#sigh my poor pen is so dry it made it hard to use

[mediocredoots]

Some late night Hades doodles ✨

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[mutigold]

∞ teacher’s pet — i.n.

summary: in which the top student fails a test and gets extra help from his favorite professor.

pairing: student!jeongin x teacher!reader

genre: college!au

warning: sub!jeongin, dom!reader, pet play, noona kink, exhibitionism, handjob, ear licking, humiliation, quirofilia, seduction, he still has his braces.

word count: 1.9k

authors note: i really don’t know where this idea came from, but all i know is subby jeongin = 🤤. thank you for supporting me! watching people like my little writings really make my day.. hope y’all enjoy this <3. stream “Going Dumb”!

“would anyone like to explain what it means to be dependent on an organism?”

jeongin’s eyes concentrated on you, as he listened to your voice encompassing the leveled platform. today’s lecture was based on the living organisms in the world and you seemed to be determined for everyone to learn the curriculum.

however, jeongin could not focus on anything except your figure. you were wearing a white skin-tight turtleneck and black formal pants that emphasize your ass. all topped off with a large suit jacket and black louis vuitton heels.

it overall made his heart jump for joy just enjoying the view.

he thought about how those heels would look wrapped around his waist as he pounds into you; screaming his name. or maybe how your tiny hand would slip around his throat as he begs for your come.

“mr. yang?”

jeongin quickly snaps out of his trance to hear you calling his name. and not in the way he wanted.

you looked up at him with sad eyes, upset at him for not paying attention to your favorite lesson. “what’s going through that head yours? is it more important than organisms?”

he quickly fixed his posture, shaking his head rapidly, and responded with, “n—no, i’m sorry noona. i just was thinking too hard about something. i’ll promise to listen from now on.”

you hummed with caution, continuing the biological lecture. the student sighs gratefully for you letting him go off easily and tries to at least take some notes.

“yo, i.n. you okay?” a familiar voice whispered.

jeongin turns to see his two close friends, seungmin and felix, staring down at him in question. “yeah, you seem a little off today.”

confirming he says, “uh. y—yeah; i’m okay.”

“mhmm. okay with staring professor y/n down huh?” felix smirks.

the heat on i.n. 's cheeks becomes noticeable when hearing about his staring. he then tries to ignore the statement by writing his name and the current date in his notebook.

“leave him alone felix. he’s just probably having some problems with the lesson; you should perhaps ask noona for help.” seungmin tries to intervene.

“yeah; i mean, maybe noona can also help you with other problems. if you know what i mean.” felix grins bumping jeongin’s arm.

“f—felix!”

“boys?! care to tell us what is so interesting other than my lesson?” your voice suddenly booms throughout the room. jeongin jumps at your tone and begins to apologize again once making you soften.

“that’s alright, but please pay attention. oh, and jeongin, stay after class for a few minutes to speak with me.”

he didn’t know what to think at that moment; with felix oohing in one of his ears and seungmin trying to shush him in his other or the fact that you wanted to talk to privately.

alone, with no one around, made his mind officially shut down.

“you wanted to speak with me noona?”

you shifted around to see jeongin’s stiff form; then took note of how nervous he looked and gave him a light smile. “hey, kiddo. i just wanted to see how you were doing lately.” you wished to see some type of relief release through him.

but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

he still looked kind of anxious to speak with you, letting you know how intimidating you seemed. “hey it’s all good, you're not in trouble or anything, i promise. i’ve noticed how you’ve been acting recently in my class and how your scores dropped a little,” you reassured.

“ai! i’m so sorry noona!”

you giggle at the student’s consistent apologies. in your mind, you thought how cute he was; like a puppy aching to gain approval from its owner.

maybe you could make him as your puppy and work hard for that admiration.

immediately, you shake your head from the naughty images. ever since the semester started a few months ago, your thoughts almost ran around yang jeongin.

how his pretty smile, concealed by clear braces, shined at your speaking, how his crescent-shaped eyes followed your every move; making you feel sexy, how large and veiny his arms grew over time within the season, etc.

“that’s alright, jeongin. i just want you to feel comfortable in my lectures. how about this, you and i have a session later this evening to cover the material for the next exam. what do you think pup’?” you offering, accidentally calling him by the pet name you gave him.

after catching the tiny nickname, jeongin clumsy drops his possessions while feeling something swell in his pants. he begins to overthink the word. pup’? why did that sound so nice coming out of your mouth? and how was he gonna hide the fact that his dick got hard in the middle of their conversation?

“i–i’m sorry!”

“oh! no worries hun! here; let noona help you out.”

you instantly proceeded over, bent down, and gathered i.n.’s school objects. starting with some of his blue pens, his macbook, and then his green two-subject notebook. “n–noona! i got the notebook, it’s okay.” jeongin stuttered.

it was almost like he was trying hard to hide something in the notebook, and suddenly it all made sense as it opened to the front page.

yang y/n. it was his surname combined with your first name.

it seemed as if time swiftly froze with silence when discovering the secret. however, it didn’t bother you essentially much as jeongin thought it would have had. “aw, pup’, this is cute. yang y/n has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

the air that was in jeongin’s lungs properly stopped working when distinguishing how seductive your tone became. “i–i..”

“relax a lil’ pup’. listen, will you promise to meet me later this eveningfor some tutoring. i think you could really use it. plus if you’re good–”

you shifted closer to the student’s ear lobe and whispered, “–noona could give you a reward.”

jeongin swore he felt some pre-cum drip down from his pants. “y–yes, noona.” he swallowed trying to moist his dry throat, then jumped moaning in pleasure when your small hand gripped around his erection.

“good. see you then, pup’.”

a few hours later, jeongin ends up at the university’s public library, not knowing what to expect. though, he did make sure to be ready for any possible situation. what did you mean by rewarding him? did you feel the same way he did?

you must have since you did touch his swollen cock during your conversation. or maybe it was just his imagination?

jeongin sighs restlessly thinking of the concept while waiting for your arrival. that soon ends as he hears your alluring voice greet out, “hiya pup’! ready for our lesson?”

he peers up from the library’s table to see you wearing informal clothing. a tight crew neck that reveals your smooth arms extending down to red-painted nails and large breasts bouncing with every step you take.

“ah! i hope you weren’t waiting too long, i got held up in traffic.”

“t–that’s okay noona! i just got here.”

you smile at his nervousness, now acknowledging where it came from, and sat down in the hard chair right next to him. “good, we can get started. i hope you’re ready,” you whispered, feeling an urge to dominate.

jeongin gulps recognizing a certain excitement coming from his pants within hearing your tone and replies with, “r–ready?”

“so, what does adaptation consist of?”

jeongin couldn’t comprehend what you were saying being he focused on the way your glossed-up lips looked. the way he could imagine it wrapped around cock or it traveling up and down the side of his neck molding kisses; it worked him to the point where he was solid hard.

“pup’, what is going through that mind of yours?”

“s–sorry. it’s just, i guess this lesson isn’t grasping in my head yet.” he tries to explain not wanting to upset you.

however, instead of upsetting you, your colored eyes just darken. “oh! i have any idea; remember when i said i would reward you if do good–”

jeongin nods excitedly, making you giggle.

“–well, i know you understand the concept of this chapter. so to push you a little more, i’ll ask you a question and if you get it right, that little cock of yours will get to come.”

the student freezes up at your approach, thinking it was a dream too good to be true. “w-wait what?”

“what is the definition of homeostasis?”

“i, uh, i think it's an organism's constant adjustment to maintain stable conditions in itself?”

you reached under the table discreetly and unbuttoned the pants on jeongin grasping his swollen cock. “o-oh my god, noona!”

“shh, pup’. you gotta be quiet for me; now onto the next question. who created the biogenesis theory?”

jeongin’s breath became too much for him to handle feeling the pre-cum drip from his blood-filled tip. “n–noona, please.”

“come on puppy, tell me the answer or i stop.”

his mind starts to rush trying to find the answer before you let him go. it took him a couple of seconds, but once he got it, he hurried to speak. “henry charlton bastain!”

“good puppy.” your tiny hand moves faster, satisfied with the statement. you felt his cock throbbing with every stroke you took. like jeongin, you dreamt of this same exact moment. you wanted to control the poor student every time he walked through your room, when he made eye contact with you, or even when his plump bottom lip was bitten from his teeth.

and finally, it was happening.

“oh, who’s a good puppy for noona?”

“m-me! i am noona.”

“that’s right pup’. next question, what are the five steps to the scientific method?”

i.n.’s vein from his cock popped out sensing the rubbing moving faster than before. “i only know four noona!”

“too bad, i wanted five or i slow down.” you coldly demand.

jeongin began to try to think hard on the five steps letting the sensation run through his body. “o-okay. it’s defining the problem, making a hypothesis, testing it, analyzing the results… then..”

your hand slows at his hesitation. “give me the last one puppy.”

“oh! noona, don’t stop! i–i. is it d–drawing the conclusions?”

“good puppy!”

his cock grows bigger when your finger grips at the base. then, you painted nails lightly scratch at his tight balls. “oh! noonaaa. that feels sooo goood. pleaseee.”

“continue to answer like a good pup’ then i’ll keep going.”

soon after the next few questions, jeongin sits near his breaking point. “nooonnnaaa! please!”

“grab your textbook and hold it up.”

i.n. clutches the hard-covered biology book to cover both you and him from public eyes. suddenly, you lower yourself to his lips, deeply kissing him with tongue, and wander towards his earlobe. “one more question, pup’. what does stimulus mean?”

“uh! noona! please let me come! make your puppy come!” he moans a little too loud.

“shh. answer the question, then i’ll let you come.”

“s-stimulus? it m-means anything an organism responds to.”

you then move your head to spit down to moist his penis. “good puppy! getting your small cock rubbed in front of everyone like a little slut.” you cup the back of his neck feeling the shivers release through him.

“you can come pup’, come for noona.”

jeongin then lets go, coming hard in your hand. “o-oh! thank you, thank you noona!”

after guiding him to his high, you let go of him and licked the white, sticky substance from your hand.

“good puppy. i’m sure you’ll be ready for that next exam.”

[eroslove88]

Helpless

✽ Pairing: Stepdad Shigaraki x Stepdaughter Reader

✽ Warnings: Kidnapping, non-con/dub-con, machine, riding, overstimulation, recording, daddy kink, drugging, begging, humiliation, cream pie, slight bondage, choking, punishing, fisting, and Somnophilia

✽ AU: Quirkless (Alternative Universe)

✽ Note: This was a request from, @eyebowlsworld, hope you enjoy sorry it took a while 🐱 anyways have fun! Also you are of age in this story....

You didn't know why but you never liked your mom's boyfriend. Well there were many reasons, one being he was dry.... literally and when talking too, two he hardly showered, three he was weird. You always tried to talk to him and get to know him but he never seemed interested in trying to get to know his girlfriend's daughter. After 6 months you gave up and tried to stay away from home because he started living there now. Believe it or not your mom didn't noticed this, and after a year and 2 months they got married.

Of course you felt happy for your mom but you also upset that you never had to see him more now. 3 weeks after the marriage things were getting strange. Some of your stuff started disappearing, it started with just a pen, then your diary, your underwear, your bra.... There had to be an explanation to this.

You walked into your house and looked around before sighing an placing your bag down, "Mom, Shigaraki! You home?" you called out. No response, "So not home yet" you mumbled already used to your mom's tardiness. But what did you expect from a doctor. After pouring yourself some water you went to turn on the TV but you heard creaking, it was coming from upstairs. You stood up and grabbed for your phone but only it wasn't where you left it. "What the fuck?" you whispered out. "Maybe I misplaced it" you thought looking under the couch.

"Looking for this?" a familiar scratchy voice called out. You felt your heart stop realizing who it was. Slowly you looked up and then to the staircase. "I never liked your mom coming home late it made me mad" he said scratching his neck.

"Oh you came home early today?" you asked nervously taking a step back.

"No but I had a day off" he said with a crazy smile. Immediately you felt uneasy and uncomfortable. You looked over to his hand and saw a pill container and realized he had done to your drink.

"D-did you drug the water?" you asked voice shaking and eyes burning with tears stinging the corners of your eyes.

His eyes wondered to you looking you up and down, "Sit down" he pointed to the couch. Gulping you nodded and sat down looking at the ground. He reached for something in his bag and then he pulled out your diary, "September 16th..." he paused looking down to you. You slowly realized which entry this was, "Dear diary, today when I came home my step dad slut shamed me for my outfit. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it but the worst part was my mom agreed, that was a dick move on his part. Damn why can't they just break up?" he smirked looking away from the book then back to you. "Your so cute when your scared" you whimperd hearing his footsteps coming closer.

"I'm sorry" you said voice barely above a whisper cracking. Your face was red and due to the tears wet. You never knew why but he intimidated you and now you felt dizzy and tired. Out of your last efforts you reached for the house phone but, "You cut the-"

"Wire? Yes couldn't have my little girl try leaving" his voice got quiter and that's when you realized you were falling asleep. Even after many attempts to stay awake you still knocked out. "Sweet dreams" you heard before you saw black.

After chaining you to the bed back at his place he waited for a couple of hours before getting bored. So he decided that you owed him this....

He took off your skirt and began pushing in one finger at a time slowly into your tight cunt watching you squirm and let out small quiet moans. Slowly started picking up the pace and left small comments, "Your so tight for me baby"

You slowly started to wake up and to your horror you saw as he put his last finger in going in with a pop. He looked back up hearing your chocked sob and protest, "S-stop Stop Please" you begged trying to go as far away as you could from him. He only chuckled and went faster, "Nghh- I-I can't it hurts" you complained shaking your head eyes burning from the tears.

"Aww my poor baby" he said sarcastically rolling his eyes with a sadistic smirk. You were getting close, "Don't you dare cum until I say so!" he warned not stopping. Almost immediately after he said that your eyes rolled back and you came all over his hand. "Tsk tsk tsk" he said pulling his hand out. "Look at the mess you've made" he walked to you slowly, "No clean it up" he demanded leaving his fist in front of your lips. Slowly you stuck out your tongue but he thought you were to slow so he shoved his fist into your mouth, "Hurry up! I don't have all day"

You swirled your tongue around his fingers until he pulled out his hand. "P-Please Shigaraki, can I do home now?" you asked pathetically.

He chuckled, "I told you not to cum until I said so" he said not bothering to turn around walking out of the room.

Before you knew it you were in a squat position chained unable to move while being fucked by machine. "Aww I thought my baby wanted to cum" he cooed as you threw your head back onto his shoulder sobbing after you came for the 3rd time.

"Sh-Shiga-" before you could finish your barely manageable sentence he cut you off. "That's not my name" he said wrapping a hand around your neck giving a tight squeeze. "Think about it" he whispered into your ear after seeing you slightly confused. You groaned feeling the machine slow down so close to your climax. Your face already red from crying now even darker from the embarrassment as you stuttered out a beg, "D-Daddy please stop"

He patted your head before pushing a button making the machine go faster, "One more time for me baby" he began to chuckle, "Say hi to mommy" he said pointing to a camera with a red light shining. You were so stupid no to have noticed it, "Come on" Shigaraki squeezed your face making you look at the camera. You shook your head before you came all over the machine again.

"Please daddy! No more!" you practically yelled. He got up and turned the machine off leaving you with shaky legs and a tear stained face. "W-What are you doing?" you asked hearing a the sound of a belt buckle.

"You not stupid put two and two together" he said annoyed. Before you could say anything he had untied you and made you sit on his already hard cock. "Come on ride daddy's dick like a good girl then this will all be over" he said moving a piece of hair from your wet tear stained face.

"It hurts" you complained from the past orgasms. Slowly he rocked his hips and you began shifting. "You promise daddy?" you asked.

"I promise" an obviously lie but you were desperate. You began to move slowly at first but you soon sped up. "That's it cum all over daddy's cock" he said watching you sob but you started slowing down, "Don't slow down?" he demanded, "Or do you want the machine again?" he asked trying not to laugh at how cute you looked crying and shaking your head violently speeding up. "Don't stop until I cum" he demanded.

"Fuck Fuck Fuck" you chanted tipping over the edge. You did as he said and came all over his cock. You still kept going praying he'd cum soon. And he was, you felt his cock twitch inside of you, "No, Not inside please" you exclaimed stopping. But it was to late as soon as you ended your sentence you felt hot thick ropes shoot inside of you.

You collapsed immediately as he reached for the camera ending the live. He patted your head pulling out. "You did a good job" he praised. "C-can I go home now?" you asked weakly and tired. He shook his head, "No, I want to keep my little girl" he said leaning down and kissing your forehead then giving your pussy a nice smack causing you to whimper, he only chuckled at this though.

[i-need-entertainment]

Haikyuu!! Boys as Bad Dad moments

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi, Daishou and Numai

**These are ways they “failed” as fathers. I am not talking about ACTUALLY failing as fathers, just things dads have done that most of us either remember/get told about NOT TO BE TAKEN  S E R I O U S L Y  it is just for      f u n  I also gave them all at least 2 kids cause SibLiNgS**

A ‘*’ means it happened to me lol

TW- Mentions of giving too much medicine, accidental pain caused to child, these are things I either experienced/knew people who experienced them, allusion to cursing/a FEW bad words (but I substitute a letter for something else :)

*Akaashi Keiji: 

He had been working in his office when his son had come in.

You had been putting your newborn to sleep for a nap when your son decided he wanted to be with his dad.

His son was only 3, so when Akaashi was held up in his office editing his son, Kenji, would sometimes come in and plop himself in Akaashi’s lap.

His sons small feel padded on the floor while he made his way to his father, softly tugging on his pants as he stuck his arms up.

Akaashi smiled and softly chuckled before gently picking up his son from under his arms and placing him on his lap.

He got to work soon after, reading and revising the pages.

Other than having his son on his lap it wasn’t unusual for him to be drinking coffee while working.

Keep in mind, your son had inherited a lot from Akaashi, and not just his looks or personality.

But also his habits.

Because of this, your son was very fidgety, usually toying with a string or your fingers.

That meant he tended to move around a lot.

Akaashi had just lifted his not-so-cold coffee to his lips when his son had made a sudden movement, causing him to knock his arm and, “AHH” Akaashi’s eyes snapped open as his son started crying, cursing under his breath he stood up gently holding his son in his arms as he carried him to the bathroom.

Sitting him down on the counter he dried the coffee off of his son, luckily it hadn’t been hot enough to burn him, but it was still hot enough to hurt.

“What happened? I heard crying, is he okay?” Akaashi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, he’s okay, he bumped my arm and I spilled my coffee on him. He’s okay! It didn’t burn him, but it did hurt...” Your frowned as you stood in front of your son, giving him a soft smile before kissing his arm, cause kisses always make it feel better~

You carefully picked him up from the counter, rocking him slowly side to side as he burrowed into your shoulder.

“Are you okay little man~” He nodded as he sniffled into your shoulder, little hands clutching onto the fabric of your t-shirt.

“You know daddy didn’t mean it, it was an accident.” He nodded again, lifting his head to rub his eyes and reach out for his dad.

Akaashi gave a wobbly smile before reaching over to grab him, kissing the top of his head as he carried him back to his office, making sure to have some iced coffee instead.

Washio Tatsuki: 

This would be the first time Washio was left alone with the twins.

5 months ago, you and your husband had had your first children, your adorable fraternal twins Natsuki and Tatsuo.

Today would be the first day you would be away from them, but with your mother being sick and you being the only one available to take care of her you had to go.

You weren’t too worried about your husband, he was already a good dad so you had no doubt they were in good hands.

But it was never an enjoyable experience to have to leave your kids, especially your babies, and for the first time. 

So, you decided to leave early in the morning, give them their good morning kisses and head over to your parents house.

Before you left you changed their diapers, letting them play in their little play pen while your husband tried to get up.

Rubbing his eyes Washio walked into the play room.

He had to go to the gym today for a meeting, fortunately EJP had a really good daycare system in the stadium, so he could leave his kids there while he attended the short meeting.

He stopped in his tracks as his face blanched and he felt his breath stop.

You had changed the twins’ diapers...but you hadn’t dressed them.

The twins were still young, so without looking at their, uh, biological differences you couldn’t tell them apart....

Now, usually when this happened you guys would just check the diapers, but you had just done them..

And he was already running a bit late.

So, he made his best guess, got them dressed (one in pink, the other in blue), fed and in the car driving them to the stadium.

Once he got there he quickly dropped them off, rushing to his meeting.

The meeting had been fairly simple, just some pre-season info he’d need.

After chatting with his coach/teammates, and stopping Suna and Komori from pulling a prank, he made his way back to the daycare.

He walked into the building when one of the younger care takers, Yui, walked up to him, One twin in each arm.

He smiled as he carefully put them into their carriers.

“Uhm, just a question...” He looked up to her and motioned for her to continue.

“...Were you aware that Tatsuo was wearing the dress?” Washio sighed as he ran a hand down his face shaking his head. Yui light heartedly smiled, “Don’t worry, we switched them.” Thanking them, he picked up his babies and went home.

He was not prepared for the way you cackled when he told you what happened.

*Konoha Akinori: 

You had gone away for a business trip, leaving your husband Konoha home with your 3 kids. (You guys have 2 girls and a boy)

Your middlest child, your son Akira, had recently come down with a cold making the poor thing miserable when he tried to sleep.

Being the good dad that he is, he gave his son some benadryl!

The next morning he woke up, and after letting his kids sleep in for a little bit he woke them up too.

...two of them.

He tried several times to get his son to leave his bed, but the little kid couldn’t so much as swing one foot over the side of his bed with out falling asleep again.

He didn’t think too much of it, the kid had a cold after all.

So he let him sleep for another hour or so before making him get up for real.

A day later you got home, and everything was pretty much normal.

Until you went to put your son to bed, and realized he had crashed on the couch.

“...Uhm, Akinori?” Your husband lifted his head at your voice, setting the dishes in the sink and drying his hands with a towel as he made his way over to you. 

“Yeah babe?” You took a look over towards your son before looking back to your husband.

“...Has Akira been like that all weekend?” Konoha ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. “No, only since Saturday. He wasn’t feeling good so I gave him some benadryl, he’s been dead to the world since.” You slowly nodded.

“Uhm, Akinori?” He raised an eyebrow at you. “How much benadryl did you give him?”

He left to grab the box, coming back with it in his hand as he continued to look at it.

He shook his head in confusion. “I gave him the amount the box said, 1 teasp-”- He paused.

Uh oh.

He in fact, had not given his son a teaspoon of benadryl.

He had given him a tablespoon.

*Kita Shinsuke: 

You had to leave early one morning for a doctors appointment; you were pregnant with you and Kita’s second child. 

Usually for these appointments Kita’s grandmother would watch your 3 year old daughter Kyoka.

But she had something to do that morning so Kita was the one responsible for getting her ready for preschool.

Kita was a good father so you weren’t worried.

You knew she would be put together, fed, and on time.

There was just one thing you couldn’t account for.

“Daddy?” Kita looked away from the mirror he was shaving in and down to his daughter, washing away the traces of shaving cream. “Yes sweetheart?”

She held out her small hand, 2 bright pink hair ties with little butterfly charms on them held out in her palm.

“Can you do my piggy tails please?” His eyes widened.

He hadn’t done hair...like...ever.

But from the puppy eyes his little princess was giving him, how could he not do it?!

Plus, it couldn’t be that hard...right? I mean, he had watched you do it plenty of times, and it was pretty straight forward.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed he had her stand on the ground in front of him.

He grabbed her brush and put the two hair ties she had given him on his wrist.

He brushed her hair and parted it as evenly as he could, trying to be gentle in the process.

Now time for the pig tails..

He pulled her hair back, trying to make it tight to it would stay.

...But he might have made it a little too tight.

He turned her around and realized he had made them way too tight.

Not only did her hair look like he had slicked it back with x4 strength hair gel, but it was so tight that her eyebrows had been stuck way up on her forehead.

He was quick to turn her back around, loosening the hair ties so she looks like a 3 year old again.

His face turned undeniably red as he told you what happened later that night, you light heartedly laughing at his misfortune.

Suna Rintaro: 

Suna had just gotten out of practice, and now he was on the way to his kids school. 

You and Suna had 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. 

The youngest 2 had a doctor’s appointment earlier that day, which you had taken them too. Meaning Suna needed to pick the older 2 up from elementary school.

He had been listening to music, his music to be specific.

He had pulled into the parking lot, changing the playlist to a kid friendly one right before his children got in the car.

After they had told him about their days, and he had told about his, he switched back on the music.

It had been fine for a song.

Until he realized that he had a few songs qued.

The fun little song had just ended when the bass dropped, the color draining from his face as soon as the song started.

The mentioned song being “Big Bank” by YG, 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj of course~.

He was quick to turn the radio off, waiting until he could pull over, empty the que, and turn on kid friendly music.

He told the kids to ‘forget what they heard’ and he continued on his drive home.

Now, you’ve got to remember, his daughter is in kindergarten and his son is in 2nd grade, so they’re still kind of at that “monkey see, monkey do” age range.

Or rather, “monkey hear, monkey repeat.”

He thought it was gonna be okay, they were good kids so he figured telling them to forget they even heard it, they would let it go.

There was just one thing about his children that he didn’t account for.

As obedient and well behaved as his children were, they were also very curious.

That night at dinner they had all been sat down at the table, eating dinner and talking about their days. 

You had been feeding your infant son while Suna had been watching the 3 year old, the other 2 older children happily eating their food. Until...

“Hey mommy?” You looked at your daughter with a smile, “Yes baby?” She continued to eat her dinner, “What’s a b!tch?” Your eyes widened as your husband choked on his food, your baby laughing at the scene before him.

Hitting his chest and taking a sip of water Suna tried to catch his breath.

“Nezuko we don’t say that, where did you hear that?!” She tilted her head as she looked at you confused before turning to look at Suna, pointing a small finger at him.

“It was on the radio, daddy told us to ‘forget’ but I didn’t know what it meant...What does it mean?” You sent a glare towards your husband as you sighed.

After explaining to your daughter why it was bad to say those things and not to repeat everything she heard you cleaned up your kids and put them to bed.

...You had quite the conversation with your husband later that night.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: 

Ushijima had been on grocery duty this week since you had a meeting with a friend.

He had the Friday off, and since you weren’t home he took the kids with him.

Now, I would like you to know that you guys have 6 kids. S I X.

Growing up with no siblings and divorced parents, Ushijima wanted to make sure none of his kids were lonely.

Originally you guys had two, each kid had a buddy.

...but then you had a third, and you couldn’t just leave him alone...

so you had another...then another...

And now you guys have 6. But it’s okay cause you both love kids anyway~

He was doing his best, he truly was. He had his 2 youngest sitting in the little seat by the handle bar, 2 kids in the basket, 1 hanging onto the side and the oldest walking alongside him.

When they got to check out he had to take one of the kids out of the basket, so he opted for his 3rd oldest, his son Kazue, figuring he was older so it’d be a-okay.

He checked out his extensive amount of groceries before loading them up into his car, and his kids.

He pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and got on the road, his kids singing along to the radio and chatting amongst themselves.

They had been driving for 6 minutes when his oldest child, Ren, spoke up. “Uh, dad?” He hummed, briefly checking the rear view mirror before returning his gaze to the road. “When are we going back to get Kazue?” His face lost all color as his eyes widened.

As swiftly and safely as he could he pulled over to the side of the road, whipping around in his seat to take a head count. ‘1..2..3..4..5...oh sh-’ Turning back around he got back onto the road, taking the nearest u-turn and rushing back to the store. 

Unbuckling his kids from their carseats he hurried them back into the store, his oldest holding the 2nd borns hand, as he held all 3 of the younger ones in his arms.

He frantically entered the store, almost collapsing with relief when he saw his son sat at the customer service desk with the security guard, eating a lollipop before smiling when he saw his dad come to pick him up.

After giving proof that yes, he was his father, he took all of his kids back home after getting them some ice cream.

...this would be one conversation he was not excited to have with you....

Yahaba Shigeru: 

Yahaba and his 2 sons had been hanging out in the living room while you finished making some snacks in the kitchen.

Yahaba had been trying to set up a DVD player, you guys were going to watch some home-videos from your high school days but they were all on CD.

So, after borrowing one from his parents house, he set out to hook it up to the TV.

...Which was proving much more difficult then he first anticipated.

His two boys, Itsuki (6) and Hayato (8) were in there with him, ‘helping’ as they had called it.

Yahaba groaned as he sat back, a hand ruffling through his hair as he racked his brain to think of the problem.

You had finished preparing everything so you came in, with the food, and set it down on the coffee table.

You came up behind your husband, kneeling down behind him and placing your hands on his shoulders.

“How’s it going?” He sighed, leaning back into you.

“Well, I think I know what I need to do, I’m going to have to stick my hand back there though. Hey Hayato, can you help me out buddy?” The 8 year old excitedly nodded.

“Great, I need you to hold this flashlight here, hold it steady okay?” Hayato nodded with a ‘Yup!’ before Yahaba laid down on his side, maneuvering to where he could see the back of the TV.

All had been going well, he had just got it hooked up, and after having you test it, it worked!

He tried to get himself out from behind the TV, until a sharp edge caught his finger.

