#so every now and then taking an hour to just draw something simple feels nice hehe

[lukazade]

tfw you had a bad mission and now you're both mad but you still love each other very much

[kooyabooya]

BABYLON

m reader x sana // 26k words

Almighty hand to God, there had been much, much worse situations to get yourself stuck in. 

If there’s any sort of consolation to fall back on, you’d wish that you’d say something earlier, call this off with a simple push and shove on the way out the door, close it and wrap up nicely with no worry filling your mind. 

It’s not that easy, though. 

Never was to begin with. 

Not when you have the lights off in your study, the sound of laughs downstairs surrounding the dining table, really fucked how you’ve hidden away from everyone else - also wanting to at the same time because all of them would have the same thread of thoughts running through their head if they saw you at the front of your desk with another body pressed towards you. 

“Don’t get so worked up,” Sana tells you, lips fast across your neck while her singular hand is well deep into the grip of your shaft. You could feel her breath slip through the opening when her lips are back on yours, the taste of her is already addicting the more she leans, a hand in her hair trying to give more, fighting, but losing drastically. 

What you give, Sana takes. That’s usually how it works in most cases like these with her. You can’t stop, you won’t stop. It’s already difficult to break away once she’s lowering your inhibitions without the use of alcohol. 

“Maybe I should deal with you right now instead of later,” you tell her, hiding the smallest hint of worry when your hands find Sana’s hips. She’s proud of the sigh she lets out against your mouth when pulling away before you’re quick to drag her back in. “Let the whole world below know of the things you’re doing to me right now?” 

You won’t stop giving in, because Sana gets you. Just like that. 

“Have them screaming in shock when you bend me over the desk fucking me?” Sana asks, a tempting offer above a whisper at that. It also doesn’t help that she’s giggling at the thought of you doing exactly what she proposes. “Sounds hot,” she says, huskily, “because I know you would.” 

This was never supposed to happen. Hell, this was the last thing you expected to happen. All of the possibilities in repercussions start flowing through your head again because this was definitely not the first time you’ve surrendered yourself to Sana’s advances, nor that you didn't want to. 

She’s like quick sand, pulling you from underneath into the catacombs of temptations that would have Satan himself impressed if he could see you right now. Or how this woman at her fingertips is breaking down every last bit of rational support running through your brain just so that she can draw out the rasps of desperation to get her screaming, shuddering. 

You could lower the flag and raise up the drawbridges - it’s so easy to do. She’s playing all of her cards right, knowing that your hand would never stack up against hers. 

Forget calling a bluff in this house of cards, since the only play you have in your book is to fold. 

–

You see, the events that happened before the wildfire were relatively tame. 

Nothing but wins coming left and right in the avenue of your life. Speaking of avenues, there’s this newly acquired house (all thanks to your surprisingly good credit score) alongside this block that has a new occupant–

“Babe, the place is amazing!” Dahyun exclaims out, arms around your neck once you and her finally make it past the front porch, taking in the high ceilings and matte layout of the new space. All of this wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the countless days and hours of work to achieve this milestone. You’ll be proud of yourself for settling down while others may be working for bigger goals and ambitions. 

(A minor correction: two new occupants.)

The house itself is in a nice area. Not too far from the city, in a pretty well modest community, alongside the hills. Detailing is pretty modern: four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two stories, kitchen was renovated before signing off the lease, ideas for rooms themselves are already drafting from Dahyun’s pinterest board. Knowing that your wife has some good taste, it wasn’t worth deliberating over. You’ve gone through the gauntlet of places in different areas: beachside, close by to your cousins, one was also about a two hour trip away from the city, there’s also this high rise apartment that would’ve been a perfect choice though it never happens. 

There’s some scattered boxes here and there still, but most of the things are already in place from the whole moving process. Aside from all the heavy lifting and not wanting to stain the ring on your finger from the dust and oil when the truck broke down on one of four trips, the beauty of being able to be grounded by the tune of Dahyun’s laughs and witty banter when you’re trying to catalog and take inventory of the things that will be kept and what’s going up for the garage sale you plan to have within the next week or so. 

“I’m just glad that we finally got it over with.” You put her down, eyes overseeing the view past the spacious living room, as well as the boardwalk-esque deck housing the pool right outside. “Absolute hell trying to get the final documents signed, but finally.” 

“I’m so proud of you honey,” Dahyun tells you, hand to your cheek with the most reassuring look that she’s known for giving in your times of crisis. “Had I known that we’d actually get the house after almost signing off on the last place with Jeongyeon–” 

“Our luck was pretty much cut out for us,” you amend, though she’s not thinking of the ‘what could’ve been’ - since the here and now was all that mattered to Dahyun. You wanted this, and she did too. The agreement was not hard to fight over; sights were set, end of discussion. 

“We should give our credit to Jeongyeon for referring us to this place,” Dahyun starts again, trailing off with hands behind her back, chin up when she walks in deeper. Her gaze turns back to you, leaning on the pillar when you’re staring up at the intricate set of lights hanging over the couch. “Didn’t you say this listing was about to be taken down at the last minute?” 

“Almost,” you answer, hugging Dahyun again with your nose in her hair, “Gladly got the call as soon as I found out.” 

Dahyun twists around, arms circling her waist, pulling her closer under your touch. She’s happy, giddy when the tip of your nose is nuzzling hers for a quick second. Cliché, corny even, but you’re in love and she’s in love - something that the new home will be more filled with for years to come. 

“Shouldn’t we empty out the rest of the remaining boxes?” you ask her, hands curling inward on the small of her back, leaning in slowly for the softness of her fingertips across your face, the plushness of her lips on yours. 

This was a brand new start, a turn of the page in the livelihood of things, one act onto the next. 

–

Here’s the thing about new beginnings, most of these aspects are supposed to be taken in a positive light.

Most of the time. 

The subject of change itself is frightening, can make someone anxious at times because of the uncertainty of how things would play from here on out. Naturally, it’s normal for human beings to feel like this - this daunting notion in being uncomfortable because of this collective notion of ‘being stuck in the past’ or ‘to relive the glory days’. Nostalgia is believed to be one of the great unsaid drugs that everyone takes unknowingly without even realizing it. 

Luckily, you’re not facing things alone around these parts of life now. 

Kim ‘the introverted but somewhat still a social butterfly’ Dahyun has this effect on others that makes her extremely likable. Hell, if it weren’t for that characteristic, the ring on her finger wouldn’t have been there in the first place. She just has this quintessential quirk of just being able to click with others like it's nothing, almost as if she’s known someone she’s just met for more than five years. 

It’s an art in itself to admire, a playlist of clips in your mind that you’ll keep replaying over and over whenever the instance occurs. 

You’re willing to be a people person while she does it effortlessly. 

Not even a week after getting settled in, Dahyun was already getting acquainted with the nearby neighbors opposite and adjacent to your place while you’re busy getting the groceries in (since one or two trips are always the priority for the efficiency of less work.) 

If you’re looking at your new house from the street and inwards, the home on your left is owned by Jihyo. She’s lovely, adventurous, mostly in and out of the house on a daily basis. You lean an ear into the conversation while Dahyun’s getting her small garden going that Jihyo was also a pilates coach, the hint taken with the amount of lululemon products she wears and has in her closet in the brief exchanges of hello’s and head nods. In the next house over to the right, there was Chaeyoung’s place. Dahyun tells you over dinner a few nights ago that Chaeyoung is this underground indie artist that’s hardly home because of her tour scheduling and the fact that she’s in London for her Europe leg on the calendar, but was home for a quick break since her brother just came back from the mandatory military service. 

“You know, when I first looked into this cul de sac, I didn’t expect to live next to a considerable amount of celebrities.” you say, tending to the raw set of patties spread across the grill while the backyard of your house was transformed to this small, homey, kickback-style of a housewarming party with nearly everyone invited along the street. “Too early to say I’ve hit the jackpot?” 

“Please,” Jihyo starts, the cup of bourbon in her hand swirling while the smoke is up in the air, “I think you think too highly of this community a lot.” 

“Everyone has something special going on around here, which is nice.” 

“A silent observer,” she murmurs at you, “Dahyun likes that about you, the ability to read people. You could honestly pass that as your hidden talent.” 

“I may not be a people person like her, but if the conversation persists–” 

“He has no problem slotting himself into it like it’s nothing.” Dahyun says over your shoulder, arm snaking your middle while she’s pressing a kiss into the blend of your shirt while you’re flipping burgers on the clock. “The best at it too.” 

Even through the shades of your glasses, you lean over with Dahyun scooching to your left. A white bucket hat is all you see through the lens that’s shielding the top of her head with the monochrome scheme she has with her dress and shirt. Simplicity at its finest with the way she swipes your drink for a quick clink with Jihyo’s before downing it after. 

There’s this mix of food and drinks being dished out, there’s a lot of simple activities spread out across the yard. Some people are in the pool with White Claws on the cupholders of the floaties, another group is playing spikeball that one of them brought over for more variety with the hoop on the outer rim of the boardwalk, the set table for beer pong, and essentially some others that were scribbled off the shopping list. 

You’re weaving in and out of different groups throughout the houseparty - the role of being the host of the party really shows with the amount of times you’ve checked in with everyone in the span of ten to fifteen minutes. It’s all in good graces really, to set a solid first impression while the ambience really sets everyone into a mood. Cooling down once the sunset hits, and all of a sudden the influx of drinks being passed around might be mistaken as a frat party. 

Aside from the inquiries of passing more drinks, you’ve noticed the stigma that’s seeping through the guest’s faces when you’re indulging in conversations, a hierarchy of sorts. And when they see you get cozy in the seat, that’s when the questions occur. 

Mina, the person living in the house on the opposite side of your street asks: so what’s your daytime occupation, if you don’t mind me asking?

Quick on the draw, you answer: Currently working in data science from the comforts of my home. Oh, and I also dabble with a little bit of history to a minor stance. 

“The world doesn’t thank enough people who aren’t willing to move for a charitable cause.” Her tone is nonchalant, almost flat. That simple black dress she’s wearing, the outline of her figure that may look unreal at first glance, the way her leg is folded on top that signifies that she’s all class, a tilt of her head that has you leaning back ever so slightly. “Are you this some sort of- house husband then? Given the way you’ve been tending to us around the party so far?”

“God no,” you answer, hand up in defense while you’re casually leaning for the unattended cup of Lager that was brought in by Jihyo’s fling? Booty call? Friend with some benefit? It wouldn’t matter since he’s athletic enough to have his own chain of gyms as a fine investment. “Call me a clean freak, but I get by with my duties around the new place.”

“What does Dahyun do again?” Lisa, another neighbor just a few houses down chimes in, “You said that she’s–”

“A corporate lawyer,” you say, catching Dahyun in your peripheral view who’s laughing with another guest that seemed to just make their way into the late afternoon. Hand to the back of your head while racking it, “She’s pretty damn good at her job too.” 

You get a collective nod from the two women when you keep your mouth partly open with a tongue nicking the inside of your bottom lip. Logistically, Dahyun was a key counterpart in her firm, the way that she’s her bosses’ right hand when it comes to finishing off deals whether the fact it came down to mergers or closing cases. She’s always one to speak her mind, not willing to play nice or by the book. 

Generally, a lawyer’s job tends to be stressful at times, given the unhealthy hours depending on what lands on her desk first thing when she walks in, early or not. If Dahyun needs some downtime, you’d give it to her - something about it that she coined you to be her sleeping pill. 

(Kinda funny, though.) 

However, there was this whole ordeal of some big litigation incident with one of the firm’s associated parties. Something about the high ranking chairman and close member convicted of fraud and if the press found out about it, the whole door gets blown up and it turns into an absolute shit show. Dahyun’s boss had her spearhead the whole thing and as a big token of appreciation, she managed to get time off. 

The apartment prior was starting to get a little bit cramped, so she brought up the idea of moving while eating out for lunch one afternoon and that was that. 

Explains how the house acquisition was more simple to deal with, considering how you’re good with numbers and finances, but that’s all to know. 

Tech savvy, is what Mina tells you, taking out of it with a margarita in her hand while you raise your cup in acknowledgement, breaking away from the set of couches around the makeshift bonfire pit. Ever the sentry, unintentional but it’s what a good party host does to get to know new faces, right? 

Like the ping pong ball on the table, you’re bouncing around the backyard again, avoiding the splash zone of the pool when you slide across the makeshift bar of different varieties of drinks off to the right of the sliding door, cups riddled both half full and empty that’ll have to be dealt with eventually later, or in the next morning - whichever one happens first. A frame of mind falls into the same habit, picking up the clutter for a bit before you could treat yourself to another choice of booze or wine you’ll fish out of the kitchen once done. 

Nothing would prepare you for the extra set of small hands swooping in the table to keep tight on the slack. 

She seems familiar, not long term familiar, but something that you’ve caught yourself having a double take at for a quick second only to forget a couple seconds later. A quick spike of the heartbeat, that’s also something that you’re very torn on in that moment - running back a necessary subroutine in your memory banks to check that you’re - well, you.

“I take you’re the guy Dahyun was praising about.” she says, her voice cheery with that simple but sly smile of hers that’s stabbing daggers into your heart. “Find it hard to believe that you’re her husband, actually.”

The solo cups slide in smoothly, placing it back in the respective stack while this girl is tending to the crushed water bottles and cans in that small plastic bag she’s putting them in. A small contribution at that, but a helpful gesture that you’ll indirectly accept once the plastic is tied and in the bin. 

“And what are you trying to say?” you start, arm bearing your hand when you stand square across from her. “Was it everything that you hoped to expect?” 

Unbuttoned baseball jersey, those high top sneakers and short shorts giving a slight peek into her figure from the down up. Her tank top also raised enough to show her toned midsection that looks tapered and detailed. Casual, you think, perfect for the summer vibe that you could honestly put a lei over her neck and all of a sudden this party is a fucking luau. 

“Hon!” a voice calls out to you in the distance, approaching you and the girl from the other side of the yard. When that person gets closer, it turns out to be Dahyun who immediately grins at the sight of you looking all curious. “Oh! Good, I’ve managed to get you two both together.” 

“But you didn’t do anything.” 

“Who said that I was the one to start it?” 

“Coming from the person who’s all for taking the credit for herself.” 

“Always the pleaser,” the girl laughs out loud, Dahyun closing in with her fingers intertwining with hers. There’s history to them - not even a second thought to track back, it’s all there right in front of you to see. It also clicks in your head that this girl was also the same one that Dahyun was gleefully excited to see back in your sit-in with Mina and Lisa. 

The exchange of happy glances abruptly stops when Dahyun catches you with an arched brow, looking for answers, and to this she just smiles downward because how could she forget with the formalities, it’s silly. “Babe, I’d like you to meet Minatozaki Sana, one of my closest friends since college.” 

“Sana,” you say, and when the syllables reverberate past the oral cavity and into the air, it rolls off the tongue nicely. “I see, friend of Dahyun’s?” 

“Indeed I am,” she says, extending her hand as a peaceful offering - not even realizing the turmoil that’s running through your head while hiding it effortlessly. The way her hand fits in yours, her whole body looks delicate like she’s handmade with God’s well crafted time; she’s also a few inches taller than Dahyun (by two for the accurate calculation), you’ve got Dahyun to mold into the threads of the mattress and now imagine–

“I was wondering who was getting Dahyun a bit excited at the gate when you came in,” you say as you’re pouring yourself another cup of brandy this time, since the other drinks were relatively tame for your high alcohol tolerance. “Now with a face to the name, I gotta say, you’re pretty likable already.” 

Bottom line, it’s really curious to act this way. Clearly, you’re smiling at the fact that she’s standing there with her arms crossed, you’ve placed your cup down filling the next one, because another wouldn’t hurt. 

So how did you and Dahyun meet, you say - palm flat on the foldable table that sends the drinks sloshing slightly at the change in stable weight. I would assume that the story in itself is an interesting one, I hope? 

Sana and Dahyun have this exchanging look between the two of them, the infatuation of how their minds are interlinked. These two have been through everything, despite the differences in majors and fields of work - the bond that they have is admirable. “What do you know about me that Dahyun has told you?” 

“Whatever that wasn't ordinary already,” you reply. “What also boggles my mind is that–”

“If she told you about the time I almost had to blow my professor to give me a passing grade, she’s dead wrong. It never happened.” That star-stricken grin that has you pouting slightly and rolling your eyes because her answer has you completely way off of left field. 

Not that, you add on but-hmm it can only make you wonder of the kinds of things that happened in that period of youth, before Dahyun came along into your life albeit a simple nudge of the shoulder while passing between working schedules. A part of the script of life that’s rewritten in itself and jesus - it’ll sit in the comfy nook of your brain while it sends your heart and gut flipping in all directions. 

Let that be a new doc or spreadsheet for you to graph out in your mind, because there’s a lot to compute and learn into getting this right. 

–

So it actually turns out that Sana’s the next door neighbor living on the left of your house. She just wasn’t there during the whole moving process before the housewarming party because like Mina, Sana was out and about seeing the world - something about putting some miles in her life trying to cross off one or two things off the bucket list, maybe more. 

There’s only some noticeable details to keep track of in a few: 

* Said somewhere along the lines of having a fear of heights? Lost a bet to her cousin and went skydiving to get over it. 

* Well-spoken, considering that she was in Dahyun’s undergrad cohort before she had a change of heart in her choice of major, leading towards the pipeline of communication studies or working with kids, cute. 

* She’s an only child in the family and very accepting of the fact of having a big house to herself (since Juile, her housemate who was also paying for half of the place but hardly around to live inside and still depositing the rent when it was time). Lonely, one might say out of sympathy but that would be undermining her success till now. 

* Oh, and that story of her blowing her professor to get a passing grade? Hard to believe how it’s true and very similar to a common storyline you’ve surfed incognito on the internet before.

“Look,” and she says this with a whole hearted laugh when you’re behind her and Dahyun walking out of the side gate. “It was only a one time thing, I swear and plus,” you’re having flash of doubt when Dahyun looks over, and you’re terrible at hiding it because it’s in your eyes, a shake of the head in disbelief when Sana’s shoulders slouch, “we were sophomores that hated that fuckass professor so much, I was willing to take the fall.” 

“And you did, but thank god there’s no proof of documentation that recounts such events like those, right? Right?” 

A prompting cough deviates the ongoing conversation, “I assume that everything was handled then?” To this, Sana nods - right hand swearing under oath, smiling earnestly with those eyes of hers, left hand supporting her elbow. She’s distracting with how her tank top peeks out with her chest open slightly. In the court of law, she could never get away with testifying let alone convince the grand jury. “I mean, what would happen if there was something that’s sizable enough to damage your image of being this good-willed human being?” 

“Then everyone would watch the world burn if that were the true, but I’m cautious of my digital footprint, always making sure that my track record is clean.” 

(She’s in the same pedigree as Mina, Lisa, and pretty much everyone that’s occupying the boulevard: poised, casual, stable, know themselves all too well to get what they want - because they always do, it’ll have your head turning from the moment they walk in to when they leave the table. Dahyun gave you the brief rundown about her circle of friends; they’re good people, not wanting to let the finer things of life get to them, stay true to their words, grounded even.)

It’s how the amber light of your garage door shines above that gives Sana this radiating shade of copper in her hair. You’d offer to walk her back to her place if it wasn’t just a few steps away. Better yet, Dahyun would’ve permitted you to do so if you were to ask right now, but it’s fine. The grace period of life works in mysterious ways, funny how this sense of nostalgia comes back when you see two lovely girls play the game of catch-up, hugging after not seeing each other for a couple years. 

Tuning back in to the image: 

“I’m baffled you’ve managed to land a house like this, especially with your money and the amount of back breaking work you do on a daily basis. Twenty trials? You’re a fucking workaholic.” 

The pair of them laugh together, it’s really heartwarming to listen. 

Still, 

“-plus the extended vacation time you just got-” Sana sounds like a kid on the last days of school trying to come up with a multitude of things to waste time while Dahyun just listens to her rambling; eyes curving up with stupid smiles and the head tilts as if the secrets being exchanged are not meant to be spoken of to others, they look good together, wow. Have we checked the calendar if it’s Pride month still?

When they turn toward you, the actions seem unreal to register. Dahyun’s monolids contrast Sana’s double eyelids, the way Sana’s eyes especially look almond like. Her smile is a little smaller compared to Dahyun’s and when they’re just freely cuddling each other without any spite of jealousy beneath it.

They’re leaving you dumbfounded, consider yourself to be humbled. 

Sana breaks the hug first before she lets out an overreaching hand for you to shake. You’ll admit on another given day to Dahyun that Sana’s pretty, the small pull hinting at her smile all the more reason to give a positive outlook for first impressions that will also have you wondering how in the hell isn’t she in a relationship yet. Overkill when she does the line with her eyes while keeping the same smile when mirroring Dahyun’s expression, too. 

“Same number as always?” Dahyun asks, clinging onto her hand like she’s going away for a sizable amount of time. “I got nothing for the next couple of weeks.” 

“I’ll just walk over and ring the doorbell, don’t bother.” Sana’s answer is optimistic, and you’re hoping she’ll stick to her word because you’re willing to break the lines, the yellow tape at the scene, and ignore the lines of ink blacked out for confidentiality assurance. 

You and Dahyun say good night, and she’s just happily bouncing along the sidewalk into her own front yard. 

“She likes you, by the way.” Dahyun tells you, slotting herself right underneath your right arm while you’re squinting to see absolutely nothing in the darkness, not even tuned in to what your wife was telling you. A few sweeps of looks across the street pass and you’re rubbing warmth on her shoulder, only to nudge your head slightly to finally hear. 

“Sana’s…interesting.” you say, blinking, looking down at Dahyun’s gaze before your eyes shoot away scouring for something else to eye at in the short meantime before a light slap to the stomach sends you snorting out of the quick annoyance. “Hey, based on how she acted, I would’ve thought she’d be anything but ordinary.” 

“She’s done some stupid shit, that’s for sure.” Dahyun signs to her own admission, seeing it first hand of the stories that were told an hour ago. “Though, she’s gotten better once I convinced her to see things in a different perspective.” 

“Could’ve passed as a good lawyer if you asked me.” 

“Please tell me that’s satirical.” 

“Wasn’t planning to say, but I guess it just happened.” 

A close of the gate and up the steps into the front door, easy to say that getting yourself settled in for once in your life doesn’t seem to be that bad of an idea. The plans themselves are just getting started, drawing them up on the itinerary sometime later this week will get a number of things going. 

–

Apparently nobody saw this coming, and let this be an error in the calculations because evidently, this whole ‘summer in the hamptons’ type thing was about to be undermined entirely. 

Turns out on the following day, Dahyun gets this business call at around three in the morning, and the phone just keeps vibrating on the nightstand. She eventually lets you off slumbering with the lamp on while she goes to the couch to hear what her boss was egging on about for what you think would be a short call, but it wasn’t. 

What you eventually find out hours later is that Dahyun was called in to help play defense in this big lawsuit that was deemed to be ‘the second coming of the Watergate Scandal’. God, those news anchors and journalists need to do a better job of nailing the creative writing aspect because it was just fucking awful when they’re reporting it at eight in the morning after. Apparently you’re also reading an article online on your desktop about Dahyun’s firm coming under fire for a sizable client that’s been doing murky deals behind their backs that would not only jeopardize one branch of the corporate relationship, but all the potential deals that have yet to be signed. It’s a mess. Though, work shouldn’t even be the thought since Dahyun’s pulling out all of these boxes that were related to this case out all over the dining room table that she has to bring back to her office and whatever was on the menu for the boat party next week that you’re having with close family and friends was about to be canceled. 

And this has happened on many occasions, but if it involved Dahyun or anything related to the law firm she holds dearly to her heart (of course, you’re first, obviously) the support in her endeavor would always be important to protect. 

“I just hoped that they were able to handle this quietly, and without my help.” You’re dipping your head down to spit the last taste of mint from your mouth. Dahyun leans forward on the sink with her ankles crossed, wearing one of your shirts blinking dutifully, quite zoned out while her hand is over your hamstring, tapping it gingerly. 

“Well if that were the case, then they would’ve called you in anyway.” You say, raising an eyebrow with the tinge of mouthwash cycling in and out when you spit again. “So much for having your rewarded vacation time.” 

Dahyun leans back against the mirror when she’s putting her hair up in this messy bun. She looks a little more relaxed compared to the ragged breaths down your ear when your cock was buried inside her, clinging to your neck while that vicious upstroke of your hips sends her absolutely blown out. The look she gives with her pleading eyes when you take the toothbrush out of her mouth, washing it after she leans over to spit out the toothpaste before handing a washcloth for you to wipe yourself with. “You think I shouldn’t go.” 

“Wasn’t really bringing that up for you to consider, but judging how this looks from the outside in, I’d say it’s pretty bad.” 

“You’re really not helping my train of thought here,” she sighs, hands bearing her waist, the crinkles of your shirt on her subtly showing that petite frame, the image itself recorded in your memory banks loads of times - each one just like the first, if not better. 

Sliding over a few inches to where she sits there idly, your hands placed on the outer rim where her knees bend over the marble counter. She doesn’t change her posture when you’re looking her in the eyes trying to get a read on what her next move might be. Still elegant as ever, Dahyun will always put this appearance on even when it's the simple domestic life she’s living. 

Energy levels are still high, and the initial action was to get back to watching this sappy rom-com kdrama that bored Dahyun to the point where she slipped a hand inside your sweatpants just to ‘spice things up a bit’. Once the prompted question of are you still watching appears on the screen after minutes of inactivity, no point in answering it while she’s happily fucking herself over you while you’re sprawled across the satin sheets, gripping into her perfect waist with the sound of her hips with yours bouncing off the new walls. 

When’s the flight? You ask her, hand sliding up her thigh slowly. I could put in a word for your associate to get that done, save the trouble. Inevitably, the jaws of justice will soon swallow her up again when she manages to break free from the shackles of court orders and depositions. 

“First thing at nine,” she answers, fingers tugging at the midpoint of where the seam of your shirt and the waistband of your sweats meet. “Got some things to pack up soon, but I think most of the papers and boxes won’t be a lot for me to carry on the quick plane trip back.” 

“Crazy that they get paid for a short flight from upstate.” 

“In addition to the fact that they’re also on my dad’s payroll.” 

“A plus I might admit.” you muse. 

Dahyun shifts her gaze from right to left, spreading her legs wider when you scoot her hips up to meet yours. The hum of satisfaction that she gives when your eyes flick up to see that rosy shade of pink plastered across her face, eyes waiting, honing on something that she subjects that will be given to her. Precision was one of her key strengths, but when that’s used against her, it’s a completely different story. 

When she tugs a little bit more on your undershirt to lift, she usually does so with this sense of security - like a kind of clinginess that you won’t have any sort of complaint against. You’ve understood it to a degree. Whether you’re dropping by the office of the firm or being dragged into the kitchen after sitting on your chair for hours and hours doing analytics and business calls, moments like these with Dahyun are always something to behold. Considerably, you don’t mind giving into her needs for attention; in fact, you’re willing to do that without even thinking twice. 

“So,” Dahyun prompts with this sultry voice of hers, clueless and innocently - as if she has no idea what she’s doing to you. With her (your) shirt rumpled all over her body, those pretty eyelashes, her creamy thighs, the way that her fingers are grazing the elastic of both your sweats and boxers, you begin to assess the conditions when you’ve nestled yourself in between her knees, some water staining the gray cotton when you finally lean closer. “How are you gonna handle yourself while I’m gone?” 

“I think you’ll lay the severance package,” you say, not giving any faltering sense when she’s ghosting her set of fingertips on the right hand across your chest. “If there’s damages to it, I don’t mind paying up.” 

“Non-compete or NDA,” Dahyun huffs, lifting the outer seam of the shirt past her hips, showing the opening underneath where her pussy is glistening with her slick, awaiting your end of the bargain, this non-verbal agreement where she knows that you’ll always deliver the requests and offers. “Besides, you still owe me.” 

Laughing, you do recall the statement. It’s funny - there’s a trade off throughout the day earlier where you’re awoken to her warm mouth, deepthroating your cock that leaves you with these sharp inhales. The way her jaw slacks of how she sucks, the mix of spit lathering all over your length while she’s bobbing away between your thighs at ten o’clock on a Saturday morning. Even after Dahyun takes care of the morning wood situation, you pay her back by eating her pussy freely on the kitchen counter as the logical option to keep yourselves occupied while waiting for the oatmeal. There’s no competition between the two of you of who makes the other cum the fastest, the hardest, let alone how many rounds can you do in a day; it really just boils down to this one simple look, a push-pull that sends the neurons firing away automatically - fucking each other ‘just because’ to put it simply. 

This girl on the bathroom sink, slouching, head against the mirror still while your hands finally snake under her shirt, feeling the unbelievable midsection under the breasts when she lowers her eyes, leaning up for the touch of your lips. 

Every kiss, stolen or prolonged, each one always has the flaps in your heart opening. She’s yours. 

Tender at first, but then the heat gets raised up when her arm hooks onto your waist, fighting the slipping tongue that’s breaking away for a slight second in her mouth. Her hands are also grasping for any kind of reach for her to clutch on, no luck for it when she finally takes her fingers into your hair, not wanting to pull away. 

Dahyun does this little whine after the quick inhale of air when you slip a finger or two inside her bare cunt, testing the waters as she bites her lip in anticipation. “Don’t do that now,” she spits. That obscene noise coming out of her instantly after when she bucks her hips forward again, accidentally curling a finger in her warm cunt that makes her look away from your intense gaze. “Darling, please–” 

“Use your words honey,” you whisper against her lips when you’re tugging on her bottom lip, causing her to sit up straight on the counter, slotting her arms around your neck with hands circling her waist. “Can’t really hear what you’re saying if you’re mopping my face up.” 

She’s losing her sense of focus when your fingers continue to bottom out the whole length of them, filling her up and pushing deeper. It also doesn’t help when your thumb presses flat on her clit that sends her mewling at the bend. Her face is against your neck, the steady pace of those staggered breaths against your skin keeps your current operation on the clock, unraveling this line when you’re slipping in and out of her. 

“Baby, baby, baby, please–” her heel locks the back of your thigh in place, hitting a kneecap on the cabinet. She’s reduced to these simple words and responses with the heavy breathing. Her hips are nearly coming off the glassy surface of the sink. The shirt’s lifted up beneath her perky mounds (and that fucking underboob is a national treasure in itself), the seal of your mouth is all over her throat: pulling, kissing, gnawing. You kinda feel bad for the concealer pack she’s gonna be using later for a brief afterthought. 

Although this little contest of edging Dahyun out to cum wasn’t on the cards for tonight. You’re managing this smile when she pulls the hair tie out of her hair, letting it flow freely. This look of post-sex yet natural style that she does makes you stare in awe when you pull her hips more out at the edge, the way her elbows are propped up nicely and her legs are spread even wider. Her hand pulls the shirt higher, showing her breasts now, the preferred choice of marks that were left there as a reminder from earlier. You slip out of the sweatpants and boxers, fixed on the brushing of her bare cunt just millimeters away from dipping yourself - a teasing tip, then the first couple inches at the half - and that shudder from her hips catches you off guard. 

“Yes,” Dahyun moans out that matches your sigh in perfect timing. A moment’s hesitation, replaced with the second necessary action to sink yourself into her more, parting her walls nicely, slowly, until you feel all of her wrapped around you. 

