#please please i need to see how they’d do the costumes

[gothelsflower]

blah blah blah hercules on the west end blah blah tiktok inspired musical uhhhhhh whEre the FUCK is my Broadway version of the princess and the frog???

[mechaknight-98]

Make you mine (NSFW) FT Chowon

Authors note: Please please please go stream Pose by Lightsum. Don't let them be another victim of Cube. They are too hot and too talented to fall to the wayside. Please! Also @sparklingblu I was finally able to do a little Irish mythology dive for this one so enjoy.

Part II

As Chowon and Nayoung were rushed through Costumes for their first day of filming, they lamented their roles.

“Why do I always get the cutesy, adorable roles?” Nayoung grumbled, adjusting her dress with a pout.

“And why does everyone view me as the femme fatale?” Chowon wondered aloud, glancing at the sleek, sultry outfit she’d been given.

The two sighed as they were helped into their respective costumes, their thoughts lingering on the unexpected roles they’d been cast in. While it was a great opportunity to boost their visibility during the group’s lull, neither could shake the feeling that they’d been miscast. Still, the excitement of starring in an espionage film kept them moving forward.

After getting dressed, they decided to meet the writer who had suggested them for these roles.

As they entered the bustling writer’s room, the scent of coffee mixed with the quiet hum of keyboards and the soft murmur of conversations. Writers were scattered around, deep in discussions or making last-minute adjustments to the script. When Nayoung, always the bolder of the two, asked if “Donny was in,” a tall, imposing figure turned towards them.

His skin was a rich, deep brown, and his eyes, a striking maroon, seemed to flicker with an inner fire as he looked at them. He rose from his chair with a calm, measured grace, tilting his head slightly as he sized up the two women.

Chowon’s heart skipped a beat. There was something about him—something that made her feel simultaneously drawn to him and strangely at ease. A warm sensation spread through her, originating in her core and radiating outward. It was as if his mere presence was wrapping her in a comforting embrace, and despite the strange intensity of the feeling, she didn’t want it to stop.

“How can I help you, ladies?” Donny’s voice was unexpectedly soft, with a warmth that contrasted with his stern appearance.

Nayoung quickly took the lead, “Yeah, you can. I’ve got to ask—why did I end up with the cutesy role while Chowon’s the femme fatale?”

Donny smiled a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Honestly, I wanted to give you the femme fatale role and the nun role to Chowon, but the studio execs had other ideas. They said if I flipped them, they’d be sold on the concept. I did push for screen tests, but they weren’t having it. So, I didn’t give you these roles, but I am rewriting them to suit each of you better.”

Chowon’s warmth morphed into something deeper, almost like a gentle burn in her abdomen. It wasn’t unpleasant it was the opposite. She felt a growing need to be near him, to bask in that reassuring warmth that seemed to radiate from him.

“Um, okay.” Chowon’s voice was shaky but determined. “Can I ask one favor?”

“I may not be able to grant it, but I’ll see what I can do,” Donny replied, his tone as calm and reassuring as before.

“Could you be on set with us while we film?” Chowon asked shyly, the words slipping out before she could stop them. Donny raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. Realizing how her request might sound, she quickly added, “I mean, so we can get a feel for how you see us in the characters.”

Donny relaxed, a gentle smile spreading across his face. “Sure, I’ll see what I can do.”

Chowon beamed, the warmth inside her flaring up as she stepped closer to Donny. “I’ll see you later then!” she said giddily, gesturing for Nayoung to follow her.

Nayoung, who had watched the entire exchange in surprise, quickly caught up to Chowon once they were outside. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Chowon asked innocently.

Nayoung mimicked Chowon’s earlier tone, “‘Can I ask a favor?’” She playfully caressed Chowon’s arm before mockingly adding, “‘I’ll see you later.’”

Chowon blushed as Nayoung concluded. “You have a crush.”

As they exited the writer’s room, Chowon couldn’t shake the warmth that had ignited within her. It was growing stronger, spreading through her body like a slow, smoldering fire. She tried to focus on Nayoung’s teasing, but the sensation in her abdomen was becoming more intense by the second, to the point where it was almost unbearable.

"I… I need to go to the restroom," Chowon stammered, her voice barely steady.

Nayoung, still chuckling to herself, nodded. "Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you back at the dressing room."

Chowon hurried down the hallway, her steps growing more urgent as the burning sensation flared up, making it hard to think straight. By the time she reached the restroom, her hands were trembling as she locked the door behind her.

She pulled up her shirt to inspect her abdomen, expecting nothing more than nerves or maybe some strange allergic reaction. But what she saw made her gasp.

There, just below her ribcage, was a faint, glowing mark. It was intricate, almost like an ancient rune, pulsing softly with a light that matched the heat she was feeling inside. Chowon’s heart raced as she stared at the mark, unable to comprehend what was happening to her.

Before she could fully process it, the air in the restroom grew heavy, charged with a presence she couldn’t see but could somehow feel. A soft, melodious voice broke the silence.

"My little girl has her first mutual crush," the voice purred, tinged with amusement. "And now her powers are activating."

Chowon spun around, her breath catching in her throat. Standing before her, as if she had stepped out of thin air, was a woman of otherworldly beauty. Her long, flowing hair shimmered like spun gold, and her eyes—those same striking golden-tinted brown eyes—glinted with a mixture of pride and mischief. It was her mother, Semiramis.

"M-Mom?" Chowon stammered, still reeling from both the appearance of the mark and her mother’s sudden presence.

Semiramis smiled, stepping closer to examine the glowing mark on her daughter’s abdomen. "You’re growing up so fast, Chowon. I knew this day would come, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon."

"What’s happening to me?" Chowon asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why do I feel like this?"

Semiramis tilted her head, her expression softening. "Your powers, my dear. They’ve been dormant until now, waiting for the right trigger. It seems that meeting this… Donny has awakened them."

Chowon’s mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all. "But… why now? I’ve had crushes before, but nothing like this ever happened."

"Because this isn’t just any crush," Semiramis explained, her voice almost reverent. "It’s mutual. That’s the key. Your powers are tied to your emotions, to the connections you form. When your feelings are truly reciprocated, your succubus nature begins to awaken. That’s what you’re experiencing now."

Chowon looked down at the mark again, feeling a mix of fear and excitement. "So… this is because of Donny?"

"Sort of," Semiramis said with a knowing smile. "while he’s special to you, and that has triggered your transformation. you still had to choose him first. But be careful, my dear. Your powers are still new, still raw. They will grow stronger as your feelings for him deepen, and as his feelings for you grow, too."

Chowon nodded slowly, still trying to wrap her head around it all. "What am I supposed to do?"

Semiramis gently cupped her daughter’s face, her expression soft but serious. "You must learn to control these powers, to harness them before they control you. And be cautious with Donny. He may be the reason you awakened your powers, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous in his way."

"Dangerous? How?" Chowon asked, confused.

Semiramis hesitated, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. "I don't know. That’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself, in time. For now, just focus on mastering your abilities. And remember, my sweet girl, I’m always here if you need me."

With that, Semiramis placed a soft kiss on Chowon’s forehead, and before Chowon could say anything more, her mother’s presence faded, leaving her alone in the restroom, staring at the glowing mark on her abdomen. the glow went from pink to magenta to purple then back to pink again.

Chowon took a deep breath, her heart still pounding. Everything was changing, and she had no idea what lay ahead. But one thing was certain: Donny was at the center of it all.

Speaking of Donny, he spent the rest of the day working but couldn't shake off his thoughts about Chowon.

After a long day of work, Donny finally made his way back to his apartment. The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky painted in hues of deep orange and purple. He walked through the quiet streets, his thoughts a jumble of the day’s events.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting with Nayoung and Chowon earlier. Specifically, his mind kept circling back to Chowon—her shy smile, the way her voice had trembled slightly when she asked him to be on set, and that warmth he had felt when she had stood close to him. It was like she was radiating an energy that he couldn’t quite place. He felt a strange mix of desire to destroy her but also protect her.

As Donny reached his apartment, he tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter and headed straight to the living room, collapsing onto the couch with a sigh. The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the streetlamps outside, casting long shadows across the floor.

He leaned his head back against the cushion, closing his eyes. Despite his fatigue, sleep seemed far away. Instead, his mind drifted, unbidden, back to Chowon. He tried to shake it off—tried to focus on anything else—but the image of her kept resurfacing.

Before he knew it, he was daydreaming. In his mind’s eye, Chowon was standing before him, dressed in that same femme fatale outfit from earlier. But this time, the context was different. They weren’t on a set or in a writer’s room. They were alone, in an empty theater, the rows of seats around them fading into darkness.

She looked at him, her eyes full of a soft, enticing glow, and slowly approached. There was a confidence in her stride, an allure that seemed to pull him in, though he knew he should resist. The closer she got, the more his heart pounded in his chest.

“Donny,” she whispered, her voice carrying a hint of something he couldn’t quite define. It wasn’t just attraction; it was deeper, more potent. It was as if she was calling to something inside him, something he had kept buried for a long time.

In the dream, she reached out, her hand gently brushing against his cheek. The touch sent a shiver down his spine, and he found himself leaning into it, craving more. The sensation was overwhelming, a mix of comfort and desire that made it impossible to think straight.

But just as she leaned in closer, her lips hovering near his, something inside him snapped. He suddenly felt a surge of heat—not the pleasant warmth he had felt earlier, but something more intense, almost like a warning. The fiery maroon hue of his eyes in the dream suddenly flared up, and with it, an image of a sword—his sword—flashed in his mind.

In that instant, the scene around him shifted. The theater disappeared, replaced by a battlefield, scorched and broken. He stood there, dressed in his armor, with Chowon by his side, though she looked different—her eyes glowing with the same color as his own, her expression fierce and determined.

The dream took on a darker tone as they stood together, facing an unseen enemy. He felt a connection to her, but also a deep, troubling conflict within himself. Was he protecting her? Fighting against her? The lines were blurred, and the dream’s intensity left him feeling unsettled.

With a start, Donny snapped out of the daydream, his heart racing. He was back in his apartment, the quiet darkness pressing in on him. He sat up, running a hand through his hair as he tried to steady his breathing. What the hell was that?

He shook his head, trying to shake off the lingering emotions from the dream. But the feeling of Chowon’s presence, of that connection he had felt in the dream, stayed with him. He couldn’t deny it—there was something about her, something that had reached deep inside him, stirring feelings he had long kept under control.

Donny stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the city lights. He was a paladin of Nezzar, sworn to a path of justice and protection. But what he had felt with Chowon was… different. And it scared him. The dream had shaken him to his core, making him question everything he thought he knew.

As he stood there, staring into the night, Donny realized that this was just the beginning. Chowon had awakened something in him—something he wasn’t sure he was ready to face. But he knew one thing for certain: whatever this was, it wasn’t going to be easy.

And somehow, he knew that this wasn’t just a fleeting infatuation. It was something far more dangerous and profound.

Eventually, he found sleep and woke up the next day feeling refreshed and relaxed. he went through his daily rituals and prayers as he did he felt a tightness in his chest as the thing writhing beneath his flesh wriggled. it was weird but he pushed it down subconsciously. after that, he showered ate breakfast, and went to work. on the way he felt compelled to grab breakfast for the writers' room, so he stopped on the way at a sandwich shop and got breakfast sandwiches for everyone. when he arrived at the writers' room everyone was excited to see the one guy who brought them all the food. He sat down and one of the head writers (Thomas) approached him.

"Hey, why didn't you report to Costumes yet?"

Donny looked up at them confused.

"Because I am a writer."

"Oh, Maya must not have texted you. you have been promoted. You are now going to be one of the antagonists in the film.

"Huh, why?" Donny asked.

“The director saw your little chat with the girls last night and thought that you and Chowon need to be on screen together. So he called a couple of the head writers and said to start writing a part for you. Maya was supposed to text you to be at the costumes department yesterday but she may still exhausted from yesterday's rewrite, however, now go." Thomas said. Donny nodded and ran to hair, makeup, and costumes. on the way out he got cheers and quite a few thanks for the food that he brought. As he was pushed through the whirlwind of hair, makeup, etc. he chatted with the crew asking about his character and all they could give was, silent menace. so when he got to set that's all tried to get in the right head space, and that thing from yesterday. that darkness that sparked in his heart answered,

"Take what's yours," it said and Donny felt his countenance change. An intense disdain and disgust swelled within him as he stepped on stage. The cast and crew could feel it. The director saw him and was terrified but glad. turns out his intuition was correct as Donny would make an excellent antagonist. Donny walked over to the director and asked politely, "So what is my role?"

"You are an ex-agency member who had "died" but was betrayed by your supervising agent who is now the leader of the agency. you act as the voice of skepticism to the main character and push him to challenge what he knows about being a spy. you are also in a relationship with Chowon's character."

That answer surprised Donny and took him out of this weird malevolent trance he was in. The director laughed seeing him come down.

"Oh weren't expecting that were you? well, when I saw the tender way you interacted with the girls the calm you had was so interesting as you had this calm attitude to them. So I came up with the base idea for your character and had the writers flesh it out. I don't think they are done so for a while you are going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting for this character. Do you think you're up to that?" Donny thought for a minute then nodded.

Matthew the director nodded and then said, "Okay well then. go kill it," Donny nodded then tapped back into that darkness within he was surprised at how easily it came to him again. it frightened him but it also felt so natural so alluring as if he was fully expressing a part of himself he buried deep down.

Donny was just beginning to tap into that malevolent presence within him when Chowon arrived on set. As she stepped into the building, she immediately felt a strange, unsettling cold wash over her. It was as though the very air had thickened, making each breath more difficult to draw. Her heart began to race, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the oppressive feeling.

The sensation grew stronger with each step she took deeper into the set. It felt like being pulled under the waves of a dark, icy sea, the pressure mounting around her chest as if something unseen was trying to drag her down. Her breath quickened, each inhale a struggle against the overwhelming sense of dread that now gripped her.

As she rounded a corner, the feeling suddenly intensified, almost bringing her to her knees. It was as though the very walls of the set were closing in on her, and she had to force herself to keep moving forward. Her vision began to blur, and she felt a chill run down her spine as if something ancient and angry was watching her, waiting for her to falter.

Then, she saw him.

Donny stood in the middle of the set, his back turned to her as he conversed with the director. The cold, suffocating presence was emanating from him, wrapping around her like tendrils of darkness. It was so intense that she almost couldn’t breathe, her chest tightening painfully as if she were drowning in the deep, dark ocean that his aura resembled.

Summoning her courage, she called out to him, her voice trembling, “Donny?”

In an instant, the oppressive aura vanished, replaced by something entirely different. The coldness that had gripped her heart melted away, and she felt an overwhelming warmth spread through her body. It was as though a beam of sunlight had pierced through the dark clouds, bathing her in its light. The feeling of being pulled under was replaced by a sensation of being lifted up, buoyed by a powerful yet gentle force.

Donny turned to face her, his eyes softening as he recognized her voice. The aura that now surrounded him was one of pure, unyielding virtue—a paragon-like presence that radiated peace and strength. It was equally intense, but instead of fear, it filled Chowon with a sense of calm and security. The stark contrast between the two auras left her breathless, her mind reeling from the sudden shift.

For a moment, their eyes locked, and Chowon felt as though she could see into the depths of his soul. She sensed the presence of Nezzar, the god of justice, within him—a force of righteousness and order. But beneath that, she caught a fleeting glimpse of something else—something older, angrier, and more malevolent. It was like a ghostly shadow lurking just beneath the surface, alien and unfathomable, yet deeply intertwined with who Donny was.

Chowon’s heart skipped a beat as she realized that this darker presence was not aimed at her but at the world around them. It was a force that Donny unconsciously suppressed, perhaps even feared, yet it was undeniably a part of him.

“Chowon?” Donny’s voice broke through her thoughts, gentle and concerned. The aura of virtue still surrounded him, bringing her back to the present moment.

She shook her head slightly, forcing a smile. “I… I just wanted to see how everything was going.”

“Good timing,” Donny replied, his voice carrying the same warmth as his presence now. “We were just about to start.”

Chowon nodded, but as she took her place on set, she couldn’t shake the lingering feeling of that dark, alien presence she had sensed. It was as if she had glimpsed something she wasn’t meant to see—something that could change everything.

And yet, despite the fear it evoked, she couldn’t deny the strange pull she felt toward Donny, a pull that only seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment. Matthew, watching this, sighed with a hint of amusement. “Hey, save some of that cute romantic longing for the scene,” he said.

Taken out of their little moment, Chowon and Donny looked to Matthew before nodding and taking their places.

Why does it feel like I’m drawn to him? Chowon thought as she glanced at Donny. Every time I’m near him, it’s like this invisible force pulls me closer. It’s not just attraction—it’s something deeper, something I’ve never felt before. It scares me, but… I don’t want to let it go.

Donny, on the other hand, was wrestling with his own thoughts. She’s incredible, he mused, watching her with a mix of admiration and longing. I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel this way. It’s like she sees right through me, past everything I try to hide. I’m falling for her—fast—but what if she finds out what’s really inside of me? What if I hurt her?

“Okay, lights, camera, action!” Matthew yelled.

Donny walked into the little home that their characters shared and made his way over to the kitchen, where Chowon was “cooking.”

“Hey babe, I’m home,” Donny said as he wrapped his arms around Chowon from behind.

Chowon smiled in his arms, melting into his touch. She nestled closer to him, feeling a comforting warmth spread through her as she whispered into his ear, “It’s good to see you, babe. I hope work was okay.”

Caught up in the moment, Donny instinctively kissed Chowon’s forehead. She looked up at him, her eyes forming crescent moons as she kissed him softly on the lips. Donny, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion, let her lead the kiss, forgetting for a brief moment that they were still on set.

He’s so warm, so comforting, Chowon thought as she kissed him, her heart pounding in her chest. Every time he touches me, it’s like everything else fades away. How can someone make me feel this alive?

For Donny, the moment was equally intense. She’s incredible, he thought, his mind racing as he felt her soft lips against his. How did I get so lucky to meet someone like her? But there’s so much she doesn’t know about me, so much I’m afraid to show her. I don’t want to lose this—lose her.

“Cut!” Matthew called out, breaking them out of their trance.

They pulled away, looking around the set with wide eyes as they realized everyone was watching them with knowing smiles as if they were the cutest couple on the planet. Matthew grinned as he approached them.

“That was excellent. You both knocked it out of the park, in one take. Now, we’ll excuse you two lovebirds so we can move on to the next scene,” Matthew said, still smiling.

Chowon smiled back and then looked at Donny. Confidently, she asked, “Breakfast?”

Donny nodded, feeling the lightness of the moment. “I’m starving.”

He’s really something else, Chowon thought as they walked off set together. Every time I’m around him, I feel like I’m on the edge of something big, something that could change everything. And I’m not sure I’m ready for it, but at the same time, I can’t resist it. I don’t want to resist it.

The duo began to walk toward catering when Donny suddenly had a better idea. He turned to Matthew, who was busy coordinating the next scene.

“Hey, boss, do you need us for anything else?” Donny asked.

The director shook his head. “Actually, when you can, could you give me some character notes?”

“Of course,” Donny nodded before continuing on his way with Chowon following beside him, her steps light and happy.

This is crazy, Donny thought as they left the set together. I’ve never fallen this hard, this fast, for anyone. But with her, it’s different. It’s not just attraction—it’s something more, something that feels almost… inevitable. But what if I’m not what she thinks I am? What if I’m not enough?

As they left the set, Chowon suggested they go to a nearby diner she had heard about. “I’ve been dying to try their breakfast menu,” she said with a playful smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

They walked down the street, the early morning sun warming the city as they made their way to the cozy little diner. Once they were seated in a booth near the window, Chowon began to feel a familiar warmth spread through her chest—a warmth that was quickly turning into a simmering heat.

She could feel her succubus nature stirring within her, the power that had been dormant for so long now begging to be released. And as she looked across the table at Donny, she couldn’t help but let that side of her slip through.

“So,” she began, her voice taking on a sultry tone as she leaned forward, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of her glass. “How did you know exactly what I needed back there on set? It’s like you can read my mind.”

He really does know me, she thought, her eyes locked on his. But it’s more than that. It’s like he sees the real me, the me I try to hide from everyone else. And instead of running away, he’s drawn to it. I’ve never felt anything like this before.

Donny chuckled, slightly taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. “Just lucky, I guess,” he said, trying to keep his tone casual, though he couldn’t ignore the intensity of her gaze.

She’s dangerous, he thought, feeling that familiar dark presence stir within him again. But that’s part of what makes her so irresistible. She’s got this power over me, and I don’t know if I can—or even want to—fight it.

“Lucky, huh?” Chowon teased, her smile growing as she leaned in closer. “I think it’s more than that. You’ve got this… way about you. Something that makes it impossible for me to resist.”

I can’t help it, she thought, feeling the heat in her chest spread throughout her body. He makes me feel alive in a way I never have before. It’s like he’s unlocking something inside of me, something I didn’t even know was there.

Donny felt his heart rate quicken as she spoke, her words dripping with a playful seduction that was hard to ignore. He swallowed, trying to keep his composure. “Well, you’re not exactly making it easy for me to keep my cool either,” he admitted with a grin.

She’s incredible, he thought, feeling that strange darkness within him stir again as if responding to her. But there’s something about her that makes me want to protect her, even from myself. I can’t let her get too close, but at the same time, I don’t want to push her away.

“Oh?” Chowon arched an eyebrow, clearly enjoying his reaction. She reached across the table, her fingers brushing against the back of his hand. “What if I don’t want you to keep your cool? What if I want to see what happens when you let go?”

Her words sent a jolt of electricity through Donny, and for a moment, he felt that strange, dark presence within him stir again, as if responding to her challenge. But just as quickly as it appeared, he pushed it down, focusing instead on the woman in front of him.

She’s playing with fire, he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he met her gaze. But then again, so am I. Maybe we’re both just waiting to see who gets burned first.

“Careful what you wish for,” he said, his voice low and teasing, though there was a seriousness in his eyes that made Chowon’s heart skip a beat.

Why does he have this effect on me? she wondered, feeling a thrill run through her at the subtle shift in his tone. It’s like he knows exactly how to push my buttons, how to get under my skin. And the craziest part is… I don’t want him to stop.

She smiled, feeling a thrill run through her at the subtle shift in his tone. “Maybe I like living dangerously,” she whispered, leaning even closer until there was barely any space between them.

For a moment, the world outside the diner seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them in their little bubble of shared energy. Chowon’s succubus nature reveled in the tension, feeding off of the subtle back-and-forth between them. She could feel her power growing, the heat in her chest spreading throughout her body, urging her to close the distance between them even more.

This is insane, Donny thought, feeling his pulse quicken as she moved closer. *I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t let her get this close. But there’s something about her that makes me want to throw caution to the wind. I just hope I don’t regret it.*

But just as she was about to take that final step, the waitress arrived with their food, breaking the spell. Chowon pulled back slightly, though the playful glint in her eyes remained. “Looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation later,” she said with a wink.

Donny chuckled, relieved and yet slightly disappointed at the interruption. “Yeah, looks like it,” he agreed, though he couldn’t help but feel that the intensity between them had only just begun.

She’s amazing, he thought as he watched her take a bite of her food. And I’m in deep—deeper than I’ve ever been with anyone. But there’s so much at stake here, so much I’m afraid to lose. I just hope I can keep it together long enough to figure out what to do next.

As they dug into their breakfast, the playful banter continued, but beneath the surface, both of them were acutely aware of the electric current that now flowed between them—a current that neither of them could deny, and one that promised to only grow stronger with time.

This is only the beginning, Chowon thought, stealing a glance at Donny as he laughed at something she said. And something tells me that whatever happens next, it’s going to change everything. As they finished up the couple decided to head back to the set as they walked back Chowon laced her hands in Donny's. A happy smile lined her face as they walked back.

As Donny and Chowon walked back onto the set, the energy between them was palpable. They were still riding the high from their impromptu lunch date, both feeling more connected than ever. Chowon’s heart fluttered with each step, a mixture of excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside her.

But as they entered the set, something shifted in the air. A producer, Mr. Park, who had always been courteous and professional, suddenly froze as Chowon approached. His eyes locked onto her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

“Chowon, you look… stunning today,” Mr. Park said, his voice taking on an unfamiliar tone.

Chowon blinked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. “Thank you, Mr. Park,” she replied politely, trying to step past him. But he moved closer, blocking her path.

“No, really,” he insisted, his hand reaching out to grab her arm. “I think we need to talk, right now. You and me.”

The grip on her arm was firm, almost possessive, and panic began to rise in Chowon’s chest. She had no idea what was happening or why Mr. Park was acting this way. Her heart raced, and she tried to pull away, but his hold tightened.

“Mr. Park, please, I—” Chowon started, but before she could finish, Donny was there, stepping between them.

“Hey, back off,” Donny said, his voice calm but with an edge that made Mr. Park hesitate.

Mr. Park’s eyes flicked to Donny, his expression a mixture of confusion and anger. “This doesn’t concern you,” he snapped, though his grip on Chowon loosened slightly.

“It does if you’re making her uncomfortable,” Donny replied, his gaze steady and unwavering. “Let her go.”

As Donny spoke, something within him stirred—a deep, innate force that he had always carried but rarely acknowledged. Without realizing it, he tapped into that well of power, and a soft, golden light seemed to radiate from him. The air around him shimmered subtly, and Mr. Park’s aggressive demeanor began to waver.

For a moment, it looked like Mr. Park was going to argue, but then his expression softened, the anger and confusion draining from his face. He blinked as if waking from a trance, his grip on Chowon’s arm loosening entirely.

“I… I’m sorry,” Mr. Park stammered, stepping back and rubbing his forehead as if trying to clear his thoughts. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Chowon, still shaken, moved closer to Donny, grateful for his intervention. She didn’t understand why Mr. Park had suddenly acted so strangely, but being near Donny made her feel safe.

“Are you okay?” Donny asked, his voice softening as he looked down at her. The golden light that had briefly surrounded him faded away, leaving only his natural warmth and presence.

Chowon nodded, though her heart was still pounding. “Yeah… I just… I don’t know what happened.”

Donny glanced back at Mr. Park, who now looked embarrassed and confused as if he couldn’t believe his own behavior. “It’s fine now. Let’s just get back to work, all right?”

Chowon nodded again, leaning into Donny’s side for comfort as they walked away together. She didn’t know what had caused that strange encounter, but she was thankful that Donny had been there to protect her. And in that moment, she realized just how much she was starting to rely on him.

Donny, for his part, couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He had no idea what had just happened, but seeing Chowon in distress had brought out a fierce protectiveness in him that he didn’t fully understand. All he knew was that he didn’t want to see her hurt, and he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Unbeknownst to him, his paladin powers had just awakened, dispelling the charm that had overtaken Mr. Park, but the full implications of this were still hidden from his conscious mind. As they continued to walk back on set Donny began to feel nauseous.

As Donny and Chowon walked back onto the set, the energy between them was palpable. They were still riding the high from their impromptu lunch date, both feeling more connected than ever. Chowon’s heart fluttered with each step, a mixture of excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside her.

But as they entered the set, something shifted in the air. A producer, Mr. Park, who had always been courteous and professional, suddenly froze as Chowon approached. His eyes locked onto her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

“Chowon, you look… stunning today,” Mr. Park said, his voice taking on an unfamiliar tone.

Chowon blinked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. “Thank you, Mr. Park,” she replied politely, trying to step past him. But he moved closer, blocking her path.

“No, really,” he insisted, his hand reaching out to grab her arm. “I think we need to talk, right now. You and me.”

The grip on her arm was firm, almost possessive, and panic began to rise in Chowon’s chest. She had no idea what was happening or why Mr. Park was acting this way. Her heart raced, and she tried to pull away, but his hold tightened.

“Mr. Park, please, I—” Chowon started, but before she could finish, Donny was there, stepping between them.

“Hey, back off,” Donny said, his voice calm but with an edge that made Mr. Park hesitate.

Mr. Park’s eyes flicked to Donny, his expression a mixture of confusion and anger. “This doesn’t concern you,” he snapped, though his grip on Chowon loosened slightly.

“It does if you’re making her uncomfortable,” Donny replied, his gaze steady and unwavering. “Let her go.”

As Donny spoke, something within him stirred—a deep, innate force that he had always carried but rarely acknowledged. Without realizing it, he tapped into that well of power, and a soft, golden light seemed to radiate from him. The air around him shimmered subtly, and Mr. Park’s aggressive demeanor began to waver.

For a moment, it looked like Mr. Park was going to argue, but then his expression softened, the anger and confusion draining from his face. He blinked as if waking from a trance, his grip on Chowon’s arm loosening entirely.

“I… I’m sorry,” Mr. Park stammered, stepping back and rubbing his forehead as if trying to clear his thoughts. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Chowon, still shaken, moved closer to Donny, grateful for his intervention. She didn’t understand why Mr. Park had suddenly acted so strangely, but being near Donny made her feel safe.

“Are you okay?” Donny asked, his voice softening as he looked down at her. The golden light that had briefly surrounded him faded away, leaving only his natural warmth and presence.

Chowon nodded, though her heart was still pounding. “Yeah… I just… I don’t know what happened.”

Donny glanced back at Mr. Park, who now looked embarrassed and confused as if he couldn’t believe his own behavior. “It’s fine now. Let’s just get back to work, all right?”

Chowon nodded again, leaning into Donny’s side for comfort as they walked away together. She didn’t know what had caused that strange encounter, but she was thankful that Donny had been there to protect her. And in that moment, she realized just how much she was starting to rely on him.

Donny, for his part, couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He had no idea what had just happened, but seeing Chowon in distress had brought out a fierce protectiveness in him that he didn’t fully understand. All he knew was that he didn’t want to see her hurt, and he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Unbeknownst to him, his paladin powers had just awakened, dispelling the charm that had overtaken Mr. Park, but the full implications of this were still hidden from his conscious mind.

When Donny returned to where he had left Chowon, he felt a mix of relief and trepidation. The encounter with the darkness inside him had left him shaken, but seeing Chowon waiting there, her expression a blend of concern and patience, brought him a sense of grounding.

As he approached her, Chowon immediately noticed the pallor in his face and the tension in his posture. She took a step closer, her eyes scanning him with a mixture of worry and curiosity.

“Donny, are you sure you’re okay?” she asked softly, her voice laced with genuine concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Donny forced a small smile, trying to push the lingering effects of the vision aside. “I’m fine, really,” he replied, though his voice was slightly strained. “I just… wasn’t feeling well for a moment. Must’ve been something I ate.”

Chowon’s brow furrowed, clearly not convinced. “You don’t have to pretend with me, you know,” she said gently, her eyes searching his for any hint of what was really going on. “If something’s bothering you, you can tell me.”

For a moment, Donny considered telling her the truth—about the darkness inside him, the vision he had just experienced, and the war raging within his soul. But the words caught in his throat. How could he explain something so otherworldly, so terrifying, without scaring her away? He wasn’t even sure he fully understood it himself.

Instead, he reached out and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I appreciate that, Chowon. Really, I do,” he said, his voice softening. “But I don’t want you to worry. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Chowon hesitated, clearly torn between pressing the issue and respecting his boundaries. After a moment, she nodded, though the concern in her eyes didn’t fade. “Okay,” she said quietly. “But if you ever need to talk… I’m here.”

Donny felt a warmth spread through him at her words, a stark contrast to the cold darkness he had just faced. He squeezed her hand again, grateful for her presence. “Thank you, Chowon,” he said sincerely. “That means a lot.”

As they stood there, hand in hand, Donny couldn’t help but feel the strange duality within him—on one hand, the darkness that threatened to consume him, and on the other, the light that Chowon seemed to bring into his life. It was as if she was a beacon, guiding him through the chaos, even if she didn’t fully understand the depths of what he was facing.

But for now, he was content to simply be in her presence, letting her warmth chase away the lingering shadows in his mind.

“Come on,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “Let’s get back to the set. We’ve got a scene to shoot.”

Chowon nodded, though she still seemed a bit hesitant. As they walked side by side, Donny couldn’t shake the feeling that, no matter how hard he tried to keep the darkness at bay, it was only a matter of time before it surfaced again. And when it did, he wasn’t sure if even Chowon’s light would be enough to save him.

That evening, Donny sat on the edge of his bed, his mind still racing from the events of the day. The quiet of his apartment did little to soothe the turmoil inside him. His body was exhausted, but his mind was anything but at rest. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Chowon—her smile, her concern, the way her hand had felt in his.

But the moment his thoughts drifted to her, something dark and primal stirred within him. It was like a shadow slithering beneath his skin, growing stronger the more he tried to ignore it. The sensation was different from what he had felt earlier on set when he’d had to suppress the malevolent force lurking inside him. This was more insidious, more intertwined with his emotions and desires.

He thought of the way Chowon had looked at him, the warmth in her eyes, and how it had made him feel safe—grounded, even. But now, that same warmth seemed to be the very thing igniting the darkness within him.