“Sh!t!” Your eyes widened, “Shigeru!” He hadn’t realized his slip up until he was out from behind the TV, faced directly with your glare.

“Kids, don’t say that.” His youngest blinked at him. “But why?”.

Kneeling down in front of him Yahaba tried to explain, but it was a little hard when you were glaring holes into the back of his head and his oldest was giggling at the situation.

*Iwaizumi Hajime: 

It was a weekend in summer vacation, and you and your husband were both off work.

This meant, you guys got a whole day to spend with your 3 boys, and one of the things you guys loved to do as a family was play games.

On this particular afternoon, your sons had chosen to play twister.

You were a little skeptical because you had 3 competitive, rambunctious boys. 

And an equally competitive rambunctious husband.

But after getting 4 identical pouts you couldn’t say no...

But, you elected to be the spinner. (..for your own safety)

“Left hand, green.” This put your middlest son in quite the predicament.

The only space available was the Green directly by his fathers hand, meaning he’d have to crawl under Iwaizumi.

“Okay Hajime, right hand, yellow.” Iwaizumi grimaced as he tried to reach it.

��This wasn’t good, the mat was slick, his hands were sweating-

“oOf” Before he could catch himself he had completely lost his balance, landing right on his son.

You gasped in horror as you saw the life get squeezed out of your 5 year old, scrambling from where you sat to check on your now pancaked son.

“...Hiro..are you okay..?” 

His small head shot up with a “I’m okay!” Before he, albeit wearily, stood up brushing off his godzilla t-shirt before continuing on with his life.

You took a deep breath as you sat back down, flashing a warning look towards your husband who sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

And after checking that yes, your son really was okay, you guys continued on with some...safer games.

Futakuchi Kenji: 

You had left for a weekend visit to see your parents in your hometown, leaving your husband and Your 3 girls alone.

It was a friday night, so after having a less than healthy dinner, ice cream and a fair amount of other sweets, Futakuchi figured a movie before bed would be a good way to finish off the night.

He scrolled through netflix trying to find a movie he could watch with his girls.

“Daddy, can we watch snow white?!” Futakuchi looked down at his oldest, Hayami, before he shrugged. “Sure.”

He may be a guy, but he was not above watching princess movies if it meant his babies were happy. Besides, it was a disney movie, what bad could be in it!

Everything was going swell, until the witch showed up.

He felt the sick feeling of dread in his stomach as soon as he felt his middlest curl in tight to his side, his youngest hopping off of the couch and climbing into his lap.

...Disney SHOULD have been a safe bet, but with the way his 3 girls were clinging onto him for dear life, he probably should have previewed it first..

That night he put them to bed, reading them a quick story before giving them each a kiss on their forehead and tucking them into bed. 

15 minutes.

15 minutes of almost sleep when he heard you guys’ bedroom door creak open, 3 sets of little feet pad over to his side of the bed.

“...daddy..?” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he opened them, brown eyes meeting the teary ones of his 3 children as they stood there. Speaking in as soft of a voice as he could he tried not to sound as tired as he knew he was.

“What is it munchkin?” His daughters all fidgeted where they stood, fiddling with the hems of their princess night gowns as they stood there.

“...We’re scared...can we sleep with you..?” Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get them to sleep like you could, and being incredibly tired himself he moved to the side, opening the covers and making room for all 3 of his princesses.

...This was going to be a long night for him.. 

Daishou Suguru: 

Daishou had been playing outside with his kids, his 2 year old son Kento and his 5 year old daughter Shizuko.

His son was sat on his shoulders, one of Daishou’s hands wrapped firmly around the boys ankles while the other pushed his daughter on the swing.

You had been inside getting dinner ready while they had been outside; smiling fondly at the smiles that were plastered on their faces.

When dinner had finished you walked to the sliding glass door, opening it and calling to them. “Dinners ready! Come inside and wash up so we can eat.” Your daughter and husband replied with ‘okay!’ as you went back to get plates. 

Slowing down the swing Daishou brought it to a stop so Skizuko could safely get off.

In all honesty, he was a good dad.

He was very mindful of his children and their surroundings, so they didn’t get hurt too often.

He was also very careful not to accidentally hurt them.

But accidents happen.

Walking to the back door, he, somehow either forgot or the thought didn’t register in his mind that his son was still perched on his shoulders.

He didn’t remember until a loud *whack!* was heard, and his sons cries sounded above him.

..He had tried going inside, through the door, with his son on his shoulders.

Bringing him down from his shoulders he quickly brought him inside to set him down on the counter, you almost screaming when you saw the bruise forming on his little forehead.

“Ah-wha-how- SUGURU! What happened?!”

Groaning Daishou gently put a small ice pack on his sons head, “...He whacked his head on the door frame...” You looked at him, “And how did he do that?”

Daishou sighed as he looked down, grimacing at the purple mark already present on his sons head.

...For the next few nights the couch became a good friend of his.

Numai Kazuma: 

Today was your son, Kazuya’s birthday. Today he would be turning 1.

Kazuya was the first, and so far only child you had with your husband of 3 years Kazuma Numai.

You and Numai were still learning how to be parents, and it had been an interesting journey to say the least, but you guys were doing good!

Your relatives and friends had just left, leaving you, Kazuma and your son.

It was pretty late so you started cleaning up in the kitchen and Numai started in the living room.

Kazuya had been pretty fussy, you both figuring he was tired, but when you tried to put him to sleep he wouldn’t even close his eyes.

So, deciding it’d be best to get it out of the way Numai held Kazuya as he was cleaning.

Things had been going just fine before Kazuya had reached out to grab at something on a nearby book shelf, causing the book shelf to start tipping over.

At that moment the only thing going through Numai’s mind was ‘stop the book shelf’, because at the moment, getting his son and him crushed by a bookshelf seemed like a very bad thing.

But what he hadn’t thought of was the fact that reflexively he had used both of his arms to stop said shelf (which didn’t even fall), the same two arms that had been holding his- “WAAAHH”

His eyes snapped down to the BABY he had just let go of, now crying on the floor.

You rushed into the living room, seeing your husband now cradling your still crying son, whispering apologies into his hair as he kissed the top of his head.

“Kazuma what happened?” 

He avoided eye contact. 

“...Kazuma...” Looking down he spoke.

“...I dropped him...”

...

“...you what?”

[aetheternity]

Hi, I hope you’re having a lovely day💓 I love your Levi scenarios so much

Can you write a Levi smut where he completely dominates his s/o and they cuddle at the end 😉😉😉

Sure np 🥰 I hope you don't mind if I add cockwarming to this.

Warnings: Smut, Fluff and Cockwarming

Synopsis: Sugar Daddy Levi once again missed plans with you and you've had it

Five hours and counting. You thought as you looked at your watch. It wasn't like it was out of the ordinary for Levi to keep you waiting. But today it felt slightly more agitating.

Four hours ago he promised he'd be ready in time for dinner, three hours ago he told you to stay put and that he'd be done soon and an hour ago he promised his baby would get a sweet reward in her bank account tomorrow if she kept quiet.

At this point you'd pretty much had it with keeping quiet. You walked upstairs to the dismay of one of Levi's most trusted servants Eren and in a flash he was beside you.

"What're you doing?" He asked

It wasn't normal for him to talk like that with anyone else in the house but you. The two of you having had been somewhat close for years and you'd come to call him a friend.

"What does it look like?"

He hooked his arm into yours. "I can't even begin to explain how much crap you'll get if you disturb Levi again." He practically hissed. "You know how angry he can get."

"He'll also get angry if I tell him we talk in private and you have my home number."

Eren released you with a sigh. "Knock first."

You made your way up the stairs, knocking twice but ultimately just bursting into his office. His gaze when you planted your hands down on his desk was frightening to say the least but you braced yourself repositioning your feet as you spoke,

"I'm pretty sure we missed our dinner reservations."

He wordlessly pointed with his pen to the stack of papers on his desk, eyes still fixed on you.

"I know but-"

He tapped the stack with the cap of his pen.

"Levi.."

Two more taps and he was finally relinquishing his gaze to his work.

"You can't possibly care more about your work than me!" You huffed, you couldn't quite see the look on his face but you knew he was rolling his eyes. You'd been a bit bratty lately but it was partly just for the fun of seeing how far you could push Levi in one direction. "Maybe I'll just get another sugar daddy." You spat

His pen froze and you could practically hear everything in the house including outside the house freeze. Like the universe was feeling your impending doom.

"Tch."

You couldn't really tell if saying things like that to Levi actually bugged him but those words had always been the perfect switch to make him do almost anything.

Levi blinked up at you before unfastening his belt, tugging it out of the loops. It quickly clattered to the floor. He beckoned you over and you practically raced to his side. In the same amount of time he'd undid his zipper holding his cock up before taking your hand to replace his.

You quickly dropped to your knees but he yanked you back up, seating you on his lap. "Levi.." You muttered

He sighed into your touch. It'd been a little while since Levi had let you hold his cock. The feeling of warm skin beneath your grasp made you squeeze your thighs closer together.

He got fully hard pretty quickly and once he was there he removed your hand. With a small tap of his foot to your ankle you were removing your shoes letting them clatter against the smooth hardwood floor.

He smoothly grabbed your waist turning you around and hiking up your dress. Your panties were the next article of clothing to go and you almost smiled when you noticed he'd stuffed it into his pocket.

It hadn't taken long for you to get wet enough for him to use to slick the tip of his cock and a bit of the shaft. Fingers raised up to your mouth, pushing past puckered lips to gather more lubrication. Once he'd finished he pressed his cock head to your entrance quickly sliding all the way in with a low huff that almost didn't register over your own moaning.

You immediately began to lift your hips but he held you down. Your confusion was quickly met with a tap of his pen on the same documents that had completely ruined your night the first time.

"Fuck, Levi!" You heaved in agitation.

His gaze drifted back to the stack on his desk, "Can't imagine why you're complaining. You were getting my dick tonight either way."

You let out a whiny moan when Levi scooted his chair a little closer to his desk somehow completely ignoring the way his cock poked around inside your walls. You leaned your head back in a temporary truce, toes curling as every inch of Levi filled you up.

He had your thighs spread in a way that kept your feet off the ground and you knew if you even dared to touch your clit he'd make you suffer. Though you did have one trick you could use..

Levi was definitely way more aroused than his face would let on. The slight twitching of his cock when you experimentally squeezed around him giving it all away. You shut your eyes, keeping the rest of your body as still as possible as you gave him another slightly rougher squeeze.

Delight filled your face the second you saw Levi's eyebrow twitch. You had him. Like always. Suddenly his hand flew up to grab your throat, fingers curling hard enough to make you gasp. You sucked in a breath as he tugged you closer.

"I asked for one thing and you can't do it?" His breath fanned your cheek, lips ghosting over your ear canal. "Clearly, I spoil you too fucking much."

