#she is currently vibing on my rug and staring at me

[aro-culture-is]

aro culture is adoring bunnies

[saintrocklee]

*:･ﾟ✧ RESTRAINT ╰┈➤ part 02 of 05

masterlist | pairing: itachi x reader publish date: 04.04.24 warnings: itachi continues to be annoying. reader goes through the 5 stages of realizing you love your boss. there's alcohol and glitter.

The rest of the work week flew by and before you know it you're staring at yourself in your full length mirror, nerves buzzing just below your skin. You're one misstep away from a nervous breakdown and clack the front of your freshly done nails together, the clicking sound distracting you from your spinning thoughts.

It was currently seven o’clock and you had an hour to finish getting ready before a driver would come get you. Between now and when Itachi had invited (but also sort of demanded) you accompany him you had found a dress, matching shoes, borrowed a small purse from your friend, and even got your nails and toes done.

Now you're left with your hair and jewelry.

Events like these always took way longer to get ready for.

If you're being entirely truthful, you liked getting dressed up. Like really dressed up. You rarely had an excuse to go all out like this and it always made you feel pretty. Girly. Confident, even.

But the anxiety buzzing through your system were killing your vibe.

You hadn't even been that nervous until your backstabbing best friend cheekily said “Wow, an entire night on Itachi’s arm - as his date. That’s different.” when you stopped by yesterday to borrow her purse. It clicked, right then and there, that this was different. You'd gone through the steps of convincing yourself this was just another work event, only to have the proverbial rug ripped out from under you.

You were going to a gala, one of the most socially relevant parties of the year, with your boss. You were going to this extremely extravagant and public event not as his assistant or colleague ... but with him.

This wasn’t work. This wasn’t a meeting or a conference. This was a social event. Where socializing took place. Where people - important, powerful, famous people - would see you. With Itachi.

As his date.

Your chest begins to burn and you idly wonder if having a heart attack would be a good enough reason to cancel.

Knowing Itachi it wouldn't be.

Okay, focus. Hair and jewelry. Retouch makeup if needed. Another swipe of deodorant and a spritz of perfume. Then, if there's time, unrestrained panic.

It takes you a good thirty minutes to decide to wear your hair up and style it, to prevent you from fiddling with it all night. You idly picked through an assortment of hair pins, wanting something to make your look really pop. Your dress was simple but elegant and if you were going to show up with the Itachi Uchiha you needed to look the part. The plunging neckline surprisingly offered you support while showing off your cleavage behind sheer fabric. Your back was completely bare, the straps on your shoulders thin, and the slit ran high; but was covered by more sheer fabric. It was light, easy to move in, and one of your favorites. You choose a sparkling hairpin and add it to your up-do, twisting your head back and forth to get the full effect.

You just needed jewelry.

The low vibration from your phone distracts you and you smile when you see who's calling. You answer the Facetime request and your smile broadens when your best friend immediately begins squealing.

“Oh my god, shut up! You look so good.”

You snort and wave her off as you position your phone on your dresser to free up your hands. She continues talking and you think you hear glass clinking in the background.

“When’s boss man picking you up? Is he even going to be able to function around you? Like, I'm engaged and honestly, I'll leave him for you right here and now. Just say the word.”

The laugh that escapes you is warm and the anxiety you were feeling earlier begins to fade.

“Tell your fiance if he makes one wrong move I’ll say the word and steal you back. And he’s not picking me up, he’s sending a driver. I've got, like, thirty minutes."

Your friend makes a noise and you can see the wine glass in her hand as she moves to sit on her couch.

“Well, I just wanted to call before you left so I could see the final product. I love your hair, is that the hairpin I got you?”

You nod and spin, showing off the back of your head, giggling when you hear her audibly whistle.

“Babe, you look even better from the back! If Itachi doesn’t make a move, go find some other rich CEO to marry so you can pay for my wedding.”

You give your friend an unimpressed look and decide not to respond, instead holding up two different pairs of earrings.

“Shut up and help me. Which ones?”

After five minutes of going back and forth you find yourself wearing two different pairs of earrings; your friend sighing and nibbling her lips as her eyes flicked back and forth.

“Damn, they’re both so good. Let’s find a necklace and then come back.”

Soon, you’ve picked a necklace, a simple bracelet, and even added some more glitter to your eyes to make them shine. Still, neither of you could decide on which earrings. You move on to your deodorant and double check you have everything in your purse while she updated you on a frustrating new hire at her company. It felt like old times, back before you worked for Itachi and before she had met her now fiance, when it was just the two of you struggling against the world.

“Okay, okay, let’s focus up. You do a shot yet?”

You scrunch your face up at the old memory and snort. Back when you and your best friend lived together you would always take one shot of whatever alcohol you had on hand before going to any kind of social event that made you both nervous. A house party, birthday, forced family outing; it didn't matter. It was a way to take the edge off, without “being trashy” as she so eloquently put it. The tradition was rooted deep, even with you both living apart, and you can't help but smile.

“No. I don’t drink when I’m working.”

The gasp that meets your ears is loud, pained, and dramatic. You're surprised your cell speaker still functions once she's done wailing.

“Uh-uh! This isn’t work, this is a date. At a fancy gala. With fancy people. And your hot as shit boss.”

You try and prove your indifference with a shrug but even through the phone she wasn't having it.

“We’ve still got fifteen minutes, take me to your kitchen woman! I’ll do one with you, in solidarity.”

You reward her with a laugh and pick your phone up, obeying her very demanding request. You place her on your countertop near your stove and shake your head when you see her doing the same, frantically searching her own kitchen for alcohol.

“Okay okay, let’s see. I've got some questionable tequila and some very fancy vodka, which is more the mood we're going for. What about you?”

You hum and peek in your fridge, mildly surprised you still have some raspberry flavored vodka left over from weeks ago.

“I’ve got vodka too, but I wouldn't call it fancy.”

There’s loud cheering coming from your phone’s speaker and you roll your eyes, grabbing a shot glass from the top of your fridge. You fill it easily and hold it up to your camera, smiling when you see your friend do the same.

“Alright! Cheers to you, your hot ass, and Itachi removing that stick from his hot ass. On three!"

You count down and throw back the sweet smelling alcohol, immediately crinkling your nose at the burn in your throat. You hear audible gagging and chuckle as you watch your friend frantically search her kitchen for a chaser.

“Jesus Christ, this shit sucks. I hate my fiance, let’s kick him out and you can move in again. Then we can get rid of all this nasty shit in my fridge.”

Your laugh turns into a fond smile and you open your mouth to retort when there’s a knock at your door. Frowning slightly at the intrusion, you turn and eye the clock on your wall.

Seven fifty. You had ten more minutes to prepare for Itachi’s driver and someone was knocking at your door.

Great.

“Gotta go lover, some jackass is banging on my door. I’ll text you later!”

“What!? Let me see! Push me against the peep hole so I can tell them to fuck off!”

You snort and shake your head, waving goodbye before disconnecting the video. If your friend had it her way, you’d keep her on the line all night, hiding her in your purse and whipping her out to gossip about everyone around you.

You move toward your door, dropping your phone on your couch, and go to unlock it without checking your peephole. It was more than likely your neighbor, who sometimes got confused in his old age about what apartment he was at. You open the door with fervor and blink stupidly at who you see standing in the hallway.

Okay.

Definitely not your neighbor.

Itachi finds himself in your hallway, attention directed towards adjusting his cuff links, and glances up at the sound of your door opening. Years of practice and etiquette training have him schooling his features to not betray the absolute turmoil he feels from seeing you.

You were an absolute vision.

You had outdone yourself and Itachi forces himself to memorize this moment in it's entirety. Your eyes shone beneath simple makeup and glitter, your hair twisted and styled beautifully in an up-do that left your neck bare. The wide eyed surprise on your face only adds to your allure and Itachi finds himself struggling to control the way his pulse quickens. The dress you're wearing is either new or had been hiding in your closet somewhere and he fights to keep his eyes on your face. From what he can see, the sheer fabric that hugs your body leaves little to the imagination, and something warm begins to burn through him.

Curling his mouth into a friendly smile, Itachi goes to speak to break the charged silence between you two, but you cut him off breathlessly - eyes narrowing.

“You’re early.”

Itachi almost laughs as the heat in his chest begins to spread. Maybe he'd tell his driver to leave, skip the troublesome gala, and see if he could convince you to stay in. Maybe -

“Are you ready?” Itachi forces himself to ask, smile widening to show teeth when you roll your eyes and step to the side, inviting him in wordlessly. He needed to see the night through. He wouldn't be so easily distracted by your glitter and barbed tongue.

“No, because you’re early. Are you incapable of telling time without me?”

The butterflies assaulting your chest mixed with the alcohol warming your skin have you coming closer and closer to the unrestrained panic you were feeling earlier. He’d said be ready by eight and you had assumed he would send a driver, like always.

Obviously you were wrong.

Itachi hums, pointedly ignoring your jab, and steps into your apartment. You eye him warily as his head turns slowly, no doubt inspecting your place. He’d never been inside of your home before and finds himself taking in all of the little details. Soft touches of you were everywhere and while he could classify your apartment as busy, it was also comforting. Lived in. A home filled with framed pictures, small plants, and what seemed to be an inappropriate amount of blankets. There were at least two on the couch, two on the armchair, and a pile folded up and tossed onto the ottoman. He reaches for the worn red one on the couch and pulls it between his fingers, eyes sparkling in amusement.

“Do you get cold often?” He questions and you snort, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Shut up. You don’t get to insult my blankets after barging into my apartment.”

Itachi glances at you before dropping the fabric in his hand.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever ‘barged in’ anywhere.”

This pulls a trademark eye roll out of you and Itachi finds himself smiling fondly before his brow furrows. You notice immediately and frown, cocking your head slightly.

“What?” you ask, inhaling sharply when your boss takes a measured step towards you. His movement leaves barely any space between you and you follow his eyes, confused at the way they seemed to trail from the left to the right.

What was he looking at -

Oh. Your earrings.

“Shit” you murmur, both hands coming up to fiddle with the mismatched jewelry dangling from your ears. You had completely forgotten that you hadn’t chosen a set yet and can’t help but grin up at Itachi, shrugging sheepishly.

“Couldn’t decide on a pair, just give me a minute to -”

You go to step around him, planning on just picking randomly and grabbing your shoes from your bedroom, when he shifts his stance to block you. You halt your movement, glancing up at him again, only for everything to shut down when a warm hand reaches to brush against your ear.

Here’s the thing, about Itachi and physical touch.

He didn’t do it. In fact, you’d seen him actively avoid it.

It's not like you two hadn't touched before - consequences from working so closely together. A brush of fingers when handing off files to each other between meetings, a polite hand on the other one’s forearm to grab their attention, a tap on the shoulder to signal it was time to move on. You've even fallen asleep on him a couple times at the airport, which was always coupled with an apology and an indifferent shrug. Regardless, physical touch between you two was always quick, always professional, and never meant to be anything more than innocent.

The hand currently brushing against your face was anything but.

Your body, traitorous thing, was completely frozen and you can’t do anything but blink rapidly at the sudden contact. His fingers toy with your dangly earring and brush where your jaw meets your neck, eyes focused as he considers you. He mirrors his movements on the other side of your head, essentially cradling your face while he mulls over which earrings he likes. At least, that's what you assume he's doing. It's not like you can ask, you're entire being was rendered immobile and useless under his touch and distantly you wonder if you're still breathing. Maybe you stopped. Maybe you'll pass out and wake up and he'll be gone and you can ... oh. The thumb that slowly starts to stroke your jaw fractures your train of thought and you swallow when Itachi finally steps back and drops his hands, eyes glinting mischievously.

“The one on the right suits you better.”

It takes you a moment to remember what he was talking about. You bring a hand that you were trying very hard to keep from shaking up to your right ear and fiddle with the jewelry attached to it.

“Thanks.” you reply, voice barely above a whisper, and move past him to finish getting ready in your bedroom. It only takes you a minute to put on matching earring and grab your shoes and purse - but you take an extra minute to collect yourself.

The heat pooling in your abdomen was working with the butterflies assaulting your tummy and you take a final breath, urging yourself to get it together. It didn't mean anything, he was just messing with you like always, it didn't mean anything. You step out and grab your phone from the couch before dropping it in your purse and heading to the door.

“Let's go Uchiha, now I'm waiting on you.”

There's a low chuckle from behind you and soon you're both entering your building's elevator after exiting your apartment. You're trying desperately to get your heart rate back to normal and spare a glance towards your boss as the doors ding shut.

You had to admit he looked good. Itachi was dressed in all black, his suit jacket extremely form fitting, and you spy what’s come to be your favorite dress shirt underneath it. You noticed that he wasn’t wearing a tie and can’t help but smile.

“Going for a more casual look tonight?” You snark, meeting his gaze with an arched brow. Itachi looked the exact opposite of casual with his hair neatly styled and silver cuff links sparking. Your boss would be breaking necks well into the evening, but still. The absence of a tie strikes you as kind of funny and you're grasping for some sort of normalcy.

Making fun of him was your version of normal. It was a comfortable default and you planned to use it all night if needed.

Itachi narrows his eyes at you and snorts, looking back to watch the numbers on the elevator go down.

"Someone once told me I needed to learn how to tone it down.”

This brings a genuine laugh out of you as memories from a previous conversation spring forward. You had both been attending an art gallery, looking to purchase some pieces for the lobby that had been recently redone. He’d shown up in a similar outfit to the one he was wearing now, which made him a bit overdressed and a complete contrast to your very casual professional attire. Attendees had paid more attention to your boss than the art that night and after two glasses of wine you pulled him to the side, grinning from ear to ear.

“Tone it down Fabio, before they start bidding on you instead.”

His unfiltered reaction had been priceless, head turning toward you so quickly you were surprised his neck didn’t break. Once he saw your evil little smile he’d glared at you and actually rolled his eyes, before directing your attention to a painting he wanted for his office.

"Whoever suggested that is probably a genius and grossly underpaid." You sniff, pretending to pick at a stray thread on your purse. It wasn't a secret that your boss was unjustly pretty and on days when you were feeling particularly sour about it you made sure to tease him. There's a catch of breath from next to you that could be described as a laugh as the elevator doors opened and you begin to move forward, only to come to a complete stop when Itachi speaks.

"She's certainly troublesome, but I'm quite fond of her."

You whip your head to the right, mouth parting in surprise at the bold choice of words, but Itachi is already exiting the elevator, holding the door open with his arm. You spy his driver on the other side of the clear glass doors in your apartment lobby and lift your chin up, determined to not let him see how easily he continued to fluster you. It was all a game, one you've played with him many times, and while you feel the flames of defeat licking at your heels you wouldn't go down easily.

You walk past him, focusing on keeping your breaths even, when he leans in, the silk in his voice barely above a whisper.

“She's also particularly stunning this evening.”

You turn to face him, brow furrowed in confusion, all while failing to ignore the way your heart practically jumped out of your throat.

“Stop that.” You breathe and Itachi arches a brow, withdrawing his arm so the elevator doors can close.

“Stop what?” he asks, so innocently confused, and you bristle, anxiety mixing with something else that was starting to kindle. You had only done one shot, you weren't a lightweight by any means, but that bit of alcohol combined with whatever game Itachi was playing was throwing you through a loop. The pouty, irritable part of you wanted to scratch his eyes out while demanding answers but you'd either needed more alcohol or less witnesses to move forward with that half-cocked plan. So instead -

“You're annoying." You deadpan, turning to keep walking to the car. An amused hum follows you and you can picture the smug look on your boss' face as you both make your way outside. There was a chill in the air that helped alleviate the agitated heat you were battling and by the time you're seated comfortably in the backseat you're feeling a bit more normal.

Itachi slides into the seat next to you and immediately reaches for a pile of folders on the seat next to him. You make a noise of disapproval before remembering that you're still annoyed with him.

“Seriously? Were you working on your way over here? It’s Saturday. We’re literally going to a party.”

You're pointedly ignored, but the driver who's name you cannot remember snorts lightly from the front and your smile shows teeth.

“See? Even he thinks you’re insane.”

Itachi pauses his perusal to glance between you and the console mirror, eyes narrowing marginally.

"I don't pay you two to team up against me."

A sharp, sarcastic noise escapes you and you lean forward, going so far as to place your hand on the driver's seat.

"Does it state anywhere in your contract that we can't conspire together?"

"No ma'am." The man responds, his tone clipped and professional, but the playful glint in his eye made your nose scrunch up in amusement.

"No." You cheerfully agree, settling back into your seat and going so far as the flick the corner of the folder still in Itachi's hands. Your boss lets out a long suffering sigh that you're sure he'd been holding in for days, before relenting and closing the document.

"This is the business proposal for Kakuzu's new-"

"Oh, really? Wow that's incredible, I don't remember asking-"

"If we can come to an agreement this would mean-"

"Wow, again with more information that no one asked-"

"You are quite possibly the most-"

"Incredible, talented, intelligent-"

"I could fire you-"

"Oh I dare you-"

You find yourself laughing as you and Itachi fall into a comfortable back and forth, nerves quickly dissipating as the car pulls off. So long as the rest of the night went like this, you would be fine.

You hoped.

[aliasrocket]

I just thought of the most specific Rocket Raccoon scenario ever — the guardians receive a commission from a planet that has a victorian era vibe especially to their clothing and the guardians including Rocket had to wear victorian era clothes to fit in …

(I have a LOT of scenarios regarding this so pls lmk if you guys want more of these! I could honestly write it into a fic at this point oml)

masterlist. requests.

It was probably just a bit past 11pm when Rocket called, the night was silent and you were just finished getting ready for bed when he called you.

Due to his tech, you both are able to project a hologram of yourselves through your phone as a way to communicate, meaning you had a clear visual of Rocket’s entire body floating in your room.

His black suit was not made of the usual silk; the texture seemed to be of dense wool. He wore a white dress shirt inside and a black tie to match. Closely hugging his small waist was a black vest that had been buttoned all the way down with the exception of the button at the very bottom. The sleeves of both the coat and the dress shirt had been neatly rolled up above just one of his forearms, making his supposedly symmetrical suit unsymmetrical.

That wasn’t exactly a bad thing, though. In fact, the arm that had been a little more exposed had gained more attention from you than the other—you watched the way his muscles tensed when he would curl his fingers around anything.

He was just kicking off his dress shoes when you picked up and right of the bat your jaw was left hanging at the sight.

“Hey, princess,” Rocket greeted, a little more wearier than you would have expected. He stood with his hands on his hips, pushing the body of his coat back just a little to reveal his hips. “Fuck, today was a bust.”

“What happened?” You asked, eyes finally parting with his stature and now moving up to his rugged expression.

“Nah, apparently the lady who supposedly has the fortune doesn’t have the damn fortune,” Rocket explained with an angered strain in his voice. “We went through all this effort, dressed so damn formally just so we would be treated like everyone else and now I—”

“Wait, Rocket, isn’t this classified information?” You shook your head, finally snapping out of your less than innocent thoughts of Rocket in his current outfit. “You shouldn’t be telling me about these things right?”

“Yeah?” Rocket sharply exhaled from his nose, a smug grin overwhelming the look of exhaustion that had been dragging down his already greying features. “Fuck those rich brats, ‘s not like I signed a contract or something. Anyway I show up at the discussed address and—”

“Rocket, they hired you.”

“Yeah hired me to stick a gun up the asshole of anyone who comes in the way of this mission, they ain’t saints, princess.” Rocket pulled at his shirt’s rolled up sleeve, letting it fall to his wrist without letting you give a proper goodbye. Not that you’d let him know you were staring, anyway.

Rocket's jaw clenched, and you decided maybe it wasn't the best idea to push it further especially when he was already irritable and tired.

“Okay so I get to the house right, almost fuckin’ blow the brains of that broad’s bodyguards the fuck out—” Rocket paused his rant when he rolled his coat sleeve down, now shrugging off his jacket and only testing just how fitted all his clothes had been. His chest flexed as he pulled his shoulders back, sliding sleeves off his arms only to reveal his clothed biceps restrained in his shirt. Each wrinkle and each fold in his clothes only further teased that Rocket was completely and utterly clothed.

“And finally I get to hold my damn blaster under her chin only to find she doesn’t even have so much as a goddamn clue as to where her fuckin’ fortune is. And now? I gotta clean her damn snot and tears off my fuckin’ blaster. D’asted little shit.”

Rocket’s fingers popped off the buttons of his vest in one swift motion and the vest was discarded in seconds, leaving his black tie and his shirt that hugged at Rocket’s enchanced pectoral muscles.

His head tilted as he tugged at the knot of his tie. You were hallucinating, right? There was absolutely no way Rocket was loosening that tie slower than it had to be, pulling it to the side as his protruding knuckles gave attention to his hands and the way they clasped onto his tie and tossed it aside so gracefully.

Oh, shit. You bit your lip when Rocket unbuttoned his dress shirt with one hand, the first button coming off so easily to reveal a white undershirt. The thought of Rocket in only a singlet had sent you melting against the pillows of your bed.

You were probably frowning at this point, tunneling on Rocket’s hand working through each of his buttons with ease before Rocket was getting the shirt off too.

And there it was again, the flexing of his chest when he pulled the shirt out and shrugged it off, and finally he was all yours—his biceps, forearms, and hell, even some parts of his chest were—

“Hey,” Rocket called loudly along with your name.

“Huh?”

“Called you five times, you didn’t respond,” Rocket said. His hands were on his hips once more but this time, his chest had been heaving, some parts of it uncovered by his singlet like something of a boob window. “Are you zoning out?”

“Uh … something like that.”

[kpop---scenarios]

Into The Night

Pairing: Kai x Reader

Warning: Smut

Word Count: 5k

Summary: You never expected to fall for the escort your friend ordered for you.

"It's a very reputable place." Jisoo smiles at you. "Very discreet. I think it would be a good place for you to go." She finishes. 

You stare at her with your mouth wide open as you try to comprehend what she had just said to you. 

"Bitch." You scoff. "Are you trying to tell me to go to a whore house to get laid?" You ask. 

"I mean, you're not the first person to do it. It's not a big deal." She says, shrugging her shoulders. "The guys are hot." She smirks, wiggling her eyebrows. 

You can't help but think about it for a minute. You really did need a good fuck, your vibrator can only do so much. "Fine." You say, crossing your arms. "But your ass is coming with me." You smirk, watching her face drop at what you had just said. 

"But.. I.. " she stutters. 

"No excuses, I fuck a sex worker, you fuck a sex worker. That's the deal." You laugh. You knew she would never do something like that, meaning you'd be off the hook. 

"Fine." She says. "Lets go. Now." She says, ushering you towards the door. "Now or never." 

"How about never?" You nervously giggle. 

"Or now works too. Let's go bitch." She finishes, dragging you out the front door of your apartment to a cafe down the street, to get the process started. 

Little did you know this was going to be the best, but also worst experience of your life. 

** 

Kai smiles as he says goodbye to his latest client, leaving her to relish in the orgasms he had given her, making her scream out his name. He knew he was good at what he did, that's all he was ever told he was good at, so why not make a career out of it. 

Women had always told him he was a great fuck, he had a handsome face but that would only take him so far. The words they told him always stuck with him, replaying over and over in his head. 

"You're a great fuck but thats it." 

"I could never date you. You're not good enough for me." 

It was always the same, with every woman that he met. They were always only interested in him because of his face, or his body. They never cared to get to know him or his likes and dislikes, only how many times could they cum because of him. 

Eventually he said fuck it and gave up on trying to pursue a relationship with women. He began working for an escort company, where he quickly climbed the ladder, becoming the most popular male escort. He made great money, but lived a lonely life despite being with different women. It wasn't the sex that was important to him, it was the connection, the love two people shared. That's what he craved, but he knew he wasn't enough. 

Kai's mind wanders back to just after he graduated from high-school. He had a date with a girl he had loved for the last four years and had tried time and time again to muster up the courage to ask her on a date.

"J-jennie, would you like to have dinner with me?" He asks, his fingers twiddling between each other. 

She smiled at him, but it wasn't genuine, more pitty. 

"Um sure." She half smiles. "I'll meet you at the restaurant." She says, walking away to her friends. Kai thought his heart was going to explode out from his chest. 

He was so happy. 

He wasn't your typical guy, he was shy. He was very quiet and often gave off the vibe of being an asshole, but in all honesty, you just needed to get to know him first but no one ever gave him that chance. 

His date with Jennie went well, the conversation lagged a few times but it had ended with him railing her in the back of his car. 

