#plot bunnies are running rampant in my head

[theskeletoninthegarden]

Thinking about Tolkien and enchanted prosthetics.

[sapphires-and-silver-linings]

Half-Life | Chapter Three

There was something to be said about loneliness, though: at least it was predictable.

Pairing: Plaga!Leon S. Kennedy/F!Chubby!Paranormal Investigator!Reader

Tags: Fluff, Mutual Pining, Angst, Sexual Tension, Blood, Body Horror

Notes: It's been a minute since I last posted, but this chapter was a doozy to write! Second longest chapter I've ever churned out, which is insane to me lol. Anyway, I hope you guys like this installment! I was blushing and squealing and kicking my feet while writing it lmao. Leon makes me so sad, but these interactions between him and Bunny (the reader) are SO CUTE. I'd love it if you guys told me your favorite lines or parts in general in the comments! Feedback is what helps keep me motivated!

Masterlist | Previous | Next

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

It had been a full day since you left, and Leon loathed to admit just how miserable he felt.

He had spent the rest of the prior afternoon with Wolfie hunting for small game, the crow barely able to satiate his hunger.

He always liked the hunt, as he allowed himself to be in the moment, focused solely on his senses and cutting off the tide of emotions that threatened to pull him under.

The distraction didn’t last long, however.

He had killed a couple squirrels and another crow, hoping for something a little more substantial, when he came across a rabbit—a plump one with brown fur—and the reminder of you and the note you left stopped him mid-strike, the animal easily able to escape his normally deadly grasp.

He cut his losses after that, deciding he didn’t want to hunt anymore. He split his meager spoils with Wolfie as he always did, and paced his house until nightfall, his thoughts rampant and his mood sour. 

He tried to sleep it off but tossed and turned instead (though that wasn’t exactly an irregular occurrence for him). 

And now here he was, sitting in his boat in the middle of the lake and spearing any fish that dared to skim the surface of the water, using his tail and those four spidery appendages he had re-released from their place on his spine specifically for the task.

He didn’t like to keep them out for the sake of his own humanity, but the skin of his back rippled and ached when they were confined for too long.

Ten years and he was still uncomfortable in his own body.

He hated it.

He had a growing pile of fish sitting in a bucket before him, reveling in the fact that at least he’d be eating well for the day, briefly pausing his surveillance of the water to snack on one of the scaly creatures.

He wondered what you must be up to right now. Probably already halfway across the globe, bound for home. He wanted to ask you how you’d go about keeping the public from bothering him, but he had been so preoccupied with getting to know you, he had forgotten.

He questioned idly whether or not you would keep to your word, but he supposed it was out of his hands now.

And, for some reason, he trusted you.

It was laughable, almost, how quickly he gave in the moment you didn’t budge from his scare tactics. He had become so inherently suspicious since the events that transpired in Raccoon City, as well as what occurred right here in this village a decade prior, so it shocked him how easily you blew right through his mental defenses.

To be fair to himself—which he often wasn’t—you had caught him so utterly off guard, he had no precedence to follow. No one else had gone that completely against common sense when faced with his monstrous form, and he simply couldn’t wrap his head around it. Besides, he was so starved for social interaction, he couldn’t stop himself from leaping at the opportunity to relish it.

He wanted the whole ordeal to be enough to pull him through to his plotted end, but he thought it was deeply unfair that he only craved more. More conversation. More attention. More affection.

It would have been easier if you had just run.

There was something to be said about loneliness, though: at least it was predictable. At least it was safe.

His inner ramblings were suddenly cut short when he heard a strange sound from the distance. There were footsteps again, but something else he couldn’t quite place—something that rumbled.

His first thought was a vehicle and panic immediately set in, causing him to paddle back to land as quickly as possible.

He wondered if you had broken your part of the deal and alerted others to his presence. Maybe he had been wrong to trust you, after all.

He cursed himself under his breath.

He made it back to shore, the footsteps and that strange sound coming to a halt somewhere too close for comfort. It was in the direction of his house, where he had left Wolfie to dutifully await his return.

If anything happened to his dog, he wasn’t sure what he’d do, praying to a god he no longer believed in that whoever trespassed wasn’t here to cause harm.

He bolted through the woods, dodging between the trees with practiced ease until he was skidding to a halt in the brush beside his home.

The sight that greeted him baffled him to his core.

There, just at his front door, was Wolfie, tail wagging happily as he sat on his haunches. But what really caught his eye was a figure standing above the dog, reaching out to feed him what looked like a treat from their hand.

And, when they turned to face Leon’s direction, the sound of him bounding through the forest catching their attention, he realized the person on his doorstep…

Was you.

“Leon!” you called jovially as he revealed himself from the tree line. “I was wondering where you were!” 

“What the hell are you doing here?” he questioned, his tone harsher than he meant it.

You didn’t seem phased, however, as you replied, “I figured I was due for a vacation. Decided to stay in the country for another week.”

“Doesn’t exactly explain why you came back here, though.”

“Well, I told you I wanted to explore the area more, didn’t I? But don’t worry, I didn’t come empty-handed.” You stepped aside and swept your arm behind you, revealing a large metal wagon stacked with all sorts of items. 

So that was the strange noise he heard.

“This wasn’t in our agreement,” he stated, sounding more annoyed than he actually felt. If anything, he was glad you came back. But he worried about what exactly it would entail if you did stay with him. He then added, conjuring up as much disdain as possible to make a point, “You should leave me alone.”

You raised a brow at him, skeptical. “I don’t think you mean that, Leon.”

“Oh, yeah? Why wouldn’t I?” He stood to his full height like he had the moment you first met, narrowing his bloodred eyes while he tilted slightly forward, as if setting up to lunge.

You seemed fed up with his clearly empty threats as you stepped up to him, hands placed on your supple hips in defiance. “Because you’re lonely and I’m the only person you’ve met in the past decade that didn’t run away screaming at the sight of you.”

He scoffed. “Oh, so you’re bothering me again out of the goodness of your own heart, then?”

“Maybe…” You glanced at your feet for a moment as you found the words to say, “And it’s also possible I came back because I find you interesting. This could be mutually beneficial, you know.”

“Interesting?” he repeated dubiously. He felt a pang of disappointment as he looked down at you. “Am I really just some specimen for you to study? Is that what this is to you?”

Your eyes widened at his accusation, throwing your hands up in the air. “Oh my god, of course not! Sure, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fascinated by your… quirks… but that’s not the only reason I came back.”

“You mean to use me as a field guide for your little hiking trip?” 

“Well, that too. But still not it.”

“Then why?” 

You seemed almost embarrassed as you looked away from him, finally admitting, “I like you as a person, Leon. I enjoyed spending time with you and thought you might have felt the same. I… I’m sorry if I overstepped. I can leave if that's what you want.”

Leon was stunned by your words, unable to do more than gawk at you as you awaited his response. 

Realizing you might not get one, you nodded, crestfallen. “Right, yeah. This was a bad idea. I’ll just—I’ll just get out of your hair, then.”

You turned to grab the wagon and make your exit when Leon wrapped his claws gingerly around your arm, stopping you in your tracks. You gazed back at him, searching his face for an answer.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to say,” he told you honestly. Leon almost always had a cheesy one-liner or a snarky quip at the ready, but not for the first time since meeting you, he was speechless.

What could he even tell you, though? That he was thinking about you since you left? That he found himself missing you after only knowing you a day? You must already find him pathetic as is. He didn’t want to exacerbate it.

“You don’t have to say anything,” you responded, a sad smile alighting your pretty face. The thought that he caused it made his stomach twist in a knot. “I was being presumptuous. I shouldn’t have bothered you again.”

You tried to pull away once more but he wouldn’t release his hold, feeling incredibly stupid with how badly he was handling this. “No, it’s fine. I want…” He swallowed, then, unable to meet your eye as he adjusted what was about to leave his mouth, “I don’t mind if you stay a little while longer.”

Your gaze softened as you looked at him, gripping his wrist and squeezing it affectionately. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Yes.” He stared down at your small hand wrapped around him, the warmth emanating from it distracting in a way he found both disarming and comforting. His eyes trailed up your arm to your face, glad to find the once dejected expression had been replaced with a gentle sort of contentment.

You were anything but predictable, and this situation was far from safe, but Leon had to admit… meeting you was the best thing that had happened to him in a long, long time.

Wolfie brushed up against your leg, probably looking for another treat, and the spell was broken. The two of you quickly pulled apart, chuckling awkwardly.

Leon forced himself to look away from you again—not wanting to linger for too long—when his gaze fell upon the wagon once more, curiosity piqued. “So, what exactly’s in there?” 

“Oh, right!” you exclaimed, a grin on your face as you began pulling things out of the small vehicle. “I come bearing gifts!”

With gusto, you listed off the items as you grabbed them, “Brought groceries for me, though I wouldn’t mind sharing, of course! And some water, too, cos I don’t exactly trust drinking from the area. Not too keen on getting a parasite.” You paused after that, eyes wide in realization. “No offense!”

He laughed loudly, shaking his head. “None taken, I promise.”

“Right, moving on,” you continued, cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. “I also got myself an air mattress so you can keep your bed and I don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

“Not exactly sure how any of those things are gifts if they’re for you.”

“Hold on, Leon, I’m getting there,” you admonished light-heartedly. “The gifts are next.” 

You then pulled out a dog bed with an array of chew toys and bags of treats set inside, as well as a box of various books. “Some things for Wolfie, as every good boy deserves, and since you told me you don’t have anything to read, I grabbed a bunch of random stuff from the local bookstore. Don’t be too harsh on what I picked, though, cos I had no idea what you’d be interested in.”

Leon wondered if he would ever get used to your kindness toward him. To not only provide nice things for his aging pet but to bring him something to read after off-handedly mentioning he was short on entertainment.

A memory tugged at the edges of his mind, one he thought he buried a long time ago.

It was in the days following his parents’ deaths, forced out of his home and prepped to be sent into foster care. He had been taken to the police station so he would no longer be faced with the carnage in the house he grew up in, no one willing to bring him back before the bodies and subsequent viscera they left behind were cleaned up.

Finally, the social worker assigned to his case took him to the house to retrieve his belongings. It was painful—even to his young mind—to see his home spotless like nothing happened there. But the images of blood spattering the floors and walls were imprinted in his brain.

Eventually, he’d learn to repress them.

The social worker helped him as he collected his things, throwing them haphazardly into suitcases and bags found around the house before lugging them into the trunk of her car. He had thought he gathered everything, about to climb into the backseat, when he remembered his favorite storybook—the one his mother would read to him every night before bed. The one she read to him before she was taken from him.

He ran back into the house as fast as his little legs could carry him, tearing apart everything in his path to find the one thing he had that still connected him to the family he lost. 

“It was here! I swear it was here!” he cried as the woman shuffled after him, her eyes sad as she watched him collapse on the living room floor.

“Do you know where you last saw it, Leon?” she asked gently, kneeling beside him.

He pointed with a shaking finger to the dining table nearby, his parents having been slain in that very room.

“Oh, sweetheart…” she whispered, realizing that it was likely ruined by the blood that had drenched it only a few nights prior. “I think they had to… throw it away.”

Leon broke down at that, curling in on himself and sobbing so hard he thought he might throw up his guts right there on the hardwood floor. The woman did the only thing she could think of and carefully tugged him into her arms.

“I’m so sorry,” was all she offered, knowing there was nothing she could say that would help or change the way this child’s life would be eternally fractured. “I’m so sorry.” 

Eventually, he cried all the tears he had left, and the woman led him to the car once more. He watched through the window with dull eyes as the neighborhood faded into the distance.

That was the last time he ever stepped foot inside his childhood home. 

Then, after his parents' funeral, he was about to be taken to his new foster family, frightened and unable to find the silver lining in any of it. The social worker, though, did the kindest thing anyone had done for him in that dark time. 

Just as he was about to get out of her car and trudge up to the unfamiliar house he’d be residing in—not knowing how long he would even be staying there until he’d likely be shipped off to another family—she handed him a gift, telling him to open it when he got inside and settled down.

He did just that, having to take a while to sit in his new bedroom and stare at the four walls, trying to adjust to his surroundings and be brave like his parents would have wanted. 

He finally picked up the gift, tearing the wrapping paper off with tiny, careful hands and opening the box revealed beneath.

What was inside brought tears to his eyes, and he pulled the item to his chest so hard, the edges dug into the skin there, even through his shirt.

It was his favorite book.

Sure, it wasn’t the same one, its predecessor stained by sticky fingers and the pages ripped and crinkled from years of use, but it was still his. 

The police officer that saved his life the night his parents were killed might have led him to join the force when he grew up, but that simple kindness of gifting him a cherished item he thought he lost forever was what pulled him through in those early days of grief and uncertainty of the future.

He couldn’t believe he had even forgotten, his heart clenching as he realized that book, which sat on his shelf in his apartment back in the States, was probably long gone now that everyone thought he was dead.

Once upon a time, he had hoped he could pass on that little book to his own child when he finally managed to settle down.

What a pipe dream that was. 

Well, maybe it could bring another kid joy if it wasn’t just thrown out altogether by his landlord. It wasn’t like he had anyone to give his things to, after all.

Perhaps Claire had the chance to go through them and send everything to a shelter. He could wish. 

He supposed there was no use thinking about it now, though.

It was ten years too late.

“Leon?” you asked him, pulling him from his thoughts with your soft voice. “Did you hear me?”

He exhaled, sporting a sheepish expression. “Sorry, I was just thinking. Say it again?”

“I was telling you about the fuel I brought.”

“Fuel?”

“For the generator! I figured we could get it up and running. That is, if you’re okay with it. I even got extra lightbulbs in case some of them don’t work.”

Leon shook his head and chuckled, taken aback by how much thought you put into your return. “What did your ride have to say about all of this?”

“Nothing, cos I rented a car for the week. Wanted to make sure I had a way to get back into town whenever I needed. You know, in case I missed anything.”

“Missed anything?” he asked, incredulous. “By the looks of it, you brought everything but the kitchen sink.”