He ripped his hand off your throat, returning to his paperwork expression never changing. In the heat of the moment a daze fell over you but once the current situation began to set in again you couldn't help but grind your teeth.

~~~~

Almost an hour had passed by the time Levi finally picked you up, shoving your elbows against his desk with no warning. Your fingers scratching against the smooth wood, his cock retreating from your entrance to the tip before he was pressing back in all at once.

"Daaadddyyy.." The moan you let out was needy and whiny but you couldn't careless.

"Finally managed to get you to be quiet and still while I finished my work." Levi grunted, pushing your dress further up your hips. "Would've taken less time if you'd listened hmm? Little brat."

You both moaned in unison as the head of his cock hit your g-spot.

"Mm, is this what you wanted? That why you've been so childish?"

"Y-yes daddy.."

His pace wasn't too fast, just hard enough to get your knees shaking and your thighs inching apart.

He pressed in deeper and you gasped at the angle, the desk shaking under you. The low rattling of the poor furniture echoing off the walls. A burning heat already beginning to fill your stomach as he roughly held your waist in place barely pulling his cock out with every thrust.

A low growl from the back of his throat sent chills up your spine. His soft hand inching its way back down, thumb etching against the velvety skin of your belly. With a tight squeeze he was making your head fall back.

"Feel that baby?" He whispered, breath equivalent to fire setting your skin ablaze. He kissed the tip of your ear. "That's me. You like how I feel?"

Your toes curled, eyes rolling shut with every curve of Levi's cock stretching your walls. Your sweet spots throughly assaulted as you pressed back into his hips.

All you could do was let out a loud exhale in reply. Your hips probably properly red from slamming against his desk repeatedly. The other hand that had stayed on your waist ran its way up your back till it was cupping your face, forcing your eyes to meet his.

"Answer."

"Y-yes.."

He grumbled, teeth grinding over the shell of your ear. "Yes, what?"

"Yes daddy.." You cried out.

The hand on your stomach reached back to cup your ass quickly being joined by his other hand spreading you open and pulling you back a little rougher. A deep groan crested off his lips as he plunged as deep as he could go. The sounds of your skin and his colliding impressively loud.

It wasn't like he hadn't fucked you against his desk before but the sounds of it creaking beneath you sounded way more intense than ever before but Levi didn't seem to give it a second thought.

Papers quickly begin to drop off his desk and the lamp on the edge teetering a bit.

"Daddy." You begged, fingernails scraping up small bits of wood.

"Go ahead, push yourself over."

It was tough with the angle and all but you managed to hook your hand between your legs involuntarily squeezing around Levi at the first stroke of your clit.

"Shit.." He panted

You absolutely adored the sound of him coming undone. The hitch of his breath and the way his leg twitched against you.

"Almost.. I'm about to.." You gasped, toes balled up against his floor.

Your hand curled into a fist, slamming against his desk a couple times before you were letting loose with an almost frustrated scream. Not even caring who could hear. Your throat had become impressively dry as you came squeezing so tightly around Levi that he paused for just a second weakly gasping.

"Ohhhh fuuccck." He grunted a little moan following it.

A hand shot up to your neck holding your head up while the other hand traveled up your dress. Smooth fingers pressing and squeezing at your nipples before traveling back down to your waist.

His breath was practically sulfurous on your already sweltering skin. "I'm soooooo fucking close.. I'm gonna fill your pretty pussy, ok."

You huffed, the hand around your neck tightening. His grey eyes fell dark, eyelids fluttering shut. The hand on your waist fell to his desk and you could practically hear his nails seeping through the wood.

His forehead fell to yours followed by an intense moan that would've definitely made you fall to the ground had you not been holding on for dear life. A plethora of curses tainting your ears as he fucked you through his orgasm.

Once both of you had settled down he stepped back allowing you to stand. With a deep breath you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a deep kiss. The feeling of Levi's fingers hooking under your thighs surprised you but you allowed it letting out a little chuckle as he hoisted you up.

His bare feet slapped against the floor as he quickly guided you to his room down the hall. He let the door slam behind him placing you gently on the bed.

His tongue slid its way between your lips as he tugged his pants and boxers completely off. Dark hair tickling your forehead and you couldn't help but reach up to brush it aside.

He pulled back sliding his thumbs over your shoulder and then over the fabric of your dress. "Off." He demanded

You quickly complied inching the dress down off your shoulders once Levi had unzipped the back. It quickly fluttered to the ground and you watched as Levi pulled himself up to the head of the bed. His hands quickly coming up to cup both sides of your bra before that was quickly discarded as well.

He let out a soft hum. "Hurry up, take this off me." He said gesturing to his jacket and button up.

"How long do you plan on keeping this pair of panties?" You questioned with a grin. The gorgeous white lace peeked over the top of the dark blue pocket.

"Forever."

"Leeevvviii." You pouted

"Tch, I give you enough money weekly to buy 4 houses you could fill with panties."

You smirked undoing the last button on his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders. It didn't really seem to matter how often you saw his chest it still brought heat to your cheeks. One of your hands slid up his toned abdomen as he tugged you back into a kiss.

You curved both your hands up to his jawline etching your thumb up something so sharp you swear it could cut diamonds. A smile brought to your lips at the thought.

It didn't take long for the tip of his tongue to prod its way into your mouth. His breath catching at the way you bit down as he pushed it deep inside. In the same instance he cupped your thighs yanking you into his lap poking his tip up to your entrance.

His eyes opened and your breath caught as he pushed inside. Lips parting with the arch of your back, your gasp heavy and thick bouncing impressively well of the walls.

"Oh god, Levi.."

The snap of his hips was damn near violent and you practically choked. "What have I told you about calling me Levi when I'm fucking you?" He grunted

"Mmm soorrryy daddy." You playfully pouted and he rewarded you with deeper thrusts.

He wasn't quite pounding against you this time but it was still intense enough to have your thighs shaking in his lap. You allowed yourself to softly squeeze around him immediately titillated at the low exhale he let out.

His eyelids fell halfway, cheeks already becoming full of color as he rocked his hips into you.

"I'll get a new.. reservation tomorrow...." Levi sighed, watching as his cock sheathed itself inside your clenching pussy.

"Still.. thinking about that?" Levi might work a lot but he always managed to find someway to make it up and sometimes that was your favorite thing about him.

"Mm." It was hard to interpret that as an answer to your question or a groan. Possibly both.

Your left hand tangled itself in his hair while the nails on your right hand dug into his shoulder with each deep delve of his cock. Soft moans spilling off your lips.

The bed heaved its own remarks with each clap of Levi's skin meeting yours. The coil in your belly only tightening as Levi reached out to palm your breasts. His touch remarkably delicate.

Your forehead fell against his, flinching a little at the mix of sweat coupled with his hair sticking to the sides of his face. Thighs spasming where they were squeezing around his body.

The strong sensation of Levi shuddering inside you continued to build and your head fell back again. Craving the sweet overwhelming climax that was slowly getting more and more heavy inside you.

"Daddy.."

You were met with a low moan into your shoulder. His thrusts were quickly becoming reckless and uneven. Within seconds the two of you were writhing uncontrollably.

"Dadddyy.. I'm there.." You cried out

The uncoiling of your stomach had you squeezing around Levi in every way possible. Eyes squeezing shut as your hips left your control completely. His own orgasm immediately following yours with a myriad of sweet moans. Body plastered to yours as if you were his lifeline.

You squeezed your legs closed as he pulled out placing you on the bed next to him. His grey eyes softening as he came down from his high, pulling you in closer till your chests were pressed tightly together.

"See, now how could work be better than that?" You giggled

He rolled his eyes but pulled you in for a chaste kiss tangling his legs with yours. "I never said it was better. But if you wanna keep living in your apartment you'll be grateful for the work I do."

"I'm always grateful, daddy."

"Don't you dare start me up again." He muttered, eyelids fluttering shut.

You waited until his breathing evened out and his body grew slack to lean into his ear. "Thank you Levi."

[faulty-writes]

Hello, I just read your tensei one-shot and loved it! Could I request something with him after his injury and he gets his wheelchair, he and reader adjusting to life again?

If not that's totally fine!

[ I would be more than willing to write anything involving the Iida boys. I just adore Tensei, poor baby stuck in a wheelchair. ]

You had visited him a couple months after the hero killer incident. “Is there anything else you’d like me to add to your new wheelchair?” you questioned as you tapped the tip of the pen against the paper which was currently held in place by your clipboard.

Despite trying to get over the fear of almost losing Tensei and getting used to the changes that had happened within the Idaten Agency. That is the change of command, it had taken a long while and plenty of discussion and arguments as to who was a worthy replacement for Ingenium.

You knew in reality that no one could replace the one-of-a-kind hero Tensei was. After all, he paved the way for many sidekicks and that wasn’t something that could be easily matched. Maybe it was selfish to say that you didn’t want to follow anyone else’s authority.

You were thankful that you were close to the Iida family, but it was only per Tensei’s request that you found yourself in his bedroom. It wasn’t that hard to spot the accessories that now littered the man’s room which included safety bars that allowed him to pull himself onto the bed.

But, at the moment he looked comfortable sprawled across his bed with his legs stretched out in front of him and a massive amount of pillows piled behind his back. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt, with an unbuttoned long-sleeved plaid shirt over it.

You were a little surprised he had decided to wear jeans today, but he looked handsome as always. You were also happy that his spirit wasn’t completely broken and that was evident enough from the way he smiled at you, showing off his pearly whites which made your heart race.

You glanced away in an effort to hide your flushed cheeks. “No,” he replied as he reached over to touch the top of your knee. You gasped and immediately looked down at that hand. Tensei’s touch was always gentle and you reached over, placing your hand over his.

The former hero seemed pleased and you took note of that gentle expression that illuminated his face as he looked at you. “I really appreciate it, Y/n. You’re the best,” he said just before he squeezed your knee. “Heh,” your cheeks continued to heat up as you brushed a piece of hair behind your ear.

��I-It’s nothing Tensei, I-” he interrupted you. “It’s not nothing, you’ve been there for me since we met back at Yuuei,” he leaned over with a slightly sympathetic smile. “I know I scared everyone, going after the hero killer. But hey, at least I’m still your hero. Right?” he questioned but your smile immediately faded.

“Huh?” of course Tensei noticed your now sad expression, but your sigh seemed to make matters worse. He knew it was still a tender subject to talk about and that it would take a long while to get used to the way everything was now. “Sorry, it’s just…” your hand clenched around the clipboard.

“Tensei you don’t think we stopped looking at you as a hero because of this, right?” you questioned, trying to prevent your bottom lip from quivering. But inside, you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink in your chest. Despite what happened and the end result of Tensei’s retirement and condition.

You never stopped looking at him as a hero and you never would, the day Tensei was reported injured it was like time stood still. Everyone frozen in their own grief and worry, you were surprised the Idaten team still managed to complete their scheduled hero tasks for the day. He glanced down, and you heard him take a deep breath.

“I know it was a big shock," maybe that was an underestimate, for a moment he thought he was going to die as he laid there in his hospital bed with all those injuries. "I also know I still have people that look up to me. I just hope I’ll always be a hero to my little brother and...to you,” he gave you a sheepish smile and your mouth went dry.

Once more you were reminded that without even trying Tensei could keep you right where he wanted you. Your fingers tightened around his hand that still laid on your knee and slowly, you found yourself leaning forward. Tensei remained where he was, however his eyes widened slightly.

As if he were wondering what you were doing, it was only when he raised his eyebrow that you seemed to snap out of your actions. “Oh,” you glanced away as that familiar heat coursed through your cheeks. “I-I’m sorry!” you stuttered before suddenly standing causing Tensei's hand to fall from its previous place on your knee.

“Hey,” he said as he attempted to reach out to you again. “Are you okay?” he frowned when the only response he got from you was a frantic nod. “Y/n,” he began, almost prepared to scold you but he stopped when you shook your head. “S-Sorry Tensei!” you replied as you cradled the clipboard to your chest.

“I-I’ll have that wheelchair for you next time I come to see you,” though once more you were reminded that you hated walking into the Idaten Agency knowing that Tensei wasn’t in control of it. Part of you was even worried that they would take away your workshop, the one that Tensei specifically ordered to be built for you.

It seemed unlikely, they needed you and your expertise which meant the workshop should remain untouched. But if there was anything you learned from Tensei, it was that unexpected things happen. You tried to push it to the back of your head, failing to notice the eerie silence filling the room.

“Y/n,” came Tensei’s voice and you heard the bed squeak as the former hero maneuvered his legs over the edge of the bed. You blinked and slowly turned to look over your shoulder. It must be hard to lift your own legs like that.

One of Tensei’s hands was securely holding onto the bed rail and the other was fisted into the mattress, his expression was intense as he looked at you with a present frown across his lips. It was a surprise to see Tensei so unhappy and you slowly turned around, lowering the clipboard from your chest.

“Tensei what are you doing?” you glanced over at his current wheelchair which was sitting in the corner of the room unoccupied. “Mm…” you muttered, lowering your eyebrows as if you were angry. Why was the wheelchair so far away from him?

You took a step forward, fully intent on retrieving it when Tensei spoke again. “Wait,” the command, though simple and soft, halted you in your tracks. You slowly glanced back at Tensei who took a deep breath before he held his arms out in front of him.

You knew he was indicating a hug and felt your heart begin to race. “Come here,” yet another simple command, but you followed it as if you were under hypnosis. You closed the distance between Tensei and yourself, allowing his arms to gently wrap around you.

Despite the blood rushing to your cheeks as you were pulled close to him, your chin resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder. Your nostrils were filled with his musky cinnamon-like scent and the feeling of being completely safe washed over you.

You brought your arms up to wrap around his neck, though the clipboard made it slightly difficult. Tensei didn’t seem to mind the piece of wood resting against his shoulder blades and you enjoyed the blissful moment of peace before you stepped away.

“Um...t-thank you,” the stuttered words left your mouth and you looked down at your clipboard. Part of you was eager to start on the new wheelchair but another part wanted to stay with him. Then again, you didn’t want to overextend your welcome. “I...I should go now, but-” you pointed towards the door just as Tensei spoke again.

“Are you sure? You know you’re always welcome to stay as long as you’d like," a nervous chuckle came and you directed your glance to the floor. “I...I know but-” you paused, what could you even say? That you did want to stay, that you didn’t want to leave Tensei’s side?

All those things sounded nice in your head, but more than likely would be a jumbled mess if you tried to speak them out loud. So instead you swallowed your courage back and shook your head. “I...I can’t,” you replied, trying not to feel guilty when you saw Tensei frown.

You’d much prefer to see that pearly white smile of his. “I’m sorry, it’s just…” you trailed off for a moment, your eyes glancing back and forth before you continued. “I want to get a head start on your new wheelchair.” you hoped he'd buy that explanation.

Though it wasn’t entirely a lie, you did want to make the new wheelchair and you wanted every last detail of it to be perfect. “Hm?” you watched as a surprised expression came over Tensei’s face before softening into that normal smile of his.

“You really want to get started on that, huh? Just the thing I’d expect from one of my best,” you brought your free hand up to your chest where you could feel your rapid heartbeat. You knew your cheeks were a toasty red color and you looked away.

“Y-You really think that…?” you always seemed to get flustered when Tensei complimented you but that wasn’t much of a surprise at this point. He nodded, “I do,” he replied with a chuckle, his hand pressing to the back of his dark blue hair and his eyes remained on you.

Though he’d never tell you, he thought you looked adorable with your cheeks that rosy and felt a sense of pride knowing he was the cause of it. “Um…” you pressed your lips together, your mind coming up with a thousand responses before you actually settled on one.

“T-Thank you,” the words left your mouth quickly before you bowed and scurried to the door. “I-I’ll inform you when y-your wheelchair is ready!” you squeaked out before opening the door and running down the hallway.

It wasn’t the most polite exit and it left Tensei calling after you, but you kept running with the clipboard securely pressed against your chest. “I have to make this for him,” you said with no hesitation and from that point, you spent every waking moment in your workshop.

This caused a deal of concern to the Idaten Team. Maybe they knew of your feelings towards Tensei or maybe they were just afraid you were focusing too much of your effort on something that wouldn’t benefit the able-bodied heroes that were currently employed at the Idaten Agency.

You knew it was rude to think that way, but you couldn’t help it. You had known Tensei for so long, you saw him grow since your days at Yuuei. Helped him build the Idaten Agency from the bottom up, recruit the sidekicks, watch him become the pro hero he was meant to be only to see his downfall in the worst kind of way.

Well, it just didn’t feel the same without him. Tensei was always going to be the only one you would truly follow which is why you wouldn’t let him down. Your fingers ached and you had gotten a few cuts here and there, but to see the finished product was well worth it. You had added some features to the wheelchair that most wouldn't expect.

Overall, it appeared to resemble that of a standard wheelchair apart from its blue-tinted coloring and built-in gel cushion layers. It also had specialized wheels on the off chance Tensei wanted to use his quirk which part of you hoped he wouldn't. Apart from the wheels, you also built some self-storage compartments into it.

You managed to configure a way to make the foot petals automatically retract and return when weight or lack of was present, the sensors you installed were to thank for that. You had also added a secret feature that may take time for Tensei to discover, but essentially you made it so the wheelchair can fold upward.

Allowing Tensei to ‘stand’ once again and hopefully make it easier for him to transfer from his wheelchair to whatever he desired. Still, it had taken you the span of a month to complete and during that time you hadn’t had much outside contact with anyone.

Including Tensei, but part of you wanted to surprise him and you were sure he understood how consumed you got in your work. Not to mention the Idaten Agency was planning their annual celebrating sidekick's event.

The idea was Tensei’s and you were happy that despite the new management, the event was still planned to take off in a week’s time. You knew Tensei would be excited about it and despite your slightly exhausted state, you were looking forward to attending as well.

After a good night’s rest, you contacted Tensei who was both thrilled and relieved to talk to you again. It was shortly after this, that you found yourself visiting the Iida Estate. To say Tensei was excited when you presented the wheelchair was a bit of an understatement.

The smile on his face seemed to make up for the hours you put into crafting it and his mother seemed equally as joyful. Though you weren’t expecting her to embrace you in a hug nor for Tensei roll over and wrap his arms around your waist. The feeling of him nuzzling into your side caused tingles to course through your body.

You gave an awkward chuckle and tried to play off your hard work, but Tensei seemed to see right through it. “Aw come on!” he said as he playfully punched your arm which in turn had you stumbling forward. Tensei was bigger and more developed than you which meant something as gentle as a 'playful' punch still ached.

“Ow…” you muttered as you reached over to rub your arm and looked back at Tensei who was still smiling. It was nice to see him like that, even if he was paraplegic as a result of his mishap with the hero killer. He was still looking at life through the same positive eyes as before and you never wanted that to change.

“Do you...do you like it?” you questioned as you walked over to the wheelchair, glancing over the metal and screws that you had put together by hand. “I love it!” he replied as he raised his arms above his head, then he brought them down and curled his hands into fists.

“You’re always so amazing, I could never craft such beautiful things,” he chuckled as he then reached up to rub the back of his head. There he goes complimenting you again and you couldn’t help but glance away, once more feeling that warm rush course through your cheeks.

“I-It was…” you paused, regardless of what you said. You knew he'd always find a way to continue to compliment you, to defy whatever negative thing you could say about yourself. So was it pointless? You internally sigh before dropping your head, “Hm? Is something wrong?” Tensei questioned, but you shook your head.

“No, nothing is wrong,” you said, “I was hoping you’d like it," you wrapped your hands around the handles of the wheelchair. The ones you had spent hours crafting the details into. “It took me long enough to build and I’m sorry if…” you trailed off, how would you even apologize for basically ignoring Tensei?

“I...was too busy to contact you, I just wanted to finish this before the celebration,” you said and raised your eyebrow as Tensei's jaw dropped. “Jeez, I almost forgot about that,” he said as he slapped himself which made you wince slightly. But his laugh seemed to reassure you that he was fine.

“Guess I’ve been a little out of it since the whole ordeal,” while you understood that, Tensei was the one who created the celebration event, to begin with. He was always the star attraction when the time came and you tried to suppress the chuckle that threatened to come when you recalled the way Tensei would always dance in his Ingenium suit.

It was entertaining, to say the least, but you knew this year would be a little different. 'Ingenium' wouldn’t be present, and part of you wondered how Tensei would deal with everything now that he was in a wheelchair. Would he spin around on the dancefloor or would he remain on the sidelines?

You knew you wouldn’t allow him not to have fun, but then again you had no idea how the evening would truly play out. You found your smile fading as you walked around the wheelchair and reached out to place your hand on top of Tensei’s knee, similar to how he had touched your knee prior.

However, unlike you, he didn’t seem to hesitate to place his hand over yours in turn. You shivered when you felt his thumb slowly trace over your knuckles, but you kept eye contact with him. “Are you planning to go?” you asked. “It’s not the same without you,” which was an understatement.

You always found yourself willing to go anywhere as long as Tensei was there. His thumb stopped and a few seconds later you felt his hand tighten over yours. His face softened some and he reached up, gently cupping the side of your face which caused your cheeks to grow hot.

More than likely he’d notice, but restrain from saying anything. “I wouldn’t leave my best all alone! Of course, I’ll come, as long as you save a dance for me,” he said, his voice filled with confidence as he flashed yet another smile at you. “O-Oh…” you leaned back and a nervous chuckle escaped you.

Just the thought of dancing with Tensei made your heart race, though in the past he always seemed to save his first dance for you and you loved that the rest of the world faded away when you were wrapped up in him.

“You’ll be using the wheelchair I made you right?” your eyes glanced over the hospital chair he was currently sitting in, that thing couldn’t be comfortable. Tensei looked confused before he glanced over at his new wheelchair, then he nodded.

“I have to go there in style, right?” he chuckled at his own words and the sound of your own laughter joined him. You took a breath and slowly retracted your hand, though Tensei seemed a little saddened by your action as he rather enjoyed the warmth your hand provided.

But he still smiled at you and allowed his hands to rest in his lap. “I suppose so, but you always go in style and I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you,” even though the pro heroes that were invited almost never showed up.

In fact, you were always disappointed that the only heroes you consistently saw present were Best Jeanist, All Might, and Edgeshot. More than likely because Ingenium had past experience working with them. Not that you had any sort of problem with them, quite the contrary.

You enjoyed talking to them, despite the fact Tensei would always be leading the conversation. But you were always fascinated with the stories the heroes shared. As a support agent, the only real heroic aspect you experienced was the aftermath. The damage that was done to both equipment and hero.

At least you could still fix one of them. Still, this event wasn't about you, hell it wasn’t even about the pro heroes. It was about the appreciation, dedication, and even bravery sidekicks displayed. It was true that most, if not all of the time heroes couldn't do everything on their own.

The backbone of a hero was essentially those that supported them and it wasn't much of a surprise that a sidekick would always be dedicated to their hero. "I'm really glad you think so. Hey…" he leaned over in his chair and you tilted your head, unsure of what he wanted.

But regardless, you found yourself leaning down. "Yes?" you were a little suspicious as to what Tensei had planned considering he did most things out of impulse. But you were surprised when he reached up and gently brushed a piece of your hair behind your ear.

"Hm?" you were a little concerned when he allowed his hand to linger there on your cheek. "Would it be too much if I asked to pick you up? I know I may not go as fast as I did before but I'm still proud to stan-" he paused. "Sit," he corrected himself, "by your side." Why was he so sweet?!

You opened your mouth to speak, but it seemed no words came out. You quickly sealed your lips together, looking lost a moment before he chuckled. “Uh s-sorry,” you replied as you rubbed the back of your head.

Your cheeks were yet again red and you almost wanted to run out of the room again. “I just...you’re...y-you’re sweet Tensei,” you said, noticing his confused expression turn into a happy one. He grinned at you and reached up to grasp his armrests.

“I’m glad you think so! I like being sweet for you.” he teased with a playful wink which only caused your cheeks to turn dark red and you shyly glanced away. “Heh...thank you,” Tensei grinned and reached down for his push rims, using them to roll back.

“You don’t have to thank me!” he replied before pressing his hand to his forehead. “I’m happy to see you so happy,” you lifted your head, your eyes widening and you almost wished you could fan your face to cool it down.

But all you could seem to do was smile and place your hands in front of you before bowing. “Thank you Tensei,” you said as you leaned back up. “So…” you began, “I’ll see you when you pick me up?” Tensei grinned and nodded.

“I won’t let you down,” he promised with a playful wink causing you to turn your head as a nervous giggle escaped. You took one last look at the wheelchair you had crafted. Your hands were still a bit sore, but hopefully, the small cuts would heal.

“Until then...um,” you took a step forward and leaned down, you had to stand a little back taking Tensei’s footrests into account. Still, you were happy to hug him. When the day of the celebration came as promised Tensei picked you up, he was using the wheelchair you had gifted him and you were happy to see how well he adjusted to it.

But you were more distracted by the outfit he was wearing, a blue suit with a black tie and a striped button-up shirt. Somehow it suited him. You didn’t have many fancy clothes on hand and you thought about wearing the same outfit as last year, but due to the protests of many from the Idaten Agency.

You decided to go shopping for a new outfit instead, but as long as Tensei liked it you could care less what others thought. You smiled as you approached him, once more letting your eyes roam over his figure before you noticed a bouquet of flowers resting in his lap.

You tilted your head, slightly confused and for a moment wondering if they were for you. Luckily Tensei answered your question a moment later, “I got you these!” he said as he held the flowers up and despite being a little surprised.

You took them and brought them up to your nose, inhaling their sweet scent. Allowing it to calm the butterflies in your stomach, once again it seemed no matter how much you tried to convince yourself not to be nervous around Tensei. It never worked.

“Ready to go?” he questioned with a bright smile and you shyly lowered the bouquet. “Of course,” you said and out of instinct reached out to take his arm, but you stopped yourself when you realized or rather remembered Tensei was in a wheelchair.

“Oh uh…” you gave an awkward chuckle. “Sorry,” you muttered as you glanced away, old habits died hard. Tensei seemed to catch onto what you were trying to do and chuckled, sometimes you were grateful for his easy-type personality.

“It’s okay,” he said, “I’m glad you like the flowers.” You glanced down at the bouquet, oh right. Maybe it was best if you left them at your apartment. “They’re beautiful, thank you Tensei,” you said before glancing over your shoulder.

“I’m just going to put these in water and then we can go,” you said, watching as Tensei gave another grin before nodding. “Of course, do you need any help?” he questioned as he watched you walk away. You took a deep breath, trying once again to calm yourself as the faucet ran.

“I think I’m okay, thank you Tensei,” you said as the sound of the water hitting the glass vase echoed. ‘This is just like last year, nothing has changed.’ you tried to convince yourself as you glanced over at Tensei.

He was gently swaying himself in his wheelchair. The sight brought a sense of sadness, but it was nice to see him acting so cute. You turned back to the vase and turned the faucet off before unwrapping the plastic and paper the flowers were surrounded in.

You found a place for them on the counter and took a moment to admire them before turning back to Tensei. “I’m ready now,” you said, reaching over to run your hand across his shoulders. He jumped a little and you weren’t sure if it was out of surprise considering he always seemed to welcome your touch.

Either way, you offered a smile and the two of you made your way to the car. It was somewhat of a relief that an Idaten Team member offered to drive everyone. Though it was a challenge to try and get Tensei inside the vehicle.

Watching him being lifted from his wheelchair to the seat was different as was the fact his folded-up wheelchair laid across the floor of the car. But at least you got to sit next to him and laugh as he shared stories with everyone else.

Just like old times. Though you kept quiet during the ride due to the fact you were too busy watching Tensei, even more so when he had to be lifted back out and into his wheelchair once more.

"I can't wait!" he exclaimed and you could hear faint music coming from the building ahead. You watched as he began to wheel himself forward, however, he paused and turned his chair to face you. "Hm? What?" you questioned and Tensei chuckled before he offered you his hand.

You hesitated a moment before taking it, a smile of your own coming to your face as Tensei turned once more. Both of you were facing the entrance of the celebration, there was a long red carpet starting from the end of the sidewalk to the entryway.

String lights hung from the rim of the building and you could see how they illuminated the inside of the entrance as well. You could also see the many heroes that had already arrived, particularly you noticed a group of women crowding around the number one hero himself, All Might.

The sight alone caused you to laugh which caught Tensei's attention. “Everything alright?” he asked in a concerned tone, your hand was covering your mouth in a half-hearted attempt to muffle your laughter.

“Yeah,” you said as you lowered your hand and turned back to look ahead of you. The other members of the Idaten team who were in the car began walking past you, talking amongst themselves as they entered the building.

“It’s just, I’ve always thought it was funny how All Might seems to get all the attention. Do you think he ever gets tired of having all those women flock to him?” you questioned as you took a step forward and Tensei quickly followed, rolling along beside you.

“I only want one person to flock to me,” he responded and you turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He only smiled in return, but somehow it was clear to the both of you who he was referring to. Regardless, you felt a certain sense of pride came over you as you passed through the entrance or maybe you just felt lucky to still be by Tensei’s side.

It was always the two of you and wherever Tensei went, you followed. In a way, you were like a sidekick, and maybe in a sense part of this celebration was for you as well. You took note of the several familiar faces and some new ones that you could only assume were upcoming sidekicks on the scene.

There was a large seating area with tall tables covered in white cloth and expensive-looking glassware. On the opposite side of the room were several tables pressed up against the wall, each one covered with an impressive amount of food, and most of it looked too fancy for your taste.

You preferred simple things, but between the two areas was the dancefloor and a few people looked to be having fun. Showing off just how fast they could move or gather attention while everyone else remained standing around chatting.

Some held plates of food while others seemed to be making conversation with little distraction. You paused, reaching over to lay your hand on Tensei’s shoulder. “Hm?” he turned to look at you, but you were busy glancing around the room again.

‘Hey, it’s Ingenium!’ someone suddenly called and you turned your head, watching as more people seemed to walk over to the former hero. ‘Here we go again,’ you thought as you removed your hand from Tensei’s shoulder, bringing it up to rest against your forehead.

‘Hey man, how are you?’ watching person after person greet Tensei made your stomach twist some, especially as they leaned down to shake his hand, was it strange you were allowing such a thing to bother you?

A frown came to your lips before you took a step back, wanting to distance yourself from the scene as people continued to converse with Tensei. The few women that were around smiled and folded their hands together and had the nerve to ask how he was since the hero killer incident.

"Excus-" you wanted to interrupt but Tensei's laugh drowned your attempted words out, how can he still be so fine with talking about what happened? In a way, you couldn’t blame them for being curious. But still, it bothered you. Yet, Tensei kept smiling.

“I’ve been wonderful thanks! This new wheelchair was designed by Y/n,” he then turned his head and you paused in your movements, still attempting to distance yourself from the former hero and the small crowd he had around him.

Instead, you found yourself frozen again and by nothing more than those eyes of his. “Why are you backing away?” he questioned, and honestly you couldn’t come up with a good explanation other than the fact you felt a little envious when you weren’t the one getting Tensei’s attention.

But you would never admit such a thing, at least not out loud. “Excuse me a moment,” he said before he reached down for his push rims and proceeded to roll over to you. “Everything alright?” he questioned and you felt your throat tighten, a little embarrassed for being caught in the act of trying to back away.