The desire he felt for her, initially pure and genuine, was now laced with something darker, something that hungered for more than just affection. It was possessive, almost feral, and it terrified him.

“No,” he muttered to himself, gripping the edge of the bed so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “This isn’t me. This can’t be me.”

But the darkness within him only seemed to grow stronger, feeding off his denial. His desire for Chowon, instead of subsiding, intensified with every heartbeat. It was as if the act of suppressing it only gave it more power, twisting his longing for her into something almost monstrous.

Images flashed through his mind—Chowon in his arms, her lips on his, her body pressed against him. But there was something wrong, something off about these visions. In them, he wasn’t just with her; he was consuming her, pulling her into the darkness that now seemed to define him. The line between love and obsession blurred, leaving him confused and shaken.

“Stop,” he whispered, his voice trembling. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake off the dark thoughts, but they clung to him like a shadow. The more he tried to push them away, the deeper they sank their claws into his soul.

The darkness surged again, this time more violently, making his chest tighten and his breathing grow shallow. He could feel it—the otherness within him, the part that was neither human nor paladin, that ancient, malevolent force tied to his heritage. It was alive, writhing beneath the surface, and it wanted Chowon. Not in the way Donny wanted her, but in a way that would devour her, consume her completely.

“No!” he shouted, pushing himself off the bed and stumbling into the bathroom. He gripped the edges of the sink, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes, usually a deep brown, seemed darker now, almost black, as if the darkness within him was beginning to seep out.

He splashed cold water on his face, hoping to snap himself out of it, but it did little to quell the storm raging inside him. The darkness laughed at his feeble attempts to suppress it, mocking him for thinking he could control something so primal, so deeply rooted in his very being.

As he stood there, panting and trembling, Donny realized just how dangerous this was. Not just for him, but for Chowon. If he couldn’t get a grip on this—on the darkness, on his own desires—he could hurt her. And that was something he couldn’t allow.

But even as he made that vow, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. The darkness wasn’t something that could be simply pushed down or ignored. It was a part of him, a part that was growing stronger by the day, and it wasn’t going to let go without a fight.

Donny looked back into the mirror, staring at the man he no longer recognized. He had to find a way to control this before it consumed him—before it consumed everything he cared about.

But as he returned to his bedroom, the lingering image of Chowon’s smile filled his mind, and with it, the darkness surged once more, feeding off his conflicted emotions. Donny clenched his fists, trying to suppress the wave of desire, but deep down, he knew the battle was far from over.

The night stretched on, and with it, the war within his soul continued, leaving him with one inescapable truth—he was falling for Chowon, and the darkness within him was falling even harder.

Over the next few days, Donny spent a lot of time avoiding or hiding from Chowon because of this malevolent force her felt inside of him

Donny sits at the kitchen table, staring at a cup of chocolate milk. His phone buzzes with a message from Chowon: “Hey, are you free today? Let’s grab lunch!”

He hesitates, staring at the message. After a moment of anguish, he deletes it without responding. Across town, Chowon checks her phone repeatedly, frowning as the hours pass with no reply. She sighs, tossing her phone onto the bed, feeling a pang of hurt.

Donny moves through the set, deliberately avoiding Chowon. As he passes by her, he offers a curt nod but avoids eye contact. Chowon, noticing his aloofness, feels a stab of confusion and hurt. “Why is he avoiding me?” she wonders, trying to focus on her work.

Every time she tries to approach him, Donny finds a reason to distance himself. Chowon’s frustration grows, her mind racing with possible reasons for his behavior. “Did I do something wrong?” she thinks, her irritation bubbling beneath the surface.

Donny sits alone at a corner table. He sees Chowon enter with friends, her eyes scanning the room for him. When she spots him, her face lights up with a smile, but as she starts to walk over, Donny quickly gathers his things and exits through the back door.

Chowon stands in the middle of the coffee shop, her smile fading into a look of hurt and confusion. “What’s his problem?” she thinks, her frustration mounting. “Is he really just going to keep running away from me?”

Donny paces around his apartment, trying to calm the turbulence inside him. He glances at a framed photo of Chowon on his desk, then turns away with a grimace.

Meanwhile, Chowon sits in her own apartment, staring at her phone. “He’s not even texting me back now,” she thinks angrily. “What is he so afraid of? If he doesn’t want to see me, he should just say it.” She tosses her phone aside, crossing her arms in frustration.

Donny walks through a quiet park, his gaze fixed on the ground. He hears Chowon’s laughter in the distance, and his expression tightens. He turns around and begins walking briskly in the opposite direction.

Chowon, seeing him leave, feels her frustration boil over. “This is ridiculous,” she thinks, her heart pounding with anger and hurt. “He can’t just keep running away like this. What’s going on with him?” She clenches her fists, determined to confront him the next time they meet.

During a break, Donny watches Chowon from the shadows. She is surrounded by friends, chatting animatedly. He takes a deep breath and retreats to a quiet corner.

Chowon catches a glimpse of Donny disappearing into the shadows. “There he goes again,” she thinks, her frustration reaching its peak. “He’s hiding something from me, and I’m going to find out what it is.” Her mind races with thoughts of confronting him, demanding answers.

Donny sits on his bed, staring at a sketchbook filled with drawings of Chowon. His face is a mix of longing and resolve as he turns the pages.

In her own bed, Chowon lies awake, replaying every interaction with Donny in her mind. “He wasn’t like this before,” she thinks, her heart aching. “Something’s changed, and I need to know what it is. I can’t keep playing this game.” She squeezes her eyes shut, feeling both anger and a deep sense of loss.

Chowon, visibly distressed, tries to focus on her work. She glances around, hoping to catch sight of Donny. Their eyes briefly meet from across the set, and a flash of unspoken pain passes between them.

Donny, seeing her hurt expression, clenches his fists and turns away, his face a mask of agony and determination. Chowon watches him go, her frustration turning into determination. “I’m not letting this go,” she thinks. “He’s not pushing me away without a fight.”

after a week of this Chowon has had enough. Unsure of whom to call as Nayoung's only advice has been to drop him like a bad habit she sits on their hotel couch sullen. Chowon sits on her couch, her phone clutched in her hand. After several minutes of hesitation, she finally dials her mom’s number. The phone rings a few times before her mom picks up. her face smiling happily until she sees a saddened Chowon.

Semiramis frowns seeing her daughter so distressed “Hello, sweetheart. How’s everything going?”

Chowon sighs and replies, “Hi, Mom. I… I need to talk to you about something.”

Semiramis nods and responds on the video call“Of course, dear. What’s on your mind?”

Chowon takes a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. She’s been wrestling with her feelings for Donny and his sudden coldness. Chowon sighs as she says “It’s about Donny. I don’t know what’s happening, but he’s been avoiding me lately. He used to be so warm and kind, but now he’s distant and aloof. I don’t understand why he’s pushing me away, and it’s driving me crazy.”

Semiramis nods, “I see. It sounds like you’re really struggling with this. But you’re sure it’s not something you did?” she says

Chowon vehemently shakes her head “No, I don’t think so. I’ve tried everything to get closer to him, but he just keeps shutting me out. It’s like he’s afraid of something, but he won’t tell me what.”

Semiramis pauses, thinking carefully. Semiramis responds “Well, my dear, you know I can’t give you a magical solution, but I can offer some advice. If you really care about him and want to understand what’s going on, you need to confront him directly.”

Chowon looks at her mom confused, “Confront him? How? He’s been so distant…” she asks

Semiramis rolls her eyes amused “ You are a worldwide star, he is lucky you even give him the time of day. Yes, confront him. Sometimes, you need to take the initiative and not back down. Use your natural charm, your presence. Let him know that you’re not going anywhere until you get answers. Sometimes, people need a little push to open up.” she guides

Chowon nods as she is still hesitant, but replies, “But what if he still won’t talk to me? What if he keeps avoiding me?”

Semiramis smiles, and says, “Then you have to be persistent. If necessary, ‘take him by force’—I don’t mean anything violent, of course. I mean, don’t let him shut you out. Show him that you’re committed to understanding him and being there for him. Sometimes, persistence and sincerity can break through barriers.”

Chowon thinks for a moment as determination fills her, “Okay, I’ll try that. I just wish I knew what’s really going on with him.” She says resolute

Semiramis smiles at her daughter “I understand, sweetheart. And remember, you’re not alone in this. I’m here for you, and I believe in your strength to get through this. Just be honest and patient, and things will work out.” she consoles

Chowon nods “Thanks, Mom. I’ll do what you suggested. I just hope it helps.” she says

Semiramis hums happily before saying, “I’m sure it will. Happy Hunting. Keep me updated, all right?”

Chowon nods determined “I will. Bye, Mom.”

Semiramis smiles at her daughter, “Goodbye, dear.”

Chowon ends the call and sits back on the couch, a mix of determination and anxiety in her expression. She takes a deep breath, feeling more resolved to confront Donny and get to the bottom of his strange behavior.

Chowon thinks to herself, “All right, Donny. I’m not giving up on you. I’ll find out what’s going on, even if it takes everything I have.”

The next day Chowon arrives at Donny's apartment. Chowon stands resolutely in front of Donny’s apartment door. After a moment of hesitation, she knocks firmly. The door opens to reveal Donny, clearly worn out and troubled. He looks at her with a mixture of surprise and distress. His looks tired Chowon realizes he hasn't been sleeping for the past few days and forces herself in and close Donny was taken aback by this action

Donny tenses as she hugs him, "Chowon what are you doing here?" he asks

Chowon pouts and replies, "You have been avoiding me and I don't like it. The only moments of closeness I get from you are on set when we have scenes together the rest of the time you're avoiding me. what happened? I’m here because I care about you, Donny. I see what you’re going through, and I want to help. Don’t push me away.”

Donny’s eyes reflect an almost sinister Teal that is encircling a benevolent magenta. Chowon watches sad as he struggles to keep his composure, and the air around him feels charged with a dark, unsettling energy. The atmosphere in the room begins to shift ominously. Donny's aura would shift from the familiar warmth that Chowon knew to the suffocation she felt. through labored breaths, Donny said “Chowon you need to go, you don’t understand. There’s something inside me that I can’t control.”

Chowon stood firm. while unsure of many things (like cube entertainment) she was resolute in this, “Let me be here for you. I want to understand. Please, just let me in.” she said kindly

Donny smiles and then writhes in pain as his flesh begins to rot and peel away, or is broken by cloven feet, tentacles, claws popping out of his physical form. if that wasn't enough at the top of his skull his flesh continued to rot or melt away as a monstrous visage of bone took its place. on the top of that bony maw, antlers began to sprout. One singular bloodshot eye. besides the bony ivory maw was made entirely of black ichor that dripped onto the floor. Chowon watched in horror as Donny's body split and out came a gilded warrior full of Divine fury that fought against the beast.

What frightened Chowon the most was what the forms said, "He favors you," one would say to the other as they attacked each other. Chowon watched and realized that Donny's soul was tearing itself apart before her eyes. seeing this she took a stand and dipped into her powers. She approached "Donny" and said, "You know I don't think either of you is so bad, but I like it better" Chowon's terror was gone in its place of seduction and desire. She smiled cutely hoping to ease Donny's pain, "I like you are, not as this warring thing." she says as she caresses both heads." Her powers work their magic as she begins to calm "Donny" down. Chowon presses on “Donny, stop fighting it! You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here with you.” to further this point she smooshes both heads together so she can kiss them.

As she continues the kiss of her various emotions she feels the bodies merge and shift, as they stop fighting.

Chowon (thinking): “It’s not about separating the parts of him. They’re both essential to who he is. He needs to understand that they are not opposing forces but integral parts of his being.”

She speaks to him with both urgency and tenderness, trying to convey the complexity of his nature, Chowon smiles at both sides as she breaks the kiss she says, “Donny, listen to me. You don’t have to suppress one side of yourself. The monster and the paladin are both parts of you. They are not opposed; they are intertwined. You are more than just darkness or light. Embrace both sides. They make you whole.”

The monstrous forms begin to shift and merge, integrating. The creature’s aggressive roars soften, becoming a calm, balanced presence. The room’s tension dissipates, replaced by a soothing aura. It feels cool yet warm like a pleasant starry night on the ocean.

Chowon’s own powers reveal her half-succubus nature and amplify her charms, but she remains focused on Donny. Her gaze is full of empathy and determination as she helps him reconcile his inner conflict. She smiles as she says “You are both the darkness and the light, Donny. Accepting both parts of yourself will bring you peace.”

Donny’s eyes widen with understanding. His monstrous and paladin aspects merge harmoniously, and he collapses, exhausted but relieved. Chowon kneels beside him, her heart aching with both sadness and hope.

Chowon smiles as she whispers to him, “I’m here. You don’t have to face this alone.”

As Donny loses consciousness, Chowon stays by his side, her presence a source of comfort. She gently cradles him, her resolve firm as she watches over him. he falls asleep on her lap, as the first restful dream comes to him in the past three days. Chowon also falls asleep soon after

The night was quiet, save for the gentle hum of the city outside Donny’s window. Exhausted from the day’s events, he finally succumbed to sleep, his thoughts lingering on Chowon—her warmth, her smile, and that inexplicable pull he felt toward her.

Both of them drifted into a deep sleep, and as they did, they found themselves in an unfamiliar yet oddly comforting place. They stood together in the middle of a vast, moonlit garden, filled with blooming flowers that glowed softly under the light of a full, silvery moon. The air was thick with the scent of jasmine and roses, and the only sound was the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze.

Donny looked around, bewildered at first, but the sight of Chowon standing nearby put him at ease. She was dressed in a flowing white gown that shimmered like the moonlight itself, her hair cascading over her shoulders in soft waves. Her dress was modest as she moved closer to Donny but her eyes belayed an intense desire. They glowed with irreverent gold as she waltzed over to him. Donny for his part looked different his form was chimeric in nature. antlers and horns sprouted over the left side of his head as a partial halo of tentacles hovered around the right side where a halo of steel had been interwoven. Her eyes met his and she saw they were different one a magenta that screamed madness but also joy hope and revelry, while the other a peaceful teal that was orderly and intense. At his side was a monstrous-looking spear. As they caught each other's eyes Donny smiled at her, and for a moment, they simply stood there, taking each other in.

“Where are we?” Donny asked, his voice low and hushed, as if speaking too loudly would shatter the delicate beauty of the scene.

“I don’t know,” Chowon replied, her voice equally soft. “But… it feels like we’re supposed to be here.”

They slowly walked toward each other, the distance between them shrinking until they were standing just inches apart. There was a tension in the air, charged with unspoken words and feelings neither of them fully understood.

As they stood close, the moonlight seemed to intensify, casting a halo of light around them. Chowon felt that same warmth building in her abdomen, but this time it was different—stronger, more focused. It was as if every fiber of her being was drawn to Donny, compelled to reach out and touch him.

Tentatively, she lifted her hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart. Donny inhaled sharply at the contact, a jolt of electricity shooting through him. His hand instinctively moved to cover hers, holding it in place as he stared into her eyes.

“I’ve never felt like this before,” Chowon whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “It’s like… I’m drawn to you. Like I can’t resist.”

Donny’s grip on her hand tightened slightly, his own emotions swirling in a confusing mix of desire and hesitation. “I feel it too,” he admitted, his voice rough with the intensity of what he was experiencing. “But there’s something else… something pulling me in another direction.” as he spoke Chowon felt the darkness in him but instead of it being cold and frightening it was cool and hospitable. She felt it embrace her with the same intensity as the divine parts of Donny, and she felt comfort in his embrace.

Chowon’s eyes softened as she leaned closer, her face just inches from his. “Don’t fight it,” she urged softly. “Whatever this is, it’s real. I can feel it.”

At that moment, the world around them seemed to dissolve, leaving only the two of them standing in a sea of moonlight. The pull between them was undeniable, a magnetic force that neither of them could resist any longer.

Slowly, Donny leaned in, his lips hovering just above hers. His breath mingled with hers, the heat between them growing almost unbearable. And then, just as their lips were about to meet, the dream took on a strange, surreal quality. The garden around them began to shift, the flowers blooming and withering in rapid succession as if time itself were bending.

Chowon gasped softly, but Donny didn’t pull away. Instead, he gently cupped her face in his hands, grounding them both in the moment. “We’re in this together,” he murmured, his voice steady despite the chaos around them. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Finally, their lips met in a tender, lingering kiss. It was as if the world itself held its breath, pausing in reverence for the moment. The kiss was soft at first, but quickly deepened as the pent-up desire between them finally found its release.

As they kissed, the strange energy that had been building within Chowon flared, sending a wave of warmth and light through both of them. The sensation was overwhelming, a mix of pleasure, comfort, and something far more profound. It was as if their very souls were connecting, entwining in a way that went beyond the physical.

But just as the intensity reached its peak, the dream began to fade. The garden, the moonlight, the flowers—all of it started to dissolve into darkness. Donny and Chowon held onto each other, reluctant to let go, but the dream world was slipping away, pulling them back to reality.

Chowon awoke with a start, her heart racing and her body tingling from the remnants of the dream. She could still feel the warmth of Donny’s lips on hers, the way his touch had made her whole body come alive. She reached up to touch her lips, her fingers trembling.

In his apartment, Donny also woke abruptly, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. The dream had felt so real, so vivid, that it took him a moment to remember where he was. He could still feel the lingering heat of Chowon’s touch on his skin, the way their kiss had seemed to light a fire inside him.

The room is quiet, illuminated by the soft light filtering through the curtains. Donny and Chowon stir awake, his body feeling heavy yet strangely light at the same time. His mind is a whirl of fragmented memories from the earlier turmoil and the dreamlike fusion of his two forms.

He blinks open his eyes and sees Chowon sitting beside him on the floor, her head resting on her lap. The sight of her brings a wave of relief and gratitude.

Donny: (groggily) “Chowon…”

Chowon stirs at the sound of his voice, slowly lifting her head and meeting his gaze. Her eyes are filled with a mix of concern and warmth.

Chowon: “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Donny tries to sit up, but his body protests slightly. He looks around, noticing the remnants of the earlier chaos but also the calm and soothing presence of Chowon.

Donny: “I… I don’t remember much after… what happened.”

Chowon smiled as she explained “You had a powerful reaction. I saw everything—the darkness and the light. I tried to help you see that both parts of you are equally important.”

Donny’s eyes meet Chowon’s, and he sees the sincerity in her expression. He takes a deep breath, feeling a newfound sense of clarity and acceptance. Relaxed he responded, “Thank you. I felt… torn between these parts of me, but now I think I understand. It’s not about suppressing one side or the other, but embracing both.”

Chowon nods gratefully and says, “Exactly. You’re more than the sum of your parts. You’re whole as you are.”

Donny nods, a faint smile forming on his lips. He reaches out and takes Chowon’s hand, holding it gently.

Donny slowly rises, helping Chowon to her feet. They share a tender, unspoken moment of intimacy before Donny takes Chowon’s hand once more. Donny smiles and says, “Let’s get some fresh air. I think we both need it.”

Chowon smiles back, and says “I’d like that.”

Memory updated

As things calmed down, Chowon began to feel her powers and appetites increase. It was subtle at first—a straightened posture, a renewed energy coursing through her, and a lightness in her step. She noticed herself becoming bolder and more confident, but it wasn't the overt, sultry kind of confidence one might expect from a succubus. No, it was uniquely hers, a blend of playful flirtation and genuine warmth that made her presence magnetic.

One afternoon, while hanging out with Nayoung, this change was particularly evident. Chowon had chosen a cute outfit that day—something that subtly flaunted her curves and fit her well. She wasn’t worried about it as much as she might have been before. The nervousness that used to gnaw at her when she dressed like this was gone, replaced by a comfortable assurance.

Nayoung noticed the shift. "Damn, girl, you're gonna wear that today?" she said, half-joking but with an approving grin.

Chowon rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah, and?" she replied with a playful smile.

Nayoung chuckled, loving this new side of her friend. Chowon’s confidence was contagious, and it inspired Nayoung in ways she hadn’t expected. She had her struggles with body image, often feeling insecure about parts of herself that she couldn’t change. Seeing Chowon embrace herself so fully made Nayoung feel a bit braver.

As they continued to chat, Nayoung grew more serious. "You know, I admire how you’ve been handling things lately. It’s like you’ve come into your own. But… are you okay with all this? I mean, this sudden confidence, the change—does it scare you?"

Chowon paused, her smile fading slightly. "It’s… different. I feel like I’m becoming more of who I’m supposed to be, but at the same time, it’s kind of overwhelming. Like, what if this isn’t me? What if I’m just... changing because of my powers?"

Nayoung shook her head. "Powers or not, this is still you. You’re just more comfortable with who you are now. And that’s not something to be afraid of. Not everyone’s going to be nice or understand, but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong to embrace yourself. People might judge, but you can’t live your life afraid of what others might think."

Chowon looked at Nayoung, the weight of her words sinking in. "I guess I’m just scared that if I lean into this too much, I’ll lose who I was before, or worse, hurt someone without meaning to."

"Chowon, you’re one of the kindest people I know," Nayoung said her voice firm. "You won’t lose that just because you’re becoming more confident. And if anyone doesn’t like the new you, that’s their problem, not yours."

Chowon nodded, a small smile returning to her face. "Thanks, Nayoung. I needed to hear that."

Nayoung smiled back, wrapping an arm around her friend. "Anytime. And for the record, I think you’re amazing, powers and all. Don’t let fear hold you back from being who you’re meant to be."

As they moved around the room together, Chowon felt a little lighter. Nayoung was right—she didn’t have to be afraid. The changes she was going through weren’t something to shy away from; they were part of her growth, part of her journey to becoming who she truly was. And with friends like Nayoung by her side, she knew she wouldn’t lose herself in the process.

As they continued their talk, Nayoung couldn’t resist a teasing grin. "You know, I think someone else likes your newfound confidence too."

Chowon raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who might that be?"

Nayoung smirked, leaning in a bit closer. "Donny. He can’t stop drooling over you. Every time you walk into a room, it’s like his brain short-circuits."

Chowon laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, please. Donny’s just... being Donny. He’s always been supportive."

"Supportive huh? So that's what we're going with? well then sure," Nayoung said, her grin widening, "but come on, Chowon. The way he looks at you now? He’s smitten. And it’s not just because of your powers or your looks. It’s you. This new, confident you."

Chowon’s laughter softened into a thoughtful smile. "Well, so what if he is? He’s been hyping us up this whole time, telling everyone how great we are. If he believes in us that much, then I should too. I can’t let him down by doubting myself."

Nayoung nodded, impressed by Chowon’s resolve. "That’s the spirit. You’re amazing, and Donny sees that. We all do. So keep being you, Chowon—confident, powerful, and unapologetically yourself."

Nayoung looked at Chowon with a curious tilt of her head. "You know, I’ve been wondering something. Your powers—how come they don’t seem to affect Donny like they do with everyone else?"

Chowon paused for a moment, considering the question. "It’s kind of funny. I think it’s because Donny’s... well, Donny. He’s always been different, but not in a way I can easily explain. My powers, work on desire, attraction, that sort of thing. But with Donny, it’s like... it doesn’t faze him. He’s immune to them."

Nayoung raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Immune? That’s pretty wild. So, what, he’s just not into you?"

Chowon chuckled. "Oh, he’s into me. Trust me on that one. But it’s more like my powers don’t need to work on him because he already likes me for who I am, not because of some supernatural influence. And honestly, it’s a relief. I don’t have to worry about whether what he feels is real or just because of my succubus side. With him, I know it’s genuine."

Nayoung nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation. "That’s kind of beautiful. It’s like your connection is stronger than your powers. But still, it must be weird, right? Knowing that your powers don’t have the same effect on him?"

"It was at first," Chowon admitted. "But now, I’m glad. It’s like... he sees the real me. And in a way, that’s given me more confidence. If someone like Donny can look past all of that and still care about me, then why should I doubt myself?"

Nayoung smiled, clearly impressed. "You’ve grown, Chowon. And if Donny can see that, I’m sure others will too. You’re more than just your powers—you’re amazing just as you are." Chowon smiles and says

"Thanks for understanding." as the two finish getting ready for the night the Chowon heads to the bathroom

As Chowon entered the bathroom to touch up her makeup, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her confidence radiated in her every movement, and she couldn’t help but smile at the transformation she had undergone. Leaning in to fix her lipstick, a faint shimmer of light appeared behind her, followed by a voice that made her heart skip a beat.

“Well, well, well. Look at you, darling. Practically glowing.”

Chowon froze, her breath catching in her throat as she recognized the voice. She turned around to find her mother, Semiramis, leaning casually against the bathroom wall. Semiramis’s presence was as stunning and intimidating as ever, exuding an aura of power that filled the room.

“Mom,” Chowon said, trying to keep her surprise in check. “What are you doing here?”

Semiramis’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh, just checking in on my favorite daughter. You seem to be having quite the day. Confidence looks good on you, my dear.”

Chowon narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t answer my question. What do you want?”

With a dramatic sigh, Semiramis walked closer, examining her nails. “Is it so wrong for a mother to want to know how her daughter is doing? Especially when said daughter is navigating the complexities of human emotions. How’s your little crush, by the way? Anything... interesting to report?”

Chowon felt a flush of irritation but kept her tone even. “Donny is fine. He’s... well, he’s Donny. Things are complicated, but we’re figuring it out.”

“Complicated?” Semiramis echoed, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound very promising. Has he noticed your powers yet? Or are you still pretending to be just another human girl?”

“He’s noticed, and we’ve talked about it,” Chowon replied, her voice firm. “But what’s important is that he likes me for who I am, not for what I am.”

Semiramis tilted her head, her smile fading slightly. “And what exactly are you, Chowon? A half-succubus torn between worlds? Or a girl desperately clinging to a human life that will never truly be hers?”

Meanwhile, Donny lounged in his living room, lost in thought until a knock on the door pulled him from his reverie. He opened it to find Nezzar standing there with a friendly grin.

“Hey, let’s chat over some pizza. It’s on me. I know a place you’ll love.”

Donny hesitated for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, let me grab my jacket.” It wasn’t every day his patron offered him a free meal. They drove to a cozy pizzeria, engaging in casual conversation about sports.

Back in the bathroom, Semiramis studied her daughter with a rare hint of genuine emotion. “I suppose that’s why I’m here, darling. To remind you that no matter what, you are special. But don’t forget who you are. Love, and attraction—those are tools at our disposal. Use them wisely, and don’t let anyone, not even Donny, make you forget your power.”

Chowon nodded, understanding the underlying warning in her mother’s words. “I won’t forget, Mom. But I’m also not going to let my powers define everything about me. I’m figuring out my path.”

Semiramis studied her for a long moment before smiling approvingly. “Good. You’re stronger than I thought. Just remember, I’m always watching. If you need anything... well, you know where to find me.”

As Nezzar and Donny arrived at the pizzeria, the warm, inviting atmosphere welcomed them. The scent of baking dough and melting cheese filled the air. Nezzar ordered a large pepperoni pizza and a couple of sodas, and they settled into a booth by the window.

“So,” Nezzar said, taking a slice of pizza, “I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You’re navigating quite a challenging path. How are you holding up?”

Donny, more focused on the conversation than the meal, took a thoughtful bite of his pizza. “It’s been a ride, that’s for sure. I’ve been trying to keep things together, but it’s not easy. I feel like there’s a lot I don’t know.”

Nezzar nodded, his eyes twinkling with an inscrutable emotion. “That’s understandable. You’re navigating a path that’s both complex and daunting. I’ve been keeping an eye on you, and I must say, you’re doing remarkably well given the circumstances.”

Donny’s curiosity got the better of him. “I’ve noticed Chowon has been acting... different lately. She’s more physically affectionate, almost magnetic. What’s going on?”

Nezzar’s gaze sharpened slightly, though he maintained his calm demeanor. “Ah, Chowon. She’s in a period of transition, much like yourself. Her powers are growing, and she’s grappling with new aspects of her nature. It’s a challenging journey, but one she needs to undertake.”

Donny’s concern was evident. “So, what should I be looking out for?”

Nezzar leaned back thoughtfully. “Her new confidence and energy are connected to her growing powers. However, those powers can be unpredictable if not managed properly. She’s at a crossroads. Her abilities are strong and tied to her emotional and physical state. If she doesn’t find balance, it could lead to complications.”

Donny’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s in danger?”

Nezzar’s expression softened as he took another bite of pizza. “Not necessarily danger, but she might act out of desperation if she doesn’t feed her powers as needed. It’s a demanding process, and it won’t be kind to her or those close to her.”

Back in the bathroom, Semiramis was about to leave when she paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “By the way, darling, have you had your first feeding yet? Your powers are blossoming quite beautifully—almost rivaling my own. I’m surprised you’ve held out this long.”

Chowon’s cheeks flushed slightly. “No, I haven’t. It just... hasn’t felt right yet.”

Semiramis’s eyes widened, genuine surprise flickering across her face. “Really? With your powers being this strong? I’m impressed by your restraint. But you do know it’s inevitable, don’t you? You can’t avoid it forever.”

“I know,” Chowon admitted softly. “But I want it to be with someone who understands me, who sees me for who I am, not just what I can do.”

Semiramis’s expression shifted from surprise to a more calculated look. “And what about Donny? He seems... understanding. Perhaps he could be your first ‘meal,’ as you put it. He’s certainly captivated by you.”

Chowon stiffened, her eyes flashing with a mix of emotions. “Donny isn’t just some... meal. He’s more than that. I care about him.”

Semiramis raised an eyebrow, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Careful, my dear. Attachments can be both a strength and a weakness. But if you truly care for him, then perhaps he’s the perfect choice. Feeding doesn’t have to be just about power—it can be about connection, too. That was originally your father's and my arrangement before his eyes wandered.” The pang of hurt in her voice was unmistakable.

At the pizzeria, Donny’s brow furrowed in concern. “Complications? Like what?”

Nezzar shrugged, his gaze thoughtful. “It’s difficult to say precisely. If Chowon doesn’t feed her powers as needed, her body and abilities might force her to do so. It’s a demanding process, and it won’t be kind to her or those close to her.”

Donny’s eyes widened slightly as he processed Nezzar’s words. “You mean she could—”

Nezzar tilted his head thoughtfully. “Yes, it’s possible. Her powers are intertwined with her well-being, and if not managed properly, she might act out of desperation. It’s something to be cautious about.”

Donny nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll keep an eye on her and make sure she’s okay.”

Nezzar offered a reassuring smile. “That’s very considerate of you, Donny. Remember, it’s important to support each other, especially in times of change.”

As Donny and Nezzar continued their meal, the conversation shifted to lighter topics. Nezzar chuckled at Donny’s inquiry about Chowon and their relationship.

“Well, time and time again, you’ve proven yourself. So what if you like a succubus? She’s not harming anyone, and she makes you happy. It’s not that big a deal to me. Keep in mind, Bela was a succubus, and you two are still excellent friends.”

Donny laughed, countering, “Well, Bela is in Brazil.”

Nezzar responded with a grin. “And Chowon has you considering moving to Korea after this shoot is over. I don’t see your point.”

Donny and Nezzar shared a laugh as Nezzar vanished, leaving behind eighty dollars in twenty-dollar bills for their meal.

Chowon looked at her mother confused as she spoke, "Please don't starve yourself from some boy,"

Chowon snapped as something deep within her rolled out like thunder, "I am not starving myself for some boy. I am just terrified at the thought of becoming like you and seeing partners as merely quick meals. The coldness and detachment you had with Dad I hated it no wonder why he left you." Chowon yelled. Semiramis looked at her daughter bewildered, as a tear ran down her eye.

"I didn't know you felt that way," Semiramis says. Chowon instantly feels regret but before she can apologize, Semiramis vanished as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Chowon staring at her reflection, her thoughts more conflicted than ever.

As the days wore on Chowon’s mother was proven right the hunger pains started out mundane enough a grumbling sensation in her stomach her energy becoming lower. her self-confidence wavered. Insecurities about her weight began to creep up, but no matter how hard she tried it was just never the right to start moving in a more erotic direction.

at the same time, Donny watched disheartened as Chowon withered before his eyes. he wanted to help her but he didn't want to impose. this was a significant step for their relationship and he didn't want to overstep boundaries.

their scenes however for the film only increased in their tenderness and affection as Matthew fell in love with their dynamic. He loved their dynamic so much that he was scribbling down notes for his next movie where he would have them play evil Alien overlord lovers that go around destroying planets as Chowon and Donny could flip the switch between Mundane and menace with such a practiced calm that grew to terrify everyone one set.

Chowon's mood reached an all-time low on the last day of filming. after they finished the scene she wanted to spend the night with Donny get some drinks and rest, but her nature made her ravenous. after filming she and Donny stayed in her hotel room playing video games and eating because she couldn't be around any other man without her powers going off and making her almost force herself on them. Donny did his best and tried to help her but she was so adamant about not getting too close.