“One can never be too prepared!” you defended earnestly.

He fought a wide grin but ultimately lost to his amusement. “I guess that’s true.”

After you finished showing him everything you brought, the two of you got down to business. You managed to get the old generator up and working, replacing a few of the lightbulbs that had gone out. After that, Leon went back to the edge of the lake to retrieve his bounty of fish while you remained behind to put things away.

When he returned, he found you finishing your task by placing the books you bought onto the shelf next to the dining table, slotting the last one into position as he approached. The two of you stood there, eyes roaming over the different titles nearly in unison.

It was a random array of classics, modern fiction of different genres, and nonfiction that consisted of how-to guides, memoirs, historical biographies, and science books. You really seemed to choose a little of everything, and he appreciated it.  

He caught you smiling in his peripherals, turning to face you as you pulled out a novel with a black, shiny cover. You looked up at him with a teasing glint in your irises before saying, “Ever read this classic? I picked it out just for you.”

He grabbed the book from your hands and stared at the title. “Twilight? Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”

Your eyes nearly bugged out of your head as you pulled the book back from his grasp, looking at the inside of the cover. “That’s right, you’ve been here since before this was even published.”

“That mean I was missing out?” he questioned jokingly.

You had a wicked expression on your face as you replied, “Oh, you were. It’s practically a modern Jane Austen if you can believe it. A love story of epic proportions.” You squinted at him for a second before biting your lip and adding, “You might even relate a bit to the love interest.”

“What, is he a monster, too?” 

“Vampire, so close enough.”

“What kind of vampire are we talking about here? Nosferatu? Dracula? How human does this guy look?” 

“Pretty human, I’m afraid. But he sparkles in the sun, so that’s kind of inconvenient.”

Leon scoffed. “Poor him.”

You laughed and he basked in the sound of it. “Poor him, indeed. Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll read some of it to you before bed.”

He raised a brow at that, ignoring how that made his stomach flip at the thought. “You gonna tuck me in while you’re at it? Get me a warm glass of milk?” 

You rolled your eyes as you slid the book back into its place on the shelf. “Only if you’re a good boy.”

His mouth went dry at your words, unexpectedly affected by them and unable to reply.

Seeing how he froze, you cleared your throat and rushed to change the subject, “Anyway, I wanted to ask you how bathing works here. I didn’t see a tub in the house anywhere.”

Leon shook his head to clear his thoughts before responding, “Yeah, I’ve been doing that in the lake, actually.”

“Hm, it’s a little too cold for me to do that. I guess I can live off of rag baths or something.”

“There are some in the area, like big wash basins. I can bring one in here for you, put it in the side room there. We can just dump the water out the window or something when you’re done. Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold or feel gross while you’re here.”

“That would be amazing,” you said, leaning over and running your hand down his bicep. He was forced to suppress the shiver the action caused as you continued, “Thank you for being willing to go through the trouble.” 

Against his better judgment, he gripped your shoulder lightly. “It’s the least I could do after all this.” To make his point, he gestured around the house with his free hand, referring to the electric light filling the room, the stocked fridge and pantries, and the books that now lined the once-empty shelves. 

“You deserve it, Leon. I wish I could do more for you if I’m honest.” A faint pink tinged your cheeks as you looked away from him. 

He felt his heart stutter in his chest at that, wishing he could pull you into his arms but knowing that was far too forward. 

“Anyway, I’ll start making dinner if you want a taste. I know you got your fish to eat, but you might like a homemade meal after so long without one.” 

“Yeah, that sounds… nice. I’ll go get a tub for you, I guess.”

You smiled at him brightly and he begrudgingly let you go to do as he said he would, thinking about you the whole time he was out.

After about half an hour, he returned, having found and scrubbed clean a dirty metal bathtub he found in one of the village houses, along with an old rug. While you set the table, he placed the piece of fabric on the ground beside the far window in the side room and then put the tub on top of it, hoping it would serve you well.

The two of you ate dinner, and although he found it delicious, he couldn’t help but prefer his fresh meat to the meal you had cooked. 

You had noticed his avoidance of the vegetables on his plate and laughed about it, asking him if he was really that picky. He was quick to inform you that he could eat plants, but he didn’t like them or need them to live.

“Ah, a true carnivore,” you had said, nodding as if you understood. As if that were normal. 

He would probably never get you. But he wanted to, for whatever reason. 

After dinner was finished, you cleaned the dishes and pulled out that book you had mentioned earlier, looking positively maniacal as you plopped onto the loveseat by the fireplace. Leon sat on his stool, leaning back against the dining table as he awaited your performance.

He realized very quickly why you were so giddy to read it to him.

It was awful, and you seemed to find subjecting him to it hilarious.

He told you as much after you finished the first chapter and you giggled. “I’m sorry, but this book came out when I was a teenager and it had me in a chokehold at the time. It’s funny now, but you can somewhat blame this series for pushing along my obsession with the occult.”

He hadn’t given much thought to the age gap between you, but he realized suddenly that it was at least a decade. You were a grown woman and he wasn’t aging, but that didn’t stop him from questioning it a little. Just another reason he shouldn’t entertain this pull to you he seemed to have. 

However, that couldn’t stop the next few words from coming out of his mouth, the casual flirtation as natural as breathing, “So you’ve always had a thing for monsters, then? Here I thought I was special.”

“You are special,” you assured him, making heat rise to his face. “Insomuch that you’re the first and only monster I’ve come across. Besides, I don’t think Mothman would be so quick to invite me over for dinner.”

“He’s missing out, then,” Leon mused, forcing himself to calm down and not read into what you were saying. “You’re an entertaining guest.”

The two of you chatted and joked all evening, much like the last time you had visited, before you decided it was time for bed. You took turns brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink—Leon grateful that you brought him a new toothbrush and paste to use—and then you carried your duffle bag to the adjoining room to change into your pajamas. 

He grabbed some of your things to go upstairs with him, switching to sleepwear himself before unfolding your air mattress on the floor by the window.

The glass was still broken from when Ada had shot through it a decade ago, and although Leon had cleaned the shards off the ground so that he wouldn’t get them stuck in his feet, he never bothered to patch the hole. Watching you enter the room and shiver as the breeze blew in, he decided tomorrow he would cover it, just to keep you comfortable. 

You laughed when Wolfie barked at the small mechanical air pump loudly whirring as it began to fill the bed, and Leon smiled as you kneeled next to the canine and petted him to alleviate his distress. You patted the dog bed you placed beside Leon’s footboard, cooing as he curled up on it immediately.

Leon could get used to this, you being here. And that was a dangerous thought. You were only back a day—only planned to stay a week—and already he was settling into whatever new normal came with being around you.

He needed to put some distance between you expeditiously if he wanted to keep what was left of his sanity.

As you finished inflating the mattress and placing the bedding you brought for it, you turned to face him and saw the frown and furrowed brows that marred his features.

“Leon, you okay over there?” 

He shifted his gaze to you again, schooling his expression and inwardly admonishing himself for not controlling it in the first place. He supposed he was out of practice, though he was never really good at hiding his emotions, anyway.

“M’fine. Just… tired.” It was close enough to the truth. He had barely slept the night before and he knew there were bags under his eyes as you took in his face thoughtfully.

“Hope I didn’t keep you up too late,” you apologized, biting your lip and looking almost timid.

Fuck, you were cute.

Unfair.

“Course not. Even if you did, I think it was worth it,” he assuaged, running his clawed hand through his hair. “Not like I have a job to do or anything. Plus side to being a cryptid is that you don’t exactly have to follow a schedule.” 

You giggled, visibly relaxing, and shuffled under the covers of your bed. “Well, thank you for letting me stay again. I’m having a good time and I hope you are, too.”

“No problem,” he replied, thinking that perhaps he should be thanking you for the company you were providing him. He refrained. “And I am. It’s been… nice.” That was the understatement of the century, he knew, but it was all he was willing to express.

“Good,” you said before you rubbed your face into your pillow, a loud yawn echoing in the room. “Night, Leon.”

“Night.”

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed awake after that, listening to you snoring softly across the room in a way he found almost endearing, his head foggy with exhaustion and the sheer disbelief that you were here at all.

The things you did to him, you’d never know.

Then finally, he closed his eyes.

+++

You awoke slowly to the sound of someone calling your name, rubbing your eyes and sitting up on your inflatable bed.

You yawned as you peered over, Leon crouched on the floor by his footboard, running his fingers through Wolfie’s fur.

“I see you learned your lesson about how to wake me up,” you teased, voice slightly hoarse from sleep.

He shook his head, smiling. “What can I say? I’ve always been a quick study.”

You offered an upward tug of your lips before you lifted your arms above your head, stretching out until a soft squeak left your mouth against your will. 

You heard Leon chuckle beside you and you gave him a faux glare as you ripped the blankets off your legs. “What’s so funny, Mr. Kennedy?”

He stood up and only needed to take one long step to be next to your bed, towering over you, before he bent down and offered his hand. “Nothing at all, little rabbit.”

You scoffed but allowed him to easily pull you to your feet. “Is that my official nickname now?”

“‘Fraid so. It suits you a little too well.” His eyes were on you for a moment before they drifted to your still-joined hands. He ran his finger over the ring you were wearing; the one he had given you. “I thought you were joking when you said I was proposing to you,” he mused.

“I was,” you huffed indignantly. “When I pawned off the other stuff you gave me, I decided I wanted to keep this one because it looked cool. And… it reminded me of my time here.”

“And you just so happened to put it on your ring finger?”

“Don’t you get any ideas. It just fits that one best.”

He grinned down at you mischievously before releasing your hand from his grip. “If you say so.” 

“Anyway, now that we’re up…” You sidestepped him to open the bedroom door, trying not to let him see the way his teasing got you all flustered. “I’d like you to take me on a tour today. After breakfast, of course.”

He sighed with exaggerated annoyance. “If I have to.”

You nodded before bounding out of the room and down the stairs, calling back, “You do!”

You were quick to enter the side room, peeling off your pajamas and pulling out your clothes for the day. You eyed the top you had bought the morning before on a whim, considering how it flattered your form and showed a decent amount of your cleavage, but thought better of it. These little flirtations you shared with Leon likely didn’t mean anything, and you loathed to appear desperate. You’d save it for another day, you decided.

You finished changing, then dealt with your unruly hair before brushing your teeth and washing your face. 

Leon joined you shortly after in the kitchen, also donning a new outfit, though the worn fabric and the awkward way it hung off of him made you want to get his measurements just so you could spoil him with a new wardrobe. You worried about going through with it, though, afraid it would come across as rude or even creepy to ask. 

Like the top you deliberated wearing, you decided to save that conversation for another day. You had a week, after all. 

“You making anything for breakfast?” he questioned, leaning casually in the archway, his long arms crossed in front of his chest. You found it both funny how human it was and… strangely attractive.

You averted your gaze. “Just gonna eat cereal. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t expect you to be my personal chef, you know.” He pulled one of the fish he caught the day prior from where you had stacked them in the bottom of the fridge. “Plenty happy with what I got.” 

You scrunched your nose at the smell of the scaly creature as he released it from its ziplock bag. “Eat whatever you want, Leon, but you better scrub your mouth after that. Can’t have you reeking of fish while we’re out all day.”

He offered a lazy salute before taking a large bite. “Yes, ma’am.”

You grinned and prepared your own breakfast, your stomach already growling.  

After eating, and after Leon dutifully brushed his teeth and tongue with added vigor at your behest, he pulled out an old map to aid in your little adventure. You noted the handwritten scrawls across the page, naming each location in the area. You weren’t sure what building you were in, so you trailed your finger from the hunter’s lodge to where you assumed Leon’s house sat.

“We’re here, I’m guessing?” you asked him, pointing at what was titled “the chief’s manor” on the old, yellowed paper.

He nodded, seeming impressed. “Didn’t expect you to figure it out so quick.”

“Well, I use maps on my investigations, you know. A lot of places with cryptid sightings have shit service, so I can’t rely on my GPS. You eventually figure things out after getting lost in the woods a couple times.”

He chuckled at that. “So, where do you want to go?” 

You stared thoughtfully at the map for a few moments, thinking about where you’d like to start. “How about we explore the right side of the area first since we’re already here? Then we could do the left side tomorrow.”

“You’re the boss,” Leon said, shrugging.

“Damn right,” you replied with a smile.

You then got to work filling your backpack with water bottles and a sandwich for later. You even added a baggie full of lunch meat for Leon.

Once out of the door, the two of you (and Wolfie, of course) began your little journey. There was a cool breeze that swept across the path ahead, but the sun was high and warmed your skin. You even pulled out your ballcap and placed it on Leon’s head to keep the light out of his sensitive eyes, which he rolled at your demand, but didn’t protest. 

You traveled down to the abandoned factory and what the map called “the valley”. The factory didn’t hold much of your interest after a quick sweep, but the valley was like a playground to you, the area just a bunch of wooden platforms and bridges set into the surrounding cliffs with a couple of small, empty buildings.

Leon didn’t have much to say about any of it, grumbling about how the area was one he usually avoided, but you caught him smiling softly at your excitement. You were glad for it because you knew most people found your unbridled joy more annoying than endearing.

After that, you circled back, passing Leon’s house and heading to the village in order to reach the church.

As you were perusing the gravestones in the front, enamored by just how old some of them were, you spoke to Leon about something that had been on your mind, “So, the day we met, you told me that I reminded you of someone. Can I ask who?”

He let out a puff of laughter at your nosiness. “Her name's Claire. We survived Raccoon City together.”

“She become an agent, like you? Or was she the person you were protecting when you were forced to join?”

“Neither. She took off pretty much as soon as she could to find her brother. The person I was protecting was this girl named Sherry. She had antibodies against one of the viruses in the city, and they were threatening to experiment on her if I didn’t do their bidding,” he explained, his expression hardening at the memory.

“Jesus,” you muttered. “Your friend ever find her brother?”

“Yeah, at least that side of things worked out.” 

“So… what happened after? Y’know, before you came to the village,” you questioned.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I worked as an agent for six years. Then this. Not much else to say about it.”