“Mmhm,” you replied with a simple nod, though Tensei didn't exactly buy it. He brought his arm up, stretching it behind your lower back to grasp the side of your hip. “Ah!” you cried out as you felt yourself being pulled toward him, your opposite hip hitting the armrest of his chair.

“This is Y/n! The brilliant support agent of the Idaten Agency, they designed my wheelchair and I sort of view them as my hero.” you felt your cheeks heat up and turned away if anything to make your red cheeks less obvious.

‘Oh yeah, I remember them.’ someone said, ‘Mmhm! They’re always by your side, huh?’ another one commented. “Well, I wouldn’t say always but…” Tensei trailed off when he noticed you were looking elsewhere. "Hm?" he leaned forward in his wheelchair, observing the dancefloor before he looked back up at you.

He opened his mouth to say something, but one of the women interrupted him, ‘Hey Ingenium, are you going to dance?’ her question came off rather desperate, but you made no comment. ‘I would love it if you could save me one!’ another girl commented and yet again that feeling of envy grew in your stomach.

You knew it wasn’t right, considering Tensei always danced with you. The man in question chucked and you felt his arm retract from your hip. “Well…” he began as he raised his hands up, you knew he was trying to find a nice way to decline the requested dance.

“I...usually dance with Y/n first, it’s sort of a tradition at this point,” he said as he turned back to look at you and flashed a playful wink that had your head spinning. This man was going to be the end of you. ‘Aw come on,’ the woman insisted as she took a step forward.

‘Can’t you break tradition just once? I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time and I just recently became a sidekick. I would love to say I danced with one of the heroes that inspired me,’ she said, and you suppressed the growl in your throat as she proceeded to bat her eyelashes at Tensei.

“Heh, I’m glad I could be your hero! That means a lot, but even if I’m retired now. I still like to think a hero always keeps his promises, so maybe we can dance later. Okay?” he said with a bright smile before turning his wheelchair.

You were in slight disbelief that he had turned down the woman. She was moderately attractive and seemed to be willing to do whatever she could just to get a dance, but he still turned her down. You were lost in your thoughts until you felt his hand take yours, your breath hitched and you almost ripped your hand away from him.

But Tensei threaded your fingers together so such an action was useless. “Want to dance with me?” he questioned, despite not knowing how to exactly ‘dance’ in a wheelchair. He was willing to try for you and gently stroked his thumb across your knuckles.

“I…” you paused and turned to look at the group that was previously talking to Tensei, the woman that originally asked for a dance seemed to have walked away. You frowned and took a deep breath, slightly hoping she wouldn’t come back and bother you. “S-Sure,” Tensei smiled, though he did sense something was wrong.

Still, he hoped a dance would make you forget about your troubles You tried to ignore the looks you received as you walked to the dancefloor with Tensei, the sound of his wheels echoed against the wooden floor. You partly hoped you two wouldn’t gather much attention as you reached the center of the dancefloor.

Then you turned to face Tensei just as the lights above you dimmed causing you to glance up. “Um…” you slowly tilted your head back, walking around to stand in front of Tensei. Your hand squeezing his before you glanced around, taking note of the many eyes on you.

Why were they all staring? Well actually, you had an idea as to why. “How are we…” you trailed off when a smile appeared on his face. “I have an idea,” he said and you raised your eyebrow. “Which is?” you questioned as you placed one hand on your hip.

Once again, you found yourself letting your guard down and as a result, Tensei yet again surprised you. Your vision blurred a moment as you were pulled forward, your hand pressed against Tensei's chest and before you could properly react. You felt his hand reach for the back of your legs and you were hoisted onto his lap

“Uh…Tensei…” you began, allowing your fingers to dig into the fabric of his blazer. You wiggled in his lap, but Tensei’s arm remained draped over your legs and he kept still as you got comfortable. “I know this is kind of different, but I’m sure we’ll both get used to this,” a soft song began to echo through the air.

You couldn't help the frown that came to your lips as his words echoed in your head, ‘We’ll both get used to this.’ when? Your thoughts were shattered when Tensei spoke again. “Hold on,” he warned. You weren’t sure what he was planning, but as fairly instructed.

You wrapped your arms around his neck as he reached down for his push rims. He started gently swaying his wheelchair back and forth, the motion was slow and tousled your hair back and forth. But in a way it was nice, you found yourself smiling as you nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

Your legs were draped between his foot pedals and you closed your eyes when he began to roll around in a circle. It wasn’t like the way you had danced last year, but you enjoyed the new closeness this brought and almost forgot about the eyes that were on the two of you.

The music continued and on occasion, Tensei would turn his wheelchair and rock you back and forth vertically or do silly half turns which made you laugh. At least he didn’t lose his sense of humor and as the song came to an end, you pulled back and glanced down at Tensei.

He was illuminated by the lights above, his red eyes standing out as he looked at you with a smile. You reached up and gently cupped the side of his face, trying to ignore the flashes from phone cameras. Part of you didn’t care if people took photos, it wasn’t like you were doing anything scandalous.

Still, you smiled and wrapped your arms around Tensei to embrace him in a hug. The rest of the evening seemed to go by rather quickly, at one point you lost Tensei only to find Tsunagu rolling him around. By the end of the night, you felt exhausted. Your feet ached and you couldn’t wait to get your shoes off so you could lay down in bed.

Luckily Tensei allowed you to sit in his lap once more as the two of you exited the building, like before you had to wait a few moments as Tensei was transferred from his wheelchair to the car seat. You had expected to get dropped off at your place first, but Tensei insisted he had something to show you back at the Iida Estate.

So with some hesitance, you agreed. “What do you have to show me?” you questioned as you walked behind him in one of the dimly lit hallways of the estate. You assumed everyone else was asleep. “You’ll see,” he replied and you didn’t miss that playful tone in his voice just as he reached his bedroom door.

You frowned as you watched him grasp onto one of his armrests and lean forward, stretching his other hand out for the doorknob. Part of you wondered why they hadn’t adjusted Tensei’s bedroom door, but then again the Iida family seemed to enjoy having everything in order. Maybe a different door would set them off too much.

Still, you were happy when Tensei finally got it open and rolled inside. “It’s changed a bit, I’m grateful my brother helped set it up for me,” he said and you had to admit, you were in slight awe of the equipment that now littered his room. His bed now had a rail that surrounded all sides with a small opening that you assumed allowed Tensei to securely climb into bed.

There was a grip molded into the rail and you imagined Tensei used it quite frequently so he could hoist himself up properly. “He did a good job,” you replied as you watched him make his way over to the bed. “You’re not having trouble with these new adjustments, are you? We could try one of the features of your new wheelchair if you want,” you suggested as your hand came to rest on your hip.

“New feature?” he questioned, turning his head to look at you with one of his unusual eyebrows raised. You nodded in response, “Yeah did you forget I added a feature that allows your chair to extend upward so you can ‘stand’?” you questioned as you shook your head in disappointment.

"There should be a button located underneath the seat," you explained, snickering some as Tensei leaned over one side of his chair, searching for the button that you had just described. “It’s to the left,” you crouched in front of him and reached underneath.

“You just press it for a few seconds and-” you words came to a pause when you retracted your hand and watched as the wheelchair vibrated. The footrests curved inward, keeping Tensei's legs in place as the seat of his chair folded flat.

The wheels remained pressed against the floor while a single metal bar pushed the chair up, allowing Tensei to stand upright. However, you ensured that it wouldn’t extend too far as you didn't want him to fall. Though it was slightly amusing to see Tensei look back and forth in awe. A laugh escaped him when he came to a stop.

“Wow!” he began. “You always surprise me somehow!” if only he knew the feeling was mutual. You cautiously took a step forward, “Do you need any help, can you reach the…” you trailed off to glance over at the handrail that looked within his reach, but you didn't know for sure.

“Hm?” he blinked and reached up to scratch the side of his head. “Well…” he began, trying to ignore how uneasy he felt. Standing up felt slightly odd since the incident, but he appreciated your hard work. Even if he didn’t see himself using this feature much in the future.

“I think I can but could you help me?” he questioned and you jumped. “Me?” you questioned as you watched Tensei nod. Then he gave you another smile, “I wouldn't trust anyone else!” and while you knew that wasn’t entirely true considering he seemed to put his trust in people too easily.

You reached out to graze your fingers along his sides. "I'll help you," you replied, giving him a shy smile in return. "Great!" he exclaimed, “I could hold onto your shoulders and you could help me sit on the bed,” he suggested, but you tilted your head. You were a little uncertain of what the end result of this would be.

Despite that, you allowed him to lay his hands on your shoulders. You tried to ignore the way he dug his fingers into your skin and in return, you properly gripped his sides. You were a little nervous given the limited amount of space between yourself and the bed. But you tried your best to take a step back, allowing Tensei to lean forward.

Of course, he was a lot heavier than you expected and your arms slightly trembled as they tried to support his weight. “Uh...Tensei…” you felt your knees buckle as he tried to reach over for the handrail while you found your legs pressed against the mattress. “Sorry about this,” Tensei said and you shook your head.

“It’s fine,” you replied, trying to ignore the way one of your shoulders started to ache. “Can you turn to the side?” he questioned. “What?” you replied, slightly confused as to what Tensei was trying to accomplish. “I can sit down on the bed if you step to the side, then pull myself onto the mattress,” Is that really how he thought this would work?

Despite the butterflies that began to swell in your stomach, you nodded. "O-Okay," you tried to keep your hands on Tensei as you maneuvered yourself, cautiously taking a step to the side and watched as the former hero somehow turned his body. You stumbled as Tensei somehow allowed himself to fall into the small opening in the bed rail.

You were almost straddling his legs at that point and though slightly embarrassed, you did your best to regain your balance. Gees, that was a lot of work. Your hands came to rest on top of his knees as your soft pants filled the air. “Are you alright?” Tensei reached over to thread his hand through your hair.

“Yeah…” you answered between your pants. “Do you do this every day?” you questioned, glancing up at him as he continued to run his hand through your hair. “Ten usually helps me, but sometimes he’s too busy so I end up doing it myself,” he explained with a half-smile as he finally dropped his hand from your hair.

He reached down to place his hands over yours. You paused, holding your breath. “Would it be too much to ask for your help to swing my legs over?” he questioned, giving you that innocent puppy dog look that always seemed to get to you.

You hung your head a moment, shaking it slightly back and forth. “As you wish, Ingenium,” you crouched down and gently took hold of his legs before lifting them over the railing. “There,” you said as you pressed your hands into the mattress. “Thanks,” he replied, flashing you another smile before he laid back on his pillows.

Then he patted the spot next to him, “Lay down next to me,” he instructed. “Hm?” you leaned back, once again feeling your cheeks heat up. “Y-You want me to lay down next to you?” a chuckle came before he nodded and once more patted the spot next to him.

You took a deep breath. “You don’t have to blush so much around me,” he commented, causing you to flinch back. “I-I’m not blushing!” you denied, waving your arms like wild. Tensei gave a knowing smile but said no more. “Hmph!” huffing, you crossed your arms a moment before sighing in defeat.

“Fine,” you stated before climbing onto the bed, wiggling some before you laid your head against his shoulder. Allowing your legs to drape over his, “Tensei, are you comfortable sleeping like this?” you questioned as you laid a hand on his chest.

There was so much about his current condition that you wouldn’t understand, but you wanted to. “It’s not so bad,” he said as he draped an arm around your shoulders. Part of you expected him to try and pull you close, but it seems at the moment he was content with having you at his side.

Of course, in some aspects, it was a little silly to be laying in bed with your former boss. But he was your friend before he became your boss and a hero above all else. Silence filled the air and after a long moment, Tensei closed his eyes and you couldn’t help but look at his resting face.

Then you glanced around the bed, it felt odd to be surrounded by a railing. Almost like you were trapped in a box, did Tensei feel that way as well? The doubt that you would get used to seeing him like this came back to mind.

But, you knew that you would always stay by his side regardless. Maybe one day, you could make him a support item that would once again allow him to walk. Until then, you’d figure out a way to accept this new way of life.

[jisungsmochi]

rest your love - lee haechan

don’t worry!! i didn’t forget about this series hehe,, i personally really liked this one!! i’m probably going to try and write more often!

anyways pls enjoy,, i’ll link my masterlist for the other parts of this series (nct dream as ‘the vamps’ songs)

word count: 2.2k 

summary: “when the world gets loud, baby you can rest your love on me”

haechan never understood why people liked to be chased. he thought that all he needed to do was ask someone out and boom, a beautiful relationship. until he befriends you, and learns that sometimes people just need a shoulder to lean on, before they can rest their love on someone.

//

I see you move, so I do understand

Why you get attention?

I hear you talk, but I don't comprehend

Why I get no mention?

“it’s physically impossible to dislike me, i’m just a catch” haechan brags while walking to his first college class, his friends, renjun and jaemin trailing behind him.

“just because everyone liked you in high school, doesn’t mean people will in college. it’s a completely different ball game” renjun rolled his eyes at how overly optimistic and delusional his friend was being.

“ah let him live, he’ll find out soon enough” jaemin chuckles softly as he and renjun wave to haechan,  scurrying off to their own lectures.

haechan shrugs, not taking in any of his friends words. he stumbled into the classroom, scanning for an empty seat. he quickly made his way to a spare desk, pulling out all his materials. just as the tutor walked into the room, his eyes met those of, who he believed, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. you flaunted your way to the last empty seat, which happened to be next to the awfully cheery boy, smiling at you.

you weren’t having the best day, immediately regretting your choice of a desk mate. as soon as you sat down, haechan was a blabbering mess. he shot questions left and right at you, despite the fact you barely responded to any of them. you just assumed he wanted to make friends fast, or he was just a chatterbox. “so how are you doing on this fine day?” he mutters to you, but received a stern glare in response. you tilted your head to the front of the room, zoning in on your tutor. haechan would lie if he said he didn’t feel slightly deflated. usually he had no problem making conversation with strangers. but you were so cold, so uninterested, it really hurt his ego. maybe renjun was right, not everyone would like him. but haechan was an unbelievably stubborn optimist. he was going to befriend you, no matter how long it took.

//

And you know, you know where to find me

Yeah, you know where to go when you're looking for love

And you know, you know where I'm hiding

Yeah, you know

it had been over three weeks since haechan first met you and you still wouldn’t budge. you only spoke to him during group tasks, other than that you continued to ignore his advances. haechan got the message loud and clear that you weren’t going to pay him attention. it took a toll on his own self confidence, until renjun gave him a stern talking to,

“god don’t let her get to your head, dude!! she’s awful for not wanting to be friends with you”

haechan pouted, “but she’s so pretty, i can’t just ignore her”

at that moment, he received a notification on his phone.

y/n: is this haechan? i think you took my notes by accident

his eyes widened, how did you even get his facebook account?

he scrambled around his room, looking into his backpack and surely enough, there were your notes, prettily written up.

haechan: hello! i do have your notes, i can meet you somewhere to hand it back? maybe the cafe? we can get something to eat!

renjun was now peering over haechan’s shoulder, too invested in this interaction.

y/n: no it’s fine, just give it to me next class, thanks

after reading your message, renjun bursted out laughing.

“dude that’s brutal, she’s something else” haechan fiddled with his phone, glaring at the other boy. he clicked on your profile, sending you a friend request as he scrolled through your posts. he saw that your friends had wished you a happy birthday, almost a year ago. he then realised it was in a few days...

“i have the perfect plan to get her to notice me” haechan smirks, renjun rolling his eyes,

“you’re ridiculous”

//

it was a friday afternoon, when haechan stumbled into class. you looked over at him, expecting some type of greeting, but you didn’t hear a peep from the boy.

strange, you thought to yourself.

as you were preparing for the lesson, haechan pulled something out of his bag. you looked over, noticing a small pink box now placed on your side of the table. you raised your eyebrow at him, in which he whispered,

“happy birthday, y/n”

your face froze. how did he know it was your birthday?

you looked back at the small box, slowly moving your hands to open it. to your surprise, there was a red velvet cupcake, decorated with a ton of rainbow sprinkles. there was a tiny picket that said:

“happy birthday, cutie!”

you couldn’t hide your smile, which only made haechan swoon even more. you weren’t the type to make a big deal out of your birthday, but this gesture from haechan truly made your day. you bit your lip softly, eyes meeting his.

“t-thankyou, haechan. i really appreciate this” you smiled at him softly, not caring that you were now on speaking terms with him.

“anything for you, y/n” he cheerfully responded, turning his attention to the front of the room.

maybe lee haechan was worth letting in...

//

the days following, haechan would spam you with random texts throughout the day. initially you would have been annoyed, but after his generous birthday gift, you started to enjoy his company. although you wouldn’t say it to his face, you silently appreciated him.

“how is my beautiful, y/n doing?” he smirked as he walked with you after class. he’d always compliment you, each time making you gush inside.

“i’m alright, have a ton of homework to do though” you sigh, thinking back to the stack of work you had on your desk.

“oh poor thing! do you want to copy my work? i have it here right now i ca-“

“no, haechan, it’s okay. if i need help, i’ll just...call you or something” you paused, looking over at the boy whose eyes just lit up like a christmas tree.

“of course you can call me! call me anytime you want!” he exclaimed. you shake your head softly at him as you both continued walking.

once haechan met up with renjun and jaemin again, he couldn’t stop gushing about you.

“...and then she said i could call her! well she said she’d call me, but same thing” he explained your interaction to his two friends as they were eating at a local diner.

“so romantic” renjun sarcastically comments, causing jaemin to elbow him slightly.

“i think it’s a good step! i mean atleast she’s talking to you now” jaemin chimed in, feeding into his friend’s cheerful nature.

“yeah! i have a lot of hope for us” haechan smiles to himself, in which jaemin and renjun looked over at eachother before rolling their eyes.

you did end up calling haechan that night, as you were stuck on the very last question of the homework.

“y/n, it’s hard to explain, let me just send you my answer” haechan insisted,

“no, i feel guilty” you sigh, placing down your pen.

“it’s really okay, i want to help you” you bit your lip, eventually giving in.

“okay fine, but i’ll owe you something in return” you agree, hoping whatever he wanted wouldn’t be too bad.

“hmmm how about going to the movies with me this weekend? i know you wanted to see the new zombie one that just came out” he suggested. although you were shocked he was practically asking you on a date, were more shocked he remembered you talking about this movie.

“do you really think that is proportionate to what you’re doing for me?” you roll your eyes playfully, finding his advances quite endearing.

“yep!! take it or leave it” you hesitated for a moment, what’s the worst that could happen?

“okay fine, you have yourself a deal” you replied. haechan quickly put himself on mute (or so he thought), letting out a loud ‘YES!’, before returning to the call. you had heard everything, softly chuckling to yourself.

he was pretty cute.

//

That when the stars go out, you can rest your love on me

And when the world gets loud, baby, you can rest your love on me

“that ending was terrible” you pouted as you left the cinema with haechan.

“it wasn’t so bad, it could have been worse” he shrugged, leading you to the next location.

“hm i guess so, by the way, where are we going anyway?” you questioned, walking alongside him, observing your surroundings.

“this cool burger place i found online, here i’ll show you some photos” he pulled out his phone, swiping through the photos. you nodded along, agreeing to let him lead the way.

“y/n? is that you?” you heard a deep voice call, you head shot up, so did haechan’s.

“who’s that?” your mouth went dry. your body froze up. why was he here? why did he have to call out to you?

“oh my god it is you! long time no see” the mysterious boy approached the pair of you, completely disregarding haechan’s existence. he noticed how uncomfortable you were, eyes flickering between the boy and you. he placed his arm loosely around your back, the other boy’s eyes following in suit.

“oh i see, you’re dating someone. dang, i guess i missed my shot. he doesn’t seem like your type” the boy scoffed, arms folded as he stared you both down.

“w-we have to go” you finally bring yourself to mutter, pulling haechan along with you.

“y/n who was that?” haechan kept repeating, which only made you want to cry.

“he’s my ex, okay? just take me home” you sniffled, haechan immediately became concerned. he didn’t ask any further questions, driving you straight back to your place.

as he reached your house, he looked over at you, tears brimming your eyes.

“i-i’m sorry that our day was cut short. i was really enjoying myself. my ex and i ended on pretty bad terms and i would just like some time alone right now, i hope you understand” you sniffled, which made haechan’s heart ache.

“you don’t have to apologise. you know where to find me if you need me. i’ll be waiting for you to open up to me one day, y/n. however long it takes” he assures you, leaving you with a warm feeling in your stomach. you just nodded back at him, making your way into your house.

haechan sat in his car for a while, wishing he could take away all your pain.

//

you invited haechan to meet you at the local park. with no further questions, he rushed out of his room, eager to see you again. you waited patiently on the small bench, swinging your legs back and forth. you heard heavy footsteps approach, your eyes meeting those of the boy who radiated happiness.

“are you alright?” haechan starts as he takes a seat next to you, leaving a small gap between you both.

“y-yeah, i’m ready to tell you everything” you began,

“he and i ‘dated’ two years ago. i say ‘dated’ because well, i thought we were, but turns out he was just another player and i was just another pawn in his little game. it was my first relationship too, messed me up pretty bad. that’s why i tend to keep to myself, not really letting others in too much. he made me feel like every guy who gave me attention just wanted me for their own selfish needs” you sigh, eyes avoiding haechan’s. he wanted to hold your hand, but opted not to.

“he’s an asshole, you didn’t deserve that. i-i could treat you so much better i promise-“

“haechan, c-can we just slow things down?” you finally made eye contact with him, his face contorting into a confused expression.

“i know you like me, and i would be lying if i said i didn’t have a slight interest in you too. but i don’t think i’m ready for a relationship yet” you admit, worried for his reaction. but to your surprise, he didn’t feel sad or dejected at all. instead he smiled widely at you, leaning in closer.

“i’ll go as slow as you want. you can rest your love on me, whenever you need. i’m just glad to hear you like me too” he batted his eyelids, making you softly chuckle.

“thankyou” you whispered to him, moving closer so that your shoulders touched. the rest of the day was filled with random activities from the arcade, to a bike ride along the park’s trail and finally dinner. haechan came to realise that being with somebody wasn’t black and white. there was a grey area that lied in between. he didn’t care how long he needed to wait, all he knew was that he finally got you to like him. and that was enough to make him the happiest man alive.

[penny-anna]

A Strange Mirror

“I suppose it wouldn’t do to be leaving little witchers around the place, would it.”

“Witchers are sterile.”

“Hm?” Jaskier glanced up from his notes, doing a startled double-take. “What, all of you?”

Jaskier learns something new about witchers.

(on AO3)

The air in the room was thick with the smell of rain from their damp clothes drying by the fire. Their hosts’ voices carried from downstairs, muffled by the walls and the sound of the beating rain. Jaskier sat upon the bed, already changed into dry shirt and breeches and humming to himself as he scratched away in his notebook.

The farmer and his wife had given them a bed for the night and invited them to supper. Geralt didn’t used to get invited to supper. The last few months it had been happening more and more.

“Don’t suppose you could kill something more interesting next time.” Pausing in his scratching, Jaskier glanced up at him and added, “no offence.”

“Interesting?” said Geralt.

“You know,” said Jaskier. “Something a bit sexier than drowners, so I can make a song out of it.” He went back to his notes.

Geralt paused in the act of unlacing his damp shirt. “What kind of monsters do you think are sexy?”

Jaskier drew a line under a significant word in his notes. “Wyverns are pretty sexy.”

“They are?”

“Basilisks,” said Jaskier, gesturing with his quill. “Very sexy.”

Geralt looked at the darkened window. “The fuck are you talking about?”

“Just offering some constructive criticism.” Jaskier took in Geralt’s face and said, “alright. Point taken.” He went back to scribbling, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. “The daughter was making eyes at you.”

“I noticed.”

“She’s pretty.”

Geralt grunted. He’d noticed that too, but he wasn’t about to encourage him.

“Not your type?”

The window rattled in the window. Geralt threw his shirt over the rack by the fire and turning away began to unlace his breeches. Behind him Jaskier’s pen scratched away.

“You must get a lot of that,” he said. “With your whole – thing.”

“A lot of what?” He stepped into his dry breeches.

“You know.” Jaskier drew a meaningful circle in the air with his quill. “Beautiful women making eyes at you. Throwing themselves at you. Terribly grateful to you for –”

“I don’t,” said Geralt, “do that.”

“Right.” Jaskier cleared his throat. He went on writing.

Geralt shrugged on a dry shirt, and laced it. “I’m careful about who I bed,” he said. “Have to be.”

“I see,” said Jaskier. “I suppose it wouldn’t do to be leaving little witchers around the place, would it.”

For a foolish moment Geralt couldn’t grasp what he meant. Then it struck him, and he didn’t know what to say to it. People’s knowledge of his kind was – patchy, and unreliable. It was hard to predict what a person might know, or not know. He had assumed Jaskier knew this. Jaskier did not know this.

He said, “witchers are sterile.”

“Hm?” Jaskier glanced up from his notes, doing a startled double-take. “What, all of you?”

“It’s by design.” He reached for his boots.

“Oh,” said Jaskier. “Oh – I see.” He fidgeted with his quill. His posture, which had been so idle, one leg crossed over the other, one foot drawing lazy circles in the air, was suddenly tense. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know.”

Lacing his boots, Geralt didn’t reply.

“I’ll not bring it up again.”

In truth, he didn’t care if Jaskier brought it up again, or didn’t. There were few subjects in the world that had the power to hurt him and this wasn’t one of them.

He said, “hm.”

*

The kitchen was too full of people, too warm and too humid. The family was large enough without two extra bodies crammed in. They were too poor to pay him for clearing their well, so they did their best to make up the debt by filling his belly.

He wasn’t about to complain. He was grateful for Jaskier’s presence, for his keeping the conversation going while he ate. The farmer’s wife and her oldest daughter doted on Jaskier, the whole family hanging off every word of his stories. It was easy for them all to forget who the guest of honour actually was.

When the meal was over and the plates had been cleared, the youngest of the children scrambled into Geralt’s lap, babbling at him cheerfully, eager to tell him all about the farm, to tug on the ends of his hair. The farmer and his wife shot each other nervous looks. They said nothing.

He excused himself early.

Though it was barely nightfall Jaskier came up to bed not long after him, stumbling a little on the stairs and cursing to himself, fumbling with the latch.

“Oh,” he said as he stepped over the threshold, stretching out his arms in an exaggerated yawn. “Oh, it’s been a long day.”

“Hm,” Geralt agreed.

Jaskier was a little tipsy from dinner. His cheeks were pink and he smelled faintly of wood smoke. Stripped down to his shirt, he climbed into bed. He lay alongside Geralt, propped up on one elbow, regarding him intently and clearly not meaning to sleep any time soon.

“Go on, then,” said Geralt to the ceiling.

“Hm?” Jaskier’s eyes were big and innocent.

“You’ve been chomping at the bit all evening.”

“I haven’t.”

“I’d rather you ask than lie there all night making faces at me.”

“I’m not making faces,” said Jaskier, though he was. “And I don’t want to pry.”

“Just,” said Geralt, “ask.”

Jaskier shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “When you say it’s by design,” he said. “What do they do, exactly?” Before Geralt could answer he went on, “I mean, do they – do something to you?”

“Depends what you mean.” He’d lost track of what Jaskier was driving at. Do they do something to you. Of course they did something.

“Well, do they –” Jaskier broke off with a sigh. “Is it a.” He motioned in a way that meant nothing at all. At Geralt’s blank look, his eyes flicked anxiously to his crotch, and it hit him what he was trying to ask. “Do you – have everything you’re –”

“I’ve got all my parts.”

“Oh thank the gods,” Jaskier said in a rush. Geralt snorted. “Don’t you laugh! It’s been worrying me all evening.” He smacked Geralt’s chest by way of chastising him. His hand lingered there, resting on his sternum.

“And it all,” he said after a moment, “works as normal?”

Geralt grunted.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Well.” Jaskier patted his chest. “That’s splendid.”

“I don’t see why you care,” said Geralt.

“Why wouldn’t I care?”

“They’re not your parts.”

“I suppose I just don’t like the idea of a man having his parts tampered with,” said Jaskier. “Is that so wrong?”

“No. I suppose not.” Jaskier was still looking at him, his gaze no less intent for having got an answer to his burning question. He wasn’t used to people looking at him the way Jaskier looked at him. Sometimes the way Jaskier looked at him made him feel stripped bare.

He didn’t hate it.

“So, um,” said Jaskier. “What is it they do, exactly?”

“It’s a by-product of the mutagens.”

“I see,” Jaskier said. “But an – intentional one?”

Geralt grunted an affirmation.

“Now, if you want to stop talking about this, do say so.” Jaskier sat up a little more. “But – I don’t see why.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not – not really. No.”

“Witchers are mutants,” said Geralt. “Any children we had would be mutated. It wouldn’t be pretty.”

“Well, when you put it like that it does sound reasonable.” Jaskier sighed to himself. “But it doesn’t seem fair.”

“How so?”

“People ought to have a choice in these matters,” said Jaskier. “Oughtn’t they?”

“No-one chooses to be a witcher.”

“No,” said Jaskier. “I suppose not.” He clucked his tongue. “Just seems like a pity.”

“Hm?”

“I just can’t help thinking you’d be a good father.”

Geralt turned to look at him, incredulous. “What?” Jaskier shrugged, as if to say, isn’t it obvious? “No. I wouldn’t.”

“I think you would,” said Jaskier.

He wondered, not for the first time, what it was Jaskier saw when he looked at him. He didn’t think Jaskier saw the hero he put in his songs – he was sure Jaskier knew that much of what he wrote was bullshit. But he didn’t think Jaskier saw the truth either. He saw something between fantasy and reality. Jaskier’s eyes were a strange mirror to look into.

“You can’t have a child on the path.”

“Well – leaving the witcher thing aside for a moment –”

“You can’t leave it aside,” Geralt snapped, in spite of himself starting to grow heated.

“Say you could,” said Jaskier, unfazed.

“No-one would want a witcher for a father.”

“Why not?”

You know why, he wanted to say. But Jaskier was pretending not to know. “Witchers are monsters.”

“Oh – yes,” said Jaskier, drawing his brows into a stern mock frown. “You are a truly terrifying monster.”

“Jaskier –”

“I quake in my boots at the sight of your hideous countenance, for you are such a fearful beast and I am so very afraid –”

“Maybe you should be.”

Jaskier cocked his head. “Why?”

So very many reasons, he thought. “I could tear you apart if I wanted.”

“Ah, but you haven’t.” Jaskier patted his chest warmly, as if he’d made a conclusive argument. “You’re in a mood,” he pronounced.

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” said Jaskier. “A gloomy one.”

“I’m always gloomy.”

“Untrue,” said Jaskier. “You’re often gloomy but sometimes grim and I’ve known you to be grumpy.”

Geralt grunted at the ceiling.

“Anyway,” said Jaskier, “children aren’t afraid of you. That little one tonight loved you.”

Geralt thought of the way the farmer and his wife had looked at each other when the child had crawled into his lap. “Children aren’t old enough to know better.”

“Or, alternatively, one might say that they’re too young to have been taught to be afraid,” said Jaskier.

“It makes no difference.”

“It makes all the difference.” Jaskier’s hand shifted, sliding up his chest to his shoulder. He took a lock of Geralt’s hair and began idly to twist it around his fingers. “Anyway. I feel safe with you.”

“Do you?”

“Completely safe,” said Jaskier. “What else could you want out of a father?”

“A lot of things.” Geralt looked at Jaskier, bewildered. “Are you trying to say you think of me as a father?”

“What?” said Jaskier. “No. What – no.” Dropping Geralt’s hair as if it was hot he sat up. “Absolutely not. No. Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not?” It seemed a reasonable enough question to him. He’d never got the impression Jaskier thought of him that way – didn’t like the idea of Jaskier thinking of him that way – but he couldn’t imagine what else he might be driving at.

“It – upsets me,” said Jaskier. “It just does. And this conversation has got wildly off track.”

“Was it ever on track?”

“Briefly.” Jaskier lay back down. “Anyway, please don’t ever suggest that you’re like a father to me again.”

“I wasn’t,” said Geralt. “I thought you were suggesting it.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” said Geralt. “I was confused too. What were you trying to say, if not that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Jaskier vaguely. “Look. All I’m trying to say is how sorry I am that that was done to you. It’s not fair.”

The thing of it was, Jaskier wasn’t the first person he’d had to explain this fact of his biology to. He’d had to explain it now and then, mainly in whorehouses, and the reaction, even when not explaining it to women anxious that they might end up carrying a mutant child, had been one of relief or understanding. He’d never had someone express their condolences at the loss before.

He said, “hm.”

Sighing, Jaskier shuffled in closer to him. He draped an arm over his chest. “I wish things were different.”

“If things were different you’d never have met me.”

“True.” Jaskier yawned, a genuine yawn this time. Long minutes passed, and were it not for his breathing Geralt might have thought he had fallen asleep. In the grate the fire was burning down low.

