#one the door was ajar so once i closed it the wash startes up

[propertyofemilyprentiss]

red wine prompt 5, emily x reader, reader has depression and has a bad day

My sweetest downfall

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x fem!reader

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Emily is always there to guide you back to the light when a bad day comes.

A/N: Thank you for the request! You can join my celebration here!

TWs: none (i think?), just r being sad

Word count: 1.8K

You could sometimes feel it from miles away whenever a bad day was coming. It came in small waves, each one bringing you down just a little until it became too much. First, you could feel your shoulders slumping down in defeat; then your gaze would keep unfocusing from time to time, followed by an increasing heaviness in your chest. Smiling would become a necessary task rather than an involuntary gesture. By the end of it, you were left powerless, succumbing to this barely existing state of numbness.

Today wasn’t any different, you thought, starting to feel the signs from yesterday, a cruel reminder that you didn’t have any power over your mind and feelings. It was a lost cause trying to find a reason - it could well range from nothing to bad weather, to a meaningless argument or to work-related stress. 

When this happens, you always retract into your broken shell and block out the world until you feel like you can breathe again. You rotted in bed, barely moving the whole day, curtains closed and lights off - darkness always brought a weird sense of peace to your defeated soul. You ignored every buzzing of your phone, not having a single flicker of energy to even check who was reaching out to you whilst knowing that you will feel guilty about it later.

Today was one in which you just couldn’t function, instead finding the tiniest victory in the fact that you were still breathing, still alive and not entirely won over by this feeling.

You missed the numbness - it was much easier to survive with it. But on some days you weren’t lucky enough to feel it, instead forced to live into the made-up casket of your mind. 

—

After not hearing from you the whole day, Emily decided to stop by your place instead of going directly home. Something was clearly wrong, that much she figured already, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. You had been doing so well lately, smiling and laughing and having that spark in your eyes that she adored. So she didn’t waste any time once the clock hit 5pm, taking her jacket and bag, hurrying towards the car with a heavy heart.

The drive was almost a blur, doing it almost unconsciously from the many times she had done this route before. Grabbing her keys, she entered the building, going towards your apartment, her anxiety growing with each step. Once she reaches the front of the door, she doesn’t waste any second to unlock it, being met with the familiar sight that she had seen countless times before. Only now there was a stark contrast to it - the once lively, cozy place now was poorly lit and unmoving, like there was no soul living here.

She makes her way further into the hallway, careful not to make any sudden noises, until she reaches your bedroom door, which is slightly ajar. Her eyebrows knit into a small frown when she notices you still lying in bed, for a moment wondering how long you’ve been there. Pushing it a bit more, she quietly enters the room, silently making her way over and stopping right beside you, her frown growing deeper. A wave of worry immediately washes over her as she takes in the sight of you still in PJs, your hair unbrushed and no sign of food or water nearby.

With her eyes never leaving you for even a moment, she settles on the edge of the bed, her lips pursed and her heart breaking a little at the sight of you still unmoving, just existing. Taking a deep breath, she slowly reaches out, beginning to card her fingers through your silky hair, her voice lowered but laced with concern.

”Sweetheart?”, she tried to gently pull you out of this state, asking simple yes or no questions at the beginning, “how long have you been in bed, mi amor? Since I left for work this morning?”.

”Mhm…”, you let out, your eyes darting up to her face, regretting it moments later once you spotted her troubled expression. All because of you.

The frown on her face doesn’t disappear at your quietly mumbled response, the uneasiness in her chest tearing her apart at your confirmation. “But…that was more than ten hours ago…have you eaten anything at all?”.

When she was met with silence, Emily’s heart broke a little more, her mind already imagining the sight of you all alone, laying in bed for ten hours straight, not bothering to take care of yourself in the simplest ways. The most important question still lingered on the tip of her tongue, wishing nothing more than to be able to find out the cause of this so that she could make it better. She swallowed the lump in her throat, scared not to push you even further away if she’d ask it now, instead letting her fear and vulnerability out through her shaky voice while her fingers still moved in a comforting motion through your hair.

“Sweetheart…you’re really worrying me”, she expressed, trying to get any sort of reaction out of you, but getting none again. Her heart broke further.

Silence engulfed the room, carrying the heaviness of a thousand unspoken words between you two, like there’s a thick brick wall that Emily can’t get through.

”I’m sorry”, you finally spoke in a low murmur, feeling like it was the only thing worth saying at this moment.

“You have nothing to be sorry for”, she immediately replied, her voice as gentle as always, “just please tell me what’s wrong”.

“Bad day”, you sighed, not daring to make eye-contact with her again, your mind already conjuring the pained expression of her beautiful face that you didn’t deserve to look at.

Her gaze falls at the sound of your defeated tone, like you were trying to make yourself as small as possible until you could shrink away from her. It was never easy seeing you being a prisoner of your own mind, but alongside the pain that coursed through her veins also came the determination to make it all better. To assure you that she is here and that she loves you more than anything, even on your bad days.

“Please, baby, look at me”, her voice was as soft as a flower petal, bringing two fingers under your chin to encourage you further. 

When you finally did, her heart clenched a little more at your hurting, exhausted eyes. The motion of her hand was almost an unconscious gesture as she traced it over your cheek, her thumb moving in a gentle caress to soothe the pain that won over your soul.

“Did something happen?”, she asked with caution, her tone bearing the same tenderness.

You shook your head in response, a part of you wishing that something had actually happened, so that you could at least have a viable reason why you were feeling like this, why you couldn’t do more than just exist.

“No, nothing happened”, you mutter in slight frustration, “I just have this feeling that’s pressing onto me and…and I don’t know how to get rid of it”, your voice cracked a bit, enough to make your eyes glisten, “I don’t want to feel this. I want to be numb again”.

“Hey, no, sweetheart, it’s okay”, she responded affectionately, ignoring the aching in her chest as your words broke through her body, “Tell me what you need”.

You looked at her hesitantly for a moment, fighting between your desire and the voices in your head telling you that you don’t deserve it. But she was right there, her eyes pleading at you to let her in, to let her love you, making it impossible not to cave in.

“Can you…can you hold me? Please?”, you pleaded in a whisper, almost self-conscious from how pathetic you knew you sounded.

“Of course”, she gave you a smile - and you could see the spark of hope in her eyes that almost made you crumble before her arms even encircled your body.

And that was it, from the moment she noticed the tears in your eyes that were threatening to fall on your weary face, any shred of doubt completely dissolved, her hands immediately reaching for you until you were laying partially on top of her, her arms firmly wrapped around you. One hand resumed the smooth motion through your hair, while the other kept you against her, determined not to let go - not to let you go.

That’s when you ultimately fell into pieces, your body shaking with the force of your sobs, tears trailing down onto Emily’s shoulder, your own hold tight onto her body, terrified of scaring her away.

“It’s okay baby, it’s okay. I’m here, I love you, I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay, just let it all out”, she mumbled into your ears, the softness in which she spoke breaking you furthermore.

Her voice continues to murmur the words over and over again, soothing and quiet, the only sound in the entire silent apartment beside her sweet nothings being the shuddering, heart-wrenching sobs that erupt from your body, causing her arms to hold you closer and her lips to find your forehead, placing loving kisses repeatedly.

She lets you cry against her until you have nothing left, her limbs wrapped around you, encasing you in a blanket of warmth and safety, the smell of expensive perfume and clean clothes filling your nostrils as her hold never falters, her chin resting on top of your head in between kisses.

That’s when the feeling goes away, its place being taken by the comfort and familiarity that Emily radiated - the feeling of being at home. Gradually, the heaviness in your chest disappeared, tears turning into sniffles and pain transcending into love.

“That’s it, you’re doing amazing”, she whispered, her thumbs wiping away the remnants of your teardrops.

“Thank you”, you managed to let out, still keeping your face hidden away in the crook of her neck.

“No need to thank me”, she gently moved a little bit to uncover your eyes, earning a little smile in response, “See? That smile is worth everything”.

Her words made your heart flutter, your lips curling further upwards. “I love you, Em”.

“I love you too, sweetheart”, she pecked your lips this time, your smiles reuniting in between, “Now, we need to do something about your empty stomach. Stay here, I’ll prepare something quickly”.

“Don’t…”, you protested as soon as you felt her pulling away, “let’s just order something”.

The look you gave her caused her to crumble instantly, never being able to refuse your pleading. “Okay, we’ll order something”.

God, you love her so much.

With Emily next to you the whole night, a bad day was just that - a bad day, not a bad week, nor a bad month. Just a bad day, which would be instantly perished by her presence, a constant guiding light in your life.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Dirty Work 49

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as bullying, familial discord/abuse, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You start a new gig and find one of your clients to be hard to please.

Characters: Loki

Note: friday... just eight more hours of work

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

The world trickles back into existence as it shifts around you. A jarring collison has you groaning as your body slides on the floor, just a few inches. You grumble and sit up, back to the door as it's once more pushed from the other side.

You crawl out of way as Loki enters. You stand, wobbly with fatigue, and face him. He snaps the door shut, blocking it with his lithe figure as he looks at you.

“Pet, what are you doing sleeping on the floor?” He reprimands.

You clear your throat and rub your cheek, “waiting for you–”

“Don't,” he warns tersely, “you will not guilt me.”

“I wasn't,” you pout, “I only… never mind.”

You go to the bed and slip under the blankets. You're too tired and hurt and confused. Sleep doesn't help, it only makes it worse. Every time you close your eyes, you hear Thor's sinister timbre and his demeaning words. You feel his weight on you, suffocating you.

You hear Loki moving around the room. You expect him to come to bed but his footfalls trail into the bathroom. The faucet cranks loudly followed by the splashing of water on porcelain. 

You turn onto your back and look at the open door to the bathroom. You stare, waiting. Still he does not emerge. You sit up as your eyes drift over. You should leave it, just for the night. It's late and you're both exhausted.

You hang your legs over the side of the bed and push the blankets away. You get up and pad over to the door, keeping close to the wall. You turn the handle, twisting cautiously as you hold your breath.

You stop and wait. He's not coming. You hear him sighing and muttering.

You leave the door ajar and tiptoe out into the hall. You won't go far, you just want to walk around, to get the kinks out of your muscles. Just to feel that tiny tug on your leash.

Your feet carry you downstairs without a thought. You go to the french doors and peer out through the panes at the night. You flip the latch back and ease the door inward. You breathe in the cool but fresh air.

You let it wash over you, trying to cleanse yourself as you shiver. It would all be easier if you could just say it aloud. If he would just listen.

You hear footsteps on the stairs. You quickly shut the door and back away, hiding in the shadows as the moonlight peers in. Loki rushes over and searches through the glass. He grips the handle but before he can rip the door open, you sniff and catch his attention. 

“I was just looking,” you murmur.

“Why would you scare me like that?” He snaps and grabs you by the shoulders, wrenching you away from the wall.

“I didn't mean too,” you whimper, “I just wanted to stretch my legs–”

“You cannot sneak off. You cannot,” he shakes you, “I…” he bites down on his thoughts before they can bubble over. “I only mean well for you, pet.”

“You're hurting me,” you whisper as you touch his wrists, “please–”

“I…” he loosens his grip and brushes his hands down your arms, “come back to bed.”

You try to see him through the dark. With his back to the silver moon, you only find a featureless silhouette. You reach to slip his hand from your arm and cling to him. You know it's better to appease him.

You pull him away from the door and turn back through the silent house. You should’ve known better. You’re not even sure why you wandered that far. Maybe just to see anything but those same four walls.

You go back upstairs and he lets you go as you enter the bedroom. He turns to shut the door firmly, dragging his hand down the wood. You look away. He has become your warden.

You climb into bed and pull the rumpled blankets over yourself once more. He nestles in next to you as you lay back against the pillows. He kisses your shoulder, a surprisingly gentle gesture. Had he not lectured you hours before for talking too much?

The pendulum of his moods has you swinging just as wildly.

“Pet, I only want to keep you safe, you understand, don’t you?” He tickles along your arm as his gaze sears into you. You stare at the ceiling restraining your exasperation.

“I do but… there’s a gate, you don’t need to keep me in just this room, do you?”

He doesn’t respond as he rubs your arm. He shimmies closer and stretches his arm across you. He holds you close as he sighs.

“I’m tired,” he says and presses his chin to the top of your head. The conversation’s over. Again.

✨

You drift into a black void. At first, there are no dreams. You are nothing, you feel nothing. A rare taste of peace before the fractured visions break through the blackness.

Trees, towering above you, leaves like curtains above, blocking out the sky, casting darkness all around you. You’re running, gasping for breath as the thunder rolls behind you. You hear it, you feel it, shaking the earth beneath your bare feet.

You glance down at your white dress, streaked in blood and mud. You stumble forward, shielding yourself with your arms as the brush scratches your flesh. Your feet slip and slide and tendrils coil around your limbs. The vines wrap around you, restraining you as the storm cracks above you.

The thunder peters out to grizzly laughter. A burly figure emerges from the umbrous space between the thick trumps. It’s him; Thor. His blue eyes glow as the cut across his cheek leaks and he opens and closes his massive fists. He comes closer, until he’s right before you.

He raises his hands to your throat and circles his fingers around it. You squeak as he squeezes, tighter and tighter. He chokes you until your vision speckles. Your eyes lull back in your skull and when you can breathe again, you’re sarong up at the leaves, fragments of the sky peeking between the foliage.

There’s a tremor beneath you. As if the earth moves. Then you realise, it’s you. You’re moving. There’s something atop you. Someone. Smothering you. Rutting into you as your bones split and your insides burn like acid.

You smell wet mud and pine, a hint of sweat seeping into your lungs. Thor’s beastly growls crawl over your skin as he bites into your throat, pinching until you shriek. He holds you down as he snaps his pelvis against you, threatening to break you in half.

Your eyes open and a shadow hovers over you. Reality slowly sets in as you stare at the ceiling, damp breaths puffing over your face. Your chest binds and you choke on your own breath. It’s real.

He purrs as he kisses your cheek, holding himself above you as he lays between your legs. His hand is buried against your pelvis as he pets you, kissing you all over your face and neck. You whimper and hit his shoulders. He’s gentle but unyielding. Your head is pounding and your body aches.

The panic flows up from your stomach and a sheet of ice covers your body. You blink. What’s happening? It’s him. It must be him. How did he get to you?

“Stop!” You cry out, “stop!”

“Pet?” The warped voice calls to you.

“No, Thor! No, please, don’t– don’t hurt me!” You beg as your eyes narrow on the figure over you.

To your surprise, he stops. He lifts himself stiffly from you and a long arm reaches over to pull on the chain of the lamp. The bulb illuminates Loki’s features, his face wrought in terror that mirrors your own. You thought…

“I’m sorry, I—”

“You think I am like him? Like that monster–”

“No, no, I was dreaming, and—”

“Pet, you were moaning, you… I thought you were—” he swallows and pushes himself off you altogether, “awake.”

He sits up and sings his legs over the edge of the bed. He bends forward and holds his head. You don’t move as you watch him. You’re mortified. The bed jostles as he stands abruptly.

“I am not like him,” he snarls, “pet, you know– I… you begged me for more. You were crying out my name and now you treat me as some monster.”

You sit up, lip trembling, “no, I was confused. I was asleep, I didn’t know–” You scramble to the foot of the bed as he strides away.

“You think I would let him get his hands on you again? You wander off and tell me you are safe and yet here you are, screaming,” he huffs as he turns on you, “as if I haven’t taken every measure to keep you safe and you override them, then tell me not to worry.”

“Loki, please, just… I don’t need locked doors, I need you to talk to me,” you stand and rush towards him, latching onto his arm, “I need you to hear me.”

“I heard you,” he shudders as he looks down at your touch, “you called me by his name.”

“Because… because…” you suck in a shaky breath as a sob threatens to spill over, “because you won’t listen–”

“No, you will not listen. Hm? You will not obey me and that is all I’ve ever asked of you. You will not stay where I can keep you safe. From him,” he hisses, “you will not hear me when I tell you it is for your own good. You do not see what I do for you.”

He shakes his head and rips free of your clutch, “I took you away from that ogre you called a father. By my measure, no one ever bothered to do so much. Not even a birthday cake.

"I have given you a home, a purpose. I was a fool, I put you in harm’s way, I acknowledge my errors,” he tilts his head and curls his lips, “but I saved you. I found you and I made sure he did not hurt you. I have kept you safe which you cannot say about anyone else.”

“Loki, don’t,” you wilt as your heart pangs. He is right but that doesn't mean it doesn’t hurt.

“If you hadn’t run away, if you had trusted me,” he accuses as he wags his finger at you. “To think I would ever want her again. After all I’ve done for you, I would not throw those efforts away.”

Your lip quivers and you recoil, pressing your hands above your heart, “no, you wouldn’t throw away all you’ve done, but what about me? I am what you call you, am I not? A pet? A stray you picked up off the street.”

“Perhaps, for you have become rabid,” he retorts.

You flinch and take a step back. You curl your fingers through each other, keeping your hands over your chest. Your tears spill over as you push your lower lip out and croak his name. You shake your head, trying to ward off your despair but it only rains down harder. You sob and cover your mouth.

His brow twitches and his cheek tics. You see the doubt colour his eyes. He reaches for you, “pet, I–”

You back away and turn your back to him, “leave me alone.”

“I didn’t mean… we are both very emotional,” he pleads as his fingertips graze your shoulder.

You shrug him off and keep ahead of him, “no, no, don’t touch me,” you hurry towards the bathroom.

“Pet–”

“I am not your pet!” You spin as you enter the bathroom and he staggers just a foot away, stunned by the swell of your anger, “I am nothing. Just as you say, my own father couldn’t love me.”

“I didn’t–”

You slam the door and throw yourself against it. You flick the lock into place and lean against the wood, heaving painfully as your sadness rattles through you. He slaps the door from the other side and says your name.