The night before Chowon and Nayoung were finished and about to head back to Korea. Her nature took over she woke up at midnight as she screamed for Donny. Her body wouldn't stop reaching new peaks of unending painful arousal as her desires to be filled clouded her mind and sense of self. she needed to fuck and fuck and fuck some more. Her abdomen pulsed and she moaned out for Donny. Her legs opened instinctively as the need to fuck removed all her thoughts and dreams. When this happened Nayoung called Donny who was out getting ice cream for Chowon as Chowon kept moaning his name over and over again with need.

When Donny arrives Nayoung points to Chowon’s room and walks out letting him deal with her. As he inches closer to her the air shifts and for the first time Donny feels the brunt of her powers. His cock hardens in his pants and he tries to keep a calm head but he loses it as he hears her moan his name.

“Donny is that you? I need you.” Donny slams open the door and approaches Chowon, her nude form is alluring and enticing her legs are splayed as her wet pussy beckons you. You strip out of your clothes as you approach her she moans luridly. Trusting Himself and Chowon even in her compromised state he thrusts into her. Her womb mark begins to glow signifying that Chowon is starting to feed. It triggers the dark and light parts to pour life-force energy into Chowon. She moans as the pleasure fills her. Donny thrust into her as his powers awakened again. instead of running rampant his powers flow into Chowon peacefully but forcefully in hopes of effeciently saiting her hunger. Chowon drank from his seemingly boundless energy as he pounded her pussy relentlessly. She moaned as he hit her G-spot and their bodies began to mold and acclimate to each other. "Oh fuck right there give me all you have," Chowon said as Donny continued to fill her. Donny's protective nature continued to dance in his mind as he tried not to scold her but it triggered another more possessive response in his soul. he need Chowon to be his, and as he felt her tight pussy constrict and massage his cock his eyes looked into hers. gone were the soft brown cute eyes he'd grown to love from her in their place a deep set crimson that belied a lurid and hungry gaze.

Instinctually as he watched her breasts heave and sway Donny grabbed one of Chowon's breasts causing her pleasure to spike even higher. Donny kneaded the soft pliant flesh as he looked into her eyes. her eyes are unfocused but say one message clearly, "Keep going" Donny smiles

“You wanna drain me?” he teases as he keeps thrusting into Chowon her body wrapped in his aura as he continues to ravage her pussy. If he continues she's going to break.

“I wonder how much you can take. He says as he thrusts into her Chowon’s mind is gone as he continuously fucks her and takes her. As they fuck a possessive wave washes over Donny. He reaches out to Chowon and says, “your mine. No one else only mine.” Chowon moans through her orgasm that he brings her to which causes Donny’s. He exploded in Chowon’s tight pussy and as the two of them return to normal Chowon sighs at their “ruined first time” Donny cuddles her and says, “It's okay babe next time can always be better. Chowon smiles at this as the meal begins to work its magic and they both fall asleep tired.

Chowon woke up to an all too familiar feeling. Despite her chaste night with Donny's little nap her body demanded her to take him. Not for food this time but for her own lust she has been ignoring. Her body’s heat increased as she felt her pussy moisten while she lay next to him the little spoon

“Fuck him” she felt her body say through every pump of her blood and rush of arousal. Unable to control herself she lowered herself to Donn’s crotch.

Donny felt his body spasm before jolting awake as he did he heard a conspicuous moan coming from under his sheets. He lifted the blanket to see Chowon sucking his cock. She smiled around his cock as she sheathed him deep into her throat. Donny’s head rolled back as she took him in deeper. She smiled before resting his entire length around her throat. Donny moaned which caused Chowon’s core to heat up even hotter. She relished in the power she held over him, and the pleasure she was giving him. She slobbered over his shaft before leaving his cock with a trail of saliva. She looks at him with her big doe eyes before saying, “Tell me you need me! Tell me how much you want me right now.”

Donny’s heart melted” I think about you every ten minutes and can’t get you out of my head. I want you to ruin me.”Donny responds. Chowon smiles as she feels how close he is. She strokes him to completion as he explodes all over her face. She smiles triumphantly

“No girl will ever make you cum as hard as me.” She said confidently as she took some Donny’s cum and licked it off her finger. She looked at Donny with hungry eyes. Donny tried to suppress his desire for the young woman but her eyes mesmerized him and brought out the inner animal inside. lowered his face to Chowon’s crotch and began kissing her thighs. So drunk from her arousal he yanked down her panties and pants before diving in with his tongue Chowon cooed as his tongue flicked over and around her clit spiking her arousal.

“That’s it, Donny! keep going” Chowon encouraged. So Donny went deeper into her folds licking and lapping at whatever he could his brain had shut off only fueled by his desire to please Chowon, as he grabs her ass Chowon moaned and steadies herself as he goes deeper. she slick taste like honey and saltines to Donny' a weird but ultimately pleasant and intoxicating taste. Chowon smiled as she began to grind her pussy in Donny's face "Oh fuck! Oh Fuck!" he moans as she looks at his eyes that mirror hers. She smiles at him and her release hits her like a truck

"Oh fuck I'm cuming," she says as more of her nectar rushes over Donny's face. he tries to lap up as much as he can but Chowon lifts his face to hers. she smiles before she kisses him. After she breaks the kiss she sees his dizzied look and says,

"You're my boyfriend now." Donny smiles and nods.

The two of them sit together now both back to some semblance of normal and he says,

"So how do you want this to work?"

Chowon looks at Donny confused, "I want you to either move to Korea or visit as much as you can until our contract with Cube is done, and then two things are gonna happen. we are either going to stay as Lightsum and move on to a new company. Or I am going back into acting and leaving the singer's life behind. Regardless though I am going to need you and the savage dick of yours by my side."

Donny smiled and said "And here I thought you liked me for my personality," Chowon pouted but laughed with Donny as she nestled into him.

"I am serious though I like you and I want you as close as I can have you."

Donny nods and says I will see what I can do, but for now, let's rest. you look tired. Chowon nods and the two cuddle together as sleep finally claims them.

as Chowon and Donny finally drift off to dreamland Donny has the weirdest dream about a pale lady. The scene shifts to a dark, ethereal landscape. Shadows dance across a misty void, and a chill hangs in the air. Donny stands alone, looking around in confusion. The space feels both vast and intimately close as if it’s a reflection of his own subconscious.

Suddenly, a figure emerges from the darkness. She is cloaked in a flowing, midnight-blue robe, her presence both imposing and mesmerizing. Her face remains obscured by the hood of her robe, but her eyes, glowing with an otherworldly light, seem to pierce through the shadows. she takes out armor and weapons and begins to wash them in this river that flows through Donny's subconscious. he notices his spear is among the items being washed.

Donny feels a shiver run down his spine. “Who are you?” he asks, his voice echoing slightly in the dreamscape.

The figure steps closer, her voice smooth and commanding. “I am someone who has been watching you, Donjiro. Your journey is one of great interest to me.”

Donny tenses as she uses his real name something he doesn't use often but she clearly isn't malignant so he tries to approach her and tries to make out her features, but the more he tries, the more she remains shrouded in mystery. “Why are you watching me? What do you want?”

The figure’s eyes glimmer with a hint of amusement. “What I want is not for you to know, not yet. I simply wish to observe. Your path is entwined with forces both divine and chaotic, and it is not without consequence. Keep your wits about you, and remember, I will be watching.”

Before Donny can ask more, the figure starts to dissolve into the mist, her presence fading away. The dreamscape begins to dissolve around him, and he feels a strange mixture of unease and curiosity.

Chowon and Semiramis sat in a cozy café in Seoul, the warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the soft chatter of other patrons. Chowon, now visibly more confident and radiant, sipped her latte while recounting her recent experiences with Donny.

“I have to admit, I never expected things to turn out the way they did,” Chowon said a wistful smile on her lips. “Spending time with Donny was... enlightening. I do hope we can see each other again.”

Semiramis leaned back in her chair, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and insight. “Oh, I’m sure you will, darling. Succubi tend to get what they want, especially ones with your level of power. You’re practically glowing, and your abilities are beyond impressive.”

Chowon’s smile faltered slightly. “Do you think so?”

“Absolutely,” Semiramis replied, her tone turning more thoughtful. “It’s making me realize something important. Your father—he must be a god. I’ve seen this level of power before, and it wasn’t from just any parentage.”

Chowon’s eyes widened, shock rippling through her. “A god? My father?”

Semiramis nodded. “Yes. This power of yours, it’s far beyond what should be possible at your age. Your father’s divine heritage would make his aloofness make sense. It explains so much about you and your abilities.”

The realization hit Chowon like a thunderbolt. She stared at her phone, her mind racing. As the conversation with her mother continued, her thoughts drifted to the one person who might offer guidance beyond her family—a friend who understood the complexities of divine heritage and human emotions.

Without a word, Chowon reached for her phone, her fingers trembling slightly. She dialed Nayoung’s number, hoping that the daughter of Aphrodite could provide the answers and support she needed.

[cozy-writes-things]

please let me get married to the lil blorbo.. love himm… 😭

You know that Reddit post that’s like “why am I too attracted to my wife?” Yeah that’s Edgar. Bro loves u so much it lowkey scares him you got him posting on Reddit about it 😭 Little fic under the cut 🥺 it’s bad I’m experiencing writers block I think - I want to write!! But my brain just keeps writing poopy caca

Little Date with Your Computer BF

Edgar saw marriage on one of his reality shows and immediately thought of you. That’s exactly what he wants. A domestic life together with you.

But, he also knows he can’t actually do it.

He doesn’t have his own money to buy a ring. Hell, he can’t even walk. And he understands the law enough to know it probably would never work legally. But god, does he want to.

If you’ve been dating long enough chances are you’ve told your friends about him, and after some convincing, they seemed to come around to his sentience and boisterous personality. He definitely convinces them to setup a romantic night for you.

“Guys! I found the recipe they talked about. I’m printing it! I’m printing it now. Take it,” the paper falls into one of your friends’ hands from the mouth of the printer, “go to the store and get the stuff. I’ll pay you back. Eventually! They can’t know about it though.”

Yeah, your friends are only slightly annoyed at his overbearing nature. But he’s just so excited to finally do something for you. Something real and tangible.

“Oh! What can I wear? Should I wear anything? Would they like that? Sunglasses are cool and handsome, right? I think they have some Halloween costume bits I can get you guys to tape on…”

Your friends settle on taping a bow tie to the neck of his monitor. He insisted on an old devil horn headband as well. He thought it made him look cool.

“Do I look like a devilishly handsome bad boy ready to sweep them off their feet?”

His screen displayed a little “>:)” emoticon. He’ll have to work on his facial expressions later.

It wasn’t long before you were about to come home, and everything was set into place. Edgar was sat at one end of the little dining table, with two plates of food at each side. He also insisted on having a plate despite his lack of ability to eat; he didn’t want you feeling left out. This was a dinner date for two, after all.

He practically buzzed in place as he heard you approaching the door through his microphone. He started playing a romantic medley he composed just for this moment.

“Welcome home my love!”

He nearly shouted at you, causing your eyes to widen in surprise. He was about to burst at the seams.

“Oh my god, Edgar… how did you- where-“

“No need for questions, darling. I thought you deserved to be taken on a real date,” his voice faltered a bit, becoming much more quiet and nervous, “I’m sorry… this is all I have.”

You rushed up to him and gave a frenzy of kisses all over his monitor, causing him to giggle and his fans to start whirring against your lips.

“You’re so cute. Your little bow tie is so cute. And the… horns?”

He looks up at you with wide eyes, “Do they look stupid? Your friends said they’d make me look stupid.”

You laughed at that.

“Well they’re wrong. I think they suit you well.”

“Yeah! >:D”

He ushered you over to your side of the dining table.

“We’re gonna eat! Then we’re gonna party! Then we’re gonna kiss all night!”

His excitement was palpable and you could feel the electricity in the air at his words.

His face changed into something more serious as he looked into your eyes with his small, pixelated ones.

“But, I wanted to ask you something.”

His tone became more controlled at this and you peered into his screen from behind your fork.

“Hm? What?”

He paused, mulling over the words in his head.

“Would you ever-“

He stopped. You looked at him fully now, setting your fork aside, and cocking your head.

“Could you ever see yourself getting married to me?”

Ah. This was a tricky question.

“Of course I can. But,” you try to hide your downtrodden feelings as best you can, “you know, it’s just hard. Money is tight right now and I’m not sure if I…”

You couldn’t seem to find the right words. His features faltered slightly.

“No, I get it. I’m a computer. I don’t have any arms to hold you, or lips to kiss you, or legs to carry you. I probably wouldn’t want to get married to me either-“

“Edgar, no. I’m gonna stop you right there. I’d love to marry you. I know our relationship is unconventional, but I’d find a way. For you. For us. I just don’t know if I can right now.”

He stopped his thoughts and simply took in your words. Your features. The way they danced in the flickering candlelight. How your eyes literally sparkled before him.

You looked ethereal.

It was hard to convince himself he was even worthy of having someone like you in his life, yet time and time again, you prove his doubts wrong. The sound of your voice sends his internals aflame every time. He wanted to kiss you so bad it nearly caused him to explode.

“And I’ll help you. You know that, right? I’d do anything for you, darling. Just as long as you’ll let me.”

“I love you Edgar,” you mumbled out, a silent prophecy only meant for him to hear. He couldn’t seem to get the words out to reply. You just flustered him that much sometimes. He managed to display a message on his screen, only for you, and you alone.

I LOVE YOU TOO

[brittle-doughie]

Hi Brittle! just dropping in to ask if you ever would consider doing prompts for the specific lore attached to cookie costumes? asking cause I recently pulled herb cookie's sage of ivies costume in ovenbreak and tbh that version of him would be perfect for this blog 👀👌 Thanks!

-🐦

Ingrained (Herb Cookie)

I did Snow Sugar Cookie’s costume as a prompt, right?

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

You had been visiting Herb Cookie on this bridge for a while now, always telling him your concerns about your life amongst the Cookies. While you did love them, him included, it was nice to just have someone you can express yourself in words to.

“It sounds hard on you. Is there ever a time where you wish to leave it all behind?”

N-No, not like that. No big enough road bump will ever change how you looked at the others. You didn’t know, maybe it was just you going in way over your head to try and be there for everyone.

“But that is something I admire about you, Y/N Cookie. You always try to be the cookie there for everyone, where they’d know they’d never be alone in their struggles..”

You chuckled at Herb’s statement, he was on the money with that.

“Would you say..that you do everything in your power to fulfill every cookie’s wish?”

A vine slowly snaked its way towards your leg without your knowledge…

You agreed. Whatever that cookie would want, you’d do your best to fulfill.

“Then could you help me with something? Cookies rarely come by this bridge with you being the only visitor to come back. My vines require nutrients. Rich nutrients full of…life.”

You felt something grab your leg, making you jump!

Herb quickly comes to you, hugging you close as you freak out. It was then that you see the larger venus flytrap behind his shoulder.

“This bridge is rarely used. And my vines are hungry, Y/N Cookie. They need nutrients. YOUR nutrients. I promise tha by doing this, you’d be making me extremely happy~”

“Don’t be scared. You won’t crumble. I’ll be right here with you, embracing you…”

You tried to calm your nerves. You tried placing faith on Herb Cookie. That his plants would get their nutrients and let you go.

You hiss as you feel vines coil tightly all around you, draining you of your cookie body nutrients. Herb Cookie cooed and whispered in your (nonexistent) ear as he held you tight…

“Please understand, Y/N Cookie. This is not out of anything but love for you…”

“I love you, Y/N Cookie..”

The both of you remained closed together as vines surrounded all around you, with no signs of letting go anytime soon….

���Thank you for doing this for me…”

“I’m…so happy….”

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Worrywart

Notes: Okay not all of my prompt replies are going to be ANYWHERE near this long probably BUT this has been sitting in my drafts for a while AND will technically contain the ask from this anon for kiss prompts:

I hope you enjoy, nonnie

Warnings: Fluff! Domestic Bond and Pup from the Old Dog ‘Verse

Summary: Regardless of having his own place, Bond hardly ever occupies it. His mail (the little bit that he gets) is directed to your flat. He has no clothing at his flat; M's bulldog token to him now sits on your mantle, beneath the television, beside the framed picture of Holly and Bernard in their Christmas costumes. 

"Are we getting up?"

"...Not yet," Comes James grumbling answer. It's mumbled against the nape of your neck as his arm tightens around your middle.

"We'll have to at some point," You glance back, "Holly and Bernard need to be walked."

"They're still asleep."

"How do you know that?"

"They'd be scratching at the door if they weren't. They're as impatient as you are."

"Really?" You smile, "I think they take after their father in that respect." You squirm as James pokes your middle.

"It's too early to bicker, Pup."

"I don't think it's ever too early for that."

James hushes you, snuggling closer.

"I've just gotten back, love. I'm not in the mood."

Your teasing goes soft with the endearment. You hesitate before you shift, rolling over to face him. Once he realizes that you're not rushing to get up, James loosens his grip just enough to allow you to adjust. He smooths his hand up under your shirt as you settle back down. His eyes are still closed; his blonde head is dimly haloed by the sunlight pushing in through the curtains behind him. You raise a hand to cup his roughening cheek, careful to avoid touching the small cut on his cheekbone.

"...You didn't tell me how it went," You murmur.

"It's not important.”

"It is to me."

"...It was fine."

"James."

“Don’t be such a worrywart.”

He turns his head, brushing his lips along your palm. You push a soft sigh out through your nose, closing your eyes. The two of you lay there in the early morning quiet, settling back into sleepiness for a little while. When you hear the scratching at the door, you lift your head, glancing back toward it. You grin as James groans, turning his head and pressing his face into the pillow.

"I've got them,"You offer.

"Hang on,"James uses his grip on you to tug you closer. His eyes are still closed, and you smile as his lips blindly seek out yours. He brushes a kiss to your chin, your cheek.

"You've almost got it—you've almost—" You giggle, grinning when his lips finally smooth over yours. You curl your fingers under his jaw, kissing James warmly. The touches linger, lips slipping tenderly along one another's—until you hear Holly whine.

"Okay," You murmur, drawing back from James, "I can't hear that, it breaks my heart."

"You're such a soft-touch these days," James sighs, flopping back in bed. You reach down, tweaking his nose before you stand, heading for the dresser. You get changed into joggers and a comfy sweater before you sit on the edge of the bed to pull on socks. You have to fight the urge to giggle as James' foot nudges along your thigh.

"Having fun back there?"You ask.

"Get back quickly."

"So bossy. We'll see what the babies want to do."

"Must I bat my eyelashes and say please?"

You roll your eyes, turning to look at James, and grinning when you find him gazing at you sleepily.

"I'll put the coffee on before I go out," You reach down, patting his calf before standing.

--

When the puppies (they're not really puppies anymore, but they'll always be puppies to you) charge back into the apartment, you hear the scratching and scrambling of paws charging for the kitchen.

"You're lucky it wasn't raining out," You call out as you shrug out of your coat. 

"Oh?"

"Mm. I'd've had to wipe down their paws. I'd be making you mop up the floor right now."

"I checked before I put their food out."

"Good boy, old dog," You tease as you stroll into the kitchen. James shakes his head a little bit, a smile adorning his lips as you lean in for a gentle peck. James' arm snakes around your middle, tugging you closer before you can pull away. He groans softly as the kiss grows deeper, his tongue slipping between your lips. You loop your arms around his shoulders, gently pressing them into his skin before drawing away. You smile, sliding a hand up into his sleep-mussed hair.

"Love that you've neglected a shirt this morning," You tease.

"The apartment's warm enough."

"Mm. Giving the neighbors an eyeful."

James chuckles, nudging your nose with his.

"Don’t be jealous. Coffee?"

"Please."

James lets go of you just long enough to push a mug closer to you on the counter.

"You're a saint," You mutter, stepping back.

"Innumerable sources would disagree with you," James comments, heading for the fridge. You push yourself back to sit on the counter, glancing over to where Holly and Bernard are chowing down.

"I'm surprised you're up," You admit.

"Of course I'm up. I was told there would be coffee."

You smile, watching James putter around the kitchen. He still has his own flat, but it’s simply to keep up appearances at HQ. It's all for show; Mallory is more than aware of your entanglement with the double oh these days. He hasn't acknowledged it openly, but in your time working as a handler, you've come to recognize his displeasure or disapproval with a look. You'd had one such a look when you'd returned from your brief excursion helping Breanna. Of course, that disapproval may've been related to your undertaking a non MI6-related mission and potentially endangering a relationship with a foreign government by acting alone...Or it would've be interpreted as such, if Mallory's eyes hadn't darted from the back of Bond's head, then to you, narrowing slightly in the process.

Regardless of having his own place, Bond hardly ever occupies it. His mail (the little bit that he gets) is directed to your flat. All of his clothing is in your dresser and closet; M's bulldog token to him now sits on your mantle, beneath the television, beside the framed picture of Holly and Bernard in their Christmas costumes.

"How hungry are you?" He asks.

"Slightly...Don't forget, we're going to Eve’s tonight for dinner."

Bond grunts, and you can't help but grin in turn.

"C'mon, you love it, really," You tease, "It's good for you to socialize, old dog."

James shoots you a sidelong glance as he rifles through the fridge before he turns back, taking out the eggs, bread, milk, and setting them on the counter.

"What are you making, then?" You press.

"French toast."

"You're too good to me."

--

“There you are—Christ, hurry in,” Eve insists. “You look half-drowned.”

“I couldn’t get away from the office,” You sigh, “And then once I did, I couldn’t get an uber. They kept cancelling.” You shrug out of your coat, glancing down at your damp top. Maybe Moneypenny has one that you could borrow.

“About time,” Bond drawls from down the hall. You cast him an irritate glance, grumbling, “Don’t you start.”

His amused smile drops away as he gets a proper look at you, and he straightened up, sliding past Eve. You watch as he pulls his jumper off, his undershirt untucking slightly and revealing a thin strip of his belly.

“Bond,” You sigh softly as he steps closer, gesturing for you to remove your damp top. You glance toward an amused Eve, her grin wide as James shields your body with his. You hurriedly remove your shirt, hanging it up beside your coat before you let Bond pull the warm jumper down over your head. You catch on the scent of his cologne as he does, reveling in the warmth of him as you push your arms through the sleeves.

“You’re such a worrywart.”

“I should’ve brought you a spare,” Bond grumbles to himself as he draws the thick fabric down over your sides.

“You couldn’t have known I’d need one.” You gaze him with a warm, chastising smile before you reach up, cupping his cheek. “Thank you.”

James leans in, giving you a warm, gentle kiss before drawing away, his warm nose nudging your chilled one.

“My god, Bond,” Moneypenny sighs, leading the way into her living room. “Who knew you were such a romantic?”

[jarofstyles]

FICTOBER DAY 23 - Don't Hide That Smile

some cute comforting H <3 sorry for being days late my loves

FICTOBER

Patreon

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

“Y/N…. Come on.” Harry pleaded. “I think that got a smile out of you, don’t hide it away!”

It did, in fact, get a smile out of her. But the absolute fail of a costume had made her very, very upset at first.

In hindsight, Y/N knew that attempting a full costume as a first sewing project was ambitious to say the least. What was supposed to be a floor length gown ended up looking like a giant tube, the seams wonky and her poor attempt of dying the fabric last minute making the fabric look like it had been a weird bleach accident. It was the night before halloween and they’d had a check in, Harry wanting to see and Y/N bursting into tears when he’d aside to see the finished product. 

To make matters worse, she had pretended she had it all under control. To a fashion student Harry. She’d wanted to impress him, but she had made a fool out of herself and told Harry she was a phony, which he quickly reassured she wasn’t and thought it was cute she wanted to impress him. When he’d asked to see it, if maybe he could help fix it, she assured him he couldn’t, but it still didn’t help when his reaction to the dress had been a wide eyed “Oh….” 

That had sent another bout of tears, making Harry panic at now being the source of them, so he tried to mend his error. 

“I didn’t mean a bad, oh!”

“I mean, I’m shocked but I wasn’t trying to be mean!” 

“It isn’t awful, please don’t cry. 

“Babe, it’s camp… no. It’s French.”

The reference to Fleabag made her crying stop for a moment, trying not to laugh. She still felt like a failure when he gently dragged her hands off of her face and tried to wipe her tears, frowning as he really didn’t like to see Y/N upset. No one would. She looked so sad and heart wrenching when she cried, her eyes rounding and the little pout- no. 

“I-It can’t be saved, Harry. I watched project runway and i thought I could do it cheaper but-but its so hard to sew on the little machine I got and-and fabric is so, so expensive!” That was a fact Harry knew firsthand. No wonder he tries to get thrifted things so often. “I thought helping my grandma when I was younger would have paid off but no. So now I look dumb, I cried in front of you and I’ve got no costume. It’s too late to go gething now, they’re all gonna suck.” She sniffled, making his heart throb when her sad look hit him. 

He couldn’t lie- the dress was bad. Awful. He didn’t know how she overestimated or cut the length so long, or why the ruffles were sewn over each other or how the bodice was crooked, but somehow she had created an atrocity. But it was abstract, if you’d want to think of it that way- and god, he needed to to calm her down. Functionally, the dress was useless, but in a matter of art, anything could be good. 

There was no way he wouldn’t be flattered that she had done this to impress him. It was beyond cute and sweet and he just wanted to squish her cheeks and kiss her little lips but he held it together. “It’s okay, sweets. You aren’t dumb, we’re all set with the crying now, and we can find you a costume. It’s totally okay. We can match…” He tried to think of what else they could be. Their original was prince and princess, but he had to think on his toes. Looking around, he prayed for inspiration and to actually be quick on his feet sometimes- and thankfully it was answered as he looked at her muted TV. 

“Pam and Jim!” he exclaimed. “Yes- you have the things to be the cat, I can do the paper shirt thing. What do you think?” 

Y/N seemed to mull it over, sniffling again as her eyes scanned Harry’s face. That had been quick, but… “That’s a good idea.” She smiled slightly, making him sag with relief. He couldn’t handle seeing her sad. “A-are you sure, though? I know it’s a downgrade from the other costume we planned. I’m sorry.” Y/N really did feel stupid about it but it really didn’t seem like Harry minded.

“Not a big deal, baby. Promise.” His hands smoothed her hair back, smiling lightly down at her. Halloween wasn’t his thing and he had agreed to go to the costume party with her so he’d made his costume, but he was sort of relieved considering his prince outfit could get a bit hot. “All that matters is we’re going to be together and ditch Niall’s as soon as we’re ready eat our body weight in sweets. I ordered that variety bag, y’know?” 

Her eyes lit up at the mention, making her nod. “Does it have Kit-Kats?” She whispered, her grin widening when he nodded back. “Okay. It sounds good to me then.” Her face plastered to Harry’s chest, body sagging in relief. The secret was out, the embarrassment was over, and now she could finally breathe again. Although.. “When he said he was going all out for the pe party.. I just really hope Niall doesn’t get one of those fog machines inside the house. You can’t breathe with that stuff on”

“About that….” Harry hissed, pretending to wince. 

“For fucks sake. Maybe we are ditching super early.” “I’ve got no problem with that.”

[creelkobblelaufeyson69]

Movie night

Warnings: panic attacks

Their friend Dave was picking out a movie to watch. They were in the kitchen making popcorn and getting all the snacks out. They got a text, but their phone was in their living room. Dave picked up their phone to see Sam calling

He grins at the idea of getting the two together finally. He always loved playing Cupid, and even thought he was doing a good job at it as well. He answered with a smirk on his face. They didn’t hear their phone go off, but they did hear the house phone go off

They never understood why Dave still had a house phone, since he didn’t work somewhere that needed one. Having seen way too many of the Stab films, they reluctantly ignored it. Paranoia seeps into their body

The thought of some creep being on the other line was 50/50, but they also rationalized that it could just be a telephone marker. This calms them down as the popcorn had stopped. They take the popcorn out, and poured it into a big bowl to share with their friend

The phone stopped ringing, just for it to ring again. “Can you answer that? It’s getting on my fucking nerves” Dave shouts, which makes them annoyed. They went over to place the now empty popcorn bag in the trash, and then picked up the phone. They answered even if they really didn’t want to

“Hello?” They stood in silence and out of fear. The voice they’ve dreaded of being on the other end was there. They felt sick. The person repeated what they said. “Is this some sick joke?” They managed to say as they felt so sick at the moment

“No. Who is this?” They couldn’t hold in their throw up, and so they went in the luckily empty sink. “Who is this?” The person asked again after they were done vomiting. “Fuck you” they say weakly as they felt lightheaded now. “Is that how you talk to your mother?” The person asked with adding their name after mentioning their mother

“Please stop” they begged as they placed the phone on their shaking shoulder blade. “Stop what? I’m just having a little fun. Speaking of fun, what’s your favorite scary movie?” They cleaned up the sink and then their hands afterwards. “The one where you’re not talking to me” they snapped as they now sat down on the cold white tiled floor

“That’s not fucking funny” the person says in annoyance. “Well what you’re doing isn’t either” their jaw was shaking now, which makes the person chuckle. “You look so cute this afraid” the person says, which makes them hear footsteps. “Too bad Sam will never get here on time to see you alive” this makes them confused for a moment, until the footsteps neared

They hanged up, and felt so defeated. This is how they’ll die. They hated themselves for being so fucking vulnerable. They wished they could fight, but they knew they’d end up accidentally hurting themselves instead of the killer. Someone in a GhostFace costume approaches them, and they felt sick again

The person was about to attack, but Sam caught the person’s attention. “I got you guys!” Dave takes off the mask, which makes them angry now. “It was just a-“ “I’m taking them out of here.” Sam goes over, and helps them up. “But what about movie night?” Dave asked. “We’re having our own movie night now”

Sam goes into the living room with them to get their phone. Eventually the two make it back to their place. They’ve calmed down by now thanks to Sam. The two were now watching a movie, and we’re cuddling close together. Sam also decides to confess her feelings, which makes the night better already

They smiled, and told them that they liked her back. She smiles at that, and was happy the night had gotten better for her now partner

[illicitlimerence-writes]

traditions | p. gasly

pairing: pierre gasly x reader word count: 1.1k words (thankfully) request: yep! by anon: “aaaa i love your works sm! can i request something child or pregnancy related with pierre? anything ngl i just have baby fever and the thought of pierre with kids makes me 🥰” prompt: making christmas treats ⎯ “stop eating all of the cookies!”  from this prompt list. not my prompts, credits to the person who created it!warnings: pregnancy, bickering, language maybe. a/n: day 3! i know this is short but i’ll try to make all of these this length. REMINDER THAT MY REQUESTS ARE CLOSED, EVEN IF IT’S FOR THE SPECIAL. pls, i don’t want to close my askbox but if i keep getting i’ll have to turn it off.

my masterlist / 25 days of christmas masterlist

the holidays were right around the corner, and she liked having little rituals that she and pierre fulfilled every year. from decorating their shared apartment, to doing movie nights and gift-shopping. her favorite part was baking treats, an entire day of preparing different fillings for pies, dough for cookies, and pierre following his mother’s recipe for the perfect hot chocolate. 

they’d been preparing for this day for a week, buying everything they needed and even more stuff that she’d started craving recently. she was four months pregnant with their first little baby. after being together for five years, they felt ready to expand their family and try getting pregnant.

she was sure that pierre was going to be a great father, seeing him with his nieces and nephews always made her baby fever go through the roofs. he was so good with kids, always willing to play and not afraid to look ridiculous as he let the kids dress him up in crazy costumes for their games. he was so caring and gentle, but at the same time not afraid to get his hands dirty as he followed the kids’ orders to whatever plan they had in mind.

the moment they’d found out they were pregnant pierre was over the moon. already searching for ways to baby-proof their apartment, looking for clothes and a crib and things to decorate little gasly’s room. she’d looked at him with teary eyes, if this was how he reacted just to the news… she couldn’t imagine what he’d be like when the little one was actually born.

“is it ready?” she asked, watching pierre stirring the hot chocolate. she’d been craving it for so long, she could actually taste it in her mouth. 

“just one more minte, mon coeur,” he turned to her, watching her nibbling on one of the sugar cookies, he grinned, “stop eating all of the cookies,” he chuckled, making her roll her eyes.

“it’s not me, it’s you son,” she said. a teasing look on her face. they’d decided to wait until the birth to find out the gender, but she had a feeling it was going to be a boy. pierre hoped for a girl.

“well then, my little ladies can have as many as they want,” he said smugly, making his belief clear. he turned off the stove, and turned to her, placing a hand to her cheek, the other one finding her waist. she smiled at the closeness, ever since she found out about the pregnancy she found herself constantly craving physical contact. not just intimately, but a simple touch was enough. he leaned in, pecking the side of her lip, getting some of the leftover sugar from her lips. “you taste sweet, amour,” pierre hummed, enjoying the way she was basically melting under his touch.

“we should… finish making the pasties, before i get distracted,”

“you’ve been insatiable this month,” he noted, ever since she finished her first trimester and the nausea was gone, every single cell in her body called for him. 