At length, Jaskier said, “what they did to you. Did it hurt?”

Geralt breathed out. “No,” he lied.

[athrialuxegna]

Stronger than she thinks Part 4

Triggers warning: mental and physical abuse, violence, swearing

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Fanfiction | Archiveofourown | Wattpad

The warm sun rising woke me up. My body felt sore, I have fallen asleep on the roof. My watch indicated that it was 4 a.m. I growled and get up. I needed a shower. My walk back to my apartment was silent, no one was up. I jumped into the bathroom and came out only an hour later. I needed to take care of myself. I dressed nicely in black shorts and a sleeveless top opened in the back, revealing my sports bra. I spent some time doing my hair so that my brown curls would bounce on my shoulders. When I look at my reflection in the glass, I felt fake. My appearance didn't match my inside.

I changed the broken string of my guitar and played for hours. Music kept my demons away. A knock at my door stopped my daydreaming. I put my guitar aside and look at the clock, it was already ten a.m. Time has passed by in a blur. I sighed and opened the door carefully. Harrison was on the other side. He seemed tense, his grey hair outlining his striking blue eyes as well as the dark rings under them.

"Hey, Chris," A small smile grazed his lips.

"Harri' come in," I ushered him, opening the door fully.

He stepped in and sat on the couch as he usually does. We had a sort of father-daughter relationship because of the age gap between us. He neared his fifties as I was going on my twenty-six. I tried to smile in a poor attempt to ease the atmosphere.

"Want something to drink?" I offered.

He declined silently, avoiding my eyes by staring into space. I knew what bothered him. I have kept my rape from him although he could have helped me. Harrison always had my back. Five years of working together had forged a strong bond. I have ruined it by confessing to another person, one of his fellow leaders.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to process the whole thing before letting anyone know." I apologized, it was no use to beat around the bush.

"Why Eric? I'm not jealous but I'm wondering how it happened to be him." He stated, sincere curiosity twinkling in his eyes.

"Eric cornered me. I had no choice but to tell him." I explained plainly.

"Interesting. I've never seen him so concern. I think taking care of children had rubbed on him after all. It's not a bad thing I guess." He remarked while laughing.

His joyful persona had returned, his bright smile adorning his face. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Eric becoming soft. I had witnessed this side of the young leader lately, just glimpses that confirmed that he was not as heartless as everyone depicted him.

"I hope he will not be watching me from now on," I replied dryly.

Memories of the night before rushed back to me. Eric's body against mine, his hands on my hips. Our bodies moving in sync to the blasting music. I swallowed thickly. I didn't know how to interact with Eric anymore. We were so close then I broke the spell by singing my feelings before disappearing. It sounded so cheesy although it had been intense.

"I heard you made a show last night. I wish I was here to hear from you." He confessed tenderly.

"Maybe you'll have some other occasion to hear me. I think I need this to get better." I said truthfully.

"You can count on me, you know that Chris. I'm here for you no matter what." He assured, his eyes plunging into mine.

"I know Harri. Thank you."

I sat on the couch next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Harrison would never hurt me in any way. He was the only man I trusted most in the faction. He had proved more times than I can count that he was reliable on all levels.

"How is it going?" I asked finally.

"Well, we had a meeting early this morning to discuss the situation. The investigation is pretty much finished. All proofs are against Brent. He will be judged within a few days."

"Had Max told you anything about my suspension, yet?"

"No, he might extend it for a few more days to make a point. Don't worry, honey, your job is safe. You know we need you." He smiled down at me.

"You need me because you'll be lost in your papers in no time," I remarked, teasingly.

"Touché!" He exclaimed, putting a hand on his heart.

I couldn't help but laugh at his antics. My face dropped at the knock on my door. I hadn't expected any visitors and now I had two. I excused myself and get up to open the door to... Eric. My surprise was long-short as I heard Harrison coming behind my back.

"Hey, Eric! I was just on my way out." He said with an overly enthusiastic tone. "See you, Chris." He shot at me before making his way into the hallway.

I stood still a second, processing the situation. Eric was staring at me with an unreadable expression. I shifted to the side and made a sign to invite him in. He entered and shut the door behind him. I felt small and ridiculous. I should have known that he wanted an explanation about what happened last night. I didn't even know what to say to ease the awkward tension between us.

"Look, Chris, we danced that's all.  We had a good time that's what matters." He stated, his deep voice as cold as ice. "Max wants to see you, that's why I'm here."

I opened my mouth then shut it multiple times like a fish out of water. Stunned by his words. I didn't expect things to go so fast. I wasn't ready to share this horrible night with anyone. Let alone, Max. And I was oddly bothered by the way he acted. The leader's façade returned, crushing my chances to guess what was going on in his mind.

"I'm not ready." I blurted out finally.

Eric turned deadly serious, he crossed his arms over his broad chest, eyes fixated on my own. I couldn't look away, even if I wanted to.

"You have to Christine, that is an order." He said in a dark tone.

I shivered uncontrollably and adverted my eyes to the floor. I hated him for doing that.

"Don't do this ever again. My trust is limited." I huffed in irritation, taking my jacket from the counter kitchen.

"So is mine." He hissed in response, body tensing.

"What's your problem today?" I muttered under my breath while lacing my boots.

"Stop questioning and hurry up." He retorted with an annoyed sigh.

I kept quiet, even when we walked to Max's office. I didn't dare look at Eric. Dread crept upon me as we neared the door's office. I was ready to bolt away, but Eric caught my wrist before I could make a move.

"Don't even think about it." He growled. "You only have to do this once then it's over." His voice strained.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and took a deep breath. Eric opened the door and dragged me inside. I almost lose my footing as I stumbled into the chair in front of Max's messy desk. Mountains of papers and piles of folders covered the wooden furniture. Back straight, head held high, I fought against the urge to puke all over my shoes. I hated to be the center of attention.

"Christine, I'd say it's good to see you if it was under other circumstances." Greeted Max. "I know it's hard for you, but we need your testimony for the investigation. You can take all the time you need." His smooth voice could have eased my nerves if Eric wasn't standing in the corner of the room, gawking like a hawk.

"Hi Max, I agree. It would be better for other reasons." I answered, careful to not let my voice falter. "Hm, it was last Monday night. Brent found me in the Pit. He wanted my help for something, or so I thought at the moment, I don't really remember what it was about... I think he claimed that members were organizing fighting sessions there, making bets and exchanging points or something like that."

It was difficult to walk down memory lane. Images came rushing through my mind, poisoning my every thought. I took a deep breath, eyes fixated on the pen Max was holding. I couldn't look at him while I was picturing Brent right in front of me.

"Anyway, he dragged me in the old quarters to check it out. I didn't know something was off until he pushed me into a dark room. I..." I swallowed thickly. "I didn't have time to react because he hit me behind the head with his gun then he... He began to take my pants off... I... I was too knocked out to fight him. He... He took advantage of me and I couldn't..." My throat got tighter at every word. "I couldn't do anything while he... he raped me. Then, he threatened me, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone or he... He was going to make me factionless."

I didn't see their reactions, I didn't need to. The tension filling the room was enough to know what was crossing their minds. Before any of them could utter a word, I added:

"I don't want anyone to know about this aside from the people already involved. If that's even possible."

"I'm afraid that's not, my dear. Dauntless law demands a vote from all members to establish a punishment. But we can keep your name out of the victims' list if you want to."

I only nodded in response. My nails were digging in the armrest of the chair, my knuckles turning white under the pressure. My heart lumped in my chest when Eric took a step forward. I could see his black combat boots in my peripheral vision.

"Did he use a condom?"

Heat rose in my cheeks and my breath caught up in my throat. I didn't expect that question. I lowered my head a little more to avoid their pointed stares. Recollecting this night was harder than anything that I have ever done. I felt everything all over again. The pain coming from his bites on my skin, his fingers digging in my hips, his pantings in my ear, the pain between my legs as I was begging for him to stop. Brent overwhelmed all my senses. I wasn't in the office anymore but in that dark room with him.

"Chris? Christine?" Eric's voice forced me out of my memories. "Did he use a condom?" He repeated, his voice smoother than silk.

I closed my eyes for a brief second.  If he didn't use one, there was a possibility that I was pregnant. How didn't I think about it? When was my last period? Not a clue. My mouth felt dry.

"I honestly don't know," I whispered in disbelief.

"You should go see Marlene check this out, it's better to do it sooner than later." Advised Max. "We'll announce Brent's trial tonight, the vote will be held in five days from now on. You're suspended until the end of the week."

My head shot up instantly. Harrison told me that he would extend my suspension, but it still hurt. I loved my job because I felt useful, purposeful. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest to prevent both men from seeing them shaking.

"Look, I know this is about me beating the shit out of Brent. I won't apologize because he deserved it, but I'm sorry for breaking the rules of 'no fighting outside rings'. I get it, I messed up and it's not tolerable for someone close to leadership but give me some lack. I've never broken any rule before, I've been obedient and followed orders my whole life, you can't do this to me. I need my job, Max, please." My voice wavered at the end.

Max get up and walked around his desk, hands clasped behind his back. He spared a long look at Eric who nodded in response. Their silent conversation put me on edge. I should have shut it. I just proved that I was unstable. Great move, dumbass. Max stand right in front of me, careful to keep a decent distance between us. His sympathetic look gave me the urge to slap him across the face. I didn't need his pity, but I needed my job to keep me from going insane. If I didn't have anything to focus on, I might lose my mind and do something really stupid.

"It is not really a suspension as you understand it." His thin lips stretched into a comforting smile. "Think of it as vacations. You need to recover and take care of yourself first, Chris. My decision is not to be discussed."

I huffed in response but didn't push any further, Max was not someone to disagree with. I stole a glance at Eric. He nodded slightly his head as to ushered me to keep a low profile. Well, at least someone was on my side. One that I would not have imagined.

"So, what am I supposed to do until then a part of taking care of me?"

"I've heard that the Child Care Service needed someone from time to time to watch the kids."

"I'll think about it," I answered while looking at Eric, an eyebrow raised in question. "If that's all, am I free to go?" I asked, already out of the chair.

Max dismissed me by pointing the door with his head with a small smile. I turned on my heels before doing or saying something I might regret. One question lingered in my head, did Eric asked for me to work at the Child Care Service, or was it, Max?

[chaoticallysapphic]

the great trial part three

summary: This was meant to be the easy part. The part filled with brightness and love. The war was over and you had the love of your life all to yourself. No more Baatar, no more secrecy and no more lies. But with the calm comes the realization as all the adrenaline finally leaves you. Now you know, this is the hard part.

a/n: shit’s getting interesting as ruins of the empire comes into play. I’m sure it’s not gonna go how some of you may want but this was necessary to help with somethings (which I am totally down to chat about via my inbox after you read this). As always thank you @medeliadracon​ and @ladyxffandoms​ !

word count: 5k

The next day Korra returns with a look of defeat, she has a device in her hand and papers that Kuvira must sign in order to leave, all of which state she won’t run away, and if she does they will forcefully detain her and lock her up in prison. You think it’s kind of dumb to have her sign this, a contract won’t stop her if she does decide to escape.

“I’m going with,” you say with your arms crossed. Kuvira immediately straightens up, handing the pen back over to Korra. 

“No you're not, you're staying here where it’s safe,” she stares you down as you glare right back. Flashes of that day outside of Zaofu keep her up at night and haunt her dreams. She’s actually glad you’re on house arrest because at least you're tucked away and out of harm's way

“You don’t control me anymore. He’s not here for you to hold above my head, so I am going with you and you can’t stop me.” 

“Uhm…” Korra starts, looking between the two of you, “I’m only authorized to take Kuvira.” The poor Avatar has no clue what you're talking about, she’s heard a few rumors from Bolin and even Lin, but she’s too afraid to ask either of you. She wouldn’t be surprised if one of you slapped the other right now.

“But I know Commander Gu-” 

“He doesn’t respect you, he tried to treat you like a waitress last time he saw you. If you're there it will make me look weak like I need someone by my side and…” Kuvira squeezes her eyes shut before reopening them. “You almost died last time you were involved with empire business.” 

“Oh, so we’re back to worrying about appearances, spirits. I thought those sessions were helping in some way.” You spit out before storming off to the bedroom, slamming the door shut. You hear the sound of them talking as you sit on the edge of the bed, your head in your hands. 

That small voice inside your head still rooting for her, the one that still believes in Kuvira is scolding you for snapping but you can’t help yourself. It seems that all the words inside of you meant for her have rotted and turned into venom. A few minutes go by before there’s a gentle knock at the door, you find yourself frozen, unable to move. 

“I’m…” Kuvira audibly sighs, “I’m leaving, I’ll be back in a few days most likely…” She waits for you to respond, you want to say something so bad, you want to beg for her to stay but it feels like your mouth has been sewn shut. ���I love you.” 

The sounds of her footsteps receding before the front door gently clicks shut pulls you out of your frozen state, you race out of the bedroom and into the apartment with some kind of childish hope that she’s still there. But it’s empty, she’s gone. 

The rest of the day is spent sitting on the couch with your knees tucked close to your chest, watching the door. You couldn’t talk to her or look at her but the knowledge that she was nearby always helped you in some way. But now she’s gone and it wouldn’t surprise you if she did try to run off, it’s not like there’s anything pleasant waiting for her back at home. You made sure to destroy any type of happiness left in this apartment after that first night.

You eat dinner with the radio turned on to fill the house up with some form of life, stabbing at your piece of fish with a frown. You know what’s going to happen next and you're terrified of how it’ll go. Washing the few dishes in the sink you let out a defeated sigh before heading to the bathroom for a long hot shower to prolong the inevitable. Once done you take your time applying lotion and taking care of your hair before locking up the apartment for the night. 

Standing in the bedroom doorway you stare at the empty bed with a pounding in your chest. You can do this, you can sleep without her and live without her. Most likely you will end up living without her if she does what you think she’ll do so you need to get used to the lack of her in your life. 

You change into your pajamas before crawling into bed and when you turn on your side to face the wall of pillows you created. Tears gather in your eyes. What are you meant to do without her? 

You fall asleep a few hours later after calming down but don’t stay asleep for long, soon enough, like always, you're up and crying as you clutch at the blankets surrounding you. She’s left you once and for all, one final punishment to shut you up for life. It feels like the air is being squeezed out of your lungs as you choke on another sob, images of life without her playing through your mind, and suddenly you're reminded of how much you truly need her. 

At some point a few hours later you end up passing out in an uncomfortable position sprawled out across the bed with a pillow clutched to your chest. When you wake up your head is pounding from crying and your throat is dry, you feel like shit. You’ll have to accept that this is your life now. 

Dr. Hanika arrives a few days later, news of Kuvira’s temporary release must have its way around the city because she already knows. You’re aware that you look like shit with bags under your eyes and that certain hollowness that has filled you with her absence. The house is a mess as well, dishes left in the sink, dirt smeared on the floors from your garden. You're in three-day-old pajamas and haven’t brushed your hair recently.

“Today I think we should talk about the codependency that is very much present in your relationship, I think addressing this issue and working out a few exercises to help you in the future will benefit you greatly.” 

You never really thought your relationship was codependent before, then again most people probably don’t fall apart with the absence of their partner so you can’t argue with her. Even if you wanted to, you don’t have the energy. 

And so she helps you make a plan, a list of things that may help you. When she tells you that it’s just trial and error at this point your shoulders sag.

 That night you try the first option, soothing yourself to sleep, you light a stick of lavender incense and attempt to meditate which ends up being unsuccessful, but you power through and keep trying before finally giving up and going to sleep. 

Option number one does not work. 

So it’s time for option number two, you grab a heated water bottle and try to make a makeshift Kuvira out of some pillows before placing that on the bottom to keep them warm. It’s meant to imitate her and trick your mind into thinking she’s here, but when you wake up in the middle of the night reaching out for her because the warmth has since left her side of the bed, you realize it won’t work. 

Option number two does not work. 

There are a million little things on the list, all of which seem like they won’t work so when your eyes land on ‘get a pet’ a little bit of hope springs to life in your heart. Your dad is thrilled, you tell him a medium dog would most likely be best, so he rents a jeep and drives to the nearest town that has a kennel. 

You spend the day as you always do, tending to your garden and trying to distract yourself from the deafening silence. You guys didn’t talk anymore but the sound of her pencil meeting paper or cooking helped fill the air with the perfect amount of white noise.

The sun is high in the sky when your dad barges into the living room as you're eating a buttered roll, in tow is a medium-sized hound with droopy eyes and long, floppy ears. He has bags in his hands full of supplies with the biggest grin you’ve seen from him in a while. The dog begins to curiously sniff the furniture, it’s red fur standing out from the rest of the house. “I saw her and knew she was a keeper.”

He sets the supplies onto the dining room table and begins to slowly unload the bags. He ends up pulling out two dog bowls, kibble, some treats, toys, and a white-collar for her. The hound walks up to the table, her nose peeking out over the top as she sniffs the bag of treats.

“I heard someone in town mention that Kuvira is back in Zaofu, where is she?” his brows pinch together as he looks around the apartment. Your heart drops as your grip on the roll tightens, she’s here, but she’s not here. Did she take your statement to heart and go back to him? 

Is she currently wrapped tight in an intimate embrace with him, begging him to forgive her? Have they kissed yet? Is that stupid ring back on her finger? Your mind clouds with angry shouts of ‘you’ve finally done it, you’ve pushed her away and now she’s gone for life.’ 

“W-What?” The tone of your voice must be enough to let your dad know that she is, in fact, not here because he walks up and pulls you into his arms. You don’t even realize you’re crying or that you’ve dropped your food, which the hound happily snaps up. 

“She’s probably just going through some kind of inspection before they let her come back here,” he says in a reassuring tone. You nod. It feels like you’ve floated out of your body as he directs you to the couch where he sits you down before going to make you some tea. 

The hound jumps up beside you and rests her head on your lap. She lets out a deep groan before closing her eyes, you're so out of it that you keep your hands tucked on your lap despite it being slightly uncomfortable with her head nudging your arm. 

Congratulations, something vicious says within you, you’ve lost her for good. Your dad stays for dinner, he makes dumplings and patiently waits to see if the magic within them works, you offer a forced smile to try and placate him, but he can tell it's not genuine. When he leaves you stand utterly still in the living room, what do you do now? 

The hound, which your father suggested naming Lily after the flower Panda Lily, shoves her cold, wet nose into your hand and sniffs. It pulls you out of your self-deprecating thoughts and you robotically move your feet to the dreaded bedroom. Without instruction Lily jumps up onto the bed, wagging her tail as she waits for you to climb in with her. When you tug the blankets up to your chest she flops down beside you and presses her body against your chest. You wrap an arm around her middle and force your eyes shut, this is going to be the norm now. 

Two days later the bags under your eyes are gone, surprisingly Lily works. Her body heat tricks your mind into thinking it’s Kuvira and so each morning instead of bolting awake with a sense of dread filling you, Lily wakes you up with a lick on your cheek and a bark. 

You fall into a slightly altered routine, now when you're tending to your vegetable garden in the yard Lily joins you, she tries to bite the leaves and even manages to dig a hole that has you laughing for the first time in months. When you eat she lays by your feet and watches with this adorable look that warms your heart and when you read she lays her head on your lap. 

You still think about her, but now you think about her a little less. Now you can get through the day without crying. 

It’s that evening on the third night of owning Lily that the front door opens, you have your back turned as you do the dishes, but she alerts you that someone is here with her bark. When you look over your shoulder your whole body freezes up at the sight of a bewildered Kuvira as Lily jumps up to try and give her some form of a hug. 

“What the fuck.” Lily licks her hand, trying to bite at the wrapped stems which has her yanking it out of the dog's reach. Your eyes land on what's in her hand, it’s a bouquet of sunflowers wrapped in white tissue paper. Your heart skips a beat at the sight. “Why is this dog here?” 

Her question rips you out of your frozen state, you turn the water off and wipe your hands with a kitchen towel. “Uhm… Dad got her for me, well for us.” 

She seems surprised by your willingness to talk to her. Part of her wants to argue that such a decision should have been made together, but she’s just so happy that you aren’t yelling or saying anything snide. “I got you these,” her voice is quiet and hesitant as she walks over to hand the flowers over to you. 

You try to fight the smile threatening to pull your lips up but you can’t stop it, only minimize it into something small, but she still notices. “Thank you,” you reply in a soft, appreciative tone. 

“They reduced my sentence to two years instead of three.” Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise as you look into her eyes, willingly. “I missed you.” 

Your grip on the bouquet tightens at her confession. “I…” Letting out a deep sigh, you continue, “I missed you too.” Part of you wants to take the four steps it’d take to be close enough to pull her into your arms. But you don’t think you're ready for that just yet. 

She stands so still you think she may have turned into a statue. Inside her mind is practically shutting down, your words have caused some kind of momentary outage as she thinks of these last few months. Spirits these last few days were hell, the way things were left ate her up inside. It didn’t help that Bolin treated her just as badly as you did and while she didn’t like the man she knew you two were friends. 

“She deserves better,” he spat out the second he saw Kuvira. He was right, you do, but Kuvira is too selfish to leave, to give you a chance at a better life. One where you wake up next to someone who’d never hurt you the way she did, who would never force you to hide or become someone you weren’t. Someone your mother could stand to look at. 

More snide comments from the lava bender were sent her way during the trip but the one that stuck out the most was one said right before everything went to shit. “She was willing to die for you but you couldn’t even remember her birthday.” 

At least you have a friend, one who hates her guts but one who will stand up for you. At least you had someone to turn to because she knows she never let herself be an option. 

“I missed you too,” is all she can come up with and a soft laugh leaves you. Spirits what did she do to deserve hearing that? 

“You already said that.” 

“Oh.” Kuvira can’t find it in herself to be embarrassed, she’s too focused on you and that small smile, the way you softly touch some flower petals with such gentle and attentive care.

“I haven’t forgiven you, but I’m willing to start trying.” That is more than enough for now. This magnificent feeling in her heart is perfect and the way that you smile at the flowers makes it all worth it.

Time slowly eases on, the pillows stay erected at the center of the bed, and whilst you still won’t touch her, you both slowly begin to talk again. She goes back to making the meals except now you try to help from time to time. You begin to slowly talk to her again during the day, it starts with a simple “How are you?” and has escalated into full-blown conversations. 

Working with Dr. Hanika is grueling on both ends. You talk to her about slowly opening back up again but also about your fears, about how you feel bad for holding back because you can see how much she’s trying but you can’t help it. To which she always replies “you’ve been hurt by her, it’s okay to take your time and if anything it’s best to not rush any of this. I’m sure Kuvira understands.” 

Kuvira talks to her about many things, mostly about you but also about her trip. Suyin forgives her, sort of. She told her that she’ll always have a family with the Beifongs and admitted she let her down. It was a relief to hear that and it made her feel slightly less awful about herself. Apologizing to Baatar Jr. was hard and incredibly awkward. At first, he wouldn’t look at her and even threw a tantrum about working alongside her but, after she willingly let him test the machine on her, something eased between them.

After admitting how awful she was to him and how sorry she is the hostility between the two washed away. The only problem is it gave him the confidence to try and convince her that what they had was real. When she shot him down for what felt like the millionth time, irritation slowly started to rise within her, she may have snapped and said she only loved you and has only ever loved you. Unfortunately, that made her apology useless, he stormed off, and she hasn’t seen him since. 

Korra made her uncomfortable. Apparently, she had recently found out that Asami was the one, and had asked her a few questions about… well loving another woman. She may have even tried to pry and get information on the current state of your relationship, mentioning something about it feeling off at the apartment. 

She had to admit these therapy sessions helped because a few months ago she would have ended Korra for bringing you up. All the breathing exercises she was taught were used throughout that whole trip and every time a negative comment was thrown her way she had to remind herself that she was different than before. That the Kuvira they all witnessed last summer is long gone and replaced with one desperately trying to make things right. 

Leaves begin to slowly turn orange and fall to the ground in a heap. You begin to spend the days bundled up as you prepare your garden for next spring. It’s been a month and a half since Kuvira’s return, that’s eight sessions and eight weeks of slowly getting used to communicating again. 

Both of you are given different tasks on how to properly talk to one another. Dr. Hanika makes you realize that running from your problems won’t help, that shutting Kuvira out will only make things worse. She has you ask Kuvira to do small things for you, nothing extravagant but enough to help show you that she’s trying and enough to show her that you (healthily) depend on her to some small degree. 

Kuvira is given the task of making sure to do something with you every day. It’s kind of a task for the both of you but she gets to choose what it is and plans it out herself. The one activity you both end up enjoying is making dinner together, sometimes you’ll chat while skewering meat onto the kebab sticks and sometimes it’ll be spent in total silence, simply enjoying one's company whilst working together to make something. 

The one task that has you shying away is touch. Nothing major, just a simple touch on the shoulder, perhaps gently bumping your hip against her own when making dinner or touching her arm to catch her attention. Nothing romantic, just simple and friendly. Something you’d be willing to do to a friend. The first time you do it is after the sun goes down. Kuvira is engrossed in her art and had asked you to tell her when you were done in the shower, so she could hop in. 

She doesn’t realize it but you’re standing behind her clenching as anxiety wells up inside of you. It’s stupid and childish but it’s been so long and it’s meant to be small. You think of the simple touches at the beginning of your relationship, her hands brushing your hips to guide you in place or her fingertips ghosting over your bare shoulder. Even then it was romantic. 

Releasing your fists you take a step forward before gently laying a hand on her shoulder to help rip her focus away from her sketchbook. The action does work in redirecting her attention but it also has her jumping in surprise, her charcoal pencil swerving across the page as it ruins whatever was being created. She doesn’t even realize it as her body whips around to see who it is. Even though she’s by the front door and therefore would know if anyone else was around, it shocks her to find you there.

You with your oversized sleep shirt and baggy pajama pants with damp hair clinging to your neck. In an act of reflex, you pull your hand back, your eyes wide at her reaction. Neither of you speaks for a moment. 

“Uhm…” You bite your lip, “I’m done in the shower.” She opens her mouth to reply but nothing comes out. You touched her. It’s been months of no contact and yet your hand was just on her shoulder, suddenly she’s angry at herself for wearing a long-sleeved shirt despite the slight chill, wanting to have felt your skin against her own. “I’m sorry I sho-” 

“No it’s…” Her throat feels so dry. Lily trots up to lick away a water droplet on your arm, you look down at the hound as you gently pull your arm away. She huffs before climbing onto the couch. “Uhm it’s fine.” 

Kuvira repeatedly blinks, it’s such a small action (except it’s not) and her mind feels like it’s splitting in half at it. 

“Is your drawing okay? It looked like…” At your words, she peeks behind her shoulder, it’s ruined. The uniformed, perfect lines to create a rough sketch resembling a large metal flower has a large swerve of black across the page. 

“It’s okay,” she lies. You’ll feel bad and then maybe you won’t touch her again and Kuvira does not want that to happen. “Thanks, I’ll… Go, y’know.” 

Spirits if past her could see herself right now she’d be cringing. It’s not that hard to speak! ‘Go shower’ is what she meant to say, but she forgets the word. You nod in understanding as you grip the bottom of your shirt. 

“Okay, I’ll… I’m going to sleep.” This entire situation is awkward and you practically race out of there to get away. You're embarrassed and you don’t know why. Once in bed, you mentally berate yourself for being so stupid. 

An hour goes by, her showers don’t usually take this long and you're about to get up to check on her when she enters. She’s in her usual long-sleeved dark gray sleep shirt and sweatpants that hang low on her hips. She doesn’t make eye contact with you when she crawls into bed, to be honest, she kind of zoned out in the shower as she replayed that simple moment that hardly lasted three seconds. 

It’s silent for a few beats before you break the silence. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.” 

Kuvira’s eyes widen at your words, her head turns to look over at you, but not only is it pitch black, but the wall of pillows also keeps you out of sight. “You didn’t… I’m not uncomfortable.” 

“You’re not?” 

“No, I was just surprised.” It’s quiet again, so she continues, “please, if you want you can touch me in any way you want whenever.” She cringes, that sounded kind of sexual. 

You stare up at the ceiling as you grip the blankets. “Okay, that’s good to know.” 

You both go to sleep smiling. 

The herb garden you have growing inside is coming along beautifully and now you guys can take small clippings from it for meals. Summer has long since passed and autumn is nearly over, it doesn’t get freezing here during the winter but it’s cold enough to destroy any crops that try to spring to life outside and so your time gardening is limited to the shelves inside.

A couple of weeks have gone by since that shoulder tap and each day you’ve mentally psyched yourself up into touching her again in some way. Kuvira has to use all of her self-control to keep from touching you back, this is meant to be at your pace and unless you ask her to, she will keep her hands to herself. 

You get a bit bolder, your touches lasting a little longer and the anxiety slowly lessens as the days go on. Now when cooking dinner if you need to brush past her, you might place a hand on her back to let her know you're behind her. Three days ago you pushed back a stray strand of hair for her while she had her hands dirty with oil and herbs as she prepared the duck for dinner. She might have tightly squeezed the raw meat to keep from leaning into your touch but you don’t seem to notice. 

This morning you woke up with a thought on your mind, a desire to try something that has you bouncing your leg throughout breakfast. Lily sits under the table in hopes of food to drop as you push your eggs around your plate. Kuvira watches you with a raised brow, a pit is growing in her stomach as she watches you stare down at your plate. 

“How’d you sleep?” 

Your head whips up at her words, brows pinched together. It takes you a second to register her words before quickly replying “good, great.” 

Something’s wrong. Spirits did she say something in her sleep? She feels warmth flood her at the bits and pieces she remembers from her dream, none of it was currently possible with your situation, but she swears your lips on her skin felt real. She probably did say something, she’s made you uncomfortable and now you won’t want to be around her anymore. 

Breakfast continues in silence as you both mentally freak out over very different things. When you both decide to get up and start the day you go to grab her plate for her just as she’s picking it up. Your fingers touch and she’s waiting for you to flinch away in disgust but you don’t. 

“I got it,” your voice is soft and devoid of anger. In her stunned state, you're able to take her plate and carry it to the sink. You decide you’ll clean them up later after setting them down and take a deep breath. Now or never, you think. Walking back over to Kuvira who has since snapped out of her daze, you stand in front of her. Both of you stand stone still, just staring at one another. The prolonged eye contact seems too much so you rip your gaze away before clearing your throat. 

“Please, if you want you can touch me in any way you want whenever.”

Remembering her words from a few weeks ago, you wrap your arms around her waist and pull her into a gentle hug. You don’t squeeze and give her room to pull away if she wants to. For a minute it’s just you hugging her as she stares down in surprise, you’ve since laid your cheek against her chest and closed your eyes. Your hair is a bit of a mess from sleeping and neither of you has gotten dressed for the day but this feels picture-perfect. She slowly wraps her arms around you, hugging you back. 