She gasps, mewling, spilling out this chain of hitched breaths, “god. honey, your cock–” 

It all slides out for a second. Unreal. Then you slam back into her again. Pacing was always the methodical approach, a line into the protocol when Dahyun is writhing in the drag of your cock fucking deep into her cunt, she’s biting her lip at the fact that she’s shimming her legs more out, wanting to choke herself down the length. My god, you’d love to keep the look she has on her face, lips parted at how badly she just wants you to split her in two, seeing the last hint of her pupils rolling back into her brain when you skate the palms of your hands across her stomach, clutching onto her perky breast when the tempo starts to increase. 

When your hands finally nestle into the curve of her hips, they stay there. They’re already at a good place when your cock finally feels all of her, so wet, so tight. A slight throb along the length when you drag yourself out, that small pocket of air escaping before the vice seals shut again. She’s unbelievably perfect, one label off the list from your head when you’re fixed on the sight of your length disappearing inside her, head tilting forward with every stroke back in. 

“You’re so - mmh,” Dahyun hitches her breath, shuddering, you could feel the rise and fall of her chest when your hand clutches her thigh. A choked out sob leaves her lips, and you’re impressed at the composure of nailing her cunt, the same spot being hit deep, even deeper, to that one area where she’s lost herself before. “Fucking big for me, this cock - feels so good-” 

“Dahyun...” you hiss, shifting your hands down to the soft cushion of her ass, sinking down once again, then another, and then another, sliding her out across the counter before you’re driving her back in, this never-ending piston into the fiery pit of heat, stretching her out, twisting that nimble body of hers into your own creation, coaxing every exhale you catch from her abdomen. “Your pussy is so–” 

What you meant to say was, “your pussy is so fucking tight, god damnit-” You know what, the thought can barely even be formed in your head when you meet Dahyun’s eyes, slowly fluttering shut with her teeth slowly disappearing behind her lip. That, and the feeling of her walls imploding your cock to the remnants of awareness you had left. 

It’s also pretty funny to think how Dahyun was fucking herself freely over you just an hour ago, only for her to be used like this and she knows you simply can’t help yourself. 

“Love, I can’t - shit,” that utterance nearly takes everything ouight of you to say; everything about it is euphoric, the way you have her legs up, bottoming her out. You look at her again, and she has her hand over her mouth, trying to fight that natural clench when your cock fills the heat inside her. “You’re so good for me, spreading yourself open like this. Fuck.” 

This is a case that you’ll take to your grave, knowing all of your wife’s body so well to the point that every kiss, thrust, moan, hell even the appearance when she’s like this for you will be more than enough to last as much as possible. Dahyun knows the switch off too - aside from the fact that she’s cock drunk every single fucking time you fuck her brains out - and she loves this. You see it in her pupils, the desperation to tear all the edges apart, the signal for you to finally wreck her in the way that she wants you to. 

“Don’t stop,” she begs, chest heaving heavily when her legs wrap around your waist, propping herself up for you to take her waist into your chest, letting out these songs of pleas that’s encouraging you to get to that edge first. You could feel her body going limp, the support is almost reflexive while your hips continue to pummel her out. 

“You-” you try to say. Fuck. It goes everything against the directive you’ve put yourself in, the noises of your skin clashing with hers, creating this filthy yet harmonious sound that only gets more and more harder. Dahyun’s breathless moans keep you in check when your motions start to get irregular, inconsistent, keeping yourself busy with your mouth all over her chest. “God, Dahyun–” 

“Do it baby,” she whispers into the cuff of your ear, “Keep fucking my pussy. Pound me like this.” Her hand does this simple action, and it’s lethal. All it took was a simple palm to your cheek, it’s filled with little meaning but carries so much intimacy. Moans and grunts continue to slip out while you search for her eyes, feeling that pull in your waist, grip tightening and loosening as you’re mindlessly thrusting. “You’re getting close for me, aren’t you?” 

“Honey,” and at this point you’ve got it all spun out of control, “You feel so fucking good.” 

“I know, baby.” Dahyun ignores your words of affirmation, smirking. “You know what to do.” 

God. She can kill you, bring you back to life, and kill you all over again. Begging was already done before, you’ve fucked her way past her orgasm on mulitiple occasions - using her as your cumdump; doesn’t matter what time of the day or what you’re doing. The endgame was always this: having you completely fucked out in that velvety smooth pussy of hers - all wet and warm enough for you to live in. 

With your teeth gritting and a final huff of air blowing past your nostrils, you cum inside her, filling her sloppy cunt all the way up. 

Dahyun is sinister, it’s not up for a fair debate. When she coos and hums into your ear canal, you’re battling every urge to just wrap your fingers all over the column of her throat, use the remaining bits of pulse in your member to get her screeching. Alas, you hold yourself back while the ropes of cum are spurting around her walls, her mouth also gaping open when the fourth and fifth pulse out your cock weakly. 

There’s this pause soon after, a collection of breath between the two of you that constructs a reconsideration of your choices. Dahyun has this telepathic connection with your mind that makes the connection instantaneous - you don’t say anything because there’s this one look in her eyes, hanging in the atmosphere bathed with afterglow - and she knows. 

When you do slide out of her swollen cunt, there’s a considerable amount of your cum dripping out of her, slapping the tip along the outside of her folds just to tease her before retreating away entirely. The image of her legs spread out and her back laid across the sink will be saved into your memory for you to look on sometime in the future, or maybe even next week. 

“So,” you mutter, shaking off the small jitters of blood loss to the head when you’re massaging Dahyun’s thighs, “Have I paid off my case in due time?” 

Dahyun chuckles, a single finger raised up from the wreck beneath to get a taste, licking her lips following the fingertip. She wiggles up on her hands to sit on the counter again, hair flipped to one side while she lets the shirt fall down to cover her body, “Hate to say it, but you always do.” 

“That’s good to know.” 

“I’m also saying that you could use my help.” 

“Ha Ha,” 

“What? I’m serious.”

“I’m serious. Well so am I.” Dahyun sarcastically says, slapping your hip that makes your cock jump suddenly. You can see the dashes appear on her face when she lets out this simple smile, the eyes disappearing reflecting the same expression on her lips. She could saunter around the courtroom making a solid case for the defense, but no one would know the fact she’s all liquid putty when you have your hands on her like this. “I appreciate the thoughtful offer, but I think someone’s gotta guard the house while I handle work.” 

“I’m gonna hate you by the end of this.” 

“How bout you flip me over and rail my ass on the sink again?” 

You’re starting to curse that concrete jungle a little more by the end of it. 

–

Okay, to cut to the chase, there might’ve been a slight miscalculation that you had panned out in your head. 

You switch on the TV two days later and Dahyun’s already made her way back to ground zero in the city to handle this case, where it completely spirals into an absolute shitshow. All gloves are off when the story gets released out to the public, scapegoating one of Dahyun’s board members having themselves tangled in an affair with one of the staff. Sure, it could've been an analytical approach to brush off the heat that’s only growing by the second - a shitty attempt you might also think; either way, this trial was crucial for your wife’s firm to win because in the scenario that they lose, all credibility and positive imagery surrounding them will plummet and that equals no more lawyer work for Dahyun. 

She was optimistic at first while on the phone with you, talking about how this case should’ve been a cakewalk to handle, predicting the possible time period of when she should come back home to finally relax with all that hard work paid off temporarily. You’re smiling at the fact that she sounds composed, no hint of stress lying in her tone, riding on that high when you have her bucking into your hips just an hour before her private plane trip to the firm. 

It’s only a matter of time before all of this blows over, you think. Not your fault also when the house feels suddenly empty in the wake of this unexpected catastrophe. 

You’re hearing this definition of a fortnight. As in, Dahyun’s projected time when she could get out of the office and have someone else handle the case on her behalf. A little unusual for her to indulge in the understanding of the term itself, not while you’re making yourself dinner with the chops of onions on the cutting board and the phone being on speaker off to the right side. 

“Two weeks?” you’re asking, the dice of onion cubes being skated off into the pot left to boil while stirring. “That’s a pretty big ask for you to take up with your boss.” 

“Why do you think I’m hitting you with the English lesson?”

“Babe, you’re talking about a term that was used in the freaking 1800s.” you laugh, leaning back on the counter, glass of water in your hand as one of the stupid actions that most people tend to do when talking to their crush. “Would’ve been better if you just said two weeks instead of a fortnight. What do you think I am? Some kid that’s withering their life away over some video game?” 

“There you go again.” She laughs out loud. You can envision the picture of her rolling her eyes at you when you spew out complete nonsense that won’t comprehend in her brain since her lifestyle doesn’t line up with it. 

“Sorry,” you mutter, smirking with a dimple poking out against the touchscreen. “Seriously, when do you think you’re gonna make it back?” 

“Honestly, I don’t think it’ll be anytime soon.” she admits, hearing the click of your tongue over the speaker when you’re accepting the fact that her job might potentially be on the line if she were to leave early. “I know we said two weeks, but in this case-” You can hear her stop short when she clears the lump in her throat before continuing, “This trial might drag on for who knows how long? It might be a few days, two weeks, a month? Everything is laid out for us to fail.” 

“And you won’t.” you tell her, reminding the positives going forward. “Maybe it could look bad, but I’m certain that you’ll do a good enough job with what you have to work with. I’m sure of that.” 

That sigh of relief you hear through the phone. Yeah, you’re right. I get it. A little reassurance goes a long way for someone in her field dealing with that kind of work - not that you would relate or somewhat imagine what it would be like to be in Dahyun’s shoes, but aside from all bad things, you know that she’s headstrong to the point where none of this should even faze her in the first place. 

“You know you can’t go back to the old place, dummy.” you laugh, opening the lid of the pot that unleashes a quick cloud of steam rising above the rim. “Where are you planning on staying in the meantime while working?” 

“Minju has a guest room at her place.” Dahyun answers, “I’d figured that I should tell you this, but I think she and her associate are having a little thing together.” 

“And this is news to me, how?” 

“Because I’ve seen him and her get a lot closer than usual.” she adds, “You do remember that we have this policy that’s strict on relationships around the office–” 

“But you and I, along with some other considerable names and high-ranking figures, are the exception. I know. We’ve been over this story a bunch of times already.” 

Dahyun straightens herself up on the couch over the phone, folding her legs inward on the seat, sighing, smiling. “Are you eating dinner this late?” 

“Well, if you consider ten-thirty to be late to have myself a meal, then yeah, you can call that to be a late dinner.” 

“Rude,” she muses. “Can’t your wife have a little bit of curiosity about your day while being alone? Missing me?” 

“I guess, but there’s nothing to report on my end.” 

She hums, and you can picture the pout she’s putting on whenever you give her an open ended answer that could totally be expanded on if you just put the effort into it. Dahyun knows you're lazy to an extent when it’s off work hours, and she doesn’t blame you for that. “Have you been using your hand to keep yourself occupied while I’m gone, baby?” 

“Sweetie,” you chuckle, tongue against the inside part of your bottom lip when you automatically realize what she’s trying to do - what she’s trying to make you do. “No, we’re not doing this.” 

“Aw, why not?” 

“Because I can only do so much to keep myself sane while you’re not here.” 

“Fine,” Dahyun sighs out in defeat, and you turn off the stove to let the signature dish of your mother’s pork stew cool down before you get to eating. “One last thing,” she starts, “Sana wants a favor from you while I’m not there.” 

“Hmm?” you sound off, getting a small taste test of the minimal viscosity of the soup you just cooked. “What does she need help with?” 

“Just some heavy lifting around her place,” Dahyun answers, yawning. “I told her that she could come by the house to get you and help with whatever she needs.” 

“You’re setting me up, aren’t you.” 

A soft giggle could be heard in the background on Dahyun’s end. It probably shouldn’t mean anything, but a suspicion starts formulating in the back of your head. This could mean one of two things: you’re either fucked for the potential summer, or fucked for the potential summer. 

“Help Sana out tomorrow,” Dahyun instructs. “I don’t think anything bad will happen if you’re stuck with her.” 

–

Turns out that Dahyun would be right when you do stand at the steps of Sana’s front door, hand at the hip while the few seconds of silence runs the possible uncertainties through your head. 

A swing of the door inward: “Howdy stranger, have my pizza?” 

You get a good look at her. She’s wearing these thinly rimmed glasses, the middle wire sitting nicely on the bridge of her nose. Her long sleeve hugs her shoulders nicely, tugging at the fabric while her other arm is raised on the door. The shorts are also doing a number on you internally, highlighting the ridiculously long legs that has miles and miles of skin, aside from the fact that they appear to be too short (and also pink, but fuck, man.) Cozy, homebody type of vibe, is what you end off with. 

“Hey.” And this comes off as a half-choke in the fumble of words, “Dahyun said that you needed some help?” 

Sana cocks her head off to the side, brows attracted inwardly, lost for a second before she fully realizes the present dilemma that she’d had happen to forget. “Oh, I did ask for a few things.” 

“Fingers crossed your to-do list isn’t full?” 

She does this subtle nod of her head motioning you to come inside, and you hesitate for a second, peering over past her head of brown hair to see the state of the place and here’s how it looks: everything has a very simplistic aesthetic, blank tones of the furnishings and floorboards complimenting each other the more you and her make your ways around the place. Some boxes are still present here and there, half-open, half-closed, like the items in them haven’t found their rightful place amongst the shelves and cupboards and closets between the rooms. Sana mentions also that her and Julie also have similar tastes, but given the fact that they both haven’t been in the place that often because of their work, it’s pretty disappointing to take away. 

“How long have you had this house?” you ask, picking up a picture frame off one of the tables in the living room that has Sana and this other gorgeous girl leaning her head in with hers, you can’t put a name to her, but curiosity will come later when the time is right. 

“Just like you, not that long actually,” Sana answers, rounding past the corner towards the kitchen when you pick up on the lasting trail of her footsteps to meet her at point B. “Julie and I only managed to settle in about a few weeks ago before she went overseas for some big movie project that she’s a part of. Other than that, it’s just been me here all by myself.” 

“That doesn’t sound fun.” 

“I find it calming to have a big house with multiple rooms without the sense of company.” 

Your eyes trail off in the distance of this closed space. It looks barren, but rich, with the sense of presence from all of the different decorations and paintings all over the walls and tables. You might mistake this as a museum, an unplanned exhibit with your neighbor as the centerpiece of this gallery. 

“So,” you start to say, arms cross when you’re watching Sana on the opposite side of the kitchen island, sipping on a glass of strawberry lemonade, looking back at you with wide eyes, those pouty lips on the rim–

She points to the set of disregarded items off to your left side behind, the same set of boxes you noticed when walking in, “I need to get these things out of there and placed around the house,” and she starts to round the area of the kitchen to get closer to you, “and my garage door needs some fixing since it won’t open for some reason” 

“You really think I’m qualified to help you with the garage?” you raise an eyebrow in suspicion. 

“Dahyun asked you to help me, so please, make us happy.” 

–

The first meeting with Sana happens quite quickly. It should’ve ended there - a simple favor fulfilled and get on with continuing the daily routines around the house and neighborhood. 

Except it doesn’t happen that way. Not when Sana catches your attention when you’re taking out the trash, watering Dahyun’s little growing garden, when you’re getting your morning and evening runs up the hill and round the block, she always seems to get you caught in her lines of sight. 

You’re not against it however, taking a liking to have a quick chat with Sana about different things that were worth bringing up - it’s the simple camradire that’s developed rapidly after the housewarming party. She’s interested to see you with the garage open, finding a new thing to tinker and fix with the car (although modding a tesla would make some vehicle enthusiasts want to rip out their hair and gouge their fucking eyeballs,) she just makes the minute trip from her house over to yours just to talk. 

Dahyun’s calls circulate every now and then, getting the quick rundown of what’s been happening while she’s knee-deep in trial work down at the firm. You simply smile while tapping on the camera switch icon on facetime to have her look at the group of Sana, Jihyo and her summer flirt, Mina, along with a few others just have a communal game night of Mario Kart down at Sana’s place when everything is settled in. Before that, you were explaining the fascination of this ancient city that you’ve been reading into between business calls and graph inputs during work that may sound like you’re a boring professor talking about history. 

None of that would matter because Sana’s house is like this ancient city that’s riddled with riches and items of materialistic value that would probably convince someone else that their money is being wasted over meaningless items rather than propper investments. You get a few nods of agreement, maybe some fingersnaps because what you’re saying could be plausible with the amount of knowledge you’ve consumed to tell without boring everybody. 

“I could care less if that were the case,” Sana says, leaning closer on the couch while running a hand through her hair, the flowy locks combined with that cropped Prada shirt could have you reeling in an alternate universe, but it doesn’t. 

“Sana,” you call out, Jihyo’s also giggling at the fact before you even say it also, “your walk in closet is literally the devotion of this ‘city of gold’ I’m talking about.” 

“Hey!” and she’s taking this with a light offense, “I only say that it’s true because where else am I supposed to put the dresses?” 

“I suppose they could go somewhere else that doesn’t take up space in the racks?” 

“You’re the one who helped me put them up anyway!” 

“Don’t get all defensive now because I’m talking about it.” 

She cracks this smile while Mina sounds off with a ‘boo’ noise, “You can take your little history tangent up your ass then.” 

To that, you raise an open bottle of White Owl to her face, downing a bit of the drink while she rolls her eyes, narrowing while she purses her lips. She’s lining her fingers across the bottom of her chin, intuitively, studying the movements of your hands and eyes, getting a read of what makes you tick. 

Even after the activities of game night are all wrapped up, you stay behind in Sana’s house, picking up the assortments of empty glasses and bottles, the charcuterie board that’s scavenged through, except the stack of cheese that was apparently stale and too cold to even dig their teeth in. 

“Care for some cereal?” Sana prompts after the final sweep. 

“You’re asking me to have a night breakfast?” 

“You’re making it sound like it’s something to be frowned upon.” 

“Then why the paradoxical proposal?” 

She doesn’t bother answering that with a simple hum while you’re chuckling lowly. There’s already two bowls on the counter, and not long after, she’s holding out two boxes: Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 

“I like the choices.” you tell her, placing yourself on one of the high chairs while Sana slides one of the boxes over with the jug of milk trailing just behind it. You snap a picture of yours and Sana’s bowls to send over to Dahyun and in which she responds in three seconds - you fell for the cereal bait tactic. 

What? I got courted with Frosted Flakes and you know this, they’re great. 

She did the same thing to me back in college, but that’s her ‘ol reliable’. 

Sana swipes your phone from your hand that you try to get back, but she skips a few feet away and starts to text in your place. “What are you texting Dahyun about?” 

“Why does it matter to you?” 

“That’s my phone you’re using.” 

Sana parts her mouth open, humming once, “I’m too lazy to grab mine from the living room.” 

“You’re texting my wife.” you deadpan. 

“She was mine first before you came along.” 

You roll your eyes. Ouch. But you sigh once the defeat settles itself back in over you. All that you’re just left to do is get these soggy, milky grains down before you eventually pack it up for the night. 

“Thanks again for staying back to help,” Sana tells you on the front step of her yard, “worth the treat of cereal as a reward.” 

“Nice to have some company, especially when there’s video games that make me feel like a careless child again.” 

“We’re all a little starved for a little fun, glad I contributed to that reach of youth.” 

And this comes out of nowhere, really, you miss Dahyun around the house and it’s felt like ages since you’ve last seen her. 

Sana has her knuckles against her cheek, the fingers are well refined, she has that glow on her face and that small hint of a dimple that breaks out underneath and well - that same pout you saw last time breaks into this perfect grin of hers that’s filled with uncut happiness, the way her eyes arch into that same eye smile Dahyun has really makes you think twice about your situation. 

It’s embarrassing, but you miss Dahyun while there’s this small crush of Sana growing inside you. Going against your vow might be one thing, but your heart can’t help itself to only tell you over your mind - well shit. Congrats. 

Though, she’s reeling you back in after seeing Hailey’s comet above, calling your name that makes you unsure if you even know your own name. 

“Will you be busy for the rest of the week?” She prompts. 

“You can just come past the gate and ring the doorbell, I’ll always answer.” 

Sana doesn’t say anything more than that, only giving you the usual ‘good night’ message before she sends you off on your way, just a few feet to the side and behind another door. 

–

Some weeks pass. It’s late, and hot. The combination of this nightly hot climate doesn’t serve anyone well. 

You hear a knock at the door that has you scratching your head over the fact on who would be at your front doorstep around this time. All of that gets thrown out the window when you look up past the column of wood to see Sana standing there, bundled up in gray sweats and an oversized sweater that’s draping her frame, two sizes too big, her shoulder noticeable to see. She has nothing else on or with her besides the phone in her hand. 

“It’s the middle of the night,” you announce, squinting at the light towering over you and her in the front patio of the house, letting out a sigh while Sana just wiggles her body side to side, acting all innocent knowing that she knows what she’s doing. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping already?” 

Sana finds your reactions to be funny. For every question, you give her a simple or calculated answer. A greeting in the morning or afternoon would be short and sweet ending off with ‘let me know if you ever need anything’ before heading back inside with the daily mail or some vacuum or bundle of rags to clean from the garage. Every blurt or sexual comment would send you coughing or spitting out some of your water when Sana’s dropping by to see what you were doing. Most girls other than Dahyun in her position would be automatically disinterested, not your fault for being naturally dry and introverted.  

“Julie crashed at Natty’s place, so I managed to drive myself back home.” Sana replies with a pull of her lips, breaking a sly grin when you return the same nod, prompting her to come inside because it wouldn’t be like you to keep a beautiful girl from around the neighborhood just standing outside your doorstep. 

The hums that come out of Sana’s mouth are refreshing, in addition to the little swing of her head back and forth when she moves past the first lounge area of your house to between the dining table and kitchen where she stops short for a second, looking off to the left, formulating a thought. You had the lights dimmed around the place, but you catch the silhouette of her side profile while a hand is behind her back, like one of those poses that she did for a magazine not too long ago that she shared when you finished up moving the last bits of her boxes. 

“Why come to my place?” you ask, flicking a light switch that brightens the area right outside leading up to the backyard. “Are you that bored around your house that you just walk over to mine?” 

“Not denying that I’m bored,” Sana amends, turning towards you again, “just wanted to give you some company.” 

“Sana, it’s late.” 

“Remind me again,” she pouts, the lift of her eyebrows makes you slightly cringe, “How long has Dahyun been busy with her work and that trial of hers?” 

“Last I heard from her was that she’s almost done closing off the settlements.” 

“Good, and you haven’t been losing your mind over the fact that your wife’s not with you.”

“Can I live normally while Dahyun gets to play the main breadwinner in the relationship?” 

Sana coos after that. She keeps this longing gaze at you while you’re returning the same fix on her. The end point of her nose, the lines of her cheek, that over peeking collarbone when she sweeps her hair from the front to the back with a little flip; you tell her that the downtime you were mainly focused on was trying to get back to sleeping, but the damn heat was the main excuse and to that she laughs, scrunching her face when she can see right through the poorly constructed lie. 

It’s distracting, the small rumbling of this breaking desire - makes you feel uncertain in how you should approach the current dwindling situation.  

Falling off the curve, however, Sana asks you:  “Do you mind if I can take a swim in your pool?” 

–

This should be a page in the history books, ripped away and shrouded in the shadows, never to be disclosed to anyone else that isn’t yourself. 

It’s also completely harmless when you’re mindlessly handing Sana one of your spare towels sitting in the bathroom, smiling sincerely when she accepts the simple item of hospitality with the add on of, if you also need some extra clothes to wear because you dipped your feet in the pool with the overhanging flared sweatpants of yours getting stained, I can lend you a pair while it dries up - pick it up tomorrow or have it dropped off- 

She floats her way down the steps, towel over her shoulder, “I’d take an extra pair of pants to use after I finish, thank you.” 

You nod, letting herself like at home as if her own home wasn’t only less than five seconds away next to yours. The glass sliding door opens up to the balcony when you finally hear the light crash of water being made from the floor below. 

There’s something calming about the light blue glow being illuminated from the pool, looking up at the different stars and constellations with today’s moon being somewhat of a mix between a half moon slowly transitioning into a crescent. Dahyun was also with you in this same position after the first night of moving in, pointing out the basic lines of the Big Dipper and the Alpha Centauri, you showing her Orion’s belt before she made a counterargument that it wasn’t a freaking belt, but it just goes to show that you’re just counting the days down until Dahyun gets back from brining the trial win home. 

Looking down, you just see Sana the singular hint of honey brown sitting on the edge of the pool before slowly dipping in, getting the ends of her hair wet before tying it up in a high bun and happily floating in place, sighing while the refreshing yet, cool temperature of water settle around her body. 

The room of your study looks tempting to set up base camp, not the worst option to consider also as a form to keep yourself occupied while your bubbly neighbor was right outside your backyard swimming in the night. 

(God’s really picking and choosing your battles in any way that he pleases, huh?)

You stay the course, grabbing a quick bottle of Heiniken from the fridge when you’re seeing the sight of Sana’s shoulders and arms breaking the flow of water, her head just above the turquoise surface, the light shining beneath her face to get a good glimpse of her rosy cheeks, those lips tugged at the ends of them in a soft smile, the line of her neck also doing you numbers than the beverage in your hand before you’ve even got a propper sip. 

Sana looks towards the back of the house, you raise the bottle up to let her know that you’re still here, noticing the pile of clothes on one of the lounge chairs, neatly folded with her phone as the cherry on top. 

Here’s where you make mistake #1: The second bottle in your left hand needs a drinker, and you step your way out into the boardwalk of your pool. A missing piece of detail that you completely ignored was how Sana’s pile of clothes was lacking one vital part–

“I find it to be pretty peculiar for my wife’s friend to be skinny dipping in my pool at around this hour.” you inform Sana of the situation, to which she softly laughs at the observation while you’re kneeling at the edge, placing the two bottles off to the side that you’ll get back to later. 

Sana floats her way to the edge of the pool right next to you, arms hanging on the deep end while looking up, “Didn’t think I needed the necessary layers, no?”

“You want to tell me about layers when you’re wearing nothing underneath.” 

“Where’s the fun in having swimsuits and trunks?” she teases, “it’s too much of a hassle for me to go through the exhausting process of changing in your spare bathroom that’s miles away from the pool.”

“There was literally a bathroom for you next to the kitchen that you passed by to get here.“

“Why don’t you join me? The pool’s too big to have one person inside.” 

No. No. Don’t even think about–

“And if I refuse?” you ask quickly, naively. 

Sana leans her head back, and your eyes can’t help in anything besides fucking you up. The waves of the water cleared up, returning to its calm, idle state where you catch the highlighted sallow skin against the light, catching her hips and legs flowing freely. She lets her lower body rise up to the surface, hands still alongside the edge almost as if she’s lounging on the nearby chairs - it also hits you that she’s doing it on purpose, the fact that her bare ass is just out in the open air for you to see–

Right on cue, mistake #2: you sit down nicely, criss-cross like a little kid; and Sana scoots herself to where you’re sitting, closely, dangerously. 

“I’ve got some pull for you to rethink, take my offer into some light consideration.” she muses, and the leaning closer coming from you is seriously not helping. She’s got her hand laying below your knee, and she might as well be right under you with the ground advantage. 

That same lean is also curious; it’s also pretty familiar too - how the natural state of gravity works, Dahyun reeled you in to some similar form a long while ago - forget if or maybe if the fact she looked first or you looked first, it doesn’t matter. One key difference between that event and now was the fact that you realize that you’ve toppled over and into the swimming pool, clothes still on and everything, the brisk feeling of water washing over before you find yourself breathing, ears getting flushed out and replaced with Sana’s sweet laugh to top if all off. 

You swipe your hands through your soaked face, slowly floating to the shallow end while cringing at the present moment that just occurred. The blend on your shirt and sweats mold to your figure, like someone had slapped clay on you. Chlorine is not good for the eyes, obviously, so keep rubbing your eyes and clearing out any sinuses while telling Sana that you’re not inviting her in the next time after this night. 

Sana has this effect on people, so natural and open to the point with others that she’s hugging everyone and doing skinship as she pleases, you’re not far off from the latter, in fact–

“I thought you’d be a little more vocal with the fact I pulled you in,” she tells you, turning away slightly when you splash a hint of water as she approaches you. 

“It’s cold,” you say blankly, slicking your hair back while Sana closes the distance. Sly smile and everything. 

“That’s all you have to say?” she asks, “So dry.” 

“Aside from the fact that you’re swimming naked in my pool, I think there’s more pressing issues for me to take care of.” 

Pressing issues noted, Sana is well within arms reach, except you have another look at her charming face, her body under the water - she’s well defined in all avenues, fair skin that would even rival Dahyun’s for a quick comparison, her hands continue to do their own thing when they’re measuring the shape of your middle, fingertips grazing the soaked shirt and all. 

“I’m sorry” she breathes out, the faintest apology of them all. 

You’ve got your arms around her waist, not a care to fully realize what you’re actually doing; it’s a collapse in real time, her hand to the back of your neck: mistake #3. 

With a simple press of her lips on yours, she grips tightly, the draw of air clouding the intoxicating taste that has you humming a bit, the slide of her fingers down the line of your jaw before going off the rails with replacing the hand with a full on arm, hooking onto your neck while you move up to her upper back. 

But this inferno was unraveling. 

Her legs fill the gap between yours, hands are now on both sides of her face, thumb sliding across that prominent cheek bone that will have you sculpting out the details some other time. She’s kissing you like she wanted this to happen, the desperation, hunger even, like it would be the last thing needed over everything else, and you’d give that to her. It’s all sinking, that box of thoughts that was supposed to stay at the bottom of the ocean, the sealed lock intact and with no key to open, it’s resurfacing like the breaths of air you and Sana share with your faces just centimeters away from each other. 

“Do you think you can forgive me?” she stops to ask. 

A fucking truck of reasoning is what hits you, pulling back even more but your hands are now keeping Sana in place, just right above her ass holding at the hips. “Yes- no-” She pulls you in for another convincing kiss before another could be stolen on her cheek, the same sigh she sounded in your throat a few seconds ago comes around. “I don’t know anymore.” 

“It’s okay to not know.” Sana’s face softens when you can’t even bother to look her in the eyes now, tilting your chin up to support, lightly stroking it. “We probably shouldn’t.” 

She’s right. You’ve got to end this and you have to end it now.

“But what if we did?” You’re left breathing, in disbelief. 

“Would you want to find out?” Sana asks again, unsure but also confident. “There’s this kind of luxury I’m fascinated with discovering the unknown.” 

You’re thinking of these different stories in your head, the different kinds of graphs and tables riddled with numbers trying to come up with a logical case, predicting a scenario where you could forget about all of this, count the days until you won’t be alone again with the right person. Except Sana is dishing out all of these simple motions that have you leaning in for more, yearning. A hand is being slid across the shoulder, her face is suddenly closer with yours when you pull her towards you. “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t afraid.” 

“Don’t feel bad,” she tells you, a comforting whisper, wisping in the breeze. “You’ll be able to catch on quickly.” 

(If there was anything that you’ve noticed while starting this new chapter: you’ve learned that the sly smile armed by Minatozaki Sana will have anybody flipping over, ruining lives and starting fires.) 

All common sense gets tossed out of the pool when you kiss her again, a choice that will have its own consequences when the time is right, the floodgates of sin opening harshly while you've just signed your one-way ticket straight to hell.

–

Another thing that you learn from the houses that are oozing with richness up and down the street is that money and sex have powerful selling points. 

This may be subject to change, but when you have an art piece like Sana stolen from the museum of her house (figuratively), all fingers and charges point toward theft, the necessary offenses that follow after don’t really matter as of right now. 

–

It’s not that difficult for you to fall in a place like this: carrying Sana up the steps but only stopping short at the doorway when she’s lapping her tongue into your mouth. She’s still wet in your hands from the pool, and you have the wall play as a part to keep her in place - the fit of your lips breaking apart before they find themselves again. 