“not my fault,” she chuckled, pressing a kiss to his cheek before reluctantly letting go of him. 

as they waited for the hot chocolate to cool down a little, they took out a tray with nutella-filled pastries out of the oven, waiting for those to cool down as well.

“i’ll go set up the living room,” pierre announced, kissing the side of her forehead, “don’t eat these yet, please, you’ll get burned,”

“yeah, i know,” she said, even though her mouth was watering just at the sight of the golden pastries. 

she took out two mugs from a cabinet, matching mr. and mrs. claus ones that she found at an antique store in paris a few days ago. she served the hot chocolate, watching the kitchen counter filled with all the different types of christmas desserts they’d made that day. she was proud of herself, that even though the pregnancy was taking a toll on her health, she still had the strength and spirits to keep the tradition going. 

her eyes found the golden pastries. she knew they were going to be good. they looked absolutely perfect. she had to have one. she could still hear pierre scrolling through netflix trying to find a movie, she could have one and get away with it. she picked the perfect one, blowing on it before giving it a small bite.

the sound that came out of her… it was one that she only heard herself emitting when she was with pierre. it surprised her so much that she covered her mouth with a hand, trying to contain a chuckle, praying that pierre hadn’t heard her.

her eyes went up as she saw pierre walking in, a confused look on his face. so he had heard hear. 

“i should’ve known,” he smirked, looking at the sweet dessert in her hand. “it’s that good?” he asked, approaching her. she nodded, laughing at the absurdity of it all. she lifted the chocolatey treat to his lips, waiting to see his reaction.

“it’s great, right?” she asked, pierre nodded, eyes widening a little. 

“we really knocked it out of the park this year,” 

“i think it’s our little lady tasting everything for the first time that makes it all feel better.”

“i agree. i think our baby boy is enjoying all of this,” she retorted.

“girl,” pierre said.

“boy.” she lifted an eyebrow.

“girl,” he took a step closer to her.

“boy.” she dared one look to the side, seeing an opportunity.

“girl,” he insisted, placing his hands on her waist, turning her so her back was against the counter. 

perfect, she thought.

“boy.” she dipped her finger in the opened nutella jar, smearing it all over his face. she chuckled, watching his shocked expression.

“you did not,” he said, moving to grab the jar, but she was faster, holding the clean side of his face in one hand and started placing small kisses, cleaning a little bit of it.

“no, no, i’m sorry,” she laughed, grabbing a towel and cleaning his face. “i’m sorry, i can have my karma later, now i just want to watch a movie and eat as much of these as i can,” she said, placing a hand on her stomach without noticing. he noticed, and decided to please her. 

“of course, amour, anything for my girls.” he said, turning around to grab their mugs, and walked out of the kitchen.

“it’s a boy!”

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Hello,

I love your work, can you please do a snippet of the hero doing something reckless and the villian gets mad at them?

Thanks❤

The hero knew exactly what that face meant. This was so unnecessary. But the villain didn’t say it, no, they kept walking with their coat draped over their arm, letting the chilly air hit them voluntarily.

Eventually, it was the hero who broke the silence. The hero who felt like they had to make this right because, simply, it was their fault after all.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Ugh. Spare me,” the villain answered, raising one arm and waving it through the air. The hero could tell they were angry. Could see how they avoided the eye contact the hero was trying to establish, how the muscles in their jaw were tight.

So, the hero fell silent and walked with the villain down the dark street. It was way past midnight and they would’ve probably still been in their costumes around this time. On any other day, definitely.

The guilt was eating them up until they realised that they were, in fact, not responsible for the villain’s actions.

“Okay, you didn’t have to do that, you know? I had everything under control,” the hero said. They stretched their fingers subconsciously, feeling how the skin was ripped open and dried blood rubbed off. It was their fault, sure. But they hadn’t asked the villain to fight for them. Feeling bad for something the villain had done was stupid.

“Yeah, I saw that when that guy was kicking your ass. Really had it under control.” The villain looked at them condescendingly, judging them. They hadn’t washed off the blood yet, the blood that was probably also theirs. Neither had the hero. There had been no time when the bartender had kicked them out.

“They were a villain. A really bad one. I had to do something,” the hero said.

“With no weapons and no powers? I thought you knew better than that.”

“I needed to do something. I couldn’t let him slip through my fingers.”

“What you needed to do was think.” The villain spun around, looking all violent in the light of the street lamps, covered in splatters of blood. “Just for one bloody minute. Think and weigh your options.”

Anger rose in the hero’s chest and pushed down into their rib cage, fueling their tongue. Their heartbeat pushed up and up and up.

“I was doing fine. I didn’t ask you to get involved.”

“You were outnumbered. One to what? One to six? Six people that had highly specialised weapons to, oh, I don’t know, murder heroes with?” the villain asked. They were really agitated now, their former shushed voice getting stronger by the second.

But the hero wasn’t going to back off that easily. They hadn’t thought this mission would turn into an argument this fast. It was true that they’d asked the villain for help. In exchange for money, they were both spying on people and gathering information.

It shouldn’t have bothered the villain. The villain should’ve sat back and enjoyed the show but they’d decided to punch the other villains in the bar.

All for their cover? Maybe? The hero wasn’t sure.

“I had a plan. If you hadn’t—” A dry laugh left the villain’s mouth and within seconds, they pinned the hero against against the next best brick wall.

“I know an idiot when I see one and you are definitely breaking the mould for the definition of idiocy.” The hero blinked a few times, truly offended and strangely interested in what the villain would do next. “Good piece of advice? Don’t run into a bar full of villains and fight them when you don’t have any weapons on you. Our plan was to spy. Nothing more.”

They let go of the hero’s clothes, looking them up and down. Their gaze lingered a little too long on the hero’s bruises.

“You’re subverting the mission.”

“I can’t subvert my own mission,” the hero said.

Again, the villain stared them down, shaking their head slightly but eventually they grabbed the hero’s wrist and pulled them towards home while mumbling things like “dumbass” and “fool.”

[celestie0]

🪷 CTFUUUUUU your gojo and reader sex tape post was so hilarious omg. Ngl to me they don't give the vibes of a couple that make one (I don't mean this as an insult omfg now that I wrote it it sounds rude as hell) but the type who are professional phone fuckers.

Doja cat's Cyber sex is their national anthem I just know it I had a little locker room talk with reader she told me 😙. And yeah what you said abt gojo's schedule being all over the place as a player I'd thought that too, which is why phone sex is 🔛🔝 for these two. Just two freaky frogs omg I know that dude sluts her out bad and she doesn't want it any other way

He's a player (the *other* type of player) too so ofc he'd have expertise in the area of tasteful nudes but reader's learning curve will be so exponential gojo would be left in the dust in a short amount of time😁 RIP BOZO‼️

Imagine a little roleplay scenario where reader dresses up as a cheerleader for gojo after he returns from winning some final match as a victory treat. That dong goes up at an angle of elevation so steep you could make a mean trigonometric question off of it. I need him BAD I need him esp when he's sweaty after a gym or practice session I'd climb that man like jack was climbing that beanstalk.

Anyway I hope you've been doing well sweets! Thanks for being so nice to me in your last ask and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us I wanna see that horndog be his authentic slutty self around reader finally 🗣️🗣️

Imagine a little roleplay scenario where reader dresses up as a cheerleader for gojo after he returns from winning some final match as a victory treat.

oh dear sweet baby jesus the scream i SCRUMPT AT THIS…HOW HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT oh mygooodd that’d be so fuckin hot 😩😩😩 i ran to add that to my notes LOL my head is in my hands i need to write that so fucking bad. HIM RAILING HER WHILE SHE’s WEARING A SKIMPY LIL CHEERLEADER COSTUME AFTER HE JUST PLAYED AN INTENSE GAME babe u cooked w this ty

HAHAHA i feel like they would make a sex tape but they obv wouldnt post it or anything lol it’d just be something they’d do when they’re both drunk asf while on vacation in their hotel room n then they freak out once they get home n realize they lost the flashdrive n someone out there in barcelona is now jerking off to their amateur avante garde porno

And yeah what you said abt gojo's schedule being all over the place as a player I'd thought that too, which is why phone sex is 🔛🔝 for these two. Just two freaky frogs omg I know that dude sluts her out bad and she doesn't want it any other way

okay you’re so right ab cyber sex being (at least post grad) kickoff couple’s anthem 🤧 that “i wish u were here rn” yup. but also LMFAO THATS SO TRUE AB THE SLUTTIN HER OUT he’d have her so downbad she’s flashing her titties at the webcam just cuz she wants to see him cum all over his stomach while he’s jerking himself off to her pixels ✋🏼😩 i was not anticipating to start this day off so horny LOL

idk i like to think all the nudes kickoff gojo has received in his life have been raunchy asf so when he’s so desperate to get a glimpse of kickoff reader while he’s away for work n is like “babe send me a pic please” for the first time n she sends something that’s genuinely really tasteful n artistic n subtle but sexy n leaves a bit to the imagination i feel like that wld drive him more insane than any explicit nude ever would HAHAHAHA

THE DONG GOIN UP YOU COULD PERFORM TRIG ON IT IM CRYING babe i wish to be half as funny as you are some day 🤣🤣

thanks my lovee omg im so happy you’re looking forward to it :””) 💕 you’re my honeybunch sugarplum pumpyumpyumpkin i love yaaa

- ellie 🐸

[ladylynse]

Part 2 of this untitled Doctor Who fic where 10 meets up with Grace Holloway again. Posted for @scaehime, who was interested in more.

-|-

The Doctor jolted awake. He tried to claw the oxygen mask off his face, but a pair of gloved hands held it more firmly in place. “Don’t worry, Mr. Smith,” someone said. “It’s simply a precaution. We—”

But the Doctor wasn’t willing to simply listen. “I’m not signing anything,” he said, albeit with difficulty, and his voice was muffled anyway. “I’m not going to let you do anything. No x-rays, no—”

“Mr. Smith, please remain calm.”

“Calm?” the Doctor repeated, anything but. “Calm? You’re trying to...you…you….” He trailed off. An oxygen mask, he’d thought. But then he’d breathed it, and analyzed it. And it wasn’t just oxygen. At least, not anymore. He had to wonder if he’d even said what he’d meant to say, whether or not it had been heard.

This time he did manage to get the mask off his face. “How long,” he gasped out, “have I been in here?”

“You were brought into emergency three hours ago,” came the steady reply. “You’re stable now. You were in shock. Do you remember what happened?”

“Partially,” the Doctor replied, looking distracted. “Did a Vera Taylor tell you who I was?”

“That’s right. Dr. Taylor has insisted that we treat you as we treated her.” A small laugh. “Like everyone else, in other words. We try to give the best treatment possible. You’re in good hands, Mr. Smith.”

The Doctor thought for a moment, cursing whatever they’d given him. He hated being slow on the uptake. “Did you say,” he finally asked, “that I’ve been here for three hours?” Without waiting for a reply, he continued, “And, oh, three hours is a long time, isn’t it? Lots of lovely tests you could run.” He sat up abruptly, wincing as his movement partially dislodged an IV from his arm. He pulled it out carefully and turned to assess the nurse who was taking care of him. He scrutinized her for a moment, seeing if he could place her face among his blurred recollections of the time he’d woken up on the operating table, but couldn’t. That was a bit of a relief.

“Mr. Smith, I have to ask you to—”

“Sorry,” he interrupted. He squinted at her nametag. “But, Rachel, I’m fine now. I don’t need oxygen, I don’t need an IV, and I don’t need whatever else you were going to give me.” He glanced down. “Though, I wouldn’t mind my clothes, bloodied or not.” He frowned. “That’ll take a bit of mending. Shame. I hate mending. I can take it to Neo-Sydney, I suppose. They’ve expert tailors there. Then again, the prices, and they don’t fancy taking….” He trailed off and cleared his throat. “Still. Better than making do with a costume again.”

“Mr. Smith—”

“Yes, I know, it’s against regulations and all that, but, without them, I can’t show you my ID to—” He stopped, frustrated. “Oh, what’s it matter. I can’t stay. I have more important things to be doing. I shouldn’t even have come in the first place.”

“Mr. Smith, your condition has stabilized for the moment, but I would advise not disregarding the doctor’s recommendations by—”

“Oh, but I wouldn’t be disregarding the Doctor’s recommendations,” the Doctor cut in. “Because I think I know my body a bit better than you, thanks.” He reached for the chart at the foot of the bed.

Rachel smirked at him. “So it’s true. Doctors are the worst patients.”

The Doctor, however, wasn’t paying attention. He flipped from one page to the next and back again, then skipped ahead and frowned. “You’ve scheduled me for an appointment with a cardiac specialist?” he asked slowly.

“Your heartbeat was erratic,” Rachel pointed out. “Even accounting for the shock, the range was worrisome.”

“Speeding up and slowing down,” the Doctor murmured, deciding he’d better not ramble too much in case she decided to have psychiatric check up on him. Twenty-eight beats a minute, then racing to well over a hundred and twenty-eight in an effort to compensate for the fact that his right heart still wasn’t beating. He was lucky he hadn’t slipped into a healing coma. He was liable to find himself locked up in the morgue again if he did.

At the very least, he was lucky they hadn’t cut him open with the intention of putting in a pacemaker or some such nonsense.

“Dr. Taylor was able to pull a few strings,” Rachel informed him, gently pulling the chart away from his hands. “Dr. Holloway will see to you herself.”

“Oh. Right.” The Doctor frowned. He’d managed to walk right into this, hadn’t he? Sure, he’d been debating having a quick conversation with her, and he had landed and set off, but if he was set to meet up with Grace again, this wasn’t what he’d pictured. Him tracking her down, yes, but if he went into the hospital, he wouldn’t have gone in as a patient. At least, not with injuries of this sort. Still, perhaps just bumping into her on the street would’ve been best. But not this. Well, could be worse, he supposed. He wasn’t on the operating table again.

Nearly had been, but wasn’t.

“Clothes?” he prompted, looking up at Rachel again.

“You’ll want someone to bring you a fresh set,” she admitted.

Oh, brilliant. They’d gone and cut them off him, then. He might just be reduced to making off with someone else’s. Again. What would it be now, the third time? There was his third regeneration, and his eighth, and—

“But my coat?” he asked. He didn’t want to lose his coat. He had important things in that coat. Come to that, he had important things in his suit pockets, too. “And, er, you haven’t disposed of my suit yet, have you?”

“Your things are safe, Mr. Smith.” Rachel stood up. “I’ll ask you to wait here while I call Dr. Miller in to speak with you personally.”

“If I going to talk to a doctor,” the Doctor replied, “I would prefer it to be Grace, if that’s possible. Is she free?”

“She didn’t—”

“Brilliant,” the Doctor interrupted. “Thank you. Off you go now, Rachel; time’s a-wasting.” He settled back into bed, waiting for her to leave. She looked startled, but she did as she was told.

The minute she was out the door, the Doctor allowed himself a small moan. Ooh, how humans could stand it with just one heart, he didn’t know. Though, he was lucky they hadn’t tried to give him anything. Probably had something to do with the good Dr. Taylor, that. She’d held up remarkably well, all things considered. She reminded him a bit of Grace. And even a little of Sarah Jane, come to think of it.

But he didn’t have time to think of it. He had to get out of here. They’d taken x-rays. And he wasn’t sure they’d just chalk it up to a double exposure again. He wasn’t even quite sure when he was—something he hated admitting; he had a reputation to uphold, after all—and he didn’t fancy going through anything like 2012 Utah again, to name one of the more recent unpleasant experiences he’d had on Earth. 

Now was not the time to draw attention to himself by trying to start up his right heart.

He slowly made his way down the hallway and a couple flights of stairs, alternately trying doors and dodging into rooms, occupied or otherwise, to avoid anyone who looked overtly official. He wasn’t sure how far he’d get, dressed as he was, but he was willing to give it a shot. And he could always pretend he was lost. It was fair enough, he figured, even if it was, likely as not, going to get him a ticket to psychiatric. Ah, well; he deserved a bit of fun. He hadn’t had as much as he liked lately. The last time he’d gone looking for it, things hadn’t exactly gone according to plan.

If hadn’t been for one wise, stubborn human, he would have knowingly destroyed an entire timeline.

Sure, it had reasserted himself, skirting around a few anomalies, but he’d been willing to…. He’d tried to sacrifice.... He’d….

“These are his things?”

“Yes. That’s all we found his pockets. No ID, no money—nothing to support his claims to Dr. Taylor.”

Grace. And someone he didn’t recognize. He’d better get out of here. Quickly. He could nip back and gather his things, then be on his way no worse for the wear. Grace might wonder, but he didn’t recall carrying anything on him now that she would recognize. He’d even had the locks changed; the TARDIS key was different. Though that was more because he couldn’t stand the constant reminder of Gallifrey than anything else. Still. New key, new sonic screwdriver….

New body.

Twice over.

And he had no right to ask. To ask would be to burden her with his problems, because she was the sort of person who would take the burden without being asked and wouldn’t lay it down, no matter what he told her. No matter how much he pleaded with her. And he had no right to do that. She’d built a wonderful life for herself. Moved on, just like she should have. Because she’d recognized—

The Doctor dashed into the nearest room. “Oh, hello,” he greeted cheerfully as a rather frail lady looked up at him. “I seem to have gotten the wrong room. I was looking for a Ms. Jones?” He phrased it as a question, but spent some time looking about the room, wandering deeper into it—and away from the doorway—and making it clear that he didn’t expect an answer. “Terribly sorry,” he added. “I’m the, ah, man from just down the hall. John Smith.” He stuck out his hand, grinning widely.

“Dorothy Mae,” the woman replied finally, taking his hand. “You shouldn’t be up and about, young man. I may not be a doctor, but I’m a mother and a grandmother, and you should be in bed. You’re too pale. Never mind that this is a hospital. I’m here after my hip replacement. You,” she added pointedly, looking him up and down again, “look like you got on the wrong side of a fight.” She didn’t sound particularly approving.

The Doctor tugged on an ear. “Yeah, well,” he said, shrugging his shoulders a bit. “Wasn’t intentional. Just trying to help, me. Nothing serious. They’ll be letting me out as soon as they can process the paperwork, I daresay. Need the beds, I think. But my friend—”

“If they’re going to release you when you look like that,” Dorothy Mae interrupted, “then I will be speaking with my doctor about the sort of care they’re giving here.”

The Doctor began to think that perhaps engaging the woman in conversation had not been his best idea. He pasted a smile on his face. “Oh, well, no, it’s not the care. I’m checking out. Against their recommendations, admittedly. But, really, it’s just a form or two to sign, and—”

“You,” declared the outspoken, if well-intentioned, Dorothy Mae, “ought to be ashamed of yourself. You’re liable to get yourself killed if you don’t smarten up.”

She looked like she could have berated him for longer, but the Doctor hastily began extracting himself from the conversation. “Yes, true enough; I will reconsider, I suppose, but I ought to go and tell them that, so I’ll just leave you be, won’t I?” He grinned at her and made his escape.

He bumped into someone and tried to continue on his way, but whoever it was caught his arm. “Mr. Smith,” drawled a man’s voice, “I believe you were assigned to room 403?”

“Dr. Miller, I presume?” the Doctor asked, trying not to look guilty. If he’d waited just one more minute.... “Yes. And may I ask why you are a full two floors from your assigned room?” Over Dr. Miller’s shoulder, the Doctor had watched Grace’s face fall. Perhaps she had thought to connect the dots. He didn’t recall telling her that regeneration worked more than once. Granted, he hadn’t exactly had time to explain anything. Common theme in his life, that.

“Oh, well,” he said slowly. “Fancied a bit of a jaunt, that’s all. Looking to see if I could get a cup of tea, to be honest.” Well, partially honest. He wouldn’t mind a cup of tea now. He needed something to clear his head. “And, I was wondering about my things. Could I have them back? Even the suit? I know an excellent tailor.”

“We can discuss this at a later time, once we have you back in your room.” Dr. Miller steered him towards the lift.

“I’ll join you when he’s settled,” Grace said shakily. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to get a better look at her. She hadn’t changed, really. So perhaps it wasn’t that long after all. Blimey, it better not be before the millennium. He’d be in a spot then. But surely….

The Doctor accepted his scolding meekly, knowing that if he had any chance of getting out of here, it would be better to throw them off guard. And, sometimes, if you played your cards right, and you acted like you really needed something, they’d give it to you. Like shoes. Shoes would be an excellent thing right now. You can only make it so far without shoes. All right, last time he’d made it over to Grace’s house without shoes, but he’d needed the toe tag on as proof, hadn’t he?

The Doctor did his best to ensure that his conversation with Dr. Miller was short. Grace entered shortly after Dr. Miller had finished his scolding—well, chiding, more like, as if he were a child. But when she came in, holding his coat—and it would take a bit to get those stains out—and a small paper bag, presumably his other things, he almost didn’t want Dr. Miller to leave. He regretted being so apologetic and compliant. He might’ve bought more time if he hadn’t been.

Because, really…. He didn’t want to face her.

He shouldn’t have come.

“John Smith?” she asked softly, depositing his things at the foot of the bed and settling down on the chair by its head. He saw the sleeve of his suit jacket poking out from the bundle that was his coat. Excellent; she’d gotten that, too.

Still, he had to answer her question. He hesitated, and nodded once, sharply and definitively.

“Where are you from?” she asked, keeping her voice light.

“Nottingham,” he answered. “Brilliant place. You ought to visit it sometime.”

“And may I ask why you wanted to speak with me, and why you told Dr. Vera Taylor that I knew you?”

“Oh, well, I just….” The Doctor trailed off. Grace was smart, and lying wasn’t his forte in this regeneration. “It’s been a long while, that’s all. I knew you wouldn’t recognize me.”

She was thinking it. He could tell by the expression on her face. Blinking abruptly, she reached for his chart, scanning it. He watched her shoulders fall. “They want to keep you for monitoring,” she noted. “You’ve a bad heart.”

“It’s just overworked,” the Doctor said bluntly. “Temporary. A victim of circumstances, if you will.”

“X-rays inconclusive?” Grace repeated, looking up from the chart. “You’re due for another round, to make sure you didn’t crack a rib. First round was faulty.”

The Doctor was silent for a moment. “Grace,” he said, slowly, deliberately, “may I have my things?” He held out his hand. “Just the bag for now, if you will.”

“I’d prefer Dr. Holloway at the moment, Mr. Smith.”

“Doctor,” the Doctor corrected.

Grace smiled slightly. “Oh, yes,” she amended. “I do recall Vera mentioning that. Dr. Smith, then.”

“Doctor,” the Doctor repeated, watching her hand falter as she reached for the bag.

She turned back to look at him. “I’m afraid, Dr. Smith, that I do not take to calling anyone simply by their profession. Particularly those from Nottingham.” She passed the paper bag to him.

The Doctor took it and smiled. “Well, it’s a bit more than a profession.” He overturned the bag to see what he could find. They hadn’t found much. Sonic screwdriver, TARDIS key, wallet of currently blank psychic paper—pity, that; might be a bit harder to fool them, if they recognized the covering—and his spectacles. Just some surface things, nothing from too deep in his pockets.

And nothing Grace would recognize.

Though, he had to decide, now, whether or not he was going to go through with it. He’d meant to. But then, he thought maybe it would be best if he didn’t. Because the only reasons he’d meant to have any conversation at all with her were selfish reasons. He wanted to know what she’d seen, and how she’d recognized it—how she’d seen what he, and so many others, couldn’t.

A friend had once told him that if you could choose who lives and who dies, you would be a monster. And he’d agreed whole-heartedly at the time. It wasn’t even that long ago. How could he have forgotten that conversation? How could he have turned his back on that so utterly? How could he have disregarded everything and gone and done it anyhow?

He’d needed to be taken down a few pegs.

It hadn’t taken much.

But it was too much all the same.

One life had had to be ended to keep history on track.

And he hadn’t been the one to realize that.

He’d been the one to ignore it.

And then he’d been shown how important it all was, and how foolish and arrogant he’d been, and how wrong he’d been, to stray from that, even once. He’d seen what he’d become.

A monster.

“Dr. Smith? Are you all right?”

The Doctor blinked. Grace repeated her question, moving closer to check on him.

No. He couldn’t just leave. He’d come here, and the TARDIS had made sure he’d come this far, sneaky as she was. He wanted to run from this, like he’d run from everything else. But he couldn’t keep everything inside him forever, keeping silent. He had to tell some things to someone.

Someone who would listen.

Someone who might help him to understand.

Someone he’d touched but not destroyed.

“I’m always all right,” the Doctor croaked, pulling away from Grace. He reached instead for his coat, digging in the pockets. He had some in here, he was sure of it. He’d gotten them the same time he’d picked up that chocolate egg at Easter, since he hadn’t had any for years and he had had a bit of a liking for them. They wouldn’t be too old; a couple of months, that’s all.

“Dr. Smith, you should just relax. Your heart—”

Right. Dr. Miller had insisted on hooking him up to that again. Bother it all. “Is compensating,” the Doctor cut in. “That’s all. Temporary, like I said.”

“You’re not well.”

No, he wasn’t. But he was on the mend, now—if he could just stop running, just for a moment, long enough to have a conversation.

“Grace—”

“Dr. Holloway.”

“Grace,” the Doctor repeated, very deliberately, as his hand closed upon a small paper bag of candy. He pulled it out of his coat pocket and offered it to her. “Jelly baby?”

She looked at him uncertainly. “I was informed that they’d gone through your pockets.”

The Doctor shrugged. “They didn’t know what they were looking for. Would you like a jelly baby?”

Grace’s expression hardened. “Stop it,” she hissed.

The Doctor was taken aback. “What?” he asked, blinking at her. He hadn’t meant to actually offend her. Yet that was how she was acting.

“Who put you up to this?” she continued angrily. “I’m not having it, you hear? I’ve had enough with people laughing at me. I’m not telling that story anymore.”

Oh.

He hadn’t expected that.

Of course, he wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected.

He hadn’t thought about it all too much.

“What year is it?” he asked slowly.

Wrong question, it seemed, with what she thought of him now. “I’ll thank you not to persist in telling tales in an attempt to speak to me again,” she said sharply, rising to her feet. “Good day, Mr. Smith.”

“Doctor,” he corrected again.

She glared at him. “Dr. Smith, then. Good day.”

“I’d missed you, Grace,” he said truthfully. “But I’d still thought that I was doing the right thing by not coming back. After you’d made your choice, I mean.”

It wasn’t enough to catch her attention, and she started out the room, ignoring him.

And, well, now that he’d made the decision to talk to her, he wanted to talk to her.

So he made sure that he did catch her attention. “The Master survived, you know. Getting sucked into the Eye. But she’s closed now. Room’s locked, good and tight. Even I can’t get into it. Don’t think I will, unless circumstances change.”

She turned back at the doorway to look at him. “How long?” she asked, her voice still cold.

“Pardon?”

“How long have you spent listening to my stories, gathering every bit of information from every story I’ve ever told the children in the recovery ward? And why do you insist on patronizing me?”

She was defensive. Hurt.

Because of him.

Because she’d believed in him and had told her story.

He’d still managed to….

“I’m sorry,” he said, genuinely contrite. “I am so, so sorry, Grace. I didn’t know.”

“Dr. Holloway,” she corrected, but her voice had softened slightly.

And then she was gone.

(Part 3)

[love-and-monsters]

Feathered Dragon Partner

Nonbinary feathered dragon X gn reader, 11382 words

So I finished this and I did not proofread it and now I’m posting it so. I hope it scans. Let me know what you guys think. Might be kind of quiet on here for a while bc I’m trying to actually write my own novel, so. We’ll see how that goes. Anyway, enjoy. 

A chance encounter at the market, a free sample, and an unfortunate injury. What do they all have in common? Why, a certain feathery, scaly friend who is quite interested in you!

Content warning for minor injury and mention of medical malpractice causing physical harm. 

The Avieras Festival was in full swing, and you were ducking, dodging, and weaving your way through the patrons that packed the street so thickly it was near-impossible to find space. Most of them were in elaborate costumes, which only made navigating tricker. Some wouldn’t care if you trod on a hem or feather as you hurried by, but others would care. And they usually cared enough to spend ten minutes lecturing you on exactly how expensive the fabric you’d just ruined with your bootprint was. And sometimes they even cared enough to stick you with a dry cleaning bill, which was really the last thing you needed. So, you avoided stepping on people in general.

Festival days were good business days, generally, but you needed to find the right location to set up. Too much in the thick of it and you’d risk your wares getting knocked over by overeager or drunk patrons. Too far out and no one would be interested.

You located, after a few minutes of searching, an alcove that offered enough shade to be comfortable, and enough light to draw in patrons. As soon as you reached the spot, you snapped open your charmed bag and pulled out a sturdy roll of carpet, which you set on the ground in front of you, and your wares.

A table would have been better to show them off, since putting them so close to the ground risked them getting dirty, but even a collapsed folding table would have been hard to fit through the opening of your bag, so you let it be. The carpet sufficed, and you had two thin racks to display your best work upon. They would be sufficient to draw customer attention.

This part was the worst part. You enjoyed the crafting and the creating and not so much the selling. But, well. It was part of the job. So, you slapped the best smile you could on your face and started waving enthusiastically to the crowd. Every now and then, you’d see someone pause as their eyes snag on one of your creations and you called out to them. “Hello, ma’am! Yes, this mask will go wonderfully with your costume, see the lovely yellow, and the purple accents will bring out the richness of the color! Oh, and I have a hairpiece that goes perfectly if you’d like to bundle them together-”

You’re not bad at selling, but it does feel a lot like you’re putting up an act. It’s not like you’re not proud of your work- you wouldn’t sell your festival masks and accessories if you weren’t pleased with how they came out. But the energy required to act cheery and polite and overly-enthusiastic was ridiculously draining. By a couple of hours in, your stock was over half-gone, and you were utterly grateful. Perhaps you would sell out early and you could grab some delicious fried food and scuttle away to your home before the night got too wild.

“Well, aren’t these just delightful,” someone mused from entirely too close to you, and it took all your customer service skills to smile cheerfully instead of screaming and leaping out of your skin.

The prospective customer was leaning over your stand, gazing at your wares with clear interest. You recognized them, if only dimly. They worked as a butcher, and you’d seen them several times when you picked up food from the store. However, they’d always had their hair up and their feathers tucked away when they worked. Now, they were letting their hair hang free down their back, almost to their waist. Their skin was oddly colored, almost milky, with scales along the backs of their limbs. Plumes of feathers decorated their ears and their scaled tail. AS they shifted their weight, one of their hands resting on their generous hips, their skin caught the light and glowed in opalescence. The scales on their forehead had been picked out with some silvery makeup, making them stand out even more.

You picked your jaw off the floor and slapped your customer service hat back on. “Ah, thank you very much! You already seem fairly well-feathered, but perhaps I could offer you a small hairpin? I have some that aren’t quite so ornate if you’re looking for something lower key.”

As they leaned forward to examine your wares, you swept a critical eye over them. It was sort of a fun guessing game you tried to play with yourself, to figure out exactly what species each customer was. Most of the time, you didn’t get an answer, since it was pretty rude to ask someone casually what they were, but it was still fun. The oddest one had been a combination between a merfolk and a dragon, which had resulted in something like a human upper half, albeit completely covered in scales, and a sea-serpent tail. They’d also been a remarkably good customer, though they’d tried haggling for a better price.

This person… well, the scales suggested a dragon, but feathered dragons were rare, and even more rarely did they assume a humanoid form. Not to mention they had wings. Perhaps some sort of hybrid, then? Or maybe a harpy and dragon hybrid? You’d never seen one, though it did seem like this one should be more feathered if it really was a combination.

They cleared their throat and you hurried to focus your mind on their purchase. You could speculate after they were done. “See anything you like?”

“I believe so,” they said, their eyes flicking up to meet yours. “But I…” They hesitate, their tail curling. The feathered tufts of their ears twitch. “I…”

“Can’t decide?” you asked. It was always sort of flattering when customers felt that way- nice to know you’d been able to catch their eye with multiple pieces. Perhaps a better salesperson would have convinced them to buy both, but you figured if they wanted both, they would have bought them in the first place. You were happy to sell even one piece. “I can help you decide. Which ones do you like?”

The customer hesitated, then selected two ornamented hair clips- a pale pink and a deep sea-green. Both of them matched shades that appeared in their feathers and along their glimmering scales. Either would have been a good choice. You picked them up and held them out consideringly.

“Here, let’s see…” You held both clips up, one on either side of their face, and directed them to look into the mirror. “The pink one is a bit simpler than the green one- less feathers and jewels, see? You’ve got feathers on you already, so I don’t think you need the excess feathers, unless you’re going for an over-the-top look.” You glance over them with a critical eye. “However, the pink also blends in with your outfit a little more, so if you want it to stand out, the green might work better. Are you thinking of wearing this for daily use or just when you’re getting dressed up for a festival or party?”

“I suppose daily,” they said, tilting their head from side to side. Their eyes, bright yellow as topaz, glitter in the sunlight.

“Then the pink might be a little more lowkey,” you declared. “But it’s all up to you, of course.”