His muscles flex, the sweat glistening as he props himself up while he thrusts in and out of her, making her scream. 

It was the best night of his life and he thought about her everyday, until he saw her making out with some guy at a party a few days later. All eyes had been on him when he walked into the party, his arrival commencing the whispering between people and the staring.  

"W-what? I thought.. we.." he stutters, lost for words. 

She laughed. And laughed. "Look." She giggles. "You give top notch dick, but you're an asshole. You're not boyfriend material." She spits. 

Kai hangs his head low as he walks out of the party, heartbroken for the first time but not the last. 

He didn't let that one instance ruin his views on relationships and women, no, that came after the same thing happened in college. He had met Mina and she was so beautiful, smart and interesting. He was smitten with her, and when she agreed to go on a date with him, he was over the moon excited. 

"Would you like to get a coffee with me?" He whispers to her, only looking her in the eye once. 

"Sure. Sounds great." She smiles. 

He told himself he wouldn't sleep with her on the first date. Coffee seems innocent enough, but alas, it ended with him ramming into her from behind in an alleyway behind the coffee shop. 

"I had a great time." She smiles, as she adjusts her skirt. "See ya." She finishes, walking away, leaving him standing there slightly confused. 

Kai saw her often, mostly in the middle of the night when she called him and asked him to come fuck her. Whenever he asked to walk her to class or meet up for dinner, she was always busy or unavailable. And if they ever did meet up at her apartment during the day, she always had an excuse as to why he couldn't stay. 

"That was great." She sighs, rolling over onto her back. Kai rolls over, wrapping his arm around her waist, only laying there for a second before she wiggles out-of his embrace and stands at the edge of the bed. 

"What?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"I've got a lot to do. You gotta go." She says, getting dressed and rushing him out of her apartment. 

He wanders around downtown for a bit, trying to think of why she kicked him out so quickly, why she never wants to spend time with him. He's lost in his thoughts until he sees Mina, just down the street walking with her friend. 

With a smile on his face he walks up to her to greet her. 

"Hey you." He smiles. 

She doesn't smile back. Instead, she scoffs, her friend giving him a weird, uncomfortable look. 

"Um." Mina starts, but Kai gets the point. 

"Gotcha." He mumbles, turning around to walk away and that's when he hears her. 

"Who is that?" Her friend asks, laughing. 

"The most amazing dick I've ever had." Mina raves. "But like that's all he's good for." She laughs. "He's so awkward. Could you imagine keeping that as your boyfriend? Talk about being embarrassed all the time." Mina laughs. "And he's studying accounting. How lame. He'd make better money fucking women for a living." She finishes. 

A tear rolls down Kai's cheek as he now vows to himself to never try for a relationship again. Women wanted some good, dominating cock? Then that's what he would give them, that's all that he would give them. 

** 

"Make sure he has brown hair." Jisoo laughs. The two of you sit in a cafe, on your phones choosing an escort for each other. You picked one for her, someone who seemed to fit her type just right, a man named Baekhyun. 

You were nervous about who she chose for you, but you trusted her, mostly. You knew she wouldn't screw you over. 

"Okay done. Meet him in an hour at the Into The Night hotel." She laughs. 

"Seriously? Fuck." You laugh nervously. 

Forty five minutes later you're standing outside the hotel, taking a deep breath. You're the one who needs to get the hotel room and he will knock on the door. You know, this is fine, its simple, its just a fuck. With a stranger. It's fine. 

"A room with a king size bed." You whisper to the front desk clerk who looks at you weirdly as you sweat slightly. 

"Room 5372. Here's your key. Enjoy your stay.. with no bags." He says. 

"Someone will be coming to ask for my room number. Make sure you tell him." You say, clearing your throat. 

"Of course." He says, looking back to his computer. 

**

You sit on the edge of the bed, your fingers twiddling as you wait for the much anticipated knock on the door. And when it came, your heart jumped from your chest. 

Your palms were sweaty as you gripped the door knob, taking a few very deep breaths before you pulled the door open revealing an extremely handsome man. His hair was messy and dark, his shirt unbuttoned just enough for you to see his chest, the muscles in his arms protruding from his long sleeve shirt. 

You go back and sit on the bed, watching him walk in, the bulge in his pants very noticeable. Your breath hitches as your eyes stare at it, unable to look away from it. 

"Hi." He says, his voice deep and rugged. "I'm Kai." He smiles. 

"Um hi, I'm.. um.. Ayn." You stutter. 

"Ayn." He says, a smirk on his face. "How would you like me, Ayn?" He asks. 

"What's your last name?" You ask, your nerves have now fully taken over. "Mines YLN." 

"Kim." He says, cocking his head to the side. 

"Nice, nice. Are you hungry? I'm starving. I'm going to order room service." You say, jolting yourself up and heading to the phone. 

"Wait you're serious?" He asks. 

"Very. I never joke about food." You say. 

"Uh. A burger?" He says, slightly confused about what was currently happening. But he hadn't had dinner and was kind of hungry, so why not?

"Hi, i'd like two cheeseburgers with fries and two cokes." You accidently yell into the phone. "Sorry." You whisper, hanging up. "Like twenty minutes you tell him, slowly walking back towards the bed. 

He nods his head. 

"So.. good times?" You ask, referring to the name of the hotel, a small smile on your face. 

"Yeah, I mean, it's meant for good times, so why not. I thought it was clever when I named it." He smiles. 

"You named it? Do you own the company?" You ask, genuinely shocked. 

"I do." Kai laughs. "I founded Knight Industries a few years ago and built it up." He says, beginning to unbutton his shirt. 

"Umm." You say nervously, thinking of how else you could stall. Honestly, you wanted to see what was under his shirt but you knew where it was going to lead you weren't sure about the stranger thing. 

Knock 

Knock 

"Room service." A voice chimes from outside your door. 

"I better.. get that." You half smile, quickly walking to the door. You open it and a cart is pushed into your room. The man looks confused when he sees Kai standing there, both of you fully clothed. 

"Uh, enjoy." He says, walking out but not before giving Kai a questioning look. 

**

Over the next hour you and Kai talk about one thing, well you talk about one thing and that thing is food. You went on and on while Kai actually sat there and smiled at you as you described to him your favorite dish to make at home. 

"It's so easy to make but tastes amazing. You have to taste it to believe it." You laugh. 

You also talked about what your dream vacation would be. 

"And that's why my absolute dream vacation would be a good tour of Europe. You would get everything." You groan, just thinking about the food made you want to drool everywhere." 

"You can't forget the wine though." Kai laughs. 

"No never, can never forget that." You smile. 

Beep

Beep. 

Your phone alarm beeps, telling you your two hours is up. You give Kai a smile before gathering your belongings. 

"Thanks for this. I had a great time." You smile before leaving the room, leaving him there to respond to no one. 

"Thank you." He whispers.

Kai tries to make sense of what just happened over the last two hours he had spent with you. When he talked you actually listened, you genuinely seemed interested in what he was saying and enjoyed talking to him. Something he had never had, no one ever wanted him, just his cock. 

**

"Wow." Jisoo says, a tired smile plastered on her face, her hair a mess as she limps towards you outside the hotel. "You don't look like you just got fucked." She pouts. 

"But you do." You respond. "I didn't. We talked. And it was really nice." You say, shyly. 

"It wasn't a date Ayn. You were supposed to get laid!" She yells, a little too loudly. 

"Next time. I will. Promise." You say. 

"You're going to have a next time?" She asks, surprised. 

"Would that be weird to request him again?" You ask. 

Before she could answer a very handsome man ran out of the hotel, yelling her name. 

"Jisoo! You forgot this." He smiles at her, his hair disheveled. He slyly hands her a pair of panties, giving her a wink before running back into the hotel. 

"That's Baekhyun." She breathes. "I think I love him." She finishes. The two of you laugh before linking arms and walking back to your apartment, completely missing the man you'd spent time with watching you walk away from him. 

That night you laid in your bed, staring at the request on your phone to meet up with him again. You wanted to see him again, whether you did anything or just talked but did he want to see you was the question. 

You left it alone for the next week, thinking and debating about it everyday. You had the request filled out, but for whatever reason you couldn't bring yourself to press send. 

You felt stupid. You probably weren't even his type, this is what he did for a living, of course he was nice to you, you paid for it. However, he was supposed to fuck you, not spend two hours eating and talking with you. 

After a week you finally pressed that send button, and you confirmed your meeting for tomorrow, making sure to add to meet at a park at sunset. You wondered if he would actually show up. 

**

The next night you sat on the park bench, your bag with a surprise beside you, as you waited for him to show up. The littlest part of you felt like he wasn't going to show up. So when I looked over and saw him walking towards you, your heart skipped a beat. 

He sat down next to you, a smile on his face as he looked at you. "Hi." He says. 

"Hi." You reply, your nerves coming back. 

"We never got around to your favorite food last time." You say, waiting for him to begin talking. 

"Fried chicken." He laughs. "My mom used to make it when I was little, and it's just kind of stuck now." He says, his hands placed on his lap. "She got the recipe when she was in America for a bit." 

"Have you traveled much?" You ask. 

He looked at you like you were crazy when you asked him that, but you really and truly wanted to know more about him. 

"Japan a few times, China and America once, but that was years ago. I've always wanted to go back." He tells you. "Have you been anywhere?" He asks. 

"No I've never traveled anywhere. I've always wanted to though." You smile. 

"I think you'd like Japan. Amazing food." He laughs. 

"Anywhere that has good food has my vote." You smile. "Speaking of food, I brought this for you." You say, pulling out the container of food you made for him. "I really wanted you to try it." You laugh. 

"I-.. wow." He says, looking shocked. Your eyes meet as he remains speechless at your kind gesture. 

Before you knew what was happening, Kai had leaned over and pressed his plump lips to yours, wrapping his hand around the back of your head to deepen the kiss. 

When he pulls away you smile, standing up, your face covered in blush. "We'll have to meet up again so I can refill the container." You smile, walking away, hoping he uses the number you left on the top of the lid. 

** 

3 days. It took him 3 days to text you. After the second day you had completely given up hope on him messaging you, but that was typical of your fashion, never giving enough time to anyone. 

You had woken up early in the morning for work and saw a text from a number you didn't recognize, thanking you for the food and how delicious it was. 

You texted all day after that, about everything. He asked you on a date for that weekend, 8pm on Saturday. You told him you'd love too, and when Saturday rolled around you were terrified. 

Your doorbell rang right at 8pm, and your heart fluttered as you walked towards the door, your heel clicking on the floor. You glanced at yourself in the mirror one more time, satisfied enough with how your makeup and hair turned out, you smoothed down your tight dress before answering the door. 

"Hi." Kai smiles, looking you up and down. "You look amazing." 

"Thank you." You whisper, looking at him in his suit, his hair slicked back. He looked so good. You almost said fuck it and dragged him into your apartment, but you have a little self control, for now. 

On the drive to the restaurant you couldn't keep your eyes off him. The way he slouched in his seat, his legs spread with one hand on the steering wheel, the other one placed on your thigh. You could feel your pussy throbbing as you pressed your legs together, trying to keep yourself together. 

"Are you okay?" He asks, his eyebrow raised, glancing over to you.  

"Yep, all good." You say. 

You knew he didn't buy it. His cologne, how his skin glowed under the moonlight, his plump lips, it was all getting to you and fast. 

** 

At the restaurant you sat across from him, throwing back your third glass of wine as Kai watched you in  amusement. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asks, his chin resting on his hands. 

"Mhmm." You say, gaining a little bit of confidence. You raise your leg under the table, gently caressing his leg with your foot, up and down a few times before you slide off your shoe and work your way up to his thigh. 

Your eyes locked as you moved your foot, you could see his face change, his eyes become darker. 

Every Time you rubbed his leg, you could feel your lips sliding together, reminding you of just how wet you truly were. 

"I'm so wet." You whisper, sticking your hand under the table, sliding it over your pussy before popping it in your mouth to suck off your juice. 

Kai's eyes went black. Right before he could say anything, the waiter came, placing your food in front of the both of you. 

"Anything else I can get for you?" He asks, Kai looks at you, you bite your lip, looking slightly needy. 

"Yeah, can we get this to go please." Kai says, his eyes never leaving yours. A smile spreads across your face as the waiter looks confused but takes your plates away anyways. 

A few minutes later he returns with your food and your bill. Kai pays quickly before placing his hand on the small of your back to guide you out. 

"Are you sure?" He asks, sliding into the driver's seat, starting the car. 

"I want you to fuck me." You moan. Kai groans as he races down the street. "Now." You whisper. 

He turns down an alley, parking in the dark between two buildings, making sure you were out of camera view. 

"Out." He growls. 

You open the door, step outside and walk to the front of the car. You watch as Kai walks around to the front of the car, unbuckling his belt and pulling it through the loops. His hand rests on your cheek as he leans in, pressing his lips to yours. He backs you up, leaning you against the car and laying you down on the hood of the car. 

He breaks the kiss and stands up. "Hands." He demands. 

You give him your hands, he puts them together and wraps his belt around them tightly. "Put them above your head."  He demands. You do as you're told, your pussy dripping as you wait for what he plans to do next. 

He brings his hand up to your neck, dragging his finger down your collarbone, past your breasts, down your stomach, stopping halfway down your thighs at the hem of your dress. 

"Spread your legs." He says, his voice deep and demanding. You do your best to spread your legs, causing your dress to ride up, exposing your red lace panties. 

Kai lifts your dress more, looking at your panties and smirking. He grabs onto them, moving them to the side, giving him a great view of your lips. 

"Oh my god." You cry, your pussy needing to be touched. 

"Quiet baby girl." He moans as he leans his body on yours. His one hand reaches in-between your thighs, moving between your lips before his thumb grazes over your throbbing clit while he inserts two fingers inside you, slowly. His body rests on yours as he pumps his fingers in and out of you, his other hand covering your mouth to muffle the sound of your moans. 

Kai whispers in your ear as you mumble your muffled cries. "That's a good girl."

As he continues to pump his fingers into you, he moves his thumb in a circle on your clit, making your arch your back. You try to cry out, but his hand catches most of the whimpers as he removes his fingers from inside you, and focuses just on rubbing your clit. 

Your eyes roll to the back of your head as you try to squeeze your legs together, your orgasm threatening to burst. 

"Cum." He growls, sending you right over the edge, your body shaking as you ride through your high. 

Kai removes his hand from your mouth while staring at you before licking his fingers with a smirk on his face. You slide down the car onto your knees, lifting up your hands so he can untie you. 

You're a bit shaky as you pull down his pants and boxers, letting his cock spring free. 

Your mouth waters as you stare at the thick, juicy, veiny cock standing straight in front of you. You wrap your hand around the shaft, pumping it a few times before Kai grabs the back of your head, forcing his cock into your mouth, making you choke. 

"Mhmm." He moans. "Choke on that cock." 

He lets you come up for air, just for a second before he shoves his cock back in your mouth and down your throat. Your eyes water as he thrusts in and out a few times before fully pulling out and standing you up. He pushes you down on your stomach against the hood of the car, making you spread your legs with his foot. 

"Ready?" He asks, but doesn't wait for an answer. Instead he grips onto your hips and slams his cock inside of you, stretching you out and giving you no time to adjust to his size. "Such a tight pussy." He groans, his hands holding onto you tighter as your hands are laid out above your head, red marks from the belt very visible but you didn't care. 

Kai never slowed his pace, he fucked you hard and he fucked you good. 

"Shit shit." You cry out as he hits your g spot with every thrust. "P..please don't stop." You cry. You can hear him grunting behind you, making you clench yourself around his cock. 

"Don't stop that." He groans, his fingertip digging into your hips. "Shit." He moans. "I'm gonna..cum." he finishes, pulling out to cum on your ass. "Fuck." He sighs, as he pumps himself a few more times, making sure he rides his high for as long as he can. 

"That was.." he begins. 

"Great." You finish, pulling down your dress. You smile at him as he zips up his pants. "Will you come home with me?" You ask, a little nervous he might say no. 

"I'd love too." He smiles, opening the car door for you. You slide in, and he closes it before running to the drivers side and backing out of the alley way. His arm rests on your thigh for the entire drive back to your apartment, making the butterflies in your stomach flutter. 

**

The next morning you wake up to feel a hand wrapped around your stomach with a face buried into your neck. You smile as you remember he came home with you last night, and you smile even harder as you feel his large friend poking you in the ass. 

With a smirk on your face you wiggle your ass against his boner, making his groan. "Tease." He mumbles as he nuzzles his face further to your neck. 

"You can always just slip it in. Cum in my pussy." You whisper, making him raise his head. He reaches down, lifting your leg to go over his, opening you up slightly before he pulls down his boxers, letting his friend free. You arch your back as he guides himself inside of you, slowly thrusting in and out. He hand reaches up and under your shirt, cupping your breast before twiddling your nipples as he pumps his hips. 

"Fuck." You moan as his hand leaves your breasts and moves up to wrap around your throat. His large hands squeeze your neck as he thrusts into you harshly. 

"Rub your clit." He says, demanding you to do so. You reach between your legs and begin playing with the throbbing bud, rubbing it in circles, your pussy tightening around his cock.

"Good girl." He breathes into your ear, his head tightening again around your neck. 

"I'm.. gonna.." you cry. 

"Cum." He demands, breathing the word heavily into your ear. Shivers send down your spine as you orgasm takes over, making you cry out, loudly. 

Kai grunts a few times before spilling his juices inside of you. "Fuck." He sighs, milking himself for everything. 

He pulls himself out of you and rolls out of bed, pulling his pants on. 

"What are you doing?" You ask, confused. 

"I thought you were going to ask me to leave." He says, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Actually." You pause. "I was going to see if you wanted to come to the store with me. I was going to make you some food." You say, sitting up in your bed. "But if you want to go.." you pause. 

"I don't want to go..it's just i'm always asked to leave after." He says. "No one asks me to stay." 

"I'm asking you to stay. Spend the day with me?" You ask. 

The smile on his face could light up an entire city, the two of you so happy in that moment, but little did you know, things wouldn't be so happy in the future. 

**

Things with you and Kai were great for the first couple of months until the two of you had gotten more serious than either of you had expected in such a short amount of time. 

It had only been nine months but you knew with everything you had in your soul that you loved this man more than anything. And you knew he loved you back, but you just couldn't get past his work. 

You knew he didn't love the women he was with, you knew it was only a job but you hated it. You hated that while you thought about him, his dick was inside someone else, making someone else cum, making another woman feel good. And that was the cause of your fights, 99% of the time. 

"Here we go again." Kai sighs, as he grabs a drink from the kitchen. "It's always the same thing." He yells. 

"Yes it is! Why can't you just stop. Stop fucking other women." You yell. 

"It's my job! I founded the company. I built it up from nothing. I can't just walk away from that Ayn. You're asking me to give up alot." He says.  

You take a deep breath. "You know you are so much more than your dick right? You're so special, the way you make people feel is indescribable. But if you only listen to the voices in your head from your past, they will always win. And if you keep doing that, then I won't ever be enough for you. So, when you decide that you’re more than just a sex object, you call me, because you are more than that business. And your business may be booming but baby, you’re dying, I can see that and I hate that you can't. I am trying to fight for more than just us. I'm trying to fight for our future. Either you want or you don't. So let me know." 

With slow steps you walk away, hoping he stops you. 

You close the door hoping he stops you. 

You walk all the way to your car. 

You waited for him to stop you. 

But he never came. 

[superspookywombat]

The Good Vibes Witch {j.h}

Warnings: one use of ‘hell’, un-proofread writing

Requests (shortened versions) : “I would love to read fanfiction (one shot) where reader is a young witch, which decided to move to the town since she is traying to get hold of her powers and take a breath from life, just rest. (like the more scared or stressed she is the harder it is to use her powers) they could be like... she could change the reality, it will be realated to her imagination and the calmer she gets the more powerful she is? but not knowing the life there isn't that calm like she would like it to be. Turns out she is Jasper soulmate, the reason she get there was that Jasper persona was "calling her" and they seems to be perfect much since he got the powers to control emotions. She is really sweet and pretty shy women, but when needed can be really tough.” from @mental-breaker-74​

And: “Can you make a jasper x reader imagine set in eclipse where y/n is a young witch (just young adult age and not 100+) who can kick new born vamp's ass ??” from anonymous

A/n: i’ve had a lot of writer’s block recently so this isn’t my best work and i’m sorry about that. also, i kept going between passed tense and current so idk what’s going on with me tbh

Enjoy :)

You weren’t sure what possessed you to drive your crappy little car to the East Coast, but there you were, on a bumpy little backroad because your car couldn’t go over 46 MPH. Maybe it was the promise of starting a new life in a sleepy town, somewhere you could hide in a cottage in the woods and be one with nature. You needed somewhere quiet- somewhere calm- where you could thrive and be in control of your powers. Something was calling you to the earthy town of Forks, something you couldn’t describe. If there was one thing you had learned by now, though, it was to always go with your gut.

You pull into a run-down gas station, where only one other car is there besides yours. You walk towards the door, hesitating before wrapping your fingers around the door handle and pulling it open. Walking up to the cashier and pulling out a twenty from your wallet, you gently tap the bell on the counter. The shrill sound vibrates your eardrums, and a man walks out of a hidden corner. He does a double take at you, before lifting his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. You glance down at your shoes, trying to place your focus anywhere but the man. He holds out his hand for the bill, and you hand it to him, his fingers unnecessarily brushing yours and making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“What’s a pretty, young thing like you doing all on your lonesome?” He asks, leaning in close enough so that you can smell what he had for lunch. “Bad things happen to ladies that travel these roads alone.” 

“I’ll be careful, thank you.” You say, reluctantly plastering a smile onto your face. You pull your arms to your chest protectively and glance over your shoulder repeatedly until you’re out of the store and into the open air. As you fill up your car, you look at your reflection in the driver seat window. It had been a spell gone wrong that left you 17 for the rest of eternity, but you hadn’t known it at the time. All you wanted was to be treated like an adult, but it backfired and froze your body and left you as a teenager for the last forty years. You had to move around every three to four years, or whenever people started suspicious of you not aging. You found that if you built a cottage in the woods, you could prolong your stay to about ten years. You didn’t need to eat, your body was literally frozen in time.

Once the machine clicks, you get in your car, locking it immediately and putting it in drive. According to your phone, you were about two hours away from your new home. 

You almost miss the driveway to the plot of land you bought, it being tire tracks that lead to a cliff above the river. As soon as you reach the end of the bumpy drive, you step out and look at your surroundings. You squint your eyes, seeing flashes of white through the tall trees. Great, neighbors. You sigh and make sure that there’s no one watching before closing your eyes. Once you’re one hundred percent calm, you mentally reach down into the earth and pull at the metal, rocks, and wood. All around you, rocks lift from the riverbed, the breeze drying them before they settle into the form of a shelter. Wood from the forest floor drags over and makes a roof, the moss still glued to the bark.

Your new house knits itself together before dawn. You place your trinkets and potion ingredients on the wooden shelves, then lay out your tattered quilt on the makeshift bed. You inhale the earthy scent, then look around at your home for the next decade, hopefully. 

Over the next few days, as you settle in, you focus your time on decorating your cottage. Flowers sprout from the grass, moss and vines rapidly plaster themselves onto the stone, and mushrooms stick up from the stumps decorating your yard. Because you only need a few hours of sleep per week, you use most of your free time knitting rugs to make the place warmer.

A week after moving in, a knock on your sturdy front door takes you by surprise. Why would someone come visit you? You obviously moved out here for isolation. You walk over to the window, moving the curtain aside to peek out and look at the visitors. A petite woman and a tall, lanky man stand outside, the woman holds wildflowers in her hands. You reach to open the door, but then remember your exposed cauldron. Swiftly pulling a blanket over it, you open the door and poke your head out. 

“Hi, I’m Alice.” The woman says, holding her flowers out for you to take. You blink, before realizing you should take them. Opening the door all of the way, you gently take the flowers from her grasp. “We were out hiking and noticed your cottage, here- it’s so lovely.” 

“Oh, um, thank you.” You say, mentally cursing yourself for being so awkward. You motion for them to come inside, glancing around the small room for anything incriminating. 

“This is my brother, Jasper.” Alice says as you rummage for a free vase to put the flowers in. Standing up and deciding to find something later, you tuck your hands safely behind your back, looking up to meet the blond’s intense gaze. You look down at your bare feet, blushing. 

