitting behind Ren - his indignation, too, as both of them mentally debate with themselves whether or not to throttle the older boy for interrupting the Ryuuya Hyuuga. Even Ichinose's temper (already famous among the students after how harshly he'd addressed his new roommate at breakfast that morning) diminishes considerably, as he warily turns back to face the front of the room.

Vibrant amber eyes flick up from the book they’re reading from. The way they assess Jinguji over the top of oval frames is more than a little nerve-wracking.

Then he sighs.

Any menace to his demeanour vanishes with his breath, his head lolling back and redirecting his gaze ceiling-ward. 

“Sorry,” he says, sounding sheepish of all things, “I’m just… a little worried is all. He’s normally so timely...”

The confusion among the class is practically audible. The orientation timetable they’d been handed that morning has nothing else scheduled ahead of lunch, no implication of further visitors. And Ryuuya Hyuuga doesn’t do surprises, especially not on the first day of semester.

(Or so Mr Tsukimiya had been faux-whispering during the campus tour, trying to get a rise out of his… friend? Boyfriend? Whatever. That was a question for later.)

“I’m sorry, sir,” - Ichinose, unexpectedly, raises the question on everyone’s mind - “but I don’t believe we have anything else scheduled ahead of lunch?”

They all jump as Mr Hyuuga unexpectedly barks a laugh.

“Lucky you,” he says, smiling wryly. His eyes skim the face of his watch yet again.

“I, however, am not so fortunate.”

Jinguji, clearly done with Mr Hyuuga’s coy responses, leans forward over his desk in a pointedly accusatory manner.

“I’m sorry, sir, but what the fu--”

“RYUUYA, YOU MOTHERFUCKER, TODAY’S THE DIE YOU FINALLY DIE!!!”

A mass of hot pink barrels through the open window at mach speed, colliding with Mr Hyuuga with such force that his entire desk goes sprawling. Students shriek as their teacher falls to the floor amidst his scattered books and papers, flailing beneath another almost-equally-large figure.

It’s hard to see the features of the attacker, amidst what quickly turns into a wrestling match, other than a tangle of chartreuse hair and the feral snarl of their teeth. Their movements are vicious, fists swinging at Mr Hyuuga like they want to smack his jaw clean from his head. Fortunately, their teacher is no pushover.

He grabs his assailant’s fists cleanly before they make contact, bringing his knee up swiftly into their gut. There’s an ‘oof’ as they crumble, and Mr Hyuuga takes the opportunity to roll them over so he has the advantage.

“I almost thought you weren’t going to show,” he hisses through gritted teeth, struggling with the exertion of keeping the wriggling person down. The person below him practically growls in frustration, biceps rippling as they start to struggle against him anew. Their sheer muscle seems to catch Mr Hyuuga off-guard, years-practised technique failing to hold up as he’s shoved from his triumphant throne on their stomach. They sit up almost as quickly as Mr Hyuuga drops, grappling him by his stomach.

“And I thought you kept sayin’ you wasn’t interested in fighting me to the death, and yet--”

Mr Hyuuga shrieks uncharacteristically, and there’s a flash of yellowed teeth contrasted against his dark suit jacket as his legs thrash wildly. By now, the more frail students in the class are trying to get as far away as possible from the brawl on the floor (the door clicking shut alerts Syo that some brave soul has gone to find help too). Medically speaking, Syo should probably consider himself amongst their number, and also retreat to a sensible distance. And yet… he just can’t pass up the opportunity to watch his idol fight for real (no matter how much it’s starting to resemble eight-year-old kids scrapping in the playground)

“I’m NOT interested in fighting you to the death--!!” Mr Hyuuga shouts, tone strangely childish, as he shoves at the person’s head. With considerable effort, he manages to prise their jaw open and away from his flank, only for them to double down and bite his thumb instead. He swears loudly, letting go lightning fast. He shoves his undamaged hand against the side of their head, directing their teeth away from him, though it does nothing to loosen the grip of their fuschia-clad arms around his middle.

“Oh, stop bein’ such a pussy and fight me properly!!”

“Yamato, this is a school for heaven’s sake, could you mind your langua--!!”

“Oh fuck off, you swore like two seconds ago, you fuckin’ hypocri--!!”

“Yams.”

The two on the floor freeze as every student’s head whips to the front of the room. In the doorway stands Mr Tsukimiya, his expression the blankest Syo’s ever seen on him (and with him so frequently paired with Mr Hyuuga, he’s seen him in a lot of stuff). He starts to stride purposefully into the room, each click of his heels against the wooden floor making everyone jump.