“You did!” You holler through, “you said what you meant. You told… the truth.” You sink down to your knees, crumpling onto the tile, “so leave me alone. What do you care anyway?”

He repeats your name, softer and you hear him slide down the outside of the door, “I care… if I didn’t…”

“Be quiet,” you murmur in exhaustion.

He abides, just for a moment before he speaks again, “I will be here… when you require me.”

You lay in a heap. Weak and worn out. You just want him to leave you alone. If he can’t let you free, then he can go away. You don’t need him to remind you that he’s all you have.

You gulp as sobs force their way up your throat. You cry until your head pulses and your throat is hoarse. You cry until you are drained dry. You’re left bleary and broken.

Walpurgisnacht is supposed to mark a new beginning but everything is just as bleak as it always was.

[incorrect-kidge-quotes]

Hunk: Come on, Keith can't be *that* oblivious.

Pidge: Oh, but he is.

Lance: Definitely, he could be studied for being so oblivious. I should know, as his roommate, I've seen him at his worst.

Hunk: Like?

__________________________

Pidge: Months ago, when we started getting serious, I tried to lean in for a kiss, and he swerved out of the way before wishing me a good evening. I was walking back to my car before he slammed the door open and vaulted over his porch to cut me off to ask "Were you trying to kiss me?"

__________________________

Hunk: Okay, but that's one instance and right at the beginning of y'alls relationship. Not too bad...

Lance: Should we tell him about the shower incident?

Pidge: Oh, quiznack, definitely.

__________________________

Lance: The other day, Pidge had used the shower at our place and left the door slightly ajar, and I took my cue to leave.

Pidge: I called out to Keith, saying it was really hard to wash my back, and what did the poor boy do? He went and got Lance's long-handle scrub and closed the door.

Lance: When I came back, Pidge gave me the scrub and walked out and I had to ask Keith why she gave me my own item, his response? "She said she had trouble washing her back." I had to explain to him that Pidge wanted *him* to help her wash her back.

Pidge: Oh, we can't forget about the text too!

Hunk: Do I even want to know?

Lance: I had to text Pidge and explain I'm still trying to teach Keith, she then told me to speed up the process before texting Keith, and I quote, "I'll be back in 10 minutes. Be naked when I get there."

Lance: I once again took my cue to leave, taking Allura out to dinner and a movie.

[spacebobastories]

Something Real

Chapter 2 - The Omega

Summary: When John got the mission assigned to him to retrieve an important item, he didn’t think nothing of it. With hardly any information presented to them, they were in the dark. But, what they found shocked them. Why didn’t they know about this facility? Maybe they didn’t want to know.

Parings: Poly 141 x OC (Louis Belmont)

Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics, Alternate Universe, I’m not an expert on military so there will be inaccuracies, panicking from Louis.

Author’s note: You guys have no idea how bad I want to do daily updates lol. But I have to force myself to do weekly updates so I won’t become burnt out. I have so many ideas for this story it’s not even funny. I want to just write little head cannons but don’t want to really spoil anything.

Previous Chapter —> Next Chapter

“So we have no idea what we’re supposed to retrieve?” It was quiet in the office as John Price sat at his desk. Laswell was on the other line, a small exhausted sigh came from her. It seemed like the higher ups were running her ragged as well.

“Not really. All they told us was that the item could either be extremely dangerous or not. Look Price, I don’t even know if the ‘item’ they’re talking about is even real. But if the higher ups want it, then it must be extremely important.”

John leaned back in his chair, it creaked softly under his weight, and let out a sigh of his own. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache start to form behind his eyes. He’s been up for three days straight now dealing with paper work and the higher ups. He hasn’t even had the time to even take a quick nap.

“Right. This is exactly what I wanted. To go blind in a mission.”

It was eerily quiet as Ghost and Soap moved through the building, checking their corners and staying close together. When they touched down in Old Washington, there wasn’t any surprise to how old and rundown the city was. It was abandoned since the Omega War 33 years ago. No one but the desperate stayed here. So, when they finally managed to find the building they were looking for, surprise washed over them.

It was a hospital but the deeper they went underground, the more the hospital…didn’t look like a hospital. “What the hell is this place?” Soap muttered softly, his voice echoing lightly.

“No idea. But keep talking to a minimum. Dont know what’s here.” Ghost’s baritone voice doesn’t echo as much because of his mask but it didn’t make it less eerie. The walls were cracked and some had fallen in, the building creaked and groaned. They had to make this quick, but there was no way of knowing what the hell they were looking for.

But whatever this place was, it didn’t look like a basement to store things. As they passed by a few rooms, shining their lights in, they saw skeletons on the floor wearing lab coats. There looked like some medical equipment but looked more sinister than normal equipment. Soap felt a shiver move down his spine at the thought of what they did here. *Why are there so many skeletons? How many people died here?* he thought as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

It took them longer than they thought to make it to the last door. The door was different than the others. As the regular doors were made of wood and were small, this door was massive and metal. But, it was slightly ajar. The sign above it read ‘Cryo Chambers’

“Didn’t they say the item could be dangerous?” Soap spoke as Ghost glanced over at him and let his gun fall to his side. “Yeah, be ready for anything.” He muttered as he grabbed the edge of the door and with a grunt, began pulling it open. It was heavy even with Ghost being strong, it was still hard to open. But he managed to get it open enough to the point they could slip in. He grabbed his gun once more and stepped in.

Inside the large room it should have been dark, but it was dimly lit by the cryo pods that lined the walls. Some of them were off while others were on. But it looked like a lot of the people inside were dead. Soap and Ghost slowly moved down the middle, shock moving through their bodies. *What the hell were they doing down here?* was the thoughts that went through their minds.

Soap swallowed thickly as he saw that the people in the pods looked…odd. They were bigger than most but some had horns while others looked like they had wings. *Experiments? They were experimenting on people?* Soap felt anger move through his body but glanced over as he felt Ghost bump his side. The Alpha also looked angry, he could see it in his eyes. But there was nothing they could do.

At the end of the room was a larger cryo pod that was brightly lit. The small screen on the pod had the vitals of the person inside. The heart monitor was still moving and there was a green light on the screen. That had to be a good thing right? Ghost reached up and wiped some of the condensation off the glass. Inside of the pod lay a man with deep red dreadlocks that almost looked like blood in the light of the pod. His locs were loose, lying down over his shoulders and seemed to stop below his chest. His skin which looked to be umber had a dark-yellow tone to it which paired nicely with his hair. What caught Ghost’s attention the most was the black and silver gas mask that sat on his face. It didn’t cover his entire face just the bottom half of his face.

The life monitor also had the name of this person. Ghost looked at the monitor, reading the name: Louis Belmont. Then shock washed over him as he stared at the status below the name. Omega.

*An Omega? An honest to God Omega? Here?* he thought and looked over at Soap who was looking at the pod in anger and shock. “A fucking Omega? What the hell is this place?” The brunette breathed out and Ghost stepped back.

“I guess we’ll find out from him.” He looked around the pod for a handle or something to open it. It took a few tries but they finally managed to get it open and they quickly stepped back at the pod began to open.

Ghost watched as the omega’s eyes fluttered open, he was once again shocked and surprised as the whites of his eyes were black and his eyes were an extremely beautiful gold. The color looked like molten gold and was actually…glowing.

“Holy shit, L.T, you see what I’m seein’? ” Soap breathed out as the Omega’s body leaned forward and they were ready to catch it but they froze as his body turned into smoke, falling to the ground only to turn right back into a solid body. Soap breathed in sharply, both tensing up and not knowing what to do. Until the redhead took off his gas mask and took a deep breath only to start coughing. It was the type of cough that shook his whole body, making him hunch over in pain.

Soap moved first, moving over to the omega and placed his hand on the man’s back. He rubbed his hand slowly, trying to calm the man’s coughing down and once he finally stopped, he placed the mask back on.

Louis seemed to be processing what was going on as he slowly lifted his head and looked at Ghost. “Can you stand?” Ghost asked, silently cursing. Of course he can’t stand, he looked like he barely knew where he was.

“What…year is it?”

The man’s voice was scratchy, like he hadn’t used it for a long time. The labored breathing of the gas mask didn’t help either.

“3055.” Soap spoke up, still beside Louis and the omega’s eyes went wide from shock and disbelief.

“33 years? I’ve been in there for…33 years?” It sounded like all the air had left his lungs as he stared at Ghost in shock then down at the floor.

Ghost felt the urge to console him, make him feel better but he refrained from doing so.

“Soap, pick him up. We need to go.” Ghost watched as the beta nodded his head and fixed his gun before reaching down and picked up the man. The redhead had on black pants and a black muscle shirt that showed off his muscles.

“We have the target, Captain.” Ghost reported to Price, not wanting to say more until they got back to a safe place. Gaz nor Price will believe him until they bring the Omega in.

Pain. Pain. Pain. painpainpain. It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Golden eyes shot open, Louis breathed in sharply as the pain seemed to intensify as he was now fully awake. His eyes frantically darted around at the figures above him, darkened out by the blindingly bright light above him. His heart was beating so hard he thought it would burst out of his chest. *No! Not again! Not this again!* Panic gripped his brain tightly and his breathing picked up speed, but his eyes locked onto the figure who was speaking.

"How is Louis behaving?" The voce was feminine as she was handed something, a clipboard.

Louis could hear the light fluttering of paper as she lifted the page to look at something. That's right, he was here again. The tests, the pain. It never seemed to end. It was like a loop of pain that got worse and worse over time. The Omega swallowed thickly, painfully. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, he couldn't swallow and it was hard to speak. "W-where...am I?" He managed to get out, his mind foggy. He had a vague recollection on where he was, but couldn't put anything together.

The pain was excruciating as he laid on that table, pain shooting through his body. He could feel IV's were in his arm, but he didn't know how many there were or what they were pumping into him. Louis's body twitched as jolts of pain shot through him and he gasped sharply, suddenly arching his back. Tears pooled in his eyes then rolled down his cheeks, he could hear himself sobbing, begging for the pain to stop.

He wished he could see the people above him, see their faces to memorize them. Louis wanted them to pay for making him hurt. Pain...pain...it hurts so much.

"He's doing surprisingly well with the chemicals in his body. It hasn't killed him yet." The voice sounded excited. It made him sick. "B-bastards." He croaked out and through his blurry vision, he could see their heads tilt down towards him.

"I'm surprised he can even speak. The pain must be excruciating. Fascinating." One of the figures reached out to wipe the tears from his sweaty face, he flinched at the touch, trying to focus on the person. But it was too hard to focus on anything, his head throbbed and it felt like he had ran a 10 mile marathon with no break.

"Hush now, child. This is for a good cause." Someone moved beside him and he let out a weak cry of protest as something sharp pricked his skin. A needle.

Louis felt his head become heavy and he let it roll to the side and looked at the person beside him. A woman, by the way she smelled. It was still hard to see and with his vision becoming more blurry by the second, he didn't try and focus anymore. "Go to sleep, Louis. The pain will subside." The voice was unnervingly calm, it made him shudder with discomfort. But his eyes started to grow heavy and the sounds around him grew slow and mixed together. He fought to keep his eyes open, but soon the blackness took him and he fell into a deep sleep.

Louis's eyes suddenly shot open and he quickly sat up, not hearing the surprised gasp from the nurse in the room. He was shaking from terror, trying to not have a panic attack. But it was hard, he was out of the cryo pod, was he back under testing? The Omega's eyes quickly locked onto a nurse who was standing a little away's from the bed. She looked like she was giving him space but his terror filled brain was telling him the opposite.

A scream of surprise was heard from his room as he slammed his shoulder into the door, slamming it open. He stumbled forward, falling into the wall. His eyes darted around the few hospital staff that roamed the halls. They were now frozen in shock and he narrowed his eyes at the military uniforms that some of them had on. His breathing became labored as he now realized he didn't have his gas mask, but when one of the staff moved forward, he growled loudly and stepped back. "Woah, calm down. No one here is going to- Wait!!"

Louis didn't give him a chance to continue as he turned and began running the opposite way. The alarms started going off as he ran down the hall, roughly pushing people out of the way. He dodged those who were trying to catch him. All the while he felt like his lungs were on fire, he felt and tasted blood on his lips, knowing his body was healing and decaying at a rapid rate. But he didn't care. If he was here, then they were going to do experiments on him again. He couldn't go through that again. Never again.

"There he is!" Louis panted hard as he skidded around the corner, slamming into the wall before running again. He could feel his body shifting into his shadow form, quickly shadow stepping further away from everyone. But his body couldn't keep up with him, not with him still recovering. So, his own body forced him back in his solid state and he let out a surprised yelp as he stumbled and fell to the ground. He rolled to a stop, his back hitting the wall and he struggled to get up, feeling his arms shaking as he slowly crawled to a corner.

"There you are." A masculine voice came from behind Louis and with the last of his energy, he quickly turned around, moving into a crouched position and growled loudly, snarling at the man in front of him. Or should he say men. There were now four men in front of him, although, the one who spoke looked and sounded familiar. *A mohawk?* Louis thought, growling again as the mohawk man stepped closer.

"Stay back!" Louis yelled but suddenly began coughing hard. He wanted to keep his eyes on the man but couldn't, covering his mouth as blood seeped through his fingers. "Shit..." A baritone voice caught his attention but he couldn't really look as he was literally coughing up a piece of his lung.

Louis noticed it went quiet, the alarms weren't blaring and no one was speaking.

"Y-you're...not taking me back." His breathing was labored as he finished coughing, flicking the chunk of lung off of his hand. He felt his lungs regenerating and he watched the men, faintly picking up their scents. But it was mostly drowned out by the strong scent of his blood.

"We're not taking you back, wee yin. Promise. We're just here to help" The one with the mohawk spoke again and Louis now recognized the man. He was the one who carried him out. And...Louis quickly looked over and locked eyes with the large one in the ghost mask.

"Names." Louis didn't relax but he at least remembered the two men who were there. The other two, a very pretty man with chocolate brown eyes and a equally handsome man with beautiful blue eyes and a mustache, he did not recognize.

"Soap. The one with the skull mask is Ghost. Kyle is the pretty one. And the one with the mustache is Price." Soap quickly listed their names and Louis locked eyes with all of them before looking back at Soap.

"What now?" He breathed out as he could feel his body slowly shutting down, wanting to sleep again. But he fought the feeling.

"We get you back in bed so you can rest." Price spoke but kept his distance and Louis looked at him with suspicion.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Louis kept eye contact with him, making sure he wasn't lying and when he felt satisfied, he went to stand but his legs gave out under him and he saw the ground getting closer. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain, but it never came. Instead, he landed against a warm chest and into strong arms. His face landed against Soap's shoulder and Louis couldn't help but to breath in his scent. The almondy scent of a beta invaded his nose, making him calm down, becoming like putty in Soap's arms. But then his natural scent came through, he smelled like watered down aftershave and coffee. Warm...so warm.

Louis let out a deep sigh as he was picked up bridal style, held close to that warm chest. "You're safe now, bonny. Rest." Louis let his his body relax and he felt himself grow heavy before once again slipping off into a deep sleep.

This was one long chapter. Phew!! I hope you guys enjoyed that! If you have any questions feel free to ask away!

[cannibalgirly-notrlly]

Chapter three for "Beyond Reasonable Doubt" is out now!!

Aaron found himself sitting outside on the front porch, his small fingers picking at the paint on the old rocking chair he occupied. The paint had long since started to peel away, and the cold weather seemed to encourage its decay. He didn’t understand why he felt compelled to be out here in the night, but it had something to do with the sudden, explosive argument between his parents. No one had instructed him to leave the house; he simply preferred the cold quiet outside to the painful clarity of the yelling inside.

He gazed out into the dirt road that meandered past his house, a lonely path surrounded by woods and creeks. The town was about an eight-minute drive away, which left their home ensconced in the uneasy solitude of the woods. This isolation had its downsides—his parents could fight at any hour, and there would be no one to intervene. The neighbors were aware of the fights; every couple on this street had their share of disputes. But no one seemed to care enough to act.

His father often pushed his mother around, and it seemed as though he was the only one who cared. The thought of people living in willful ignorance sickened him. He loved his momma dearly, and he believed that, despite her issues, she did not deserve such treatment. He didn’t fully understand what was wrong with her, but that didn’t matter to him. His love for her was unconditional.

An hour had passed before the cacophony of yelling and screaming finally subsided, leaving behind the soothing chorus of crickets and frogs. Aaron stared up at the moon, drawing some comfort from its serene glow before slipping quietly back into the house. As he walked down the dimly lit hallway, he passed by his parents’ room. He stopped, staring through the slightly ajar door. His father was there, cradling his mother’s limp body, blood trickling slowly down her forehead. A blood-stained lamp lay discarded on the floor beside her. A sickening dread washed over him as his father, noticing him, barked at him to go to his room. 

Aaron remained frozen in the doorway, his eyes fixated on his mother’s possibly lifeless form. Was she still alive? The thought gnawed at his young mind, paralyzing him with fear.

He stood there for what felt like an eternity until a firm hand gripped his shoulder. His father knelt down beside him, and Aaron braced himself for the usual torrent of anger. But instead, his father smiled—a cold, unsettling smile—and spoke in a soft yet menacing tone. “Aaron, I want you to go back outside. Go play by the creek, and I’ll come get you in a bit, okay?” Aaron could only nod, his eyes once again drawn to his mother’s motionless body on the floor. 

“Alright, go play. Run.” His father patted his shoulder before rising and returning to the room, closing the door behind him.

Aaron’s legs moved on their own, carrying him back outside. The night air felt colder now, more foreboding. He walked slowly towards the creek, his mind a whirl of confusion and fear. What had just happened? Was his mother truly gone? He wanted to cry, to scream, but no sound escaped his lips. The world seemed to blur around him, the shadows of the trees casting eerie shapes on the ground.