“Mmm,” Sana hums into your mouth when you finally let her down, on the balls of her feet while your hands wrap around her waist again, knee lightly nudging the apparent line of your cock with the pads of her fingers soon after, testing it. 

“Hey,” you mumble, pulling away with an audible smack from her lips, tongue licking your mouth while she softly laughs, and again - it’s definitely on purpose when her hand palms your cock more firmly through the soaked sweatpants that has you gasping for a millisecond. “Trying to get on with it faster now, are we?” 

Her hand sets itself on your chest, eyes meeting with hers half-lidded, she knows what she’s doing, she knows that this is wrong, and she most definitely knows that this is on purpose. You tilt your  head more deeper only for her to stop you for not more than two seconds, before easily allowing you to kiss her once again. 

“Who’s leading?” Sana laughs at herself, still stark naked when your hands land at the rise of her hip, massaging the slope of her ass with the droplets of water gliding across your palms. “Wouldn’t be right of me to do all of the hard work, begging at the fact that you’re about to fuck me over in this huge house, get your fingers inside and finally have that perfect dick that Dahyun always talks about.” 

“She told you?”

“Much like every time we catch up. Always.” 

“What do you know so far?” 

Sana sighs when you kiss her again, the lines on her face softening like a flush of anxiety that suddenly went away in a matter of a second. Your hand is quick to travel to the back of her head, pull the elastic of her hair tie that lets her locks flow down while the counterpart is palming her warm, bare cunt, eliciting a slight gasp while you’re smiling into her skin. “She- she told me that you were disappointing the first time y-you guys did it.” 

“Oh?” you mutter, thumb tapping on her clit that makes her whole body stiffen while the pad of your middle finger slowly scoops under her folds, noting how much she’s gotten slick in the short span of time. “The inexperience was the main factor.” 

Another finger pushes inside, feeling the stretch while your ear receives the steady decline of Sana’s breaths, lip being pulled inward by the upper row of her teeth while her chest heaves, the heat becoming too unbearable to handle. She’s not one to let you take the easy route, putting her lips back with yours while you scoop under her luscious ass, walking past the doorway and into the bedroom - a space where Dahyun’s appearance was the common one - now introducing a newcomer that will make her case to stay. 

The landing on the bed isn’t gentle, and Sana slightly sets herself up on one elbow, while you’re tugging the sopped clothes off your body, trying to get a read into this pretty woman’s eyes of the things you want to do to her. You’ll make her cum, flip her into the mattress, have her bouncing on your cock later, get her whimpering while you drink in the sight of her pretty face just blown out, euphoric, the writing’s already on the wall before you even get a chance to draw the pen. 

“You think I’m gonna disappoint you with my performance? Maybe prove that Dahyun’s point still stands?” you ask her, making your space bigger over hers when you’re on top of her, pulling from the hips to get her to meet your thighs. Sana bites her lip in a short excitement, keeping her gaze on yours when her fingers finally wrap around your cock, giving a few experimental pumps while she spreads wider, opening the gates to an avenue that will have you packing your bags to the next house over. “Imagine if–”

“I’ll make you shut up about your worries, now fill my pussy up. With your fingers, your cock, just anything, please.” 

She’s desperate for you, and you have to admit it too, but when that first rush of every single sensation registering in your mind from the very instant you have your cock wrapped around her, sliding inside those lines with the small tug of your hips, pushing more while you could feel nails rip into your skin. 

It’s a new entry of data, the approach of how Sana’s pussy is downright perfect for you. There’s a slight throb, a misfire when the strokes are still hesitant, uncertain exchanges of breaths with the slow blinks between her eyes and yours. Uninviting, but all the more welcoming with her walls, clinging into the deeper ends of her cunt, breaking down the imaginary lines of numbers and rope circling through your head. 

“My, fuck–” and you also choke out something too when she says that, the muted cry she let out while you take a moment to readjust, sliding out before you yank Sana’s hips onto your cock again. “T-this is everything.” 

Like you need the exposition on the term everything. All of your worries wash away when you thrust more ferociously, the internal bomb in your brain ticking away the time every single speck of seconds that passes through burying your cock inside her. You’re nowhere near gentle at this point, the squeeze that has you mirroring Sana’s “hnns” over the claps of your thighs with hers, taking advantage of the arch in her back by hooking your arms underneath while one of her long legs locks around you. 

“So good,” she just groans out, relishing in the feeling of it. “Don’t stop–” 

You’re also not safe from it either, fingers resting alongside her midriff where her hands are placed on top, grasping at the new angle of your hips where it has her wheezing, the fresh spot of heat hitting the base also making your lose your sense of awareness, reduced to nothing but just a desolate being of a husband that’s throwing their marriage away. 

Her creaming cunt only keeps you focused, the pretty sounds and remarks coming out of her mouth has you giving her expressions of confusion, lust, shock, and maybe that longing look of when you see someone at first sight and it just kills you, right then and there. The sheets come undone, a pillow is used as a secondary support underneath her back, a clutch of the tit and she does this simple evil grab of your hips while you’re ruthlessly pounding into her helpless body, utilized as a vice the more you hold your end of the bargain. 

“Sana, you’re–” and again, the mind blanks out of this small blurb of praise before she just giggles for her response, fucking her so throughly that you’re running the different combinations of tempos to get her even more ruined, fucked dumb, maybe even have her begging to be used over your cock like this again soon - the eventuality of that notion will be all too apparent when the sun rises the next morning. 

She just clings to you, keeping your hips in motion while her hands cup around your face once more, pulling inward for that press of lips all over again like the beginning. You feel the wobbling lip, a thumb quick to keep her coaxing while she whimpers in absolute bliss. 

“I want you,” she huffs, and you’re falling through the cracks with every steady stroke of your cock between the opening of her legs, “to make me cum. Make a mess out of me and this pussy.” 

You’re taking shelter between her mounds, not wanting to look up in pension for the cardinal sins committed tonight, lips swiping up and down her neck that has Sana moan out in approval, the clamp of her walls tightening every return back to the bottom, her hands are over your back, tracing lines, fantasizing. She’s a fucking waterfall every thrust you take. 

“I’m- fuck–you’re gonna–gonna make me cum so fucking hard.” you feel the pulse impending, the muffled squeak that she makes in your lips, she’ll be the first to fall. That eruption happens fast, the spasm and tighter grab in her walls around you while she’s crying for now. 

Nothing could’ve prepared you for this incident, a flashpoint in time that was probably bound to happen, fucking Sana in the walls of your own bedroom this hard– “You’re something else, just like you were meant to have me like this, God.” 

“Keep fucking me like this - god that feels so good, You and your cock it’s-” she huffs, barely smiling. She can see you slipping, at the edge, the litany of moans sounding like a siren out at sea. That mess she requested, you’ll give it to her, bury your cock in the deepest depths where it shouldn’t even be humanly possible, where the molten hot walls are bursting the thickness of your head, grinding out every cell and fiber - it’s possible. “Fuck, that’s so hot when you’re all fucked out for me.” 

“Sana,” you say, and she has your hand over her tongue, licking up the thumb, and you’ll swear that it’ll do damage to you for centuries. 

“Mhm,” she responds nicely, the last bit of the hum coming out as a hitched whimper, “Cum inside me.” 

That’s how she’ll want to do things. If she wants something, she’ll get it. You do the same amount of damage to her like she did to you while she’s begging, whimpering, getting all of the lovely noises of being fucked out to oblivion out of her mouth until she’s leaking - washing you over, from the legs, to the pillows and sheets. Stretching her out perfectly, get her to slur out phrases that she would say normally on occasions not like this, only to come back around and have you fill in between the gaps. 

You slip, she slips, it won’t matter, because you or her will make the catch, that extra push deep, maybe harder. The velvety drag already has you addicted to her, the sight of her body above this hips was just the plus. 

“God, Sana. So fucking wonderful.” you snarl against the line of her cheek, one last final dip that has your cum flooding deep into her warm, velvety cunt. 

The throbs of your cock has Sana mumuring softly, saying something like - yes, yes, keep fucking your cum into me, so that I can feel it - nice and hot, god yes. 

You slide out halfway, and her hips buck from the tender motion while your hands rub her thighs. And you also black out for a second when a few more spurts coat her walls even more, the pullout quick for a fist around the head of your cock, covering her waist in the remaining bits of cum still left inside you - well fucked and sloppy. 

Sana’s eyelids flutter shut, your hand rubbing along the oblique of your hips, that sense of desire finally fading away when you fully realize what had just transpired in the past hour or so. The lights are off in the house with the illuminating glow of the moon breaking through the window, tinnitus ringing in your eardrums and your eyes are fixated on Sana again, cross-eyed on the cum-soaked fingers she has, taking the liberty of sucking on them shamelessly, and the fucking noises she makes has your jaw to the floor. 

“Thank you,” she says, sweetly, innocently, sitting up on the bed with her legs crossed, the trail of cum still apparent on her stomach. “You certainly did not disappoint.” 

You, my friend, are entirely fucked. 

“What’s gonna happen to us now?” you ask her, rubbing your face and shaking your head in disapproval while Sana cleans the rest of herself up with her fingers. “I think we made–”

“Did I not tell you to worry?” Sana’s quick to shut you down, her look cross while you don’t even bother to meet her in the eye. This is supposed to feel wrong, it shouldn’t feel like anything else besides that. She scoots herself over to you with a quick kiss to your cheek, one that you accept openly, but still feel pensive over. 

“We can talk about it later,” she says, sliding herself into the rumpled sheets, patting down the open space next to her. “Would you mind if I stay the night? In your room? And in your bed?” 

“I can’t really turn down that offer,” you laugh, following along with a hand trailing up the side of her figure, giving a meaningful press of lips to the spot of her hair, “I actually like the company now.” 

“Would you also mind if I want it later when I can’t sleep?” 

“I’m seriously gonna hate you for this when we’re done.” 

“But I’m asking nicely.” she says, and hums this sweet tone when you lay next to her, feeling her ass shimmying against your cock underneath. “You’ll say yes,right?”

“Keep up with the needy act, and maybe I’ll have to fuck the want right out of you.” 

Sana rolls herself on top of you, finger tracing the lines of your face again, sketching, the bottom of her lip tugged by a pair of teeth. There’s that sly smile again, mischievous. It’s the reality now, she’s won you over. 

“Consider it a gift for you.” she adds, kissing you again before she goes slack on your chest, the wave of sleep finally setting in. 

–

(This actually comes later when you can’t dream a wink, staring up at the high ceiling: 

It only takes little effort for someone to make a house into a home - and you learn to the best extent possible, Sana slots in that missing piece where Dahyun is supposed to fill - without even fully realizing it. 

Her and Dahyun are two sides of the same coin, both give you this sense of ease and confusion that has you looking off while they’re trying to hide the inevitable laughs. They’re both also moodmakers with the way they look at you with the earnest smile, a reminder of one and the other that you’re not too far behind to follow. 

Every nick of the mouth moving, the glint in their eyes that will break you down from the shackles of rational thoughts while the springs in your bed are supporting the absolute fucking you’re doing over them. 

Maybe this summer will be saved after all.) 

–

When the crack of dawn breaks through the sunrise, you’re trying to recollect what little thoughts you have left of your deteriorating marriage; as in, what’s gonna happen to you when Dahyun finds out you’ve slept with her close friend who just happens to live in the house right next door, aside from other things. This space was now tainted in the heinous acts you’ve committed but the only thing that was filling the front of your mind was the amount of work emails you saw on your phone while waking up. 

“You’re just gonna leave me here in the bed all alone?” Sana asks, your back still turned to her when you mindlessly flick up the switch to your bathroom. 

A simple spin on the ball of your heel, and the image is just majestic to witness. 

This 5’3 brunette that’s all sunshine and rainbows, replaced by a deity that oozes sexiness and uncapped lust, lays on the side of her frame with an elbow propped up to support her head, hair still having that post-fuck frizziness to it, the sheets are covering most of her middle, but that outreaching left leg exposed, folds in, and you catch that slope of her hip, her ass is also not that far behind to look over. 

You already know her body all too well. If you could put someone that’s remotely close to the Greek god of Aphrodite, Sana would come very close to that. 

“Are you really expecting yourself to stay here?” you ask, fishing for your toothbrush before washing it with one hand, the other grabbing the minty toothpaste that was adjacent to it in the cup. “You know that I have work, not to mention working at home too.” 

You watch from the doorway when she sits up, the romp of her sheets falling over in front that shows that pale chest, her firm breasts that lay beneath her fine collarbones, there’s a new set of hickeys - the hickeys, showing your favorite spot to soothe her while she’s wailing in your arms, the rise and fall of her shoulders every breath let out has another wanting bite of her swollen lips. 

“Is it too much to keep you company?” she asks again, tugging on the comforter, hoping that she’ll get the right answer out of you.

“It’s not that I mind about the company of you, it’s the fact that others would get suspicious.” you retort, placing down the brush filled toothpaste on the counter, “That’s the last thing that I want to happen.” 

“How long has Dahyun been at trial with her firm?” 

“At least a couple weeks at this point.” 

“That’s what I thought.” 

“You need to go home.” 

“But your place is a lot nicer than mine, clean also.” she smiles, looking up little by little when you approach her on the edge of the bed. A hand is outreached with hers, and it’s damning how well it fits with yours, the automatic reflex of brushing your thumb over the highest peak of her middle knuckle. You don’t even flinch at the fact that she’s moved your hand over to her breast, tracing her nipple. It’s not hard to ease into these seductive advances, softly chuckling at the way Sana’s tit has a sort of weight to them - perky, but impossible to resist. 

“What am I gonna do with you?” you ask yourself, a little loudly for Sana to hear too, “I have to get ready.” 

“Breakfast on the table?” 

“Have you freshen up before you do the walk of shame next door.” you whisper, helping her up, swooping under her legs in a bridal carry. The tangle of her hairs on your chest when she leans her head in, laughing, the smell of citrus and lingering sweat. “The comforter was too heavy and hot anyway.” 

Sana just giggles, waving her feet in the air, into the bathroom where her skin glows a little bit lighter. “What’s the point of having that open room next to yours if it’s not used?” 

–

(There’s a lot of questions that don’t get answered. Partly because Sana can’t concentrate while you’re kneeling between her legs in the shower, lapping away at her clit, washing away any slick that’s left out; her fingers are splayed out across the tile, slipping, dripping away from her hips. 

You also shouldn’t be whispering these sweet nothings into her ear either, kissing her as if in another reality, maybe this too, could be a thing. It isn’t fair, it’s not right. She comes off as urgent, hoping to keep your mind off of the responsibilities sitting at your desk for just a little while longer. “Don’t do this to me.” That’s a plea, your mouth hovering over her neck, she has your dress shirt draped over her on the kitchen island with her knees apart again, filling in the space while she’s all porcelain teeth and warm tongue. She tugs on your lips like she wants every last bit of you, and it’s not worth fighting for. Her mouth gets on the cuff of your ear, and she whispers this spell, a curse rather, impending your fate even more: 

“I think you know all of the things that I would do to you.”) 

–

Fucking Sana has its own luxury. 

This living art piece wandering about in your house where no one else knows. She comes to your place, you go to hers, it’s a trade off that’s very easy to do when you’re just a few steps away from each other’s doors. 

We could also talk about benefits. The benefits. She asks for a couple favors - a helping hand to clean the house (yours or hers) as an example - you have some requests of your own, mostly to just have a quick bite of her cooking or pull some aged alcohol that was gifted to you a long while ago, half  the bottle already gone before the end of one night. It usually ends up with you sinking inside of her, caressing her gentle body, kissing the nape of her neck when your hips mesh with hers perfectly. 

It’s a new fun that’s profound in yourself. This super popular model that has every hot contact of companies you could name off the top of your head in her phone, taking a quick hiatus for some ‘me’ time. She’s got a solid income, her closet is full of brands that you take note of to give to Dahyun later down the line, and the sex man, it’s just fucking- well, terrific. 

If having Sana all to yourself was the prime exclusivity in its own right, the girls she invites over make everything much more interesting, just aside from the fact that she comes unannounced most of the time. Oh, and that girl in her picture framed back at her place, Chou Tzuyu, she’s a real sweetheart. You’ll have her tag along with Sana no matter what time of the day it is (or night, because you’ll always be free outside of work when it counts). 

Sana usually stays in your house more compared to hers, and she usually seeks you out first with a longing press of lips on yours. Tender, sweet, before you get into the best part of your regular business day, bending her over the nearest piece of furniture and dumping a nice hot load between her thighs while she goes on doing whatever you need her to do around the house to keep herself busy. 

She doesn’t let you have your way that easily. There’s this business call you’re doing, talking about how the numbers don’t really add up for this list of statistic report you were handed an hour prior, trying to fight the gravity of your head leaning forward–

“Sana, your fucking mouth. So good, jesus.” you mutter, cradling her head while she taps your cock on her perfect lips, laving her tongue over before she dips down again, pushing you past the tightness of her throat. 

–of the very person pushing your thighs apart underneath the desk when she primes at the very angle, bobbing her head slowly while maintaining that hypnotic friction of her hand over your shaft. 

You hit the key binded to the mute button on the call, not giving a single ear of the person in the session rambling about well, if we could get an extra day or two with the new inputs for the program, then maybe we the numbers that are put together can line up with the graph - ‘and, let me get this straight–’ 

“Mmph, god.” You’re broken down to just a few simple actions, combing Sana’s hair, guiding her silkly mouth onto your cock, and she doesn’t let up the fucking pace. You’ve got your fingers intertwined with hers on your thigh, not giving a care of how she’s so persistent to get you off like this, choking, drawing back for some air - her pinky and ring finger moving in this motion on the tip that has you shuddering. 

“Such a fucking hard worker,” she says, biting her lip, the glare in her eyes that’s nearly demonic while her tongue slips along the underside and upper part of your cock. “How could you talk so calmly while your dick is in my mouth?” 

“I’ve had practice before,” you answer, slightly smirking at the memory of Dahyun doing the exact same to you long ago, it’s no different.

Keeping it together wasn’t the option anymore, while the rush of Sana’s mouth is drawn back to you, proceeding with the online meeting as planned, discussing the future plans delegated to your coworkers. Too bad that they can’t hear the litany of gurgles and gags happening below your desk, struggling to not use one hand and keep Sana buried under there, watching with that lustful look in your eyes when she knows you’re about to pop, the shake of your leg as the sole hint to what she needs before putting both hands into the mix, all wet while every ounce of focus gets diluted to the ceiling. 

The meeting eventually ends while groaning at Sana’s throat bottoming you out, spilling inside that heat with a weak buck of your hips, shoving everything into her where your balls meet her chin. It just happens, more and more; her mouth is so fucked for you that some of the cum gets on her teeth when you slide out of her. The worst part: you’re still fucking leaking, getting it on her bottom lip, another rope above her eyebrow; the splatter doesn’t even end when she lightly presses a thumb down at the base and you get another drop to her cheek - it still isn’t fair when she wraps her fingers around, lightly stoking while your entire lower half of your body is still twitching once the work is all done. 

Sana can be evil, but she goes back to being a bundle of joy when she plants a kiss to the tip, pushing your chair back and kisses you back on the lips, wiping some remnants of your cum from your lips onto her fingertip while she sucks them cleanly. “Productive call?” 

“Got a few more clients to talk to, but thanks. I needed that.” you sigh, fingers on her chin to assess the proof, nodding Sana off to go ahead and wash up before cooking lunch. 

“You still want the usual meal?” 

–

Sana goes away for a few days, and the place gets hollow again. 

You have the phone in your ear with your manager to talk about potential vacation time (talk about great timing too), and with a press of a button on the TV, you see the headline on the channel broadcast: 

Dahyun and her firm won the trial. Which means that she’s finally coming home.

–

Dahyun’s homecoming is a bit short lived when you wait for her right on the street, her personal chauffeur rolling away while she’s walking to you with a duffel bag, a carry-on luggage, and her briefcase that she sets down before jumping into your arms. She smells soapy, a nice tinge of lavender when you bury your nose into the midpoint of her collar and neck. You tell her that you’re proud, give her the necessary congrats before dishing out the reassurance that you didn’t burn the goddamn place down while she was out saving her own job. 

“You didn’t miss much,” you say, watching Dahyun take a longing bite of the salmon dish you cooked for her, the hum of approval with that smile you’ve missed so much for god knows how many weeks has it been. “Besides the fact that you were saving your career, I kept myself busy with the projects at mine.” 

“Really,” she starts, “I would think that you’d drive yourself insane up until I finally managed to get back. That racing sim setup would literally drive your attention away from me, so I thought that was one of the things to keep you busy.” 

“I didn’t even have the whole thing unboxed yet,” you manage, swiping her glass of water for you to drink out of while she drives the knife into the food for another slice. “If anything, I was just cooped up in my office while keeping the house nice and tidy.” 

“Good to know. Have you been doing stuff with the others while I was gone?” 

“Who do you mean?” 

“I mean. Jihyo, Mina, maybe even Sana.” Dahyun says, and your gaze shifts from stoic to this more pensive one; like the last name makes you remember things that you’re not supposed to. “You did help with Sana right?” 

“I did. I was hoping that she left a handful of messages for you to read when you got off the plane.” 

The doorbell rings, and your wife is quick to answer it with that fast-paced walk of hers. By the time she opens the door, the home is filled with a familiar sound that was echoing through the hallways not that long ago, a week, three weeks even. 

Sana greets Dahyun with a loving embrace much like yours earlier this morning. Their conversation was pretty much filled with the usual ‘when did you get back?”, ‘you have to fill me in on everything that happened at your work!’, and ‘did you give him a hard time with the stuff you asked him to do?’ All of these questions have your head at an angle when you see the pair of them cling onto each other, like lost friends who haven’t seen each other but miraculously reunite at an airport after who knows what time frame you’d put them in. 

(Sana gives you this gaze, one that will have you kicking your heels while she combs down Dahyun’s hair, that sly smile of a girl who knows what they did, what she does to you.) 

You do nothing, just give her the simple wave and smile like nothing ever happened, while your mind plays a whole different tune and movie in the back of your head. 

–

(A small tidbit about montages: these moments in time from here on out to help shape up how stories play going forward. It’s not pretty, playing Sana’s game of chess while the ‘oh, my wife doesn’t know I cheated on her with her best friend who just happens to be our next door neighbor’ runs in your head. 

The blips don’t also fucking help either:

Instance #1: Another house party hosted by you and Dahyun where you bump into Sana in the kitchen, who returns with a playful tap to your crotch and a smack to your ass that has you buckling forward while you hear her laugh fade into the crowd.

Instance #2: Sana comes over for a movie night with Dahyun. While she went to use the bathroom, she uses this as an advantage to straddle over your lap, sucking your face up with her lips like a vacuum in the dark before she hurries back to her original spot on the couch, fixing up her hair and wiping her lips, playfully pointing at the hickey underneath your jaw that has you rolling her eyes by the time Dahyun settles back in the seat.  

And finally, instance #3: The infamous office room incident. Where you had a dinner party with the neighbors again to celebrate your promotional achievement of heading this massive project that would benefit into making electric cars more affordable for the common money maker. Everyone is having fun with the drinks and partying aspect of it while Sana is on her knees, again, in the dark, deepthroating your cock with the door open for anyone to notice. All urges are off the table when you and her stow yourselves away into the guest room (with the meticulously placed soundproof foam pads all over the walls) when you have Sana’s light body bouncing over your cock, hammering down her hot cunt for a few minutes while she bites her own finger when you switch up the tempo to be more slow, loving, a deliberate way where she can really feel every throb inside her. She has a hand to the small of your back, you’re covering her moans with your palm, making her cum over and over until she’s walking to her house with a stutter in her step. 

More incidents did occur, but there’s got to be a sense of craziness if we’re thinking of going through all of them.) 

–

“I’d say that things are pretty normal now,” you say, arm around Dahyun’s back with fingertips just grazing the top of her ass, legs over your lap while taking shade on the couch in the backyard patio, hanging out with a quartet of drinks on the table, two for you, and the other two for Sana and Tzuyu. 

They’re here on another hot Thursday, not wanting to risk a brownout with the a/c running for more than the viable six to eight hours that you’d normally have while working, taking a dip in the pool for a bit. Two pretty girls in clad bikinis: Sana in a revealing two piece that barely covers her nipples and pussy, Tzuyu in a striking singular bathing suit that shows those luscious thighs almost having you drool when she gets out of the water. 

“This was so much better than just walking around in our underwear around the house.” Tzuyu says, laughing, grabbing her bottle of this brand you pulled from the fridge when she takes a nice swig. You remember the faint memory of waking up one morning with Tzuyu and Sana, both of them taking turns fucking you in different parts around the house. Tzuyu on the couch in the living room and Sana again on your office chair, hopping along your cock while you’re typing in a report on the desktop. 

Sana’s laugh fills the atmosphere when she talks about pushing Dahyun into the pool, her look unamused when you stare at her in bewilderment while she sees Dahyun slap your shoulder, motioning you to take on the defensive. “You really have nothing else better to do than to spend your time with us.” 

“You and Dahyun are good company.” Sana says, dismissively, hand on Tzuyu’s thigh to also include her in the conversation. 

Dahyun shifts her legs off of your lap, pulling them in towards her while you sit up, leaning forward for the empty bottles before you’re stopped by Sana and Tzuyu, who both offered to get another round of drinks back inside while you relax. The pair of them both walk away, arm in arm, two beautiful girls with both bearing breathtaking asses, all within line of your eyesight. 

“You don’t think I know,” Dahyun says, snapping your gaze immediately back to her. 

“Know what?” you say, crossing your arm over while she leans in closer to you, making a face that looks very serious, but not threatening. A lick of your inner lip sends you uneasy while Dahyun’s eyes stare deeply into your soul. That deepening pit of anxiety inside your stomach has you second guessing on whether or not being honest and transparent with your wife should be the best route to go knowing what you did. What you’ve done. 

“Nothing,” she answers after, “Wanted to test something out of you.” Dahyun then leans her head into your collarbone while you stare out into the blue horizon hearing the sounds of Sana and Tzuyu come back with another bundle of bottles waiting to be downed. 

–

This happens entirely on a whim, and when you’re not even a part of the picture. 

Sana answers the door to her house, eyes shooting up when Dahyun’s at the top step, smiling with a bag from the bakery and a full bottle of sparkling cider. 

It’s the usual game of the catch-up conversation, Dahyun talks about her draining work from the trial, plus her extended vacation time handed by her boss. Sana talks about the upcoming collabs that she’s been appointed to, a plane waiting with an open door for her on the taxiway by the end of the month. 

Exchanging laughs, quick memories of their past hangouts. The high-school reunion type vibe has this sense of nostalgic feeling between the two of them, but Dahyun drops the act completely out of nowhere to talk about more pressing matters. 

“How long?” she asks Sana, placing her glass neatly on the counter across from her. 

“What are you talking about?” Sana says, swallowing down a lump of bread down her throat, worrying. “Did I do something wrong?” 

“I know you’ve been getting cozy with him,” Dahyun says flatly, “I just want you to tell me if that’s true or not.” 

“About?” 

“Getting his dick all up inside of you like you wanted.” 

“I thought you were okay with it?” 

“I never said anything remotely close to that.” Dahyun sighs, grabbing the half-full bottle of cider before downing it straight from the opening, placing it down right after while Sana taps her finger on the counter. “Besides, he’s probably worried that our marriage is ruined.” 

“Doesn’t seem that way.” 

“Sana, what are you implying?” 

“What I’m implying,” Sana prompts sweetly, stepping towards Dahyun around the counter, snaking a hand down her waist where it’s open in the crop-top, kissing her by surprise. Dahyun’s mouth opens wider, fingers curling around the nape of Sana’s neck, like an old memory locked away coming to light again. “Is that we show your lovely man that shouldn’t be the case between us.” 

She dips her face into Dahyun’s again, the kiss more intoxicating than the first initial contact. It’s how Dahyun melts down from Sana, the way her spine curves backwards, Sana’s hands there at the perfect time to support her, both of them are panting into it, how open they were about their feelings for each other before you waltzed in to have Dahyun all to yourself. 

“I hate how I like you and him both.” Dahyun gasps when Sana plants her lips across her neck, her hands grasping her waist and ass that gets this hum of approval from Sana on her skin. “Maybe we could find a probable compromise to solve this little problem?” 

“Is it the same compromise I’m thinking of seeing his pretty eyes when we cum all over his cock?” Sana asks with a wink while Dahyun just giggles into her chest. 

“I love it when you and I are on the same page.” 

–

A sigh leaves your lips when you hear how the metal grinds inside the lock of your doorknob, pushing the front door open to see the surprise of an article of clothing, sitting at your feet, tilting your head to the side when you pick it up to see that it was a cropped shirt. The soft sound of the humidifier fills the eerie silence when your eyes notice another piece of clothing a few inches away from the shirt, connecting the dots in your mind realizing the trail of clothes up the stairs. 

Once up the steps, the pieces start to get larger: first a shirt, then some stockings, the door leading into your bedroom was ajar, the knob hanging with two pairs of panties. The hinges on your door squeak but so quietly, and your ears are greeted with a familiar laugh, not just one, but two. 

Without producing any more noise to make your presence known, your eye captures the sight of Sana on your bed, dipping her head lower to a girl laying underneath, caressing her face while the other girl giggles, returning the kiss openly. It’s pretty peculiar, when you also realize that both of them are naked on your mattress, it’s also really fucking peculiar when you connect the dots that the girl laying underneath Sana is Dahyun of all people. 

“I suppose that Sana’s little secret was finally let out by her.” you finally say, leaning on the door frame with the smooth wood wide open. And when the both look up at you, Sana looking up and forward, Dahyun looking from under while laying still, fuck, it’s sending signals to your brain at the image of them on top of each other like this, a mesh of skin on skin, their pretty faces stacked on their chins - you could sketch it on an easel, because that’s a literal art piece in real time. 

Your mind doesn’t even register the few seconds after, when both Dahyun and Sana make way towards you, the movement of their bodies in perfect sync, hypnotized at the way you watch how they stand on their tiptoes - ghosting their hands all over your chest and hips while your hands tend to their asses, palm at the defined fit of them, softly laughing. 

“We had,” Sana and Dahyun both say each word in different pauses, something straight out of a horror movie at the way they ad lib each other’s utterances. “An idea,” Sana adds. “That you’d hope you’ll like.” Dahyun finishes. “Would you like to see what we were discussing?” 

(God picked your battles, and maybe you could let him off the hook just this once.) 

“Impress me,” you simply say, while Sana pulls your head into hers when she kisses you in front of Dahyun. 

–

So Sana and Dahyun return to the positions where you first found them.

The only difference being, Dahyun hanging her head off the bed upside down, dragging her tongue across the seam of your balls while Sana’s tongue slips inside your mouth, her slender fingers giving these languid strokes to your cock while the pair of them just hum in content, getting you ready when all of the gears are primed to click. 

The contrast between the two of them, Sana being gentle with her lips while Dahyun is the complete opposite with hers, aggressive with the way her tongue swipes across the underside of your cock, her hands wrapped around your thighs to get more of those lavish licks at the base that has you counting stars behind your eyelids early. 

“How are you rock fucking hard?” Sana husks, brushing her lips against yours while Dahyun leaves a path of pecks to your inner thigh before she rolls her body over, looking up with her doe eyes while Sana lets herself fall right next to her, flipping her hair back while the sheets crinkle at the elbows, reflecting the same look before flashing her eyes back at Dahyun. “Makes me wonder who you’re gonna finish inside of at the end of this.” 

