#so i get to my second drink in the line ans this one has a name on it so i call out the name and he goes-

[shrimplicitly]

to the adult man who condescended to me about not putting his name on his cup like some fucking 8th grader i hope your wife fucks your brother and i hope ur kids never go to ur funeral

[b0xerdancer-writes]

A Second Chance

Dark!Rhysand x Reader

Summary: Rhysand regretted many things he thought. He regretted telling Tamlin about his mother and sister, he regretted everything he had to do under the mountain, regretted some of his actions during the war with Hybern, he regretted having to treat Azriel the way he did with Elain, he regretted not making the ‘for life’ deal with Feyre, and most importantly he regretted not being able to save Feyre and their unborn child durings Feyre’s rough birth. But he would not regret her or the things he did for her.

Word Count: 7,139

Warnings: Murder, Dark!Rhys, Death, War, Grief, Therapy, Manipulation, not proofread we die like men.

Notes: Sorry this took so long, i took a small hiatus for life stuff going on! Hope you enjoy!

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Rhysand regretted many things he thought. He regretted telling Tamlin about his mother and sister, he regretted everything he had to do under the mountain, regretted some of his actions during the war with Hybern, he regretted having to treat Azriel the way he did with Elain, he regretted not making the ‘for life’ deal with Feyre, and most importantly he regretted not being able to save Feyre and their unborn child durings Feyre’s rough birth.

It has taken Rhys and the entire inner circle a long time to adjust to her not being around, Rhys even longer so. He had completely put off court duties and public appearances in the recent months, but after an intervention via Amren he finally dragged himself out of the estate and into the city of Velaris.

Amren had been fed up with Rhysand’s antics and had thrown him a card for a grief support group that had popped up after the war, she had declared that if he wouldn’t go for them that he should at least go for Feyre. So here he was, slinking through the streets of Velaris on his way to the damned widow support group.

It was hosted in a small cafe which explained the drinks and snacks provided, the tables had been cleared to one side of the cafe ans a circle of chairs sat in the center, coffee and pastries lined on the checkout counter, a few females and a few males were gathered in small circles. A female in a floured apron came out of the backroom carrying an assortment of pastries, flour in her hair and on her face as she balanced the overstuffed tray.

Rhys had been debating between the caramel coffee or the chocolate coffee, after all caramel was Feyres favorite but Chocolate was his, when she greeted him. “Oh! My lord! Its great to see you! Please pick whatever coffee you like. Feel free to mingle or feel free to simply take a seat and wait for the meeting to start.”

“Oh. Uh. Thank you.” He nodded grabbing the caramel labeled coffee. “You own this place?”

“Own and host.” She nodded.

“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

She smiled back. “And I'm sorry for yours”

“To be honest, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with either yet, I don’t know enough people to mingle and can’t sit and twiddle my thumbs.” Rhys shrugged.

“Well you might get covered in flour but you can help me back here.” She suggested.

“I don’t mind some flour, what do you need help with Darling?” The word felt foreign in his mouth but good. Like a step in the right direction.

“Uhhh, if you wanna help me carry the tray of cookies from back there it would be helpful.” She motioned to the doorway behind her with a small smile on her face.

“Gladly.” Rhysand nodded and followed her into the back.

When they returned back upfront, tray of cookies and pastries in hand, the final members of the support group were trickling into the small cafe. Chairs had been arranged into a circle, activities stationed off to one side of the room and stacks of grief management books at a table on the other. She dusted off her hands with her apron and snatched a tea from the counter of drinks and moved towards the group of fae circling around the ring of chairs. Some fae split from the central crowd and split up into smaller groups at the tables of activities and books, Rhysand weighed his options before joining the circular group in the center. Everyone found a seat, a few openings here or there as she had a policy for always having a few extra seats in case anyone found their way into the meetings. The fae gathered around him were from a vast array of characters, and it intrigued him to find all of these people sharing one common factor.

The female he had assisted with the trays earlier cleared her throat before standing and smoothing out her dress and apron, addressing the entirety of the small building. “I would like to welcome everyone to tonight's meeting, a special welcome to those who are just joining us for the first time.”

Her eyes darted to Rhysands figure as she introduced herself to the crowd for those new members, he noted he wasn't the only new one to this meeting: three or four others were new as well. “As many of you know, I lost my mate and daughter to the attor attack a few years back, I sought an outlet for my grief and in doing so found others who had lost their loved ones like myself. So I took to arranging this weekly gathering as a way to help myself and others cope with the loss of loved ones.”

She was a good soul, Rhys thought, every word she spoke conveyed truth and honesty, something in her welcomed him and calmed him. Her very presence calmed the anxious storm in his chest and Rhys welcomed the feeling that had long been absent from his chest. A chorus of replies and greetings echoed back to her, she extended her attention back to the room and offered them a chance to introduce themselves. He recognized none of them, all small shopkeepers and civilians from all over Velaris, all had lost someone close to them.

One girl who had moved up here from the Court of Nightmares had lost her father who was a darkbringer in the recent war. A female who reminded him of Nuala and Cerridwen had lost her brother to an attor. A young male who had lost his baby sister in the attack when a building had partially crushed him and he could do nothing as the toddler female was swept up by the creatures, their parents had long since passed, their mother in childbirth and their father a few months later due to grief.

Then came Rhysands turn to speak. All eyes turned to him, and he felt the prickling of his anxiety nipping at him. He smiled back at everyone sadly with a small wave. “Many of you know me as your High Lord, if you don’t know me by name my name Is Rhysand. I was informed by my closest friends I should attend this meeting as I’m sure all of you know I recently lost my mate, wife, and our High Lady. I lost her to the birth of our son, my heir who passed away as well due to the difficult birth. I lost them both.”

Sad smiles and apologies found his ears as the head female in front of him prompted him to sit again, taking the center of the circle. “I am so sorry you have had to learn the loss of a mate and child, my lord, I am sorry you all had to experience the losses you have but we can work together to get through the pain and grief. We are all here to support each other through this horrible pain. I know many may not want to openly speak about their pain so you are welcomed to partake in the other forms of support we have here.”

With her final comment everyone turned to their projects with a nod and some mumbled thanks. It was towards the end when they spoke about distractions and busying oneself to help cope, it had struck a chord in his brain; distractions could be handy for him he was sure but he couldn’t busy himself with court work or with his close family, he would feel too much of Feyre there. His thoughts drifted to things he could do to distract himself or busy himself, he had lost himself for so long in the thought he had barely noticed everyone beginning to rise and bid farewell to the sweet female who had so quickly accepted him into their small group despite the reason she lost her mate and child being his fault.

He was the last member to rise as she began to clean up the room, gathering the books and journals in her arms; she seemed lost in her own world until he approached her.

“Do you mind if I help with cleaning up?” He asked softly.

“Oh! Of course my lord!” She had chirped back, straining with the weight of the books in her arms.

“Here, let me carry those for you.” Rhysand had taken the books from her arms and hoisted them up against his chest.

She picked up the pens and pencils quickly, throwing them into a small bag. “Thank you my lord, just follow me with those please.”

He had followed behind her with a small smile on his face, she led him towards a small closet that had been filled with cabinets and shelves; she tucked the small box into one of the shelves and began taking small sections of books from his arms, tucking them on one of the many shelves.

He had helped her reset the entire cafe, sweep, wipe tables, and clean up the entire back of the cafe’s kitchen. The moon was high in the sky when she had finally waved him goodbye, the bell chiming above him as he opened the door to step out onto the cobblestone street. The roof of the estate he had gifted to Feyre could just be made out from where he stood outside of her cafe; He had practically abandoned the Estate, instead favoring it for the house at the top of the mountain. It had been awhile since he or anyone in the inner circle had stepped through the doors he considered, everyone had joined him back up at the house or in their own apartments across Velaris.

He had considered something she had said about the memory of the ones you lost, how the only way to cope was to face the memories and accept them. He had taken a deep breath before crossing the street and turning right at the corner where he would have turned left to head towards the steps. The road was quiet and he was a lone soul amidst a sea of grief as the wrought-iron fence that bordered the estate came into view. As if sensing its master the gates slowly creaked open, a picture of stars and swirls that mirrored the tattoos he and Feyre had shared. The fae lights of the estates flickered on as he walked up the small pathway to the grand front door, his breath caught in his throat as his hand made contact with the door handle. As if sensing his hesitation the door opened softly beckoning him to enter, every detail just in the entry hall had submerged him in the sense of Feyre; he felt like he was drowning as he turned out of the doorway and flitted back through the gates, both clicking closed behind him as he manifested his wings and took to the skies above Velaris.

+

Azriel was sitting at the island counter softly sipping on some chamomile when Rhysand had landed on the balcony. He nodded a greeting to the male, taking note of his disheveled appearance and tear stained cheeks. “How was the meeting?”

“I liked it, the host is a very sweet female. I’ll continue with attending.” Rhysand had answered matter of factly.

“She is incredibly sweet, I informed her of your possible attendance earlier this week. She tells everyone her mate was lost in the attor attack and he was but,” Azriel sighed. “He was one of my men, one of my spies.”

Rhysand poured himself a cup of tea from the lukewarm pot. “Sorry Az i know what it feels like when you lose one of your men.”

“It's my fault.” Azriel drew a breath in, “He was trying to get both of them to safety, had his daughter in his arms. I had called to him in a hurry to rejoin the fight. That split second he hesitated at my voice was what landed him in an attor’s grasp.she won't blame me for it as much as I have asked her to and apologized for it, she always says it is no one's fault but the Mother’s and fates. She's a strong female Rhys, I figured you could learn something from her to get you through this.”

Rhys nodded softly, sympathetic for his friend. “I did, even in just one night I did.”

Azriel had turned and raised a brow at him, Rhys just stared down into his cup and watched the steaming liquid swirl in it. “I went to the Estate after the meeting tonight.”

“Oh.” Azriel’s expression turned into one of shock.

“Yeah. She had said something early on in the meeting about only being able to cope with the memory of your lost one is by facing the memory of them. The estate is just down the road from her cafe, you can see the roof from her doorway.” Rhysand tilted his head and Azriel sucked in a breath.

“You went back to the estate?” Azriel whispered.

“I couldn't go inside, I stopped at the door.” Rhysand looked over to Azriel at his side.

Azriel’s eyes held a sad understanding in them as he nodded. “Still, I’m proud of you brother.”

“I think your friend will be a good help to me. I wouldn't have been able to do what I did tonight without her words, her understanding, and her gentleness with me.” Rhys offered Azriel the first genuine smile he’d had since Feyre’s passing.

Azriel offered a smile back and patted Rhys’s shoulder. “Have a good night brother. Love you.”

“Night Az. Love you too.” Rhys turned back to his glass as Azriel slipped from the kitchen and Rhys noted that Azriel had seemed to relax, his steps heavier than they had been for several weeks now.

Rhysand with a small smile downed the rest of the tea and slipped from the barstool, climbing up the steps of the hall and slipping into his bedroom. He had actually managed to get some decent sleep that night, he didn't awake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and with a throbbing ache in the center of his chest.

+

The next few weeks seemed to fly by as Rhys continued to attend the support group; after each session he would walk to the estate, each time he would make it further and further into the house. On days when they had no sessions or on days, like today, when Rhys just found himself bored but without enough motivation to face the work in his study he would venture down to the streets of Velaris and into the small cafe; extending a hand under the pretense of ‘busying himself for a distraction’ and of course his sweet little shopkeep would accept him in with open arms.

This had become routine now, after several evenings spent baking and making drinks, the first night had set their friendship in motion and both were thankful for the other's steady presence in their lives. The first time Rhys had shown up to the small cafe early in hopes of helping her with setting up, only to find out the meeting had been canceled; she had attempted to inform him but with Azriel gone on a mission and his presence absent at the estate she had no way to inform him without climbing the thousands of steps, yet she gladly offered to let him help her with the evening rush and clean up.

Today had been rather slow, the bell above the door having not chimed for over an hour now, the two of them stood in the back while Rhysand told her stories of the Inner circle. She sat on the metal table, her feet swinging softly and Rhys leaned on his arms beside her; both of them were laughing till the front bell chime brought them out of their little bubble.

“One sec, let me take this order.” She smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder she pushed off the table and slipped through the door separating the kitchen from the front of the house.

Rhys smiled to himself as he heard her voice chime “What can I get for you today?”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he heard the slightest bit of confusion and fest in her voice through the door. “Oh, Eolan! What's brought you in today? The meeting was canceled, I thought I informed you earlier this week?”

Rhys could feel her anxiety and fear in her voice, it made him uneasy and nervous; he knocked softly on her mental shields offering her his concern. ‘Whats wrong?’

‘Eolan, the male who was at your first meeting who lost his little sister in the attor attack, he's here and he seems very angry and on edge, seems to be directed at me. I know nothing further.’ She had answered at his mental caress.

‘Let me know if you feel I need to step in, I’ll stay out of view back here.’ Rhys nodded to himself and pulled from her mind.

He stuck to the wall, and moved slowly towards the door; staying out of the way of the small window he listened in on the conversation just on the other side of the thin wood.

“Are you even listening to me!”

“Eolan, your concerns are warranted and I do hear what you’re saying-”

“No! You dont! How can you befriend him, let him come to our meetings! Knowing what he's done, knowing he has inadvertently caused all of our losses!”

“Eolan, I warn you now. He is still our High Lord. I offer my services to all of Velaris, High Lord included, now Eolan. If you have problems with how I run my business and who I call my friend then you may leave now.” Her voice was firm this time and Rhysand was proud of her.

“You don't get it!” Eolan had barked back.

“I do. But-”

“No. You really dont. You don't hear the talk after meetings, the anger everyone has at you for letting him in. Haven't you noticed less and less coming to the group?”

“It's none of my business why people do and don't come to the meetings I choose to host for the betterment of Velaris, just like how it's none of your business who I choose to associate myself with.” She had gotten snippy with him, clearly losing her patience and it made Rhys smile ever so slightly, plus he had to fight back a snicker at it lest he give his position away.

“Listen Here-” A bang and her yelp blurred Rhys’s vision as he slammed the door open.

He was greeted by Eolan pulling her halfway across the counter, his eyes flitted to Rhys for a split second as his anger turned to fear and he froze. It was easy, Rhys thought to himself, infiltrating his mind, that is; smooth and simple as his claws dug into the pathetic male that saw fit to threaten one of his friends, one of his females with ease.

He raked the talons along the male's mind with the intention of making him let her go, Eolan had begun to tremble as he released the smaller female from his grasp; Eolan found himself frozen in his position and Rhys stalked forward a few steps, his eyes narrowed and she turned to him with worry written on her face.

She took a few steps forward, her hand coming to rest in the center of his chest; pulling him from his anger and making him look down at her in concern. “You okay?”

“I'm fine Rhysand, though I'm sure he's not. You can let him go, I’m sure you've scared him enough to send him running with his tail between his legs.” She huffed looking over her shoulder with a glare towards the other male, her nose wrinkling ever so slightly that it made Rhys note the reaction with the faintest tilt of his lips.

“Plus he’s pissed himself in fear and now I have to clean his mess.” She grumbled distaste visible are her eyes narrowed on the trembling male.

“I'll have it dealt with, we can close the shop for the evening and go have dinner at the house.”Rhys extended the offer.

“I’d love to really but unlike you I can't drop whatever I'm doing, I run the cafe to make money if i close down for the rest of the evening i'll lose the profit.” She crossed her arms, looking up at him with one brow raised.

“You don't have to worry about that, you know? I can order enough food for the house to cover the lost profit if it matters that much.” Rhys countered and she sighed.

“We can have this argument at a later date, when not in front of guests. Seriously though Rhysand you can let him go I doubt he’ll be any further of a threat.” She waved it off watching as the male towering over her pouted like a scorned puppy.

“Fine, I was looking forward to misting him though.” Rhys pouted before turning a pointed glare to the male in his mental grasp.

She rolled her eyes moving around the males towards the doored off staircase that led upstairs to her apartment above, Rhys watched as she disappeared up the staircase until the door clicked close behind her again. His gaze fell back on the male, a darkness lingering there.

“You're lucky she has spare pity for you. Because I don’t. No civilian in my court will threaten another. Ill let you walk this time since you've already embarrassed yourself thoroughly, if this ever happens again though, I look forward to seeing you.” He narrowed his eyes, raking the talons along the malleable thing that was Eolan’s mind, just deep enough that that surface scratches would scar; the slightest everlasting reminder of Rhysand’s threat over the other male.

As soon as Rhys’ talons were out of the other male’s head Eolan took several steps back, eyes wide and his entire body trembling. “You- Your fucking crazy!”

Crazy he might be, but he had taken an interest in the female upstairs and however fucked it mightve been she had struck a chord in him so deeply that the ache of loosing Feyre had lessened. He had lost Feyre, had almost lost both of his brothers to Hybern and other forces on more than one occasion, had almost lost Mor, and had lost Amren for a time; he had almost lost everyone close to him on multiple occasions and was planning on not letting the same happen to her, no matter what he had to do. So if he seemed crazy so be it. If he had to dip into darker places of his own mind to protect her, so be it if she wasn't around to see.

“Well if I’m crazy, so fucking be it, im not letting her come to any harm but you however may for that insult.” Rhys growled, second guessing his choice and Eolan jumped trying to scramble out the front door.

Rhy sunk his talons back into the lesser male's mind, just enough to keep him quiet and still. With a dark grin Rhys stalked across the floor to the closed off stairway, he reached out for the iron door handle, turned to look at the frozen male and called up the stairs; the faint sound of a shower echoing into the empty cafe.

“Darling? How long till you are ready? I want to let everyone know when to expect us.” Rhys called out, holding eye contact with the male across the room from him.

Both males knew whatever her answer was, would be the deciding factor in Eolan’s fate.

“Mmmm,” she hummed, “Probably in about 15-20 minutes.”

Rhys smiled, something wicked and dark in the depths of it. “Alright darling take your time, I’ll be down here cleaning up.”

Rhys closed the door again, a sickly sweet grin on his face as darkness seeped into the cafe from every crevice. When no one could see in or out of the cafe, Rhys took a few steps forward till he was back in front of the trembling smaller male.

“I would apologize for what I'm about to do, but then again I feel it's deserved.” Rhys’s talons sunk their way into the other’s mind and Rhys greeted the other male’s eyes rolling into the back of his head with a sneer.

Misting was never pretty, it was brutal, dark, and savage; but to Rhys it was an oh so welcomed feeling. With a snap of Rhys’s fingers the male in front of him evaporated into a black ash like smoke, Rhys rolled his shoulders and popped his neck; looking at the mess on the floor Rhys simply snapped his fingers again removing any and all evidence of what had happened earlier.

Rhys moved to lean against the counter, finicking with his cufflinks when he heard heels click slowly down the stairs. His head perked up just as the door opened, his darling clad in a shimmery black dress that accentuated all the right curves; Rhys practically purred at the view, she would blend right in with Nesta and Mor at the table, like she had belonged there the entire time.

She took Rhys’s extended elbow, offering him a small smile. Rhys led her out the door, placing his free hand on her own hand clasped on his forearm. “Come darling, I want to show you something before we attend dinner.”

“Alright?”she questioned with a head tilt that Rhys had always found amusing since he had met her all those weeks ago.

Truth be told Rhys had an alternative motive in what he was showing her, tonight had just solidified his train of thought. Rhys took a shaky breath and began leading her down the street.

“Can I get a hint?” She asked softly.

“It's not really a hint but I can offer you an explanation. If that works for you?” Rhys countered.

“I’ll take it.” She giggled.

“I apologize for being the reason you were in danger earlier-” He started

“Rhys-” She attempted to interrupt, but Rhys cut her back off.

“No, let me say my piece please.” He begged softly.

“Ok. Sorry.” She offered.

“No worries Darling, as I was saying. I feel it is my fault you were in danger earlier and I’d like to apologize for that, but I find myself concerned with more than just that male from earlier.”

“Really Rhys, thank you for stepping in but he was no true threat.”she smiled up at him as they turned a corner.

“I wish that were true darling but remember I saw inside his mind, while he might have been trembling in my grasp his true intentions were in fact to harm you if you didn’t comply with his demands.” Rhys looked down, worry on his face and his eyebrows furrowed.

“I thought it was simply a childish farce if I'm being honest.” Her breath caught in her throat as she swallowed the breath stuck in her throat.

“Sadly no, and that's why I wish to show you this surprise. It's my fault you have become a target and thus I feel I should be the one to protect you.” Rhys extended his acknowledgement as he came to a stop in front of the estate.

She raised a brow at him as he led her through the wrought-iron gate and up the steps of the porch. He pushed the door open, leading her into a now barren estate. He stood behind her hands firmly on her shoulders, she looked back at him over the left one with a raised brow.

He had removed everything from the estate in the last week or so, moving it all to the vaults in the mountain underneath the House of Wind. He began to tour her through the empty halls, a shaky hand pressed firmly to the dip in her back.

“I've thought about this a bit, tonight was only a confirmation. I was planning to just extend this invitation present combo to you originally as a thank you for everything you have done for me. Now however, I would like to reword my offer.” Rhys sighed and tucked his chin to his chest almost like he was disappointed with himself and had to steel himself for whatever words were going to fall out of his mouth.

“Honestly, with the events of tonight I would much rather change my offer but the idea is nonsensical and this makes the most sense to me.” He shook his head, disagreeing with himself.

“Rhys, darling, you are rambling.” She smiled softly to him and turned to place a hand just above his elbow as an act to comfort him.

“Thank you darling, I’ll get back to my point.” He cleared his throat. “I’d like to offer you the estate. I moved everything to the vaults but I’d like to take you either to them to let you sort through stuff you’d like to or I can accompany you on a shopping trip. Now I know it is sudden and you are probably wanting to deny my offer, but let me put it this way: I’ve put lots of thought into this. First off I feel bad that the estate is just sitting there and you are in a one bed apartment above your shop that is also your makeshift office, since you sold your other apartment when your mate died. I would like to keep you safe due to my presence being what has put you in danger and I considered having you moved to the House of Wind I realized you aren’t necessarily close to anyone up there yet, besides Azriel but he will be away for the next few weeks, and would have no reliable way to the shop if I was preoccupied with my duties as High Lord. SO, I thought about what I could do about that little issue and it crossed my mind that the estate I was already going to offer you does in fact have an enchantment on the gate so that no one with ill intentions will be able to pass through, Thus I figured it would be the ebay course of action to move you into the estate.” Rhys smiled brightly having finally made his point.

“Rhys, I can’t-” She had started to counter.

“Sure you can, I’m offering so of course you can.” His smile faltered ever so slightly.

“No, Rhys I mean, There's no way I could pay the rent of this place or eleven pay the utilities on it.” She had begun to fiss over the offer, thinking into the little details.

“I’ll take care of it, it is my gift to you anyways.” Rhys shrugged.

“You can’t possibly-” She had started to shut his offer down again when Rhys squashed her with a finger to her lips.

“I respect you, darling, so I refuse to use any of my abilities on you,”She winced at his words. “Which is why I am hoping you just accept my offer now as is so I don’t have to command you too as your high lord. I truly just want to keep you safe since I can't be here all the time and this would satiate my anxiety.” Rhys smiled brightly.

“I- Okay, out of my respect for you I’ll accept your offer of the estate.” She had seemed shocked or maybe taken aback, Rhys couldn’t quite read the expression on her face.

“I’m not trying to be a dick or an asshole or anything, I hope you understand that I do truly want you to be safe.” Rhys gave her a small smile in offering.

“I know Rhys, just thank you it's beautiful.” She gave him a small smile before looking at the grain of the wooden floor.

“Of course darling, now come, we have a dinner to attend. We can begin moving your stuff over tomorrow and then go shopping or perusing the vaults.” Rhys proudly swept her out of the estate and up into the crisp night air.

+

A weight on Rhysand’s chest had been lifted, he had left one crucial detail out of what he had told her. While yes the gate wouldn’t let anyone with ill intentions pass through, it would also inform him of who it was trying to harm her. That information was an important part of Rhys’s plan to protect this new female that had helped heal the gaping wound in his chest.

The first dinner with the rest of his circle had gone well and several months had passed since, Azriel had been just overall ecstatic to see her. Mor and Amren shared some looks between each other but overall accepted her presence in the dining hall with joy especially when the topic of her no bake cookies were brought up, apparently in Amren’s switch to regular fae foods she had a rough time but found herself able to nibble on the cookies after stumbling into her shop one day. Nesta and Elain didn't speak the entire meal, just sat in silence while eying the female in their sister’s spot. Cassian had been standoffish at first, torn between his brother and his mates reactions but had ultimately warmed up to her engaging in chit-chat and batting away Nesta’s elbow to his ribs.

After he had retreated to his study for the evening and after he had walked her back to the cafe with the promise he would be there early to help with the transition to the estate, Azriel and Cassian had slipped into his office; Cassian with furrowed brows and Azriel with a worry in his eyes.

“What's your intention with her, Rhys?” Was all Cassian had started with.

“What do you mean?” He countered with a laugh at the end of his question.

“Cassian made his point to me earlier and as you know Rhys I feel responsible for the position she is in now. So her wellbeing matters to me more than I would like to admit, Cassian and I would like to know your intentions with her.” Azriel had sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Alright fine, sit down. I’ll explain everything to you two.” Rhys growled and motioned to the two leather chairs opposite his desk.

He had somehow laid out his plan for the other two to dissect, thinking neither of the males before him would necessarily approve but to his surprise they exchanged glances between each other and with a nod agreed to assist him. Thus started the long game of assuring the safety of the female all three were sure would become their next High Lady.

Over the next couple months Rhysand eased himself into crafting a love life with her, subtly protective of her shooting glares to anyone that seemed to give them looks when they would walk through Velaris. Everytime he would feel the gates wards surge, an image of whoever was trying to get to his darling would cross his mind. A quick note to Azriel or Cassian, whoever wasn't busy or on a mission, would have the assailant swept away silently in the depths of the night.

It had been over a year before she made any note of the disappearances, and Rhys’s spine straightened when she had mumbled something to him ,about less attendees to their grief support meetings, one evening after cleaning up.

“Have you noticed we have had less people coming to the meetings? I tried to turn a journal into one of them the other day thinking they just stopped coming but even their family said they hadn't seen them for awhile themselves that they had just up and left a note saying they were offered a home in Spring Court now that it's starting to rebuild and needs more citizens. Isn’t that neat Rhys? You never told me that was happening, how could you leave that out of your stories to me? I could have pitched in to offer some of my baked goods for those relocating!” She had scolded as she pushed in a chair and began wiping a table down.

Rhysand’s back was ramrod straight as he let out an awkward chuckle. “Apologies darling, it must have slipped my mind. I thought I had informed you already.”

He was just relieved the lie had been taken seriously by everyone included.

“It's alright darling, you are a super busy and important male you don't need to tell me every detail.” She smiled. “I was just surprised by them leaving without any word.”

He rounded a table and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Here darling let me, I have a meeting with Cass and Az tonight about a debriefing from their most recent mission. Let me walk you back to your estate before I leave?”

She smiled brightly up at him. “Thank you Rhys.”

“Of course Darling.” He smiled back, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I'll be right back, I am going to slip into the bathroom for just a moment darling.”

“Hurry,” she chirped with a laugh “I’ll grab our coats from upstairs.”

In the bathroom Rhys gripped at the ceramic sink with a deep breath he reached out to Azriel and Cassian. Hearing their acknowledgments as he slipped into their minds he smiled brightly telling them to come up to his office for a quick meeting tonight. He felt the two agree and retreated from their minds, washing his hands in the warm water of the sink to give the illusion to her he had done exactly what he said he was doing.

+

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel stood in a circle around Rhysand’s desk. Glasses in hand as Rhys informed them the ploy had worked without a flaw. The three cheered before beginning to talk about the next steps in the plan.

“She's been talking less at meetings, mainly just listening and offering her input to others. She's become more distant with scheduling the meetings themselves, letting more time go between them. I think it's only a matter of time before they stop completely. Once that happens then we move into the next step. That's when I'll confess and offer her the position of High Lady.” Rhys confirmed.

The other two males nodded as well, confirming their agreement.

“I don’t like what we have done to get here, I don’t like the sacrifices made but they were made to protect her and I can think of no better place for her safety than by my side. As my high lady.” Rhys downed his glass and the other two yelled their agreement and followed his action of downing the drink.

+

It hadn’t taken Rhys long at all to saunter down to the estate after the meeting with the other two males had concluded, he would stalk up the stairs of the quiet estate and slip into bed beside her; rousing her from her slumber to show her how thankful he was for her to give him a chance, how thankful he was he would get to love her, just like he had done almost every night like it was a routine.

Rhys however, was surprised to find every light in the estate on and even more surprised to find her sniffling on the stairs. His blood raged for a minute before he calmed himself the best he could as he called out to her. “Darling? What's wrong? What happened?”

“I-I think I want to stop hosting the meetings.” She sniffled.