The A class students are clamoring in the doorway for a better look at what’s happening - Natsuki towers over everyone else, face aghast and hands over his mouth, while Ichinose’s red-headed roommate tries to protect a smaller girl from being squashed by the pushing masses (and squashing the Hijirikawa heir, of all people, in the process). Jinguji’s expression has slowly transformed to one of pure glee as events have progressed, while Ichinose looks like he might be nursing a migraine - judging by the look on Mr Tsukimiya’s face, the pain will probably be getting worse before it gets better.

He’s only a short man. A few inches taller than Syo himself at best, even with his heels on. The assailant must have at least half a foot on him, and is definitely twice as broad, and Mr Hyuuga is taller still. But at this moment, the two giants on the floor are meek as mice in the face of Shining Agency’s cutest idol. 

“Rin--”

“Shut up.”

His tone is dagger sharp as he cuts off the green haired person. He neatly squats down to their eye level, hands folded delicately over his knees.

“Now then. What, exactly, do you think you’re doing?”

Two pairs of wide amber eyes blink up at him.

“Well?”

“I was just--”

“C’mon, Rin, y’know I fuckin’ ha--!!”

“He does this every semester, I can’t stand here and let him--!!”

“Well you have it comin’, just stood there with your dumb hair n’ your stupid glasses--”

“Oi, what’s wrong with my hair, you little shi--!”

“Ha! There ya go again! Don’t care that much that we’re in a school, do y--!”

“ENOUGH!!”

Mr Tsukimiya’s prim posture vanishes, shoulders dropping as he leans into their personal space (‘YAKUZA SQUAT’ screams Syo’s mind, as the threatening aura of the petite man forces him to take a step back). The volume of his voice diminishes considerably, leaving every student desperately straining to hear what he says.

“This is the sixth year running this has happened. Every fucking year I have to come and clean up this mess. And sure, the first three years it was pretty funny. The fourth time still got a giggle out of me when you managed to pants each other,” - at this, they both flush the colour of Mr Tsukimiya’s shoes - “but I told you last year that I had had enough. So why the fuck am I here again this year?”

They both swallow nervously.

“Yamato.”

The assailant flinches.

“Y-yessir.”

“I don’t care how much you hate him, do not attack him during school hours. You’re putting the students in danger and your own career in jeopardy, if the reporters catch you skulking about.”

In an instant their shoulders sink, expression like that of a chastised puppy. 

“And Ryuuya.”

Mr Hyuuga sucks his cheeks in nervously.

“If you know he comes at 11 like clockwork every year, then why the fuck don’t you just close the window?!”

‘Yamato’ snorts, sharp teeth flashing for the briefest moment.

“Yeah, Ryuu, you fuckin’ dolt-- AUGH!!”

Mr Tsukimiya seizes him by the earlobe and pulls his head sharply.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, young man. You’ve got a lecture on music theory to sit through.”

“Wait, what--OW OW OW GEROFF!!”

Merciless, Mr Tsukimiya stands swiftly, dragging the taller man up with him. His class scrambles away from the door and back across the hall as he marches from the room, ignoring Yamato’s complaints and pleas for freedom. He toes the door shut without so much as a glance backwards, and the room falls into a stunned silence.

Mr Hyuuga pulls himself up with a grunt, clutching his bitten flank, and retrieves his glasses from where they’ve fallen by Ichinose’s surprisingly unmoved desk. With them placed firmly back on the bridge of his nose, he goes about wordlessly rearranging the room to its former pristine state, pulling his desk back upright with some effort. The students quickly move to help him, gathering his scattered papers and books, and adjusting their own desks one by one. Through it all, Jinguji sits back in his seat with a bewildered yet overjoyed smile - a cat who got the cream - while Ichinose himself looks confused about just what sort of school he’s signed up for.

Syo moves to the front of the room and wordlessly closes the open window.

When everything is orderly once more, everyone returns to their seats. Mr Hyuuga stands in-front of his newly righted desk and leans back against it, arms folded. His posture would seem terrifying were it not for the slight flush of his cheeks, the bashful set to his mouth. 

He looks at each of them in turn, seemingly daring them to raise a question about the events that just transpired. When no one speaks, he simply picks up his book, flips a few pages and begins to read anew.

Not a single sentence is completed before Syo hears the telltale shifting of fabric that accompanies a raised hand.