“Didn’t know that this was a competition,” you say, mind zoning out when Sana draws her tongue up your underside now in a quick lick, Dahyun smiling on the opposite end doing the same exact thing, that will most definitely bite back your words. 

It’s only right that Dahyun gets to be the first to push your head into her mouth, inhaling a bit while her tongue smoothes out across the area, delicately brushing along the length that sends the synapses in your spine on an electrical current. Sana just looks in awe at how much your wife is taking you, twisting a hand in play while she plants a wet kiss to her temple. 

You could get lost in the finesse of how Dahyun’s small hands skate up your length, the cushion of her mouth already enough to have your tongue between your teeth, but Sana didn’t come her to just watch, tapping lightly on her shoulder and sliding you out of one heat into the next, and the expectation you had for Sana blowing you always gets thrown out the window. 

“Fucking whore she is,” Dahyun rasps when Sana lowers her lips more down your cock, rolling along with the lightest graze of her teeth along the top, a twitch of your legs with a billowing puff of your cheeks to let them know that what they’re doing is working. How many times has he let you blow him under the desk? You hear Dahyun ask Sana, pulling some stray strands of hair from her side when she clasps her lips at the base, keeping you there in the sweltering heat. 

“Oh Dahyun,” Sana reprimands, “You have no idea how much I’ve made him cum while you were away.” 

A hand is thrown into the mix, behind both of their heads when they meet the glints in their eyes, uniformly taking your cockhead from the side, slowly sliding down at the suction, how they both fluidly slide you in their mouths in alternating fashion. Sana popping with her mouth, Dahyun swiping along the slit the next second. 

“Christ girls,” and you could hear the giggles of satisfaction to your amazement when they both have a hand along the length, stroking slowly to the point you can’t even look them in the eye. “You had this planned for a while now, haven’t you?” 

“I was against Sana’s crazy idea,” Dahyun purrs, face flushed when you notice that Sana’s hand is at her rear, fingers dipping into her cunt that’s already slicked up, waiting to be stretched, “but then she convinced me otherwise after some- propper persuasion.” 

“Tell me,” Sana chimes in, that innocent pout with her pursed lips doing absolutely no justice to how she looks right now, “Who do you think is the bigger slut between the two of us, me? Or Dahyunie?” 

Dahyun guwaffs when she leans into your palm, slapping your cock along her lips while you thumb the soft skin on her temple, swiping the underside of your head makes you grit your teeth at the amount of teasing they’re both doing. “Maybe he should fuck our faces to see,” she suggests, “Who could choke the hardest over this fucking cock.” 

(With a pair of wide open eyes, you could only mouth the word, “fuck.”) 

“You’d like that anyway, won’t you daddy?” 

The obedience settles in when both of these girls let their hands rest on the edge of the bed, finger and thumb wrapped around your cock when you tell both of them to hang their mouths open, rubbing your tip around the rim of Sana’s lips when she opens wider, wider until her jaw fully slacks at the whole length, and you love how she’s a pro at this. 

You take your deserved pleasure of how each of these girls' mouths feel around you. Sana’s lips being so unbearably perfect with those pretty lips of hers, sliding out and have Dahyun practically inhale your cock next, her eyes blinking up over the tight seal she has over you. “Jesus, baby–” 

Sana helps play the guide fucking your cock more into Dahyun’s mouth, the subtle flick she has sliding around with every move and thrust flushing into her throat. Her small lips were already ahead of the curve mirroring Sana’s movements a few minutes ago, the pressure sending waves from your hips up, lightly clutching her hair to keep the ache building. 

“Taking your baby so well, huh?” Sana growls over the sound of Dahyun desperately slipping her head down your length. “You like how she’s deepthroating you after not having your cock for a whole month?” 

“Feels so fucking good,” you answer, spreading your legs apart to keep Dahyun’s mouth on your cock warm, moaning so loud when Sana’s other hand works your balls, fingernails scratching along the ridges of skin while she fingers her, the moans sending vibrations along your shaft nearly breaking you. “Keep- gonna cum on this pretty fucking face.” 

Borderline filthy, almost off the fucking rails. Sana doesn’t like to play fair when she pulls Dahyun off of your cock, the drag of her tongue stripped off with a line spit connecting to her lips that’s soon catered to Sana’s mouth kissing Dahyun again, and the sight in itself is a blessing that you’ll never take for granted, how their faces tilt every second they meet, the smile breaking at the corner where you could notice them, delicately letting their fingers explore their faces, hooking into their hair and necks, the rise and fall of their shoulder every breath taken. 

Sana’s head spins out of control when she’s pushed onto the pillows of the bed, propping on her elbows while Dahyun spreads her knees apart more, kissing up the line of her inner thigh. “Dahyun,” she rasps, head reeling back when she’s getting close to the center, “I’ve been dreaming of this to happen for so long: you eating me out while your husband is oh- looks like he’s already ahead of the–” 

You don’t pay attention to their short exchange of words, relishing in the taste of Dahyun’s pussy, licking past the slit when you grip her asscheeks a little more tighter, a slip of the tongue over her clit, lapping up in the ways that you know your wife likes. 

Like the trail of clothes to the bedroom, your vibrations transfer up to Dahyun’s mouth and into Sana’s cunt; it’s a connecting line of fucking when you slide your tongue deeper, where the heat is the most hot, hooking your arms over Dahyun’s thigh’s while Sana grips her head, whimpering the moans where she’s left struggling for air. 

“Look at us, Dahyun, shit, he’s eating away at you, you’re eating away at me, this is so fucking good.” 

Sana’s the first to sputter, the amount of hums in approval, cracking under the faults. You and Dahyun are on the same page when you’re slipping two fingers in - then three; Dahyun catches on while getting fucked over, adding her four fingers into Sana’s stretching pussy. She’s gonna lose it. 

That whine she makes, when she’s over the edge, it’s the missing symphony in your ears. 

“Yes, I’m cum– gonna fucking cum,” she cries out, Dahyun leans all the way in, back arched in a way that would rival a gymnast. The way your fingers are clutching at her snowy skin, enough to easily scratch and draw bruises, she’s quivering when you’ve also made her reach the peak like Sana: these meaningless sounds, air getting more static through their tracheas. 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!” Dahyun whines out matching Sana’s volume, hips tensing while your mouth is pressing against the pucker of her ass, tongue and finger tag teaming while she fucks Sana through her sensitive pussy, past the first hurdle of cumming and skating a pair of fingertips over her clit, making Sana lock her knees while the circles on her nub continue, speaking complete nonsense and in mewls. 

“I’ll fuck you now, just like you wanted.” you spit, pulling yourself closer to Dahyun by the hips, her whole body relaxing when you have the head of your cock, skimming the folds of her pussy while Sana cradles her head on her boobs, leaving languid kisses while Sana puts her legs up underneath. 

“Need it–” Dahyun pants, only to be shut up by Sana kissing her again to keep her dazed. 

“What do you need, honey?” you ask, leaning forward to kiss the line of her back, hand massaging her waist before you retract your hand up the dunes of her hip, onto the divot of her hip while impulsively smacking your wife’s ass that makes her yelp at how hard you hit it. 

“Your cock- need your cock inside me-” She can barely answer while she’s drunk at the teasing of your cock along her pussy while Sana’s lips work her neck. “Need you to fuck me.”

“Well, he’s gonna have his work cut out for you isn’t he?” Sana asks, massaging Dahyun’s waist while the top of your thigh meets Sana’s ass, licking your finger to make her squeal when you rub it on her clit, and you get several. “Fucking our brains till we’re drained.” she tells you, watching as you stroke the length of your cock. How long could you hold out? How much can you handle? You’ll be good for us, let you easy- until you’re cumming a whole fucking mess. 

Sana means business, Dahyun is already putty just waiting to be put back into a tube and spilled over on the bed. “You two will be good girls for me, and I’ll fuck you guys right.” 

You mean what you say, it’s in existence. And when you push your head into Dahyun’s perfect pussy, the opening rips out a tone within her that you’ll always remember - sucking in an air at the clamp, taking you all the way. Sana smiles at the wince Dahyun makes, holding her face when you pull back, slowly thrusting halfway, the tightness leaving you speechless. 

That very moment where you’re sinking - where you don’t even have to say anything. (Because Dahyun was just made to take your cock that doesn’t feel undeserving at all.) Her ass is spread out, cunt gripping the whole fucking length while she buries her head into Sana’s neck. You could also hear a hush come from Sana’s lips while you’re still fixated on your cock disappearing inside of Dahyun. 

“Just-” Dahyun sputters, the octave in her voice going up pitch by pitch, fucking her soaking hole while you’re pushing everything to the possible ability you can, where you can feel the clench around your head, sobbing, hands over the dough of her ass, getting her cock drunk until you senselessly empty yourself inside her. 

“Harder,” Sana chides, tongue on the neck while she’s the supporting beam of the shaking girl laying on top of her. “I want her to be broken in two.” 

So you keep pounding, this familiar angle with your hips to where Dahyun has died before, shrieking while she feels like she’s floating in her head. When you see her head move over to the side, her profile in view, you’re blown away by the fade of her blush, Sana’s hand underneath to her chin, her back arched to the highest point she could possibly have it in, pistoning yourself in like it wasn’t the daily routine as it is, not ever realizing that it would never stop being like this. 

When her moans reach the apex, you could see Dahyun mouthing something, a wobbling lip hindering for her to even say the words properly - Baby, I’m gonna fucking– cum so hard on your- 

One final push in, and her entire lower half shakes, a dam finally cracking under the pressure. 

Sana’s just there to admire the artwork of her face, while reassuring that everything will be taken care of once all of this is done, a kiss to the lips while your cock continues to slowly plunge deep, cumming on your hips, the warmth too comfy to even leave. This would be great, one more sense of presence in the bed that will be a mainstay from now on. 

“Look at you doing so well for him,” Sana says, and she’s still laughing, drunk on the sounds of Dahyun while her half-lidded eyes are telling a different tale. “You’ve missed his big fucking cock, fitting so perfectly inside you, hmm? Look at how much you creamed all over him, ugh, filthy.” 

Dahyun just shudders while you’re massaging her inner thigh, pulling the head of your cock out of her fucked pussy, slapping the head agasint the sensitive clit, and you chuckle lightly at the small twitches she makes every hit that she feels; once, twice, thrice, and even the fourth. 

“Was that enough to satisfy you?” you ask, learning over to get your face in between the two pretty girls, getting a whiff of your wife’s hair while Sana’s quick to plant her lips on the cuff of your ear, bold, trying to hide how badly she wants the next go at you railing her. “Could you take more tries before your cunt gets my load all up inside of you?” 

“She’s not gonna answer that for you right away.” Sana sliding herself down, her fingers fluttering around your shaft. She does these circular motions alongside the skin that had your head sideways the other day back on the couch, realizing how sterile you were at being delicately handled, she’ll play that to her advantage, and she always finds something new. 

“Now that you had your fill with her,” she continues on with this while showering Dahyun with peppered kisses across her breasts. “Don’t you think I should have a go? Make you throb to the point where I get to feel the teeny bits of precum before you burst?” 

“Sana, that’s not nice.” you tell her, lightly tapping Dahyun’s waist, leaning over to the nook of her neck to whisper something. Have her something to do while keeping Sana’s mouth occupied, because I hate how she doesn’t shut up about things like these. And Dahyun follows along, still coming down on her high, shimmying her way up on her knees and when she finally hovers over Sana’s face, you see the quick peek of her tongue tip in preparation while your fingers are working fast around Sana’s thighs, pulling her towards you and priming Dahyun for the perfect angle. 

“Should we shut this little slut up, honey?’ Dahyun asks, biting her lip at you while you slapping your cock along Sana’s folds, to an amount enough for her to hide the growl coming out of her mouth. “I think she’s a little too antsy for the both of us.” 

“Ladies first,” you smirk, providing the common courtesy, dipping your cockhead in before backing out, catching the small ‘fuck’ being let out by Sana. Dahyun takes the quick moment of weakness as an opportunity to finally sit on her face, her hand also quick to rub her clit while the woman’s open mouth on her pussy starts to tear away at the threads, and you know Sana well enough to describe the feelings. 

It’s listed as this: tight, so fucking tight to the point that it should be considered to a world class delicacy that’s not meant to be enjoyed leisurely. 

That sharp draw of air through the thin lines of your teeth, finding that leverage into her cunt, easing into her, trying not to get ahead of yourself when she’s finally flush with your hips. You could hear the hum of satisfaction through Dahyun, her hand gripping Sana’s hairs between her legs, lightly grinding her cunt over her wet, hot mouth. 

“Right there, yeah, there we go.” How your cock stretches alongside the walls, spreading her apart. It’s always a real show to keep both eyes open on, no quarter of the inch left behind. Sana would be this tornado that swoops in places, taking people off their feet. In trade for that, she offers a grace with her person - a vibe that comes off as rich, tied to materialism, to be used as a personal fucktoy when the time is right, and that instance of ‘time’ happens to be legitimately, every time. 

You could take days to figure out how you managed to get in this position. It’ll only take you hours, minutes; hell, maybe even less than a few milliseconds to wrap your head around the fact of how full you make Sana with your cock, providing the same structure of strokes, slowly building up pace like with Dahyun a few minutes ago. 

“How’s he feeling, Sana? Does he fill you up well like he said that he would?” Dahyun finally says, hair curtaining the right side of her face while Sana’s eyes can only look up while her mouth works her pussy again. The gluttal sounds of moans and chokes and smacks of Sana’s lips on Dahyun’s other lips, the only thing that she can do while you’re splitting Sana apart, her also doing some small movements so that she could fuck herself back onto your cock. 

Dahyun pulls her hips up for Sana to speak, “Oh baby, it’s fucking me so deep. Want him - want daddy to fuck this pretty pussy–all for him.” 

“Is that something you can do…fuck her cunt the same way you fucked my cunt?” 

This takes a pause, flashing a gaze to Dahyun while you could feel the muscles flex in Sana’s legs and hips, driving yourself into her continuously, keeping a rhythm in check. The demand that’s being proposed doesn’t even register in your mind and Dahyun does this swift motion of doing a complete one-eighty of her hips, pressing her ass down onto Sana’s forehead, leaning over with a hand onto her waist while the other pulls your face in with her small fingers. You’ll have to pay attention, because her lips are quick to keep you from snapping out of Sana’s perfect pussy. 

“What are you asking me to–” 

“I want you–” one kiss to get you drunk from Dahyun, “to fuck her properly–” another kiss to keep focus, “until she cums–” nothing wrong with having a third kiss, “all over this perfect cock.” 

Your hand is quick to reach across for Dahyun’s breast, kneading it in a way that she knows that she’s still yours, her eyes flickering down to the sight of your cock sinking back into Sana’s blown cunt, floating a pair of fingers on the clit, watching as you tear her apart, not wanting to shy or look away herself. 

Sana’s quick to pull her face off of Dahyun’s ass, gasping for air before sweeping the flat of her tongue across her pussy once again, “So fucking perfect for me, daddy, please, don’t stop,” is what she says to you while you can see her legs go limp slightly from the sides. 

The creaks of your lofted bed frame are singing at the shift of movement between the bedsheets and pillows, pulling yourself (with Sana inside still) up to the edge, planting both of your knees when you bottom yourself a little bit more deeper. You notice the image of Sana’s face fucked out, how she’s blushing, twisting her head to the right with her eyes closed, Dahyun manages to stave off to the side, taking a momentary break while you carry on with teasing Sana’s swollen clit, getting a few whines, moving her head against the sheets in a brief tantrum. 

“Had enough yet?” you had the frame of asking, smiling alongside the line of Sana’s neck while the temporary angle of your cock just nudges that one spot you’ve managed to hit a couple times, the symphony of Sana’s little ‘oh’s’ when a small move of the hips just has Sana’s cunt clenching the head of your cock to send you gasping as well. 

“Stop - stop with the questions,” she huffs, body stiffening before the wave of relaxation when you’re leaving more pretty bruises along the drawn canvas of her middle, licking up the deserved sweat of your hard work that’s also staining the sheets, along with the soaking that’s between your legs and hers. 

You get a command, Sana looks up in a panic when Dahyun tells you to start fucking her harder, lifting the small of her back to get her horizontal with the mattress. 

The levels just only seem to go up higher than then; Sana’s eyes being pulled down and rolled back. She knows you’re hitting the right spot, because of how she’s lightly pulling her legs up, you doing most of the support when she’s drawing these hitches of air, shuddering all over your waist while you push her beyond that edge. Her head is doing this bobbing motion when you slide with that upstroke, and you could feel the drag of her nails digging into your forearms that would seem accidental in another circumstance. 

Dahyun plays spectator, catching her breath, hand toying between her thighs while you’re fucking the girl beneath you into a spilled puddle all over your lap. 

“Are you seriously getting off without my help?” you ask, effortlessly gliding into the folds of Sana’s cunt. “Touching yourself while your best friend is taking my cock, sweetie? God, look at her, she’s wrecked.” 

Sana pulls you in with little strength she has left, able to get her arms around your neck and shoulders, tightening that pull even more against you. 

“Want you to cum,” she pleads, “I want you to cum inside and just, fuck, you don’t–” It’s miserable, hopeless, the power you have to just do exactly that with the way both Dahyun and Sana are both moaning and panting and just straight up rubbing both of their swollen clits while the length of your cock is still drowning in one of them. 

It’s how you do these broad strokes, slowly, strategically, a technique that you’ve perfected over the amounts of times you’ve got yourself completely fucked over, balls tapping above the pucker of Sana’s ass when pulling yourself in from the top of her thighs, a holding point while doing the best punishment of teasing you could ever do for someone like her. 

(Calling Dahyun over: shut this bitch up for me, please?) 

It’ll do you numbers in which: you’re still fucking Sana insanely hard still, with Dahyun’s head hovering above the present action. 

Sana’s clutching on to Dahyun’s leg, pressing her eyes into the skin, not wanting to let this fantastic feeling ever end, muttering all of the lovely things that she’s told you before multiple times. You could see the tug on her lips, tilting your head at how familiar the look was because you’ve seen it the first few times at how she couldn’t believe that you’d feel this good inside her, to get her stomach transformed into ashes and have her seeing stars. Sana’s body is “Pandora’s box’ full of lust, just waiting to be opened until you’ll give her opulence of what she needs from you, to fill her up. 

“Fuck her through and through,” Dahyun orders with this hint of anger, “need to see her cum–” 

“Give me your mouth, princess,” retreating from Sana’s exhausted cunt and getting Dahyun’s mouth all over you, cleaning up the mess of Sana’s slick right off of your length, stomach dipping when her throat swallows almost the entire half. 

Your ears are zeroing in on the gags your wife is making on your cock, doing a double feature while her fingers are rubbing Sana’s clit to keep that ache, grasping a high ponytail with one hand, sucking away that will have you dreaming that the tension is almost tempting of spilling inside her throat right at that second. Dialing back with what little warning you have left, slipping back into the other hot warmth below her chin. 

Despite the numbness clouding your brain, the obscene sounds of hums and whines tie in perfect tandem while you’re gliding back into Sana’s cunt, alternating between the tender rings of muscles, stretching around your cock in a one-two step: Dahyun’s mouth sliding and slobbering down your length, teasing Sana with your cockhead in her cunt massaging the walls around that squeezing vice. 

You’re not at fault for when it happens: face red hot from within, the sound that rips through your vocal cords while your knees buck at the sensation of Sana’s ass bouncing back off the edge of the bed, and the small gyration of her hips when you’ve driven all the way to the hilt, she can sense it too.

Again, you’re not at fault for the way your cock pulsates that first second inside Sana’s sopping fuckhole, the first shots at the deepest pit where you could take it, twitching while you’re trying to save yourself from losing all of it from the first hold. Any second longer inside that lovely heat will have you rethinking your life choices up until this point. 

You pull out, fist tight around your cock when you could see the lower point of your tip, giving an act of generosity firing another shot of cum inside Sana, cock out in the air where Dahyun sees the opportunity to lean in, drinking in the remaining spill that–

Scratch that, it’s not remaining, because you’re cumming everywhere. 

There’s drops of white spilling from the front of her lower lips, pumping out the leaks on the flat of Sana’s stomach. Shit, you even managed to get a few globs on Dahyun’s cheek, even up to Sana’s right tit. It’s all fucked, you almost topple over on top the both of them, the arm serving as a last gasp foothold while the color drains from your face. 

Dahyun pushes you up with both of her hands, staring at you with the splotches of your release slowly sliding down alongside her cheek. She’s taken aback with the load, but what she does with it–

(Well, don’t be surprised. She’s the love of your life for god’s sake.) 

Two fingers skate off some of the cum off her profile, rubbing it on her lips. You draw yourself away while Dahyun helps Sana sit up on the bed, her hand quick to dip under her cunt where she picks up more of your cum that you’ve spilt inside. Sana catches on quick to lick off the cum off of Dahyun’s cheek, tongue sliding across the plane to swallow, the small ‘mms’ and audible smacks of lips colliding. Dahyun just laughs when she examines her palm, placing it underneath her mouth and Sana’s both of them licking the dribble up like two birds in a bath, washed over with sweat and slick and filthy and–

“So fucking gross,” Dahyun says, finger to the arch of Sana’s brow, wiping a wisp of hair off. “Like, are you gonna be so full of yourself–”

“Hey,” Sana tuts, “Don’t get all mad now that I’ve managed to push his buttons better than you.” She then slumps herself over Dahyun’s lap, hand massaging her waist while Dahyun leans back on her palms, crossing one leg up the edge to support her head. They both get secluded in their own little world, whispering these different sayings to each other with a soft smile at one, a scrunched nose to the other. 

You manage to slot yourself to the side, next to Dahyun, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, “I thought this wasn’t a competition over me.” 

The pair simply roll their eyes, Dahyun runs her fingers through Sana’s hair, unconsciously, affectionately. They’re still coming down from all the fucked out clarities while they simply - just - look. Being proven wrong wasn’t that much of a loss in itself; in fact, it was actually inviting when you’re giving them the same confused expression that has the brain questioning everything from the plain existence to whether or not this new reality was even sustainable amongst the three of you. 

“We could all agree to an accord together,” Sana says enthusiastically, “like distinguished human beings- or, something like that.” 

(I mean, there’s a blueprint to draw up for that extra room anyway, but you’ll get to that later.) 

–

It’s during one Saturday morning, when the plates and bowls of today’s breakfast are already in the sink, you have a single carry-on duffel bag in your hand, placed on the highest step of the stairs, taking in that crisp air through your nose. Everything comes to a gentle slope, the clouds are high up in the sky, meshed up together, shielding the landscape from the beaming sun, and the time hasn’t even hit noon yet. 

“I just don’t get it.” you beam, elbows on the railing while your eyes get caught up in a pair of blue jay’s gliding past the street, fascinated by the companionship of nature. Only to have your attention drawn to the awaiting car on the driveway, Dahyun’s personal chauffeur (and to this day you’re still wondering if that person even gets paid or not). “All of this trouble of having a vacation, get reeled back into working, have more time off than expected, but still decide to take up another work order again?” 

Dahyun steps out the doorway, slapping your arm, leaving your face with a small wince that you play off with dead eyes. “I could call Nayeon to put in a word for Momo. If you’re making such a big deal out of it, I might as well tell them myself that I wanted more time off than need be.” 

“You said that it was work related.” you tell her as the counterargument.

“But it’s not!” Sana bursts out, all smiles while you’re walking down the pathway with another bag in your hand onto the asphalt. “Such a buzzkill, as if you didn’t want the whole place to yourself to burn down. You spend wayyyy too much time up in your little office, so consider this to be punishment.” 

“Where did this come from?” you ask, flustered, with arms up trying to play the innocence card. 

Dahyun pulls Sana’s singular luggage from her hand and into the trunk of the car, the bag you were carrying also next to be put before a shut off of the compartment. “We’ve been planning this for sometime, and now we’ve decided to do it. Together.” She pulls up her own passport with an airline ticket shoved in between the pages. You could probably guess where they’re going, judging from the assortment of clothes that they’ve packed, it must be somewhere tropical, like Cancun or in the Bahamas, maybe even Malaysia was on the cards, but you take it with a grain of salt. 

“Is this supposed to be a besties trip that I didn’t even know about until now?” you ask the two girls standing behind the car, leaning back onto the glossy material of the paint job while your arms are bridged between your chest. “I’m also assuming that this is predetermined–” 

“Stop being so analytical.” Sana groans out, “You really have to think twice about what our summer plans were?” 

“Maybe he just needs a few conditions.” Dahyun adds on, nudging Sana’s shoulder to which her face suddenly lights up in excitement. “Besides, he’s really good at reading between the lines, like, you know, he has a good thing for body language - go ahead, test him, I’m sure that he’ll show off like he always does.” 

(It’s how you catch yourself shaking your head downwards to the Earth, hiding the grin that’s breaking on your face because Dahyun knows how well you observe your surroundings. She’s trying to play dumb at the fact that she went ahead to grab your duffel bag while getting the shower ready for yourself. You also notice that Dahyun’s driver got her roughly about ten minutes early to put your bag in the trunk and pretend that nothing ever happened. It’s cute when she gets sneaky and mischievous, because Sana will always buy into what she devises to get you stressed, a migraine pounding through the back of your head, taking it out when you have both of them moaning underneath or straddled on top of you.) 

So you say: “Are there any guarantees to this if I do what you ask?” 

Dahyun puts her passport out in front, shifting her thumb over to show yours underneath. You pretend to be shocked with lifted eyebrows, but you already have them figured out. 

“Honey,” Sana says, blinking with her teeth peering through her smile, “I can guarantee that you've got us both.” 

[anxious-lee]

|| These Moments That I Treasure || Arcane Tickle Fic

A/N: holy cow does this fandom need some fluff right now 😳. this takes place before season two, but other than that, it can pretty much be whenever you want. if for whatever reason, you don't like these kinds of fics and you stumbled onto this, SCROLL AWAY

Summary: During one of their quiet moments in the lab, Viktor learns something about Jayce

Lee: Jayce

Ler: Viktor

---

Sometimes all it takes is one touch. One sweep of skin on skin to dissolve all your worries. The throes of passion are nice too, but even they cannot replace the value of a simple, delicate touch.

Viktor and Jayce knew this truth better than most. In Viktor's condition, delicacy was crucial. Sometimes in between work sessions, they would prop themselves up on the table, and just hold each other. Playing with fingers, rubbing shoulders, combing through hair, it didn't matter. It was what kept each other grounded when the obstacles seemed too insurmountable; when the weight of living was too difficult to bear.

It was in one of these gentle moments, that Jayce let something slip.

Viktor was exploring the skin underneath Jayce's shirt, taking in every crevice and contour, when he felt his partner shift.

Then came a huff. "Be careful down there."

Viktor's concern was immediately piqued. He hadn't realized that there was a boundary there not to cross. If he had, he would have been much more careful. Jayce had told him about the sort of trouble he used to find himself in, and the memories that his body kept record of.

"You have scars here too?" Vik asked.

The fret in his partner's voice was laughable to Jayce. Absolutely laughable. But only because it was severely misplaced.

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm just..." He trailed off, smothering his sheepishness long enough to say, "... a little ticklish there."

A moment of relief. A moment of quiet. A moment of opportunity.

Viktor chuckled. "You shouldn't have told me that."

Before Jayce could process that threat, nimble fingers were dancing over his ribs like they were plucking a harp. It was electrifying. He was so unused to this feeling that he choked on his own laugh.

It was a sound of shock, but more importantly to Viktor, it wasn't a sound of discomfort.

Jayce tried to hold it in like a breath, but some part of him didn't want to. That part of himself just wanted to enjoy how ridiculous this all was and laugh about it. But alas, his pride was stronger, and so was his will to stay quiet.

Viktor wouldn't let him. He moved his hands down the front of his belly and around to the backs of his sides. Jayce's bubbling laughter was his reward.

"It's funny. I never thought to try this. Now you'll have to listen to me when I tell you to go to sleep at a decent hour."

"You're one to talk," came the giggly retort.

The devilish hands trailed higher, drawing higher chortles. Jayce was now folded in half like a mouse trap, flinching but not quite shifting away.

"I see I'm not the only one having fun," Viktor smirked.

"SHUHUT UHUP!"

Viktor couldn't contain a chuckle of his own. "Where else are you ticklish?"

The audacity to expect Jayce to reveal himself like that amused him. That was such a Viktor thing to do.

"I'm nohot telling yohohou that!"

"That's okay. You don't need to," he said simply.

Suddenly Viktor's hands abandoned their post under Jayce's arms, and instead latched themselves onto his thighs.

The shriek was incredible.

Jayce could do nothing but cling to his torturer's shoulders. He was so overcome with hysterical laughter that he couldn't see Viktor's smile, bigger and brighter than it had been all month.

"I love you like this" Viktor said.

"LIHIHIKE WHAT?" Jay wheezed.

"Glowing. Happy. Not thinking," Viktor would have had half a mind to be embarrassed of how sappy he sounded right now, if he wasn't so enamored with his partner's smile.

At the unexpected sincere words, Jayce looked up at Vik for the first time since this whole game began. He got a good look into the eyes of warmth and love that were reserved only for him. How he treasured those eyes.

Viktor hadn't realized he had stopped tickling. He also hadn't realized how close his lips were to Jayce's.

The gap between them closed, and whatever they were working on today was entirely forgotten. Nothing in this dusty laboratory could replace the value of a loving, delicate touch.

---

i really need this after yesterday's episodes 😭

[chloessleepystories]

Rabbit Hole

Based on a true story

Zoe was slumped down in the back row of the classroom, scrolling through Tumblr on her phone instead of paying attention to the teacher. Like usual.

Oh, here’s a sexy picture to share. Here’s a gif to attach a few lines of dialogue to… She liked teasing the boys (and girls) online, and they liked teasing her. Especially when she was in class and couldn’t do anything about her rising horniness.

Oooh, a hypno story, her favorite. She checked that the teacher was droning on, and not looking her direction, and started reading. Just a couple paragraphs in, she knew it was a good one. She reblogged it to finish reading later, and to share it with her followers (her many, many followers… how had that happened?) and kept scrolling. Ooh! A spiral! Don’t get distracted… But uunnnfff, so easy to get distracted… to get drawn in…

She shook herself, sharing the spiral with a drooling smiley face, and moved on.

“I’m a little concerned, looking at your last batch of papers, that so many of you got to college without apparently learning how to punctuate a simple compound sentence, much less to fill it with original thoughts…” Miss Thompson was saying.

Zoe squeezed her thighs together, feeling the arousal spread through her body. She looked around. Nobody looking. Good. She knew she should be listening, should be taking notes, but all she could think about was her needy pussy.

The constant alerts from her phone kept drawing her back to the glowing rectangle in her hand. BUZZ. Another favorite blog had just shared something, Tumblr wanted her to know. BUZZ. Someone was tagging her in a pic of one of her favorite porn stars. BUZZ… 

She was powerless. She had to look, every time the phone buzzed. Every time Tumblr fed her more. She didn’t used to be like this, did she? She used to have, like, an attention span and stuff? Could leave her phone alone for a few hours? Now she was addicted… like she had conditioned herself to salivate at the buzzer. 

Or been conditioned, came a whisper. 

Been brainwashed. 

Cuntwashed.

Drippy cunt. Salivating pussy…

BUZZ. 