“Why darling? What happened?” Rhys took a few soft steps forward, joining to sit beside her on the wooden staircase, he pressed her ever so gently into his shoulder, one hand rubbing her back.

“People aren’t really coming anymore for one, two I don't really feel the connection to it I once did, and three is that there will soon be something else that requires the energy and attention I'm giving the group.” She choked on another sob and Rhys pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“What's that love? What’s going to pull your attention like that?” Rhys crooned, his voice as soft as he could make it.

“I- it just feels so wrong like this Rhys, I feel like I betrayed them with this.” She sobbed and Rhys shushed her.

“Ssssshhhh, darling, it's okay you’re rambling darling. What has you so worked up?” Rhys ran his other hand through her hair, an attempt to calm her and himself as his anxiety began to rear its head.

“I- Rhys I’m pregnant. I feel like it's betraying our other halves-” another sob wracked her body.

Rhys joined her in crying, silent trails down his own cheeks. “It’s not darling trust me, Feyre made me promise I’d move on with my life after her. It's the only thing that made me agree to attend your group and I thank the mother everyday for putting you in my path, because I know the mother gives those that deserve it second chances and you darling deserve every single one.” Rhys tried to soothe her.

“You really think so?” She sniffled as Rhys wiped her face.

“I know so, cause she brought me you.” Rhys whispered.

So he would have to move the plan up, the mother worked in strange ways sure, but this was an unexpected turn.

She smiled softly at Rhys as he wiped the last tears from her face. “Marry me then, I'll make you High Lady. Both you and our child will be kept safe and away from harm, you will have everything you want or need, both of you. I- I just want you, no need you, by my side. Please darling.”

“O-okay.” She nodded and sniffled, letting Rhys sweep her up in her arms and carry her to the bed.

He tucked her in softly kissing her forehead before stepping into the closet of his belongings to change into some loose sleeping pants. She had passed out when he finally crawled into bed next to her, pulling her close to his chest.

Yes, there were many things Rhysand regretted but this was not one of them. The steps he took to insure a second chance with the female he now held close to his chest was not something he would regret. The lives he had taken and the minds he had misted to ensure her safety were not amongst that list. Yes, he regretted many things, but she would not be one of them

[globofchaos]

Shelter chapter 1&2

Plot

Karl sets out to find the truth about his crazy uncle Beethoven . It was never his intention to gain a new best friend. One that will watch over him when he is gone ...

Chapter 1

Late at night around 3 am  In the Vienna realm a young man name Karl van Beethoven poured a cup of coffee while on his laptop. His eyes were incredibly exhausted after the long day sheepishly writing on a note pad with red ink . Karl slowly started growing more tired as he drank the bitter drink . A massive lightning bolt struck , causing Karl to snap out of his sleepiness.  The Viennese eyes were sunken purple from the lack of sleep . "How does my uncle ..do all of this …" he questioned to himself.  Earlier that week his uncle Ludwig van Beethoven was behind on his composing because of a "realm tour " he was going to . Karl, being the "favorite nephew " decides to help his uncle out in the hopes of getting expensive gifts in the future and more music equipment.  The work was more than he bargained for but he needed to gain  favors.  Lightning struck again this time ringing in Karl's ears , "Aaaahhh i NEED to sleep" he screamed .  The lights started randomly flicking around the tenant prompting him to worry slightly.  He turned the light switch off and started making another cup of coffee, this time pouring an entire bag of sugar and heavy cream  in the pot ."I have to stay away for as long as possible " Karl told himself, drinking it straight from the pot .

"Hahaha how are you tired when it's only 3 in the morning "a cruel voice laughed at him . Karl's eyes turned into the size as pin pricks quickly grabbed a black pan . "Zeigen Sie sich als Eindringling! " he shouted blindly swinging the weapon "Ich kann auch Deutsch sprechen " the voice replied, turning on the light revealing to be no one other than Nikolas Tesla.  "Actually I can speak acht so do you wanna speak German or Valhalla ? " Tesla asked while doing his nails . "Well smart ass that's nothing impressive Mozart can speak fünfzehn ! " Karl bragged " Is Mozart in the room with us right now ? " Tesla looked around . "Yet again that's what happens when your dorky uncle has friends that are from Poland,  France,  Germany and of course Vienna…" Karl paused " Wait a minute ..why the fuck am I explaining any of this to you GET OUT "  . "Hold on, I'm looking for your uncle Ludwig,  I wanna perform an experiment and Hrist isn't telling me anything  ! I swear Ludwig is brainwashing her " Tesla felt worried.  "I don't care ! Get lost , Geh weg, bousculer, non è il mio problema , Ite invadendi domum alienam ! " Karl pushed Tesla out " If I see you again I'm calling Hrist byeeeeee " , "But my -  " Karl slammed the door on Tesla locking it . The moment the man turned around Tesla was right next to him . Karl started swinging the frying pan like mad , "Hold on I don't mean to be a threat " Tesla easily dodged Karl swings. "What do you want, man? I'm too tired for this bullshit " Karl rubbed his eyes .

"Why are you so tired god I barely know " Tesla smiled,  " I have a lot of files to organize because my uncle is an old man who doesn't understand the internet beyond liking Hrist's group human photos and making the corniest pick up lines ever…plus that secret  file of a certain goddess "selfies '' I accidentally found .   '' Karl  turned a light shade of green .  "Selfies !? You mean those awkward ones where Hrist covered her face in a mask and was cringe, " Tesla recalled.  "No …not those '' Karl grew light headed.  " I could help organize those files …for a price …" Tesla stated,  " I have no money " Karl mentioned.   "No something worth more than money…" Tesla laughed "knowledge ! ".  "What are you talking about…" Karl whined , " Being a nurse, have you ever wanted to make the world a better place ? " Tesla pointed out.  "No, I could barely do surgery on my uncle without him complaining every 30 seconds that I'm doing it wrong  " Karl rolled his eyes . "Did you give him any anesthesia  ? " Tesla wondered. " Wait, I thought that was for humans …" Karl stopped for a moment to think "Uncle has a high pain tolerance….he wasn't even in pain just bored " .  "Hmm I remember Hlokk doing open Intestine surgery on Edison…yelling at him for taking her twin to an illegal fighting ring "  Tesla recalled. "I don't know who either are, " Karl groaned.

"The point is you are changing humanity  for the better ! Tesla pointed out . " Do I look like I give a damn about humanity ? " Karl started pushing him out "I'd say  goodbye but there is no good in goodbye with you ! " he slammed the door shut .  "But you are helping a noble cause "  Tesla was right behind him again . Nickolas was basically a salesman that just wouldn't go away .  Karl turned around quietly grabbing a rubber chicken then cracking his knuckles  . Before Tesla could speak Karl tackled him resulting in a massive fight full of angry German swearing . After a few minutes Karl opened the door . "I'm glad we had a talk ! Just remember no more random visits at three in the morning.."Karl stated . "Noted "  Tesla had a rubber chicken wrapped around him clumsy walking away.

He slammed the door rubbing his eyes with a loud sigh.  He made another pot full of coffee, pouring another bag full of sugar and cream before drinking it while organizing for his uncle.  By the time it was in the morning he was finally finished , Karl stripped most of his clothing off . He slammed himself onto Ludwig's messy bed , "Damn you uncle " Karl hissed barely able to sleep despite working all night on the project . It was probably because of the caffeine style in his system but that didn't deter Karl.  He got up going through Ludwig's medicine drawer , "He wouldn't mind right if I borrowed his melatonin right ? " Karl grabbed a bottle of gummy bear sleeping medicine.  He shoved a handful in his mouth before putting it ,s fixing the unorganized messy . Finally the medicine did its work making Karl sleepy.

While waiting to fall asleep Karl looked through old photos of Ludwig .  They say gods don't age unless they hit their prime and with Louis it's still hard to tell . Ludwig didn't exactly like talking about his childhood or anything like that . All he mentioned was that Karl was just like him . In Fact Everyone said that exact statement.  Its gotten to the point were he is nicknamed   "Mini Luddy '' from Beethoven close friends . Despite being named after his father  Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven, people always questioned if Karl was Ludwig's son. Quite naturally his uncle was happy to claim Karl as his own while his biological father seethed with jealousy.  Kasper never said anything but Karl could tell so he stayed quiet while Ludwig was oblivious.  Now they were rumors of Karl being Ludwig's secret  child  . Thankfully his uncle denied stating that " If I  wanted a son I wouldn't steal my brother's wife  !  " and "Karl  his  my son in spirit " . At least Ludwig finally accepted his sister in laws  after he found his girlfriend Hrist. His mother and uncle still don't like each other for gods knows why but they are quiet about it instead of screaming  . Karl wondered if  Ludwig was secretly jealous because his father and uncle had a wife and he didn't .

" Some things are just better left a mystery " he  shook his head . It was getting hard to think because of the medicine  making him drowsy.  Karl took one last look of his uncle's picture.   Ludwig hair was much shorter and raven black instead of wild mane . Despite that he is still recognizable looking every calm and full of life . A few thoughts ran through his head  making him more and more tired . "Why...do I care so much ..." Karl questioned,  he didn't have time to answer himself as his head plopped on the pillow . A few seconds later Karl fell into a deep sleep , Tesla opened the door sliding himself near Karl . "So you do care about your uncle..." Tesla whispered, grabbing an old photo of Beethoven.  The inventor never fully got along with the composer due to their clashing personalities . It wasn't hatred at all, just disdain because Tesla couldn't understand Beethoven's cold judgmental personality and Hrist warm fluffy loving smile .Ludwig just spat too much venom for Nickolas to make an antidote.

How could his darling niece  love someone so crude , childish , hot tempered,  suspicious god with less  manners then a stray dog . Tesla asked Hrist a few times on what she saw in him but Hrist only spoke nothing but good about him . She talks about how romantic and kind he is then  showed him the many gifts he gave her. At the end of the day  Hrist is a grown woman who is capable of taking care of herself in witch Tesla had learned  to accept . Sasaki and Qin seem to have taken a liking to him . Alvtir questions on why Hrist would choose someone "so old" , while the youngest one Ou asked a million questions then demanded both Karl and Beethoven play with him . Simo was fine with Ludwig but stated that " If you break her heart I'll send you into a permanent slumber ".  Basically as long as Hrist is happy then that's all that matters . Tesla could easily see how deeply in love she is with him so he let his distaste for him go, replacing it with curiosity.  Maybe one day they could get along if he just understood Ludwig more.

 

Tesla  pulled out a smartwatch clicking it on Karl's right wrist. Finally, he plucked a black feather laying it on the watch that turned a bright blue then turned off.  Tesla put the photo in Karl's arm . "Until later Mini Luddy " Tesla slowly closed  the door allowing the much younger man to sleep …at least for now …

Chapter 2

Karl woke up tasting the leftover coffee from last night , he stretched up his wings back and forth scratching his molted black feathers all over his uncle's bed . This is common for winged gods who don't close their wings before they sleep, something Beethoven always told him or else molting happens . "Hmph ? " Karl noticed a strange watch on his arm. It looked no different from your average smartwatch that you would buy online . It was probably one of the smart watches Beethoven bought for Karl that the youngster wore on and off and probably forgot about.  Karl shrugged, deciding instead to clean his feathers off and change the sheets.  After that he took the watch off to shower then dress himself.  While brushing his teeth he randomly remembered that mad scientist rambling about nonsense he couldn't  completely remember.   Whatever Tesla was talking about Karl wanted to be gone before he came back . Karl opened a draw back pouch shoving peanut butter cheddar crackers inside of it along with a charger for his bluetooth headphones . He slid the bluetooth headphones over his head while the oversized shades laid comfortably on his horns.

"This should keep me away from him, " Karl smiled at himself.  Before he could take another step he still saw the old picture of Ludwig 2nd . Karl took a picture staring at it . It was during a time where people just loved wearing suits and dresses instead of casual clothes . Till this day Karl would often beg his uncle to wear something that isn't a suit especially when he has the hygiene of a "pig in clothing " .  Granted Beethoven didn't like being called that but to Karl it was simply the truth . His uncle  needed to learn how to wear clean clothes and learn basic table manners . Karl wondered what Beethoven was like thousands of years ago . A part of him was just curious, the otherside told him to fly away .  "How long are you going to keep staring at your uncle kiddo ? " a hologram spoke to him . *click *" What the hell do you want ? "  Karl turned around pulling out his pocket knife   . "Relax kiddo it's just me .." Tesla slid his hologram back to the smart watch . "Grrrr" Karl grabbed the watch, "Woah woah woah ! Would you really break the watch Uncle Ludwig gifted to you ? Tesla teased " I would understand if you did tho you probably pon it for new headphones anyway …"..

Karl wordlessly threw his watch on the bed . He rubbed his hair harshly trying his best not to grab his horns and just scream. "What ..do you want ..' he growled furiously.  "Hmm I thought I explained enough yesterday we needed to do an experiment and well you just happened to have the smartwatch to work it out" Tesla mentioned. Angered boiled over Karl's temple , the viennese  quickly grabbed a few boxes of cigars, throwing it on his sack .  He heard footsteps passing by the door , Tesla creaked the door open revealing his black and blue eyes . "We need ..to talk .." He grinned.  "I'm not asking of your intentions again, just get out " Karl spat out . I won't be here for long give me 5 minutes and if I'm not out just call the cops " Tesla shrugged.  "I don't think this is about my uncle but go ahead I'm listening " Karl furrowed a brow  . "Remember how I told you yesterday that I was looking for Beethoven  ? Well that was a lie I was looking for the entire  time, in fact I even went as far as borrowing a smartwatch about a week ago to testc Tesla mentioned.  "Why ? Do you even know my full name ? Why so I a regular 3,000 year old man Have  anything to do with you" Karl crossed his arms.  " I want to learn more about Ludwig and dissect his brain and I figured the best way to learn is through his Nephew Karl van Beethoven and what better way to learn than through time travel  ! "Tesla jumped up and down

. "Time travel  ? " Karl moved his head , "Yes my dear good fellow Time travel  ! Something that was only thought up in movies was now possible ! " Tesla clipped the watch back on . "And why should I trust someone I barely know with such a complex and dangerous subject " Karl pointed out the obvious.  "Because don't you want to learn more about Ludwig?  Where does he come from?  His past " Tesla shook his shoulder "Well how it's possible!  " . "No .." Karl shook his head " I don't give a damn about my crazy uncle or his stupid plans " . "Lying isn't exactly nice Mini luddy I mean I just saw you stare at his pictures and hug the stuff Tazzy do you clearly miss him just a little " . "That is none of your concern " Karl replied,  " Alright but I just saying that its a once in a lifetime event. Why not live a little and have fun ? " Tesla patted his shoulder "Summer is ending this month so ..you know ".

"It must be very lonely in such a stubborn apartment with no friends battling with your schizophrenia and personality disorder every once in a while but I bet you a friend could easily change that " Tesla whispered,  "Do it …do it …do it …." Karl heard a great force tell him to just go along with it . At least for now that is to keep his mind out of boredom . " Let's get this over with " Karl sighed , " Great ! I shall make this fun for us ! " . Later Karl and Tesla sat on a park bench,  and the gifted scientist showed him how to work the simple device . "Just for a few minutes  ?" Karl made it clear that he didn't plan on going on a wild goose chase . "Yes I  already set up the time date so everything will go into plan just press the button " Tesla recalled.  "Okay .." Karl pressed the button.  He immediately felt a red aura around him glowing, "Good luck Karl ! '' Tesla stood back.  Karl mentally panicked as a ball engulfed him . Everything around him is changing.  He felt a strain pin down on his chest until a sudden force jerked him causing a massive fall onto the middle of the street.  Karl laid there for a few minutes his body processing  air  sickness.  He would have vomited if  he didn't skip breakfast that very morning . He laid there for the next 15 minutes as if he was going into a deep sleep only to be woken up by someone ruffling through his sack .  "How much money do you think he has ?" A teen asked.

" I didn't see any, just a bunch of snacks' ' said another one . "Maybe we could steal it and get guilders from it ..hmmm I wonder how much these ear warmers are worth  " the young teen touched Karl headphones.  Finally Karl woke up grabbing the teens arm with his clawed hands ``Don't touch my stuff ! " . "Ah ! A god ! " The group ran out of sight, dropping Karl's bag . Then horse clops started ma,making, Karl hear again coming his way . "Sir it's probably not a good idea to lay on the road like that, '' the horse driver warned him . Karl stumbled around trying to find his footing , "What …city am I in ? " he grabbed the book bag.  "City ? How do you not know that ? You are in Vienna '' the driver told him ."Right ,..right ,,right ahem can I get a ride?  I've seen feeling wonky for the last 45 minutes " Karl explained.  "Are you drunk?  " The driver asked , "Nope, I can't handle alcohol, which is ironic coming from a guy whose family drinks nothing but wine. In fact if I recall my grandfather or great-grandfather owned a wine company but I can't remember which one though " Karl mentioned.  "Okay …you're clearly on drugs " the man thought but didn't say out loud,  he let Karl in the cart for a few guilders.  "Hmm this place has a lot more horses then i remember…" Karl started recording certain events . "So where do you come from, you seem kinda lost  ? " the driver  asked . "I'm visiting for my uncle Ludwig van Beethoven  " Karl answered " do you know where he is  ? " . "Beethoven? " the man rubbed his chin "I think i've heard of that name…" . "Yeah he is a world famous Composer and musician !" Karl mentioned.  "That's a funny way of saying trouble maker! all he does is get drunk and start fights at heuriger " the driver huffed .  "Do you know which one he might be in ? " Karl questioned putting a cloak over his body .

A while later Karl stood in front of a wine tavern , "Wine ….of course it's wine ..,"  he opened the door.  The strong smell of booze  , cigarettes and old cheap perfume made his nose burn.  "Geez, what is this place ? It looks like the rotting end of a shit stained train station…" he commented between steps "the tavern i go to looks much better than this …" . Karl's appearance got him unwanted attention so he sat down . He tapped on the table " Hey bartender…bartender " . "What do you want !?  " a middle aged man rudely commented . " Do you ..uh ..have any water ? " Karl questioned, "Water ? Does this look like a damn pre k center  to you?  " the bartender gritted his teeth . "Okay maybe grape juice ? Apple juice ? Root beer ? Lemonade?  I can't drink alcohol because of my -"  Karl tried to explain but was cut off with the bartender slamming a bottle of  orange juice  "now get out of my sight " the bartender growled.  Karl sat on a table far from the area where he was scolded . He then poured orange  juice onto the cup sipping on it . "I hope I see my uncle soon " he sighed in defeat .

[lolabangtan]

STAY | 02

Forced to live with the enemy in your home, you must learn to deal with Jeon Jungkook’s insufferable ass and late gaming sessions without losing your sanity… Until you are presented with a tempting bargain.

index • previous • next

Word count: 10k

Warnings: Jimin uses cringey emojis, alcohol consumption, drunk confessions, slight physical contact.

You were dreaming about something just a second ago, it was displayed vividly in your brain. What was it? It was pretty nice, but you can’t remember as you slowly wake up. The drossiness feels heavy all over your body.

Row coming from outside your room, the rustling makes you jump. You can feel your heart racing in your chest—

But then you remember you’re not living alone anymore.

You check the time; barely seven in the morning, what the hell is he doing up so early? And why can’t he be a bit less noisy while he’s at it? Why does something have to happen every single day?

It tempts you, the idea of staying tucked in your warm blankets just for a bit longer. And it’s not like you need to get ready for the day just yet. Jeon Jungkook might be nuts, but you are – or try to – be a regular, ordinary member of society; and in this one, regular, ordinary people don’t get up unless they need to.

However, you decide to get out of your room and have breakfast anyway when your stomach starts growling like a mad beast. Since you’re not getting any more sleep any time soon – once you wake up, it’s impossible for you to fall back asleep. So, you might as well be an early bird for once in your life and do something fruitful in these early hours of the day, when the world feels like it’s frozen and the sun has not even risen yet.

Living with Jungkook has proved to be nerve-wracking so far; he oversleeps every single day. Unless you get a day off – then he becomes the earliest bird in town. It’s impossible to make him clean behind himself, and he takes hours in the shower.

Also, you have to beg him to drive you to class because ‘he’s embarrassed to be seen with you.’ Which wouldn’t sound so bad if it wasn’t because it was an explicitly stated term in his contract.

“Good morning,” you groan, still rubbing your eyes.

Jungkook just hums when you walk into the kitchen. “I’m leaving in fifteen minutes.”

Processing his words takes you fairly ten seconds. You’re trying your best, but you’ve slept so poorly and your life is so miserable that you don’t think you deserve any judgement for it— do you?

“But I don’t have class until ten, and neither do you! What am I even supposed to do alone on campus for two hours?”

“Not my problem,” he retorts and sips from his coffee to conceal a smirk.

“What are you—?” You can finally take a proper look at what he is drinking, and when you notice, you groan again, but this time for a worse reason. “Hey, that’s my mug.”

“And what about it?”

“That it’s mine, the Shrek mug is mine. You can’t just use it without asking first.”

“Jeez, sorry. I didn’t know.” Rolling his eyes, Jungkook snorts and leaves the now empty mug in the sink, without even bothering to wash it.

While he spits out his poor excuse, you grab another mug, pour what coffee there’s left in it, and put it in the microwave. You take it out after a minute, pour cream, and gulp it down in a second because hell, are you pissed off that he used your Shrek mug.

“You could’ve asked. And wash it before you leave.”

This time, however, you don’t give him time to talk back since you flounce out of the kitchen in a second. You’re torn between giving in to him and get ready in ten seconds – and giving up a nice shower in the process – and telling him to fuck off, kick him out of your place, and learn to enjoy the beauties of the town’s forty-year-old only bus line.

After hopping off your twenty-second shower, you brush your teeth and grab your phone to resort to your only option besides sitting out two hours in the quad.

[Thursday, 7:16 AM] You: I need Jimin to give me a ride today.

[Thursday, 7:16 AM] You: But he isn’t answering 🤡

[Thursday, 7:17 AM] You: Is he awake?

[Thursday, 7:23 AM] Worse half💩🌍: He’s left for the campus gym already, I think they have a morning training session today. I was very asleep and very happy 😭😭

[Thursday, 7:23 AM] Worse half💩🌍: Why don’t you ask Jungkook to take you?

[Thursday, 7:24 AM] You: Because he’s a pain in the ass, and I guess he’s got to train today too because he’s leaving in ten minutes. And I don’t have class until ten.

While you wait for her to answer, you wander around the room, taking this and that, grooming your hair, putting all your stuff into your backpack, and picking an outfit. Jungkook lets you know he’s left already when you hear the entrance door slamming closed, and you let out a desperate groan.

Your phone buzzes on your bed again.

[Thursday, 7:31 AM] Worse half💩🌍: Well, I don’t have class today. And even if I did, I would’ve needed Jimin to give me a ride.

[Thursday, 7:32 AM] You: Jungkook already left.

Again, Ari doesn’t say anything for a solid quarter of an hour. That gives you time to get ready to leave – even though you realise then that you’ve done it for absolutely no reason since Jungkook has left already. And you don’t have to head out until past nine, and that is if you get a way to get to the campus, so you’re pretty much with your hands tied behind your back right now.

[Thursday, 7:45 AM] Worse half💩🌍: Are you ready and all? He’s on his way back to pick you up.

[Thursday, 7:46 AM] You: What the hell, how did you manage to do that?

[Thursday, 7:46 AM] Worse half💩🌍: I just asked 😭

“Y/N-ssi?” It’s Jungkook’s voice coming from the entrance door. “Come on, I’m going to be late.”

Seeing you’re not answering, Jungkook comes through your room, knocking first, naturally – you’re shocked to find out that, before anything, he is a gentleman and respects your privacy. He’s probably just trying to avoid embarrassing situations, but that’s a good enough reason to be polite.

“Coming!”

You grab your backpack and walk out into the living room, where Jungkook is already waiting for you. Quite impatiently so, judging by his frowning.

The two of you jog to the landing and down the stairs, where his car awaits. He’s just come back to the flat to grab ‘something he just left at home’, that’s why he isn’t waiting down by the engine. You’re still grateful, though, and bitterly frustrated for being so.

It’s weird to sit in Jungkook’s car; sometimes he will turn on the music to fill in the thick silence and end up humming to the melody. Of course, he usually stops the second he notices you’re listening to him, and then he’ll nibble his bottom lip, like you’ve figured out he always does when he’s nervous.

“I was wondering— do you mind if I wait the morning out at the gym?”

“And, uh” – Jungkook almost looks away from the road at your odd request – “why would you want to do that?”

“It’s cosy, and I won’t get kicked out even if I don’t buy a drink,” you joke to justify yourself, just shrugging it off. “I can’t just keep drinking coffee or shakes for two hours straight.”

He lets out a sigh. “I’ll have to ask, but I guess Mr Bae won’t mind as long as you don’t disturb us.”

“Of course he won’t! – I’m your lucky charm.”

Despite your efforts to cheer up the situation a bit, Jungkook doesn’t seem willing to make it any less bit awkward. Maybe your joke has offended him or something, it does look like that is the reason. Whatever is it behind his sudden bitterness, it’s making him too uptight to enjoy it.

Morning sessions are a sacred thing in the swimming club, that you already know – Seokjin used to be painfully adamant about forbidding you from coming to watch them.

Naturally, most of the time you didn’t even want to come. Your warm, cosy bed was a far better prospect.

Maybe it’s because of them coming so early strictly to train since regular training takes place after all the lectures and classes are over. It might help them focus, or at least get their heads into swimming better – no one has ever bothered to give you an explanation, and you have never bothered to ask for one.

You turn towards Jungkook again, and he is drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the music playing on the radio.

Three songs and some bickering about the radio’s volume later, you finally pull into the university’s car park. It’s right behind the sports pavilion, so you only have to get out of the car and walk a few steps.

“You stay here, I’ll go ask Mr Bae if you can stay.”

“Hey, be more respectful to your elders—” But he’s gone before you can even finish talking.

Waiting by the hall, you spot a couple of classmates and a bunch of members of the swimming team. You have to greet them, of course, and some even approach you for a bit of small talk, which you have to give. It’s deathly almost. Actually, you can’t be sure Jungkook is not purposely making you wait longer than necessary just to spite you.

“You should totally come, Y/N.”

Now, what is he talking about? You have kind of lost the track of the conversation. Last thing you remember, he was telling you about the Spring Tournament.

“Sorry,” you mutter, fighting a yawn, “come where?”

Jimin lets out a laugh. “To Tae’s party tomorrow— rough night? Is our golden boy not making it easy?”

“It’s a fucking living hell, and it’s all because of Jungkook. And he’s supposed to be talking to the coach now, but I’ve been waiting here for fifteen minutes already. Hasn’t the training begun already?” you groan again, throwing back your head onto the wall.

“It will, in five minutes. Talking to Mr Bae about what?”

“He’s asking him if I can stay,” you tell him. “Since my car’s shit and I don’t have my first class until ten, I had to come with him—”

“Y/N-ssi.”

Jungkook shows up out of the blue, making the two of you jump.

“God, you startled me,” Jimin whines, although chuckling. “What did the coach say? Surely he won’t mind if Y/N—”

“Yeah, he said you can stay. Just don’t be a nuisance.”

And with that – and before you can say anything to let him know you want him to fuck off – he turns around and heads out to the changing room. With an apologetic smile, Jimin says goodbye and follows him down the corridor, and you decide to leave the hall before anyone else can see you. The venue should be enough comfort.

The memory almost always pops up, like a compulsory sally, whenever to find yourself here; Seokjin and you kissed for the first time under the bleachers, like a pair of sneaky high schoolers. You could still describe perfectly the way your face felt hot and boiling.

The club members are wandering around the venue as they wait for the coach to finish off some details and start the training. You spot Jungkook sitting down next to Jimin and Taehyung – even if he’s wearing the team’s tracksuit, you can see his tattoos peeking out beneath the sleeves. He’s taken off his piercing studs, too, and you wonder if he has ever lost one before.

You don’t particularly enjoy staying to watch the training sessions – and have never had, not even when you were dating Seokjin. Instead, it has always been a tool meant to broaden, groom, and take care of your social life. It was meant to let you see, be seen, talk to your friends, and fulfil your role as a supportive girlfriend, cheering on the then captain of the team. It may seem silly to some people, but to you, it was a world of its own. It was your world.

And one day it just crumbled down.

Really, you don’t know why you still let yourself sulk and reflect. Overthinking won’t do you any good, it never has. It just hurts so fucking bad.

The coach’s high-pitched whistle snaps you out of your thoughts, and the sadness in your face quickly vanishes into your usual blank stare. When your eyes refocus on the venue, though, you miss the way Jungkook is staring at you.

The point is, coming to training sessions is fiendishly boring when you’re on your own.