“Sir, what the fuck just happened?”

“Detention, Jinguji.”

“Wha--?!”

The bell rings. Lunchtime.

“None of you are ever to mention this again. Class dismissed.”

i said this in group chat:

and then immediately went off the rails and wrote this

you're welcome

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 39:  The Dragon After

Cora was up to something, but it was difficult to tell what it was exactly. He'd noticed of late that she was becoming increasingly paranoid, hanging blankets and clothes over the mirrors just as he'd taught her to as if she was trying to keep someone from watching her. She'd done it in her own private offices and studies, even in her bedroom and the place she kept her magic. Was it paranoia? A lucky guess? Or had he gotten sloppy and used the wrong spell one night, allowing himself to be seen in the mirror. Whatever the reason, for great chunks of her day, his view was often hindered. In the place where she practiced her magic, his only saving grace was that the red cloth she'd placed over one of her mirrors was thin. He couldn't see everything, but he could make out outlines and tinted colors. She was working with something. Something long with two colors, one dark and one light. But he couldn't make out much more than that. He'd tried looking through the cauldron, but she'd cast some kind of spell to block the sight from him. Certainly suspicious.

Fortunately for him, her paranoia only extended so far, and he had a clear picture into most of the rest of the house, from Regina or from Henry. His vision of them remained just as clear as his vision of all the other players in his little game. David, James, Snow White, and Regina…all still came in clear. And because he could see Regina, he could see the effects Cora had on her. They weren't good. Cora was suddenly devoted to taking her daughter away from the estate. At sixteen she was eligible for marriage and he watched time after time as Cora dressed the girl up in lavish clothes, twisted her hair up into fancy knots, and then paraded her in front of eligible men that were hardly "young". To her it was all about status. It was about finding someone higher up in the food chain than Cora was, closer to the grasp of Queen than she ever would be, and getting Regina there.

But with the age of sixteen came much more than eligibility for marriage. There was also rebellion. And Regina was good at it. He'd been right, Cora's nagging and heartlessness had an obvious effect on Regina. She hated her mother that came in clearly through the mirrors. Her father was her favorite parent and often let her be just who she wanted to be, but he was just as much a pushover in his old age as he'd been in his young age, kowtowing to whatever Cora wanted for their daughter. But as she grew Regina was coming to speak her mind, to show an interest in sneaking off when her mother wasn't looking. Though the art lessons she'd convinced her mother she needed looked harmless and innocent enough, he could see the way that Regina smiled every time she was in her tutor's presence.

Regina was good at rebellion, but unfortunately, Cora was better-an old pro.

He'd watched the scene from the cauldron that morning as the tutor had touched Regina, innocently enough to show her a painting technique if his assumptions were correct, and Cora had thrown him out, devasting Regina. And while Regina was getting very good at sneaking out, Cora had her spies everywhere. The girl was never alone. Recently he'd watched as she'd taken a heart from a young woman Regina had been spending some time with. He was almost positive that Regina had no idea the girl was a slave to her mother. Now, everywhere that Regina went, her mother was almost always there in some form. Including the upcoming ball at King Leopold's castle.

Snow White, Regina, Queen Eva, and Cora all in one place together…that was something he had to watch.

But sometimes plans could go awry. And on the night, as he'd sat in front of the mirror with a small bowl of soup watching the party, he felt a familiar tug in his chest. One of desperation but also power. A power that he recognized. It was strong but ignorable and yet…the party was just starting, people were only just starting to arrive, and Snow White had already been sent to bed. He wasn't happy about it, but in the end, he was forced to admit it was his own curiosity that forced him to answer the call. And when he did, he was glad he had.

Maleficent's home was nothing like it was before. The lush green forest was gone, the ground smoldered and crumbled as if...as if set on fire. He sensed magic, her magic. His body tingled in warning as he drew his power into him for extra protection. What had happened?

It was nearly black inside the cottage, but he could still see the woman he met there sparkled, dripped in jewels and glitter. But her hair hung in lifeless clumps from her head. And her eyes, they were dark, nearly black from where makeup ran down her cheeks. Maleficent had been crying.

"This!" she screeched, throwing a piece of paper at him the moment they locked eyes gazes. "This apple tree! A poisoned apple, the one you told me would take too much time, will it work?!" she demanded. Her voice was choked, crazy. Her eyes were wild though it was difficult to see them with how contorted her face was. She was trying to hold back tears, but only marginally successful.