Ooh! a hot little gif that someone wanted her to see – “wanna ride me like this?” he asked, adding Zoe’s handle. Where was the teacher? Zoe knew she should scan for Miss Thompson again, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

BUZZ BUZZ. Three more guys wanting to talk to her privately. She was already keeping four conversations going…

This one, for instance, was telling her, in detail, what he would be doing to her if they were in a hotel room together right now. She was giving as well as she was getting, egging him on, hoping he was stroking to her words the way she wished she could be rubbing to his. This one was begging her to punish him, and reveling in her attempts to be domineering. And this one… oh, this one kept sending spirals, and inductive texts, drawing her ever downward (or trying to), making her sleepy, making her horny… making her a mindnumbed cockslave…

She tapped the little pencil symbol to make a public post.

“You guys are making me so horny!!!” she typed.

I’m supposed to be paying attention to the teacher right now but my tumblr feed is full of porn and 3 of you fuckers are having hot conversations with me trying to make me horny and IT’S FUCKING WORKING I’m sure my neighbors can smell me I’m so turned on I can feel how drippy I am goddammit I need to stroke I’m not gonna make it

That was a mistake, of course. As she knew it would be. The sharks smelled blood in the water, and circled.

“Just keep watching little slave. Soon you’ll be my little cock hungry whore”

“It’s just so nice to be able to turn off your brain for a while, ya know? Join me?”

“And when I say “horny bunny” you’ll have a powerful urge…”

“Mmm damn what a view! Your nice tight pussy wrapped around my cock feels so damn good. I’m going to enjoy fucking you hard, bottoming out hitting your womb”

“…And then one day you wake up and you’re an empty headed pink bimbo, with no thoughts in your dumb bimbo head but getting bigger tits and pleasing your Mistress’s pussy…”

Another public post:

Ogod now ur all piling on cumming our of the woodwork why csnt i turn off this app why do i keep lookin im not gonna make it im such a dumb hotny cow 

Sent.

And back to messaging, the words pummeling her brain –

Blank. Obedient. Responsive. Counting from 10. Letting your mind slide away. Relaxed. Empty. No thoughts. 8. Letting go….

Then, even before she could register the shadow over her desk, a hand snatched the phone from her fingers.

“You know the rules about phones in my class, Zoe,” said Miss Thompson. Zoe made a choked whimper, her fingers mindlessly twitching after the phone.

“You can get it back later. If you’re good.”

If you’re good. If you’re a good girl. Good girls obey.

Zoe whimpered again, as Miss Thompson walked away. She was going to have to sprint to the ladies’ room when class was over. The phone would have to wait. Her clit was throbbing… and she needed to obey.

*****

Later, after everyone had filed out, Miss Thompson carefully and (BUZZ) meticulously wiped clean the blackboard. She liked the board to be as neat (BUZZ) and tidy as her desk.

(BUZZ)

What on earth was – Oh. Right. That girl’s phone was still on the desk. Vibrating away, for some unknown reason.

She sat down and picked it up, turning it on. Silly child didn’t seem to have a lock on the –

A rainbow of porn leapt out of the screen and slapped Miss Thompson about the face.

Cocks going into young women’s mouths. A girl’s tongue on a pussy. “Zoe, are you still there?” Breasts, so many breasts. “Zoe, girl, look how hard you made me…” A maelstrom of dark and light flesh that she couldn’t make sense of for a moment, until she saw the caption “gangbanged fuckslut made airtight with BBC”… which, to be frank, didn’t ENTIRELY explain the picture to Miss Thompson, but it let her figure out what some of the shapes were…

Horrified, repulsed, Miss Thompson started scrolling. And couldn’t stop scrolling. Stories of incest and bondage. Lewd photos and gifs, scenes of decadence and degradation. She shook her head, her mouth open, but she couldn’t stop…

And the hypnosis. Over and over in the girl’s feed, the hypnosis! Glassy eyed girls with drooping mouths, baring their breasts… Women with spirals in their eyes, and cocks in their mouths… Flashing gifs with pictures and words, too fast to follow, telling her how she should be, how she must be, how she knew she already was, if she would just admit it to herself… Inductions, and fantasies, and more spirals, and submissive, drooling women, eager to serve cock, to serve pussy, to become slaves to their own needy cunts…

Miss Thompson hadn’t noticed how hard her nipples had gotten. She hadn’t noticed how wet her own cunt was, until she found herself dipping in a finger… She bucked against her hand, but didn’t stop stroking… just kept scrolling… 

Someone calling himself Master of Mystery – except with some of the letters replaced by numbers – BUZZed into a private message. “Getting pretty horny, Zoe? Pretty needy and desperate?”

“No,” she found herself typing. “I mean, no, I’m – I’m not… No.”

“Oh, you certainly sounded pretty desperate to me. You sounded like a little slut who needed permission to cum… A naughty fucktoy who can’t stop touching her princess parts even though she’s not supposed to…”

Miss Thompson bit her lip and with an effort pulled her hand away from her pussy. “I’m not Zoe. I am Miss Thompson, her teacher,” she typed.

She tried to pull herself together.

“And you should keep a civil tongue in your head, young man.”

“Ohhh! Naughty, naughty, teacher… Are you looking through a confiscated phone? And getting TURNED ON by someone else’s Tumblr porn? You are, aren’t you… Go ahead, you can admit it…”

“i” she typed and sent by mistake.

She cursed.

“I will do no such thing. I am… I am putting the phone down now.”

“No you’re not.”

She hesitated. He seemed so sure. She waited, panting.

“You won’t, because you would have already without saying anything. You would have before you got so horny scrolling through her feed.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Because you are horny, aren’t you? All pent-up, tied up in knots…”

“Yes, yes, I am, OK, but there’s nothing wrong with that”

“No, not at all. Tell you what. You seem tense. Let me help you relax. Can we do that?”

“Um”

“Just focus on your shoulders for a second. Feel how tight they are? Tighten them up even more, just for a second. Take a deep breath in. And then let it out, and as you do, feel all the tension go out of your shoulders…”

“what”

“Sshh shh you don’t have to say anything just listen. I’m going to count, and with each number you’re going to release a little tension, and it’s going to turn into warmth… warmth spreading through your body… 

“And then maybe we’ll look at a spiral together for a while… You’ll like that…”

*****

Zoe was feeling SO much better – though her legs were still a little wobbly – as she walked toward the classroom door. She couldn’t believe she’d left her phone behind! She hoped she could get it back quietly, without much fuss. There didn’t seem to be a class in there now. Maybe she could just slip in and grab it?

She eased the door open gently… and then almost dropped her backpack in surprise.

Miss Thompson was sprawled, nearly nude, in her wooden rolling chair! Her skirt was bunched around her middle, panties on the floor, white blouse and bra tangled on her desk. Most surprising of all, one hand was operating Zoe’s phone, and the other hand was operating Miss Thompson’s bushy cunt!

She stepped closer, sliding the backpack gently to the floor. The teacher’s breathing was ragged, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glassy… and sure enough, Zoe could see a spiral on the glowing screen. She tiptoed close enough to read over her shoulder.

You want to watch

To let the spiral suck you in

To let my spiral suck away all resistance

You want to become mindless for me, because it feels so good to stop thinking

Each word you read will bring you pleasure, and each second you spend watching will make you sink deeper and deeper, until you can’t help but obey…

She reached around her teacher’s body, and cupped both breasts at once.

Miss Thompson gasped, and then relaxed with a moan as Zoe began kneading her nipples.

“How are you doing, miss?” she whispered.

“Can’t… Can’t cum. Need to… but don’t… don’t have permission…”

“Mmmm.” Zoe tweaked her nipples, massaging her surprisingly full and warm tits. “I know it’s a lot to handle if you’re not used to it. I’ve been sliding into this rabbit hole a bit at a time for months, so I’ve built up a liiiittle bit of an immunity.” Partially true, anyway. “But my feed and my followers must have hit you like a ton of bricks.” 

Zoe giggled to herself, as her teacher panted.

“Who are you talking to,” Zoe murmured.

“M-Master of Mystery,” Miss Thompson gasped, her back arching.

Ah yes, thought Zoe. Also known as Kevin.

“Tell him I’m here. And ask him what I should do to you.”

“Master…” Miss Thompson typed, and after a moment, responded.

“He says to get on your knees and lick my s-slutty, juicy c… cunt.”

Zoe smiled. “That’s what I was hoping he was going to say,” she murmured as she knelt.

After all, she thought. Good girls obey.

[teapartyprincess4two]

Full Set is too damn good you write it sooo well. like I actually NEED more matt stories from you 🙏

Small Town Dreaming- M. Sturniolo

pairing: neighbor!reader x bestfriend!Matt

classification: fluff, best friends to lovers (kinda)

warnings: use of y/n, slow build up, small town au

summary: There’s not much to do in this small town but fall in love.

—

Your small town has been boring for as long as you can remember. The town was so small you could probably run down every street in less than an hour. There was one movie theater that played reruns of movies no one cared about, a bowling alley with 4 bowling balls in total, a park with a wooden termite infested playground, and a library with books so old they had mold. Everyone either had a flock of chickens or a herd of sheep, spending their free time tending to the livestock.

One of your favorite pastimes was to sneak up onto the old water tower and just people watch, occasionally pulling out your sketchbook to draw the familiar faces that passed by. No one ever left this town, it always seemed to suck people right back in and keep them here forever. So many people have tried leaving, packing their bags and driving down the main dirt road to freedom. For some reason or another they always turned back though, throwing their dreams out the window on the way.

“One day I’m moving to LA with my brothers,” Matt sighs dreamily, the both of you laying on the trunk of his car as you watch the stars. Without dreams this small, boring town would crush everyone’s spirits. “That’s a good idea,” you say, squinting your eyes as you pretend to squish the stars between your fingers. They looked like fireflies dancing in the sky.

You had a lot of dreams too, most of them involving running away and never turning back, but none of your dreams were written in stone yet. For some reason you felt like you’d end up like many others, too involved in your daily life to ever do something big. You’ve seen it happen to a lot people, your mom included. She was full of dreams and aspirations, but as soon as she got married and started having children it just felt easier to stay.

“What about you?” Matt asks, turning his head to look at you. “What about me?” You say in a teasing tone, hopping off the hood of the car. You were never the type to sit still, plus you didn’t have a definite answer to Matt’s question yet. “What are your dreams?” he asks again, formulating the question in a way that was much easier to answer. It was simple, you wanted to leave, but you were too scared to say it out loud. You felt like if you vocalized it, it wouldn’t come true. Maybe you’d follow Matt and his brothers, you didn’t know yet, but you didn’t want to stay here for the rest of your life.

You take a while to respond so he interjects again jokingly, “or are you staying here forever?” The idea of staying here forever was actually terrifying, but you’re only a junior in high school so it’s easy to push the thought to the back of your mind. “I am NOT staying here forever,” you reply, shivering at the idea of this town becoming your finally destination. “I won’t end up like my mom,” you whispered, shaking your head as you looked at the ground. Matt stays silent as he hops off the hood of the car, walking over to you and hugging you. “It’s okay. You can just come with me and my brothers,” he whispers against your hair as he rubs comforting circles into your back.

The sentiment was nice and it made you smile. “That could be fun,” you murmured, dreaming about a life that seemed so far away.

—

You’re 21 years old now and that conversation feels like a lifetime ago. You’re currently in the kitchen helping your mom prepare lunch for your dad and brothers. “Make sure you don’t cut the tomatoes too thick,” she instructs as she expertly cuts onions beside you. Over the years she managed to refine her kitchen skills, the onions having no affect on her whatsoever. You, on the other hand, are wiping away the involuntary tears with the back of your hand.

“I know how to cut tomatoes,” you reply, squinting so you can see through the tears. Her eyes are trained on you as she piles the onions into the pan. They sizzle loudly, steam rising from the hot pan. Sometimes you wonder why you even bothered helping her if she was going to be so bossy. “Then why are they so thick?” She retorts, grabbing one of the tomato slices from your cutting board and wiggling it around in her fingers. You laugh as you watch the tomato dance back in forth, “fine you do it then.”

She doesn’t second guess it, instead she grabs the knife from you and swiftly cuts the rest of the tomatoes. She’s done before you can even look away. You walk over to the sink to wash your hands before replying, “no one is gonna die from a thick tomato slice.” She sends you a glare as she grabs the cutting board and slides the tomatoes into the pan. “No, but you need to know how to do this stuff for when you get married. No one is gonna wanna marry a girl who can’t cook,” she responds with a tsk, mixing the vegetables in the pan so they become sautéed.

You don’t say anything, you just watch as she tastes a now translucent onion, checking the flavor. “Needs some garlic,” she mumbles, moving towards the cupboard to grab the seasoning. Talking about marriage and relationships with your mom was always awkward because she always found a way to push your buttons. “Speaking of marriage,” she says again, turning the stove off. Now she’s completely facing you, cleaning her hands on a kitchen towel as she continues, “what ever happened to that Matt boy you always used to hang out with?”

You groaned, she brought Matt up at least once a month. “I haven’t talked to Matt since high school, mom,” you reply, rolling your eyes at her inability to remember details you repeatedly told her. She nods her head almost like it’s the first time she’s hearing this as she whispers, “that’s a shame.” The last thing you want to talk about is an old friend who actually managed to leave this town behind, so you decide to wash the dishes in the sink to avoid any further conversation. Hopefully the sound of the running water would drown out your mom’s voice.

You let the hot water run over your hands as you reminisce over all your memories with Matt. There was homecoming, football games, prom night, nights at the bowling alley, sneaking into the theater for popcorn, and of course stargazing. A small smile adorns your face at the memories, you cherished those moments despite them feeling like forever ago.

“He would’ve been a good husband,” your mom says casually, dumping any remaining dirty dishes in the sink before walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

She was right, he would’ve made a perfect husband.

—

“I’ll be back!” You call out to your mom as you tug your shoes on and grab your coat from the couch. November was always chilly, especially in a town like yours where there were no large buildings to block the wind. That wouldn’t stop you from sneaking up onto the old tower, instead it actually excited you. The rush of being so high up was the most exhilarating thing this town had to offer.

“Where are you going?” She calls back, peering her head into the living room from the kitchen. “I’m just gonna go hang out with a friend,” you comment, not wanting to admit your true destination. She always scolded you when you told her you were going to the water tower, claiming it was dangerous and reckless. “You better not be climbing that old tower,” she gave you a stern look before returning to her cooking.

You roll your eyes, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. If you weren’t allowed to do one dangerous and reckless thing, you’d go absolutely insane in this town. “Bye,” you finally say, dismissing yourself in a sing song tone as you walk out the front door.

The walk is short, the only hard part of your journey being the climb up the ladder. It creaks with every step, the rusty metal leaving your hands orange. Finally you arrive at the top, plopping your bag on the metal floor. You carefully take a seat, making yourself comfortable enough to begin people watching. Your legs swing back and forth as you look toward the ground, you were really high up.

People pass by, most of them by foot and you rest against the metal railing as you watch them. All these people were stuck doing mundane things like carrying their groceries home or walking to a friend’s house. So many familiar faces spark your creativity causing you to pull your sketchbook from your bag to begin drawing.

You see your brothers in the distance playing soccer on an old dirt road and you decide they’ll make the perfect warm-up sketch. So, you work diligently to replicate the figures in the distance, trying to capture their motions. The sketch is coming out good, but your pencil suddenly snaps, interrupting the flow you’d created. “Stupid cheap pencil,” you mumble to yourself, resting it in the crack of the sketch book that lays on your lap. You dig through your bag in search of a sharpener, finding it tucked between an old gum wrapper and a candy bar.

Just as you’re about to turn back to your sketchbook, the wind aggressively blows it off your lap. “No, no, no,” you yelp, trying to catch the book before it can slip away. One arm grabs a hold of the railing as the other reaches for the book that’s too far gone. You groan in annoyance, shoving the sharpener back into your bag and getting up slowly so you can make your way down and get your book.

“Ow! What the fuck?” someone exclaims from below, your book hitting them right on the head. ‘Great,’ you think, quickly slinging your bag over your shoulder and climbing down the stairs. Of course your book managed to hit one of the 200 people who populated this town. “I’m so sorry. I was drawing and then the stupid wind-“ you begin to apologize, climbing down the ladder as quickly as possible. You’re interrupted though, “Y/n?!” Everyone in your town knew everyone, who the hell was actually confused to see you?

“Yeah?” you reply, hopping off the ladder and turning towards the voice. Immediately your eyes go wide at the person in front of you. After 3 years of not seeing him, Matt stood right in front of you holding your sketchbook. He looked so much older than the last time you’d seen him. Small stubble scattered across his jaw, his arms adorned with tattoos, and he held a much more modernized look. “Matt?!” you ask in shock, rushing towards him excitedly. Seeing him after so long felt like a breath of fresh air.

“Oh my God! You look so different!” He exclaims, he’s equally as excited to see you. When you both were in high school you were inseparable. Sometimes you’d let your mind wander and dream about a life where the two of you were married, but that was then and this is now. “That’s what 3 years will do,” you chuckled, taking your sketchbook from him and putting it in your back. “Has it really been that long?” he asks, his eyes examining everything about you.

Since the last time he saw you, you’ve grown a little taller and your hair is much longer. You’ve got a woman-like essence about you that you didn’t have before, he’s sure that every guy in town is fighting for a chance with you. Last time he checked, you were the only girl worth looking at, let alone fighting for.

“Yes, dude! Where have you been?” you punch his arm playfully, earning a slight push from Matt. It felt like he never left, you two picked up exactly where you left off. “Chris, Nick, and I have been in L.A,” he responds, the two of you beginning to subconsciously walk away from the water tower. A gust of wind blows past you two causing you to pull your coat tightly around you.

“Aw, Chris and Nick! I haven’t seen them in so long,” you reply longingly, reminiscing briefly on all your memories with the other two. “Yeah we’re here visiting our parents for Thanksgiving. We should all hang out one day,” he says, the word ‘visiting’ leaving a bad taste in your mouth. It was a gentle reminder that they actually escaped this place and only came back as a favor to their parents while you were stuck here indefinitely.

“Yeah that could be fun,” you say halfheartedly. “Are you visiting too?” he asks, genuine curiosity leading him to push further into your personal life. You gulp, becoming scared to admit the truth to Matt. “Ugh no, not really,” you respond vaguely. “Oh, are you leaving soon?” he asks again, unable to stop himself from prying. He can’t help it, he hasn’t seen you in a long time and he’s curious. The two of you are now outside your house, the walk coming as second nature from all your walks home from school. “I never left,” you admit, an awkward cough following the sad statement.

Matt doesn’t know what to say, he finds it hard to believe that a girl like you never found her way out of this place. The only reason beautiful girls like you got stuck in this town was because of marriage, but Matt shook the thought from his head.

“It’s getting cold,” you say as you look back towards your house, breaking the silence that settled between you two. As excited as you were to see Matt, you needed to escape this awkward situation immediately. The wind was howling dramatically, shaking the surrounding trees and picking up the dirt from the roads. “Oh. Um, yeah. I’ll let you go. We’ll catch up another time, yeah?” he says sheepishly, feeling bad for embarrassing you. You hum in response, waving slightly at him before turning on your heel and hurriedly making your way inside.

“Was that Matt?” your mom asks enthusiastically as soon as you walk inside, leaning against the couch so she can get a better look out the window. Had she been watching the whole time? “Invite him inside!” she exclaims, not even giving you time to answer her previous question. “No, mom! He’s busy!” you lie, coming up with an excuse on the spot and watching from the window as Matt walks home.

“That boy is NOT busy. Marylou told me her boys were visiting,” she replies, rolling her eyes at your lame excuse of a lie. If she knew the triplets were in town, why did she ask if that was Matt? She clearly wanted to catch you flustered and annoyed. “Well he doesn’t want to come in,” you retort, shrugging your coat off and kicking your shoes off.

“You are never getting married, are you?” she asks sarcastically, giving you a blank look before disappearing into the kitchen.

—

Matt was home in a good 15 minutes, walking in to his house to find his brothers on the couch awaiting his arrival. “Did you bring it?” Chris asked, leaning against the backrest of the couch to look at Matt. Matt shrugs off his coat and kicks his shoes off, wondering what the hell Chris is on about. “Did I bring what?” Matt asks in confusion, walking over to the couch and sitting beside Chris.

Chris was now squished in between his two brothers, all three of them watching a random movie to pass the time. They had to resort to the old VCR their mom had because their phones didn’t get any service out in the country. Neither of them wanted to go through the hassle or rewinding the movies, so they were currently halfway through one without any context. It was hard to readjust to a slow paced lifestyle after being in L.A for so long and they couldn’t find anything to do. So, they sent Matt out in search of fireworks, but of course he got distracted along the way and came back empty handed.

“The fireworks, dumbass,” Nick chimes in, facepalming at Matt’s failure to complete the easiest task ever. “Oh, yeah, no. I couldn’t find any,” he lied, still thinking about his encounter with you. When your sketchbook fell on him, he flipped through a few pages and recognized so many of the people in the drawings. Some of the earlier pages were even filled with drawings of him and his brothers.

“Bullshit! We saw them yesterday at the corner store!” Chris shouts, getting up from the couch to go find the fireworks himself. “If I find even ONE firework, I’m beating your ass,” Chris says, pointing a menacing finger at Matt before slipping his shoes on and walking out the door, coat in hand. “Did you go to the right store?” Nick asks, watching mindlessly as the characters on screen converse. He has no idea what the plot of this movie even is.

“Well I tried, but I sort of got distracted,” Matt admits, shifting uncomfortable in the couch. He grabbed a pillow from beside him, hugging it closely to him. “How could you possibly get distracted? The store is 5 minutes from here!” Nick exclaims, looking suspiciously at his brother. Nick knew Matt was hiding something.

“I ran into an old friend,” Matt shrugged, sinking further into the couch and holding the pillow even closer to him. He knew that if he admitted to running into you, he’d never hear the end of it. He’d be bombarded with questions about you, how you’re doing, why he didn’t invite you over. Nick is looking at Matt expectantly, wanting him to spill the details on which ‘old friend’ he ran into, but Matt’s gaze is focused on the tv in front of him.

“Matt!” Nick says dramatically, pushing his brother by the shoulder to grab his attention. “Which friend?!” He finally asks once he’s successfully grabbed Matt’s attention. Matt debates whether or not he should just admit he ran into you, but before he can say anything he’s interrupted by Chris arriving from the store.

Throughout this entire conversation, Chris had managed to successfully find the fireworks and even ran into you on his way back home. You were reluctantly running an errand for your mom, but of course got distracted by Chris. He asked about you, inquiring about your personal life just like Matt had, and then insisted you come over. He said something along the lines of, “Nick and Matt would love to see you! Matt especially.” Chris was completely unaware of your encounter with Matt earlier that day, so in his mind this would be your first time seeing each other after years. So, as to not seem rude, you abandoned your errand and followed Chris to his house. He was carrying so many fireworks that he dropped a few along the way, but luckily you were there to pick them up.

“Guess who I brought?” Chris says dramatically in a sing-song tone, dropping all the fireworks at the front entrance. Nick and Matt look towards the front door, Matt’s mouth going agape slightly at the sight of you and Nick immediately jumping up from the couch. “Y/n?!” Nick exclaims, running over to you excitedly and embracing you in a hug. This was very uncommon for Nick, seeing as he wasn’t usually a hugger, but he hadn’t seen you in so long that he made an exception. “Hi Nick,” you greet awkwardly as he smothers you in his arms, hands still full of fireworks.

“Oh my God, girl. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in so long,” Nick let’s go of you, holding you by your arms so he can get a good look at you. He noticed all the same things as Matt and Chris, you looked like a woman. “Here,” you admit with a shrug, not embarrassed to admit it anymore. You’ve already gone through this round of questioning twice at this point with both Matt and Chris. “Oh,” he mumbles awkwardly, offering you an equally as awkward smile.

Matt was still watching in shock, what a coincidence that he ran into you earlier today and now you’re in his house. Well, in retrospect, the town is so small that you probably would’ve ended up here anyway. “How has life here been?” Nick asks again doing air quotes around ‘here’ before taking the fireworks from you and dumping them where Chris had dumped the rest. “It’s.. been” you laugh, rocking back and forth on your feet awkwardly.

Nick nods, deciding he’s had enough awkwardness for one day. “Wanna pop some fireworks with us?” he asks, hoping you’ll just say yes and break the awkward tension. You look between him and Matt, wondering if this was the right decision. Matt’s smiling at you, he wants you to say yes so bad. “Sure, why not,” you reply with a shrug, deciding this will be the most fun you’ve had in a while.

Chris appears from the kitchen, lighter in hand. He’s pretending to use it as flame thrower, waving it from side to side dramatically. “Get ready to burn!” He says evily, earning a laugh from the rest of you.

—

The fireworks left long sparks of color in the sky, the booming sound resonating throughout the entire town. It’s dark now and the wind has calmed down considerably, making it the perfect time for childish shenanigans. You and Matt were sat on a pair of lawn chairs, watching as Nick and Chris lit up firework after firework. They would light one, place it carefully on the ground, and then scurry away like excited children.

Matt is staring at the sky, mesmerized at the colorful sparks that flew by. The stars were faint, the light and smoke from the fireworks dulling their luminosity. You also watched the colorful explosions, but you held your fingers out in front of you to squish the stars. You created a game out of it, trying to squish the stars before the colorful sparks reached them.

Matt noticed this and chuckled slightly, reminiscing on the old habit you never seemed to let go. Upon hearing his laughter, you turn your attention to him quickly in confusion. “What?” you ask with a small pout. He smiles sincerely at you, examining your beautiful face as the colorful light from above decorated your face. The strobing lights seemed to only further accentuate your features.

In this moment Matt felt 18 again. He felt like he was seeing you for the first time and realizing he had a crush on you. “Nothing, you just always used to do that,” he replies sheepishly, pointing towards your hands briefly. It was a habit you never realized you had, you mostly did it to pass the time. You don’t say anything, but the silence isn’t awkward. You just smile at Matt before returning to your make-shift game, occupying your mind the only way you knew how.

You felt so comfortable right now. It felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be. It felt like old times, just you and your friends enjoying each other’s company. With each star you squish, you remember all your late nights under the stars with Matt. All the meaningful conversations and deep secrets you two exchanged, both of you becoming closer and closer each time. You always thought you’d end up following them and leaving this town, but life had other plans for you. Sometimes you even wondered what would’ve happened if you had confessed your feeling for Matt, would you two be married by now? It feels so wrong to think about, because you know that if you would’ve confessed he would’ve stayed and never fulfilled any of his dreams. He, like you, would’ve been stuck here.

Matt, on the other hand, can’t stop himself from smiling as he takes in more of your features. You looked so different, yet exactly the same. He still doesn’t understand why such a beautiful girl like you would stay in such a boring place like this. Of course he wondered if you were married, it was a common custom in your town for girls to get married young. Plus there was no a shortage of men waiting for the right moment to ask you on a date. Matt remembers it all too well, you’d always reject potential suitors in favor of spending time with him. He never understood why, but he always found himself feeling relieved when you did that. Maybe he internally wished you two would’ve started dating, but he never gained the courage to confess. He shook the thought of you being married out of his head, trying to focus on all the positive things tonight has to offer instead.

“Matt! Y/n! These are the last ones, come light one!” Chris calls out, waving the remaining fireworks in front of him, enticing you two to join in on the fun. The two of you are pulled from your thoughts, looking at Chris with smiles. Matt jumps up from his seat, jogging towards Chris and grabbing ahold of one of the fireworks. You get up a lot slower, taking in the moment in front of you. You really missed this.

“Girl! Hurry!” Nick rushes you, becoming impatient with your leisurely pace. You smile again, picking up the pace and grabbing a firework. “Ready?!” Chris asks excitedly, lighting everyone’s firework. You nod, excitement and adrenaline filling your body. As soon as he lights the fuse, you each place the fireworks carefully on the ground and run away in the opposite direction.

Lighting the fireworks was so much more exhilarating than just watching, your heart pumping rapidly as you try catching your breath. You’re standing next to Matt who wraps his arm around your shoulders and pulls you into his side, both of you looking up to watch the colorful explosion in the sky.

—

You don’t see the triplets again until a few days later, too busy helping your dad with the yard work to go anywhere. “Why can’t one of them help you?” You groan, looking at your brothers playing soccer in the field across the street. You always got stuck doing chores with your mom or dad while they got to have fun. “Can’t trust those guys to remember their own names, let alone help me,” your dad replies with a grunt, picking up two heavy buckets of water. You do the same, following behind him as he walks towards the pig enclosure.

It was so sunny today that you felt like you were melting. You were sweating underneath your overalls and the boots you were wearing were starting to rub against your ankles. “Fill that tank over there,” your dad instructs with a tilt of his chin, pointing in the direction he wanted you to go. You missed the tank as you tried pouring the water, some of it falling on the ground and creating mud. Your boots sank into the mud slightly causing you to groan in annoyance again. The pigs were oinking and squealing, almost like they were taunting you.

“Stupid fucking mud. Stupid dumbass pigs,” you grumbled, picking the other bucket up and dumping its remnants into the tank. “Language,” your dad warns sternly, only causing you to roll your eyes. He’s definitely said worse than fuck. You wipe the sweat from your forehead, adjusting your overalls in the process. “Are we almost done? It’s so hot,” you ask your dad, hoping he’ll have mercy on you and let you go inside. He doesn’t. “We still gotta shovel along the back to build that fence your mom asked for,” he informs you with no intention of letting you go early. You groan again, of course your mom wanted a fence. All you could do was prepare yourself for the long work day ahead.

-

Your arms feel like jelly, each pile of dirt you shovel sending you further into exhaustion. The sun was not letting up either, beaming brightly on the two of you. Your overalls were covered in dirt and your sweat mixed with the debris creating a gross mess all over your face and arms.

“You guys almost done?” Your mom asks as she walks over to you two. She’s holding a glass of water in each hand, working carefully not to spill any of it. The two of you stop digging and you’re silently thanking God for the small break. “We still have about 6 feet left that way and another 3 left this way,” your dad says, grabbing a glass of water and taking a few sips. Of course your side was missing the 6 feet, you were a much slower digger than your dad. You down the whole drink in one go, finally quenching your thirst after a hard days work.

“Well do you guys think you could wrap it up? We’ve got a visitor,” she says casually, taking the glasses back as she makes her way inside again. She was not going to stand in the hot sun for a second longer than necessary. ‘Visitor?!?’ you think, as you look down at your dirty overalls and muddy boots. If that’s how dirty your clothes were, you couldn’t even begin to imagine how dirty you were. “We’ll finish up tomorrow after breakfast, shouldn’t take us more than an hour,” your dad says, slapping your back as he follows behind your mom.

You jog behind him, trying to catch a glimpse of the visitors through the window. You can’t see anyone yet, so you just decide it’s probably one of your mom’s friends. If they saw you this messy it wouldn’t even matter. Both of you make your way inside, stomping the mud off on the grass before walking in.

“Y/n! Say hello to your friend, don’t be rude,” your mom immediately says once you walk in, referring to people waiting in the living room. Your mom considered everyone your friend, so you still weren’t too worried. “I’m going,” you call back, slowly walking over to the living room just in case it was someone you didn’t really know. If it was someone you didn’t know, you’d be able to excuse yourself with the excuse that you’re dirty or tired.

“Hi,” you greet plainly, peeking your head into the living room and waving at the unexpected company. “Hi,” Matt greets awkwardly, taking in your dirty appearance. You freeze at the sight of him, why didn’t your mom mention HE was the visitor? That was literally one of, if not the, most important detail of this story. “Excuse her, she’s been helping me out in the yard,” your dad chimes in, wiping his hands on an old kitchen towel before reaching a hand out towards Matt. “It’s nice to see you again, son,” your dad says, taking Matt’s hand into a firm handshake.