You try to text Ari for some conversation, but you guess she is still asleep, given that she is not answering. So, you can only look at the ceiling and daydream, glancing from time to time at the boys as they hop into and out of the water. When they get a break, half an hour into the session, Jimin walks up to you.

“Did you think about it?” he asks you, wiping his face dry with a towel.

“Think about what?” you ask and cover yourself with your arms when Jimin shakes off the water in his hair. “Stop—! What are you, a bloody dog?”

He ignores your groans. “About Taehyung’s party tomorrow – you’ve had plenty of time to make up your mind.”

“Will you be satisfied if I say yes but still keep the right to back off if I have a mental breakdown an hour before heading out? Because, honestly, it’s a very likely reality at this point.”

“Uh” – you let out a dry laugh, seeing Jimin as he thinks about it seriously – “I guess it works for me. Or I can let you finger-slap my forehead whenever I say something that makes you feel bad, all right? You can even imagine it’s Ari.”

“I swear to God, if this is another of your weird kinky games—”

“It’s not! I promise. I just feel guilty for what happened at the quat last week,” Jimin insists. “By the way, Ari asked if you wanna come over to hang out. I can—” The coach then calls for him, so he turns to you. “I can give you a ride after class if you don’t want Kookie to drive you… We love you, and we appreciate you, and we cherish you.”

“You better do.”

But Mr Bae is not a patient man. “Park! You got out sweep—! Now!”

“Yessir!”

With a threat-promise that you will talk later, Jimin tosses his towel to the team’s manager and runs back to the pool, slipping off on his way. He’s quick to get up, but the team bursts out in laughter, and honestly, so do you. It pumps some good, old serotonin into your system.

By the time they are done with training, the bunch of dripping wet boys flock to the changing rooms. Jimin asks you on their way out to wait for him and Jungkook at the hall, as you have a class on Comparative Politics at ten. They’re back in no longer than five minutes, in time to head to the building on duty. With his aesthetically shabby backpack hanging from his shoulder, Jungkook just silently follows behind you across campus.

“I’ll see you later,” Jimin tells him at the door, and the two of you walk into the hall. “Now, may I have an answer? Tae needs to sort out the drinks.”

You let out a snort. “Not this again—! Count me out, I just want to spend a relaxing day in my own home.”

“Well, I don’t know what’s relaxing about—”

But Jimin’s phone starts to ring in his pocket. Until he takes it out, all eyes are on him, judging and fuming for interrupting the solemn silence of those who were studying before the professor’s arrival. He could apologise, of course, but he doesn’t really want to.

You just jog down the steps, knowing Jimin will follow you, and you squeeze through the narrow gap between the benches and the desks until you reach the spot where you usually sit.

When you see him come back to you, there is something in his face that makes you sigh. “If you say anything else about—”

“Nah, it was Ari,” Jimin cuts you off. “She insisted I ask you again if you wanna come over after class for, I don’t know, a drink and some catching up. I can give you a ride – I’m heading home as soon as Ms Oh’s twelve o’clock class is over.”

Actually, taking it out with Ari will surely be a great way to get rid of this growing rage inside you. Either that or commit the worst crime in the world known to man – and you know perfectly well that you still have a great deal of regular, ordinary things ahead of you to live. Surely you wouldn’t want to miss any.

“You can drop me off?”

Jimin nods mindlessly. “Yeah, I have to go home and fetch a few things before my study session with the boys.”

“Study session?” You chuckle. “Is that a polite euphemism for a group wank party?”

Then he stares at you in silence with a soft smile. It’s weird, it makes you feel weird, the paternalism— or is this just the look of a friend who cares about you and enjoys seeing you happy?

“I’m glad,” Jimin continues, making you grimace, “that you’re smiling and hanging out a bit more. We all are, really.”

“And now you ruined it,” you laugh it off. But it makes him slowly drop his smile, and you have to nudge him apologetically. “I’m sorry, I just— you know I don’t handle touching moments all too well…” You press your lips together, feeling encouraged all of a sudden. “When I’m happy, I feel like— I feel like I’m just faking all the moments when I feel sad.”

The heavy-cut moment is interrupted when the professor walks into the classroom, requesting loudly that all the students sit upright and get ready for the session. You look away from Jimin, not really willing to see whether or not he’s still staring at you – if he is, there surely must be pity in his eyes. You couldn’t handle that, not now. Thus, his reaction will remain a mystery for the rest of your life as the class carries on.

Comparative Politics are fun from time to time, but today isn’t one of them.

After what feels like an eternity typing the professor’s endless speech on voting behaviour, he dismisses you as he turns off his Upper Pleistocene laptop. Jimin and you are out of the room in the blink of an eye.

“Jungkook’s coming with us,” he tells you as the two of you walk down the hall. “We’ll be studying at your place?” he explains when he notices your confused face.

“Uh, what do you mean, at my place? Jungkook didn’t ask me first.”

Jimin just lets out a chuckle, passing under the gate. Your sworn enemy is waiting at the foot of the steps. “He’s renting a room, you know – I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need your permission to bring people over— Kookie! I just read your text. What do you mean you need me to give you a ride? What happened to your car?”

“Tae needed to run some errands after class, he’ll bring it down later,” Jungkook simply replays, shrugging.

“Well, I’ll be leaving you now” – Jimin smiles at the two of you – “to watch one of Ms Oh’s endless, touching movie documentaries about the German unification. Funny, given they didn’t even have movies back then. Later!”

Before neither of you can utter a word, he runs off to the building across campus, leaving you alone in the middle of the typical last hour’s fuss.

“They had pictures, though?”

You’re given two options: spurning Jungkook and just leaving without a word – which, you’re sure, would be undoubtedly good for your mental health – or trying to play nice for a change, ask him if he’s got any class left, and perhaps even walk with him if it’s nearby – for the sake of your future mental health, as you have already figured out that he plays a big role in it.

You try to speak, but he’s faster, “The guys are coming over to study, so don’t bother us if you’re staying home.”

And then he’s gone, leaving you with the words still in your mouth and rage in your throat.

“Thanks for the ride! Maybe I’ll see you guys later at home.”

With his backpack clutched between his fingers, Jimin waits by the door. “Sure! We’ll save you some snacks… I’ll better get on the move now; Jungkookie seems a bit pissed off today, and I wouldn’t want to try my luck.”

“You’re too scared of him when he’s just a big baby,” Ari teases him before she gives him a peck.

With a giggle and a handful of kisses later, the two lovebirds say goodbye, and your friend closes the entrance door behind her back. Ari then sighs – she always hates to be far from Jimin, even if she knows it sounds and looks a bit strange to the rest of you.

“Ah,” you coo, just as teasingly, making her make a sardonic grimace, “to be young and in love—! Sometimes I even envy you.”

“There’s no need, you know; you could perfectly have this if you tried.”

“I think we know already that love isn’t exactly my thing,” you simply reply as you flip through a magazine.

Striding towards you, Ari walks up to you and snatches it, ignoring your whimper that it could have made you cut yourself on your finger. She tells you that you’re overreacting and takes a seat next to you, forcing you to fold your legs.

You can’t help but snort. “Ugh, I knew this was a trap.”

“Not a trap, I just want to get an update on your life with Jungkook… Do you want something to eat while you tell me the whole thing?”

“That’d be nice, yeah.”

Ari gets off the couch and heads to the open kitchen, ready— no, eager to hear all about it.

There isn’t anything new, really; apart from the fact that you’re closer to a meltdown with each day that passes. Jungkook gets on your nerves every time you see each other, there’s no doubt about that. Here and there he does something oddly kind for you, but it’s probably because of his own good-natured personality rather than his desire to do you a favour.

In the meantime, Ari makes something quick to eat, and the two of you have lunch while you continue with your crying and complaining.

It takes you a solid five-minute speech to fully – or almost – express the frustration and misery living with Jeon Jungkook is making you feel. Ari just watches you as you ramble, nodding from time to time to let you know she is still listening. Not that you are checking her reactions, though – as you’re too busy blurting out complaint after complaint.

Already full, with a mug of coffee in your hand, and your friend in front of you, she harps you to keep talking. Honestly, you’re surprised to find that even you can run out of things to complain about Jungkook with.

“Just fuck him.”

You have to work your lungs in order not to spit your drink out. “What the—! I’m being serious here, you know.”

“And so am I,” Ari continues. For once, you believe she’s telling the truth. Unfortunately. “Just give him the fuck of his life, I’m absolutely sure it will tame him. Believe me – all guys fantasise about screwing their flatmate, and he won’t resist a girl as pretty and hot as you.”

“It won’t be hard for him to find other pretty girls to hook up with – pretty girls he doesn’t hate to the bone,” you retort.

“Uh, maybe, but— it’s good that they’re not you. You have to understand, Y/N; you are like a magnet with guys. Can’t you see that not even dressing like the 21st-century version of Allison Reynolds and barking at them can completely put them off?”

You frown and sip your coffee. “I don’t dress like the 21st-century version of Allison Reynolds, I beg your pardon.”

“Thing is,” she cuts you off again, “Jungkook is hot, you are hot – why not be hot together? And have fun in the process. In the best-case scenario, you’ll have him eating out of your hand, and he might even buy you another Shrek mug. Maybe even a 3D one.”

As unbelievable as it may sound, you actually give it a thought; it’s not that he is not good looking, and you are pretty sure he can be a sweetheart – when he wants to which, when it comes to you, is never – but still, it would feel like you are taking advantage of him. It would be a lie, and if there is one thing you hate with all your might in this world, that is lying.

“I don’t know,” you mutter, “it doesn’t sound clean.”

“It would make your life so much smoother, and who knows? Perhaps you’ll even find out you’re better matched than you expected,” Ari insists, shamelessly pretending to be checking her phone.

Now you can only laugh at that. “Believe me, you won’t catch me dead getting feelings for Jeon Jungkook.”

“Life has many twists and turns—”

Before you can even ask her what on earth she means with that, her phone starts ringing in her hands and she gets up to pick up the call, beckoning you to wait for her and finish your coffee.

Becoming fuckbuddies with Jeon Jungkook?

No, you should be crazy to even think about it. Besides, no matter how much Ari says you’re a hottie, you’re pretty sure you’re not his type. And even if you were, what would you do once he gets accepted back into the dorms and moves out? ‘Hey, Jungkook, remember we’ve been fucking around? That was so you’d stop making my life miserable. Thank you for your stay, the exit is at the back on the right.’ No, it sounds outrageously wicked.

“Jeez, look at the time!” she yelps, taking a look at her phone. “Well, I’ve got my laser appointment in twenty minutes. You can stay here if you don’t want to go home, just take out the laundry load from the dryer when it’s done.”

“No, I’d better leave too,” you say, getting up with a sigh of resignation. “I’ll just walk home; it’s cheaper and it’ll kill some time. Thanks for the coffee, though.”

“Bugger.”

Smirking at her, you grab your coat and head to the door. Once you’ve said goodbye and promised to think about screwing Jungkook – which you will not – you ride the lift to the ground floor, ready for a walk of at least forty minutes. Fortunately, you decided to wear comfortable shoes today.

It takes you an hour since it starts to rain when you’re just twenty minutes into the walk.

But it certainly comes in handy. A bit of fresh air and silence to think have brought you, perhaps not any answers, but at least a bit of inner peace; maybe you don’t know how to improve these months ahead, but you do feel a bit stronger to face them.

You almost groan in happiness the second you turn the corner and see your building. Jimin and the other must’ve arrived two hours ago, so who knows if they’re still there or if they’re bored enough to go for a walk. With this rain and a bit of luck, they will have decided to split up for the day and go home. Well, you rather hope so, but judging by your fortune’s performance this week, you’d rather going to need faith.

“Drenched mess coming through—!” you warn to the interior of the flat, whether it’s empty or not.

Jimin rushes to give you a hand. “I think you caught a drop or two in the way.”

You chuckle sarcastically at his joke and take off your soaked coat, along with your soaked jacket, and then your soaked trainers. Hobi comes to the rescue soon enough with a towel for your hair.

“I feel like the Queen of Sheba with this line of eager servants. Thanks,” you mutter and start rubbing your hair dry. You walk into the house room as soon as you’re dry enough, even though you’re obviously going to need to change. “Are you still going at it, boys?”

“Not really. We gave up an hour ago and have been drinking ever since,” he admits with a chuckle.

“Drinking? But it’s only three o’clock.”

“It’s only been a couple of beers, don’t worry.” Jimin goes into the kitchen and you follow him while Hobi comes back with the rest. “Do you want one? Have you eaten anything, by the way? I don’t know if Ari had planned to have lunch at home.”

You watch him squat down to take a can of beer from the freezer. “We’ve had a bite… Are you really doing nothing besides drinking?”

“What else could we be doing—? I mean, we’ve been talking a bit, if that’s what you mean… But we’re not exactly into board games, and with the way it’s raining out there, it’s not like we can go out either. Come on, you should change and put on dry clothes, or you’ll catch something.”

The group in the living room suddenly bursts into laughter at something Taehyung has said. You sigh, remembering your brother, and wonder if he might want to drop by to see the team one day. But you know it’s fruitless to think about Yoongi when he’s on the other side of the world, probably asleep or tired, so you take the can and thank Jimin with a smile. Perhaps it is best to just take a rest among the wolves.

“I’ll join you in a minute.”

By the time you’ve gathered some dry clothes and your bathroom kit and gone back into the living room, everyone is already getting ready to leave; you frown, wondering if their rushed departure has anything to do with the quarrel you heard from your room just a second ago. You then see Jungkook cleaning after them, picking up cans and all the delivery packages.

“Leaving already?” you ask, crossing your arms. “I didn’t even have time to finish my beer.”

Namjoon, clutching his coat, tries to smile so that you won’t worry, but it’s clear that something has happened. “Sorry, we just— we think we’d better leave… Go take a warm shower, and don’t mind Jungkookie, whatever he says.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me – I think I’m starting to pick up on that.”

He just nods, slowly, trying to think of something else to say. To save him the effort, you smile and see them off to the entrance door. Jungkook stays in the living room, sulking in silence; you can almost feel the pissed-off, overthinking haze surrounding him, and it makes you grimace. Do you really have to deal with this right now when you’re tired and soaking to the bone? The universe is taking too much of your patience lately.

If he notices your staring, he doesn’t show, his own eyes fixed on the screen of his phone.

“I’ll go take a shower now… Need to use the bathroom?”

Jungkook just shakes his head, still not uttering a word. You make a face and spin on your heels to head towards the bathroom on the other side of the room.

The hot, almost boiling stream of water pouring relentlessly onto your head gives you the chance to reflect and think.

It’s been almost a week since Jeon Jungkook moved in. You know already that this situation will carry on unless you do something about it because he clearly won’t lift a finger to improve cohabitation— funny choice of words, you note with a chuckle, and remember Ari’s words.

Just fuck him.

You can’t help thinking about it as you step out of the shower and reach your arm to grab a towel – it’s taking root in your brain.

Of course, that is something you’d absolutely never be willing to do. You might be a bitch, but you know your morals, and taking advantage of someone’s potential for intimacy is a desperate measure that you’re neither willing or going to reach.

But even if you are not interested in seducing Jungkook, you can’t deny that you are quite curious to see if you could; you’ve never had trouble meddling with men, that is true, but it’s been a while since you last put your abilities to work.

With a curious tilt of your head, you let go of your grip on the towel and let it slide down your body until it piles up around your feet. You look at your naked body in the mirror, scanning it; it’s been a long time since you’ve seen yourself naked, not having much interest. Now, however, you find a little confidence in your silhouette.

If this doesn’t work, you’ve never been here.

After hastily drying your hair, at least until it stops dripping, you tie the short towel back around your body and make a face at yourself through the mirror. Solitude really has taken its toll on your sanity, hasn’t it? Or maybe it’s Ari’s madness getting to you.

“Jungkook, don’t forget to do the dishes. It’s your turn today,” you casually say as you walk past him and head to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Jungkook’s focus is still on his phone until your voice repeating yourself makes him look up. You’re walking out of the kitchen now, gulping down the fresh water.

“I— uh, y-yes, I’ll— I’ll get on with that…” Jeez, is he stuttering? Blessed Ari and her fucking mad ideas. You even think for a second that he sounds cute. “Yeah, I’ll get on with that in a minute. Hm, Y/N-ssi? Did you—” Jungkook hesitates for a second, pursing his lips. “D-did you forget your clothes—? I could’ve… brought them up.”

You can’t help letting out a chuckle. “Oh, no—! I just like to be comfortable around the house.”

Maybe you’ve kept yourself out of the market for too long because the mere feeling of his eyes roaming around you strokes your ego madly. Jungkook, too, finds himself staring a bit too much and looks away so quickly he practically sprains his neck.

“You don’t mind,” you begin with a soft voice, “if I do, do you? Of course, if it’s awkward for you, I won’t—”

“O-of course not, there’s no need,” he babbles out, still looking away. But he seems to gather the courage to add, “It’s your place, you can wear a clown costume if you want. Don’t— don’t mind me.”

Even if it goes against your intentions, that is oddly nice to hear. And with Spring closer than ever, it’s good to know you can walk around without minding how many layers you are wearing.

“Really?” you chirp. “Thanks, Kook! You’re great.”

You miss the way he looks at you, with his eyes wide open at your sudden cheerfulness. As you walk to your room with a cheerful spring in your step, the smile is impossible to fight. Finally, in the privacy of your room, you can let out an embarrassingly silly giggle. God, you really have to reconsider many things in your life – starting with Jeon Jungkook’s presence in it.

“Just… a paragraph left. Well, I think it does the job pretty well; not my sharpest work, but it’s good enough. And—! Sent. Voilà ! Free again.” You shut the laptop with a tired, relieved groan and turn over on the mattress, hearing the chaotic mix of music and screams coming from your phone. The ceiling stares back. “Thanks for the help, Taetae.”

“Anytime. You helped me with my English course… Are you coming after all? Everyone’s here already, and some underclassmen were asking about you just now.”

You let out a chuckle and get off the bed. “Not today, sorry. It’s pretty late already, and this paper’s got me a headache.”

“So, you’ll just lock yourself in your room?” Taehyung laughs from the other line. “Sounds like a sad way to waste away a Friday…”

“I’m not going to lock myself in my room! I’ll light up some candles in the living room, get a glass of wine” – masturbate like a madman with your reliable vibrator until it runs out of battery, too, but that’s private information – “binge-watch my favourite show, and forget, even if it’s just for an evening, how miserable my life is.”

Taehyung’s hesitant hum sounds awfully suspicious. “I think you should check your living room before getting your hopes too up— hey, you! Don’t touch that vase, it’s a family heirloom—! Y/N, I gotta hang up, my phone’s dying. Bye!”

And then your phone beeps, letting you know the call is done for. You stare at the screen.

What on earth has Taehyung meant with ‘check your living room’? What the hell is in your living room that you must dread so much? A lion?

With a snort, you give in to the sudden concern created by your friend and walk out into the living room—

Finding Jeon Jungkook lounging on the couch, game controller in his hands and eyes fixed on your TV. Now, what the hell is he doing here? He’s supposed to be at the party, away from you, having fun and not coming back home until way later! This wasn’t in your plans at all.

“Jungkook?” you mutter as you approach him. “Aren’t you, uh, at Tae’s party?”

Jungkook looks away from the screen for a second. “I’m not really into partying, and now that I’m not sharing a room with that party-obsessed guy from the team, I can stay at home without anyone getting on my nerves.”

Yes, of course, because now you are the one with the nerves completely wrecker. Goodbye, relaxing evening by yourself. Goodbye, quiet and peace in the house. Goodbye, masturbating without having to care about whether you’re being loud or not. It’s all ruined now, there is no point in staying locked in your room on a Friday, as Taehyung so kindly bothered to point out, and you are most certainly not sharing the living room with Jungkook and his loud ass videogames while you gulp down a bottle of wine so he can call you an alcoholic.

Slumping next to him into the couch, you take out your phone. Desperate times require desperate measures.

[Friday, 10:33 PM] You: Can I still sign up for that party or is it too late?

[Friday, 10:39 PM] ✨Park Jimin✨: I don’t know, can you? 🤡 We’re still offended by your heartless rejection. What’s the occasion, though?

[Friday, 10:41 PM] You: Apparently, Jungkook is a nerd hermit who just doesn’t go out at all 😭😭😭 I’m sick of seeing him just lying around and playing video games when I come out of my room. It’s like having a big ass dog take over your couch.

You cross your arms over your stomach as you wait for a reply; Jungkook hasn’t seen your text, too immersed in the video-game to pay any kind of attention to you. The smell of spicy sauce draws your eyes to an empty plastic container with noodle leftovers.

“Do we have any more of that?” you ask, taking a better look at it.

Your phone buzzes right before you get up.

[Friday, 10:43 PM] ✨Park Jimin✨: That sounds like Jungkookie 🤣🤣

[Friday, 10:47 PM] ✨Park Jimin✨: Okay, you may come, but just because you are friends with the cool kids. Drinks are on you, though, unless you get someone to share.

[Friday, 10:47 PM] ✨Park Jimin✨: That freshman Soobin is always making eyes at you 👉👈 so he’ll be willing.

“Okay, uh— you’ve got the place for yourself, I’ll be out tonight.” Finally, Jungkook looks away and fixes his doe eyes on your figure as it moves towards the bathroom. “I’ll take a shower and leave. Sorry in advance if I make noise on my way back.”

“You’re going to Tae’s party…?”

You just hum in affirmation from the bathroom door, taking out your makeup stuff.

[Saturday, 5:23 AM] Worse half💩🌍: Please, just send me a text when you’re back home safely. The taxi was legit, right? Call me tomorrow morning, please.

[Saturday, 5:24 AM] Worse half💩🌍: 😭😭😭😭😭🙏

You manage to write a more or less legible reply as you fumble in search of your keys. The taxi has left already, after waiting for five minutes for you to get your card code right; both Jimin and Taehyung had offered to drive you home, but the first one had drunk just as much – if not more – than you and you didn’t want the latter to leave his own place just for the sake of your wasted ass.

Shit, your head is spinning like crazy, it’s making you dizzy. Luckily, you won’t throw up, just wake up the next morning with a hideous hangover and some killer instinct.

When you finally manage to open the entrance door and slither into the flat, you take off your heels with a long, breathy groan. You can’t wait to tuck yourself in your warm quilt, with a nice glass of water on your bedside table.

The living room is eerily silent; since the sun hasn’t risen yet, only the constant city lights, impossible to kill, come from the windows to illuminate the room. It’s enough to see your way to your bedroom, but you still are careful not to bump into anything and make noise. A pissed-off, sleep-deprived Jungkook at five in the morning while you are completely drunk is the last thing you want.

Or is he awake? The flat is so silent that you can hear a soft humming – interrupted from every few seconds by your flatmate’s loud ass snoring – coming from his room. It sounds pretty much like the opening music of that show he’s always watching.

You cringe as the door creaks open.

This is not what you would call a good idea – at least the sober you wouldn’t think so – but, God, it sounds so terribly funny in your head.

Just like you thought, the show is still playing on his laptop by the bedside table, but Jungkook is sound asleep; his face, pressed against the pillow on one of his cheeks, is dimly lit by the faint lights and glows coming from the screen. He’s pouting his lips so prettily, almost like a baby. How can he still be asleep despite the music blasting practically on his right ear?

You almost moan as you sit down next to him on the bed— how come his shabby college dorm mattress is this comfortable? It’s almost like it shapes itself around your butt. When you make sure Jungkook is still asleep, you lie down to try it with your entire body and groan again. Maybe you should steal it, he won’t notice. And if he does, you can always let him play video games for a couple of hours longer.

Your train of thought starts to fade off, the dizziness slowly cradling you into an eager slumber.

Unfortunately, once asleep, and the human koala you are, your arms tangle around his waist with a content groan and pull him towards your chest. He lets out a sigh, chewing on something invisible.

Until the foreign warmth of your body eventually wakes him up.

Jungkook almost jumps off the bed when he peels his eyes open and sees you lying down next to him. Your touch suddenly burns, and he scoots back like he has seen a ghost, face paper white before heat takes over his cheeks and they turn red.

“What the— get off!”

As he tries to wiggle out your grip, you mumble something, and he takes a proper look at you; you’re half-asleep, still wearing the outfit you had on when you headed out, and with your makeup more or less intact. And you smell awfully like booze. Just how much did you drink tonight? And what time is it—? Twenty to six in the bloody morning. When did he fall asleep? But most importantly, what the fuck are you doing in his room, on his bed?

He shakes your shoulder. “Y/N-ssi, wake— wake up. Go back to your room.”

But no, you’re inert like a mummy.

Honestly, Jungkook gives two fucks about the hangover you will have to suffer tomorrow, but he’d rather take five minutes of his sleep to wipe your face clean than put up with your whines and complaints about a skin breakout for an entire week.

“I can’t believe I almost got a crush on you—”

“Jungkookie…” you suddenly whine, making him flinch. Shit, he didn’t notice you’ve woken up. Your eyes are closed, and he’s pretty sure you’re still on the verge of passing out. “Fetch noona a glass of water…”

Your hands are stroking his cheeks, trying to get his attention. He can finally stare into your now half-lidded eyes, blown-out pupils staring back at him—

No, no, no. This is both wrong and weird.

And so, Jungkook shrugs you off of him and puts some distance between the two of you, sitting up on the bed. His skin prickles where you have touched him. God, that’s making it even weirder. Focus, Jungkook, for fuck’s sake. A glass of water, yes. You’ve asked for a glass of water. And he’ll need to get whatever you use to remove your makeup.

“Y/N-ssi—”

“Call me noona,” you whine, pouting before just cracking up another giggle. “You’re always calling me Y/N-ssi… We are bitter enemies; we can treat each other informally.”

Jungkook sighs, letting his head down – if the world is in any way fair, he’ll get this karma back. “Noona,” he practically cries, “come on, let’s… get you some water. Get up from the bed.”

It’s only thanks to his strength that he manages to lift you off the mattress and get you to stand up. You’re starting to slowly come back to your senses, stumbling behind him as he drags you back to your room. You let out a giggle, wrapping your arms around his neck so that you won’t trip over your own feet.

But you survive all the way to your room. Your knees do falter for a second, and you both end up falling on your bed – you, laughing your ass off, and Jungkook, shrieking.

“Noona!”

Jungkook can’t get up, your arms are still around his neck, hooking him against you. His heart is beating like crazy, though. Please, he just needs you to stop smirking like that; he’s tired, and you’re drunk.

“Jungkookie,” you call again, almost purring, “I really like your eyes… It’s like… you’ve got stars in them.”

He almost fails, but he manages to pull back before you can kiss him. It doesn’t offend you, though; on the contrary, you start giggling before you try it again, and then he grabs your shoulders so that you can’t try it again. But he can’t nag you, he really can’t.

You look so pretty right now—

“Let’s fuck.”

“S-stop talking nonsense,” Jungkook stutters again. Are you really drunk, or are you faking it just to mess with him and get a nice laugh? “Wait here, I’ll bring you some water. Don’t move.”

You strengthen the grip, adding your legs to the equation, and he has to breathe in. “I mean, don’t you want to? Don’t you think I’m hot, Kookie? Because I surely think you are. You know, Ari said you’d stop being a dick to me if I fucked you. What do you think? Would it work, huh? I’m tempted to try it out – or would you be good for me?”

This has to stop. This has to stop right now.

Jungkook tussles out of your grip after many tries. He wants to be pissed off, he knows he has the right to – but he will torture you with it tomorrow, once you’ve slept it off and can talk back without… offering sex as a solution.

“Here” – once he gets off the bed, Jungkook takes a look at your tallboy, grabs your cleanser tissues, and tosses them at you – “clean your face and I’ll go get you a glass of water.”

“Aye, captain!”

The things he has to put up with to have a roof over his head.

With another sigh – he’s lost count already – Jungkook heads to the kitchen. He grabs a glass and slams it on the counter, fumbling to grab a bottle of water that is not lukewarm or half-drunk. When he comes back to your room, you’ve already wiped your face clean and are snoring on your bed with no worries reflected on your face.

He leaves the glass quietly on your bedside table and leaves without a second thought.

Now in the privacy and safety of his room, he bangs his head back on the door. This must have been a fever dream, that’s it. You— you were all over him just a second ago, you even suggested you could fuck. Have sex. Together. Skin to skin.

Jungkook runs his fingers through his head; how is he supposed to go to sleep? Even if you don’t deserve in the slightest any sort of kindness from him, he can’t deny that he’s a bit worried. You will surely turn into the hangover monster tomorrow when you wake up.

But what is wrong with Ari, anyway? Telling you to fuck him.

He definitely needs to have a word with her.

Seven train waggons – at least – have passed over your head during your sleep. Your mouth tastes like cast concrete, too, dry and paste-like. The lack of hydration is frustrating, can’t find any of it even in your gums. Just moving your tongue sends jolts of pain into your brain.

“Oh, shit—” You manage to sit up in the bed after a while, using up all of your core strength. “I wanna die.”