The last time he'd seen Maleficent, her power had been undeniable, just as it was now. She'd been upset then too, angry. This kind of upset didn't come close to that.

"What happened?" he questioned, trying to piece together what was going on. It had been over a year since he'd seen the Dragon and last he had heard her plan had been successful! Not long after he gave her that spell the Princess, Briar Rose, had "taken ill" as reports claimed. She'd not been seen publicly, but a little look in his mirror had told him the girl was under a sleeping curse. The marriage had been called off, and not long after Prince Stefan had taken a new woman to be his betrothed. Maleficent. He was under the impression that in a month she'd be married to the man just as she wanted. She'd be Queen!

And yet here she sat, in her father's house, the once green foliage around her burned to a black and gray colored char that extended as far as the eye could see. It appeared the dragon had been on a rampage. How had this happened? How had it all gone so wrong so quickly?

But the woman didn't answer. It was as if something broke inside of her. She began to sob, horrid, ugly cries before she doubled over and then fell to the ground, huddled against the hearth clutching her heart. She continued to cry.

"What happened?!"

"She woke up!" the dragon screamed. Blubbering away she wiped her nose on her sleeve then pushed her fingers to her hair, grabbing at it so it clumped together and knotted even more than it was. "After all these years she woke up…" her voice trailed off as she gathered her knees up to her chest and rocked. The result of a woman scorned. The rest of the tale was easy enough to guess.

"Then you must not have prepared the curse correctly," he explained. He wasn't about to have this fall back on him. Their deal was the curse for the scales. He'd delivered. She'd delivered. He had no obligation to make sure her hopes and dreams came true.

"It wasn't me!" she cried out rocking. "It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't me! It was…it was him!" suddenly she took a deep breath, the rocking stopped and her voice…it was a growl. The Dragon. "I've been carrying this burden around with me since it happened…for over a year! And one night I just couldn't take lying to him anymore. I told him."

"The truth?"

"All of it!" she yelled, her legs falling back to the floor as her hands tangled in the strands of her fallen hair. Her chest was moving rapidly, heaving with her upset. Her heart rate was dangerously high for a Dragon and he had the feeling that if he could get a clear look at her eyes they would be yellow. There was danger in this place if they continued on like this. "It was all perfect," she cried on. "We were happy. The King had taken his Briar Rose back and without the Dragon they saw no more need for an army. He was free to marry me, he promised he would."

"Until you told him everything!"

"I had to!" she shouted. "You don't understand! It was a stain on my soul, lying to him!"

"And now he's left you."

She disintegrated again. Throwing her head back against the stone wall and wailing with her eyes closed got her nowhere and it certainly got him worse than nowhere. This was bad, it was very bad. She was hysterical, her heart rate sky high, her body cramping and jerking. That kind of magic moving inward would be dying for release. And if she'd become the Dragon before then she'd know that letting if free would eliminate her pain, but it could also potentially cause her to shift and never shift back. She'd been lucky this time, it seemed. Upset as she was he didn't know if he could continue to be that lucky.

He didn't have time for this. He hadn't come this far only to lose his progress by a scorned woman turning dragon and wreaking havoc in the lives of those he needed. She needed to be calm. Sedate. Unable to shift.

"What happened?" he questioned as he strolled around the kitchen. Obviously she hadn't been to this place in a long while. Aside from the chilly dampness, spiderwebs, and lack of fire, the ingredients for the sleeping curse he'd given her were still in the house, still in plain sight. Including the spindles. It was as if she'd crafted the curse yesterday and then just walked off into her new life. It was foolish and irresponsible, but he could work with that.

"Stefan listened," she explained, her voice suddenly emotionless. "He sat there with a stone face and listened and when I was done…he left. He said…he said…" as she heaved his fingers moved over the ingredients on the table with precision and dexterity. Though he had never made a sleeping curse before in his life some Dark One of old remembered it perfectly. This would have taken time for a lesser witch or wizard to craft, with his magic, he was practically done with a single dose before she could finish her story. Now all he needed was seawater and toadstool.

"He said 'my Briar Rose would never keep anything like this from me' and he left. I thought he'd come back, but a week later the city was buzzing. She was awake! He was by her side and…they're married now!" she squealed. "They're married but…but the Curse! It shouldn't be possible and yet…" A small high pitched cry pushed its way out of her and at that point, her knees drew up to her chest once more and she rested her head there and cried as he poured the single dose of Sleeping Curse into a bucket with an appropriate amount of seawater he summoned from the sea and toadstool he found in the cupboard.