You bit your lip, deliberating how to go about asking him what you wanted to know, deciding to be straightforward instead of coy. You had never been good at subtlety, anyway. “I meant you and Claire. Were you guys a thing?” 

“Ah.” He chuckled lightly. “No, we weren’t. She’s great, don’t get me wrong, but we were just friends. Kept in touch until, well… you know.”

“Right.” You found yourself to be strangely relieved that there was nothing between them, but you admonished yourself for even caring. You were only here for a week, after all. No use getting attached, especially after only a couple of days.

He was thoughtful for a moment before he added, “I wonder about them all the time. How they’re doing. A lot can happen in ten years.”

“I don’t know about your friends, but I can at least update you on Ashley, if you’d like?” you offered. 

“Is she okay?” he questioned, going stiff. He seemed to always expect the worst and that broke your heart a little.

“Yes, she’s perfectly fine,” you assured him, glad to see him visibly relax at your words. “In fact, she’s more than fine.”

He tilted his head, “That so?”

“She’s a member of Congress now. Kind of following in her dad’s footsteps, I guess. She’s pretty popular among the younger crowd, always fighting for the underdog. They started calling her a saint after she founded an organization to help people who’ve gone through kidnapping, hostage situations, and things like that. A real inspiration.” 

Leon smiled wistfully. “I’m happy to hear that. I always knew she had it in her, to be her own hero.”

“You know, she’s made several public statements about what happened here. Obviously, there were parts heavily doctored, but still.” You paused a moment, playing with the hem of your shirt. “She talked a lot about you, too. How you saved her. Like you were a modern-day Hercules or something.”

He scoffed, seeming almost diffident. “I was just doing my job. And she saved both herself and me plenty of times. She should give herself more credit.”

“So humble,” you teased, snaking your arm through his, having to strain your neck just to look up at him. “You really are a catch.”   

He rolled his eyes and pulled away from you, “And you think you’re funny.”

“I am funny,” you corrected with a grin, trying not to feel hurt by the way he distanced himself.

He shook his head. “Well, c’mon then, miss comedian. Let’s get a move on.”

The two of you continued your expedition, walking into the nearby church. You raved over the large building and its architecture, awed by the massive stained glass window that painted you, Leon, and Wolfie in a kaleidoscope of light.

Even in this form, you couldn’t deny that Leon looked pretty washed in the rainbow hues. You raked your eyes over him before meeting his gaze and you froze, worried you had been caught ogling him. He turned his head quickly, though, and seemed almost embarrassed. As if he were the one that was caught. 

You realized that he had been staring at you, too, butterflies fluttering in your stomach at the thought.   

You moved on to the quarry, finding a massive skeleton that made your jaw drop to the ground. Leon explained that it was called El Gigante, a troll-like monster that he had slain himself. He laughed as he patted Wolfie’s head, adding that the dog had aided in the fight, not to give himself too much credit. 

After getting your fill of the fascinating creature, you eventually pushed forward, reaching the edge of the lake and deciding to sit on the dock together to eat your lunch. You pried your shoes off, dipping your sweaty feet into the water, cringing at how cold it felt against your skin. 

You chatted idly as you ate, Leon feeding pieces of the deli meat you brought to Wolfie as he devoured his own. You smiled at the sight before gazing back out at the lapping waves, the rhythmic sounds of them hitting the dock almost mesmerizing.

“You should take me on the lake at some point,” you mused, pulling your legs up so that your feet could dry out.

“Sure, that can be arranged. It’s nice out on the water. Peaceful.” He pulled your ball cap further over his forehead. “I like to go fishing a lot these days, just so I can sit out there and shut everything out.”

“I’m not one for fishing,” you admitted, knocking your shoulder gently into his. “But the rest sounds great.”

“It’s a date, then.” You both froze at his phrasing and he was quick to amend, “That was a joke.”

You were disappointed to hear him take it back but smiled up at him regardless. “Joke or not, that sounds good to me.” 

You lazed about for a while after that in silence before you pulled your socks and shoes back on, mentioning the fish farm to Leon. He told you about how it was infested with algae and vipers and smelled terrible. You made a face, not exactly keen on wading through stinky snake water, opting to call it a day and head back for his house.

You had just reached the wooded path heading for Leon’s abode when both he and Wolfie stopped dead in their tracks. Not noticing their halted movement, you took a step forward and Leon threw his arm in front of you, barring you from walking any further.

“What’s wrong?” you questioned in a hushed tone, seeing Leon’s severe expression and Wolfie’s raised hackles. 

“Bear,” was all he offered.

You were about to say something when a loud rustle was heard from the tree line just ahead of you. You swallowed as a giant bear sauntered onto the path, uncomfortably close to where you stood.

Looking at the massive creature, it was suddenly apparent what Leon meant when he said you’d been lucky up to this point, never facing a predator beyond a fox or large bird in your investigations. You didn’t realize just how big they were in person. 

Instead of moseying on like you had hoped, it began to walk toward your group. Panic set in when Wolfie growled and snapped his jaw, the bear seeming to take offense, huffing irritably and edging even closer.

“Down, boy,” Leon commanded the dog, who immediately backed away. Leon stepped in front of you slowly, whispering, “Don’t move.”

You nodded at him and he gave one in return before facing the dangerous animal again. He stood to his full height and splayed out his appendages, hoping they would deter it from further approaching. But the damn thing didn’t back off, letting out a roar and lifting itself up on its hind legs, somehow even taller than Leon.

You had heard male brown bears could grow up to eight feet in height and weigh half a ton, though you had never thought about what that meant in real life. It was terrifying. 

Suddenly, you felt something touch your waist. You let out a small gasp as you looked down, finding that Leon’s tail was coiling around you. It tightened and yanked you towards him, and you tried to avoid the sharp barbed end of it as it slid across your middle.  

His tail was forgotten, though, when Leon raised his claws, bared his fangs, and growled. The sound was deep and loud and so inhuman it sent a bolt of fear through your whole body. A fear that even the gargantuan bear before you, ready to maul you to death, didn’t elicit.

The noise had apparently even rattled the predator itself, which took a few steps back and dropped forward onto its front legs once more. Leon growled again, this one quieter and more guttural, but no less frightening.

The bear just huffed before trotting off into the forest.

Leon exhaled in relief, relaxing his position. “We’re good to go if we hurry,” he said without looking at you. 

“Um, Leon? Can’t exactly hurry when I’m trapped like this.”

He turned his head sharply, his red eyes widening when he noticed his tail had completely encircled your torso, squeezing you tightly as the tip flicked precariously close to your face.

“Fuck,” he said, slowly and carefully unfurling the appendage from your body. “I’m so sorry. I—I didn’t even realize I did that. Are you okay? I didn’t catch you with the barb, did I?” 

You let out a breath as soon as you were free. “I’m fine, it didn’t get me.” 

“Good, cos there’s venom in it. Depending on where it stings you and how deep, it might paralyze you for a while.” 

You stared up at him with a horrified expression. “Seriously? How long is ‘a while’?”

“I normally use it when I’m hunting bigger prey, like deer, so I don’t exactly sit around and wait for it to wear off before going for the kill. But I have used it on predators in self-defense, and they were up and at ‘em in about an hour.”

“Have you ever stung yourself by accident?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t work on me. Immune to it, I guess. Still hurt like a bitch, though.”

You eyed his tail warily. “And you really didn’t know you grabbed me with it?”

“I didn’t,” he said, sighing glumly. “Guess it was just… instinctual.”

“Well… thank you. For protecting me, I mean.” You couldn’t deny that the whole ordeal scared you, but you were still grateful. And Leon was still Leon, as far as you could glean.

“Of course, it’s my—” he cut himself off and let out a soft chuckle. “I almost said ‘it’s my job’. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

“I suppose if I’ve roped you into showing me around the place, it kind of is your job,” you joked.

He smiled and you finally relaxed, the warmth of it—even despite his sharp teeth—was enough to make you feel safe again.

He cleared his throat awkwardly before looking at the tree line where the bear had disappeared, his tone serious as he said, “We should really head home in case he comes back.”

“Right, of course,” you replied, reaching out to hold onto his arm once more. You were pleased when he allowed it, guiding you to the safety of his house, Wolfie happily trailing behind.

You might have been frightened, but you couldn’t deny the exhilaration that coursed through your veins.

You wondered what the rest of the week would have in store.

+++

Leon awoke much the same way as he had the day before: to the sound of your deep breaths and even heartbeats caressing his ears from across the room.

He didn’t stir, only stared up at the ceiling of his canopy bed, thinking about yesterday’s events. 

It started out as a good day, which he realized he came to expect in your company, but he knew something shifted after the bear incident. 

You spoke to him as if nothing changed, but the way you looked at him—or more accurately, the way you refused to look at him—was distinctly off. He figured you were just rattled by the whole thing, but he had shown you a side to him he hoped he would never have to. The part that was truly monstrous.

And the way he had wrapped his tail around you? How it seemed to move of its own accord? The cursed thing often flicked about without him directly using it, but he believed he generally had full control of the appendage. Apparently not.

That realization alone was enough to concern him, but the fact it involved you mortified him beyond belief. He was shocked you didn’t decide to pack up and leave the moment the two of you returned to the house.

Instead, you made dinner like the night before, and while you cooked, Leon had duct-taped an old towel over the hole in the upstairs window to have something to do and to give you space. 

You had then called him down for the meal, Leon choosing to eat all of what you cooked despite his preference for fresh meat and little else, in part hoping it would come across as some sort of olive branch. You seemed surprised by it but didn’t make a comment like you might normally.

He also caught you staring at his tail, and he had his guesses of what you might be thinking.

He assured you what happened earlier wouldn’t happen again, and you told him it was no big deal and that you weren’t worried. He didn’t believe you, though he had no choice but to let it go and pretend the fact he scared you didn’t make his stomach twist in knots. 

After clearing the table, you mentioned wanting to take a bath, and Leon was quick to start the process of boiling the water for you, telling you to relax and read a book. As a compromise, you began reading aloud more of that ridiculous vampire romance novel you bought for him as a joke. Although the story wasn’t exactly his cup of tea, he was happy to hear your little performance just for him, entertained by the voices you gave each of the characters.

You had just ended a chapter—number four or five, he couldn’t recall—when he finished filling the tub with hot water. You obviously had to wait a few minutes for it to cool down enough to get into, but once you were ready, you ducked into the side room.

Leon, still wanting to talk to you and not knowing what else to do, sat against the wall on the opposite side, Wolfie curling up in his lap as you chatted back and forth. 

He could hear the quiet splashing as you moved and cleaned yourself out of his sight, and started to imagine what you looked like under your clothes. How your soaked hair dripped water onto your shoulders and ran in rivulets down your body; how your wet skin would feel under his hands.

He physically recoiled from his wandering thoughts, smacking the back of his head against the wall and letting out a hiss of pain.

“You okay over there?” you questioned, voice light and teasing, though still concerned for his well-being. 

God, you were too good for him. 

“M’fine,” he grumbled in reply, dropping his face into his hands, urging himself to get a grip.

Eventually, you emerged from the room in your pajamas, wringing your hair out with a towel. As you strolled past him to brush your teeth in the kitchen, he was struck by the aroma of the soap you used.

Lavender and vanilla.

The smell was enough to make his mouth water, trailing after you as if possessed. He loomed over you, wanting nothing more than to bury his face into the crook of your neck and inhale.

You turned to face him quizically after rinsing your mouth, and he took a sharp breath to pull himself out of whatever trance he was in, removing himself from your personal space.

What the hell was wrong with him? 

In all the years it took to get used to what he became, he had never been compelled by anything except hunger. He hated that fact, and it troubled him, but whatever this was? It felt far more dangerous.

At least the hunger was predictable.

The two of you had gone to bed without further incident, but he had tossed and turned for hours after, unable to banish the thoughts of you swirling in his head, especially with your sleeping body mere feet away.

To hear you, to smell you, to practically feel the heat emanating from your skin across the room… it felt like torture. Would he be able to survive several more days of this?

He finally sat up in bed the following morning, feeling restless despite not getting much sleep. He called out your name as he grazed his eyes over you.

You were laying on your side, facing away from him, a mess of hair the only thing he could make out from the pile of blankets you were wrapped up in. 

He called your name again, a bit louder, and you finally stirred, rolling over to look at him with bleary eyes.

“Morning, Leon,” you sighed out, rubbing the sleep from your lashes.

“Mornin’,” was his gruff reply, dragging his fingers through his hair. “You still determined to go exploring today? Even after what happened with the bear?” 

You grinned lazily, turning to face him and propping yourself up on your elbow. “Of course I am. You think a lil run-in with the local wildlife will deter me? Clearly, you haven’t been paying attention.” 

He could argue he’d been paying too much attention, but he’d never say it aloud.

You continued, “Besides, I have a big, strong man to protect me.”

He scoffed, shifting his face away from you so you couldn’t see the blush spreading there. “Oh, yeah? Who’s that?” 

You rolled your eyes before slowly dragging yourself out of bed and sauntering over to him, crossing your arms. “You, silly. Now hurry up and get dressed. We got a big day ahead of us.” 

Before he could protest, you were out the door.

He blew air through his teeth and shook his head, begrudgingly getting to his feet. He looked down at Wolfie, who wagged his tail but didn’t move to leave his cushy dog bed. “Women, am I right?”

He quickly got dressed, cursing the fact he didn’t own a single thing that fit him. He wasn’t sure why he cared, as if a change of clothes would make you interested in a monster.

Your flirtations admittedly affected him, but he wasn’t going to kid himself into thinking you’d ever be attracted to him like this. And for your safety, it would be better if you weren’t. You were strange, sure, but you were still human. Human and fragile, he had to be reminded.

Pulling himself together, determined to keep his distance and stop flirting with you, he made his way down the stairs to face you once more.

As he turned the corner, however, the sight that greeted him made him stop in his tracks.

You had just finished changing, walking out of the side room when you saw him and smiled, doing a little twirl with the outfit you were wearing. “You like it? I bought this shirt just the other day.”