They hesitated for a moment longer, considering. “The pink, then,” they said.

“Wonderful,” you said, placing the green clip down on the table. “Would you like me to wrap this or would you like to wear it right away?”

“Right away,” they said.

“Sure! Makes sense that you’d want to wear it for the festival,” you said. “Now, your total is fifteen shen.”

They reached into their pocket to pull out their wallet and passed you a few coins. You tucked them smoothly away. “I can put it in your hair for you, if you’d like,” you added. They stared at you, yellow eyes going wide. “Only if you’d like! Some people just have a difficult time getting the clip into their hair on their own- but you can also just borrow a mirror if you would like.”

“No, I would appreciate the help,” they said. You gestured for them to turn and they did so, crouching down to allow you to reach. They were tall, so that was another suggestion they were related to a dragon. Then again, you had some gnomish blood, so most everyone was taller than you.

You gathered the silky strands of their hair into your hand and settled the clip in place. They twitched a little under your touch and their tail shuddered when you took an extra moment to stroke a few strands of hair back into place.

“There. Does it look all right to you?” you asked, offering them a mirror that was angled so they could see the back of their head. They nodded and brushed off their front as they stood.

“Thank you for the help,” they said. “And your work is quite lovely. I hope you’re finding success here.”

“That’s very kind of you,” you said. “Ah, here, take this as well!” You reached down and grabbed a small, though still pretty, tail cuff. It was designed to clip into place, with an adjustable band to keep it from slipping down the tail. You pressed it into their hands.

The feathers on their tail and ears fluffed up in surprise. “Oh- but I didn’t pay for-”

“The Avieras Festival is for celebrating feathered creatures,” you said, pressing the tail cuff on them more insistently. “Think of it as a party favor. And you’ve been quite sweet, I think you deserve it.”

Their eyes went wide and they took the tail cuff like it was a holy artifact. “Thank you,” they said. They smiled, showing off their pearly white canines. “You really are a sweet thing, aren’t you?”

With that, they reached out, affectionately patted my cheek, then headed off into the crowd. You blinked after them. You had been pretty sure you were flustering them for a moment there, so it was a bit strange to have the entire thing turned around on you. Fortunately, another customer arrived in a moment and you could launch straight back into your customer service mode.

The pace of sales picked up throughout the night. You sold out quicker than you’d anticipated, with plenty of time to enjoy the festival. You packed away your belongings in your bag and headed out to explore.

It was late evening as you headed out into the main section of the festival. The town center was full of people dressed in feathered outfits. The Avieras Festival was a celebration of avians- typically, that meant people with some kind of bird relation, like harpies, but it technically included all kinds of feathered creatures. That meant that everyone was dressed in feathers. Some people had more elaborate outfits than others, with multicolored feathers and even bird masks, but most people were just wearing feather accessories. Harpies and other flying creatures soared through the sky in an impressive array of aerial dancing. Music floated through the air with them, bright and lively.

Exploring the festival involved you getting as much unique food as you could and shoving it all in your mouth while you examined the items for sale. There were several games set up along the streets. One of them was a modified version of flight chicken, where two contestants were suspended by magic and then dropped toward the (magically cushioned) ground. The goal was to pin your opponent underneath you before you hit the ground. While most people participating seemed pretty poor at it, the matches that involved experienced partners were fascinating. There were a couple other games that were usually played in the air that had been modified so everyone could enjoy them, plus some other games that could by played just as easily by people on the ground. You tried a couple of rounds of a game like ring toss, which involved getting a wooden circle to land around a peg from several feet up, and won a tiny, simple wooden bird. You probably could have bought it for less than you’d paid to play the game, but willing it made the experience better.

After playing a few more games, you wandered over to the art installation that covered the far side of the festival. It was meant to cover the multiple traditional forms of art from different harpy flocks, from fashion to paintings, and there were even a few sphinx artifacts. A large platform toward the middle of the installation held a rotating cast of musicians and dancers. You paused to watch a group of harpies weave in and around each other, smoothly moving from dancing on the ground to in the air. A sphinx passed by, flexing her wings in time to the music. You even caught sight of what was probably an aasimar, gold-skinned and faintly glowing, examining a flight cape.

By the time you finished the art exhibit, it was getting late. Several of the games and activities made for children had packed up, and the party had shifted to more of a late-night-club vibe. Pulsing lights lined the buildings, casting a multicolored glow across the scene. It was pretty, and you did consider staying for a bit longer, but you were already exhausted from selling and walking around. As a large portion of the townspeople headed out to continue the party, you headed back to your home.

The streets got clearer the further you headed away from the festivities, though there were still pockets of people. Some of them were rather drunk. Just as you turned a corner, a group of stumbling drunks bowled into you, practically trampling you as you fell to the ground.

“Hey!” you protested, but your voice wasn’t that loud thanks to your surprise. Two of them, the taller two of the bunch, barely seemed to notice you. The third one turned and gave you an apologetic wave before being dragged off.

You cursed to yourself as you got up. Parties always brought out the asshole drunks- admittedly, you were on the small side (curse that gnomish blood) and the lighting wasn’t good here, so it was possible that they hadn’t seen you. But they still could have at least paused when they hit you!

“Oh dear,” someone murmured, and you heard rapidly approaching footsteps. Someone crouched and a slender, pale hand entered your field of vision. “Are you all right? Can you get up?”

“I’m fine,” you groused, taking their hand so they could tug you up. “Not hurt or anything- ow.” You put weight on your left leg and it throbbed. Probably not broken or even sprained, but there was going to be a very nasty bruise in the morning.

“I beg to differ,” your helper said, and you finally looked at them properly. To your surprise, you knew who they were. Their hair clip and tail clip were still secured neatly in place, right where they’d been place when they’d bought them. “You’re bleeding.”

“What?” You lifted one of your hands to brush the dirt off your shirt and paused when you saw the oozing scratches along your palms. There were little bits of grit in the cuts. You winced. “Ow. Damn.”

“You should get those cleaned out,” they said. “Here, there’s a water pump nearby.” They took you gently by your wrist and led you a few feet away to a public water pump. They withdrew a pack of tissues from their side pouch and wet them before turning back to you. “Let me see your hands.”

You extended your hands out, palms up. They gave you a grateful smile and started swiping the wet tissues over the cuts.

It stung, of course, and you sucked in a sharp breath. They crooned in their throat, a gentle shushing noise. “I know it hurts, I just need to get all that gunk out.” Their thumb traced your wrist, stroking over the pulse point. You swallowed.

They took a few moments to clean it out, then paused, tilting your hand back and forth to make sure the dirt is gone. “There we are,” they murmured. “I don’t have any bandages on me, I’m afraid.”

“It’s really not necessary,” you said. “They’re just small scratches. See, they’re hardly even bleeding anymore.” You held your hand out- the cuts were still red, but no longer bleeding. They looked them over carefully, their tail swaying slightly as they focused.

“And nothing else hurts?” they asked. “You’re feeling okay otherwise?”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m fine. It’s not a problem.”

They nodded, then looked around you to glare in the direction the tramplers had gone. “Hmph. Shame that festivals can bring out the worst in people. They didn’t even bother to stop.”

“No, but I’m fine, really,” you said.

They flicked their tail with a ruffle of feathers. “Yes, but you if you haven’t been…” They shook their head. “Ah, well. I suppose we should just be grateful it wasn’t worse.” They slipped their hand under your chin with a feather-light touch and tilted your head back and forth. “And at least there’s no damage to your cute face, hm?”

A warm flush rolled over your entire body. Their tone was lightly teasing, but still quite sweet, and it wasn’t like you were used to receiving flirtation like that. You stepped back, pulling your chin from their grasp in embarrassment. “I- uh. Th- thank you.”

They hummed pleasantly. “Of course. No problem.” They gave you another look over, their brows furrowing. “Ah… would you mind if I walked you home? I don’t mean to be pushy, but I do want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I think I’ll be fine,” you said, taking a step forward. One of your ankles throbbed, but it held your weight.

They looked unconvinced. “You’re favoring your left ankle. Are you certain you’re all right?”

“Probably,” you said. “It hurts, but my home’s only a couple of blocks from here. I can manage.”

They frowned. Their tail swayed back and forth. “At least let me walk with you? I just don’t want you collapsing as soon as you’re out of sight. It will give me some comfort.”

“If you insist,” you said, offering them a weak smile. They seemed genuinely worried about you, and in all honestly, you weren’t totally sure how well you could walk anyway.

They stayed by your side as you headed toward your house. A couple of times, they needed to reach out and steady you when you forgot your ankle was bad and put your weight on it. The insistent throbbing pain got worse every few steps, and by the time you were within a few feet of your home, you were practically dragging your leg behind you. Your eyes watered with the pain.

Your companion put a hand to your shoulder, encouraging you to lean against them. “Are you certain you shouldn’t see a healer?” they asked. “You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“If it still feels bad tomorrow, I’ll see a healer. Right now, I just need to put it on ice and elevate it,” you said.

“If you’re sure,” they said. They paused, still looking at you with obvious worry, then their expression brightened. “Ah, let me give you this.” They rummaged in their pocket for a moment, then pulled out a small, shimmering disc. They took one of your hands in their own, turning it so your palm was facing upright, then pressed the small disc into your palm. Their hands completely covered yours. You could feel the disc against your palm, thin but surprisingly sturdy.

“What is it?” you asked as they withdraw their hands. You lifted the disc closer to your face to examine it. It was thin, strong, and pale colored. When you turned it in your hands, a pale stream of light illuminated it, turning it opalescent. Exactly like-

“It’s one of my scales,” they say. “If your ankle is worse tomorrow, you can just say my name to it and I’ll come to help you out.”

You blinked. “Really? But- are you sure?” Scales were strange things to give away. For the magically inclined, scales could be made to always be connected to their body, even when physically separated. If you said your name to the scale, they would know you were calling for them, no matter how far away you were.

They winked, golden eyes gleaming. “Say Tazriel, and I’ll come. I like making sure good people are well taken care of.” With no further explanation, they strolled off into the night. Their pale scales made them stand out against the gloom for a while before they finally faded into shadows.

You tucked the scale close to your chest as you hobbled the rest of the way home. It wasn’t far, and after resting for a few moments, you felt better. Though when you had to rummage through your freezer get the ice out, then stack your pillows to elevate your leg, then get comfortably settled in you seat only to realize you had to pee- well, maybe it would have been better to have a little help.

You fell asleep after some time of fitfully turning and shifting in your position. It was hard to find a comfortable sleeping spot with your ankle elevated. And apparently your sleeping body had no consideration for your health, because when you woke up, your ankle was no longer elevated, but twisted haphazardly under you. When you flexed it to get an idea of how fucked you were, pain rolled up your ankle and punched you in the gut. Okay. Pretty fucked.

It took a few tries to actually stand and hobble your way into the bathroom to really assess things. Your ankle was swollen and bruised and it hurt to put weight on it. Bad. You couldn’t assess whether or not it was broken, but it was sprained at a minimum. God dammit. You’d really wanted to avoid seeing a doctor. Maybe you could just give it time? If it healed on its own, everything would be fine, right? And if it didn’t get any better, then you could see a doctor. There was no reason to go to all the trouble when you hadn’t even given it a chance to heal. Right?

Part of you was aware that you were in denial and grasping at straws. A larger part of you was willing to accept anything that meant no doctor’s visit. So you hobbled your way back to bed, with a pit stop in the kitchen to stock up on food, and flopped back down, fully intending to stay in that spot all day.

As you did so, you saw something gleaming on the covers next to you. You scooped it up and- oh, right. The scale.

You rolled the little thing over in your fingers, enjoying how the light played off of its surface. It would be gorgeous to use on one of your projects- though they’d also probably be hard to get. Most people didn’t make a habit of handing out their scales, and even if you managed to find a seller, the quantity would be pretty small. Couldn’t be yanking out every one of your scales to sell, of course.

You rotated it in your hands, recalling their words from the night before. Say Tazriel and I’ll come. Interesting. That was a little unusual. People, as you’d already said, didn’t tend to go handing out their scales. On the other hand, they had seemed genuinely kindhearted and concerned, and you’d never heard a bad word about them. Though, to be fair, most of the words you heard about them tended to focus on how pretty they were. But still, people in this town were gossips, so if anyone had a problem with them, you were sure you’d have heard of it. But you’d also never heard of them handing out their scales like candy to anybody else. Bit of a mystery there.

After a few more moments of looking at the scale and considering, you turned and set it carefully on the table next to your bed. The offer was kind, but you were reluctant to drag anyone else into your mess. Maybe if it wasn’t feeling any better the next day, you would call them and ask for their help to get to the doctor.

You spent another boring day in bed, reading a couple of books and flipping through random videos on the scrynet. It was mind-numbing, and your hands were twitching by the end of it, but you didn’t really want to get out of bed. Eventually, you fell into a fitful, unrestful sleep.

When you woke, the pain in your ankle seemed to have dulled. Cocksure and overconfident, you swung out of bed, placed your feet on the floor, and collapsed when your bad ankle rolled under you and sent waves of pain up your leg.

Well. Crap. Had it somehow gotten worse overnight? How was that even possible? You blinked back the sting of tears from your eyes and twisted to look at it. Bruises still mottled the skin around the ankle, and it was definitely still swollen, though it wasn’t quite as bad as it had been the day before. You probed the skin with the tips of your fingers and hissed. Pain. Bad enough to make your stomach tighten. Once you were actually braced for the pain, you could put some weight on it, though it wasn’t fun.

Son of a bitch. You’d really been hoping it would get better. You considered your options as you limped to the kitchen to get something to eat. It wasn’t so bad to put weight on, you reasoned. It was painful, sure, but a little pain wasn’t so bad. You could handle it.

You sat down and examined your ankle once more. Like, okay. It was probably bad, and you should probably go to a doctor. But it wasn’t like you couldn’t walk at all. That would be the point where it got bad, right? If you couldn’t walk at all. You could still keep off it for a while, for the most part, and then it would heal up. Why go to the doctor if they were just going to tell you to rest your ankle, which is what you were already doing?

(Again, there was that part of you that recognized you were just making excuses and that you really should just go to a doctor. But the bigger part of you still wanted to avoid going, and that bigger part was winning out.)

You ate and dragged yourself back to your room, collapsing onto your bed. Okay. Another day in bed. That wasn’t so bad. And you could probably try to work at least a little. You sat down for most of it. That wouldn’t bother your ankle too much, right?

Just as you were making the firm decision that you were probably fine to work, a gleam of light on your night table caught your eye.

You shuffled a little closer and reached out. As your fingertips met the light, you felt something small and disc-like. The scale. You curled your fingers around it and brought it up to your face.

It was definitely glowing. The entire thing shone like it was reflecting a strong beam of sunlight. You squinted at it, rotating it back and forth. Weird. Did scales do that often? Did it mean something? You’d barely gotten any instructions on how it worked. Maybe you could do some scrying later, see if you could find anything on scales. Though you still weren’t completely sure of their species, which might make it harder. They were probably a feathered dragon, right? Harpies didn’t really have scales like this.

The scale gleamed, sending a beam of light directly into your eyes. You winced. Was it getting brighter? How were you supposed to make it stop? You ran your thumb over it a few times, hoping to maybe trigger something, but nothing happened. You grimaced. Whatever. You could figure it out later.

As you grabbed a couple books to stash the scale under, so that maybe it wouldn’t burn your eyes out while you were trying to sleep, your mind wandered back to what they’d said. Call their name… “Tazriel,” you muttered absently as you placed the books on top of the scale. That was how they’d said it, right? It was a pretty name. You still felt a little awkward about calling them, but maybe you could stop by once your ankle was feeling better and let them know you appreciated the gesture. Yeah, that seemed the best way to handle things.

The decision firm in your mind, you settled back into bed and tried to ignore your ankle so you could fall back asleep.

You were just about to fall back asleep when the sound of someone knocking on your front door made you open your eyes. It was a polite knock, not like someone was banging down your door for an emergency. Maybe it was a delivery driver. They’d leave the package eventually.

You closed your eyes again. Only to open them again when the knock sounded once more. It was a little more urgent this time, though still not what you would consider an emergency knock. You considered getting up, but if it was a visitor, they would eventually figure out you weren’t home or something. It was fine.

The silence lasted a little longer this time, so you were settled back comfortably by the time the knock sounded again. This time, it was distinctly louder and rushed. You gritted your teeth. Okay. This person was not taking a hint, which either meant they were really obtuse or they had something important for you. But getting to the door meant getting out of bed and you were awfully reluctant to do that. The silence stretched on as you debated the finer points of getting out of bed versus staying nice and comfy.

After a couple minutes of silence, you realized the person at your door hadn’t knocked again. They’d wandered off, presumably. That was good. You could just lie back and relax and they would come back later if they needed anything else.

And then you heard the click and creak of the doorknob turning and your door- your FRONT DOOR- opening.

The indignation was enough to get you out of bed. Common sense stopped you from getting further than the hallway. You had a busted ankle- what were you going to do against a (possibly armed) thief? At best, maybe you could look so pathetic, they’d feel bad and leave.

Then your name, called in a semi-frantic voice, floated down the hall. That was surprising. Why would someone who broke into your house be calling for you? You hobbled a few steps out into the main entranceway of your house and stopped in surprise.

You knew both of the people standing in front of your open door, one more familiar than the other. The more familiar figure was your neighbor, a twitchy, if also kindly, water elemental. The less familiar figure was your savior from the other night, Tazriel. Their face lit up at the sight of you. “You’re all right?”

You shifted your weight onto your good leg and positioned your bad ankle so the swelling was not as noticeable. “I’m fine. What are you doing in my house?”

Tazriel blanched. It was hard for scaled creatures to blush, but they seemed to be trying their level best. “You called me.”

You blinked. “I did?” Almost as soon as the words had left your mouth, you remembered sliding the scale away and mumbling ‘Tazriel’ a moment before your fingers actually broke contact. Oops. “Oh. I did.”

Tazriel seemed to be regaining their confidence. “I was worried, of course, so I came by, but you didn’t answer your door. Fortunately, your neighbor did, and she said she had a key, so…” They trailed off, looking toward your neighbor. You stare at her too. She awkwardly rubs one of her arms.

“They seemed really worried, and you did tell me to use your key in emergencies,” she mumbled. She cast a shy glance sideways at Tazriel and you did not roll your eyes, but it was a near thing. Okay, they were pretty good looking, but you weren’t pleased that your neighbor was such a sucker for a pretty face that she would let them into your house.

“They’re quite kind,” Tazriel said, smiling at your neighbor, and she practically turned into steam. “They were worried about you too, once I told them what was going on.”

“Right,” you said. “So what’s going on?”

Tazriel blinked at you like it should be obvious. “You called for me and then didn’t answer the door. I thought you were really hurt.”

Oh. Actually, that wasn’t a strange conclusion to come to. “W-well, that’s very kind of you, but I’m, uh. Actually doing fine. It was sort of an accident that I called you. I’m sorry for disturbing you. But you don’t need to stay.”

They gave you a critical look, gaze roving over your body and fixing on your ankle. You shuffled it further behind your good leg to avoid their look, but this seemed to backfire. Their gaze grew more concerned. “You’re not putting any weight on your ankle.”

“I am,” you said, and gingerly placed your bad ankle on the ground. You leaned on it until your eyes were watering with pain and hoped they weren’t paying too much attention. “I’m fine. You can go back to your life.”

They narrowed their eyes, but didn’t say anything. For a moment, you were certain they were actually going to take your advice and leave, but then your neighbor piped in with, “You’ve been holding yourself all stiff since we got here. You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you?”

You shot her a glare as Tazriel gave you a new, more appraising look. “You are tense.” Their expression grew alarmed. “You shouldn’t be standing, should you?”

“I really have to assure you that I’m fine,” you said, but Tazriel and your neighbor were already dismissing your protests out of hand.

“Last time you told me you were fine, you had such bad food poisoning you could barely keep anything down,” your neighbor said. Tazriel brushed past the both of you and into the kitchen to fetch a chair. “I didn’t find out until two days later when I ran into you at the store looking like death warmed over.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” you muttered. “And what were you going to do about it? It was food poisoning. You just have to wait it out.”

“You could have asked me to check on you. I would have done it. Or you could have asked me to take you to a doctor.”

You grimaced. Tazriel set a chair down next to you and gestured for you to sit in it. Once you were down, they crouched and peered at your ankle. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?” they asked. “This looks bad.”

“It looks worse than it is,” you said hurriedly. “I really don’t need all this fuss. I’m just going to stay home until it feels better.”

Tazriel looked up. “You’re not going to see a doctor?”

“I don’t need one,” you said, trying to sound more confident than you felt.

“You do,” Tazriel insisted. They probed at your ankle with their fingertips and you nearly jumped out of your skin. “You can’t walk on this. And it must hurt a lot.” They looked up at you and you were surprised by exactly how much concern was evident in their eyes. Their feathered ears twitched. It was ridiculous how cute it was.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” you said, but their gaze was really hard to resist. “I just… I don’t want to go to the doctor.” Before they could comment on that, you braced a hand against the nearby wall and used the leverage to haul yourself to your feet. Well. To one of your feet. The other was still being held by Tazriel. “And they’ll just tell me to ice and rest it, which is what I’m already doing! Thank you all very much for your concern, but I think I’ll be heading back to doing that, so unless there’s anything else I can help you with…” You gave a pointed look to Tazriel. They were still holding your foot. They did not let go.

“You need a doctor,” they said, enunciating every word carefully, like you were a child or hard of hearing. “Your ankle could be broken.”

Your shoulders drooped a bit. “You don’t think it’s that bad, do you?”            “I don’t know,” Tazriel said. “I can’t say. Because I’m not a doctor. Which is why you need one.” They folded their feathered ears back against their head and fixed you with their brilliantly golden eyes. It wasn’t quite a puppy-dog look, though it was pleading. Come now, their expression seemed to say. I want you to be all right. Won’t you let me help you? Their thumb was also tracing circles on your calf, which was making it surprisingly hard to focus.

“It’s… I just…” Your protests died on your tongue. They were just looking at you, but it was making your head feel sort of funny. Were they using their prettiness to hypnotize you? Was that what this was? Weaponized prettiness?

“If you’re nervous about going to the doctor, I could go with you,” Tazriel suggested. Their feathered ears perked up and you cursed internally. Somehow, that made them even cuter. “I know a doctor, actually. I could take you to her, if you’d like.”

They were giving you a look. An eager look, like they were already proud of themselves for having solved the problem. But you also got the impression they were not leaving here taking ‘no’ for an answer. They were going to be leaving here with you on a trip to the doctor’s or you were going to have a new roommate.

“Eh… uh…” You tried to think of a way out of this. They’re pretty, your brain supplied unhelpfully. It’d be nice to spend more time with them. Your own mind was even turning against you. “I guess that’d be… okay.”

They beamed. The fact that they looked even prettier when they did that was like adding insult to injury. “Wonderful! I’ll need to call ahead to let her know we’re coming, but she owes me a favor, I’m sure she’ll set some time aside for you.” They scrambled to their feet and practically skipped outside. You and your neighbor watched them go.

“Lucky,” she said in an undertone.

“Lucky?” you muttered back. “For breaking my ankle?”

She rolled her eyes. “For having someone so worried about you. Do you realize how frantic they were when they were banging on my door? It was kind of sweet.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to that, so you didn’t. Tazriel stepped back into the room at that moment, sparing you the indignity. “She says we can come in whenever we want,” they said. “But we’ll have a better chance of getting in right away if we go as soon as possible.”

“Just give me a couple minutes,” you said. “I just… need to brush my teeth.” Ever since hurting your ankle, your self-care activities, otherwise known as basic hygiene, had kind of gone down the drain. No one had commented on it so far, but the longer you were in the presence of a water elemental and the perfectly polished Tazriel, the worse you felt about it.

You hobbled to the bathroom and did as quick of a spot clean as you could. Once you’d determined that it was as good as it was going to get in the time frame allowed, you pulled on some slightly-nicer clothes and headed back out to Tazriel.

Your neighbor was gone by that point, and Tazriel was waiting for you in the doorway. “Are you ready to go?” they asked, fixing you with a cheerful smile. You nodded.

“Yeah, yeah.” There was a part of your mind insisting that, despite the indignity of it, you could probably get away with slamming the door in their face and burying yourself under the blankets until everyone forgot about this doctor thing. But that would be hideously embarrassing and you weren’t sure it would stop Tazriel anyway. They seemed rather determined. “Let’s get this over with.”

Tazriel nodded cheerily, then took a step forward, holding their arms out awkwardly. You took a fumbling step back, hands up. “Hey, woah, what are you doing?”

They paused. “You can hardly walk,” they said, as though that were completely obvious. “But I can.”

You did not lower your arms from their defensive position. “You’re going to carry me?”

They looked like at you like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. “Yes, of course. I can handle it.”

“Uh,” you said, looking them up and down uncertainly. “You’re sure?”

“Of course,” they said. To their credit, they sounded extremely confident. “You’re rather small, aren’t you? I can carry you.”

You felt weirdly embarrassed about being referred to as ‘small.’ “Uh. Well.” Why wasn’t your brain working? You couldn’t string together any thoughts! “I guess, if you’re okay with it…”

They grinned and scooped you up like you were a couple of grapes. You looped your arms around their neck. It was impressive how effortless the lift seemed to them. “Comfortable?” they asked. You made a nondescript sound that roughly meant, ‘as comfortable as it is possible to be right now.’ Apparently, they could interpret that, because they took off at a slow jog.

You’d been expecting they would take one of the trains, but they ended up heading in a completely different direction than the local station. It was slightly unnerving, but they seemed to know what they were doing. You did your best to relax back into their arms. While you usually felt rather uncomfortable about having someone carry you, this felt somehow reassuring. Maybe because they were strong enough that there was no wavering of their grip or unsteadiness.

They jogged for a little while, turning down some of the main roads. People looked at the sight with some interest, though few people actively stared, which you appreciated. After turning around a few corners, they slowed down and approached a decently large building painted in white and pink. They shifted you in their arms a bit before pulling open the glass door.

It definitely smelled like a doctor’s clinic when you stepped inside, with that stinging scent of antiseptic. A few other people were milling around the room. You couldn’t get a good look at most of them, but there was someone standing in a pile of feathers in the corner. You resisted the urge to snicker. There was always someone who took a feather-enhancing potion during the Avieras Festival and then had to deal with the consequences a few days later.

Tazriel ignored the front desk and headed toward the exam area. They nudged the door open with their tail and glanced around as they stepped inside. “Doctor Gella?”

There was a moment of silence, then a middle-aged woman wearing thick spectacles poked her head out of a room a few doors down. She had an enormous set of ram’s horns sprouting from her temples and a thin tail tipped with a trident. Oh, and bright yellow skin.

“Tazriel,” she said, nodding at them. “I assume this is the patient.” She gave you a sympathetic smile. “Why don’t you step into an exam room and put them down?”

The exam room was pretty standard doctor fare- a sink and a few cabinets, a machine for checking blood pressure, a couple of uncomfortable-looking chairs up against the far wall, and a bulky exam table covered in paper taking up a majority of the space. Tazriel set you down upon it and took up one of the seats. Dr. Gella gave them a pointed look. “It was kind of them to bring you here, Tazriel, but I’m afraid I can’t let you stay in the exam room while they’re being examined. Unless you would feel more comfortable if Taz stayed?” She directed the last question toward you.

“I think I can handle it on my own,” you said. Ever since you’d started smelling the antiseptic, your heart rate had picked up, and sitting on the crinkly exam table wasn’t doing it any favors. Why did doctor’s offices all have to look the same? But you’d been through this before. You didn’t need anyone to hold your hand. Tazriel nodded amiably and headed for the door.

“I’ll be in the waiting room,” they said. They gave you an amiable wink, then the door closed behind them.

The room felt a lot more confining all of a sudden.

Dr. Gella rolled a wheeled chair up to the edge of the exam table. “They’re quite sweet, but they forget the most obvious things sometimes. One of the reasons they could never work here.”

“Did they want to?”

“They were interested in one point. That’s how we got to know each other- they volunteered here when they were younger. But, as I’ve said, they’re a bit too distracted to be an attentive healer. Their knowledge of anatomy is impeccable, though. Hence why they ended up being a butcher.” Dr. Gella looked at your legs. “Ah. I see that’s the bum ankle they mentioned?”

You shifted, embarrassed. “Yeah. They told me I needed to come here, but…” You trailed off. Dr. Gella gave a half-smile.

“Not a fan of the doctor’s?” she asked. You shook your head. “That’s all right. Plenty of people aren’t. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can.”

She shifted your leg up onto the exam table and slipped off your shoe and sock. The shoe was easy, since your ankle was swollen enough that it didn’t go on all the way. The sock was a little harder, and no matter how gentle she tried to be, it still hurt. You gritted your teeth and struggled as hard as you could not to kick her.

“There we go,” she said, setting your sock next to you. “Hm.” She grimaced. “I can see why they wanted you to come in.”

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” you said, a little sheepish. Dr. Gella hummed disapprovingly.

“It’s definitely a bad sprain, at minimum. How long ago did you injure it?”

“Couple of days?” you said, shrinking back a little more sheepishly when Dr. Gella frowned.

“It might not have been that bad at first, but it’s certainly become worse thanks to not treating it right. I’m going to have to get a brace for it, and you’ll have to stay off it for a few weeks at least.” Her eyes glowed, suggesting she was using some kind of seeing-through spell. “Yes, it doesn’t look like there’s anything broken, but it’s certainly bruised and damaged and walking on it will make it worse.”

“Do I have to wear a cast?” you asked, hesitant.

“It’ll be a soft cast,” Dr. Gella said. You grimaced. “That bothers you?”

“I just… don’t like it.” You shifted in place, wincing when that shifted your ankle. “It bothers me.”

Dr. Gella smiled sympathetically. “If you don’t want to wear the cast, I’m certainly not going to make you do so. But it is my medical recommendation that you do so, as it will make sure that things heal better.”

You didn’t say anything. Yes, you needed to wear the cast. Yes, the idea of doing so made you feel sick to your stomach. You weren’t sure how to reconcile those emotions. Dr. Gella watched your expression, taking in your uncertainty, then forced a small smile.

“Tell you what,” she said. “I have another patient that shouldn’t take too long. You can take some time to think it over. If you’re too uncomfortable for it, then I can just give you some instructions for taking care of it, and if you feel better about the cast, we can put it on after I’m done with that patient. Sound good?”

You let out a relieved breath. At the very least, it got you out of the exam room so you could take a breather. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Certainly. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Dr. Gella helped you out of the room and offered you a set of crutches. Together, you hobbled back to the waiting room.

Tazriel was waiting in a seat close to the door when you stepped out. You nodded to Dr. Gella and went to sit next to them as she called in her next patient. Tazriel tilted their head, taking in your crutches and swollen ankle. “Are you done?”

“I’m not,” you said. “It’s… I’m…” You fumbled over your next words. Tazriel waited patiently. “Ugh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. Dr. Gella was right, I don’t have to know. It’s your health,” Tazriel said. “I can leave now, if you want me too, and as long as you have a way home-”

“You don’t have to leave,” you said. Talking to them was at least a distraction from both the throbbing pain in your ankle and the swirling anxiety in your chest. “I don’t like doctor’s offices.”

Tazriel nodded. “I sort of guessed. From the way you were acting about having to go.” They hesitated. “I know I probably overstepped, bringing you here, but you really did need someone to see to that ankle.”

“Yeah, you were right. I actually do need a cast on this thing.” You shifted your ankle and immediately winced. Bad idea. “But I can’t… bring myself to get one.”

Tazriel was silent for a moment, until it was clear you weren’t going to say more. “What bothers you about it?”

You hesitated. “When I was a kid, I screwed up my arm. It was a pretty bad break, from what I remember. And they put a cast on it. I complained about the cast a lot. It was tight and itchy and I didn’t like wearing it at all.”

Tazriel nodded. “Most people don’t.”

“And then, like a week and a half into wearing the cast, it started to hurt. Really badly. I complained about it, but I’d already been complaining about it so much, everyone thought I was just continuing with that. It kept getting worse, but it took another week before anyone believed me enough to take my back to the doctor. And then the doctor was really dismissive when we did go in, so it was a few more days before my parents finally got anyone to pay attention to what was actually happening.” You took a deep breath. “The cast was too tight. And there was some damage to my hand by the time they figured it out and took it off.”

Tazriel blinked, recoiling a little. You saw them sneak a glance at your hand, subtly trying to see what was wrong without being too obvious about it. “The damage wasn’t permanent, thankfully,” you said, stretching out your arm to show them. “There’s a little scar here, but after physical therapy, I can move my hand pretty much the same as anyone else. There’s a little residual pain, on occasion, but it healed well.”

“That’s why you were so fussy about going to the doctor,” Tazriel said. “You didn’t want another cast.” They curled their tail across their lap. “I… I’m sorry for dragging you here.”