“It’s nice to see you too, sir,” Matt responds, getting up from the couch to properly greet your dad. He felt like he was your boyfriend, meeting your disapproving father for the first time. Your dad nods and exits the room, not interested in conversation. All he wanted was a cold shower and honestly that’s all you wanted too.

“I can come back another time?” Matt suggests, realizing he came unannounced and seemingly at a bad time “Nonsense! Y/n’s got time to chat, don’t you sweetheart?” Your mom interjects, listening to the whole interaction from the kitchen. She was whipping up a snack for you two in hopes that Matt would stay longer. She really liked Matt.

“Uh yeah, I got time,” you answered, too embarrassed to admit that you wanted him to leave so you could shower. “I can wait. If you wanna go get changed?” he says, sitting back down on the couch. You want to get on your knees and praise this man for being so considerate, but instead you give him a thumbs up and run to shower and change.

—

After freshening up you return to the living room where Matt is now talking with your mom. She made him a grilled cheese and cut up some strawberries for him, she even sprinkled sugar on them to make them extra sweet. They’re deep in conversation so you wait by the door to listen. “So, Matt, when are you planning to ask my daughter out?” your mom asks casually, unaware of the weight of her words. This sentence alone almost made you enter the room dancing just to have an excuse to shut her up.

“I’m sorry?” he asks, gulping nervously. “You heard me,” she replies, plopping a strawberry in her mouth and looking at him expectantly. “Oh- I- I thought y/n was married?” He says, unsure of what he’s even saying. Matt feels so awkward, he just takes another bite of the greasy cheese toast on his plate to give him an excuse not to talk.

When your mom hears this she laughs loudly, clearly amused with Matt’s assumption, “I wish!” Matt’s caught a little off guard by this comment, were you not married? Or at least spoken for? You wanted to slap your hand over your mom’s mouth before she said anything too embarrassing, but you decide to see where this conversation is going. You lean against the wall, getting comfortable for the eavesdropping you were about to do.

“I’ve been trying to get that girl to date, but no luck,” your mom continues, putting a smile on Matt’s face. He was both happy and relieved to hear that you weren’t taken. “She used to have a little crush on you in high school. And I’ve seen the way you look at her,” your mom won’t stop talking, she just keeps spilling your secrets. This is the first time Matt’s hearing of this, had you really liked him this whole time?

You decide you’ve heard enough, en entering the room with an awkward cough. “Thanks mom,” you say sarcastically, offering her a tight lipped smile. You look at Matt, trying to read his expression while also signaling to him that you want to leave. He gets the hint, dismissing himself politely from your mom. As the two of you are walking out you send a glare towards your mom and she returns it with a toothy smile and a wink.

“Sorry about that,” you chuckle awkwardly, shutting the door behind you. “No, I like your mom,” he replies, beginning to walk down the dirt road. “I know, but she can be a lot,” you apologize, becoming worried that she over shared and maybe scared Matt. “I can handle a lot,” he shrugs, the two of you now walking towards the old water tower. You smile at him, grateful that he’s not making it awkward. Your mom just confessed your crush to him like an old school girl and here he was being a gentleman about it.

When you two arrive to the water tower he signals for you to climb up first, holding your back securely until you’re high enough, then he follows behind you. You arrive at the top, sitting down carefully and patting the spot next to you so Matt will join. He gladly sits next to you, looking over the vast land in front of you. Miles and miles of green grass, crop fields, and only a few buildings and houses scattered in between.

The both of you talk about everything you’ve missed out on for the past 3 years, his stories being about his adventures in L.A and yours being about your life here. “I haven’t been up here in a long time,” he whispers in awe, taking in the scene in front of him as the sun begins to set. He had to admit that this was a beautiful town, despite it being so boring. “Well, you haven’t been here for a long time,” you reply, leaning against the metal railing as you join him in admiring the view.

“I was really surprised to see you that day. I thought I’d never see you again,” Matt says. After he and his brothers left they had zero contact with you and it always felt like a part of him was missing. “Yeah, it was nice catching up with you guys,” you reply, feeling like these past few days were the best you’ve had in a while. When they leave, you’ll just go back to your normal mundane life.

He can sense the sadness in your tone, feeling bad for leaving you here. “I’m glad you got out,” you admitted, resting your face on the arm that laid on the railing so you could look at Matt. “This town kills everyone’s dreams, I’m glad it didn’t kill yours,” you continued, offering Matt a small, genuine smile. If he was honest, he’d be happy staying here forever as long as it was with you.

“I don’t know. There’s one dream of mine that didn’t come true when I left,” he trails off, watching the as the sun disappears along the horizon. The sky goes from orange to purple as Matt feels the sudden urge to tell you something he’s been holding onto for a long time. “I doubt that,” you chuckle, looking up slightly to see the stars slowly come into view.

He laughs too, unsure if he should be admitting any of this to you right now. “I used to have a big crush on you too,” he admits quietly and casually, looking up at the stars too. Your neck almost snaps off as you turn to look at him, he notices this and laughs again. “It was back in high school… Getting a date with you, even just a kiss, was one of my biggest dreams,” he admits, remembering all those nights when he almost told you. “When your mom mentioned you used to have a crush on me it made me think of how different our lives would’ve been. If we ever acted on it, you know?” he continues, looking at you now.

You had a small, sad smile on your face because you weren’t sure if there was still a possibility at a future with Matt, but you were willing to try. “I mean, we can make the dream come true. If that’s okay?” you ask, leaning into him slowly.

“That could be fun,” he whispers, quoting what you told him that one night under the stars. He leans in and captures your lips in his, his last dream finally coming true.

—

MASTERLIST

A/n:

Boop another Matt story for the girlies.

Thank you anon for the nice compliment 🩷🩷 I hope you enjoy this Matt story and that it was everything you hoped for haha.

This took me so long to write idk why. Anywaysss I mentioned im writing a Nick story WELL IM PROBS SCRAPPING IT AND STARTING OVER. I find it so easy to write Nick in my other fics but for some reason when he’s the main “character” i struggleeee.

Okay I’m done now, enjoy reading. k byeeee

- L.A.M.B👼🏻💗

[suosdisciple-keelmember]

Suo Hayato x Reader — My master, my love

Suo x gn reader

Summary: Suo took you as his disciple and you train often together. However, you admire Suo deeply and have fallen for him.

Warnings: Physical confrontation, power dynamics (master-disciple relationship), light suggestive language

Word count: 1.9k

A/n: I hope you like my first contribution for this fandom! I definitely enjoyed writing this♡

You bow respectfully as a signal for the training fight to start. Moving first, you rush forward, hoping to test his defense, but you are outsmarted.

A simple sidestep destroys your plan as your wrist gets stopped by a determined grip, using your power to spin you around. Stumbling slightly, you notice that the next attack was already coming. With a well-timed jump, you succeed to escape.

Yet, the offensive stance of the person across from you remained. Now was it your turn to defend yourself.

However, in the next moment, drift your thoughts to your opponent and master, Suo Hayato. You had always admired him since you had met.

His brown hair is fluttering in the nightly breeze with his yellow tassel earrings, the two crimson spheres on both sides of them. The moon highlights his features and glistening ruby eyes. His right eye was concealed by a leather eye patch, adding a mysterious but striking touch to his presence.

Suo's fierce concentration during battles was totally different from the warm smiles he gave you, reflecting his gentle and friendly character.

Altogether, his whole being has been out of this world.

Quite often had you found yourself thinking about him. In the beginning, you didn't really consider it of importance at first. Then you were just looking up to your master, his strength and personality. Yet, you know that it wasn't completely like that. With the time you realized it—that you had developed feelings for him.

Abruptly stopped your daydreaming as you got thrown onto the ground. It was a gentle, but firm lead, a direct contrast to the hard and unrelenting earth under your feet.

"Out spacing again? You need to learn to focus more on the current moments during a fight, (Y/N)-san."

Raising up, you meet Suo's stern, assessing face.

"I-I'm sorry Suo-sama." you stutter, clapping your hands together to apologize.

A smile hushes over his face as he reaches his hand out to help you up. Accepting his offer, you feel a comfortable warmth spreading through you as your hands make contact.

Standing again, Suo pats your back and says with his usual friendly and at the same time lecturing tone : "And how often have I told you to just speak to me using '-san' or at least '-sensei'?! You are my disciple and no worshiper. Are you even paying attention to anything?"

"B-But you are my master! There's no other form which would suitable to address you!" you argue and pout.

After that, he let out a small sigh and his lips curve up again. "Okay, I won't mind that for now. Let's… come back to your performance." Nervousness washes over you. His evaluation was always something you looked forward to. Then, through his comments and feedback, could you draw a lesson and polish yourself.

"You've been all in all pretty solid in this session. And your defense has also improved. So… nice work (Y/N)-san! You get steadily better! Still, a thing we definitely have to work on is your concentration and technique." Nodding approvingly, you reply full of motivation at his words: "Okay, I will try to get better, Suo-sama! Thank you for teaching!"

The two of you decide to sit down so you could talk a bit. You did that almost every time during training to take a break and continue afterward. Knees drawn up to your chests with legs bent, the two of you sat next to each other on the soft grass which shined brightly in the moonlight. The cool air added something peaceful to the late hour and the soothing silence, making you feel safer and calmer than anywhere else.

"It's been some months now since we started training together, right?" Suo says while gazing at the sky. "Y-Yeah. And I'm still utterly grateful for our meeting. I wouldn't know where I would stand now in life, if I hadn't met you."

You remember it like it had only happened very recently—he had saved you as some rowdies brought you into a predicament when you were wandering alone through the streets at night. At that time, you weren't strong enough to stand up and fight for yourself. But Suo had helped you and didn't even wanted compensation for that. Also, you got the option to train from him. Once you realized the benevolence and kindness in his offer, it was obvious to you: Suo was one of the nicest persons you had ever encountered, and you were going to devote yourself to him and his training.

Suo shakes his head. "No need to praise me in such a way." says he, his voice sincere and full of modesty. His eyes soften as you make eye-contact. "You have really made progress since then by yourself. I have just given you a few tips and shown some techniques, nothing more. That's why, (Y/N)-san, you can be proud of yourself."

You blush slightly at his compliment. On the one hand, you feel grateful that he acknowledged the achievements you've made over the time, but on the other hand, you are also exasperated by him not recognizing that his assistance itself helped you to become better and change something in yourself.

"I object to that! Humbleness shouldn't be made out of lies! The reason I'm even now capable of defending myself and getting stronger was only due to your decision to take me as a disciple and I will tolerate no dissent, Suo-sama."

A sudden touch on your arm, let your thoughts spin endlessly in flusteredness. Suo had closed the distance between you and laid a hand on your arm. His grip, gentle and full of empathy, conveyed comfort. Knees brushing against each other, the physical contact providing something you just couldn't put into words. "We will see. However, you should always have in mind that it was your determination and will which has shaped you to the person you are now." The color on your cheeks turned into a darker shade of red, sight of field lying on the ground as you turn your head away from him so he can't see your embarrassement.

"And there's also another point I wanted to talk with you about."

Looking slowly again at him, you ask curious: "W-What do you mean?" Your stomach churned nervously as you saw him smirking full of mischief, assuming that he was up to nothing good for you. His eyes shined full of anticipation towards his only too well-known teasing.

"I noticed that whenever I say something positive about you, there's a tint of red coming up on your face. You could say that my words seem to influence you quite extraordinarily."

"T-That's not right!" you stutter, hugging your knees in an attempt to cover your blushing appearance. "I-I just think that… your comments are too good-hearted for someone like me. I do not deserve that with my skills and personality altogether."

Suo laughs, clearly amused about your flustered answer.

"Well, it shows at least that you are being honest with your feelings. And I like that about you."

Your heart stops for a second at his words and a comfortable warmth spreads in your chest, as you struggle to find the right words. "T-Thank you… Suo-sama" you say, smiling shyly, but full of gratitude.

You clear your throat and ask him then something which had been bugging you for a while now: "I don't want to let it look like I want to change the topic desperately to escape your teasing, but… why do you have even offered to train me? I mean, having a disciple must prevent you from making yourself stronger. So why did you ask me back then?"

Suo scratches the back of his neck, thinking for an answer. A minute of silence follows until he finally breaks it: "To be honest… I thought that you had potential. At first glance it may seem like you didn't had any power to protect yourself, but I deeply believe that, on the second view, there was an undeveloped strength within you, awaiting to shine. And that's why I wanted to help you to develop yourself."

"That was too nice of you, Suo-sama. In my perspective, I was definitely without any talent. I appreciate your thoughts a lot." you say and smile.

"No problem." Suo looks at the clock of his phone and then again up to you. "Shall we resume our training now? It's been a bit since we have begun our break."

You nod and punch the air. "Yes, of course! I'm always ready to continue our sparring!"

As the next battle between you began, you lunged again forward in his direction, pretending to use a strike at him. You know that he would read your actions and prepare some measures against them in order to fight back. However, this time you are determined to improve.

At the moment your distance was close enough for him to conter, you backed away from him. Suo didn't let him bother by that. Even if your movement wasn't anticipated by him, he would surely find a way to turn the situation into his favor.

Straight away he was approaching you, his movements precise and fluid. But this time you tried to catch Suo off guard.

Realizing the perfect moment, you bend down just as he is about to attack your side. As you feel his foot colliding against your body, you sprint forward, turn around and then start another offensive at him. Indeed, your plan had worked out, as you saw him losing his balance. Still, he wasn't completely taken aback by that.

Instead, he fooled you, shifting his body and putting one hand on your upper-arm and another on your shoulder, using your own force to take you down.

And like the last time you were brought down to the ground.

Suo used no rough strength to immobilize you, he pressed his knee firmly on your shoulder and helds your wrist, arm extended.

Looking up at him, you feel how the coldness of the ground is the absolute opposite to the hold of Suo, who was caring and gentle.

"You are already better than before, (Y/N)-san." Suo locked eyes with you, his lips curved slightly upwards.

"Only because of your great tutoring, Suo-sama."

"That's not quite correct, just like my reasoning before about my choice to take you as my disciple."

You tried to catch your breath at his unexpected revelation. "W-What do you mean?"

His eyes lighted up with a playful glint in his eyes. "Besides the skill to become a good fighter, I found something else in you. Your persistance. The way you held on to seek a way out of your situation, even when not having the strength at that moment, was just unique in my eyes and I wanted to help you. However, after some time, my beliefs about that changed a bit."

Still not sure about what to say to him, you ask, curious: "In… which way? Was it because I disappointed you?"

He chuckles and slightly leans down to your ear. You could feel his warm breath tickling your skin and sending a shiver down your spine.

The next words he whispers to you, you would never forget:

"On the contrary, being with you is pleasing. I care about you a lot. You've… become more than just a normal disciple to me."

And with that your cheeks flush again in embarrassment, leaving you dazed and unable to answer.

[kaija-rayne-author]

10.1 in review series for Dragon Age Veilguard

70 hours in, 68 actual gameplay

Obligatory I'm not an asshole disclaimer, feel free to skip to the cut.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Spoilers for Dragon Age Veilguard

Section 9 is here.

I haven't played yet today. I have to take my immunocompromised ass into a world that doesn't give a shit about my life to get groceries. How do I know they don't care? They don't mask. It's as simple as that. If you care about immunocompromised people, people like me recovering from almost dying, pregnant people, old people, many children, people with immune affecting issues like long covid, depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia... goddess, the list goes on, if you cared? You'd mask. It's the number one way to help us survive. And no, us masking by ourselves doesn't work very well. Everyone has to.

Anyway. Yeah. Gotta risk my life for groceries because I can't afford delivery.

I was just sitting here, and I think I figured out some of the many issues that are bothering me about this game. The great big missing I've been trying to figure out.

They didn't make Veilguard for the adult gamers who have desperately wanted it for so long. They made it for children and teens.

Epler even outright said they'd changed things hoping to draw in a younger section of gamers. (In one of the first q&a sessions after the gameplay reveals.) I wonder if he bothered to do any market studies to see if that demographic would actually be interested?

I can only judge by my two gaming kids because I'm on media blackout while I finish this game. But no matter how much they simplified it for kids, they still have absolutely no interest in Dragon age. They're far more interested in indie games than anything a triple A studio puts out. Their opinions on Triple A studios are so low it's honestly ridiculous. They don't even understand why I love games put out by them.

So, the devs chose to remove things so that parents would be more likely to let their kid play what is still listed as a M level game (ESRB M for mature).

Ooooh, no. We can't have rogues picking locks and doing all the stuff rogues are supposed to be able to do. Why? Because that means kids will be delinquents doing the same! (The trust in the ability of older kids to understand the difference between a fantasy video game and real life is astounding, I tell you. /s) This is such a boomer thought process I'm shocked to see it, to be completely honest.)

Everyone is just so... nice. Not kind, that's different. But that sugary, false nice. None of the romanceables have anything tooooo controversial about them.

Blackwall Inquisition was a child murderer and lying about being a Grey Warden. Dorian was a spoiled, enslaving Tevinter rich boy (he did actually have a growth arc in Inquisition). Sera was a thief and a Red Jenny (people who worked against the entitled, rich nobility as needed to protect people without power). Varric (even though you can't romance him) was a thief, liar, cheater, and someone you wanted at your back in a fight because he fights dirty. Cassandra was bigoted, hide bound, and intolerant of any faiths other than Andrastianism. The Iron Bull was a failed Ben-Hassrath double agent. The ben-hassrath are a combination of spies, saboteurs, and assassins, among other things. Whatever was needed to defend the Qun. Cullen was a drug addict and such a horrible person in the previous two games it actually made me physically ill to try to romance him. Solas was, well, Solas. Who we all know had a lot of bad in his background. They've certainly hammered that point home in Veilguard. With a jackhammer. The only romance option in Inquisition that wasn’t dirty was Josey. And if you do Romance her, you find some dirt on her too.

I could say the same for almost every Dragon Age Romanceable in the entire damned series. They've mostly been not the greatest of people and when the writers were doing their jobs right, there were growth arcs for them that made them better people during the game. That's part of the fun of games with Romanceable characters. Picking out which broken bird fits your type of broken to romance. (And we're mostly all broken in some way.)

But all the romance options in Veilguard are... well, boring. They're nice, safe, decent people. And since most people have some darkness in them, it's probably not working for others as epically as it's not working for me.

If they're already nice, safe, decent people (even the fucking assassin!) then there's no room for growth. No room to learn that character and feel like your presence in their lives might give them a light to help them strive to be better people. They've truncated any potential for growth arcs for all of them. I'm a Romance author. When you're designing characters for Romance, they have to have a balance of flaws to good points. Otherwise they're just poorly designed characters with little potential to get hearts throbbing and knickers in a twist.

No wonder the romanceables aren't working for me. None of them have flaws big enough to make them well-rounded characters.

Moving on.

Have you noticed there's no blood splatter? You'll get a slowly creeping puddle around enemies, but somehow it never gets on the characters. I'll check if I have the energy to play after risking my life to get food. But I don't recall seeing a toggle for blood splatter in Veilguard. Like it or hate it, the blood splatter is very much a thing in games like these. They usually have an option to turn it off, but it's usually there. Especially in Dragon Age, blood splatter was a thing. A big thing. Hells, their logo was a blood splatter dragon for at least two games FFS. Edit. Confirmed there is no option anywhere I can find that lets us have blood splatter.

And honestly, having my characters coming out of hard fights looking like they've been through a meat grinder is part of the reason I enjoy games like these.

The choices for dialogue are also usually pretty 'nice'. The 'sarcastic' option usually isn't. The angry/strong one isn't either. It's all just... boring. And I'm into Act three now, so I'm thinking my hope of 'maybe the dialogue will get better' is probably an impossibility at this point.

The simplified plot points, the puerile storylines, the lack of dirt on the romanceables, the lack of growth arcs, the completely ridiculous cutting of 90% of the dark horror elements that made these games so good... we've lost all of that because they made this game for kids. And I highly doubt kids will be interested. So they've fucked over, and at least in my case, utterly pissed off the older gamers who have loved Dragon Age for so long, and very likely failed to attract younger gamers, too.

The problem with trying that, which I really think should've been obvious to somebody. Is that Dragon Age has never been a game designed for kids. It's always been bloody, often harsh, horrific, dark fantasy made for adults.

Games for younger people need to be designed for younger people from the first moment of creation. Or it just doesn't work. You technically can transfer some concepts from adult games into things for kids, but the result is invariably something as awful as Veilguard. And something bound to satisfy few people. The condescension toward younger folks in Veilguard is pretty bloody obvious. Something I've noticed kids hate? Being condescended to.

Congratulations on learning the lesson of knowing who your fucking market is.

It's crucial in any kind of content creation to know who you're making the thing for, and to not deviate from those genre expectations toooo much. Otherwise, you just have a mess of a disaster like Veilguard. They shot for two wildly dissimilar markets and failed both. Even the cartoony look of the art style is much more like a game for kids than anything like a dark fantasy game for adults.

And like... it's still listed as a mature rated game. So what, exactly, was the point of ruining Dragon Age like this? Many parents won't let their kids play M rated games regardless.

It's just so depressing. If they'd actually made this game for the people who had been praying for it for so long? It probably would have been phenomenal. As it stands, I'll be shocked if it doesn't sink Bioware. And if it doesn't, I'd think it because of bribery more than game quality.

I do have to say that you can decorate more than I thought. But you have to buy almost everything. And they're themes, so there's no intermixing possible. Like you could have Elven windows with Alamarri rugs and a Ferelden throne in Skyhold? All gifts from either people or cultures you'd helped, which tied it all together and connected it to the world... you can just change themes for the Lighthouse. It changes everything, and again, you have to buy almost everything. That really removes a lot of depth from the game.

People call all the collectibles and gifts etc. from the previous games 'filler'. But, frankly, that's a very uneducated opinion of what that 'filler' is supposed to do in fiction. The 'filler' (which is an actual technical term in writing fiction, and those things aren't filler) collectibles and quests gave depth to the games. It tied the world of THEDAS into the world of the player character. It's called world building in writing circles. And what confuses me is that I don't recall anyone having to do any of that. If all you wanted out of the previous games (especially Inquisition) was a fighting game, you could do that. None of the world building collection parts locked you out of any quests that I can recall. If you did enjoy deeper world building and collecting things, you could collect to your heart's content. There's none of that delicately intertwined, beautiful worldbuilding in Veilguard. It's stripped down to the very bare bones of mediocrity.

At heart, Veilguard is not a role-playing game. It's a fighting game. And not even a very well designed one. My not-a-fucking-rogue should never have aggro. That's not how this is supposed to work.

Why they felt going from a successful history of role-playing games to a stripped-down, poorly world built fighting game a good idea is just beyond me? Whoever made that decision honestly needs to be fired. And you will almost never see me say that. Jobs are too hard to find. But I will say it about Veilguard. The decisions made have ruined Veilguard in my honest, incredibly disappointed viewpoint.

They marketed this as a role-playing game. The expectation was for a role-playing game set in a richly detailed, deeply world built environment. Like most of the Dragon Age games have been. Especially Inquisition.

And we got a fighting game so stripped of world building that it's sad and just... boring.

Oh, heads up if you're disabled with any sort of disability that affects your hand eye coordination or ability to move your fingers quickly on a keyboard or controller. Don't buy this game. Even on the lowest setting with no death clicked on, you need a great deal of manual dexterity to use this crappy new fighting set up they've come up with. They definitely didn't think of physically disabled gamers at all in developing this. I'm just lucky my particular physical disabilities don't affect me that way. Though my hands are in agony from keeping my not-a-rogue out of the dragon on one side, stone wall on the other situation the fucked up aggro set up always puts me in.

They did bring gifts for companions back, which would thrill me if I actually had any desire to romance any of them. Which I honestly don't. And in games like these? It's often hard for me to pick which one. I often have to install a polyam mod so I can see the other romances because I'm usually so hot and bothered and just captivated by a Romanceable character or three that I won't be able to not romance them. Meaning I need the mod if I'm going to see the other romances.

I'm physically and mentally incapable of not romancing Astarion BG3. (I've tried!) Halsin gets me every time, too. Those are markers of excellent character development.

There's none of that in Veilguard.

Emmerich, and (as much as I hated his intro story, The Wigmaker,) Lucanis are the only slightly interesting characters to me.

Bellara is sweet and awkward, but they reduced her neurodivergent qualities so much it feels... off, to my neurodivergent ass. In the autistic people on tv way of off. (To date, there hasn't been much, if any, good rep of us on TV. It's all inspiration porn.) I don't feel seen in her. And I have quite a few traits she expresses. Whoever wrote her has my version of ADHD. But the way she's written, where she's constantly telling herself she's stupid or foolish or shouldn't do things? Those are markers of traumatized neurodivergence, not the ADHD itself they're highlighting. What that says is that, in her world, people have come down on her so hard for her differences, so often, that now she's mean to herself. ADHD kids aren't born like that. People make us like that. It's a sad representation of ADHD, not a celebratory or accepting one. It makes me feel like she, and me by extension, is to be pitied. Like someone like me, or Bellara, aren't worthy of respect, love, and trust. It's not a good feeling.

Neve is so suspicious and bitchy that I have no desire to even try to romance her. I want to shove Harding off a cliff.

Davrin is really suspiciously similar to Halsin BG3. Big, more blocky than usual for an elf, wants to do good, carves wood... but where Halsin really works (because of his deep character development and darkness) Davrin, while definitely hot and with an amazing voice... just falls flat.

Emmerich is a doll of prince charming manners and adorable fussiness. He's probably the character next to Lucanis who actually has the most darkness to him.

I really wanted to love Taash. And I like them a lot, but their 'you must choose only one' thing showed up really fucking early in the game. I didn't feel like I knew them yet, so they're just never going to work for my demisexual ass unless I actually replay this (unlikely?) with a polyam mod and basically plug my nose and close my eyes and leap into a relationship with them far earlier than I'm really comfy with.

So, there's some clarity for me on what's missing and why.

Genshin Impact has more draw for me as an adult gamer than Veilguard does. And that is absolutely a game targeted at teens and early twenties folks. It's also an incredibly well designed game with good world building, balanced fighting, and devs who know who their market is.

It's an old saw in content creation. But Know Your Market is a saw for a reason.

Section 10.2 here.

[thornsinmycrown]

PROTECTION | HEADCANONS

YANDERE!Mike Schmidt x GN!BABYSITTER!READER

warnings: [ MDNI +18 ] kidnapping, yandere, obsessive, isolating, stalking behavior, mention of sexual themes. word count: 731

summary: he just wants his little sister's babysitter to be safe.

He totally has a "crush" on you, something innocent at first. It's undeniable to this point, Abby draws you with them and her friends, there's a big wall wrapped in her drawings like wallpaper, her big brother and yourself holding hands with cute little red hearts all around you.

He talks about you at dinner time, asking Abby how did you treat her and if you were nice for the day, he promised her that you will always stay with them, that he would find a way to make you stay forever.

You know he hasn't had an easy life, talking to you in confidence about Garrett and how he couldn't save him, the way he feels about failing his own family and you admire his compromise over Abby.

Sometimes he takes it to extremes, overprotecting her and doing what you and the little girl consider dismissing fun time.

At first it seemed to be something normal to you, she was the only of his family left, the constant reminder of how lonely and how lucky he was to still have a bond with his parents at the same time, but with time you grew tired of wiping Abby's tears that were actually cried over nothing.

The first time you two had the talk and spoke about it, he was in denial. Mike assured he wasn't controlling Abby's life, he was keeping her safe from the dangers of the world.

You try to remind him what is obvious, that she is a kid and kids need to play and make friends, have fun and enjoy childhood.

He immediately felt bad watching you yell at him to make him take in count the child's feelings, and that's when he realized how important you were — how much of his tiny family needed a mediator like you.

He resents —and admires— your humanity. He is aggressive, cunning, rough to any edge, and deep down he knows you are too, except you don't let that take away your compassion.

Mike yearns for every piece of you now, any kind of affection is well received, whether it is a simple greeting or a friendly waving hand, he even prepares himself to gently smile no matter how awkward it feels, your small confused nodding gesture gets him every time.

You don't judge his incapacity to retain any job and he feels maybe you're the only person in the world who actually understands his struggles — his failures.

When he starts working at Fazbear's he fears he could be loading you too much responsibility, working the night shift wasn't his ideal and, though you'd never let him down, he felt worried you two were going to be alone for so many hours.

The first three nights everything was alright, until the fourth happened.

Animatronics chasing down his little sister was the last straw, it made him snap inevitably, you and Abby weren't safe at all, any time you could be murdered by any of them and there wouldn't be a way to save you.

He fears losing you, what would he do without you?

You help him get rid of them for the little girl's sake, temporarily disabling the animatronics like Vanesa instructed, but you get hurt in the process.

The yellow bunny twists the knife inside you, you let him in order to protect Abby, and it doesn't cost you as much as it costs Mike.

The idea of your loss only fuels Mike's grief, it's like losing his family all over again, but this time will be different — this time he has the chance to change the ending.

You wake up in a hospital bed, your ribcage hurts and you have an injured leg, the first thing your eyes see are his, red puffy eyes full of pain.

A week passes so you can leave the hospital, and he has a room for you in the house.

You try to explain to him you have a place to live since you rent a shared room with another person, but he insists you're not safe there.

"What if he comes back and tries to hurt you again?" "What if this time he—?" He cannot even end the sentence, he can only imagine the worst.

You agree to stay for a couple of days while your injuries heal, yet the unsettling part is just about to begin for you.

Author's note: I had in mind this headcanons since the first time I saw the movie and once I left the theater I started working on them but just release them now because I couldn't finish them in a way I like until today. I'll do a second part to this just because I think it has more potential to add to his character.

[thebumblingbee]

In the spirit of the impending Winter Solstice and end of the year, I figured I would share my goals for the upcoming year in case anybody is looking for inspiration. I don't consider them "resolutions", just tangible goals I'd like to achieve in the upcoming year.

Read 10,000 words - This is on my list every year, but just this past year I decided to switch from total number of books read (my goal was always 26) to total pages read. I like long books, and that works against me every time. This year, I hit about 5500 words, and that was with having a newborn over the winter/early spring. So it might be attainable this year?

Create one piece of art each month - this can be writing, painting, drawing, knitting; I don't really care. I just know that I feel better when I'm creating something.

Reduce screen time to 2 hours per day (not counting school work) - I spend FAR too much time on my phone. Even 2 hours still feels like too much, but sometimes I just need time right when I wake up and at the end of the day for my brain to unwind.

Learn and practice my witchcraft more thoroughly - I've always been one-foot-out-the-door with my practice, but I'd like to go all in this year.

Get a 3.5 GPA in my classes - I'm going back to school full time starting in January, and I'd like to maintain the academic rigor that I had almost 10 years ago. But also, I'm giving myself a bit of wiggle room because I have to do math and I'm bad at it lol

Find and maintain a sustainable skincare and makeup routine - I love to do makeup and skincare and nails, but I'm bad at keeping up with it because I try to do too much all at once. I want to create a simple routine that I'll actually stick to.

Find a sustainable house cleaning routine - Along the same lines, I'm always trying to push myself so hard that I burn out because of my chronic illnesses. I'm hoping to find a routine I can reliably keep up with.

Actually take care of my hair - I've got curly-ish hair that I absolutely neglect. It stays up in a ponytail or bun most of the time because I just cannot be bothered. I'd like to care for it so it actually looks nice enough that I don't just want to hide it.

Craft two outfits that I'm actually excited to wear - I dread getting dressed most days, but I've fallen in love with garment construction this year. I hope to build on my skills to make clothes that I actually like.