He reached the creek and sat on its edge, staring into the water. The moon’s reflection wavered in the gentle current, a silent witness to his turmoil. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, and let the tears finally fall. He felt so small, so helpless. The weight of the night’s events pressed down on him, and he wished desperately for someone to come, to help, to make everything better.

But no one came. The woods remained silent, the only sounds the distant calls of nocturnal creatures. Aaron stayed by the creek, the cold seeping into his bones, waiting for a sign that things would be okay. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but eventually, exhaustion overcame him, and he drifted into a fitful sleep, haunted by the image of his mother’s bloodied face.

His mother had been thought to be dead for around five minutes, though she never did die from that night's actions, but the image of her bloodied body still sat in the back of his mind. 

Lurking, forev—

“Hotch?” The voice snapped him from his daydreams, looking up from his case file to see Gideon staring at him from across the round table as everyone else was still shuffling in from their desk.

Oh, right. The case.

[pochakkeu]

Once Upon Another You ✧࿐

Start from the Prologue if you havent!

Synopsis: here

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1. 21st Century Girl

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Warnings: none

Word count: (1.5k)

9:18 am

That’s what your bedside clock read as soon as your sleep-filled eyes landed on the red LED numbers of the display.

“Shit..” you groaned, rolling over under the confines of your comforter. A yawn escaped your lips as you sat up and took a glance out of the sliver of light from your window. The white, sheer curtains slightly ajar, the material flowed slowly with the breeze of the air conditioning coming from a vent above.

Your trusty alarm clock had not gone off this morning like usual, instantly reminded that you forgot to set it last night. Despite knowing that you had work, you weren’t one to usually forget something as simple as that. But to your dismay, you woke up late, with barely enough time to get ready for work.

The store opened at 10:00 am, your co-worker blowing up your phone with text after text. You responded shortly, before getting out of bed and tossing your phone in your purse. As you rushed back and forth in the bedroom of your apartment, you placed your keys, and wallet into your purse, setting it on the bar stool at your kitchen counter before returning to your bedroom.

Mornings were never as rushed as this, but all you had time for was a quick wash of your face, brushing your teeth, followed by applying minimal makeup with a touch of your favorite baby pink blush.

As you combed your hair and tied it into a neat bun, you opted to change into a mid length black skirt that hugged your waist, a pressed white blouse button up with a collar, decorated with a black ribboned bow, followed by your favorite powder blue cardigan. Wearing clothes like this was not something you ever saw yourself in, however your best friend Yunjin helped you get this job, but it didn't help that it was one of the most popular high end brands in todays fashion world, Prada.

As you looked into the mirror one last time, you glanced at yourself taking in the figure before you, and the clothes that adorned your body, before an exhausted sigh escaped past your lips.

It’s not that you didn’t like this job, it paid so well. Attending to privileged, rich, entitled people was definitely the con to this end of retail. And everyone knew it, everyone would experience some kind of chaos with an entitled customer at one point, yours just happened to be yesterday.

As you sighed once more, you walked over to your bag that was sat on the bar stool, grabbing your keys from inside your bag before shutting the door and locking it closed.

It never took you took long to get to work, the drive only taking a mere 15 minutes. As you neared the lot of the luxury shopping district, a frown painted across your face as the woman from yesterday walked out from the storefront, anger filling her features as she stormed through the doors.

As you pull in to park, the woman continues to walk down the sidewalk, disappearing into her own parked car. You waited until she was out of sight before you exited your car to the building. The guard at the door stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face, his mustache moving as he spoke.

“Good morning Miss l/n.” He chirped. His smile however, dropped slightly at the site of you, your own smile no where to be found.

“Good morning Sir.” You nodded politely, before striding past the entrance, a crisp cold breeze of the store air conditioning blowing past you, with the scent of perfumated air.

As you stopped at the back counter to clock in, your coworker Kristin took note of your mood instantly. “Well good morning to you too,” She giggled, “oh cheer up y/n. She was a bitch, it wasn’t your fault at all. She was here again to complain about the same thing, I told her all locations did not have what she wanted since it was from an older season.”

“I saw her as I pulled in. I do feel like it’s my fault though. I didn’t have enough knowledge about the item she was inquiring about. I should have immediately gone to you the second I saw it going the way it was.” You made yourself take a step back in your thoughts, wondering why she got so mad so easily.

You had only been working at this store location for upwards of two months. So your were still learning as you worked. Kristin was helpful, educating you on everything from styles, to perfumes, to items coming in and out of the season, followed by how to help run the store, inventory checks, all that it takes to help run such a business.

But there was so much more to learn, and this was the aftermath of that.

“Ok, remember what I said about reading a person, based on their style alone, and how it gives you small insight on things they might be interested in?” She asked you. You furrowed your brows thinking back to this piece of information she’d taught you.

“Try it with him.” Kristin nods her head in the direction of a tall man standing at the glass door of the storefront. His hand grasps the door handle, his eyes trained on opening the door and stepping inside.

His aura was unlike any other, you could not explain it. He exuded confidence in his walk, his long coat accentuating his tall and lean stature. His hair was dark, parted down the middle, the ends having slight waves that almost framed his face. As he slowly paced the showroom, he stopped at the eye glasses. Kristin nudged her head again in the direction of man.

You walked over hesitantly, glancing over your shoulder back at Kristin. She gestured her hands in a shoo’ing motion for you to continue your way in this mans direction. Your fear of a repeat of yesterday was what fogged your mind currently, which had you frozen in your spot. As you take a breath, you step forward until you were met with the opposite side of the glass case that he was standing upon, his eyes continuing to hover over the display. You observe him for a second, looking at the pair of sunglasses in his coat chest pocket.

Square frames.

“You might want to try the more rounded frames, they seem like they’d suit you better.”

“Mmm, can I see them?” His accent is thick, australian. It catches you off guard, but you quickly shake it off.

"Which pair would you like to see?" You swallow a bit of that fear back as he seems to be fairly decent, but you couldn't speak too soon, people could show their colors in the snap of a finger and that was what you were afraid of.

He continues to search the glass case, his thumb and index finger on his chin as he decides which round frames to try on. His eyes never meet yours yet, finally pointing to a pair he took interest in. As you pull out a small standing mirror and place it on the glass case for his viewing convenience, despite the store having full, well sized mirrors, you thought you might make it easier for him instead of having him walk to one of the full size mirrors attached to the walls toward the back side of the store.

You remove your key from your wrist, unlocking the back sliding glass of the display, gently grasping the pair of glasses he had previously pointed at. As you open the arms of the pair of glasses, you turn them around, making it easier for him to grab from your smaller hands before he places the pair of glasses on.

You are still standing on the opposite side of the display, observing him as he changes his stance. He hunches over a bit to get a look in the mirror. He pushes the frame up the bridge of his nose, tilting his head slightly before his eyes finally set on you before him.

"How do these look?" His once soft and friendly gaze turned into that of bewilderment. His eyes furrowed in confusion as he took in every little feature of your face. Eyes continuing to search yours, he hesitates before letting out a single word.

“Y/n?”

With surprise, you hesitate, wondering if you knew the man before you. “I’m sorry do I know you?”

Much to his disappointment, his expression changed as you confirmed with your question. But it confused him to the point where he was questioning so much. Like why you look exactly like his first love. Everything else was different, the way you acted, the way you dressed, granted it was modern times in this century he was in, but he couldn’t mistake you for anyone else. So why was it so different for him.

And of all names in the entirety of existence, yours was the same as hers.

“I’m sorry,” He breathed, his eyebrows scrunching again as a huff left his lips. Gently removing the glasses from himself, he set them on the display case and quietly walked out of the store.

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[starsreminisce]

I want to know more about post-necklace Elucien please!! [from your WIP post]

Of course, you picked my Secret Relationship AU oneshot, haha.

With close to 10k words, I'm currently rewriting the end. I'm struggling with pacing and questioning whether it even makes sense, but I had this headcanon where Elain-with-Lucien is completely different from Elain-with-her-family. I wanted to explore a different dynamic between Elain and Lucien after the necklace incident (something I've written about more than once) but recapping their relationship from the end of ACOWAR.

Since it's almost finished, here are some snippets of my favorite passages:

Standing before his door, she mustered the courage to knock. No response. She increased the intensity of her knocks, soon verging on kicking as an overwhelming urge took hold of her.

Eventually, he opened the door, peering out with drowsy irritation. She braced herself for the disruption of his sleep and met his expectant gaze.

"I don't want to be alone right now," Elain murmured softly, attempting to widen her eyes pleadingly.

He sniffed the air and bared his teeth, curtly responding, "Go warm his bed."

With a dismissive slam of the door, she sighed in frustration again, finding her mate's attitude upon being woken quite lacking. Even if she probably did smell like another male.

Resorting to a combination of knocking and kicking, she persisted until he reluctantly reopened the door, a snarl on his face.

"Wrong room," he growled.

Just as he was about to slam the door again, she blurted, "I want to sleep in this room, in your bed, with you, until I'm ready to leave tonight."

Meeting his narrowed slits with a smug smile, the magic of their bargain started to take effect, and his russet eye glowed. People often underestimated her quick thinking and need for precision in her wording due to Lucien's craftiness. If she had a sense of humor, she might have enjoyed that about him, but it often left her frustrated, especially when he gloated.

"This is why I hate bargains," he muttered.

"Is that a yes?"

They cautiously scanned the hallway to ensure their privacy.

"Only if you remove that shit and take a bath before coming to bed. You reek of him," Lucien said, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"So grumpy," she teased as she entered.

----

What had truly stung, perhaps more than anything, was the ease with which Lucien had released her. It made her feel as though she were the only one still clinging to the potential of their connection, while he had moved on effortlessly. The rawness of that realization pierced through her, and it was a hurt she hadn't anticipated. 

He had continued avoiding her, and the pain deepened as he ceased to ensure her well-being. She no longer needed excuses to leave his presence, as he never lingered after his visits to Velaris, regardless of Feyre's requests or Rhys’s demands. His avoidance even extended to questions about her and his waning interest in her affairs. It was apparent in the way he stopped asking about her altogether.

The pain intensified as Azriel, too, began to limit his interactions with her, creating distance between them. It was peculiar how it was easier for her to grapple with the sadness of Azriel's avoidance than to confront the stark reality of Lucien's actions. She knew that Lucien couldn't evade her indefinitely, given the binding nature of their connection, but Azriel's deliberate choice to distance himself was entirely his own prerogative.

In an ironic twist, Lucien's avoidance hurt even more than Azriel's. It was evident that he was successfully battling against his instincts, and that realization cut deeper.

She left the bed and leaned against the doorjamb. Her gaze lingered on the image of him, his half-closed eyes revealing his annoyance at being woken up, as he carefully swirled the water, mixing in the jasmine and honey oils into her bath. The fragrant scent filled the room, creating an ambiance of relaxation and intimacy.

"Make sure to wash your hair too," he instructed in a soft, husky tone. "I want no trace of him."

Elain couldn't help but flash him a coy smile. "Can you shampoo my hair then?"

He was awake enough to shoot her a withering look, his eyes locking onto hers. "I am not shampooing it."

"Do you want me to dry it instead?" he offered, breaking the tension that had been building in the room.

She nodded, making an effort to keep her focus on his face and not his bare body. Looking down would only lead to daydreams, and daydreams would lead to desires, which would, in turn, lead to requests he denied.

"Your bath's ready," he said as he turned off the water. "I'll fetch you a nightgown and underwear."

A furrow creased Elain’s brow as she countered, "No, you're a furnace when you sleep. I'll just take it off later."

Lucien replied flatly, "You're not coming to bed naked. You can sleep naked in your own bed."

With an eyebrow raised, Elain retorted, "You're naked right now!"

Too late, she looked down, and her mouth went dry from his magnificent sight. His body was a canvas of sinewy muscle, and a fox wearing a flower crown tattoo of their bargain was positioned conveniently on his lower hip. The only tattoo on his body. Hers alone. Her imagination began to wander, contemplating the places her lips might travel, the tastes her tongue might savor, and intimately aware how Lucien would respond. It was a momentary distraction that took her to the edge of indecent thoughts, only to be yanked back by Lucien's firm voice.

"—my bed and my sleep you interrupted!" He broke her reverie with an exasperated tone.

She raised her chin defiantly, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "You didn't specify that as a condition when you agreed."

Elain couldn't help but smile sweetly as he responded with a more sarcastic version of his own. She relished these moments when she outwitted him.

"I'm putting pants on," he responded, his tone laced with annoyance.

----

“How?” she croaked, her voice a raspy whisper. “It’s clear they don’t think of me as capable if they wanted Nesta to go.”

He pondered for a moment, a playful glint in his eyes. “I’ll kidnap you.”

A surprised giggle escaped her lips, “You’ll kidnap me?”

“It worked for Feyre,” he shrugged nonchalantly, brushing away more tears. “Rhys kidnapped her, and now she’s High Lady of Night. I’ll kidnap you, and you can be …”

“Emissary?”

“I don’t know how I feel about you taking my job.”

“Assistant Emissary, then.”

“Assistant to the Emissary,” Lucien said smugly, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "You'll need to learn how I like my tea."

Elain rolled her eyes. “I feel it's more apt to say how much tea you would like in your milk.”

“Is that so?” Lucien’s grin grew wider. “I didn’t realize you’ve been watching how I like my milky tea.”

“Because it’s disgusting,” Elain retorted. “I watch you in horror and disgust.”

Lucien chuckled. “And yet you still keep watching.”

----

It didn’t matter that she and Lucien had spent the day holding hands, wandering through the Palace of Bone and Salt while the rest of the Inner Circle were occupied elsewhere. It didn’t matter that they stayed in the kitchen, engaged in conversation, teasing, and laughter as Elain prepared the feast. It didn’t matter that she caught a whiff of his arousal, prompting her to express her desires, telling him she wanted to know what he wanted to do to her at that very moment before he approached, bared her ass, and immersed himself in her so deeply that she saw stars—kneading her breasts as she kneaded the dough before her.

"What matters," he whispered, hot breath against her ear, "is that you have work to do. Concentrate."

She whimpered, struggling to concentrate on shaping the bread as he moved deliberately and gently, exploiting her desire for roughness. "Harder," she growled.

"Oh, no, shy little fawn," he teased, his timbre sending shivers through her body. "You need to concentrate."

She sighed as he continued to thrust at a glacial pace, working quickly to finish her task as he peered over her shoulder. Desperate for more friction, she ground her hips against his, attempting to compensate for the deliberate slowness, but he kept her steady, growling at her to concentrate once again.

[pink-tonic]

Can This Be Called a Success?🔪

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Warning: Blood

He got away.

Why did he have to get away?

I want to run after him, but there is a potential witness outside. Taeko.

She's still standing behind the cherry tree waiting for (Y/N). I can't let her see me like this or see this mess. I look down at the pool of blood a few feet away from me and see how it's slowly spreading across the previously polished gymnasium floor.

My eyes are memorized by the spread of the crimson liquid. My mind can't help but imagine if (Y/N) was laying on top of the liquid. Today, I hoped to see his lifeless body on the ground, but I failed. A small pool of blood can hardly be called a successful job when I was supposed to kill my rival.

The gymnasium feels frozen in time. The only thing that is moving is the blood, but the air around me feels still. It feels like the world has paused because of my actions.

Then I hear it.

Footsteps.

Footsteps that are progressively getting louder and louder. I can't help myself, and I rush to the storage room.

The last thing I want is to be caught and sent to jail. I leave the storage room door slightly ajar so I can take a peak.

I hear the footsteps stop, and the doors to the gymnasium burst open.

"(Y-Y/N)?" I hear my Senpai stutter out (Y/N)'s name.

I clench my teeth in frustration, I hate how she says his name. The way the name flows out of her mouth with ease pisses me off.

I hear her footsteps. She is getting closer. Then I hear the noise stop.

"Oh my God. Is that...blood?" She takes a step closer towards the pool of blood. She looks down at it before covering her mouth.

"It is. I-I need to get out of here!" I hear her footsteps once more before they disappear.

I know exactly what my Senpai is going to do. She isn't going to tell a single soul, and even if she did, not a single one would believe her anyway.

I open up the doors to the storage room and walk out of the gymnasium. I need to clean all this up before someone else finds it.

I rush to the locker room to wash up and change. I walk into the foggy locker room and open up my locker. I take my clothes off and shove them into the locker. I rush into the shower room and sit down on one of the yellow stools. I turn on the faucet and rinse my arms.

My hands are the bloodiest parts of my body. I hold my hands under the faucet, and watch the blood wash off and go down the drain. I continue to wash the rest of my body off, and wash my hair as well.

Eventually, I turn off the faucet and get up from the stool. I walk back into the locker room and change into my gym uniform. I take out my bloody uniform and then close the locker.

I walk out of the building and start to head into the school. I run over to the home economic room, and go straight to the washer. I dump my uniform into the washer and toggle the settings. I then press the start button, and the machine starts to spin the clothes around. I then grab one of the blue buckets and go over to the sink, I put the bucket underneath the faucet and wait for it to fill up. When the bucket is filled with water, I grab the bleach and unscrew the blue top. I pour some bleach into the bucket, I then close the bleach and place it where I found it.

With the bucket in my hand, I start to run over to the gymnasium. While I run, I make sure not a single drop of water falls out. When I make it to the gymnasium, I place the bucket next to the pool of blood.

I rush out of the gymnasium and back into the home economic room, I grab the mop and start to run back. When I make it back to the gymnasium, I immediately start to clean up the mess.

I dip the mop into the sparking water and then start to mop up the blood. Every time I dip the mop into the water, the water starts to get red. I start to worry that I might have to get more water, but fortunately, I'm able to clean all the blood in one go.