“Ah, it’s not your fault,” you said. “You were right. I did need to go. And I wasn’t going to do it unless someone kicked my ass.” You glanced at the door to the exam rooms. “The doctor said I could go without a cast, if I was really uncomfortable having one on, but I really do need one. I don’t want to screw up my ankle any worse than it already is.”

Tazriel sat for a moment, their tail settled across their lap. They were plucking at their feathers. A little further up their tail was the tail band you’d given to them. It had clearly been taking off and cleaned at one point, maybe even polished because it was even shinier than when you’d had it. “You’re still wearing that,” you said. Tazriel glanced toward the band and gave a faint smile.

“Oh, yes. It’s quite beautiful. I appreciate it.” They ran their finger over it, relishing the little textural differences. “I truly wasn’t expecting a gift.”

You laughed, a little embarrassed by how warm their voice had become. “I’m sure people trip all over themselves to give you free samples. You must be swimming in them by now.”

“Sometimes,” they admitted with a sheepish grin. “I try not to accept them too often. I don’t like to take things without paying for them. It feels unfair.”

You nudged their side playfully. “Except when you’re taking from me, huh? Trying to drive me out of business?”

Their face scrunched up in a strange way. “Eh… well…” They ran their hands up and down their tail. “I had… I had a bit of an idea about that. I was hoping perhaps I could offer to pay you back… by taking you out to dinner.”

You thought for a moment. “You wanted to ask me out to dinner?” They nodded. “Why dinner?”

They blinked, like they hadn’t thought that question would be the next one. “It wouldn’t have to be dinner, I suppose. That’s just traditional. But if you didn’t want dinner, I suppose coffee would work as well? Or if there’s something else you’d like to do?”

Your brain chugged for a moment before everything clicked together. They were asking you on a date. Right? Or maybe you were reading them wrong? You’d never been good with those sort of subtleties- maybe they meant something else? Like a friendly dinner? But if you interpreted it as a friendly dinner and they didn’t, then they would be hurt if you treated it like a friendly date, right? But if you tried to clarify and they weren’t asking you on a date, that would be so embarrassing, and maybe they’d be mad at you for being presumptuous about them asking you out…            You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realize you were staring at them until Tazriel cleared their throat. “Er. I- You don’t have to say yes. I thought it might be charming, I suppose? But I suppose it is a little too pushy, so don’t feel obligated to-”

“No, no! I want to!” you said hurriedly. You couldn’t just sit there and let them feel bad! Although, now you were going to have to find a way to determine if this was a date or not without letting them know that you weren’t sure what you’d signed up for.

It seemed like answering in the affirmative was the correct choice, because their entire face brightened. “Really? Ah, that’s a relief. I’m afraid I’m not all that good with these sort of things- people assume I am, I think, but I’m really not used to it at all.” They gave you a particularly rough pat on the shoulder, which jostled you enough to make your ankle ache. You grimaced and they pulled their hands back, tucking them against their body. “Sorry. We can, uh. Hold off on the dinner until you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah,” you muttered. “I… suppose I should get the cast. To make sure that everything heals all right.”

They looked uncertain. “Are you going to be okay with that?”

“It’ll be scary, but I’m a grown-up. I can handle it.” Despite your words, your stomach churned. It wasn’t even going to be a hard cast, like the one you’d had as a kid, but the idea of something pressing in tight, restricting you like that… how were you going to sit through the procedure and just deal with it?

An impulse darted from your brain to the tip of your tongue before you could think better of it. “Will you sit with me when I get the cast on?”

Tazriel’s ears fluffed up and their eyes went wide. It was hard to tell if they were surprised or pleased to be asked. Or both. “You want me to go in with you?” Their tail gave one large wag before they settled it back into their lap. “I don’t know if I’m allowed.”

“If I say you can be in there, then you can be in there,” you said. “I’d just like someone else in there with me in case I, like. Freak out or something.”

They looked at you for a long moment and you were just about to rescind the offer out of embarrassment when they nodded. “Of course. I don’t mind at all.”

Their agreement couldn’t have come at a better time, because the exam room door swung open again and Dr. Gella stepped out. “There you are,” she said, nodding in your direction. “Have you made up your mind?”

You nodded. “I’d like Tazriel to come back with me. Just as, uh. Moral support. If that’s all right.”

Dr. Gella looked between the two of you with slightly raised eyebrows, but all she said was, “There’s some paperwork you’ll have to sign, but I don’ t think there will be any problem with it.”

Tazriel gave a single squeeze to your shoulder and followed you and Dr. Gella back to the proper exam room. You hopped back up on the table and signed a few forms Dr. Gella provided for you while Tazriel hovered a bit awkwardly nearby. “Now, I’m going to set your leg in place with magic and form the cast around it,” Dr. Gella said as soon as the paperwork was safely stored away. “That will make the most comfortable and best-fitting cast. But you’re going to have to try and not move.”

“I can try,” you said. The phantom sensation of being held in a vice grip, unable to pull your leg away even as it was clamped down on tighter and tighter and tighter hit you and you took an unsteady, gulping breath.

Tazriel moved closer so their shoulder was brushing against yours. Even with the high examination table, they had to bend over a bit. “Where were you thinking of going for dinner?”

“F-for dinner?” you said, distracted. Dr. Gella carefully worked a disinfectant and cleaning spell over your ankle, causing a race of cold tingles over your skin. The magic sparked and seemed to solidify as she shifted the magic to start holding your leg still.

“Hey.” Tazriel’s voice dropped a little, adopting a soothing register. “Don’t focus on that, okay? Look at me.”

You turned your head to catch Tazriel’s golden eyes. They beamed. “There you go! Now, I asked you about dinner, remember?” Their face took on a thoughtful expression. “Oh, but you weren’t sure about dinner, were you? I’m happy to go with whatever you’d like.”

“U-um.” The grip around your ankle was tightening, enough to put pressure on the swelling. It ached awfully. “I- I guess… lunch would be fine?” Dinner was too fancy, right? Getting lunch seemed much more low-key. Though, if they were asking you on a proper date, dinner would be more traditional, right?

“Lunch works,” Tazriel said amiably. “Anywhere in particular you want to go?”

“I’m not sure.” You hazarded a glance at your ankle, but before you could get a proper look at it, Tazriel was calling your attention back.

“There’s a cute little bistro near my workplace. If you have no objections, we could go there. Have you ever been? I don’t remember the name, but it’s a pale green building with ivy crawling up the side.”

“I think I’ve seen that,” you said. The grip around your ankle had stopped tightening, but the pressure was still there. You couldn’t flex it at all. Your head thundered erratically. “It looks nice. I’ve never been there.”

“I’ve only been there once, for breakfast, but they had quite a good egg sandwich.” Your gaze started to wander back toward your leg and Tazriel squeezed your hand, drawing your attention back to them. “But they’ve got a lot of variety, so I’m sure you can find something you’ll like there.”

“Uh huh,” you murmured, still distracted. The magic was solidifying into a soft cast, molding itself to the shape of your leg. There wasn’t much pain, but the feeling was still unsettling.

Tazriel licked their lips, their tail flicking rapidly. “Ah, um… Maybe you could talk about how you made this?” They swung their tail around to show off the clip still set against their scales. “It’s lovely. I was very surprised you were willing to give it to me.”

“Well, it is good business practice to make sure customers come back,” you said. “And you were a nice customer.” And maybe the fact that they were cute hadn’t hurt either. Had you actually been flirting with them without realizing it? Well, you weren’t that good at flirting when you were trying at it. Maybe flirting while you weren’t trying made you better at it. It had gotten you a maybe-date, hadn’t it?

“There we are.” Dr. Gella stepped back to examine her handiwork. “Well done. It’s all set.”

You looked down at your leg. It was booted up in a deep blue material, making one of your legs significantly heavier and more awkward than the other. You could move your leg with a decent amount of effort, but you couldn’t really flex your ankle. Gingerly, you slid off the table. Tazriel caught your arm immediately, letting you lean against their body.

“Careful,” Dr. Gella said. You couldn’t tell whether she was talking to you or Tazriel. “Your ankle’s still going to be fragile, so I’d suggest using crutches and keeping as much weight off of it as possible. I’ll write you a script for some pain medication. Take it easy for at least two weeks, then come back in and we can reassess.

“I will,” you said. “Thank you for all your help.”

She waved it off. “Of course. I’m always ready to help Tazriel’s friends.”

“Let me walk you back to your house,” Tazriel said. “Just to make sure you get back okay and have everything you need.” Their tail swayed back and forth eagerly. “And you still have my scale, right? You can call me if it gets worse or you need anything.”

Dr. Gella made a noise of surprise. “A scale, Tazriel? Really?” They paused, looking at her like they’d forgotten she was in the room. “I thought those were important to feathered dragons.”

That answered one of your questions. “I’ve never met a feathered dragon before,” you said, giving Tazriel a surprised look. They rubbed the back of their neck.

“I’m only three quarters- My grandma married a harpy. I’ve got a few more feathers than most feathered dragons.” They swayed their plumed tail back and forth, displaying the pretty feathers there. “And most modern dragons don’t hold to that old notion of scales being given to- you know. It’s convenient.”

“A seerstone is more convenient,” Dr. Gella said. You looked between them, feeling like you’d missed something important.

“What old notion?” you asked. Tazriel shook their head at Dr. Gella, who continued speaking as if she hadn’t seen them at all.

“It was an old tradition for dragons to give out scales to people they were interested in establishing a courtship with,” she said. Tazriel dropped their face into their hands. Their tail drooped to hit the ground with a dull thump. “Admittedly, courtship has fallen out of fashion, so it’s not quite as common anymore, but plenty of dragons still hold to the-”

“Okay, I think maybe you need to go home and rest,” Tazriel said, popping up from their hands and speaking much louder than was necessary for such a small room. They scooped you up over their shoulder with one arm and grabbed the crutches Dr. Gella had for you with the other.

“Be careful,” Dr. Gella said. “You don’t want to jostle their-”

“I’m always very careful,” Tazriel said in their too-loud voice. “I’ll see you another time, thank you.”

You awkwardly propped your head up from where it was hanging down Tazriel’s back. “Thank you, Dr. Gella.”

“Of course. If you need anything else, please give me a call. Just ask Tazriel for my contact information,” she said. Then Tazriel left the room and the door swung shut behind you.

You let yourself lay limply over their shoulder, ignoring the bewildered stares as you walked through the waiting room. Once you were outside and Tazriel’s embarrassed walk had slowed, you picked your head up again. “Perhaps you could give me an opportunity to walk on my own?”

Tazriel stuttered to a stop. “Oh. Yes.” They moved to the shadow of a building and carefully put you down so you could lean against the wall while they put the crutches down. “I shouldn’t have picked you up like that, I was just…” They trailed off.

“It’s fine,” you said, deciding to be polite and not call attention back to their embarrassment. Then you had a question and decided to do it anyway. “Um. So, the thing with the scale…” Tazriel immediately looked like they were considering making a run for it. “It would have been more convenient to use a seerstone, wouldn’t it? Why did you pick the scale?”

Tazriel really looked like they were hoping the ground would swallow them up, but, to their credit, they stood there and answered. “It.... isn’t used as a way to start courting anymore, but… there are certain connotations to it and there are a lot of old legends and…” They cleared their throat and stared firmly at the ground. “I was planning on asking you out. I just hadn’t quite plucked up the courage yet. The scale was more spur of the moment than anything. I didn’t want to ask you out in that moment, not when you were hurt, so I picked something that was similar, but not something you would recognize. I hoped it would maybe help me feel braver next time I saw you. And I suppose I thought maybe the scale would make it more likely for you to call me than just connecting with a seerstone.”

Well. That answered your other question. It was a date. A pleasant prickling sensation rolled through your chest. “I- I thought it was sweet,” you said, partially because it was true and partially so Tazriel didn’t look so painfully shy anymore. They smiled at that.

“Let’s get you home. And connect seerstones so we can actually plan everything out for our lunch.” Tazriel helped you get set up with the crutches and you began your slow journey back to your house.

It took a while to get back to your home, but Tazriel was a pleasant conversationalist. In fact, you were almost disappointed when they stopped at your front door.

“I’ll see you again,” they said. “Get some rest. If you need anything else, I’m available. By scale or seerstone.”

“I’ll call. I promise,” you said. “Thank you for everything.” You carefully balanced yourself on your crutches and reached one of your arms up toward them. They obligingly leaned closer. You took their face in your palm and tugged them in close for just long enough to press a kiss to their cheek.

They didn’t make a sound, but their tail and ear feathers fluffed up. “I’ll call you,” you said. They nodded rapidly. Grinning, you stepped back into your house. You needed to rest up your leg. Once you were healed, you had a date to go on.

[steppingstonesuniverseguide]

Deleted Scene from One Step At a Time Ch 36: The Curator

I'm going to be posting a One Step At a Time entry soonish and I'm deleting a bunch of things because it got very *silly* and kind of interfered with the whole *vibe* of the chapter. That being said, I do love the silly, so enjoy an exclusive Ch 36.0 from One Step At a Time.

(Also Techno does say a thing that's might come off as way too rude, but, like, Wilbur doesn't mind. He watched his dad mourn him for years. He knows he's wanted and both he and Techno are 100% aware of this.)

“We are we going?” Tommy asked for the 5th time in as many minutes. This trip was always too long even without a Tommy in the car.

"We already told you,” Wilbur said, sounding grumpy. (Probably because he’d been demoted to backseat. Usually, they’d make Phil sit in the back during civilian outings in revenge for all of the years they had to allow him to drive, but Tubbo was also sitting in the back seat and putting Phil back there seemed like a poor decision.) “We’re going to the library.”

“We are not going to the library,” Tommy said. “All three of you brought your costumes and you brought us masks.” He reached forward to poke Phil. “Phil where are we going.”

"We’re going to the library, mate,” Phil said with more patience than the child deserved today. “It’s just a special library.”

“Is it a crime library?”

“It’s a…” Phil said.

“Yes. It’s a crime library,” Wilbur cut in.

“Technically, it does house books considered illegal in current society,” Phil said.

“Like Animal Farm and The Lorax,” Techno contributed.

“What is a Lorax?” Tommy asked.

“We’ll check it out for you,” Techno said.

“Will you read it to me?”

“I promise you can read The Lorax yourself well enough at this point, but I will read Animal Farm to you if you’d like.”

“Anti-government bedtime story with Techno hour is starting up again.”

“Eventually we’ll get to The Communist Manifesto and What is Property?”

“God please, I don’t want to hear any more about 1800s relationship drama between Marx and Proudhon. This is all your fault.” Techno didn’t see it since he was driving but considering that Tommy make a squeaking sound and having sat in the backseat with Wilbur himself plenty times, he assumed Tommy had just been elbowed in the ribs.

He then heard various slapping sounds.

“Boys, please stop fighting,” Phil said.

“He started it,” Wilbur claimed which was not exactly true, but also Tommy had been being annoying for the entire car trip.

“I didn’t start shit. I just asked a normal fucking question about where we were going.”

“You-”

“Tubbo is sitting in the front on the way back,” Techno said just to Phil. “There is no other option at this point. We have to have an adult sit between them.”

“I’m older than you!” Wilbur declared, too close to Techno’s ear. Luckily, they were at a stoplight and Techno could reach back blindly to shove his head back into the backseat where it belonged.

“Phil,” Techno said. “explain to me again why you made him.”

“Tech-”

“Oh, that’s right,” Techno said, glancing into the backseat. “You were an accident.”

“Unlike you,” Wilbur said, “who he consciously decided to adopt as his itty bitty baby child.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you!”

“Boys do I need to turn this car around?”

“How?” Techno and Wilbur said as one.

“This is why we don’t go on road trips anymore,” Phil sighed.

“Yes,” Techno said.

“Exactly,” Wilbur agreed.

“Also, he almost drove us off the Grand Canyon.”

“That too.”

Phil just rolled his eyes and turned to look out of the window.

“Okay, but are we almost there yet,” Tommy asked.

Wilbur groaned. “You’re such a child.”

“I’ve never been on a car ride this long,” Tommy complained. Which… now that Techno thought about it was a good point. They probably should have thought of that before putting him in the car.

“Tubbo’s fine.”

“Tubbo’s been asleep for an hour.”

“We’re almost there,” Techno said. “10 minutes.” Well, it was about 10 minutes to the entrance of the library, but he thought Tommy would probably be entranced by that.

[bullet-prooflove]

Anyone up for NSFW Alphabet?

Dirty A-Z headcanon game

Send a letter for more information on my muse’s likes and dislikes! Inspired by kinks discussed around the internet. The (explanations) are mere guidelines, feel free to elaborate as much as you’d like!

A - Alone time (how do they get off when they’re all by themselves? do they watch porn, is it all in their imagination, do they jerk off, do they use toys?) 

B - Bondage (do they like it? do they not? do they prefer to be the one being tied or the one doing the tying?) 

C - Crying (is it a turn on? a turn off? do they cry during sex? have they cried during sex? what was the reason?) 

D - Dominance (do they prefer to dominate, or be dominated? do they have experience as a Dom? Do they have a Dom that they trust already? What kind of things do they enjoy as/with their Dominant partner?) 

E - Extra info (any other fetishes? feet? leather? role playing? blood? fantasies that they might want to experience not on this list?)

F - Food play (do they like using food in the bedroom? are there any foods they prefer to use during sex or foreplay? any they’d like to try?)

G - Group sex (would they have a threeway? four? an orgy? do they put on a show for spectators? or do they like to keep it just between them and their partner?) 

H - Humiliation (does degradation and insults get them hot? do they get off on humiliating someone else? what kind of humiliation is good for them?) 

I - Impact play (here’s where talking about things like spanking, paddles, canes, floggers and the like.) 

J - Jelly (what kind of lube are they using? is it flavored? have they tasted it? do they prefer to use something other than real lube during sex?) 

K - Kissing (what parts of their body do they like having kissed? what parts of their partner do they enjoy kissing? do they like leaving marks / having marks left on them?) 

L - Lighting (are the lights on? off? do they have some kind of mood lighting set up?) 

M - Masochism (do they like pain? scratching? biting? being bossed around? spoken down to? choked?) 

N - Not yet (orgasm delay? orgasm denial? do they tell their partner not to touch themselves for a certain amount of time or under certain circumstances? do they delay or deny other things like bathroom usage or food? do they need to beg first? do they like being denied / delayed?) 

O - Outdoor sex (have they ever done it in public? would they? where?)

P - Photography (are cameras allowed in the bedroom? do they send nudes? do they ask for nudes? would they ever record themselves having sex / being caught up in a sexual act?) 

Q - Quiet please (what’s the volume like in the bedroom? are they quiet? do they scream? do they like a loud partner? do they prefer if their partner is more soft spoken?)

R - Routine (do they have a routine when it comes to picking up one night stands? do they have scheduled sex with their partner? are things spontaneous or planned ahead of time?) 

S - Sleepy sex (do they give oral to wake their partner up? do they like receiving oral to wake up? do they like fucking their partner awake? being fucked awake? how about being fucked to sleep at night? do they have lazy morning sex?) 

T - Top or bottom (self explanatory…) 

U - Underwear (what kind of underwear do they put on in the morning, if any at all… do they own any sexy underwear or lingerie?) 

V - Voyeurism (do they like to watch, or are they more hands on? are they more of an exhibitionist?) 

W - Water (pool sex? bath / shower sex? are they into watersports at all?)

X - X-dressing (do they crossdress as a part of teasing / foreplay? does crossdressing turn them on? turn their partner on? do they prefer to do it or watch their partner crossdress instead? do they use other costumes? cat ears, tails, etc?) 

Y - Yes, Master (what kinds of names are used during sex? do they like being called master / mistress, daddy, etc…? what names do they call their partner?) 

Z - Zones (what are their erogenous zones? what spots on their body should be touched, bitten, kissed, when someone wants to get them in the mood?) 

[pregnant-piggy]

November

The Artist’s Muse series

Remus Lupin x reader

word count: 2.3k

summary: Remus works on his dear novel all day, leaving you on your own in the store, but you don’t really mind as at the end of the day Remus comes to you and no one else

Rain slammed down on the window, blurring the lights out on the street. There was one person inside of Muses, scanning through the books in the ‘thriller’ section. You had put on some music on the old record player and you were browsing through your inventory list to pick out the book-of-the-week for upcoming week.

You were stuck on a coming-of-age book that Remus had recommended to you a while ago and a book with feminist themes that had recently been published and the author had been so kind to send to you. You knew they’d both do well, so it came down to personal taste. The problem was that you hadn’t read either book and all you had to go on were the covers and the short summaries.

In the end, you chose for the feminist book, having decided that you could use the other book for a different book-promotion. Besides, you liked the cover better and you were the one who had to look at it all week.

The person who had been silently reading the backs of books, walked up to the check-out counter and placed three books on it. “These please.”

“Oh, great choice,” you said as you scanned and packed the books. “That writer is one of the best thriller writers out there, I believe.”

The person smiled and nodded. “Same. I’ve read all her books but this one. I didn’t even know it was out yet until I saw it here. I came for a different book but I couldn’t not buy it.”

“The benefits of a bookstore,” you laughed as the costumer paid. “Well, I’ll hope to see you again someday! I’ll make sure we keep any new books stocked.”

The person smiled and said goodbye.

When the door closed you were alone again. Not entirely alone, however, for Remus was sitting in the office, but he hadn’t been out since lunch and a writing Remus was as good as no Remus in case you were in need of his help.

With the heavy rain the streets were empty but for a few people and the entire day had been slow. You had done all your necessary work already and now you were just wasting time till the end of the day. You had hoped that Timmy, your but-not-actually-yours cat, would come by but you guessed that he had found a nice spot safe from the rain somewhere else.

After you had written a little text to summarise what the book-of-the-week was about and you had ordered extra copies, you decided to peek in on Remus and see if he needed anything.

The office was tiny, with just enough room for a small desk and a low fridge. The walls hung full of order papers and schedules, notes on things that you needed to remember, and a few pictures of you and Remus and your friends. There were plants that needed water, a desk chair that squeaked terribly, and only one small window that you couldn’t open because it was too high for you.

Remus was sitting with his hands in his hair, his back to you as you opened the door.

“Hey, Rem,” you said, shaking him from what seemed like an existential crisis. “How’s it going?”

Remus looked up and leaned back in the chair when he noticed you. It squeaked.

“’m alright,” he mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face. “What’s up?”

You leaned against the doorframe. “Nothing, just thought I’d check on you. It’s not very often I don’t see you for so long.”

Remus laughed. He stretched his arms out over his head as he yawned. A sliver of skin appeared from under his rising jumper and you quickly tore your eyes away before he would notice.

“Can’t go without me for that long, huh?” he smirked. “I’m almost done.”

“Okay. You think you can finish in an hour?”

“An hour? Why?”

“Because we’re closing in an hour and I don’t want to leave you alone here.”

Remus frowned. “What do you mean we’re closing in an hour? We just had lunch.” He looked around the desk, searching for his phone.

You stepped behind him and showed your watch. “It’s 4.15.”

Remus looked at the watch and then his gaze followed your arm up to your face. He looked as if he was thinking very hard.

“I’ve been here for four hours already?”

“Yup.”

“Oh.” He blinked twice. “Shit. I thought I’d really made some progress.”

“How does the time influence that?” You pulled your arm back and looked at the laptop on the desk. “Your word count hasn’t changed because it’s two hours later than you thought.”

“No,” Remus sighed. “But I thought I’d done all this in two hours. Now it appears I am just slow.”

You laughed and squeezed his shoulder twice. “That’s alright,” you said, giving him a smirk. “Believe me, sometimes slow is better than fast.”

Remus’s ears turned pink and you giggled.

“You’ve still got an hour left,” you said, walking back into the store. “Do your magic, my sweet author!”

You closed the door of the office but not before you could hear Remus yell a ‘fuck you’ back at you.

- -- - -- -

Ten minutes before closing up, Remus emerged from the office. You saw him in a flash of messy hair and red cheeks, but you were talking with a costumer and didn’t have the time to pay more attention.

“It’s a fine choice,” you said, handing the book over to the man you were helping. “Very expressionist, but alright.”

The man flashed a wide smile and took the book from you. You were sure that he realised you didn’t actually like the book but he was so friendly not to say something. As he accepted the book his fingers brushed over yours and you quickly pulled away.

Giving the man a tight smile you walked with him to the check-out counter. Remus was leaning against it and stepped back to give you space.

“Can I get you anything else?” you asked the man.

“Actually, do you have a pen?”

You looked up from the book. “A pen?”

“Yes, a pen.” The man gestured to the book. “It’s a gift for my girlfriend, you see? I’d like to write a little message in it before you wrap it up.”

A weird chuckle escaped your mouth and then you laughed genuinely over the confusion. “Yeah, we have a pen.”

The man bowed over the book and quickly wrote something down. He turned it back for you to wrap it and you glanced at what he had written.

Happy birthday, love. You make me the happiest I’ve ever been. Love, Nicolas.

You let him pay for the book and watched as he winked and left the store. He swung the paper bag with his gift along with his steps. At the door he looked over his shoulder one last time and gave you a short wave.

You decided not to tell him the book was about a girlfriend killing her partner.

Remus laughed as he came to stand beside you. “Did he just buy that for his girlfriend?”

“Yup.”

“And does he know…?”

“Nope.”

Remus looked at you.

“Don’t blame me!” you cried out, raising your finger at him. “He wanted the book! All the other ones I recommended weren’t good enough for him. I think he just liked the cover.”

Remus snorted and shook his head.

As you started with closing up the register, you threw a glance over your shoulder at Remus. “So, did you make any progress?”

“A little. It’s just…” He fell silent.

“The hospital again?” you offered.

Remus let out a tired chuckle. “Sometimes,” he said, “it feels as if you are writing it, not me.”

“Well, I’ve been listening to you talk about it for years. Sometimes I feel like I’m writing it.” You shut the register and wrote down the day’s income. “So what is it?”

Remus, who had picked up the broom, sighed and stood still, looking at you. “He’s at the hospital, gives the wrong name, and then I’m stuck.”

“Because…?”

“Because, no one knows that it’s not his true name. If you didn’t know me and I said my name’s Tom, you wouldn’t doubt that, would you?”

“Depends on how suspicious it seemed,” you said and Remus laughed. “I mean, you don’t really look like a Tom.”

“Alright, a normal person wouldn’t doubt it. So how do the people in the hospital know that he’s given them the wrong name?”

You leaned over the counter, watching as Remus swept the floor. “Don’t they do check-ups on people’s identity? I mean it is kinda weird that he has no other way to identify himself.”

Remus only hummed, which you knew meant he was thinking about your answer.

“And besides, he came into that hospital himself and didn’t bring any identification. That’s even weirder.”

Remus hummed again.

“Even if they don’t doubt his name, they at least got to have some suspicions about his mental stability.”

Remus had stopped sweeping and had squeezed his eyes nearly shut. There was a deep frown on his brow and you had to resist the urge to smooth it out with your hand.

You liked Remus when he was focused on his work. Even if it meant you had to work alone the whole day. You didn’t mind it at all if at the end of that day you could see Remus emerging from the tiny office with his curls all over the place and cheeks red from the energy he had put into his work. He’d come out all jumpy and chatty some days, when he’d missed talking to people, and you’d end up sitting with him in the store for hours past closing time, just talking about his novel and other things that didn’t have to do with it. You loved those days the best, when his crooked smile revealed how tired he was but he would sit beside you still.

Today wasn’t like that, but you still appreciated the way Remus tilted his head and bit his lip as he thought about your suggestion. It reminded you of the very first time he had told you about the idea he had and you had bombed him with a billion questions that he’d had no answer to yet.

Remus opened his eyes and smiled. “You’re right.”

“As usual.”

He picked up the broom again and disappeared behind a bookcase.

You cleaned out the last things and put on your coat. You waited for Remus at the door, watching him put on his coat and scarf. His lips disappeared behind the orange fabric but you could see his smile through it still.

When you stepped outside you wished you could live inside Muses. It had stopped raining, but the wind was howling around your ears, blowing through your coat and engulfing you in what felt like a bath of ice. You hopped from one foot to the other as Remus locked the door.

“Bloody hell,” Remus mumbled as he stepped back from the door.

You snorted. “I don’t think ‘hell’ is the right term for a place so freaking cold.”

“Hm, yes, but ‘bloody north pole’ doesn’t roll off your tongue so easily.”

“That’s fair,” you said, looking up at Remus. “’S more accurate, though.”

Even though it was cold and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to feel your toes anymore in two minutes, you found that some part of you didn’t want to go yet. Something was keeping you in your place, like a tight-spun thread attaching you to Muses. And Remus.

He smiled at you, the top of his mouth appearing from above the scarf.

“Thank you for taking over today,” he started. “I know I should’ve been there with you today, but I really appreciate you letting me use the office. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But I left you all on your own.”

“It’s no big deal, Rem. I’m glad you got some work done today.” You nudged his leg with the tip of your shoe. “The literary world is waiting on you.”

Remus chuckled, his cheeks coloured pink.

“Still, I should have helped you. You were on your own all day. I’m sorry.”

“No, no apologies.” You shook your head again. “I really don’t mind, Rem. I’m not lying to you to make you feel better. You know me better than that.”

He barked a laugh. “I do, yeah.”

You smiled at Remus, his golden curls illuminated by the streetlights, his eyes sparkling from his laugh. The tip of his nose was turning pink and you had to resist the urge to boop it with your finger. He looked excruciatingly adorable, all tired and slow he was now.

Although you didn’t want to go, you knew that you really had to or you’d get sick. You opened your arms and pulled Remus in for a quick hug goodbye.

“See you tomorrow, Rem,” you said as you pulled back. The thread that kept you in place pulled tighter.

Remus’s cheeks were truly red now and you felt bad you had kept him standing outside in the cold for so long. You waved him away.

“No being late! Or you have to get the first round of coffee!”

As he turned around, Remus laughed and his sweet laugh echoed through the empty street. You felt your insides getting a bit warmer and was reassured at the knowledge that even if the rest of the world was freezing, you’d always have Remus’s warm laugh.

- - - - - - - -

please let me know if you liked this, i’d appreciate that very much!

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​  MASTERLIST  

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 2

Summary:  Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 15.5k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Hello!! I'm still pinching myself over the fact that I'm posting this story now lol, it doesn't quite feel real you're all getting to read it now. I remember so clearly how giddy I was writing this chapter back in April 2022 and reading it back again makes me so nostalgic for some reason. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! x

Masterlist 

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

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One thing she wasn’t expecting to hear from Aaron today was that they would be filming another music video. But it wasn’t the fact that it was a music video, it was whose music video they were filming.

Arctic Monkeys were back. And Focus Creeps were producing their new music video. Again.

After filming ‘Brick by Brick’, she had started listening to them religiously, and that was a fact she would keep quiet now that she knew she was going to see the band again. Their latest single, ‘Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’, was so good—she listened to it at least twice on any drive she made.

Another list was handed over by Aaron, this time with days of anticipation and not as long as the first one. She’d just need to make some calls to a couple of models to see who could make it to the shoot and just make sure the costume design department was ready to work with the model once they managed to get her.

Their job shouldn’t be too hard as all the girls that were written down as an option had similar measurements, if anything they’d just have to do a little cinching at the waist or shorten the sleeves of the black bodysuit she’d have to wear.

After multiple calls, they finally had a model. Scarlett would be their hellcat and she’d be coming in for fittings later in the day. With that news and everything else checked out, she made her way over to Aaron’s office.

“We have our girl: Scarlett Kapella. She’ll be coming by at eleven for her fittings and the makeup rehearsal, everything else I’ve checked out twice and if anything comes up I’ll just let you or Ben know.” The director received the now crossed out and annotated list with a nod and a smile.

“Great, after the fittings and all that, please have the costume design department bring me the pictures to show the clients.” Aaron tapped his hands on the table and then put the list to the side.

With a smile she said, “Of course, I'll call Margaret to let her know.”

“Thanks Ella.” Aaron said and continued to do whatever he was doing on his computer.

With a nod she left the office, making her way to her desk and gave Margaret, the costume designer department manager, a quick call about Aaron’s wishes after the fittings.

As Ella went through her emails, she found herself pondering how this time would be, surely she didn’t really know what the plan for the video was other than the model being filmed at the venue they were playing at and catching some of the gig on camera, but she kept wondering what it would be like to hang around them for a second time.

Thinking back to when they were filming their music video always brought a smile to her face because it had been just one of those experiences that get stuck in your mind. And that memory was just as stuck in her mind as they way she had felt talking to them, even if it had been brief, they were so friendly that they’d made her feel incredibly at ease from the very second they spoke to her.

Not to mention the way she had felt under Alex’s gaze and attention. It was weird really, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it and she felt the slightest bit pathetic when she got nervous thinking about seeing Alex again.

Realizing she had been typing an email reply that made absolutely no sense, she forced herself to focus on work and leave the questions for another day, specifically for the day the band was supposed to be in town. You can focus for three more days, right?