“Nice to meet your acquaintance, ma’am.” He says, his southern drawl like a lullaby to your ears. Calmness radiates through the room and you feel your powers swell inside you. Despite the calm, something more powerful pushes its way into the room. 

“What are you?” Alice asks, her thin eyebrows pushing into a menacing squint.

“Wh-what?” You stutter, backing up until the back of your knees hit your rocking chair. 

“Alice..” Jasper says, but she shuts him up with a pointed look. He sighs, clearly giving in to the girl.

“I can’t see her, Jazz. And neither of us can hear her.” Alice says.

“I know what you are.” You say before you can stop yourself. There was a few in one of the towns you had called home for awhile. They both whip their heads to you, and you suddenly feel small. Why the hell would you say that? “I can feel it, the power radiating from you. You both are Cold Ones- more popularly known as vampires.”

Alice looks at Jasper with wide eyes. “How do you know that?” She asks. You close your eyes and focus on the sight of a flower blooming. When you open your eyes, you open your hands and a white lily sits in your palm. “A witch..”

“Something called me here. Someone called me here.” You say, and Alice looks to Jasper. 

“We need to take her to Carlisle.” She says. They quickly walk out of your cottage, and you look to them with wide eyes.

“You carry her, Jazz.” Alice says nonchalantly. 

“Pardon?” You ask, but you’re swiftly swept off of your feet. You clasp your arms around Jasper’s neck, a scream escaping your lips as he takes a running start and jumps off of the cliff. “Are you trying to kill me?” 

“Not particularly.” He says with a sly smirk. After demanding he puts you down, you jump from his grasp and follow Alice into the big, white house.

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

After a few months of living next to the coven of vampires, you were rather good friends with them. Alice liked to drop by and knit with you, Rosalie liked to visit and drink a concoction of yours- Blood Tea, Esme gardened with you, Carlisle and Edward liked to sit and read on your bench, and Emmett enjoyed listening to you talk about the native species (even if it was just to know what was best to hunt.) You’d become close, so it came as no surprise when you found yourself spending more and more time with Jasper. He liked to spend most nights in your garden with you, stargazing, watching you practice magic, or even reading. You both fed off of each others’ calmness, making you more in control of your powers and him feeling relaxed. One rainy evening, it had happened so fast you didn’t even realize. You realized that you had fallen in love with the lanky blond.

“I know this is a lot to ask of you, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you could handle yourself.” Carlisle had come to you the morning after a big party at their house. 

“What’s happened?” You asked, pouring him a cup of tea. He took it, graciously, but made no move to settle in. 

“We have to fight, and I think you would be very helpful.” He says, avoiding eye contact like a dog who had done something wrong.

“You don’t even have to ask, Carlisle. You know I’d love to help in any way that I can.” You assure him with a smile, though you feel unsure on the inside. 

That’s what brought you to a clearing that you recognize from many games of vampire baseball, staring down at an army of newborn vampires. Jasper, right next to you, held your hand in order to strengthen the emotional connection between the two of you. Of course, that didn’t help you feel calm, because the butterflies surging through your body had the exact opposite effect on you. You take a deep breath, knowing that the vampires will sense you aren’t like them and take you on as an easy target. But they’d be sorely mistaken. As vampires and wolves rushed the newborns, you stayed on the sidelines, only stepping in every so often to stop a newborn in its place if it was gaining on your friends. But when you saw three piled on top of Jasper, you inserted yourself into the battle. 

You threw your hands out, reaching for the organic material- or what was left of it- in the attackers’ body. You pulled it apart like cotton, and they flew up into the air before exploding into a cloud of dust. Jasper got back onto his feet, giving you a gracious nod. You felt lightheaded, but decided to keep going anyway. 

A yelp alerted your attention, and you ran as fast as you could, stopping at an injured wolf. You tried to calm yourself enough to knit the bloody wound back together, then stepping back to let the wolf rejoin the fight. You stood amidst the battle, sending the newborns flying and exploding. Once there were few newborns left, you collapsed to the ground, feeling drained.

You kept drifting in and out of consciousness, but you could tell that you were being carried through the woods by Jasper before blacking out again. The next time you came to, you were lying on a medical cot in what appeared to be Carlisle’s office. 

“Did we win?” You ask weakly, barely strong enough to raise your voice above a whisper. Jasper is quick to grab your hand, and you notice all of the Cullen’s surrounding the bed.

“Oh, good, she’s not dead.” Emmett says, earning a pointed look from Esme. Alice hands you flowers, reminding you of when you first met. 

“You were unconscious, we didn’t know what to do.” Carlisle says.

“I’m fine, I think. I just pushed myself further than I’m used to.” You say, your mind still foggy. Feeling stronger, you push yourself up and give Jasper a kiss on the cheek.

“We’ll give you two some space.” Esme says with a smile, and you blush and lay back down, feeling weak again.

Over the next few days, Jasper helped you regain strength. He sat on your bed with you, reading to you while you lay against him. He was like a calm machine, which helped you recharge even faster. You taught him how to knit, and he recited his favorite poems over and over again (per your demand.) You made him a flower crown and he made you one (with Alice’s help.)

Though the whole vampire battle ordeal wasn’t overly pleasant, it brought you the love of your life, and for that, you couldn’t be more grateful. 

[prose-for-hire]

I know what you did last Halloween...

Part Two // Part Three // Part Four

Pairing: Scooby gang x reader (platonic)

This is a platonic story with the reader as part of the Scooby gang. Set season 3. It’s going to be a small multi-parted serial killer/slasher fic for Halloween. Reader lives with Giles, but is not related. The deaths in this part are not described in much detail. 

Not sure how popular it’ll be with you guys, but I’ve enjoyed writing it so far !! 🖤🦇

Warning: It is a serial killer fic, main characters are going to die (I’m sorry, it’s Halloween). Violence. Blood mention. Threat.

Sunnydale Scare? Scythe-wielding killer strikes again

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Sunnydale High school, not used to such horror inflicted on their student body since Principal Flutie’s unfortunate death in office [His memorial will be on the 31st as his family reveal it was his favorite time of year].

The scythe-wielding killer, who was seen wearing all-black with a festive mask, has claimed his most recent victims. Two members of the swim team found themselves in hot water after they were found with brutal and fatal injuries. The wounds matched the scythe that is commonly associated with the widely termed ‘Sunnydale slasher’.

It makes us wonder at the Sunnydale Express, why and how this idyllic town has managed to create such a monster?

You and the Scoobies were good friends. You helped save the world more than once whilst fighting algebra homework and Principal Snyder. You had moved from your hometown to Sunnydale at the same time as Buffy, meeting her on your first day and becoming best friends since that day. You had moved into Giles’ spare room after your parents had wanted to move on again. You had been sucked into the slaying and you couldn’t leave the others. Giles had been very accommodating and very much like a parental figure. Things had been going well, you were close to graduating and finally getting the hell out of there until one life-changing event that would forever be ingrained in your minds.

You and your friends were sat around the school canteen. The mood was pretty low and you were collectively checking over your shoulders every so often. You had been discussing the latest spate of murders. Surprisingly, it was widely covered by various news outlets and hadn’t been brushed under the rug as the usual demon relating killings were.

Buffy and Faith had been doing double patrolling, making sure there was always someone out after dark. Giles had been pleased but he wasn’t aware of the real reason. Although he had noted a difference in your mood in the past year. Despite the extra patrolling, no matter how many demon-snitches they beat up and threatened, there was no changing the answer they didn’t want to hear.

“So this… slasher? He’s-it’s-she’s-?” Xander spluttered through the pronouns in his disbelief.

“Yep. Human” Buffy shrugged, sighing and staring down at her food. Nobody had eaten anything. The lunch you all had set out in front of you was just for show. None of you could stomach much at the moment.

“Shouldn’t we have found them by now?” Willow wondered, her brow furrowing in frustration.

“It could be anyone. And I’m guessing they’re not exactly wearing their ‘I’m a killer come catch me’ sweater”

“Yeah, Giles says he’s gonna look into it, but unless it says ‘Scythe killer was here’ in one of those big old books…” You tail off as Buffy picks up your sentence.

“We’ve got zip. Nothing” Buffy nodded again. Conversation then turned. You had been in a deep discussion of something in low murmurs, that was until your best friends boyfriend walked in. A dead silence blanketed your table.

“The blank stares and silence make me feel at home” oz deadpanned and you all laughed slightly too loud at this. He squinted around the room, shrugged and then kissed Willow’s forehead before staring around at the odd vibe. He had noticed that none of you had been the same for at least a year, but anytime he tried to talk to Willow about it she just shook her head vigorously and locked herself in a different room until he dropped it.

“Well, I have some place to be that’s else. Or about three tables that way” He gestured with his head to where one of his bandmates were sat. Willow assured him she would come over and sit with them in a minute. After you finished a very important conversation.

“I can’t do this anymore, lying to him hurts my heart” Willow said sadly, shifting uncomfortably as if her heart was physically aching her, “I have to tell him”

“And how’re you gonna do that exactly, Will? Oh, hey there Oz remember last Halloween, well we-” Xander cut in harshly, trying to make Will be realistic.

“Stop it! We can’t talk about this here. Anyone could overhear, they already suspect I’m a slayer” Buffy said firmly.

“We have big mouths, sorry” You shrug, smiling tightly.

“This isn’t funny!” She snapped, the events of last year had her wound even more tightly than usual. She had more responsibility than she could handle on her shoulders as it was, let alone this secret weighing down on her like a

“I’m not laughing, Buff… I’m sorry” You whisper. You did feel guilty. You felt horrible. Some nights you barely slept, and when you did you had these horrible nightmares.

Oh, right. That guy that you killed. Well, it was a total accident and you were all very sorry at the time. I mean, you still are. But, thing is, you just didn’t happen to tell anyone or alert the correct authorities. Must have slipped your mind.

Let me paint the picture in case you managed to forget…

Last Halloween, you and your friends had been attending a Halloween party. Your collective night off from saving the world. Oz, who didn’t appear to be wearing a costume, had explained it was a shindig and you had all enjoyed the live music and spooky theme. Even Buffy had managed to relax.

Buffy had chosen little red riding hood and Willow was dressed as a knight in historically accurate chainmail. Cordelia was a cat, it was the back-up she always had in case her first choice fell through. She had shrugged, at least she looked good in it. You had decided on a werewolf, after apologising profusely to Oz who didn’t appear phased.

Xander was walking around in a karate outfit, something about being inspired by the copious violence he enjoyed on screen. Every so often he did a karate chop in mid-air and you and your friends would share a collective eye roll. Especially when he chopped some jock guy that he spent the rest of the evening hiding from. Whereas Faith was wearing as little as possible and appeared to be dressed as herself.

The band was playing decent music and the atmosphere was electric. You and Buffy had danced together while Willow and Xander laughed by the punch bowl. Out of nowhere, Faith joined the both of you and muscled you out of the way to dance with Buffy. You rolled your eyes, but knew better than to make a fuss so you went back to your other friends and joined them in conversation.

Buffy had borrowed her Mom’s car and had sneaked out while Joyce was sleeping. Joyce had been feeling a little under the weather and hadn’t noticed. When it was time to leave, she drove (badly) through the streets to drop everyone home. Oz was doing another set and would get a ride with the rest of his band.

You were squished in the back with Cordy, Xander and Willow. Faith had called shotgun. There were more people than there should be, with Cordy sitting precariously on Xander’s lap. It meant you and Willow were crushed together sharing an annoyed look as the pair continued to kiss.

Buffy looked out of the side window for a nicer view and managed to hit something in the road. You all screamed as she broke suddenly. You had hit something. Something big. You all got out to investigate and saw that it was a man. You went and shook his shoulder and he immediately sat up and grabbed at you. His grip tight and strong. You screamed as you looked at his face, there were fangs and his face looked bumpy. The others saw it too and Buffy pulled you away as Faith moved in and staked him.

The man struggled for a moment before going still. Blood had started to run from his heart and the stake that had been stabbed through it. You all just stared.

“W-why isn’t he going poof?” Willow whispered as you all just stared in horror. He had been human after all.

“It was a costume!” You shrieked in horror. Everyone’s blood turned cold. 

“We’ll have to bury him” Faith said quickly. Xander stayed silent, his eyes glazed in fear.

“We can’t!” Buffy said firmly.

“Look, it’s that or another stint in juvey and I’m not goin’ back there” Faith muttered and you all frowned, having not realised she had ever been.

“I think we should see if he has any ID, maybe we could-” You started, Willow nodding along.

“No, Faith’s right. We bury him” Xander said suddenly.

“Who made you decision-gal?” Buffy said, her usual fun language lost on the moment as she stared through Faith.

“I’m a slayer too, B. You’re not the boss” Faith tilted her head to the side and shrugged. You paused, thinking it over for a while.

“Buff, we can’t risk it. You and Faith are needed here – we can’t go to prison” You sigh, not sure if you fully believed what you were saying.

“Th-that’s actually true…” Willow said eventually, not looking anyone in the eye. It was hurting her conscience.

But that’s what you decided. For better or worse. You were all complicit now as you put him in the trunk and buried him in the graveyard in the early hours of the morning.

Nobody spoke as the sun started to rise and the plot you had chosen was no longer vacant. It had been hard to come to terms with ever since.

Missing – have you seen this man?

Sunnydale Express, 1998. November 2nd.

Mr Bates of Sunnydale California has been missing since Halloween night. Last seen leaving a party in the early hours. His wife and children are anticipating his return, although with the current rate of people vanishing often with no trace the Express, with their condolences, fears that Mr Bates may be one of a hundred Sunnydale citizens on Halloween night that will never return to their families.

This begs the question, where are all the missing going? Sunnydale has one of the largest cases of missing persons never being found in the state of California and statistics suggest it has the highest number compared to towns in neighboring states.

It had been a few days and something had shifted. Your friend’s mood was lower than ever and you were really worried about her. The guilt was eating away at her. It was so bad she finally had to talk to someone about it. Buffy was the most outwardly guilty one of you all. Covering for this went against everything she believed in. Fought for. Which is why she was probably being targeted the most.

You closed your locker and jumped, she had been standing behind it, waiting for you to notice her. She gave you an apologetic glance but still asked, “Hey, y/n, can we talk?”

“Sure, I didn’t wanna go to English anyway” You smile at her as you walk to the usual place under the stairwell you would hide when you needed to talk. She pressed a note into your hand which you unfolded and read:

‘I know what you did last Halloween…’

You gasped, looking around before looking back at her for some kind of explanation, “It was in my history textbook, so, it might have been there for at least a month” Buffy said “Did you get one?” she whispered. You shook your head, nobody had left anything for you. You would remember. Buffy’s note struck a sense of fear you hadn’t felt since that night. A bubbling guilt that was squeezing your insides and threatening to spill them out. You had felt numb since then, unable to cry or even think about the events.

“We need to tell someone. Maybe Giles? I can see how much this is killing you, Buff…”  You say, trying to comfort your friend the best way you knew how.

“I know, I try and I try but I can’t tell him. He’ll get all moral and Giles-y”

“Maybe we need that. What we did was stupid, but still an accident. I wish I had never agreed with Faith” You muttered as Buffy nodded along silently. She wished you hadn’t agreed with Faith too, you had been the type people came with for answers. Advice. So you agreeing with Faith was probably the deciding vote. She told you she would meet you later and appeared to be in deep thought as she walked away.

Willow and Cordy looked spooked, sitting down silently during the break between classes. Their notes had fallen out of their lockers and they were afraid they had been seen picking them up. Buffy revealed to the others hers had said the same thing just as Xander ran in, very visibly panicking and checking behind him with every step he took.

He just slammed the note in the middle of the table without comment. He had nothing he could say. No jokes could mask the horror that came with

“That settles it. We go to Giles” Buffy said firmly. 

“No-” Xander tried to assert, but he was outvoted this time.

“We have to. He’ll help us, I know he will” You confirmed, “Walk home with me tonight, we’ll tell him then” This was to give you some time. None of you could face going to the library for the rest of the day.

The bell rang and it felt as if it were tolling for a funeral march. The walk to Giles’ house was slow. You had swung by Faith’s motel on your way, taking a detour as you explained you would have to tell him. She surprisingly didn’t put much of an argument against.

The door creaked open and you shouted to announce your presence. But when you get there, you felt it instantly. You dropped your bags and walked into the living room. Every step felt heavy and echoed around the room. 

There he was. On the floor. Surrounded in his own blood.

Your knees buckled and you had to steady yourself against the sofa. The blood-stained sofa. Someone’s arms held you up. There were gasps and mutters but your ears were ringing, you felt very far away. He was cold, his body mutilated.

It took you longer than the others to see the new centrepiece of the room. 

��I know what you did last Halloween’ was written in what could only have been Giles’ blood smeared across the wall of his living room. It was your warning. Your note.

A warning that turned your stomach. Knocked you all sick. He was one of you and he was gone. You tuned back into the conversation around you after having stared at the words. The words meant for you. Every time you blinked, those words were now stamped into your vision.

“It’s the same thing that was written on the notes”

“Oh, I got one of those but I threw it in the trash” Faith shrugged, but she wavered. This was hard to look at.

“We’ll have to clean it up” Xander said flatly. Gesturing at the writing.

“What?! We can’t-”

“Xander Harris, your brain is barely functional anyway - but this is totally the worst thing that’s come out of your mouth!” She shouted, her voice getting higher as she continued, “I am not cleaning the bloody writing off our dead librarians wall!” She warned. They had broken up since everything had happened. Everyone collectively winced as she said Giles was dead. It hurt. It sliced too close to the bone. At least when it had been a stranger, there was some degree of separation. But now it was even worse. 

“They’ll know or start to look into it - we gotta do it” 

You stayed silent this time, every time someone’s eyes looked at you you kept your expression blank. Until you were handed a cloth and some bleach and you grimaced but followed the others. Cordy joined you, nodding her understanding at your blank look. She took the cloth and the liquid from your shaking hands and started to help with the clean up.

Teen scream

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Reports of a large number of young people are now rejecting the upcoming holiday in an attempt to preserve their lives. Many say that this is a kneejerk reaction and that many will lose out of the best years of their lives to fear – which is what the killer will want.

Despite this, there has been a curfew agreed amongst the young people of the town and the Mayor’s office, reports suggest. Time will tell if this will be kept or if it another attempt by those cautious to get a re-election rather than improving the spate of missing persons that has only doubled since the year previous.

You were all waking in a group. You couldn’t face staying at Giles’ place so you were going to stay over at Buffy’s for the night. There was still an argument going on around you that you weren’t listening to. Faith had lit up a cigarette and kept telling everyone to calm down. That nobody could know or people would be hauling you all off to jail. That you had chosen the right thing.

“I’m sick of you all, I’m going out. There’s a party down the block. Anyone coming?” She looks around. This, you had heard. You shrug, resigning yourself to it. You made plans based on alibis now. With this cynical thought, you manage to convince everyone else to come too. You never know, it might relax them.

...Or not. 

You and the others all sat around in silence as the bass, and Faith, jumped around you. You barely spoke, you just stared into your cups. There had been some hugging when you first left the house but since then you all felt so alone. So disconnected despite being in this together. What you had chosen to do didn’t feel right and without your constant, your compass that had been Giles you didn’t know what to do.

 “Hey, man, it’s not Halloween yet!” Someone shouted. It caught all of your attention. A collective feeling of dread. That had been before all of the screaming had started.

The figure loomed over you. Everything about him screamed menacing. He frightened you more than any demon. He was stood in a Grim reaper costume, complete with blood stained scythe. He turned, spotting you finally. He had been slicing kids down as he walked. He wasn’t aiming, just wildly enjoying the chaos he caused.

He stopped in the centre of the room, facing the group of you that had just risen to your feet. He pointed. He stood still and pointed at you all. The Scooby gang.

In that moment, you knew. You knew he was the one that was taunting you. And so did every one else.

“Well, one of us has a brief scythe of life” Buffy stated, “…and it isn’t me” She ran at him, her fists raised as Faith came up behind her. In the chaos it was hard to see what was happening, all you could feel was this descending feeling of foreboding. You knew it had happened before you saw it.

To be continued…

[rirah1writes]

Chapter Three:

At Long Last.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it’s taken me so long to post the next chapter, I’m currently in Colorado, so I haven’t had much time to write, but here it is! I wrote this chapter in a badass hookah lounge and really vibed while creating. Oh, was also drunk off craft beer most of the time so I hope its good lol, and above all I hope ya’ll enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it! Love you guys. 

Warnings: Angst, fluff, swearing, SMUT, light dom.

Summary: Peter spills the beans, and y/n spills some tears. Lots of things get spilled in this chapter, oh well.

Read chapter two here

——————————————————————————

The walk back to your apartment was silent except for the occasional “Are you okay?” from Peter who was deeply concerned for you. Although many questions and thoughts were jarring through your mind, you couldn't utter a single word. Not without hot tears welling in the corners of your eyes threatening to fall down your cheeks. You just clung tightly to him for support.

Not until we get back home. Just wait until were home.

Approaching the door, you turned loose peters forearm, and slung your backpack off of your shoulder, fumbling madly for your keys in the front pocket. Peter noticed that your hands were quivering, making it difficult for you to even put the key into the lock. You silently cursed yourself for being so nerve wrecked, until you felt a steady hand ease firmly over yours, guiding your movements. Your y/e/c eyes gazed up to meet warm, milky brown ones. You thought his stare would have made you all the more giddy, but instead you calmed, able to finally breathe. “Relax princess, its just me.” he assured you with a small smile. 

Pushing open the door and stepping into the foyer, you threw your things down next to the kitchen island and sauntered over to the living room where you turned and stood nervously, picking at your nails. You began to study peter as he unlaced his boots and set them on the shoe rack at the door, next to the rug that demanded “Wipe your paws.” 

“In the south, we don't wear shoes in the house, honey.”

Your words echoed back to you as you studied Peter, even after all this time he still remembered house rules, as if he had never left. He pawed at his pockets pulling out his wallet and keys and tossing them into the bowel on the kitchen counter where yours sat as well. He let out a deep breath as he ran his hands through his curls and focused his eyes on you, taking a step in your direction.

“NO.” your own voice surprised you as your shock wore off. It wasn't hesitant and weak as it had been for the past twenty minutes, you had found your vigor again. Peters eyes widened and he halted immediately in his tracks, not saying a word, giving you the stage at last. “I don’t want you to take another step closer until I know the truth.” You swallowed hard as peter slowly nodded. “...Because if its not good enough...I want you to turn and walk right back out that door.” Your breath was ragged and heavy. Destiney’s words echoed in your head, and you knew she was right, you were stronger than you were a year ago. You deserved so much better than this treatment.

“y/n, can you take a seat so that we can talk...I have so much to explain, and its going to be hard for you to understand, love.” His pet-name for you instantly triggered anger, as apposed to a year ago when he called you this you’d melt in his hands.” “Absolutely I will not. If there’s something you need to say spit it out.” Your tone was cutthroat and Peter realized he wasn’t getting the two of you anywhere by taking things lightly on you. He threw his hands in the air. “Alright! fine. I’m Spiderman.” he stated simply. 

Your stare could have burned holes in his body, your arms coming up and crossing over your chest defensively. You shocked yourself as a high pitched laugh left your throat and you nodded crazily. “Okay. Get out of my house.” You stormed right past him into the kitchen, and began rummaging through the cupboards in search of a kettle to put on tea, as you normally did when you needed to calm your nerves. His face was marred with a look of confusion. “I’m telling you the truth. I can prove it..” His voice trailed off as you slammed dishes in the sink out of the way. “Yeah sure you can. You’re insane. Doors that way, don't let it hit you in the ass on your way out.” Your tone was cold, and your heart was hardened.

 “The fact that you would come back after a year, A YEAR, of no contact, and tell me you’re the fucking Spiderman...Peter Parker, you've got a sack on you...” You continued to grumble madly when you heard a strange noise behind you. Whirring around to investigate a frightened gasp left you, the kettle of water crashing down at your feet as you saw something expanding over Peter’s body, a mesh of navy blue and crimson red until he was armored from head to toe, in a suit. “what the...fucking hell...” was all you could manage to get out.

“This is my nanotech suit. Tony’s design. Its personally my favorite, the most protective...I have two more though. I was bitten by a spider a couple of years before I met you, and ever since my senses have been dialed to eleven. I can stick to walls, climb up flat surfaces you name it.  Anything you’ve seen in news reports, or even on YouTube. That's all me.” Peter awaited your response, but you didn’t nudge one bit, hands still ghosting in the air where your tea kettle once was, he could hear your heartbeat from where he stood. 