You surely want to die as soon as you start recalling all the events from yesterday. Not all of them, of course, but enough to instantly cringe. Why did you drink so much?

Since you’re still wearing your clothes from last night, the first thing you do is gulp down the glass of water Jungkook left next to your bed. Then you get up to get look for your pyjamas so you can get changed and devour a good breakfast.

Jungkook, Jungkook, Jungkook…

Oh, shit. Fuck. Jungkook. You start remembering how you got into his bed yesterday, how you clung onto him like a koala, how he took you back to your bed, and how— how you tried to kiss him and told him you two should fuck, just like Ari had suggested.

But if he is in any way like the regular human being, Jungkook might just pretend nothing happened. Yes, surely he won’t bring it up.

Only after you’ve peeked your head through your door and checked he is nowhere to be seen, you dare to walk out into the living room.

The kitchen awaits, a choir of angels singing sweetly as it glows in a golden light. It still smells like coffee, so you guess Jungkook must have left not too long ago. Whatever, you don’t care – you just want a warm coffee, scrambled eggs, and all the hangover soup you can fit in your stomach. God, your mouth is drooling already—

Someone flushes the toilet and makes you jump. Obviously, it’s your beloved flatmate who comes out, making a face as soon as he spots you hovering over the fridge.

Jungkook hesitates before speaking. “Hm, noona?”

“Uh?” You turn around with a puzzled frown, wondering if you’ve heard wrong. “Did you—?”

You step back to close the fridge. There’s coffee in the machine, so you grab your unused Shrek mug and pour it. God, you’re so hungry your stomach hurts.

“Er, jeez, I mean, Y/N-ssi. It’s just that, yesterday, well, you…”

Oh. You remember now that you did ask him to call you noona. The poor guy took you seriously, you see, and perhaps it’s best to keep it up.

“You can call me that. That is, if you want to, of course… I mean, I am older than you, and we’re technically close, even if you make my life miserable.” When you see him grimace, you correct yourself and hand him the milk, “But not more miserable than if Ari and Jimin kept begging me to take you in, so— don’t feel bad about it.”

But he slams the milk bottle onto the counter. “You know, I’d rather sleep under a bloody bridge than carry on living like a beggar. So, if you don’t want me here, then I might as well just take my things and—”

“I never said that!” you groan out of the blue. It even takes you by surprise, your words. You might have thought so, but you’d never say it out loud to him. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad, it wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to remark how annoying these two are. And traumatising – you don’t know what they were doing seconds before they asked me to take you in for the first time…” But you can always tell him. “Ari had her fingers right up his… you know, ass.”

“You think that’s traumatic?” he asks after getting ready two mugs with coffee and hands the bottle back. “Try getting woken up at four in the morning because your friend is getting railed by his ‘mommy’ and can’t stop shrieking like a bloody banshee. God—” Jungkook trembles at the memory. “Just how much cock can a human ass take?”

You would have liked to groan at the excessively specific description or the way he has just disregarded your comment, but you can’t help cracking up a laugh instead; the way he is grimacing, so exaggeratedly, it’s too funny.

“You know, they tried to sell it to me that they were undergoing some kind of forced celibacy for your sake.”

Jungkook just snorts. “What a big fat lie.”

“Anyway” – you close the fridge softly and lean back onto the door – “I wanted to say, I’m sorry about yesterday. I just got carried away with the booze, you know. I even almost—” You cut yourself off, though, for your sake but also for his. “I even almost fell asleep on your bed! Just how crazy is that? Jeez.”

“What?”

Did you almost jump his bones in an attempt to seduce him? Well, yes. But your memory is still foggy around that part of the night, blessed brain and its biology, so it technically has never happened.

“Do you mean that you almost tried to have sex with me?” You freeze on the stop, delaying your way out of the kitchen. “Because I haven’t forgotten. You even told me it was Ari’s plan to make me stop being a dick to you, and that you were tempted to try it out.”

It takes you a second to put yourself back together despite the shame. “But here you see… I didn’t,” you say then, “because your noona has a very, very firm, and very strong, and very unbreakable ethics code.”

“Stop saying you’re ‘my noona’, I’m gonna barf,” he groans, grimacing.

With a snort, you press your forehead on the cool door of the fridge. You feel on the verge of passing out, or throwing up, or just jumping off the window, really. Where does he get this strength from after pulling up an all-nighter destroying his pupils with loud videogames and shiny screens?

“Look, I have huge hangover, I am ashamed of myself beyond human comprehension, and I really need to take a shower – I just don’t have the energy to bicker with you right now, Jeon Jungkook.”

He doesn’t say a word, and you reluctantly glance at him; Jungkook is poking his tongue in his cheek, fighting off a grin that screams anything but good humour.

“Then fuck me— I-I mean, let’s fuck,” he stutters at the pitiful choice of words. “You said it yesterday, wasn’t it Ari’s idea? Maybe that way you’ll keep me happy, noona.” But you can only let out a snort at his words, making him drop the smirk. “What?”

You turn to face him, and he shrinks at your suddenly overshadowing presence. “Nothing, but I’m pretty sure,” you begin, “that you couldn’t handle me, Jungkookie.”

His puzzled face almost makes you chuckle. You step closer, not really trying to get him pinned against the countertop – you just want to give him a small fright.

“Cat’s got your tongue now?” you chuckle. “What? Did you think that, just because I’m embarrassed, I’d be stuttering and babbling? That you could tease me about it? I am embarrassed about yesterday, of course… but I’ve already apologised, haven’t I? Can’t see what else I could do here— unless you’ve got something in mind already.”

Jungkook wants to say something, he needs to say something, his pride now completely wretched. As warm as your body just felt caging him against the counter, as sweet as your voice sounds – he hates you. He swore to hate and despise you for all eternity, that’s all you deserve for being a mean, egotistical, fake jerk. And what do you mean ‘he couldn’t handle you’? Haven’t you seen him? Jungkook hates to think that you still see him as the little nerdy freshman he was a year ago. He’s none of that now, and yet, you can’t still see it.

Shit, his blood is quite literally boiling in his veins. He finally tries to mouth something, but the doorbell shrieks across the flat.

You grab your mug. “I’ll go get that.”

“Hello, bitches!” The second you open the door, all your friends invade the entrance noisily, plastic bags hanging from their hands and smiles printed on their faces. “Post-party movie night. Jungkook, I know you didn’t come, but you can stay,” Ari jokes.

“What— what time is it?”

“Uh” – Namjoon checks his phone – “half-past seven.”

Ari comes to you while the rest leaves the bags in the kitchen. “I told you to call me as soon as you woke up, jeez. Glad Jungkookie was kind enough to let me know you were still alive.”

At the mention of your antagonistic flatmate, you go still in Ari’s embrace. She pulls back to look at you, grimacing, but says nothing else and joins Hoseok and Taehyung in the living room.

“I’ll help you with this and go get changed,” you mutter. “Someone pass me the noodles?”

“Here, noona—”

You poke your tongue against your cheek, glaring at Jungkook as he hands you the noodles package. He’s grinning, teasing you, when Jimin gasps at the scene.

“Since when do you call Y/N ‘noona’, Jungkookie?” he asks, stifling a smile.

“Yesterday she—” You shut him up with a blunt prod of your elbow against his side. Jungkook bends in pain. “Shit! What was that for—? Y-yesterday she told me I could call her noona, you know, to mend fences…”

Jimin takes a crisp from the bowl he’s holding and stares at the two of you on his way out. “That’s good, hm. It’s good to see you’re trying to smooth things over.”

After half an hour of bickering and putting your debating skills to the test, your friends and you agree on a movie to watch. It’s an action film, or a romantic one, you don’t know – fate has brought you to seat right next to Jungkook, and there are three pairs of eyes creepily fixed on you two.

“I’ll go get another drink. Anybody want anything?”

At the massive answer, Ari and Taehyung go to help Jimin with everyone’s drinks. You notice you’ve forgotten to give them your glass, so you get up to go to the kitchen.

“But you can’t cheat—”

“What are you talking about? How on earth could I cheat?”

“Remember, it’s three months at least.”

“Well, I think Jungkookie is about to fall.” It’s Jimin’s voice, and he’s giggling. “I can already feel the money in my pocket and your words back into your mouths.”

This time it’s Ari, giggling as well as something clinks in the background. You think she’s just playing around with the drinks. “And I think you’re counting your chickens before they’re hatched – just don’t claim victory yet, baby.”

You pretend you’ve heard nothing when you run into them as you walk into the kitchen. They leave you alone with Taehyung, and you hand him your glass so he can pour you another drink. However, you might be staring too much because he makes a face at you.

“Now what’s up with you, Igor?” he chuckles.

“What were you talking about earlier with those two, right before I walked in?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… Beer or wine?”

“Wine— I think you do.” You come closer to Taehyung and put your hand on his shoulder, making him jump. “Spit it out now that I still have the patience to be nice.”

Don’t hesitate to like, reblog, and leave some feedback if you liked it! It’s always good and encouraging to know what you think <3

“STAY” is copyright ²⁰²¹ Lola Bangtan, all rights reserved.

[p---ink]

Teach Me.

Author’s Note: So. I finally made a Peter Parker Fiction. And I know the gif is Arvin Russell, but that is for a reason, and maybe you'll see it, maybe you won't, BUT TELL ME IF YOU DO. So this is an unnamed OC fiction, but its mostly reader insert, aside from the fact that she’s black (surprise, surprise) and she has brown eyes. I made her an “OC” because of that fact. Also, get ready for some fluffy head cannons of Peter P. In the not-so-distant future though. 

Summary: Maybe Peter Parker, isn't as innocent as he seems. 

Warnings: Smut. Smut. and more Smut. Car-smut. Dark-ish Peter (Not really, but he’s not his usual wholesome self) 

Song: Star-gazing by The Neighborhood. I literally based this entire fiction on this one song. Even if you don’t read the fic, you should listen to it. 

Word Count: 5.5k

“If you don’t mind me asking,” She started, pausing a bit to give him time to look up at her, “ who brings a textbook to a frat party?”

His heart stopped for a moment when he realized who was speaking to him. But then he matched her grin shyly and replied, “It’s more of a conversation starter than anything.” 

“Would you say its been working well?”

“I did somehow manage to get someone as pretty as you to speak to me.” 

The smile that was already plastered on her face, grew wider along with her eyes and brows. “Wow Parker: Who knew you could be so bold after a few drinks?

“I’ve only had one, so the rest is all me.” He closed his book and readjusted his leg inviting her to sit. Then as if just realizing, he asked, “You know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are. We went to Midtown together.” She said, getting comfortable on the couch. 

“Yeah I know. But we barely spoke to each other. Sometimes I wondered if you even knew I existed.”

“I always kept tabs on cuties like you. Especially you, actually.” She declared. 

“And you call me bold.” He muttered under his breath, a small blush creeping up.

“I’m always like this. Anyone who knows me, can tell you that. But anyone who knows you, would say the opposite. You were always so good.” 

“Good?”

“Yes! Good. Innocent. Nice. Whatever floats your boat.”

“And I remember you being, bossy, assertive, and intimidating.”

She threw her head back in laughter before stating,“You say that like its a bad thing.” Coming down from her fits of giggles she adds, “You noticed me, too? Never thought I was on your radar.”

“How could anyone not notice you.” He asked. “We had English together our freshman year. First day of class, you challenged Mr. Frechowsky, for inflicting his political views on the rest of the class. He got so red in the face, after yelling at you for three minutes straight, but everyone was more shocked at you for being unfazed.”

“I forgot abou-”

“Sophomore year, you “accidentally” tripped Amy Shuemacker,  after she made a rude comment about Ned’s weight. Junior year, you announced that you wanted to be not only the first female president, but the first who was black too. I remember telling myself you’d have my vote. Senior year, you almost had a mental breakdown when it looked like Michelle Obama was gonna run.” Peter finished, with not a hint that he was out of breath. 

“I-” She was more than taken aback. “I’m embarrassed that you remember all of that. Its been like four years since we graduated. Frankly any other person would have forgotten.”

“I think its impossible for anyone who’s met you, to forget the day they did.” He admitted to her. 

She just stared at him in awe for a moment. Mouth slightly agape from surprise. A shadow of a smile ever so present. 

Even though he was the one to say it, it was his face that turned a tinge pinker than before when he realized the weight behind his words. He swallowed thickly, averting his attention to the patterns that lined the carpet, fearing that he made her uncomfortable. In all honesty, he used to have a proper crush on the girl, rivaled by even Romeo’s adoration for Juliet.

This was the same girl he once described as ethereal. He once told Ned that fairies wove the strands of her hair, and butterflies still lived there, claiming that he saw them playing beneath her braids. The sun literally lived under her skin, and it was the secret as to why it would glow, and why her smile was so bright. He would swear to anyone that listened, that the harp was made with her voice in mind, and that it, her voice, played a better melody. He used to be lovestruck. Guess those feelings still lingered. 

If you asked him, two minutes ago had he gotten over it, his answer would’ve been yes. Would’ve been. 

His sudden fluster—which she found adorable by the way, broke her from her trance as she grinned and said “Don’t act bashful now!” playfully shoving his arm as she uttered the words. 

Quickly recovering from his earlier hiccup, he slowly returned her grin and tried to retaliate but before he could, “We have to go. Now.”

They looked up to see an irritated looking preppy girl impatiently scowling down at them. She couldn’t have been much older than 21, but no one told that to her clothes and aura. Her olive skin couldn’t hide the frown lines that had been assigned to her, nor the bags that would put a raccoon to shame. Besides the current circumstances that she would tell them in the next minute, Peter could tell on his own that the girl needed a date with sleep. 

“What’s the matter Li? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, aside from the fact that Angie locked herself out of the apartment again.” She said sarcastically, muttering this last part under her breath “I swear I’ve had it with that girl.”

“Ah I see. Well then we better get going.” The girl affirmed, standing from her seat, making Peter rise from his. “Peter it was so nice seeing you. I hate to leave, I would’ve enjoyed catching up a bit more.” She said, turning to grab her coat. 

“Well then we should catch up soon.”

She turned to nod her head, seemingly interested in his suggestion. “I’d love that. When did you have in mind?”

“How about now? if its a ride you’re looking for, I can drive you home.” Peter’s inner sixteen year old self, screamed at this opportunity. Time alone, with his four-year crush? He couldn’t not take advantage of the moment. 

“I couldn’t ask you to do that. It’s all the way on the other side of town.” She informed him. 

“But you’re not asking me to do it. I’m offering, because, ‘ya know; I haven’t seen you in a while and I’d like to catch up, too.” He said, second-guessing himself and praying that he didn’t come on too strong. “Ya know. Only if you want to.” He added just in case. 

Taking too much time debating whether or not she should say yes, the girl’s friend did it for her.  “Sounds great! I’ll see you at home.” Spinning on her heels,  and walking out of the door.

“Well.” The girl started, smiling at her old schoolmate. “I guess that settles it.”

“Shit!” He cursed, killing the engine completely, and slamming his head back on the headrest. After a couple minutes of trying to get it to start, the boy gave up like his car did.

It had been a full three hours since  Alisha left the party. The time was spent competing about who could find out more about the other. He learned that she still had a thirst for changing the world and community around her. She learned that the boy had been bitten by a radioactive spider and was now New York’s most friendly vigilante. She never knew that Peter could be so hilarious. 

They were stranded on some back road, miles away from civilization, with rain coming down on the roof of the car like they owed it money.

“Peter, what did you expect?” She began to question, giggling as she spoke. “This car is so old, Fred Flintstone has a newer model.”

“Hey!” He cried, “Don’t badmouth Karen. She just needs a little work.”

“You mean a lot of work. Karen is ancient.”

“She’s been good to me.”

“Should I call Triple A?” She asked, ignoring his dramatics. “The rain will probably let up by the time they get here.”

“I’ve got this.” He sighed, readying himself to leave the car. “Besides, triple A doesn’t know Karen like I do. They won’t be able to give her the love and patience she deserves” He explained, the car’s rickety door sounding as he disappeared into the rain. 

She heard that same distinct sound not ten seconds later, as he reappeared, soaking wet from the rain’s onslaught. His white t-shirt clung to his body, while beads of water raced down his skin. His messy locks, traded their dark brown hue for a jet black one, and his dirty converses shone a little brighter than they did before he left the car. 

“Maybe that wasn’t the best idea.” He admitted, the leather making a squelching noise as he glued himself back to his previous seat. 

“The offer for triple A still stands.”

“No. I’ll let this play out. But maybe I can call you an Uber.”

“There’s no way I’m leaving you out here all alone. We’ll let this play out.”

“But this may take a while.”

“I’m the reason you’re out here in the first place. And I like your company, so i’ll stay.”

Peter knew he couldn’t argue with that one, so he let silence befall the two of them. It stayed like that for a moment. It wasn’t quite awkward, but it was definitely palpable. 

She thought to say something, he did the same, but neither could quite let their words come to life. It was unlike the girl he knew before, who said the first thing that came to mind. Unlike himself, who did the same, but in a less graceful way. 

Finally, after what felt like hours of deafening quiet, Peter begins with, “How long have you and Brad been a thing?” The question fresh on his mind, since her phone rang yet again, with his ugly mug lighting up the screen. It was the fourth time she ignored the notification. 

It was rare for Peter to hate a person. In fact he didn’t hate many at all. But there was something about Brad that always made his stomach clench. Didn’t help that he was sniffing around his girl. 

“Hmm.” She pondered, tapping her chin with her index finger. Acting as if she was carefully thinking about it.“For about for-never and a day” She finally answered.

“Oh I thought, that since—“ Peter stammered, growing embarrassed by his assumption, and the disdain that coated his words.

“Anyone would have, with him blowing my phone up.” She sighed. “But alas, nothing will ever come of us. No matter how much he wants it to. Wish he’d take a hint.”

Back to silence. But this time it didn’t consume Peter. It gave him a bit of hope, enough hope to ask her his next question. 

“Back at the party,” he started before pausing, which prompted her to question, yes, before he could properly collect his nerve to ask her what he wanted. 

“Back at the party, you mentioned you always kept tabs on me. Especially me. What did you mean by that?”

“I may have had a small crush on you.” She answered without missing a beat. This of course took him by surprise, but not for long. 

“Why did you never act on it?”

“Because I quickly realized you weren’t my type.” She said as if it was nothing in the world.

“Ouch. What did I do to make you realize that?” Peter asked. Though his tone was light-hearted, he tried not to let on that he was hurt. 

“Nothing.” She replied. “You were just yourself. Peter Parker, the innocent good boy who would never harm a fly.”

Peter thought to himself for a moment. He thought long and hard before he decided to bring up the word she had uttered more than once tonight. “There goes that word again: innocent. What makes you think I’m innocent?”

“Come on Parker. Ned told me you once donated a one hundred dollar bill you found lying on the sidewalk to the local homeless shelter. And that was after you couldn’t find its original owner. That’s got innocence written all over it.”

“Does that make me innocent or a good person?”

“They’re one and the same.”

“There is a big difference between the two.”

“I disagree. The two are definitely interchangeable. Good people are the ones who haven’t been corrupted yet.”

“So does that mean you aren’t a good person?”

“I think I’m a neutral person. Not exactly good, not exactly bad. Just walking the tightrope. I probably would have taken the money, and felt bad about it later.”

They both chuckled at her statement, letting it end that segment of the conversation. Though Peter was done fighting with her about her type’s moral compass, he wasn’t done with the subject all together.

“So,” He paused, and she braced herself, taking notice of how every time he did that, a question she was reluctant to answer followed. “what exactly is your type?”

An uncomfortable breathy laugh passed through her lips as she answered. “I didn’t exactly know it at the time, but I’m able to put it into words now.” She admitted, taking her time as she explained. 

“I guess ideally you were my type. Nice. Harmless. Smart. But I was also looking for someone who knew how to take control. I’m in control of everything in my life, so it feels good to meet a person who lets me relinquish that. Or in more crude terms, a person who has the ability to fuck my brains out.” She declared as she leered in his direction with a small smirk playing her lips. 

She was only teasing. But she could feel that the air had grown thick on the side of the car that Peter had resided in. For a split second, she could have sworn that she saw something snap in him. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, making her feel as though she had imagined the entire thing. 

But she knew that couldn’t have been right. Known for many things, her vivid imagination wasn’t one of them. His breath hitched. His shoulders tensed. She hadn’t imagined that. What he said next, after what felt like an hour of silence told her that she didn’t imagine anything at all. 

“Did teaching me, ever cross your mind?” He asked. His grip on the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. She saw his Adam’s apple bob after he spoke, and his chestnut eyes focused on the rain that splattered against the windshield. 

“U-um I-,” She stammered, Peter catching her by surprise. She had to really think about his question. “I suppose it never did.”

“You still want me?” He asked her, turning his attention back on her. 

“Huh?”

“Am I still your type? Aside from the fact that I can’t take control?” 

She just swallows, before nodding.

Noting her surprise, but not relenting he says, “Then teach me.”

“What?” She questions, fearing she misheard him. 

“Teach me.” He repeated, only elaborating when she scrutinized his face. “Show me exactly how you want to be touched. Kissed. Fucked.”

The way he said the word, fuck, was so filthy. It almost made her lose the rest of her composure. Not like she had much left. He had already rendered her speechless, now he was ruining her panties.

No. She wouldn’t let it play out like this. She had a reputation to uphold.

She peered over her shoulder, then back to him trying to assess whether or not he was serious. When his face showed no sign of amusement, she swung her door open, to trade her passenger’s seat for the back one. 

The rain’s onslaught was still vicious, so her previously dry form was borderline drenched. July’s summer heat, did no favors in keeping her warm, and she had no idea if she was shivering from the rain or her nerves. “Are you gonna come keep me warm or what?” She challenged, trying to find her confidence again.  

It was only seconds before Peter joined her, but it was no question that his body was shaking with anticipation. He looked at her expectantly, surveying her every move. From the way her eyes flitted to the ground, to the way her hands busied themselves by rubbing at her thighs. She was nervous. 

It must have been a snowy day in hell.

“What should we do first?” She asked. 

“Does the instructor usually ask the pupil what lessons they should start with?”

“Kiss me?” She suggested, half-ignoring his comment. 

“Are you asking me, or telling me?” Peter remarked, amusement glinting in his eyes. 

Annoyance overtaking her tone now, she demands this time, “Kiss me.” 

“Say please.” He teased. 

“Damn it Peter, fucking kiss m—”

And then he glued his lips to hers. They were sweet and gentle, like him, but still managed to convey his longing. He hoped the kiss would capture all the times he imagined doing it when she would flash those pretty brown eyes his way. When she would speak in a way that put an angel’s timbre to shame. Even when she would fucking breathe, he imagined kissing her until his lips fell off. He hoped the kiss would make up for all of the ones he was dying to share with her over the years.

The pads of his fingers roamed over her silky smooth skin, starting at her cheeks, ending at her neckline. He tasted the flavor of her strawberry chapstick, the same one that made her lips feel and look as smooth as butter. When he inhaled and tasted the faint scent of minty watermelon on her breath, he decided he couldn’t get enough. He wanted to kiss her until he committed to memory every bump on her tongue. Then he would be satisfied. 

“Like this?” He whispered, pulling back to inhale the same air as her, almost turning feral at the sight of her swollen lips and blown pupils. “Or,” he started, leaning back in to go again, searching her eyes, “like this?”

Whereas kiss one was innocent and sweet, the way that Peter portrays himself, kiss two was the definition of what he could be…or maybe what he already was, she couldn’t tell. He was filthy with the way his tongue glided against hers. The hot wet muscle played hers like an instrument, before locking the two together. One of his hands planted itself on the nape of her neck, forcing her to feel every measure against her mouth. She couldn’t move if she wanted to, not that she wanted to. Just like him she wanted to relish the taste of him. 

With his nose pressed against her cheek, and hers against his, they kissed like they wanted to touch the other’s souls. They began breathing in the rest of the other’s air, like they wanted to swap lungs. Exploring the other’s bodies, like they would die if they didn’t study the exact texture of the other’s skin. 

It took everything in Peter to restrain himself. To keep his thumbs from traveling beneath her shirt. He nipped at his tongue to keep from nipping at her lips and skin. He tried shifting in his seat to distract himself from the shifting going on in his jeans. 

It certainly didn’t help the growing tent in his pants when the girl planted her thighs on either side of his, rocking and rolling her hips to alleviate some of the tension in her panties. 

She took over the kiss, setting the pace and overcoming the surprise from Peter earlier.

Her fingers, that were previously glued to his face, began fumbling with the hem of his shirt, peeling the wet material off and over his head. She marveled at his sculpted chest for a moment, before Peter followed suit, pulling her dampened top over her arms and flinging it over the seat. 

A throaty groan passed his lips when she resumed her measures against his hips. Grinding herself down on his hardening member. 

Her breathy whimpers intensified when his surprisingly warm hands traveled along her skin, caressing her soft flesh. She was getting more worked up the more Peter mimicked the movement of her hips, grinding upwards while simultaneously pinning her waist down. 

She tugged harshly on the patch of hair that lived on the back of his neck, eliciting one of the sexiest groans she had ever heard. His heavily lidded eyes that held the same fire as hers, both scared and excited her. 

As she leaned in closely, preparing her words carefully she ordered him to, “Kiss me here,” before planting her lips on his neck. Flattening her tongue to lick a stripe up the exposed skin, she began swirling the appendage before nipping, licking, and sucking until his skin had a reddish purple hue. 

She got lost in the feel of him, succumbing to the sound of his hisses and moans only to yelp a moment later, when Peter mimicked her earlier actions.

With a fistful of her hair, and her exposed neck jutting out towards his lips he licked a stripe against the skin, just as she did earlier, only his measures were steady and calculated, taking note of every flinch and hitch of her breath. He found her sweet spot in seconds, focusing all of his attention there. 

With her nails digging into his flesh, and her hips stuttering, Peter knew he had her where he wanted her. “Like that?” He rasped, pulling away to admire the strings of purple and blue that littered her skin. 

“Fuck yea Parker; you learn fast.” She gasped, attempting at a laugh, as she peeled her chest off of him.  She took a hand of his into hers, grasping two of his fingers as she bought them to her lips. 

Hollowing her cheeks as she sensually sucked and lubricated his digits, she bought his other hand down to her shorts, beckoning him to unbutton them. “Touch me here.” She murmured, eyes taking in the wide curious ones staring back at her. 

With the newly slick fingers, Peter did as she told him, dipping his fingers beneath the waistband of her panties and finding her nub instantaneously. “Right here?” He enquired, when her breathing turned shaky. 

“Mmm, god yes!” She praised, as he worked his fingers over her. 

Setting a consistent pace, Peter lightly grazed her clit, every time he ran his fingers up and down her folds. “Am I doing this right?” He questioned, flicking and teasing her core. 

“Mhm” She mewled, “fuck y-your fingers feel so good” Her speech was now becoming slightly incoherent.

“Yeah?” He groaned, “What about my mouth?” He asked, just before unclasping her bra a little too effortlessly with one hand. Latching his lips against her perky chest, he massaged the other mound with his free hand.  

Words were lost on her, as she became a wanton mess. She couldn’t fathom how he could be so skillful with both hands. How a person could multitask the way that he did was indescribable. His hand on her clit didn’t let up, but neither did the one that tweaked and pulled on her nipple. Not to mention the hot tongue that darted and sucked meticulously at her other. She couldn’t stifle her cries if she tried. 

Riding his fingers, she pressed his head further into her chest,  becoming greedy with his touch, as she sprinted towards her orgasm. She thought that this feeling couldn’t get any better. 

Of course, Peter was full of nothing but surprises tonight, and needed to prove her wrong. He let two of his fingers slip inside of her, while a thumb replaced the ones that were glued to her clit. Rubbing circles against her sex, he pumped the two fingers furiously in and out of her hole. 

“Does that feel good, baby?”

But the girl didn’t answer, Her mouth hung open as if she wanted to, but the words were jumbled somewhere in her throat. Her face twisted into pleasure, and she couldn’t do anything but succumb to his measures against her body.

It wasn’t long before she felt her stomach spasming, the heat pooling to her core, her already sensitive flower growing even more sensitive, as she came into his palm. 

Her juices coated his digits, her walls fluttered around them, and her skin was now hot to the touch, as Peter forced her climax out of her. 

Tears flooded her eyes, as she took in as much air as she could. When had she stopped breathing? Maybe sometime during the earth-shattering orgasm her old classmate was giving her. 

Once the ringing in her ears subsided, and her lower region began to cool again, she thanked the boy and praised him as she said, “You did so well,” before planting hot wet kisses on his shoulder and neck.

She stopped when she felt his body shaking. Coming back up to eye him, she asked what he found so funny. 

Peter tried to hide the smirk that plastered his lips but he couldn’t hold his act any longer. “You just don’t get it do you?” He asks as he casually licks and sucks at his fingers, just as she did earlier, relishing in the taste of her essence. 