The gymnasium floor is back to its original look, but now I have to dump out the water. I want to dump out the bloody water in the grass, but I fear that the smell of blood will over take the smell of bleach. I decide it would be better if I dump out the water in the home economic sink. I decide not to rush, and instead, I calmly walk over to the room. When I make it inside, I go over to the sink and slowly pour out the water into the sink. While I pour out the water, I notice that it stains the white sink. I make a note to clean it up before I leave school.

I head back to the gymnasium and grab the mop. When I grab the mop, I start to notice that my breathing is getting heavier. My stamina must be low. If I join the martial arts club or the sports club, I'm sure that not only will my stamina go up but also my overall strength. I should join one of those clubs soon.

I walk back into the home economic room, and place the mop back where I found it. I check up on my clothes, and I see that it is currently drying. Thank God this school has a two in one washer, it makes things easier for me.

I go over to the sink and start to clean off the red stains. They come off with ease. It only takes a few splashes of water for them to come off.

As I turn off the faucet, I hear a beep come from the machine. I walk over to it and open it up. I take out my uniform and close the machine back up. I look around the room to make sure that everything is where it needs to be. The bleach is where it needs to be, the mop is leaning against the wall like it usually is, the bucket is next to the mop, the sink looks as clean as ever, and the washing machine looks untouched. Perfect.

When I close the door behind me, I can't help but frown. Sure, I didn't leave a trace of what I've done, but (Y/N) is still alive. This can't be called a success, but at the very least, I didn't get caught.

I leave the school and head back home. Today, I won't bother to follow my Senpai, I'm sure she went back home right after what she saw.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

When I make it home, I don't stay long. I change out of my gym clothes and into something more comfortable. I think it's a good time to get a job. The money my parents gave me before they left is starting to get low, and I doubt they'll be sending any.

Now, I'm standing on one of the busiest streets in hopes of finding a job. I see men and women walk in and out of shops, some are standing and talking, and others are sitting on a few of the benches placed around. I walk down the street and look at the shops. There are a few establishments, but only one of them wants employees.

A butler café.

Can I really get this job? There is a picture of a boy in a butler outfit on the sign, and he looks like the opposite of me. His bright smile and eyes, the text next to him with a welcoming phrase, and his enthusiastic pose: are everything that I can't do.

But I'm running low on money, and I don't want to use any of my Info Points on a wad of cash. I take the chance and walk into the baby blue building.

When I walk inside, I'm met with the same shade of blue painted on the walls but with the added addition of white, too. I look around and see a few customers sitting and eating their food. A few of the employees are going back and forth between the tables and the kitchen. I don't notice how long I've been staring until someone talks to me.

"Umm... excuse me? Sir, are you here for a table?" The employee asks me.

"I'm here to work, I noticed the sign outside," I tell him as I point to the window where the help wanted sign is seen.

"Oh, yes! I'll be right back," the boy tells me before walking away and leaving me standing by myself.

I wait, and in a few minutes the boy comes back.

"You're hired," he simply tells me.

"Really?" I can't help but to feel surprised.

"We're really tight on staff, so the boss will take anyone," the boy explains, "You'll start working at the beginning of next week. I'm assuming you're still in school, so we would like you to come in right after school. If you have any clubs, you should let the boss know, but tell him on your first day, he's busy right now."

"I'll let him know. Thank you," I walk out of the restaurant and head back home.

I head back home, and now I'm able to rest. I didn't know getting a job could be that easy, but I just got lucky. One less thing to worry about.

But going straight after school for the job can be a burden. Less time to take care of my Senpai. I'll need to tell my boss that showing up straight after school won't work for me. He is tight on staff, so I doubt he'll get rid of me that easily.

I start to get comfy in my bed and cuddle up to one of my Senpai's plushies that I stole from her room. I can smell her scent on the cute cat, I can't help but imagine it's her in my arms. I fall into a blissful sleep shortly after.

[donkeytonk]

Hunger, epilogue

[This ending of the original RP thread was written by @weretoad-writer, Crispin's AMAZING writer, with a small deletion by me here for clarity. He's such a good man, and he was feeling terrible and afraid the whole time, himself having experienced the brutality of capture and torture by the Templars years before, and he had to overcome panic every time he visited Sula in the cells. But he didn't show her those emotions, so my writing sadly wasn't able to acknowledge them. I was trying to keep it all as Sula's point of view. This picks up from when he leaves her to sleep in the little room in the infirmary, from Hunger part 2. (Here's Hunger part 1.)]

---

“Good,” he smiled back at her. “I won’t be far, if you need anything.” He slipped quietly out of the room, leaving the door a little ajar so that it might feel less like she was being shut in, and made his way across the larger, open space. He felt oddly weak and dazed all of the sudden and he found his steps carrying him towards the refuge of one of the smaller rooms. The dispensary was blessedly empty and he closed the door, sagging heavily against it. Before there had been Sula to focus on, and the logistics of beds and space and blankets, but now, now he was alone and his mind began to grasp the full significance of what had happened, and the full measure of relief washed over him like a wave as bit by bit the ‘what if’s, the fears, all of the terrible things he’d been so afraid of began to fall away. He felt light and at the same time so heavy he could barely stand, he was soaked through, sodden with relief. He leaned his head back against the door and shut his eyes, letting go of a sigh and it felt as if his entire body was exhaling.

The cold, closed off, tight feeling -- the sort of mental tunnel vision of the past weeks was gone and there was a funny, loose feeling in his chest. Everything that had happened in the past few days [....], everything that had happened with Sula, the cells -- Merciful Andraste, he didn’t have to go back there again, he didn’t have to go back. There were tears in his eyes, stinging and blurring his vision. Everything that had happened had all snarled together, coiled and tight and indistinguishable and suddenly it was all coming undone and he could feel everything at once. There was a knock on the door and he started, shifting quickly out of the way, wiping at his eyes as Aldith nudged through with a bowl of bloody water and soiled bandages. She looked at him in surprise, but even red-eyed and wet-faced he couldn’t keep the relieved smile from his face, and he took the bowl from her, settling gratefully into the familiar pattern of the work. It was over.

[nyangtokkiz]

Tether (Atsushi Nakajima x Akutagawa Ryuunosuke)

Words like thank you. A promise to have each other’s backs next time, too. A reminder that they were here. That they stayed alive again. That I’m here, if you need me. We’re in this together always.

You have me.

Read on AO3

There’s a bug by the door.

Akutagawa is sitting on some dirty motel floor, bleeding out, wounds all over his body, and there’s a bug by the door. 

It’s been caught in a cobweb, thin legs scrambling to get out of the sticky restraints. Akutagawa stares at it blearily, pointedly ignoring how his vision was starting to spin, and tries to search his brain for a metaphor.

He snorts instead. Closes his eyes. Lets his head fall back against the wall.

He’s bleeding out.

“What’s so funny?” 

Listens to the sound of shuffling and muffled traffic.

“I’m bleeding out.”

He peeks one eye open, watching as bare skin and white hair fill his vision. The hand that he was pressing against the deepest wound in a sad attempt to stop the bleeding is suddenly pried away, replaced with a white cloth that the blood immediately soaks into. 

Akutagawa internally winces at the thought of having to wash that.

“Wasn’t aware you and Dazai-san had the same humor now.”

He ignores the annoyed response, noting the concealed panic. He busies himself with trying to shift in place instead, finding that his other leg was now numb, then regrets it immediately when a flash of pain twinges up his spine. Fuck.

Atsushi sends him a sharp glare. Pinches his numb leg. “Stop moving.”

Akutagawa glares back weakly. “My leg is numb.”

“Akutagawa, you’re bleeding out. Just shut up. Quiet. Nothing from you until I stop the bleeding.”

And so Atsushi patches him up, just like he's done for every other mission, and Akutagawa loses himself to the sound of his partner’s labored breathing and worried glances. Akutagawa tries to reassure him. He wasn’t dying. They both know this. There’s no reason for Atsushi to look so panicked. He’s really had worse than this.

No words come out of his mouth.

Atsushi had worked quickly, but it still takes them a couple minutes to relocate from the floor to the bed due to the fear of reopening any stitches. Once they’re finally close enough, he gets propped up on two single beds pushed together. 

(In his almost feverish state, Akutagawa scrambles his brain for when Atsushi had the time to move the beds. Distantly remembers a double bed when they first checked in.

Wonders when they started booking one bed rooms.)

Atsushi is still shirtless when he comes back from washing whatever he could in the bathroom, hands wringing a hand towel tinted in pink and blotches of red. They meet eyes, and both of them shiver when a cold draft filters into the room from the slightly ajar window. 

He breaks Atsushi’s gaze and turns to eye the white dress shirt discarded to the side. It was completely soaked in blood, so it was an unspoken rule that it was to be burned later. There was no hope of saving it.

In the back of his mind, he thinks of the bug.

“Put something on.”

Atsushi snickers, but doesn’t look up from where he’s busy wrapping the spare bandages around his wrists. (Un)fortunately, years of fighting had resulted in Atsushi being leaner, broader, more defined. He wasn’t all big muscles, but there was a certain strength to Atsushi now that he’s gotten more confident. 

And he sees this again in the way Atsushi looks up and smirks-

“Want me to waltz down to a family friendly store like this to buy us clothes and buy you some candy too?”

Akutagawa stiffens. Forces his gaze away for the second time in less than a minute.

“Idiot. I meant my coat.” Atsushi snorts, but dutifully follows his order. The next words come out of his mouth before he can stop it. “If you catch a cold, who's going to take care of you? I’m clearly out of commission.”

“Huh. That implies that if you were fine, you’d be taking care of me.”

“You see anyone else here?”

Akutagawa fires back, easily, quickly, but he prays to any god out there that his voice wasn’t as shaky as he thinks. Some morbid part of him hopes he lost enough blood to the point that a blush wasn’t possible. 

Atsushi doesn’t answer, but Akutagawa does see him grin. He watches as his white haired partner picks up his coat— tattered around the edges, but it was still in a condition good enough that it was wearable— slipping in one arm at a time.

It fits him perfectly. 

(Akutagawa knows this. He’s seen him wear it a hundred times.)

(But fuck, it’s different when they’re not in battle.)

So, for the third time that night, he looks away.

Seconds later, the bed dips. The weight wasn’t enough to jostle him, but it was there. Calming. Grounding. Atsushi sits near his legs, facing the window as he fiddles with their emergency phone. “Get some rest. I’ll keep guard until they come pick us up.”

“Taking them an awful long time.”

“They’re your goons.”

“Ngh.” Akutagawa simply grunts in reply, forgetting that the Port Mafia was leading this mission. The lines have been blurring too much lately. 

It takes a couple more minutes for him to rest comfortably, the adrenaline from the battle and staying alive still thrumming in his veins. He’s sure Atsushi feels it too, with how the other shifts and stands and sits back down again, but he never suggests they get up and get back to base on their own.

(Or Atsushi could just leave him here. Get back on his own. Akutagawa could wait by himself like he’s done a million times before. They both know this, but none of them acknowledge it.)

So Akutagawa yawns when the inevitable wave of fatigue from a battle and sleepiness washes over him. Doesn’t fight it like he would have a year or two ago. Lets his eyes slip shut. If he focused enough, he could hear Atsushi tapping his foot against the floor impatiently.

“Wake me in 15. Switch on lookout.”

“Mhm.”

“Atsushi.”

He feels more than he hears the responding chuckle. Lets the sounds soak into his weary bones. Feels a finger poke at his leg in reprimand.  “I’ll wake you. Get some rest, Akutagawa.”

And so he does. He sleeps, and he trusts in his partner to keep him safe while he’s in a vulnerable state. 

But the next time he wakes up, it’s not in 15 minutes. It’s not to the dirty motel room with a bug trapped in a cobweb by the door. It’s not to his bloodied, battered, and bruised post-fight body.

It’s to the beeping of a heart monitor.

He sees the white room, the white sheets, the white professionally wrapped bandages around his wounds, and he sighs. The Port Mafia guards by the door glance at him and confirm he’s awake, but they stay in their position.

It’s not long before he spots the cup on the bedside table as well, and the faint scent of fresh jasmine tea is enough to make him groan.

“Stupid,” is what he says, but his heart sings another word. A smile desperately tries to claw its way to his lips, but he pushes it down and smothers his face in a pillow to make sure it behaves.

He’s unbelievably annoyed at Atsushi for not waking him up so they could switch on keeping guard. God knows how long it took for his useless subordinates to come for them. He’s really fucking annoyed. He is. 

He’s…

Slipping his hand under the pillow that his head was resting on, it doesn’t take long for him to find the chipped and hanging by a thread outdated smartphone. The thing was on the verge of death, but it was reliable for missions.

His fingers type fast, but there’s a slight shake to them that he steadfastly ignores.

To: ADA Nakajima Atsushi  I told you to wake me.

The reply takes less than a second.

From: ADA Nakajima Atsushi oops. my bad.

It’s not like his crush on Atsushi was a secret. 

No, in fact, he hasn’t really tried to hide it either. It was a bit of a surprise when he realized his heart pumped just a tiny bit faster when the weretiger was around, but it was something he’d come to accept as easily as fish in water. 

After all, they’ve been through too much already. 

It’s been long since the truce started. It hadn’t been easy at first, though: he and Atsushi fought constantly, got on each other’s nerves, miscommunicated, and made decisions (mostly Atsushi) that troubled the other (mostly Akutagawa) greatly. 

And they did try to kill each other more than once. That was something pretty hard to forget. 

But despite it all, they were the New Double Black. They were partners. 

So in time, things eventually changed.

(Maybe it was the thousands of near death experiences and saving each other’s asses that helped him accept the revelation easily. Maybe it was the steady weight of a body supporting him as they limped back home. Maybe it was the smell of antiseptic and the press of warm calloused fingers patching him up. Maybe it was the times when there was the smell of fresh jasmine tea wafting in through an ajar door— gently waking him from the nightmares that chained his body to bed.)

(Maybe it was the day-afters, when they’ve finished up the job and written all the reports. When a nod meant a million things. A thank you. A promise to have each other’s backs next time, too. A reminder that they were here. That they stayed alive. That I’m here, if you need me. We’re in this together now.) 

(You have me.)

And Akutagawa wasn’t one to trust easily, no, he’s learned his lesson with that. Akutagawa wasn’t one to just accept that he maybe (totally) had the biggest crush on his ex enemy turned partner. But apparently, things change when it comes to Atsushi. 

Things like... the comfort of his own bed.

He doesn’t exactly miss the hard, smelly, cramped motel beds, god no. Not the overly large, luxurious, rose scented round beds the Port Mafia provide when they had the time and the money either. But lately, Akutagawa finds himself unsettled when he gets home from back to back week long missions. Not like before, when he all but collapses in relief every time he got the chance to be in the safety of his own apartment.

He does his usual routine; he calls Gin, assures her he’s okay and that he’ll visit soon. He takes a long, long hot bath with as many bath bombs as possible. He curls up in his favorite reading chair with a cup of jasmine tea. He indulges in splurging for an expensive painting he’s been eyeing for months.

But it still felt wrong. Even the tea tasted wrong. Jesus.

So by the time Akutagawa finally crawls into bed, the sun is crawling up the horizon, and his back and eyes are aching from the amount of reports he distracted himself with. But as soon as he gets under the covers, fully intending to sleep the restlessness away, he’s hit with a wave of... something. 

Something he hasn’t felt for a very long time. Something he had gotten better at dealing with before, but it seemed as if he was back to square one now. Something he detested, something he hated, no matter how much he liked being alone at times.

Loneliness-

beep beep beep beep

Akutagawa startles. Stares at the ceiling in confusion.

The noises happens again not even less than a second later, and it takes his fatigue muddled brain about 5 seconds to realize that oh shit, that was his phone. The one that wasn’t for missions.

This time he sits up, and swipes it off the nightstand.

From: ADA Nakajima Atsushi haha you

From: ADA Nakajima Atsushi [Video: a cat hissing and then happily licking a finger and then hissing again.]

Akutagawa squints at the message, then blinks.

What about him?

He doesn’t reply, but the video was cute, so he lies back down and curls on his side and plays the video over and over again. Drags his thumb against the screen gently. Clicks play again.

Distantly, he ponders on the fact that Atsushi was awake. He wonders if he’s unsettled as he was.

Then, as if summoned, his phone rings. 

He presses answer and speaks first. “Why are you awake?”

Silence. Then, “why are you awake?”

“I asked first.”

“Well, I asked second.”

Akutagawa rolls his eyes. “You’re acting like a child.” No answer. “Are you sticking your tongue out right now?”

“No.” A scoff. Akutagawa knows he’s lying. “Did you finish your report?”

And so, they talk about work, because that’s all they ever seem to do. And just as the first rays of sunshine slither through the slits in his curtains, Akutagawa starts to doze off. His head lols forward slowly then jerks back up, catching himself at the very last second. Atsushi’s mindless chatter can be heard throughout the entire room— Akutagawa put him on speaker an hour ago— but he can hear the other’s speech slurring. Like he was fighting sleep too. 

Akutagawa should tell him to shut up, that he lost track of what he was talking about maybe thirty minutes ago, but he then finds that he's too tired to move his mouth. So he lets Atsushi blabber on, and situates the phone beside his head.

It was oddly familiar.

(He can’t count on one hand how many times they’ve fallen asleep next to each other. He also can’t remember when he’s gotten used to it.)

Just as the short hand on the clock brushes against the number six, Atsushi’s voice finally lulls him to the sleep that they both so desperately needed after weeks of risking their lives.

This time, his chest finally settles.

“Are you stupid?!”

Akutagawa paces back and forth, eyes staring daggers at Atsushi who was hanging off the side of a 30 storey building, fully intent on climbing all the way to the top.