You both stand like that for a while as the morning light shines through the windows and casts a sort of warm glow on the room. You close your eyes and slowly relax in her arms, she’s warm and cozy, by being locked in here her muscles have slowly started to fade which you sort of miss but you don’t mind. This is friendly, right? You’ve hugged friends before, you hug your parents and Bolin and you’ve hugged Suyin. Zhu Li hugged you in the hospital and thanked you for helping her out. 

To Kuvira this feels amazing, her heart pounds away as she squeezes her eyes shut. It feels like a million years since having you in her arms. She doesn’t think she ever appreciated it enough, sure she loved it and craved your touch back then, but she didn’t know what it was like to lose you. To have you despise her and not able to stand the sight of her, let alone her touch.

She never wants to let go. 

For a good portion of the morning, you both just stand there in each other's arms. At some point tears begin to cascade down your cheeks, this is a small step forward. You're proud of yourself for this and are so happy to be taking a step forward. There’s a lot more to go but you decide not to dwell on that as you simply bask in each other's presence.

[smarchit]

Poetry for an Heiress, Chapter 3

Word Count: 5.1k

Summary:  When a duchess and her children are abandoned far from home, they must rely on the kindness of one stranger to guide them home. 

Warnings: None (for this chapter)

"Mr. Ezra," Henry called ahead as you walked back to the little house. He jogged a little to keep up with the older man's stride. "Why do you only have one arm?"

Your jaw dropped. It was, you supposed, only a matter of time before one of the children asked it. The fact that it was Henry surprised you slightly, as you honestly thought Marie would ask first. "Henry Avery!" you cried in surprise. "Shame on you, I taught you better than to ask things like that."

Ezra laughed and shook his head. "It's quite alright, Princess, don't worry about it. It's actually quite an interesting story. You see, I lost it to a six-fingered man. Villainous man, you see--"

"I know that story!" Henry cried. "You're making it up!"

"Oh, you wound me," Ezra laughed. "Fine. I was battling my arch-nemesis when he cut it off and dramatically revealed that he was my real father!"

"Come on!" Aiden shouted from beside you. "We know that one too!"

"Your highness, you have very well-read children," he said, turning to face you. "It makes it extraordinarily difficult to pull the proverbial wool over their eyes. Fine then, if you must know, I lost it to pirates. One, an innocent, mind you, was protecting her hide. I admit that my injury was more than justified."

You gave Henry a look and frowned at him. He really should know better. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ezra," you said, "My children know they shouldn't ask personal things like that."

"Oh, that's quite alright," Ezra said as he opened up the front door to the house. "Inquiring minds want to know. And children tend to ask the best questions, after all."

"Tell Mr. Ezra thank you for today," you said, putting your hands behind your back. "And go upstairs and wash up. I will be up shortly." You motioned for the children to go upstairs before you turned back to Ezra. "I am so grateful for what you did today. I don't think I can ever thank you enough. You very well may have saved our lives."

Ezra tutted and waved his hand away. "I am just thankful I was there when I was. Some day, you will have to tell me how you came upon our little haven. That can be my thanks." With that, he turned and walked up the stairs, your knapsack in hand. 

Once the children had finally settled down into the small guest bedroom, you slowly, silently, crept out and shut the door behind you. All you needed was for Marie to ask for her third glass of water or for one more story. You were exhausted from the day's events. There was only so much excitement you could take for one day. 

You spotted Ezra across the hall in his own room, gathering up a few items to take downstairs with him. He looked up at you and smiled as he finished collecting his things.

On the short walk back to the house from the barn, before Henry had asked his rather inappropriate question, Ezra had insisted you take his bedroom since it was larger. You stated that you wanted to stay with the children in case they got frightened in the night. Ezra had pointed out that the spare room and the main bedroom were directly across the tiny, cramped upstairs hallway from one another. If the children became frightened, they would be able to just run across the hall and get you. 

You had felt terrible about commandeering Ezra's bed when he first suggested it after you had put the children to bed. He should have his own bed to sleep in since he had so generously opened his home to you.

"Princess, think nothing of it," he said as he cleared off a few books from the bedside table. "I would not be able to sleep in here knowing you were uncomfortable elsewhere."

He had managed to locate an old hammock he had back from his harvesting days in a storage bin somewhere in the crawlspace. All it needed was a good knot tied off from a rafter and it was good to go. Ezra explained that he kept the tiny wood burning stove going all night anyway, so any worry you may have had about it being too cold was washed away.

After you gave yourself a quick scrub down in the basin in the bedroom, you did your best to wash out the mud from your nightgown. Hopefully the worst of them would come out with a better wash soon. You hung the damp nightgown and robe from a hook by the window and climbed into the bed.

As you were drifting off, you couldn't help but notice how nice Ezra's blankets smelled. His bedding, you imagined, smelled exactly like how he did. Earthy, with just the softest tang of sweat, combined with a pleasant herbal mix. You hadn't smelled something so wonderful since your husband passed. If anything, this smell was far better.

You rolled over, pressed your nose against the pillow, and slipped off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, you were awoken by delighted chatter coming through the open window. Sunlight streamed in and warmed your cheeks as you slowly opened your eyes. 

It took a second to remember where you were. The events of the previous day flooded back and you sighed. It hadn't been a dream. You were stuck on this planet, Muir, as Ezra had called it. 

In the daylight, you took the time to glance around Ezra's bedroom. Bundles of drying flowers and herbs hung from the ceiling, no doubt adding to the scent of his blankets. The walls were barely decorated, except for one tiny round mirror that hung near the door.

You swung your legs out of bed and fetched your nightgown from the hook. Blessedly, it was dry and no longer smelled like dirt from the trek through the woods. 

Peaking into the children's room, you were surprised to find the bed was already made, with Marie's stuffed dog settled neatly against the pillows. 

You followed the voices down the narrow stairs and out the front door to the yard. It seemed as though the children were quite busy with "helping" Ezra around the farm. You had to wonder just how much work was actually getting done. 

"Mama!" Marie screeched when she spotted you. She took off running full sprint and launched herself into your arms. "Mama, mama! Mr. Ezra showed us the animals! He said we could help him take care of them!"

"Oh, did he?" you asked, tucking a curl behind her ear. "And are you listening to Mr. Ezra and doing what he asks you?"

She nodded excitedly. "Yes, mama. He said I can gather eggs from the chickens."

Ezra wandered over, a small basket in his hand and a smile on his face. "The key, little bird, is to not leave your hard work behind. We need these eggs to eat. They won't do us any good sitting in the basket next to the pen."

"Oh," she said sheepishly. "Sorry, Mr. Ezra."

"That's quite alright," he replied. "I heard no complaints from the girls, so you must've done a stellar job of gathering their eggs. You did a much better job than your brothers."

"Should I ask what they've gotten themselves into?" you asked, setting Marie down. She skipped off towards the barn, the little egg basket abandoned yet again.

"Oh, nothing bad," Ezra assured. "I tried teaching them to milk the goats. That went over about as well as you would expect it to, I suppose. The one boy seemed a faster learner than the other."

You chuckled and took the basket from him. "Henry was always a fast learner. He likes to do things hands-on, whereas Aiden tries to solve his problems with words."

Ezra smiled at the way you talked about your children. "Aiden and I are quite similar, I should say."

"Not always a bad thing," you replied. "He might make an excellent ruler some day."

"I've gotten myself into a few situations where I wished I would have sat back and assessed the situation first rather than running my mouth." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "Many things might even have turned out differently if I thought about what I should say before I even said it."

You nodded and gave him a knowing smile. You knew what he was talking about, having wished yourself that you had kept your mouth shut several times while in court with your mother and grandmother. Not wanting to discuss your personal history with him just yet, you looked off to the field where you saw the boys gathering vegetables with one another.

"I'm sure the goat is unhappy," you hummed. "Violated, even."

"She chased them around the yard for twenty minutes or so afterwards before I put the boys out to work in the field," he chuckled, shaking his head. "I will teach those boys how to properly milk a goat."

"Would you like me to help with anything?" you asked, realizing that you hadn’t even offered your own hand around the farm. You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "I would love to assist in any way I can around here."

Ezra thought for a minute and looked around. "The only thing that comes to mind is the flower garden could use some tender loving care. I am loath to say that I have been neglecting it, sadly. There is, regrettably, only so much I am able to do one-handed."

You turned around to where Ezra had gestured with a nod and frowned at the tiny, overgrown plot. 

"I have seen less frightful cemeteries," you said dryly. You turned back to Ezra with a smile. "I am happy to help."

He nodded once as he bent to pick up the egg basket. "Princess, I am thrilled beyond reason that you are so eager to aid a poor scoundrel like myself."

"I wouldn't consider you a scoundrel, Mr. Ezra," you said, clasping your hands in front of you.

Ezra chuckled and blushed slightly. "Now, "Mr. Ezra" almost makes me sound like a dapper gentleman," he said, straightening his back, "And while I appreciate the title from the children, I fear it does not fit me."

"You don't like it?" you asked with a frown. You didn’t mean to offend him in any way, given it was just the proper way of addressing any man, but you’ve never met someone who minded the title.

"Just Ezra is fine for you to call me, miss," he said softly. "Calling me "Mr." makes me sound so formal."

"Ezra," you hummed with a smile. "You know, I believe you're right. That suits you much better."

Ezra ducked his head a bit and mumbled your name before he hurried off towards his house.

You walked towards the shed to collect a basket for any weeds that you would pull up in the garden. It wasn't as grand as the gardens at home, but at least you could tend to this one personally. You had a tiny personal garden on your balcony, and you were always able to keep it full and beautiful in the warmer months. A green thumb, your mother had once said. You always wished you could tend to the larger gardens instead of just overseeing their care.

For the short time you would be here, however, you were determined to make this tiny garden healthy and beautiful. It was the least you could do. 

Ezra had treated you all so kindly yesterday, and his intentions seemed to be true. You idly wondered why you immediately felt like you could trust him. His presence filled you with a sense of safety and security that you had not felt in so long.

You spread your robe down on the ground in front of the garden and got to work, yanking up weeds and grasses to the root. It was the only time when you were in the palace that you weren't expected to adhere to the strict dress code or rules set by your grandmother. No gowns or headdresses, or gloves. No constricting clothing. Just the dirt on your hands and under your nails that grandmother would then chide you about later.

You didn't even notice until Ezra tapped you on the shoulder that the sun had risen high in the sky. 

"Lunchtime," he said brightly. "Come and enjoy the fruits of this morning's labor. Get out of the sun for a while - your shoulders are fit to burn if you stay out here much longer in the midday sun, Princess. And you really should eat something too. The last thing we need is for you to pass out from hunger."

As if on cue, your stomach rumbled loudly, protesting the fact that you hadn't eaten breakfast. It was easy to lose yourself in a garden.

"Already?" you asked, wiping sweat from your brow.

"Now you sound like your flock, Princess," he chuckled, extending his hand to help you up. Your hand gently grabbed onto his, a small noise of strain coming from your mouth. Your muscles ached from being in the same position for so long. "Come, see the feast they've made for us. I think you will be quite impressed with them."

He offered you his arm to take as you dusted off your skirts, and you hooked yours through his as you walked back towards the house. 

"Hello, mama!" Henry said when you entered. It looked like he'd tried to clean up a little, though there was still dirt on his brow. 

"Hello, my darlings," you cooed, bringing them all in for a hug. You looked at the wooden kitchen table with pride at what you saw. The children (aided heavily by Ezra, no doubt) had indeed prepared a feast for lunch. Vegetables covered nearly of the table, with small plates of cheese placed precariously throughout. "My goodness, you've all been very busy!"

"Mr. Ezra helped us!" Aiden said, giving you a squeeze with his arms. "He said we had to make a meal fit for a duchess!"

Ezra blushed as he moved around you towards his seat. It was always the little ones who blabbered a bit too much, not that you would find anything in that statement, hopefully. "Or a princess."

You smiled and kissed the tops of each of the children's heads. "Well, eat up! I'm so proud of all of you!"

The children beamed and scrambled to sit down at the mismatched kitchen chairs. As they began to eat, you were very surprised when there were no complaints about eating their vegetables. Back home, it was always a mini-battle at the dinner table to get the most finicky Marie to so much as touch a green with her fork.

"Mr. Ezra said he might like to take us fishing!" Aiden said between bites.

"Yeah!" Henry piped up. "He said there's a little cave we can explore along the way!"

Ezra looked over at you expectantly. "If that's alright with you. I could take the boys -- and Marie, if you would like a day of respite."

"Perhaps," you considered, "If you are all extraordinarily well behaved."

You couldn't help but laugh as all three children immediately straightened their posture and began to take more delicate bites of their food.

"We've never been fishing," Aiden chirped. He swallowed his bite of food and looked towards Ezra. "Is it hard?"

"No," he replied. "It's fairly simple. If I am able to do it short-handed, I would like to think it is a fairly easy task. Didn't your daddy ever take you boys out fishing? Or hunting?"

"We don't have a daddy, sir," Aiden said softly. Realizing what he'd just said, he looked to you with worry in his eyes.

Henry hung his head and put down his food. He glanced over at you like he expected you to yell.

"Oh, well-- I am terribly sorry," Ezra said sincerely. He was looking more at you than he was at the twins. "I had no way of knowing. I-I truly do apologize."

"It's alright," you said around the lump in your throat. Over the short years since his passing, you’ve learned to hide your grief well, never letting tears slip in front of the child. Nevermind a man you had just met. "You didn't know."

"Can we still go with Mr. Ezra?" Henry asked softly. His eyes were large and watery behind his glasses. Despite the fact that he and his brother were only a few years old when their father was killed, he still claimed to remember him.

"Yes," you said softly. "Of course you can go."

"Now, it'll take me some time to gather the proper materials for fishing," Ezra explained. "A week or two, maybe. You've best listen to your mama and be on your best behavior and I'll take you. Alright?"

The children cheered and you caught Ezra's eye across the table. He offered you a small, apologetic smile. You gave him a nod and a smile, hoping he understood that it was okay - that you were okay. 

A few days after you'd arrived, Ezra discovered you were a much better cook than he was. He was a bit sheepish approaching you about it at first. He didn't want to ask too much of you and didn't know if that would be stepping out of line. But after the third night of the same soup Ezra had made, you were more than eager to take over the cooking. 

You thought that it would all go much faster if you did it rather than Ezra attempting to chop vegetables by himself.

You found after the first night that you didn't mind sleeping in Ezra's bed at all. You actually looked forward to it throughout the day. It made you feel safe when you curled up in the sheets. More than once, he offered to wash the bedding but you politely declined each time, stating you didn't want him to do any more work than he had to.

One morning, you realized the few changes of clothes you had brought from the pod were in need of a good, thorough wash, especially after a few days of running around and playing on the tiny farm. 

You walked around the spare room and collected the children's dirty clothes from the floor of the spare room and tossed them into a basket. It wouldn't take long for you to wash them. 

After you gathered up the children's bedding and clothes and your own clothing, you stepped out into the yard. It was a bright, beautiful day, not even a wispy cloud in sight. The children were running around before they began their chores for the day. They had taken to farm life quite well, you thought. 

Ezra was lounging on a chair outside the house, doing his best to snap beans one handed as he kept an eye on your children. He acknowledged you with a nod as he tossed the beans into the bowl at his feet.

"Good morning, Princess," he said with a small smile. He looked at you with those warm eyes and you wanted to melt into the yard. "Sleep well?" 

"Oh yes, quite well, thank you," you replied. "I'm going to do a bit of laundry. The children are out of clean clothes. As am I, I'm afraid."

"Now that's a pity," Ezra teased, dropping his hand to dangle between his spread legs. He coughed to hide his blush. "Would you like to borrow something of mine? I mean, just so you can clean all of your things."

You considered his offer for a moment before you nodded. If his clothes smelled anything like his bed, it was an opportunity you would be a fool to turn down. 

Fifteen minutes later, you were walking down to a washbasin, the basket resting squarely on your hip. Ezra had handed you a deep green thermal shirt that came clear down to your thighs and an old pair of compression pants for you to do your wash in. The smell of his shirt, as you slipped it over your head, was intoxicating. 

As you busied yourself with the laundry, you heard Ezra inform the children that they had five more minutes before they had to start their chores. 

He sounded like their father, you thought with a smile. You quickly shook that thought from your head and went back to scrubbing a grass stain from Aiden's shirt. I just met him. I cannot have such thoughts about a man I just met. Especially someone like him.

However, you couldn't justify why, exactly, he had to be off limits. Truth be told, the only reason you could come up with was that he was, essentially, still a stranger. 

You sighed and abandoned the shirt for now. Perhaps you needed a stronger soap to try and get the stain out. It was possible that Ezra would have a suggestion for how to remove the stubborn stain. You would readily admit you didn't quite know how to properly do laundry. It had always been done for you. 

As you walked back towards the house, you checked in on the children as they began their chores. 

"Boys, are you behaving?" you asked as you poked your head into the barn. Over the last few days, you had heard of their progress from Ezra, who looked so proud when he talked about them both. It warmed your heart.

"Yes, mama," Henry replied, nodding at the goat he was carefully milking. "Miss Jane is quite pleasant this morning. No complaints so far."

"And Miss Emma and I are starting to get along," Aiden said with a gap-tooth smile. He lifted a hand to pat the sweet brown goat a few times before he went back to milking her as well.

You chuckled at their mannerisms. It really didn't take long for them to adapt to their environment and the people in it. Too often you had wondered about how much of their personalities were absorbed from you or their grandmother. They were just children.

"I'm finishing up the wash," you said to them. "I need to find a stronger soap because someone slid around in the grass too much."

Aiden looked back up at you and gave you a little pout. "I tried to be careful, mama. I did."

"I know, darling," you hummed. "It's quite alright. Be careful, I will be nearby if you need me, and Mr. Ezra is as well."

"Yes, mama," they mumbled in unison as they went back to their work. 

You smiled as you walked across the yard to find Marie. The chickens had been undisturbed, and you hadn't seen Marie run past with the basket.

"Up there, little bird," you heard Ezra encourage. "Woah, watch your balance now. If you fell while trying to get a glimpse, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

When you rounded the corner, you saw Ezra with Marie on his shoulders, his one hand firmly holding her as she craned her little neck to look at something. 

Marie gasped, and for a brief second, you were worried she'd fallen. "I see them!" she said, amazement evident in her voice.

You melted when you saw Ezra's smile as he held her above his head. He looked up, arching his neck so he could try to see her better.

"How many are there, little birdie?" he asked.

You could see Marie counting on her chubby fingers before she looked down at him. "Four!"

"Splendid!" he laughed, bouncing her slightly on his shoulders. He let her look at the nest for a few more seconds before he bent down so she could climb off.

"Off you get, birdie," he said as you finally walked over to them. "Come on."

"Hi, mama!" Marie gasped when she saw you. "Mama, Mr. Ezra showed me the little birds up there!" She pointed up to the little nest above her head in the tree. From here, you could barely see it.

"Oh?" you asked, bending to pick her up. You gave her cheek a kiss and smiled broadly as you tried to look up and see it.

"Mhm! There's this many!" she explained, holding up four fingers to show you. 

"That's wonderful, darling!" you said, tucking an errant curl behind her ear. "Were you gentle with them?"

She nodded quickly. "I was just looking!"

"Good girl," you said as you set her down. You handed her the little basket she used for collecting her eggs. "Go fetch us some eggs, my love."

She nodded and started to run towards the chicken coop when she skidded to a halt and came running back.

Ezra raised a brow and looked down at her.

Marie curtsied and looked at you and then him. "Thank you, Mr. Ezra, for showing me the birdie eggs."

"Of course, little bird," he said, offering a bow in return. "If you want to look at them again, come ask me first. If mama is in there, she might chase you away and you could get hurt."

"Yes, Mr. Ezra," she said. Marie picked up her basket and sprinted towards the chickens.

You and Ezra chuckled and watched her go. Marie loved it here. In the back of your mind, you wondered how hard it would be to take her and the boys back to the palace when the time came. It would quite possibly crush them.

"Penny for your thoughts, Princess?" Ezra asked quietly. He leaned against the tree and studied your face carefully. "I would love to know what is going on in your head."

"Nothing," you said softly. "I mean -- do you have anything to get grass stains out of the boys' clothes?"

Ezra nodded slightly. "Of course. I'll take the shirt and bring it back to you." He walked away back to the house, one hand in his pocket. 

You returned to the laundry and hung up what had already been cleaned while you waited for Ezra to bring Aiden's shirt back. As you clipped the clothes to the line, it almost felt as if you had been here your whole life, rather than just a few days. The little farm was the most at peace you had felt in years. There was a serenity that encompassed you here, quite like that of a favorite story.

You were startled from your thoughts by Ezra handing you the shirt, still sopping wet, but stain-free.

"I do apologize for the mess," he chuckled. "It is not that easy to simply wring out a wet cloth for me anymore."

"This is perfect, Ezra," you replied, taking the shirt from him. As you reached to take it from him, your fingers brushed against his and you nearly dropped it in the dirt. The briefest touch seemed to course through your veins, burning you from within.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "My hands can be quite rough sometimes. Believe it or not, Princess, I did, at one point, have hands as soft as your own. I am, however self-made, and with it, comes a certain boorishness most people find to be crass."

You gently touched his hand again and smiled at the way your heart seemed to skip a beat. "I quite enjoy a quick wit and, I don't mind your - how did you put it? Boorish behavior."

Ezra chuckled and turned your hand over in his own. "A scoundrel, your highness. That's all I am."

You opened your mouth to reply, but a peal of laughter erupted from the barn. The boys must have gotten into something because Marie came tearing around the corner with tears in her eyes.

"No!" she shouted as she ran past you both. "It's icky! Get it away!"

Aiden came sprinting across the yard with something in his hands. He had a wicked glint in his eyes. "Come see, Marie! It won't bite you!"

"No!"

Ezra glanced at you and shrugged as he stepped out into Aiden's path. The boy came to a screeching halt and almost fell over in surprise at how quickly Ezra moved. "Hang on there, let me see what you have," he said, holding out his hand. He took it into his hand and chuckled. "Oh, come now, it's just a little grub. Marvelous little creatures, certainly. Not so good for our garden, and especially not good for tormenting your poor sister with."

You smiled and looked down at your daughter who had buried her face in your thigh. "See, my darling?" you soothed. "It's not so bad!"

"It's ugly!" Marie wailed. She balled her fists up in your shirt and shook her head. "Yucky!"

"Your brother is just doing what brothers do, little birdie," Ezra said, handing the grub back to Aiden. He came over and knelt down beside her. "That bug will feed those baby birdies when they hatch - they love that kind of stuff!"

Marie lifted her head and wiped her eyes. "It's still yucky."

Ezra chuckled and tugged on her dress sleeve. "Maybe so, but it will make those babies happy."

You looked over at Aiden, who was rocking uncomfortably back and forth on his feet. He still had one hand cupped to hold the little grub. "Aiden Drake," you said, "Do you want to say something to your sister?"

"Sorry," he mumbled quietly before he took off running back towards the barn. 

You sighed and looked down at Marie and Ezra. "Are you all better now?" you asked her.

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yes, mama. Thank you, Mr. Ezra."

"You are quite welcome," he said with a smile. "Go on, why don't you finish collecting those eggs for us?" 

At his suggestion, Marie lit up with a grin and skipped off back to the pen.

Ezra groaned as he stood up. "I dare say I'm getting too old to get on the ground like that," he chuckled. "They are good kids. Remarkable little things, aren't they? You should be proud of them - all three of them."

You looked away and smiled, tucking your hair behind your ear. "I am very proud of them."

"And you make an excellent mother to them," Ezra said sincerely. "They are truly blessed to have you."

You smiled and nodded at his compliment. Ever since Marie was born, you had tried so hard to be both parents to them. As they got older, it was getting increasingly difficult to do so. You were always afraid you were doing something wrong and it was a relief to hear someone say you were doing a good job. You just wished that you could give them a proper father some day.

Ezra wandered off towards the house, whistling a tune as he went along. He turned briefly and gave you that crooked smile and jerked his head for you to join him.

********

TAGLIST: If you want to be added, please let me know!

@the-feckless-wonder @lestrange2703 @huliabitch @miscellaneous-mando @gallowsjoker

[thiswasinevitableid]

Apple, Delight (Sternclay)

Prompt for the fourth was: Apple Orchard

Barclay has cinnamon sugar in his pores, he’s certain of it. The first of October means the crowds arrive in earnest to Amnesty Farm which, from late September to mid-November, becomes a center for fall fun. They don’t serve tons of food, but Barclay is in charge of what they do offer, his pride and joy being their apple cider doughnuts, which he’s made by dozen since eight that morning.

He’s ready to settle in for the night when he discovers he has less firewood than he thought. Ah well, Sass needs to go out anyway, a trip to the wood pile won’t kill him. 

Except, as he’s gathering an armful of chopped logs, Sass goes tearing off towards the orchards, dark fur disappearing into the shadows under the trees.

Barclay sighs, sets the wood down and starts off after him. It’s not like he can get too lost, since the farm is fenced in on all sides, but it’s supposed to rain tonight and he’d hate for him to be out in it. Plus, if he gets into the garden display again, Dani will be pissed. 

He passes the petting zoo, then the goat and sheep pens, smiling when soft clucks come from the chicken coop. They’re on a country road, so at night there’s no traffic to drown out the sounds of the farm and the nearby woods. Maybe some people find it eerie, but hes’ grateful for the relative quiet after a day of being in the kitchen. 

Skirting the end of the U-Pick Pumpkin Patch brings him to the apple orchards. There are also pear and cherry trees, but the apples make up the bulk of what they grow, and visitors are welcome to pick from designated sections. 

Now if only he could spot a wagging tail or hear a jingling collar in the midst of them. 

“Sass!” He whistles, but no shape comes bounding towards him. Usually when the dog fails to come when called, it’s because he’s chasing some poor squirrel or rabbit into the underbrush.

Which is why, when he hears a  distinctly human cry of alarm, Barclay jumps out of his skin before taking off towards the subsequent barks. 

He finds Sass directing his deep woofs at a man about Barclay’s age, with dark hair that was slicked back at some point but is now mussed, and a sweater and jeans that are far too clean for him to be a farmhand. When he gets closer, he realizes he recognizes the guy; he’d been in with his family earlier that day, and Barclay had just enough time to think he was hotter than the fryer before a new wave of visitors came to the counter. Given that he was there with a woman and  young girl, he’s gonna assume the guy is off-limits for flirting. 

“Sass, c’mon boy, heel.” 

The dog turns, lopes over to Barclay as he steps to the man and offers a hand. 

“Sorry, he’s a surprisingly good guard dog for something that gets distracted by butterflies.”

The man takes his hand, stands and brushes leaves from his sweater, “and he's terrifying to have bolting towards you out of the darkness.”

Barclay raises an eyebrow, “that's kind of the point of a guard dog. Y’know, keeping intruders out?”

“I’m not an intruder, I am a visitor who misplaced something.”

“We’ve been closed for two hours.”

“I’m aware. But the front gate was locked and I couldn't get anyone’s attention.”

“Because the staff who live here live out towards the back. That's why we put that phone number on the gate. '' He turns them back towards the cottage, Sass trotting happily in front of them. 

“Which would have worked perfectly. If the thing I was missing wasn't my phone.” The man holds up a smartphone.

“I mean, guess it’s good you found it, but you coulda used someone else's and let us know to look for i in the lost and found. Folds are good about bringing dropped stuff back to the main farm.”

“I considered that option but I might not have a job come morning if I did it that way.”

“Jesus, where do you work?”

“The FBI.”

“Ah.”

“Yes, pretty much.”

“That how come you were able to scale the fence so easily?”

The man nods.

“What kind of work do you do in the FBI?” He may as well make the most of having a cute guy walking with him. A little practice flirting can’t hurt. God knows he needs it. 

“I work for the, um, the UP.”

“....Holy shit, I didn’t know that was real, I thought they made it up for the X-Files.”

“No, though it involves far more dead ends than that show portrays. Oddly, Twin Peaks is more accurate to what I do.”

“Man, that’s fucking cool agh, shit” rain patters on the leaves, “please tell me you moved your car away from the gate?”

“Only a little.”

“Shit. Okay, you probably figured it out from wandering around, but we are literally on the other end of the property right now, and the golf cart is in the shop.”

“It’s, um, it’s alright, if you get me to the main route through the farm, I can walk back on my own and climb the fence. Again.” His tone suggests he’s already working through the logistics in his head. 

“Uh, if you aren't in too big a hurry, at least let me swing by my place and get you a raincoat?”

“Oh. Um, that’d be great. Thank you.”

They veer right and soon the cottage comes into view. He grabs some dry firewood while Sass waits on the step and the man rubs his hands together. 

Once they’re inside, the man turns to him and Barclay has to work to keep his focus on his words rather than the blue eyes and handsome face.

“May I use your restroom? I got a bit muddy.” He holds up his hands. 

“Just down the hall.” 

The man smiles, and Barclay starts building a fire as he walks away. There’s a ding, and he goes to check in case Mama needs something. But it's not his phone, it’s the other man's, glowing where he set it on the table. 

Hayes: I expect better than technical mishaps from you, agent,

Shit, he wasn’t kidding about work. And his other notification is showing thirty unread emails.

The water shuts off in the bathroom and he hurries back to the fire, is just getting it caught when there’s a groan behind him. Turning, he sees his guest running a hand through his black hair, staring defeatedly down at his phone. 

“I’m moving to the bottom of the sea.”

Barclay chuckles and the man looks a little embarrassed at being heard.

“If you want something closer to home, we're hiring seasonal help.”

“I’m sure it’d do wonders for my physique, if you’re anything to go by, but I doubt I’m cut out for it. I’m white-collar through and through, unfortunately. Sorry” he looks at the hardwood floor, “probably shouldn’t whine about my job, since you’re helping me stay dry instead after I committed at least two misdemeanors on your property.”

“It’s Mama’s, I just work here. And it’s okay. Though, uh, kinda surprised you wanna talk to some random dude on a farm about it instead of, like, your wife.”

“Wife?”

“The woman who was with you today? You came into the restaurant at one point.”

“Oh! No, that’s my sister, I came with her and my niece. Her opinion on my work troubles is to get a boyfriend so I’ll have someone to complain to.”

Barclay closes the fire grate slightly harder than he means to at that last sentence.

“Did, uh, did you all have a good time?”

“Very. Ellie, my niece, adored all the animals, and Lily comes here every year to pick out pumpkins for decorating the house. I, um, my favorite part was the food. Those doughnuts were amazing, as were the pumpkin scones.”

Barclay blushes; a cute guy complimenting his cooking tends to make him all fluttery.

“You thought those were good, then I got something you need to try. Uh, I mean, if you want to stay a little, if not I can get the coat and we can go.”

The man looks at his phone, then back to Barclay, “what the hell, things are under control until the morning. I’d love to stay. Um, may I dry my sweater by the fire? It got pretty wet just in the few minutes we were out.”

“Sure thing uh, Mr-”

“Joseph is fine.”

Barclay smiles, heading for the kitchen, but not before watching Joseph's shirt catch on his sweater and ride up, revealing honest-to-god cut muscle. Instead of asking if he can lick apple butter off his abs, he grabs the jar of said butter, the loaf of bread, and starts a kettle for tea. 

Soon he’s setting a plate and a cup of cranberry-apple tea un front of Joseph, who inhales appreciatively.

“Let me guess; you made all of this?”

“Yep, the apple butter is an old family recipe.”

They eat in silence for a few moments until Sass, roused from his spot by the fire by the smell of food, pads over to sit in front of Joseph and stare. When that fails to produce treats, he turns his puppy-dog eyes on Barclay. The cook makes him sit and shake before tossing him a small piece of bread.

“What kind of dog is he?”

“Bernese Mountain Dog and Rottweiler, we think.”

“Is his name short for something?”

Barclay smiles, “Sasquatch. He had huge feet as a puppy.”

“We have similar dog-naming habits.” Joseph pulls out his phone, “this is Nessie.” When he turns it, Barclay almost snorts tea out his nose, unprepared for the sight of a greyhound in a sweater decorated with tiny Loch Ness Monsters. 

“Believe it or not, she adores that sweater. Last time I took it off to be washed, she whined for an hour.”

“Awww” It’s an adorable image, but not quite as adorable as the thought of Joseph on laundry day, in pajama pants and one of Barclay’s shirts, hair still relaxed from a shower. 

“She’s a good girl.” He tucks his phone away, “I feel terrible whenever I have to travel for work; my sister can’t take her so I have to board her somewhere, and it’s just infrequent enough that she forgets the staff and is terrified of them anew each time.”