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I just needed you to listen.” There was shock and confusion written all over your face. “I need to sit down...” your head was spinning. “Oh..yeah okay.” Peter took your arms, helping you around the spilled water and assisted you into a bar stool behind the island. You sat gaping at him in shock as he shuffled around the kitchen, cleaning up the water and starting a new kettle of tea. “This changes everything...I-I thought you had left me...for another woman...” Your mind was racing and your sentence trailed off. Peter deactivated his suit, and set a mug down in front of you, walking around to face you directly. “No, y/n I would never...could never do that to us...Some things happened and I had to leave in order to keep you safe. And May, and all of our friends, everyone. I hate what I did, and you have no idea how painful it was to even imagine how much pain I must have put you through. Even if it doesn't change a thing, and we can’t be together again...Please I need you to forgive me..I need to explain to you so that I can make you understand what I had to do...” 

His eyes were soft, pleading and begging you gently. His hands were caressing  yours lightly, fingers gently petting over yours. You hung your head, studying his hands. No longer able to meet his gaze. “No idea, huh?” You muttered under your breath. Peter took your chin in his hand and raised your burning eyes to meet his. Hot tears trickled down your cheeks and fell into your lap, you couldn't hold them back anymore as soft sobs left your lips. “I have no idea, huh?” Your thoughts raced back to that night on the bathroom floor. Back to Peters baby, what he or she might have looked like. A small boy with freckles and chubby cheeks, eyes just like his daddies, creamy chocolate. A little girl with brown locks, and rosy lips. Maybe eyes like yours if you got lucky. You remembered being incapable of reaching your phone, unable to tell anyone. Waiting to be found and cared for. 

But he had no idea. 

So why punish him?

You brought yourself to your feet, standing inches away from him, chest nearly touching, swollen, tear stained lips dangerously close to his. “Do you want forgiveness Peter?” you whispered the question over his lips, and could see the goosebumps rising over his skin. “Y-yes...More than anything...I love you, I can't live another day away from you…” You slowly grazed your lips over his neck, trailing over his collarbone, until your head lulled back, and your eyes traveled up, greeting his. “If that's what you want...then you can have it.” Peter was overwhelmed by your prowess. Your soft eyes were filled with lust, begging him to lift you up and take you to bed. He swallowed hard, straining to show self control. “Y/n, I don't want you to make any decisions you’ll regret, and I still have so much to tell you...” You brought your index finger up to his lips, silencing him as you shook your head. “We can talk later. And I already know exactly what I want.”  And your words were truthful. All you needed was to be in his arms, feeling him move above you, hearing his soft moans and grunts, to taste his lips again for the first time in forever. Your breathing was heavy, and his entire being was pulling you to him, he was your gravity. Grounding you heavily to him. “Don’t you want me-” His lips crashed into yours. A deep guttural groan escaped his throat, which you absorbed with your mouth, fondling his bottom lip with your tongue, hands reaching for his belt hastily.

“No..not here. Bed...The bed.” Peter stammered, sweeping you into his arms and carrying you up the stairs to your bedroom. Tossing you down on the bed, he huddled on top of you, a mess of hands and hair, the two of you molded into each other perfectly. Peter licked delicate kisses down your neck pulling soft moans from your lips as he nestled himself between your legs. His senses were overloaded. A whole year of missing you, yearning for you, dreaming every night of having you underneath him, and to finally have you in his arms, illicitly moaning his name, he didn't know if he could control himself. Pulling back he took a look at you, making sure you were okay. 

“I just need to know that you’re alright.” he breathed. He couldn’t take the way you were eyeing him any longer. The way your chest rose and fell, the way your breast looked underneath the thin material of your tee shirt. You looked so divine, and belonged all to him. “I am okay baby..I’ll be even better once you’re inside of me.” you remarked with a smirk, sending Peter completely over the edge. He dove back down over you, quickly trailing his way down your neck, licking and sucking soft love bites over you collar bone and down to your breasts. Your illicit moans went straight to his cock as his tongue and lips teased over your nipple. 

Peter was completely absorbed in you. Hair falling around you like a halo, sweet little noised falling from your lips. Making quick work of your pants, he moved to your thong, accidentally tearing it off, earning him a shocked look. “Uhh...I’m sorry babe I'm just..” He trailed off as you chuckled at him leaning up to meet his lips. “Its okay Peter I'm anxious too.” you assured him. Peter slowly kissed down your legs, revealing goosebumps on your inner thighs. He loved how responsive your body was to him, how you were so wrapped up in him and unravelling for him at the same time. He gently lifted your thighs up to meet his shoulders, resting his head between your legs, his brown curls teasing the inside of your thighs. Peter peppered soft kisses, making eye contact before and groaning as he licked a stripe up your core, resting his tongue on your clit and massaging slowly. You mewled, tangling your fingers in his hair

Focusing on your clit, rocking his head side to side, peter slipped a finger in cursing under his break. “Fuck...so fucking tight.” you gasped his name, causing his pants to tighten even more uncomfortably as he rutted into the bed, searching for any kind of relief. Peter began pumping his fingers faster, watching you unfold underneath his tongue, and toss over the bed. He pushed your hips down, and your thighs wide open, forcing you to feel every second of pleasure. “You’re close, huh? You going to cum for me princess?” You were a panting mess, nodding franticly. That familiar wave of heat rose over your body, making you curl your toes and cry out as peter caught you fast in place, wrapping his hands over your thighs and holding you onto his mouth as you rode out your high. 

Peter licked his fingers clean as he pulled away from you, and in one fluid motion he removed his clothes standing bare in front of you, his erection springing free. Your breath caught in your throat as you took in his appearance. He was chiseled, just like you remembered him. New scars marred his body that were still healing from the past year, you could tell time hadn’t been kind to him. Gazing down his body you noticed his cock and swallowed hard. It had been so long since you had seen it, and it was no less intimidating, making your mouth water. “Stop doing that love.”  Peter ordered. You hadn’t even noticed that you were gnawing at your lip in anticipation until Peter drew his hand to your mouth, tugging your bottom lip from your teeth. “No need to be nervous baby...its just me.” Peters eyes were traveling over your body with so much confidence and want that it was hard for you to believe that this was ever the same shy boy that stammered over his textbook to ask you on a date over four years ago. You were pulled from your thoughts when you felt Peter slowly lower himself over you, pushing your thighs aside and resting between them, his hot throbbing cock grinding against your core as he slowly kissed you. “I’ve been waiting so long for this...want you so bad...” Before you had time to think, Peter had began slowly pushing himself into you slowly, groaning deeply. You gasped sharply into his shoulder as he slowly sunk into you. You could feel Peter shaking, his breath was ragged. He pulled his head away from your neck, and tilted your chin to meet his eyes. “Are you okay?” he breathed, kissing your forehead. You nodded quickly. “Are you?” You nuzzled into his neck kissing and coaxing him gently. “Yeah...Just dont want to lose control..I dont wanna hurt you.” You pushed his sweaty curls back from his forehead. “You could never hurt me Peter.” He groaned in response and kissed you deeply as he began to move inside of you, your hips rising up to meet his as you threw your head back and moaned his name. 

Peter gripped tightly around your waist, with one hand, the other one hiking your leg up to push deeper. His eyes became wild and you groaned loudly as his grip tightened on your hip further, sure that it would leave bruises. Not that you cared, the need to be as close to him as possible overriding any pain and replacing it with pleasure. You felt tension building in your core again, so it was to your disappointment when Peter pulled out suddenly, leaving you feeling hallow without him. You started to whine when peter gripped you roughly by the chin and kissing you fervently and meeting your eyes. “Don’t be bad baby, I’m going to give you what you need.” One swift movement and Peter had turned you over to your hands and knees, pushing into you hard. His arm wrapped around your neck, the other traveling around your waist to your dripping core, teasing small circles around your clit. The air was filled with your moans, Peter’s heavy breathing, and the sound of his skin meeting yours. “Peter.... please don’t stop, you’re going to make me cum..” you begged. He piled into you harder, biting your shoulder. “Cum for me princess...need you to be a good girl and cum for me.” Peter growled in your ear, pushing you over the edge. You came hard around him, your body shaking and your knees giving out from underneath you. 

However Peter was relentless, tossing you onto your stomach and driving into you with more force. “Please babe...I don’t think I cant take anymore..” Peter grabbed your chin pulling your lips to his. “C’mon babe...open up for me.” You parted your lips, allowing peter to spit inside of your mouth, then pulling you in again, gracing you with a deep wet kiss, his tongue traveling over yours. He pulled back, mouth ghosting yours. “You can take more baby...I know you can. Just a little bit longer, can you do that for me, princess?” You glared into Peter’s eyes, lips barely brushing his as he spoke. “Words baby...let me hear you.” You gasped deeply. “Yes baby...I’m okay.” Peter’s movements became more rigid, his hands tangled into your hair as he whispered in your ear. “That’s my good girl...fuck m’ so close.” You mewled peters name as you unraveled for him again, feeling him release inside of you. Peter untangled his fingers from your hair, loosening his grip on your hips as he fell slack on top of you.

“Peter...you’re squishing me love..” You squirmed underneath him and he rolled off of you, shifting to his side and pulling you closely to his chest. “I’m sorry, are you okay darling?” Peter catered to you, pushing your hair from your forehead as your face fell to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. You nodded slowly and traced your fingers over his arms, brow furrowing as you brushed over healed scars. “I’m okay, but I feel like I should be asking you that.” Peter pulled your chin forward, kissing you lightly. “I’m just fine. I’m perfect. There’s so much we have to talk about, but tomorrow. I just want to hold you now.

There was a lot to be said in the morning. You contemplated how you would tell him about the baby, if you even should at all. But how could you ruin the moment? Peter’s breathing slowed and his eyes were softly closed, drifting into deep sleep, arms lazily grasping you to him. “I love you, Peter.” you whispered softly, before falling into blissful sleep. At long last. 

@pcterparxer

[vesperlionheart]

Songbird -KakaSaku

Original Ask:

You mentioned Paolo Sebastian and expect us to pick just one?! I tried to narrow them down. 2016 AW Reverie dress 14. 2015-16 SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.) 2014-15 SS Sirens of the Sea dress 09. The first and second dresses in the 2019-20 AW collection, too. I would also like to tell you about my absolute favorite designer/collection: Hassldriss 2019 SS Ashes. Gives me ethereal, mythical creatures and goddess vibes, thought you'd like it, as well.

Sakura scurried up over the cracks in the rock face and used her momentum to keep her from pitching sideways into the deep valley below. Her hands were rough and held her in place when she paused to catch her breath, reminding her to be proud of her harsher features.

It had been several years since she had moved from the lord’s house with her mother to the outskirts of the Fire Country’s boundaries. Gone were the paved roads and tall buildings with fancy doors and glass windows. The mountains were as rough and rugged as her hands making it no place for a young lady to grow up.

But Sakura wasn’t a young lady.

“Just a little farther,” she told herself instead of looking down.

Her mother had been a maid and in her youth she had warmed the bed of men she shouldn’t have, thinking it would get her ahead. When it didn’t she took her small child with unnatural jewel like eyes and fled to the outskirts. It wasn’t much longer before the harsh climate took its toll on them with Mountain Fever, something only Sakura survived.

The screeching cry of a large bird made Sakura pause on the cliff and listen, waiting to hear more, but the cry was only an echo and there was no sign of the thunder bird who nested in the cracks.

A little while later Sakura pulled herself up onto a ledge and rolled onto her back, breathing hard. The air was thin and there was only so much a person could acclimate to on their own. The climb had been treacherous, but the reward would be worth it.

Sakura rested a minute more before pulling herself up and crawling over to the long nest, easily three times her own size. Inside were the loose feathers left behind that shimmered and gleamed in the pale light. Sakura loaded her pack, amazed by her luck. The thunderbird had left behind so many beautifully colored contour feathers and even some strong flight feathers. When Sakura handled them they greedily reflected the light like they were the only thing in the room allowed to.

Sakura was careful to pick her way around the nest and keep her contact with the boundaries of it to a minimum. Thunderbirds had an excellent sense of smell, after all.

She worked quickly, until her pack was full and then went back to squeeze some more feathers into her pockets. It had been a day’s labor to scale the mountain and two days worth of travel by path to the place where her climbing could begin, far from the village where she lived.

She should have left as soon as her bag was full.

Sakura felt the static in the air and then tasted the tang in the back of her mouth. She looked to the cliff opening and saw thunder clouds in the distance, dull and silent but no less dangerous. She scrambled to the edge, but the screech made her cower on her knees, holding her ears from the nausea.

In the shadow of the storm clouds the mighty bird soared more like a bullet and less like a beast for his den.

Sakura did all she could to roll out of the way and pin herself again the cave wall, hoping she might not be noticed in his den.

The silver bird banked and then touched down, filling up the cavern with his size as it stalked towards its bed with talons as large as Sakura’s torso. She held her breath as it paused and turned white with it stiffened.

The feathers down his back ruffled as it turned, opening its wings part way to block her path as it rounded on her, his gray black eyes charged with lightning.

It screeched again and the sound made Sakura cry out in pain, holding her head as she crumbled to the ground.

“Please my lord, forgive me!” she cried through her tears. “Please, forgive me, forgive me.”

With a strength she didn’t have, Sakura forced her body into a deep bow, pressing her forehead to the stone as more tears fell free to stain it underneath her. She was at his mercy and if the stories were to be believed, the thunderbirds were no more merciful than any of the other beast gods.

“Little morsel, you come into my home, into my nest, with greed in your heart,” it roared with a voice like thunder. He flapped his mighty wings once to shake them out and then bent his head lower. “I smell your fear but it will not save you. Produce your weapon and end your own life if you can.”

Sakura trembled. “My lord, I have no such weapon. I swear I meant you no harm. I-I would never. Please, I beg you to abate your anger against me.”

“Liar.”

“I swear it to you, I never wished you ill.”

It roared with magic, making her bones tremble. “Then why have you dared the wrath of my mountain to post yourself in my nest and lie in wait for my return? Why hide yourself?”

Trembling, Sakura removed her bag and flipped the front flap open. The glare of light from the discarded feathers was bright enough to see without removing. “I am no such fool, but I am a thief and I am a coward, I came here in your absence to plunder your cast offs. I-I meant to leave before your return but I was too greedy. Forgive me, forgive me!”

Some of the electricity in the air snapped and then lessened. The bird flapped once more before taking a step forward to inspect her bag, sniffing it and then nudging it with his beak.

“Filthy cast offs, you risked your life with such a climb for this? None of these feathers hold any magic. What use could you have for my mess?”

Sakura swallowed. “A dress. I wished to sew them into a dress.”

The bird said nothing, but Sakura heard it shift closer. His shadow fell over her and then there was a tingle as his beak nipped at her hair and then nudged against her back. She kept still as it searched her over.        

“You are a dirty human who lives close to the land. What use would you have for a dress with my feathers?”

Under his shadow Sakura swallowed and forced the words out. “I…I wish to sew for myself a wedding dress, so I might…so I might be married at the Crossroads.”  

The bird pulled back. “A barbaric tradition,” it boomed. “A human turning itself into cattle? There is no nature that can explain such things.”

“I don’t have any other choice,” Sakura admitted with distress as more tears fell. “I have debts to pay and-and I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t take care of those who saved me like how I am. If I’m-if I’m married a husband would take on my debts and my family would be fed. There’s nothing else I can do.”

The bird nipped at her hair again, still so close. “You climbed my mountain and made it into my nest but you cry like a lamb and claim uselessness? The humans have fallen further than I had first assumed if they can not see your value.”

“Please, let me leave with my life, my lord. I can not leave my parents alone on this earth just yet, not until I’ve paid back my debt to them. I beg you, please, I beg you.”

The bird made a noise that was like a chuff before  pulling back and flapping hard.The breeze made her flinch.

“Not tonight, little one. You tremble worse than the leaves in my storms. You cannot climb in your current state. Come.”

Sakura almost squeaked in distress as she was picked up by the back of her shirt and lifted into the air before being set down into the middle of the nest. Sakura looked up, shocked as the silver gray bird turned about, circling her before folding his wings and curling down around her. “My lord,” Sakura squeaked.

“Sleep, you will have no peace until you do.”

“Here?” Sakura asked with a voice that pitched high.

She heard the thunder bird rumble in delight at the sound she made and somehow that only embarrassed her. It turned its head and stared up at her with eyes more black than gray. He was a god beast, one of the ancient creatures and it dwarfed her in every way.

“You wish to defy me?” it teased.

“I-this is-this is your nest.I couldn’t-”

“Your eyes are very old,” it interrupted her, looking away to readjust. “I remember with the first gods still walked between the clouds. I’ve not seen such clear eyes since then, but yours come close. You’re not some princess, are you? I thought only the royal families bred with the last traces of divinity.”

The question made her squirm. “I’m nobody, my lord.”

“Everybody is somebody.”

“Not me.”

It turned to face her once more, staring hard until Sakura ducked her face and blushed. She only looked up once she felt the tug on her curls as it pulled with his beak to get her attention.

“Your name?”

“S-Sakura.”

“Just Sakura?”

“My mother’s surname was Haruno, but I don’t know my father so…so just Sakura.”

“Fitting. You look like a flower.”

“My lord,” Sakura breathed, covering her face with her hands as it rumbled in mirthful enjoyment of her honest distress. It was an immortal so of course it would enjoy teasing such an insignificant creature like her.

“You may call me Kakashi, enough with your silly human titles. You owe me no such allegiance, and I’d like it better if we were friendly.”

Sakura swallowed, running the name over in her head before daring to form it with her own lips. “Kakashi.” It sounded so simple, too simple for such a revered creature  

“Very good. Now sleep, Sakura,” it rumbled, sounding more like distant thunder.

So she did.

When she awoke in the morning she felt far more rested than she should have for falling asleep in a bed of sloppy down feathers and twigs. There was no sign of the thunder bird-of Kakashi-but her bag had been left untouched and her stolen feathers were still stuck inside her pockets, so she didn’t question it further.

It took another full day to climb back down the mountain until she was on solid ground once again, and then another two days more traveling down the long, winding paths carts and horses never traveled anymore. All the shrines and crumbling churches lay empty along the roadside, forgotten even by pilgrims.

When Sakura arrived back home Ino and her parents all wept on sight, claiming she had been gone too long and everyone thought she had died. Overdramatic as ever, Sakura let them fuss until they were content before showing off her finds.

“Oh Sakura, no…” Ino whispered, eyes wide with fear.

“We can’t all be lucky and fall in love with good people,” Sakura teased back.

A month later Sakura was done with her dress and Inoichi had his cart ready with wildflowers to sell at the Crossroads. Ino and Sai stood outside, watching her leave with the same solemn faces.

“They’ll get over it, they have each other,” Sakura laughed to her adopted father as he yelled at the horses to move.

“They also had you, but now they don’t. Don’t think they’ll get over it so easy,” he grumbled.

“I…easy or not, they’ll get over it because they have to.”

Inoichi bent his head to hide his tears under the cover of his wide brimmed hat. “Our debts shouldn’t be for our children to worry about. Sakura-”

“I’m not your child, Inoichi,” she interrupted softly, making him jerk, “and this is my choice.”

He swallowed thickly and shook his head. “We can still turn back,” he whispered.

“And you can still be killed for not paying back your money lenders. Don’t ask me to make that choice, you know what I’ll say,” Sakura whispered back. “I’ve come this far, let me face this as I see fit.”

Inoichi didn’t speak up again, but Sakura noticed how he didn’t rush the horses even when the roads allowed it. When the reached the Crossroads he grabbed for her hand one last time and kissed her knuckles, crying over her fingers. “Forgive this old man for his foolishness,” he said.

Sakura reached up and kissed at the corner of his eyes where the wrinkles caught most of his tears. “I loved you and I always will, father. Thank you for letting me go.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” Sakura laughed before slipping off the cart.

With hours to go before the bidding, Sakura arrived at the Matchmaker’s early and was let in with a few whispered words. Once inside she was seen to, examined, prodded, interviewed, cleaned, and redressed in the handmade gown.  

“You’re one of three, but you’ll be last since…well…” the matchmaker’s eyes slid down Sakura’s figure and then up again, settling on her eyes. “…we don’t get such rare beauties this matured very often. You’re quite the holdout. What’s the reason?”

“A family debt,” Sakura answered honestly, long since numb to the looks and questions. “When is the noon bell?”

“Not for another half hour, come let’s take you to the lounge where you can have some tea. It’s good for the nerves.”

Sakura allowed herself to be led away to a dainty little parlor where two other girls, both younger, sat drinking tea and avoiding the stale sweets offered on a silver tray. Both frowned when they saw Sakura walk in but neither said anything.

Absently, Sakura noticed both girls looked younger in person compared to their posters. It seems the artist had painted them as more mature to attract more of an audience. Sakura hadn’t seen her own posters, but the painting they were based off of had been flattering enough even if it was only from her shoulders up.

A voice just outside made it through the doorway for each of the three girls to hear.

“It’s a better turn out than the last one.”

“Forget the last season, this is bigger than all last year’s crowds.”

“What do you expect when it’s only once a season they turn out?”

One of the girls made a sound that betrayed her youth and Sakura felt sorry for her, but not sorry enough to open her mouth and lie. They were going to be sold off, they had signed up for this, and the chances of any of them being happy with what came next was slim, no matter what the matchmaker said.

Outside the noon bell rang like a death knell and the first girl stood when the door opened. She held her head high and marched out in a swirl of lavender colored fabrics to the roar of an excited crowd.  

The bidding took five minutes, but the preamble was ten times that. Sakura could hear how the girl was led around stage and talked up, listing the number of instruments she could play and languages she could speak, but little else.

She didn’t go for a poor price, but it would likely be the lowest since she was first.

The next girl stood when the door was opened. She stared straight ahead and marched with less grace, but as her virtues were read off to a frenzied crown the stiffness mattered less and less.

Her bidding took less than ten but more than five minutes.

When the door opened again Sakura saw the attendant laughing. “The crowd’s only grown,” was his excuse.

Sakura swallowed her nerves and threw her head back. She had climbed the Spine of the world, plucked feathers from the nest of a thunderbird, and slept under his wings. This crowd would not frighten her.

“This way,” the attendant said.

Sakura put one foot in front of the other, measuring her pace the way she’d seen noble ladies do. Through the short hallway and out onto the stage she followed the attendant out with a mask of indifference. The Crossroads’ open square was packed and all the nearby buildings had faces in their windows.

When she had been a child she had enjoyed the thought of being considered beautiful.

Now all she could do was curse it.

The matchmaker waved to the attendant and Sakura squared her shoulders as the long fur coat was pulled from her shoulders. The crowd’s reaction was understandable as she stepped forward into the light.

The cut of her dress was low, reaching almost to her navel as the bodice was crafted out of the thunder bird’s silver feathers. Glittering feathers hugged her waist and covered her hips, but did little else as the dress morphed into glittering see-through fabric that hid nothing of her figure from view. When she was asked to walk across the stage, the crowd roared at the sight of her, her indecency, her immodesty, her beauty, her legs, the swell of her breast, the dress, the way she reflected the light…

“And she sings, ladies and gentlemen,” the matchmaker cooed in mock adoration. “What a little songbird. Who wouldn’t want to have her in his own golden cage?”

“Sing!” the crowd demanded.

In reaction the matchmaker motioned to the attendant who had pulled out a simple hand drum. When he struck it the drum gave a solid thud that repeated and repeated and repeated. With every strike the crowd quieted until they were silent.

Sakura shut her eyes and inhaled.

On the next strike she let her voice out, low and rolling. When she sang she sounded like the mountain, loud and booming with highs and lows an eagle could soar through. The language was an old one that sounded as lost as the forgotten religions and shrines left at the base of the Spine of the world.  

Spellbound am I, am I

The wizard bewitched me, bewitched me

Spellbound deep in my soul, deep in my soul

In the heart glows a burning fire, a burning fire

The song morphed until it was less lyrical and more a testament to her range as she held a note up high and kept it aloft until the last sudden beat of the drum. Then all at once there was silence.

When she opened her eyes the crowd before her was just as spellbound as her parents the first time she sang for them-before they made her swear never to again.

What a horrible daughter she turned out to be.  

The crowd broke like a dam and the roar was deafening but Sakura refused to flinch. She was numb to it as the matchmaker rushed to the front of the stage and motioned wildly for the crowd to quiet.