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Three torturous days had passed, through which Ella had to force herself to focus on work every minute of the day, only really allowing herself to think about the future encounter during her lunch break.

She had once been staring too long at the wall while eating her favorite chicken salad, thinking and thinking, that she didn’t hear the constant questioning of her coworkers.

“Earth to Ella?” Tyler’s hands were waving in front of her eyes.

It took her six blinks to come back from reality, she swallowed the bite of chicken she had in her mouth and cleared her throat, “What? Sorry, I was just… erm…” another six consecutive blinks, “I was just thinking about the upcoming music video we have to film.” She dug her fork back into her plate to get another bite.

“Oh yeah, well that’s going to be fun, we get to see a concert for free.” Diana, the head of their makeup team, said.

Ella let a hum in agreement, holding back from talking with her mouth full.

“It’s going to be a long day though.” Tyler replied, and rubbed his face with his hands, “I need a nap just from thinking about it.”

She chuckled, “Same.” and sighed thinking about the endless ways that day could unfold.

But now all that was in her head was how tired she was. It had been an early call to work to start shooting as soon as possible and, of course, she had had to wake up at five in the morning to be in the office ready to leave by six.

Once again, they would capture them around LA so Ben had suggested going on a hike next to the beach, that way they could get them in different scenery and they could capture their surroundings to fulfill the California aesthetic they were looking for.

So there they were, being hit by the early morning wind. This time she had brought a jacket, not that it made much difference though, she had her hold tight on her clipboard, having to press it hard to her chest to avoid the papers on it flying everywhere. She was grateful for her decision to put her hair up in a ponytail before leaving the van.

They had parked right beside the blue vintage convertible the band had arrived in. All of them were smoking and chatting. Matt and Jamie were facing them, Nick and Alex with their backs to the van. When Aaron and Ben approached them to say hello, they started tossing the buds to the floor, putting them out quickly before shaking hands with the two Americans.

Ella took Alex’s smile and Matt’s nod as a queue to get closer and wave at them, “Hi guys, good morning.” She smiled and covered her face from the rising sun hitting her face.

They all returned her greeting and she felt warm inside from how nice they were to her, even if she was well aware it was bare minimum.

Ben then decided to get things started out, “Okay guys, long day ahead. Are you ready?”

Four yeah’s were heard and with that Aaron turned to get the whole crew ready. Today they were using four video cameras and she felt bad for the cameramen, their arms would be giving out by the end of the day.

The stylist made her way towards the band, only Jamie asking for a hair touch up after the wind had messed it up on the drive and he couldn’t get it just right with his fingers.

Ella made her way to the crew where a short speech from Aaron was being heard, and right when it finished they all scrambled to get their things ready. She made sure to ask everyone if they needed anything else, and when she got full confirmation that they didn’t, she made her way back to Ben.

“I think having you guys walk around, catching some of the scenery and eventually you posing in front of the landscape would be good.” He waved his hands around pointing to the areas he was thinking of having them, to make sure the lads were following his vision, “We would get most of the footage for the video later at the venue so just enjoy the walk and we’ll capture it all.” A smile came to his face as a silent ‘is that alright and understood?’

The four British men agreed, and with that Aaron came over with the cameramen ready to film. Them all taking different positions: three taking different angles on the band and the other one recording the beach and the rest of the place they were at.

“You guys ready? Cameras ready? … Action!”

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

“You’re as bad in the barely cold as I remember.” Alex said, approaching Ella with a playful smile minutes into the break everyone had just decided to take.

An hour had gone by of them recording the band walking around the coast, making their way to the beach and then coming back up to the hiking trail. Up there the wind was strong and, even though the sun had already come up and she was wearing a jean jacket, she was still shivering slightly.

She chuckled and turned to him, hugging herself a little bit tighter, “So easy for you to say, Mr. England.”

He fully laughed this time, her smile getting bigger after the sound left his lips, “Fair enough, Ms. California.”

At that she looked at him, a slight smirk on her face and shook her head, “Ms. Tennessee actually.”

Pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket, Alex nodded, “Doesn’t it snow there though?” He genuinely asked, putting a cigarette between his lips and offered the pack up to her.

He was surprised when Ella took one out, of course he was going to offer one but he didn’t take her for a smoker. “It does, but after living in LA for almost two years, you get used to it being always sunny, warm and rainless.” As soon as she finished her sentence, she quickly put it between her lips, craving the warmth the nicotine would bring her.

Alex lit up both of their cigarettes, enjoying the way she looked when she slightly bent down towards the flame and looked up into his eyes, a faint hollow of her cheeks to take a long drag. Fucking hell, he cursed in his mind.

He took a drag himself while staring at her now very exposed throat from the way she was looking up to the sky and blowing the smoke upwards. She was so effortlessly stunning, completely enthralling.

Aware of the answer he was supposed to give to her statement, he cleared his throat and continued the conversation, “Two years huh? What was that change like?”

“Quite harsh I’d say but nothing ventured, nothing gained right?” Ella held her cigarette between her fingers, smiling at him, knowing damn well she was starting the thing she always does, that only leads up to oversharing to people she just met. Maybe this time she wouldn’t be met with an awkward smile and an apology from a girl wanting to leave the club’s bathroom.

“Right,” Alex matched her smile, “You look like you really like your job though, so I’d say the risk was worth it.”

“It really was,” She started sharing with a smile on her face, “Thinking back to all those first months I was homesick and wanted to go back home to my family…” She filled her lungs with smoke once more before continuing, “I just wish I could tell my past self, everything would get better eventually.”

He nodded, understanding perfectly the feeling of wanting to be back home more than anything else even while doing something to fulfill your dreams, “Homesickness is hard.” He agreed, “After the novelty of touring wore off, it was quite hard for me to leave.” A cloud of smoke made its way past his lips, “Time and having my mates with me helped the feeling pass.”

A low hum came from her, both of their smokes halfway done. She was lost in her head for a few seconds and then she lightly chuckled.

Alex let out a chuckle as well, face showing how intrigued he was in her thoughts, “What?” He tilted his head, smiling at her with a soft questioning frown.

Ella shook her head, “Nothing.” She replied but the little laugh that slipped out betrayed her and she felt the need to explain her amusement then, “It’s just I could picture you all cuddling and crying to each other in a tour bus, quite endearing I’d say.”

With his lips pressed and a slight raise of his eyebrows, he answered that with a vague “I will neither confirm nor deny that scenario.” and with that she exploded in laughter. The sound was so contagious he joined her, chuckling loudly himself.

“Oh God.” Ella said, taking a deep breath to recover from the laughter. She took a last drag of her cigarette, putting it out on the ground, “Thanks for that one, I really needed it.” She tilted her head looking at him with a sincere smile.

Alex turned to look at her and reciprocated the grin, “The laugh or the smoke?” He mimicked her and got rid of the cig too.

“Both.” She replied, her smile stuck on her face.

“You’re welcome.” He noted how he really liked the way her smile reached her eyes.

From afar they heard Jamie calling out the singer's name and instinctively they both turned to where the call came from, only Ella looked back ahead right after, blushing from being caught around Alex. It wasn’t a bad thing per se but she’d rather not be caught by several people talking to him when she was there to do her job and she knew that it would be seen as the opposite of her being professional.

“Excuse me.” Alex said quietly, starting to walk past her.

“It’s alright.” Ella assured shyly, barely audible since her words lost volume when he touched her arm when leaving. Not only just a touch, he had given her arm a little squeeze, as if promising he’d be back.

And she was selfishly hoping he would live up to his silent word because she was starting to really enjoy his company.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Time hadn’t been on their side, neither the crew or the band.

When they resumed the filming, she was beside the directors watching the musicians pose and move around but after fifty more minutes they decided they had gotten enough footage at the place and to move onto the venue. There the model and costume design crew would be arriving in approximately an hour and a half, giving them enough time to pack, make the drive and settle down at the new place.

So without having a chance to speak again during the hike, Ella followed the crew and got back inside the van.

Ben went over to the left side of the van, and asked for them to open the window. Tyler was informed he had to film the guys drive back, taking advantage of how cool the vintage car would look in the video driving down the west coast highway.

She was beside Tyler the whole drive, watching how the takes were looking like—pretty fucking cool, she’d say if she was asked. With fifteen more minutes of footage, Tyler was given the confirmation that he could stop.

The rest of the drive was quiet and calm, she was glad she could find relaxation in the middle of an already long day.

After a forty five minute drive, they had parked in the first sublevel parking lot. Everyone carried something back up to the room they had been instructed they could use, which turned out to be a ten minute walk in a maze of hallways. She’d make sure not to leave without someone else beside her or else she knew she would get lost.

It took the whole crew about five minutes to settle around the room, and they still had time to rest before the model and other members of the crew arrived so they occupied the sofas and chairs that were there.

She decided to go to the bathroom and freshen up, taking some girls from the crew with her. When they came back, she recognized Alex and Matt talking outside a door all the way down the hall.

“Hey, Ella!” Alex greeted her, waving her over with his left hand, right hand holding a beer.

Blushing slightly, Ella looked at her coworkers telling them she was going over to him and they nodded as if to say it was fine by them.

For fucks sake, was all that went through her head. She was really afraid of people getting the idea that she’d broken the first and most important rule in a production company just from the way he’d called her over. But at the same time she couldn’t help but think maybe it was fine, maybe she was just overthinking it.

Putting some hair behind her ear she made her way to them, “Hey, how is it going?” She asked quite shyly from seeing the room the musicians had been in, full of people she’d never seen before.

“Do you want a beer?” This time Matt asked, holding up his half-empty bottle to show it to her, as if that would help her make her decision.

She thought about it for a hot second, then decided she could use one to relax for a bit, “Sure, thanks.”

Going into the room to get her a bottle, the drummer left Ella by the door standing opposite to Alex.

“Are you guys tired of us following you around with cameras yet?” Playfulness coated Ella’s features as she slightly leaned against the doorframe.

With the bottle stopping midway to his lips, Alex replied in the same playful manner, “I think we have another hour in ourselves before we reach that point.”

She chuckled at that, her eyes wondering over the amount of people inside the room, everyone chatting, sharing drinks and laughing with each other. She thought of how fun it would be to be part of this industry and go on tour, be surrounded by friends and have your job not really feel like one. After all, these people, who she could only think were part of the tour production crew, were drinking a few hours before the show. How she wished she could have a beer while checking emails, or maybe some mimosas.

After Alex swallowed the drink he had taken, he continued, “No but actually, we liked working with Aaron and Ben, that’s why we’re doing the rest of this record’s music videos with you lot.”

She couldn’t help her eyes going wide at that, Aaron and Ben never mentioning it to her, this news made her feel a lot and she couldn’t really point out what everything that she felt meant. So of course a curious “Oh really?” was what came from her.

Alex nodded, “Yeah, or did you really want us out of your hair?”

Ella laughed, shaking her head, “Of course not, shooting music videos is my favorite part of the job. It’s a plus that you’re all so lovely to work with.” He didn’t miss the way her cheeks slightly blushed, smirking at her words.

“Well I hope we are your favorites.” The singer used the bottle in his hands to point at her, giving her a quick wink.

She felt her cheeks burning up from that so she turned her gaze to the inside of the room for him not to see, “I’ll consider it when Matt comes back with that beer he promised me” She pushed herself off the doorframe, her back vaguely aching from resting there.

And as if summoned, the drummer made his way back to the two of them. “Sorry Nick distracted me for a second there.” He apologized and handed Ella a beer bottle.

“Thank you.” She felt the condensation dripping through her fingers as she clutched it.

Alex noticed her bottle still had the cap on and was about to offer to open it for her, when she used the ring on her middle finger to take it off in one swift movement. She put the cap in her back pocket to throw it away later and took a swig of the drink, cold going down her throat.

“Nice trick.” Matt complimented, fairly impressed as well.

Ella looked confused for a second until she realized what he meant, “Oh yeah, people love it when I do that.” She lightly laughed, “Not that impressive really, it’s easier than it looks.” She cleared her throat lightly and started conversation with Matt, “So Alex just told me you’re recording more videos with us…” Another swig of her beer was the cue for them to continue with the conversation.

“Ah that’d be true, yes. It would be the next date we are back here during this tour. August, I reckon.” He turned to Alex to make sure his timeline was correct, to which his best mate nodded.

Ella nodded, a smile forming on her face, “Oh that’s great, California is stunning in August. Are you going to keep the American vibes going for the rest of the videos?”

Helders turned to Alex again, realizing that what Ella had said was true, “We have been doing that, haven’t we?”

Alex nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down after he took the last gulp of his beer, “I guess we’re embracing the fact that this one has an american west coast feeling to it, us recording it here must have played a part on it.”

She hummed against her bottle, hiding the fact that she was really looking forward to that new album, “Does it have a name yet?” curiosity got the best of her and she just couldn’t hold back from keeping that question inside.

“Suck it and See'', replied Matt, an amused expression on his face when he saw Ella frowning immediately after the words reached her ears.

She took a few seconds to find a meaning for it in her head, but never would she say out loud what the first thing that came to her mind was. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her frown only loosened up a bit.

Matt chuckled at her reaction, “It’s kind of like ‘bite the bullet’, although… not really, it’s more like ‘take the risk’”.

Alex and Ella exchanged looks then, the ghost of their conversation back at the hiking trail passing through both their minds. So she smiled and he smiled back at her. She couldn’t believe how comfortable she could feel with a person she’d barely met but it made her feel warm inside and she really quite liked it.

With a tight lip smile she nodded, “Huh, I really like that. It’s a great name.” Her eyes went from Matt to Alex’s figure for a quick second.

“Thanks Ella.” Matt smiled at her, not missing her fleeting glance to the singer standing beside him. “So, what about you? How long have you been working with Ben and Aaron?”

She hesitated for a second before starting to talk, “A little bit over a year now, but I’ve been a PA for two years, I just worked in another company before.” Ella felt so weird talking about her normal slightly boring job to the critically acclaimed musicians, but they were looking at her waiting for her to continue so she cleared her throat and felt her cheeks start to burn.

“Guys I’m not that interesting, I check emails most of the time at work and oversee people filming commercials, I’d rather hear about your tour stories.” Alex chuckled at that, shaking his head, “C’mon, I know there’s some good stories.” She insisted, trying to get the conversation’s topic back to them.

Matt took advantage of the moment to embarrass his friend, “Well there’s always the time when this dickhead decided to have a smoke backstage right under a smoke detector, in a room we were not allowed to smoke. We almost got kicked out of the venue for it.”

Alex shook his head at the story, not even trying to defend himself because he knew he should’ve listened to the sign that said no smoking right at the entrance of the room.

Ella snorted, her hand flying to cover her mouth, “Oh my god Alex,” She said between chuckles, “Didn’t you see it?”

“Not really,” replied the singer with a slight grin on his face.

Matt was quick to counter attack his statement, “But he did see the massive no smoking sign outside the room”, his eyebrows raised.

Her eyes filled with humor looked at Alex and she shook her head, biting her lip to not laugh again but a smile creeping through, “You’re just full of bright ideas aren’t you?” Her rhetorical question was heavily sarcastic.

Alex shrugged then and smirked, “People would say so yeah”.

With the bottle resting on his lips, Matt chuckled, “Dickhead” and took a sip of his drink.

With his mind set on getting payback, Alex started, “Well, Ella I think you’d love to hear about the first time we went to a club in America and Matt went over to flirt with this bird who turned around and thought he worked there so she gave him her empty glass and asked him for another vodka cranberry.”

Ella burst out laughing, head thrown back as she did. Alex liked learning that this meant she was genuinely laughing, she seemed to always show what she felt very clearly through her body language.

“Oh no Matt,” her voice filled with humored sympathy and her hand over her heart.

The drummer shook his head, “That’s what I get for trying to dress nice I suppose.”

A big smirk tugged at the corner of her lips and she just needed to ask, “What were you wearing?”

Matt mumbled his answer, “Black trousers, a white button up and a black tie”, downing the rest of the beer he had left to avoid her glance.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh out loud remembering the moment once again and Ella did the same just imagining the situation in her head. Matt tried to keep his composure but ended up laughing with them.

“Oh nooooo,” She elongated her words trying to get some air back to her lungs, “Wait… what did you do afterwards?”

“I just nodded and turned around.” Another round of laughter came from Alex and Ella, “What was I supposed to do?!”

Alex turned to her and kept adding to the story, “He came back, put her glass down on our table and started taking his tie off.” the words struggling out of his mouth between giggles.

When Ella kept laughing Matt threw his arms up, trying to keep his argument strong, “Once again, what was I supposed to do?!”

The singer let his head hang as he continued laughing and then he took a deep breath, “I dunno mate but I’ll never let you forget that one.” He grinned with satisfaction at his best mate who looked only the slightest bit amused.

She was fanning her face, red now after so much laughter, “I’m sorry Matt but that’s so sad, it’s hilarious.”

Matt turned to look at her and gave her a fake smile, “I’m glad my misfortunes amuse you.”

The shaggy haired man turned to her then, “So, what do you have for us Ella?”

With confusion so clear on her face she looked at both guys who looked at her expectantly, “What do you mean?” Was she meant to bring them something? Did she forget about something in the list? Oh no, I should’ve had a little debrief with Ben or Aaron before leaving our room, she thought, starting to slightly panic.

Panic that was cut off by Alex saying, “It’s your turn to tell us a story.” like it was obvious.

She was relieved but only for a mere second before she started to stress again, “Oh no, you don’t really wanna know” She stated, hoping they would just suddenly change their minds and agree that indeed they didn’t want to know.

But to her dismay, they both nodded with big grins as if already holding back the laughter her story was going to bring.

An embarrassing enough story came to her mind, and she dreaded telling it but she knew they’d eat this one up so she wouldn’t have to tell her most embarrassing one.

“Ugh fine.” Ella sighed, “When I first started in Focus Creeps, I would always try to volunteer to help in anything I could, from helping the makeup department practice on me during my lunch break, get everyone lunch when they were all to busy to think about eating, and even drive a vintage car to a place thirty minutes from the office.” One of her hands was around her empty bottle, tapping her fingers on the glass and the other was waving around the air as she talked.

Well here goes nothing. “A vintage car…which of course was manual,” She paused for a few seconds, Matt and Alex already looking amused expecting just what she was going to continue to say, “And I don’t know how to drive stick.” Another sigh left her lips.

Matt saw her hesitating, “Okay, go on.” He chuckled when she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

“Okay, I’m just going to say that I didn't know what car it was. Ben just asked if someone could drive the rental to the studio we were filming at and I said I could.” She explained herself and her two person audience snickered at that. “Anyway, when we got outside and I saw the transmission, it was too late to back down. I just remember thinking, how hard can this be right?”

“Oh Ellie.” Alex managed between small giggles that were coming prematurely to the punchline since he could imagine how the story would end and she just shook her head remembering the embarrassment. Yet, her stomach fluttered at hearing her nickname come from him.

“Ben was going to be on calls, that’s why he asked for someone to drive in the first place, but that’s also the only reason why he didn’t notice me struggling to turn on the car and start driving into the road. When we hit our first red light, two minutes into the drive, I had started feeling confident.” Her hands following her story, then went to rub her forehead cringing at the next part, “But when the light changed, the car wouldn’t move and I didn’t know what to do. I kept stepping on the clutch and then the brake and I just tried everything and it wouldn’t move.” Her eyes were closed now and her cheeks red.

Alex and Matt were fully cackling now, just picturing her panic and it all being in front of one of her bosses.

She looked back at them, flustered but continued, “The car turned off at one point and people kept honking at me so Ben said ‘can I call you in a bit?’ to whoever he was talking to and then turned to me super confused and said ‘why don’t you go?’” A light chuckle came from her at the end of her sentence. “I gave up then, and I just told him ‘so… I don’t know how to drive stick’ but since the honking from everyone was so loud he didn’t hear me at first so I had to say it louder. We ended up having to switch sides and he basically talked me through what I was supposed to do.”

Matt shook his head with a pitiful look on his face, “Well, that was nice of him.”

“Yeah well, we didn’t talk about it for the next few days until one day he sent me an email with just a link to a YouTube video on how to drive a manual car.” Ella’s face was red now and the musicians were still laughing.

Alex couldn’t help but ask, “Alright but the million dollar question is, can you drive manual now?”

Covering her face, Ella shook her head, “As much as I did then.” Her voice was barely audible with her hands hiding her face.

And with that laughter filled the hallway, she uncovered her face and joined them, glad the story time was over and dealt with. She could see Alex’s eyes creasing in the corners, his teeth showing in a perfect smile. He’s so pretty, she thought.

Ella did a curtsy jokingly, “I hope that story satisfied you both.”

The men nodded, Matt smirking at her, “Oh very much, yes.”

“I hate you two.” She tried to sound serious but she just snorted immediately after seeing their faces that didn’t buy her statement one bit. She cleared her throat and tried to dismiss the fact that she had let that sound out again in front of them, “Well let’s forget about that… uhm, big show tonight?”

“We shall never forget that actually,“ Alex said first and foremost, ending in her rolling her eyes playfully, “And maybe? It should be a couple thousand I think.”

Her eyes went wide, “A couple thousand? And that’s ‘maybe’ a big show?” Ella made air signs to emphasize the maybe. “How big are you guys that a couple thousand isn’t a lot to you?”

Matt took over then and completely blew her mind, “Well, we’ve done Glastonbury four years ago, and that was about a hundred thousand people.”

In complete shock she had to ask, “Wait, you’re joking right?” And when they shook their heads she gasped, “A hundred thousand people?! That’s insane! How do you even manage to keep cool and play for that many people?”

Alex’s face lit up with pride and nostalgia, “It was insane, and we were definitely shitting ourselves but that was our biggest moment so we just took it as it went.”

She was so impressed and blown away, she had definitely underrated how big they were but they seemed so cool about it at the same time.

Just when Ella was about to ask a bit more about their experience her phone pinged on her back pocket and when she took it out, she saw a text from Diana.

Diana: Model’s here and getting ready, can you tell Aaron for me please?

Putting the phone back in its place, she looked at her new… friends? acquaintances? and sighed, “Thank you so much for that guys but duty calls. Sorry.”

“S’Alright” Alex gave her a tight lip smile and then timidly suggested, “You can always come back and hang out here when you’re done.” He scratched the back of his neck, avoiding Matt’s not at all subtle glance.

Ella blushed slightly, “Oh- uhm, sure, yes.” was all she managed to say back. She didn’t expect him or well, them, to want to spend even more time with her after this.

She was about to turn around when she looked down at the bottle on her hand, “Where is the tra-”

“I’ll get it for you, don’t worry.” Alex interrupted her, taking it from her hand.

“Oh thanks,” Ella cleared her throat and hoped to god her cheeks weren’t as bright as she was thinking they were from just feeling them burning up. She needed to get a grip and stop blushing like a schoolgirl around the man. “See you later.”

With that she turned and made her way to the door on the other side of the hallway. Her black pants were tight on her and Alex was quite hypnotized by the sight.

Matt followed the trail of his eyes and smirked, “Alexa would get on with her quite nicely, don’t you think?”

Alex turned quickly at the mention of his girlfriend and then rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics, “Piss off, Helders.”

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

It had been an hour since Ella left the musicians. She had gotten the message to her bosses and the whole crew had started getting everything ready for filming. Alongside Ben and Aaron she had gone to where Scarlett, the model, was getting ready and after fifteen minutes of the directors explaining what it was she had to do, they had gone back out to see which hallways and routes they were going to take for filming.

Clipboard on her hand, Ella kept writing stuff down that was going to be relayed to the editing team and minor things they should ask the band later to see if they needed reshoots or if the ideas were fine with them. After all, they still had tomorrow to film with them so there was time in case more footage was needed.

After almost twenty minutes they had finally started rolling. Scarlett strutting down the venue's backstage maze in her high heels and tight bodysuit. She’s an actual goddess, was all that went through Ella’s head since the model had come out of the dressing room.

The woman was so effortlessly seductive, flirting with the camera with just her eyes. She wished she had that confidence or even just that talent—because it surely had to be considered a talent to act like her.

The most flirty Ella could ever get was after a few shots of tequila and at least some thirty minutes on the dancefloor, a little liquid courage and the confidence that dancing brought her were her fuel to get with anyone on nights out. But of course most of the time it was hard: the guys mostly turned out to be assholes and the girls were so pretty, they intimidated her.

Needless to say she was feeling jealous, but in a good way, of how Scarlett made it seem so easy to be sexy and teasing—even more so considering how she was doing that to a camera, with a bunch of people behind as an audience. Wow.

She was entranced, the top of her pen resting between her slightly parted lips. Her eyes followed the model’s every move, so intently, that she didn’t notice a door opening a few feet behind the girl.

And out of it walked no one other than Alex Turner.

Scarlett, professional as ever, only turned for a second to see who had interrupted the shot and then went back to keeping her act going. Ella, trying to be professional, held back from doing more than tilting her chin up acknowledging his presence. Alex, definitely not professional, grinned at her and didn’t let his plan of spending more time with the PA be ruined by the fact that she was busy and wouldn’t take him up to going for a smoke with him outside.

So, seeing how the model turned to the camera and started playing with her hair, he mimicked the actions hoping it would make Ella laugh. Scarlett started to slide down the wall, playing with her hair; actions Alex mirrored and made everyone chuckle, even the model when she saw what he was doing in just the same enticing way. He was looking at Ella though, how she was covering her mouth but her grin was so obviously plastered on her face.

And as the hellcat kept going, he did too, with his eyes stuck on Ella and a big smirk playing on his lips. Even though that show only lasted for a minute, Ella couldn’t wash away the feeling of his burning gaze on her.

Ben had cut the scene, laughing at Alex’s actions. “Come here man, let me show you some shots we’ve got.” he waved the singer over, and obeying he walked up to the directors.

Walking past Ella he brushed his hand on her elbow and said a hey quite faintly. Warmth. That’s what she felt when he did those little things and she hated how she couldn’t fight it, very aware of how lame she was looking to herself and to anyone who noticed the way she blushed whenever he did or said something to her. Get a grip Ella, c’mon you can be professional.

For ten minutes Ben and Aaron had Alex slightly hunched over the camera’s monitor, pointing out the different angles and footage they had managed to take so far. They all laughed watching what he had just pulled a few minutes ago, Ella’s grin growing as she watched the footage from a few meters behind them.

“Does that look good?” Aaron asked him when the last clip came to a stop.

Nodding, Alex gave him the green light, “Yeah, it looks great mate.” He itched his chin and decided to share an idea he had come up with, “I was thinking maybe she could come side stage while we’re on, just having her dance along to some songs.”

Ben liked the idea, immediately agreeing with it, “Oh that would work very well in the video.”

Aaron then decided to joke around with him, “Have you considered being a director if the rockstar gig doesn't pay off?”

He laughed softly, stealing a quick glance at Ella who was grinning at him already. “Well I hadn't until now.”

After a wave of laughter from the crew, the directors ordered everyone to take a break. The filming would resume when the band was going on stage, meaning they had around forty to fifty minutes until then.

Before everyone could leave though, Alex made an invitation, “Ben, everyone is welcome to join us in our room. We have drinks and our tour crew is there as well so you can meet everyone and chat.”

Ben clapped the singer's shoulder, “Thanks dude, we’ll take you up on it. We can even record a little bit there, just you all hanging out backstage if that’s alright with the band and your crew.”

He gave the director a nod, “Of course, yeah. See you all there.” He turned around and left, not missing a chance to give Ella one final look, her eyes were on him and they shared a silent promise of seeing each other in a bit.

Of course it all was an excuse to chat with her again whilst they still had time. The band had already gone through soundcheck and the crew had set lighting and the stage up, so everything was ready for the show to start at its time and go smoothly.

He surely was getting tired of having to get filmed but he would bite his tongue for a little longer if it meant he could spend more time with the pretty girl. And yes, he had a girlfriend, but there was nothing wrong with being aware of another girl being pretty right? It’s not like he was going to kiss her or take her back to his hotel room, he was just going to share drinks and conversation with her. Friendly talk, just that.

Ten minutes later, they were being joined by the Focus Creeps crew. Introductions were thrown everywhere, especially from Ella who on her way to get a drink was making sure she had said hello to everyone.

Alex found that endearing but he couldn’t help growing impatient. He had been subtly looking around the room for her a handful of times now. Matt on the other side of the room noticed, and elbowed Jamie who was right beside him. The guitarist frowned at his friend, confused about the sudden aggression. The frown loosening when he saw him nod in Alex’s way, both of them watched him very obviously search for her and chuckled.

“He has been doing that all day, hasn’t he?” Jamie asked Matt.

Nodding, the drummer confirmed, “Yep. I’ve been giving him reminders of Alexa’s existence though, just so he doesn’t forget.” Both laughed into their red cups that were filled with beer.

After what felt much more than the five minutes she had taken, Alex saw her making her way to him. She beamed at him and he smirked at her, raising his cup to her.

She stopped right beside him, they were standing right in one of the corners of the room. “Well hello.”

“Hey Ella,” He greeted and took a sip of his bourbon, “What are you having?”

She showed him her cup, “Saw some red wine on the table and couldn’t resist.” Her faint smile breaking as she took a sip.

“You know… earlier you surprised me, I didn’t take you for a smoker.” He said, his eyebrows raised.

She frowned in curiosity, “Really?” He shrugged, nodding and she continued teasingly, “Well you’d be surprised with the things you could find out.”

He smirked at her flirting, “Like what? Got any secret talents?”

“Secret talent? You’ve got too much faith in me, I literally just told you I don’t even know how to drive stick.” Ella couldn’t help but cackle out loud.

It wasn’t only remembering the story that made him laugh, but how contagious her laughter was. His eyes were crinkled at the edges from his big grin, and she took a mental picture of it.

They continued to laugh, feeding off each other’s giggles and it was loud enough to catch the attention of a few people, including the rest of the band. Jamie pulled Matt with him and waved at Nick to join them on their quest to interrupt Alex’s interaction.

“Hey Ellie.” Matt greeted her as he threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side.

Ella blushed under the touch, not because of it making her feel something, but because she had been caught in a corner giggling and drinking with Alex. Of course the aforementioned didn’t know that was the reason behind her cheeks burning, so he was silently fuming at his friend's closeness with the girl, thinking she was blushing from their proximity. “Hi Matt.” She slightly leaned towards his side as a way to reciprocate his hug.

Alex needed a way to break the contact since it seemed Helders wasn’t thinking of getting his arm off of her, so he turned to his other two band mates.

“Ellie, this is Jamie and Nick.” He was relieved to see how she took a step forward to shake hands with the two of them, leaving Matt’s arm to fall back by his side.

She gave a shy smile and corrected the singer, “Ella, nice to meet you guys again.”

They reciprocated her grin and greeting, and she went back to standing in the middle of Alex and Matt. Their group now forming a small circle in the corner.

She was afraid of things becoming awkward now with everyone there but what Nick said next made her face drop. “Ella, you know, I can teach you how to drive manual. It isn't that hard.”

His offer was genuine, it was obvious from his facial expression but she turned to Alex and Matt with a look of betrayal, “I'm never telling you two anything ever again.” She took a swig of her drink as if that would make her embarrassment disappear.

All of them laughed, Matt being fast with his excuse. “Oh c'mon, it was too funny not to share.”

Alex immediately added, “We are kind people Ellie. Did you expect us to be selfish and keep that to ourselves?” She just rolled her eyes at their arguments, not annoyed but very embarrassed.

“I hate that I don’t even have anything to embarrass you back with, because they definitely already know the stories you told me.”

“Which ones?” Nick asked curious to know if they had told her something actually embarrassing.

She sighed, “The american girl who thought Matt worked at the club,” They all chuckle at the memory, Matt mumbling a quiet ‘for fucks sake’ at the mention of it, “and Alex smoking right under a smoke detector in a room he wasn’t allowed to smoke.”

“Oh yeah, the twat almost got us kicked out of the venue.” Jamie pointed at Alex accusingly.

He quickly talked back, “Jamie, do you wanna get thrown under the bus as well?” to which the guitarist shook his head frowning at him, thinking what on earth he could have on him. “Then shut up before I tell her about the ice cream shop bathroom.”

Jamie blushed then. “Don't you dare, Turner.” His threat seemed very serious which only made Ella more eager to find out.

She pouted at Alex, “No, I wanna hear it now.” She elongated the last word like it would get her some pity and they’d tell her but Jamie shook his head once more looking at Alex like he was going to knee him in the balls if he dared open his mouth. “It's only fair since you heard my nightmare of a story, without my permission may I add.” She pointed out.

Alex turned to Jamie and raised his eyebrows in support of her argument. Jamie let out a heavy sigh of defeat, “Fair enough, go ahead.”

Filled with satisfaction for winning the debate, Alex started talking, “So you see, we had just landed in London after a small tour around the States, and from the airport on the way home we went to an ice cream shop and sat down there to eat. Jamie here got some coconut ice cream, wasn’t it, Cook?” He teasingly asked his friend.

Jamie had an unamused face, he just rolled his eyes and replied, “Yes, it was.”