He couldn’t prevent the way his eyes raked over your form, taking in the fashionable boots, tight jeans, and puffy-sleeved baby doll top that sat low and tight across your chest. You had even done your makeup and styled your hair in a high ponytail, front pieces of it dangling to frame your face.

It hadn’t even been five minutes and you were already testing his resolve.

Unfair. 

“Well?” you prodded when he only stood in silence.

He cleared his throat and nodded, trying to act cool. “You look… nice. Not sure how comfortable it’ll be to hike around in all day, but you do you.”

You rolled your eyes, pushing past him and into the kitchen. “I think I’ll be just fine.”

The rest of the morning was spent eating breakfast and setting up for the next trip, though there was a heavy tension Leon was suddenly aware of. It had always been there between the two of you, but it had been a slow, simmering thing. Something manageable.

Now, though? It felt like the pot might overboil.

He had to stop himself from staring at you multiple times, trying desperately to be the gentleman his mother raised him to be. He didn’t want you to think he was a pervert on top of being a literal monster. He had to have some principles to hold on to, after all.  

It’s not like you knew how deeply you were affecting him, anyway. And if he could help it, you never would.

The day’s journey was a bit strenuous, having a lot more ground to cover than the one prior. He decided it was best that Wolfie remain behind, the dog cozied up on his little bed as you were leaving.

Once you exited the house, Leon kept his eyes peeled for that bear again, or any other potential danger, not wanting a repeat of yesterday’s events. Still, he couldn’t help but smile softly at the way you approached every new area with such awe and excitement. It was strange to see someone find such joy in a location he’d deemed his own personal hell. It almost made him appreciate the place, to see it through your eyes. 

Almost.

The two of you visited the farm and the lakeside settlement, returning to the gate of the villa to eat your lunch at the table inside. 

After you finished your meal, you bit your lip the way you always did when you were deep in thought. The action drove him a little crazy, but he ignored it.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“Do you think we’ll have time to explore the castle today?”

He sat back in his seat to consider it, glancing out the nearby window. “Well, we’re making good time. Still got a few hours of daylight. If you don’t dawdle too much on the way there, we probably could.” 

You beamed at him, an excited squeal leaving your mouth. “Fuck yeah! I’ve never been to real a castle before!”

He couldn’t deny the self-satisfaction he felt at the idea of providing you with so many new experiences. If there was anything he was sure of, it was that you’d never forget your time here, and that would be a good enough turnout for him.

He smiled in return. “Well, let’s get to changing that.”

Leon had been through the area many times over the years, clearing the paths that had been obstructed when he was chased around it a decade ago. It was still a difficult trek, especially for a human, and the two of you had to stop occasionally so that you could catch your breath and drink some water. 

He didn’t mind it one bit, finding himself observing the sun glinting off your sweat-slick skin. Your makeup was holding up surprisingly well, though the loose strands of hair you had pulled from your ponytail were beginning to stick slightly to your face. His eyes drifted to your chest, watching it rise and fall with your every breath.

“Okay, we’re good to keep going,” you told him, thankfully unaware of his gaze, which he quickly turned forward.

Eventually, you made it to the rickety old bridge that led to the burnt-down slaughterhouse. Leon had repaired it as best he could in the early days of his transformation, wanting an easy way to get around the area. He found he could jump over the ravine with his new superhuman abilities, but it was still a precarious leap.

He went to stroll across the wooden planks, held together by rope, when he noticed you hadn’t moved to follow.

He raised a confused brow at you. “Well, c’mon.”

You swallowed as you approached the bridge, nervously stepping onto it. Your knees buckled when you looked down and saw how high up you were. He easily caught you, and you held on tightly to his arm for balance. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he mused. “Little miss thrillseeker is scared of heights?”

“Not… usually. More scared of how rickety this thing is than anything,” you grumbled. 

Your grip on him was bruising, but he didn’t mind. “We crossed another one just earlier and you seemed fine.”

“Well, this one isn’t nearly as sturdy, is it?” you snapped, letting out a shaky exhale as you tried to take another step.

He looked thoughtfully at you for a moment, deciding to take a risk by sweeping you off your feet and holding you up in his arms.

“Leon!” you yelped, wrapping your hands around his neck fearfully. “What the hell?!”

He chuckled lightly as you peeked over your shoulder. “Don’t worry, bunny, I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.”

You pivoted to face him with wide eyes, your face reddening. “Aren’t I too heavy for this?” you questioned nervously.

He scoffed. “I could pick up a car, easy. This is nothing.” 

“I more so meant the bridge. Wouldn’t want to break it with both our weights combined, right?”

He shook his head. “Do you trust me?”

You stared at him for a few moments but eventually nodded timidly. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then trust,” he began, taking a step forward, “that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“Okay,” you squeaked, holding onto him tighter. You buried your face into the crook of his neck so you wouldn’t have to see the way the creaking bridge swayed with every movement.

He carefully worked his way across without concern, enjoying the feeling of you in his arms. You were delightfully warm as you pressed against him, and the feeling of your breath sweeping over his throat forced him to suppress a shiver.

Regretfully, he made it to the other side, setting you down on solid ground once more. “See? Not so bad.”

You seemed flustered, likely because of your nerves concerning the old bridge, taking a moment to adjust your clothes and hair that were rumpled slightly by the ordeal. “I guess not.”

The two of you began the brief hike to the castle after that, Leon feeling the absence of your body heat so intensely, it was worrying. Whatever this was between you, it was getting out of hand, and Leon was apparently unable to keep his distance.

He had never been particularly good at saying what he wanted, but that never stopped him from seeking it out as if he were a damn homing missile. His interactions with Ada in the past were proof of that. He would have followed her anywhere if he were able. If she had let him.

He banished thoughts of her from his mind, an easier task after a decade of doing it over and over again. His thoughts of you, however, were a different beast altogether. 

He figured, though—he hoped—that once you left, he’d learn to push away his feelings for you, too. At least he had practice.

He was pulled from his introspection when he heard you practically scream in excitement as you came around the bend in the path, the massive, sprawling castle revealed to you.

“Oh my god! Just look at it! It’s huge! And the structure? Friggin’ impressive!” you gushed as the two of you approached the gate.

He grinned down at you and could almost see the stars in your eyes. “Wait 'til you see the inside.”

Your joy was nearly infectious as you explored the area, dragging him around from place to place and only letting him lead when you needed directions. He didn’t mind it, happy to trail after you as you oohed and aahed at damn near everything you saw.

He watched as you admired the flowers in the courtyard, the blooms unruly due to years of neglect, not yet killed by the autumn chill. Once you had turned your back on the bed of red carnations, he couldn’t fight the urge to pluck one from the dirt.

He strolled up behind you as you cooed over the bluebells, offering it to you when you faced him again. “For you.”

You looked surprised at first, but your expression melted into a sweet smile. “Thank you, Leon.”

Before you could reach out to take it, he bent forward and gently tucked it behind your ear, standing upright to get a full view. “Suits you.” 

You seemed almost bashful for a moment, looking away. Trying to fluster you was rapidly becoming his favorite pastime.

Quickly as it had come, your almost shy demeanor disappeared, a twinkle forming in your eye as you plucked a stem of the bluebells and stuck it into Leon’s back pocket. “There, now we’re even.”

He chuckled at the action, finding your reciprocity charming, and the two of continued your journey onward.

You eventually entered the grand hall, and when you finished appreciating the opulence of the marble walls alone, you began to take in the decor.

“You said you like the artwork in the castle, right?” you questioned, pointing at a large landscape painting in front of you.

Leon nodded. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind putting most of these up at my place.”

“Well… no one’s stopping you,” you goaded, grinning at him slyly. “I think this one would look perfect in the dining room, don’t you agree?”

He laughed, running his hand over the back of his neck as he considered it. “I don’t know, it’d be a hassle to bring them all the way to the house.”

“Sure,” you admitted, crossing your arms. “But don’t you think it’d be worth it to spruce up the place? Make it a bit more… homey? Besides, we could just take them out of the frames and roll them up. Make our own. It could be a fun little DIY project, and it’s not like you aren’t swimming in lumber.”

“Fine, I’m convinced.” He sighed, admitting you had a point. “You’d make a decent car salesman, you know that?”

You scrunched your nose at the thought, helping Leon remove the heavy frame from the wall, although he didn’t need it. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” 

Leon smirked, allowing you to gently pull out the canvas, rolling it up. “Just an observation.”

You clicked your tongue in faux offense, continuing the task at hand. 

The two of you collected six different paintings, which Leon was now stuck with holding for the rest of the trip. It was a nuisance, but at least having something in his grip prevented him from acting on his impulse to reach out and touch you. 

Finally, you came across the library, and he knew you could spend an eternity going through the seemingly endless amount of books that lined the shelves as soon as you entered. You were about to make yourself comfortable and start reading to your heart’s content, but Leon had to remind you of your limited time. 

“But this place is a gold mine!” you told him with a pout, the expression so damn cute, it tested his already crumbling resolve. 

“Look, there’re still places to visit, and you have a few more days. We can always come back if you want,” he proposed.

You sighed exaggeratedly but gave in as he thought you would. “Fine, but you can’t stop me from taking some of these,” you informed him, shoving several books into your bag.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Afterward, he led you into the ballroom, and the way you gazed around in amazement at the sheer size of it made him chuckle. 

“Imagine the parties in this place…” you mused. You dropped your backpack on the ground suddenly, marching to the center of the floor. “You know how to waltz, Leon?”

“Can’t say I do, unless you count slow-dancing at prom. Even then, I’m probably a little rusty.”

“Well, set down those paintings and get over here, mister. I’m gonna teach you how to dance like a prince,” you demanded earnestly.

“Seriously?”

“Please..?” You gave him your best puppy dog eyes, and despite his reluctance, he found it difficult to say no to you.

He gave out a long-suffering sigh, placing the paintings against the wall and meeting you where you stood. “If I step on your toes, you only have yourself to blame, bunny.”

You smiled up at him. “A risk I’m willing to take.”

Slowly and carefully, you put his hands into their proper positions; one in your own and the other resting against your waist. You coached him on how to move, and he followed your lead at first, stiff and awkward in his motions. Within a few minutes, though, he quickly picked up the rhythm and you allowed him to take charge, giggling as he spun you around the room.

“You’re a natural,” you complimented, rubbing your thumb against his shoulder where your hand was placed. He found himself doing the same to your side and was enthralled with the shiver that ran through your body, proof that maybe he had even the slightest effect on you.

“What can I say—” he started.

“You’re a quick study?” you teased, echoing his earlier words.

“No, actually,” he corrected, pulling you a little closer. “I was going to say, ‘I have a great teacher’.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure you were.”

After a few more blissful minutes, Leon begrudgingly slowed to a halt and released you from his grasp. “Well, we better get a move on. It’s our last stop for today.”

You went to grab your backpack but he prevented you, telling you to leave it as you’d be coming back through, anyway. You nodded, following him to the final destination.

You laughed with pure glee when he brought you into the throne room, immediately bounding towards the massive, gilded seat. You took your time studying it, running your fingers over the intricate carvings along the sides before pressing down on the red cushion to test its comfiness.

“Well, go on. Sit,” he encouraged, crossing his arms over his chest.

You beamed at him before putting your attention back on the chair, turning and gracefully perching on top of it.

“Look at you, practically made to be royalty,” Leon told you as he approached.

He was joking, but there was truth in it. Seeing you sit on the ornate piece of furniture with one leg crossed over the other and your arms draped upon the sides of it was truly a sight to behold. He didn’t know you could appear so regal, even if it was for pretend. 

“Made for it?” You hummed thoughtfully before saying, “Perhaps I just inherited the throne, the only remaining family of the recently deceased king.”

“Mm, and what would that make me, your Highness?” he questioned, tilting his head. He stood before you now, and he would’ve been remiss not to notice the playful gleam in your eye as you raked your gaze over him. 

“You can be my loyal knight,” you told him, nodding your head. “There are those that transpire against me in this very court, sir. I would need someone diligent and strong to watch for my usurpers, after all.” 

“A knight, huh?” Leon mused, coming up beside you and tracing a clawed finger along the back of the chair. “Not the fierce dragon holding the fair maiden hostage while she waits for someone brave or stupid enough to come looking for her?” He kneeled beside you, then, resting his elbows on the arm of the throne, his chin pressed on top of his folded hands. “No one’s managed to get past me yet. Sorry to tell you, princess.”

You shifted in the chair to face him, fingers splayed out on either side of his arms. “Even better… we could be Beauty and the Beast. A lonesome prince cursed to a monstrous form until he finds true love. And, of course, I’m only here to trade my life for my father’s, who had been terribly rude to sneak into your home unannounced. He’s a bit of an eccentric, you must know, but he’s a good man. And I’m eventually charmed by your uncouth mannerisms and prickly personality.” 

“Uncouth and prickly? Ouch,” Leon chuckled. “Well, how does it end, then? Does true love turn me back into a human? That would be nice.”

“If we’re following the original tale, sure. But I have it on high authority that Beauty might have been more disappointed by the transformation than relieved.”

Leon raised his brows at that. “Disappointed the Beast turned back into a prince?” 

“I’m sure she didn’t complain, of course. He was handsome, after all, and still the man she fell in love with, but… Beauty loved the Beast in part due to his monstrous form, not in spite of it.”

“Beauty sounds like a freak,” Leon quipped, though your words made something of a home inside of his chest, curled up and warm. “I bet you think The Little Mermaid should have kept her tail, don’t you?” 

You bit your lip as you mulled it over, and he struggled not to stare at how the soft flesh gave under the pressure of your teeth, his eyes jumping back to meet yours almost guiltily as you finally replied, “Although I think the story would have been infinitely more interesting if she had, there’s something to be said about sacrifice in the name of love. It was a little unfair, though.”

“Unfair?”