She couldn’t get them under control for a good five minutes as they screamed for more. She tried to read off more of Sakura’s qualifications, but it seemed no one was interested in anything beyond her song.

“Then the bidding for our songbird…”

Sakura closed her eyes as it began.

Her price climbed rapidly until it became apparent only two men in the crowd had enough of an estate to shoulder the expense. From 300 Krown (a moderately rich man’s yearly salary) to 500 to 700 her bridal price climbed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized her cut would be large enough for Ino’s family to live comfortably on for the rest of their days.

“Five thousand Krown!” a new voice boomed.

Sakura raised her face and saw further back a man flanked by attendants, all dressed in the same dark uniforms trimmed in silver. In the afternoon’s sunlight the medals on their breast pockets gleamed, making them all look impressive.

At the front was a man with dark eyes and silver hair that betrayed his youthful face. For a noble he seemed too beautiful.  

The crowd grew quiet.

In the history of the Crossroads the bridal price had only exceeded 1000 Krown a total of three times, but the highest bid had been three thousand five hundred and paid for by the envoy of the emperor. This man was unrecognized and bore no such crest. Who could have that sort of money?

“Sir?” The matchmaker squawked.

He waved to one of his guard and he rushed forward with a small metal box. He opened it for the matchmaker to peer inside, only for her eyes to boggle.

“My master is good for the money,” the man holding the box chuckled before shutting the lid.

“Th-that…is…is there anyone who opposes?” the matchmaker asked once more, sounding numb.

Neither of the other two nobles raised their hands as they glared across the crowd at the newcomer. There was a low murmur through the crowd before the bell rang out, signaling the sale.

Sakura shut her eyes and followed the matchmaker off the stage into the rooms where her sale would be finalized. She sat on the couch watching as several iron chests came into the room, carried by three identical servants. Inside each chest was 1,500 neatly stacked bars of Krown. The last 500 came in a smaller chest.  

It took several minutes for the chests to be counted and the money organized. Sakura closed her eyes and ignored the stares of the three identical servants who watched her where she sat. Her silence and seeming indifference seemed to amuse them.

Then the door opened once more for the silver haired man to enter. His fur collared cloak trailed after him like a pair of long wings, flapping around his legs with each of his long strides. Up close he was even more handsome and Sakura prayed that didn’t mean he was cruel too.

She stood as he entered and met his gaze head on. A different servant bent to talk with the matchmaker while he stared down at her, eyes creasing in the corners even though his mouth didn’t bend in any such smile.

“Then, your mark sir?”

Sakura inhaled sharply and readied herself for the branding all bought brides went through. Some saw it as a mark of pride, but others recognized it for what it was-a shackle.  

“I will not brand her,” he said, speaking with a voice so deep and full it filled the whole room.

“-B-but she might run. A mark is traditionally what-”

“I will not brand her,” the young lord interrupted more firmly. He took a step closer to Sakura then reached for her hand. “But let this serve as my testament.”

Sakura watched as he slid a rose gold colored band onto her ring finger. When she looked down she saw the massive emerald in the center, flanked by a multitude of smaller diamonds.

She stared up at her to-be husband with wide eyes that only made him smile more openly.

“Mah, I’ve been waiting too long for someone I could spoil to my heart’s content. I’ll never give you a reason to run, Sakura.”

“What… what is your name, my lord,” Sakura asked, feeling a bit light headed at the prize on her finger and the message it carried with it. She wasn’t a prize, she was a bride. If she wanted to run her ring would pay her way several times over, and he knew that.

He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “Hatake, but you may call me Kakashi.”

She didn’t have the breath to ask any more questions as his servants stepped up to finish the paperwork that allowed him to take her. He folded her under his arm and lead her out of the room, through the halls, down the stairs, and into the awaiting carriage.

Inside there was a dressmaker’s box on one of the seats he encouraged her to open. She lifted the lid with trembling fingers and gasped at the sight. The same silver feathers that she had sewn together to make her dress were crafted into a similar bodice that complemented a much fuller skirt.

“Your wedding dress. This one served its purpose for our engagement but,” Kakashi kissed the back of her shoulder as he stood behind her, “us old gods are terrible about showing off our extravagance.”

“Kakashi,” she breathed again, not daring to believe it.

He hummed cheerfully. “Yes?”

“Thunderbird…Kakashi.”

“One in the same, my dear.” He ushered her into her seat and sat down beside her. “I’m glad you remember me. Sometimes they don’t. When witnessed in our divine beast forms there are only certain brains that can hold onto the memory. But you,” he kissed under her left eye, “you, are worth far more than gold could buy. I’ve not seen such eyes in many thousands of years.” Kakashi leaned over and kissed under her other eye, reaching for her hand to hold as he did so.

“Why did you do that, though? You…you’re not human, so what could you want with me?” Sakura asked, still feeling light headed even as he kissed the side of her neck.

“I said so, didn’t I? The humans are fools to not see your value, but now you’re mine and I’m yours and we have lifetimes to enjoy together.”

His voice made her feel like melting. As powerful and old as he was, she still felt safe next to him. He was an ancient god who could tear her apart in an instant, but she knew she had never been safer.  

“Lifetimes?”

“I’ve waited too long to have a mate to spoil. I won’t let you go so easily, not even to death,” he promised darkly before bending her down to kiss deeply, lips to lips.

Later that night Kakashi stirred in bed and growled at the presence behind his bed chamber’s doors. His wife was warm in his arms and there was nowhere else he’d rather be. But his stupid servants wouldn’t leave until they had given their report, so he detangled himself and dressed in a simple robe to greet them at the door, making sure the bed curtains were drawn to save Sakura from sight.

“What?” he growled low, promising thunder and pain.

“It’s done, sensei.”

Kakashi exhaled forcefully. “And?”

“As you wished, the lost revenue has been recovered and the Crossroads razed.”  

“The people?”

“After her family left we… took care of them.”

Kakashi scoffed at Naruto’s soft tone. He was too young to understand how sometimes these things needed to be done. They were divine beasts, they didn’t need to feel sympathy for the masses.Their feelings were meant for precious few.  Just because the humans had forgotten that didn’t mean they had to. Naruto had a long way to go before he could be trusted with his own dominion.

“It’s their fault for looking at wasn’t theirs to behold,” he commented darkly, shifting so more of his body filled the gap between the door and the jam. “Is that it?”

Naruto nodded.

“Then make yourself scarce. Don’t show up unless I call for you again. I don’t plan on attending to any business for the next…couple of weeks.”

“We’ll cover it.”

“Yes, you will.”

And with that Kakashi shut the door on his student. When he drew the curtains back he chuckled at how Sakura had rotated onto her back, fingers curling in her sleep for something she could no longer hold.

He brushed aside the stray feathers and pulled back the covers to slip in and reach for her hip. She turned to him easily and he kissed her shoulder in thanks as she melted against his side.

“Mine,” he breathed in tired fascination. “My precious songbird.”

SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.)

Engagement

Wedding

[boy2reality]

Astral adventure. Yippee. I'm drained.

The last few days I've felt like I've been getting 'pinged'. Like, someone is trying to contact me astrally, or something? I figured it was important so I decided to try again tonight.

Started out in this... Black, shapeless void. Kara was with me. Kara told me there was a light above us, so I asked him to drag me to it. The usual.

When we hit the light, we both popped out of water. There was an island right ahead of us. Kara was goofing around, and he floated us both out of the water and flew around for a minute.

After we goofed off for a minute, I did the whole 'vibe teleport' thing to the headspace. I figure that's a good landing point. I 'spawned' in on the chair I usually sit in. This time I actually took a minute to look around the headspace before leaving.

I'm ass at explaining architecture. There's two floors to my headspace. I only explored the lower level. Where I 'spawned' in, there's a chair that I always sit in. It's like... A futuristic looking chair? You know those 'egg chairs'? It's like that, but wide enough to fit two people.

There's a couple stairs that lead down to the lobby. There's a giant rainbow-flashing dance floor embedded in the floor, covered up by a rug because Kara 'thinks it's tacky'. There's a large teddy bear in one corner, and a vase full of roses in another. Kara also has hid a vase of sunflowers behind the egg chair, I noticed. There's a kitchen area, but it's not very well decorated because I never go in it. Up a couple tiny steps is a door to what once was a black void, but now houses the pocket dimension.

I also took a look outside. In my headspace vision, I normally just see a pink, cloudy haze all around my little trailer park in the astral. I looked farther in the distance, and there's like... Different colors of cloudy haze off to the east. I saw this teal haze, but didn't bother checking it out. Maybe next time.

I debated going back to the hell hospital, but I figured a better idea would be to just. Try to contact whatever was trying to contact me. Kara and I agreed earlier that I was going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, and that I didn't want him to freak out if I disappeared again. We hugged, and I focused on whatever was trying to contact me. It was successful.

I was teleported to this... Ancient temple looking place. There were runes all over the wall that I couldn't decipher. The hallway was straight, and there was this ominous fog behind me, so I figured there was no way but forward.

After a minute of walking I stumbled across a circular room, with a pedestal in the middle. Inside the pedestal there was this glowy gem of some kind. I just sat there and looked at it for a minute, but I wasn't... Feeling anything. Since I am a Good Noodle I didn't try to take the gem. I just turned around and yelled 'hello???'

Things got kind of chaotic after that.

Suffenly I felt myself... I don't know. Get electrocuted? It felt like my entire being was glitching the fuck out. I lost focus for a minute, and when I came to... I was in the fucking HOSPITAL AGAIN. God DAMN it. In my holding room, in my bed, with two guys looking at me. One of them my dad. The other one... An assisstant. Nasty, blonde, stringy hair, wearing glasses. He looked an awful lot like actual Dr. Giger, from canon. He was standing right in front of my bed while my dad was at my side.

They were talking to me. I think my dad was asking if I was okay but I was too gobsmacked to answer. I was just looking back and forth between the two guys in this room, the fact that I was back in this room to begin with. I quickly filled with panic and tried to surge out of the bed, but that famillar, drugged weakness didn't allow me to. Both of the guys were like "woah, woah, woah!" and pushed me back down into the bed. I felt like I was going to scream.

My dad was like, "it seems like you aren't feeling well, so we'll talk later, okay?" I just fucking. Stared. As they both left the room. I knew it wasn't real, that I couldn't be harmed while in the astral, but _fuck_ man, I didn't expect to be reliving shit there. Ugh.

I layed there for a minute, when I heard a knock at the door. I immediately said "come in" without even really thinking about it. My voice sounded... Drug out.

But... In comes, not a doctor, but a young girl. Maybe... 10? Her black hair pulled into pigtails below her chin with little pink hairties. She trots up to my bed, and says "hi, big bro!"

It felt like a thousand gears clicking into place. That. That was Irma. Once again I'm gobsmacked. I think my jaw dropped.

She smiled at me with this... Uneasiness. She told me dad said I was acting funny, so she came to check up on me. She put her hand on my head like she was feeling how warm I was. She kept looking at me like she expected me to say something, but I was just too shocked to really say anything. I kind of just layed there feeling defeated.

She backed up a little, saying that if I didn't wanna talk, that it was okay. And just like that, she left. The room was quiet. Suddenly, it flashed back to how I've been seeing it currently in the astral, all nasty and tinged with green. I didn't feel drugged anymore. I got out of the bed quickly and wiped my back off, shivering.

After that, I lost visual focus pretty fast. I heard someone talking to me. A female voice, telling me that I "needed to remember".

I asked if I was talking to Luce. She said, "I am no longer her, just as you are no longer him." That seems really fucking important to me for some reason. I tried asking who or what she was now, but didn't get an answer.

Shortly after, I found myself back in the headspace. Kara and I had a reunion hug. Now I'm here, writing this.

I always had this assumption that Irma was my big sister, or was around the same age as me. Not... Babby. Like, I was in my early twenties when the Experimence happened. She was tiny. I had no clue.

Which makes me more revolted that she was probably used as a lab rat just like I was.

[candyshua]

It’s a Long Way Home | Chapter 2

Pairing: Joshua x Minghao x Reader

Synopsis: It was dark, and then it was light. You’re finally lucid. After 15 years of not being conscious, you wake up in a desolate and post-apocalyptic earth where infected flesh-eating beings roam the streets. Soon enveloped into a mysterious group of survivors, you consistently wonder who they are. But most importantly, who are you?

Genre: Heavy angst, some fluff here and there

Warnings: Gore, bad language, physical & verbal abuse

Word Count: 2.5k

"Who are you, Y/N?" The stoic man asked you. He had a porcelain complex to him. His cheekbones were high and defined, with slick black hair that was gelled back. He wore a white lab coat, and his hands were folded on the table as his icy blue eyes bore into you like a snake staring at its prey. The question you had been asked was supposed to be responded with an automatic answer, and you knew better than to try and rebel. You were coaxed into being what they wanted you to be, so you reluctantly spat the words,

"I am Y/N, patient zero, and your loyal subordinate." You boomed emptily, the repeated and hollow words falling from your chapped lips like poison. You looked into the man's eyes again, wanting to test him. At this point, you had nothing to lose.

"Good, now back to sleep." The Doctor ordered, and suddenly everything went black.

The pain was horrendous. The overwhelming force ripped you from the depths of reality, into another painful dimension. Minghao was holding you desperately, constantly asking if you were okay. You didn't know if you could open your eyes, for the ringing in your pain ridden head was too great. Your heavy breathing soon slowed within a few minutes, while Minghao continued to hold you frantically.

You forced your eyes to open, and Minghao's deep brown ones looked at you in a concerned manner. You hadn't been greeted with these irises before, only the cold sarcastic ones, but these orbs were filled with worry. "I'm okay." You managed to mumble, unclasping yourself from his hold while forcing yourself to stand up. Suddenly, the realization of what just happened hit you.

You had remembered something.

The situation seemed somewhat familiar to the one you were in now, being asked questions by a man that demeaned you.

"What the fuck happened?" Minghao asked worriedly, and now it was your turn to laugh.

"Still don't believe me?" You daunted cockily, tilting your head to the side with a smug smirk etched on to your lips.

-

You were forced to go to the community's "clinic" to get checked up on. Their doctor was a young med student, who managed to flee the city when the outbreak first started. He went by the name of Seungkwan, and he was a very sweet and nervous young man.

You had found out that the community you were currently residing in was named "Fort Lockwood". The name came from the street the community was, a mere one way road with a decent amount of houses on both sides. You had also learned that Minghao wasn't the leader, but he was high in command. The leader was Joshua, who appointed several other people to be in charge of certain things. He was just in charge of making sure everything was in shape, that his citizens were safe, and he dealt with the serious problems along with the other leaders. Minghao was in charge of the weaponry, and he trained new citizens on how to fight, use a gun, knife, etc.

You learned that the short-tempered Junhui was in charge of gathering supplies, and often went on escapades for a few days by himself just to come back with a van full of goodies. Hansol, the soft boy you took an immediate liking to, was in charge of defense, and making sure the walls were maintained regularly and that "the infected" were led away from their base.

Seungkwan was in charge of medicine, and the health of the citizens. You kind of scoffed at the mention of how many men were in power, until you heard about Margo and Cleo. Margo was a teacher, in charge of educating the youth of Fort Lockwood. Cleo was apparently "a complete technology wiz" and got the power working in the community again. So, she was in charge of that, along with trying to communicate with the army through the radios she miraculously fixed and walkie-talkies.

Another woman whom you had yet to meet by the name of Sonny was a botanist. She was in charge of the gardens and growing enough food to feed their small community. About five hundred people lived in Fort Lockwood, some families living by themselves, and other people camping together in houses. It was a lot to take in, especially with your limited experience, so you were left to relax in Joshua, Minghao, Junhui, and Seungkwan's house until you were further situated into a better living situation. You pondered the thought of escaping, but the possibilities of you doing so successfully were quite slim.

Not only that, the community was nice. People worked together to help rebuild what was lost, and you appreciated that. You appreciated their will, and their determination. Although you didn't know yourself well enough yet, you knew that you lacked hope for some reason.

Then you found yourself thinking about the man with the icy blue eyes, and the memory that had transpired. You knew it happened, there was a certain clarity in the situation that you relived which led you to believe that it was pure and real. You sighed, the detrimental day kicking in, and soon you felt like you wanted to cry. Humans cry after under a lot of stress, right?

But, your agony was no match to your stubborn side. You refused to let the tears fall, for they symbolized vulnerability. You don't know why you thought that, you just did. And, to put it simply, you were fucking confused. Waking up in a post-apocalyptic world can take quite a toll on somebody, nonetheless somebody with no memories before what had just happened.

So, you just sat on the mattress splattered on the floor of the cold attic you were staying in. You assumed autumn was here, the season fresh and ripe. You then decided to look through your bag, which was stripped of its gun, but nothing else. You had some clothes in there which looked like they'd fit you, along with a lighter, some rope, matches, ammunition, a water bottle, and a blanket. As you got to know yourself throughout the day, you figured out that you were actually quite intelligent, but just kept in the dark. So, the bag filled with all the supplies a girl like you could need was somewhat baffling, which only added to the list of questions you couldn't answer.

You soon heard a knock creaks in the wooden stairs that led up to the attic, which led to a knock on your door. You came face to face with Joshua, the leader of the grand scheme. "Hello." He said somewhat sweetly. His voice was soft, and it contrasted with his rugged looking figure. He had blackish brown hair that fell down his forehead, with his ears poking out slightly. His angled brown eyes were kind of distant, but sage. He was skinny, ragged, yet muscular - similar to Minghao in that sense. He wore a black jacket and brown cargo pants, with an old pair of brown boots aged with experience. His eyebrows were slanted naturally, which gave an intimidating vibe. If you were different, you would've considered yourself intimidated.

But his soft voice contrasted with his scary exterior. His voice was something you could almost drown in, it was rich and thick like honey, but smooth and intoxicating. "Hi." You muttered, returning the intense eye contact he displayed to you.

"Minghao told me what happened...I may seem like an asshole, forcing you to stay here-"

"You don't seem like one - you are one. But continue." You interrupted ripely, your feisty attitude kicking in. Instead of getting pissed, he gave you a lopsided smile which oozed with something you'd consider respect.

"Anyway, I hope you know it's just for the safety of my people. You see, many people want to be a part of our community, or they want to destroy it. But, our location is quite hidden if you haven't noticed, it's a street many miles away from the city, in a town that used to be a peaceful suburb. But, I believe that you're alone and that you have no group. But, I want you to stay here: where it's the closest thing to safe in this world." Joshua explained, inching his way closer to you, which resulted in him sitting on the wooden floor of the dusty attic, directly across from you.

"But why?"

"Because, Y/N, you saved our lives. Usually, lone survivors would let us die as a distraction for the infected, so they could get away safely. What you did was not normal, but highly appreciated. I'm sorry that not everybody showed their gratitude, but they were still processing what had just happened. They're much calmer and more thankful now." Joshua had rasped, and you listened intently.

"Thank you for your kindness. I know my explanation seems like a complete lie, but I promise you it's not. The truth is, when I passed out when talking to Minghao, I believe a memory had came to me. And, that memory scared me." You huffed, finding it odd that you were admitting your fear to a man that you barely knew. "I also take back the thing about you being an asshole, you're actually quite nice." You had joked hoping to lighten the mood.

"I assumed so. But, can you tell me about the memory?" Joshua had requested, a sliver of a smile creeping onto his face.

"I was talking to a man, he looked like a doctor. He asked me a question, and I knew what to say. I had told him I was his subordinate, and that I was 'Patient Zero'. I think I was much younger than I am now in that memory, but he said something along the lines of 'Go back to sleep', and everything went blank. Then, I woke up." You lamented confusedly, your head fuzzy and tired.

"There are many things in this world that we cannot explain, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you, Y/N. Please don't break my trust." Joshua said, his last sentence more longing and desperate than intimidating. You nodded automatically, under his hypnotizing gaze. Soon, he led you downstairs to dinner, where you were face to face with some familiar faces.

The atmosphere was quiet when you walked into the kitchen, where Seungkwan, Minghao, and Junhui were sitting. They were eating what looked like steak, until you realized that it was deer.

You ate it ravenously. You didn't realize how empty your stomach was until you smelled the food, and you downed it within minutes. Minghao was amused at this, and Joshua merely smiled. Hell, even Junhui scoffed a bit.

Soon, everybody laughed, which lightened the mood severely. Then, you were being assaulted with various questions from everybody.

"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" Junhui had asked, and you merely shrugged. You also had extensive knowledge in the field of medicine, the useful information placed in your head mysteriously.

"I'm better." Minghao deadpanned, and you just scoffed and rolled your eyes.

The conversation drifted on until you revealed the information that you didn't know how to wield a gun. That was Minghao's area of expertise, so you were going to be picked up by Minghao tomorrow, where he'd take you out of Fort Lockwood and teach you how to use one.

Soon, you were the one asking questions. You acquired the information that nobody knew exactly how the outbreak started, but a state of emergency was declared within 3 days, and civilization was reversed back to its old ways within a week. And then the military disappeared after six weeks, and the world truly "went to shit" according to Minghao. The "infected" went by many names, such as "stragglers", "walkers", and "lurkers". You preferred calling them infected.

Soon, dinner was finished, and you decided to take a walk around the fort to take in your surroundings. While you were just about to walk out the door, Joshua stopped you. "I'll join you." He cheekily said, and you smiled weakly.

Joshua showed you around the community, giving you an excellent and lighthearted tour. You let yourself soak in the lightness of your conversations, knowing that your upcoming days were to be filled with nothing but heavy dread. You grew quite fond of Joshua, or Josh (he preferred that nickname) and hoped that you wouldn't break his trust, either.

-

The next morning you awoke at dawn, and you assumed it was six am by the positioning of the sun (another thing you had no idea where you learned it from). You were supplied with clothes and shoes, so you changed into a somewhat heavy slick, gray jacket along with camouflaged pants. You slipped on black leather combat boots and tied your hair up in a low ponytail, due to its shortness.

All the women you had come across had short hair as well, and you assumed it was merely safer to have it. You went downstairs, and everybody was already up making breakfast. You smelled eggs.

"Where did you get eggs from?" You exclaimed, kind of excited over some stupid eggs.

"We have a farm, it's small but it gets the job done." Seungkwan humbly explained, and you nodded and took your eggs gratefully. Minghao ate next to you, going on about the danger of guns. You nodded, trying to soak in the information being rapidly spewed at you.

Soon, you were in a car with Minghao, the vehicle being supplied with various forms of guns, from rifles to pistols. Minghao drove out of Fort Lockwood, and to a very desert land of grass of the highway. It was surrounded by woods, which irked you slightly. You didn't like how anybody could be hiding in those woods, but Minghao insisted that nobody was, and you had no choice but to believe him.

Soon, you were given a breakdown on guns, how to hold them, when to shoot, how to aim, and how to disarm somebody. "I don't want you to be scared of these things. They can end your life, but they can also save it." He had prospered, in which you gulped eagerly.

To put it simply, you were a fast learner. Your aim was impeccable due to your perfect eyesight, but you were not fond of the loudness that boomed from the guns. "Can't the infected hear this?" You asked.

"They can, but we'll be out of here before they can arrive. Plus, we have silencers if it gets out of hand." He explained, and you found yourself not wanting to know what "getting out of hand" meant.

You couldn't disarm Minghao, merely because he flourished in this area, but he had struggled trying to disarm you. You had noticed that Minghao's once playful attitude was replaced with a firm, dominant one when he was teaching you. He commanded respect, and you gave it.

"I think we're done for the day. The infected will be here soon, so let's get back home." Minghao had ordered, and you hopped in the car reviewing every bit of information you had just learned.

After driving for a bit, you two came to a halt when a series of cars blocked the road. Men with guns stood smugly there, and you soon realized that the infected weren't going to be your problem.

[brownskinsugarplum76]

Eye of the Storm, Ch 5

So, Maggie and Robert have made it home! There are lots of tender moments and a little smut. The full smut experience will come in another chapter or two.

Catch up on the story here. This is probably also a good time to reiterate that this is an AU story - - Robert is single, but I'm trying to hold on to as much of the rest of the LZ story that I can.

Thanks to @firethatgrewsolow for doing her excellent beta thing! ❤️❤️❤️

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

“This really is paradise...” Maggie exited the car and marveled at the vividly colored flora before her and the rhythmic crash of the ocean that could be heard from behind the house.

She admired the sprawling, modern ranch with white walls and ceiling-to-floor windows that Robert had been calling home for quite some time. She decided she could get used to the stark, sunny house that sat in the middle of so much natural beauty.