“We could always get her used to me and board her here, assuming she and Sass get along.” The offer is sixty percent out of the goodness of his heart and forty percent wanting to see Joseph smile. 

“You’d really do that?”

“The farm is secure, she’d have a playmate, and there’d be lots of people here looking after her. She’d sleep in the cottage, of course.”

Joseph gives him an inquisitive look, then glances down at Sass, who’s wagging his tail so hard he’s sweeping the floor.

“Sure, what the hell. Assuming they get along, the next time I have to go, she can stay here.”

They chat for awhile longer about books, cooking, and various farm mishaps, before Barclay reluctantly fetches the spare raincoat so they can get Joseph back to his car. 

“Doesn’t quite bring out your eyes the way that sweater does.” He murmurs, then tries to correct for the come-on with, “because it’s such a, uh, a nice sweater?”

Joseph stays close to him as he replies “I’d offer to trade, but I’m not sure any of my clothes could survive that broad chest.” He ghosts his fingers across Barclays shirt, “Though it could be fun to see them try.”

The walk to the gate isn’t nearly long enough, and he blushes when Joseph once again thanks him profusely for his help and his company. The walk back, however, feels like an eternity, one that gives him time to doubt the other man had any interest in him at all. 

But all that evaporates when he gets home. Because sitting on the table is a slip of paper with a phone number and a short message. 

For arranging dog playdates. And dinner next Friday if you’re interested.

-Joseph

And sitting just below the message is a small, precisely drawn heart.

[lchufflepuffcorn]

Teaching Sarcasm (Blue Beelte x Reader)

Author’s note: ahaha, hate the end tho... (You can find my masterlist here, check out my patreon maybe ?)

Words: 1435

Warning: None..? The gif is not mine it belongs to its owner/creator. 

Resume: Five times, Kaji Da didn't understand your sarcasm, and Jaime had to explain to him that it was a joking way. One time where Kaji Da responds to her in a sarcastic comment. 

1- During group night.

''Yeah, because I'm sooo scared!'' You responded jokingly at something Megan had said. The gang was hanging out, but you weren't frequently part of that gang, for you were not a young hero. And Jaime was glad about it. It was already hard to see his friends get hurt weekly. He didn't particularly want to see his newly acquired girlfriend the same way. Were you aware that he was a hero, well, he never did tell you explicitly, but you weren't dumb either. 

''Jaime Reyes, your mate, does not seem in a position of danger, why would they say such things if they are false?'' Jaimes groaned internally. 

Scarab, while being one with Jaimes, had yet to understand your frequent use of sarcasm. Six months it had been going on. ''They're joking'', he muttered under his breath. Superboy turned his head toward him with a frown, but Jaime only smiles in his direction, clenching his hand on yours for a second. You didn't ask him about it. He liked it that way. 

Preferred it, was more like it. You didn't ask questions, because the last time you did when he came back to your home all battered and a suspicious amount of blue retracting to his back, he snapped at you that it was too dangerous for you to know. You'd been angry at him for some time, maybe you still were right now, but you didn't ask any more questions after that night. And you didn't ask questions about that weird group of kids he was hanging around—all weirder than the others. For that to he was glad. 

2- Date night at your restaurant.

There was this small restaurant. A little outside of El Paso where Jaime had taken you for your first serious date, it had soon become 'your restaurant.' It was funny seeing as you had your table near a window, the waiter knew your names and your drinks by heart now. You reminded people of their grandparents in a way. 

''I have more important things to do...'' Jaime was saying. The conversation had led to the homework he still hadn't done for the next Monday. You rolled your eye. 

''Yes, because running around all night is way more important than your education!'' You responded in a smooth voice, putting honey on your toast. Maybe their honey was better than the one you had at home? 

He stared at you, his mouth full of eggs, incapable of defending himself. But before Jaimes could swallow, Sacrab interrupted his train of thought. 

''Jaime Reyes, your mate, resent anger, it seems like a trap.'' The poor boy nearly choked on his egg. He hissed once his throat was cleared. 

''It's not a trap, they're angry!'' He whispered yell at the voice in his head. You rolled your eyes, not asking who he was talking too, you already knew the answer, It's hard to explain...

3- Study time

''I'm telling you, Miss Keller wants us dead. Why else would she give us a million of pages to do before tomorrow.'' Whined Jaime, his head resting on your shoulders while you were actually doing the ten pages homework your teacher had given the week before. You'd agree it was a bit much, mainly because of his nightly shifts of whatever he didn't want to tell you, but doable if you did a little bit each night. You hummed in response. 

''Why did I have to take french, you are a sadist, you know that we could have taken Spanish, but noo, you wanted French.'' 

''You already speak Spanish at home, Jaime, that would have been too easy for you...'' you sigh, turning your page, pencil raised in the air like a missile waiting to be dropped. 

Jaime gave you a disconcerted look. ''So what? It would have been funnier!'' He crossed his arms across his chest and started pouting. He wasn't usually one to sulk, but he felt playful today, and he really didn't want to do his homework. 

He finally made his mother agree to you and him alone in his room (without entirely closing his door though) on the argument that it was calmer to study. And you were actually studying—what a loss. 

''Sure, et tes devoirs vont se faire tous seuls, Jaime?'' You responded, raising your eyebrows and gesturing at his book open before him. He frowned and pushed you lightly, playfully before retaking his pen. 

''Your mate doesn't seem angry, or having un this time, Jaime Reyes, why do they use this tone now?'' Asked Scarab in his head. 

Jaime groaned, wishing his school would have a course on how to become a telepath. 

''They're mocking me...'' he whispers.  

4- When you met someone you disliked. 

Jaime knew that you didn't like this one guy at school. Jacob, or Jerry... or was it Aaron? Anyway, there wasn't a particular reason why you didn't like him, you know those who just irritate you and breathe the same air as you do? That guy, whatever his name was, was that kind of person for you. He was also the kind of guy that liked talking to everyone. 

That was why you were currently sitting outside the school during lunchtime, facing Jaime, while Jacod/Jerry/Aaron/whatever was sitting on your right. 

''Did you guys heard about the last party?'' Asked the guy, he hadn't stopped talking since he sat down next to you, twenty minutes ago. ''Aight, Imma tell you.''

''Oh, please do, we're dying to know.'' You grumbled under your breath, your head resting in between your arms. 

The guy looked so insulted, gazing over to you than on him, just as Scarab spoke. 

''You mate does not feel intense excitement toward the tale, nor are they dying, why would they say such things?'' 

Jaime used the confusion on the boy's face to respond to both his questions and Scarab's. '' I think they're tired.'' 

5- That one fight

He arrived at your house, still dressed in his hero costume. And you had recognized him. He looked like a mashed potato and absolutely refused to talk to you. Thus bringing your rage to him. 

''So what, I'm too stupid for you to even tell me about this? You expect me to be fine with you getting killed? Do your parents even know? Did you even think about telling me?'' 

''I told you it would be dangerous if you knew...'' Jaime started to say, but you cut him off. 

''Oh, because while I didn't know, it wasn't as dangerous! For sure, I could still die or be captured and tortured, but yeah, sure, I was perfectly safe!'' You roared in a fake and dry laugh. 

Jaime had his face in his end by the end of your sentence. In his head, arguments for his silence were running around, and Scarab's voice was not helping anything. 

'Your mate has good points, Jaime Reyes, but I don't understand why they agree with you...' he was saying. The boy grunted. 

''I'm sorry, (Y/N). That I made you mad and felt unprotected... and that I didn't trust you'' You sighed. 

''Just'' you started, voice restrained as if something inside of you was hurting ''next time something that could get me killed happens in your life, tell m okay? So I'll know.'' 

6- Sassy Khaji

Jaime was listening to you talk excitedly about the oral presentation you had to do in French (he was your partner in that project because Heck no, he won't let Jimmy or whatever be it). The subject was free as long as it wasn't sexual or in another language than French. And because he participated in hero-ing work, he used Khaji Da's knowledge to bring up his first hero, which became one with the Scarab, Pharaon Kha-Ef-Re.  

Your group of mutual friends listening by one ear, because it wasn't to them, you were talking anyway, Jaime sighed. If life could be like that all the time, his would be very much less complicated. 

''As if you don't like the thrill, Jaime Reyes.'' Muttered Scarab in his head. Surprising Jaime with his tone of voice, which as suspiciously close to yours. 

Jaime took his phone as if he was receiving a call and walk a bit farther away from the group. 

''Are you sassy-ing me?'' He asks, his phone near his ear. 

''Your mate always feels better after talking like that...''

[mollymauk-teafleak]

baby, you’re like lightning in a bottle (chapter one)

Peter Nureyev has a new name, a fake identity, a fake life to step into to complete his very first off planet solo mission. Unfortunately, it involves going undercover as a high school student at Oldtown High. And the people he meets there mean his mission will go anything but smoothly.

This high school AU was the idea of my amazing girlfriend @spiky-lesbian

Please leave a comment over on ao3 or reblog if you like this! 

---

If he repeated his mission over and over again in his head, he couldn’t fail.

That’s what Peter Nureyev told himself as he sat on the hard plastic chair, gripping it’s edge with knuckles tighter than they needed to be, his jaw set hard like he was trying to chew something that wouldn’t go down. He would fix his face, smooth his posture, shift his face into the look of unshakable confidence he’d spent so long perfecting but he needed to look nervous right now. He needed to look like a cornered animal.

Which was convenient, at least. Less work for him.  

Repeat the instructions. Remember the rules. Follow the plan. Don’t fuck up. It sounded so simple and, if Peter believed hard enough, it would be. First rule of thieving, belief in your own skills is half the battle.

There was a secretary at a desk across from him, taking up most of what little room there was in the anteroom to the office. She was mostly focused on her computer screen, typing or tiredly slapping the flat of her hand against it when it glitched out, but every so often she’d give him a sympathetic glance. The kind of glance you’d naturally give a clearly underfed, scrawny teenager, starting a brand new school in the dead centre of the roughest part of Oldtown, with his too big, second hand clothes, scuffing his worn trainers against the carpet. The kind of glance that said oh you poor thing, you have no idea what you’re in for.

If only she knew, Peter thought with a dry amusement. If only she knew just how far he’d travelled, how out of his element he was right now, how he’d simultaneously faced things so much worse than a high school and was so deeply terrified by it. If she saw everything in his cheap rucksack that weren’t school supplies; the long range signal device, the pen drive stuffed full of the galaxy’s most insidious malware, the plasma knife, all carefully concealed amongst the notebooks and pens and pencils. Peter wondered how her face would change then.

It was as if remembering it was there had reminded him what he was here to do and the nerves welled up fresh, like a wound had been prodded. His heart began to thud in his thin chest, his palms began to prickle with heat, the old tic he’d been trying so hard to suppress made his knee bounce. Peter tried to tell himself it would be fine, talking himself through the plan, repeating the mission again and again as if to prove to himself that he knew it by heart. As if simply remembering the words Mag had left him with would be the same as pulling off his very first solo, off planet job.

First rule of thieving, don’t go into a gig you aren’t ready for. Mag was a pragmatist, he’d always been the one sensibly pouring water on Peter’s fervour, after all, making their risks calculated and manageable. And so much was riding on this, the work Peter did here would open up whole new streams of income for them back on Brahma, so much more fuel for the fight. With everything invested in it, the ticket to Mars, the accomodation for a month, the effort to build Peter a fake life solid enough to get him enrolled in a government funded high school, there was no room to play it fast and loose. If Mag said his apprentice was ready for this, then it had to be true. When had he ever steered him wrong?

Peter allowed himself a sigh, one that the secretary wouldn’t hear or, if she did, she’d chalk it up to the understandable anxiousness of the new kid. He’d come a long way from the first time he’d stolen an apple from a stall under Mag’s careful eye.

To keep himself focused, he played a game. Peter did that a lot, he found himself uncomfortable with any time not consumed by some useful distraction. It was why he always listened to the radio as he fell asleep, no matter how many times Mag threatened to take the power brick out of it. He just couldn’t stand idle silence. So he pushed his glasses up his nose and took a quick study of the secretary’s desk to see what information he could glean about her.

His brain worked fast, plucking the bits of information out greedily. Family picture, wife, three children. Notes on her desk, the numbers of different homes for the elderly in Hyperion. Infirm parents and an upcoming heavy drain on her finances, then. Her nails were long but the polish was chipping, like she drummed them on her desk frequently. A short temper or just stressed? More likely the latter, she’d been kind to him so far. Or at least as kind as someone who worked in a place where she must see a hundred neglected, underweight kids with clear signs of poverty could afford to be without going insane. Her desk had no signs of organisation whatsoever, not so much as a sticky note to pin a flag in that riot of loose papers. So she was distracted, under pressure and clearly prone to losing track of information.

Peter thought he could drain the full contents of her bank account within a month.

Obviously, thinking that didn’t make him feel good and he’d never actually do it. But he could feel how proud Mag would be, if he brought him all of that from just a minute of observation, her whole life mapped out in a blueprint. How he’d smile at him and squeeze his shoulder and remind him of the first rule of thieving, know how to read your marks in a single glance, a glance might be all you get. Peter had mastered that one at age seven.

The secretary’s intercom buzzed suddenly and Peter didn’t need to fake his nervous jolt at the harsh, staticy sound. The voice on the other end was too muddy to make out but the secretary lifted her eyes and said, “You can go on through now. Mr Spoor is ready for you.”

Nureyev nodded, scrambling to his feet, patting himself down in a way that would look like he was trying to neaten himself up when in fact, he was deliberately ruffling his hair, yanking down his t-shirt so the frays on the hem would be visible, missing the smudge under his ear. First rule of thieving, you’re never in such a position of power as when the mark underestimates you.

The principal’s office was pretty meagre but at least had a slight edge on the rest of his run down, underfunded school. The chair Peter sat in was worn through so the stuffing poked out, the desk between them had deep gouges in it that hadn’t been sanded down, the computer to the side of them was an ancient model that Peter could have cracked with his eyes closed. That boded well for the rest of his mission.

“It’s customary to have these orientation meetings with your guardian present,” the principal's voice was cool and had no trace of a warm welcome in it, not even a greeting. It matched the expression on his craggy face, “I was expecting to meet them.”

“Um…” Peter swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably, shrinking himself down, “They, uh...my dad...he...he was sick this morning so he couldn’t come.”

There was a lot that could be read into that, half a hundred hidden explanations that, given the catchment area of Oldtown High, Mr Spoor would have seen again and again. So he didn’t press, just giving Peter an unimpressed glance like it was his fault that his non existent father was absent, turning to the screen.

“Very well then...Peter Ransom, correct?”

“That’s right…” Peter nodded.

“That’s right, sir.”

Peter gave a little start, cheeks reddening to come off as merely intimidated and unsure rather than outwardly defiant. As fun as that would be, it wouldn’t make his task any easier, “Sir. Sorry. Sir.”

Mr Spoor likely would have narrowed his lips if they weren’t already worn down to a permanent grimace of disapproval, turning back to the screen and whatever information was on there. Most of it counterfeit, of course.

“So you were born on the outer rim...passable scores in your previous assessments…”

Peter kept his face impassive, though something roiled inside him. The grades Mag had put together for him were fantastic, he knew that for a certainty, and he could match them with his ability. But he didn’t rise, he didn’t bite. He just looked suitably shy and intimidated, scuffing the toe of his sneaker against the floor, fidgeting with the large, second hand glasses Mag had given him to replace his usual sleek, cat eye ones.

“You’ll be starting with us as a senior, given your age and...supposed ability. I expect you to maintain an acceptable standard of work, given that you’re joining so late in the year. We cannot afford for you to fall behind,” Mr Spoor continued, looking more at the screen than the child in front of him, “What is it exactly that brings someone from a place like Brahma to a Martian high school?”

Peter swallowed, “My dad got a job on Mars, sir. He said things would be better for us here...that I’d be able to go to a good school and make friends…”

The principal didn’t even try to hide his snort of disdain, deepening Peter’s instantly formed dislike of the man. He must have thought this new student of his was blind, that he hadn’t seen the graffiti covering the front of the building, how the chairs didn’t match in the classrooms he’d passed, how the books were dog eared and the floors permanently scuffed. Did he enjoy seeing these children clearly born just after the war, with their tattered families and nightmares of a time they could only half remember, crossing the galaxy for something close to a life worth living, coming through his school and being ground down just like the rest of them? Did he find it amusing, seeing a boy who’d grown up scared of the sky itself daring to hope that things might be better here?

Again, Peter repeated his mission in his head.

“We might as well take you on,” Mr Spoor said, as if he didn’t particularly care one way or the other, “I’m sure you’ll fit right in with our other students.” The way he said it made it sound neither reassuring or like a positive.

“Thank you, sir,” Peter feigned a mix of relief, excitement and fear, “I promise I’ll work really hard and do really well.”

The look Mr Spoors gave him made him wonder how he’d like a plasma knife at his throat but, thankfully, it was brief, soon replaced by dismissal, “You’ll begin classes after lunch. Go wait outside again and my secretary will give you your timetable.”

With more breathless, slightly panicked enthusiasm, Peter retreated, looking forward to rewarding himself with a momentary, bitter scowl in between the door closing and approaching the secretary.

But, as it happened, he never got the chance. Because there was now another student was occupying the same chair he’d been sitting on. And Peter’s heart stopped dead for a moment, for a number of reasons.

One, their face was covered in blood. Splatters of it radiated out from a nose that was now swollen and tender, from a lip that was messily split, and Peter knew enough of basic field medicine to know their left eye would be black and purple and swollen nearly shut the next day. The fists angrily clenched in their lap had split knuckles too, just to complete the image.

Two, the face beneath the gore was beautiful.

Peter steadied himself, swallowing hard and taking the seat next to his new schoolmate. Almost immediately, the uninjured eye fixed a glare on him so sharp and vicious that Peter promptly shifted to the next chair along.

He knew the over eager, overcompensating new student he was supposed to be playing would immediately try to make friends, stick his hand out in the gap between them and introduce himself in a too loud, too sunny voice as Peter Ransom. Probably to be met with another glare and possibly a punch to the face, given how much they were twitching with what was clearly post-fight adrenaline. But for some reason, he couldn’t quite manage it so they sat in a frosty silence, punctuated only by the secretary's nails tapping on her computer keys and the steady drip of blood from their nose to the floor.  

Still, Peter had a thief’s curiosity. He stole enough glances at the other kid to glean a little bit about them. They were his age, though shorter and stockier by nature, with an anger naturally set into their face that poor newbie Peter Ransom would never feel. Their hair was a mess of black curls, piled on top of their head and shaved underneath, their ear held numerous piercings they were clearly too young to have acquired legally or hygienically. That surely wouldn’t be permitted by the dress code Peter had studied avidly along with the schematics of the school, the faculty list and every other piece of information he’d been able to get about Oldtown High, determined to do a good and  thorough job. The code would probably have had something to say about their combat boots that were a size too big, their fishnet tights and short skirt, their sleeveless shirt with, incongruously, a picture of a cartoon man on it and the bright, bubbly text reading ‘Turbo!’. There had probably been bigger misdemeanours to think about at the time than a dress code violation.

“What the hell are you staring at?”

Peter jumped at the rough, angry voice, realising the kid was scowling right at him. Their face was clearly made for that expression; Peter had faced down armed guards, lasers from the clouds, jobs that would have landed him in jail for ten times the years he’d been alive but he’d seldom felt so intimidated.

And people didn’t normally notice him looking. After all, first rule of thieving, your eyes are your greatest weapon, don’t be obvious when you use them.

“I...nothing, I’m not…” he searched for a response, glad it was in Ransom’s nature to be easily put off.

“Do I look like the kind of guy you want to mess with right now?” the scowl deepened, sending a fresh line of blood running down their chin from their broken lip.

“Um...no,” Peter decided it was better to give simple answers.

“Yeah,” they gave a dry snort with no humour in it, “So keep your eyes to yourself or lose them, pal.”

Blood, angry tones and threats didn’t scare Peter Nureyev but they weren’t the reason he looked away hastily and was glad of it. It had more to do with dark eyes, holding depths he knew he’d never open up with just a glance, a faded white scar across a flat nose that he thought he’d like to trace with the very tip of his finger, full lips that looked soft somehow even as they were curled in anger.

Peter gave himself a mental slap, repeating his mission again, louder and firmer. He could practically hear Mag laughing at him all the way from Brahma.

First rule of thieving, stop mooning after every pretty boy who so much as glances at you, Pete! How many times do I have to tell you?

He had to admit, he’d been hoping for a smoother start on his first off planet solo mission.

Fortunately, the secretary spoke up not long after, “Peter? Peter Ransom?”

He jumped to his feet, receiving a few papers from her. A class schedule, a map and an outline of expected behaviour. Peter had seen all of this and far, far more in his research but he made sure Ransom looked at it with apprehension, as if it was written in another language.

“And for you, Mr Steel, another detention slip,” her voice took on a kind of fond, bemused exhaustion, “Add it to the collection.”

The other student jumped up and swiped the pink piece of paper from her hands, stuffing it carelessly in the pocket of his skirt, “Thanks, Brenda.”

She rolled her eyes and turned to Peter, “It’s lunchtime at the moment, I’m sure Mr Steel here would be happy to show you to the cafeteria.”

Instantly, Mr Steel stiffened and shot her an exasperated look which she soundly ignored, turning back to her computer screen in a manner that suggested he could stand and look at her like that all day, for all she cared. Eventually, he gave a growl and stomped out of the office, down the corridor. Peter followed, pausing in the doorway to give him a chance to storm off and leave him behind.

There was no hiding his surprise when, after a few seconds, he snapped, “Are you coming or what?”

Peter did.

Nureyev knew every inch of the hallways but of course Ransom didn’t, so he fixed an expression of wary awe on his face. There were some things that didn’t take a lot of effort, like the swear word carved into one locker that he’d never even heard of or when the sound of a muffled explosion shook the floor above them where the science rooms were. They passed other students, who shot unsurprised looks at the state of Steel and appraised him like a piece of fresh meat in a butcher’s. Peter would have loved the chance to try his knife or his wits against one of them, he’d long ago learned to make up for the scrawny appearance that made them look at him so hungrily.

Stick to the mission. Follow the instructions. Do your job.

Abruptly, Steel stopped, without turning around, “Cafeteria’s down that way. See you.”

Peter blinked, glancing at the double doors he was indicating with a thumb, which were practically shaking out of their frames with the sound of what had to be a riot behind them, “Aren’t you eating too?”

“What’s it to you, pal?” Juno did turn then, just enough to fix him with an incredulous look.

Before Peter had to come up with an answer, they were interrupted by a loud shout of, “Juno!”

Peter thought his eyes were playing tricks on him for a moment, an exact copy of Steel was bounding down some stairs to their left. Except this one was smiling, a hundred kilowatt grin, and wearing leggings, an oversize sweatshirt and sneakers that flashed when they hit the floor.

“Oh god, Juno, your face is a mess,” he grimaced at the sight of his twin’s face, “Jones did a number on you, huh?”

“‘Bout half the number I did on them, they got carted off to the emergency room,” Steel, now Juno, grunted, still stiff and awkward, throwing glances in Peter’s direction.

“I’m sure they deserved it,” the other Steel shrugged, turning their grin on Peter, “Hey! I’m Benzaiten, you can call me Ben or Benten. You new?”

“Um, yes! I just started today actually, I...I’m from off planet and…”

“That’s cool! You can tell us more over lunch,” Ben’s tidal wave of positivity bowled over him, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder.

Both Juno and Peter froze.

“Over what now?”

“Uh, that’s kind of you but...um, I don’t know if I…”

“He’s new, Juno, of course he’s coming to sit with us!” Ben shrugged, like the matter was obvious.

Juno was staring daggers at his twin, looking ready to throttle him, “The guy says he’s fine, so he’s fine.”

“Come on, Juno, don’t be a bitch,” Ben laughed fondly, like he didn’t see that his twin was gritting his teeth hard enough to shatter, “We’d better get moving, Mick and Sasha will already be waiting…”

He turned on his neon flashing heel and bounced down the hall in the complete opposite direction to the cafeteria, not waiting for them. Juno groaned and pressed his fingertips to his temples like he was trying to ward off a migraine. After what was clearly him counting backwards from ten, he frowned and set off after his brother.

“Come or don’t come,” he growled over his shoulder at Peter, “I couldn’t care less.”

For a moment, neither Nureyev nor Ransom really knew what to do. He repeated his mission again in his head.

Blend in. Sneak in after dark. Find the evidence. Upload the malware. Send it to Mag. Run.

Nowhere in that list did it say follow a beautiful, angry stranger and his bubblegum brother god only knew where. In fact, Peter was pretty sure they fell squarely under the definition of a distraction, something he knew to avoid. He knew what the sensible choice was, the decision someone who could be trusted with missions like this, who would work tirelessly to be the best thief he could be, would make.

But...wouldn’t this count as blending in?

Armed with that flimsy excuse, Peter followed Juno Steel.

[cozytruecrimeaddict]

I Think I Need Help (Hotch x OC) pt 3

Hey I’m back. (Also I wish the pages app would show me the word count on these because dang, this was like 5 pages of writing)

So this does not 100% follow season 2 episode 11 anymore. 

However, my warnings still stand

WARNINGS: regular CM violence, rape, suicide, self harm, and light cheating 

Nothing besides the light cheating goes into a lot of detail, just mentions and I want anyone who reads this to be prepared

I quickly rush to gather anything that is visible and bloody and stash it. I remember when I first got close with Aaron, I gave him a key to my place. In case anything happened, so someone had access to my stuff and whatever else might be needed. I’m surprised he didn’t use it this morning. 

After that I showered as fast as I could, coming back into my room and changing. I threw everything I needed into my bag and ran into the kitchen, only to find Aaron sitting at my kitchen table. 

“Did you speed here or something?” I smiled at him. Just pretend Sam. He won’t figure it out. He won’t try to profile you.

“I was worried. I don’t like being worried about you.”

“Well, you’re not my Dad, Aaron. You don’t have to worry about me.” 

“Morgans brought up that he’s worried too.”

“I’m fine.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that. You haven’t been acting like yourself.”

“I’m fine Aaron. I don’t know what I can do to prove it to you. I’m just stressed and tired. Lets get back to the office okay.”

Aaron stood up, brushing past me on the way to the door. I really hate lying to him. But, there’s no way in hell I’m telling him the truth. Just one more, before you go. I shake off the thought. I’m not addicted to this again. This isn’t my life. This won’t be my life. I’ll die before that happens. 

“So, what did I miss this morning?” I ask, kinda annoyed I slept in on such an important case. 

“No new suspects, yet. Another body was found, this one with word ‘failure’ carved into her abdomen. Gideon had just started his psych eval with Nathan before I left.” 

Failure, did he emphasize that word on purpose? Is that all he thinks of you. Just the little kid charity case he has to babysit. He hates you. He doesn’t want you around.

“So, how likely is it that the kid did it?” I shake off my thoughts. Stop it Sam. Aaron is one of your best friends. He loves you and cares about you. No he doesn’t. Stop pretending.

“It’s hard to say, I don’t want to believe he did it, but it is still possible.”

I sighed, trying to calm my thoughts. How strange though, to be comforted by the thought of my blood running down my arm. 

“Aaron…”

“Sam.”

“Please don’t worry about me. I promise, I’m fine. And if I wasn’t, I’d do whatever it takes to make sure I stayed alive for you and everyone else.”

“The do whatever it takes part is what worries me.” Aaron started, changing lanes and pulling into our parking lot. “Ever since you started with us, you’ve become one of my best friends. I really care about you and I know, I’m over protective.”

I can’t. I can’t have him caring. Theres only one way out of these thoughts. If 10 years wasn’t enough to end them completely, what would be?

“Let’s just get inside..” I got out of the car, and he followed. 

The elevator ride took forever. I felt Aaron watching me, studying me. As we reached the floor the offices were on, I stepped forward.

“Don’t try to profile me, Aaron. You won’t like what you find.”

He came up along side of me and whispered something in my ear that made my heart sink. 

“I know your neighbors aren’t in a band. I’ll figure out what’s going on eventually” 

And he just walked away.

I sat down by Reid as Gideon had brought the kids mom into his office. From the looks of it, it wasn’t going too well. 

The day passed by me in a blur of files, and trying to figure out how this all could have happened. How am I still here, why am I here. I’m not helping this investigation whatsoever and I’m really no use to the BAU at all. Especially if they all have to worry about me. 

Thats when I noticed it, a damp spot on the left arm of my black top. I must have subconsciously started picking at the cuts. I get up and head to the bathroom, cleaning and drying them as quickly as possible. I got back to my desk, and Nathans mom was looking for him. He wasn’t back at home in his room and she had found some pretty disturbing edits to an edition of Hustler. 

We all split up and made our way through the street searching for him. Until, another body was found.

This was…. wrong. Our unsubs profile was literally that he kills early in the morning. Not killing late at night, and to also have him dump this girl at the base of the Federal Building? It doesn’t make sense. Even if he was devolving, this takes risk. This takes prior knowledge of what’s happening around here. 

Hotch says as much, but it still doesn’t mean Nathan didn’t just do this as he was passing the poor girl and kept running. 

Reid follows a local cop who found the kid, and he brings him in. 

Back at the offices, Aaron asks to speak to me in his. 

“I think you should sit the rest of this one out, Sam.” 

“Why, Aaron?”

“You’re not all here, and I don’t know what’s going on with you, but no one is going to think any less of you for taking a couple days to figure it out.”

“I don’t know what else I can do to prove to you that I am okay. Am I the same as I was? No. But who would be? I know what actually went through some of these girls minds.” My chest tightened, and for a second, just a second, I was back in his basement, my hands tied behind me as he pushed himself into me. 

“Sam…” I heard Aarons voice, he sounded distant. 3 days, 17 hours, 22 minutes. I gave up. I was ready to die. They didn’t need me.

“Sam, I’m right here. You’re okay.” No, I’m not. I felt something gripping my wrist. No. I smelled the alcohol on his breath. I tried, I tried to break free. 

“No…” I whispered.

“Sammi!” Aaron raised his voice just a little, and the scene around me went back to his office.

“I… Wha… Aaron?” I felt something wet fall from my eyes, I pressed my finger gently underneath, wiping away tears. Aaron guided me to sit down in front of his desk, he kept his hand on my left forearm. That must be why I felt pressure, he probably grabbed me to help steady me. He leaned on his desk.

“Want to explain what just happened?” 

“If I knew, I promise you, I would.” 

“Talk me through it.”

There was a knock on the door. 

“Hang on a second, Sam.”

Gideon appeared, nodding at me.

“We found our guy, and we’re heading out to grab him now.” 

“Alright, I’ll be down in a second.” 

Gideon left, and Aaron came back to me.

“You’re sitting this arrest out, Sam. I want you to stay here and help Garcia. That’s an order.”

“I’m…”

“Don’t say you’re fine. We’ll talk about this later.” 

I went off to help Penelope with whatever she needed, 

She had everything under control and mostly we just talked. 

“Okay, but Sammi my love, you need to give me the details!” She smiled at me.

“What details Pen?” Seriously, what did she want.

“About Hotch? He’s so private with everyone except you. Like who is he? Is he a good kisser? A girl needs to know these things.”

I laughed. She wants to know everything I can tell her about Hotch?

“Oh no, I am not crossing that line.”

“Oooooh which lines and how many have you guys crossed.”

“He’s just my best friend.”

“hey!” 

“Okay, my best guy friend. I need my girls nights with you and JJ” 

“So no after work make out sessions?”

“He has Haley.”

“If all men were loyal, crimes of passion wouldn’t exist sweetheart.”

“He’s loyal to her.” As far as I knew. 

But, before I could have too much fun, something dark started creeping into my mind again.

She is just babysitting you. You were too much of a burden to be in the field, and you’re a burden on her. Why are you still even here? Why do you even bother waking up. Change that detail, and their lives would be better. You weren’t even good enough for the creep in his moms basement, or he wouldn’t have let you go back to them. 

Garcia noticed me zoning out, but by then, the team was back and Reid was talking to Nathan again. 

“Okay, that’s it. We’re going out tonight.” 

“Oh no, I’m not in the mood.”

“I will drag you. You are coming.”

She pulled me to my feet and dragged me out of her office. 

“Reid, come on. We’re going out.”

“I really wouldn’t be much company tonight.”

“You’re coming.” She insisted.

“Listen to her Reid, she’s dragging me along.”

He smiled at me, but gave in and got up. 

As we got to Pennys car, Reids cell phone rang. Everything just happened so fast. I was starting to psych myself up for heading out with them, but it wasn’t okay.

“Drive, and hurry.” Reid said as we all climbed into Penelope’s car. 

“What happened?”

“It’s Nathan…” Reid said. 

Oh no…. 