“Well, why did she have to sacrifice everything for the prince? She gave up who she was on a fundamental level just to be with him. And what did he give up? He was still a prince. He was still handsome and rich. And then he got a beautiful girl so desperate to be with him, she’d trade her family, her friends, parts of her own body, her voice—just to get a chance with him. Feels a little unbalanced, doesn’t it?”

You were closer now, and he realized you both had shifted toward each other, like gravity itself had a hand in it. His tongue ran along the back of his teeth as he studied you and that smile dimpling your cheeks. 

If it were gravity, you must have been the sun, then.

“I guess I never thought of it that way,” he responded. “What other wise inferences do you have for me, princess?”

You giggled and the sound might be imprinted in his brain forever. “Oh, so many, it’ll make your head spin.” 

“Guess I have a lot to learn,” he replied, grinning. 

“Definitely, but I think the biggest lesson here is that it's all a matter of… perspective.” 

“I can’t believe anyone would want to overthrow you with smarts like that, your Highness. Sounds like you’d be a great ruler.”

“And that’s precisely why they seek to steal my crown, dear sir. An intelligent woman is a dangerous one,” there was a teasing lilt in your voice that made him suck in a harsh breath, your expression so open and light juxtaposed with the intensity of your eyes trained solely on him. 

A silence stretched on between you as you simply stared at each other, and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest—could hear your own do the same, though he wouldn’t dare hope it meant what he wanted it to.

You made him feel human.

But then he saw his own reflection in your eyes, and the sight of his sharp teeth was the reminder he needed that he wasn’t human, and he never would be again.

He supposed his curse couldn’t be broken.

And so he pulled away.

“We should get back to the house. It’s a long walk,” he told you, looking at the floor instead of you, afraid he might do something rash if he met your gaze for a moment longer. 

You let out a shaky breath, blinking as if you were pulled from a daze, and stood. “Yeah, right. Of course.”

You grabbed your pack from the floor in the ballroom and he took the rolls of paintings leaning against the wall, the two of you rushing to leave the old castle behind. 

And, with the awkward quiet that settled between you as you journeyed back to his home, both of you unable to meet the other’s eye…

It was a long walk, indeed.

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

Masterlist | Previous | Next

[llumimoon]

TFW ur shitty dad decides to prank ur whole school to teach you to be more chaotic but instead you just realize how attached you've become to certain people. This is the EAH AU's version of Spring Unsprung!!

Gotta give credit where credit is due, @silverlistenstothings really helped out with this arc !!! So many good Hermie thoughts as always ough <333

We decided this happens like right before the Big Plot Shit happens in the AU and instead of being a festival it's Hermie's Birthday !!! The cursed riddlebook is a gift from Scam that Hermie gives to Scary instead bc he doesn't rlly care about it, which . turns out to be a very bad idea. The curse quickly spreads throughout the school reversing everyone's personalities and causing Normal to try and pretty much end the world.

This arc is Hermie and Taylor focused !!! :D Although it is really fun to think about the reverse teens running rampant NWVEGWHAAHA reverse norm is a little treat for me <3 but reverse Link is SO INCREDIBLY FUNNY . shoutout to this message from @happi-tree bc it's been burned into my memory and I cant stop laughing about it

When it comes to the curse we decided that bonds and skills stay the same but the personalities are inverted, which means reverse Scary being sooo attached and clingy to Hermie is just her personality changing the way she decides to communicate her affection for who she sees as her best friend. Its cute <3

Herm is SUPER on edge due to being incredibly irritated with his dad and feeling insecure about his friendship with Taylor, who's having a bit of a crisis on his own about his feeling about Link. Toss in their shared homesickness for Wonderland, a realm they can't go back to, and Taylor panicking over a gift his mom left him going missing, well it's not good for anyone. How are they gonna figure things out enough to save Ever After from destruction?

(EAH AU is by me, @rindomness & @kaseyskat !!)

Image Description is under the cut

[ID: Image 1: Normal smirking evilly with a hand up to his chin and the other on his hip. His eyes are a light purple and he's saying "Hey." To his right is Scary happily waving while smiling, her eyes similarly a light purple. She's saying "OMG hiiii Herm!! <3"

Image 2: Hermie with a stunned and mad expression on their face and trying to pout tea from a teapot into a teacup but missing the cup by a lot. Their cat ears are turned downward and tucked against their head while their tail behind them is stuck straight up with fur sticking out in all directions. They have a thought bubble that says "I'm gonna KILL my dad." there's text in the bottom left that has an arrow pointing off the canvas and is labeled "Scam giggling off screen."

Image 3: Link doing the fuck boy expression, his eyes half lidded and biting the corner of his lip with a pointed hand on his chin, with his other hand with the thumb tucked into the top of his belt. His eyes are similarly a light purple and he's looking at Taylor. There's text with an arrow pointing at Link that says, "turned into a shitty fuck boi liar because of the curse" To his right stands Taylor who has his arms by his side in a dinosaur like pose and a grossed out and devastated expression on his face. His bunny ears are sticking straight up. There's an arrow pointing to him that says "Fucking Appalled" in all caps.

Image 4: Scary smiling with her eyes closed and hugging Hermie with one of her legs posed upward behind her. Hermie is standing still with their eyes obscured due to the shine of their glasses with a neutral expression on their face and their cat ears turned downward and their tail puffed up and sticking up. To their right stands Taylor with both his hands up to clutch his face and his bunny ears pointed downward. Scary is saying "Haha yaaaay besties forever after!!" with flowers and hearts drawn around her. There is an arrow pointed at her labeled "still cursed". Hermie has a thought bubble that says "MY DAD IS A DICK." and an arrow pointed at them that's labeled "so touch starved". Under that is an arrow pointing at Taylor that is labeled "having a gay crisis" and he is surrounded by question marks. He has a large thought bubble that says "Why am I so jealous that Link is flirting with everybody ohmygod do I have a crush on my best friend forever after holy shit what"

Image 5: Normal looking down with an evil smirk and light purple eyes with his hand out to hold something. Hermie looks up with a frustrated expression on their face and their pupil's sharpened and is clutching Normal's arm as his hand holds Hermie's chin. Normal is saying "Shame you've decided to get in my way kitten, I really did like you. Well whatever. It's not going to matter in a moment, nothing is. You're too late." the word "nothing" is underlined for emphasis.

Image 6: A discord screenshot of 'willy KILLER MAIMER DESTROYER' saying "Link: babe you’re being so fucking silly but hey at least you’re also hot. Wanna kiss maybe. That’s gotta fix you or whatever

Taylor: ???????????????? OK ACTUALLY I FORGOT I WAS GETTING LUNCH WITH HERMIE GOTTA GO under his breath wtf wtf wtf"/end ID]

[m-jelly]

The bunny's keeper - Chapter 5

@ladycheesington <3

Levi x fem! reader.

Modern AU, fluff, romance, falling in love, Levi has tattoos and piercings, bad boy Levi, protective Levi, smut, oral, outdoor sex, breeding kink, reader has implant.

In this chapter: You talk to a friend and manage to rally the journalists and reporters for Erwin and Levi. While you help Levi works hard on a gift for you. Levi takes you on a date where he asks you something important and after the two of you make love in the woods on Levi's bike

Massive thank you to @ladycheesington for helping me flesh this story out and helping with the side plot of Erwin and how the gang started <3

Part 6

You set up your little area and made sure you looked nice. You gave Levi a big grin as he kept glancing over at you. “Levi, you’re staring.”

He blushed a little. “Well, because you’re pretty.” He walked over to you. “Is my office okay for you to make these calls?”

You nodded. “Of course.”

He sat down next to you. “You’re amazing.”

“You’re more amazing.”

Levi wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you against him. “I love you.”

You rubbed Levi’s chest. “I love you too.” You kissed his temple. “Is everything okay?”

“I just…I’m possessive. This big-shot journalist you’re friends with will take one look at your pretty face and want to marry you.”

You hummed a laugh. “I’m with you, Levi. I won’t leave you for him, I promise.”

He kissed you over and over. “I want to make love to you.”

You cupped his face. “I will ride your hard cock on this sofa once I’ve finished with this video call.”

Levi felt his whole body tingle. “I can’t wait.”

You patted his thigh. “Have a good day, my love.”

“I’ll make you something.”

You hummed a laugh. “Okay, handsome.” You shuffled in your seat and smiled at the camera when the call came in. You tapped it and smiled. “Hello, Jacob.”

Jacob adjusted his glasses and smiled at you. He was a very tall and charming man, a well-looked-after stubble, his smile was big and friendly. He softly called your name. “Great to see you. I read your email and you have interested me. Why don’t we talk this through.”

You smiled brightly. “Thank you! So, the big man Francis Seymore. We’re here to talk about him.”

He hummed. “He’s dangerous.”

“I know and I have a plan to take him down.”

He sat back in his seat. “Do you now? It’s a dangerous thing you’re doing.”

You leaned closer. “I know, but the thing is. Recently, someone for the website I help with made a report on him and he wasn’t happy.”

“This supposed to convince me?”

“Let me finish, Jacob.” You giggled. “One person he noticed and can stop, but what if a whole fucking army of people do reports on him? Expose him for the lies and the abuse. One voice shouting up is putting a target on you, but if you have a whole group, you can stand against him. You want to attack him all at once. If he questions things, then throw my name in there I don’t mind.”

Jacob smiled at you. “This is a fantastic idea. I mean, this man brought in countless drugs in this city. He’s bleeding the common person dry and allowing crime to run rampant all the while he strokes the egos of the rich.” He shook his head. “The shit poor people are being put through and it’s this endless cycle too. They take his drugs, then borrow money from him to get more and to get money they are employed by him to sell more drugs to others.”

You clasped your hands together. “Yes, that’s how I feel about this.”

He tilted his head. “But I know your lover is in Erwin Smith’s gang. You want me to destroy one gang leader to put another in his place, I’m not sure about that.”

You shuffled closer. “Jacob. I know Erwin is a gang leader, but he means well. He has nothing to do with drugs or guns. His main income and purpose is to clean the streets of the bad. He also protects businesses at a small price and in return, he helps them as a business. He buys out businesses and saves people from ruin. He works with them and gives them some of the money. He also plans to build more shops and cafes to bring in money to areas that have had businesses leave.”

He hummed in thought. “Interesting. So, he’s trying to help people by going about it in a not-so-legal way a lot of the time.”

“Exactly. Plus, they have caught incredibly bad people. Sometimes the law can’t stop everyone and they are restricted, but Erwin captures these bad people and runaways. He can punish them and hurt them.”

“Does he work with police?”

You whined a bit. “Yes.”

He released a long sigh as he thought. “Sometimes you have to get dirty. Justice fails a lot of people. So, you want all of us to work together?”

“I want us all to do reports on Mr Seymore and release them all at the same time. There is safety in numbers. He’ll see all this information getting out about him, there will be no hiding. There is so much coming out that it’s impossible to hush every single person. We need to keep talking about him too.”

He laughed. “Fuck, that might work. So, what is Erwin doing?”

You shuffled. “Well, he is going to work with the mayor. He is also going to go to those housing complexes where there are a lot of poor, bad shops and terrible parks. He’ll help build them up, pour money into them and work with the community to improve it.”

“It’s a lot of money to do that. What does he want back?”

“A small donation from each person living there to help him build the place. He’ll get them jobs in new shops there too. Once they have a good income going, again it’ll be small donations to Erwin to keep the protection there and the upkeep.” You smiled. “Plus, he’ll own a lot of the shops and as an owner, he’ll earn income.”

Jacob nodded. “He’ll be putting a lot of trust in people. He means well. From what I’ve heard, the people he deals with adore him and he’s helped so many. Plus, he doesn’t hurt good people.” He clapped his hands together. “Okay! Sounds like a plan to me. I’m in.”

You gasped. “What!? Really?”

He smiled. “Of course!” He leaned forward and said your name. “People have wanted to take down Seymore for a while, but it’s been so hard. The reason is we’re not organised. People have been trying to play the hero and going at it alone. There is safety in numbers. It’s time for the people to take back their city.” He winked at you. “Leave it with me, okay? I’ll organise the reporter and journalist riot.”

You felt your cheeks burn. “Amazing! Thank you so much! So, if you need me for anything, please contact me.”

“I will. This is your idea and I want to keep you in the loop. I swear to you as your long-time friend, we will get this fucker.”

You welled up. “Thank you, Jacob.”

He blushed hard. “Please don’t cry, okay? I didn’t realise how much this meant to you. I’m dedicated to this, okay? I’m all in.”

“You’re the best.”

“You’re too sweet.” He tried to hide his blush. “I’ll get to work and rally the troops. You keep Erwin focused, okay? Good intentions only and he’ll go far.”

“Promise!” You waved to him as the call ended. “That’s amazing news.”

While you were busy with Jacob, Levi had set himself a little mission. The love he had for you was overflowing. There was only one thing on Levi’s mind, so he told his workers to take care of everything while he worked on a little project. He gathered some good metal and started changing the shape and manipulating it. He huffed a bit when he got the shape perfect, but it seemed too simple.

One of his workers approached him. “Hey, boss?”

Levi gazed at him. “Yeah?”

“How about choosing a nice stone and some patterns?”

Levi hummed. “I’d love to, but I don’t know how to get hold of stones.”

He smiled at Levi. “Got an idea. We’ll make something for you. You focus on nice patterns.”

Levi did as he suggested and made sure everything was delicate and intricate. He looked up when the man returned. “I hope you haven’t stolen anything.”

He shook his head. “Nah, boss. I made something for you. We’ve got a lot of heat in here and well I thought I’d make a tiny bit of glass with some colour.” He lifted a glass stone with pride. “Tiny, but pretty.”

Levi was in awe of it. “It’s perfect.”

“You think it can fit in what you’re making?”

Levi showed him. “I think it will.” The two worked together to set the glass in. “It looks perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome boss, now you better ask her the important question. Yeah?”

Levi blushed. “I will. Thank you again for your help.”

“Here for you, boss.”

Levi bowed his head and hurried over to you just as you were coming out of his office. “Bunny. Did it all go okay?”

You nodded. “It went fantastic! He said yes! We have help.”