Robert grabbed Maggie's bags. “Indeed. Coming here was the best possible decision we could've made for our tax exile hideaway. Abundant sun, the ceaseless roar of the ocean, and a short drive away from my favorite American playground… Paradise, that.”

They walked to the door. “Hold a tick, would you, love?” Robert walked the bags into the house.

“Thank you for agreeing to live with me for a fortnight… Or longer?" He asked when he returned, his voice full of hope. "I want to do this properly.” Before Maggie could ask him to explain what he wanted to do, or his mischievous grin, he lifted her into his arms and carried her over the threshold. He kicked the door shut behind them.

Maggie was all smiles and feeling like a queen. She settled on that description, quickly dispatching all of the bride and groom thoughts that tried to form in her head. Robert had yet to marry, and she expected that he wasn't the marrying kind. She didn't exactly mind, though, because she questioned whether it was the path for her. She wondered if living with Robert would change her mind, or if he would set her against marriage forever.

He lowered her to standing. With her back to the door, he caged her in his arms. Then he littered her with kisses, both delicate and rough.

She wound her hands into his hair and was thankful for the feel of his fluffy curls to ground her in reality, despite how hard Robert was trying to make her spin away into romantic dreams.

He caressed her face and backed up a few steps. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

“I must say, I do like the door to door service. Is that the custom here?” She was still too intoxicated from Robert's kisses to focus on the surroundings. A private chance to take a good, close look at him after so many months apart kept her mind occupied, and she didn't mind one bit.

“What's in it for me?” Robert stepped toward her again. He placed his hands on her shoulders and then let his fingers trail slowly down her arms.

“I think you remember, don't you?” She gazed into his heavy-lidded eyes and willed him to kiss her again.

This time their lips connected in a slow, rambling dance that made Maggie tingle from head to toe and purr contentedly. It wasn't the excited reunion kiss at the park, or even one of the lazy, familiar kisses they shared in the car. This intimate exchange was filled with warmth and romantic serenity and seemed capable of going on forever.

It was, however, over far too soon, when the phone on the coffee table started ringing. Robert sighed at the breaking of their spell. He ultimately chose to ignore the interruption in favor of Maggie, but in the jarring cacophony that separated them, she turned her attention toward the living room while the phone continued to ring.

She brushed her lips against Robert's one more time and walked out of the foyer. "So, what do we have here?" As much as she enjoyed his embrace, a chance to take stock of his current domestic habits was too good to pass up.

She expected there to be disorder that would reflect Robert's vagabond approach to life and the jumble of diverse thoughts that he always seemed to bandy about in his mind, but there was order and simplicity. She admired a glass coffee table and end tables, a navy set of sofas and love seats, and a wood-panel, floor-model television with a stereo perched on top. Albums making up a respectable record collection rested against the wall. A bookcase to one side of the room contained books on everything from early blues artists to Welsh mythology and a Fodor's guide to Morocco. A Persian area rug brought a little exoticism to an otherwise visually nondescript room.

“I see the look on your face, Mags." He closed the space between them and caressed her shoulders while lightly kissing her on the neck. "There's a housekeeper who comes by once a week. You have her to thank for the orderly Architectural Digest vibes that you see before you.”

“It looks fantastic.” She walked past the dining room, which had the same color scheme and was just as neat, save the bottles of a few different kinds of spirits at varying levels of use that greeted her on the table.

“How about meals?” She opened the refrigerator. “Have you gotten beyond boiling water?” She noticed takeout and some Tupperware containers that were half full.

“I have the best help that money can buy for that, too,” he responded, sitting on the couch and groaning as he extended his legs for a much needed stretch. “There's a lovely cook who comes by twice a week, bless her. She reminds me of my mum, which means no mayhem until she leaves.”

“The high priest of debauchery has adopted some decorum?” Maggie asked, returning to the living room and flopping down next to Robert.

“It appears that I've slowed down a bit. Blame the morphine for that…” He chuckled. “No, a little time away from the scene has given me much-needed perspective on life… Oh, speaking of Miss Betsy, the cook, I should mention that she and Miss Ellen, the housekeeper, have their own keys to get in. Cole and Benji, too.”

“Last but not least,” he said, “remind me and I'll give you a key of your own. I have a duplicate or two in the bedroom. It was easier to give people keys when I was resigned to wheelchair transport, you know? And I'll also get you the spare key for the Rover.”

“Thanks, Robert.” She was still having trouble believing that she would be living with Robert, but she had to admit that it was beginning to feel like home.

“Right. Let me put your jacket away, and then we'll get on with things, yeah?" He helped her shrug out of her coat and hung their outerwear in a foyer closet.

"Next on the grand tour are the beds and baths. We'll walk by Benji's bedroom, too. He doesn't live here, strictly speaking, but he's been around enough over the past several months that it made sense to give him an official place to crash.”

They kept walking. “Then there are a few other empty bedrooms for guests, and bathrooms for them to share.”

He paused at one room. “And this,” he said, opening the door, “is where the magic happens. Most of the time, you understand. For songwriting, uh, and more…”

Maggie entered the room and walked around while Robert opened the windows.

Much to her surprise, there were no piles of clothes or shoes on the floor. An ironing board rested against the wall next to the closet. He had more respect for the sanctity of his own bedroom than he did for the rooms he slept in on the road. She'd always guessed that there were two sides to Robert's life, and the peaceful, orderly nest that he'd shared with her was the clearest indication yet. She wondered what other surprises she'd encounter as she got to witness his life off of the road.

Though the room was tidy on the whole, she smiled as she began to recognize telltale signs of Robert's presence. There was the unmade bed, with his latest song notebook and a pen still in place from morning writing. A teacup sat on the nightstand. Just outside, on the patio, an overflowing ashtray sat on a small wrought-iron table. A  cluster of earrings, necklaces, and rings sat on the dresser, along with a feather roach clip. She'd seen him wear one in his hair before; she didn't know if the clip was for function or fashion, but either way, she knew his prized bundle of Acapulco Gold and its necessary accouterments would not be too far out of reach.

Also on the dresser were a wooden brush and a few different bottles of cologne. She imagined Robert standing at the dresser looking in the large mirror and toying with his locks. She had helped him with the task many times when his hair was too tangled, and she wondered who had done that for him most recently.

She noticed that the mirror faced the bed and was thankful for a reason to stop the line of thinking about his most recent conquests. She chuckled, knowing the mirror placement wasn't coincidence.

"What's so funny?" She turned around and saw Robert staring intently at her while he sprawled across the bed, on his side.

"I'm laughing at how you arranged things so that you can watch yourself in the mirror when you--"

"--Now, now, Maggie, I remember that you enjoyed it once or twice yourself, at some of America's finest lodging establishments. I'll be expecting a rousing 'you're welcome' from you, for said mirror placement, before we leave for the tours."

Her laughter turned to silence and blushing. "You're right," she admitted, approaching the bed. "It is hard to keep my eyes off of you."

"I feel the same about you, darlin'..." He stared up at her, beaming an affectionate smile. He crooked his finger and wiggled it at her. "I'm feeling a little lonely over here on this bed. Come join me, will you?"

Maggie climbed on and lay down, facing him.

"Ah, that's much better… A view that is only in competition with the splendor of the beach. But you get my vote for my favorite wild, beautiful territory to explore…" he murmured as he tenderly brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.

"It's a place I know well and love… Every mountainous curve, every flat plain, and especially that hot spring in the center of your world…" He trailed a couple of his elegant fingers down her neck, before letting his hand alight on her hip. "God, I've missed you, Maggie." He sighed as he leaned in closer. "I was a bloody fool to have kept myself away from you."

He nestled his other hand in her hair and drank in her essence by melding his lips to hers and letting his tongue  meander in her mouth. She gracefully yielded to his familiar, easygoing passion.

They both purred as the kiss continued. Maggie's fingers traipsed gently in Robert's hair, and one of his hands crept under her shirt and made its way north, traveling the distance with a slow, feather-light touch.

Maggie's breathing hitched and she shuddered as a tidal wave of carnal memories were triggered by Robert's kisses and caresses. Each private second of their time together, on and off over the past four years, came to life in her mind and her body once more. Without a visit from his irrepressible manhood she was still lost in the wake of the euphoric feelings that he stoked in her body with ease.

Her back arched as Robert made it to a nipple and brushed and tugged at it until it sprang to life. She moaned as heat and wetness began to pool inside of her.

"My sweet, sweet Maggie…" He rasped his proclamation and searched her eyes, still toying with her nipple, still not in a rush to do more.

"I've missed you so much," she sighed as her hand trailed down his back.

"I can't wait to be yours, Robert..." Her voice trailed off as he started to work on the button on her jeans.

"You already are. Mine. Only our tours will separate us now, darlin'. You have my word." He rose above her on all fours, kissing her and sending her zipper down its track.

She lifted her hips and he peeled the denim off her shapely brown legs. He palmed her between her legs and growled softly when he realized she was soaked through her panties. She felt his manhood begin to stir, even behind the sturdy fabric of his Landlubbers.

Robert rose to his knees and was about to take his pants down when a cacophony of animal noises started on the beach.

"Dammit, Strider," he muttered, instantly knowing what had happened as the chorus of excited dog barks and seagull cries continued.

Maggie shared Robert's love of animals, but in that moment, the chaos on the beach hit her like the cruelty of an alarm jolting someone out of a beautiful, lucid dream. She gazed in Robert's eyes, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Is everything OK?"

Robert sighed and then laughed. "Mags, I hate to interrupt, but I must subdue my precious canine, who enjoys the company of seagulls a little too much."

He stood, located her pants, and handed them to her. "Makes me wonder if this is his payback for no introduction between you two yet…"

"Sounds like he's used to special treatment, after you went and wrote a song about him," she said as she got dressed again. "That means his behavior is all your fault," she teased.

Robert grabbed Maggie for another deep kiss. "You'll soon find my blue-eyed boy has a mind of his own… But I never hold that against anyone who truly cares for me." He winked at Maggie, explaining how he felt about Strider and her in one simple quip. It made Maggie wonder if any of his songs were about her, or if any might be in the future.

"OK, ready to meet the furriest member of our family?" He linked his arm with hers as they headed for the sand.

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

The rest of my stories are here, or search for the hashtag #brownskinsugarplumlibrary

[lady-olive-oil]

Chapter 4

Prelude || Characters || Ch1 || Ch2 || Ch3 || 4

A/N: I have finally broken my curse of making it past 3 chapters of a fic!!! Here is another chapter for yall!! The events in this story are complete imagination, and I don’t own the characters of BP. Nor do I own the Divine Nine; Southern University or the Fabulous Dancing Dolls, I only own the OCs. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more! Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Warnings: none but heated tension and language

Word Count: 3,111 [I went all the way off and descriptive on this one]

Tag Squad: @maddiestundentwritergaines @destinio1 @designerwriterchic @terrablaze514 @themyscxiras @sirenmouths @chaneajoyyy

Who ever said that homecoming only ended after the game, have never been down south. Parties at SU meant good times for all and just being together in unity and solidarity.

For homecoming weekend, lasts for a few days, leading into the following week. Tonight was like no other ordinary weekend, it is Greek night. All the black Greek fraternities and sororities get together and just chill.

Nefertiti was currently having an internal battle with herself, not knowing what to do about to properly. So she was currently staring into space reminiscing about the night before.

“Earth to Nefe. We gotta get ready for the bash tonight.” Nattie was fixing her natural curls at the vanity, applying her bold red lipstick to complete the look all together. Waving she hand in front of her best friend face, she finally got her to snap out of it.

“S-sorry. I uh- ahem. I’m gonna be honest with you Nat,  I couldn’t sleep last night at all.”

“I could tell. You were up at 4 am, eating cherry jello. Talk to me.” Holding her close as she could in a gentle hug, she rubbed her shoulders.

“I just don’t know what came over me. I was in the heat of the moment and to be honest, I kind of wanted to do it again.” With the affirmation finally coming from her, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

“I knew it! I knew you enjoyed it. But listen, you two need to talk this out. Get it out in the open and help your sisters stroll.” Nattie explained and made sure Nefe heard her clearly.

“You’re right. I have my sisters for a reason, plus we get our jackets. I just need mine, but Simone might have it.”

“I love mine. The nickname is perfect; Cleopatra. I rule everywhere I go, with the love of my life.” Nattie smirked and headed for the door.

“Enough about me. You two make me sick, Black Panther and Cleopatra. Sickening really.” Nefe joked a little and followed her sister out, earning her a gasp from the slight insult.

Do The Divine Nine of SU have stomp offs in the yard? You damn right they do, but that won’t be till someone calls someone else out. Currently everyone was in the quad of the houses kickin it.

After the kiss that happened at the game, Nattie gave Nefe a lecture, after a much needed detail session on what went down. As to why Melanie was in an even worse mood than before. Needless to say, she won a bet against their crew and made sure, Nefe would never hear the end of it. The bet was, that either one of the two would kiss before the year was over.

Upon arriving at the party, the Delta’s did their stroll along the other Greeks and everyone was having a good time. Enjoying each other’s company and just vibing.

Nattie was with T’Challa; Okoye was FaceTiming Daniel, (he already graduated), Nakia was perched on Erik’s lap and Nefe was just chatting with M’Baku on the balcony overlooking the party. He was just looking as rugged ever and handsome as can be. As the full moon shined on him, making his skin look luminous. He had in a silver chain necklace that hid in his black T-shirt.

“Now most people would be having fun, at these things but you, you choose to stand up here and watch from the raptures.” M’Baku called out to her as she made his way over towards Nefertiti, as she seemed to be in deep thought. Handing her an Angry Orchard Ròse, he noticed the look on her face.

“I feel horrible for what I did at the game.” Nefe started off, taking a sip of her hard cider. Glancing over at him, trying to not choke while taking in his appearance.

“It’s ok. Accidents happen. We’re grown adults and we understand that it was just an accident.” He reassured here but deep down he felt horrible because he didn’t want to feel bad about it at all. In fact he wanted to kiss her for so long, he was just too scared to do so.

Upon nodding in agreement, Nefe still felt uneasy about it all. The music from the party drowned out her thoughts a little.

“When did you get your jacket? I haven’t gotten mine yet and the probate was in spring, it’s fall now.” Focusing on to something else, she fiddled with her nails.

“Oh this old thing?” He held a smug smirk on his face and chuckle sweetly. “Got it this morning, Jonathan gave it to me. Simone should’ve given you yours by now, since you moved into the house.”

“Yeah. But I also live off campus too, remember? My dad's old studio apartment, is 30 min away.” Nefe couldn’t take her eyes off of him for one second. His smile was emasculate; along with his hair that was just shaved nicely and shaped. It grew back pretty fast from the pledging.

“Maybe you’ll get it right now.” He had pulled her jacket from behind him as a surprise. Simone knew how much it meant for her to get it so she trusted M’Baku to give it to her before she cousin finish up the nights activities.

“Baku! Oh my god I love it!” She immediately slipped it on giving a little show, before looking in the mirror.

“Lady Egyptian. I like it, It fits given that it’s my actual name.” She was awe over her jacket couldn’t believe it was all finally over.

“It suits you. Mine is ‘Great Gorilla.” M’Baku bit his bottom lip nervously, slyly checking her out.

Upon seeing his reflection a bit, she thought to herself; ‘Boy don’t do that. I’ll bite that lip for you. Oh god’ she knew she was in too deep.

“Hey you used your actual nickname.” Once coming back to reality, she shook her thoughts away, giving him her full undivided attention.

“Comes with the territory though, right? Being a Que, strong nicknames reign.” The arch in his brow made him look more dominating than before. The contrast of the royal purple and gold against his ebony skin, made him look ethereal.

“That’s true. But you’re also messing with a pink and green, so eh I can’t say much.” Returning the smirk, before taking another sip of her drink, earned her a chuckle from her friend. Glancing over at him once more, the chain caught her attention this time. He noticed hers as well and brought it up.

“New necklace? I’ve never seen it before.”

Looking down at her own chest, she pulled out the chain necklace that she’s had since she was a kid.

“This old thing? I had it since I was 12. My neighbor gave it to me before he moved away. Haven’t had contact with him since then.” Facing him properly, she dangled the right half gorilla quarter necklace for him to get a better look.

“He told me, if I ever feel sad, think of him and home. I miss living in Miami at times but Baton Rouge, is what I call home.” When she explained it to him a bit, a sudden light bulb went off. M’Baku had to think for a minute before asking her something important.

“Do you remember why he moved?” He asked curiously, nervous with anticipation.

“He just told me that his parents had better jobs in another country. Never heard back from him since.” With a slight shrug, she leaned against railing.

“He was the only boy who treated me nicely and didn’t make fun of me. I was teased when I was younger, you remember me telling you that?”

“I believe I do.” M’Baku was attentive for wanting to know more about his best friend. “You said he made you feel normal. Wanted even, and never left your side until he moved right?”

“Yup. Only lived next door for a month, till his family moved to go knows where. I keep the necklace and with me in hopes he’ll come back, but I haven’t had any luck.” Smiling down at the gorilla with joy, she sighed gently.

“Reminds me of my old friend I met here in the states before going back to Wakanda. I hated that I had to leave so abruptly, but my mother and father said we had to move. She was the most gorgeous girl ever. Tall too, and her smile just radiated a room.” The way M’Baku talked to Nefe about the girl made her heart stop and then speed up again.

Was she jealous over this girl who made M’Baku happy as a child? It’s possible, but not completely. Urging him to continue, she texted her mom to tell her how she was doing and what was going on.

“Where did you live in the states before you moved again?”

“Shreveport, Louisiana. My mother had friends there, along with a job opportunity and I asked to go with for bit. Born and raised in Wakanda, moved to the states at age 12, then moved back.” M’Baku explained, fidgeting with the rim of the bottle he held.

“I lived in Shreveport for a bit as well. Born and raised in Miami, summer’s in Shreveport and New Orleans. It was in the summer when I met him. Best friendship I’ve had for a month. He has the other half of this set.” The sweet smile made its way back on her elegant face, and was M’Baku’s turn to be feeling jealous.

He already had an issue with her being with Sean, the thought of possibly another obstacle coming, made it worse. He didn’t understand his feelings and neither do Nefe with hers.   

“How could a young man leave such a beautiful woman like you behind?” He still felt something was off about this whole thing.

“I could ask you the same thing, Baku.” Resting her head on his shoulder, she thought back to a time when she was happy: when she met Marlon.

That was the name he told her. Little did they know, things were going to go way south.

As if on cue, her phone started going off; a FaceTime call from her mom.

“Well this is weird.” Nefe inquired as she answered the call, M’Baku in tow.

“Hey ma! We were just talking about you. What’s going on?” With a tilt of the camera, Nefe has M’Baku wave to her mom and then he saw his mom.

“Mother? What’s going on? You two on a girls dinner or something?”

“Well not exactly. Remember how you were telling me about you and M’Baku talking about your past? Just a few moments ago?” Regina inquired.

“Uh yeah what about it? Something wrong? Did he come back?” Nefe was quick to ask, feeling her heart beating a thousand miles a second. M’Baku rolled his eyes at that and focused back on his mother.

“Not exactly darling.” Zola, M’Baku’s mother, had began. “There’s something we haven’t told you both.”

The two of them looked at each other in confusion, before turning back to their mothers.

“And that is?”

“Nefertiti, did M’Baku show you his necklace yet?” Regina asked which raised the suspicion even more.

“No ma’am, he didn’t.” Nefe responded and arched a brow. “Why?”

“M’Baku, Nefe. We haven’t been completely honest with you both. You see, the necklace that Nefertiti is wearing is the other half of yours.” Zola had finally broken the ice between the two, making them both laugh.

“Yeah, ok.” Nefe shook her head and smiled.

“Mother is this true?”

“See for yourself.” Zola nodded her head towards her son, whom followed instructions and showed his necklace.

Low and behold, it was the same exact necklace, except it was the left half. It could only mean one thing; they’ve been in each other’s lives since they were young and never realized till now. Setting her phone down on an available surface, to get a better position, so their mothers could see as well, Nefe was nervous.

“No fucking way.” They were both in disbelief and shock as to finding out this major secret. “How is this possible?”

“We didn’t know how to tell you both, we just figured you both will discover it on your own. I knew the day I was introduced to Regina, and I met her daughter around orientation day, I knew it was fate that brought you two back.” Zola smiled with such hope and determination, that couldn’t be matched.

Glancing up into his brown eyes, Nefe sighed gently and contemplated a bit. “Remember when I told you the necklaces were magnetic?”

“I believe so, yes.” M’Baku nodded and his breathing had increased.

“Let’s see if they still work..”

Holding up both pieces of the necklace; the two of them moved closer, watching the pulse of the magnet move them together and finally snap into place. The joined gorillas locked together, in harmony after all these years.

“It worked. I can’t believe it worked. After all this time, we’ve know each other since we were kids.” To say that Nefe was in shock, was an understatement. Rejuvenating even, but shocking.

“Now that you two have it figured out, we’ll leave you two, to it.” Saying their goodbyes to their mothers, the call ended and the room was quiet.

“Yeah. Who knew, I uh- wanted to also apologize for telling you my name was Marlon. I didn’t know if you’d like my real name or not.” M’Baku chuckled softly, holding on to her arms.

“I love your name. It’s unique and unexpected, just like you.” Smiling gently at her best friend, she noticed a butterfly like feeling erupting in her stomach. I wasn’t nausea, it was pure; honest, genuine feelings.

They both didn’t realize how close they were in proximity, as the necklace kept drawing them in closer.

“Uh what’s happening?” Nefe asked curiously but didn’t want to stop getting closer to him.

“I don’t know. But I kinda don’t want it to stop..” their noses were touching at this point. Breathing in each other’s air; engaging in the moment, as both of their heartbeats were beating a million miles per hour.

As if on cue, Nattie came rushing through the door to find her friends and was met with a surprise. “Guys! It’s time for the- oh shit, my bad. Sorry I’ll just be downstairs.”

Instantly moving apart from each other, Nattie gave Nefe a look that read ‘you better explain later!’ Before heading downstairs to the yard. The necklace shifted apart and felt back to their respective places.

“We should head down to the yard. Don’t wanna keep the crew waiting.” Fixing her hair a bit, Nefe made her way downstairs. Not looking back at him, but feeling her eyes threaten to let tears escape. She doesn’t know what her heart wants, along with what’s the truth.

“Yeah, we should.” M’Baku sighed heavily as soon as he saw her leave. Why was it so hard for him to admit that he has feelings for his best friend? He didn’t want to jeopardize what they had and that’s what kept eating away at him.

Adjusting his jacket, he headed downstairs as well. Putting in a brace face to join his frat brothers. The yard was where you’d lay everything out with your fraternity or sorority. It was now or never.

The yard was covered with the Divine Nine crews and students alike for the pure entertainment of it all. Melanie knew something was up between Nefe and M’Baku, and she wasn’t having it.

“You need to tell me what happened up there. It looked like pure lust, and unidentified feelings.” Nattie nugged her.

“I will tonight back at the house. What happened between M’Baku and I-” Nefe’s speech was cut off by the age devil herself.

“Leave him alone he doesn’t want you.” She shoved Nefe’s shoulder, as her girls got ready to stroll across the yard. The glare she threw back at her was nothing but lethal.

“Listen here little girl, don’t do it. I’ll take your man if I wanted him. Besides, a Delta with a Que is Coleman-Love. Try me.” Nefe spit back at her in so much sass that her girls heard it and sounded out the Delta chant.

“You against me? Ha, nice try, little miss Lita Lombada. Any Man that wants you, is clearly delusional. Why would M’Baku want a Diva, when he can have a princess?” Melanin flipped her hair and the AKA’s said their chant in an echo.

“Girl please. You’re just a ditsy princess,” Nefe got in her face this time. “I’m the motherfuckin Queen!”

“Y’all it’s about to go down! Look at my girl go.” Sean has a shot eating grin on his face, as the crowd roared in cheers and chants.

This only meant one thing: all hell was going to break loose. Sean was eating this up mainly because he knew how ticked off Nefe would get. But, M’Baku knows more than he does. Even though Erik and T’Challa were in different frats, they still had M’Baku’s back regardless. The look M’Baku gave Sean didn’t go unnoticed, as both guys held him back.

“Baku, don’t engage. We don’t need a war to break out.” Erik tried to calm him down, as T’Challa nodded in agreement.

“Let them settle it. No bloodshed yet.” T’Challa wa she voice of reason for the boys, like Nattie was for the girls.

