#real talk I’m so touched you all are still finding and resonating with this story

[meandaupod]

HEY I JUST WANTED TO SAY I’ve listen to this podcast like… 3? times now? (lost count) and OUSJFISJJFHKSJJKFNJDHG ITS SO GODDAMN GOOD!!!!! I’ve been binge-relistening today while gardening and it’s SUCH a comfort listen PLUS the theme tune is EPIC (literally the best ever podcast theme) and the story hits so close to home about fandom and life in general it’s PERFECT!!!!! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND I DO A LITTLE DANCE TO THE THEME EVERY TIME!!! Thank you so much for creating such a cool amazing brilliant podcast!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh this is so sweet thank you! @sounddesignerjeans knocks podcast themes out of the park. I can’t wait to let you all hear Selkirk’s some day…

[toldbytendo]

Thank You, Megan: Finding Strength in Your Story

Just finished watching Megan The Stallion’s documentary and I’m left with such an unsettling and triggering range of emotions. I’d first like to thank Megan for such a beautiful, raw and transparent insight into her life and her personal story - I genuinely think it’s the first documentary of anyone in the public eye I’ve ever seen that I’ve resonated with, as painful as it is to admit. The documentary literally dives into so much, grief, loss, depression, anxiety (essentially just a range of mental health issues), identity and literally just so much more. In so many ways it was truly like looking into a mirror, one that made me painfully aware of my own trauma. I’m still trying to process it. It left me raw and exposed, like it somehow reached down and touched parts of myself that I had buried long ago. Megan’s story, shared so openly, felt like she was offering a part of herself to all of us who have gone through similar hells. She laid bare her pain, her betrayals, and the heartbreak of having to navigate a world where so much is demanded of her and yet so little is given back in understanding or respect. Watching her felt like looking into my own life,

Watching her talk about being hurt by people close to her, the pain of losing loved ones and the mental toll of navigating a world that often only sees her as “Megan The Stallion” instead of a person - took me back to some of the darkest parts of my life.

The friendship I lost wasn’t just any friendship. We shared twelve years of memories, laughter, and moments that made me think we’d be side-by-side forever. But I realise now that beneath the surface, things had been rotting for a long time. Jealousy and resentment had crept in. Maybe it was inevitable, maybe it was my fault, her fault, both our faults. I don’t know. What I do know is that we lost the ability to communicate, to really understand one another. We kept letting things fester, never speaking up, letting tiny grudges grow into something uglier.

Watching Megan open up about her own experiences with betrayal reminded me that I’m not alone in feeling that hurt. And her story gave me the space to confront another layer of my pain, one I’ve spent years trying to make sense of – my experience with sexual assault. Just as Megan’s strength in being vulnerable has made me reflect on my own, her rawness in revealing the reality of feeling unprotected hit painfully close to home. As a Black woman, I know too well the feeling of being invisible in a society that seems built to overlook us, to ignore our pain, to excuse the harm done to us. And yet, when we speak out, when we refuse to be silent, we’re either vilified or reduced to caricatures – sexualised, objectified, turned into something far removed from who we truly are. Like Megan, I feel that sense of being hyper-sexualised, of people seeing only the parts of me they want to, while completely ignoring the deeper layers of who I am. Megan’s music and persona as a sexual, liberated woman have always been empowering to me, a way to celebrate who we are as women without feeling like we have to shrink or hide. She doesn’t use her sexuality as a performance for men; it’s a celebration of herself, an assertion of autonomy that’s fiercely feminist. But society often doesn’t see that nuance. They see her confidence, her sexuality, and they twist it into something dangerous or shameful, something they feel entitled to judge or control. For women like me, who also embrace their sexuality – in my case, through my writing, through exploring themes of love and desire in the novels and stories I create – that same judgement is all too real. People assume that if we express our sexuality, we’re asking for the things that happen to us. They don’t understand that our sexuality is something we own, that we use to express ourselves and feel empowered in a world that tries to take power away from us.

I’ve spent so long feeling at fault for what happened to me, carrying the weight of that shame and blame on my shoulders. I convinced myself that I somehow deserved it because I’m “too liberal,” “too sexual,” “too much.” The assault made me feel like maybe the world was right – maybe I did ask for it by expressing myself in a way that made others uncomfortable. And when I finally allowed myself to accept what had happened, to acknowledge the pain and trauma, I was met with silence, with people who couldn’t or wouldn’t listen. It was like I had lost my voice, like any attempt to make sense of the hurt would fall on deaf ears. Megan’s story of being unprotected, of not being heard or believed, was a reflection of the same crushing feeling I carry – that as Black women, our pain doesn’t matter in the eyes of the world. It’s a harsh truth that we face every day, one that makes healing feel like an uphill battle.

Megan’s documentary reminded me that I’m not alone, that my story is one thread in a tapestry of shared pain and resilience. Her bravery in confronting her trauma gave me a sense of solidarity, a reminder that I don’t have to face this all alone. Even in our darkest moments, there’s power in knowing that someone else out there has felt what we feel, that they’ve walked through the same fire and come out stronger.

To anyone reading this who feels the same – to those who have lost friends, been betrayed by loved ones, or felt the crushing weight of being unheard or unprotected – know that you are not alone. Our stories deserve to be heard, and our pain deserves to be acknowledged. Megan’s documentary didn’t just tell her story; it reminded me of the strength that lies within each of us, the strength to keep going, to keep fighting, and to heal in our own time.

This journey toward healing isn’t a straight path, and there are days when it feels like the weight of the past will swallow me whole. But if there’s one thing I’m holding onto, it’s the knowledge that my pain, my story, my truth – they matter. Megan taught me that we deserve to be seen for who we really are, not for what the world wants to label us as. And I’m learning, slowly but surely, to be okay with being vulnerable, to let myself feel, and to know that my voice, my experiences, are worth sharing.

Thank you, Megan, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing your story so bravely. For allowing yourself to be vulnerable in a way that gave me, and so many others, the courage to confront our own pain. Your openness, your resilience, and your unwavering strength have been a reminder that healing is possible, even when it feels out of reach. You’ve given a voice to those of us who felt silenced, and I hope you know just how much your story matters. You’ve helped me begin to reclaim my own voice. Thank you for being you, unapologetically and beautifully. I love you so bad for this.

Sincerely,

A Real Hot Girl ❤️

[theother-victoria]

Hello. I just finished reading "all stars must die one day" and, oh lord, it was a sublime experience reading that monumental piece. Even though it was over 15k words, it felt plenty but also short, in the same way great experiences turn into good memories in the next moment. It was a heart-wrenching story of growth, friendship, and self re-discovery that I'm sure had touched so many of those who took the time to read it in its entirety. Everything the reader character experienced and felt so real. The way they festered in rage, envy, and discontent cut deep in an uncomfortable way that comes from being in the same pit if misery, or knowing it's a possibility to find oneself in said pit given the right choices and circumstances. The reader insert character (ric) is so compelling in this way, and I consider it a mark of great writing when I find myself exceedingly close to but reluctant to project on a ric because of their struggles and flaws, but rooting for them at the same time. In short, HNG. WRITING. AMAZING. SO MUCH FEELINGS. IN AWE

As someone who was also a gifted child and later experienced a brutal ego death midway through college, reading the story felt like a bit of that burntout college girl I still carry with me got healed somewhat. It was like getting a glimpse of an alternative scenario where I had a comet of hope (ey the allusion) dash across the sky above the well of misery I felt I had been stuck in.

There is so much more to be said about the story, but these are the thoughts and feelings floating in my head that I only managed to snag and collapse into the most coherent thoughts I am capable of at this moment. I'm sorry for pushing Alhaitham to the wayside. I have so many feelings about the ric that they were all I could talk about. I love him, your version of him, and how we got to know, befriend, and love him entirely as he is. i consider myself lucky to have your story come upon my dash, and I'm thankful to you for sharing an amazing story on this hellsite.

(^ actual footage of me reading this)

Anon… you have no idea how much ur words mean to me… I consider myself lucky to have this whole ass essay of praise dropped into my inbox

I am so so so so so so so SO happy that this is resonating with as many people as it is, even healing people in the process although it may be retrospective but at least they may have gotten some closure

Writing the mc was a balancing act so I’m glad to hear that people relate to them so much because of how raw the experiences are, especially because many of said experiences were based off of my own. AND U CONSIDERED IT A MARK OF EXCELLENT WRITING ANON IM GONNA SOB TEARS OF JOY BC OF U

Anon I am so thankful that u took the time out of ur day to leave what is every author’s dream in my inbox

[pynkhues]

For the game!! Top fav fics atm! 💝

Ooo, I'm kinda all over the place with my fic reading at the moment, haha, but off the top of my head:

Delinquents by phloxmagpie. Good Girls. Beth x Rio. T. 120k words.

-

“Yeah,” she breathes, and then she finds that he’s half an inch closer to her on the hood now, that the tip of his pinky fanned out on the metal nearly, nearly touches her thigh through the thin material of her dress.

She wonders what it would be like to touch him. It feels like it would be the easiest thing in the world right now, to reach down and lay her hand on top of his. She wonders what he would do. Then a door slams and more people spill out of Jeremy’s house. Beth swallows and looks up, focusing on the stars. They’re bright tonight. Electric. 

“Guess it’s startin’ to wrap up. You know how you’re gettin’ home?”

“No,” Beth admits. “Dean and all his friends are still drunk.”

Rio gnaws on his lip.

And then, because she suddenly feels light, because she suddenly feels dangerous, and because the bubble between them feels like it’s worn so thin, she becomes entranced by the idea of making it POP. 

“You could take me.”

-

A highschool AU of Good Girls never feels like it should really work given so much of the context of the story is steeped in how women are made invisible in their own lives, but Megan really, really delivers. She transplants the story in a way that just makes sense, and the worldbuilding is so immersive that you can really sink right into it. The way it builds and grows and breathes just really hits all the right notes for me in a story, and it's one I was so delighted to see her update this week!

-

Million Dollar Baby by phoenixgryffin. Succession. Gen-fic (although a little Kendall x Rava). M. 10k words.

“Yeah,” says Kendall. “There was a. A, a scare, I was supposed to be watching Sophie, and…uh. Probably you heard—”

“Heard something, yeah.” Roman’s not looking at him. “Was over in jolly old England paying Mumsy a call—”

“But that’s. That’s over. I’m turning—uh, turning over a—new leaf or whatever. DIY sobriety.” 

“Can’t fuckin’ OD with the mini-me around, huh.”

“Uh-huh,” says Kendall somberly.

“God, Ken, learn to take a joke.” Roman lightly punches Kendall’s arm, glances at the sleeping Iverson again. “Fuckin’—unconscious, huh.”

“Don’t wake him up,” says Kendall, suddenly aware of how loud they’ve been talking. “Don’t fuckin’ do it, Rome, he was screaming for four fucking hours last night, we could hear him through the walls—”

“Okay, okay, keep your hair on,” says Roman, but he moves to the other side of the room. “Hey, you dye it now? Looks awful.”

“No,” lies Kendall.

-

The Roy siblings meet Iverson! God, I just love this fic so much. It really leans into the pre-canon world of the Roy's in a way that resonates, and the differing levels of discomfort all of them have with a newborn being in the room - much less a newborn that's their cringefail brother's son - feels really true to character. The author has really captured the tone of the show too, which is to say it's equal parts heartwrenching and funny. I only read it for the first time recently, and since then, I think I've re-read it a dozen times.

(One more Succession, an IWTV and a Stranger Things rec under the cut)

-

I Figure You with Love by alaczije Succession. Kendall x Stewy. Explicit. 6k words.

-

The caption reads: can we get @realkendallroy a welfare check

Below this, the top reply laments: 

bruh he DEAD dead 😭😭😭

“Oh, what the fuck,” Stewy says blankly.

He taps the thumbnail to view the photos full size—which, in hindsight, was a terrible idea. They flood the screen, blurred but unmistakable, in pixelated technicolor. Stewy recoils, as though ducking a slap to the face, then closes Twitter and stares stupidly at his phone. It buzzes in his hands a few seconds later. He takes the call without hesitation.

“Have you seen it?” Sandi Jr. demands. “Is this real?”

“I literally just saw it,” Stewy says, bouncing to his feet and giving into the urge to pace around his spotless kitchen. “And no, I don’t know. Who’s the source?”

“ATN.”

“Wow.”

-

There are a lot of fics out there that deal with the aftermath of 3.09, but this really is one of my favourites. The dialogue is so good, and the way it hits all these different beats in terms of the business, the characters' histories, and Stewy's despite-himself-worry makes it feel like it was written just for me. Plus it's hotter and funnier than it has any right to be.

-

Body and Blood by i love you bug (A_Stranger) Interview with the Vampire. Lestat x Louis. Explicit. 2k words.

He stuck a cigarette in the holder, the holder in his mouth, and lit it indulgently. Lying back against the furs with his arms bent to the sides and smoking as some blood ran lazily down his exposed pecs into the strained folds of his once-white undershirt, he looked a picture of rich debauchery. Louis wanted to rip his throat out. He pulled his pants off instead.

Lestat barely moved to help but watched him, smoke curling between their faces, eyes wide and youthful as if he was curious what Louis would do next, as if he hadn’t started something and abandoned it half-cocked to relax and pretend he was a wealthy Italian housewife.

Louis felt his eyebrows raise.

“Are you busy?”

Louis smirked around his cigarette holder. Louis felt his eyebrows drop.

“Mamma just needs a little break,” he simpered. “Can’t you take care of me?”

-

There's been a lot of really fun fic for IWTV since the terrific AMC series aired, but I have a real soft spot for this one. It's funny and sexy and it really messes around with sex, gender and the family unit in a way only a story about a family of vampires can really pull off. It's a ball, and if you like the show, it's defs one to read.

-

Modern Medicine Falls Short of Your Complaint by sansbanshees Stranger Things. Chrissy x Eddie. T. 5k words.

-

Chrissy nods, reassured. Her brow furrows after a second though, eyes squinting as she strains to listen, too. “I don’t—I don’t get it. Why are his shoes different?”

It’s the way she asks, so serious, that gets him. He can’t help but laugh, which makes her burst into giggles, and she looks so confused by the whole thing, yet somehow still so weirdly sunny and just—it has to be a crime, right? Chrissy Cunningham has absolutely no right to look that fucking cute, as blitzed as she is.

Maybe it’s the wings? They suit her. Shit, he’s buying her as an otherworldly, ethereal being, but it’s almost too obvious of a costume, in her case. 

“You’re funny,” she says, even though he didn’t actually say anything, flashing him the beaming, megawatt smile of a truly drunk girl at a party.

It’s cute. She’s cute. It’s also close enough to a compliment that he feels a little heat building beneath his collar, creeping up his neck, and he has to remind himself that this is not actual reality and there’s no way she’ll remember any of it come Monday.

-

Look, I just still love them a lot, and also I have a total thing for pre-canon moments of connection (as you can probably tell from the Succession rec above, haha). This just gets me, and I love it a lot.

Ask me for my Top Fives

[charmedreincarnation]

honestly i’d like to say something. ppl may get mad but so be it. that unique blog always gave me terrible vibes. the way she spoke set off alarms. and tbh, this is exactly what another blog tried to talk about the other week, but the blogs shooed her away. that’s the problem. can anons be hell? of course but can we please stop sliding over blogs now. all the anons and blogs seem to have this issue. only like 3 blogs are truly trustworthy. at some point we have to ask ourselves, if someone is living their dream life, how do they have time for this? the drama? the constant “now im taking a break” or “im logging off” but getting back on the next day or a second later. the constant jumping on others because they disagree. i see blogs being sad about what they have been called, but those blogs were involved with bullying and calling that other blog who simply questioned the community. her name was justsleepx or something. remember how she got called a cunt and other names by some popular bloggers? remember how the blogs spiraled? (that situation showed you guys who to trust btw but y’all aren’t hearing me. nobody ever does until they finally blow tf up in your face, like unique did :) remember how unique chimed in the justsleeping situation??? i’ve been here time and time again when i know a blogger is problematic and i am always right. unique is not the only blogger who is problematic and not living the way they claim. these bloggers show it themselves but some of you are so damn lost. you guys couldn’t even notice how much of a problem unique was and people were ready to believe the bs excuse, apology, or whatever she delivered. blogs and anons are so out of touch with common sense. idk why. 😭 so yea, we see unique is not who she says she is. isn’t she one blogger that everyone worshipped? so what will it take for you guys (speaking in general) to stop placing your trust and everything in these bloggers? will they all have be exposed or will everyone finally gain some sense. LMAO and we have to be real here, there are some more questionable blogs but i’m not here to expose. i hope everyone pulls it together but is this community even a safe space?? i mean really. i even made my own blog then deleted this week bc it’s like, tf will this do for me besides make my life worse? 💀 beware of the blogs being in drama constantly. beware of the blogs who are up here all the damn time. beware of the blogs period because we do not know these people. you take what may resonate and you fucking go. how many more “scandals” do we need for bloggers and anons to stop being dumb like this? people love tough love. well here’s some real shit for you. any one of these blogs could be just as full of shit as unique, the important thing is yourself. it’s too many blogs and anons spiraling. it’s too much bs. i just want this to be everyones final push, stop just believing these blogs. they are random strangers. sure success stories can be motivating but man, you can need your own story. you’ll get there. some light and truth is needed in this community and you’ll never get it with blogs hiding their hands as if they are just right and should be believed. you’ll never get it with anons fueling shit or not having proper manners (blogs too). i’m still seeing bloggers complain and anons but y’all are the ones who contribute to bs. let’s be real FINALLY 👁️👄👁️ you are the only blogger i see calling unique out properly. the rest are just lacking some sense LMAO. let today be the fucking change. get y’alls shit together. no way anyone is living their dream life but up here acting stupid and have time for drama every chance they get. i’ll leave on that note. hopefully i can get my loser ass out of this community once and for all. i’d like to recommend some blogs but i don’t want problematic ass anons or bloggers getting near them. i have to gatekeep 😔 just find your way and let the drama drop dead. don’t let what i say anger you, please let it just influence us to be better. #happymanifesting

Happy manifesting ! And literally everything you said was facts to the max. Regardless of everything you have access to your desired life no matter how many people lie or ruin this community. It has nothing to do with your journey and desires and no matter what happens or “who” just remember you’re god and keep going on. No god is phased by any short comings in the community and you already have the power by yourself alone to have everything you want in this world and “others” for my shifters 💓

[sagesipsblog]

The more I work with this deck, the more it feels like a real-talk oracle card, really a thing of its own. Not a toxic positive overly optimistic oracle deck that sees the world through rose colored glasses, certainly, but not the depth and complexity that the 78 RWS or the 130+ card Alleyman's Tarot. A bigger deck with smaller layouts seems to be the sweet spot for my intuition.

See, we learned something right there.

Finding - and frequently using - your intuitive comfort zone is not only OK but it is a good idea to better readings for yourself in the end. BUT at the same time learning, growing, and expanding that comfort zone is equally important. How else are you going to know what your optimum intuition conditions ARE?

That little bit of meta-analysis aside, let's look at today's card, the Snake.

All of the animal related ideas from the Bear last week still apply, just swap out the bear characteristics for snake characteristics.

Which I may not be super objective about.

I was born in the year of the wood snake - the green snake. After I learned about Taoism, feng shui, I ching and the like, I've always resonated with my chinese astrology symbol just as much if not more than my western Pisces sun sign. Although I don't know anything about sidereal vs tropical astrology, all I know is that I'm Pisces in both, which in itself is supposed to mean something in itself, I think. I'll leave that to the astrology adepts of you to figure out. But back to Snake.