“Maybe I am!” Atsushi bites back just as harsh, teeth gritting as he pulls himself up. Rashoumon buzzes restlessly, almost as if she was going to dart out and save Atsushi herself if Akutagawa wasn’t going to do it. 

Akutagawa reminds himself again that he couldn’t. He had another job to do. Atsushi had a job to do. He couldn’t- now wasn’t the time to-

“Akutagawa!”

He’s jeopardizing the missio-

“Ryuunosuke, you fucking idiot! Get it together!” 

He startles at the use of his first name, mouth gaping at Atsushi. “Did you just-“

“You need to move! We have to get there at the same time, remember?! You need to go.”

Akutagawa opens his mouth to reply, but then Atsushi’s claws fumble on the edge for the slightest second and his heart is jumping to his throat. 

Once he steadies himself, Atsushi shakes his head, but he isn’t looking at Akutagawa.

Rashoumon— frozen halfway between the two— slowly slinks back to his coat, and Akutagawa has half the mind to note that he activated her unconsciously.

“I’ll be fine.”

It’s almost a reflex when he replies, “I know.” 

But I still worry is left unsaid.

“Go,” Atsushi tells him again, gentler this time, but Akutagawa still hesitates. 

He was stuck. He couldn’t move.

Distantly, he thinks, this is what that fucking bug felt.

They’ve done this a hundred, maybe a thousand times now. This isn’t the first time Atsushi did something that had the possibility of costing him his life. It wasn’t Akutagawa's first time either. This was the normal. Every mission, they risk their lives. Every mission could be the last. One of them could die right now. They could both die right now.

(He knows this. They know this. They’ve known this even before they were partners. So why-)

(Why was it so hard to go?)

Say it.

“Atsushi, I-“

“Go, Akutagawa.” Atsushi looked angry now, fangs and claws extending, stance defensive.

But on top of that, he looked desperate. He looked as desperate as Akutagawa felt, eyes swimming with emotion Akutagawa only allowed himself to have a glimpse of before. 

He shoves down the urge to look away.

“Please.”

And so their eyes meet properly, and it’s in that split second that Akutagawa finally understands. 

With every bit of strength that he had, he turns on his heel and runs.

Not now. 

They complete the mission. 

Of course they do. They were the New Double Black.

They’re successful, but each step that Akutagawa takes is heavier than the last. 

His body is heavy, bones aching and wounds stinging, but his eyes frantically search through the rubble. There’s still fire from the previous bomb, and Akutagawa fears it’s going to find some gas to cling onto and cause another explosion.

He runs faster.

Thankfully, not a minute later, he finds him. Of course he does. 

He quickly spots the mix of white and black on the edge of the forest, right where the explosion ended, and the weight that lifts from Akutagawa’s shoulders at the sight of Atsushi is enough for him to get there in mere seconds.

He’s awake when Akutagawa steps into his line of vision. 

Their gazes meet.

“Told you I’d be fine.”

I know. Is what he wants to say. The words bubble in his throat, but they don’t come out.

However, it’s at that moment, that Akutgawa finds it in himself to laugh. It’s a short, abrupt laugh, and it’s pained. Atsushi blinks at him, startled. It’s the first time he’s laughed openly in front of him.

They’ve done this a hundred times before, but it’s the first time he’s let the fear of losing Atsushi actually consume him. He had been scared. He still is.

But he’s an idiot. They both were.

So Akutagawa breathes in deeply— once, twice— and then lets himself fall.

This time, the wave of emotions doesn't wash over him slowly. Instead, it punches him straight in the chest, quite literally knocking the breath out of him. His knees wobble, and he was the less injured one, but Atsushi’s fast reflexes still let him manage to catch Akutagawa when he crumbles to the ground.

He’s bleeding out. 

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke slumps forward, and finds home in the crook of Nakajima Atsushi’s neck.

His heart is bleeding out.

Atsushi freezes in place at first, stiffening at the foreign feeling of a warm body pressed so close— the warm body of his ex-enemy no less— but he melts into the embrace just as fast as he hesitated.

It’s quiet for a few seconds, until a hand tentatively curls around the back of his neck.

“No dramatic confessions when we’re on the verge of death, alright? Don’t do that.”

A laugh bubbles out Akutagawa’s throat again.

This time, it’s unintentional, and it’s filled with disbelief. Atsushi keeps trying to pull back to look at him, presumably to look at his laughing face, but Akutagawa stays firmly rooted to his hiding place. Shuts his eyes and presses his forehead against a collarbone. Not yet. 

“Would you have let it end like that, then?”

“Huh?”

“If one of us had died.” He says it bluntly, like the words didn’t stick a sharp knife straight to his heart and twisted. “If we had both died. Would you have been fine with-“ 

“I knew.” Atsushi whispers, and time stills. “Even if you didn’t say it— even if you don’t ever say it— I knew. I know.” Then he stops, as if embarrassed, but continues, almost shyly, “and... I hope you do too.”

Akutagawa begs his heart to stop beating so fast. It was embarrassing. Atsushi could probably feel it with how close they were pressed together. His hands were shaking too, he could feel it. They both could. The fingers intertwining with his and squeezing proved so.

God, you idiot. I do. 

(So, Akutagawa leans in close, closer than they’ve ever been, and warm calloused fingers trail up to cup heated porcelain skin. The hand at his hair tightens, and they press closer and closer— as if the world would end if they so much as left an inch between them.)

(He uses his own lips to press words that he wants to say and will say over and over again onto pink chapped lips. Words like thank you. A promise to have each other’s backs next time, too. A reminder that they were here. That they stayed alive again. That I’m here, if you need me. We’re in this together always.) 

(And finally, you have me, as I have you.)

[strawberrin3]

VISIONS I: TO SEE

ᴀ ᴛʀɪᴄᴋ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɢʜᴛ

Kevin heaved the bucket filled with icy water with difficulty. Sighing greatly, he started walking to the small silhouette of a cottage. As he walk he could hear the crunch beneath his boots as it slowly sinks down in the thick layers of snow. He could feel regret wash over him as soon as he felt his face numb from the cold. He should've brought a scarf with him.

After a long while, Kevin could finally see the silhouette of the cottage getting bigger and bigger. He could feel the excitement and relief of finally getting to the warmth of the house so he quickened the pace, completely ignoring that most of the water in the bucket is spilling. Kevin could just feel the warmth coming right at him until he started to stumble on an object making him trip and fall face flat on the snow.

He groaned, getting up to see what has tripped him. And there is was. What looks like a snowball with rabbit ears right on the ground, the creature itself seemed to be holding a boot with its ear. Kevin could feel his heart drop at the sight of it.

"Oh no, not you again!" He fumed in frustration, trying to grab the Snow Blunny but quickly failed as it hopped away pretty easily out of his grasp.

"HEY GET BACK HERE!" He demanded. He started to grab the empty bucket and began to chase the Snow Blunny. He tried grabbing the ears of the Snow Blunny  but failed, then he tried crushing it with the bucket multiple times buy he kept missing.

As he kept chasing the Snow Blunny he once again tripped and fell face flat onto the snow. He got up, frustrated and saw another Blunny next to the first.

"OH COME ON! THERES MORE?!" He screamed. Taking the empty bucket once again and trying to get his boot back from one of the Snow Blunny. It took a few minutes for Kevin to finally snatch his boot back.

There Kevin lay on the snow, tlired and exhausted from all the running. He looked to his left and saw the two Snow Blunnies hop away, seemingly satisfied from what they have done. Kevin then looked to his right where he was holding the empty bucket, when he tripped and fell all the water spilled. Which would mean he would have to go back and start the journey all over again...

Groaning in frustration, Kevin stood up and went all the way back to where the water once was.

A few hours later Kevin came back, his shirt pulled up slightly to cover half of his face. An angry look upon his face. He walked slowly, not wanting to spill any water again. And as he saw the cottage nearing he started to hope that there would not be any more unwanted guests to trip him over.

He opened the door to see a half snow man hybrid: Retta. She was covered in cuts, wounds and bruises from head to toe. Some cuts were severely bleeding.

"Hey Kev what took so long-" Retta trailed off, looking at Kevin with her mouth ajar. Kevin sighed, knowing she was about to ask so he just answered with two words while placing the bucket of water on the wooden table.

"Snow Blunnies." Right when Kevin said that it took a while for Retta to get her voice back.

"Right. Well I've already prepared the hot water for you, it's in your room."

Kevin quickly passed Retta to go to his room, muttering a quick 'thanks' before he closed his room door. Once in his room, he immediately noticed the bucket next to the bathroom. Hastily taking the the bucket full of hot water he entered the bathroom and went to the tin bathtub. He heaved the bucket and started to pour the hot water in the tin bathtub. Once done he started to undress himself. Kevin could feel the hot water touch every part of his body. It was a relief to say the least after being outside in the cold for what seemed like hours. His fingers then wrap around the silky bar of soap and began to wash off any dirt left on his body.

After Kevin was done he went out of his room fully clothed with comfortable attire. He immediately noticed Retta-who was now fully bandaged- next to the counter, her back facing Kevin. She seemed to be making something so curiously Kevin walked towards the kitchen to where she was standing.

Narrowly avoiding the leftover bucket of cold water next to her, he slid right next to Retta to see two steamy cups of hot chocolate in front of her.

"What'cha makin Rae?" Kevin asked enthusiastically while looking at the two full cups.

"Oh, just some hot chocolate!" Retta ever so slightly adjusted her gloves as she spoke. Her eyes glued to the two cups of hot chocolate as she then bended down to open the drawers. Taking a box and placing it on the counter, then opening it to reveal few marshmallows stuffed inside. She picked a few of them and sprinkled both in each cup.

Giving one to Kevin, she made her way to the couch I'm the living room. Sitting down while taking a sip of hot chocolate, she motions to Kevin to come join her on the couch. As if she wanted to tell him something. Kevin walked and sat on the couch, confused on what Retta wants then asked.

"Is there something you wanted to telk me, Rae?"

Retta placed the mug of hot chocolate down and immediately began scouring in her messenger bag for a particular object, while Kevin looked at her with the same confused face. Finally she brought out a small object covered in paper. She opened carefully and there it revealed to be a small, black gem that appears to have a large chunk broken off it. Kevin looked at it curiously though still confused on what is going on, however Retta was looking at Kevin in excitement.

"The scratches." She said simply but Kevin still looked confused so she decided to elaborate more. "Before you went out to get water you asked how I got that my bruises and scratches. I got them from the thorns that were covering on what was said to be a cursed cave."

"A cursed cave?" Kevin was now fully intrigued looking at Retta with interest.

"Yep! It basically tool a lot of exploring but long story short, I found this gem and I decided to give it to you!"

Kevin paused for a while looking at the gem, he was still processing what Retta said.

"Me? This gem? That came from a cursed cave?"

Retta nodded.

"There is no way! If you think I'm going to blindly take a gem that came from a cursed cave then you thought wrong! I mean have even seen those horror stories?! I am not going to get killed or possessed by black cursed gem!"

Retta smile could be seen faltering.

"Oh come on Kev, those stories are just stories. Besides I know you want ittt." She said the last part teasingly, waving the black gem in front of Kevin. He grumbled, looking away with crossed arms. But after a long while he took a peak at it before snatching it away from Retta.

"Oh fine.." He grumbled. Retta chuckled smugly just as she began to chug her hot chocolate. Not at all concerning the amount of burns on her tongue that would appear because of her action. Afterwards she stood up quickly and dashed to her room door.

"Right, well I'm going to do some work. Could you go wash the dishes for me Kev?"

"What?! But why cant you-" He paused. "Fine.."

"Thanks!" She quickly said, sliding in her room and closing door quickly.

Kevin rolled his eyes, it was Retta's turn to do the dishes today. He started to get up and out of the couch to the small kitchen. Retta's cup in hand he placed the black gem he was still holding on the counter and went and got the soap to clean the cup.

Once he was finished cleaning the cup with the leftover water from the bucket next to him, he went over to pick up the black gem on the counter. Only to see it in its reflection.

☆Writer: @thatb1tchisback

[paradoxesofgalaxies]

I'm very irritable today. It might be the pain or the stress or my impending period. Whatever it is I am struggling. The social skills I've built up feel fine and I'm afraid to speak for fear of what words (and what voice) will come out.

I hate when we get like this.

[justyouraverageficwriter]

Orange ~

Sana x M Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst(?), Smut (eventually)

WC: 4322

Chapter 1 - Do Things Really Happen for a Reason?

Sana--

There is nothing else that can be heard in a small room but the sound of sobs. Tears that once held were now falling. Her bright orange hair is a mess. The covers and blanket disheveled. Life is hard for the Japanese girl trying to make a living in Seoul. Somehow, tonight seems to be so much harder than most after receiving a call of rejection for another job application. It has never been easy ever since she left home. She decided to control of her own life, but it seems to be one of the biggest mistakes she ever made. Many a times she thought of packing her bags and head home, run back to the comforts of Japan. However, her pride always pushed her to stay. It is her life, and no one can ever control it but her. Now is one of those moments. "You need to get a grip Sana", she constantly repeated in her head. But it was no use, no matter how many times she tried to raise her spirit, she was at an all-time low. It seems that the only way out is to embrace the sadness and hopefully sleep it out. Not long after the tears started to dry up and she expected to feel better, but nevertheless the sinking feeling is still there.

"Ah fuck it! I don't want to die drowning in my own tears."

She rose from the bed and proceeds the wash her face, tied her hair into a messy bun. She applies a light makeup oblivious about the fact that her eyes are puffed. She picked up her coat and the keys to her room. She decided to drown herself in alcohol and not in tears. She will go out drinking. As she stepped out of the door and into the dimly lit road of the neighborhood that she lives in, she felt the cold breeze of the night. She noticed she was dressed poorly against the cold. She tugged her coat tighter; the cold is the least of her worries.

She avoided the bar she frequently visits for the reason that she wanted to be incognito. She walked a good 30 minutes before settling to a lazy bar. It's still the eve of Wednesday but the place is a tad unpopulated compared to the other places. It is the perfect atmosphere to spend the night drinking the sorrow. Sana sat on the counter stool and ordered a bottle of soju. She noticed a guy sitting three chairs apart from her casually drinking and lost on his own thoughts. Sigh can be heard every now and then. "Well, it seems that I am not the only one trying to escape my problems," she muttered. Cruel as it may seem, the thought comforted her and without realizing it, a smile can be seen on her.

"Cheers to our problems!"

Sana raised her bottle towards the man and drank the bottom. The guy seems to be amused and said a few words Sana coud not comprehend. Not that it matters to her. The liquor just keep flowing into her throat. Bottle after bottle, she drank like there is no tomorrow. It was until her sixth bottle that the bartender getting reluctant on handing her the next drink. Sana is on her last legs. She mumbles incomprehensible phrases and laughs on her own. "Mister, o-one more p-please," as she tried to straighten herself to look like she is not wasted. In fact, she is. "(muffled)..stop. (muffled)..pay (muffled)..," was all that she heard from the bartender. Incredibly, she understood that the bartender was trying to get her to stop and pay. Still wanting the next bottle, she tried reached out. As her legs felt the weight of her body, it felt twice as heavy due to the amount of alcohol and unsurprisingly lost her footing and fall down. Sana's world turn black.

---

As consciousness slowly returned to her body, Sana felt comfortable even though her head has a raging headache. Maybe a little too comfortable that it felt weird. The bed felt too soft to be hers. The light of the morning sun greets her slightly ajar eyes. She closed her eyes shut and rolled to her side; her head is ringing like a church bell that waking up was the least thing she wanted to do. She may not remember what happened last night but she's glad she is safe and able to come home to her apartment. She put all her thoughts at back of her head. She is too hangover to care. However, as she settled to have another round of sleep, she heard something. It may not be loud, but she was sure of what the sound was. It was the sound of the opening door. Sana immediately opened her eyes and look towards the door. Her orange hair was obstructing her vision so she clumsily tried to get them out of the way. And there was silence. A man is looking straight at her bloated face, clearly amused of the whole show. She squinted her eyes to confirm what she saw. True enough, the man was still there.

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

"Good morning! I see that you're up already," the man said coldly and left the room right after.

Sana's eyes quickly scanned the room. The room was simple. A huge bed with beautifully styled headboard. A medium sized bedside table with a lamp with a couple of books on top. Books are stacked under as well. A huge cabinet of what Sana assumes to be the man's wardrobe. The room is spacious, but it does not feel empty because of the view across the bed. One side of the wall was made of glass. The blinders neatly tied to each side. A view of the city skyline in full display. However, it was not the best time to enjoy the view. As she checked herself, she realized she is only wearing her underwear below and someone else's shirt as her top. She is literally cursing herself for the circumstance she is currently in. Sana tried to recall everything that happened last night, but to no avail. "Did something happened to us last night?" she asked herself. She did not feel sore down under allowing her to think that nothing happened but waking up on someone else's bed suggest otherwise so she could not discount the possibility. She kicked her feet while pounding her head like a kid throwing tantrums because of the embarrassment she is currently feeling. But kicking, pounding and throwing tantrums will not help her now. She needs to get out of the situation as fast as possible.

She quickly stood up. Her headache striked once again disorienting her and forced her to sat back down into the bed. Headache is not her only problem, but she is also only in her panties for the moment. Her eyes scanned the room again trying to find her clothes, but she could not find them. What she found instead was a medicine and a glass of water. Sana assumed it to be hangover pills. It could be anything and possibly poisonous like some movie shit and she is some kind of hostage, but she drank the medicine regardless. She walked out of the room accepting her fate. The place was quaint and obviously exuding a man's style. The furnitures are simple but she knew they are not cheap. Those things scream money. She noticed a small space for a what she thinks as a home office and grand piano. There is a sense of openness to the whole place. "It's not the time to have a tour Sana," as she snapped herself out of her trance. Her nose picked up an appetizing smell, and involuntarily her stomach growl from hunger. She can now hear mellow sizzle of the oil as it cooks something. She knew immediately where to go. "Let's end this nightmare."