M’Baku nodded in agreement and sighed gently, before watching the show. Hearing the dawgs barking behind him to rile up the crowd.

“Disty? You don’t want none of this.”

“Did I stutter? Clearly you can’t hear with all that glitter in your ears.”

“It’s on now. Ladies, let show them how it’s down.” Melanie and her girls got into position but, Nefe stopped before they could go.

“I believe the term is, ladies first.” Nefe smirked and winked at her, walking across her squad to fix their hair and stuff. Looking at the crowd with determination, while messing with her own braids. She breathed in and out before calling out the girls.

“I’m here to tell y’all who runs this yard.” Eying everyone one more time, especially towards Melanie.

“I said now Deltas!” She began the stomp yell and the girls followed.

“Yeah!?”

“You’re looking good today!”

“Well the deltas look good everyday. Ooop!” The crowd went crazy as the girls moved in sync, with precision and grace, that only a delta could possess. This was gonna be a fun night, regardless. But only one would come out alive.

[ferallymine]

Someone You Loved

A/N:: Y’all BakuLin has me by the BALLS and I just LOVE these fucking dorks okay so let’s go ((also slight lyric change at the end ehehe~))

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

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy 

Katsuki Bakugo was going to be the Number One hero. There was no way he wouldn’t beat everyone in his class. All these losers and damn nerds were just stepping stones to his victory.

Push past the bullshit. Cut through the dramatics. There would be no contest- Katuski would be the best.

…

So why did this blue haired bitch keep knocking him on his ass?

I need somebody to heal Somebody to know

Lin’s quirk was… versatile. More useful than his own, but he’d never admit that aloud. As much as he enjoyed trying to fight against her in each training match, there were days that she was better as an ally.

“Wanna team up for this round?” Lin asked, stretching out her arms.

“Tch, why would I wanna be with a nerd like you?” Bakugo huffed, crossing his arms.

She shrugged, “Alright then, I’ll just go ask Midoriya. He’s not afraid of teaming up with me-”

“GET BACK HERE I’M NOT AFRAID WE’LL BEAT ALL THESE OTHER TEAMS INTO THE GROUND!”

It was strange at first, pairing up with her instead of fighting her. She was still working out how to apply different aspects of her quirk, which gave her fuel for small talk in the City Ruin Arena.

“Did you know everyone radiates a unique frequency?” Lin placed a magenta glowing hand to the ground, “This’ll be an easy rescue job.”

Bakugo raised an eyebrow at her, “You can locate people?”

“Kinda. I’m still tweaking out different applications of my quirk.” She chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Your energy frequency. It’s 420.”

“WHAT THE FUCK ENERGY DRINK WHY’D YOU GIVE ME THAT DUMB NUMBER!!”

“I don’t assign frequencies, Baku!”

“FUCKING HELL, LIN! WHERE’S THE RESCUE PEOPLE?!”

She rolled her eyes, hand still glowing, “Midoriya is southwest of our location. I can’t detect Jirou, so she must be farther than my range.”

Making their way south, Lin kept up the idle chatter, “Why UA?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh, c’mon Bakugo. Is it because All Might went here?”

“Stop talking.”

“The Shiketsu high school has a nice uniform. You’d look sharp in their hat.”

“Shut the fuck up, Lin.”

She stopped walking, “Is there something wrong with me wanting to get to know you?”

Bakugo grit his teeth, “Stop talking as if we’re friends. I’m not your fucking friend.”

He realized the effect of his words when he saw the light in her eyes go out. Lin didn’t speak the rest of the session.

Somebody to have Somebody to hold

“I WIN!” Ashido threw her hands up, left hand still clutching the controller, “Eat your heart out, Calamari!”

“BUT I HATE SQUID!” Kaminari sunk to his knees, defeated.

Kirishima pat the electric boy’s head, “We’ll get ‘em next round. Not like Asui did anything anyway. Mina CARRIED THE TEAM!”

“HAH! ONE GIRL BEAT TWO BOYS’ ASSES!” Ashido pointed, reveling in her victory.

“I’ll wipe that grin right off your face,” Lin snatched the controller from Kaminari’s limp hand.

Ashido’s smile widened, “Alright, Dea!!! Come at me with all you got!”

“Ribbit, you need two players for this game. Who’s your partner?” Asui put a finger to her chin.

Lin scanned the room, “Baku! You’re my partner!”

“EH?!” The blond boy’s face flushed with confusion.

She grabbed his wrist, “No refusals. We’re pummeling their asses tonight. I wanna see the joy of winning crumble within them as we smash their fictional bodies into the floor.”

Lin’s scary vibe got Bakugo to join, “Fine, but only because we’re guaranteed victory.”

Four pairs of eyes were glued to the screen. The rest of class 1-A watched intensely at both the screen and the players.

“NO!!!”

“YEAH!!!”

“HAH TAKE THAT!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“ribbit…”

Ashido sank to the floor, soul crushed, “If you hadn’t taken my sword…”

“We won!” Lin suddenly leaned over, crushing Bakugo in a hug, “Thank you, teammate!!” She let go just as quickly, returning her attention to lighthearted jests with the class.

…

Bakugo didn’t know what kind of warmth he felt in that spontaneous hug… but he wanted another.

It's easy to say, but it's never the same I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

 Something was off and Lin could just…feel it. They way Bakugo walked. How hunched over he was. How…more reactionary he was, even for his known dramatic flare-ups.

She waited until everyone was about to head out for hero training before cornering him in the hallway.

“Lin what the fu-”

“Don’t play coy,” Her eyes were crimson, “Something’s wrong.”

Anger flared back, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!” He struggled against her grip on his shoulders, but a glow of energy kept him pinned.

His jacket loosened around his collar, thanks to not wearing a tie. Lin noticed a…

Bakugo followed her eyes, “No it’s not-”

Before he could finish, she pulled him back into the dark empty classroom. In a flurry of motion and glowing energy, Bakugo couldn’t react until he stood shirtless before her.

“BITCH THAT’S NOT FAIR GIVE THEM BACK!” Pink on his cheeks, he lunged for her.

She stepped aside, unintentionally causing him to crash to the floor. No words could fall from her mouth.

His torso…was covered in disgusting bruises.

Bakugo kept his face hidden, screaming at her, “STOP STARING AT ME YOU FUCKING PERVERT. I GOT THESE AT TRAINING.”

“We…haven’t had combat for 2 weeks.”

“I DID SOLO WORK!!” He got up, still not looking at her, “GIMME BACK MY SHIT!”

“Bakugo,” A gentle hand rested on his cheek. Lin slowly raised his face to hers, kind green eyes gazing into angry red ones. His body trembled, fueled by anger and hurt. Knowing he wouldn’t dare whisper about it, Lin resigned her current tactic. She laid the shirt on the nearby desk and simply hugged him. It wasn’t tight. It was gentle, soft. Without saying a word, her arms slid under his own and came to a rest in the center of his back.  

Foreign. It felt so foreign to have this warmth swell in his chest; to have anyone hold him like this. Bakugo froze, not knowing how to process this sensation.

Should he push away?

Should he hug her back?

“…you don’t have to tell me what’s going on,” Lin mumbled into the crook of his neck, “Just…just know I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

 The armor around his heart cracked. Suddenly the sting of his wounds didn’t hurt anymore.

 Now the day bleeds into nightfall And you're not here To get me through it all

 The Villains…they found them…

Blue fire threatened Bakugo’s neck. He couldn’t move, making the situation even more terrifying.

Where is she… where’s Lin… Bakugo’s eyes scanned for her. The Villains said they wanted her, too. So if she wasn’t here, she was safe, right?

Screaming from the left.

Bakugo almost gave himself whiplash, turning to see a Nomu split in half with red energy.

No…

Lin landed in the clearing, crimson firing up.

No please run get away from here gET AWAY

“YOU BASTARDS!” She charged, bolts in each hand.

The man in the top hat cackled, “Finally, we have both packages.”

Bakugo noticed the blonde girl behind her. “MARDEA NO-”

I let my guard down And then you pulled the rug I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

 The shift from crimson to lilac was instantaneous. The blood flow even more so.

Lin collapsed to her knees, shaking. Eyes wide with horror at the metal speared through her body.

“He he he!” The blonde girl with twin buns giggled delightedly, “Fresh blood for Toga!!!”

The scream caught in Bakugo’s throat as she smashed a rock into Lin’s head. Her body crumpled, unconscious.

Everything faded to purple as they were dragged away into the portals.

…

Bakugo heard nothing of what this flaky skinned bitch had to say. His focus was on Lin, who was tied to the wall opposite him. She was still unconscious, but the villains did manage to bandage her up decently. At least she wouldn’t die from blood loss.

“HEY!” The flaky skinned bitch knelt down, forcing Bakugo to look at him. The rest of the villains moved positions to block his view of Lin, “I’m talking to you!”

“And I’m not listening. Get the fuck away from me,” He pulled against his restraints. Smoke from failed explosions seeped through the cracks.

That blonde bitch who stabbed Lin chipped in, “Oh! Oh oh oh Shiggy! If he’s gonna be one of us shouldn’t we, ya know, take off his restraints? If he gets hectic, I can always stab him, ehehehe~” The…obvious blushing taking over her body was disturbing.

“You have a point, Toga.” Shigaraki took out some keys, “Let’s formally welcome our new member.”

He didn’t wait a second more than being release. Bakugo set off well-timed explosions; crossing the room to kneel by Lin’s side.

“Dea…” He shook her shoulder, attempting to wake her up. Bakugo kept his eyes on the group before him, one hand ready to fire off unwanted advances.

The burnt fucker eyed him, “Of course, you run to the helpless one. How noble of you.”

She stirred, green energy wisping off her body. The bonds around her arms and legs began to glow. “Baku…go…” The bindings turned into pure energy, dissolving into her body. The new surge gave her just enough of a boost to wake up. She leaned on Bakugo for support to sit up properly. Blood seeped through her bandages, yet she ignored it and summoned a green shield around herself and him.

The lizard stepped back, “Shigaraki… yeah you said your sister had a cool quirk but that’s… that’s nuts and it’s not even her full potential.”

Sister?! Bakugo’s thoughts went wild.

“More of a reason for her to be here. Right, sis?”

Lin stayed silent; for fear or stubbornness, Bakugo couldn’t tell.

Everyone tensed when a knock came to the door.

Now, I need somebody to know Somebody to heal Somebody to have Just to know how it feels It's easy to say, but it's never the same I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape

 They were in this…ruined warehouse. The night sky was eerily clear, casting bright moonlight onto their situation.

Bakugo held tight to Lin, keeping her from slipping back into unconsciousness. His spare hand put small rocks and debris into hers- easy way to force energy into her body.

Now stable enough to stand, Lin leaned into him for some support. They kept their eyes on the group of villains around them.

“Miss Mardea Lin,” A booming voice from above, “I’ve been looking forward to this interaction for years.” A large man floated high in the air.

“Thinking you can brainwash me like Tenko?” Lin cocked her head, “Bold of you to assume you can control me.”

Laughter, “Of course I can’t control you. I want your power.”

“Over my dead body.” Lin’s stance wavered, forcing Bakugo to hold her tighter to himself.

“That’s the idea.” Red and Black lines jagged out from his fingers.

He moved without thinking. Bakugo pulled Lin into himself, turning so his back faced the flying man. Shielding her from the attack.

Nothing happened.

Bakugo opened his eyes and saw white.

The shield was white. So was her hair. The look on her face was vacant, yet dangerous. Turning around, the lines were broken into uneven shards, unable to penetrate the white surrounding the duo.

“What?!” A furious tone from the flier.

“This isn’t yours to take.” Her voice was a deadpan echo.

More lines shot out, each one shattering upon impact. Again, again, again. The Man visibly became upset with the antics. “STOP RESISTING ME, CHILD!”

Distracted by her, the Man didn’t see someone honing in until a punch connected to his jaw.

Heroes swarmed the scene. The one responsible for the punch was All Might, himself.

“LEAVE THE CHILDREN ALONE!” His commanding voice put shock into the villains’ bodies. Other heroes began fighting against the remaining villains.

An unimaginable mass of ice pierced the night. A shadow jumped it, like a ramp. Everyone was too distracted by the fighting to notice, save for Bakugo and Lin.

“COME ON!” Kirishima held out a hand, screaming as loud as he could.

Tightening his grip on Lin’s body, Bakugo let loose an explosion and flew off towards his friend.

 And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes

 Bakugo sat in the hospital room, forcing back tears as medical staff went in and out of Lin’s room.

Keep it together, Katsuki… not here not now not ever you’re better than this you’re STRONGER than this you’re not a fucking weak-ass nerd she needs you don’t fucking cry it’s just a little longer-

I fall into your arms

 Bakugo waited until everyone left before going into that room. Lin had woken up the next day, memory slightly foggy and pain only a 7/10.

“Hey, you…” She smiled at him as he walked in, “I was wondering when you’d NGH-” A quick hug cut off her sentence. Something wet streamed onto her shoulder.

Bakugo didn’t dare say a word. It was bad enough his god damn tears broke through; he didn’t need a voice crack ruining his image.

“Thank you, Katsuki…” Mardea placed her gentle arms around his body, “You saved me…”

He pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers, “I… I was…I couldn’t lose you, Mardea.”

“I’m right here,” Her smile was so reassuring, “I’ll always be here, Katsuki.”

I'll be safe in your sound till I come back around

 When the dorms were built, Katsuki made sure his was near Mardea’s. The class knew something about their dynamic changed, but couldn’t quite place it.

The duo knew they were safe in each other’s presence. After the kidnapping, it was rare to catch one without the other. They liked their unspoken relationship.

 For now the day bleeds into nightfall

And you're right here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And you built me back up

I’m so happy being someone you love

[the-dam-chosen-one]

Words of Comfort - Hinny Drabble

Ginny wraps her white scarf closer around her shoulders. Despite her sweater and scarf, the wind still bites. Goosebumps rise on her skin. Her eyes turn up to the moon, and she stares at its beautiful, bright surface. Standing on the porch during this beautiful night would normally make people's hearts warm and happy. But as Ginny stares, she can't help the tear that rolls down her face.

She remembers his eyes. The first time she saw him, they were the first thing she noticed. So green and so bright. She was sure that she would never see a green quite like his eyes ever again. 'Green as a fresh-pickled toad' she had once said. She has tried for years to find the right color, but its always a little off.

Next, she remembers his hair. A slight smile come to her lips, remembering one summer morning when she walked down to the kitchen.

Walking down the stairs, she pauses. Harry was in the hallway, in front of the families' large mirror. He was currently running his hands down his hair, appearing to be trying to make it lay flat. Ginny tried to hold in her laughter at the picture it created.

"Um… Harry what exactly are you doing?" The laughter she tried to hold back was apparent in her laugh. Harry spun around, startled. His cheeks warmed with a light blush at being caught.

"Wa-oh hey Gin. I was just…ah…trying to, ah fix my hair."

Ginny couldn't hold it in anymore and busted up laughing. Harry too started chuckling at the sound of her laugh. Ginny finished descending down the stars to stand next to him.

"Harry, you do realize that's an almost impossible task, right? I mean your hair basically defies all properties of gravity."

Harry's face heated more at her teasing. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could Ginny continued.

"Don't worry, it looks nice. Gives you that handsome but messy, rugged vibe." She walked away with a smile hearing his light choke behind her.

A smile lines her face along with the now continuous tears as the memory fades from the forefront of her mind. She remembers her time with Harry. She remembers the first time he kissed her. She remembers every kiss after. She remembers those stolen hours by the lake, and the times they would just sit next to each other working. He would occasionally look over and smile at her. Almost like he could never believe she was really his. He knew her too. He saw her for who she was and knew her strength. He didn't try to hide things from her or worry that she was too fragile to know. He trusted her to take care of herself. And she loved him for that. Love. That was such a strong word, yet it wasn't enough when it came to Harry. He was part of her, weaved into her very existence. She remembered the first time Harry said it to her.

Harry drew away from her lips, kissing the side of her mouth as he went. He pulled her into his arms, his head resting on hers. She felt his breath move the hair on her head. They stood in each other's arms, drinking in the feel of arms around them. She leaned back to look up at his face, but Harry held on to her tighter.

"Harry…what's wrong?" Ginny's voice had a level of worry in it.

"I was just thinking. You mean so much to me Gin, and I just… I can't lose you too. I can't" His eyes were clouded, like part of him was here, and part was far, far away.

Ginny felt slight panic rise in her chest.

"Harry what are you talking about?"

Harry looked at her, his eyes clearing.

"Huh? Oh, don't let my rambling worry you Gin. It's nothing."

Ginny didn't look too convinced. "You know you can always talk to me, right? Even if it's about us, you can always come to me."

Harry looked into her eyes, realizing what she was thinking. "No no, Ginny its nothing like that. Its fine. We're fine. I promise."

Ginny looked at him, still disbelieving as he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

"I promise Gin. I-I love you." His checks reddened at his sudden exclamation.

Ginny jerked back, shocked. Harry began to panic slightly, thinking it would scare her away. He tried to backpedal.

"Well I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Harry, be quiet." He shut up Ginny reached up and grabbed his neck, squeezing him into a giant hug. "It's okay. I love you too." The smile on Harry's face then would have blinded anyone who looked.

As that memory too faded, Ginny's tears turn to quiet sobs. She keeps remembering, even as it hurts her. Because, as much as she wishes it was different, its not. She should have figured out during that last memory, but at the time she had been too happy to think too far into it. Either way, it didn't matter. Harry had left her so she would be safe. And now he was off fighting the evil that grew larger every day and getting into God knows what trouble. And through it all, she was left alone. No idea if he was safe, injured, or five minutes from death. She didn't know where he was, or what he was doing. And it terrified her. As a kid, she had never been scared of such things as the boogey man or monsters in her closet. She had never needed to sleep with a light on in her room. But now, as she stands outside in the night, she realizes she is afraid. Not of the darkness creeping around her, but rather she is terrified for Harry. She is scared of the darkness that follows him. She is scared that darkness would be the last thing he sees. She is afraid of losing him.

The door creaks open behind her. She jumps, her mind coming back to the present as she frantically rubs the tears from her face. The last thing she needs is to worry her family about her too. She calls out to whoever came through the door, her voice crackly and hoarse with emotion.

"You can go back inside. I-I'm fine. Just needed some fresh air."

"That's a load of hogwash and you know it Gin." Ginny looks to the side as Fred comes to stand beside her.

He just stands, waiting for her to talk. Of all her brothers, she was closest to Fred. He had understood her, and she never had to explain herself to him. So he knew now, just by looking at her, that she needed to talk.

"I miss him so much Fred. I feel like my heart is being squeezed tighter and tighter every day. No one knows where he is. No one has heard from him. Fred I…I'm scared he's dead." Her sobs grew desperate as Fred took her in his arms and held her. He let her cry until her tears slowed and turned to sniffles. He pulled away from her and made her look into his eyes.

"Ginny, I know you're scared, but you need to think. Who is the most wanted person for Death Face?"

"H-harry." Her lips turned up a fraction at Fred's lame attempt at humor.

"And if he or anyone else had caught Harry, what do you think he would do?"

"Kill him. Torture him. Anything! How is this supposed to help Fred?" Ginny exclaims, more tears falling at the thought of Harry chained in a cell, being tortured to death.

"No Ginny. That's where you're wrong. If Harry was captured, the world would know. He knows Harry is a symbol for the light, and he would take every opportunity to use him to bring morale and others down. If Harry was in trouble, we would know. So you see Gin, no news is actually fantastic news. That means he is safe and well hidden, and has not, in fact, been caught." Fred finished his little speech.

Ginny looks up at him. She nodded along to his words, but as they both sit in silence under the moon, tears fill her eyes.

"I love him, Fred." She looks over to see his reaction.

"I know." Fred looks down with a smile in his eyes. "He's coming back Gin. I promise." He looks back up at the moon.

"It's a beautiful moon tonight, isn't it Ginny? The way it is almost full. It's like its filling up, almost ready to overflow but not quite."

A pause.

"Harry looks at the same moon. I bet he thinks its beautiful too. He's standing under it right now, thinking of you."

At this Ginny finally smiled. "I hope you're right Fred."

"I am." They both knew they weren't talking about the moon.

As Ginny stood there with her brother, her heart felt lightened. She felt comfort she hadn't felt in weeks. Harry was alright, and he would come back to her. And when he did, she was going to punch him. Hard. Out of love, of course. And while she looked up at the moon, she could almost hear Harry's voice. "I love you."

...

Harry sighed as he looked up. The moon was barely visible past the trees. He sat on the forest floor and thought. He thought about Ginny, and the memories they had together. He thought about her strength, and her fierceness. He hoped she would be able to see the moon tonight and think of him. Of the times they would stay up just to look at its glow. And as he looked at the moon, he said three words out loud, wishing she could hear them. "I love you."

[darley1101]

First Bite

A/N: For my choices besties Christina and Jen. Enjoy my fellow blood lusters! (Side note: my MC is named Anabel. That is the name I will use in most of my Bloodbound ficlets) WARNING: Contains adult content. If you are under the age of 18 look away. If you choose not to look away, well you’re reading at your own risk. @blackcatkita this is your fault!

  The steady pattering of rain against glass greeted Anabel as she jolted awake from a fitful sleep. She’d been plagued with visions of the Baron’s underground prison, of being trapped there until Baron decided she would make a delicious snack. A shiver races down her spine as she rolls on to her side and checks the time on her phone. 1 a.m. Her brow creases as she checks it again. Had it really only been a couple hours ago that she had fled the Baron’s blood dungeon with some renegade, clan-less vampire who went by Jax? Letting out a groan, Anabel flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to sleep tonight. She would be lucky if she ever slept again. It was as though the Baron had poisoned her mind with thoughts of being tortured and drained like some sort of juice box. “Get it together Anabel,” she whispered. “You knew the risks when you asked Adrian to make his real assistant.”

Adrian.

She raised her arm up and stared at the brand Adrian had pressed into her flesh. He had said it would protect her, that it would send the message that she was his. The Baron hadn’t given a rat’s ass about respecting what the brand was supposed to represent. He had seen her as a way to get to Adrian; which didn’t make any sense. In the world of vampires, Anabel was a replaceable human assistant. So why had the Baron thought she mattered to Adrian? And, just as importantly, why couldn’t she shake the memory of his dungeon. She wasn’t usually one to hold onto upsetting situations. Her ability to move on from traumatic events was something of a gift, a gift that was currently eluding her.

She propped herself up with one elbow and used her free arm to reach for her phone. Her lashes lower as she pulls up a new message to Adrian. I can’t sleep. It’s like the Baron’s inside my head or something. She hit send and then fully sat up. Dropping her phone on her bed, Anabel reached up to push her hair off her face. She sat there like that for a moment; fingers digging into her scalp as she stared at the light gray shag rug next to her bed. It was only when her phone dinged, indicating a new text, that she blinked.

Do you want me to make it go away?

Yes, please, was her initial thought. She wanted the images gone. She wanted to forget that the Baron and his sick blood pit, dungeon of human treats, and his maniacal laugh existed. There was only one way for that to happen though and as much as Anabel wanted to forget about the Baron, she didn’t want to forget about Adrian, or even Jax and his band of clan-less vamps. I haven’t changed my mind about being debriefed. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to be your assistant. Just wish I could get the Baron out of my head is all. I’ll be fine. : )

Anabel tossed her phone aside once more and rose to her feet. She padded across her bedroom to the bathroom. Without flipping on the light, she turned on the water facet and splashed some cold water on her face. It seemed to help a little. As she turned the faucet off she heard her phone ding again. She ignored it. Most likely it was Adrian asking her if she was certain she didn’t want to be debriefed and she had already made her decision. She was going to help him help the ferals. Maybe when it was all over, when the clan-less were seen as equal and the ferals were cured, she would let him erase her memories. In the mean time it was too dangerous for her to forget. The Baron, as well as several of the other Clan leaders, knew who she was.

Her phone dinged again. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Anabel let out a sigh. Clearly, Adrian wasn’t going to accept her silence. I didn’t ask if you wanted to be debriefed Anabel. I asked if you wanted me to make it go away. There is a difference. A faint smile tipped the corners of her lips as she shook her head. She could almost see the annoyance on Adrian’s face as he had typed out the text. I am about to watch some ridiculous movie about sparkling vampires. You’re welcome to come mock it with me. Maybe it will help you forget about the Baron.