The Christopher Butler guidebook to this Healing Light Lenormand deck reads the Snake as someone deceptive with malicious intent (Hey!)

Like owls, snakes are feared in some cultures, revered in others. Makes sense, because in the real world the old nope rope may be either harmless or lethal and you have to know something about them to be able to tell which is which. That's not the snake being deceptive. It's up to you to know "Red touches black, no worries for Jack. Red touches yellow, dangerous fellow." and so on.

Knowledge arms you against deception, both literally and figuratively. But that's another story.

Chinese astrology, the restaurant place mat edition, reflects the real world duality.  Snake year people can be stubborn, opinionated, intimidating with a heaping helping of hubris to go with it. But at the same time they are viewed as intelligent, wise, creative and intuitive.

Or, as the Sirius Black character says in one of the Harry Potter books "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

Part of enlarging our comfort zone, part of learning new things is associating them with things we know well. Just like with the oracle dice from the last "Learn  With Me" series I associate this with a few RWS Tarot cards, the Devil and the Three of Swords. Both acknowledge the malevolent side of human nature, cautions us to be on guard as well as asking us to be honest with ourselves about our deepest motives. Are we being deceptive, or are we being deceived.

As for the playing card inset, the queen of clubs, in my system of reading playing cards (I intend to write about that in an upcoming book) the Queen of Clubs is analogous to the Queen of Wands with a message of nurturing and self-care. Watching your back and taking care for your safety is, indeed, self-care.is

Thank you for reading! If you like what you've read, please like, follow, and share the blog  (same goes for the socials). None of this is monetized, so please support these free collective readings with private readings, memberships and virtual coffees on sage words tarot page on ko-fi.

See you at the next sip!

Above, author's photo including Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler Title  © 2021 Lo Scarabeo srl, via Cigna 110, 10155 Torino, Italy. All rights reserved, used by permission.

[accio-victuuri]

CPN : The Brightest Star in the Night Sky ✨

I was trying to make a star symbolism post but found myself drawn to this song— it’s meaning, the cpn and xiao zhan’s story with it. He’s always been big on imagery connected with the outer space and particularly the stars. No wonder he loved the song Kepler, it’s by his favorite singer and the title puts a romantic spin on the scientific meaning of it.

The song Brightest Star in the Night Sky is a track written and sung by the band Escape Plan released in 2011. When describing the main theme of the song, the lead vocalist ( Mao Chuan ) said he felt that there is no real honesty in the world, and the fact itself lies in whether he is willing to believe it subjectively. If you love someone, sometimes even if you feel that the other person is lying, you will still believe it. This point of view is what made it resonate to so many fans: "Give me the courage to believe again, and embrace you beyond lies."

( my wish is for XZ to sing it this way, with an acoustic guitar accompanying him. and can Yibo be the one playing guitar? 🥺)

Mao Chuan further says it’s about ex lovers and the transition to being friends: “You will think that we have not been in touch for a long time, or even that we have not communicated with each other. But when our lives come to an end, we will still think of each other. If you are allowed to talk to each other at that time, would you like to? Most of the time I still want to.”

Yep. Totally something that will be on Xiao Zhan’s list because he is drawn to bittersweet songs. 💔

∞༺ ༻✧

In 2016, Xiao Zhan performed the song in XFIRE together with Peng Chuyue, Bai Xu and Xia Zhiguang. This is someone who was new to performing on TV and being some sort of a celebrity. It’s your usual group performance in these idol survival shows and he even mentioned in one of his daily vlogs that they were working on it. His performance here was not his own and it truly represents the Xiao Zhan of that time. He was still trying to find his place in the industry or have his foot in it. Everyone who watched XFIRE and anyone who knew him irl at school knew he was special but at the time he wasn’t reaching his full potential yet.

Also the way he sings it is laced with melancholy. If we are going by what the lyricist meant in writing it, Xiao Zhan’s interpretation of it is hurt. You still love the person so much even if at the back of your head you know that something is wrong. You see them as the brightest star but the pain still lingers. His voice is lovely and they gave him the part of the song where he will shine.

It meant alot to him because in one of his interviews he was asked what’s the first photo in his album. and he showed one from a fansite of his performance for that song.

Fast forward to 2020 and he performs it as THE XIAO ZHAN all on his own on CCTV’s double nine event. You can see his growth just by how he stands and carries himself. He is all alone and everyone is watching him. It reflects where he was in his life that year and even prior. All eyes on him and surrounded by lights. He may be all on his own but that doesn’t mean he is weaker. No. He is stronger. It was a performance that said : Watch me. I’m here and I am not going anywhere.

The way he sang this compared to his 2016 rendition is different. Without understanding the lyrics, you would think it’s not as sad as it is. I didn’t see the melancholy feel from years ago he was even smiling at times. The message I got from that performance was hope and truly having someone that guides you. It’s like he is talking about two different stories. There was hurt before but they both got through it together. Now that star is shining brighter than even before and he will continue to follow it.

Disclaimer : You have now come to the CPN part of this post. It’s a CPF’s speculation and interpretation only. ⬇️

We have a couple of star references in this fandom and XZ is ( almost ) always the source. from the star in Bobo’s racing suit, daisy + star necklace, lonely star etc — it always seems to be from Xiao Zhan’s POV. He’s been drawn to it ever since, even frequently using the symbol in his weibo posts during the early days. This is the counterpart of Yibo’s love for the heart symbol.

My personal CPN with the whole STAR imagery has always been this : Yibo is Xiao Zhan’s Star. The way he looks at Yibo ( example is the banner I used for this post ) like he is the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. It’s the look of someone staring up the sky with wonder as he sees the stars. Yibo entered the industry before him and I’d like to think XZ already saw him as a star ( celebrity kind ) before they met. I can only imagine how it felt like for him to get the news he was working with this person. Someone who doesn’t talk much and borderline aloof. It must be so intimidating to try and get to know someone like Yibo. Well that didn’t last long. They became close very quickly and that star had it’s new meaning.

Yibo has become his guide. When everything feels like it’s all gonna fall apart, he has him to lean on. With all the 2019 chaos brought about by CQL’s popularity, they had each other. He had Yibo as his light. No one can understand what they were going through that year better than each other. Up to this day, it remains the same. I like to think they ask each other for advice when it comes to their career — from creative choices to the business side.

Whenever I can't find the meaning of existence

whenever I lose myself in the dark night

the brightest star in the night sky

This line in the song is so true when it comes to them. This is why I love domestic themed / random sweet conversations between them in fake LRLG rumors. It’s so simple but it shows what is ( hopefully ) their relationship. It the bright spot in their day. After the grueling shooting hours, they have e/o to look forward to. ✨

Also one of my favorite CPNs is linked to this. In TTXS, Yibo was cued by the bros about what song describes him and they specifically say the same one: Brightest Star in the Night Sky. It’s like they know someone who described him as that. This was also filmed before anyone knew XZ was gonna perform the song. So some speculate that it might be a hint or maybe Bobo said XZ was filming that today while he’s talking to the bros backstage. and like a good bro, they troll him on live TV and just— look at yibo’s face when they say it.

This whole exchange is in this video below :

Plus the fake rumor after Bobo’s 2020 Moto race where XZ was allegedly talking to him on the phone and said that he is still shining.

-END. ✨

[witch-hazels-musings]

Okay okay, I’m super excited and nervous bc i’ve never requested anything but: can I request some headcanons of Dainsleif, Scaramouche and Tartaglia falling in love with a god? I’m the anon from that ask 😅

archons of my heart

this might have been the most different set of short little stories i’ve ever written - each character responds so differently to this scenario! (note: based on what we know about these characters, I stuck true to their values* - it might not be what you were intending, and I keep things true to their character) <3 

Warning -> angst (Dain), fluff (Childe), genera/fluff?(Scara - mention of long hair)

Character X GN Reader | Anthology 

Includes: Dainsleif, Scaramouche, Childe

Dain

Devastated, conflicted - these words have never resonated more in his mind than the day he found out about who you were, what you were 

What does he do … he dislikes, no hates the archons and yet … you were one of them - you’d always been one of them and the whole time you hid this fact from him knowing full well the feelings he had for them 

He couldn’t really hear as you desperately tried to explain to him why, he only heard the shattering of his heart as your face turned into something he no longer recognized 

He stood there, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides, eyes tracking your movement as you paced back and forth in front of him, your feet wearing down the grass with each passover. 

“I know you’ll never forgive them for what happened …” You begin, your voice somehow distorted now that he saw you for what you really were. He didn’t have words to respond, he felt out of his body. An observer rather than a participant, how he wished that were the case. 

You stepped closer to him, hands reaching for his arm - the arm that had been tainted for so long - and without noticing he recoiled from your outreach. It was the first time he had ever deliberately refused your touch and, although he understood the pain it caused you, it was clear from the reaction of your face, he couldn’t bear your hands on him. Not now, not when the whole world was crumbling down around him. 

You stood there, just the way you always did, incredible, perfect, beautiful and reverent in a way no-one ever looked before - he loved you, he thought he loved you 

You were so different than those gods that destroyed everything he ever knew, everything he ever cared for, fought for 

If only you hadn’t tried to save him then maybe he could have gone on living in the delusion of this relationship .. though, it was only a matter of time before he found out anyway - one day he’d notice how you never aged ... it was inevitable 

To love you, to love you so deeply and intensely; to love you after keeping his heart sealed up for so long, to love you with the passion that burns like the stars in the sky only to know this truth - he felt that light burn out in a painful flash 

An eye for an eye - he will maintain his beliefs  

“Dainsl…” 

“Do not …” His voice caught in his throat, it was the first time you’d heard him be taken over by his emotions, “ … do not speak my name.” 

“Please, I love you.” Your hands pressed against your chest, body bent forward as if to beg him, plead with him to reconsider. 

“I owe you nothing but the repayment of the life that you saved. I shall spare yours to conclude my debt.” For one final time he gazed upon your face, burning into memory the cheeks that he once touched, the eyes that held his breath, the lips that lingered against his skin and were capable of transforming into the most incredible smile. He looked, he lingered, he tried so hard to will the power in him that would whisk him as far from you as he could go but each time he tried he stalled, like a stubborn fool he hesitated. 

Your wet cheeks moved as you studied at him with a hopeful, supplicating smile, your head shook and your lips parted as if to call out to him and the power he lacked to leave you filled him suddenly. Like a flash of lightning in a storm he disappeared from your eyes. 

Citizens will often recall the days when it rained with an intensity of a woeful god, and can’t help but notice the mysterious man who would leave the room every time your name was mentioned. 

Scara

Cool -- cool, cool, cool - you’re a divine being - bet

It’s very likely that Scara will be excited about this revelation - he already thinks so highly of himself that knowing that he has captured the affection of a god only swells his pride more than it already did

He’s so smug when you tell him, when you spill to him what you are - he doesn't believe it either and will make you demonstrate that power to him and if you look back at him after your display, you’ll see him with a devious grin 

Be careful, he may manipulate you to act as an extension of his wishes -- and if he has any vengeance to enact on the people who harmed him, you’ll have to be very strong in your convictions (though, you can do whatever you’d like honestly, you a god) 

“Again.” Scara commands, his arms crossed over his chest, head tilted up so he can look at you from his perch on the rock and a smile stretched so far across his face you wonder how his lips don’t steam in pain. 

“I’ve already shown you multiple times. Do you still not believe me?” You huff, resting your hands on your hips, adamant that you won’t comply with his request. 

“Okay okay, I’m convinced.” He shrugs, hoping off of his stoop and walking toward you. “So how long have you been a god?” 

“I don’t know, it’s hard to keep track of the years … though I’d say around 500.” 

“Interesting. Can you make me a god?” 

“No, I don’t have that authority.” 

“Disappointing, but oh well.” He stopped just before you, he was shorter than you so you looked down at him, thankful that he removed his hat otherwise you’d have a hard time seeing his face. He reached for a strand of your long hair, his fingers twirling around it before sliding down the silky strands and repeating the process. “So, why did you decide to tell me this secret of yours?” 

“I …” Why did you tell him? You knew what kind of person he was, you knew the actions that would follow - his greed and selfishness would motivate him to use this information for his own advantage. “Against my better judgement, I told you because I love you.” You cover your face with your hand, embarrassed by the confession. It’s the first time you’ve ever fallen in love with a human before, Scara was your first and that notion electrified your skin. 

“You love me?” You didn’t need to see him to catch the cocky attitude spilling from him. 

“I do …” You replied with a sigh. 

“Who would have thought that?” “Listen, if you’re going to make fun of me then I’ll just …” Your voice was cut off by Scara pulling you toward him and pressing his lips against your own. Your knees nearly gave way at the contact and you reached to his arms to stabilize yourself. His lips are thin and the power he uses, the pressure of the kiss tells you what kind of man he is. 

“This is excellent news, don’t think I’ll let you get away from me now.”  He hummed, his lips dancing over your own as he spoke, his breath warming your skin. Was this really the best human that could have stolen your heart? Well, you were sure it wouldn’t be borning. 

Childe

He’s likely indifferent to your real status - to find out that you’re an archon or a god - he’s almost unsurprised by the news  

You wonder if he didn’t already know that you weren’t human, you wouldn’t put it past him to have done some digging on you and after being alive for so long it was bound to be suspicious that you knew things that many people didn’t anymore -- it was also suspicious that Zhongli seemed to recognize you pretty quickly, his eyes shining as if he saw an old friend  

“You could have just told me.” Childe emphasized, crossing his arms and leaning against the large pole behind him. 

“I know … but, well I wasn’t really planning on sticking around.” 

“Oh, so you’re one of those.” 

“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant.” For being of reverence, you always found yourself stumbling over your words when talking to Childe. “Ugh, I meant that I didn’t think that … well that I’d fall in love with a human.” You picked at your clothes and shook your head. 

“If there was ever a human for you to fall head over heels for, I am the best candidate for that.” You looked at him, laughing at the way he pointed his thumbs at his chest and grinned from his own joke. 

“I don’t know … maybe I made a mistake?” You express, rubbing your chin with your hands.

“Hey now!” 

“I’m joking of course … so, you really aren’t … upset?” 

“Why would I be upset?” He asked, eyes furrowing and head tilting to the side. 

“I don’t know … my timeline is different from yours for one.”

“So. That doesn’t matter to me.” 

“There will be a day when you’ll be old and I won’t have aged a day.” 

“Don’t care.” You huff and take a few steps away from him. He didn’t seem to grasp what it meant to be in love with a god. This was the reason you rarely took human companions, the guilt in your heart at watching them age and the pain of losing them was all a strain on your heart. 

“Childe …” You begin again but as you turn to face him you notice he’s moved from his place and is now standing in front of you. 

“I don’t care who you are, what you are, or what you’ve done.” He takes your hand and brings it to his lips, his breath of humanity filling your very soul. “I love you, and I don’t take that feeling lightly.” 

“I don’t want you to regret choosing a partner who cannot live a normal human life.” 

“If I wanted a normal life, I wouldn’t be where I am to begin with. What I want is you, and I’m pretty good at getting what I want.” He smirked and kissed each knuckle on your hand. How was it that a man could bring down a god so easily? 

“Now, the real question …” Childe’s tone shifted, his body extended to his full height which made you tilt your head to look at him. “Do you still have your divine powers or whatever?” 

“Like …?” 

“Like, can you summon lightning or manipulate the earth with a snap of your fingers?” 

“Haha, oh, I still have my abilities, yes. There were times I had to fight, so I’ve adapted them for those purposes.”

“Excellent.” He grabbed your wrist and pulled you along after him. “Let’s fight, don't hold back.” 

“Childe! That’s dangerous.”

“Even better.” He gave you a quick wink before dragging you to a place where the two of you could engage in the battle of his dreams.

[comicweek]

David Brooke: At this point, we’ve seen several interpretations of Harley and Ivy’s relationship. So what about the relationship spoke to you the most and what excited you the most about expanding on their romance in season two?

TF: Well, season two, they stuck the toe in? Right? It was just like okay, they’re kissing. We’re not really seeing the sex. We get to see a lot more here. I do hope we’ll be in season three. Their relationship is needed. It is important to talk about and I’m really grateful to be the one to tell this love story.

There is a lot of will-they-won’t-they in the comics. And when they do it’s not as beautifully shown. Having Harley and Ivy in bed naked together under the covers, or Harley doing a cartwheel onto Ivy’s vagina, right, that is really cool. And it’s just fun to be able to tell this type of story in this medium that people can just hold on to forever versus, a show you got to keep on watching.

DB: What parts of the animated series did you feel were the most important to capture when adding your voice to this version of the characters?

TF: Besides the Harley and Ivy relationship, that was a no-brainer, but I wanted to explore the aftermath. Like there are tons of emotions and trauma that were already touched on in the animated series. But I wanted to delve deeper and turn it up a notch because both of these women have these traumatic experiences from men in their lives. Ivy’s dad, Harley’s parents, and her man. Harley has been through a lot as has Ivy.

Even though Ivy really wasn’t beat to marry Kiteman, my girl still got left at the altar. I mean, I’m sure she’s grateful but she’s also dealing with the hurt of, “damn I hurt this guy who I really really loved. And that’s on me and I need to fix that.” So she’s got to go through a bunch of emotions to try to handle this. I love the character Tawny, I think Tawny is so dope and I wanted to use her Wendy Williams influence to just bug and irritate Gordon as well as call Ivy out on her s--t. She ultimately did something foul. There were a few things that were really important that you will see as the book goes on of what needed to be touched on. Having Catwoman, a black Catwoman, was really cool. So I was glad to be able to have a whole issue with her because I’m all for Black representation.

DB: How deep can we expect the book to go into what’s eating at Ivy and clearly giving her pause in this relationship?

TF: We are going deep-sea diving. And you can take that in whatever way you want to. We definitely go deep. Ivy gets real with herself. Ivy needs to get real with herself otherwise who wants to stay miserable? Being miserable for a few days is good, but ultimately you need to pull yourself out of the hole and the girl is depressed. She’s depressed so it’s gonna take her a minute to try to find some light at the end of this tunnel. We are gonna go deep. I explore a lot of mental health issues in this series.

DB: Harley and Ivy are quite the power couple. What about their relationship do you think resonates so well with readers?

TF: So when you go back to the animated series, the Harley and Joker dynamic is straight-up domestic violence no matter what way you slice it. And I feel, personally, that seeing someone who finally decides to leave resonates so much with people. We go back, unfortunately, I have gone back to a s----y DV (domestic violence) situation. And when you’re tired and done and enough is enough you’re out. Until you are in a DV situation and you finally see somebody getting out, it’s like s--t, maybe I have a chance. I really feel like that is why Harley, finally breaking free and being with somebody who she loves, who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Because now you know, there’s happiness, there’s love after being put down, abused, ridiculed, assaulted, like all of that stuff. When you finally decide to break free, and you have that time where you need to figure out how you can move on with your life, how you can find a little bit of joy, because there’s no joy, right? It’s just darkness.

And in those moments, you’re like, s--t, I should go back. Because this is what I’m used to. Being on your own after being with somebody because it’s not just physical. It’s mental, it’s emotional, and it’s financial. So when you finally break free, and you’re sitting home alone, in your room with your thoughts, those thoughts can get really really s----y and you feel like you’re not worthy of love, because that was beaten into you. And you start to believe it. So when you see Harley, even though again, fictional character, she’s been through every f-----g thing, but now she is free of this person and she finds love and happiness.

DB: Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about in regards to issue one in the series?

TF: The title “Eat Bang Kill” is obviously a triple entendre. We’re gonna explore a lot of queer love between the two ladies. This whole series is freaking groundbreaking. I am the first black woman to write Harley Quinn. Like that, in itself is just like holy s--t. And then you add that I’m queer, disabled, right? I’m a whole wheelchair user. And I’m autistic. Like that is really cool. We all know representation matters.