The confusion on her face and brain was evident. “Get wha—” He had her pinned on her back, before she could utter the last syllable.

The tight space was cramped, but the boy had more than enough room to stalk his prey. He hovered above her, ridding her of the rest of her clothes in one fell swoop, before delivering his monologue. 

“I don’t know what it is about girls like you, but I swear you drive me crazy.” He admitted, before removing his jeans in a quick motion. “You always assume that just because I’m a nice guy, I won’t be able to fuck your brains out.” He informed, before revealing a hidden condom and rolling it on before lining himself up at her entrance. “But I hope that if tonight proves anything to you,” He starts, eyes finally darting up to land on her horror-filled ones, “it will be that your mindset can land you in a whole heap of trouble.”

And with that, he grasps the door above her head, before sinking himself into her.

Groaning at the feel of her, Peter’s facade dropped completely. Her tight little cunt feels even better than he imagined, and he hopes that he feels better than she ever imagined. 

He starts slow, with the intent of her feeling every ridge of his cock, as it threatens to invade her stomach. Her soft tits bouncing with every thrust, send a jolt through his body every time her nipples graze his chest. The way his name falls off her sweet tongue, has him in shambles, as he picks up his pace, throwing slow and steady out of the window. 

Her cries are loud in his ear, as he ruts against her sex. He’s so thick, its hard for her to think straight. He can feel the indents of her nails as they dig into his lower back; she tries to press his ass closer to her, never wanting him to leave.

Maybe if it were any other guy fucking her, she would have felt the seat buckle digging into her back. Maybe she would have felt her sticky sweaty skin on the leather of his back seat. Maybe the awkward position her head was in would have spoiled her experience. But with Peter, she could only focus on the pleasure. 

His thrusts were relentless now. His hot breath was fanning the side of her cheeks. His previously damp hair, stuck to her neck, as he drove himself further into her skin. Nothing could distract him away from her in this moment.

Nothing but the faint glow of her phone, that is. It’s buzzing, and vibrations immediately catching his eye, as he held his head up. That same dangerous smirk that she saw earlier returning. 

“Look who’s calling, baby.” He purred, overcoming the stutter of his hips. When he held her phone up for her to see, her heart sank at the mischief behind his words. Brad. “Should we answer it?”

“No, Pete!” She cried. 

“Oh come on, that would be rude wouldn’t it?” He dared, before delivering a particularly hard thrust, that sent her mind into a haze. “We can stop so you can take this—”

“No! D-don’t stop” She begged, prying the phone from his fingers, and fumbling with the answer button. 

“Babe? Hello?” Brad’s irritating voice answered flooding, her phone’s speaker. But the girl didn’t answer immediately, because she was too busy trying to stifle her whimpers. 

“Hey Brad!” She finally choked out, sounding somewhat normal. How she managed to do it, she couldn’t say. 

“Wow! Finally. This is like my eighth time trying you. I almost can’t believe you answered. What are you up to?”

“Should you tell him what you’re up to, babe?” Peter devilishly whispered against her skin.

“Nothing!” She whined into the phone. 

“Whoa. Are you okay? You sound a little off?”

“You should tell him you sound like this because I’m making you feel so good.” Peter suggested, driving her body up and down the seats. “I bet he’d wish he were me right now.”

“I-I’m just a feeling a l-li-little sick is all.” She breathlessly stuttered.

“Should I come over?”

“Ah yes Peter!” She wailed, when the boy starts circling his fingers against her clit, while simultaneously grinding slowly but roughly into her. She’s no longer paying attention to the man on the other end. His curses don’t faze her, nor does Peter’s actions as he releases the phone from her grip. 

“Hey Brad. Remember me.” He casually asks, ignoring Brad’s threats. “Yeah no man, don’t worry about her: I’ll make sure she’s real good and taken care of.” He promises, before ending the call, and tossing the device into the passenger’s seat. “Think he finally got the hint?”

Peter then takes the girl’s hips into his hands, lifting her inches off the seat, before pulling her body onto his dick at an ungodly speed.

Crying. She’s literally crying, with tears streaming down her face. Her voice is becoming hoarse with moans. She had never experienced such intense sex in her life. 

Peter brings the hand that was previously plastered on the glass down to the girl’s face. “would this be the definition of fucking your brains out, baby?” He grunts, in reference to the girl’s constant repetition of his name. It’s the only word she can remember, as he fucks her into the chair. 

His movements shook the car. The heat that their bodies radiated, fogging up the glass. The scent of their sex now embedded in the fabric of his seats. The boy was completely untamed. 

Her screams were one among the things that set him off. The way her body writhed against his was another. The stutter in her speech another. But the unbridled lust that her eyes held, was the literal icing on the cake. 

Thank fuck she came before him. Her tight little hole constricting and clenching his dick. And when he started slipping in and out, her eyes glued shut, and her chest started to rise and fall, he knew that she had came. 

A sweaty fucked out mess before him, she needed Peter to finish her off before she was satisfied. “Drown me in your cum” She begged, and it was like he knew exactly what she wanted. 

Unsheathing himself from her, he ridded himself of the condom, and started tugging violently at his cock. Fucking his hand, not unlike the way he fucked her earlier, he spurted his milky white seed all over her supple brown canvas, a husky groan roaring from his chest as he threw his head back in pleasure. His seed extinguished the heat that resided in her skin, and she closed her eyes shut, letting her head fall back down on the seat. 

The image of his white paint, all over her stomach, chest, and tits, bleeding into his memory, as he came back down from his high. 

Once back down to earth, reality began to sink back in. Immediately recomposing himself, Peter blurted, “Fuck are you okay? Was I too rough?”

His sudden outburst almost made her jump out of her skin, but she quickly recovered. “Oh god no Parker! I loved every minute of that.” She lazily smiled reassuringly.  “Do you always fuck like that?”

Peter returned the smirk, blushing before saying, “I’ve always wanted to fuck you like that.” 

After planting a final kiss on her lips, he reached into the center console, to scavenge a few wet wipes, cleaning her skin before discarding them. 

Moments later, they reunited with their lost articles of clothes, pulling the fabrics over their limbs before crawling back into the front seat.

When Peter put his seatbelt back on, and cranked the car up with no effort, he felt the heat of the girl’s eyes on his skin. 

“What?” He asked, dumbfounded by her glare. 

“Was there ever anything wrong with the car?”

And then as if just realizing Peter mouthes oh, before telling her simply “No.” Adding on that he just wanted an excuse to spend more time with her. 

“Well how the fuck did you know I wasn’t gonna just take your offer for an Uber?”  She asked, more impressed than pissed.

“Because you’re a neutral person, and a neutral person would feel too bad about doing that.”

“There’s a lot of things I still have to learn about you Parker.” She admits, sinking down into her seat. Heat rising to her cheeks, as a new crush began to develop. 

“Don’t worry. I’m willing to teach you.” 

 A/N: So like...don’t be afraid to tell me what you think. I swear I dont bite...unless you're into that. also this was edited it, but probably not well, so tell me if you see an error. 

[thespiantherepist]

Android Iida x reader Smut

For all my nasties.

It only started as overheating in the groin area for Iida. He normally never had an issue with seeing you change. Hell, you had asked him to help you change before!

He's had his hands on your nekid body!

He has seen your chest!

Why now is another part of his body warming when he sees you?

All of this was thought of as he walked into your steamy bathroom. You were naked of course, you had just gotten out of the shower, why would you have clothes on?

But he felt weird, his nether regiond felt like a streinous pain in his pants. The gears in his mechanical lungs wheezed in strain, and discomfort.

He handed you your towel.

Thanking him you grabbed it, ans wrapped it around yourself.

He persuaded himself not to look down.

'You're not a deviant Iida! Dont do this, its time to leave now.' He thought to himself as he stood frozen.

"Iida, did your systems freeze again?" You asked, putting a hand on his bicep. You looked at his eyes in playful concern.

"N-no my star," He said shakily, "However, I feel as if I must bring something to your attention."

"If this is about you wanting to marry me, im aware, you've told me three times today! You said cheerfully, lightly punching his forearm.

He breathed in deeply,

this troubled you.

He was worried about something...

You could feel it.

"My star, I think I've been having some... program issues."

"Whys that man?"

He paused for moment, "I get all warm when I see you nude."

"Yeah dude, that happens to everyone," you said nochalantly. You moved to hug him, but he stepped back, supporting you by the wrists with his hands.

"No, I mean..." He trailed your hand downward, until it rested right above his crotch.

He bit his lip, and closed his eyes.

You lightly shook your hands from his. You knew exactly what to do.

You reached to his shorts instead, letting yourself pull them down.

"M-MY STAR THAT'S INDECENT!"

"Its supposed to be." You said seductively.

Even then you were confused as to why your dad gave your android a dick. Or a sex drive.

(dadum tsss)

Youd never seen it before, but you were intruiged to say the least. Especially since he was starting to struggle.

He looked down at you while you continued, not wanting to stop you. He knew about sex, yes of course. However he didn't know that he could have a drive for that sort of thing.

Yet here you both were.

When you got it out you where a little intimidated.

'Dad. What the.fuck?'

There was no need for your dad to make your android this big. Did he do it anyway?

You bet your dumbass he did.

Your energy drink driven, blonde, cockateil of a father gave your android a big dick.

Why?

Maybe he was trying to tell you something.

You leaned back, taking a full look at it. Surprised with the craft.

Iida looked at you concern in his eyes, but also...

Surprise?

Had he never looked at himself?

He cleared his throat, chuckling awkwardly,

"I uh, never actually have seen it , or th- thought about it much." He said sheepishly. You looked up at him, kind of surprised.

'Hes never looked at it?' You thought, 'Hes probably never touched it either?'

You lightly trailed your hand along the top, watching as the member twitched.

You realised.

Your dad put waaayy to much effort into this.

'Why does he need receptors?' You thought, shocked.

"Tenya?"

"Keep going my star." He said, a pleading tone laced in his voice.

You smiled up at him. You wrapoed your hand around his member, and lightly started pumping him. He put a hand over his mouth at the sensation, the mechanism within his chest unit buzzed with acknowledgment to the feeling. He hummed in thought, savouring the feel of your hand on his member.

You decided to go a bit faster.

He was taken by surprise when your hand started moving at a faster pace than before. He placed his hand atop your head trying to stabilize himself. He rubbed his thumb iver the top of your head, soothing you whilst you commited to your progressions.

You slowed down again, this time lining your mouth by his member.

"Iida?" He looked at you his eyes blown wide in surprise, and lust.

"My star?"

"Do you want me to continue?"

"Please." He said pleading, gently placing both hands on your head. You smiled up at him.

Taking him into your mouth you hummed a little bit. He groaned loudly as he felt your lips connect with his member. Lightly tilting his head back at the sensation.

Once you felt like you could breathe again you started to pull you head back, then down again. Setting a rhythimic pace for both of you.

Iida felt the buzzing near his groin come back harder, even though he had you beneath him.

"M-my star, I hate to ask this of you but could you g- ahh, go faster?" You looked up at him, and blinked in acknowledgement.

You bobbed your head faster, sucking harder on him to gain a heaftier response.

"Ooh, My star I didnt say you ha- ahhh~d to d-do all that!" Iida himself was seeing stars at this point, and he couldnt care less. He pushed his hands harder on your head guiding you. You sped up more, having Iida openly moaning at this point.

"Ahh~Hah! St-taar!" Iida felt something collectively growing in his body, his inner mechanisms going wild. Red lights filled his vision, and the red light on his neck turned on.

"My Star, I th-iiink, I-I ahh~" At this point he was openly wheezing. You got far enough down to where his tip touched the back of your throat, and he broke.

He kept you down, as liquid flowed out of him.

'What. the. fuck. dad?' You thought as the liquid trailed down your throat. You pulled back perplexed, opening your mouth letting some of the liquix spill out.

Iida nearly short circuited. The beautiful sight was nearly captured on his eye cams.

He groaned, kneeling down. He grabbed your cheek, and kissed you deeply.

The liquid tasted like Vanilla. Which also perplexed Iida.

"My star what?"

"I dont know."

He chuckled with you a bit. Brushing some of the liquid off your lips. He picked you up from your butt. Placing your legs on his hips.

You smiled at him sweetly. Pulling him back for another kiss.

He walked into your bedroom, lying back into your matress. Keeping you on top. You sat back up, grinding on top of him slightly. He placed his hands on your hips.

"Iida, im going to start." You said, lining your entrance up with his member. He nodded.

You tried to slowly lower yourself onto him. Keyword,

Tried.

Iida got surprised pulling your hips down farther than you wanted to go.

"AAAH~HH!" You moaned in pain, stilling yourself on the base of his member.

"My star!"

"I-its fine, give me a second you said. Adjusting to the painful sting he left you with.

You sat still, feeling as Tenya traced invisible hearts onto your thighs. Leaning up slightly to kiss a line up your stomach.

"A-ah Ten. Im going to go now."

You rocked your hips agaisnt him gently, causing him to groan in satisfaction. You bit your lip, pushing yourself up a bit before psuhing back down. You slowly got into a rhythm.

From under you Iida huffed lightly. Bringing his hands back up to steady your hips. This spurred you to go faster, using your thighs as leverage to bounce yourself further down. Moaning as you did you.

Tenyas hips rose to meet yours as you quikened your pace, trailing up, and down, his member hitting all the right spots inside you.

"M-my star, ahh~ Youre doing so well. You take me so nicely." You shuttered at the praise, leaning your head into his palm placed by your head. You sped your lace up faster. Lewd sounds comig from beneath you.

You leaned forward from the stimulation. Creating a bridge over Tenya.

You pushed your hands on his shoulder, going harder than before. Both of you eager to meet your release.

"Nyeahh~ Tenya!"

"Come on My star I feel it, do you?"

"Yes!" You moaned loudly, feeling yourself coming closer. Suddenly you felt yourself being rolled over.

With Tenya over you he slammed into you at a brutal pace. Hitting your g-spot every time, he had you seeing stars, as your eyes rolled back into your head.

"T-tenya! C-coming!"

"Yes My star, please with me!" He leaned down, kissing you deeply.

With one final push you both came to your realease. You felt a warmth seep inside you.

"Ooh~ Tenya."

"I love you Star."

"I adore you Tenya."

He noticed the game that you were trying to play.

"I know." He said in playful cockiness.

"Hey!" You laughed with him. Chuckling as he pulled out.

He left for a second.

Coming back with a towel he cleaned you both up. He smiled, kissing your neck while you giggled.

"Tenya stop!" You said smiling.

"Mmh... no I dont think I will." He said devilsihly as he leaned down, blowing a raspberry on your stomach.

"HAHHAH! TENYA STAHP!" You laughed loudly as you hit his back, lightly.

He smiled adoringly back up at you. Lying next to you happily.

You cuddled into him happily, eyes falling like curtains over your eyes as you drifted to sleep.

[caydesgirl-uldrensprincess]

Destiny Headcanons about my Guardians that may or may not be interesting.

Chloe

She has a tattoo sleeve starting at her collarbone and going down her right arm. Her most memorable tats are the ones on her collarbone that represent the chemical formula for serotonin and dopamine. It symbolizes both her anxiety and ADHD.

But her favorite tattoo is a Spade with the initials C6 inside it. It's in memory of Cayde and her love for him. It's located at the top of her arm.

Chloe struggles with insomnia. This is a side effect of her ADHD, but also the trauma she's suffered through her years as a guardian-- because everytime she closes her eyes, Chloe suffered from nightmares.

Her insomnia is the reason she's addicted to energy drinks.

Chloe is really talented playing the piano. She can basically hear a song and play it without needing sheet music.

Art helps with her anxiety, it calms her down.

Chloe loves country music and tends to have it playing through her helmet and her ship.

She favorite thing to say is "I'm just following the dopamine."

When she's out on missions, Chloe tends to be extremely reckless and often gets herself killed.

She never has a plan, she only improvises.

She rather ride a horse than a sparrow.

Because Chloe is so sleep deprived, she loses her temper really easily.

She's 5'9'

Chloe's favorite movie is Inside Out

She hates the idea of being alone so she's always with her best friends/fireteam Isabelle Brigham, Tori-3, and Sage Healthcliff

She hates the cold

It takes a long time, but Chloe does get used to Cayde being absent from her life. She eventually starts dating Shaw.

Isabelle

Pink is Isabelle's favorites color. She's always wearing it.

When she's not busy being a guardian, Isabelle is a stay at home mom raising her 6 year old son Lukas with her loving husband Uldren/Crow.

Isabelle has one tattoo and it's a semicolon to represent the depression she suffers from.

Bookworm, need I say more?

She's British, very British. So, she and Crow get into petty arguments about how things are pronounced.

"That's a crumpet, Darling." "No, it's a biscuit." "A biscuit is a cookie, this is a crumpet." "No, a cookie is a cookie and that is a biscuit, I don't know what the hell a crumpet is."

Baking is another favorites pass time for her. She loves making sweets.

Disney is literally her third favorite thing. First being her family and second being books.

She can come up with strategies on the fly, thanks to a certain best friend who doesn't think. It helps being a Warlock.

Earl Grey Tea and Raspberry Tea

She's a major clean freak and has OCD.

She loves being a boy mom. Though she would like a daughter (it's only a matter of convincing if Crow he wants to try for another [she had Lukas when Crow was still Uldren]).

Isabelle wears glasses, but when she's put on the field, she wears contacts.

Isabelle has a angelic singing voice, though she won't admit that. She doesn't sing in the presence of others.

Prefers the company of books rather than people.

Mother of the fireteam, keeping everyone in check, especially Chloe.

Isabelle gets jealous when others Guardians flirt with Crow.

Tori-3

Speaks Spanish 50% of the time.

Bisexual, strong preference for women, but will date a man.

Likes to play crucible for fun.

Strong moral compass and a great leader.

Will speak her mind and won't be afraid to put her opinion out there.

If she was human, Tori would look like Camilla Cabello

She dated Ana once, but it didn't work out

She's known as Auntie Tori to young Lukas Sov

Will not hesitate to chew you out in rapid fire Spanish

Her ghost's name is Percy

Tori likes to remind Chloe that she saves her ass from getting killed most of the time

"You can't keep getting in the line of fire like that, hermana." "Hey, I can't help that, I'm just following the dopamine! And it told me to run towards that Knight with my knife!" "A la luz, a veces eres estúpida, Chloe" "Did you just call me stupid?" "No."

Her food is always amazing!

Can dance like pro ans she'll say it's all in the hips.

Cayde is scared of her for reasons he would not say

Tori prefers auto rifles as her main choice of weapon

She's definitely the brawn of the fireteam

[bakugous-bakahoe]

It’s a bike not a truck (Katsuki Bakugou x Reader)

The image is not mine

Warning: A bit of a manga spoiler

Masterlist 

Next up: Denki Kaminari x reader (Requested)

Summary: Bakugou and the reader go on a date but in the middle of the date the Bakusquad interrupt their date.

Bakugou POV

This date was going great (Y/N) is having fun, I was getting toys for her every chance get. I wanted to get a big ass stuffed animal but this fucking games are fucking rigged.But i did get her a bunch of little ones that she had to hold them all in a bag. Now we were walking around seeing all the roller coaster, games, food stand and a giant ferris wheel. 

I could noticed that  she was staring at the ferris wheel and the she started to talk to me.”Can we go on the ferris wheel?” she looked up at me while pointing at the machine. I looked up at the machine and started to say.

“How about we eat something before we go ride it.” I said to her 

“Okay, what should we eat? There a lot of stands around here.” She asked has she grabbed my hand and intertwined her fingers with mines. When we got close the section of the food stand. (Y/N) looked around and pointed at one of the open tables. When we sat down and i started to say.

“Well, we got Pizza, tokoyaki, funnel cake and some other shit. What would you like to eat.”

“How about we share some tokoyaki with that spice sauce you like.” I raised my eyebrow.

“Okay, be right back” I went to the shop that was selling the type of food and ordered the plate with a couple of drink. Wile i waited i looked around my surrounding. There a lot of people tonight good thing i bought the tickets in advanced if not i think they would have been sold out. The worker called my order and i picked it up the tray and started to walk back to the table.

The second that i could start to see the table i saw yellow, red, pink, purple and (H/C). God damn it, no, not now, not here. Why are you idiots here. I got closer and i could hear laughter, I walked further and (Y/N) saw me and pointed to to her side. When she pointed at her side everyone turned around and saw me. I place the tray on the table and sat next top her.

“Baku-bro! What are you doing here?” Said Kirishima all excited.

“It’s non of you business.”

“There an even greater question at hand. What are you guys doing here together?” Mina questioned has she looked at me while on the other side of (Y/N).

“It’s obvious they are on a date” Kaminari said with a shit eating grin on his face.

“WHAT!” Yelled Mina, Kirishima and Sero. While Shinsuo was just stoic face.

“Baku-babe, you finally grown some ball.” Said Raccoon eyes while sticking her tongue out at me.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BITCH!”

“Katsuki, calm do--”

“Finally going to get your dick wet, and not be so god damned mad all the time.” Knock off pikachu interrupted. I could give a shit right now because what he said made me even madder.

“Deki!” Sero yelled.

“Sero can you tape his mouth?” Shinsuo asked and he just gave him a thumbs up and proceeded to take some tape of his elbow.

“Wait no.” Sinsuo grabbed him and Sero taped his mouth.

“(Y/N), why didn’t you tell anything to us girls?” Mina said has she wrapped her hands around her arm.

“I’m sorry, Mina. We were trying to keep it a secret until we were sure.” she confess to her best friend. “But anyway, Katsuki let’s eat the food going to get cold”

“W sat back down and decided to eat out meal. After we ate out food Mina decided to take (Y/N) to play skee-ball. While the guys decided to pull me away to go play bumper karts. I was even more pissed this date was turning out to be horrible. Why in the hell did this idiots have to interrupted. So, i took out my anger out my smacking into Denki. 

“C’mon, bro. Why are you so made?” Kirishima yelled at me while he bumped into Sero. 

“Yeah this amusement park is cool as hell.” Pikachu yelled has he bumped me and i got even madder and bumped into Shinsuo.

“SHUT UP.”

“His just mad because Mina stole his girl.” Shinsuo said and before i could say anything a bell went off alerting us that our time was up.We got off the karts and went on our way, i went faster then the rest of them.

“Bakugou don’t leave us.” Sero yelled, I just kept walking further away from them until I spotted the girls and went their way. When I got closer to them the saw me and stopped. The girls had bags of candy and when Mina spotted the other boys she took tiny bags full of hard candy, gummies, lollipops and other types candies.

They took their bags and start to open it and eat their candy. When i looked back at (Y/N) was eating cotton candy, she looked up at me and moved her hand forward has asking me if i wanted any.n. I shake my head no and i could see that her other hand was full with bags. She moved her hand forward and i said no agan, That is when she swallowed the piece of candy that she had in her mouth and started to say.

“Babe, i’m asking you to hold it i want to give you something.

“Oh.” I grabbed the base of the sugar treat and she starts to search in one her bags, She took out a orange plastic bah with decorating on it. The bag was filled with candy just like the other but she was about to give to me she said.

“I bought this candies just for you the shop owner told me that this are spicy and i got them for you.” She said with a smile on her face and placed the bag on myu other hand.

“Thank you.” I took one of the gummy candies and ate one. I could feel my cheeks getting warmer, I could also feel eyes on us. This was getting embarrassing, just leave, I turned around  and started to yell.

“WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT!” I grabbed (Y/N) ans stated walking way from them. I could start to hear them yell at us.

“Bakugo is finally a man. He’s finally a man.”Kirishima said with tears coming out of his eyes.

“Keep it PG, Bakugo.” Yelled Mina has she waved at (Y/N), has she waved back.

“He’s definitely going to become a man now.” Said Kaminari.

“Kaminari do me a favor.” Shinsuo asked him,

“Yea-” The second that Kaminari responded his eyes were frosted over meaning that he was under Shinsuos control.

“Now Kaminari, punch your self in the face.” When he said that Kaminari punch himself square in the nose.

“Really, Kaminari. Are you a dumb-ass.” Sero said, then he took his tape and wrapped it around Kaminari who at this point was bleeding from his nose. We just kept walking away from them.

We were far away from them, so i stopped and grabbed (Y/N) hands correctly and intertwined my fingers with her. I looked down at her and she was looking at me with a smile that very much like. We kept walking and we were around a lot of rides but i was interested in one in a particular ride that was at the end of all the booths.

“Bakugou, where are we exactly going?” She asked me with curiosity all over her face.

“Just wait until we get there.” I said with my normal tone voice. That is were we saw it the ferris wheel. Luckily the line was empty, so that was great.

“We’re going to the wheel!” She said all exited, looking up at me.

“Yeah, i told you we would go once we finish eating.” I said without looking at her, because i know that if i looked at her i was going to blush even harder then I already am.

Once we got to the front of the line the worker asked for out ticket and i gave them. When the workers small door for the ride and (Y/N). Before I got in I asked one of the workers if he could stop the ride at the very top. Once i got in she sat on the opposite side of the cart. She started looking at her surroundings.

This is the only time i could sit down with out getting made fun off. How the hell did i get so fucking lucky. She is sweet, caring, nice and very soft spoken. So, how the fuck did get to be with someone so fucking nice. I still don’t understand.

“I’m sorry.” For the first time in my damn life. God i feel fucking weird, (Y/N) was even more surprised. Because she had her eyes widened .

“What do you mean you’re sorry.” She raised her voice.She stood up and sat next to me."

“This most be the worst date you've ever been to. I wanted this to be something special but it’s not” I was looking down at my hands. She grabbed the side of my face and turned my head to face her. I was now looking at (E/C) orbs.

“Katsuki, just because our friends found out that we are dating it doesn’t mean that it was a bad date.” (Y/N) said while pleasing her other hand on the other side of my face.

“Are you sure? Because that walking charger doesn’t know when to shut his damn trap.” I said angrily.

“Katsuki, if we take what Kmainari says to heart, we might as well be idiots like him.” She said while laughing. I smirked. The ride stopped  signaling us that we’re at the top, we look out the window and we could see the whole park. Her eyes were shining from all the light of the park. 

“You might be right” I turned her face to face me. We were close enough that we could feel each other breath. I got a bit closer and kissed her. The kiss didn’t last that long.

“Have I ever mentioned that your kisses are great?” She said

“Ha, Of course they are great.” I said with a bit of a smirk.

“You say that has if you ever had a girlfriend.” 

“OI!” She just laughed 

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

Tag list: @cuddlesslut​, @myrelizlely​, @vixenpen​, @lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten​

[louiseleblancdiggory]

do you still take prompts?? i would love a lou and reid “kissing in public” one 🥺❤️

I’m always taking prompts! This came in such a good time because I have been trying to write a smutty Loureid scene and is just not coming out the way I want, so the break from it to write some fluff was blessed. Hope you like it!

Word count: 1800 

PDA

--

Reid wasn’t a social butterfly, Louise knew that.

And it never really bothered her, not really. She loved her boyfriend the way he was— quiet, brooding and intimidatingly smart. Reid was loving and caring for her in the privacy of their apartments or their friends’ apartments. He had a complete soft spot for her and, the few times someone did see him smiling in public, it was usually at Lou.

Despite hating large gatherings, Reid would always go parties with Lou. He wanted to make sure she was safe all the time, and he knew Lou wanted him there. His presence was never a bother, always a soothing company. Lou could get extremely drunk and Reid would be there. She could not drink at all and he would be there. She could go to spend hours in that party or only five minutes and he would always gladly follow her.

He wouldn’t dance or even talk to that many people, and although his eyes would never leave her body while she danced.

Lou couldn’t really complain about her handsome boyfriend staring at her dancing as if he was going to devour her.

As she said, Reid’s personality didn’t bother her one tiny bit.

But apparently his behavior annoyed the hell out of him.

“Good morning.” Lou said lazily, padding out of Reid’s bedroom. He was sitting with his back to her at the table but she could notice how tense his body was. Lou walked up to him, hugging him from behind. His body immediately relaxed, and she pressed a few kisses to his neck. “Did you wake up too long ago?”

“No.” He said, pulling her around the chair so she could sit on his lap. He gave her a quick kiss before Lou turned to the table to grab a toast and put some grape jam on it. “Maybe half an hour ago? I didn’t want to wake you.”

Lou merely hummed, taking a bite of her toast. She offered it to Reid but he gave her a shake of his head, gesturing to an enormous cup of coffee by the table. “That much coffee will kill you one day.”

He laughed, but it was clipped. Lou fully turned to him, analyzing his features. Reid was the tallest man she had ever seen, so even on his lap she had to look up at his face. Ivory skin, deep cobalt eyes and coppery hair, the sharp lines constructing his face could have landed him in a model agency if Reid wasn’t such an academic. His features that were usually relaxed when it was only the two of them appeared tense.

Lou raised an eyebrow, smoothing the crease between his brows. “What happened, Chass?”