He wrapped his arms around you. “That’s fantastic. Thank you so much for getting the media on our side.”

You giggled. “I’m so happy. I didn’t think it’d go well, but it did.” You hugged Levi tightly. “I feel so emotional.”

“It’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot.” He lifted your head. “I’m so sorry I’m putting you through all this. I’m a dangerous man and I’ll be even more dangerous as time goes on.”

You gazed at Levi with a sparkle in your eyes. “I’m never leaving you. You and me, Levi. You are my forever. I adore you so much. I love you.”

“I love you forever and always.” He kissed you and hummed. “I know you wanted to do naughty things in my office, but I’m thinking about a date.”

You bounced up and down. “Really? Are you sure we can afford it?”

“We can.” He wrapped his hand around yours. “You ready to go?”

You trotted along behind him. “Now?”

He smiled back at you. “Yes, now.” He led you to his bike and put your helmet on you. “Hold on.”

You sat behind Levi and hugged him tightly. You squealed in delight as Levi raced through the city and made his way out of it to the woods. It was so peaceful and pretty. Cheap dates were what you and Levi did and it made you appreciate each other so much more. The two of you had secret spots all over the place where you could enjoy each other’s company and bodies.

Levi moved up a tight road and began to drive very slowly until he found the perfect spot. “What do you think?”

You pulled your helmet off and walked over to the river and pool. “It’s perfect.” You turned to him. “Do we have food? I didn’t pack anything.”

“I put things together, don’t worry.” He walked up to you and caressed your cheek. “Allow me to take care of you.”

You felt your cheeks burn. “I want to look after you though.”

He chuckled. “You do too much of that.” He smiled at your pout. “So cute.” He pinched your cheek and wiggled. “Little bunny.”

“Bunnies bite.”

“Do they now?”

You turned your head and bit his hand. “Mm.”

He purred a little. “I like it.” He reached over and lightly gripped your neck. “Look at me, bunny, I’m covered in tattoos and piercings. I like a little bit of pain.” He crashed his lips against yours and hummed in delight. “I have something for you.”

“You’ve said that before and it was your dick. Is it your dick?”

He lifted you and sat you on his bike. “I did put a bow on it.”

“It was very cute and fun.”

He smirked at you. “I thought so too. I loved it when you did the same thing for me with a bow over your boobs and a bow on your pelvis.”

“I should do that again.”

He cupped your face. “No need. I’ll do it again for you.” He kissed the end of your nose. “I have something for you and not the rude thing you were thinking.”

You nibbled your lip. “What is it?”

He put his hand in his pocket and then pulled out when he was making all day. “While you were being my amazing girlfriend, I was making something for you.”

You giggled. “What were you making?”

He released a long and shaky sigh. “I know I ain’t got much money. I know I ain’t got the smarts compared to people like Jacob or Erwin. I know I am this rough and tough guy who says shit and fuck too much.” He smiled a little. “I know what I’m not. I know what I’m lacking and I know I’m fucking lucky to have a woman like you in my life.”

You welled up. “Levi, you’re more amazing than you think. You’re my world.”

“You’re mine too. I love you more than words can describe. I will make a better life for us both and our children.” He held up what he made to reveal it was a delicate ring. He said your full name. “I have no money to offer. I have no riches or expensive home or car. I haven’t made a big name for myself. What I do have is love. You can have every drop of my love. Will you marry me?”

You nodded as you started shaking from pure excitement. “Yes, yes I will.”

He slipped the ring on your finger and let out a shaky sigh. “I made it the right size.”

You sniffed a bit. “I can’t believe you made this! Levi, this is incredible.” You leaned up and kissed him. “I love you so much, Levi.”

He tangled his fingers in your hair and kissed you with ferocious passion. “I love you too.”

You blushed a little. “Have you ever had sex on your bike before?”

He frowned. “No.”

You whined a little. “Do you want to?”

He turned you on his bike so you straddled it. “I would love to.” He pushed you back a bit while he pulled your hips closer. He smiled as you lay back a bit with your head by the handles. “This is a great idea. Hold on and be good. If you want me to stop, just say it.”

You mewled. “Levi.”

He slipped your panties off and shoved them into his pocket. He threw your legs over his shoulders and dove for you. He gripped your thigh tightly as his other hand pressed on your pelvis. He dragged his tongue up your delicious heat and made sure to flick your clit with his piercing. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the delight that was your clit and pussy. The heat and taste from you was addictive, no matter how much heat ate you he could never get enough. He hummed in happiness as you panted and moaned below him.

You tangled your fingers into Levi’s hair and tugged. You arched your back off the bike as you cried out in delight. You gulped hard as your pleasure increased and your coil tightened. Your legs shook hard as your body became overwhelmed with the pleasure that Levi was giving you. You could feel your body burning with pleasure.

You threw your head back. “Levi.” You moaned out loud as you felt the pleasurable pop inside you. “Mm.”

Levi dragged his tongue up and hummed. “You are so perfect.” He straddled his bike and slipped your legs over his thighs. “Now, if I remember correctly…”

You sat on his lap. “I wanted to ride you.”

He smiled at you. “Do you want to?”

You undid his trousers and pulled his thick hard erection out. You played with his piercings making him grunt and moan. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

You shifted and sank on him. Both of you let out long moans as he slowly filled every inch of you. You tapped your forehead against Levi’s and mewled in delight. “I can’t bounce, sorry.”

Levi smiled at you. “Just roll your hips, my darling bunny.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and did as he suggested. The two of you locked eyes and panted as you rolled your hips against him. You tapped your forehead against Levi’s as you moved together. He pressed all the right places inside you. His tip kept kissing you as his piercings rubbed sensitive parts. A tingling went through every inch of you as pleasure spread with every beat of your heart. You clenched your walls around him and softly smiled at the man you would be marrying.

Levi tilted his head and smiled for a moment before kissing you. He ran his hands up your back and held you against him. He pumped his cock into you just a little causing your toes to clench tightly in delight. His pierced tongue moved against yours making you shiver in ecstasy. The way the piercing on his lip brushed against your lip made your heart race. Every inch of Levi Ackerman was incredible to you. The two of you were made for each other and nothing could get in your way.

He pushed his hand down to your bum and gripped. He moved you a little harder and faster on him. He wanted you to cum and to cum as hard as possible. You are his fiancée now and soon-to-be wife, so he had to spoil you as much as possible. He pulled from your lips and ran his tongue up your neck before softly biting the side of your neck and sucking a strong mark. A ring was not enough for your finger, he wanted to mark you in pretty lovebites.

You dragged your nails across Levi’s back as your coil tightened. “Mm!” Your body shook on top of Levi as you felt a pop and pleasure burn through you. “F-Fuck.” You gasped as your orgasm consumed you.

Levi held you close and panted as your walls massaged him. “Bunny.”

You mewled. “Grumpy.” You pouted a little. “No cum?”

He smirked. “Not yet.”

“Mm, then bend me over the motorbike.”

Levi lifted you and stood you up. He slipped off the bike and helped you bend over the bike, your feet couldn’t touch the floor so you held the handles and knew that you would be at Levi’s mercy. He stood behind you and ran his hand down your back as he moved his tip up and down your pussy lips. He pushed his tip into you and plunged deep until he had nothing left to give. He massaged your hips and began pumping himself in and out of you. He marvelled at your sweet moans that echoed in the beautiful woods.

You pushed up on the bike and leaned your head back as you moaned. You looked back over your shoulder at your lover and smiled at him. A little whimper from you was all Levi needed to hear to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. He pressed your body against the bike and kissed you with all the love and passion in his heart. He kissed along your cheek and then to your neck. He nipped and sucked the back of your neck causing you to shiver in delight. Your fingers gripped the bike tightly.

You purred. “Levi, harder.”

He gripped your hips and started pumping hard and fast into you. He wanted to see if all his love could be poured into you. He leaned over you and kissed your back. Everything about you was perfect and cute. Marrying you was a dream come true. Part of him couldn’t believe that he was in the middle of the woods with your hips up for him as he pounded his cock into you. He eyed your body and found himself looking down at how wet his cock was as it slid in and out of you. Hearing you mewl and shiver at every pop of his piercing was arousing.

You panted and moved your hips as best you could, but as soon as you moved your clit rubbed on the bite seat. You cried out as pleasure burned through you. You panted heavily as you felt every inch of Levi fill you, he was always so damn perfect. You turned your head a little and felt yourself drooling. Your eyes rolled back into your head as you felt your pleasure rushing towards you. With a harsh movement of your hips against the seat on your clit, your orgasm burned through you and consumed your body.

Levi stilled his hips as your orgasm rushed through you. “Bunny.”

You mewled. “Grumpy. Still no cum?”

He chuckled. “Not yet.” He dragged himself out of you. He shifted your body and sat you sideways on the bike facing him. “One last position.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and linked your weak legs around him. “Mm, Levi.”

He pressed back into you and rolled his hips slowly. He smiled against your lips before kissing you. “I love positions like this the most, being close to you and kissing you.”

You nipped his lip. “I love these too. Kissing you is wonderful.” You tangled your fingers in his hair and tugged a little. “I love you.”

He bucked himself against you. “I love you too. I love you so much.” He grunted a little. “I don’t know if I can last much longer, my love. Your pussy and lips are too good.”

You cupped Levi’s face. “Cum inside me. Cum deep. Give me a lot.” You smiled at him. “Imagine we’re making a baby.”

Levi growled. “Yes!” He pumped harder and faster. “Fill you up with everything I have.”

You hugged him close to you, his lips against the crook of your neck. “My love, my darling, my Levi.”

He panted and grunted against your skin as you shivered in delight. “Mine, all mine.”

You kissed along his cheek to his lips. You cupped his face and gazed deep into Levi’s eyes to see it was full of love and your eyes were full of love for him. You moved one hand between your bodies and started playing with your clit. You shivered and purred at him as your walls massaged him over and over. Your eyes rolled back into your head as you felt your coil tighten up once again. You leaned your head back as Levi bit your neck and sucked your skin.

You screamed in euphoria as you felt your orgasm rush you. “F-Fuck.”

Levi bent you backwards a little, your hips raised as he bucked harder. He slammed his cock in deep. “A-ah! Mm.” He mewled in delight as his cum poured into you. He panted and hummed in delight. “I love you.” He softly called your name. “I love you.”

You smiled sweetly at Levi. “I love you too.” You nibbled your lip. “Mm, hot and a lot of it.”

He blushed a little at your words. “Your words fuelled me.”

You giggled. “They did, didn’t they?”

He dragged himself out of you and tucked himself away. “I’ll get your panties.” He pulled them out of his pocket and slowly dragged them up your legs. “Did I go too rough?”

“No, you are always wonderful.” You linked your arms around his neck. “I can’t believe I’m going to marry you.”

Levi smiled. “I can’t believe I am either.”

You ran your fingers over his lips and lightly played with his piercing. “So pretty.”

“You’re the pretty one.” He bit your thumb. “You’ve got me horny again.”

You giggled. “Sorry.”

He lifted you into the air. “Do you want to go for a paddle?”

“I’d love that!”

He carried you over to the pool of water and placed you on your feet. “You ready to get naked?”

You purred at him. “Does it involve having some fun sex?” You leaned closer and grazed your lips against Levi’s. “Pretending to make a baby.”

Levi gripped your hips and growled. “I love kinky breeding talk.” He pulled your top up and stared at you in a bra and skirt. “Having a baby with you would be incredible. Let’s get all the practice in making one.”

[teamstormbow]

I'm lumping all my superhero/supervillain ZRC plot bunnies into one Tumblr post since I doubt they'll ever develop into a full fanfic, but they still tickle, prickle and pickle my gray matter in so many good and unusual ways that I had to store them somewhere.

In this AU, Ze is a fire-themed superhero who routinely clashes with his arch-nemesis, a supervillain with ice powers known by the moniker 'Chilled'. Like I've said, I know this has been done a billion times already, but it's such a good premise, and not just 'cause they're associated with red and white and Chilled's name is… what it is. On the surface level, it seems as if their powers are in direct contrast to their personality. Ze is level-headed, quiet, keeps to himself most of the time. Some call him pragmatic and cold, even callous. But he's really, really passionate about the things he cares about, and keeping his city--and the world--safe, and when he gets angry, there's absolutely nothing subtle about it. His is the fury. That's the expression of his fire powers. Chilled is the hammiest, most affable moustache-twirling villain you could imagine and who somehow manages to embody every Italian stereotype simultaneously. He runs a booming financial business that thrives off the backs of the poor yet still has excellent PR, mostly because he can charm the pants off anyone. Charisma 100. But his heart is ice-cold. He doesn't care about anyone except himself and a very tiny group of people (famiglia, anyone?)--which includes, ironically, Ze--and everyone else can go hang.

Cheesy, meanwhile, is a kid with budding water magic who somehow finds himself caught up in Ze and Chilled's conflict in a very messy way: he's Ze's biological son who got surrendered to foster care early on without Ze ever knowing of his existence, then adopted by Chilled in a publicity stunt and tossed into the sterile, loveless environment of Chilled's corporate home. Cheesy looks up to Ze's alter-ego and wants to be like him when he grows up.

Conviction is the source of all magic, and the reason why Chilled and Ze are so powerful. Ze's fire burns so hot because he knows he's doing what's right. Chilled's ice is so cold because he'd stop at nothing to gain power. But each is hampered by the other: Ze can't bring himself to kill Chilled because of his moral code, and his fire always weakens before he can deal a killing blow. Chilled can't bring himself to kill Ze because it would mean giving up on his selfish desires, and his ice always melts before he can strike the mortal blow.

So they remain in this tentative balance for years, to everyone else's detriment. But it can't stay this way. Something happens to upset it--either Ze foils one too many of Chilled's plans, or Chilled kills one too many people, or both--and so they manage to overcome that last obstacle that's limiting their magic and go all out in one final, no-holds-barred beatdown that destroys half the city. I keep imagining a climax where their personalities seem to do a 180 and their powers are running rampant, stronger than they've ever been--except that's who they've been the entire time, their true colours are showing. And it ends with one of them dying. Either Ze sacrifices his moral integrity and kills Chilled for the greater good of his city, or Chilled decides that the obstacle Ze poses to his power outweighs any personal attachments and kills him.