Reader--

Your senses were occupied with the dishes you are cooking. On one side, the soup just started to boil, and the sour but pleasant smell of kimchi has started to waft. On the other, your hand is busy mixing the fried rice. It's not every day you are cooking for three people. "Oppa, you have only been in Korea for less than a month and you already brought a girl to your place?" Tzuyu asked and you noticed a hint of amusement in her tone. You smile in defeat because you realized she is teasing you.

"I'm a doctor. I try to save lives as much as I could."

"You took her because she is pretty."

"Think what you want Tzuyu," you reply annoyed. Tzuyu smiled as she always does when she is teasing you. You always let her. Even when you're away studying in the United States, you two are always close. Always keeping contact with each other. You did not have it easy studying in America contrary to what most people think. Moving to US at a very young age to start your medical education. You were gifted and you took accelerated courses. It took you only 10 years to become a Cardiothoracic surgeon, of which it usually takes at least 15 years. Another two years of practice under your belt made you one of the youngest and equally skilled if not more compared to the best surgeons in Korea. But with all those accomplishments, comes hate from your peers. People throw rocks at things that shine as one song goes. Some discredit you because they think experience means more than just skill. That may be true, but you do not lack the experience yourself. Others are just plain racist. Those experiences made you always keep to yourself, viewing the world as one hostile place. People describe you as cold and maybe they are right. Except for Tzuyu, who always has been very dear to you.

"You have to check on her, you know. She might be up already." as she continues to drink her tea. You took the pots from the induction one by one and serve them to the table. Tzuyu smile wildly and clapped her hands to the smell of the Kimchijiggae. "I will be back to fry the eggs. I'll check on our guest first." Tzuyu nodded but already grabbed a bowl to have the jiggae. "Yah! You are supposed to wait for your older brother to eat first, you know. Basic manners!" She gave you a wide smile as a response and proceed to eat anyway. You did not try again knowing you're fighting a losing battle and heads to check on the girl you met last night. On the way into your room, your mind wandered to the events transpired that brought a complete stranger to your place.

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

Tuesday evening (Start of flashback)

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

It is your third week in Korea. You decided to accept the job offered by the Seoul National University Hospital after two years of contacting you to come back to work in your own country. One week in, you already felt the same judgement from the older doctors towards you just like back in US. Maybe even worse. At least in America, you earned their respect. You somehow doubt you'll get the same respect here. Still adjusting to your new workplace, the Tuesday evening felt a bit stressful, so you decided to go drinking. A quick drive and next thing you know, you found yourself sitting on the bar stool and having a glass of vodka. You finished it quickly and called for the bartender for another one. It is when you noticed someone sat three seats away from you. Her bright orange hair stood out the most. You pay her no mind at first and continued to fall deeper to your thoughts. "Cheers to our problems!" said the girl raising to what seems to be a toast. One thing did not match though, her bright hair did not reflect any of its light on her face. She looked sullen and you are quite sure she cried before she got here. Plus, the fact the she's holding a bottle of soju. It is clear as day, she's drinking whatever problems she has away.

"I hope you have someone to pick you up," you said as raise your glass as well. You received no reply. You know she's not gonna leave this bar on her own. You asked the bartender if she is a regular to the bar. The bartender told you that she is not and it's the first time he saw her. Not only that, but you also noticed two guys are watching the girl's moves waiting for the right moment to pounce. Smells like trouble. You quietly watch over the stranger as she continues to empty one bottle after another. Then the inevitable happened. One moment, she was reaching for the next bottle. Next thing, she is on the floor unconscious.

The two guys immediately stood up and tried to be the hero, but somehow you knew their intentions. And it's not good. Without thinking you stood on their way. Looking confused, one guy tried to intimidate you with his eyes. You simply jeered back. "I know you don't this know this girl. So let me tell you, whatever you are planning will just cause you trouble. I have watched and memorized your faces and will not hesitate to tell the police if I hear from the news tomorrow that something happened." Your words worked as both guys backed down and head out of the bar. You have played the hero, now this girl is gonna be your problem.

"I'll be taking her to my place, here's my card. Kindly contact me if someone looks for her." You hand the bartender your card. He accepted it, checked before keeping.

"Uhmm Doc, there is a slight problem."

Your eyebrow raised in confusion.

"The girl has not paid for her drinks yet."

You laughed at the whole circumstance. "This is what you get for being Superman," you said to yourself. After the transaction, you picked the unconscious Stanger and carried her in your arms.

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

Present (End of flashback)

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

Facing the door, you paused to check first if there is any kind of commotion inside. Complete silence. Twisting the knob and opening the door, you entered the room. It seems that she woke up as soon as you stepped inside. The next set of events that unfolded brought amusement to you. You never seen someone sat up as fast as she did in your whole life. She looked at you while trying to fix her hair. It was silly to the point of cute. You knew she was trying to remember who you are. However, the more she tried the more her face twitch in failure. "Good morning! I see that you're up already," you said to break the silence. Thinking that you have done enough you left the room and went straight back to the kitchen.

Tzuyu was now fully on breakfast mode. "Do you want an egg?" you asked as you heat the pan. She shook her head. Whisked a bit of oil on the now heated pan, you cracked an egg. Completely unaware of what's going to happen next.

Sana--

Sana marched to the kitchen with nothing below the waist but her underwear. She did not have a choice. "Can I at least have my clothes..please?" She tried to sound demanding but ultimately failed. The kitchen stood to a standstill. When Sana realized there are two set of eyes looking at her direction, it was too late to run and hide. She could not bear the embarrassment. She flopped down on her knees and cried. It's one thing to wake up in another person's bed but it is a totally different story waking up to a guy's bed with a girlfriend or worse, a wife. She wished the ground would eat her whole. She did not expect any of this. Expecting a kind of commotion between the two people with her in that room, she braced herself to be laughed at or be ridiculed. However, she felt a piece of clothing wrapped around her. She looked up and saw the girl smiling at her.

"Unnie, you have to stand up. The floor is cold."

Sana could not make a reply. She could not understand what is happening.

The girl pulled her up and fixed the bath robe around Sana. "You have to take a shower first." Tzuyu then guided Sana to the shower.

"I assume you can shower on your own right?"

Sana is still in a daze. She is too confused to utter even a single word.

"I'll be right here, take your time unnie. Call me when you're done. My name is Tzuyu by the way."

Sana nodded because it was the only thing her body can do. Obeying Tzuyu's command seems like a law in her brain so she head for the bathroom and discarded the rest of her clothing without even thinking. As she turned on the shower, her mind was awakened by the first contact of water on her skin. The water is heavenly. It was like finally having a much-needed shower after many days of not being able to take a bath. Somehow, the shower gave her strength. She may not have the answers to her questions right now and quite possible never will, but one thing is clear. She needs to extend her gratitude to her host, and apologize to Tzuyu at the very least. Her shower took more than 10 minutes, mentally preparing for the words to say. She turned off the water and reached for the fresh robe. Sana stepped out of the bathroom and noticed Tzuyu still waiting outside.

"I think the shower worked wonders on you, unnie. You looked much better now."

"Thank you, Tzuyu-ya", Sana started to say her prepared lines. But before she can deliver the next phrase Tzuyu dragged her to a room with fresh clothes laid on the bed.

"Unnie, I handpicked these clothes for you to wear. I honestly cannot choose myself, so I leave it to you. I'll be outside if you need me, okay? "

"Tzuyu-ya", Sana held the young girl's hand preventing Tzuyu on her way out.

"I cannot wear any of these. I would just like to have my clothes please?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible unnie, Oppa said he threw them. It's covered in vomit sadly."

"Vomit? I fucking even threw up?" Sana was cursing herself on her head again causing a visible frown on her face. Tzuyu did not fail to notice it.

"Are those clothes special to you, unnie? I can ask Oppa if he can still retrieve it."

"No!" Sana replied. "It's just these clothes are expensive."

Tzuyu smiled widely again. "Well, it's going to be one of two things Unnie. You're wearing one of these clothes or you will go home naked?" The choice was easy. Sana settled on a checkered one-piece dress with white collar and long sleeves. It looked the simplest out of all the clothes to choose from. The length was a bit short for Sana's taste, but this will do. Tzuyu exclaimed her praise the moment Sana stepped out of the room.

"I like your style unnie. You look beautiful." Sana found it a bit awkward receiving praise from another woman. This time, Sana had the chance to properly look at Tzuyu and she was blown away by her beauty. Tzuyu has the prettiest of faces, a slim body and tall. A perfect ten as beauty is concerned. So being praised made Sana blush and shy at the same time. "Do you happen to know if your boyfriend got my phone and my wallet too? And I apologize for causing a scene. I hope I did not cause any more trouble aside from sleeping on his bed." Sana was again on the verge of crying as she bowed her head. Once again she was dumbfounded for receiving a response completely opposite of what she was expecting.

Tzuyu laughed uncontrollably which made Sana even more confused. "What do you mean boyfriend? You're being silly Unnie!" Tzuyu struggled to finish the sentence between the laughter. "He is my older brother you silly!" Sana felt like a bucket of cold water was poured on her. She was relieved that she is not ruining someone else's relationship. One thing falls into place now. "Come, I think Oppa has your valuables, and he cooked breakfast too."

In the kitchen, Sana felt embarrassed once again. Tzuyu called her brother "boyfriend" almost on every sentence she said. Tzuyu also said something about how Sana looked good on the dress. Her brother smiled and nodded to what her sister was saying accompanied by laughs of amusement. Sana realized that the two people with her are close. However, the more she looked at the two of them, the more she saw the two looked nothing like each other. Then again, it does not matter. It's not her place to ask and be nosy and besides it's not like it’s completely impossible for siblings to have no resemblance at all. So she immediately wrapped the thought and set it aside.

Receiving her wallet and her phone brought Sana some relief, as she saw very familiar things amidst a sea of unfamiliarity. Sana declined the breakfast invitation because she does not want to extend her stay any longer. Tzuyu offered a ride home, the young girl is on her way home as well. An offer Sana initially declined but ultimately couldn't due to Tzuyu insisting. Not much was said except the man's advice of not doing the whole drinking wasted thing again. On the elevator going down, Sana realized she did even bother getting the man's name. She felt guilt for not having able to thank him properly. Given she was too occupied of the thought of going out as fast as possible, she could not justify her poor manners. It's going to bug her; Sana is sure of it.

Not long, the car was driving towards the highway after Tzuyu keyed in Sana's address on the GPS. Sana could not help but take a deep breath being outside. Relief maybe? She looked at the building and she realized the man was living on a penthouse of an apartment building. She was reminded of the view that greeted her waking up. "It would have been really nice if it wasn't because of what happened." Sana absent mindedly said. Tzuyu seemed to be surprised by the silence being broken very suddenly and unexpectedly. Then followed by laughter. Sana grabbed the opportunity to ask questions.

"Tzuyu-ya, is it possible to ask for your brother's contact number? I realized I did not able to get even his name."

Tzuyu tilted her head and smiled. Clearly amused.

"It's not like that you know, I just want to pay for the clothes." Sana being clearly defensive.

"I wasn't even thinking anything Unnie!" Tzuyu's smile is now big as it can get.

Sana could not keep up with Tzuyu's teasing so she decided not to answer. Tzuyu fished her wallet out and pulled out a business card. 

"Good thing I have this one laying around. It's an old design of his card Unnie, the official one is much better but this should serve the purpose." Tzuyu handed it out to Sana. Sana quickly inserted the card on her own wallet. She will be checking that later.

"Thanks Tzuyu-ya."

Tzuyu smiled. It wasn't long until the car rolled into the familiar neighborhood, and pulled over a minute after. Sana said her thanks once again and got out of the car. Tzuyu got out of the car as well running and grabbed the two tote bags marked ZOOC, and handed it to Sana. The orange haired girl was confused and reluctant. 

"It's the rest of the clothes Unnie."

"No please, I can't accept those Tzuyu."

"It's not expensive..well yet! It's from the clothing line I just launched"

Sana's jaws fell open in a mixture of disbelief and insecurity.

"You're pretty Unnie and you wearing it is advertisement. Just don't forget to tell people where you got it when they ask."

Sana could not resist Tzuyu's charm again as she was forced to accept the clothes.

"I hope we will meet again Tzuyu-ya," as Sana bids goodbye.

"I am sure we will Unnie!" Tzuyu's head stuck out of the driver’s seat and drove away.

As the car turned the corner, Sana immediately checked the card.

(Last Name), (First Name), Cardiothoracic Surgeon. The logo of Seoul National University Hospital as well as the contacts are written.

Sana sighed. She knew a thing or two about the medical field.

"That guy is too young to be a surgeon."

She ran inside her room and instantly opened her laptop. She searched for the SNU Hospital page and looked up the name in the doctors list and sure enough she found it. She clicked and browsed the about page and read.

"Became a practicing surgeon at 25, having able to successfully operate on one US Senator, decided to work in Korea after two years. This guy is making me look like a complete failure again." Sana sighed feeling a bit disappointed. Then, she saw the careers section and found a vacant position of a Medical Secretary. She took a deep breath. She promised herself she will not be near anything associated with hospitals but it's one position she is qualified. Everything happens for a reason they say, and right now Sana would want to believe that.

"Here's to nothing and everything."

Sana sent her resume with a click of the mouse. She stood up and flopped on her bed.

"It's not like it is a guarantee I'll get hired," she kind of assured herself.

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

A/N: Wow! Its not that long as I envisioned the first chapter would be but it felt right nonetheless. Glad to be having Sana as the lead of my second fic. Got some storylines to attend to on this one so I don't know how long this story going to be. As always, I thank you for taking the time to read.

[vquacki]

It's My Fatherly Duties!

It's My Fatherly Duties!

Short DAD Scenarios 

Characters: BONTEN - Rindou Haitani, Ran Haitani, Sanzu Haruchiyo

~ Inui Seishu, Kokonoi Hajime, Izana Kurokawa, 

~ Souya Kawata (Angry), Nahoya Kawata (Smiley)

Warning ⚠︎︎ : Mature content, cussing, MINORS DNI

Note : requested, I added some characters. Hope ya don’t mind! These are pretty short, just little things I put together. Word barf kinda..? Anyways- I hope you enjoy :))

R I N D O U 

His lashes fluttered open when he heard a loud crash coming from the hallway, along with a string of cuss words sounding like his daughter's voice. 

“What the hell was that?” You groaned, not a single word was uttered from your husband when he sprung out of bed, bolting to the bedroom down the corridor.

“Tohru?!” Rindou yelled, flinging open the door. Revealing your teenage daughter fully dressed, half way through her second story window. A facade of pillows under her blanket seeminging meant to be her ‘sleeping body’.

“Oh dad, I-”

“What the hell are you doing” The man was fuming by the ears, pajamas ruffled when he jolted out of his slumber. 

“Is Tohru okay?” You peeked from behind the broad shouldered man. 

“I was just going to get fresh air!” Your daughter lied, making up a somewhat excuse to appease her angered father. 

“Hey Tohru! Hurry up and get down here!” You heard a boy's voice call out, looking over at Rindou’s face to see the man's darkened expression.

“Who the fuck is down there? Is that a boy?!” He growled, stomping his feet over to the glass. Pushing past his daughter to take a look. 

“Oh shit- her dads here. Let’s book it!” The kids whispered, but loud enough for Rindou to make out, hastily running down the dark street. 

“You little shits! Don't you dare come back here!” Rindou growled, slamming the window shut in the process. 

“What! Dad!” Tohru whined, 

“You're so grounded young lady!” Rindou shouted, not caring for the sleeping neighbors beside his shared condo at three in the morning. 

“Rin, she was just having some fun!” You defended, you were also like her when you were her age, trouble makers run in your blood. Actually Rindou couldn't even talk- he was running roppongi at her age.  

“No! She's just too young to be hanging out with boys!” Rindou’s brows joined together as he withered in front of you. 

“But we dated when we were her age-” You deadpanned at him, 

“Grounded! My final answer!” 

R A N  

Ran was coming home from a late night bonten meeting, mouth agape when he saw his daughter’s feet dangling out from her window. 

Fearing the worst he sprinted to the ground below his child, hands outstretched to catch her if she were to misstep. 

“Mitsuri!” His voice boomed,

“Eh? Dad?!” His daughter stuttered, slowly slid out the window, climbing down like she had done this many times prior to this awkward occurrence. 

Toes easily touching the grass with ease, not a scratch upon the females porcelain skin. 

“Ran?” You yawned, cracking the door ajar. It was late, you waking up to your husband's screams outside your house. 

“Mitsuri, what are you doing climbing out your window like a maniac?!” Ran scowled, hands running through his messed up hair. Sweat dripping down his temple from the not so pleasant adrenaline rush. 

“I was just gonna hang out with some friends..” your daughter answered, fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, scarily waiting for her dad’s reaction. 

“At this time of night? .. out your window?”

“Ye-”

“Phone privileges. Give me it.” Ran demanded, palm stretched out. 

“But-” no question she was a tad bit spoiled by her father. You being the bad cop, while your husband played the good cop for his beloved daughter. 

“If you want to go anywhere all you got to do is ask!” Ran plucked the phone from his daughter's hand, a wave of relief washing over him. Secretly thanking whatever being watching over him that it wasn't some sort of gang related subject. 

“This is what you get for spoiling her!” You laughed from the sidelines, hand clutching your stomach.

“This is your fault too ya know!” Ran argued. 

“I’m the one who tries to discipline her! But someone always lets it go!” You emphasized the special somebody. 

“Whatever” Ran sighed, This was a lesson for the usual carefree man, a special lesson he wouldn't forget in the many years to come with his unborn future children. 