“Do you regret dating me?”

Lou blinked. “What?”

He sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair. “I’m not really your type, Lou.”

Reid knew about her ex boyfriends. Knew that they were all as social and open as she was, but Lou never thought that it was something that bothered Reid or even made him think that he wasn’t her type. She liked smart, loyal men. Liked someone trustworthy and that would always be able to match her sarcasm and jokes with sarcasm and jokes of his own. Reid was perfect for her.

“Of course you are my type.” She said as if stating the obvious. “Why all this now?”

He sighed again and turned his head, ignoring her gaze. “Yesterday…”

“Oh. Oh.” Lou said, her gaze softening. They had been to a party yesterday, and everything was going as always. She had talked to everyone and Reid was content to just observe his girlfriend on her habitat. Everyone liked Lou, he knew, and it gave him enormous satisfaction to know that despite his reserves she had fallen for him as hard as he had fallen for her. He was thinking about that the night before when he watched a guy approach Lou from behind and start dancing with her. She immediately got away, saying something to the guy and then pointing at Reid’s direction.

The man looked Reid up and down, then Lou. And then he snorted and Reid could see his mouth forming the word “Him?”. Lou nodded, and the guy laughed again but left.

“No one understands how we’re together, Lou. Some don’t even believe. And there’s a fucking reason for that.” He looked back at her, his expression almost pained. “You couldn’t be more social if you tried, and if I tried to be more recluse, I wouldn’t even leave the apartment. I— I just… I don’t want to hold you back.”

“You don’t fucking hold me back.” Her voice was harsh. She knew she should be nicer to Reid right now, it wasn’t really his fault he had insecurities about their relationship. She did too. “And the same way you think that, I do too. But I know it’s stupid because I love you and you love me and that’s all it matters. We never cared about other people’s opinions on our relationship. Let’s not start now.”

He snorted, not at all convinced.

“Would you leave me for a chemistry genius? The type of girl who can probably resolve problems in record time, undoubtedly watches those boring ass documentaries you do and most definitely has won about twenty seven awards on her field?”

“No, of course not. I would never leave you”

“Then why the hell would I leave you for someone that’s more like me?” She crossed her eyes and stared at him.

He stared right back, his features relaxing little by little. Lou never knew Reid even thought of these things. He had never even as much hinted jealously or doubt in their relationship and Lou was terrified that this would make him break up with her because he would think that he was doing the best for her. As much as Reid was a science genius, his grasp on other people’s emotions was a disaster.

“I love you, Reid. Part of me has loved you since the first time we met through Beau and you blurted out what my name meant when I introduced myself.” His cheeks became a rosy pink and Lou smiled. “You’re the best I could ever hope for. Your personality never bothered me, and if you decided to never go to a party again it wouldn’t bother me either.”

He nodded, resting his face on the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath. Lou’s arms came around his shoulders, and she just hugged him.

“I love you too, you know.” He murmured against her skin.

Lou smiled broadly, turning back to the table to eat another toast. “Of course I know.”

The rest of the day went by without too much problem. They spent the whole Saturday together at his apartment, eventually ordering food because Reid didn’t feel like cooking and Lou was a disgrace in the kitchen. When the night came and Coco swept by to pick Lou up to a party at Beau’s fraternity, Reid accompanied both women regardless of Lou’s earlier statement. He usually took care of Coco as much as he took care of Lou. And also Beau.

“Coco.” He said and Lou’s best friend smiled at her boyfriend. Coco and Reid had became close friends after he and Lou started dating. “Looking dashing. I’m sorry for my brother.”

Coco laughed at Reid while looping an arm through Lou’s. “I’m sorry for him too.” Coco chirped. Her and Beau had been playing that strange game of theirs for years now to Reid and Lou’s immeasurable entertainment.

When they arrived at the house, Coco left Lou with Reid to find Beau. Ansel wasn’t coming today, having an anatomy test tomorrow. Reid offered to help him study, but Ans just brushed him off and told him to go have fun with his girlfriend.

Lou expected Reid to go to his usual spot while she combed through the party, but instead he surprisingly slid his hand into her and took a step closer. Lou didn’t comment anything on it, but she would certainly bring it up later. He followed her around as she greeted people. She stopped to talk to a few, gesturing with a hand to the man behind her and introducing him as her boyfriend. As much as Reid wasn’t one for social interactions with strangers, he couldn’t help but be happy at the smile on Lou’s face every time she introduced him or got comment such as “You are such a pretty couple!”.

When even she tired of greeting everyone, she dragged Reid to the bar, grabbing one of those red cups filled with cheap beer. She offered one to Reid, but he merely shook his head and bent down to whisper on her ear. “I’m the DD tonight, baby. Can’t drink.”

“You’re always the DD.” She pouted but didn’t insist further. “I would be majorly pissed if I was always the DD.”

He laughed and pulled her to one of the armchairs near the beer pong. He sat down, looking at her standing in front of him a second before pulling her close to his lap.

“You were never one for PDA, Chass.” She mused against his ear so he could hear her voice clearly. His hands were on her hips, and she rested against his chest, one arm around his shoulders.

“I was going to let you roam around like the social butterfly you are as per usual.” He also said against her ear. “But you seemed so happy by holding my hand and introducing me to your friends that now I think I’ll keep you here for the rest of the night.”

She laughed, taking a sip of her beer. It tasted like piss as always.

“So I have the green light for PDA tonight?” She asked, smiling against his ear.

She could hear him snorting, one of his hands going up and down her back. “I am yours, Louise le Blanc.”

Her smile widened, and she pulled back to look at Reid. Even among this many people, he seemed for the first time completely relaxed. Reid wasn’t one for holding hands in public, or constantly hugging or kissing. She didn’t want him to change but it was so good being able to show her boyfriend off.

“Well,” she said leaning in. “Let me enjoy you then.”

His smile was as big as hers when she touched her lips to him. It wasn’t anything as hot or deep as they usually did in their apartments, but not even Lou would be comfortable doing that in public. No, the kisses were sweet and soft, and Lou couldn’t stop smiling as Reid kissed her through the night, completely at ease with her in his arms.

Tags:

@in-love-with-caramel-macchiato @jlinez @courtofjurdan @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @ladywitchling

(If you only want to be tagged on TOG fics please tell me and I will take you out of the general list!)

[vanillann]

Overrated (Remus LupinX f.Reader)

WARNING-mention of sex and this kinda my favorite work so please be nice :)

part 2

It wasn’t a surprise to see a new boy trailing after the girl.

A new boy always ended up in her bed and she always woke up asking them to get out. They always wanted more, they always wanted feelings, but she told them the same thing every time.

“Feelings are for people who want temporary people, I don’t do temporary because temporary is overrated.”

So they followed her around, trying to prove in a way they weren’t temporary, but they all knew deep down inside that they couldn’t keep doing this.

After walking into the Great Hall, the tall boy was still hot on her tail.

“Please I want a chance,” the boy had his hands clasp together, begging her to break her walls.

“I said no down the last hall and this hall is going to be the same answer.” she looked the boy dead in the eye.

She had to admit, he had nice eyes but they didn’t show nothing but lust. She turned around and walked to where her friends sat, the opposite the table of her house, Ravenclaw.

Marlene was chewing on some weird fruit, going on about some new flavor of gum she found at the shops. Her blonde hair was straight, something usual since she always had large loopy curls. Lily sat on the other side of the table, her normally long hair was styled up in a fancy braid.

“(Y/N) just the girl we needed to see.” Marlene jumped in her seat slightly.

She noticed their choice of outfits. Lily wore a skirt which was very new and Marlene had on a button up yellow blouse. She couldn’t understand why her best friends were so dressed up for this Hogmade trip, considering they were all just walking around together.

“What’s up with the fancy outfits?” Both girls looked up at her, guilt in their eyes.

“Us three have a date?” Lily words caught her offguard.

“What-“ Marlene cut her off.

“Okay so Sirius and I decided to take the flirting to another level and try out a date but only if Lily went with James,” Marlene drew the picture in the air with her hands.

“I don’t understand you said three-“ Lily cut her off this time.

“Well you see then they felt bad that Remus wouldn’t have anything to do at Hogmade so we invited him and told them you would come and be his date,” Lily looked up at the hard face of (Y/N).

For the first time in a long time, (Y/N) wished she sat at Ravenclaw table.

(Y/N) (L/N) and Remus Lupin weren’t two peas in a pod.

Remus was the kind boy would always had a book in hand and could always give you a large sweater when needed. He made top grades with Lily and could have the answer. He was in a very serious relationship with a girl for a few months til they suddenly broke up, a rumor heard that she found someone “better”.

(Y/N) was the girl you didn’t touch with a ten foot pole. She was a Ravenclaw sure but she never enjoyed being around smart people. She drank on the weekend and slept with boys like eating candy. She wouldn’t read a book in her life but she did make good grades. She never had been the one for “love”, she always said it was overrated game.

So no, (Y/N) and Remus wouldn’t be seen on a date together no matter what.

None of that matter now, as Lily, Marlene, ans (Y/N) walked into the Three Broomstick.

James yelled Lily’s name throughout three pub, causing many people to look over at the group.

Marlene hurry over to the table, going up to hug Sirius from behind. Lily gracefully walked over to James, giving him a light smile. When she look at the site, Remus wasn’t to be seen.

“He had to pick up something from the bookshop, he will be here soon.” James said as soon as he saw (Y/N) walking over.

James and Sirius were scared to say the least. They knew of the Ravenclaw girl lifestyle, considering many boys in their house experience the problem of wanting her. They didn’t want there pure friend to get caught up in it all, but they also couldn’t judge the girl without knowing her.

“We are so glad you could join us (L/N), we didn’t want our boy Remus to be alone.” Sirius couldn’t tell them that the full moon was last night and he hates being alone after a transformation.

“No problem really, you know what my plans would be if I wasn’t here,” Lily and Marlene looked at the girl, telling her not to say things along this line.

Soon the bell above the door rang, a loud puff was heard.

“Hey guys,” Remus took about two large steps and were already at the group.

(Y/N) had never been this close to Remus before, she didn’t think they had even ran into each other in the halls.

“Hi.” Her voice came out cold, the ice from her eyes made Remus shiver.

“Hello (Y/N).” It was odd for her not being called some pet name. She nodded her head at him and move to sit on one of the hard oak chairs.

Remus day across from her, a small book being placed on the table beside him.

She was about to make conversation with Lily but saw that her and Marlene were deep in conversation with James ans Sirius. She decided to try and not be awkward with her date here.

“What book is that?” She didn’t read, but she always enjoyed listening to people read and hearing other story.

“It’s a muggle book, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.” he picked up the book showing her the cover. It had a large tree across the front and a small bird.

“I’ve never heard of it, is it any good?” For the first time in years, she really wanted to know.

“I haven’t read it yet but I heard so many greats things about it, do you like to read?” Remus always liked girls who read like he did.

“No I don’t like looking at a large set of words for long, but I loved listening to others read.” She saw the way his face dropped.

She finally took in his face. He had a small scar on his chin, you probably couldn’t noticed unless he moved his head right. He also kept moving a small piece of hair out of his eyes. His eyes, (Y/N) always thought eyes were people’s best trait.

“So if you don’t read, how do you get such high grades?” His question caused her to look away for a second.

“I don’t really know, I just always seem to pass without really trying,” (Y/N) realized she sounded stupid.

“Must be nice, I stay up in the common room ever night studying,” Remus gave her a nice light laugh with the words.

“Alone?” She couldn’t help but be a shocked. She always had a thing about being physical alone. Emotionally she never needed anyone, but physically she had to always have someone around.

“Of course, it’s easier that way.”

“Yeah I guess a lot of things are easier when you are alone.” She didn’t mean to say it out loud but she couldn’t just pick the words up and put them back in her mouth.

“Well maybe studying but being alone isn’t exactly my first choice.”

Remus didn’t like being alone, at all. After the three boys started coming with him on full moon nights, he stopped thinking he had to be alone.

Suddenly a man came by the table with a large plate of Butterbeers. He place them down at the end of the table and walked off.

“Perfect, pass them around.”

James grabbed two and passed them to the end of the table. Remus grabbed them and handed them to me.

“You got to love a fresh Butterbeer,” Remus loved Butterbeer with chocolate on the side, bu Remus loved anything with chocolate.

“I couldn’t tell you,” (Y/N) looked at the foam on the drink, this was all new to her.

“Wait, you’ve never had a Butterbeer?”

Remus had never been so shocked in his life. Surely everyone at Hogwarts has had a Butterbeer before, or at least he thought.

“No, I don’t come here very often.” She wasn’t lying, she mostly stayed at the castle and found something to stop the boredom.

“Well go on, take a sip.” She liked the way Remus was watching her look at the drink. He looked genuine, there wasn’t anything to gain from the situation except memories.

(Y/N) picked up the large hot glass and placed it to her lips. The liquid was quick to go down her throat and she felt the bang in her chest. She didn’t know why she didn’t try this sooner.

“You know Lupin, for a boy who reads a lot you have great taste.” (Y/N) looked up at Remus with a smile and a foam mustache.

Remus almost fainted. He didn’t think he would have seen her smile, but god he was glad she did. She looked like Remus did when he was at the best part of his books. The mustache made it even better, she looked like a kid and not a mad teen girl. It made Remus feel special because he knew no one saw this side of her.

“Here.” Remus moves his long aren’t over the table, placing his tumb on the foam and removing it.

(Y/N) has been touched by guy after guy in much closer places, but this comforted her. It was a simple touch but it made her smile because it wasn’t lustful, it was just sweet .

Lily, Marlene, and (Y/N) all made their way back to the train once the dates were over. Marlene spoke how Sirius held her hand under the table and whispered in her ear while Lily tried to say that James didn’t make her blush when it told her “no flower could ever live up to you”.

“So (Y/N), did you have fun on your first official date with someone,” Lily wrapped her arm around the girls shoulder.

(Y/N) hasn’t even thought about the fact that this would be the first time she was ever with a guy in public.

“It was simple.”

Marlene ans Lily have each other a look, this didn’t seem like a good way to start

“I liked the simple” Lily stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“You enjoyed it?” Marlene had to hear it again. Was this a cruel joke?

“Yeah, I mean don’t get me wrong this kid needs to live sometimes but he didn’t just want something out of me, he just wanted me.”

(Y/N) wasn’t used to that. She wasn’t used to people really asking her the question he asked. They always wanted to know the stuff they could hold against her, but he just wanted to know her favorite color and why she never put her hair up anymore like she did in 3rd year.

It made her feel like being emotional with someone wasn’t so overrated.

[yastaghr]

Writing it Down

Summary: Gaster is messing around with science and accidentally induces an artificial heat. Luckily his husband, Sans, is willing to help.

Relationship: Sanster

Warnings: None

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629375

Gaster watched as his creation bubbled. It was currently a bright blue and fairly caustic, but he hoped that by adding the sulphide that it would stabilize the concoction into a more useful cleaning agent. Humans were obsessed with such weird things. He didn’t understand why they needed such a wide variety of cleaning agents, but the client was paying well, it was an interesting challenge, and he needed to do something to get back into the game after so long.

This had seemed like a good plan at the time, but when he added the chemical to the solution it had… unanticipated results. For one thing, it blew up. That really shouldn’t happen in a casual lab like his, but magic always had an unpredictable factor that could make even the simplest of activities exciting.

For another thing, it didn’t burn. Most cleaning products should not be applied to skin (or bone), but this one definitely wasn’t behaving like a cleaning product. When he wiped the blue goop off of his safety goggles he discovered that the entire room was covered in a thin layer of bubbling goop, including him. There wasn’t much that was actually touching him thanks to his insistence on proper safety gear. It only seemed to have gotten on the exposed bone of his skull.

Finally, the mess it had made seemed to be giving off a strong smell. Gaster sniffed it experimentally. It seemed to invade his sinus cavities and fill his brain. He huffed, trying to get the smell out of him (really, what was he thinking?) but it was too late. The musky smell already seemed to have affected him, along with the rest of his physical exposure. He could feel his joints throbbing as magic gathered in the narrow ley lines there, the room suddenly felt too hot, and his mental process was interrupted with one thought: Sans.

Where was Sans? Wasn’t he here a bit ago? Gaster urgently needed to find him to deal with this… ah, that was what it was. The solution he had created had induced an artificial heat. Well, he definitely needed his boyfriend for that, didn’t he? Besides, Sans was his supervisor. This was definitely the kind of accident you should report.

Gaster took one second to peel back the layer of magic that lined the room and made cleaning a breeze, dumped the mess in an appropriate way, and reapplied the layer of magic. He took another second to strip the PPE off of him and wash his face off in the sink. A third second was spent writing down a few quick notes in the log. The only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down! Then he opened the door that led to their break area and sang, “Sa~ans! I had an accident!"

For some reason, that statement did not have the desired effect. Sans jumped up from where he had been making notes in his notebook. He must have gotten at least two seconds of hangtime. That was impressive. His face, however, was not. He looked scared to death.

“gaster, are you alright? are you injured? oh, stars, i knew i shouldn’t have left you alone in there. there’s a reason why you used to insist on the buddy system when working with dangerous chemicals. where are you hurt? do i need to call an ambu-” Sans scarcely paused for breath throughout the entire speech.

Gaster interrupted him, “I’m fine, Sans. It appears as though the solution I created can induce artificial heats, however. I can already feel my magic gathering, and I’m sure I must smell delicious.”

Sans narrowed his eyes at him. “really. you’re sure you aren’t just horny and want to fuck? you know, like last time?”

“Ah, no,” Gaster could feel himself blushing, “I’ll admit that was… somewhat ill-advised. I should have just told you the truth. I apologize again. However, this time I really do think I’m in heat. You can smell for yourself and check my joints for comparison if you wish, and, if you so desire, I can teleport home and make use of one of our toys.”

Sans sniffed and shook his head. “no, i believe you. you smell like musk and black licorice. just let me finish up this observation and then i’ll help you. you might as well strip while I do that.”

Gaster shivered. He loved it when Sans got so commanding. It made his whole body shiver, not with cold or fever, but with desire. He striped out of his clothes faster than he ever had before. His body, which still retained some of its goopy properties even after all this time, was glowing faintly purple. His genitals had already formed a thin, tendril-like length on his pelvis. Gaster waved it experimentally. Yes, it still worked.

Sans finished scrawling that obnoxious excuse for handwriting of his and set the pencil aside. Then he looked up, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He stood up and sashayed over to Gaster, palming his dick almost immediately. “someone’s got a boner, heh heh heh.”

A smooth hand with a hole in its palm cupped the side of Sans’ face lovingly. “Oh, yes. Only for you, Sans.”

Sans’ grin spread. “now me, i don’t usually get aroused so easily, but your scent has got me going, doc. you in the mood for a pussy or an ass?”

Gaster sported a grin of his own. “Oh, whatever you’re in the mood for, Sans, you know that. Although… it has been a long time since I have gotten to cum inside your womb. Maybe you would oblige an old man and form one?”

“oh, you’re not that old, doc. you’ve still got the energy to fuck me senseless on a regular basis, right?” Sans joked as he wrapped his hand around Gaster’s length, pumping it teasingly in the way he knew would drive Gaster nuts. “i bet that you can cum more than once.”

Gaster countered, “I can’t do that if you make me waste a load outside of you. Please, pull down your pants and get on the table.”

“geez, buy a guy a drink first,” Sans said with a wink as he lowered his pants. His magic was summoned, the dark blue ecto body puffy and fat, just like Gaster liked it. His pussy was already glistening with precum. When Gaster ran his fingers through it it was already slick.

“Hmm, it seems like I’m not the only one who has a boner. Or, at least, the pussy’s equivalent,” Gaster said with a smile. “Now all we need is a little bit of foreplay and we can start. Oh, and you still need to get on the table, Sans. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your lack of compliance. Get on the table on your stomach, please, with your legs dangling off the edge.”

Sans scrambled to comply, just like Gaster knew he would. Being fucked from behind like that, as well as being unable to do anything about it one way or the other, were two of Sans’ favorite things when it came to sex. He loved it when Gaster took control. Just for the icing on the cake, Gaster said, “Oh, and put your arms behind your back with the forearms together. I need a good handhold if I’m to fuck you well.”

Oh, that got Sans going. He was absolutely dripping by the time he was in position. Gaster helped him get his hands into the right position with one hand while his other hand gathered up slick. Then, without any warning, he slipped a finger inside of Sans and held it still. Sans clenched around him, but Gaster had to fight this heat to not start moving immediately. He knew it would be more fun for both of them if he did this right.

It wasn’t too long before Sans pleaded, “doc, you’ve gotta move! you’re driving us both nuts when all we both want is for you to stick your dick inside me!”

Gaster groaned. Dirty talk was one of his biggest kinks and Sans knew it. “Oh, you little sneak. I’m not going to fall for it, though. I want you to really enjoy this, and you’re no masochist. I need to make sure you’re prepared.”

“Then at least move your damned finger! or, better yet, put in a second one and get to work! i can handle it. please!” Sans begged.

“Impatient,” Gaster tutted, “but you have a point.” He inserted a second finger and began working them. The wet sounds his fingers made as they scissored Sans open were music to Gaster’s non-existent ears. He listened to them, dick twitching, until he was sure that Sans could take him. Then he pulled them out to the tune of a groan from Sans. “Easy, Sans. I’m sure you’ll like what I’m about to do to you a hell of a lot more than just my fingers.”

Sans whined. “oh, please doc, slide that sexy tentacle of yours inside me. fuck, i can already picture it. please!”

Gaster obliged him, thrusting his whole dick into Sans in one go. Sans’ pussy spasmed around him, but Gaster was done waiting. He gripped Sans’ arms with both hands and set a brutal pace. Sans groaned and moaned his name, but Gaster was beyond words, at least for now. This artificial heat had built up inside of him to the point where he needed to get off before he could use words.

Sans didn’t seem to mind. “fuck, doc~ you feel so good inside me. i can feel you all the way inside me. your length is perfect for me, and this pace- this pace is wonderful! mmh, yes.”

His words only drove Gaster on faster. Soon the friction built to the point where Gaster felt he was about to cum. He buried himself up to the hilt inside of Sans and let his orgasm rock over him. Purple seed spurted inside of Sans’ womb. Gaster saw it when he flipped Sans over onto his back. The little pool of purple got him going again. He snapped his hips back and resumed his rough pace. Sans’ moans grew until they were a cacophony of sound.

“Oh, Sans, you have no idea how good this feels. You like this, huh? You like my twisty little dick cavorting inside your cunt? You like it when I make the table squeak across the linoleum with every thrust? You like being helpless in the face of my need to fuck?” Gaster asked lasciviously.

Sans groaned. “fu~ck! doc, i love it! i love your twisty little tentacle in my big, fat hole. I love the way it feels against my g-spot. oh, fuck, i’m getting close!”

Gaster moaned and sped up his thrusts. “Oh, please, squeeze your pussy tight around me!”

His husband obliged, cumming with a cry and clamping down on his dick. Gaster, spurred on by his induced heat, pounded him right through his orgasm and out the other side. Sans’ cries grew desperate as another orgasm built inside him. Gaster dragged at his hips, slamming into Sans’ pussy and stroking his good spots.

This time, when Sans came, it was with a wail. He went on fucking Sans right through it, his own orgasm just a few more strokes away. Sans squirmed and Gaster tried to pull out. He didn’t want to make his husband uncomfortable. However, Sans grabbed his arms and dragged himself back onto Gaster’s tentacle until it was buried to the hilt. “keep it up, g. i’ve got another one in me, and i’m sure you do. you still smell worse than my sock collection.”

That comment made Gaster growl and turn up the intensity from 9 to 14. “Oh, really? You think I smell bad? Or do you just want another load of cum in your chubby, tight pussy?”

Sans didn’t answer him. He was too busy trying to breathe. His tongue was bouncing up and down along with his ecto fat folds. His eye lights had gone out. Gaster grinned. He loved making Sans lose it like that. He kept on fucking Sans hard until his own orgasm overcame him. He buried himself up to the hilt again, and this time he got to see his own dark purple magic spurting into Sans’ womb. He grinned. Oh, how his possessive side loved to see that. It was so… satisfying.

Gaster waited a bit to see if the heat was satisfied yet or not. Partially seemed to be the answer. It was satiated enough to let him take a break and take care of his husband. Gaster scooped Sans up in his arms and headed for the bathroom.

[igotyoukth]

we are not seven

Summary: The Big Hit Labels launched many products using BTS' fame. As albums, apps and clothes are boring now, the PR team has another idea: BTS themed parks with BTS clones. And only a few selected fans are chosen to test the prototype. What they don't know is, one of the seven groups are the real boys.

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

But I didn't do anything wrong, was my first thought as I was asked to follow the staff. After enjoying the BTS concert minutes ago, I couldn't remember half of it. But I was pretty sure that I didn't do anything that would get me in trouble. I hadn't even filmed much.

The female staff had smiled and asked if I could spare a few minutes to follow her backstage. Backstage. That could be both very bad or very good. It's the place where BTS is walking around. But also the scary security.

"Stay close," the staff said and guided me deeper into the building. I nodded, when she used one of her cards to open a big door. Maybe BTS is behind it, screamed the fangirl in me. But they were not. It was a man and a woman.

"Hello," said the man. The woman greeted me with a quick nod. They were sitting on one side of a long table, looked friendly and smiled at me. "Sit down please," he spoke again. I followed suit.

"Did you enjoy the concert?"

"Yes, yes of course," I answered happily. It was really easy to distract me.

"Please don't freak out, but-," the woman began.

Isn't this one of the sentences to really freak somebody out, ma'am?

"You are Luna right?," she waited a second for me to nod,"we came across your account and confirmed you are a very dedicated and knowledgeable fan."

"Thank you?," I answered unsure about the compliment. I could also be blacklisted, I realized. Obsessive fans were dedicated and knowledgeable as well, after all.

"We are about to launch a new project for ARMYs and need fans we can trust to evaluate the process. So we need your help, Luna."

Her name was Yuna, and she made sure I knew that my options were little. As I already knew about that a new project of any kind existed, I was pretty sure bound to accept the offer.

So when I confirmed my involvement, she pulled a ton of papers from her bag. And then started explaining.

"BTS theme park" was the temporary name of the project. The park was separated into seven BTS eras. Their trainee days, debut era, I Need U, Blood, Sweat& Tears, Spring Day, Fake Love and the present. The BTS members would take part and be present at every station, recreate the era and interact with fans.

There was one innovative thing about the park. They were going to use clones.

The reason the PR team chose me was my fan account, where I used to analyze music videos and simply make jokes nobody found funny. But apparently it showed the PR team I was smart enough to take part in this big project. They needed fans who knew a lot about the group and could find the faults in the clones. Did they act out of character? Was the experience authentic? What kind of improvement was possible?

The park was going to include the seven eras, probably more in the future. And the fans could stay up to a week with BTS. The PR team knew that problems could arise. Mostly delusional fans could mistake the clones for real and get too excited about the close relationship.

But the primary goal of the project was to give everyone a chance to meet BTS and build a friendship. The clones would purely be friends and were not allowed to cross the line. This was another criteria we should observe. The clones should never be more than friends, never.

My station at the BTS theme park was the present era. The most boring one to me. A long career as an ARMY made me miss my old boys and the memories from eras in the past. But I was positioned there for being an 'experienced' fangirl. The clones in the present should be the best, as the PR team predicted it to be the most popular stop.

The other group members  were chosen very carefully as well. For example the trainee group only had korean members and a manager who had known BTS for years.

Yuna gave me a lot of reading material and DVDs so I could refresh some of the information, and my homework was officially to fangirl. In a week I would join the other girls- 21 in total, three per era- for another workshop kind of thing. With basically more BTS stuff. As if that wasn't enough; they were paying me!

21 girls, fangirls, were waiting in front of the Big Hit building. Everyone was best friends already. The love for the same seven boys did this to you. So while we were discussing our favorite songs ans eras, we didn't notice how Yuna was waiting for us by the door.

"Girls, come in!," she had to yell for us to finally look up and move. I had found the girls from my group, Anne and Lia. They had been fans since BTS' debut like me, and were around my age.

"The first part of the workshop is about safety, things you should pay attention to," Yuna explained,"Afterwards you are taking the cars with your group to the theme park. During the ride you will listen to another seminar about your specific era."

Seated in a meeting room, we were given snacks and drinks. A Big Hit staff repeated what we already knew. But it made clear that the rules were important and we had to work hard to make the project perfect.

And before we knew, we were already inside the car driving to out of Seoul. The exact location was a secret, and I was too bad at orientation to know where we ended. The lecture inside the car didn't have any new information as well, so at some point we started chatting by ourselves.

I learned that Anne was from London and casted during a concert just like me. Lia on the other hand was Korean and one of the known BTS-fancafé members. Another thing we had in common was that we saw BTS as our babies and couldn't chose a favorite member.