Well, he had to admit, her story was something he hadn't heard, but he hadn't exactly been watching closely. With everything happening with Cora and Regina he'd been focused only on those individuals who were integral in his plot to get back to his son. He didn't check in on his other deals, there was no need! They were nothing to him if they weren't part of what would get him back to his son. The only reason he was doing this now was because he feared what would happen to the Enchanted Forest if a Dragon with her power was released in this state. Around here it seemed that she'd already devastated the land. Closer to home it could have the same result and he wouldn't risk that.

"Funny thing about curses," he explained as he grabbed one of her spindles and dipped it into his concoction before moving around the table. "They can always be broken! I do believe I warned you of this when I first gave it to you."

"True love…he didn't love her!" she cried as he sank down closer to her. "He loved me! He was supposed to love me!"

As she roared the words at him her mouth pulled back in a snarl, but it was her eyes that scared him the most. They were yellow.

Without letting this get farther than it already had he grabbed one of her hands and pressed the needle into the tip of her finger until he saw blood. The effect was almost instantaneous. With a deep and sudden breath of shock, her body immediately relaxed. The contortions on her face eased and she fell back against the wall she had been hunched upon. Her heart rate dropped. Her eyes roamed the small house, suddenly unfocused and watery.

"What did you do to me?" she whispered.

"Sleeping Curse, heavily diluted with toadstool and seawater," he answered in response.

"You've cursed me," she breathed.

"Hardly," he snarled as he got back to his feet. "It's quite the opposite actually. I'm giving you this blessing and this advice free of charge."

Or at least that was what he was going to let her think. In truth, the payment for this was simply that she wouldn't take out her heartbreak on the rest of the world. He thought he'd seen a shadow in her before, now it was so much more. That kind of darkness, once it turned inward on itself would never go away. But this would at least keep her subdued. It is a shame, if he didn't know that he needed to be invested in Regina, Maleficent was exactly the kind of woman he would choose to cast this curse.

"A diluted version of the Sleeping Curse won't put you to sleep, but it'll numb the rest of you, make it so you don't have to feel the Curse of a Broken Heart."

"A Broken Heart…is that what this is?" she put a floppy hand to her chest and for the smallest moment her chest heaved but evened out after only a few seconds. With the curse now flowing through her veins she was incapable of any responses that would involve too much emotion, either good or bad. Essentially, she was dead inside. But as someone who had experienced the effects of such heartbreak before he could honestly say that dead inside was better than feeling it. Most days, he prayed he'd be dead inside.

"It is precisely what you are feeling. And it's not likely to go away, not without a kiss of True Love and seeing as how your candidate just ran off with his own, I'd say that's unlikely. Love…kills more people than you might think."

He watched as she squeezed her eyes together and let her head fall against the hearth. But no tears came. Her legs uncurled from her chest finally as she sat there almost lifeless. She may have been sleeping, but he knew she wasn't. The drug simply took some time to adjust to. Eventually, she'd learn to live with it.

Any curse could be broken by True Love…suddenly he wondered if there is a weakness to exploit in the Dark Curse. Afterall, one day, he'd need it to be broken. By a Savior...a product of True Love...

He waved his hand over the bucket he'd used to mix the potion and tiny bottles filled it up.

"That should be enough to keep you at peace for now. If it wears off a single drop in the bloodstream is all it takes. You'll find your magic duller with its use, and you won't be able to become the Dragon you are which should keep the army at bay. If you're not a threat it'll be difficult to raise desire to kill. But that won't stop your beloved from trying if he's angry. There is a castle close by here, one the Kingdom believes is haunted. I recommend that you get together what you need and take refuge there. Between the hauntings and what they say you can do it should be enough to keep them at bay indefinitely. I can't promise a happy life, but life it shall be. Perhaps you might look into getting a cat…I hear they make great companions for the lonely."

"How long until a Broken Heart is cured? When will I feel like myself again?" she questioned sleepily before he could turn to leave.

"Oh, now that's the problem with love, Dearie," he smiled. "It changes us, molds us into something new and irreversible. You'll never be who you were again. Different you may be, but certainly never the same."

[cyberrat]

20th Batch Of Fics: 4th Fill

McRein – talon!Reinhardt; rape/non-con/dub-con; blood; begging – Jesse had wholly miscalculated his situation.