S A N Z U 

It was Sanzu’s best day of his life when his daughters were born, the two only being about one year apart. They were spoiled to the core, anything they wanted their money liberl father blessed them with. He thought they were the sweetest things ever, them both being a daddy's girl after all. 

He never would have expected to see both of his daughters outside his humble abode, standing beside two boys, most likely a double date. 

He stared in shock, hands pressed firmly against the glass, teeth gritting. 

“Huh? I tucked them into bed an hour ago” You rubbed your eyes, riding yourself of the sleepiness threatening to drown you. The pink haired only tutted his teeth, swifty twisting the door knob to confront the four children outside. 

“Oh you better run” your oldest daughter whispered, gesturing for the boys to make haste from her deadly father. 

“You better not come back here, unless you want trouble you fuckers!” Sanzu yelled, red in the eyes from anger. Not bothering to chase after the two scoundrels. 

“Dad, mom! What are you guys doing awake?” Your youngest asked, sheer panic in her eyes, watching her insane fathers unpleasant smile. 

“I swear you two will be the death of me” Sanzu uttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. A irked gleen in his orbs as he stared them down. 

“They were just friends dad, stop overreacting” the older daughter said, 

“I- You little shi-” He bit his lip to suppress his anger fueled words, knowing well it would definitely hurt his precious children's feelings. Having regretted it later if he were to say those sinful words. 

“Now now Sanzu, let's head to bed” You wrapped your arms around your lover, dragging him inside the house. 

“You can sort out their punishment tomorrow, after a good night's sleep” , coating him with reassuring words. That day he learned how misjudged he was of his children, even so he still loved them with all his heart.

I Z A N A 

Izana had his feet kicked up, relaxing in his office while he watched the moon. He had a clear view, the street lamps positioned next to the sidewalk, the side of his beautiful house facing his office window. He was enjoying his free time, mind taking over his body while he thought about his life choices. He was in ease until he saw his son's window light up, a long string of rope being tossed out the opening. 

Sitting up from his chair, he rushed over to his clear casement. Throwing his window open, a boy and girl standing beneath his son's window. The two holding the rope still as your child tried to slid down. 

“My my Yuki, where are you off to?” Izana laughed, nerves finally relaxing when he figured out what was going on. Calmly settling into the frame, head leaning on his chin. It wasn't like he had the right to be upset, he did much worse when he was his son's age. Robbing, fighting, killing. You name it, Izana’s done it. 

Sneaking out was nothing compared to what he did, but he wasn't gonna just let his son go. He was more wise now, he knew for a fact he didn't want his son to end up anything like him. Sure, he wanted the boy to have fun, but in a normal kid way. 

“Dad! Um- I”

“You better get your arse back up that window before I drag you around with that rope” Izana smiled, Totally different from the sentence he was portraying. Not forgetting his manners, giving a nonchalant wave to the other two kids. 

“Zana? Who are you talking to?” You asked, placing a cup of tea you had prepared for Izana on his desk. 

“Oh no one doll” Izana answered, closing the window before walking over to you. 

“Let's go to bed, yeah?” He proposed, trailing his hands around your shoulders, guiding you to the door.

“But the tea I made”

“Im tired~” 

Overall the male wouldn't want to talk further about the situation, nor would he discuss it with you. Trivial matters held no place between you both, as long as the child did not dare do it again. 

I N U I 

Inui wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, the AC wasnt working at the motor shop. Him, draken and yourself were sweating bullets, the hot material around you not helping. You had decided to help the pair around the shop, cleaning what you could. Or helping with cashing every customer out, it would've been an easy task if it wasn't blazing hot. 

Leaving your daughter home alone, obviously thinking she’d stay and do her teenage things. You couldn't be more mistaken, astounded as you watched her fiddle around with a boy across the street at the ice cream parlor. 

“Y/N please don't tell me that Kagura..” Inui’s jaw dropped, the wrench that was once in his clasp dropping to the ground. Startling the concentrating Draken that was crouched over a motorbike. 

“What's wrong Inui? Y/N” Draken twisted his body around, raising a brow when you two just started muttering to each other like two creeps. 

“Is that... a boy” Inui held his chin between his fingers, squinting to get a better view of his kid. 

“You trying to catch flies with your mouth Inui? Close your yap” You whispered, 

“Y/N! She's too young, I feel like I just held her in my arms not too long ago. She can't get married just yet!” Inui argued, he would've been on the verge of tears if he didn't have a reputation to uphold. 

“What? The fuck are you on Inui? She's probably just with a friend!” You patted his back, reassuring the man. 

“Boys and girls can be friends ya’know” you added.

Cueing the two children across the road from you, feeding scoops of ice cream to each other.

“I don't think friends do that..” Inui looked over at you, eyes widening when you swung the motor shop’s door open. Hands coming around your mouth to amplify your words,

“Kagura, is that your boyfriend?” 

“WHAT?” Inui almost fainted, the ledge behind him holding his wobbly frame up right. 

“I didn't know you guys would be here!” Your daughter jogged across the street, leaving the boy sitting by himself. 

“And no! Just a friend” She answered your embarrassing, blushing as she stared down at the ground.,

“I sense some lies” you wiggled playfully at the flustered girl. 

“What! Anyways, Sorry I left the house without telling you” Kagura apologized, 

“Just don't do it again, without my permission..” Inui stated, 

“Especially not with a boy.”

K O K O N O I

Bribing people is his forte, and if they did not obliged? Threatening always did the trick. 

And that's exactly what he did when he saw his descendant out with a male. All was dandy until the boy came running back, babbling about how his girl was the so called ‘love of his life’.

“Hey brat, you got a death wish?” Kokonoi asked, leaning against the door frame. 

“Koko go easy on him, he’s just a kid” You nudged the man, a mischievous grin plastered on the males face. 

“And I kinda think it's cute” You said, a small smile erupting from your daughter that was not so far behind her parents. 

“I approve, kid! I like your romantic drive!” You clapped, 

“Y/N!” Kokonoi pouted, 

“You better not try to bribe him with money again” You threatened, waving a finger at the whiny man. 

“Yeah! I like him too, dad!” Your daughter agreed. 

“You're like twelve, go play chess or something” Kokonoi barked, crossing his arms in disapproval. 

“Dad, I'm sixteen!” 

“That's what I said” 

S O U Y A 

He almost had a panic attack at the sight, having to shield the man from the scene playing out. Your twin daughter saying their goodbyes to their dates, followed by a kiss. You removed your hand when the boys were no longer in view, riding off in their motorcycles. 

“Shira, Nihra” You held Souya up by the shoulder, the light headed male limping towards the worried kids.

“What's wrong with dad?” Nihra questioned, eyeing her ghostly pale father. 

“He's out of it” You giggled, 

“I'm not crazy am i?” He stood tall, letting go of the arm you had draped around him. 

“There was boys-” His voice cracked. 

“You saw that dad?” Shira sweat dropped, watching as her fathers should leave his body. 

“Next time ask before you go out” You smiled, you weren't too strict on the two. They were Souya’s children, earning most of their adorable traits from him. Even his fighting skills. 

“This better not happen again, i'm trusting you” Souya grumbled.

“Sorry pops” The two girls remorsefully sollied the man, both hooking onto one of Souya’s arms as they helped his shell into the house. 

N A H O Y A 

Nahoya was beyond pissed, infamous smile widening. Taking fast steps towards your daughter and her significant other. 

“Look boy, I don't know who you are. But my daughters not up for grabs” Nahoya grinned, cracking his fingers. 

“O-okay sir” the boy was jittering, body trembling from the males intense arua. 

“If I catch ya here again” he used his finger to slash his neck, motioning to the death that would happily greet the boy if they were to ever meet again.

“Yer dead meat kiddo”  Nahoya laughed, watching as the boy ran for his life. 

“Dad, that was really extra!” Your daughter sneered, a pout on her lips. 

“Shut up!, you're grounded rat!” Nahoya shouted. 

“Yeah Nahoya, there was no need to threaten the poor kid. He looked like he was gonna piss himself.” 

“Exactly the effect i wanted”

End Note : as I said this was a word barf T-T, so it’s quite short.

Reblogs & Notes are always appreciated! Take care! ♡︎♡︎

[zhongliologist]

Breeding Kink | Dragon!Zhongli

Pairing: Zhongli x fem!reader

Genre: SMUTTTT!! 

Words: 4.6k

A/N: So uh yeah, this was mainly inspired by hcs from @genshin-spice​!! thank you for the ideas sjkdha as well as the asks I have received! I decided to combine them into one fic bc im lazy i hope u like it jkasdha

Warning: THIS IS AN 18+ FIC, SO MINORS OUT THERE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. 

*

It was in the dead of the night.

Zhongli breathed in; eyes dilated.

His study was quiet—yet all he could hear was his heart beat pounding violently against his chest and the sound of skin rubbing against skin.

He couldn’t take it.

In Zhongli’s mind was an image of you in positions you have never been before. He could see you on the bed as he pins you down, ass high up as he gripped on your waist until bruises form. He could see sheathing himself completely into you, reeling at the erotic sounds which escaped your lips as he roughly thrusts in and out.

The grip of his hand tightened, moving up and down his enlarged shaft. Zhongli grunted as he felt his digits grind on a particularly sensitive spot. It would’ve been better if it was your mouth instead of his hands.

“YN….! Nghh…!”

Ignoring his locks thrown askew by his movements, Zhongli continued to see you in his mind’s eyes. Precious, beautiful; more than any stone or gem in the world. He’ll spread you out, pleasuring you and worshipping your body with his tongue. In every turn, he would leave his marks, proving that you were his and his only.

“Ahh…darling…I just…want to…!”

He growled, speeding up the movement of his wrist. He could feel himself grow even bigger as scales begin to form on his skin, as his nails turn sharper.

Zhongli wanted you. He wanted to pound into wildly until you keen and clamp around him; until you become a staggering mess of moans and drool. You will be quivering as your orgasm washes over you, yet he wouldn’t stop. This wasn’t the time to stop.

“Ughh….haa…! YN….! YN…! I’m close—!”

He’ll push even deeper, harder; making sure the tip of his cock reaches your womb. And that’s when he’ll release his warm seed into you, filling you up until his cum is dripping from your hole, until you were spent on the bed and still shaking from the intensity.

That’s not enough, Zhongli could sense something growl in him. Not enough.

You will be screaming with oversensitivity as he pushes inside you once more, his dick still hard as he keeps on going. You will be muttering his name ceaselessly as he fills you up, cumming inside you over and over again until you get pregnant with his child.

Yes.

The image of you on the bed, exhausted from his relentless pounding as cum leaks from your hole, surely pregnant with his child burned vividly inside his imagination. It sent an overwhelming surge of pleasure towards his cock; urging him to climax.

“Nnnh—!”

In one move, Zhongli orgasmed, his cum spurting to his stomach and clothes as he breathed in heavily. He tried to calm himself down yet the image of him cumming inside you was still so fresh that his excitement wouldn’t subside.

“…what is…this…?”

It seemed like his libido has peaked dramatically in the past few weeks. Normally, he could withstand not having any sexual activity for some time, especially when you were out of town, but for some reason, all he could think about right now was fucking you senseless.

He touched the scales on his arm. It also hasn’t escaped his notice how he would often show some of his draconic features in the midst of it all. There was only one thing that he could think of.

“Could it be…”

Wait. He hasn’t been in heat for more than a thousand years, and for it to appear right now is mind boggling to the say the least. But he could no longer see this at any other angle. It must have been triggered by your presence, in some way or another. The beast in him knew how he was madly in love with you, how he had taken you as his mate, and now it wants nothing but for you to bear him offspring.

Zhongli sighed. This is a matter that should be discussed first with you. Yet his heat is upon him and if it comes to it, he had to protect you even from himself. Zhongli sighed again heavily and gazed at the wedding ring on his left finger.  

“It seems the need arises to arrange necessary measures.

*

“Please explain to me, in some way or another,” you started. “…why I cannot see my own husband in my own house.”

With brows furrowed and arms on your hips, you glared at the offending ‘guards’ loitering around outside the bedroom as they looked at you with a panicked expressions. There were a few familiar faces like QiQi, who was busy staring at nothing and Xiangling, who simply came to visit to deliver freshly cooked dishes from Wanmin Restaurant.

“Dr. Baizhu!” you called out when you were only met with silence.

Giving you a worried look, the doctor tried to calm the situation but to no avail.

“Look, YN…” the doctor hesitated. “Mr. Zhongli is under…certain conditions which makes it dangerous for you to go anywhere near him.”

You blinked, mouth frowning as you tried to make sense of what he was trying to tell you. “And what would that be?”

Travelling around Teyvat for quite some time, you had only returned to Liyue and to your husband (of a year and a quarter) today; and to be denied access to somehow greet and touch the person you had missed so dearly only irked your frustration. You were determined that the first thing you do when you return was to run straight into his arms, kiss him hard and talk to him about an important matter in both your lives, but it seemed like the odds weren’t in your favor.

“Well,” Dr. Baizhu struggled to reply, as he was under the implicit instruction not to reveal the exact details. “All I can say is that it’s a condition where Mr. Zhongli wouldn’t be able to act properly around you. But please don’t worry, it’s not contagious and it’ll be over in a week or so.”

If anything, the vagueness only alarmed you. What illness could possibly make him lose control like that? Zhongli, as you knew him, was always someone who regarded himself with propriety and dignity. If this condition can weaken him like that, you were all the more worried.

“I…If that’s the case, then I really need to see him,” you insisted, now concern etched into your eyes. “I can’t just leave him alone like this.”

Stand firm, Dr. Baizhu. My wife is especially stubborn—he had been warned a few days before, dismissing it as something a husband would normally say about his wife, but now that he was face to face with that stubbornness he had been warned with, it seemed like he had underestimate you.

“YN…I…” he breathed in as he placed a consoling hand on your shoulders. “I would not recommend seeing Mr. Zhongli at this point—”

“Just a peek wouldn’t hurt, right?” you interrupted. “I just want to see him.”

The doctor gazed down at you with an apologetic look, fully understanding why you were desperate in your request. You haven’t seen him for quite some time, and to find him sick and unable to see him when you finally returned—he could understand. He really does. That’s why, in the end, the doctor relented. He’ll face the consequences later on.

“Alright,” Dr. Baizhu sighed. “Just a peek and nothing more, got it?”

Upon hearing his words, your face brightened up in a flash. “Thank you, doctor!”

As he led you to the door of the master’s bedroom, you followed silently behind; watching as Dr. Baizhu unlocked the door from the outside—why would they need to lock it anyway, you thought—and pushed the door slightly ajar.

You pursed your lips.

In a breath, you knocked the doctor aside and went in as quickly as you could; shutting the door behind you as he protested from the outside. Apologies, Dr. Baizhu…!

Swiftly recovering from the sudden action, you noticed that it was dark inside; the windows shut and heavy curtains blocking any stray sunshine. The only source of light was the single glowing lantern at the far end of the room which only illuminated half of your face and offered a simple silhouette of your husband sitting on the bed.

You breathed in a sigh of relief.

“Right. I don’t really have much time, and I already duped Dr. Baizhu, so I’ll make this quick. I just want you to know that I’m back, and while I do have something I want to talk about with you, I’ll wait till this gets sorted out. So if you need anything, I’m right here—”

You halted; ears trained at the low growl you just noticed.

��…Zhongli…?” you asked, apprehension rising as you took a step forward.

“Why are you here?”

He finally spoke, yet instead of the sweet deep hum of his voice, this one was a lot harsher.

“What…?”  you asked, surprised at his words. “I-I just wanted to see you…”

“You’re not allowed here,” Zhongli continued as he rose from the bed, his frame seemingly much taller that usual yet the darkness had hindered you from telling clearly. “It seems Dr. Baizhu has failed to stop you.”

Brows furrowed, you spoke with a waver in your voice. “Zhongli, what’s wrong…?”

In a bat of an eye, he was in front of you, pining you against the door with his lithe form. His clutches were firm but gentle enough not to hurt you as you felt him look closely at you. Daring your eyes to open, finally, finally, you could see him.

His usual warm amber orbs were now glowing golden, his pupils turned into slits. You could see scales on his skin and horns on his head as he grasped your wrists with his clawed hands. You would’ve screamed if you weren’t too surprised. Astonishment was an understatement of how you felt at that exact moment.

“Do you now see what is wrong?” he snarled at you, his eyes narrowing.

Taking in a gulp, you tried to calm yourself. This is still Zhongli, just different. You were used to the unusual things happening around him because of his status as an ex-archon, but this just takes the cake.

“Wha—why are you half….half dragon?!” you exclaimed.

He could feel him make a disgruntled noise as his grip on you tightened. “That is of no importance. You have to leave before I lose my sense of control.”

You glared at him, finally realizing that he was still the husband you knew; probably just a bit frustrated.

“No. Tell me exactly what’s happening Zhongli. It is my responsibility as your wife to take care of you, and I can’t possibly leave you like this without knowing the full extent of the problem.”

Zhongli clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, exasperated at your mulish behavior. Why can’t you just follow obediently? He was really weak against you; even more so at that exact moment.

You can’t hold his cheeks with your hands pinned but you at least tried to console the obvious turmoil inside of him. “I’m right here, love. It’s alright…you can tell me.”

In an instant, Zhongli conceded, melting at your presence as he nuzzled himself on your neck, his breath tickling your skin. He always loved your scent; amplified by his draconic instincts, it was even more intoxicating.

“As a dragon, I am in heat,” he whispered just below your ear as you felt him smirk. “Are you still willing to help me out?”

Heat…?!

You immediately flushed at the implication of his words. Sex was no stranger in your relationship even before you became husband and wife, but for some reason, at the suggestion of Zhongli being in heat, you became bashful like a giddy schoolgirl.