The project long forgotten and deep in our conversation, we didn't realize that we had arrived until the door flew open. The view in front of us was nothing we expected, bigger than any project so far. A little town almost, just for us.

The gate greeted us with the words:

"Welcome home, ARMY."

[rangoatemybabynsfw]

Shit you know what really gets me going? Death trope- like Lance and Keith are in the heat of battle and things are looking awful. Lance got hit, not super terribly but bad enough that he can't make it back to his lion on his own. He and Keith are pinned and Lance in that state where hes 10000% sure hes gonna die just lays it all on the table ans kisses Keith. Cue stunned Keith who with his new found courage takes out all the enemies and gets Lance home. Fluff ensues

OMG OMG OMG YES YES YES

Hot and burning. Why is his side burning? That doesn’t make sense. It’s not like he was shot. It missed. Right?

Lance presses his hand to his side and it feels sticky and warm. When he brings it back up he finds his fingers coated with blood. Lots of blood. He feels a little queasy at the sight of it. The blood is just pouring down his side so he presses his hand to the wound and bites his bottom lip in nervousness as he fires off a few more shots.

“Did you get him?” Keith asks over his shoulder as he slices through another sentry robot.

“Yeah. Keith?” he asks. “I uh–I’m hit.”

Keith chops the head clean off a robot and turns with shock. Lance is leaning against a wall clutching his side. His eyes are wide, more than a little frightened but trying to hide it with one of his cavalier smiles.

“I think I’m okay,” Lance reveals. “Only hurts a little…”

No sooner are the words out of his mouth that his knees give out, legs crumpling under him. Keith rushes over to him and pulls up a shield to block any incoming rounds as he inspects the wound. It’s deep. And the blood doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

“Keep pressure on it,” Keith tells him and then yells into his comm device. “Shiro, Lance is hit! What’s the Atlas’s ETA?”

“We’ll be there soon. We’re fifteen minutes out, Keith.”

“Make it ten, Shiro,” Keith insists as he shoulder’s Lance. “Keith, out.”

“It’s bad…isn’t it?” Lance asks, swallowing nervously. “You only yell at Shiro…when you’re mad. Or scared.”

“I’m not scared,” Keith tells him. “And you’re gonna be fine, Lance. Come on, we’re gonna try to get back to the lions in the cargo bay.”

It’s slow going. Lance continues to bleed as he’s carried. On occasion he has to let go of his injury to fire his bayard into oncoming enemies. Keith berates him for it. Tells him to stop fighting and to hold his wound, damn it. He puts Lance down in the hall with his shield to protect him and cuts down more sentry bots to clear the way.

“Hey…it doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” Lance tells him. “That’s…that’s bad isn’t it?”

“Stop talking Lance,” Keith says as he shoulders him down the hall. “Save your energy.”

His vision is a little blurry now and his feet, they’re starting to drag as Keith carries him. They’re cold and numb. His hand is losing its grip on his side and starts to fall from his bloody wound. Keith stops them and shoves that hand back.

“Hold it, Lance, we’re almost there,” he promises and Lance trips over his feet, taking them both to the ground. “Lance!” he worriedly calls out and brings them both back up to their knees.

“I’m…gonna die, a-aren’t I?” Lance asks, his voice cracking as he looks into Keith’s eyes.

“No, I’m not gonna let that happen,” Keith tells him as he brings him to his feet. But Lance is unsteady and he nearly falls again. So Keith picks him up, cradling him in his arms as he runs the rest of the way. “You’re gonna be fine, Lance.”

“L-Look, haha,” Lance chuckles. “You’re…cradling me in your arms, haha ha.”

Keith tries to smirk but it doesn’t hold the same energy as usual. It’s tinged with worry.

“I…Keith, I want you to know…before I d–”

“You’re not going to die, Lance,” he interrupts.

“I…don’t hate you,” Lance says. “After you left for the Blades…I was mad at me ‘cause I…I missed you and I didn’t want to admit it.”

Keith says nothing, just keeps running.

“And then…I was mad at you ‘cause I thought…I’d never get to tell you…that I missed you. Like it was your fault...” Lance sighs, his eyes closing. His injury taking its toll. “So dumb right? I coulda just…sent you a message. Said ‘hey we miss you’…Er…well… rather ‘I miss you…’”

Keith has to stop and catch his breath for a second. He looks down on Lance, who’s starting to look a little pallid. His eyes flutter open slowly as he looks up at Keith.

“Did…you…” Lance whispers, his breath getting weak. “Did you…miss us? Did you miss…me?”

“I did,” Keith nods with a sad smile. “I missed everyone. And you, Lance.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Lance smiles at that, his eyes crinkling a little. His hand, as heavy as it feels, lifts and touches Keith’s cheek getting sticky blood on him.

“Lance, your–”

“I always…wanted…to do…this…” Lance breathes. “You…only…live once…right?”

He pulls weakly on Keith’s face until their lips meet. A soft kiss but packed with so much longing that Keith is left breathless all over again.

“Kei…th…” he barely manages to whisper against his lips. “I…lo…ve…y…ou…”

Lance’s thumb rubs a sticky line of blood on his cheek before dropping into his lap. Suddenly he isn’t kissing back anymore. He isn’t speaking. Lance has passed out and with renewed energy, Keith makes a mad dash for where the Atlas is planning to land.

*****

Lance doesn’t really wake so much as fall into someone’s arms right out of the healing pod. He blindly gropes for the body to cling to so he doesn’t fall to the ground. His eyes blink wildly and then squints as he tries to adjust to the light. Where–

“Didn’t I say you’d be fine?” says a familiar voice.

Lance leans back but still in their hold. A face comes into focus. A scar. A smile. Black mullet of hair–

“Keith? I…I’m okay?” Lance asks.

“Yeah, Shiro pushed the Atlas doubletime to get here. You’ve been in the pod for three days,” Keith tells him. “Can you stand?”

Lance plants his feet but wobbles a little. He uses Keith for balance but manages to get stable. Lance takes his hands back and looks around. There’s a blanket and pillow next to the pod. That plus the fact that Keith’s hair looks messier than usual adds up to only one thing–Keith slept there all three days.

“Where is everyone?” Lance frowns.

“They were all here in shifts for the first two days. I was told to let you out as soon as your vitals were steady,” Keith tells him. “If you think you can walk…there’s a welcome back party waiting for you on deck.”

“Yeah! I can walk!” Lance smiles that beaming grin. “I love a party,” he winks.

“Great but first,” Keith starts and takes his hand. “Do you…remember what you were trying to say to me?”

Only then does Lance remember. Delirious from blood loss and afraid of dying…he…kissed Keith. His lips were so soft and sweet…it was like drinking something warm and soothing before bed. Made him sleepy but happy. So happy he said–Lance’s face flushes with heat and he instinctively slaps a hand over his mouth making Keith snort out a laugh.

“I guess you remembered,” he smirks. “You okay?

“Yeah, I…I’m sorry,” Lance mumbles through his hand.

“You’re sorry?” Keith quirks a brow. “Why?” he asks, curious.

“Because who wants to hear that out of their dying teammate? Awkward.”

“Yeah, that was kind of a dick move,” Keith agrees. “Mostly because…if you had died then I wouldn’t have been able do this–”

Keith pulls him in and lays a kiss on him. Soft lips mouthing at Lance’s until they open. Lance’s blown wide eyes lid and close as he kisses Keith back. His hands hold onto Keith, unwilling to let go as they kiss right outside the healing pod. The kisses get fevered and hot because he’s alive god damn it. He’s not dead. He’s here and in Keith’s arms, receiving kisses from the man he’s been pining for over a year. One that’s just as glad to see that he’s alive and couldn’t wait to show him how he felt the moment he woke up.

When they part they’re flushed pink, staring into each other’s eyes and breathing softly.

“I uh…second thought, not sure if I can walk right now,” Lance mumbles out, his eyes landing on Keith’s lips again. “I uh…feel dizzy.”

“We could sit here for a while,” Keith suggests. “Go to your party in a bit. After you get your legs back.”

“Yeah,” Lance nods and laughs weakly. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Great,” Keith smirks. “I have…a lot of other things I want to say to you,” he admits.

“Before I go dying in your arms?” Lance jokes. “Again?”

“With your track record that could be tomorrow so…yeah,” he nods with a fond look. “I’d like to get some things off my chest before you jump in front of a bullet. Again.”

They both laugh at that and take a seat.

They never go to the party. They stay there and talk for hours, unburdening their hearts of all their secretly kept romantic feelings.  Hours later they are found by the team. Under a blanket and snuggling in each other’s arms. It’s the first talk of many talks they’ll have that end this way and the two of them couldn’t be happier about it.

[noonaduck]

BTS - Sweet Dreams pt.5

Pairing: OT7 x reader Genre: Fantasy AU, fluff, smut(?), angst words: 2397 Summary: Eight dreams and eight powers, tied together. Would they fall or would they rise? Y/N had seen dreams about seven men as long as she could remember. Namjoon was a regular guy who worked in a small bookstore. Jin has finally reached his dream and opened his very own cafe. Yoongi was a heir with future which was already planned for him. Jimin and Hoseok were partners in everything what they did in their life. Jungkook was an artist with complicated past. Taehyung was a knot which bonded them all. Together they all were a circle with awakening powers. 4. < 5. > 6.

[gifs belongs to their rightful owners]

Y/N's Pov. Your heart was bounding in you ears and you felt nervous. You were in shady part of town, it was truly a place where you did not want be alone after dark. That's why you had asked your friend Cloe to tag along with you. She was one of few people that you called your friend. Cloe was wearing black mini-skirt and even tinier white top whit it. She had only short leather jacket top of her clothes even when it was freezing. Her blonde hair was at lose ponytail top of her head. Cloe was outgoing persona who was popular among many, she was opposite of yours in that way. You were wearing black skinny jeans and long sleeved red shirt with deep collar under your jacket. They did not let you in if you did not at least look little bit representative. You enjoyed spending time with handful of people at time where she looked for attention. Like the saying goes, opposites seems to attract each other.  You and Cloe were waiting for your turn on top of the stairs to get into underground  club named The Coffin. How fitting, for a club which was located in old abandoned subway tunnels, underground like where coffins are located. Do you get it? Okay, me neither. Line wasn't that long because the club did not seek for attention of  outsiders. Bouncer quickly checked you for any harmful things and took your money and then he let you in without a word. Whoever owned the place had made good work, you had at least admit that.  The old railway platform has gone through total makeover. When you stepped in  you could see the big dance floor and a stage in front of it. Bright strobe lights were flashing in same rhythm with the beat. The other side of subway tunnel was blocked, right behind the stage and the other side leaded deeper into maze of tunnels. You could also see the bar which was located in balcony which was surely built after the platform was abandoned. Old worker's locker room's were now owner's private space. You and Cloe left your jacket for a girl who was leaning on the counter with bored face. She was covered in tattoos and her left side of head was completely shaved of.  

''Y/N you looks so nervous, you need to loosen up.'' Cloe yells over the music. ''After all you were the one who wanted to come. Honestly I was surprised when you asked, usually I'm the one who has to drag you anywhere interesting. Still I'm happy that you asked me to come, after all I heard that Jimin and Hoseok are going to be here.'' She keeps rambling. You had asked Jungkook to meet you here, after all you wouldn't be the most suspicious looking people here. ''Who are Hoseok and Jimin?'' You ask confused. ''Oh, just pair of hotties. They compete often in dance battles, in fact they are going to take a part in one tonight.'' Cloe seems excited. ''Let's go to the bar.'' She continues and pulls you alongside of her.

No wonder that there was more people even than usual. You had totally forget the event because you had been so wrapped up in your mind. Cloe pushed trough the crowd of people and gets many annoyed stares. She did not care and smiles victoriously when she was able to reach the bar. You let Cloe order your drinks and followed her to free booth. When you were sitting on the booth you took deep breath. You were nervous and your hand shook when you took small sip from your drink. ''I haven't been totally honest why I wanted to come here tonight.'' You say with shaky voice. Cloe's face turned serious. ''Is something wrong? You know that you can always talk to me, right?'' She asks smiling compassionately. ''No, nothing is wrong. I'm here tonight to meet a guy.'' You admit. Her smile turns into wicked grin.'' Finally, I thought that you are going to spend your life as a hermit for rest of your life.'' Cloe has totally misunderstood you like you have hoped. ''Where is he?'' She asks interested and starts looking around like she could spot the guy in that way. ''He is on his way.'' You give a small smile. Brown haired male gets next to your table, his eyes on Cloe. ''Do you want to dance?'' He asks and flashes smile for her. Cloe seems happy for the attention from a good looking man but then her eyes turn serious. ''I don't really want to leave my friend alone.'' She sound defeated. ''No, you can go.'' You push her. It is actually a good opportunity to talk alone for Jungkook. ''Are you sure?'' She asks worriedly but still keeps scanning the man who is waiting patiently with her eyes. You nod for response. ''Well if you are sure, Let's go!'' She stands up and takes male's offered hand. ''If you need anything, come to find me.'' She winks before she disappears into crowd with the male. You are left alone when you feel buzzing in your pocket. You pick up your phone and see new message from Jungkook. JK: *I'm here.* You: *I'm at the booth close to the bar. I'm wearing red shirt and black pants. My hair is H/C. You will surely find me.* You put you phone on the table and took one big gulp from your drink. You are turning sweaty and nervous. You don't have to wait for long when dark haired man approach you. Your heart misses the beat. ''You.'' You both say at the same time. It feel's like everything that you have ever known has ripped away from you and new world is opened in front of your eyes. Jungkook sits stunned opposite of you. ''How this is possible?'' You ask with a weak voice. There, in front of you was a man from your dreams. He seemed to be as shocked as you are. His eyes are dialed and his mouth is hanging slightly open. He is wearing white button up t-shirt with ripped jeans. He is as good looking as you had imagined. ''I would ask the same.'' Jungkook says after he recovers. ''Perhaps I can explain.'' New voice says and you both turn surprised. Next to you table stands male with blonde hair and most beautiful face you have ever seen. Long cross is hanging from his left ear and he is wearing silky blue shirt with some bleached jeans. You know this man as well. You gasp and Jungkook makes some noise too. ''May I sit with you guys?'' He asks ans flashes awkward smile. You and Jungkook nod stunned and the man slips in the booth next to you. You can feel yourself heating up between two good looking man. You shake your head a little, its not time for a that. ''My name is Kim Taehyung and you two are part of my circle.'' He introduces himself. You and Jungkook look him confused. ''What I'm about to tell you might sound crazy, but I hope that you will listen to me till the end. You listen when he begins to speak and everything seemS to turn even crazier when time ticks by. * Seokjin's Pov.

''Are you sure that this is the right place?'' Jin asks from Namjoon scanning his surroundings with doubt. He had ended up with Namjoon in shady part of town where he has never set his foot before. He never had to. ''I'm sure.'' Namjoon sighs and rereads the paper in his hands. Few days ago he had got strange letter into his mail box. There was no senders name and all what it said was, 'If you want to know about your dreams, come to this address on next Saturday and bring Jin.' Below that was only time and place and nothing else. ''What if it is a scam?'' Jin keeps arguing. ''I don't know how that is possible or have you talked with anyone about our situation?'' Namjoon rolls his eyes. He had kept arguing with Jin for a while now. ''No.'' Jin agrees. ''That's it then. Let's go.'' Jin and Namjoon has been watching old subway entrance for a while and it did not seem so abandoned what it seemed on the outside. If you could gather anything from the fact that time to time some people knocked the old metal door, and after talking to big bulgy guy headed in. Jin followed Namjoon in silence when he knocked the door. Without a word Namjoon hands money that bouncer demands and he steps aside so Jin and Namjoon can get in. Strong beat hits the men when they step in. They both are surprised after they found a club inside. They just keep staring by door when annoyed looking female pushes past them to get inside. That helps them a little recover from their shocks. A man steps from the shadows next to the entrance. He seems really familiar. It takes only seconds for Jin to know who he is.

''It's you.'' Jin says surprised. ''It's Me.'' The man grins. ''As lovely as this location is I recommend that we go elsewhere. People will get nervous if we keeps standing here.'' His face turns serious. '' I''ll answer all your question as long as you follow me.'' He continues and without waiting starts to walk a way. There is no other choice than follow him. The man leads Jin and Namjoon into private parts of the club.

Now they are sitting in private room and looking the man impatiently. He hasn't said a word after they arrived. The private room is decorated with gold and royal purple. It has black leather seats around the table where they are sitting. Purple pillows are set into couches sloppily and top of the table is unopened wine bottle in bucket with ice. ''You wanted to speak, so do so.'' Namjoon finally breaks silence. ''Shh. We are still waiting company.'' The man says and puts his pointer finger to Namjoon's lips for his surprise. Soon after that annoyed looking man is pushed inside. Jin recognizes this man also. Newcomer is black haired male with long pale figure. He is wearing expensive looking black pants and shirt. on his right wrist is a silver watch. Males eyes seems to pop out his sockets when he sees who are in the room. ''What a fuck?'' he asks but before anyone can open their mouths the door opens once more and two other people are pushed in. Jin knows their faces as well, is this a school reunion?

First male is quite short but he has muscular figure. His eyes are shaped like half moon's and his hair was rusty blue. Second male was taller and also muscular. His hair was mix of red and brown. ''Finally, it took ages. Please sit.'' The man who has invited them finally broke the silence and three stunned looking men sit around the table. ''There is good reason for you guys to be surprised and to be honest I was as well before two days ago. I'm Kim Taehyung, but you can call me Tae.'' The mystery man finally introduced himself. ''I don't like to repeat myself so I wish that you wait with your questions till the end.'' Taehyung says and opens his arms dramatically. All what Jin could do was stare alongside with the other men. ''My grandmother told me this story which I'm about to tell you. In our family lines goes rare gene which cases the connection between us. The gene does not have a official name, but my grandma called it a 'dream gene', so lets go with it. This gene does not inherit for everyone in the family and sometimes it might take generations to appear. It seems that there is also some other family lines than ours where this gene appears, but it has never shown in all families at once. Those who has this dream gene seeks each other in their subconscious minds. That's why our dreams are connected. Because we all carry the same gene we are part of the same circle. Best part of this all is that when our circle is full we get those powers which we dream about.'' He ends his speech dramatically. The whole room is silent, you could hear a needle to drop on the floor.

''What, who, when, how?'' The man with red and brown hair finally blurs. He looks as out of it as Jin feels at the moment. ''My grandma had a circle as well and she gained power of psychics. Only one another person is alive from her circle, but she hasn't talked for him in person for years. They still meet in their dreams though.'' Taehyung shrugs his shoulders. ''How you can be so calm about this?'' Jin peeps in. ''My grandmother has always been a weird one so it did not took me for long to accept this fact.'' ''Wait, you said that our circle has to be full to work right? Aren't we missing two of them.'' Pale man asks confused. ''Ah, I already spoke to Y/N and Jungkook. They did not take things so well and left in hurry. No worries, when we meet together for the first time then should our powers awaken. That Nana at least told me.'' Taehyung sounded so carefree and Jin did not like it at all. ''Y/N and Jungkook?'' Short guy finally opens his mouth. ''Right, you do not know each other yet. How silly of me that I forgot. First we have Jung Hoseok, then Park Jimin, Min Yoongi, Kim Namjoon and finally Kim Seokjin.'' Taehyung points each men after another. ''Missing persons are, like I told, Jeon Jungkook and L/N Y/N.'' ''Wait, that famous Jeon?'' Namjoon asks surprised. ''Yes, it's him. Nana said that we had no change to cross each other before we would be ready for it. Sadly it seemed that neither Y/N or Jungkook seemed so ready after all.'' Taehyung sighs. ''I hate to seem stupid but who is Nana?'' Jimin asks and frowns his eyebrows confused. Taehyung gigles. ''It's my grandmother.'' ''Oh.'' Jimin says embarrassed. Oh, indeed. Jin feels like there is a lot to swallow at once. ''So, are we going to be superheroes?'' Hoseok asks sounding little bit excited. ''More like distant relatives to witches.'' Taehyung grins. ''Witches?'' Yoongi asks panicked. ''That is another story to tell.'' Taehyung says happily. This is going to be a long night.

[sabraeal]

What the Heart Wants, Chapter 2

What the Heart Wants, Chapter 1

ANS Week, Day 2: Rain Dark | Impactful | Nourishing | Fresh

Wilant will always be a pleasant diversion, a breath of fresh air when court life gets too stale --

But Zen breathes easier in Wistal.

Shirayuki may be happy in her scarves and stockings three layers thick, her bed stacked high with flannel blankets and down-stuffed quilts, but for Zen -- for Zen, home will always be the warm sun on his skin and the scent of honeysuckle and wisteria wafting through open windows. It is the cobbled streets of the city and the marbled halls of the castle, the calm, starry nights, and the strawberries so fresh they’re still sour from the vine.

Izana clearly feels the same; the moment they ride past the check point, his shoulders ease, his seat more natural on his steed. When he walks Wistal’s halls, still dirt-splattered from the road, there’s a spring in his step, a surety in his gait that is too marked to be purposeful.

He is a king, and this is the seat of his power. Even as a prince, Zen feels it too; that subtle shift in the air that infuses him with the confidence of his station. Obi’s reminded him all too many times -- on the road or in an inn, he is anonymous, a man like any other traveler, and a knife kills a prince just as easily as a swineherd. But here, here --

Here he is Zen Wisteria, Second Prince of Clarines. It chafes as much as it comforts.

Do not take too much heart in the thought, Izana had drawled at the observation, enjoying his disguise as Lowen, court pharmacist, far too much. Father died at home as well.

As if he could forget.

Mother comes with them to Wistal.

He’s not sure of the specifics behind the decision -- he was only privy to what he assumes was Izana’s last-ditch effort; a quiet lunch where Mother acquiesced without much struggle or fanfare. The only protest she gave was the token, tired sigh of, but I am not sure why I must needs convalesce in the city.

“It would set our minds at ease, Mother,” Izana tells her, but Zen recognizes the tone, recognizes the smile lurking at corner of his mouth.

It’s a good opportunity for her, he had said, years ago now, as the books in his office pressed in around them. A place for her to hone her skills, to make connections.

He had, of course, not said what he meant: A place where she will not be near you.

Zen is older now, more experienced in the subtle manipulations that oil the gears of this court – he hears what isn’t said:

It would set our minds at ease to know you aren’t near that man.

It’s him that Mother turns to when she has run out of her arguments, gaze patient and inquisitive, as if asking him to make the decision for her. As if asking whether he will allow her to be taken, as Shirayuki was from him. As if asking if he will let this trap spring for her as well.

The smile he wears doesn’t fit his mouth as he says, “You should come.”

She blinks once, almost as if taken aback, before her expression is once again inscrutably polite.

“Should I?” she murmurs faintly, lifting a delicate cup to her lips.

“Of course,” he presses. “Wistal is so nice in the summer.”

Her knuckles are white when she sets down her tea. “I suppose it would be nice. I have so missed the gardens…”

Mother’s garden sits in the South Wing, walled on two sides to keep it private from the larger, public gardens on the other side. If he’d stood on one of the delicate wicker traps mother called chairs, he’d be able to see the roofs of the pharmacy, maybe even the window shyly tucked back from the main thoroughfare that had marked Shirayuki’s office when she was in Wistal.

He hadn’t tried, of course – these things were barely safe to sit on, more for decoration than habitual use, no matter what Mother tried to convince him of – but just the knowledge of it warms him, makes him feel closer to her even when she’s miles away, in a city only now starting to melt at summer’s height.

It almost makes these teas worthwhile.

A breeze gently rustles through the garden, shaking the wisteria overhead, and Mother tilts her head back, letting it cover her sigh. Zen’s too used to her habits, too used to these useless teas, and he sees it for what it is, for what the deep set of the lines on her face mean. 

How strange it is, to see someone suffer in paradise. 

“Are you feeling better?” he asks, as he always does – it is the one thing Izana will ask after, catching him on the hall to some appointment or another, is Mother feeling recovered? Her answer is always the same.

“I feel quite well,” she tells him in her mild way, fond smile curling her lips. “As I have since I was rescued. I promise, I am not covering for any foul treatment done by our kidnappers.”

He hums, feigning agreement. “You know how Izana is. He wants to make sure you’re safe.”

“I am safe as I am anywhere.” She takes a sip of tea, eyebrows raised. “Surely you do not think I am some stranger to abduction? Why weren’t we both --”

“I don’t remember,” he lies, heat creeping up his neck. He doesn’t need to be reminded of the time they nearly both were carted off to Sama when he was hardly old enough to hold a knife. Gods know, Izana remembers it enough for the both of them. “I was very young. But I’ll take your word for it, Mother.”

“I understand Izana’s caution,” she says after a moment. “But I’m afraid I still do not understand why he feels I should be kept at Wistal. After all, my allergy…” She gives a theatric sneeze.

Zen’s mouth pulls flat. He knows – it is the same reason Izana has kept him here, all these years. They have a chronic habit of loving inappropriately; a condition his brother thinks can only be cured through quarantine and distraction.

For once, Zen hopes he is right.

“Well,” he starts, dropping his serviette as he stands. “Tea was lovely, as always, but –“

“You must get back to business.” She smiles, too knowing. “A man cannot run a country by himself.”

No, but he can certainly send his brother to distract their mother alone just fine.

Annoyance spikes in him. It was Izana’s grand idea to bring her here, but now it is solely Zen’s duty to entertain her, to keep her mind occupied on top of all his other duties. As if he has no other, more pressing work than to make sure their mother --

That their mother was not spending her days, forlornly gazing north, as she was right now. He sighs, fingers tapping at the table.

“I’m sure another letter from Shirayuki will arrive soon,” he offers, desperate. “It’s been a few weeks.”

Mother smiles, faint. “That would be nice.”

“You seem to be getting along well,” he adds. He had never thought about his -- his someone having a significant relationship with his mother, not when he barely had more than a fondly cordial one himself, but it was...nice. Izana’s doubts had made his own blossom, but his mother’s approval...

Well, it was nice not to be alone in this, for once.

“She’s a lovely girl,” his mother agrees. “She’s giving me some wonderful advice about how to fix up this garden of mine.”

He glances around, unable to find any obvious change, but nods. “I’m...glad. I’ve always found her to be...”

“Special?” his mother offers, when he cannot find the word. “I agree. I like her quite a lot, and it would be...” Mother hesitates, as if trying on the words, to see if they might fit. “...most pleasing to me, if we were to grow close.”

For once, the knot in his chest eases. “That would please me too.”

She hums, a smile lingering about her lips. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

“Oh!” He coughs, trying to cover his flush. “Right. Yes. I -- I will see you soon.”

“Tea tomorrow,” she reminds him.

“Right, yes.” He nods. “Tea tomorrow.”

He reaches for the door to the castle, only to have it jump from his hands. He looks up startled, and meets wide amber and slit pupils.

“Obi?” It’s not fair to meet him this way, when he’s at the bottom at the stairs and Obi’s at the top. He’s tall enough as it is.

“Master!” Shock melts to a sly smirk, mouth rucked at one corner. “What a pleasant surprise!”

“I’m the surprise?” he shrills. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Lyrias?”

His eyes dart to one corner, the picture of innocence. “His Lordship had reports he needed delivered to Sir Zakura, and he said I was his fastest messenger.”

There’s a boast in that, but there’s no refuting that Obi moves faster than a man should be able to on the roads. It’s best not to think about; things like that can keep a man up at night. “That doesn’t explain why you’re here. At my mother’s private garden.”

“Ah!” Obi lifts a hand, rubbing at the back of his head. “Yes, well…Miss sent me with a letter too. Said I should deliver it personally.” He smiles, sheepish. “You know how she is.”

Zen nods. “Good, I think my mother could use the good news today. She’s been a little listless since the last.”

Obi’s mouth quirks at the corner. “Oh, I’m sure this will put her in a chipper mood.” He winks. “Don’t you worry.”

Mother doesn’t call him for tea the next day. It worries him for a while – she had been so out of sorts, after all – but Obi distracts him before he heads back north, taking him out for street food in the city and drinks and not returning him until the night shift has already started. By the time he receives the invitation the next day, Zen’s feeling steady enough on his feet to chance it. Besides, tea has always settled his stomach.

At least, that’s what he thinks, up until he sees his brother lounging at the table, long legs spread out across the brick like a brag.

Zen stomps across the garden, dropping himself down into the chair next to him. “What are you doing here?”

Izana holds out a hand, as if encompassing the garden without moving a finger. “Mother invited me.”

“Mother always invites you,” he grouses, “you just never come.”

“Well,” Izana hums, “today she especially requested my presence. So I have come.”

Zen takes in a breath, but when he goes to speak –

“Good,” Mother calls out, tremulous smile on her lips. “You are both here.”

“Of course,” Izana says smoothly, smile just curling his lips, “I come when you call, Mother.”

Zen stares. Honestly.

Mother smiles knowingly. “How kind of you.”