I’m truly grateful for the opportunity for one, this is my first DC but it’s cool. I’m showing that autistic people are talented. And we can do so much, disabled people are not just here to inspire you. Right? We are people with villains who deserve love. Who are talented, and I’m hoping that these ushers in a new generation of disabled comic writers and autistic comic writers. Because it’s needed. Usually, in comics, we do not see disabled characters and definitely not in the background. So in this whole series, you can see so many disabled characters, right, just roaming the streets, blowing my nose, whatever, like you’re gonna see disabled people. Because when I leave my home I see disabled people.

And I’m really grateful to editor Katie [Kubert] for being cool with how many disabled people are on these pages. We see people with mobility aids, we see people with service dogs, we see so many people. Facial disfigurements, birthmarks, like these are people who exist and they need to see themselves in the comics, right in any medium period. So I would not be doing justice as a disabled person to not have other disabled people in something that I write. I’m really hoping that this might start conversations. When you see yourself in a medium, that’s the feeling that you will always remember.

[corysmiles]

Could you believe I actually am back with some Runnaway Experiment WRITING??? :D

This takes place very early on in the story, and gives some more insight into Tommy's life before they escaped (in the comics). Enjoy :D

-------

The experiment was growing years after years, to everyone’s delight. It seemed the first laboratorial human had a decent enough lifespan so that it could be studied in the long run. And so, 14 years, it has been since T0M saw the light of day, and it acted in a similar fashion a 14 year old human would. .

Of course, the many researchers failed to take in consideration an alteration of the most cumbersome. T0M looked human, could understand the english language, followed orders and didn’t complain, asked some questions but the specimen…. was big.

Too big to fit in a human bed.

Too big to fit comfortably in a room.

It went in spurts, which was terrifying the first time. It kept on growing and growing, as scientists hoped it wouldn't take long for it to stop, otherwise, it might lead to a lot of problems. But for the past 2 years, no noticeable change really occurred, which was a relief when the thing was already 25 ft tall. It never seemed to be challenging personality wise, which was a relief, but they still needed to keep him in line.

Hopefully, the Doctor Soot, as well as Doctor Puff took part in daily check ups and made sure he didn’t rebel.

So, every 2 day, they took turns to visit T0M in the room accustomed to its needs.

And both’s reports were excellent! T0M learned more while being as obedient and compliant as ever. Phil couldn’t be more happy with those results.

However, as time went on…. Wilbur failed to mention another kind of teaching he had going on with the subject for the past months.

“And this is called ‘Sadness’.” He held an A3 size paper with a moody smiley drawn on it, the word being written below. “It’s that feeling when our sessions are over and I have to go and you say ‘oh noooo’ in that voice.”

T0M was sitting on his knees in front of him, paying the utmost attention to what Wilbur was showing and saying.

“I hate that one.” He pouted.

“I know,” Wilbur chuckled. “No one likes to feel sad. But it’s a part of life.”

A single hum. Wilbur’s smile turned more sympathetic.

“Do you remember the other ones?” He stood up from his place and put the sheet in one of the dark grey metallic drawers.

T0M nodded, excitedly. He took his hand and poked his fingers as he counted. “ there’s “Happiness”, it’s the good one. And “Disgust”, it’s when I have to eat the weird green stuff.”

“Brocoli”

“That. And then there’s excitement, it’s when I smile real big because you come early.”

Wilbur clapped “Wonderful!” T0M’s eyes were shining stars at every approval from Doctor Soot. Even though T0M’s enjoyment was very appreciated and contagious, but it could be a bit… much, to handle at times.

“Since you understand the basics, I think it’s time for us to start a whole new lesson.” He clapped.

T0M gasped and cheered from the top of his lungs “YEAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!”, throwing his arms in the air and effectively making the room shake from the sheer volume of his voice. When he looked back at the scientist, his eyebrows were pinched and the brunette was covering his ears and curled up, almost in pain.

“...Doctor?” He brought his head close to the man who, after making eye contact, scrambled back until he hit the same drawer he put the papers in earlier. T0M looked at him confused, face still too big in Wilbur’s peripheral.

“I… Tom, I appreciate your enthusiasm when we do our lessons, but if you could prevent yourself from screaming, it would be nice.” He tried in the most gentle voice he could muster without it shaking.

“What’s screaming?” T0M asked, crouched so his face was almost on the ground at eye level with him. He brought a hand closer to the doctor who was still breathing heavily. When his head shot to look at the hand, his body on alert, he froze before saying.

“... Is it a moment when I can’t touch you?”

Wilbur’s eyes were locked on the now frozen hand for a good second before returning to T0M, nodding. “Uh, yeah.”

“... Okay.”

The hand retracted in the following seconds, and soon, he was back in his initial position.

The doctor thanked before regaining his composure. He looked back at T0M, and his expression held remorse. A guilt twisted Wilbur's guts at the view. Thing is, as T0M grew up, people quickly realised he was the equivalent of clingy. He would constantly grab people into hugs and had a hard time keeping his voice down which resulted in a large noise blocker investment. And so they had a rule. T0M couldn’t make any sort of physical contact with anyone without being given explicit permission first. Obviously, most workers considered T0M as a test subject and therefore, wouldn’t give him that pleasure.

Wilbur, though, was not in the same vein. Once he realised how empathic and emotional and human T0M was, he started teaching him things a human teen should need, and started giving him a sort of affection a human teen should have. Which included some sort of physical affection.

When T0M was sad, he would sit next to him or pat his back. It quickly evolved as Wilbur accepted being held by the boy and brought to eye level as long as he was careful when doing so, and ever later, they would hug and wilbur would try to brush his hair at times.

Still, that didn’t make him immune to any of T0M’s carelessness which’s consequences were amplified ten fold due to his scale.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked pitifully.

“I- no, it’s not your fault. It can just be a bit overwhelming is all.” Wilbur explained.

“... what does that mean?”

“It means… when something is ‘too much’. Like when you want to bring Techno very close, but he keeps reminding you about the rule.”

“Oh.” T0M let his head fall. “... I don’t like that.” Wilbur scratched his head. “I want to be so close and show that I’m very happy and it’s all inside and I can’t let it out.”

“Well, here, it’s a bit more of the opposite. When outside, there is a lot and you’re incapable of letting it in.”

“... I’m sorry Wilbur” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, I’m not angry.” reassured the brunette. “I just have sensitive ears.”

“...Everyone has sensitive ears.”

“Well, when you’re a small guy like me, you’re sensitive on pretty much all fronts.”

“... It’s not fair.”

“What’s that?” Wilbur perked.

“When I stop getting big and strong, I want to hug you with all of my will. Like you do with me. It feels nice. I want you to feel nice just like that. I want you to be overwhelmed with happiness. I want to hug you so, so bad but I can't and it's shit. I don't want to be strong, I hurt you if I’m strong. I want to hug you."

Tommy vented, more to himself, and when he looked at Wilbur, his eyes shined, not with joy.

"Oh Tommy…."

It ached. It ached Wilbur to his core that something as simple as a hug was something he craved and still couldn't get. Because he knew. He knew all of the things T0M was missing out on. All the life he could have lived if he was granted freedom. How much he could live and appreciate. It kept him awake at night.

But he was here. Trapped. In a room barely tall enough to contain him, treated like a circus monster. And the worst thing was, T0M wasn't aware of it. Of all the life he wasn't living. How his life was no life and how he thinks this absence of everything is what life should be.

Plato would probably laugh in his grave.

"I promise you. One day, you will be able to do that. I promise you that I'll find a way for you to hug me just like you are a small man too. I promise you that I'll make you discover all of those joys of life, Tom. I Promise you. I will help you. And I'm sorry for not being able to provide it sooner. And I'll apologize for all the years it took for me to get it."

They stared at each other, and Tommy nodded, throat tight and eyes wet.

"And a promise makes sure that it's gonna happen." T0M croaked.

"Exactly, tom." Wilbur smiled. "You are going to live many more things."

The bell rang, and both faces fell a bit.

"I'll see you in 4 days, Tom. We're gonna have a little recap over the emotions you learned and then I'll teach you about relationships."

"Oohh, that sounds nice! What is it?"

As Wilbur packed his little bag, he looked at T0M and simply replied "it's all around you. But I'm not gonna spoil the next session. On that note, I wish you a nice week, Tom."

"Have a nice week, Wilbur! " T0M waved with a smile. "It's nice talking to you."

"It is my absolute pleasure, Tom."

And thus, they parted. As Wilbur walked down the immense corridor (just tall enough Tom could run through them.) He wore a satisfied smile. His small steps resonated, the only sound in the room, yet peaceful enough for his ears to listen to them as carefully as silence. Halfway through, the sound was doubled.

"Helloooo."

"Oh, hey techno! How are you?"

"Doing fine. You seem very happy."

"I am. I made some good progress with T-he subject. I feel like he's learning well. The next tests should have fabulous results."

"Ahh, wonderful. Let's make sure it doesn't learn too much though." He joked.

And at that, Wilbur chuckled, his hand on the man's shoulder. "Oh don't you worry about that, my friend. I can assure you that'll never happen"

"Amazing" techno replied, deadpan. Both nodded their conversation away and walked the rest of their ways.

As he got further away, the doctor's smile turned to an amused grin. His steps resonated, so much smaller than what could be, in a corridor in which the boy just next door should walk through.

"Don't you worry about a single thing."

MEL YES I ADORE THIS AU SO MUCH ITS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

Poor Tommy but at least Wilbur is helping him :”]

[talkfastromance4]

Are lily ,posy and Oliver helpings daddy deal with the stress of the album coming out in two days?

How about momma? Maybe a bj to help him relax?

I love this ask so so so much because you made it into the Luke&Lily universe 🥺 and the last part is *chefs kiss* I hope you like it!💕

***

With the album only two days away, Luke wanted to have one last listening party with everyone over at the house. You were more than ecstatic to abide that because he's been nervous ever since he announced a solo album release.

The two of you spent many late nights discussing it, more of you encouraging him to write his heart out. Ashton helped as much as he could as hype man as well considering he released an album almost a year ago now.

You were all gathered around the fire pit outside letting Luke's ethereal voice serenade you into the summer evening. Lily and Posy loved to dance to his songs, they twirled and did their own version of a ballerina's pirouette.

You were sat on Luke's lap watching the girls dance and everyone else's reaction to his heart coming through. Ashton had his head pointed to the stars alternating his eyes from open to close humming along to the choruses. Calum sat forward with his elbows on his knees staring into the fire, Luke's words resonating with him on a deeper level.

Crystal held Oliver in her arms, a soft smile on her face as she rocked with the ballads. Michael had his arm around her, staring at Oliver with a look of concentration and admiration.

"This is what I had trouble with at this next bit," Luke murmurs in your ear. His arms tighten around your waist, his lips move against your shoulder when he speaks.

You listen intently but in your ears, it's all perfect and beautiful. You know this album backwards and forwards. When the kids were asleep you'd listen to all of his alternate ideas. It made you warm inside that he wanted to share this with you, this project that was just Luke; soft, tender, real.

Halfway through, Lily climbed onto Calum's lap and listened quietly with the rest of them. Posy snuggled with Ashton, she played with his bracelets on his wrists humming along to her daddy's voice.

When the album ended there was a moment of silence. Luke squeezed you again, his breath hitching and then everyone clapped.

"It's sensational, mate, well done," Ashton shakes his head.

"Yeah, it's perfect," Calum agrees.

"Thanks," Luke sighs keeping cover behind your shoulder. "I've been feeling like I'm going to throw up all week."

"Everyone's going to love it, Luke," Michael adds.

"That's what I've been telling him," you smile at him proudly. You brush back a curl from his face. "It's beautiful, babe, truly."

It wasn't very long until Posy and Oliver became fussy. Posy was clinging to Luke and Oliver's cries were of the sleepy kind. With hugs and kisses and more words of encouragement, they all left.

You could see the stress in Luke's shoulders as the two of you did the nightly routine with all three kids.

"Does this mean you'll be leaving sooner?" Lily asks him as he brushes her hair.

"Leaving? Where am I going, sweets?"

"With Uncle Cal, on tour," she's playing with the ears of her pink bunny. The pink bunny Luke gave her when he first met her.

"Oh. No, I won't be leaving. This record is more like...it's like a diary," Luke explains. "It helps me sort out my thoughts and feelings and music helps as well."

"I want a diary."

"I'll get you one," he smiles setting her brush down and kisses the top of her head. "Into bed, my sweet."

Oliver is in your arms and Posy is hanging onto your fingers as you enter Lily's room. Luke tucks her in kissing her forehead.

"Sweet dreams sweet Lily," he murmurs. "I love you."

"Love you dada," she smiles.

Posy hugs Lily goodnight and Luke scoops her up in his arms, her head falls heavily on his shoulder.

"Your turn for bed, love bug," Luke tells her and you follow them into her room.

Posy sets her in her toddler bed, making sure her purple elephant is right next to her. You're patting at Oliver's butt when he makes a noise listening in to the short story Luke is telling Posy. This one was about a fairy Princess named Posy who loved to dance and dream.

"Sometimes, she would sleep on a star," Luke's voice is hushed, his hand stroking over the top of her head. "And it would take her high in the sky so close to the moon. The moon watched over the fairy Princess Posy until the sun came and woke her up with a warm kiss."

"I think she's out," you whisper. Luke kisses her cheek then you give him Oliver to hold.

"Goodnight my Posy girl," you whisper and kiss her forehead.

You leave her door open a crack then move into Oliver's nursery. He's already been asleep for a while so Luke sets him in his crib gently. You let him talk to his son for a moment and hold out your hand when he turns around. Luke takes your hand warmly in his bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.

"I love you," he whispers, baby blues steady on yours.

"I love you."

You thought you'd be getting ready for bed and fall asleep together but Luke mentioned he left something outside. You shrug it off and did your own nightly routine waiting for him to return.

Thirty minutes went by and Luke still wasn't in bed with you. You make sure to grab the baby monitor before you go to find him. Sure enough, he's downstairs in his music room, the sounds of his album luring you closer and closer.

Luke's sitting on the couch, his arms spread along the back of it with his head against the wall. His foot is bouncing with the beat and he's singing along quietly to himself.

You can feel his nerves from the doorway and an idea sparks in your mind. You close the door behind you in case the girls wake up but they're out like lights so you're pretty sure they won't come in here. Oliver's monitor is placed on a pile of records and you move in front of Luke on the floor. You touch his knee delicately.

"Hey," he mumbles, his head still pointed towards the ceiling.

"What're you doing down here all by yourself?" you ask touching his other knee. You're silently rubbing up his legs in a soothing way.

"Thinking. I can't believe this is gonna be heard in two days," he rubs his face with his hand.

"You know what I think?" you ask stretching up over his legs, your palms sliding up his thighs to the center of his crotch. You stroke your thumb over his clothed dick in a teasing manner and that gets his attention. His head perks up.

"I'd love to know what you think, lovie," he exhales watching you.

With your eyes on his, you rub over his growing bulge until you think it becomes a bit uncomfortable.

"I think," you undo his pants and tug them down, down, down to his ankles. He helps kicking them off. You're still rubbing at his hips, and you press butterfly kisses to his thighs, up, up, up. "I think you need to relax."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm," you nod grabbing his fully hard dick in your palm. You stroke him slightly and you nip at his love handle loving the way his stomach clenches. "And I think I can help."

"I think you can, too," he smiles.

You turn your head to kiss his hip, then leave open mouthed kisses up his shaft until you're at the tip. You bat your eyes at him as you close your lips around his head, swirling your tongue over him. Your hand moves down with your mouth as you swallow him as far as you can.

"Oh, baby," he moans. His hand flies to your hair, not adding pressure but just to hold you. You hum at his moan as you lift your mouth off him only to go back down again.

Your mouth and hand work in tandem until he's slick with your spit then you fondle his balls with your fingers.

"Fuck, lovie, just like that. Mm," he moans again lifting his hips to meet your mouth.

"Like that?" you ask and he gasps at the vibration of your words. "You're so good, baby. Everyone's going to love your album."

"Don't talk about the album now," he nearly whines, "just keep--ah doing what you're doing."

You smile and bob your head back down, gagging slightly when his hips meet your throat. Luke's thighs clench beneath your fingers and you know he's close so you start to move faster.

"Lovie, lovie, lovie, lovie," he pulls you off him and onto his lap.

"I wasn't done," you protest.

"I want you."

A shared desire is exchanged in both your eyes and you both work quickly to remove your shorts and underwear. Luke guides himself inside of you and you slip over him easily.

"Look at me, lovie," he whispers.

When you do, he takes hold of your hips and thrusts heavily into you, you gasp loudly.

"Shh, shh, c'mere," he silences your gasps with his own mouth.

You rock your hips with him enthusiastically, feeling the pleasure rise up your neck and down to your toes. You're a mess of heated breath and pants, movements becoming jerky.

"Come with me, lovie...let me feel you," he murmurs. With a final snap of his hips, you cry out against his lips and he lets out a loud groan as he fills you up with warmth.

"Luke," you sigh resting your body heavily against him. When you say his name he smiles against you because what you really said was 'I love you.'

"I love you, too, Y/N. Thank you for being my everything."

"You're my everything," you frame his cheeks in your hands. "I'm so proud of you."

**

Taglist: @calumance  @in-superbloom @calpalirwin @karajaynetoday @wiiildflowerrr @sunshineeeluke @littledrummeraussie @suchalonelysunflower @hoodhoran @Fobodob @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @sunshineeashton @ashtonsunflower​ @mymindwide​ @itjustkindahappenedreally @seanna313 @fivesecondsofonedirection @mulletcal @pandaxnienke @prentisswrites @princesslrh

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 22 - Sci Fi

New part is here! Just a few more in this world. Just realized that it's been about 1 year since I've started this story. Wow.

Masterpost linked here.

Enjoy!

____________________________

The school was greatly relieved to hear that I had made a Connection and was no longer a danger to myself and others. They immediately rescinded my suspension and "encouraged" me to resume training with my new partner as soon as possible. I found the quick 180 amusing, but didn't argue.

It took multiple video calls with Alaira’s father to reassure him that everything was okay, and a few more to prevent him from throwing a parade for Liam to thank him for matching his daughter. His tears of joy at the news was a complicated moment for me.

I had felt a deep sense of joy, but it was an emotion that didn’t belong to me... it belonged to Alaira. Watching him celebrate his daughter’s recovery felt hypocritical, knowing that in the world that I hadn’t taken over, his daughter hadn’t had a good end. She had died alone and afraid, her mind fragmented.

But there was no way to tell him that.

The mission completion status on my communication device had risen quickly from 1% to 42%. Liam and I spent every waking moment together, talking, joking, and learning about each other. We practiced making the connection with the Mech, powering and controlling it now a smooth, painless process. It was natural, coming as easily to me as breathing. Working with him felt less like learning with a new partner as gaining back a missing part of me.

I was happy.

But not everyone was glad to hear we had matched.

Shortly after our match was made public, Liam and I were walking down the hallway after class, and were forced to stop by a young, angry woman blocking our path.

“It’s a lie!” Princess Ilene glared at Liam as she faced us down. “William can’t be a real Connector! He’s always been just a useless waste. He's a stain on the royal family!”

Liam seemed unfazed by his sister’s cruel words, as if he were used to it. The lack of reaction and the implications behind it made me even angrier. I stepped forward, hiding him partly behind me, and smiled pleasantly. My expression and pleasant tone obviously confused the princess, who took a step back.