“I-I…! Of course!” you replied despite the tumble in your voice. “I’m your wife, it’s only natural that we satisfy each other’s…er…sexual needs…”

Zhongli made a low chuckle as he allowed his lips to graze your skin.

“Have you understood what being in heat truly entails?” he replied, unable to contain the intensity in his voice. “This is not simply an act of making love. I will fuck you. And I will fuck hard, YN. Do you understand?”

It was incredible how his mere words were enough to make your legs shake and your lips quiver. His effect on you has always been like this, but for some reason, in his half dragon form, it had only became more powerful.

“Z-Zhongli…I—”

“This will be different from everything we did so far,” he interrupted you. “I will be rough and relentless. I will bite you and mark you that you are mine and mine only. I will not stop even if you tell me to. I will keep on pounding into you until your womb is full of my seed, and even then, I will not stop. I will breed into you until you become pregnant with my child. Do you truly understand?”

You bit your lip. His words were swirling in your head like a thick soup of lustful thoughts; pushing you into arousal. If he was meaning to scare you, then it had surely backfired.

“I do,” you replied, as he pulled away from you to look into your eyes. “And I want you to do all those things to me.”

For a moment, Zhongli stared at you; speechless and totally caught off guard by your reply. It seems like he hadn’t expected you to agree at all. You were supposed to be frightened, freaked out by his monster-like appearance, but here you are taking up the challenge as if it was nothing.

He grunted as soon as he realized you weren’t backing off. He knew who he had married.

“There is no guarantee that I can control myself later on, YN,” he cautioned you one more time. “I have no wish to hurt you, my love.”

You smiled at him, loosening his grip on your wrists and gently caressing his face. “I know, and I trust you.”

With a sigh, Zhongli stood up straight and scooped you from your place. Carrying you on his arms, he then dropped you unceremoniously on the bed with an ungraceful plop. He gazed at you from above; the power of his eyes never waning.

Because of how dark it was, you have never noticed that he was naked all over. But with the light shining just to the side, you could see his dragon features much more clearly now—dark scales scattered all over his skin, golden horns on his head, sharp claws for hands and feet, as well a tail which was moving back and forth. Shifting your eyes downward, you promptly bit your lip.

You begin to feel apprehensive. It was natural that his dick is much bigger than his human form, but could that even fit inside you? Would you even survive after being fucked with that?

“Zhongli…um….just a moment—"

“You have been warned, YN,” Zhongli finally said as he crawled above you, never breaking eye contact. “I will no longer hold myself back.”

Pining both your wrists above your head, Zhongli cupped your cheeks and captured your lips in a harsh yet searing kiss. His tongue was immediately against yours, exploring your mouth and licking your lips which he had missed for so many months.

He had your breath knocked out of you immediately, as you struggled to keep up with the rapidly electrifying pace he had set. His hands were all over your body as he kept his lips close to yours as if he was trying to devour you. Zhongli wasn’t kidding when he told you he was going to be rough.

Like a rabid beast, he quickly made work of your clothes; ripping them open with his sharp claws as he jumped from your lips to your neck—his favorite place to mark you. He knew every sensitive pulse to suck and nip at; tongue and lips meandering at every dip and rise of the muscles on your neck. Soon enough, he had left it with dark splotches of color on his wake, keening at his handiwork as if it had satisfied the animal in him.

In the sea of silken sheets and two bodies intertwined, you arched to his touch, loving how his mouth descended to your breast, flicking his tongue at your pert nipple. You could feel waves upon waves of arousal as he assaulted you lavishly with his mouth and lips—making sure he worships every inch of your body.

“Z-Zhongli…!”

You could feel his horns touch your skin, his tail twirling around your leg to spread them open; ready for him when he crosses that bridge. It didn’t help how he kept on tracing your skin with the blunt side of his claws, fascinated at how your flesh dipped; at how he was only one push behind before he draws out blood. But you were becoming increasingly sensitive the more he kept on marking your whole body and it only served to add a distinct kind of pleasure from his mouth and tongue.

He was right, this was different from everything you had done so far. This was feral, animalistic and unrestrained. All his past gentle touches were gone, only to be replaced but such an intensity that kept you panting.

“I suppose it is time to get you ready for me.”

Releasing your wrists so he can spread you open, Zhongli gazed up at you as he tore off your underwear, tossing the offending fabric to some corner of the room. You both could see how drenched you were, with him smirking at you as he dipped. And just like he said, he didn’t hold himself back.

In an instant, his tongue was around your clit; sucking and licking at the sensitive nub. You arched on the bed, your hands on his horns as you tried to hide your lustful cries. He growled at you from below, the vibrations eliciting a novel sensation which only made you even more aroused.

“Zhong…li…p-please! Wait—”

You were rapidly getting lightheaded from the sheer pleasure of his tongue, your body shaking as he swiped up your cunt, saving every drop of your juices leaking out. He kept your legs open with his strong claws, making you unable to do anything but submit to his ministrations.

Since he couldn’t insert his digits in you, he pushed his tongue into your hole; the wriggling sensation making your eyes turn. It was incredible how he felt; face buried in your cunt as he kept on licking you like a starved man.

“Oh god….! Please…please! Zhongli! I’m close…! I—”

With toes curled, you shut your eyes tight as your mouth flew open for a loud moan. Each pulse of your orgasm engulfing you with pleasure as Zhongli went on without stopping; electricity running underneath your skin.

Just like that, Zhongli pulled away and straddled you between his legs. His burning feral eyes looking down on you as he pumped his cock right before your face. You knew what he was planning to do.

“Open your mouth.”

Unable to deny him despite how lightheaded you are, you opened your lips and slowly took him in, accommodating his large girth and trying not to choke. It wasn’t like this was your first time but you were sucking off a monster of a cock, and your mouth can only fit so much of it.

Twirling your tongue around the tip, you did the best that you could. You knew where he was most sensitive in and kept attacking those places with your tongue. Licking up his shaft and sucking on a prominent vein, you slowly began to enter a lull of arousal—all you could think of was sucking him off, loving how he grinds himself inside your mouth with a guttural groan.

With his claws gripping your head, Zhongli pushed even harder, making you deepthroat him and gagging at how forceful it was. He kept on fucking your mouth, his large dick hitting the back of your throat at every thrust. It seemed painful and it was, as tears streamed down your cheeks, but you were also getting off of it, your cunt once again drenched.

You loved how full your mouth was of him, how the pain and the pleasure melded together into an incomprehensible yet hedonistic sensation. He was rough but you loved it.

Suddenly however, Zhongli pulled out from your mouth, his cock bobbing on his toned stomach. He gazed down at you who seemed to have woken up from a trance with watery eyes and pre-cum stained face.

“That’s enough. I think you’re ready.”

Dazed, you could only watch as he returned to his previous position; rubbing his cock on your drenched cunt. Every time he touches your clit, you groaned in delight—your writhing figure only served to push him further into carnality.

Without any warning, he sheathed his dick inside of you in one sharp thrust as you cried out so loudly from the sudden stimulation. He was so thick and you were so full of him in an instant; your cunt quivering from almost cumming.

“Z-Zhong…li…! Nnngh!”

The image of you underneath him—back arched and face in pure ecstasy—Zhongli could no longer stop himself. You were clenching around him so tightly; the warmth of your folds urging him to fuck you senseless.

And he did. Pulling almost all the way out, Zhongli then pounded back into roughly; grunting at how you felt so good around him. He continued to thrust into you, setting up a rough and harsh pace as he chased his own high.

“You take me in so well, YN,” he whispered as he bent down, your leg hanging on his shoulders. “Hang in there, love.”

All you could feel was him inside you, grazing on your most sensitive spots; turning you delirious with pleasure. He was so big, stretching you to your limits and it felt so good as he kept with his unrelenting thrusts; your cries fueling him to push harder.

His lips were on yours once again; determined to have them swollen with his intense kisses. He had long been waiting for this—every night where he had only had his hand to relieve him; he would think of you in this exact position. But now that he could finally be one with you, he couldn’t help revel in the absolute bliss of your embrace.

With his mouth, he continued where he left off on your breasts; giving the pert nipples more attention with a little bite. You could only scream at the sudden stimulation as it paired perfectly well with his every violent thrust; once again nearing you to the brink of climax.

“Z-Zhongli….Zhongli…! Aah…please…I can’t! It’s…too much!”

“No…” he growled at you, his claws now on your hips, easily manhandling you as he kept on pounding again and again. “I won’t stop.”

Skin slapping against skin was heard all over the room other than your hoarse whimpers and his deep groans. Limbs trembling at the overstimulation, you could only grasp on the sheets as Zhongli pleasured himself inside of you.

You were close…so close to climax that it only took one harsh thrust for you to come undone; screaming and clenching around him like a vice grip.

In his eyes, you were so beautiful, so erotic as he watched your orgasm wash over you like a tidal wave. He can’t help but think of how you would look like filled up with his seed, how he would breed into you until you bear him children.

Zhongli immediately felt you tighten up; groaning as he also felt his own orgasm upon him. As the both of you connected glances, he pushed himself further into you, his pace becoming more erratic.

“Nghh…! Take my seed…YN…!”

He moaned as he shoved deep inside of you, his thick cock filling you up with his warm seed. You convulsed once again, loving the way he was cumming inside of you, your eyes seeing nothing but stars.

Breathing in an out, you tried to calm your wildly beating heart as he pulled out. You sighed at the sudden emptiness, already missing how he felt inside you. Trying to find his eyes, you were able to exchange glances as you laid on the bed, breathless.

 However, he only returned your fucked out expression with a smirk, which only became more devilish with the slits in his eyes.  He could see his cum beginning to leak out from your hole; the image like a drug in his system, sending him into overdrive.

“Did you think we’re already done?” he asked as he turned you around, your ass high up on the air. “That would hardly get you pregnant, my love.”

With those words, he plunged his still hard dick back inside of you who was keening at the sudden stretch.

“…mnn…Zhongli…!” you cried. “I…I’m still sensitive!”

He only chuckled at your protests. Leaning down, he took a bite of your shoulder, and then began to look on the indentations he left.

“Did you conveniently forget the fact that I am a dragon in heat?” he asked, leaving another set of love bites on your shoulder blades. “I will stop at nothing until you are filled to the brim with my seed.”

“…Z-Zhongli…wait…!”

Your husband once again moved roughly, his lips now busy with decorating your back with his marks. Tonight, you will be full of him—his scent, his marks, his seed—you belong to him and no one else.

For the rest of the night, he did exactly what he promised. Zhongli kept on fucking you over and over, and cumming inside you every single time. He seemed to have endless stamina, and kept on going for hours on end. The both of you tried every position possible—from you riding him to him fucking you on his lap—there was no respite.

It was when you heard the roosters crow and the bright singing of the birds that Zhongli finally stopped. Buried on stained sheets and throes of pillows, he finally collapsed beside you who was still trembling from your last orgasm—how many times was it? You had already lost count.

“Have you calmed down now?” you asked, still breathless as you felt him creep a hand around your waist to pull you into a tight snuggle.

Your husband hummed. “Yes. For now, that is.

“So there’s more?”

He kissed the nape of your neck now adorned by his bitemarks. “I did precisely tell you that I am in heat, darling. Heats do not last for a night.”

You sighed at his reply and then turned to place a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll be ready then.”

With your words, Zhongli only chuckled, nuzzling against you. “It is still beyond me how you easily agreed. There is no doubt that you will be with child after this.”

A smile crept on your lips.

“Well, actually…that was what I was hoping to talk to you about,” you replied as you covered his arm with yours. “I was going to say I’ll be resigning from adventuring, and focus on finding work here in Liyue so that we can stay close like this.”

“Oh…” was all he could say as everything fell into its rightful places.

“It turned out quite better than expected, didn’t it?” you told him with a grin.

“It did,” Zhongli replied. “Now get some rest, we’ll continue once you wake up.”

[bluebunf]

P + J sister HC (ANGST!)💛💙

Okay so! I've always wanted to share my hcs and here's one of them! (Also be aware, this became longer than I thought and the format is kinda wonky!! Sorry!!!)

So basically, in my original younger!pepa and younger!julieta drawings, I've always seen julieta have short hair. Idk why, but my mind went straight to backstory mode and this is what I seemed to have developed:

Julieta, one day, heard muffled noises coming from pepa's room. Her door slightly ajar, she quietly peeps in to check on her but without the intention to intrude. She sees pepa, on the floor, her upper body ok her bed heaving. Her sobs more noticeable and everything around her is wet and her cloud heavily rains her belongings around her, although,her tear stained bedsheets are apperent. She's been silently crying. She hears her quiet mantra of "clear skies, clear skies" as she tries and hold back her tears, but thunder and a hint of hail continues to pour. Julieta sees that it has noticeably become darker outside, her worries starts to come in waves. "Why is she crying?" "Is she hurt?" "Who did this to her?" Her own questions flood her mind as she muster up the courage to approach her vulnerable sister.

"Why can't I be like her, why can't I be normal?" She hears her sister whimper. She sees her sister rake her hair, still heaving. "I-i know she's perfect, I know that she's beautiful and helpful and-and- kind and so approachable and-and-dìos mio- why am I so temperamental? God- I can't even do anything right" She hears pepa exclaim as she sees her keep her head down and scans her room and glance at the window. Pepa knows she's causing a storm, she knows her mámá will soon come up her room once she notices the now pouring rain, lightning and hail.

"Carlos and his family is going to hate me again," pepa huffs, her hands now gripping her skirt. She hiccups, "it's not like it matters anymore anyways... it's always been Julieta..." she sighs, her breathing a bit more steady now. She sniffles a bit and rests her cheek on her bed as she tries to recollect herself, a tired feeling slowly washes over her.

Julieta couldn't help but feel guilty as she witnessed her sister cry herself to sleep. This wasn't been the first time she's heard pepa compare herself to her. She has always noticed, jealous glances or light scornful remarks she would her under pepa's breath everytime a possible suitor would come over to profess their love or attempt to woo the eldest madrigal. Julieta never knew how to address it, as she fears of creating unnecessary conflict between her and her sister's complicated relationship regarding possible partners.

Since's pepas gift has always been so wonderfully grand and mesmerizing, it could also come as unforgiving. Men(boys) their age never really learned (nor did they want to) "deal" with pepas gift. And rather, they would fear her as they wouldn't want to be the reason for another flood or hurricane arrive next morning in encanto

And so later that night, pepa's absence in the dinner table further added weight to julietas mind and stomach. Bruno seemed to keep to himself as well, as if he was being kept quiet because of something else. Alma's kept her stern yet graceful front. A void seeps it's way in everyone's mind that night.

In the dead of night, Julieta finds herself in the bathroom, a tight feeling in her chest still continues to grow. She looks at the mirror above the sink, she sees herself with dark and swollen eyes and a tired demeanor. She doesn't know what to do. A silver glimmer catches her eyes. Scissors. She's graps it, holds it, and fiddles with it. She can feel her pulse quicken, her throat dry up and her vision turnslightly hazy. She closes her eyes and holds the scissors by her hair. Snip

Tears starts spilling our of eyes, the water blurring her vision. A faint sob in each snip and her heart continues to become heavier. After a little while, she looks down at the cluster of hair, scattered and piling up around the sink and on the floor. Her knees buckle and she weeps, a hand over her mouth to keep everything in. She breaks down in the dark, with only a small candle and the gentle moonlight keeping her company.

Not long after, she hears the squeak of the door opening, not Casita.

She quickly turns her head and sees bruno, like a deer in the headlights. Worry and concern slowly forms in his face, as he carefully walks towards Julieta.

Julieta and Bruno eye contact never break as bruno makes his way and settles himself in front of Julieta. First scanning and noticing her uneven hair, and the collection of hair scattered around the floor, and the scissors that still reside in her hands. He solemnly holds his arms open wide. Julieta then started bawling into his shoulder, her cries hushed by his forest green ruana. brunos tightens grip around her as to try and give comfort and keep her grounded. He keeps silent. He doesn't know what to do, so he just keeps her company.

After julietas calmed down, she stays in a hazed trance. At this time, she has already let go of the scissors and has taken a hand held mirror from nearby and looks at herself.

"Are you okay?" Bruno squeaks. Julieta slowly nods, still dazed. Bruno then rubs her back in circular motions and inspects her hair more.

"May I?" He carefully asks, as he reaches for the scissors. Julieta just hums and let's him be. Bruno then tries to even her hair as much as he could, with Julieta watches him from the mirror.

Morning then comes, everyone was up and about except for Julieta. Bruno was worried, Pepa was indifferent, and alma was concerned.

Later in the afternoon, Julieta reveals herself and her new haircut to her family and the town as she makes her way to her food stand. Short and sweet. Her hair nicely frames her face, albeit a not perfectly.

Everyone was shocked, but pleasantly surprised. Many people coming over to just compliment her and her suitors crowd around her. All questioning for her sudden change in style, in which she simply answered "its easier to cook this way" with a pained smile

Pepa sees her smile and is slightly dumbfounded. She knew her sister took care of her hair, as long hair is a sign of feminity in her culture. She decides to not comment on it, seeing how she's being flooded by complements left and right anyways. Still, she feels concerned at the fact that her sister always took good care of her hair. A sudden change in style for the sake of efficiency wasn't like her.

Unbeknownst to her, Julieta saw her hair as a sign of her love for her sister. An act of sacrifice for her as it was better than feeling hopeless or confronting her about it.

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Also!! Ever since Jared responded to an ask with:

It reminded me of my hc of the sisters and really made me ponder abt what I'd headcannon brunos formative years :0!

N E WAYS MORE TO COME MAYB??? I do have more younger marigals + félix and agustin coming, I just keep getting distracted aksksf TY FOR READING IF U GOT THIS FAR ❤❤❤