Either way, it changes the survivor forever. Their magic reaches its full potential during the climax, but afterwards they're a shell of the men they were. After striking the final blow, the other's magic seeps into theirs and snuffs it out, manifesting in the water of their tears (because fire+ice=water). Chilled's ice would melt if Ze died, and Ze's fire would burn low if Chilled died, and both of their powers would never work right again; because the root of all magic lies in conviction, and their conviction has been irreversibly shaken.

So one's death would affect the other… but not enough to stay their hand. They'd still be a superhero/supervillain, because they've sacrificed too much to stop now; but they'd be a jaded superhero/remorseful supervillain with faulty superpowers. And Cheesy? If Chilled killed Ze, he'd see the truth of Chilled's actions, take up his biological father's mantle and become the city's new protector. But if Ze killed Chilled, he'd avenge his adoptive father by following in his footsteps, becoming the new Firm's CEO and the city's new villain. And the cycle continues.

[olderthannetfic]

Hi there! I hope you're having a nice day.

Little bit of a rant and a bid for advice, if you or your readers have any. I hope that's alright.

I'm currently writing a fic or maybe multiple fics (plot bunnies be running rampant in me brains) about a rarepair of two guys. I'm a bi woman and have basically zero social skills, so in order to properly understand other people's body language, I like to look up guides or articles about body language between two people, although I know those things are full of bullshit and don't mean anything, and it's hard to find articles for example about whether another woman's body language indicates interest in you if you're a woman yourself, but eh, they're still better than my brain which is usually like "eh, could mean this or that or this or that or this or that or- basically could be anything, I wouldn't know that lol, now I'm tired and will shut off, bye" aka useless as well.

The results I've found have been absolutely useless. I like writing characters in a slightly plausible-sounding way, so I like incorporating body language as in acting choices or subconscious body language (or whatever a proper term might be) in my writing to make it sound more in-character. So for stuff like this, I usually just think "ok what is that person's expression and if I do it, what would that indicate me to be feeling currently", and I don't know if other people do that or if that's just me being bad with social stuff and intuition about it again, and if I should really try to get re-evaluated for autism which I have been advised to think about doing multiple times in multiple direct and indirect implicative ways such as people being like "hey btw are you autistic? no? you sure?" or "I know you got a negative diagnosis as a kid, but maybe that was wrong and you might wanna do it again because of all your social struggles and sensory stuff etc.", heh. (Have been diagnosed with ADHD though, so that might also just be it.)

Sorry for the rambling. English isn't my first language, so if anything sounds strange, that's to blame.

My question or rather bid for advice is: I am wondering if you or your readers might have any advice on where to find resources for reading body language and romantic or sexual implications in body language between two parties, in this case between two guys.

(Hopefully this is not too nonsensical or insensitive or something like that because that's not my intention. I just really don't know how to human or if there actually is some difference on how different people of different genders flirt consciously or subconsciously or if that's some weird unnoticed transphobic bio-essentialism shit that I hadn't yet noticed and sorted out of my head because I don't want to be transphobic since that sucks.)

--

Weeell...

If people have links to guides, that's great, but I do think that in the context of fanfic, people often write flirting that they find sexy or they write whatever the canon style of interaction is and recontextualize it as how these particular guys flirt.

They're not usually thinking "What does flirting look like in general?" and then having the characters behave in a new way.

A lot of our interpretation of body language in written fiction has to do with information we get from the POV character about how they're feeling internally. For the non-POV character, we may have the POV character's thoughts on what the body language means, but we're generally interpreting it based on media cliches and based on knowing this is a ship fic.

So the other dude acts like he doesn't like our POV dude and the POV dude is like "Alas, my pining is unrequited!" and the audience goes "Ooooh, it's one of those fics!"

If the goal is writing certain types of fic, you may not need a guide to How People Really Act as much as one to How Fans Interpret Such and Such a Behavior from Canon as Subtext.

[newtishfiction]

I knew the hermitcraft and life series plot bunnies would come for me eventually.

Ideas so far

BotW x Renchanting au - Basically what happens when I have multiple fandoms on the brain.

Renchanting au - Untitled. More or less based upon a story I am working on. This is diverging from the story plot to avoid spoiling things.

Untitled - An oc centric what if. I made up lore about the hermits being galactic explorers and their main objective is building communities for other explorers. The ocs are a team sent in to make sure things are functioning properly. Setting is the season 9 world. The mission goes wrong thanks to a cursed crown.

Untitled Life Series series. Martyn’s lore is running rampant in my head. I can see potential for a thriller type series here. (Also been reading The 3rd Life Game by Taidko which is also giving me thoughts). Also been inspired by a couple of animatics (Here and here)

[redriotinggg]

@bunitivity YES TO ALL THIS OMG YOU GOT IT YOU SNATCHED IT RIGHT OUT OF MY HEAD!!! Oh the plot bunnies are running rampant in my brain rn

lusopp au where they’re both content creators!!

luffy’s most popular videos are his mukbangs and parkour/stunt videos. usopp always goes viral for his horror game let’s plays, but he posts a wide range of content from art to chemistry to gardening.

one day, ace shows luffy one of usopp’s videos (feat. franky) where he’d been blowing random shit up and he falls down a rabbit hole of watching usopp discuss bug facts, obscure celebrity impressions, and tutorials of how to recruit an army of 8000 warriors.

luffy thinks usopp is the most hilarious person ever, so he reaches out and practically demands that they meet. usopp, who’s been subscribed to luffy forever positively freaks and almost passes out when they finally do meet in person. his nerves soon fall away when he realizes that luffy is even sillier and more friendly than he appears in his videos and over text.

cue them becoming fast friends and the internet’s favourite new duo! luffy gets usopp to join his mukbangs and stunt videos, they play video games together on usopp’s channel, and they have spider wars while luffy helps usopp set up his latest garden.

usopp generally tries to avoid reading comments due to past events, but even he can’t ignore all of the shipping that goes on in his livestream chats, especially because he’s head over heels for luffy and is petrified that his feelings are obvious for the world to see.

lots of ‘hopeless’ pining on usopp’s part. he doesn’t realize that luffy has been flirting with him the whole time because 1.) he never thought he had a chance and 2.) luffy’s brand of flirting is not subtle but definitely not traditional. easy to misinterpret for a nervous guy like usopp.

one day they’re live streaming and luffy reads a comment, which says luffy should just kiss usopp to make it obvious that he likes him. luffy brightens up, because it’s a great idea that he should’ve thought of sooner!

usopp’s in the middle of ranting about the latest enemy in the video game they’re playing when luffy turns, grabs his cheeks, and pulls him into a kiss.

“usopp!” he exclaims when they part. “i like you! be my boyfriend, okay?”

and usopp’s so stunned but so, so delighted by the confession. he whispers an, “okay” and pulls luffy into another kiss before he remembers that they’re live and ends the stream with an embarrassed yell.

the video clip of their confession is #1 on trending for a week. <3

[the-blackest-spider]

I’ve had some plot bunnies (does anyone still call them that???) running rampant in my head for quite a while now, so if anyone is interested, feel free to like this post, or comment or just shoot me a message on here or Discord(if you have it, if not and we’re mutuals let’s fix that).

MCU Plot Ideas-

Mostly I just really want Natasha to find out she’s the new guardian of the Soul Stone. I have some plots and verses that are slowly headed that direction, but it’s something I really want to explore in various ways and I’ve yet had the opportunity to have her be killed only to come back to life because of the Stone and all of that. 

Also, I’m down for doing a twist on this and having Natasha wake up alive, but not in her own universe, but somewhere else, even if I may not be knowledgeable in that universe. 

And always up for the whole people she knows or that knew her coming across her alive and being all ?!?!? especially considering how long it’s been. 

FFVII Plot Ideas-

Would love some pre-Crisis Core and Pre-Before Crisis stuff. Also something maybe just post Before Crisis, when the Turks are very, well not as trusted for a bit and how that’s dealt with, and how it affects Natasha. 

Always up for stuff set after the main game too, and either before, during or after Advent Children.

On that note, I have one verse already that’s dealing with this, but I’d love to explore her degradation more. 

Also, having someone come across her in the lab getting one of her mako treatments would be interesting because it’s not something that’s openly known about for several obvious reasons. 

Another idea is someone who saw her before she “lost” her memories and recognizes her now as a Turk and is very confused about the whole situation. 

And because I haven’t really done anything with it, maybe her SOLDIER verse, Shinra decides to have her hunted down and either brought back to them or killed and if the latter bit, whomever is sent decides to well, make a different call. 

Star Wars Plot Ideas-

For her Imperial Assassin verse, always up for those plots where someone tries to help her get out from under Palpatine’s control. 

Having her get captured by the Rebels would be interesting too. 

Or having her sent to kill a Jedi annnd well it doesn’t go that way.  

For her Outcast Jedi verse, something during the whole Empire hunting down Force Users deal.

Or have the Rebels try to recruit her.

Also down for sequel era stuff ( I know) and diving into her Mandalorian heritage.

[witchyangels]

I have a horrible idea for Alistair appreciation week... Doubt I’d get it done in time if I do it this way... Maybe, we’ll just have to see if all the ideas work. 

[merlins-mushrooms]

So today I watched Mulan and Aladdin and it's giving me... so many... Cedric x Reader AU ideas...

[gallavichsbitch]

inspired by callie’s (@ianandmickeygallavich) little gallavich time thing <3

SOO i’m like a gif maker okay, but that does NOT stop plot bunnies from running rampant around my head. trust me guys, if i had the motivation and the perseverance to pull words out of my ass like some of you guys do, i would 1000% do it. also correct grammar? what is that??? however, life gets in the way, and i literally cant do ANYTHING except hop onto silly little photoshop and make pretty pictures for people to look at.

me not shutting up under the cut

one idea that i had a few months ago has stuck in my brain for agess, so much that i actually wrote a bit of dialogue and other stuff for it. now this will probably never become a fully fledged story and will remain strings of dialogue and odd descriptive words, but i wanna tell you guys abt it anyway.

the basic premise of it is they grew up the same way, except for the knowing each other part. ian’s friendship with mandy is still there, but he has never met her elusive brother before. anyway, one day (wow so descriptive), mandy goes missing. frustrated by the lack of effort law enforcement is putting into their investigation, mickey and ian are begrudgingly thrown together to find out what happened to her.

here is one line that i wrote on a whim, set in the bathroom of a frat party -> ‘he was everything to ian; consuming him, enveloping him, until everything was pure mickey.’

dialogue, set on a beach in mexico -> “fine. i fucking KNOW that i love you.” “that’s kind of gay, mickey.” “shut up, gallagher.”

anyway, i’m not gonna tell you anymore bc i have all these plot twists and stuff, so if i do end up writing it, (highly unlikely) i will not have spoiled it too much. <3

[shepard-ram]

Let's go third ask of the day honestly plot bunnies are running rampant in my head today so let's do a second part to the Mulan ask.

Technoblade was starting to lose his patience how hard could it be to find the soldier that had won his affection? It turned out to be very hard since the nation in questions record keeping was appalling even months later he was no closer to finding them. If this continued the voices would drive him mad before he had even figured out what part of the army your armour even belonged to begin narrowing down his search which ya no he kind of had to do he couldn't just visit every single person on the conscription lists considering A he didn't actually see your face due to the standard issue helmet you had on and B you never spoke so he could even go off of Reginal accents. Seeing his eldests growing rage over this (and to be far he was starting to lose it as well since it's rather hard to fight wars without your best general or plan a wedding with one party missing) asked Wilbur to assist. Wilbur did arrive within the month but kept getting into arguments with his elder twin about why did they have to spend their time on this singular soldier even if they did injure Techno it's only when Techno quietly confesses the extent of his injuries and the fact that his piglin instincts had decided that you were the one to be his that Wilbur throw's his full weight behind solving the issue of finding this soldier (People often forget that they are twins by blood and that despite how human he looked and acted compared to his twin he had just as much piglin blood in him, he knew how much Techno's instincts declaring you as his mate really ment) and within a few weeks he had made more progress than Techno and the captive government did in the months that had being trying by using both the information on what part of the army the armour was from and cross-referencing that with information he had managed to get from Techno about the type sword that they used he had finally narrow down the search area enough so that Techno could find them in person. Wilbur had only just finished telling his brother this when he saw Techno rush of to the stable to grab both his horse Carl and his personal squad of soldiers on his quest to find you.

You were a hairs breath from a complete meltdown the Arctic Empire's bloodthirsty crown prince was going around the region fighting every soldier conscripted in the nations army to the death apparently he was looking for revenge against a soldier that injured him, who ever that was and there were only a few villages until he reached yours. You couldn't just grab your brother plus your friend and run not only was your brother to ill to make the journey but someone else had tried that and not only had the prince hunted down the runway soldier and kill him but he had wiped out the village as an example so no you couldn't run. A thought did enter you head you had beaten that general maybe you could pull off the same trick again no if you killed the prince they would just wipe your village off of the map in retaliation. As the days until the prince's arrival drew near you saw others saying goodbye to their loved ones and you saw your friend come to terms with their impending death you wanted to scream in rage at this prince's cruelty at his callousness towards a defeated people. You couldn't find your sword when the day came, your brother hobbled out of your house leaning heavily on his cane and your friend conversed with him while you searched for a sword to use in place of your own. Now however you could hear the names being read out, a pause, a clash, a scream and then repeat grabbing a training sword (better than nothing you supposed) after all your name would be soon. Stepping outside just as someone was cut down ( the bakers husband your mind supplied as you saw his corpse get dragged away by a soldier he had two small children you remembered you hoped that they hadn't witnessed their fathers death) sweat covered your palms as they worked their way down the list drawing ever closer to you name until they called your brother's name instead.