We got to the motel room, and everything was just wrong. Nathan was across the bed, both wrists slashed. 

I wasn’t in the motel anymore. I was 13 again. I was laying across my bedroom floor, begging for a reason. Any reason at all, to just stay. I couldn’t think of one. My own parents abandoned me because I was such a freak. I was too smart for my own good, yet not smart enough. I was graduating high school, and getting ready to start college at my age? The world was just beginning to open up, yet everything felt so small. Everyday everyone told me I was better off dead. Teachers ignored me. No foster parents cared enough to keep me around for more than a year. But that was all about to change. I wouldn’t be around long enough to care anymore. 

I felt myself put pressure on Nathans left arm, at the same time Reid got to his right. 

“Spencer…” I whispered, there was too much blood. Theres a chance that this kid was going to get what he wants. His answer to the pain. 

Everything faded into the background, as a paramedic guided me and Reid off the kid. 

I looked down, and my top was covered in blood, whether its my own or not, I don’t know. 

Outside, the team was waiting by the ambulance for us. 

Gideon guided Reid back towards his car, and Morgan took Penelope. But of course, I was alone. I started making the walk back to get to my apartment. I wasn’t even too far back to the main road when Hotch pulled up.

He got out of his car and hugged me to him.

“What happened? When Garcia said attempted suicide I thought…”

“I told you Aaron, I’d do whatever it takes to survive.”

“Come on, I’ll take you home.” 

“I’m fine with walking, if you had an extra shirt or something though, that’d be much appreciated.” 

“Sam, get in the car. I’m not playing this game tonight.” 

So, I gave in. I became the charity case yet again. The little girl who always needs her friends to protect her, even when she doesn’t deserve it. 

Hotch took the 20 minute drive back to my house. Instead of just dropping me off, and letting me head in to be with my thoughts, he followed me inside. 

“I’m fine.”

“We discussed this earlier, I never have and never will believe those words.”

“You should be with your wife and son.”

“I’m staying here tonight. I’m not leaving you alone right now, until I know you’re okay.” 

I sighed, putting my gun and badge in a drawer in my hallway and locking it. 

“I’m not your charity case, Aaron. I don’t need your help.” 

“Charity…. Sammi, is that really how you see yourself?” 

“Ever since I was taken..” 3 days, 17 hours, 22 minutes. “You and everyone else have been acting like one wrong turn and I’m going to break.”

“I’m going to break one of our rules tonight Sam, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“Aaron, we only have one rule for our friendship to work, and that’s that we can’t profile each other…”

He guided me to sit down on the couch and look at him. I hated that he was about to do this, and I hate that I need him in my life. I hate that I can’t let go to make his life easier.

“Ever since you’ve been back, you jump at every sound. You empathize better with our female victims, especially those who have been assaulted, which leaves me to believe that while we were trying to find you, you were assaulted, or at least threatened with it. The way you’re trying to get away from me right now makes me almost positive of that fact. The way you got lost in the blood from this past case leaves me to believe you have some kind of issue involving blood from the past, possible childhood or early adolescence. Once again, your body language right now gives me reason to think I’m correct. The way you’ve been….”

“S…st.. stop. Aaron. Please.” I moved closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. I took a breath, trying to steady myself. “If I tell you what happened when I was taken, you will never stop seeing me as this victim. I will never stop feeling like a burden on the team. I will never be able to get back what I lost. You want the truth, Agent Hotchner, the truth is that I’m barely hanging on. However, I’m fighting like hell to keep my head above water. All I have to do that with is my job, and making sure I stop the next creep before they do what they did to me, to someone else. If I tell you what happened, or anything that I have going through my head, you won’t even like me anymore. You’ll transfer me off to some other department and I won’t have only lost my job, or my friends, but I’d have lost my family. I’d have lost the only person that I love.” 

I didn’t realize it, but I had gotten so close to him. Our faces mere inches apart. I don’t know what’s happening. Why am I doing this. He’s married. He’s my best friend. But here I am, once again, messing things up. That was when I felt it. I saw his dark eyes staring into my blue ones. My heart literally skipped a beat, and in that second, Aaron had placed his hands under my chin and pulled me up to him. He kissed me softly, slowly. I moved just a little bit, wrapping my arms around his neck. Why was I doing this. Haley. Jack. I needed to stop. But, this felt right. As I pulled him to me, he leaned forward just a little bit more, causing us to fall backwards on my couch. I gasped, and I just stopped. I moved my hand to his chest, pushing back a little.

“We can’t..”

“I’m… I’m sorry. I…” He stuttered.

“I.. I can’t Aaron.”

“You said I didn’t like you.. you don’t even know how much…” 

“Stop.” I felt my eyes burning. I liked Haley, she was kind enough to ask me to be Jacks godmother. 

I moved Aaron off of me and got up.

“I need to shower, you… you can st..stay but I’m going to sh..shower and head to bed.” 

As I stormed off down the hall, I looked back to see Aaron sitting there with his head in his hands. I know he must be upset, he just kissed me when he’s married to Haley. I won’t be the reason his marriage ends. I just won’t.

[gustafsnightangel]

Shattered Lives Ch 31 Pt 1

The days following Sildie’s birthday passed with the usual pre Christmas rush, work, and kids. Sildie and Gustaf got caught up in the holiday spirit, buying presents, squaring away the legal paperwork, working out the logistics of moving. It was a little daunting for both of them. Then there was the Christmas party and dinner with his family Christmas Day. Out of the two, Sildie didn’t know which she was dreading the most. At least she was on vacation until the kids went back to school mid January and had the time to chew on it all. She needed this time with them, with Gustaf. The time to make sure the six of them could coexist together.

“I have some good news.” She said sitting down at the table with a fresh pot of tea after the kids had gone to bed.

“I like good news.” Gustaf smiled, and tugged her into his lap. “I like good news and you in my lap for Friday night tea dates.” He kissed the nape of her neck and lingered, the scent of her grounding him. They had reinstated their Friday night tea dates as a way to talk about anything and everything, a designated weekly vent and purge session. She’d missed them.

She reached over and grabbed her messenger bag and pulled it into her lap.

“No work.” He growled, and it wasn’t his usual playful tone. “You’re on vacation Sildie.” And he’d see that she’d get the rest and relaxation she needed.

“It’s not work. It’s my good news. Our paperwork came in today. Approved by your lawyer and mine, all we need to do is sign and I can file on Monday.” She said quietly, she still wasn’t sure this was actually happening.

“Get me a pen.” He said without hesitation and she chuckled as she held one up. She stopped him before he took the pen by gripping it tightly.

“Read it first. You know it as well as I do but read it before you sign, just in case.” She said gently. He was being rash and stupid and he knew better, read before you sign and read everything. Kissing her cheek he started to read.

“Just excited.” He mumbled. She leaned back as his arm came around her.

“I know you are but read first.” She sipped her tea and snuggled into him staring at the tree, all lit and sparkling. They were about to move in together, be a family. Her gaze rested on the digital frame that held a Christmas photo of when the twins were still babies. Quinn and Dana happy, the pang of grief echoed in her chest. Whatever it takes Quinn, she thought, I’ll see them all happy and cared for if I meet the same fate as you. Please don’t hate me for it, she said silently, he’d a good man.

After reading through it he signed the bottom and handed her the pen. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders once pen had been put to paper and her own signature had been placed next to his. The kids would be safe, whatever happened to her, they would be safe and cared for.

“Can I ask you something?” He said kissing her on the spot below her ear.

“Of course.”

“Move in with me?” He grinned against her skin as she chuckled. He felt suddenly alive and excited.

“Not wasting any time are you?” She laughed

“Fuck no.” He kissed her, long and slow. “I want to be in our bed. Move in with me.” He murmured.

“After Christmas. We have the party tomorrow and then dinner with your family. Boxing Day we can start moving.” She said softly. She was excited but it terrified her. They hadn’t told the kids yet, and what if they hated the idea.

“So that’s a yes?”

She giggled. “It’s a yes. Yes I’ll move in with you. Yes we can tell the kids. Yes to sleeping in our bed.”

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” He grinned kissing her hard. It was like all his Christmas’s had come early.

“Repeatedly.” She was smiling so hard her cheeks were hurting. “At least every hour.”

“Then to keep that winning streak going, I love you Sildie.”

“Sweet man I know you do.” She placed a hand on his chest over his heart. “I love you too.”

“You’re moving in with me.” He said quietly as if the thought hadn’t really sunk in yet, that shit eating grin spreading across his face.

“Yes I am.” She whispered. His kiss was other worldly, nothing short of mind blowing.

“Are you ok to sit with the kids tomorrow? I have some shopping to do that I didn’t get a chance to do last weekend.” She asked as she filed the legal paperwork back into her bag.

“Sure. What time’s the party again? Six right?”

“Yes, and you’re sure Bill is ok with all of them?”

“He offered. I was on the phone with Alice and overheard she was booked. I think Alida and Oona are coming over for a bit too, so Lily will have a playmate.”

“I need to make sure I have something nice for them.” She said as if making a mental shopping list of things to get and do tomorrow.

“No you don’t.” He said firmly.

“Gustaf.” She sighed.

“You don’t Sildie. He’s doing it because we’re family and because he wants to.” He said gently, it would take her a while to get used to that, to be able to depend on family without feeling guilty for it. “Let him help. The poor guy has been wanting a rematch with Finn on Mario cart anyway. He’s still in disbelief that he was bested by a seven year old.” He snickered.

“Is he ok with it being overnight?” She asked sipping her tea.

“He’s fine with it. He has all the details of the hotel and the party. Things will be fine.” He reassured her, and he’d have to do it again a thousand times over before leaving tomorrow night. He kissed her neck, lingering, tasting. “I know we’ve been busy as hell the past week or so, but I miss you.” He murmured, that low tone making her belly quiver as his hands roamed under her silk blouse to find the gorgeous black lace beneath. “I’ve missed touching you.”

Between her work schedule, court, and the kids Christmas parties with friends and school camp activities they’d had a dry spell. Then there was the legal paperwork and moving in, they were both a little stressed, a little anxious. Sex hadn’t even crossed her mind until just now.

She turned in his arms to straddle him. “It’s been a rollercoaster. So much crammed into each day, I’m fucking exhausted.” She chuckled.

“I feel much the same. I like being with the kids but it’s taking a bit to adjust.” His huffed laugh was humorous. “It’s full on, all the time with them. Will your work and court schedule get easier in the new year?”

“To a point, unless I take partner and then it’ll be much the same. Which reminds me.” She fished around in her bag again and handed him her legal pad. She had the most elegant writing he noticed. “Would you take a look at this? It’s my list for Oliver and I want to make sure it doesn’t sound too demanding or ungrateful.”

“Of course.” He kissed her. “You’re considering it.”

She shrugged. “Still on the fence. I need to get past Christmas and revisit it again once we’re all moved in with you. I need to see it with a clear head.” Her kiss was tender. “Things will change when you’re out of town and I want to be sure I can handle it.”

“You’ll have my family as backup.” He said softly and twirled the loose wave of hair around his finger. “And we can always book Alice to take the pressure off you. Or we can hire a housekeeper and or a nanny. You’re not alone anymore love. If I can’t be here physically to help then I’ll find another way.” He kissed her sweetly. “When are you going to give Oliver the list?”

“In the new year. I’ve already told him I need to get past the remainder of this year, especially with all the changes. He understands and partner isn’t something they want to rush into either, even though they want me to start yesterday.” Her chuckle made him smile.

“That’s a good plan. Can I read this tomorrow?” He asked as he glanced at the pad. “I don’t think I’ll comprehend much tonight.”

“Whenever, there’s no rush.” She kissed him sweetly, her hands wandering to dip into his sweats and stroke him.

“Sildie.” He breathed. “My Sildie.” His hands streaked up her thighs and pushed her skirt to bunch at her waist before his mouth took hers tenderly.

“I need you.” She whispered. “Right here, right now.” She kissed him, mouth hot and hungry. “I want to ride you.” He hooked her g string to the side as she slipped his tip along her wet heat.

”Take what you need love.” He murmured, mouth claiming hers roughly.

It was that soft cry as she impaled herself on his cock that always made him weak for her. She rode him slowly, his massive hands on her ass grinding her into him as he stretched her, filled her.

“So big.” She moaned as she threw her head back offering him her throat. Not wasting the opportunity he savaged it, her release cresting. “Gustaf.”

“Take me with you.” He groaned as he felt her body bow before she came hard, her pussy clenching him tightly as she rode him. “Sildie.” His breath caught as he held her onto him buried deep inside her as he came, spilling his seed.

“I love you.” She said softly, his face cupped in her hands. “So much.”

“I love you too.” He held her close as they caught their breath.

She yawned. “Sorry, now I’m beat to hell.” She chuckled.

“To bed love.” He said gently with a smile. “Big night tomorrow.” He leaned his forehead against hers.

“I’m still not too keen on going.” She huffed, but she also wanted to get it over and done with so she could move on.

“I know, but I’ll be there. We can get the business end done and then enjoy a night out.” He kissed her slow, lingering to take it deeper as she relaxed.

“It’s not the dedication that’s freaking me out, it’s all the people coming up afterward to tell me how sorry they are, or stories of his time in court. I don’t know if I can handle it all being shoved in my face all night. Sorry I’m rambling and...” She closed her eyes and took a calming breath as his lips pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering to help her find that calm she desperately needed.

“Will there be dancing?” He asked against her skin, hopeful.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll just dance with you for the rest of the night so they can’t talk to you.” He smiled.

“That’s not a bad plan.” She looked at him, kissing him quickly. “It beats getting shit faced and blubbering in your lap outside my front door.” She grinned at the memory.

“And we have a room in case it gets too much and you need to get the hell out of there.” He had created a safety bubble for her. A quiet space where she could retreat to because he knew at some point tomorrow night a panic attack was highly likely. “Speaking of a room. Bedroom, let’s go, because I need some damn sleep too.” He laughed. Lily had decided that 5 am was her new wake up time regardless of the holiday season and for the past week Gustaf’s sleep had been cut short. He’d made sure Bill was ok with the kids for most of Sunday because he was getting a damn sleep in after the party.

She curled into him and plummeted into sleep, exhaustion and relief that there was no work to rush off to for a few weeks taking her under hard. She’d been better since getting past her birthday. The grief was still there but it seemed manageable, like she’d turned a corner and was able to exist without it constantly consuming her. He was slightly worried that it would rear its ugly head in spectacular fashion at either the party tomorrow or with his family, he’d prefer it to be with the latter. They at least would understand and she’d have the space to distance and collect herself if needed. It felt like a ticking time bomb just waiting for her guard to be down before blowing up in her face again.

His own anxiety was a little high too, she was moving in. He wanted her with him, in their bed, under one roof, comfortable, as a family. It did not negate the fact that it was scary as hell, especially if the kids hated the idea. He’d dropped a few questions to feel them out, what they were thinking and they seemed like they’d be ok with it. He was hoping the work he’d done on their rooms made it easier. Sleep took him a little while later and it felt like he’d only just passed out when Lily was up chattering to them.

“Morning little lady.” He slurred, the cobwebs of sleep still addling his brain.

“I’ll get her.” Sildie mumbled and stretched out on top of him before kissing him sweetly. “Go back to sleep love.” She murmured. “You’ve had her and her crazy ass wake up schedule for the past week.”

“K.” He breathed and sleep took him under again.

Sildie changed a somewhat grumpy Lily and headed out to make some tea. “Well little lady if you’d just sleep longer you wouldn’t be such a grumpy pants.” She chuckled, snuggling her in and kissing her head. She would let Gustaf sleep, the man had been up with the kids and keeping them occupied for nearly two weeks while she’d been plowing through work and a mentally taxing court case. She felt a little guilty for leaving the house and kids for him to deal with and knew it wasn’t a habit she could fall into. She never forgive herself if she took advantage of him, or made him feel like she was.

Once Brendan had surfaced she left Lily with him cuddled on the couch and took a shower, Gustaf was still out cold. After spending most of the morning with the boys, she changed Lily and sat of the edge of the bed.

“Dad dad dad. Sooch.” Lily said softly.

“Time for dad dad kisses huh?” She set Lily down on the bed and stroked a hand down his chest. He snapped awake with a sharp inhale and blinked at her.

“It’s eleven love.” She said gently as he looked around wondering where the hell he was.

“Shit I didn’t mean to sleep that late.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry I know you have shopping to do.”

“It’s ok you needed it.”

“Dad dad.” Lily squealed and his low chuckle made her smile.

“Hello Lily bear.” He said and lifted her up the bed to kiss the tiny girl before snuggling her in.

“Would you like some tea?”

“I would, but first.” He tugged her hand and she chuckled as she curled up with him. “My two best girls.” He murmured, the familiar sentiment choking her up. Damn it she thought, she couldn’t get emotional now, she’d never get through the night. His kiss chased that thought away, slow and loving. “Morning my love.”

“Morning.”

“You heading out shopping?”

“I’ll make you some tea first, but yes I’m about to try and do shopping.”

“Brave girl.” He chuckled. “It’ll be madness.”

“Yes but I have stuff to get.” Like for tonight, she thought. She had her dress, she just needed the underwear. And she had a plan for that underwear. She kissed him tenderly and got up to make a pot of tea.

Gustaf came out carrying Lily as she set the teapot on the table to steep for him. Her belly did a little flip at his disheveled look, all soft, warm and rumpled, still half asleep. Damn she wanted to go back to bed and snuggle with him, do erotic things to him.

“Bye love, have fun.” He kissed her softly as she grabbed her bag and left for a few hours. She’d done most of her Christmas shopping online and had them wrapped and under the tree, but needed stuff for tonight, something for Bill and something for his parents even though Gustaf had said it wasn’t necessary. For him it wasn’t, for her however, she needed to, she couldn’t turn up empty handed.

Gustaf goofed around with the kids, he’d shower before they went out tonight, but it was nice to just have a pajama day. It was relaxed and carefree, and he’d noticed that the kids had settled since he’d been staying in the apartment with them the past month or so. That was a good sign he thought, moving next door may not be as emotional or stressful.

Sildie came home around 3:30, arms full of bags. Some of it was wrapped and the kids were more than happy to place it under the tree, shaking boxes as they went to try and determine what she’d purchased.

“You look like you had fun.” He chuckled, taking one of the bags from her hand and placing it on the table before kissing her.

“I did actually. But now I have to get ready, go get my Christmas glam on.” She kissed him chastely.

“Do you want to do that here or in our room?” He asked.

“Here. All my stuff is here.” She said quietly.

“Ok, Bill texted and he’ll be here at five or so.” He kissed her tenderly. “Once you’re out of the shower I’ll go home and take one and bring my monkey suit back here.”

“Sounds good. I’ll need help with my dress at some point.” She said wickedly.

“I think I can help you with that.” He winked at her as she took her bags to her room and disappeared.

In all honestly he loved the way Sildie looked with no makeup and in sweats but he couldn’t help but fantasize what she would look like all dolled up. He went home and showered, grabbed his tux and headed back to Sildie’s in clean sweats. He didn’t want to have to put it on until the last minute. Bill arrived just after five and he sat talking to him until Sildie called out.

“Gustaf? Can you come help me please.” She called from her room.

Nothing prepared him for the sight of her in black lace and deep Christmas red heels. He shut the door and leaned on it, pinning his hands against it with his ass.

“Fuck me.” He choked and her giggle was wicked. She walked to him slowly and he shook his head. “Nope. Kitten if you touch me we aren’t going anywhere except to our bed.” He growled.

“You’ll just have to control yourself.” She purred. “Remember on my birthday when you said you wanted to see me in black lace and heels and that blindfold, tied to our bed?”

“I remember.” His voice strained, he was close to blowing his load in his fucking sweats like a teenager.

“Looks like Santa got your message. I don’t want to stay overnight at the hotel, I want to come home to our bed.” She walked her blood red nails up his chest and stroked one over his jaw. “I want you to do things to me.” She purred and kissed him sinfully. “All night long.”

He was struck speechless. He’d never had someone that played this game so fucking well.

“Cat got your tongue?” She smirked, those ice blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

“My kitten has.” He growled and her seductive chuckle make his cock twitch. “Fuck I love playing this game with you.” He breathed as she leaned a palm on his chest and kissed him.

“You need to get dressed.” She purred and palmed his erection making him groan.

“So do you or I’m going to fuck you where you stand kitten.” He growled.

“Patients daddy.” She breathed, nipping his bottom lip before sashaying over to where her dress was hanging.

He stood there and breathed, willing his cock to calm down at the mention of her endearment for him. It was difficult considering the vision in front of him. Black lace corset, g string, suspenders, lace top thigh high stocking with a red seam running up the back of those incredible pins she called legs. The red heels were four inches so they would be the same height tonight, and screamed fuck me.

She stepped into the dusty gold column sheath dress and wiggled her hips to get it on. A simple cut, figure hugging, plunging neckline, thigh high split. Modest for a formal party, devilish enough to tease Gustaf all night. She felt him stand behind her and help zip her up and secure the clasp for the deep Christmas red sash that cinched her waist and draped to the floor with the rest of the skirt. He rested his hands on her hips and kissed her neck seductively.

“You do realize I’m going to need a defense lawyer after tonight.” He said softly as he started to dress.

“Why’s that?” She asked a little confused, walking back to the bathroom to touch up her makeup and apply the 24 hour deep siren red lipstick she’d bought as a why the hell not.

“Because I’m going to have to kill every man in the room that looks at you.” He smirked pulling his tux pants on and zipping them up.

“I hope we can get a two for one deal then.” She huffed.

“Why?” He chuckled as he buttoned up his shirt and tucked it in.

She stood in front of him and ran a nail down those buttons, half tempted to strip him naked and take him in her mouth.

“Because you’re fucking royalty for one.” She scoffed. He watched her as she tied his bow tie, that bottom lip sinfully red and beckoning to him. “And every woman there is going to want you, I’m going to have to beat them off with a stick.”

He chuckled at her words and her smirk tugged the corners of her mouth. “I love you Sildie.” He said softly. “You’re the only one I want.”

“I know. You’re the only one I want too.” She kissed him, his brain melted as her tongue teased his. “Seeing you in this makes me all tingly.” She moaned biting her bottom lip.

He gripped her by the chin gently and teased his thumb over her bottom lip before kissing it, slowly. “Mine.” He growled, his eyes met hers as her pussy tingled at the possessive tone. “Are you ready to go kitten?” The intimacy swamping them both.

“Yes.” She choked breathlessly.

“Let’s get the business end of it done. Then...” He kissed her longingly. “Then kitten, I’m going to do all kinds of delicious things to you.” His low tone caused and involuntary shiver to ripple across her body. “Mmm, you like the sound of that don’t you.” It was a statement more than a question. The man was able to bewitch her with his words, his tone.

“Mmm hmmm.” She was already drunk on him. “You smell so good.” She purred. He kissed her again before pulling away, a cocky smirk on his face.

“Let’s go lovely lady.” He chuckled, sitting to slip his shoes on. Standing he held out his hand for her, his gilded goddess, her halo of molten copper cascading down her spine. And that dress was something else entirely and he knew what was hidden under it. That was going to be fucking torture all night, he thought, the little minx.

Bill almost choked on his drink when Sildie came out, the boys all standing around gobsmacked.

“Piddy.” Lily squealed pointing at Sildie from the safety of Bill’s arms.

“Yes little lady, she is very pretty.” Gustaf said and kissed her until she giggled.

“You’re sure you’re ok with this lot?” Sildie asked, still a little nervous as Liam hugged her.

“More than ok, besides I have a rematch with Finn to take care of.” He grinned. “Have fun. I’ll text you if I run into any issues.”

“Thanks again Bill. You bailed me out.”

“Anytime, they’re great kids.” His grin told her he was having just as much fun as the kids were.

Gustaf helped her into her coat and the pair set out for the hotel. She was nervous, her hands wringing in her lap as he drove was a dead giveaway. He took a hold of her hand and brought it to his lips kissing her fingers. “Just breathe love. I’ll be right here, all night.”

“Sorry.” She chuckled. “I’m on edge.”

“As expected.” He pulled up to the hotel and looked at her. “Deep breath. Together love, you and me.” He kissed her fingers again and stepped out of the car to walk around and open the door for her. Holding his hand out, he helped her to her feet, the top of her stockings peeking out from the split. Fuck me he thought, she would be the death of him. Giving the keys to the valet he slipped a hand around her waist and held her to him. “Breathe.” He said, lips at her temple. “Let the lawyer surface and take care of business.” He kissed her cheek sweetly and looked at her, his courtroom lawyer looked back. “There’s my girl.” He growled as they walked into the hotel ballroom. “I’m proud of you. You’re so fucking strong.” He kissed her, not caring who could see them. She was moving in with him, he loved her, and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

Her firm had spared no expense, and there were tables for at minimum 300 people. The room had a massive dance floor and stage, blue and silver glittered everywhere to turn it into a winter wonderland. Snowflakes and fairy lights, fresh flower centerpieces and silk festoons.

Gustaf took her coat and he felt his arousal spike again at seeing her, his gilded goddess on the outside, his erotic sex kitten beneath. They were met by Oliver and swept up into the throng of introductions and small talk. For Gustaf working a room was second nature, it was just like a press junket, but for Sildie it was anxiety central and to compound matters her grief was hovering waiting to pounce. Thankfully Oliver had kept them moving quickly before he could be too overwhelmed with people figuring out there was a celebrity in the house. It was one of the downsides of his chosen profession. He didn’t want that overshadowing the party, he was just along for the ride, to support Sildie.

“I owe you one Oliver.” He said as Sildie stepped away from him to talk to Dana’s partner in family law.

“How’s that?”

“For shielding me.” He chuckled.

“Thank Sildie. She sent a memo to everyone before tonight and talked to me specifically. She wanted you to feel comfortable with her family.” He smiled.

The penny dropped, this was her family, the only one she had left now that Quinn was gone.

“Ah! I see she didn’t forewarn you.” He said quietly.

“No, she didn’t.” He said wistfully, looking at the gorgeous woman just out of reach, he found his fingers itched to touch her. “She’s had a lot on her mind.”

“It’s none of my business, but I’m glad she has you, glad the kids have you.” Oliver said carefully, not wanting to overstep.

“I’m so ridiculously in love with her.” Gustaf said shyly. “And she’d kill me for telling you that.”

“Your secret is safe with me. I know the feeling.” He said looking at his husband of six years.

Oliver hesitated. “Is she doing alright?” He asked gently. “I don’t like to pry it’s not my business, but I think of her as my own daughter and she’s been through hell.”

“She’s doing better.” Gustaf said quietly, keeping his gaze fixed on Sildie. “Her grief and guilt is substantial.” He didn’t want to divulge her painful moments, it was none of anyone’s business and he wouldn’t betray Sildie’s trust by spilling it to her boss, father figure or not.

“I can only imagine.”

“I’m sorry Oliver I can’t elaborate. Her grief is her own story to tell.” Gustaf said gently, trying to be as polite as possible.

“I completely understand and apologize if that put you in an awkward position. We all felt the loss, no one more keenly that Sildie.”

“She’s doing better, so are the kids. I love her Oliver, and I’ll move the world to see her and the kids happy.” He said, feeling a need to make his intentions known.

“You’re a good man Gustaf.” Oliver said as Sildie walked back to them with Elsa.

“I’m trying.” He huffed a chuckle.

“Your past is just that, the past. We all have one and we’re all far from perfect.” Oliver held out his hand for the man walking over with Elsa slipping it around his waist and kissing him as Sildie introduced Gustaf to Dana’s partner in law.

By the time they were asked to sit for dinner he’d been introduced to probably half the room. Pulling the chair out for Sildie he had to contain his groan of disappointment, Lucas and his date had made their way over to their table.

His entire system froze as his gaze landed on her, the quick polite smile on Lucas’s lips as his eyes focused on Gustaf. The familiar prickle and wave of heat as his fight flight response kicked in at seeing a threat. You vindictive asshole, Gustaf thought silently. Throwing his sobriety and addiction in Sildie’s face was one thing, but an ex girlfriend, that was just cruel.

Sildie sat and saw where his gaze had landed.

“Hey.” She said softly and his eyes snapped to hers, concerned ice blue looked back.

“Hey back.” He smiled, he would not let this asshole get to him and ruin her night. He’d promised to be on his best behavior around Lucas and although tempting as it was to stalk over there and press his fist to his face repeatedly in an abrupt manner, Gustaf knew how much it would embarrass Sildie, she’d never forgive him.

“You ok?” She asked gently. Something was up she could feel it.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting Lucas to be at our table.” He shrugged, trying not to let the woman sitting next to Lucas get under his skin either. He wouldn’t think her name, he wouldn’t say her name, she was just a blip in his life.

“Gustaf I’m sorry, I should have told you.” She said apologetically. “There’s been so much going on I forgot.”

“It’s fine love. I just don’t want him upsetting you, especially.” He let himself get lost in her for a moment, calming the white hot rage at the man across the table by running his fingers through her hair, watching it shine.

“Let me handle him. He’s just bitter and jealous.” She said quietly trying to contain her own irritation. She’d tried to get him to sit at another table but in the act of goodwill toward all men she’d let it slide, now she wished she hadn’t.

“Of what?” He chuckled softly.

“Of you love.” She kissed him tenderly, she needed to set his mind at ease. “You have the one thing he wants, the one thing he’s never going to get.” Her kiss was sultry, that hot seduction burning him from the inside out.

“I love it when you kiss me like that.” He grinned.

“I know. I’ll handle him if it comes to that, ok?”

“I know you will, but if he upsets you like the last time.” He toyed with a wave of hair she’d meticulously curled just for him. “We will have words.” His tone was unmistakably equal parts, protective and possessive. “Tonight is difficult enough for you, I won’t see him, or anyone for that matter, make it worse.”

“Fair enough, no punching him, no making a scene.” She said seriously, she didn’t need them getting into a fist fight over her in the middle of the office Christmas party. “Remember, I still have to be able to show my face in court with everyone in this room.” She said flatly, the lawyer had surfaced and was in complete control.

“I’ll only need words love. I promise I won’t do anything to embarrass you or lay a finger on him.” He kissed her tenderly not giving a shit who saw, especially Lucas, especially his ex. Lucas was the one with a problem, not him and he wouldn’t jeopardize what he had with Sildie over a few snide remarks and bringing his ex to a party. He would just ignore them, in his mind they weren’t here, he had other things to worry about.

Dinner was exceptional and she found herself enjoying the time to catch up with Elsa. She couldn’t help but flick a glance to Lucas’s date, she looked oddly familiar. They hadn’t met but she’d seen the woman somewhere before and it was irritating not to be able to place her.

As dessert hit the table she felt Gustaf’s finger stroking her thigh where the split in her dress had revealed silk lace and bare skin. His touch both calmed and aroused her. She smirked at his soft tone as he talked with Vera. The poor girl was beyond it, her voice meek and shaky as she spoke to the Scandinavian god beside her.

“Stop breaking my admin.” She whispered and Gustaf chuckled as Oliver took the stage.

“Just making small talk. She’s a good kid and very shy.” He said kissing her temple. “Deep breath love.” He murmured, his lips lingering. “Together, you and me.” His words grounded her as Oliver started speaking.

It was the usual spiel, the recap of the year, the high and lows, achievements and gains. “Tonight we start a new tradition.” He said gently and his gaze fell on Sildie. She felt her gut plummet as he continued. This was it she thought, just sit and get through it, you just have to listen and smile. “Tonight we honor the tireless work of two of our greatest attorneys, their lives and careers cut short, their compassion and humanity greatly missed.”

Gustaf stayed where he was, his hand on her thigh, an arm casually around her shoulder, his lips at her temple. He’d felt her tense, her body preparing to take flight the moment she was pushed, the moment her anxiety threatened to overwhelm her. “Easy kitten.” He growled, the tone and endearment enough to snap her out of it, her breath shuddering out. “Breathe love, I’m right here.”

“Dana excelled at family law, courageously fighting for the rights of families, mother and father, and most importantly children. Quinn was the complete opposite.” The room chuckled, including Sildie. “Quinn O’Rourke was ruthless in the courtroom, an adversary many of us here tonight faced on a daily basis. Although ruthless and stubborn, a man that could skewer holes in defense counsels case like Swiss cheese while he was prosecuting, Quinn held the same beliefs, the same compassion as Dana when defending. A rare soul that believed there was always some goodness left in a person if you took the time to look.”

He heard Sildie choke back a breath at Oliver’s words and gently squeezed her thigh. “I’m here love, you’re ok.” He whispered and kissed her temple. “Deep breath.”

“The Swedish Bar Association, in recognition of Dana and Quinn’s commitment to justice have founded an achievement award for exemplary conduct by an attorney inside the courtroom in their honor. To be awarded to someone that shows the same tenacity and compassion, the same humanity and dignity toward others as they showed, in the pursuit of justice.”

That just described Sildie to perfection, Gustaf thought silently.

“It was therefore only fitting that the first recipient to harness these qualities of such a prestigious award be Quinn’s sister, Sildie O’Rourke.”

*************

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