Cook two recipes per month from our cookbooks - We get stuck in meal-ruts in this house, and we have a pile of cookbooks collecting dust.

Learn how to prepare and freeze/store a variety of our most commonly eaten foods - I plan to learn one per month, which are as follows: turkey meatballs, turkey burgers, hamburger buns, sandwich bread, bagels, biscuits, chicken nuggets, fruit leather, granola bars, mayo, cinnamon rolls, and garlic bread. The kicker is that these all need to be dairy free now.

Finish my novel?? Maybe???

[theresattrpgforthat]

Any solo-player/journal games that are a bit more lighthearted, preferably with a focus on character building?

Theme: Light-Hearted, Character-Focused Solo Games.

Hello friend! I have some games here that skew more towards the Light-Hearted end of the scale, while others skew more towards Character Building. I hope one of them fits right in the niche you are looking for!

Souvenirs, by Rémi Töötätä.

You are going on a week-long vacation. You are determined to enjoy every visit you go on and come back home with souvenirs from each day, including one for your friend who is taking care of your pet while you’re away.

During the game, you will keep a journal of the places you’re going to and the souvenirs you’re getting. Draw cards each day of your vacation and use prompts to imagine the places you visit, the items you get as souvenirs and the memories they represent.Make yourself a nice cup of tea, write the diary of your character each day, maybe draw a map of the region and pictures of the items you imagine, or play entirely in your head; and most of all, have a lovely time!

This looks like a very lighthearted game, and the souvenirs you collect as you play seem like excellent tools to convey personal memories. This game is meant to happen over the course of a week, so every morning you can sit down and journal about where your character would visit, and what would catch their eye. As you do so, you’ll also want to think about who you’re buying for, and what kind of connection you have to them. At the end of the game, you’ll have a lovely web of relationships, as well as a little story to take back to your NPC friends.

Hygge Holiday, by Figgins.

Hygge Holiday is a solo journaling RPG set in a cozy small village in a Nordic country.

You’ve travelled home for an extended winter holiday, with lots of vacation time.  Winter is a time to slow down and focus on simple pleasures and good company. Luckily, the Nordic countries offer free health care and university education, on top of many weeks of paid holiday per year, and generous unemployment benefits--meaning less worry, stress and uncertainty, and more time for enjoying the simple pleasures in life. How will you spend your time, and with whom? 

This game probably feels more fitting for the cold weather days, but it certainly looks like a great cozy game none the less. You earn paper snowflakes that reflect your experiences and you will also journal about these memories, which might fit the character-building kind of theme you are looking for!

Etude of the Evening, by Takuma Okada.

Etude of the Evening is a tabletop roleplaying game about recovering lost objects from your brilliant past. It is a hack of Songs for the Dusk by Kavita Poduri and Quinn Vega combined with You Will Destroy Something Beautiful by Samantha Day. Uses a six-sided die, for 1 to 3 players. 1-2 hours.

Overall, I think the tone for this game can vary, but it certainly hits the spot of focusing on your character. You’ll answer questions about who you are at the beginning of the game, and navigate a strange landscape. If you want to focus on a light-hearted tone, then you’ll just want to take descriptive choices that focus on beauty rather than decay.

The Land Beyond, by Cezar Capacle.

You are a raccoon. You lived your whole life on an island but now you have a hot air balloon.

You want to be free and reach The Land Beyond.

The Land Beyond is a solo RPG about letting go and going beyond what you think you could. You travel through wondrous lands living fantastic adventures along the way. 

During your journey, you will have the opportunity to reflect upon the burdens you carry with you and, luckily, let go of them so you can travel even further.

This is a journeying game that looks like it’s probably a little less light-hearted than you’re looking for, but really focuses on character reflection. I like the oracles for events in this book, and the idea of tracking the gas in your balloon in order to see how far you can go. I’m keeping this recommendation in because even if it requires a lot of serious character reflection, at the end of the day, you’re still a raccoon in a hot air balloon - and that just feels whimsical to me.

Creation Myths, by gothHoblin.

Creation Myths is a solo journeying game based on the hero's journey/monomyth narrative template. 

It is designed to help you dive deeper into character creation through the development of a backstory adventure via dice and prompts, and to provide you with new things to think about. It can also work as a way to redevelop existing characters and generate fresh ideas. With multiple modes of play available, all you need is a set of dice and somewhere to write. Let your imagination do the rest!

This is another case of your mileage may vary when it comes to tone, because you’ll be the source of ideas for coming up with a character backstory. This is meant to be pretty genre-agnostic, so you might want to pull from other games or pieces of media to decide what kind of character you want to write backstory for. It’s solely focused on character development, but again, whether or not it’s lighthearted is probably up to you.

Incarnation, by breathing stories.

At some mundane moment, something shifted in you. The number of ‘coincidences’ became too large to be without meaning. The deja vu became impossible to ignore. It hit you, not like a sack of bricks, but like a shawl landing firmly on your shoulders.

This is not your first life. You have lived many others, and now they start trickling in…

In Incarnation, you create a character who has just become aware that the life they are leading is not their first life. Using a tarot deck you will create the story of this character and their past lives, uncovering secrets pleasant and otherwise.

With all that this character has been through, the weight of all they hold, who are they really?

This game has the potential to shift in tone, but since it’s played using a tarot deck, I feel like much of the genre and details will depend on the player’s interpretation. It’s deeply tied to character building, as the game revolves around discovering your character’s past lives. If Anamnesis sounds up your alley, then this game might tick a lot of the same boxes, as it’s built on the same set of rules.

Fox Curio’s Floating Bookshop, by lostwaysclub.

Welcome to the River; a flowing path born at the mountain’s feet. In her high narrows, barely two boats fit lengthwise; a furious pounding of water. From these rocky ravines, she threads her way through the land, until she reaches the Great Sea. Quiet and slow-moving in these lowlands, she provides homes for those who live upon her waters and food for those who live beside her.

Your days are filled with customers, leaks and the irritating nook beetles that bury into the pages of your books. Make friends with regular customers to the bookshop, experience the River as she moves through the different seasons, visit and explore various towns, go fishing in the River's rich waters. Throughout the year, the seasons change and holidays give the chance for you to join in celebrations and festivities with the animalfolk. 

This game is at the top of the list when looking at tone; it’s absolutely lighthearted, but I’m not sure how much it focuses on character building. Most of the focus will be on your customers, but I think as you journal, you have the potential to learn more about your character through the kinds of books they sell and how they deal with customers. Overall the tone of this world is so beautiful and peaceful, it’s on my own list of games I’d love to play.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Void 1680 AM, by Bannerless Games.

Anamnesis, by Sam Leigh.

Wanderhome, by Jay Dragon.

[denizenhardwick]

The Part Where You Missed It: Chapter 4

Read on AO3 | Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3

Denizen Hardwick knows who he is now; for the first time in his life, he has a family and a real home. But, of course, nothing is that simple. Vivian still won’t open up to him, and feelings are so often a painful burden to carry. As Denizen begins his new life of Knighthood, he finds challenge and triumph lurking around every turn--both in the world and in himself.

Takes place in the six months between Knights of the Borrowed Dark and The Forever Court; massive spoilers for book one.

Simon soaked up sunlight like a plant. Sometimes, while walking through Dublin, he would suddenly stop and stare up at the sky. It reminded Denizen of when people saw the aurora borealis–not that he had seen it, but he’d seen pictures of people seeing it–and looked up in absolute wonder.

It was winter, though, and nice, sunny days growing scarcer and scarcer.

One such lucky day, Abigail pointed out at breakfast that the weather was pleasant and gave Denizen a not-so-subtle wink indicating this was the day, as if he’d forgotten somehow. He had to get Simon out of the house for a few hours to give the girls prep time.

So he invited Simon on a little walk.

Simon grabbed his scarf, and they were out. It was a crisp day, made chillier by the breeze, and the sun kept dipping behind clouds, but running into various shops managed to keep the shivering to a minimum.

Denizen supposed he could draw on his power to keep himself warm… no. Absolutely not.

They ended up standing side-by-side, watching the faint winter sunlight play across Dublin Bay.

“So… tell me about Grey?” Simon gripped his scarf closer to himself and looked up innocently.

Denizen went cold in a way that had nothing to do with the weather. “What?”

The other boy shrugged. “I dunno. It's okay if you don't want to talk–I get that–but I didn't get to meet him, and, well, you don't really let people get close to you. So I was wondering. What was he like?”

“I…” Words failed, and he trailed off.

Gazing out over the water, Denizen tried to think of something to say. “I don't think I really knew him that well.” If at all.

“Hmm. That's okay.” When Denizen remained silent for another minute, Simon sighed. “I shouldn't have brought it up. Sorry.”

“Ugh, no. Don't apologize. You told me what happened with you, which was infinitely worse than my month, and I still haven’t shared what happened with me… it's not fair.”

“I got the basics. Shadow monsters, magic, saving the world, your aunt actually being your mother. All that. I'm just curious at this point.”

Denizen laughed.

“Dublin’s nice,” Simon said, changing the subject. “We should go exploring sometime.”

“Oh, no, don't worry, you'll get to see plenty of the city when Abigail takes you running.”

The boys finished their walk, interspersing light conversation as they moseyed along the waterfront, and started heading home. Outside of the embassy building, Denizen abruptly stopped.

“Grey was a really easy person to be around.” Denizen threw thoughts regarding the later bit of the month in a mental box, took a breath, and continued. “He was chatty, and he'd tell jokes, and sometimes he'd do these really kind things and try to pass them off as jokes or something casual, but…”

A lump was building in Denizen’s throat, making it hard to speak, to breathe, and anger rolled fitfully in his chest.

He cleared his throat. “Also,” he said, pointedly louder, “Abigail and Darcie are waiting in the dining hall for us. Well, more specifically, you.”

Simon frowned. “Huh?”

Grinning, Denizen took his arm and escorted him inside. “You nearly died on your birthday, remember? I wanted to give you something nicer.”

“Happy birthday!”

Simon spun slowly, face breaking into a smile as he took in the decorations. It wasn’t much, but Denizen was proud–there was a banner hanging from the ceiling, a pretty cloth draped over one of the tables, and, on top of that, the cake that Darcie had made, which was probably more edible glitter than actual cake.

“Here,” Denizen said, gesturing to a bench. “Sit.”

Simon complied. “I cannot believe this.”

“It was going to be a surprise party, but we didn’t think you’d like that,” said Darcie.

“Yeah. Thank you.” His voice was awed. “Oh, so this is what all the winking this morning was about! Ha.”

Denizen flushed. They’d been planning this for a month, and it was a miracle they'd managed to keep it a secret.

With flourish, Abigail presented Simon’s birthday present. His jaw dropped.

“Guys…”

“It’s mostly from Denizen,” she said, “but he wanted us to present it as a kind of joint gift.” She took a seat, then so did Denizen, and Darcie cut them all cake slices–Simon’s being the biggest, of course.

The party lasted most of the afternoon, and Denizen wasn’t sure he saw the smile ever leave Simon’s face. It was contagious. By the end, Denizen’s cheeks hurt, and they got busted by a very angry Vivian for making a mess of the dining hall again, but…

But it was the happiest he’d seen Simon for months.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"All in a day's work. The living realm is always so responsive to its ruler."

Lukas grinned, looking back at their husband. They hadn't needed to stop by and watch their plan unfold, but sometimes it was rewarding to see it all come together. Izanami had needed to take a walk anyway to settle his stomach. Even when he abstained from eating mortal food, Izanami still suffered fits of vomiting up unmentionable items, though it was starting to slow down. Yesterday, there hadn't even been one incident and the twins had forced him to eat an omelet they had made. Lukas saw this as progress. Maybe whatever was happening was beginning to go away like a bad flu.

"The mortals never do stand a chance against you," Izanami sighed. The skin of his physical incarnation was beginning to feel cold despite the summer sun. He had agreed to a quick walk, not a stake out to ensure that the mortals complied with Lukas' every whim. "Now that you and Destiny have your ball back, can we return home? It's unpleasant to linger here."

"Yeah, of course. Thanks for being a good sport. Your daughter and her friends are going to love you for this. I'm going to love you for this. Those suits I ordered are going to blow the competition away. The ghost investigation will be good too, especially if the mortals do all the work for me. I'm going to have to pay that Strangetown demigod a visit if the Strangetown king really means to investigate. Jasone, was it? She was always nice to me. It's been forever since I've spoken to a demigod."

"Probably for the best, I think," Izanami muttered. "The last thing we need is for you to end up in the same room as Hailee. The afterlife burned the last time you spoke."

Lukas frowned, not enjoying where this conversation was leading. The less they thought about their ex-mistress, the happier they were.

"I'll have you know that she hasn't...."

Lukas trailed off, suddenly feeling slightly nauseous themselves. Something wasn't right. Something was very much not right.

White mist escaped from their mouth, just as it did with Izanami. Their stomach was churning into knots and a darkness gripped the deity, crushing their chest until they couldn't draw breath.

"Lukas?"

A familiar feeling washed over Lukas, one so powerful that even they could not stand against it. Their legs buckled. White hot pain seared itself into their mind. A voice as dark and cold as the sea murmured something they couldn't make out. Fear and pain and memory flowed from the deity so quickly Lukas was forced to wonder if they truly could die and this was finally their end.

They wrapped their arms tightly around their chest and took a shallow breath. They had done this before twice now. Lukas was reincarnating.

"Izanami, help! I'm reincarnating again! I can't! I'll miss the children growing up! I can't go through regaining my memories again, of remembering you again! I can't-"

The feeling faded as quickly as it had come on, but Lukas didn't dare release their arms. They stood frozen, arms wrapped tightly against their chest. At some point, they had started hyperventilating and now that they had noticed, it seemed impossible to stop.

"Lukas!"

Izanami was at his spouse's side in an instant, covering them with his own corporal form to protect them. Lukas' previous reincarnations had been triggered by fatal injuries or dark magic, but Izanami saw nothing like that. There were no injuries, no blood, just....

Izanami stared curiously at their frightened spouse. They didn't look like they were dying. They looked like they always did, but with brown hair. There hadn't been a reincarnation at all, not that Izanami could see. All the commotion had been for a simple change in his spouse's hair colour, not a violent end. Izanami was grateful beyond words to have his Lukas still with him, but was still baffled. What the hell was going on?

"Vrai, you worthless mortal, call my son! He'll answer if you're calling during work hours and he needs to be here to help his mother!"

Vrai snapped out of his daydreaming at the sound of Death’s voice. He didn't work for Death, but he was sleeping with Death’s son, which motivated him to stay on Death’s good side.

Vrai began to dial, but Lukas held up a shaky hand to stop him.

"Wait, let me try this first. I think I can...."

Lukas erupted into a brilliant beam of light, far too bright to stare at for very long. From what Vrai could make out with his hand still shielding his eyes, Lukas was shifting. Parts of them were rearranging, swirling around the light and then snapping into place.

"How's this?"

The light died down, revealing Lukas exactly as they had been two minutes ago.

"Your hair's different, but everything else looks normal," Vrai replied. "You really went through all of that just to dye your hair brown?"

Despite already being the palest person Vrai had ever seen, Lukas seemed to pale three more shades at these words.

"Still the brown hair?" they whispered in horror. "No. No. I'll try this."

The brilliant light shielded Lukas from sight once more. When it receded, Lukas was in their usual female form, except their hair remained brown instead of its usual black.

"Dammit! God dammit!" the deity swore when they looked at their long locks of brown hair. "This isn't happening! Izanami, tell me how to change this!"

If Vrai didn't know any better, he could almost swear that there was legitimate fear in Lukas' eyes. Their breaths were quick and shallow and they stated at their husband in a look Vrai could only describe as panicked.

"It's just a hair colour," Vrai offered kindly. "It looks good on you. You can always dye it back to black if you hate it that much."

Lukas ignored their employee's kind gesture, worriedly searching their mind for a solution to whatever was happening to them.

"Izanami, you know what this means, right?"

Izanami nodded, looking equally as lost.

"You haven't reincarnated," he said quietly. "You have access to your second and third reincarnations, but not your first. This is troubling."

"Troubling isn't the right word," Lukas insisted. "Horrifying is much closer. Catastrophic even."

"Forget calling Gee, I'll go drag him here myself," Izanami declared. "And the angels too. Someone has to know what's going on here. How hard can they be to find?"

"Considering Lukas almost burned them to ash along with the rest of us, I'd imagine the angels won't be helping any time soon," Vrai remarked, still unsure if this was an elaborate prank the deities were pulling on him. "And Gee knows nothing about Lukas or how they function. Apparently the training he's relieved from his predecessor was rather...incomplete. I doubt he'd be able to help here."

Izanami broke his concentration on his spouse to give Vrai a withering look that spoke volumes about how little he cared to train his son to replace him.

"A good reaper finds his feet on his own. Instinct takes over when you give yourself to the power. Others have done it quicker than he has, with more success. His ignorance is no excuse. He is my son."

"And this is why you never get invited to family dinner," Vrai chided. Gee would never ask him to defend him to his father, but Vrai felt like he had to.

His words only made Izanami's glower darker and more threatening.

"I get invited to family dinner all the time," he assured his irritating son in law. "It is a kindness that I show you to decline the invitation. Pray I never accept it. You would not like what happens."

Vrai tried not to gulp in fear. It was one thing to see the Grim Reaper without his cloak, it was something else completely to see the dark side of Death.

"Go find the angels," Lukas interrupted, giving Vrai the chance to escape from his conversation. "Vrai's right. Gee doesn't know anything; we need someone who does. What about Evalla? As much as I like to ignore her existence, she has channeled my powers before. Maybe she can feel what's changed now. She's the only one who has touched my power and remained alive. All the rest are gone."

Izanami nodded quickly. The idea made sense, and a single sim in the afterlife was far easier to find than four easily pissed off angels.

"I'll be back shortly, Dearest," he vowed, kissing his spouse's head before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

As soon as Izanami was out of sight, Lukas collapsed to the ground, barely holding back tears.

"I guess I'm supposed to babysit you or something?" Vrai sighed, staring at the deity currently on the ground, making pitiful sobbing noises. Vrai had honestly never seen Lukas like this over the several decades they had known them. Usually, the deity was the one pulling the strings on every occasion in the living world, indifferent to the feelings of others.

Whatever was happening, Lukas really did seem to be terrified. They and Vrai had had a complicated relationship over the years, but they could sort of count as friends if Vrai was being charitable. Dating their stepson and technically existing to serve Life counted as a friendship, right? He wasn’t getting rid of the deity any time soon either way.

"Your grand scheme about the ball is completing itself over there," Vrai pointed out, hoping to appeal to the more confident, mildly narcissistic side of the deity. Flattery might go a long way. "It looks like the Harvest Moon Ball is saved, all because of you. My brother even supports your scheme and you know how pissed off he gets when you steal our mother's tiara."

Lukas sighed, trying to compose themselves but failing. It wouldn't make sense to Vrai why they were so upset. No mortal could understand. Their hair colour had changed, and to them, what was so frightening about that?

"Vrai...You don't understand. Sit down. You'll draw less attention."

Vrai couldn't ignore a request that strange. If he didn't know better, he might have thought that the deity was actually opening up to him.

"Somethings wrong with Izanami," Lukas admitted, their voice barely above a whisper. "He's sick somehow, vomiting up things you'd see in your nightmares. And now this, whatever this is. There's got to be something bad happening here if we're both experiencing...changes. I don't know what this means for the universe; I really don't. It can't be good though."

Vrai frowned. He wasn't accustomed to Lukas doing anything but harping on him to obey their every whim. It was an unsettling change.

"You look fine enough though," he replied, hoping it was the right thing to say. "Your hair is just different. Compared to vomiting up nightmares, that sounds pretty okay."

Lukas signed heavily, wiping their eyes with their sleeves and hoping that Vrai didn't notice.

"I had a son once."

Lukas paused long enough for Vrai to question whether they were waiting for him to respond.

"Okay. You had a son," he coaxed. "You have a few sons from the family tree Gee drew up for me. I mean, there's Davis, obviously. I think Greg was mentioned once, unless I'm misremembering. There were a few more, right? And you have daughters too. There's one with dark hair and purple eyes that hangs around the afterlife offices I think."

Lukas shrugged.

"I guess. I don't really think about them much," they admitted. "I only married their mother to get back at Izanami. She was one of his reapers, and he broke up with me when I...no, it doesn't matter. I'm not talking about those children. I'm talking about him."

Vrai froze, unable to believe this conversation was happening. Every employee of the supernatural realm knew about him. Luke Jr, the one who stole Lukas' abilities and kept his father comatose for centuries. The damage he had caused both the living and the dead realms was incalculable. It was worse in Strangetown, where he grew up and began learning his father's powers. Vrai was the direct descendant of that suffering; there was no way he couldn't have known all about Lukas' infamous son.

Apparently, he had paused for too long. Lukas was already speaking, seemingly uninterested in hearing Vrai's reply.

"Has Gee ever told you about the world he grew up in?"

"Huh? No, not really. He said it wasn't as nice as things were now, but he loved growing up in Strangetown."

What the hell does that have to do with your son?

"That figures," Lukas sighed. "He's far too sentimental to be honest about the past. Things were different then. So different, you couldn't even comprehend it. My parents were born into a war that consumed their entire lives. It was endless, spanning across decades. I arrived in the world just after Strangetown fell to ruin, and then war became all I knew as well. We only created the teams of reapers because Izanami couldn't keep up with the number of souls about to die. Entire countries fell overnight, only to build a new foundation that also crumbled soon after. People were different back then. I was different back then. I didn't know half of what I know now about myself and what I can do. The Ocean has always been cryptic, and Izanami can't understand my domain. I've had to learn so much by myself over the years and when I first lost my corporal form and reincarnated, I thought my existence was over."

"That does sound frightening," Vrai said softly. "But you survived. You got a new incarnation. Things worked out in the end."

Lukas stared at the ground, trying to regain their composure, but the tears kept rolling down their cheek anyway.

"I normally wouldn't tell anyone this, but if I am reincarnating again and Izanami is falling apart, you may have to tell my new reincarnation this one day until I can remember it for myself. Last time, it took years to remember who I was. I can't go through that again. Not when my children need me to be there for them."

"Tell me what?"

Lukas sighed heavily, taking a long pause before continuing.

"When my sister died, our family died with her. Metaphorically speaking, I suppose, though it feels literal. I was cheating on the wife I married to make Izanami jealous with a demigod, also to show Izanami how over him I was. I was so cocky back then. We knew there had been attacks on reapers, but that wasn't my department. There were reports of demon activity that I ignored. All I could think about was myself and being as petty as I could. I didn't love my mistress, but she made me feel good about myself. And then it all fell apart."

Vrai nodded. History remembered some of what he believed Lukas was describing, and Gee had filled in some of the missing details over the years. Even he knew that tragedy and the birth of Luke Jr had devastated Lukas and the demigod Hailee Evans, and now the two loathed each other with every fiber of their being. Even while trying to be truthful, Lukas still refused to refer to her by name. None of this related to Lukas' reaction to their hair change, though Vrai was genuinely curious about where this conversation was going. The deity seemed to be babbling instead of coherently telling Vrai information they needed him to know.

"Demons killed your predecessors while I was with her. My champions, who I had protected and relied on for centuries were gone. It was my job to keep them alive until they had a child to replace their function in the universe. The last one died as a teenager with no heir. They were just suddenly gone and it was my fault. She lost her mother in the same attack that took my sister. Maybe it killed her family the same way it killed mine; I don't care enough to ask."

"What about this am I supposed to help you remember if you reincarnate?" Vrai interrupted. "That you don't get along well with your exes? That you need to stop being petty? I already could have told you that."

The tears stopped just long enough to glare at Vrai.

"No. I need to remember that this is a message. A threat."

Vrai shook his head.

"I don't follow. How is hair a threat?"

"My fathers were soldiers. It was all they knew and the wars are still deeply ingrained in them. You can see the deep scars they carry within them to this day written all over their souls. They're violent and broken and thrive in conflict. Linus is a self righteous asshole who clings to his principles, even when they hurt people. My father...well, Luke was raised in the darkness, groomed to be a weapon against everything good. When my sister died, they both blamed me for not protecting her. Even my little brother agreed with them that I was guilty of abandoning her. Then, I disappeared too, as my powers were stripped away by unworthy demons who couldn't handle them. My parents lost it when I vanished. Linus became unhinged in his search for his children, while my father...he reverted to his old ways in his desperation. The demons manipulated him, and he used his power to escape the afterlife to hunt the demons who had taken me. He killed a lot of people. A lot. If Izanami hadn't retired decades before this, he would have been livid over having to do paperwork on a dead soul killing the living."

Even while consumed by terror, Lukas had to smile at the idea. "I first began my reign with black hair like Linus. I'm pale like my father, and they both have blue eyes, so having Linus' dark hair made me feel like I belonged to both of them. It's stupid, but it always made me feel better somehow. Like I belonged just like any other child. When I reincarnated for the first time, I drew from my parents' power and created a new corporal form for myself. Everything was the same as my last form, except that my hair had changed. It made me look just like my father. That was the first thing absolutely everyone noticed. I couldn't look in a mirror without seeing the spitting image of my father staring back at me. My father had done unspeakable things to try to get his children back, and that was all I could see when I looked into a mirror. Failure. Darkness. The guilt I felt for returning without Riley. Every time I looked at myself, all of these feelings would overwhelm me to the point that I just dyed my hair black to block out the memories. And now, I conveniently get stuck in my second incarnation, with brown hair even in my female form? This is a message. I never thought I could reincarnate before I did. I lost my body for the first time because my guard was down and I was weak. I regained a body afterward that only reminded me of the darkness and pain surrounding my family. I get the message loud and clear."

"And that message is?" Vrai sounded doubtful that any of this made sense, but didn't want to spook the deity when they were already upset.

"That I may be forced to reincarnate again if I'm not careful, and maybe that I'm not worthy of it with the darkness within me," Lukas insisted. "Maybe one day I will go join Riley wherever she is as punishment for losing her. I'm capable of the same darkness as my father and my son, and maybe the universe is just sick of dealing with me."

"Uh...huh. Well, that is one interpretation," Vrai said carefully. It would take time to process this confession and Gee would be thrilled if Vrai shared this insight about his stepmother with him. This seemed private, though. Gee didn't really need to know this, Lukas was opening up solely out of fear. "Are you sure that it's not just a reversion genetically? One form degrading until it snaps out of place? It could be something as simple as that. You do shift a lot, maybe something's just stuck?"

Lukas shook their head vehemently.

"With Izanami being sick, this is too coincidental to happen by accident. It's a warning. 'I know what you're capable of and where you come from. Watch out or you're gone again, though maybe this time, I'll take your husband too."

"Who could possibly be warning you? You're a god. You're the embodiment of life contained in an irritating package. Who are you afraid of?"

Lukas looked baffled at the question.

"The Ocean, of course! Don't you listen to anything I say to you? Doesn't Gee ever tell you what happened to the last two demonic sovereigns? They're gone! They sank into his depths and are gone. Forever."

"And that's not a metaphor?" Vrai replied skeptically. "The ocean, the thing I have a yacht docked in, is threatening you?"

Lukas' demeanor changed in an instant.

"What? How can your son understand this completely while you act like this is the first time you've heard of it? Yes, that ocean. Of course, that ocean. It connects to every part of our world, right down to the core. It built this world, it's reflected in every drop of water in our bodies. We belong to it, and it's not always merciful. He has a physical form now, powerful enough to contain his essence and conduct his business in person. If you think that I'm powerful, then you can't even imagine what he can do. We serve him and try to stay out of his way. You'd better do the same if he ever takes an interest in you."

"So if Leo is right about his religion, does that mean my brother is wrong about his? Should I tell him? The Old Ways seem to comfort him, but if it's wrong-"

"Demigods are real, I have a child with one. You already knew that. Yes, they have their own powers and limitations and listen to their faithful. I had brunch with Jasone a decade or so back, and she seems to really like your brother. So, no, don't brush off your family's religions because you're narrow-minded. Demigods have nothing close to my power, but they're strong enough."

Vrai's mind raced with questions. Lukas was being vulnerable by some miracle while also confirming that Vrai needed to maybe listen more when Charley rambled on about demigods. Between this and the political drama happening in the royal garden behind him, it had been a wild day so far.

"Lukas! Evalla says that she can sense the currents of your power and that it's stable. There's nothing like what she experienced when you last reincarnated, so we're probably okay. I don't know what this all means, but you're not about to leave us and that's all that matters."

Izanami appeared out of nowhere, running to his spouse's side in an instant and dragging them off the ground into his arms.

"Did you find the angels?" Lukas asked breathlessly. "Evalla's just one person, and she could be completely wrong. Plus, everything that's been happening to you...this feels like a message. You know as well as I do who's behind this. What does he want with us?"

"Hold out your hand," Izanami said quietly, extending his own hand to cup his spouse's.

"Why? Will it help? Can it change me back? I can't see this form every time i look in a mirror. Not again."

"Remember the first piece of magic I taught you the day we first met? The declaration of identity? Try that now. If you can cast it, then you're probably fine. If you can't, well, that's something we'll think about if it happens. Go on, I'm right here with you. I'll do it too."

Lukas closed their eyes and concentrated on their outstretched hand. It was an easy enough use of their abilities. Demonic children and young witches could all cast it without a struggle. The magic gathered in the palm of a caster's hand, emitting energy that revealed information about the caster. It was the magical equivalent to wearing a name tag, hence why it was so popular with students. Children could use the magic to introduce themselves in class or when greeting new people. It could be used to identify lost children who hadn't memorized their full name and home address. The very first day of Lukas' existence, an extremely confused Izanami had taught them this, hoping that it would reveal the identity of the handsome stranger with powers he hadn't seen in anyone in decades. If they weren't currently so unsettled, Lukas would have had to stifle a laugh at the memory of Izanami's baffled face when the only thing the magic had revealed that day was "To Izanami, His name is Lukas."

With their eyes squeezed shut, Lukas could feel the magic within them begin to gather in their hand. They didn't dare look until the process was finished. It would be one thing to fail this simple test and fall apart worrying about what that meant, and something even worse to have to watch it happen.

A warm feeling rushed through their hand, and Lukas opened one eye to see if the magic was working. There, in their palm, was a familiar green glow. Green that represented plants and energy and vast jungles filled with vibrant creatures. All of nature sang in harmony within the magic in their hand. There could be no denying that the person generating such a sight was life incarnate.

There was a second energy brushing against the edges of Lukas' magic, equal in strength, but opposite in nature. A sickly yellow red glow had pooled in Izanami's hand, evoking thoughts of fire and sickness and decay. A force that ended whatever Life began. Lukas had known that energy for millenia and cherished it as intensely as their own. That was unmistakably Death.

They released the breath that they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Everything was okay. Their energy was stable, and Izanami's was as strong as it had ever been. They weren't reincarnating, and whatever had come over them earlier had to be just a fluke. Everything was fine. Opening up to Vrai had turned out to be unnecessary, but the experience seemed to have changed some of his opinions, so it hadn't been a complete waste. They were just thinking about how to force Vrai to never speak of what they'd discussed when Izanami cleared his throat.

"Dearest, something's wrong. Your...your declaration is wrong."

Lukas snapped to attention, their previous worries now banished from their mind. Since learning how to control their abilities in their first incarnation, the declaration magic should announce them as "Lukas Lane, god of life." Whatever it said now, they hadn't changed it.

"What does it say? I haven't changed it in millenia."

Izanami frowned, studying the magic before him like it was some kind of threat.

"It says, 'To Lukas Lane, enjoy this stroll down memory lane while it lasts."