Why did they say your brother's name you were the one who went did they never update the conscription after you went in his place? You had to correct this,you had to stop them before they killed you brother due to a mistake you stepped forward to voice this only for a hand to quickly pull you back and cover your mouth preventing you from stopping your brother as he hobbled through the crowd with your sword in hand how,how long had he had that? You could hardly hear you friends apologies about how they and your brother refused to let you throw your life away when you had so much life left to live compared to them over your heartbeat echoing in your ears. Though when the prince loudly declared he would grant your brother a swift and painless death ( as if that was any comfort to those who loved him, to you) you thanked every god you could think of that your friend was physically weaker than you as you elbowed them in the gut and ripping your self free, charging through the crowd and raising your training sword to meet the blade about to crash down in your brother's head finally laying eyes on the prince only for you to recognise the general you left for dead instead.

Technoblade recognised the eyes currently meeting his with rage melting into fear once you recognised him in turn. He had finally found you after all this time, his eyes traveling over you face and body burning every detail into his mind. However one thought dominated his mind. Why did you charge out to face him now he had slew many unworthy opponents today? Why did this sickly mans imminent death cause you to stand and fight? What was he to you? It's only when your clash unfortunately ended him stumbling back as (for the first time he heard you voice after this it would never leave his head) you yelled at the man to run you called him brother, oh he couldn't kill him then, your loyalty to protecting those dear to you added to the list in his head of things that made you more than worthy as far as the voices and his instincts were concerned but also it was something he could now exploit. So he gave you an offer as you protectively stood in front of your brother come with him and nobody else has to die it was such a generous offer in his opinion after all if you refused he would have every villager killed and take you by force . He could see someone who had just pushed their way to the front of the crowd begging you not to ( the soldier that you had stopped him from cutting down when you first met the voices told him) but you looked at him trembling ( in fear or rage he couldn't tell) and told him that you accepted his offer. With barely contained joy he strode up to you as you discarded your weapon, and picked you up in a bridal carry as he went over to Carl and lifted you on to him before mounting up himself before riding out of the village his men falling into line behind him. That night as he held your sleeping for close in your shared tent (as if he would allow you to leave his sight now that he had finally found you) after sharing a meal with you ( though he had made sure to add a sleeping potion to your meal to help you sleep after such an eventful day) he just held you in his arms nuzzling the top of your head as he took in your scent burning it into his mind in a pure state of bliss as he finally had you and he could scarcely wait until you both returned to the capital to where his father had every ready for your wedding.

Ender-anon

This was not supposed to be this long my brain just took it and ran away with it before I could stop it.

He recognized you instantly, how could he not? Everything you do is so distinct, so perfect. You're so kind and bold and amazing- and now you're his, forever.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I can’t stop thinking about Weiss being angry at James when she was younger for stealing Winter from her. I just love this idea so much and love her learning why Winter left and why she sticks with James and warming up to him. I know someone else is writing this fic but I also kind of want to write something for it to. I’m blaming this on my anon ask as not on the plot bunnies running rampant in my head 😂.

[aclosetfan]

To be written ideas: Number 16

Thanks for playing along!! @kayyee also asked for 16!

haha omg I haven't touched #16 in like four years. Okay, don't judge me, but i've got it titled in my outlines folder as "PowerPossible"

The outline's pretty long. i've actually shortened it for you all lol. Please let me know if you want to hear more about this one!! I can talk about it for a while :) Read below the cut for all of it!

this story's the obligatory Human/tmnt/Kim Possible-ish AU. The girls are NOT related and have no powers (in the beginning).

Family dynamics:

BC: Professor and Ms. Keane are her parents, she has a little brother named Ken (ppgz reference ;p). According to BC, Ken is their favorite child. She's just jealous because Ken has more in common with the Professor, who BC truly adores. She and the Professor have trouble relating because she's into sports, he's not. However, the Professor and her are more alike than she knows. Ms. Keane is still a kindergarten teacher and is the reason their family moves to Townsville.

Bubbles: Her parents died when she was young and now, she lives with her grandparents, the Mayors! The Mayor is still the Mayor of Townsville. (btw Im 85% sure that canonically his last name is also Mayor) The Mayor is under HIM's thumb, and when he finally messes up one too many times, HIM has him "taken care of." However, that's like towards the middle (?) of the story. So, in the end, Bubbles only has her grandmother.

Blossom: Two moms! Ms. Bellum and an unidentifiable second mother, who isn’t important (lol). 2nd mother isn't dead or anything, and she's happily married to Ms. Bellum--she's literally just one of those "mentioned in passing characters who are constantly out of town." Ms. Bellum is the Mayor's secretary, which Blossom uses to her advantage.

PLOT

The story starts out with the girls in kindergarten. Bubbles and Blossom are friends because Bubbles is the only person who doesn't think nerdy lil Blossom is annoying/socially awkward/too smart for her own good. Blossom in turn doesn't make fun of Bubbles being a crybaby. Buttercup's kind of a bully, but she's really just mad that her family had to move to Townsville. Ms. Keane (BC's mother) finally has enough of Buttercup's rebellious attitude and makes her sit with Bubbles and Blossom. Together the three girls find themselves in a confusing and troublesome situation: what happened to their class pet Twiggy??? (that hamster in that one episode). They solve the mystery (i.e. Mitch), and Ms. Keane frees Buttercup from the "loser lame-o sissy table." Except Buttercup ends up staying because *spoilers* they become best friends. (and she likes solving mysteries with them)

FASTFORWARD TO HIGHSCHOOL-ISH AGE

The girls are as thick as thieves and have a bad habit of sticking their noses where they don't belong. Blossom's the brains of the operation, Buttercup the muscle, and Bubbles is the obligatory "guyssss you promised we were going to the mall today not solving crime!" (Like Arnold from the Magic School bus who's like "oh please let this be a normal field trip!" And everyone is like "With Bloss and BC?! No Way!")

They've hit a "mystery" dry spell. At this point, none of their "mysteries" have been high stakes. Just petty stuff, but BC wants more. After another bust, she goes home and overhears her father (who's still a high-profile scientist) on the phone talking about the "odd mutant/monster-like" sightings that happened a few days ago in Townsville Central Park. Buttercup takes it as an opportunity to 1) help her dad and win his favor (that she already has smh) and 2) to break the dry spell she and the girls were going through, so they set off to investigate. To protect their identities, the girls essentially "mask up" and by the end of the story are described by the Townsville News as vigilantes.

Eventually, the girls stumble headfirst into Townsville's underbelly and the adults in their lives are all connected. They find that there is in fact a mutant uprising that has an overwhelming connection to the Professor, his ex-lab partner, the Mayor, and a mysterious man only referred to as HIM. And, of course, Chemical-X. X was the once abandoned project of the Professor and his once lab partner Mojo Jojo. It was supposed to be a miracle medicine! Now, in Townsville's underbelly, it's a popular/very dangerous drug/commodity.

At one point in the past, during a fit of rage, Mojo had mutated himself with an unstable vial of the chemical—accidentally--and fleed with the only "perfect" vial. He runs into a sickly man (who becomes HIM) and is conned out of the chemical. HIM takes the chemical and it "cures" him from his disease. It also gives him "superpowers." (NOTE: chemical-x superpowers varies person to person) However, the chemical is also unstable, and now HIM wants (NEEDS) a better formula, one that isn’t tainted (as Mojo still cannot figure out how to make it correctly) and will do anything for it. This is something that HIM believes the Professor can do. So, the Professor is essentially blackmailed into working for HIM (like most everyone who is in a position of power in Townsville). It's an expensive endeavor, so HIM sells the "almost perfect" batches (which in small doses can make a person feel invincible, but is highly addictive) to the crime syndicates. If you take an "almost perfect" version of Chemical-X, you generally need to keep micro-dosing to stay alive or your body starts to fail. (This is why HIM needs that PERFECT version)

Unbeknownst to everyone, The Professor was only ever able to perfect the formula once and it was by complete accident. (the version HIM had gotten was very close to perfect, but not all the way). Even the Professor doesn't know how he did it. (But that's because it wasn't the Professor who had perfected it--the Girls had done it accidentally during a sleepover in middle school (which the ever studious Blossom had recorded in her notebook). The Girls had been playing "scientist."

However, the Professor HAS figured out an Antidote-X. Again results vary. His version works best on the lab rats the original research group had experimented on. Blossom ends up perfecting Antidote-X for humans and the Girls are able to reserve mutations they come across on their "patrols", which pisses HIM off to no end, resulting in a bounty on their head. (He doesn't like the lose in profits)

As more mutants begin to appear and HIM becomes more frustrated at the lack of progress, Townsville becomes a darker place. At the height of this frustration, he kills the Mayor (who was wanting to break ties with HIM b/c of Bubbles' pleading). At that point, the Girls know who HIM is and what he is capable of. Since they have no one of authority to turn to that can stop HIM, they work together to create the perfected chemical-x like they had all those years ago in hopes that they can appease HIM and free the Professor.

The Girls figure out the formula, and in a race to save the City and, most importantly, the Professor, they confront HIM. Because they're kids, they naively think that they can trade the formula for BC's dad. It doesn't end up working out as they planned. In the end, HIM injects BC w/chemical-x (PERFECTED version), and she gains superhuman powers. To keep the ending vague, the Girls end up saving the day ;)

Important Characters the Girls Encounter:

Amoeba Brothers: the brothers are the first failed chemical-x test created by the Professor's research team that did not result in death. They haunt the sewers after they escaped the lab. They are the Girls first encounter with the mutations/mutants running rampant in the City

Gang Green Gang: Delinquents chosen by the City to be injected. Again, the tests failed. Had temporary "powers" but they teetered off quickly and the boys permanently stayed green (weird side-effect)

Bunny: Sad. She is also a failed test, but she is mutated while the Girls are actively investigating the case. She has super strength and was able to break out of the lab. The Girls hunt her down and they end up trying to help her. However, she passes away. This has a lasting effect on the girls.

Sedusa: she's definitely in the story idk how yet. lol. I just really like her as a character.

Princess: For financial support, HIM promised Mr. Morebucks that'd he'd give Princess superpowers like she wanted when the formula is perfected. But she’s mad, impatient, and power-hungry. In the end, sick of HIM's games and the Professors inability to give her what she wants, she injects herself with the chemical. It works for a bit, and HIM's like "holy shit did we do it??" but after a few days, she becomes unstable. (Her death is captured during live television b/c she makes her superhero debut a Whole Thing). Knows Blossom and Bubbles b/c of their parents. Doesn't like them. Doesn't bother to learn BC's name. Just canonically a brat.

The RRB: Adopted by HIM (and Mojo) "out of the goodness of their hearts." (PR stunt). They were really adopted to be test subjects, but HIM ended up liking them more than anticipated, so HIM decided that they'd be injected AFTER chemical-x is perfected. Absolute shit-heads. They can do whatever they want and no one can tell them "no." They cause havoc for the Girls to keep them off HIM's tail. Drive futuristic motorcycles that leave "light trials." Mad that they can't pin down who the Girls are.

[bouncymouse]

Fanfic Ask Meme Answers

For @colormyworldpink :D

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

I have a (currently unpublished) CloTi short about changing feelings in a relationship that is definitely based on personal experience… I haven’t published it yet though because I wrote it when I was particularly bummed out and it cuts a little close to the bone. Apart from that, the plots themselves aren’t based on real-life (I haven’t been embroiled in any revenge plots or bar-top sexy-times) but some of what the characters feel is definitely drawn from personal experience. Tifa’s “slightly put-upon, always there for everybody else, life passing her by” nature is definitely something I resonate with, which means I sometimes struggle writing her if the scene is particularly emotional.

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Reprisal?

Yes and no? There aren’t songs that inspired the plot necessarily. Head Automatica (Beating Hearts Baby) directly inspired Reno’s line “you don’t know what you do to me.” Apart from that, the Turks are pure My Chemical Romance (currently Welcome to the Black Parade, Mama, You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us In Prison, Teenagers, Thank You for the Venom). Great music to write fighting, chaos and explosions to. Tifa and Reno are Dead Horses (Birds Can Write the Chorus) and Florence and the Machine (Shake it Out). The line “looking for heaven, for the devil in me,” will definitely influence a fic title at some point I think. Sometimes it’s the lyrics that inspire me, sometimes it’s just the music. When I’m actually writing I listen to a lot of mostly none-lyrical music, most notably Slow Meadow (Palemote), Sophie Hutchings (By Night) and Message to Bears (You Are a Memory)

Once the fic is over I’d like to compile a playlist of Reader Recommended music though, as a couple of people have already made suggestions to me.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an "architect" or a "gardener"? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

As my beta will tell you, I cannot plan for shit. Sometimes I outline chapters, sometimes I sit down and write them from scratch. Reprisal is a rewrite of an old fic (that I’ve now purged from my FFN account) so the basis was already there… The ending has changed about ten times in my head, and the plot bunnies are running rampant. Luckily, my beta helps me hash out the problems with the pairing (of which, there are many) and helps me tie up all the loose ends I keep leaving. I should probably settle on my ending seeing as it’s coming fairly soon...

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

My beta Arisa_K (on FFN and Ao3) is definitely an influence. My writing is a hell of a lot prettier because of her. There aren’t many of us writing ReTi, and we got talking because of the sheer lack of writers for the pairing when we both returned to it. Apart from that, I drop in and out of fic quite sporadically, so there aren’t any authors (yet) that I specifically follow. My favourite writer outside of fanfiction is Terry Pratchett, although that doesn’t really translate into my writing… I read a lot growing up, and try to read as much as I can when I’m not working or writing. I mainly enjoy Science Fiction Romance now (because I am a horny nerd LOL).

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

“Enemies to lovers” gets me every, single time.

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

I’m not a huge fan of AU’s… I don’t mind a little deviation from the canon, but you have to be a really good writer or have a really good plot to drag me into a story that takes place outside of the fandom world. Fics set in Coffee Shops/High Schools/Real World don’t really appeal to me.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Oh god, Reno all day long (I think you know this). I just… can’t leave him alone… 

Thanks for asking :D