“Ilene, Ilene, there’s just so much wrong with what you said… I don’t even know where to begin!” I shrugged. “ But, correcting idiocy IS my calling in life, so let me give it a shot:”

Ilene’s face was red with rage, but I ignored her incoherent sputtering, holding up a finger.

“First, Liam is capable of making the connection. He just had a strong barrier. Obviously it isn't impossible, or he and I wouldn’t be matched. “ I held up a second finger. “Secondly, and more importantly: even if he COULDN’T make the connection, he still wouldn’t be useless. He’s a kind, wonderful person, and that’s more than you can say about most Guardians or Connectors… present company included.”

“ How dare…” Princess Ilene took a step back. “What are you trying to say?”

I blinked, shocked “Oh, was I not being obvious enough? I don’t like you. I think Liam is a much better human being than you, and find it pitiful that you try to derive your self worth from putting him down.”

Liam stepped forward, grabbing my hand. “It’s ok…”

“No, its not. You don’t deserve for people to call you trash.” I felt emotional, as if something deep inside me was trying to break free.

“It’s always been like this.” He shrugged, “I’m used to being alone.”

____________________________

“Friends, family?”

The man in front of me was smiling at my question, but the expression was so sad it made me want to cry.

“None.” He twisted his hands in his lap, looking away. “I’m supposed to be alone.”

“Why?”

“Supposedly that’s my fate.”

____________________________

“You are not trash.” I tightened my grip on Liam’s hand. “ and you’re not alone anymore.”

“I know.” He smiled, “Thanks.”

Princess Ilene spoke up, obviously tired of being ignored. “How dare you trample on Chris’s kindness and reject him for this tr…” She started to say the word “trash” but seeing my face, nervously trailed off and started again. “You don’t even know if you two have a high enough resonance match to ward off your mental degradation…!”

“We do. It’s gone.”

She paused, thrown by my matter of fact tone. “… But what if you’re a higher match with Chris…”

“Don’t care. I hate him.”

“… But…”

“You do bring up a good point, though.” I turned to Liam. “We should see what our resonance match rate is.”

He looked nervous. “What if it isn’t very high?”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re already partners. I’m just curious.” I grinned. “Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s really high, and I’d love to use that to shut people up.”

He chuckled at that. “If it means that much to you to rub it into people’s faces...”

“It does.”

We walked towards the match center, leaving Princess Ilene stunned into silence behind.

____________________________

Liam got more anxious the closer we got to the match center. “You promise you won’t break our partnership if our match score is low?”

“You know I wouldn’t do that.” I didn’t feel insulted at his questioning. I could feel his insecurity, the need for me to say out loud what he thought he knew. “Low or high, we’re partners. You’re stuck with me.”

“Good.” He sighed, grinning. “I like being stuck with you.”

Finally, we were facing the machine that had failed us both so many times. Irrationally, I felt a little nervous, the many prior failures of the past few weeks too fresh and painful to completely forget.

Liam stepped away from me, reaching out and placed his hands on the panel first.

“Unrecognized tester. Please let down your mental barrier to proceed with Match testing.”

I rubbed my forehead tiredly as the robotic rejection echoed loudly around the room; “I forgot your barrier is still around since it doesn’t effect me anymore.”

“Honestly, I had forgotten too.” He responded with a happy smile.

A crowd was starting to gather, curious at our actions. As more and more people realized what we were doing, I began hearing the whispering between them.

“Didn’t she go crazy?”

“...thought she couldn’t match?”

“He has a barrier? ...never could match.”

“I heard they already formed a connection.”

“Heard her dad is a general, spread the rumor of her matching so she wouldn’t get kicked out.”

“Isn’t she matched up with Chris?”

“Why are they here?”

I grabbed Liam’s hand again, feeling relieved when I felt his warm skin against my own. “Don’t listen to them.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He stared straight at me, ignoring the hostile words and gazes of the crowd. “You’re beside me, and that’s all that matters.”

I squeezed his hand in my own. A strong desire welled up within me to be worthy of the trust he gave me. I wanted to show everyone what Liam could do, the bond we had... but of course it couldn't be too easy.

“We just have to figure out how to get your barrier down enough for the machine to read you." I glanced down at my hand that was still holding his. "I mean, I’m touching you now, right? There’s no barrier between us?”

He stared down at our clasped hands, his cheeks tinged pink. “Yes, I feel you. I mean, no, there’s no barrier.”

“Good!" I gestured to the pad with my free hand. "Then why don't you try again while we're still touching each other?”

He placed his hand back on the machine.

“Please let down your mental barrier to proceed with Match testing.” The machine's voice repeated itself calmly.

His hand fell away, frustrated. I could feel his anxiety, and worried deep down that I had made a wrong choice. I did this to reassure him that we are a good match. To shut up everyone saying that it's a made up story to justify the removal of my suspension. To prove to everyone that Liam isn't useless, even by their own stupid standards.

But none of this will happen if he can't use the machine.

I thought it over, and grinned as I came up with a plan. “Hmm… Well, there’s one other thing we can try…”

I leaned in and kissed him, grabbing his free hand with my own and placing it on the pad together. His breath caught in his chest and he froze in shock very briefly before kissing back. In that moment I almost forgot why I had kissed him in the first place, but the robotic voice quickly reminded me.

“Resonance match detected…. Scanning…. Resonance Frequency Match...100%.”

The voice had barely faded before there were shouts of shock from the crowd. The room descended into chaos at the announcement. I broke away from Liam, who was still distracted, and stared at him.

“Did that machine just say… we are a 100 PERCENT match? I didn’t even think that was possible!”

Liam blinked. “I’m sorry, I dinwhat did you say?”

“We’re a perfect match, Liam.” I laughed. “I knew this was a great idea!”

Definitely didn't completely doubt the plan halfway through... yep.

“So… no one can separate us then?” His body relaxed, and he reached out, pulling me against himself and hugging me tightly. I felt the trembling of his muscles and knew that the anxiety he had shown was only the tip of the iceberg. His true fears and insecurities were still well hidden, even from me.

I hugged him back, waiting for him to back away. The crowd’s murmuring were now a loud roar, as everyone discussed a match rate that most thought impossible to achieve. And there, in the back of the crowd, I saw a solitary figure standing there, watching us with a blank stare.

Chris.

I shuddered, holding Liam tighter. The first thing I had done when Liam and I announced our match was to report to the authorities Chris holding me in his room. I suspected him of drugging me as well, remembering the prick of the needle before falling unconscious.

I was laughed at.

“Why would a student with a crystal clear reputation go out of his way to kidnap a general’s daughter? He already had a match, a better one than his resonance with you if I recall. If anyone had motive to kidnap someone, it would be you to him!”

The words were cutting, made worse by the pity on their faces.

“It’s obvious: your mind was breaking down due to the strain without a Connector, and came up with this fantastical plot of being kidnapped.”

And despite my objections, the claim was dropped. I hadn’t seen Chris since the day we parted in his room.

Until now.

His gaze held mine. He was expressionless, watching us with a detached, almost clinical air. I would have almost thought he was bored, or at least uncaring about the situation in front of him… if not for his eyes…

His eyes were burning with rage.

I looked away first feeling an odd sense of familiarity, as if something similar had happened before.

____________________________

A few days later Liam and I had our first mock battle. Suspended together in the Connection chamber within the Mech, the constant physical and mental connection with Liam made operating the Mech much easier than it ever had been alone.

I fought with a sword, having abandoned the dual guns completely. I breathed a sigh of relief at the speed I could move at as I ducked under the enemy Mech’s attack. Turning with the spin of my dodge, I used the momentum and I swung around to slash the torso of our opponent with the sword.

“Nice hit!” Liam’s voice in my headset was excited. He was cheering me on along the way, spurring me to show off with more complex moves when possible, hoping to impress him.

I pressed the attack, slamming the Mech with the shoulder of ours, and kicking it to the ground before it could recover its balance. The movements were smooth, and my head was clear of any pain. The prior drain and discomfort of controlling the giant robot was completely gone.

As our opponent fell to the ground, I pressed the tip of the sword into the Mech’s neck. The referee called out our victory, and the crowd around the arena cheered, but it was just noise to me. All that mattered was Liam’s excited babbling in my ear.

“That was awesome! I’ve always wondered what it felt like to win a Mech fight, and it’s so much cooler than I ever imagined! This is great! When can we fight again?”

“Glad you had fun, Liam.” I laughed at the innocent delight in his voice. After the stress and pain I had experienced since waking up in this world, the uncertainty of who I was and why I was here, there was something simple and healing about being by Liam’s side.

I feel happy.

I was nervous about admitting it, even to myself, as if the simple acknowledgement of the positive emotion would be enough to destroy it. But I couldn’t deny it. I WAS happy.

After we had undocked and changed, Liam and I relaxed in the fighter’s lounge. Liam as always, had a container that he pulled out of a bag, opening it to reveal a slice of cake. I took it from him with a murmur of thanks, and after the first bite sighed with joy.

“I've been meaning to ask you: Where do you get this cake? It's obviously not from the school shop, it’s way too good!”

Liam smiled at the question. “I made it myself.” Usually more quiet and shy, he seemed very confident when it came to matters such as food. The change in his attitude was something I loved to see.

“Really? You made it? This is too delicious… if only I could have this all the time.” I took another bite, savoring it. As I swallowed, I looked up at him and joked. "Yep, I think the only solution would be for me to just marry you.”

“…” There was a strange silence in the room. I ate some more cake, unconcerned at first, but as the awkward stillness stretched on I paused in my actions, turning towards Liam again with a questioning look.

His face was bright red, and he stared at me with a look of shock and joy.

“Liam?”

He nodded, and blushing more, pulled out his communication device, dialing a number.

“Who are you calling…?”

Alaira’s father, General Gladus showed up on the holographic projection from his device. He stared at Liam, confused for a moment, before barking out with a frown. “Who is this?”

Liam sat up straight, staring at the man with a solemn expression. “General Gladus, my name is William. I am the third born of the Royal family, and a first year student at the academy, and a Level S Connector.”

General Gladus grinned. “I know who you are, son. You’re the wonderful young man who matched with my daughter. I’ve been wanting to talk with you and thank you…”

“Your daughter has asked me to marry her and I have agreed.”

“What?”

“What?”

My father and I asked in unison.

“I was very happy to receive your daughter’s offer of marriage. I will do my very best to support her in all her endeavors.”

“She proposed?”

I silently mouthed an echoing question as my father burst out loudly. “I proposed?”

Liam nodded. “I wanted to let you know so that you could arrange for military leave and be present for our wedding. I know the paperwork can take weeks to months. ”

“…” General Gladus looked stunned. Slowly, his hologram turned towed me. “Alaira, is this true?”

"Yeah, military leave paperwork is notoriously slow..."

He interrupted. "No I mean about the engagement!"

I glanced over at Liam’s excited face.

____________________________

“I don’t believe it’s real.” He whispered, staring down at our hands that were clasped together. “I thought that I was always going to be alone. I thought my fate… my role… ”

I fiddled with the silver band in my hand, trying it on his finger. “Screw fate. We’re getting married now.”

“Yeah.” He grinned, the smile lighting up his face, making the whole room brighter. “Screw fate. I’m your husband!”

____________________________

I shrugged. “What can I say? We’re a destined couple.” I briefly explained about our 100% resonance match.

“… Did you say 100% match?” At my nod, General Gladus opened up his arms. “Welcome to family! When's the wedding?”

After a few more minutes of discussion, Liam hung up, still looking happy.

“Should we notify your parents?”

His face froze. When his gaze finally rose to met mine I shrunk back from the dull look I saw there.

“No reason to.” He reached out, tucking back my hair. “A family without love is just blood related acquaintances. You’re my real family, wife.”

I hugged him again. “That’s right. I’m your family.” I hadn’t really meant to propose… it was just a joke. But the second he called me wife, my heart had felt a sense of recognition. It was happy, but also hurt, a deep remembered pain. A panicked feeling rose up within me, as fear, despair and sadness came in waves, before leaving quickly, overwhelming me without warning or reason. I desperately wanted to remember something, to tear open the fog clouding my brain and peer at what was hidden behind it. But I couldn't.

You must accept your fate. A metallic voice rang in my head, cold, dispassionate, filled with undeniable.

“No.” I whispered, tears filling my eyes even if I wasn’t sure why they were there.

Liam noticed my distress. “Alaira?”

“I'm fine." I think we should go back to practice.” I pulled him to his feet. “We’ll talk more about this later.”

“You’re right, let’s continue working hard so we can save the world like you wanted. But on our next break, we have a wedding to plan!” For the first time, Liam was more excited than me to get to practice. He grabbed my hand and raced forward.

____________________________

Later that night, I went back to my dorm room, still thinking over my last conversation with Liam. He was energetically talking about wedding plans, making lists and drawings with the hologram on his communicator, storing them in special file with my name on it.

When I asked him why he was so excited, he paused, staring down at his hands. “Have you ever felt a desire that was so strong, it seemed to be beyond anything you’ve experienced before?” He glanced up. “I feel this, Alaira. Deep in my soul. I want to be by your side. I want to marry you, but even if you didn’t want that, I’d be your minion or your sidekick. Being by you… helping you… it’s such an integral part of myself, I couldn’t separate from it if I tried.”

“Liam…”

“I think I believe in reincarnation and soul mates.” He smiled. “I’m so happy right now that I think this has to be a hallucination, it can’t be real.”

“I don’t believe it’s real.” I felt the memory of the young man’s whisper in my head again, and pushing it back, I leaned forward to kiss Liam gently.

“It’s real.”

Now alone in my room, I couldn’t help but feel bewildered by the connection with Liam, the emotions and memories that accompanied every moment with him.

“Who am I?” I leaned against the wall and whispered to myself.

“That is the question isn’t it?”

At the unexpected answer I straightened up, falling into a defensive stance. Recognizing the intruder did not make relax, however. If anything it made me more tense.

“Chris. What are you doing here?” I kept my voice calm, trying to hide my inner tension.

“I’m getting tired, Bel.” He sat down on my bed and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m just… so tired of all this.”

“What did you call me?” The name resonated with me, much more than “Alaira” ever had.

He ignored me. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were supposed to give up right away. It promised me…”

The room fell into silence. I stood as still as a statue, barely daring to breathe. I was desperate to hear more, terrified to let him continue speaking. Chris’s voice was different, his tone filled with years of regret. His eyes when they stared at me, seemed to look right through me, as if seeing through my skin to something deeper and more profound.

“Why can’t you just accept your fate, Bel?” He sighed, the sound seeming to drag on too long. “Everything depends on it.”

“What do you…?”

“The lower realms you treasure… the friends you’ve made… even…” He hesitated. “Even his existence depends on everyone having their role and playing their part.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Chris.”

“MY NAME ISN’T CHRIS!” He yelled, the sound startling in the otherwise silent room. “Just like yours isn’t Alaira. Just like his… it wasn’t supposed to be…”

“Liam?”

”THAT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HIS NAME!” Chris, or whoever he was, stood up, his face red with rage. “He corrupted it! He refused his role, and ended up tricking you to do the same.” He stepped closer. “Why do you always force me to be the one who has to carry the weight of the realms on my shoulders? Why does he get to be the only one who is happy? I don’t want to play these games anymore, Bel.”

“I’m not playing games!” I shouted back, frustrated. “I don’t remember anything!”

“And you won’t. Not until it’s over. But it will be soon. Because I’m going to end it.” He walked towards the door, preparing to leave, only stopping when I grabbed his arm.

“No. You aren’t leaving until you explain what you meant.”

His eyes lit up briefly at our contact, and I pulled my hand away quickly. “You made a bet, Bel, and these are rules you can’t escape. All it takes is one failed mission. One failure before you can finish the task of piecing together your soul.”

“Piecing together…?” His words struck a chord within me, but I shook my head. “I may not understand anything going on, but I’ll tell you this: I won’t fail my mission.”

The light is his eyes dimmed. “You started this. Just remember that, when you regret everything. You. Started. This.”

He left through room, slamming the door behind him. I stood in place, staring blankly, my mind racing.

Realms, real names, missions and bets… I don’t understand any of it.

But I knew one thing, as certainly as if it were imprinted on my soul.

I would not accept my fate.

Even if I couldn’t remember what that fate was.

Even if I had to destroy fate itself to escape it.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑈𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑛 𝑈𝑠 (𝐽𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑌𝑢𝑛ℎ𝑜) 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐶𝐸𝑂! 𝐽𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑌𝑢𝑛ℎ𝑜 (𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧)/𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐷𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟! 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 (𝐹𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒)

𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑒: 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑆𝑚𝑢𝑡, 𝑁𝑜𝑛! 𝐼𝑑𝑜𝑙 𝐴𝑈

𝑆𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑠: 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐽𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑌𝑢𝑛ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝐶𝐸𝑂 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑. 𝐻𝑒'𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒........𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦.

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡:6K

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝 𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑏𝑠/𝑒𝑥𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑙𝑎𝑝 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑑𝑟𝑦 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑦), 𝑎𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑒, 𝑢𝑛𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑥 (𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛).

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

"In behalf of all of us present here, I'd like to congratulate our dear friend Yunho on finally settling down, on finding someone who truly makes him happy and promising to spend the rest of his life with her."

Lifting the glass cup up, Seonghwa finished with a loud:

"To Yunho and his lovely bride."

The rest of the groomsmen let out a bunch of hollers and whistling, signaling their approval of the speech given by the oldest male.

Yunho couldn't keep the happy grin off his face.

"Thanks so much guys. It really means a lot to me that you guys would do this for me."

"What kind of friends would we be if we weren't happy for you?" Hongjoong nudged him gently.

"And what kind of groomsmen would we be if we didn't throw you a super cool and totally expensive bachelor party." Wooyoung clinked glasses with San, both giving each other a not so subtle look that they were up to something.

The rest decided to ignore them, figuring they were just messing around like they usually did. They began to talk about their own married lives, funny stories that happened to them while they were on the honeymoon, their first fights as couples, and how they tended to deal with their in laws. Seonghwa was also more than happy to talk about how his wife and him were already trying for a baby, which came to no surprise to the others, considering how much he adored kids. The two single men though, were quickly becoming bored with the subject, either rolling their eyes at them or just downing more shots just to kill time.

"Ok! If you pansies are done, I think it's time to bring out the real entertainment." San got up and went over to the door.

Yunho tensed up noticeably.

"San.....remember I said no strippers or anything like that."

"Oh lighten up Yunho! It'll only be one night! One night before you're forever tied down to 1 woman! 1!" Wooyoung argued.

"Unsurprised you'd be in on this sort of shenanigans as well." Yeosang rolled his eyes at him.

"Ok so can I open the door and let the fine ladies on?" San tapped his foot impatiently.

Yunho lowered himself on his seat.

"I p-promised Jieun...."

"Have a little respect you assholes." Hongjoong piped up, sensing how uncomfortable his friend was getting.

"Ok fine! I'll tell you what."

Going over to him, San made Yunho get up and pointed him towards another door at the end of the hallway.

"See that room there? Why don't you be a good little obedient puppy to your new master and watch tv or something while we enjoy ourselves here. Does that sound like a plan?" San asked him with a totally innocent smile.

"Ok!" Yunho didn't even hesitate to get out of the situation, already walking away as rapidly as he could.

"I wanna go too-"

"No you don't!" Wooyoung grabbed Yeosang, nearly choke holding him, the poor man struggling to breathe.

The rest of the boys watched as Yunho left, oblivious to what was happening behind him. It was Seonghwa who knew something was up.

"What did you do?" He questioned them, eyeing them suspiciously.

San and Wooyoung released a series of laughs that only made the rest of them worry.

"Let's just say Yunho might just have the best time of his life if he'd let loose a little." San hinted.

The other boys looked at them in disbelief.

"You didn't." Mingi's mouth dropped.

"Ok, that's low even for you two. I'm going over there and getting him out if it."