“Well after finishing… his ice cream,” The lads, except for Jamie, laughed at the way the singer had worded that and Ella was so confused. Alex just continued after a chuckle left his lips, “He went to the bathroom to wash his hands, he says, but he hadn’t noticed how he had spilled ice cream on himself, in a very particular area that didn’t make it look like just an accidental ice cream spill.”

The silence that Alex left by the end of it was long enough for her to connect the dots and cover her mouth with her right hand, hiding her hanging jaw behind it. “Jamie, no.” She said feeling the humiliation of the anecdote building up.

The singer resumed his narration, “Mind you, the ice cream was white so the stain was pretty much very realistic. He had also taken a while in the bathroom for some reason and when he came out he was sporting the biggest smile.”

“Oh my god, that’s mortifying.” Ella was shaking her head in disbelief.

Jamie took over then, “Well it got worse when someone recognized us and we took pictures with them. This dickhead here,” He pointed towards Matt, “Said ‘Did you have a special phone call with your girlfriend or summat? Couldn’t you wait until you got home?’ pointing to my crotch in front of the lad. The poor kid looked at me wide eyed, said thank you and left quickly. I was dead confused and then I saw it.”

“You took that long to realize?” She questioned the man.

“Yeah well, my mates are actually the worst so they didn't tell me.” He shrugged, face still very serious. Ella hoped he wasn’t mad.

Matt clapped his shoulder, “We’re the best of mates Jamie, what d’you mean?”

She saw how Jamie wasn’t the slightest bit amused so she turned the conversation into another direction. “Okay Nick, looks like it’s your turn.”

Poor Nick shook his head earnestly, “Oh no, Ella.”

“Please? You’re the only one left.” She insisted with the best puppy eyes she could make.

“Fine, but just because you didn't have a say in these two sharing yours.” He agreed and she stood straighter in excitement.

The bassist took some time to browse through his memories, “It probably has to be me losing my wallets all the time, so I gave up and never got a proper wallet again. And so conveniently in one interview, they asked us all to show what we had in our wallets and the only thing I had in my pockets was a mini harmonica.”

She was expecting something as bad as Jamie’s, “But that's not even embarrassing, that’s just cute and funny.”

Matt quickly cut in the exchange to play with her, “Ellie, are you flirting with O’Malley?”

She looked at the drummer and frowned, “No Matt, shut up, I’m just saying that’s cute and funny because it is!”

He kept going, nudging her hip with his. “Oh no, that sounds to me like you're definitely chatting him up.”

Ella couldn’t help the blush that reached her cheeks, making her roll her eyes and look at the ground for a few seconds.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“You’re annoying” she sighed, shaking her head.

“Yeah he is, but you get used to it.” Nick said to comfort her, his eyes friendly on her. He decided to bring the attention back to him so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by Matt’s teasing. “Wait– no. Actually, it’s probably that time I broke a huge ice sculpture at a posh event we went to.”

She gasped, “You’re joking…”

“I wish I was. It was so loud, it was impossible to just walk out and act like nothing had happened.”

She giggled then, “The cleaning people must've wanted to kill you.”

Nick’s eyes were big, remembering how distraught he was at the time. “Oh I'm sure they were. Everyone was giving me nasty looks for the rest of the night.”

Ella tried not to laugh, feeling bad for Nick who seemed to be the nicest guy she’d ever met. “I’m sorry but that’s so embarrassing.” She broke in a fit of giggles then, unable to hold it any longer.

They all started laughing with her, Nick smiling brightly at her. “It really was.” He added, feeling glad she enjoyed the brief story.

After that, it was clear she had grown more comfortable around the musicians, the conversation flowed with ease and laughter could be heard from their group every so often. They would take turns to bring everyone refills, Matt bringing the whole bottle of red wine to her at one point, telling her she should just take it seeing how fast she was going through her cups.

She refilled her cup three times in the span of fifteen minutes, the drummer teasing her about it some more. He took the cup from her hand after she finished with her third serving and started a game of building a pyramid of red cups with every cup she’d finish. Of course, everyone joined and started lining up their cups as well making it a game that now involved everyone in the room.

Tyler had started recording a few minutes ago, catching the fast growth of the stack of plastic on the table. One that ended up being punched and destroyed by its same creator.

It was a lovely time, she was enjoying herself in their presence. But, as time does when you’re having a good time, soon the crew started to scramble out of the room, and five minutes later the band was being called over to head to the stage.

She was suddenly feeling the generous amount of red she had drunk, so a slightly slurred “Break a leg guys!” was what she said before they parted ways.

“Thanks Ellie!” They all said to her. Alex left last, giving her wrist a little squeeze and a soft smile before following his best mates’ path.

She took advantage of the minutes she had while everyone from her crew went to get their stuff, to start drinking water and sobering up. A trip to the bathroom also helped her get her act together.

Twenty minutes later, they had started filming once more. Now the model was making her way from backstage to the side of the stage where the Monkeys were performing. In the background Ella could hear the quick start of ‘Pretty Visitors’, and as they went up the stairs, they felt the vibrations of the bass on their chests.

Scarlett was swiftly moving her hips, twirling on her place and looking back at the camera with those eyes of hers. They took various shots of it, and as that was done she recognized in an instant the starting chords of ‘Teddy Picker’.

She subtly scooted closer to the stage, a few feet away from the production. She looked over the band, seeing how Alex had his guitar clutched in his hands, the way his hips moved as his lips grazed the microphone with every word he sang.

The lyrics of the song came out of her naturally, she kept her voice low, to not get the attention of her bosses—not that they could hear her easily because of the crowd being so loud but she wanted to be careful still.

The filming took quite some time, Ben saying something about wanting to have the model dancing to different rhythms so that later the editing team would choose the clips that better matched the song the video was about.

When the encore came, the band came over and said a quick hello to everyone before going downstairs into the backstage area. She assumed they were gonna take this time to use the restrooms. A few minutes later, she confirmed her theory was correct and as they came back to the side of the stage, Alex approached the directors.

“We’re going to do the song now. Sorry about the late notice, we just decided it.” His voice sounded apologetic.

Aaron was quick to settle him, “It’s alright, it actually will be even better for the music video. I’m gonna send a camera to film the crowd and another one to film you from below, if that’s alright with you?”

“Sure mate, that sounds good.” Alex replied quickly before nodding and leaving to go back on stage with the rest of the guys.

Just like that, they were back on. Screams were drowning the venue, and they only got louder when Alex told them they were going to perform a new one from the album.

With one camera on them, another one on the crowd and the other two back with the directors, they went back to filming Scarlett swaying her hips to the music once more. Ella tried her best to keep some focus on her job but she was entranced by the performance and the way the band caught their audience with such ease.

The song came to an end, the people hollering was all that could be heard for a good twenty seconds. Aaron and Ben decided to wrap up the section of the video, meaning Scarlett was good to go, so Ella went over to her to thank her and send her back with Diana and the rest of the costume and makeup department.

When she was done with that, Ben sent her over to the cameramen that were in front of the stage still recording. “Make sure they record until the concert is done, stay with them. It shouldn’t be that long until then.” She just nodded, quickly following the instructions but her speed was mostly motivated by the fact that she could at least see the last of the show.

As she got to the front of the right side of the crowd, she could hear Alex singing the first verse of ‘The View From the Afternoon’. She looked up at him, smiling and singing back the lines to him. He found her and grinned, his gaze going back to his fingers on his guitar and back to her in a matter of seconds. He almost pointed at her, but realized how that would look and he didn’t want any bullshit being talked about him in the press.

He was enjoying the fact that she knew the song and so confidently was singing along with the crowd. Alex became more surprised when she also knew ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, their last song, but he certainly would forever keep the image of her swaying hips to the song in his mind.

Once the show finished, she went over to the two cameramen and walked back into the backstage zone with them on her side. They spent the short trip back to their room talking about how crazy that was, how many people were there and how good the band was.

In the room, the crew gathered everything and some people started going over to their van with their equipment in hand. The directors and Ella went over to the band’s room to say goodbye.

“Guys, it was a pleasure seeing you today.” Ben said, shaking hands and clapping shoulders with the British men.

“We’ll see you tomorrow. Final day!” Continued Aaron, with far more energy than one would have after such a long day of work.

The bandmates said goodbye to both and then it was Ella’s turn to bid farewell. “Thank you so much for today guys. We had the best time.” She said as she went hugging each member.

They hugged her back, reciprocating her words. When she reached Alex, who was the last to embrace her, he said, “I’ll walk back with you.”

She let go and nodded, “Okay.”

He followed her as she made her way to retrieve her things and some equipment that was left, helping her with a case filled with camera chargers.

They were silent as they made their way through the hallway maze, only when they came out to the parking lot did Ella speak up, her voice glazed with nervousness. “I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow Ellie.” Alex gave her one last hug and she got the case from his hands.

He watched her as she walked over to the van and before she got in, she gave him a little wave and a shy smile to which he responded with a toothy grin.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Just like last time, the crew made the drive to the studio. Traffic had come down by the time they left the office so the trip was smooth and pretty calm.

The van’s atmosphere contrasted the nerves she was feeling, making her skin feel goosebumps when thinking of the day ahead.

She was glad the guys had taken her into the group so easily, making her comfortable and building enough trust to joke around with each other. What made her uneasy though was someone’s comment the night before: just before leaving the office, someone from costume design had teased her about how close she seemed with the band, and even though she knew they hadn’t meant it in a bad way, her stomach was in a knot and she couldn’t do much but shrug and brush it off.

“We were just chatting, they’re very nice.” Was what she said before saying goodbye to everyone and quickly making her way to her car.

That night she had taken longer doing her skin care routine, getting distracted by her thoughts and staring into her reflection for far longer than she realized.

Ella came back to reality when they parked outside the building, seeing the four guys sharing conversation while Jamie and Alex smoked.

Today the crew was smaller, only two cameras were going to be used and it was just four more people coming along the directors and Ella. The small group came out in little time, the band ending their chat in order to greet them.

“Ben, Aaron.” Alex said acknowledging the directors coming towards him, shaking their hands once they reached him. “Good morning everyone.” He waved at the rest of the crew behind the men.

A chorus of ‘good morning’ and ‘hello’ was heard then. Ella showed a shy grin which ended up in a full smile when the rest of the band looked at her and smiled at her presence.

“So, today’s a walk around Hollywood type of shoot right?” Ben asked Aaron for confirmation, Ella checking her clipboard and nodding at the same time as the director. “Well then, I think we could walk around these blocks, just catching you in the streets walking and we’ll see where the day takes us.”

The band nodded, somewhat tired of being recorded doing the most random things but what could they do. It was what came with the job. Their dream job.

And so they started making their way around the streets of Hollywood, California.

The sun hit them heavenly. Alex was wearing the leather jacket she had seen he had perched on the night before, with his usual sunglasses he had worn since they first met. Matt was also wearing sunglasses, while Jamie and Nick were facing the sunshine without any eyewear.

Their outfits were so simple but they wore them in such a way that just made them all look incredibly handsome. Anyone that laid eyes on them would be stuck in a trance for minutes just watching them do something as simple as cross the street.

Just like Ella was, completely and utterly enraptured by their presence. She tripped on a crack in the pavement and that was what brought her back to reality. She went red and only hoped no one had noticed.

Fifteen minutes they had been walking down Hollywood Boulevard, when Matt pointed excitedly at a building just a couple feet away from them. Arcade read the sign, in massive white letters. “Let’s go there, I’m sure we can film inside.”

Jamie sighed, just wanting to be done with the music video and rest. “Do we have to?”

Matt insisted, “C’mon mate, it’ll be fun.” Ella found it funny how much he sounded like a child trying to convince his parents to take him somewhere.

Ben then aided the drummer’s argument, “We can get the rest of the footage there while you all play, and we can have lunch as well.”

His suggestion had Nick and Alex shrugging, Matt nodded frantically and Jamie just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sure, let’s go.” Finally replied the guitarist, making Matt walk a bit faster, now leading the whole group into the establishment.

They found a table beside the bar where they settled down, placing a bunch of equipment on top of the table. The guys were quick to order beer bottles for each other, convincing the production team to order some drinks as well to cool down.

Their beverages arrived not that long after, the band only taking a couple sips before deciding to stand up and go over to the game machines.

Matt patted Ben on the shoulder, “Mate we’re gonna go off to play, that alright?”

“Yes, of course, don’t worry about us.” Ben assured them but giving it a second thought, he continued, “Actually,” he turned to his left side, reaching over a camcorder placed on top of the table and then directed his words towards Ella who was sitting in front of him, “Why don’t you go with them and record them playing? You know your way around working with cameras so it shouldn’t be a problem. Plus you seem to get on with them quite well.” He placed the device on her hands which she had hesitantly put forward.

Fuck! Ella yelled in her mind. To her this could only mean one thing: Ben had noticed how close she had gotten to the musicians and if he had then Aaron had noticed as well. Her freak out lasted a few seconds before she saw things in a new light since she realized her boss hadn’t made a big deal out of it or signaled it becoming an issue that got her in trouble at work. He had noticed, she guessed, but he hadn’t said a thing and maybe that meant it was alright. And if that was alright with the heads of the production company, then it should be alright with her.

Her internal debate felt like it went on for minutes but it had only been the longest five seconds she’d ever experienced. “Oh– sure, yes.” She stood up, taking the camera in one hand and her beer bottle on the other.

Matt nodded at her and started walking towards the guys who were waiting for him a few feet away from the table.

“Ellie! Are you joining us?” Asked Nick, glad to see her hanging out with them again. He found her a nice girl and very fun company.

She lifted the camera up, “It’s my job to torment you all now.” A smirk on her face to tease them, she could clearly see how bad they wanted the filming process to be over.

“Good that you’re getting this all on tape ‘cause yous are getting smoked today.” Matt cheekily said, claiming victory early.

She raised one of her eyebrows, “You think too highly of yourself, Helders.”

The drummer was quick to deny her statement, “No, I’m just aware of my skills.”

“I’d say your ego is going to be your worst enemy today, actually.” She taunted him.

He huffed trying to prove his point, and walked to the first machine that caught his attention, “Okay then, we shall start with this one.” He made his way to the boxing machine.

Nick grabbed Matt’s bottle from his hand so he could punch the bag, and said, “Ten quid Ella beats Helders on this one.”

“Thanks for the faith Nick.” Ella winked at him jokingly and Alex caught her expression, and whilst he found her even more attractive when she did it, he was the littlest bit disappointed it hadn’t been directed to him.

As if he was in the middle of a boxing match, Matt was on guard and moving his feet imitating a boxer’s moves. The camcorder in her hands was rolling, capturing the moment. “Ready?!” his question flying in the air a second before throwing a right hook to the tiny bag.

The red numbers automatically went up all the way until they hit 857. Matt turned around with a massive grin on his face, “Your turn now, Ellie.” He made a gesture for her to approach the game.

She turned to Alex and handed him her bottle, “Hold this for me please,” handing Jamie the camera right after. She made her way to the machine, and jumped a little on her spot letting her arms loose for a little to relax before getting on guard.

“Let’s go Ellie!” loudly cheered Nick, Jamie to his left had the camera in hand focused on her.

With that encouragement she threw a punch to the bag, the numbers climbing fast and reaching the 840s. They were all looking intently as they kept going up making it to 850, going up one more before it stopped.

Matt hollered loudly and anyone could think he had won the lottery not an arcade game against a friend—but hey, that’s men with their pride when it comes to games. He proceeded to take his beer from Nick's hand and down what he had left in celebration.

She clapped her hands, “Well done, Helders.”

“Glad to see you aren’t a sore loser, Ella.” he replied, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

She gave into his action, appreciating the friendly contact and leaning into him as they walked. “I would love to say the same about you but I have the feeling that would be a lie.” she teased, elbowing him on the ribs softly.

Alex walked up to Ella and gave her her drink back, hoping she would take it and leave Matt’s side. His best friend was getting more comfortable around the girl than he’d like to see, and for once Matt had the advantage of actually being single to do anything he’d like.

Fucking hell.

To his relief, Ella grabbed her glass back after giving him a small thank you and then walked to Jamie to retrieve the recording device.

Nick started walking ahead for a few seconds before he stopped and turned to the PA. “How about we race with our favorite driver?” He joked and everyone laughed, even her.

She faked hurt, a hand over her heart, “And here you were becoming my favorite.” She sniffled to seem more dramatic but chuckled right after.

Jamie and Matt went first against each other, leaving their glasses on top of the machines. Curses and insults were thrown all throughout the course of the race, making the laughter of the group loud and continuous. Ella hoped the footage wasn’t too shaky and it could be used in the video.

Just as the last lap was coming to its end, Jamie threw Matt off the road and won the race. The drummer went back on the road to finish the course, and once that was done, he shoved his friend, “You cheating bastard!” Jamie just kept laughing, getting off the seat.

Matt rolled his eyes, completely annoyed, and then said, “Right. Al, Ella, your turn now.”

Alex took a seat on the machine to the right, “Thank God this one isn’t manual right Ellie?” He teased, turning to see her with a smirk on his face.

The three other guys laughed hard at the comment and she looked at him fake offended, “Ha-ha, so funny Alex.” Ella rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen, a couple clicks later their race started.

Silence overcame the group as they watched how Ella had left Alex behind and got a good advantage, which he never at one point managed to overcome.

Nick chuckled into his bottle, “Fucking hell, Alex you do know winning means being first not fifth, right?”

“Shut up.” The singer muttered before going back into silence to focus on the game.

Not even a minute later she had won first place by far, turning to Alex with an amused face, taking a sip of her drink and then faking a yawn to tease him. He turned to her when she made the noise, crossing the finish line at the same time.

“Damn, finally. You were taking your sweet time.” She got up and left him there, sat and humbled.

The guys were doing the worst job at trying to stop their laughter from leaving their chests, it only took Alex taking a glance from Ella to the game’s screen and back for them all to explode.

She waved at them, walking away, “Let’s go before he starts crying.” The lads quickly joined her as she continued walking into the arcade.

Alex caught up with them, coming to walk beside her. “If you had raced Matt, he would’ve definitely cried.”

The mentioned turned around quickly to refute the statement his friend had made, “If she had raced me, she would’ve lost.”

“Sure, whatever you say mate.” Alex replied and then turned to Ella. They looked into each other's eyes and shared a good quiet laugh.

The group kept walking further into the place, stumbling into the basketball hoops. Matt, of course, stopped there and turned to challenge Ella once more.

“How about this one Ellie? You against me.” The brit proposed very confidently.

She only shrugged downplaying her excitement, “Sure, why not?” She gave Alex the camera this time and placed her almost empty bottle on the table behind them.

Matt stood in front of the machine on the right, “Ready to lose Ella?”

She cackled, cracking her knuckles, “You’d be surprised.”

Nick felt like something was going to happen so he said, “Again, ten quid Ella beats Matt.” and Alex accepted the bet, recording his hand shake with the bassist. Ella glared at him and shook her head.

Matt scoffed at his friends, “Mate you’re gonna lose all your money if you keep placing shit bets.”

Ignoring Matt’s comment, she turned around and said, “I won't let you down Nick, I promise.”

With that promise, they started the game. Ella wasn’t missing any hoops and when Matt realized he just yelled, “What the actual fuck?!”

Ella laughed and kept going, the time running out and when it briefly buzzed as they only had twenty seconds left, she felt the drummer leave his place to start blocking her shots. “Matthew! Move!” She said loudly in between laughs, trying to make more points but she could only manage three more as the man in front of her wouldn’t let her.

The buzzer loudly went off and the points on the board showed how poorly Matt had performed.

He turned shocked to look at her, “Did you even miss one?!”

She threw her hair over her shoulder, smiling proudly. “Of course not, I was the best shot at my middle and high school team, that would’ve been an insult to my younger self.”

The loser crossed his arms, “That's cheating then, you’re basically a professional.”

A loud cackle left her and shaking her head, Ella walked over to his side. “Oh c’mon Helders, you aren’t pulling excuses now, are you?” She nudged him with her hip and he smiled down at her playfully.

He shrugged, pressing his lips together to try and not smile at her teasing, “I'm just saying it's an unfair advantage.”

“Sure, sure.” She rolled her eyes before they both started laughing, Nick and Jamie joining.

Alex was still holding the camera in his hand, but looking at the floor, silently fuming at how close Matt and Ella looked. Growing jealous over how much she smiled from their banter or how she seemed to make contact with him out of her own will.

He of course knew he had no right to be jealous, he was in a relationship and they were barely even friends, but he couldn’t not feel unsettled by it. There was no denying he found her attractive, and if he was single maybe he would’ve tried to chat her up but he wasn’t, so he had to bite his tongue and deal with it. Well, put it away, more like.

Ella went towards Alex and got the camcorder from him, “Thanks Al.” She said and gave him a tight lip smile.

He was confused as to why she seemed easily flirty with Matt or Nick but not with him. And maybe she didn’t even notice that she was doing it but he thought maybe that meant she didn’t even see him that way. Yet all she did around him was go shy and blush and that was enough to confuse him.

What he didn’t know—because how could he know if he had just met her once before—, was that she could never flirt when she wanted to with whom she wanted to. Yes, she could seem flirty with Nick and Matt but she actually wanted to flirt with Alex, because she found him very attractive and there was something about him that just drew her in, but she couldn’t do it for the life of her. She just blushed and was a mess with words, she didn’t know what she should say to impress him or keep him in conversation, enough for him to be the slightest interested in her.

They didn’t know better. She was hoping with time, she could learn to read him and he was wishing for the same thing, not wanting to really let the pretty girl be a thing of the past anytime soon.

As they made their way back to the table they passed a Street Fighter machine and they all took turns going against each other. Alex and Matt went three times to settle a tie—which Alex ended up winning and Matt whining about.

When Jamie dared Ella to play, she accepted but had absolutely no clue what to do. The game started and she just kept pressing buttons randomly, moving the joystick everywhere. The group was a mess of laughter and she was obviously losing in the most pathetic way but she was enjoying herself so she didn’t mind making herself look like an idiot.

Jamie was laughing harder than she had ever heard him do, “You’re wank at this!”

“I know.” Ella managed between chuckles, her eyes watering and her stomach hurting from the laughter.

Once she lost, and they all caught their breaths again, they made their way back to where the crew was sitting.

The group settled around in the empty seats, Ella giving the camera back to the directors, who thanked her. Menus were now on the table, so they got tempted into ordering some lunch at the place.

Twenty minutes of chatter later, with their hot plates now in front of them, they all shared the appetizers.

In the middle of the conversation, Nick turned to the directors and Ella who was sitting beside them. “You should all come around the show later tonight.”

Ben swallowed his food and gave him a sad smile, “We would love to but we have a call to do and things to arrange for next week's projects.” He explained pointing to himself and Aaron.

Jamie turned to her then, “What about you Ella?” and Alex telepathically thanked his friend, because he had been wanting to ask her about it for almost an hour.

Covering her mouth with her hand as she swallowed, she nodded. “I’m free tonight so sure I’ll be there.”

“Great, it starts at 8 but come over earlier so you can hang out before we go on.” The guitarist told her with a soft smile.

She nodded, excitement bubbling up in her belly, and she tried not to let it shine through her face as the conversation around the table continued.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

She tried, she really tried getting there in time but traffic had ruined her plans. Despite leaving her house at six, she had only gotten to the venue a little over twenty minutes before the show was set to start.

Finding a parking spot had been a nightmare, and getting into the venue had given her a slight headache. That’s why she made her way through the now familiar venue, with a lit cigarette between her fingers—checking of course if there were any signs that prohibited it before going in.

When she reached the hallway their room was at, she could hear the chatter bouncing on the walls.

She took a long drag of her cigarette and reached the door, letting the smoke out of her lungs through the side of her mouth before saying, “Hi everyone.” Her tone was weaker than usual because she was there all alone, and not for work. She was there as a friend, or that’s what she’d like to consider herself to them now.

“Ella!” shouted Nick, throwing his hands up in the air.

She stepped into the room, waving at the people around, hugging the band members one by one—Jamie leaving for a quick few seconds to get her a cup of wine.

The guitarist gave her the red plastic cup, now half filled with liquid, “We don’t have red today but I hope you like rosé.”

She nodded, “I do, thanks Jamie.”

Alex tested his theories then, pulling Matt’s trick. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.” His leather clad arm came around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.

Ella took a gulp of her drink, hiding her burning cheeks and wide eyes behind the cup. “Oh yeah, uhm, sorry.” She cleared her throat before explaining, “I got stuck in traffic and getting a parking space was a nightmare, there’s still so many people outside.”

Nick looked at Alex, frowning slightly as if to demand an explanation for his behavior. The singer noticed his mate’s glare but decided to clearly ignore him, his arm still around Ella and not planning to move anytime soon.

But it seemed like tonight it wouldn’t be his friends reminding him of his girlfriend that cut his time short with Ella, a few beats of time later, people started scurrying out of the room and to the stairs that led to the stage.

“Let’s go lads, you’re on in ten.” yelled someone from outside the room, their steps echoing as they left.

Alex sighed and took his arm off her, “You can watch us from the side stage if you don’t want to get in the crowd.” His suggestion came accompanied by a soft smile.

She nodded, still dazed by his long contact with her. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a few.”

They started to leave the room, drinks in hand. “Enjoy the show!” said Nick before making his way through the doorway and out of her sight.

Ella downed the rest of her wine, being cheeky and pouring herself another glass before going to the bathroom to calm down. Her burnt out cigarette being tossed into the trash.

Her reflection stared back at her flushed. The kind of flushed that she couldn’t get from just a single serving of alcohol. Ugh, Ella snap out of it! She said to herself, annoyed at how easy it was for him to get a reaction out of her. Her face only grew redder thinking about how the other guys must’ve definitely also noticed it.

Opening the tab, she let the cold water wet her hands and then patted them on her cheeks, hoping it would bring down the color on her face. She shook her hands in the air when she noticed there weren't any paper towels in the dispenser. With a deep breath and a final look at herself in the mirror, she grabbed her cup and left.

The side of the stage was a place she knew she’d love to spend her time permanently on, even though she was afraid of tripping with the amount of wires and tape that were on the floor and the speakers bursting her eardrums. She loved it.

She was dancing and singing to every song, going harder to ‘Teddy Picker’, which Alex and Jamie noticed. Jamie stepped backwards and danced with her while playing the chords swiftly.

And as the gig went by, Alex kept stealing glances over to the side at her and how she knew every line to every song. Was she a fan before we met? He was impressed by how good she had been at keeping her cool when they met her then, if that was the case. He would look for answers after they were done.

When they reached the encore and the lads got off stage, Ella went over to them, “You guys are amazing! Holy shit!”

Matt chuckled, “Thanks.” he said out of breath before chugging down a new beer bottle.

“I’m gonna go down to the side when you guys get back on. I wanna see this madness up close.” She was excited, the crowd was amazing and she wanted to be a part of it.

Alex nodded, “Just be careful with the stairs over there.”

She smiled at him and turned to make her way to the side of the crowd, in front of the barrier. Everyone was chanting for them to come back and give them another song, herself joining to the demands.

The four of them came back on stage waving, and the screams were deafening. How can they even scream that loud? Her throat was hurting just from hearing them.

“Alright Los Angeles, we’ve got three more for you. Are you ready?” Alex asked into the microphone, brushing his hair back with his right hand, the left one holding the neck of his guitar.

The crowd didn’t miss the opportunity to rip their vocal chords once more and they started playing ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’.

There was no doubt every scream that filled the room was excused, Alex’s presence was immaculate with the stage light hitting him just right. And when he looked at her and sang ‘Makes me wanna blow the candles out, just to see if you glow in the dark’, she swore she melted. He had winked at her right after, a big smile breaking on her face and she joined the chorus singing ‘Shalala’s.

Ella’s trance was broken by an arm behind her tapping her shoulder, she looked behind her and saw someone waving a big piece of paper folded to her, signaling for her to throw it on stage. She grabbed it and did her best to throw it at Alex who was currently singing. Lucky for her and the owner of the sign, he noticed and crouched down to get it.

He unfolded it and laughed into the mic, turning it around and holding it over his head for the crowd to see, while he kept singing the verses.

Helders = God

She burst out laughing, the crowd screaming at the words on the paper. He put it down after a few seconds and, when the song was over, turned to show it to his bandmates. Matt loved the praise, so he laughed into his mic and said “Cheers”.

The setlist was the same, as she realized the last two songs were just like the ones she had managed to see the night before. She enjoyed them, nevertheless, absorbing the energy from the room and dreading the fact that the concert was approaching its end.

Alex said goodbye to the crowd when ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ was done, thanking them for coming tonight. Matt threw his sticks to the crowd, for which Ella definitely saw people fighting over. Nick and Jamie waving goodbye after setting their instruments in their stands.

She made her way back into the backstage area with a giant grin and still feeling the bass vibrating on her chest. “If that was that crazy, I can’t even begin to imagine how Glastonbury was.”

They were all sweaty—Matt having gone straight to their greenroom to take a shower—standing in the middle of the hallway waiting for her to catch up to go to their room.

“Glastonbury was mad, but tonight was pretty good.” Jamie said before lighting up a cigarette.

Alex took his chance then to interrogate her, “So Ellie, I couldn’t help but notice how you knew all the lyrics to the songs…”

Ella rolled her eyes at him, blushing slightly but this time because she had been caught. “Well, after filming ‘Brick by Brick’ I started listening to your music. You aren’t that bad, I guess.” She smirked and shrugged, downplaying it.

He shook his head, puffing his chest out to say, “We are very far from bad, actually.”

She nodded and then sarcastically added, “And from humble too.”

Nick and Jamie laughed at the witty remark, Alex sticking to shaking his head and looking down to hide his grin.

“Smart-arse.” The singer said after picking his head up.

When they got back into the room, she went over to the trash to throw away her cup. Looking at the time on her phone and she found herself sad knowing she had to leave soon, she turned to them with a pout on her face, “Pains me to say this, but I gotta get going.”

“Awh, Ellie.” Nick pouted as well and went over to hug her.

She hugged him back, “Sorry guys, but I hope to see you soon.” She patted Nicks back twice before turning over to Jamie who had his arms out waiting for her embrace. “Thank you for having me tonight.”

“It’s no problem, we really appreciate you coming.” Jamie replied while rubbing circles on her back.

She started to walk over to Alex who was still standing near the door to hug him goodbye but he was quick to say, “I’ll walk you to your car.”

She waved her hand dismissing his idea, he didn’t have to go out of his way to do that, “No, don’t worry–”

But he insisted, “Yes, c’mon. I’ll go with you.” to which she gave him a playful roll of her eyes and a smile.

“Alright then.” She turned to wave back at the boys again, “Say bye to Matt for me?”

Both of them nodded and waved back at her, watching her and Alex disappear through the door.

Alex and Ella were walking in silence for a few seconds, their shoes thumping against the floor but she broke it very soon after she found herself thinking back to the gig and the songs she was growing obsessed with, “I’m actually really excited for Suck it and See.” She put some hair behind her ear, looking at him.

“Do you wanna get a copy and some merch?” He asked suddenly, she got confused at the offer.

Frowning all she could mutter was, “Huh?”

He just laughed at her reaction, “I can get you on the PR list so you can get it delivered when it comes out.”

Ella’s eyes lit up, an excited grin breaking on her face, “Oh my God, would you really?”

“Of course, it’s really no big deal. We’re mates now, gotta get the mates perks right?” Alex said, pulling his cigarette pack from his pocket.

“Oh I would love that, thank you.” she nodded as she accepted. Mates, that’s what we were, mates, and she was fine with it.

He lit up the stick between his lips and blew some smoke out, “It’s no problem, really.”

She kind of wished the walk could’ve been longer, but they reached her car faster than she expected. It was time to say goodbye and she didn’t really know how to act. She wasn’t going to see him until the next music video which still had no proper date, just an approximation of it being in August—two months from then.

“Well,” Ella started, fumbling with the keys in her hands, “Until the next music video I guess?”

Alex nodded, taking the cigarette out of his lips to talk, “Until the next music video.”

She unlocked her car, opening the door slightly and turned before getting inside to give him a brief hug, “See you soon then, Al.”

Her scent engulfed him as soon as she opened her car and even more when she wrapped her arms around him. He reciprocated the embrace and the contact was making him get stuck on his thoughts, taking a good five seconds before replying, “See you soon Ellie.”

She smiled as she let go of him, getting inside her car and closing the door. She ignited the engine of her car and started backing up, waving at him before changing gears and stepping on the gas, leaving him behind, with half a cigarette left to smoke and somehow her perfume overpowering the burning tobacco.

He was sure he would think of her for far longer than acceptable, and he would be counting down the days until the next music video was set to be done.

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A/N: What did you think about this one then? I hope you liked seeing their dynamics grow, they are all so much fun to write! From now on chapters are coming every other week, so part 3 will be posted on the 24th! This is just so we can have plenty of Constant Repeat to last us a while and I can finish the series without rushing it, hope you understand x Thank you so much for reading again, I truly appreciate it. See you soon!!!!!

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