Sleep was definitely not going to come and while she usually steer cleared of the Twilight franchise, watching it and making fun of it with a real vampire was an opportunity Anabel was not going to miss. She shot back a quick reply, and then quickly changed into a pair of dark washed skinny jeans and a snug black sweater that had a tendency to cling to her breasts. She told herself she was wearing it because it was comfortable, not because it had a deep v neckline that showed off her cleavage. After all, this wasn’t a date. It was Adrian trying to take her mind off what had happened with the Baron.

***

Anabel wasn’t sure what she had been expecting Adrian’s apartment to look like but it certainly hadn’t been a loft in SoHo with exposed brick walls and comfortable looking furniture. He had given off an Upper East Side brownstone full of antiques vibe. “Nice place,” she said in place of a greeting.

“It is rather nice,” Adrian agreed. “I wish I could take credit but I bought the place furnished.” That explains why the furnishings don’t really jive with the Adrian I know, Anabel silently chuckled. “Do you want to talk about what happened with the Baron,” he asked softly.

And just like that Anabel was transported back into that terrifying dungeon, the Baron’s maniacal laugh ringing in her ears. Her fear must have shown on her face because Adrian instantly gathered her against his chest. “Hey,” he murmured, “it’s going to be okay. I swear, Anabel, I won’t let them hurt you.”

Anabel pressed closer to Adrian, her fingers knitting into the fabric of his shirt. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, and his hands moving in soothing motions up and down her back. Biting back a sob, she shifts so that she can look up at him. Her eyes meet his. She felt her heart pounding, could hear her blood rushing through her veins, as she rose up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. For a moment she thought he was going to push her away. He seemed on the cusp of doing it but at the last moment he yanked her closer and captured her mouth in a kiss that sent electric shocks clear to her soul. She pulled away long enough to grasp at the hem of the t shirt he was wearing. The light weight fabric balled in her fists as she dragged it upward, revealing a set of rock hard abs. Adrian took a step back, untangling her fingers from his shirt. She let out a mew of protest that only made him smirk. With one quick motion, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor. In the blink of eye, her sweater and jeans joined it.

His fingers slid into her dark hair, tangling with the soft waves. She let out a small yelp as he used her hair as leverage to tilt her head to the side. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his mouth trailing hot, wet kisses down her neck. She could feel the scrape of his teeth over her fluttering pulse and wondered if he was going to bite her. The thought of Adrian biting her didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would. In fact she wanted it. It seemed even more intimate than whatever else they were about to do. “Tell me to stop,” he groaned, his breath hot against her ear.

“Don’t stop,” Anabel replied, sliding her hands down his chest towards the waist band of his pajama pants. “You told me you could make me forget…so make me forget.” Her hands shook slightly as she pushed at the elastic waistband of his pants, shoving them down around his hips. His cock spring free, and the long, hard length of it pressed against her abdomen. She started to sink to her knees, intent on taking him in her mouth, but he kept her in place by tightening his hold on her hair. Once more, she found her mouth covered with his. And, once again, she felt the kiss caressing her soul. His free hand slid down her side, toying with the edge of her panties, before moving the lace fabric aside. She moaned into his mouth as one of his long fingers parted her folds and pressed inward. Her hips bucked against his palm, wanting him to quicken the slow, frustrating pace he had set.

“Don’t stop,” she repeated when he simultaneously broke the kiss and slid his hand from between her thighs. Adrian chuckled in response. The hand tangled in her hair fell to her shoulder. His fingers traced a gentle pattern down her side before settling on her hip. A moan caught in Anabel’s throat as he slid both hands around her back, down her buttocks, and onto her upper thighs. She gasped as he lift her up. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, settling his cock against her lace covered womanhood. She rolled her hips, pressing him even closer. She wanted, no needed, to feel him inside her. Sensing her need, he used his fingers to move her panties out of the way and pressed the tip of his cock between her slick folds. For a moment, she panicked. This wasn’t how she had imagined her first time. Yet, somehow it felt right. Maybe it was the brand that made her think that she belonged to Adrian. Or maybe it was something more profound. It didn’t matter. She wanted him to be the first. First lover. First bite. First to make her feel alive.

“Oh God,” she moaned, looping her arms around his neck and tilting her head back. She felt his mouth hovering over the pulse point in her neck. It was coming. The point of no return. As he surged fully into her, the head of his cock breaking through her innocence, she felt his teeth sink into her flesh. The warmth of his mouth suckling the blood from her neck eased the stinging discomfort his penis thrusting deeper into her womb. Slowly, she felt something building, a bubble of ecstasy that threatened to take her breath away. Her nails clawed at his back as she chanted his name in time to the bursts of pleasure erupting inside her. He picked up the pace, thrust deep one last time, and then gathered her close. He pressed his forehead against hers.

Gently, Adrian lowered her legs to the ground. He reached down and brushed her hair away from her face. He studied her for a moment. “You should have told me,” he said softly.

Anabel felt her cheeks flesh. “Would it have made a difference?”

“Would I have still made love to you? Yes. Just not like this. Not in my front entry. And I certainly wouldn’t have…” His fingers trailed along her throat. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

“I wanted this.” Anabel stroked his cheek. “All of it. And hey…you were right.” He shot her a confused look. “You did make me forget about the Baron.”

 A/N So this is far from perfect. It has been a while since I wrote anything smutty, so be gentle in your critique. I know there is room for improvement. If you would like to see more or be tagged in future Blood Bound fics let me know!

[edsrich]

I Walk The Line - Reddie [ 01 ]

Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak is finally enrolled into the Boarding School that he had been fighting for years just to get in. However, not all is what it seems between these walls, full of shadows and unsolved mysteries that dangle on loose threads. Derry Academy has a dark secret that is yet to be revealed and the more Eddie finds out about the unknown, more grains of sand fall to the depths of the hourglass.

Warning(s) For the Whole Series: Rape, self harm, sexual assault, depression and death.

A/N: Please ask in my inbox to be tagged in a taglist for this series if you wish :)

Playlist ( X )

Part 1 | 2 (Soon)

"And this is your room, Edward."

"It's uh, Eddie. My friends call me Eddie."

Mr. Maguire lifted a single key that was attached to a metallic hoop, it hanging between the Principal's wrinkled fingertips and scraping at the thin air. Other students passed, giving almost shocked looks as the two stood in front of his now new dorm room.

"Well, Eddie, I'm sure you'll be a good student here at Derry Academy however, I'm going to go over the dorm rules with you. Does that sound good Eddie?" Mr. Maguire spoke with his monotone voice, his eyelids slitting his eyes.

Eddie could only nod, feeling very intimidated by how his new Principle said his name in such a broad manner.

"One, in your dorm you shall not play any loud music after 8pm. Two, you shall not have lights on past 11pm. If you are going to study, you should use your desk lamp and not your main room lamp. Three, you only leave your room for the bathroom after 9pm and you shall not stay in other dorms overnight; weekends are an exception." Mr. Maguire paused before tilting an eyebrow down at Eddie, "Do you understand, Eddie?"

"Yes Sir, I understand completely." He tried to keep his voice stable, however his tone only quivered all over the place.

A smirk toyed at Mr. Maguire's lips as he then nodded at Eddie's hands, Eddie caught on straight away and held his hand out before his Headmaster who placed the key into his palm. Eddie quickly closed his fingers around the silver key, tightening it between his fist.

"With that in mind, this is now your room Eddie. I expect you to design it to your liking; this room is already slightly altered as someone used to live here before you. Although, you can't alter the wall colours."

"Oh, thank you Mr. Maguire!" Eddie grinned, pulling his pastel pink polo down by the collar to allow air to flow through.

"No problem, kid." The Principal's facade faded slightly as something flashed through his eyes, but with a clear of his throat the facade was quickly hardened. "If you need me, I will be located in my office. Have a good day."

Before Eddie managed to muster the words to even form a goodbye, the Principle of Derry Academy had already legged himself down the halls of the boys dorm. Eddie sighed shakily, pulling his suitcase along beside him in his other hand, stopping it right in front of his wooden door that had a chalkboard before him that was nailed deeply into his door along with a stick for him to write his name upon. The chalkboard itself looked as if it had been scrubbed at many times with faded skids of white crossing over each other's paths. Eddie's fingers lifted away from the suitcase handle and grabbed at the thin stick of chalk and that was then he wrote his name onto the black surface. He simply wrote the name 'Eddie' with a smiley face right next to his name and a few squiggles here and there to let his personality shine through his name introduction to those who walked by.

Eddie placed the chalk back down on the small indent of a shelf before lifting the key to room 27 and unlocking his door to be revealed to what was before him, his new room.

The room was quite bland, as if it had been cleared- but some aspects shown that someone had been living here before his presence was. Such as how the bookshelf was half full with a variation of different colours and sizes with some more thick and some more slender. Even how the bed that was cramped into the corner of the room and how it had a plaid bedding with specifically three pillows and the fourth tucked at the end as if it were a foot rest for when the boy that lived in this room previously slept.

Something about this place was off, though; Eddie couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Eddie walsted his way inside with his brown suitcase rolling behind him, chipping at his heels with discomfort. A ragged sigh left his lips as his feet sunk into the rug below him which too must've been something that the person previously had in the room as an accessory to give a more homey feel.

His hand dropped from the suitcase as he placed it up against the pale wall and resting against a few cracks that had surfaced past the thin paint which showed its age just by that small detail of a crack. Eddie then walked forward, going over to the bed and bouncing down on it to test its comfiness.

It wasn't comfy.

Eddie could practically feel the springs through the thick blanket sticking up into his skin, causing his eyes to narrow as he quickly became unimpressed.

He was already starting to regret stepping his foot through the door of this school. He recalled how his Mother actually was hesitant to let him go after forcing him to go here herself; all because she was scared of him around other kids his age and staying under the roof of other girls. Eddie rolled his eyes at the thought.

Eddie was glad to be here though, he was finally away from home and from the tight grasp of his Mother, he finally felt independant just being away from her. The truth was that Eddie's Mother was far too protective over her son; to the point where Eddie couldn't leave or sleep without taking his medicine and wasn't allowed to eat certain foods for some odd reason. Eddie hated it, but he knew that he needed to take the medicine.

As he thought about his medicine, he stood up and walked over to his upright suitcase and quickly flattened it against the dark oak wooden floorboards and pulled the zipper across to unravel its insides. Inside of his suitcase was mostly matching pyjama sets and a few weekend clothes that he could rewear; most of the things inside contained medicine, decor and some personal belongings to keep him occupied.

Eddie huffed, grabbing his medicine packet which was sealed tightly at the top and placing it on top of his chest of drawers- quickly organising them after taking them out of their clear plastic bag.

Each was labelled with when they should be took, for example, the bright orange packet had the words '9pm / 7am' stuck to them from his Mother, alike to others but with different times. Each capsule holder was organised with what time they were to be took so that it was easier for himself somewhat.

With that done, he knelt next to his open suitcase once again to start packing away his personal belongings neatly just as he always would. His underwear kept tidy inside of his top drawer, his pyjama set collection and in the final and bottom drawer he kept his usual clothes and soon to keep his uniform for school days. Eddie sighed at himself, shutting over the final drawer and resting his frame against the wooden chest.

Did he really want to be here? He had friends back at home that he would barely see until Christmas at this rate and who was to say that he'd make friends at this school? Bad vibes were written all over it.

The only good thing that was coming out of all of this was that he didn't have to have his Mother breathing down his neck at every possible moment. He felt free, but at the same time these walls still enclosed him.

The air that surrounded him in his own dorm started to thin; becoming congealed. For some odd reason also, Eddie's small brown thorns along his arms stood on ends along with the goosebumps that strengthened the strands upwards.

Eddie didn't feel as safe as he probably should within his own dorm.

Maybe it was something about the aura of this place- afterall, it was quite an old building from the 1800's. Who knew what lurked these halls.

He hummed a soft tune, setting up his boom box up against the side of his chest of drawers and setting his stack of mixtapes next to it- each one labelled different to the other. Yes, he labelled his mixtapes based on certain moods and vibes that he was looking to listen to, some even labelled just as genres. It was out of habit, he couldn't help it.

What was also left in the room was in fact a large grandfather clock that was snug into the corner of the room and ticked itself to and thro by each passing second. The clock currently struck itself at 20 past 7 in the evening.

Tomorrow was going to be his first official day.

Eddie clung the metal key in his grip as the thoughts of his uniform and schedule ran over his brain, as he now realised that he should probably go and grab what was his from the office- which was probably downstairs where he came in through the dorms.

Bonus points: he also stayed on the first floor, so it wasn't hard to find his way around.

With making sure his keys were intact with him, the small boy walked towards his dorm door and opened it up- walking out as it shut itself behind him. Other male's of his age walked past his door and up and down the corridor and getting lost into the shadows of the night.

Eddie walked by his lone self, not making eye contact with the unusual eyes that scanned over him. They could probably already tell that he was the new boy, hopefully that wasn't a bad thing. But from what Eddie had seen so far, he couldn't tell; this place gave him a bad vibe. With each step that he took against the oak wood creaks beneath him, he felt like an outsider even more. Everyone here already seemed to have cliques, especially since groups of either those in two's, three's of four's were just staring in confusion.

Please, don't let me be an outcast again. He thought.

His feet strode to the staircase and eventually he allowed himself to tiptoe down each step; each one creaking which put Eddie on edge. Again, this was another reminder to how old this building truly was.

One person shoved themselves into Eddie's side as they passed on the stairs, causing the hand railing to stick into Eddie's waist- causing a subtle squeak to surpass Eddie's parted lips.

When Eddie glanced to the side, he saw a slightly older and much taller blonde with a scraggy mullet glare at him with a sickening smile of some sort- his three other friends trailing alongside him. One more on the chubbier side with a few pimples sporting to his face and dark brown thorns sticking up on his head, showing that his hair was gelled a bit too much. One of the other boys was rather thin and was the smallest out of the boys that were stood, he was more of a platinum blonde and his face was sort of scrunched up from his sour expression and oddly pale. Finally, a lanky tall boy with wavy brown strands of hair that almost danced at his shoulders, his smile wasn't as teasing however- but more odd, it was hard for Eddie to specifically pinpoint an emotion to it. He did know that it was weird, however.

"You're next, girly boy! " The mullet boy snickered, his friends too laughing.

Eddie felt as if they knew something that he didn't know, yet. His chest tightened as his thoughts were swarmed over with his kneecaps trembling close together.

Great, I've only been here for 30 minutes and I'm already being teased. Eddie thought. But why? No one knows who I am yet.

The laughs echoed through the small space, before they trotted upwards and to the dorm sections. Eddie could feel himself able to breathe properly again, for once not needing his inhaler.

With that situation quickly passing, Eddie stumbled his way down the stairs much more urgently so that he could get back to his room as soon as possible. The new scenery of the entrance to the dorm space and it's bottom office came into view, a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling before Eddie and down onto the long old fashioned rug that was placed over the new change of floor, tiles.

Eddie sighed, noticing another boy was waiting at the office and leant up against the wooden desk. Eddie didn't want to start a conversation at all, especially after his first experience seconds earlier- but he needed his schedule and his uniform for tomorrow. The sooner he got back to his room the better, right? Right.

The desk grew closer as Eddie eventually found himself in front of it, with no one attending the desk as they probably should. A sigh drew from his lips yet again as Eddie pressed the bell in order to alert the receptionist that someone needed assistance.

"I-I've been here for ten m...minutes now, I wouldn't get your hope up."

Eddie's eyes flickered beside him, seeing the boy that he saw when walking up to the desk. The boy was tall and looked around his age, his hair was cut neatly with some of his forehead exposed to the light, his bright blue eyes blinking as he too scanned the new Eddie.

"Oh." Eddie replied, feeling a sense of awkwardness rile up.

The boy blinked again, before speaking up. "Y..You new?"

"Huh?"

"New, as in new t-to D-Derry Academy?"

Eddie finally managed to pick up on the fact that this stutter wasn't just a nervous habit- but an actual thing for the boy.

"Oh... Yeah, I'm Eddie Kaspbrak."

"I'm William D-Denbrough, but call me Bill."

Eddie finally found a smile to twitch over his face as he finally had met someone who was nice despite his first experience. He nodded to the boy known as Bill and fidgeted with his sleeves.

"So... W-what's your room number?" Bill questioned, his head slightly tilting.

"Oh, I uh- room 27 on the first floor, what about you?"

Eddie also too found out that he was terrible at continuing small talk, or any type of talk in general.

However, with Eddie's response Bill almost stiffened up- with his prominent adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat, signalling something had changed in this innocent conversation that Eddie was unable to figure out.

"O-Oh, I um, I-I share o-one of those spuh-special rooms with another g-guy, it's r..room 45 on the second f-floor."

Eddie could also pick up on how his stutter had gradually gotten worse within the few seconds between their answers.

"Oh!" Eddie nodded, tapping his fingers against the polished wooden desk to create a soothing rhythm for himself. "I didn't know you could share with others."

"Y-yeah, we've been friends since kids a-and when we first joined we.. we saw that it was an o-option in the leaflet."

Luckily for Eddie, he didn't have to respond as the receptionist at the office was quickly back in her seat with smudged crimson lipstick and a pen between her claws. Eddie gulped but before he could speak up, the woman cut him off.

"Oh you must be the newbie." She cooed, almost admiring him. "Edward Kaspbrak, right? Mhm honey, I've been expecting you- Mr.Maguire informed me about you."

"It's Eddie." Eddie spoke up, trying to be polite as possible.

He hated being called anything but his nickname that he had grown used to over the years, Edward was just too much and Eddie was simple.

"Oh alright, Eddie."

Eddie flashed his eyes down to her name tag on her blouse, the name Elaine imprinted onto the shiney gold. Of course her blouse had popped buttons upon her white blouse and her glasses were slid down to the tip of her nose. Her eyebrows were drew overly arched, almost Marilyn Monroe like; her hair was curled into tight ginger ringlets. If she wasn't wearing so much makeup, she'd probably look around mid-20's, however right now she seemed late 40's at the youngest.

Her green claws moved away from the pen and pulled out a cupboard near her feet, rummaging around for a few seconds before pulling out a sheet. She then handed it over the desk to Eddie, looking through her clumped lashes at him.

"I'll go get your uniform, honey."

"H-hey, can I-"

"Wait your turn, Billy." Elaine spoke sickly, standing up and flattening her skirt down before strutting into the back office.

Bill sighed exaggeratedly, rolling his eyes at her usual behaviour and drummed his fingertips into the wooden surface; his eyes rolling back to Eddie.

"Well... She's certainly a character." Eddie muttered, glancing at Bill.

"Y-yeah, she's banging the Principle."

Eddie almost choked.

"W-what?"

Bill smirked at the smaller boys reaction, "Yeah, that's the only r-ruh..reason why she still has her stupid job. She can barely s-stand in her own heels, n-nevermind sort out who's timetable is which. I'm surprised his wife hasn't found o-out already."

"Wife?" Eddie expasterated, completely in awe of shock and disgust to already find out that an affair was taking place under the school premises.

"Yes, wife." Bill hummed, standing a little closer to Eddie and shakily picking up the sheet that was his timetable, "Lucky, she g-got yours right."

Eddie peeked at the sheet, wanting to see his classes and teachers.

Bill's eyes scanned over quickly, as if he was digging for information that he needed to confirm for himself- however, his eyes quickly settled on a class that he wasn't sure to expect or not.

"D-drama?"

Eddie felt his face flush lightly to a dusked rose, "Yeah, I suppose I take drama."

"Suppose?" Bill looked to Eddie.

"W-well.. I specifically asked for that to be my chosen subject."

"Ah." Bill confirmed it with his very eyes, "Well h-here."

When he handed the sheet back, Eddie could almost see something click in Bill's brain. But again, Eddie found himself to struggle why he saw that.

Bill then hummed between his stutters again, "W-well, I also saw you take History with a friend of mine, Mike. He's one of m-my teammates."

"Teammates?" Eddie asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah!" Bill smiled, his straight teeth poking through his lips. "W-we're on the b-basketball team."

"Oh!" Eddie nodded, trying to show as if he was impressed in order to seem kind to Bill. "So you're popular?"

Bill practically laughed in his face, in mockery of himself.

"P-popular? With this stutter? I wish." Bill's smile only grew in surprise to Eddie, "I-I also write a lot, which is n-not cool at all."

Eddie shrugged, "I think writing is pretty cool, it's cooler than acting."

"I write about c-creepy stuff, it makes m-me look weird." Bill stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants and swayed back and forth onto his heels, then his tiptoes.

"Well, you're not weird to me Bill." Eddie spoke gently, smiling softly.

Bill just looked at Eddie with soft eyes, his eyelashes dangling over his own iris as he scanned the boy with his own thoughts battling against one another. Eddie, confused, just stared back awkwardly.

"I'm g-going to make an offer, Eddie." Bill paused, "And this is s-something I or we don't do anymore."

"Oh? Do go on." Eddie urged, his curiosity growing by the seconds.

Again, Bill was silent for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

"I'm willing to offer y-you a place in a club, there's si- I mean f-five of us, including myself. We're all weird or d-different and I think you'd fit in."

Eddie felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of actually being offered to practically make friends; his first day of school had not even started yet and this was already a sign of luck.

"What kind of club is it?" Eddie beamed, trying not to show too much excitement.

Bill poked his tongue into his cheek as if to think for a moment before finally finalizing on an answer, "Well... I guess i-it used to be a uh- well... A club where y-you'd go if you needed to t-talk to someone for help or to let something off your c-chest, a escape." He paused, his smile growing and infecting his face yet again. "Over time w-we all became friends, did things t-together and the club just became... ours. We call it the losers club now. Because w-we are all losers."

Eddie enjoyed watching how Bill was obviously happy reminiscing on how he met his friends and how he found his place in school, the nostalgia clearly softening him.

"Are you calling me a loser?"

Bill's smile quickly fell and his lips fell into an 'o' shape.

"No! It's just... I feel as if you'd fit in with us e-even though we might have differences, we call ourselves losers b-because its funny."

"Oh, are you sure they wouldn't mind? The rest of your members- friends, I mean." Eddie fumbled around with his words, his eyes flicking down to his pumps.

"They'll u-understand why you've joined, so they'll be f-fine." Bill grinned, cutting himself off at the sight of Elaine.

Her buttons were fixed this time, but her lipstick still remained trailed to her chin; a stack of clothing in her grip.

"I hope this is the right size, pudding." She dumped the fabric against the wooden surface, "Your Mother called up earlier and told us all of your measurements and sizes- even telling us what fabric is the best for you!"

Eddie felt ashamed.

"So this seems to be the best match, now you hurry along. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow sweetheart."

Eddie nodded frantically not bothering to say goodbye, scooping up his new belongings. Just as he was about to walk past Bill, he was stopped when Bill placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If you d-d-do want to join, go to the room next to the d-detention room just beside the cafeteria during breakfast time." Bill smiled, "W-we always provide breakfast anyway, so you won't g-go the day with an empty stomach."

Eddie nodded, making a mental note. "Got it. I'll see you there?"

"We will." Bill nodded, smiling as Eddie parted pathways with him.

That night Eddie laid in bed wide awake with his matching pyjamas, his eyes staring at the cracked ceiling above him with soft and strained eyes. His bambi like eyes were slid over with exhaustion, but for some reason he still couldn't sleep like he wanted to. Something about this very room seemed off, almost eerie.

His window was shut, along with the blinds and curtains. His door was shut and locked tight too. So why did it feel as if eyes were boring into him?

Everything about this place was just weird, more weird than expected.

This school was supposed to be strict and ordinary, like any other boarding school. But it wasn't. How is a married principle having an affair a receptionist normal? Also, the vibe of this school had gotten worse as the night ticked on. The building would constantly creak and the sound of the old grandfather clock ticking put Eddie on edge, despite his medicine calming him down as they usually would.

But what did that boy mean by 'you're next'? Eddie could only imagine the possibilities of what it could mean. Was he next on their list? Was he next to be shoved into a locker? Was he next to die?

Oh gosh, he didn't want to die.

Eddie's exaggerated thoughts quickly became calm whilst he turned onto his side, facing the chipped wall in order to cut off the feeling of being stared at.

With those thoughts pushed back, Eddie closed his eyes once again and brought up fluffy thoughts of rainbows and future dreams. Anything but thinking of how stressful and nerve wrecking tomorrow was going to be.

A/N: Thankyou for reading part 1!! Like I said at the top ^^ if you wish to be added to a taglist, please ask me in my inbox :)