Hongjoong was stopped in his tracks by San.

"Listen, Yunho is old enough to decide for himself. If he's really uncomfortable, he'll leave as soon as the girl gets there. If not....well....he's one lucky guy." He snorted.

Wooyoung shook his head.

"I'm still mad at you for letting him have her. I wanted her!"

"It was only fair he got the best one don't you think? This is his party." San explained.

"Who? Who exactly did you get for him?"

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

Yunho shifted awkwardly in the dimly lit room. He could hardly make out any of the furniture surrounding him, which resulted in him tripping or hitting his thigh or hip on the corner of somethings.

"Light light. Where's the light?" He tried feeling around, hoping to find something somewhere.

Instead, the room itself lit up a light lavender color, slow and sensual music playing in the background. Yunho froze as he realized what he just walked into.

"Fuck you San." He ran his hand down his face, already getting nervous at whatever was going to happen now.

Soon enough, he heard the door behind him open. The clatter of heels resonated in the room. Still not turning around, Yunho nervously said:

"Listen, th-this was all a misunderstanding....so if-if you could please just go back, I'd really appreciate it."

The footsteps halted themselves, and all was silent for a moment, until the figure started walking once again, this time emanating a subtle giggle.

"A little shy aren't we? Don't worry honey. I'll make sure to ease your mind."

Yunho could hear them approaching him even more.

"N-no! That's ok! I don't- I mean! I have a fiancee." He blurted out.

The person now stood right behind him and Yunho felt a shudder down his body, as well as an overly familiar thrill when they rested their hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah I know. A lot of soon to be married men always say that........ don't worry."

Leaning in, they whispered in his ear:

"It'll be our little secret."

Delicate hands wrapped themselves around his waist. Yunho pried their hands off and began turning.

"No! Seriously I don't-"

Yunho cut himself off when he stared at the person standing right in front of him, who was equally shocked to see him.

"Y/N?"

"Yunho?"

They both stared in disbelief at each other, both wondering if it was their imagination or if this was reality. Yunho was extremely stunned. Here right in front of him, was none other than his very first love, looking at him with the same angelic eyes that he had fallen madly in love with years ago. His eyes couldn't help but start trailing down, scanning down every inch of her body. He blushed as he took in her attire: an ivory white lingerie set with glittery silver adornments meticulously stitched into it. It consisted of a push up bra that made her cleavage look more rounded, a corset that highlighted her waist and made her hips look wider, lace cheeky panties made specifically to show off just enough of her ass, and long thigh high stockings that had an intricate lace trimming with 2 bows at the center.

Yunho gulped slowly as he took all of her in. Her glamorous body dressed so provocatively as well as memories of the past, memories that were not so pure, memories of their bodies intertwined together, all were becoming too much for him and he felt himself start to grow a little problem in his pants. Y/N on the other hand noticed how he was staring at her and she started to become a little self-conscious. She wrapped her arms across her chest in a protective manner.

"Well isn't this suddenly awkward." She was the first to speak up.

"Huh? Oh right!" Yunho snapped out of his trance, now looking at anywhere but her, hoping not to think about her in that way anymore.

The silence from before returned once again, only the music playing to keep it from being totally mute. Yunho scratched the back of his head, trying to think of what to say.

"It's nice to see you.....it's been so long." He started.

"Y-yeah it has been. A couple of years." She continued.

"6 actually." Yunho surprised himself that he remembered that fact.

Y/N let out a small 'oh' at that, nodding at nothing in particular.

"So uh.......is this what you do now?" He questioned her, curious to know why she'd even be in such a position in the first place.

"Ummm....yeah..." She answered rather embarrassed.

Yunho decided not to further that topic anymore, it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it.

"Still at your dad's company?"

Yunho was surprised and touched she even remembered that.

"Oh yeah....I actually took over 2 years ago." He smiled proudly.

"Oh really? That's great. I'm sure your family must be proud." She congratulated him.

She swayed back and forth awkwardly, wanting to ask another questions but afraid of his response.

"So......you're getting married?" She finally asked.

Yunho looked confused for a second, then he realized what she meant.

"Ummm.....yeah....I am."

"Well then congratulations. She really is a lucky girl." She forced a smile on her features.

"Oh I wouldn't say that......you know she's just really nice....and she's like that... and yeah..." at this point Yunho was just rambling on, he himself not even sure of what he was talking about.

Y/N sighed softly.

"Ok I have to know. If you're getting married, what are you doing in a place like this? You were always more on the....conservative side of things." She had to know.

Yunho now covered his face with his large hands.

"I don't know. I swear there were supposed to be no wild or crazy antics at this bachelor party, but I got these 2 friends, and they're single and you can figure out the rest." He tried to explain.

"Oh yeah. There's always that couple of friends that just never take things seriously." She chuckled, having seeing that situation too many times.

Yunho groaned slightly.

"Well....I guess this was the easiest gig I've had to do." She decided to lighten up the situation.

"What do you mean?"

She let out a laugh at Yunho's question.

"I mean, I'm practically getting paid to just sit here since obviously you won't want me to do my job." She rolled her eyes.

"No! I mean yes! I mean.....ugh!" Yunho mentally slapped himself.

"Won't you get in trouble?"

She shrugged.

"Considering the fact your friends specifically paid for 'no rules', I really won't."

"Oh...." Yunho breathed out, not realizing he sounded a little too disappointed.

Y/N turned and smirked at him.

"What? Were you expecting me to give you something?" She teased him.

"What?! I- No!" Yunho's red ears was a huge indication of his lie.

Y/N let out a small laugh as she came closer to him, making him back away from her.

"Oh? I think you're lying Yunho. I think you actually want me to give you a little show. Is that what you want?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

Yunho stumbled back on the couch, falling into a sitting position as Y/N placed her arms on opposite sides of his body, effectively trapping him. Yunho couldn't help it as he looked back down at her chest and then down her legs. He bit his lip as he imagined them wrapped around his waist, as they had been many times in the past. He looked back up at her face. He knew she was only messing with him, she wouldn't actually do anything to him, especially if he asked her not to. And he really shouldn't allow anything to happen.... but he decided to ignore his gut for the first time in years and not think about the consequences.

Yunho let out a small scoff as he leaned in and challenged her:

"Can you even do anything doll?"

He watched as Y/N momentarily felt dazed at his use of the old pet name he had for her, knowing the impact it had on her.

"I bet you're not even that good." He continued his taunting, wanting to rile her up as much as he could.

It definitely worked as Y/N grabbed his collar and pushed his face against hers.

"I'm actually the best around here baby. Trust me when I say before I'm done, you'll already be cumming inside your pants." She whispered, her lips dangerously close to his, their noses practically touching.

Yunho released a small grunt when she pushed him back in the chair. He watched her as she went over to a keypad on the wall, changing the music to a completely different song. His eyes lingered on her butt cheeks that were poking out of the lace material. His hand twitched, feeling the urge to bend her over his lap and spank them like he used to do when she misbehaved. He watched in fascination as she turned her attention back to him, her face suddenly turning more confident and seductive.

Y/N's body began swaying to the music, every wave of her arms, every roll of her hips and every flirty wink were so mesmerizing and hypnotic to Yunho. He always had a hidden passion for dancing, so this was quite a spectacle for him, especially coming from his dearly beloved ex. An ex that he had cried and yearned for long after he let her go, someone that it took a long time for him to forget and erase completely from his heart.

But now she was here again and she was stirring emotions inside him he had thought he'd gotten over, had buried away. And reactions from his body that he had thought he had under control. But as he watched her crawl over to him, placing herself in between his thighs, he couldn't help but hard as he recalled the last time he had her in that position. He shuddered when she ran her hands across his thighs, her perfectly manicured nails raking over his dress pants. From this angle, he could see an even better view of her breasts that were covered by her bra.

Noticing where his eyes were placed, Y/N's hands swooped up and caressed her torso.

"Oh? Is this what got your attention?"

Yunho's stare went back to her face, now getting shy at the realization that he got caught staring. But Y/N didn't mind. Instead she merely turned around as she began unbuttoning the front part of her corset.

"Want to have a better look?" She turned her head slightly to see his reaction.

Yunho was already whispering out a 'yes' before she even finished her sentence. Satisfied by the answer, she took off the corset and threw it across the room, letting it land on the floor. As she said back up, she made sure to push her ass out when she got back out. Yunho tilted his head back when it came to close to his face that it would have pressed against it had he not moved. Y/N turned around and one by one, her legs sat themselves by Yunho's side, straddling him in the process. Her hands began fiddling with his tie, loosening it up.

"This what you wanted to see?" She cooed as she rose her chest up, almost brushing them against his chin.

"Fuck yes.."

Without thinking, Yunho's large hands cupped her ass, kneading the soft skin as he grinded his hips against hers. Y/N let out a small whimper at his touch, the familiarity sending a spark down her body. Yunho couldn't help the smug smile when he began to feel the wet spot that was soaking through her underwear.

"Look at that, the little slut is enjoying this as much as I am."

Slapping her ass, he gripped her hips harshly as he forced her to grind down harder on him. Y/N moaned as she felt his huge bulge pressing up against her drenched core, and threw her head back when Yunho's lips began attacking her neck, nearly startling her.

"Let's see who cums first."

Yunho's mouth sucked and bit down expertly at all her sensitive spots, remembering perfectly well how to push her closer to the edge. He felt a sense of pride and satisfaction when he heard her moans and whimpers grow louder. Even after years, he could still get her riled up. And that fact kind of bothered Y/N which prompted her to push Yunho down on the couch and hold his arms in place as she decided to take control of the movements of their hips.

Yunho hissed softly as he looked at her with fire in his eyes.

"Don't try to take control doll. You know how that will end for you."

Knowing how to break him, she simply laughed mockingly at him and rolled her eyes. Yanking his hands off her grip rather easily, Yunho flipped their positions so he was hovering above her, his mouth clashing with hers in a heated and sloppy kiss. He wasted no time in slipping his hand inside her now ruined underwear, his thumb circling around her clit in harsh motions.

"Why must you be such a brat?" He asked in between their heated makeout session.

Chuckling softly, her hand undid his belt and zipper, pulling it down enough to let her palm him through his briefs before pulling those down as well, letting his cock spring free so she could stroke him, eliciting the most sinful moans from him.

Both of them pulled away to look into each other's eyes, determined to make the other break first, but it was so hard when they were both lost in their lust, reminiscing about the familiarity of their movements and fantasizing about taking it further. The grinding of their hips and their mutual pleasuring of each other had them both coming in seconds at the same time. They let out a sputter of curses and chants of each other's names as they covered their hands with the other's cum, a telltale sign of what had just taken place in that room.

They both layed still for a few minutes, trying to catch their breath and calm down from the high they just had. It was Yunho who composed himself first as he realized what he had just done and how serious it was.

"Oh my god!" He cursed himself as he quickly got up and began fixing himself.

"Yunho? Are you-"

"Please don't! Let's just pretend this didn't happen! I can't believe I-....... I'm so sorry."

Without another glance or word, he ran out the door, ignoring the worried looks of his other companions who were still in the other room and leaving Y/N alone, feeling just as confused, guilty and ashamed just like him.

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

"Yunho."

Mingi nudged him once again, waking him up from his thoughts.

"Uh..sorry what?" He shifted his focus back on his friend.

"I was telling you that the hotel sent your confirmation number." He repeated himself.

"Hotel? Hotel for what?"

Mingi widened his eyes. Sure his friend had been really zoned out all day, but to not even remember what he was there for.

"Your wedding? Yunho, you're getting married?" He reminded him.

"Oh...yeah..." Yunho looked down, staring at the floor anxiously.

Mingi closed the laptop and turned his body so he could look at Yunho directly.

"Listen, even if something happened on the bachelor party a few days ago, I doubt it was that serious that you're like this." Mingi pointed out.

Yunho looked back up, unsure if he should tell Mingi about it. But then again, no one else but his long time best friend would understand why it had such an impact on him.

"It wasn't so much what happened....it was...with whom it happened...."

Mingi furrowed his eyebrows.

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

Yunho took a deep breath before answering:

"Y/N..."

Mingi nearly fell off his chair when he heard her name again. He actually had to steady himself on the sides of it.

"Y/N? As in........?"

Yunho nodded, knowing full well what Mingi was asking.

"Well fuck man! Holy shit! This is- oh my God! Your ex!" Mingi shook his head, trying to process all the information.

"You know she isn't just an ex Mingi." Yunho admitted rather solemnly.

"I know Yunho. I remember how head over heels you were for her. You two were so much in love, it was actually kind of sickening." Mingi made a face which caused Yunho to chuckle slightly.

Mingi looked at Yunho, noticing how he had a faint smile painted across his face. By the way his eyes were staring off, he knew he was thinking about her.

"Did you....did you feel anything? I mean, while you were with her?" He had to ask.

The slight red tint on Yunho's cheeks was a dead giveaway and Mingi could immediately notice how Yunho's eyes lit up when he mentioned her.

"I felt everything all over again. It was like the first day I bumped into her at the university. Oh you should have seen her Mingi, she looked just as beautiful." Yunho sighed blissfully.

"I mean.....if she was dressed like the other exotic dancers we got, I get why you'd say it." Mingi snickered.

Yunho reached over and slapped his arm.

"That wasn't what I meant you idiot!"

Mingi pouted as he rubbed his now aching arm.

"But still.......being with her in that moment...it was as if nothing changed between us. Like our passion, our relationship...our love never faded. And now.... I can't stop thinking about her..." Yunho confessed.

"Have you kept in contact since that day?" Mingi asked.

Yunho groaned as he banged his head on the table.

"I just ran out without even saying a goodbye."

Mingi rolled his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

"No offense....but once again, history repeats itself."

Yunho suddenly banged the table with his fist, eyes darting to Mingi.

"Do you think I don't know that?! Do you think it doesn't bother me knowing that I left her there, not just at the party? But 6 years ago?! Do you think I haven't been tormented these past days, regretting that I chose to please my parents and abandon her?!"

Yunho got up. His hands flew up to his hair, tugging at them slightly before letting them fall to his sides. He started taking deep breaths to calm down, trying not to get anymore agitated than he already was. Mingi looked at his friend with sorrow and pity. He knew how much Yunho suffered and tortured himself months after he broke up with Y/N, and he also know that deep down, he had never really gotten over her.

Getting up, he went to his friend's side, resting a comforting hand on his back.

"Yunho.....you can't change the past. None of us can.....but you can decide your future, for yourself. Answer yourself: these past years, everything that you've done, was it really for you? Was it because you wanted to?.....or was it because you wanted to please others? Live up to an image you felt burdened to show?......and really ask yourself:

What is it you want now?"

Yunho knew what the answer was for a fleeting moment, but then the answer vanished when he heard the door open and close.

"Baby! I'm home! And I could really use your help!"

The high pitched voice of his fiancee echoed through the room, her tiny legs rushing over with a folder in hand.

"My cue to leave." Mingi patted Yunho on the back, but before he could leave, he whispered in his ear:

"Think about what I said."

Mingi made sure to smile and politely say goodbye to Jieun before he made his way out the door, hoping his friend would come to his senses soon enough.

"So Jieun what's this about?" Yunho asked.

The girl giggled happily as she opened the folder and began displaying an array of different photos.

"Well I was thinking, that we could pick out the new apartment we would want to move in to once we come back from our honeymoon. I mean, this place is great, but I think some change would be benefit us both."

The girl began pointing to all the different options, talking her heart out enthusiastically about the wonders of each place and what she particular loved about it, but it fell upon deaf ears. Yunho was not paying any attention at all, instead he just looked right through all the pictures, his mind going over the words Mingi had made him ponder about.

"Yunho?" Jieun's annoyed voice brought him back.

"Hmm?" He nodded his head to her.

"You're not paying attention to me....again." She huffed rather annoyed.

"I'm sorry....I'm just really tired and stressed out." He excused himself.

"Yeah I know. You've been saying that these past days." She accused him.

"I'm sorry. But I just really am."

She let out an indignant scoff.

"And you think I'm not stressed? For months we've been preparing for this moment, and now that we're literally 2 days away from tying the knot, you're suddenly being cold? What's wrong with you Yunho?"

He couldn't answer her, he didn't have the strength to. He was being a coward at that very moment, he knew that very well.

"Jieun....do you think maybe we should postpone it or-"

"Absolutely not!" She stated firmly, refusing to let him finish the sentence. Lifting a finger, she warned him:

"Listen to me very carefully Jeong Yunho. You asked me to be marry you and I'm not letting you go back on your word. Tomorrow at the rehearsal dinner, you better be on your best behavior and on the day after.....you better be ready to walk down the aisle because I'm not going to let you humiliate me in front of our friends and family."

Putting on a sweet smile as if nothing happened, she tiptoed and pecked his lips.

"Ok love you honey. See you tomorrow!" She waved at him as if nothing was the matter, like she wasn't just angry at him 2 seconds ago.

Yunho paced around the living room, hands in his pocket, his foot occasionally kicking at the air. He let out long sighs every minute or so, head hung low as he thought about what to do now.

"What is it you want now?"

He repeated what Mingi asked him.

Yunho knew what he wanted.....he also knew all the risks he was taking in order to obtain it, for all he knew, he might not even get it at the end....

But he had to try. Or at least get some closure from it.

Pulling out his phone, his finger began dialing a number he had never erased from his memory, hoping it still belonged to the person he had once cherished so much and would often fall asleep while talking to them on the phone.

He could feel his heartbeat quicken with every ring that passed. His hand began clenching and unclenching as he prayed that it would be picked up soon.

"Hello?"

He stilled at the voice that sent chills down his body. He was grateful they had kept the same number all these years.

"We need to talk."

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

Y/N cautiously opened the door. Although she knew he was coming, she still wasn't quite prepared to see him, not after everything that happened a few days ago. She gestured for him to come in. Closing the door behind them, she led him to her living room, where she already had coffee waiting for him. It was actually warming to him that she remembered how he liked his coffee, and although he was very tempted to drink it, he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"I'm getting married in two days..." He started off.

Y/N nodded, although his words pained her, she refused to show any emotion.

"And I wanted to know how you felt."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why should my opinion matter at this point? You made your decision and as far as I'm concerned, right now we're just two strangers." She coldly replied.

"That's not true Y/N and you know it. You know....that there's a lot more to us." He insisted.

She held her hand up in an effort to get him to stop going down the path he was going.

"Correction. There was a lot to us. If I remember correctly, you were the one who decided to run out, both literally and figuratively."

Yunho didn't deny it, he was fully prepared to take responsibility.

"Yes I did. Ok? I admit it and I accept it. I walked away from our relationship when I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have abandoned you..."

He inhaled before he confessed:

"I shouldn't have left the one person I've ever loved and will always love."

Y/N immediately got up and crossed her arms.

"Don't say that Yunho. You're engaged, you're about to get married. It's bad enough with what happened at your bachelor party, but I'm not letting you cross the line again. You have a perfect life ahead of you, you were always destined to have one. A life surrounded by your parents and friends, with a beautiful wife and kids and that Welsh Corgi you always wanted..."

Y/N couldn't help but tear up as she said those words.

"I get why you had to leave me at that time, I do. Your parents didn't like me and they never will. They'll never accept us...... so please just make it easier on yourself and go have the perfect life you deserve."

Yunho slowly got up and began walking to her.

"You don't get it Y/N. I don't want a perfect life. I want you, I love you. I'll always love you. I want a happy, normal life with you. I want to raise that Welsh Corgi with you, even though you were always more of a cat person."

Y/N let out an involuntary laugh at that. He still knew her so well. Taking her hands in his, he added:

"Please tell me you still love me......just say it and I'll stay by your side."