Lukas froze in place, unable to process a single thought. Their suspicions were right, as they always were. This sudden transformation had been a warning, though for what, they couldn't currently understand. With dread, Lukas turned to read the energy in Izanami's palm, knowing that it was likely just as cryptically altered as their own.

"To Izanami, she's coming. She's coming soon."

Lukas met Izanami's frightened state with one of their own.

"What the hell does that mean?" they demanded. "Who's coming? When?"

Izanami nudged his spouse's hand with his own.

"Look," he insisted, still holding their hands together. "Watch where the declarations overlap. When they're touching, you can see something else. It looks like-"

"Don't mourn for Riley. She'll have plenty of company soon, unless you can stop them," Lukas read, their voice shaking audibly now.

"What does that mean?" Vrai asked, choosing to remind the two deities that he was still awkwardly standing beside them rather than escaping to the safety of the conversation of the monarchs behind him. "You said that your sister is dead and lost to us, isn't she? Is she coming back somehow?"

Lukas shook their head solemnly. Riley was never coming home. Of that, they were certain.

"It means that very shortly, unless we can stop it, more reapers are going to die."

[breadstick237]

Ladies and gentleman, its time for........

what did i learn this month?

in other words, monthly recap of my journey!

08.11-10.12

(a little over a month, but who cares)

I think I made progress with painting, got more confident and messy on a canvas, figured that the less I care the better it turns out

this is a good example of it:

the first one may look nice but I didn't even finish it, it's way too clean and I just hated working on it, tried way too hard

the second one I finished in 5 hours and it's got a messy charm to it, plus if I wanted I could easily clean it up

this month I tried out different techniques - pastels, charcoal, stuff I didn't wanna touch before

also I had a big realization about what do I need to work on, I have to improve backgrounds after avoiding them all of my life

oh and I finally started making things I could put in my portfolio, I've got a plan and I'm willing to go through with it

well, I won't put them in the portfolio, but I have to start with something so I can progress, I can't just study forever without putting my skills to proper use

I did a traditional animation (that looks awful but it exists)

unfinished comic (the one that made me realize I could do a good and structured background to save my life)

came up with a simple story that I can use as a small project, for character design, comics, storyboard, maybe even a small animation, stuff like that

For now I didn't really go outside of my comfort zone with this one but I've got a base, with an idea in mind I can jump straight to work next month!

Other than that I feel I got more consistent with drawing, I don't have force myself to do something every day. And I'm doing it with... more of a purpose? when I have to take pictures of it the next day I don't just do low effort and unfinished sketch of something easy, I try to challenge myself!

Either way, it was a good month. it's wasn't perfect, but nothing is. now I know what can I improve!

So, what do I need to do next month?

more portfolio focused work - even if it's really bad because I lack the skill, it's the only way I can get better

more backgrounds - when doodling don't draw people or objects but the environment

bigger format! it's time to go B1, 100x70cm, you can handle it champ

consistent posts, make them part of my morning routine insted of "once a day"

every Monday sit down with a timer set for 4 hours and try to get one project done - can feel unfinished, unpolished, straight up bad - just do it, more preparation means less work done

that's all folks! I really am doing this mostly for myself lmao but I really enjoye posting it online - if I don't then I feel a bit guilty about letting down my imaginary audience

my top 3 things i created this month

painting of my mom, this one telling-a-story-with-one-frame thing and ugly unfinished comic.

why? the first one is just pretty and my mom likes it, the other two were me going way beyond my comfort zone and actually trying ti tell a story, create something of my own. these ones, even tho ugly, did give me a lot

wow, I wrote a lot in here. I know I'm the only person that'll ever read this and I'm kinda late to school because of it but it was worth it. I did do good, and I'm gonna do even better

see you soon, mwah

[sensei-venus]

(Unedited) (Don't feel like tagging anything for this just yet) ( @gemini-sensei )

Having some deep thoughts about Werewolf!Omega!Reader who came from a rough family.

They didn’t really care about her leaving her to her own devices. They lived out in the woods and for most of Readers life all she did was stay inside or play in the woods, but she wasn’t allowed to go out at night. She was never told why but was constantly snapped at to not ask questions. There where multiple strangers or people she would call “aunt or uncle” that would come by her house but they where not her actual kin. Something she once again never tried to ask about.

As time goes by and she gets older her family starts to slowly disappear. Aunts and uncles no longer visit as much, her really family starts to vanish as well. Things take a turn when one of her older siblings doesn’t come home one night late into the spring.

She crys for days after she realizes something extremely bad has happened, they are not coming back. She here’s her partners talking and her mother crying.

“He/she is dead….I know it.”

“Everyone is, it’s only us now..”

The following month after her 18th birthday she comes home to find almost her whole room packed up. The rest of the house is fine, nothing else is touched nothing out of place by even a inch.

But no one is home.

She looks around and even calls out for her parents and siblings only to her only her own voice a ehco around the walls. Running outside she finds no sign of anyone so she goes back into the house. She quietly goes into her parents room, the room for the most part is extremely the same but the draws are open and empty and the closets bare. Her eyes search the room for any kind of clue as to what is going on. Finally her eyes land on a small piece of paper that sits on her parents bed. With a flick of the wrist she picks the paper up and flips the folded up paper open. In the simple hand writing of her father.

“Your room is packed with what you need. Take what you can and leave before it is too late. We already lost one child and the others we can not stay to see you die as well. You cannot stay here or you will be just as dead as we would if we stayed, we are giving you a head start to get out. We can only tell you the best option since you are young, go to CA, it is your best chance to find others. We regret not telling you the truth but we can at least give you advice to stay alive. Good luck-“

It was a cryptic message that sent chills though her whole body. Her whole family had just up and left their home and told her to get out. That she was in danger and needed to leave all on her own. A sicking feeling came over her whole body as she moved about the house. She grabbed what she could of her things from her room, a few things from around the house. While moving things around she found a wad of cash in a drawer and took it. It was enough to get her on a bus to California and possibly enough for food a rent.

Within the hour she was long gone from her childhood home in the woods.

On a bus to a whole different state all alone to start a new life.

Life in california was rough at first for the young women. She was in a total different state with no family or friends. But as the weeks and months pass she finally starts to settle in to her new home. She finds a nice little apartment in a nice town, she is able to find a good job with nice hours. For once in her life she feels seen and heard as she meets new people. Gaining new friends at work and around town with her free time.

For about two years that was what she did with her life and it was going great. Every day she grew to live the new town she was in and the thought of her old life was slowly fading. She missed her home, her parents and even her siblings but she knew it was best that she leave. She didn’t regret getting out when she did. There was nothing for her back home and she understood that.

It wasn’t until her twentieth birthday was about to hit when things started to change once again in her life.

Reader felt lucky to have met such nice people when first moving to california. After getting a place to live she was able to find work at a local hospital. It wasn’t anything fancy but she was able to get a job in the records department and then she was moved to the physical therapy department. That’s when she met Miguel, a nice physical therapist in training. He just so happened to be looking for a patient file for a new client that was coming in for treatment. Reader of course noticed and helped him find it before he got to lost in all of the paperwork and folders.

He was extremely embarrassed about not being able to find such a easy document. Reader brushed it off and told him that it was fine and that if he ever needed help finding anything in the records department to just come and find her. She knew the place like the back of her hand by now. That sparked a great friendship between the two. They got lunch breaks together and even hung out after work a lot. He also introduced her to a few of his other friends too.

“You know I did karate in highschool.”

It was a random comment he made one day as they where sitting in the hospital cafeteria during a lunch break.

Reader perked up as she picked at her food.

“Oh really? Physical therapist guy did a dangerous sport like karate? Um.”

“Yeah…remember when I told you about my back? Karate may have played a key in that. But it’s in the past.”

“Soooo why are you bring it up now?”

“Well I kinda wanted to know if you wanted to come with me and some of the others to go hang out at one of the lessons. My sensei still teaches and one of my friends is teaching along side him these days. Everyone wanted to go hang out but I didn’t know if you where into that kinda stuff.”

Reader thought about it for a long minute before saying “Iv never been to a karate class before it sounds interesting. Just don’t expect me to know any of your crazy karate stuff I guess.” She laughs as she shoves some of her lunch into her mouth. Miguel grins back at her.

“Don't worry I wasn't expecting you to. It's just for fun trust me, you're going to have a great time.”

The following week Reader gets the address from Miguel on where the dojo was. She pulls up to the nice little place, it's beautiful and quaint. She is just in time to pass a little group of kids walking out of the gate. They laugh and y'all at one another clearly happy about the lesson they just came from. Reader can't help but smile as she passes them, looking back to watch them all load up ain't a small van and take off. Her mind is brought back when she hears loud laughter from behind a large gate from where the kids originally came out from.

Walking up to the gate she opens it and peers around the corner to find Miguel and a blond man talking. She also takes notice of the fact that Demetri and Robby are there as well. Both are off to the side talking about something. She meet Demetri and Robby when they showed up to the hospital to collect their friend after work to go to a local bar. They all have hung out quite a few times since then.

“Reader you made it! I was scared you might have gotten lost on the way here or something.”

“Yeah sorry I'm still trying to figure out this area but your directions were fine, found the place on my first try so no harm done. Hope I wasn't keeping you guys waiting.” she says a little bit embarrassed. This was a new part of town she had yet to be to so finding her way around was still a little tricky. Luckily she was able to find her way with Miguel’s good directions.

Miguel patted her on the should before turning to the blond guy again. He was much older than them and she could only guess that this was Miguel’s sensei he had briefly talked about before.

“Reader this is Johnny Lawrence, my sensei and Robby’s dad.” he mention to the older man who is just smirking at them. Looking at him until close she could see the slight resemblance to Robby. His nose and brows and just a hint of his eyes reminded her of the dirty blond. She smiled and shook his outstretched hand, his grip was firm in hers. He let go a second later. Robby groans as he's mentioned. Johnny rolls his eyes before walking off back towards the dojo where another man comes walking out. He's a bit shorter than Johnny, tan with dark hair.

“And that is Daniel LaRusso! My other sensei.” the other man gives her a smiles before shaking hands with her. His hold is firm but just a tad bit gentler then Johnny's.

“Can we start this thing all ready I'm getting tired of waiting. I don't care if we just finished a class I want to get back to training already!” a voice came from inside the dojo. Reader looks over the means shoulders to try and get a look at who was yelling. The door to the dojo slammed open and a guy strolled out not long after.

He was taller than her by a few good inches, skin pale with only a kiss of sun to it. He was in a gi like the other men but he had the top open hanging loose. His hair was too long but it had a nice length to it, gelled up in a neat mohawk. Reader felt her face grow warm has she took a little to long to rip her eyes away from his open shirt. He had a nice set of muscles that made her all kinds of hot. Quickly she looked away and focused on the others.

Miguel laughed saying “Dont worry about him that's just Hawk.” she raised a brow at him “His real names Eli but we call him Hawk. It's his thing.” she rolled her eyes and gave a small chuckle. His name was definitely something.

(I admit that I cut this off extremely early. I have more to this idea but I didn't know if anyone was actually going to like it because I started it when I was going through writer's block and I feel like it was a bit bland. Might continue if anybody actually likes it. )

[serafiel-jacobs]

The doctor is in (Fanfic)

New chapter from my main series 🩷

Pinocchio was in the waiting room, he had entered first to the appointment and was now waiting for his father, it had gone well, but Pinocchio decided he didn't want to come back, talking about his feelings is really hard for him, it's easier for him to write them down and makes him feel better. Although the doctor did help, giving him some guidance about how to express his feelings better in his writing, they also told him that it could work for him to vent his feelings in drawings, Pinocchio thought about it and it did sound like a good idea, he was even doing it right now, drawing something in his sketchbook.

He finished the drawing, it did make him feel a lot better, he should write his feelings more often; his father was still in there, Pinocchio was getting bored, kicking his feet a little while sitting in the chair, he got up from the chair and decided just to walk around a bit.

“Pinocchio this is a hospital you can't walk around here like it's nothing” Gemini chirped from his cage.

“I'll just go outside for some fresh air and will be back in a minute” Pinocchio was sick of just sitting, his father was taking way too long, and more than an hour and a half had passed.

Outside Pinocchio did just that, just staying for a few minutes and going back, but on his way, someone came out of one of the rooms, they looked like a stalker, Pinocchio tried to just walk back but the stalker followed him.

“Hey, I've seen you before,” The girl said with a sweet tone.

Pinnochio is starting to feel like a celebrity now but unlike his uncle Venigni, he doesn't like all the attention.

“At the stable, I've seen you a few times but you were there recently, I'm glad that your pony has such a good owner, Applejack looks so happy with you” Blue Canary can recognize most people who have bought horses from her family, and she can remember almost every horse by name.

Blue also recognizes Pinocchio's face, he looks a little like Carlo, they went to school together, but being a year older she barely saw him. She is not going to mention that, she doesn't want to make him feel uncomfortable with a reminder like that. She did spar with him and Romeo that one time, they were amazing at fighting.

“You know my pony?” Pinocchio has never seen this stalker before at the stable, but it's not like he pays much attention to anything besides his pony when he is in there.

“I sure do, my family owns the place and we want to make sure all the horses get good owners, so all of us try to keep track since there are so many” Blue extended her hand for a handshake, “But where are my manners? I am Blue Canary, a Bastard stalker”

Pinocchio shook her hand, as usual trying to not apply too much force.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Blue Canary but this boy has to go back and wait for his father” Gemini was insistent, Pinocchio needs to remember that his father gets stressed about places like this.

“My apologies for taking your time” Blue is very polite, as her family has taught her, “It was a pleasure”

Before leaving, Pinocchio wanted to make her feel nice, so he made the stalker's promise, Blue was surprised but she smiled and did the gesture as well.

Pinocchio went back to the waiting room, just in time as his father came out of the doctor's office just a minute later. They exited the building together and since it was Saturday, they decided to spend time together outside as a family.

“So um father” Pinocchio wasn't sure how to ask, “Are you okay now?”

“Well son it's not that simple” Although Geppetto wishes that it was, “It's something hard you have to work for, like how you struggle with what happened when you were fighting”

Pinocchio then hugged his father, he wanted to give him more words of encouragement but nothing came to mind, he was a little afraid that whatever he said could come out wrong and make his father feel upset, so he hugged him tightly.

A little too tightly.

“Son…” Geppetto was struggling to get the words out, “I can't…breathe”

Pinocchio stopped and started apologizing, Geppetto caught his breath and composed himself.

“You are very precious” Geppetto gave him a faint smile, “Let's do anything you want today, you deserve it”

Blue Canary saw them as they were leaving, her small break was over and she needed to head back to Dr. Frederick's office. She saw a man dressed completely in black leaving the office, his clothes almost looked like alchemist apparel but that couldn't be right, all alchemists fled Krat after everyone discovered what they were doing.

“Keep staying outside, I will tell you when to come in if a patient is going to be difficult”

“Yes sir”

A few moments of silence passed, Dr. Frederick writing down a few notes and prescriptions.

“Miss. Cassandra, tell me, are you religious?”

“Yes, I am” Blue didn’t understand where the question was coming from.

“Would you mind accompanying me to the Cathedral tomorrow night? It’s the only time I can go and you know how dangerous it can be at night”

At night… She is a little afraid of the dark because of what happened years ago but she can get over it, she needs to, she is a stalker and has to be brave, plus she has her belt lights and her lantern shield can reflect the light of the moon and the doctor is right, it’s dangerous at night, just yesterday another dead body was found, the intestines had been taken out.

“Of course, I can sir” She exclaimed eagerly.

“Good, I understand that we mustn’t work on Sundays as written in the bible, but think of it more as enjoying the mass with me, although obviously, I do plan to financially compensate you” Frederick has that little stun memorized, it is so easy to trick religious fools.

Blue smiled, maybe Dr. Frederick can be a little intimidating but maybe that’s on her mind, he takes his job seriously and he is a man of faith and science, a good combination for wanting to help others.

“Now, my patient will arrive soon, so keep your guard outside, will you?”

Blue left the room and Frederick was left alone, he took a deep breath.

He needs to check the process of the experiment taking place in the St. Frangelico Cathedral, Frederick knows that doing their operations in a place as crowded as the Cathedral is risky, but the people of Krat are stupid, they still think Andreus is a martyr, not even knowing how his greed consumed him, or how it turned him into a monster.

And history repeats itself because the new bishop is accepting generous donations and they don’t ask questions about their activities, although there was that nun who kept staring at him that one time he was going to the underground area, but it’s just a dumb nun, she looked so clueless.

Frederick started cleaning his office again; he cleans his office five times a day, but another one could help and his patient still hadn’t arrived. People have no idea how easily dust accumulates, he hates dust more than anything, he hates uncleanliness. He had his doubts about hiring the girl as his bodyguard, but she is a clean person, better than most and she doesn’t complain when he makes her clean alongside him. He expected her to not even know how to pick up a broom, the Lucero’s are one of the richest families in Krat, more wealthy than his family.

The only people wealthier than them in Krat are Antonia and Lorenzini. Ugh, just thinking about them annoys him, Lorenzini is the richest and the most insufferable man in Krat, never knows when to shut up, always has to say how much of a genius he is, he has to be the center of attention everywhere he goes, why does anybody even like him? He can’t believe how many people are his loyal fans. Antonia on the other hand, that’s more than anything personal as the old woman has no idea of the gold mine that she has inside Hotel Krat, and he isn’t just referring to the gold fruitcoin tree, and what can lie in the Relic of Trismegistus, but all that knowledge hidden in what was once the underground section, the secrets of that now abandoned castle.

Not for long, as he plans to do something about that.

At least he can put Lorenzini in his place, Frederick doesn’t doubt that Arlecchino is already taunting him, it was easy to bring that stupid puppet back. He found its body in Arche Abby, the spear still stuck to his body and just as he suspected, as he was bound to it, it still held a little of his Ergo, and bringing him back was easy, in that state he wouldn’t be able to kill properly so sent one of his men to fix him up, he wonders if those engineers at the union had any idea of what they were repairing, if they knew how many would die by such a simple act.

Frederick knows better than to just let Arlecchino run completely free, so he is bound to him, he cannot harm him and to ensure his quiet, he did a little magic trick, he is physically unable to reveal anything about him. So Arlecchino is just wandering around doing his little art projects and the people of Krat are too busy focusing on that, its all the news is talking about, the gruesome murders, it's disgusting, not because he cares about those people but because that idiotic puppet is so messy with his deeds, when Frederick murders someone he knows better than to leave a mess or make a mess of any activity makes.

But a distraction is a distraction and progress is going well, Frederick knows that the experiment that lies in the cathedral is all but finished, but for now, he must wait until tomorrow to see that his expectations have been met and they better be, he would rather work alone this requires help and those other fools better not screw up this, although at least they are more loyal to him that they ever were to Simon, first of all, he is actually good at being charismatic unlike Simon who was an awful actor, people either followed Simon because they feared him or if they were delusional like Adriana and saw him as a god.

Second, his family. Generations and generations of doctors, people dedicated to helping others, even back when Krat was an unimportant dump. As for him, he has managed to make his family's name even greater, he is a true doctor. Not one that sells fake cures or promises you things will be okay, he is realistic and methodical, he gets the results, and because he puts those feelings aside he can always know or understand what is wrong with a patient, not to mention how most doctors tend to stick into one particular subject, on the other hand, he is constantly researching, why wouldn't he? It's part of his main goal.

Immortal Life.

Not the fake immortal life Simon was offering, Frederick knew from the start what Simon's true goal was, just after meeting Sophia Monad once, that girl was shining with power, and the way Simon looked at her, lusting over that power… and more than that. Valentinus was such a fool for not seeing the truth that was right in front of him. But it was clear as day Simon wanted to become a god and in secret, he found a few secrets about the man, secrets about his past, and it all made sense. At the very least Valentinus being a fool was what made Simon the new leader and all that data they collected while under him was extremely valuable in his research.

Frederick has no reason to become a god, he might be arrogant but not so much that it will be his undoing, not to mention how history proves time and time again that trying to become a god is something all humans are doomed to fail. Immortal Life on the other hand, now that's possible, has been done before, however, it tends to have its… drawbacks, what is the point of having an immortal life if you cannot enjoy it? Processes like that end up turning you into a monster. The philosopher's stone is different, special.

The man stood up for a moment, looking at himself in a pocket mirror, his green eyes shining brightly, his face already started to look younger and those tests were not even the real power, once he has the stone, it will reveal the true potential of the human body, what it can do beyond its limits. What the-

There was a knock on the door, his thoughts being interrupted as he let the next patient inside.

——

At the Bastard Stalker’s head office, some of them were giving their reports of their current missions, Blue had just arrived and showed how things had been going with her client.

“So you had to kick out a few rude patients and accompany him to a party? What hard work is the little princess doing” Said a woman with a Lion Mask.

“Not only that but he is paying you well, more than what any of us is getting paid” A young man spoke up, one with a Tiger Mask, “Aren’t you just so lucky? As if you needed the money”

“Um” Blue didn’t want to be rude to her superiors but she didn’t like their hypocrisy, “But all of us come from wealthy families, just as all other bastard stalkers”

“Watch your mouth Blue,” said a female voice, a stalker with a Sabertooth Mask got close to her, “Looks like you can’t take just a little bit of teasing”

Blue rolled her eyes, she wasn’t fond of them, “The Pride” as they called themselves, acting just as petty school bullies, as if they were dumb school popular kids, Sabertooth is their leader and her little followers are Lion, Tiger, and…

“Yeah, Blue you are no fun at all!”

Rusty. Because she has the mask of a Rusty Spotted Cat.

“I take my job seriously” Blue was frustrated, she even pointed dramatically at Rusty, “And why is this child a stalker again?”

The little girl was smiling under her mask, “Because I’m strong and capable, I think the little birdie is just jealous that I’m more skilled than her, afraid we might eat you?”

Again with that dumb joke.

“You always want others not to underestimate you Blue” Sabertooth had a smug grin, “Why is it any different with Rusty?”

“It’s clear that you are just jealous” Tiger Made a mocking voice.

And Lion joined in, “The horse princess is jealous, what a sight!”

“I’m not” Blue was furious now, “Being a stalker is dangerous and serious, a child shouldn’t be a stalker”

But they didn’t listen to her and just made fun of her again, they don’t care about being stalkers, they care more about the fame that comes with it. Blue can’t deny their skills and The Pride is recognized with good reason, yet if the public knew that this is how they acted they would lose their support. At the end of the day, they are just spoiled brats.

“Well here is my report, I must go back home”

“Be careful Blue, it’s dark outside, you better not start cowering in fear” Sabertooth mocked her one last time before she left, “Better not let the pretty ponies your family owns get too sad without you”

Blue Canary took a deep breath and left; the rest of them kept talking.

“You all heard right?” Sabertooth had a serious tone now, “About Red Fox and Black Cat going solo?”

“I always knew Fox was a traitor” Lion never liked her to begin with.

“Not only that but did you hear she disowned her family? It should have been the other way around” Tiger can’t understand why anyone would leave a wealthy family like the Volfe’s.

“All because of her dumb lost brother, how ridiculous” Lion was also in disbelief, how stupid, they must be struggling by themselves. But as it turns out, despite truly being a lost brother, the Volfe family refused to accept that, because confessing to an affair and a child as a result of that would be disgraceful to the family.

“I don't know guys…” Rusty said in a playful tone, “Maybe she was all lonely without a sibling, that's why she was too desperate to have one” She giggled and the others found it amusing.

“Dumb as she and her brother are, this is serious” Sabertooth grabbed her weapon and slammed it on the floor to make them get serious, even if she loves to mock others, now it’s not the time.

“They are going solo and doing well, not only that but that strange stalker with the Mastiff Dog Mask who recently appeared is neither Bastard nor Sweeper. This is bad”

“Bad as in how?” Lion wasn’t taking her seriously, “Only three of them, not a big deal”

“And they are doomed to fail” Tiger crossed his arms, “Only one ever worked out, the Legendary Stalker and no one knows where she is”

“Don’t sweat it Tooth, nothing bad will happen~” Rusty joined with the others, because she always joins with what the majority is thinking.

“That better be the case, although…” Sabertooth grabbed her blade again and examined the sharpness, “Perhaps we need to remind them why you don’t cross the Bastards”

—-

“Am I going crazy, Pulcinella? I heard him, it was his voice but that can’t be”

Pulcinella couldn’t hear the voice from the other line and it didn’t help that they hung up the phone as soon as the words were said.

“I am aware that the young master got rid of Arlecchino” Pulcinella was puzzled as well this shouldn’t be possible.

“Was it a prank call? But no one is supposed to know, it was covered despite my best efforts” The public is still not aware of the truth of his parent's death and after the frenzy happened, Venigni didn’t think it was a good idea to reveal the truth, considering the tense situation, he didn’t want any more hostility against puppets.

“If it was a cruel prank call, it must have been an alchemist, as they might be the only ones to know the truth” Pulcinella wants to believe that is the real reason, to think that manic is back…

“I know, I know that you are probably right but,” Venigni was shaking, “That serial killer that’s been out there, the one in the news, Arlecchino was a serial killer, he…”

Venigni was having trouble speaking this was too much for him.

“It might be a copycat killer”

But if it’s a copycat, how do they know the truth? How do they know that Arlecchino was responsible? Every possibility that has been suggested just gives them more questions.

“Maybe it was just the stress of remembering that night, maybe I really am going crazy but Pulcinella my friend please” Venigni grabbed Pulcinella’s shoulders, “Can you look into this for me?”

Pulcinella knows this will be no easy task, but anything for his master Venigni and this is personal to him as well, he won’t anyone torment him about this any longer.

“I will, you have my word that I will get to the bottom of this”

Venigni was still tense, he trusted Pulcinella but this entire situation was making him too overwhelmed. He even canceled all of his work duties, as he had a few meetings to attend, saying that he was feeling ill, although it was true, as this situation was making him physically sick.

“I also believe it’s best we inform Pinocchio of this,” Pulcinella said, “And Geppetto as well, but for now, please get some rest, for your own sake Master Venigni”

Pulcinella is right, it’s best that he just rests, maybe some beauty sleeping will do him some good.

[knowltonsrangers]

theoretically pt.7

Benjamin Tallmadge x F!reader

first , prev

Caleb never asked if you got seasick, expertly drawing the boat to the shoreline and jumping inside. The man hummed a tune you didn't know as he offered you his hand, swaying gently as the waves bobbed to the coast unanimously.

“Thanks,”

Your hand finds his, his unused hand grabbing your opposite elbow to steady your balance.

"You seem like you’re good friends with the Major,"

Small talk is awkward, but if it meant to carry on a conversation longer than a question and an answer, you would entertain the notion.

"I would sure hope so. Been friends since we were kids,"

“That’s sweet,”

You mean it wholeheartedly, something you hope translates with a small smile on your lips.

Then, your own feet betray you, unceremoniously tripping onboard the small boat as Caleb lunges to catch you.

"I said I'd take care of ya, y/n, can't do that with you in the drink,"

Swallowing thickly, you nod, regaining your footing before sitting down, gasping slightly at how unstable and unsafe all of this felt.

“Speaking of,”

You catch his attention as he looks over to you curiously, seated across from you as he halts his digging through his bag.

"I think Benjamin’s just about had it with me,"

You sigh as he pulls the rope free, the boat officially leaving the shore in one swift motion.

"What makes ya say that?"

"Well, for one, he's incredibly insistent that I leave here. And he doesn't seem to like my jokes."

You only mean the second half as a poor attempt at a jest, yet Caleb begins to seriously mull the two reasonings over, gathering the oars in his hands as he begins to row.

"Nah, don't think of it that way, y/n. He's sendin' you away to protect ya, and I think in my entire life I've seen Ben genuinely laugh six times."

He pauses.

"Maybe seven."

"I can't help it that humor is my defense mechanism. Or coping mechanism.”

You hesitate, then include:

“Or both."

"If I could see it your way, y/n, I'm positive I'd understand."

"Yeah, I can empathize with that."

There's a pause, and you find yourself frowning slightly, every time your mind wanders to the fact you are scarce out of ideas to find your way home from here.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

You whisper, hands coming to your upper arms as if to instinctively hold yourself. Caleb laughs, then takes a good look at the expression on your face and realizes you aren't kidding.

"No, no! Not ta me, at least. Interestin’, that’s a way I'd call the situation."

“Thanks.”

The warble in your tone is enough to make you physically cringe.

“That means a lot,”

There’s a beat of silence before the brunette presses onwards.

"May I ask you somethin', y/n?"

You swallow thickly, shaking the feeling of dread away for a moment, gently bobbing your head up and down to usher him onwards.

“Why didn’t you listen in yer history class?”

Your eyebrows raise, and then your mind reels. That would be an excellent question that you don't have the heart to tell the man, so you opt for an ambiguous answer instead.

“I…I don’t know. I guess before now, I didn’t have a good reason to.”

“Well, makes me think that if there’s a class to teach, means we’re doin’ somethin’ right.”

“You’re an optimist. That’s a good way to look at it.”

“Not that I’m known for my great ideas or nothin’.”

The trip across the sound was full of mindless chatter, and one thing you appreciated was that Caleb never tried to pry any more information out of you. It was quite nice to just have a simple conversation like it was meeting a new friend, and happy to not be stuck in that tent, nor the endless hours of interrogation.

Once you arrive at the opposite shoreline, it becomes hours of the waiting game. Your chin finds your hand as you sit on the sand, knees drawn to your chest as your clothes bunch and gather uncomfortably.

"I'm due back to get Ben soon. Think you'd be okay for a bit?"

Your head swivels, noting how dark the wooded area had become since you both had arrived upon it.

"He's coming here?"

"Well, yeah. He's gotta tell me what to do with ya, miss."

Caleb snorts, hands on his hips as you sniffle quietly.

"Am I safe? I mean, it seems desolate, but you would know the area better than me,"

The man does a full three-sixty shuffle, eyes scanning the tree line and listening patiently for any movement.

"I'd say so. If someone comes too close, or somethin' rattles in the distance, just keep movin' along the shoreline. S'all connected, I'd find ya."

Your hands run down your pockets, a bit of worry twisting in your stomach at the notion of having nothing on your person.

"Got any spare knives?"

Another joke, but Caleb seemingly contentedly agrees. Shuffling around in his bag, he pulls out a small pocket knife, no bigger than the palm of your hand.

"S'not much, but it's enough to protect yerself."

He hands it to you, and you take it graciously, holding it close to your chest.

"Thank you!"

To you, you have no choice but to happily oblige to any of Caleb's ideas. He was easygoing and downright hilarious, but you can tell just how much he respects Benjamin.

"I promise, even if you come 'cross some lobsterbacks, they wouldn't harm a lady. Just say ya got lost, and ask for the Captain or Major. They'd be able to help you."

His index finger comes to his lips, as if he's about to disclose a secret.

"Jus' don't mention anything about the camp, alright? Yer a patriot now, y/n, don't go switchin' sides."

You stand, wiping the sand from your pants as you go over to Caleb, offering him your pinky. You weren't quite sure if he'd understand what you meant, but almost instantly he locked with yours and shook your interlocked hands once, firmly.

"I promise." "'Atta girl."

And just as quickly as he was in front of you, he was in that boat again, and then in the water, and then...far enough into the fog that you could no longer see him.

"Well, shit."

You kick a rock, praying for the daylight just to hold a little longer. The night hours would be much scarier alone, and you wouldn't find much solace not being able to see your enemy.

"Just another fine predicament, nothing I can't handle." Your fingers run over the pocket knife tucked neatly in your hand, jumping slightly as the crunch of leaves echo within earshot.

"Yeah, right-"