---

Just about at the time that Mister Wilhelm fucks his big cock into Jesse’s way too small guts, Jesse remembers exactly why it is such a bad idea to not only fraternize with the enemy but also grow complacent with him.

It’s not like he had played them any information or tried to double cross Overwatch – but he also hasn’t seen any need to be particularly difficult with them when they did manage to capture him.

In Jesse’s mind there’s been no need to make the whole ordeal more difficult than needed on himself, and Wilhelm had been an extraordinarily good host, considering the circumstances.

However, that impression had lasted to about the time that this behemoth of a man has gotten the fat tip of his cock to kiss up to Jesse’s asshole.

He shouldn’t have trusted any of them to not hurt him, and he should have trusted Wilhelm least of all to be cordial to him when slipping Jesse over his massive dick like an ill-fitting condom.

There’s not enough slick and way too much stretch, and Jesse can’t find his breath for the longest time. It’s stuck in his throat, burning about as much as his poor asshole as it gets stretched way beyond its limits.

“Stop!” he gurgles when he finally can manage to catch one of the words uselessly flying around his head. He doesn’t know what he thought letting the behemoth put him on his belly and drag his pants down. Feeling his cock in his ass like a baseball bat makes him realize that even with a bucket of lube this would have been an ill-advised endeavor.

Wilhelm, of course, does not stop. He makes a mildly interested sound in the back throat, but ultimately does not even pause as a token show of good will.

Jesse has horribly miscalculated the whole situation.

.o.

McCree is howling like a virgin but Reinhardt is used to that. They usually can be as sloppy and slutty as they want – once he starts working his dick into them they all start singing the same song.

He does not pay it much mind. McCree has been practically drooling for his cock from day one, and in his opinion he is only being a good host in finally giving his guest what he’s so clearly been gagging for.

It is not his fault that the stupid slut’s eyes were bigger than...well. Any of his orifices, really.

McCree is an old whore, but it must have been a while since he last got put through his paces. His rim is wrapped painfully tight around Reinhardt’s shaft, and he’s only stuffed about half of his cock into him yet.

With every new push and squeeze, McCree is howling for a mercy or reprieve that he will not find within the base of Talon. Maybe it had been more cruel to make him think they weren’t ‘all that bad’.

It is of no concern. Reinhard is leaning forward, fisting the unkempt hair of the gunslinger, and uses it to drag hi a few inches further onto his cock. His insides are molten and wet, and trembling like a virgin’s cunt around him. It would be positively divine if not for McCree’s tough cries that are slowly but surely hitching into slightly hyperventilating sobs.

God, how pathetic… Did it really just take one cock pushing a bit meanly into his belly to make him crumble like a wet tissue? Reinhardt is frowning and reaching beneath his thick, hirsute belly to search for the prisoner’s dick.

Were all Overwatch operatives pushovers like McCree? Had they all been misreading them and given them more credit than necessary?

Reinhardt’s thoughts stop and take a turn when he bumps into McCree’s cock – hard and a bit wet at the tip. He grins slowly, curling his fingers around it while McCree gurgles and his insides tremble around the massive cock that feels like it is sawing him clean through the middle.

“Seems like the lady doth protest too much,” Reinhardt booms with a throaty laugh. He forces in the last few inches of his cock, and McCree yowls like a cat in heat, head thrown back and vein throbbing at the side of his throat.

He’s hiccuping out sobs when Reinhardt finally starts the long pull back, and when he stares down to see the way McCree’s rim is spread to its limits, wet and pouting and on the precipice of a prolapse from the massive intruder, he can see blood smeared on his shaft.

“Oh dear… have I broken my little toy already?” Reinhardt croons in fake dismay. “I’m so clumsy… oh my…”

He fucks back into McCree on the couple inches he has dragged out of him, and McCree sobs – but his cock also kicks in Reinhardt’s fist, hard and interested in a way the rest of his master does not seem to share.

“I like old sluts like you, McCree,” he continues, more conversationally now as he fucks him in a calm rhythm, ignoring his victim’s shouts. “They know how to take dick. They don’t necessarily can, as you can see… feel… but they sure know how to at least try and make it work. You’re sturdy. You can take it, don’t you?”

McCree’s shaking arms give in and he hides his wet face in the crook of an elbow. His cock is steadily drooling, jerking despite the immense pain of his rectum. Or maybe because of it. Reinhardt grins, ranging above the man like a mountain. He should have done this earlier. But the look of surprised dismay might not have been as sweet.