Y/N covered her mouth with her hand, her tears now flowing non-stop. She was about to say no, but Yunho stopped her.

"Don't lie to me. You know I'll be able to tell. Just be completely honest with me."

His large hands cupped her cheeks, thumbs gently wiping away the tears that were trickling down.

"I'm not rich and I don't exactly have anything to offer someone like you." She admitted.

Yunho smiled. "All I want is your heart. Can't I at least have that?"

Y/N thought about it. But then she realized there was nothing to really think about when her answer 6 years ago would still be the same now.

"I love you Jeong Yunho, my heart is all yours."

As soon as the words were out, there was no more holding back. Their feelings had been locked away for far too long and needed to be released. Yunho wasted no time in finally kissing her after so long, his hands easily hoisting her up, wrapping them around his waist as he carried her to her bedroom, kicking the door open and laying her down on the bed. Their touches were eager and desperate, almost as much as the first time they were intimate together. Clothes were soon discarded all over the floor, hands began roaming and caressing their most intimate parts of their bodies and soon enough, the sound of skin slapping, heavy breathing and panting were the only things that could be heard in those 4 walls.

Yunho pulled Y/N up against him, her back now pressed against his sweaty chest as he continued to slam his hips against hers. One of his hands that was busy groping her breast trailed down her abdomen and stopped when they felt the prominent bulge that was on her lower stomach. Taking one of her hands, he made her press down against it.

"Feel that doll? Feel my huge cock deep inside you?"

Y/N whimpered loudly as he spoke and as he sped his movements up. Yunho couldn't help the teasing giggle that escaped his lips.

"You always were my tiny little doll...so small and fragile, yet always taking my cock like a champ."

His praise made her clench her walls around his thick length, making Yunho temporarily lose the pace he was going at.

"F-fuck doll. Clench around me like that and I might not last any longer."

Always up for testing him, she purposefully clenched harder around him, her eyes looking back at him teasingly. Yunho knew she always loved defying him just to see how far he'll go and he truthfully loved it. That unruly, free spirit in her that manifested itself even in the littlest of things, just made him fall even more for her.

His hand snaked up and wrapped itself around her neck, squeezing lightly for the time being but it was still enough to have her gasping. His other hand, went down to work on her clit, fingers rubbing expertly on it so that it'd have her cumming in a few moments.

"Y-Yunho-" tried saying but he gripped her neck tighter, effectively cutting off what she was going to say.

"Go ahead, cum all over my cock. I want to feel you all over me again. Fuck! I can't wait to fill this pussy up with my cum again. Can you do that for me doll? Hmm? Can you be a good little, tiny doll and cum all over this huge cock of mine?"

Not being able to hold back anymore, Y/N's body shuddered against Yunho's, quivering and spasming as an overwhelming orgasm ripped through her, shouting Yunho's name as if it was a mantra. Yunho let go of her neck, his hands gripping her hips as he fucked himself into his own orgasm, his face buried in the back of her neck as her tight walls milked him out of his cum, some of it already pouring down her inner thighs.

"Shit..." Yunho stammered once he calmed down.

Pulling out of Y/N, he made sure she didn't collapse on the bed, instead he turned her around and helped her to lay down. Her hands rubbed at her lower stomach.

"I'm definitely feeling that tomorrow." She joked, making both of them laugh.

After making sure they were both cleaned up, they ended up just laying down on the bed, holding onto each other, casually talking about everything and nothing.

"Do you remember our first night together?"

Yunho couldn't help but smile fondly at the memory.

"How can I forget? You were so nervous and so adorable." He remembered.

"How was I not supposed to be nervous? You and your size intimidated me."

Yunho laughed at that.

"I know. I remember when you looked down in between my legs and asked 'how is that gonna fit inside me'?"

"Shut up! I was an innocent baby back then." She huffed, her lips forming a small pout.

"You may not be so innocent anymore...but you're still my cute little baby."

Leaning in, he kissed her forehead as he adjusted them into a spooning position, his legs tangling around hers as well. He drew circles around her arm, his head full of thoughts and worries, but he didn't hesitate to say:

"Y/N? Can I ask you something?"

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

The whole party was in turmoil. It was already 15 minutes past the time to start the rehearsal and the groom was nowhere to be seen. The bride and her party looked agitated and pissed off, while the groomsmen just looked at each other, trying to decipher what was going on.

"Do you think he got in an accident?" Yeosang immediately thought the worse.

"Don't say those things you idiot. That's how you catch bad luck." Seonghwa told him.

"Superstitious nonsense." Wooyoung shook his head.

Just then, Mingi walked in the room, all eyes immediately upon him since he was the groom's best man. He bowed to everyone before stating:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for coming here and attending this rehearsal, I'm sure it took dedication and arrangements on your part to be able to be here...

But I regret to inform you all that there will be no wedding."

A collective gasp was heard from more than half of the attendants. The bride and her parents paled in horror at Mingi's words. Jieun stormed up to him, her pretty features contorted into rage as she confronted Mingi.

"What do you mean Song Mingi? Where is Yunho?"

Mingi merely smirked and turned around, not bothering to stay another minute and ignoring the chaos that was about to ensue in that hall.

"Besides.... I have a friend I promised to join soon."

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

The couple stared at the glittering lights of the city as they finished their ice cream bars on the hood of the car. It was almost midnight, but they were far from being tired even though they had only arrived there by plane a few hours ago.

"Is this anything like what you had planned?"

Yunho quickly shook his head.

"Nope. But trust me, I love this way more."

Taking her hand in his, he ran his thumb across the silver band that now adorned the third finger on her left hand.

"And I love you my darling wife."

✧═══════•❁❀❁•═══════✧

[walkerismychoice]

Queen of My Heart - Chapter 38 (The End!)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake X MC, Liam X Olivia, Hana X OC Lydia

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The show comes to and end, and Riley contemplates her future

Author’s Note: I can’t believe I’ve finally brought this series to an end. There was quite a long time I thought I may never finish. I want to thank all the readers and friends who’ve read and encouraged me along the way. I want to especially thank @debramcg1106 as of late for helping me work through the ending and pushing me to finish it out. This is the technical end of the story, but I do have an epilogue planned as well.

Tag List: @khakie4 @dreadpirateemma @ritachacha @blackcoffee85 @choices-fanatic @boneandfur @butindeed @simplyaiden-blog @bobasheebaby @traeumerinsworld @theroyalweisme @umccall71 @lizeboredom @debramcg1106 @enmchoices @withice @viktoriapetit @mfackenthal @drakesfiance @drakelover78 @speedyoperarascalparty @silviasutton1989 @krisnicjack @devineinterventions2 @choiceswreckedme @notoriouscs @blackcatkita @hamalu @akrenich @drakewalkerfantasy @jamielea81 @andy-loves-corgis @jlouise88 @jovialyouthmusic @sleepwalkingelite @i-miss-trr @dragonball-luver @gkittylove99 @lovingchoices14

Word Count: 2230

Queen of My Heart Chapter Index

Due to everything that transpired, filming of the finale was delayed two weeks. Riley was grateful for the time and hardly left Drake’s side during his recovery. He was sent back to the palace after a couple days, and Riley had to convince him that whiskey was not a suitable replacement for the antibiotics and pain medication the doctor prescribed. Reluctantly he obliged. He worked with physical therapy, and by the end of those two weeks, you’d have hardly known he’d been injured at all.

Olivia was salty her ball had been ruined, but the production staff made up for it, giving her and Liam an overnight filmed at Olivia’s northern Lythikos retreat. She was still worried the country would favor Riley with Liam, but Kat assured Olivia between her heroic actions, personal growth, and some favorable editing, it would be hard for most people not to be on her side.

As for Madeleine, it was still unclear if she would be charged criminally or would be incompetent to stand trial due to her mental health, but either way, she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone for quite some time. It was questionable if Jo’s involvement in the whole thing broke any laws. She wasn’t Cordonian, so she couldn’t be charged with treason for skirting security and endangering the life of the crown prince, but authorities were looking to see if there was anything they could make stick. At the very least she was blacklisted and would never work in television again.

So finally, on a calm, clear, day, there was only one obstacle left. Riley met with Liam, adorned in a stunning, body-hugging, Swarovski crystal filled dress, to put on the performance of a lifetime and act as if he’d shattered her heart. Of course, it wasn’t that easy. There were a couple of takes where neither of them could keep a straight face followed few that were unbelievably dramatic, but ultimately Riley was able to tap into her vulnerability and the tragedy she had faced to bring genuine emotion and tears to light. It didn’t matter that it was unrelated to what was happening in the scene, it was real. Kat said it was perfect, and Liam was free to propose to Olivia.

-----

Now that all is said and done, who will Liam choose to be his future Queen? Will it be the fierce Duchess Olivia, or the plucky newcomer Riley? Stay tuned for the finale of Queen of My Heart.”

Maxwell draped his arm around Riley’s shoulder. “What do you think, sis? How did I do on my television debut.”

Maxwell, Bertrand, Savannah, Hannah, Lydia, Liam, Olivia, Riley, and Drake were all huddled in the palace screening room to watch the finale as it aired.

Just about anyone would have been an improvement over Chad,” Riley teased, ”but the squid suit was definitely a nice touch. Your delivery was great, but did you have to call me plucky?”

“You know I had to play it cool,” Maxwell explained. “Plucky is good, but not over the top. Don’t want anyone thinking I’m playing favorites because you’re my sister.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “The suggested ‘noble newcomer’ would have been sufficient.”

“It was a stylistic choice.” Maxwell made a gesture with his hand indicating a mock hair flip.

"Ugh, enough about Maxwell," Olivia groaned. "I'm ready to get to the good part. Can we just fast-forward through any mushy Liam and Riley stuff? Nobody needs to see that."

"I second that." Drake raised his hand in rare agreement with Olivia.

Liam just shook his head. "I know nobody watches live network television anymore, so you must have forgotten how this works. There's no fast-forwarding. Not even through commercials."

"That's fine with me." Lydia chimed in. "More time for making out."

"Lydia!" Hannah's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.

Lydia pecked her on the lips. "Sorry babe. You're just too damn cute when you blush."

Hannah remained quiet but her smile gave her away. Lydia, with her outgoing, bold, and slightly unpredictable personality, was the perfect complement to Hannah being so shy, proper, and focused. They brought out the best in each other, and the difference in Hannah between when Riley met her until now was night and day.

The friends watched the show and Riley only cringed at herself in a few places, which was much less than she thought she would. Things did get a bit awkward during the montage of kissing scenes between Riley and Liam, and Maxwell and Bertrand made a show of covering their eyes for the steamier parts. They all laughed inappropriately when Liam dumped Riley since they knew it wasn't real. And then finally when Liam proposed to Olivia, everyone cheered.

Riley thought of her friends and family at home. She pictured aunt Susan, Sarah, and Daniel all rooting for her and how disappointed they must have been that she "lost." She couldn't wait to tell them, however, she hadn't lost at all.

"Wow, Livvy." Drake quipped, bringing Riley out of her deep thoughts. "How much did you have to pay them to give you such a flattering edit?"

Olivia threw a pillow at his head which he deftly dodged. "Fuck off, Walker. You were so desperate to get on the show, you leapt in front of a bullet."

"Now, now children." Liam said in a mock scolding tone. "Let's all play nice."

"Yes, father," Drake and Olivia replied in unison, causing laughter to erupt around the room.

Riley still didn't have all the answers about what her future would hold, but she had found her people. Where she was in that moment was where she needed to be.

Savannah yawned. "It's getting late. We should probably go and relieve the sitter." Riley hasn't wanted to pry into Savannah and Bertrand's relationship, but they were working together to parent Bartie and things seemed to be falling into place for them.

"Yes, yes." Bertrand agreed. "Time is money!"

"Oh my god, Bertrand." Savannah rolled her eyes. "Life isn't all about money."

"She’s right." Maxwell propped his arm on Savannah's shoulder. "Besides, now that the show is over, we'll be getting some money, and Kat said if viewers responded well to me, they would probably offer to extend my contract in the franchise. By the looks of these tweets, I'm going to be rolling in dough. 'That Maxwell guy is so hot...ridiculously funny...just what the show needed.' Should I read more?

"Please no." Bertrand groaned. "We can talk finances later. Goodnight, all."

As the rest of the crowd dwindled, Liam asked Drake and Riley to stay behind. He kissed Olivia and promised to join her when the conversation was through.

"So what's up?" Drake got right to the point once only the three of them remained.

Liam cleared his throat. "Well as you know, I highly value your loyalty to the crown."

"Heh." Drake let out a terse laugh. "I don't really give a fuck about the crown, but I do care about you."

"In any case, you take your job very seriously and I could see you as head of the guard one day, once Bastien retires." Liam paused before continuing. "However, I do have another proposition for you."

Drake raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Go on."

"How would you like to be the head of Valtoria?" Liam asked expectantly.

Drake' eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I thought Valtoria was unoccupied. Is there a new Duke or Duchess there now that needs a security detail?"

"No, no." Liam laughed. "Well, there could be. That's what I'm trying to ask you. I would like to give Valtoria to you."

"No fucking way. You have to be kidding me. Did you sign up for some royal version of a prank show now?" Drake scanned the room as if searching for hidden cameras.

"I'm serious, Drake. I think you would make a fantastic duke."

Drake scoffed. "I'm a commoner who despises most nobles and everything the monarchy stands for."

"That's exactly why you'd be perfect for the role." Liam explained. "Cordonia needs a fresh perspective - someone who can resonate with the people the monarchy serves. Just think, you could have a real voice in creating change. I don't want to rule like my father has and his father before. I want the people to have the representation they deserve, and you are a key to that."

Drake sighed deeply. "I don't know Li. Even if I could do this - if I wanted to - what makes me worthy? What's everyone going to say when they find out you gave an average dude the title of Duke just because he's your best friend?"

"I'll tell them that Drake Walker is anything but average. He's smart, capable, and fiercely loyal. He's saved my life more times than I count and has more integrity than anyone I know. Public policy can be learned, but these qualities cannot be taught. He may not be noble by blood, but he is my family, and he belongs."

'Wow, Liam." Drake ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say."

"You're quiet over there." Liam directed at Riley. "What do you think?"

"Me?!" Riley had been as shocked by this as Drake, and she didn't know what to think. This was about Drake, not her. Did her opinion really matter? "I, uh.... think this is really Drake's decision."

Drake took Riley's hands in his. "But it's yours too. I mean, if we are going to be together..."

"Oh, well..." How was Riley supposed to help Drake decide such a life altering thing when she didn't even have her own life sorted out?

Drake didn't leave her fumbling for too long. "Liam, I really don't know if either of use is equipped to answer this question right now. It's a very generous offer, and the fact that I'm not totally shutting you down for suggesting such a ridiculous thing as me being a Duke should tell you I'm genuinely willing to entertain the idea."

Liam chuckled. "I completely understand. This life is new to both of you in different ways, and to navigate a new relationship on top of all that is a lot to ask. I'm in no hurry to fill the vacancy. Consider it an open-ended invitation. I trust that you'll be ready to make your decision long before the public pressures me into making a new appointment."

"Thanks, Liam." Drake gave him hug and patted him on the back. "Now get back to your fiancé before she blames me for keeping you too long."

-----

Back in her palace guestroom, Riley nestled into Drake, her head resting on his chest. "It's been quite a night, huh?

"You could say that again." Drake pulled her tighter against him.

"I kind of feel like we're moving so fast, we're skipping steps - like we're being asked to decide the rest of our lives before we even know what we want to do tomorrow." Riley knew nobody was outright asking for an immediate decision, but she felt the weight of everyone's expectations. Whether she stayed in Cordonia or went back home, she'd probably be disappointing someone.

"Who says we have to?" Drake asked. "You heard Liam. He doesn't need an answer right away. I Know you haven't decided what you want, and I sure as hell don't know what I'm going to do yet. Why don't we take some time together to just...be. Do normal couple things and see where the relationship takes us."

"Normal couple things... I mean I don't know how I can go back to my normal peasant life after attending weekly balls dressed in couture gowns," Riley teased, "but I think I could make that sacrifice for you, my commoner boyfriend."

"Hey, watch who you are calling commoner." Drake pinned Riley down and tickled her sides until she begged him to stop, and he collapsed beside her again. "I just may outrank you soon if I so choose."

Riley laced her fingers through Drake's. "It's crazy to think how our lives have changed in a few short months. I don't think I could have made it through all of this without you, and not just because you kept literally saving my life."

"You may not have taken a bullet for me, but you've saved me too. For once in my life, I see multiple paths with meaning and purpose. I've seen so much of myself reflected in you, but it id the version of me I want to be, not the one I was. You've shown me trials and hardships don't have to make you bitter, and that you don't have to fit the cookie cutter mold to find your place here... Oh, God, listen to me. What have you done to me Bennett?" Drake shuddered in mock disgust.

Riley softly pressed her lips to his and pulled back with a smirk. "I don't think I can take all the credit, or the blame as you might put it. But enough talk about the future. You said we should focus on the now, and right now all I need is you."

"Well then, your wish is my command." Drake pulled Riley tight to him and then they lost themselves in each other, completely unencumbered by any decisions about their future. Those could wait for another day.

[bunny-hoodlum]

Asynchronous With You: Ch 5

ship: naruhina

rating: teen (maybe mature later)

tags: Modern Day AU, Foster Siblings, Family, Angst, Unrequited Love, Poor Communication/Noncommunication, Found Family

summary: An awkward journey full of self-denial and missed moments between two foster siblings. Perhaps their love will find the right timing someday.

Neji met them outside the dorm gates. As generous as his dorm-mate Lee was, he couldn't ask him to step out for their sake.

They followed Neji to a nearby linear park that segregated the school grounds from the business park on the other side. It felt like a glass-less greenhouse, with polished granite beneath their feet and a vine-carpeted roof overhead. The benches were slabs of granite, as were the other fixtures, like an orb fountain in the center, with flawless skin of water running over its surface. The full trees muffled the night, with its crickets and distant chugging cars. The gentle, steady trickle contrasted against their footsteps, like two off-tempo drums and hers a mournful castanet.

Now that they were finally here, she was beginning to lose her nerve, she was forgetting what she had to complain about.

All that mattered was that she was healthy, right? All that mattered was that they were actually taking good care of her.

But the last thing she said to her, telling her to go home, saying that at least one of them should be loved by their parents, it began to eat at Hinata.

Could it be that she doesn't have any love to come home to?

Like resonance, her soul trembled and her ribs ached. The heel of her palm pressed against the skin between her wet eyes.

"I've become like them. I messed up."

The bench caught her before she could sink down to the ground.

"What're you talking about?" came Naruto's voice, barely reaching her ears.

"You mean Aunt and Uncle?"

Hinata nodded.

"What??" Naruto smacked his forehead rather hard. "How were you supposed to act?! They knew where you were! Nothing was stopping them from taking you guys back--"

"We don't know that." Hinata argued.

"Bullshit!"

"We don't," Her shoulders lifted, turning rigid. "They could barely take care of the two of us. It would've been the same if they had to take care of two daughters--"

"What about visits? What's so hard about keeping in touch?!"

She stayed silent. It wasn't that she hadn't considered that, it was that it was too upsetting to ruminate on any deeper.

"Ten years, Hinata. They had to have lied to her, right? Raised her believing she was an only child? C'mon, why aren't you angrier about this?!"

She wasn't sure if it was defiance that lifted her chin, but the eyes she chose to meet were Neji's as she implored him join in.

His eyes closed as he released a pensive sigh. "What's she like?"

"Don't change the subject," Naruto snapped. "Hinata needs to vent."

She prodded Neji with her stare. He shook his head.

"Who are you talking about?" Neji punctuated his rhetoric with a sidelong glance, causing Naruto to bristle. "This Hinata?"

"Yeah, this Hinata. Our Hinata. What the fuck, we've shared the same home for ten years! Hinata! You vent! You vented the other month about your-your shirt!" His face reddened as he brought up, perhaps, the worst example he possibly could.

"I was in a weird mood," Hinata said quickly, giving Naruto whiplash.

"A--A 'weird' mood?! What, like you just felt like messing with me kind of 'weird'??"

Hinata lamely shrugged her shoulders before curling in on herself like an armadillo. She could only imagine how exponential his irritation was to increase. She should've answered Neji's question right away instead of trying to convey her complaints to Neji, because now they were getting way off topic. Which was ironic for Naruto, who thought Neji was the one diverting attention away from her pain.

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what the story is, and I don't think I want to know."

"Good. 'Cuz I don't want to talk about it." Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms.

Silence lapsed around them. Somehow Hinata was rather surprised their arguing managed to fizzle out on its own and so quickly. The past was almost laughable in how different it was from the present.

'That's right. It's always going to be rocky at first, but it takes time to get used to one another.' This was proof that she and Hanabi could grow into sisters no matter how much time had been lost.

"Her name's Hanabi. Her favorite foods are bananas and milk, and she hates the herb mitsuba. She's cheerful, cheeky, and surprisingly athletic. And... I really want to get to know her better." The tears fell swifter and harder on her lap as she re-conjured the heartbroken betrayal she had put on Hanabi's face.

She really hoped it wasn't too late.

Neji joined her side and rubbed her back, while Naruto kept his distance.

Even though he had been given Neji's explicit blessing years before, somehow it didn't feel appropriate for him to console her too.

Looking at them now, it was like those two had never grown apart, not even a centimeter. And they had been communicating with their eyes, he was sure of it. Speaking around him, because he wasn't actually a part of this.

They're what real siblings look like.

________________________

Taking the midnight train back home, Naruto spent the next thirty minutes absorbed in the things that amused him, from sexy two-minute shorts, to prank compilations and this one guy from Kaminari that totally bites at rapping. Absolutely no one, neither he nor his 745k followers know if he's a comedy channel where he's bad on purpose, or if he's just gotten popular for all the wrong reasons, but watching him never fails to inspire a deep gut-laugh from Naruto.

Because he wouldn't be laughing this hard if something was bothering him, especially not a whole host of somethings.

He ignored how arriving at their station didn't feel quite right, how following Hinata didn't feel normal.

He was surprised when she finally started talking to him, yet the weariness her voice instilled was not lost on him.

"Who was the first girl you liked?"

"Hm? Oh, guess that'd be Sakura-chan."

"I see. And how old were you when you knew?"

"Eight, I guess?"

"Eight," The number floated from her mouth in an amazed whisper, "Do you think somebody already likes Hanabi-chan?"

A blond brow perked up. "Is this that protective Onee-san instinct kicking in already?" When she giggled, his heart sank.

"I suppose it is."

And when the silence closed in on him again, he spoke up to keep it going. "Uh, what about you?"

Her steps faltered for a second, then picked up with an exaggerated bounce. "There's someone."

"Still? Like, ongoing?"

"Mmhm."

Naruto blinked rapidly, whiplash striking again. How? How did he not know his sister liked someone? "Since when?"

"Mmmm," She hummed that note a little too long that bordered on mocking him, and he was about to storm on ahead of her, until she said, "Third grade."

"What?!" Ineloquent as that was, he somehow expected her to answer him. He stood there as she traipsed away, waiting until he was finally fed up. "Well, who the fuck is it?!"

"Guess."

He jogged after her. "Kiba?" His mouth soured at the thought.

She crossed her forearms into an 'X', making the buzzer sound in game shows when the contestant got the answer wrong. "Bubuu."

"Shino?" He didn't know what to think about that if it were true. Guess they were both quiet and smart and a little weird. Is that what compatibility looks like?

"Bubuu," she went again.

What other guys was she in contact with?

Shikamaru was a good friend who came over to game sometimes, but he definitely didn't sense anything there. No, no way it could be him. And everyone was pretty sure Sai was asexual.

"Sasuke?" Why not? He was the school heartthrob nine years running. Didn't matter whether Naruto understood the taste of girls or not, they all wanted him. He kinda wishes he noticed sooner now, because he imagining a plain girl like her pining for someone unreachable and he really hates that for her. When she slows to a stop under the streetlamp, he thinks he's finally figured it out, though the truth ended up being really anticlimactic in the end.

She half-turns towards him, her face blank save for the edge of distaste clinging to the corners of her lips and eyes.

"Gross."

He reeled back. "Gross? Whaddya mean gross?" She continued on her way, forcing him to jog after her. "Hey, I can't believe you think he's gross! Are you just being a contrarian?" Her pace picked up faster. "Y'know, like what unpopular girls do when they can't fit in?"And faster. "You really think he's gross?" She was hurrying on ahead and he was trying to catch a glimpse of her face, just a little bit of veracity. "Hinata?!"

They arrived at the steps of their apartment.

"You have until graduation to guess!" She called over her shoulder as she ran ahead, her voice pitching high at the end.

She was upset.

Her footsteps resounded through the corridors like frantic clapping, but he wasn't being congratulated at all.

It was finally apparent to him that he hasn't paid attention to Hinata in a long, long time. That's why Neji was making fun of him.

He took the elevator to their apartment, and when he reached the hole between their bedrooms, he got down on both knees and crouched his spine. They haven't used this in years, he couldn't believe how small they used to be, this hole had to be over three feet from the floor. It was making his back hurt. "Hinata," He bit his tongue with a pause. "What happens if I can't guess by graduation?" Nothing. Just silence. "Hinata? Are you not going to talk to me anymore?"

"Yeah," If a ghost could croak, that's what it sounded like. "If you can't guess by graduation, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

He palmed the wall as he drew to full height, then stepped away, neither urgency nor insult registering in his chest. He didn't know what was in there. Maybe nothing. He raised his voice a little, just enough so that she could hear.

"I'm going to take this another weird mood of yours, okay? There's no way you really mean that."

Hovering for half a second more, he didn't give her time to respond as he headed for his bed on the opposite side of the room.

Maybe Sakura had the right idea about family. Maybe it's better to just find your own.

________________________

AN: Lel, I totally forgot to add the summary and ratings thing in the last chapter. 😜😅 Hope you liked this one!

[anxiousstark]

S3 18 | The Insatiable Divine Move

BIG MASTERLIST | TW REWRITE | KO-FI

Stiles Stilinski x Reader! Half-sibling!Mccall

Word count: 6908

Warnings: Mentions of  injuries, blood, stabs, drugs, death, sex, handjobs, dirty talk, clothing humping, swearing (always), etc.

A/N: Hello there. I’m back. Thank you so much for understanding that I couldn’t upload these last two weeks. But here I am. Two chapters in one and a little surprise at the end. Stiles and Y/N are starting to explore their relationship in other aspects. Enjoy <3.

↪ PLEASE RESPECT MY WORK. DON’T COPY, TRANSLATE OR CLAIM THEM AS YOURS. NOT ON THIS WEBSITE OR ANOTHER. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.

Scott helped Stiles walk back to the living room as Noshiko stood there. "Do you recognize me, hmm?"

Stiles nodded his head as Kira appeared, begging her mother to stop. "It's okay." He stepped closer to the woman. "I'm the one who asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords." She glanced at her mother. "Mom, don't do this to him."

"It's already done." Her eyes were focused on Stiles. I was confused by what was going on, until two shadows appeared, grabbing Stiles's from the back of his ear. I quickly tried to step forward, but Melissa and Scott kept me in place, even if I begged them to let me go. I needed to help him. I needed to save him. "Look behind his ear."

I didn't hesitate to fall onto my knees, my hands rubbing Stiles's back while the others looked behind his ear. "It worked." My brother sighed.

"So, I'm actually me?" His body shook while he glanced at Kira's mother.

"More you than the Nogitsune."

"Can The Oni find him?"

"Tomorrow night. It's too close to dawn now."

"Can they kill him?"

"It depends on how strong he is."

"What about Lydia? Why would he take her?" I intervened in the conversation.

Noshiko glanced at me. "He would only take her for an advantage."

"You mean her power?" It was my brother's turn to ask.

"The power of a Banshee."

Stiles's body continued shaking. "I will bring something warm." Getting up from the ground, I walked near-by Noshiko, her hand clenching my arm. I furrowed my eyebrows while meeting her gaze.

"You were stronger and more determined than me." She made a gesture to Stiles, letting me know that she was talking about how she couldn't save Rhys. But was Stiles safe? "However, onis are powerful, and something will end up happening."

"Then, I will try my best," I whispered. "But no one is touching Stiles anymore." I flashed my eyes. "They will have to get over my dead body." She smirked, nodding her head.

"Hey," I swirled around. "Hide those ice blue for me." I laughed, and maybe I looked crazy at that moment as tears fell down my cheek at the same time. But that was the first thing I've heard coming from the real Stiles in a long time.

Scott opened the door of Noah's office, waiting for him to turn around and see the person he was so desperate to find. "If I could just find my keys." I had a little smile on my face as Mr Stilinski muttered those words to himself.

"In your coffee cup." Noah quickly swirled around as the unmistakable voice of his son resonated through the room. "You always drop them in your empty cup."

Noah blinked a couple of times as he tried to guess if the young boy standing in front of him was his son. The real one, not the one possessed y an old spirit fed by vengeance and chaos.

My brother and I nodded our heads, letting him know that it was him. The older Stilisnki didn't hesitate to drop his coat to the floor, almost tripping with his chair as he ran to his son. They both engulfed each other, breezing in. They swayed from side to side, clutching each other.

"Hey dad," Stiles's voice was deeper from all the crazy things that have been going on. But we could discern the happiness he felt to be back.

When they both parted, Noah glanced at my brother once again. "Is it over?"

I sighed. "Not yet."

We explained what had happened during the last hours. Especially, highlighting the fact that Lydia was missing. She was probably taken by Void. Mr Stilinski had informed us that they had an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road was looking for her. However, there was nothing more we could do. Void had taken Lydia for a reason. "Okay. What would a Nogitsune need with a Banshee?"

"I don't know," Stiles shook his head as he rested his butt on his father¡s desk. "Lydia's pretty good at finding dead bodies. Maybe he needs to find a body?"

"Scott," Noah glanced at my brother once again. "You know more about this than all of us." I gripped Scott's hand, knowing he felt pressured by all the things we were going through. "You said you got the whole story from Noshiko?"

"I was there too," I added, nodding my head. "But that happened during World War II. Like 70 years ago."

"Wait. What did you say?" Stiles asked while his gaze was lost.

"Noshiko told us about the internment camp..." My brother answered.

"No, before that." His eyes squinted as he looked at his father. "You said, the whole story." Scott and I nodded our head as he seemed to recall something. "There's a girl at Eichen House. Her name's Meredith. I think she might be able to help."

Sheriff had informed Parrish to call Eichen House. As soon as he did, Parrish entered Noah's office where we were waiting. "Sheriff, Meredith Walker."

"She's still there?"

"Yeah, but they moved her to the Closed Unit."

"Why?" The hazel-eyed boy asked.

"They said behavioural issues."

"What issues?"

"She wouldn't stop screaming." Both boys glanced at me as I bit my lower lip.

I hummed to myself as I sat on a chair. My phone rested on top of the table as I scrolled down through pictures, trying to distract myself. However, Stiles who had been sleeping got up from the couch as if he couldn't breathe.

I ran to him, grabbing his arms to steady him. "You okay?" I heard my brother asking what happened, but I ignored him as I was focused on Stiles.

"What happened? How long was I out?" His breathing was laboured.

"Just a couple of hours." My brother replied. "You should sit down."

He shook his head. "Where's my Dad?" He started blinking faster.

"He's at Eichen House, questioning everyone. Looking for Meredith." I replied, caressing my thumb on the palm of his hand. I glanced back at my brother. "We promised him we wouldn't let you out of our sight."

"Okay," He started playing with my fingers. "What about the others?"

"Allison, Isaac, the Twins, they're all looking for Lydia."

"It's starting to feel like we're waiting for a ransom call."

"We'll find her." Stiles let my hands go as he scratched his arms, grabbing his jacket that had been resting on the couch. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, I just can't seem to get warm." His lower lip trembled as his skin became paler.

"Maybe you should sit down. Take it easy." Scott's hand touched Stiles's one, his veins becoming black. "You're in pain." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"It's not that bad. Just more like a dull ache.

"Where?"

"Sort of everywhere."

"Stiles, you're freezing," I added, worried as my hands grazed his skin while he sat on the couch.

My brother sighed, sitting down next to him. "Tell me the truth. How much does it really hurt?" He was interrupted as his phone vibrated inside one of the pockets of his jeans. "It's Kira."

And Kira had news for us, not really sure if they were good or bad. But Meredith was in class. However, when we arrived at school, the people from the asylum had been called and they tried to get Meredith. Surprisingly enough, Coach helped us. Therefore, Meredith was in Stiles's jeep with us now.

"Okay, where is Lydia?"

"Who's Lydia?" We sighed, frustrated. Then, she glanced at me. "Woah," There was a big smile on her face as she tried to get a closer look at mine. "You are a siren."

"H-How do you-."

"My aunt was a siren." She smiled. "I thought you guys were extinct." She seemed to giggle for a couple of seconds as she glanced at Stiles. "Is she the girl you are in love with? Y/N?" I shyly looked at the boy sitting next to me. "He would talk about you in his sleep sometimes."

"We didn't share a ro-."

"I have good hearing."

As soon as Scott opened the door to our house we were met with Rafe McCall. "What are you doing here?" My brother asked as our sperm-donor was standing in front of Isaac.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Free period. We're doing group study." Stiles intervened.

Rafe's eyes rested on the girl. "Who's she?"  

"She's my girlfriend." Stiles's blabbed as he placed his arm on her shoulders. My eyes widened as I glanced at him.

"You're not my type." I chuckled as she tried to get away from the hazel-eyed boy who I was going to kill for making such a stupid excuse.

"Well, obviously we have a lot to talk about." He looked at me as I crossed my arms and smirked. You are dead, Stiles. "We should maybe take this upstairs."

"Well, for what I know, you are dating Y/N." He crossed his arms too, which made me uncross mine as I could see similarities between us.

"He was just joking," I added, pinching my boyfriend's arm. "Nice excuse," I whispered to him.

"I've missed you and I can't think properly, that's why it was a bad one." He smiled back.

"You are not getting away from this one." I shook my head with a sheepishly smile on my face.

"He's my type." I snapped my head towards Isaac, who was laughing due to my banter with my boyfriend.

"Okay," I smirked. "Isaac, you can come too." I giggled as the curly-haired boy got up from the chair. "He is single, between." Isaac punched my arm playfully.

"Isaac and Stiles can go," Rafe spoke. "But I want Scott and Y/N here for a couple of minutes." I sighed.

"Hey, Dad, I'll explain all of this later," Scott begged as I stayed silent.

"I don't care that you're not in school. I know your grades are fine." He nodded his head. "Same goes for you, Y/N. All I want to do is talk."

"Now's really not a good time." I snapped.

Scott's voice was softer. "Dad, can't we do this tomorrow?

"That's actually something I've been saying for a long time. Come here." We followed him, standing in front of the stairs. However, he kneeled down. "You see this? This indent in the floor... that was from your head." I leant closer to my brother, not liking where this story seemed to go. "The night before I moved out your mother and I were fighting." Scott kneeled too. "You came out of your room. I grabbed you by the wrist. You pulled back." Rafe's eyes were teary. "And you fell." I gasped. This was what Stiles knew, right? "We watched you tumble down those stairs. You were out for probably 20 seconds. When you came to, you didn't remember a thing. Your mom told me to be out by the morning. That was the last time I ever had a drink." I felt like I shouldn't be listening to that conversation. "And that's why I left."

"I'm going to-." Before I could leave them alone, Rafe gently clutched my wrist.

"It was wrong, what I did with you was wrong on so many levels and I don't have any excuse." He sighed. "I truly am sorry even though I know that it's not enough for you, and will never be." His voice trembled. "I couldn't be with your mother anymore. She was crazy and she wasn't scared to throw a bottle at me every time she had one of her mood changes. And I know that it's more of a reason for you to think I am an asshole because-."

"Because even though you knew she was crazy, you left me there."

"Yeah," He nodded his head. "But I didn't know you were mine." I furrowed my eyebrows. "She was sleeping with multiple men, which I got to know after knowing she was pregnant. She said she believed you were another man's child." He sighed. "I know I did the same to Melissa," He glanced at Scott for a couple of seconds. "She said the other men were just some kind of revenge because I had another family and that it didn't matter to her. She was convinced we could start a family and that we could pretend you were my child."

"What?"

"When she went to jail...Well, before she did. She contacted me." His eyes were even wetter than before. "The judge was searching for your father to give him your custody in case he was in a better condition than your mother. She told him that I was the father, and I didn't want her to look like a liar. And I felt bad because I left you there with your mother, even if you weren't my child. So I said that I was your father and with my job, they didn't take the investigation further."

"So you aren't my-."

"I'm not sure if I'm honest." My eyes got teary. They got teary because I had gotten so attached to Scott that there wasn't a reality in my mind where he wasn't my big brother, even if it was just for a couple of months. "I always sent money. That's why your mom's friend could take care of you with the job she had." True, she was just a cashier that didn't get paid much. I never thought about all the things she bought and how we could afford them.

"So maybe," I tried to take a deep breath as I glanced at my brother. "So maybe Scott isn't my brother?" Rafe seemed surprised by my question, nodding his head. "Can we...Can we get one of those tests done? I want to know." He nodded his head.

It still wasn't an excuse. He was the one who decided to say he was my father. Even if he wasn't, he took that responsibility, and he should have acted like one.

I felt my brother's hand squeezing mine. "Okay, dad. Let me show you something." He moved to another part of the room, pulling me along while Rafe followed us. "See the edge of this window sill. When I got my first skateboard I slid right into it. Broke my collarbone." He wandered to another place, pointing at the object. "This used to be glass. Until I fell on top of it trying to catch a lacrosse ball from Stiles. I got three stitches on my cheek." He let my hand go to point at the place where he got the stitches. "This house is full of accidents." He shook his head. "The stairs? Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was worse. But I healed. I don't need your apology. So... See you at graduation. Or whenever you decide to show up again."

"Sco-." Before I could pronounce his name, he pulled me once again with him. We left Rafe McCall standing in the living room with a lost look on his face.

Isaac and Stiles were able to guess where Lydia was after talking to Meredith. Scott had phoned Allison, wanting her to meet us. Therefore, the four of us were now driving towards the place, hoping to meet the Argent girl there.

"All right, I'll say it." I glanced to my side as Issac coughed. "You look like you're dying. You're pale, thin and you look like you're getting worse. And we're all sitting here thinking it." He was right. I couldn't help but glance at the boy driving. He looked sick. He looked like he was dying. "When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?

"What happens if he gets hurt?" My brother asked while glancing at his best friend.

"You mean if he dies, do I die?" He sighed, staring at the rearview mirror to look at me for a couple of seconds. "I don't care." My heart dropped. "Just so long as no else dies because of me." Before I could interrupt, he continued. "I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you. I remember twisting it." He shook his head. "I remember hitting your sister in the head and making her bleed because she was trying to help you. I remember both of your blood staining my hands."

"It wasn't you."

"Yeah, but I remember it." His voice cracked. "You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

"We can't promise that," I whispered. "We all know that being involved in all of this means that something could go wrong. But I'm not letting you get hurt neither, Stiles." Our eyes met again, and I discerned his quick blinking to hide the tears that invaded his eyes.

As soon as we arrived, Allison and Kira were already waiting there. We glanced at each other, noticing that we were scared. We never knew how a situation like this could end. "We've done this before, guys. A couple of weeks ago we were standing around just like this and we saved Malia, remember?" My brother tried to comfort us, even though he was terrified too. "That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."

"I'm here to save my best friend." Allison hurriedly added.

"I came to save mine." My brother glanced at the sick-looking boy whose hand was clutching mine.

"I'm here for both," I emphasized the last word, trying to hint that I would do whatever I could to bring Stiles back with me. An alive and free Stiles.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework." I couldn't help but chuckle as Isaac answered.

Then, we entered the place, just to find Kira's mom standing there with a couple of those shadows or demons standing behind her. "Kira, turn around and go home. Take your friends with you."

I nodded at my brother and my boyfriend, giving them the signal to go find Lydia while we stayed where we had to.

"I can't." We walked closer to her mother, Allison preparing her arrows. "When I looked at the game I realized who I was actually playing. You."  

The Argent girl raised her bow. "Call them off."

"You think you could take him alive?" Her gaze went to me. "You think you can save him?"

"What if we can?" I asked, stepping a little closer.

"I tried something like it 70 years ago. Your friend is gone."

"I told you before, ma'am." I gritted my teeth. "I'm not you and Stiles isn't Rhys. We might be able to save him." I chuckled. "Why are you so opposed to the idea of us trying to save him? Is it jealousy? Or rage because you couldn't save Rhys?"

"He is going, dear."

"Are you sure?" Kira stepped closer to me and her mother. "Or if Stiles doesn't have to die. Maybe Rhys didn't have to die either?"

Noshiko chuckled as the demons behind her prepared their swords. "I see I'm no longer the Fox now, Kira. You are. But the Nogitsune is still my demon to bury." Then, the figures behind her vanished and Kira's mom gasped, worrying us due to the fear, decorating her expression.

"What does that mean?" Isaac dared to speak up as we breathed heavily.

"It means there's been a change in ownership." We turned around as we heard another voice. One we knew too well. A couple of meters away, Void was standing with his hands joined together in front of him. The shadows behind his figure. "Now they belong to me."

That's when we saw ourselves in danger. The shadows ran to us with their swords prepared. Kira was using the katana to protect herself as grunts fell from her mouth. One against two.

Isaac was able to pull one of the shadows to the ground, flashing his eyes and teeth. His werewolf form was taking the lead, trying to scare off the adumbrations. However, he quickly got up from the one he had pushed to the ground as another one ran to him. Isaac used his nails to scratch his middle part, throwing him against a wall.

However, that one seemed not to be affected as he quickly raised his sword. Thankfully, Allison had shot one of her arrows, disarming the monster.

I gritted my teeth as tried to be as closer as possible to Isaac, defending each other's back and taking into account my lack of knowledge related to my supernatural abilities. However, I was glad after receiving some basic defence movements from Kira as I gripped one of the demons' sword tightly between my hands.

I panted as I hit one of those things with the sword, trying to push him as far away from me and Isaac as possible. "How do we stop them?" The curly-haired's voice resonated through the darkness as he glanced at Noshiko.

"You can't!"

He had been distracted, and even though his back was protected by me, his chest wasn't. One of them slashed his stomach and I saw the blood spurting everywhere.

"Isaac!" I gasped. However, when I tried to defend him from the shadow who had gashed his stomach, I received the same outcome as it slashed my knee. Nevertheless, I continued trying to protect Isaac and myself. But we still received some cuts. Especially the boy who was now kneeling on the floor.

I was kicked on the chest by one of the others, falling on my butt and wheezing as the air seemed to escape my lungs. Then, an arrow pierced the chest of that demon, saving Isaac from the last blow. The blow that could have killed him.

A light came out of his chest from where he had been hit by Allison, and then, he vanished into thin air.

I breathed calmly this time, turning around to glance at the Argent girl. I offered her a little smile as she was chuckling, relieved because she had saved Isaac and because the monster had vanished.

However, time seemed to slow down. It looked like a slow-motion that you could not stop. I screamed, I screamed her name trying to warn her because I wasn't strong enough to get up from the floor. I tried, I tried getting up while droplets of tears fell down my cheeks.

My knee begged me to lay back on the floor, but I couldn't. I couldn't lay down on the floor. And I couldn't save Allison as she was stabbed by another shadow. Right in the middle of her stomach.  Her mouth was wide open. I heard a scream, Lydia. She knew what had happened.

I ran to her as she fell into my arms, glancing at me. "A-Allison," My eyes were teary as my trembling hands moved the locks of air out of her face. "Allison, w-we need to stop the blood." I started taking my jacket off, pressing it against her stomach. I glanced around as Void had disappeared and the shadows vanished. "We need to do something. CALL AN AMBULANCE!" I screamed out when I saw the others just looking at me. Accepting the Argent girl's fate.

"Well," She chuckled. "N-now you can't have my head on your w-wall." I chuckled as I continued crying. That's what I've told her. The flashback invaded my mind.

I nodded my head. “I’m going to slowly try and forgive you and your family for everything you’ve done to my brother and the people I love.” I swallowed. “But I swear to god, I will not hesitate to-.”

“To have my head on your wall.” She finished for me. I smirked, getting up, going back to my seat next to Stiles. “I’m sorry for the arrow.”

“Well, you know. Every time I look at it I will remember the badass bitch you can be.” I offered her a laugh, which she appreciated.

"B-but you have a reminder of m-me." No, I didn't want a reminder. I wanted her with us. I wanted Allison alive with us.

Before I could say anything, I heard someone falling on their knees next to me and Allison was taken from my arms. Now she was in the arms where she used to belong. Kira ran to her mother as Isaac was badly hurt, mouth wide open as he glanced at the girl he had fallen in love with.

I stayed there, next to them as my brother placed his hand on top of Allison's hand. "I-I can't take your pain." I gulped as I touched his elbow. He glanced at me to later glance at Allison after I made a gesture.

Allison Argent's eyes were wide open as she glanced at the sky, and her chest wasn't raising up and down anymore. "It's because it doesn't hurt." Her voice cracked.

"No."

She nodded her head. "It's okay." She cried. "It's okay." My brother's face was the perfect expression of pain. A pain that couldn't be described. "It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love." My brother held her closer as he sobbed. "I love you. Scott. Scott McCall."

"Don't, please, don't. Allison don't, please."

"You have to tell my dad. And you have to tell my dad. Tell him." She begged as her mouth filled with her own blood. Her last puffs of air left her body as she slowly closed her eyes. As we mourned the death of a friend, a sister and a first love.

I sobbed, placing my hand on my mouth to not make any noise. My head rested on my brother's shoulder, trying to give him as much comfort as I could, which wasn't much because...

Allison Argent was dead.

But of course, our pain didn't end there. We had to testify about Allison's death, which seemed impossible as we didn't know what to say without looking crazy.

Stiles was still looking as pale as ever. Dark circles under his eyes as if he was dying. Stiles was dying and I couldn't help but have negative thinking. I couldn't lose him. And even worse, Void was there. Void was somewhere. Perhaps hurting someone or feeding himself with chaos and agony.

Now, we were standing in front of the BHHS building. Kira and Scott were ready to open the doors when Stiles stopped them. "Scott, hold on." Lydia and I were helping him stand up. "I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me, too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

"The plan is to save you," I added, glancing up at him.

"That's the plan I'm going with." My brother replied.

Opening the doors, we were met with a white place filled with snow. It looked like some type of garden with Japanese decorations and it was decorated with a blanket of snow. The doors closed behind us and I shuffled closer to Stiles as I shivered.

We turned around again as we heard footsteps. Rhys. The Nogitsune was standing there. But as quickly as he could, he got closer to us, ignoring Kira who prepared her sword.

"Like I promised, Stiles." His voice started to sound like a broken recording. "We're going to kill all of them. One by one." Onis appeared, surrounding us.

"What the hell is this? Where are we?" Scott asked as I glanced around.

"Between life and death," Nogitsune answered.

"Bardo."

"But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia." He mocked us. "You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too." He started circling us.

"What?" The boy next to me gulped. "What do you mean?"

"I've captured almost all of the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital. The sheriff's station." I rested my hand on top of Stiles's shoulder as his body shuffled closer to me unconsciously. "And now the animal clinic." He chuckled. "Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?"

"No, and I don't want to." As Nogitsune got closer to us, Stiles's body moved in front of me.

"When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honour, but that's not the cut that kills him. The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin, who beheads the samurai with his own katana." The snow fell on top of our heads as Stiles brought me even closer to his body. His right hand resting on my waist. "Scott...Scott is your kaishakunin. I'm going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles. And you're going to let him. Because just like you, they're all going to die. Everyone touched by an Oni's blade. Unless Scott kills you first." All of us had teary eyes, but not as much as Stiles.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" I clutched Stiles closer to me as I didn't want him to get closer to the monster standing in front of us.

"To win the game."

Stiles grabbed Lydia and me, getting us in a safe place while Scott and Kira fought the Onis. However, one of the Onis disarmed Kira. And I was shocked when Stiles grabbed the sword, pointing it at himself. Ready to die for our safety.

"Stiles," I whispered.

"What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?" I saw the point of the blade against his clothed stomach, shock filling my body.

"What if it's just another trick?" Lydia asked. She was scared. We all were.

"No more tricks, Lydia. End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott." My body shook but also the body of Stiles. "Be his kaishakunin. Give up the game. You have no moves left."

Stiles seemed to realize something as he stopped pointing the sword to himself. "I do." He passed the object to Kira. "A divine move." His arms brought me closer to his body once again. "Stop fighting them." His voice was loud. "It's an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real and it feels real, but Scott, you gotta trust me, it's an illusion."

We started walking towards Nogitsune and the Onis. One of them raised his sword, cutting my brother's chest, but we continued walking, ignoring the damage done. My brother and Kira received the most pain as Stiles kept me and Lydia closer to his body, trying to avoid any pain towards us. Then, my brother pushed Nogitsune against the doors we had entered from before. The next thing we knew, we were back at school.

There was no blood, no pain. "We're okay. We're..." Before my brother could finish his sentence, he was pushed against the lockers by Void. Kira was brutally hit as she fell unconscious to the floor. "This was my game." His voice was raspy. "You think you can beat me at my game?" His gaze was mostly directed to Stiles.

"Divine move." I placed Lydia behind me as Stiles put me behind him. "Divine move." Void rapidly got closer to us as we stepped back as quickly. "You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni. But me? Me? I'm A THOUSAND YEARS OLD. YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

"But we can change you," I replied as he stopped his movements, glancing at me.

"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles added as his body shuffled next to mine.

"The Shugendo scroll."

"Change the host." Void whispered.

"You can't be a fox and a wolf." Stiles lightly smirked as my brother appeared from behind, biting his forearm as Void screamed out of rage and agony. Then, Kira pierced his chest from behind with the sword.

Void fell to the ground, his mouth opened as a fly left from deep inside his body. Then, Isaac appeared, catching the fly, avoiding the insect to go inside someone else. Void continued convulsing, and then he just dissolved.

Stiles's body got far from mine and as I glanced to my side I saw that he had passed out. Nevertheless, when he finally opened his eyes we couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Oh, God, I fainted, didn't I?" We all chuckled. Stiles Stilinski was back. "We're alive. We all alive?"

My brother answered even though I knew he wanted to say that not all. "Yeah. We're okay."

"I-Is it over?" I was scared of asking such a question. But I needed to hear an answer. I needed to be sure that I could close my eyes without expecting blood covering my hands as soon as I would have opened them.

They all glanced at each other, nodding.

"Here you go." Mr Stilinski placed some blankets on top of Stiles's bed. "It's going to be a cold night so I will leave some blankets here in case you both get cold at night." He walked closer to his son, giving him a small hug. "Good night." Then, he stepped closer to me, kissing my forehead.

"Thank you for letting me stay here tonight." I shyly whispered as he embraced me.

"Ugh, stop thanking me. You are part of this family. Whatever you need, just tell us." He closed Stiles's bedroom door behind himself when he left.

"Let's get into bed," Stiles whispered as he let me get in the bed first, knowing that I preferred sleeping to the closest place to the wall, feeling protected by the wall and his body. "Want to watch a film?" We both were sitting on his bed together. I nodded my head. "Oh, there's a Robin Hood film..." He trailed off as he glanced at my face. "Yeah, maybe not now." He changed the channel again. "Oh, The Mummy." He shook his head. "We better turn this off." I chuckled, nodding my head.

I sighed, deciding to lay on my left side and examining his face. He laid in the same position as our legs slowly intertwined under the blankets. My hand slowly trailed up, resting on his cheek. "I was so scared of losing you." I chuckled, shaking my head. "And I'm sure you were in a worse position than me. Are you okay?" My thumb rubbing the bone of his cheek.

He offered me a tiny smile. "I will be. And I feel better now that I'm here with you." His voice came out in a whisper. "Did he...Void, you know?"

"No," I continued rubbing his cheek. "He didn't touch me at all."

He sighed in relief. "He was infatuated by you." He bit his lower lip. "Like I had no control over my body but I could see and hear as if I was in control. But he was the one controlling my own body. Whenever you were there he would say something...about you."

"It's okay." I tried to calm him down. "I'm here, Stiles. And most importantly, you are here too." I moved closer to his body as he did the same. "Stiles," My voice shook as our lips grazed each other. "I want you."

His eyes widened. "I've never-."

"I know," I nodded feeling flustered. "Me neither. And I'm scared to do it so soon but I want to get closer." I closed my eyes, feeling even more embarrassed than before. "I'm sorry, forget what I said. I just-."

"You want to build it up? Like, go slowly until we, Uhm, yeah?" I nodded my head, glad he understood but flustered for having such an idea in my head. "So hypothetically talking what would you want to do?" His hips swayed closer to mine, making me gulp.

"M-Maybe touch, uhm." I giggled due to the embarrassment I was feeling. "Touch each other?" I whispered, unsure of how he would feel about my idea.

I heard him gulping as he quickly nodded his head. I sighed in relief. "Yeah, yeah, okay, now?" I shrugged my head, nodding. "How do we...do it?"

I gathered a little courage as the hand that was resting on his cheek trailed down. My fingers grazed his covered chest until they stopped right at the start of his pyjama pants. I glanced at him, asking for permission as he nodded his head. My fingers slowly slipped inside his pants and boxers. My body shook in anticipation as I continued going lower. He was trimmed, I could feel it.

He wasn't hard yet. But as soon as my fingers freed him from his boxers, he got hard on my hand. "Shit, your hands are freezing." He pulled his pants and boxers a little further so it wouldn't bother us.

"I'm so sorry." Before I could take my hand away from his member, he wrapped his hand around mine.

"It does feel good." I gulped, nodding my head. His gaze was fixed on me as I started moving my hand up and down at a slow pace. "Use your thumb for the tip, press on it." I did as he instructed, examining how his face transformed into an open-mouth expression of pleasure. "Y-yeah, just like that."

My hand decided to go faster, gripping his shaft tightly as my thumb didn't forget to press against his tip. Stiles closed his eyes, placing his left arm on top of his face as he tried to drown his moans. His hips seemed to lose control as they moved against my hand, trying to go quicker.

"Stiles," My other hand decided to grab his testicles, massaging them. He finally moaned aloud, taking his arm off his face to glance at me. His cheeks were red and his forehead was covered by sweat. "I want to see your face and hear you." My shy voice didn't correlate with my actions.

"Agh, I'm so embarrassed." His hips stopped moving and his hand grabbed my wrist to stop my actions.

"W-Why?"

"I-It's the first time someone touches me like that." He blushed. "I normally do this one my own, you know. Because I am a young boy who is horny constan-."

"Stiles." I laughed.

"I've never been touched by another person like this and I have really strong feelings for you and I've been imagining this for a long time and-." I sent him a confused look. "If you continue I'm going to cum already."

"It's okay," I whispered, freeing my hand from his grasp. My hand started moving up and down again as my other hand played with his sack. "Cum, Stiles." My lips grazed his, kissing him deeply. His left hand gripped my side, clutching it strongly as his hips moved faster, fucking himself on my hand. "Let it go, Stiles. Don't be scared to explode. Do it." He groaned against my lips. I glanced down at his hips bucked against my hand until my hand got wet as a trail of cum fell down my hand.

He moaned, which made my pulse go lower than the place where it should be. He rode his high as cum continued dripping down his tip to my hand. "I-I forgot." He gasped. "I cum a lot." I nodded, surprised. "Now you." He took his pants off, cleaning using to clean my hand. Then, he placed his boxers back on.

"It's okay, Stiles."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I want you to get a release too." He coughed. "And I want to t-touch you." He gulped as his fingers didn't waste time, lowering my pants down and playing with the hem of my panties.

"Ugh," I grumbled, covering my face. "I'm so embarrassed." I was sure I looked as flustered as I felt.

"It's alright. If you want me to do it-." I nodded my head, signalling that I wanted it even though I was all flushed. "Alright." His fingers lowered down. The tips of his finger were a little cold, but the contrast against my hot core was amazing. His other hand lowered my panties as the hand touching my clit, started circling it, slowly. "C-Can you guide me?"

"Just play with it, add pressure sometimes." I sighed as two of his fingers circled it slowly, applying pressure on it sometimes. I gasped when his two fingers started going down, recollecting some of the juices between my lips as he trailed up to add pressure all over again.

"Want it faster?" He whispered as we had totally forgotten his dad was at home. I ground myself against his hand as he cupped my heat, letting me grind on him. "Does it feel good?" He glanced at my hand, which was clutching his arm as I shuffled closer to him so I could rub myself against his hand.

"Wait," I gasped. I forced him to lay down on his back as I sat on top of him.

"W-What are you-." He moaned as I rubbed my core against his clothed dick. "O-okay, that feels, uhh." His hands gripped my waist as he helped me grind against his. My pace quickly fastened with the help of his hands guiding me. "I'm going to, again."

I nodded my head, going faster and trying to contain my moans as low as possible. "Me too." My hands were pressed against his chest as I rode to both of our highs, our faces getting closer, moaning in each other's mouths.

.

.

TAGLIST: @og-baby-ob14 - @savemypostcards - @cas-loves-pizza - @used-avocado - @mvrylee - @bilesxbilinskixlahey - @honeydoll-stark - @arieltheworldisamess - @softpeteparker - @kit-kat-katie99 - @thatsuperherosidekick - @bexbetterxthanxwords - @big-galaxy-chaos - @littlemiss-forgotten - @enchantedcruelsummer - @coldfreakeggsexpert - @merla123 - @sammypotato67 - @weirdowithnobeardo - @maggiesblogsblog - @itskindyl - @bobo-bush - @moongoddesskiana - @multifandxm353 - @irwxnhugsx - @xoprincessmel - @iclosetgeek - @andreagf956 - @niawoods - @anerroroccurrrrred - @perrytheplatypus11 - @trustfundparker - @nmriia - @steve-harringtonnn - @trustfundparker - @brithedemonspawn - @weirdowithnobeardo - @my-soul-is-the-moon - @azayamari - @poguestyle17 - @bibliophilewednesday - @10minutesofscreentime - @momentitodebruh - @drikawinchester - @perrytheplatypus11 - @my-soul-is-the-moon - @linkpk88 - @royalreadery - @sweetest-serpent01 - @teenwaywardasgardian - @sadcupofcoffee - @maliyamay - @seninjakitey - @tairisceana - @thegirlwhoimagined - @mackingjj  - @daphnen21 - @malfoystilinskii05 - @caitsymichelle13​ -

People in bold means it doesn’t let me tag them.