Izana’s eyes narrow. “Is something --?”

“I only wished to let you know,” Mother pushes out, as if every word was an effort. “That I will be marrying Mukaze.”

“You can’t just let this happen,” Zen blurts out when Mother has left. “You can’t just let her --”

“Perhaps you did not notice, darling brother,” Izana drawls, staring at his nails. “But Mother did not ask.”

“But you’re the king, you can just --” be high-handed, like always –

“I could.” He drums his fingers against the glass, parum-pum-pum-pum, the only part of himself he allows to move. “But I think you will find that will not stop her. We would only find a cold bed and a rope of bedsheets out the window.”

“She’s on the first floor,” Zen offers mildly.

“Then maybe she would leave a note,” Izana allows. “The point is, I may be the king, but she was once queen, and there’s hardly a court between here and Viande that would not give her sanctuary.”

“But Mukaze is a fugitive in Tanbarun!” he presses, hoping his brother has forgotten just how he came by that knowledge. “And an exiled nobleman to boot. Surely King Shenezard –“

“I am aware of just what King Shenezard will think about that,” Izana cuts in. “This is not about stopping Mother. We can’t. It is about mitigating the damage.”

“You can’t just --”

Izana holds up a hand. “There is nothing I cannot do brother. And if making this disaster of a marriage into something feasible is what Mother wants, then it is what will be done.” He hesitates, and says, softer, “It’s what she deserves.”

Zen frowns. “I don’t understand.”

Izana stands, a wistful smile at the corner of his lips. “Good. Then I have done one thing right.”

Despite how he argues, not a single ear will listen to reason. Not his brother, not his mother, and – most surprisingly – not Haruka, who merely waves him away and asks him if he does not have something better to do with his time. Zen can’t countenance it; for years he’s been all but forbidden from making Shirayuki his wife, told that she needs to prove herself –

And now his mother is going to marry her father. The mountain vigilante.

Time marches onward, and in all too short a measure, Zen find himself waiting at the Starlight Gate to received their illustrious guests. They have come from all over – dignitaries from Viande, from Ivora, from Sama, even Ambassador Prak, who offers his mother the most heartfelt of congratulations from Her Most High herself. It’s not until the last day that the visitors from Lyrias arrive, a great party that is a dozen carriages at least, full of half the most powerful players in the North, all come to see their queen remarried.

It is no surprise that Haki alights from one of the first carriages, Makiri’s arm looped in hers. Mother greets her warmly, a kiss on both her cheeks.

“You look well,” Mother gushes. With a sideways look, she adds, “Doesn’t she, Izana?”

His brother looks fit to choke, but he covers it well, his expression warm as Mother passes his fiancée to him. “Of course. You look radiant as always, Mistress Haki.”

He lifts her hand to kiss it, earning him a warm look in return. “His Majesty is too kind.”

“Perhaps,” Mother wonders aloud, as Haki is passed on to Zen, “we might look forward to a double wedding this week.”

Haki’s pale face flushes vibrant red, and Izana looks much the same. “Mother –“

“I am merely speculating,” she says easily, turning to the next guest. “After all, you don’t seem to know how to end an engagement –“

“Mother!”

“Oh look,” she gushes, turning her back to them. “It’s Duke Rodatrad.”

Mukaze comes not in a carriage, but on horseback, flanked by the whole of the Mountain Lions. They are, at least, well-dressed; still, Izana looks nearly faint at the prospect of his mother’s husband’s impropriety.

He sweeps off his horse, up the steps until he can hold Mother close to him, no air between them, and –

“Yuck,” Kazuki groans, echoing the sentiment of both royal sons. “Yuck.”

Itoya reaches over, cuffing the back of his head. “Be respectful.”

Kazuki frowns, but relents with a much quieter, “Gross.”

It is of course the carriage he is waiting for most that is last. Shirayuki sways down the steps, smile bright, if tremulous, and accepts the embrace his mother offers. Obi stays a respectful distance back; he’s not a guest, per se, but a guard.

Zen wants to rush to greet her, to hold her as close as his mother does, but –

“Dear sister,” Izana drawls, pulling her into his arms. “I’m so pleased that our families are finally joining.”

“T-thank you…brother,” she murmurs awkwardly as she steps out of his embrace. “I’m…glad for it, as well.”

It is midnight when someone rouses him, one of Izana’s personal staff that urges him to don appropriate attire and meet at the Poet’s Gate. Zen knows better than to balk, though he does grumble as he fumbles with his pants, nearly knocking over the lamp on his beside table.

He makes it just in time to stand alone on the portico as the carriage arrives, unmarked and pitch black, blending in with the night. It’s an effect rendered wholly unnecessary the moment its occupant opens his mouth.

“There now, Sakaki,” Raj crows, far too loud, as he spies Zen’s shocked face. “Did I not tell you we would be the best surprise of all?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“It would be better,” Izana drawls, unfurling from the shadows, “if you were the best secret as well.”

Against all odds, Raj pinks in the moonlight. “O-of course! No one is as circumspect as me! Isn’t that right, Sakaki?”

Izana’s disapproval is so weighty, not even the prince’s manservant dares break it.

“Come then,” he says finally. “Let us go to my office and settle this.”

“There is of course, one formality that must be take care of before the…festivities may begin,” Izana says, fixing his gaze on Mukaze, who bears it as well as any man could. “You may have been a vigilante for the past two decades, but you were a lord’s heir once. Certainly you are not insensible to what must be done.”

Mukaze eyes him. “I certainly have a few ideas about what you may be asking.”

“Your claims in Tanbarun,” Raj interjects nervously. “You must relinquish them.”

His eyes narrow. “I was already disinherited. I don’t see what I have to --”

“Both of you,” Izana says calmly, his gaze sliding to where Shirayuki sits beside her father. She stares at him, wide-eyed, and oh, how Zen wants to go to her, wants to tell her –

“It’s up to you, kid.” Mukaze looks down at her, eyes soft in a hard face. “I’m not getting that title. But you could. It’s your future.”

He doesn’t hear it, but he sees her lips move as she lays her hand on his arm. Dad.

“I don’t want it,” she says, so soft. Her fingers grip tighter. “I don’t know that life. It’s not mine. This is.”

“Kid --”

“Be happy, Dad.” His hand lays over hers. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I will,” he promises, watery. “What do we need to do?”

Raj snaps, and Sakaki lays out an official-looking document on the desk.

“Sign this,” the prince says. “It relinquishes your claim and the claim of both your issue.”

Shirayuki frowns. “Issue?”

“Children,” Raj manages, awkwardly. “And grandchildren. And so forth.”

She hesitates then, but –

“It’s all right, kid,” Mukaze says. “You don’t have to –“

Her name scrawls across the page, aggressive and bold. “Done. There isn’t anything to miss.”

Mukaze reaches out to her, her hand clasped in his. “Shirayuki –“

“And now that that business is done,” Izana begins, stepping around the desk, paper in his hands. “It is my duty to give you this.”

Mukaze takes the scroll in his hand, breaking the seal. His brows furrow as he reads its contents. “What is this?”

“Think of it as a wedding gift,” his brother says, smile lurking at the edge of his lips.

Mukaze stares, as if the words no longer make sense. “Is this…?”

“The rights to land along the Tanbarun border, as well as the parcels contained therein.” Izana shrugs. “The incomes are nothing to be too excited about, but I doubt you are over-concerned with that, Earl Orundel.”

“Earl,” Mukaze breathes. “You want to make me an earl.”

“No, you are an earl.” Izana’s mouth twitches into a smirk. “I know, it is a demotion after margrave, but –“

“What do you want?” Mukaze demands. “This can’t – you can’t –“

“Mukaze.” Izana lays a hand on his shoulder. “My mother cannot marry a common man.”

“He never was,” Mother murmurs, catching Mukaze’s hand in hers. “He has always been more.”

“Of course.” Izana’s face grows soft, looking at them. “But this is not about the content of his character, but politics. You know you must accept this.”

He scrubs a hand down his face. “I know. I know.” He takes in a deep breath. “Fine. Earl it is.”

It’s a bad idea, he knows, but – Obi catches his elbow in the hall, and winks, says, come on, Master, you need a drink –

And then he’s stumbling through the garden, alcohol buzzing through his veins, making his thoughts too loud, drowning out the words that Mitsuhide says, Kiki’s sharp answer –

“Oh well, you know His Majesty is happy,” Obi’s voice cuts through the noise. “You should have heard him when he first saw. I’ve always wanted a sister.”

It’s not thoughts that buzz through him but anger – this isn’t fair, it’s not, not when he’s waited so long, been so patient –

His gaze swings up, sees lights on, and –

And he’s tired of being so dutiful.

“Zen.” His brother only manages to summon mild surprise. “You’re here. And…intoxicated.”

“I’m not,” he snaps, the slam of the door punctuating his sentence. “Intoxicated, I mean. I’m here.”

“Clearly,” Izana drawls, eyebrows raised. “Though to what purpose –“

“You know what purpose,” Zen spits, the anger nearly choking him. “You told me – you said for years – that you couldn’t just – just – hand respectability to Shirayuki, that she had to prove herself. And then to her father, you hand a county!”

“And all its constituent titles and parcels, yes.” He settles back, far too comfortable. “Is there a point you wish to come to?”

“You didn’t want me to marry Shirayuki!”

He expects the accusation to slap, to make his brother recoil in confrontation, but –

“I never made a secret of that, brother.” Izana stares at him like he is the one being confusing. “She had no title, and no contacts. When she arrived here, she had no known skills, and was fleeing her own country for defying its prince. And you wanted me to make her a princess.”

“Shirayuki is a good person –“

“Of course she is,” Izana agrees, derisive. “But you could not have known that, not truly, in less than a month. And all the good intentions in the world would not give her what was needed to become a contender for your wife.” He looks at him. “It is not our lot in life to marry for love, but for Clarines.”

“She would be good for Clarines --”

“Perhaps.” He doesn’t sound convinced. “But would Clarinese have been good for her?”

The question catches him off-guard – he’d never thought of that, of what it would mean for Shirayuki to be his wife –

But that wasn’t the point.

“And Mukaze is good for Clarines?” He huffs, barely able to breathe through his rage. “And now that she is his heir, that she’ll one day be --”

“If you were paying attention, she is Viscountess in her own right.” Izana eyes him, disappointed. “But are you asking if now she would make for a good match? A viscountess would be too low, even for a prince, but an eventual countess – yes. I would have considered it.”

“Then --”

“But brother cannot marry sister,” Izana remind him. “Lest you have forgotten our laws.”

“We aren’t --”

“In every way that will matter, you are.” He sounds almost…sad. “Even if I wanted to, I could not give my blessing now.”

“All these years, and you just – just hand a title to her father, to what? Play with me?”

“Play with you?” Izana stands, looming over him. “Do not dare put this on me, brother. You could have married her at any time, had you done what mother did.”

Zen laughs, not kindly. “Just tell you it was happening? I would have love to have seen --”

“No.” Izana’s face is cloudy. “Been willing to risk your title on your herbalist girl. But you never dared.”

There is nothing he can say to that.

“I had always wondered if you would,” Izana admits, sitting down. “But in the end, it doesn’t matter. You cannot, not now.”

Anger has burnt the alcohol from his veins when he reaches the gardens outside the west wing, The windows are dark in the rooms – Mitsuhide and Kiki might be sleeping, but Obi is still out prowling, he assumes. Shirayuki turned in early, just after dinner.

He finds a rock, large enough to fly true and small enough to not leave evidence. He throws it, wishing there was some wind to pick up his cloak dashingly in the moonlight when it raps against her window.

It takes eight for her to actually come.

“Zen?” she murmurs, sleepy eyes opening wide. “What are you doing here?”

“Come down,” he says beseechingly. “I wanted to see you. To talk.”

She hesitates, then nods.

It’s been months since he’s seen her, and he feels every one of them in silence that settles between them. She keeps pace beside him as easy as ever, but still - still --

“This is weird, isn’t it?” he says.

She nods eagerly. “Oh, good, I was – I thought it was me.”

“No, it’s this – the marriage,” Zen says. “I almost feel like I don’t know how to act.” How I’m supposed to act.

“Me too.” A smile breaks wide across her face. “But they’re so happy. And I’m – I’m happy for them, whatever else it means --”

“Shirayuki.” He grabs her hand, pulling her back. “This is our only chance.”

“What?”

Her breath brushes against his lips, and that’s all he needs to bend down, to press his lips her hers. She surges up into him, hands clutching at his tunic, and he pulls away.

“Run away with me,” he gasps. “Tonight, before they can stop us.”

“I don’t --”

“Marry me.”

She stands frozen in front of him, stunned. Her mouth opens –

It is his brother’s voice that comes out. “What are you doing?”

[fuzzydemolitionsquad]

The tractor part two

Zeb cruised down the main street of Snag Toe, a not-so-bustling metropolis that was only a skip and a hop away from the Trodd family farm. Puggles lay back in his reclined seat, picking his nose and flicking his findings into the wind.

“I told you to STOP DOING THAT!” Zeb popped his cousin across the chops with the back of his hand. “If one of those gets on me I’m gonna choke you out!”

Puggles cackled. He sat up in his seat and watched a jumble-shrub blow across the road. There were no vehicles hovering by the curbs or krauntaun mounts tugging at their hitching posts. Everything was quiet. A lone drifter clad in beaten leather fueled his speeder bike at a dark fuel station. He turned onto the street without looking in the opposite direction and headed for Transitway Nineteen East. A solitary bantha in a paddock across the road lowed plaintively  as she watched him go, her long tongue stretched out in his direction of travel. All the shops–including Gurvis’s Tractor and Farm Supply– were closed. The windows of the shops  were concealed by plate-metal shades, like the eyelids  of sleeping lasats.

“Welp, looks like evrry’thang is closed.”

“It’s only an hour and a half to mid-sun!” Zeb said.

Puggles scratched his hairy chin. “Wunner if this has sumthin to do wit the elly-mentry school carnival? Old Gurvis volunteers fer the milk bottle toss erry year, an Mizz Clapp, y’ know, the sundry shop owner, sells tickets. Yup, pract’ly the whole damn town gets involved.”

Zeb palmed his face. “ WHY didn’t you mention this BEFORE?”

“I unno. Jus’ slipped m’ mind.  Oh well. Guess we has to go back home.”

“No. No, I promised pa I’d help him fix the tractor today.”

Puggles sighed. He lit a cigarette and took a drag. “Well if you insist. We kin turn left at thee stop and head on over to Needlesap. They got a tractor parts store there too.”

Zeb thought for a moment.

“Nuh-uh.  Needlesap  has all those crazies  who were released from the mental hospital. Oh. Heh. Sorry Puggles, no offense. Besides, it’s where all the Lunxx boys hang out. I don’t feel like saving your scrawny tail today.”

“Save mah tail? Shheeeoot. . . I kin hold my own with them blinked-milk-suckin’ moon-calfs.”

Zeb laughed. “Whatever you say, Puggles.” The big purple lasat stretched his arms over the steering yoke and rest his head on them. His ear twitched.

“What iz yew doin’? Gettin’ sum shut-eye’?”

“No. I’m thinking, and. . . I think I have an idea. How long has it been since you’ve visited the capital?”

“Amethyst City?”

“No. The other capital.” Duh.”  “Of course Amethyst City!”

Puggles’ brown face twisted. “I’d rather suck on the business end of a lightsaber! Or scrawl m’ name acrost a Mandy-lorry-an’s helm! Hells, I’d rather go skinny-dippin’ wid a love-sick dianoga than go to thee blasted capital!”

“So you really don’t wanna go?”

“No!” Why would I? Place is fulla ijits. Dandy lads an’ snooty gals and polly-tish-ans and such.”

“There’s lots of nice lasats too.”

I heard there wuz  staurmtroopers there. An’ guards all  a’suited in red.”

“Well, yes, but that was over two dust seasons ago.” Zeb said, a  small crease forming over his brow. “The Empire wants fealty.That’s why the Emperor has sent envoys over the last couple years. Same thing happened when the Separatists and the Republic were vying for our  support. Lasan isn’t interested in any political affiliation other than its own.”

“White and red. Bone and blood.” Puggles intoned.”That’s what Mossy said. Bone and blood.”

Zeb rolled his eyes. “ I think Mossy’s been eating too many toadstools.”

“Mebbe so. But he’s a witch’s son. Sometimes he has the mindsight. You member that.”

Zeb’s eyes shifted to the floorboard of the speeder. He looked at his feet. His prehensile toes kneaded the warm, plastoid-sheathed metal. Puggles’ worries were his as well, though he would never admit it.

“Capital’s two hours away. We better get going. I want to get pa’s tractor up and running today so he can get an early start tomorrow morning.”

“Land a’ muddlin’. Fine. Let’s git a move on.”

The big city filled Puggles with a combination of loathing and excitement.

There was nary a field nor hollow nor tree to be seen, save the topiary monstrosities growing from large bronzium planter boxes lining the streets.

Massive domes and tall conical buildings competed with one another for space, corrupting the natural skyline of purple mountains beyond. Sheer crystal sidewalks tinged lavender and green fronted a myriad of shops for blocks and blocks on end. Lasats in colorful attire bustled about like bees in a hive, their servant droids walking behind them, shopping wagons in tow..

Zeb entered a round-about on one busy street. In the middle was a statue of a heroic-looking female. Her quadranium arm was raised, a large bo-rifle in her grip. The sun glinted off her tattered uniform and one bared breast.

Puggles' eyes widened three sizes. “Did yew see that? Her tiddy is showin’! Whoo-wee. . . and it’s a nice un’!

“Be respectful, Puggles. That’s Shaddis Rrochious. She was a highly-skilled warrior and martyr who perished in the barbarian wars.”

“A warrior huh? Sheeeoot, she could shock me wid that ‘lectric rifle any time.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her spirit that when I’m in temple. Oh, and by the way, there’s a great statue of Firuz in front of the Warrior Council building. We should bring Jenni next time. I’m sure she would admire the bulge in his-

“All right all right. Point taken.” Puggles turned and looked back. “I’m sorry Miss Shaddis! Please ‘cept a Southern boy’s humble ‘pology!” 

They continued on down the street. Colorful, high-definition holograms flashed in the fancier shop windows, advertising the wares inside. The colors danced across the hood of Zeb’s speeder. Puggles’ whistled through his teeth.

“I ain’t been here since I wuz a lil’ sapling. Don't ‘member any of this crap.”

“Are you sure you could see over the dashboard?” Zeb threw back his head and laughed.

“Go fuck yerself.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” The big lasat covered his mouth with his hand and snickered.

Puggles hmmmf’ed. “I’ve been off planet and I never seen a sinners paradise like dis.”

“You keep on bounty hunting and I’m sure you will. Maybe you’ll get lucky and be offered a job in Coruscant.”

“ Lucky. Oh yeah, sure. Thee lower levels of Coruscant iz a killers’ paradise.”

Puggles changed the subject.“Where is we going t’ git the doodad for pa’s tractor?”

Zeb smiled proudly. “Just so happens I have access to the parts depot near the guards barracks.”

Puggles went silent, as if he was in a trance. He blinked his eyes. A wicked smile unfurled across his face.

“That means yew has access t’ the munitions depot too. Don’t yew?”

Zeb’s hands shifted nervously on the steering yoke.

“N-no. Of course not. I’m not authorized to go in there.”

“Yew iz lying cuzz. I kin always tell. Yer nose gits all pink and twitchy. Course It don’t happen much, since yew is such an honest soul.”

“As opposed to you.”

“Yep, as ‘posed t’ me.” Puggles raised and lowered his brows in quick succession. Goading his younger cousin.

Zeb stopped at a signal. Three attractive older females with fantastically coiffed hair crossed the street in front of him. All three were walking tiny, white-furred  oorvarks  with gemstone encrusted collars.They waved and lowered their eyelids in a flirtatious manner. When they were out of ear-shot Zeb turned to face Puggles and grabbed up the front of his shirt.

“Let’s get one thing straight. . . CUZZ. This isn’t a fireworks buying expedition. There’ll be no bombs, no thermal detonators,  no percussion grenades, no flares, no flash-bangers , no detonite, and no rocket launchers! NOTHING!”

Puggles pulled back and brushed off the front of his old flannel shirt.

“ Of all thee in-dig-nitties! I swear Zebediah, military life has made yew as ornery as a croaker eel!! I just wanted a little sooveneer.”

“I’ll buy you a tee-shirt.”

Puggles mumbled under his breath. How dare his little cousin treat him like some kind of infant cub! He had half a mind to throw a fit, one that would embarrass Zeb to his core.

The speeder approached a busy establishment named the Tooth and Claw. It looked warm and inviting with its polished wood balistrades and stairs. A brawny male wearing the same type of skin-suit that Zeb wore had another male in a tight headlock out front. The trapped male didn’t seem distressed in any way. He laughed as he went to his knees and flipped his assailant over his shoulder. Both lasats stood up and patted each other on the back then lifted their huge ale mugs from a small table to the side of the stairs. Puggles clapped his hands and licked his parched lips.

“It’s a bar Zeb! Pull over! I could really use a beer!”

“Oh, I don’t know Puggles. You’ve been drinking a lot lately.”

“What iz yew, mah ma?”

“No. I just worry about you that’s all. Besides, we don’t have time.”

“We have time fer one beer!”

Zeb knew if he didn’t give in, his cousin would continue to harp about the weapons depot. He listened to the crowd inside the establishment.  Clinking glass and raucous  laughter spilled out the doorway. The laughing turned to cheering. It was the toeball finals, and Zeb knew that some of his mates were inside. He looked at Puggles who was practically salivating.

“Okay. First of all, here in the Capital, it’s called a pub. Second, ONE beer. Then we leave. I think I should warn you. There are some first-year honor guards in there. Like me. They get pretty rowdy. Especially when they’re watching sports.”

“I hate sports.”

“Yeeeah, maybe don’t mention that.”

Zeb parked the speeder around back. He and Puggles stretched their legs and headed for the front door. As soon as they entered the pub, a whole table of green skin-suited males jumped up, whooping and hollering.

“Hey it’s good old Orrelios! ”

“The Zebster!”

“What’s up Zebby?”

“Come over here mate! The Shocktown Royals are knocking the stripes off the Burrndock Howlers!!”

Zeb waved. Puggles was off like a rocket before his cousin could make introductions. He jumped up onto the bar’s foot-rail–squeezing between two big graybeards smoking their pipes–and banged on the wood planked bar.

“ Anyone here? Someone pour me a cold one! No foam now, ye hear?”

The tender stepped out of the shadow. She was almost eight feet tall and as wide as the two graybeards combined. Her hair was an enormous blue bush and her chin was as square as a box.  A dark mole stood out on her right lower cheek like a bullet wound. The cobalt stripes on her impressive biceps were as wide as one of Puggles’ legs. A fat cigar dangled from her lower lip.

“Didja say something, love?” She said in a surprisingly pleasant voice.

Puggles stared up at her boulder-sized breasts and lava-hued eyes and let out a gasp of genuine admiration. He fluffed out his jaw fringes.

“Great Bearded One! If yew ain’t the most stunning creature of thee female sex I’ve seen in this blasted city! Howz about yew pour me a cold one an we kin step out back for a spell.”

Panicking, Zeb and two of his mates rushed the bar. ‘Tiny Teeks’ the bartender picked up a heavy glass mug. She looked like she was planning to smash Puggles’ in the mouth.

“I don’t like blokes funnin’ with me, Short-shanks!” She said.

“I ain’t funnin’ you Big Blue! I likes what I sees!”

The square-jawed female looked at Zeb, who had a pleading look in his eyes. She put down the mug. “Orrelios, ye came in with this little squirt. Is he for real?”

“Unfortunately he is. He fancies himself a ladies-male. He’s my uhh. . well you see, he ah..that is, me and him are. . .

“Cousins, Teeks!” One of Zeb’s squadmates–a few-years older male named Gron– shouted. “That’s Zebby’s hill-trekker cousin! The one he’s always talking about.”

“Well I’ll be a korsa’s dewlap.” Teeks said with a snicker. “Don't see the family resemblance.”

“Hit cain’t be seen on thee outside gorgeous. Our fam’ly’ semblance iz our love-makin' talents.  Iddent that right, Zebadiah? Us Trodds iz natural born kit-magnets!”

“Oh Gods and Ancestors . . .” Zeb blushed while his friends fell on the floor laughing. He wanted nothing more than to shrink down to the size of a flea and disappear into a crack in the wall.

“Puggles, would you shut your-

Zeb didn’t finish his sentence. Horns blared from the holovid player speaker. They were proceeded by the roars of a couple thousand spectators. Lasats in the pub went wild. Teeks jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “GOOOOAAAAAAALLL!!! Oi, did ya see it boyos? Xaniboor’s ball flew into the net faster than a mynock flying out of th’ inferno! GO ROYALS!!”

Teeks picked up Puggles like a rag doll and kissed him on the lips. Then she dropped him and poured him a beer. “There’s more where that came from, love! No no, put away your credits! I’m buying. I don’t know about your special talents, but you sure as dust are a good luck charm!”

“What about me, Teeks?” A dark-faced, yellow-furred guard asked in a whining tone. “I’m your best customer!”

The big female frowned. “Squints, I wouldn’t piss in ye pocket if ye was dying’ of thirst. I heard what y’ said about me! That me arse is bigger than any of the arses in the Capital Zoo.”

“That wasn’t me! It was Bear.”

“Sure, sure. And I’m th’  bleedin’ Queen!”

Puggles puffed out his chest and walked jauntily toward the table where Zeb had re-seated himself. Noticing that there was no chair available for him, he dragged one from the next table over and shoved it between Zeb and another young male. The  soldiers were talking–more like gossiping–about what seemed like a very serious incident.

“. . .so she snuck out, again, and met Lorrbskr  in the priest’s gardens.”

“I don’t believe that.” Zeb said, shaking his head. “Lorrbskr’s got a good career ahead of him. His whole family is military. He could be General some day.”

Squints made a funny sound with his nose.“You know how the Princess is. Always flirting. Always sneaking out. Getting blokes into trouble is a sport for her.”

“But, her guards. How does she keep giving them the slip?”

“She’s as slick as snot, that one.”

“ Lorrbskr's going before a review committee. Karabast, I wouldn’t want to be in his shin guards.”

Zeb sat back and took a drink of his ale. He burped against his fist.

“You guys are jumping to conclusions. He was probably at the temple to pray for his sick mother. The Princess saw him from her window, climbed out and comforted him. You gotta admit her life has to be pretty boring. She’s not allowed to have a suitor, can’t go anywhere without a chaperone. Hells, the Queen probably picks out her wardrobe and food and everything.”

Puggles rolled his eyes.

“Yew fellers iz thee most borin’ stiffs I’ve ever met. Gossiping like a flock a’ hens. I’m gonna go play spinner darts.”

“You do that.” Zeb growled.

The little lasat ditched his chair and padded up to the bar. Teeks had a cold one waiting for him.

“Ye really should have some of the stout. It’ll hit ye in a most pleasant way.” She said, winking one orange eye.

“Darlin’, if beer was meant t’ be warm ittid be served in a soup bowl.”

                                                                             ~

Zeb watched Squints shuffle a nudie sabbacc deck.

“You in?” The yellow and brown lasat grinned.

“Sorry, no. We can only stay for a little while. Gotta get a part for my adoptive father’s tractor then drive back to Needlesap County before it gets dark.”

“No pressure mate. Hey uh, Zebby, me and the boys were meaning to ask you something.”

The other young guards turned away from the toeball game and stared at Zeb.

“What?”

“You know Captain Zanku is going to retire soon. Do you think you might try to claim his position?”

The purple lasat widened his eyes. He visibly swallowed. “ Me? Captain? I dunno. I mean I’ve thought about it. Maybe years down the road.”

“Come on. You'd make a great one! Right boys? That would be wiz! You as our Captain!”

Everyone nodded in excited agreement.

“Mnnn. The trials though. I’d have to get in top shape. Physically and mentally.”

“What are you talking about?  You’re already there!  Strong as a gnapstrup and sharp as a dirk. You passed your first trials with flying colors. Hells, you know more about military history than Zanku himself.”

Zeb put his hand behind his head and rubbed his neck. “Yeah. He made me regret correcting him on the dates of The Battle of Kisgothi.”

“Latrine duty sucks nodge-gobs doesn’t it?”

“Sure as shit does!”

The two lasats laughed until tears came to their eyes.

Gron slapped Zeb on the shoulder. “You got my vote, Orrelios. Karabast, you’ve got all our votes.” He raised his mug and the others at the table did the same.

Everyone in the pub clapped their hands over their ears when an ear-splitting shriek sounded high above the din. A surge of ugly, gray-green smoke boiled out of the back room. Puggles Trodd bolted through the smoke, his ears flat and his eyes enormous.

“Zeb! Let’s go!!” He screeched as he bounded across table-tops.

“Puggles? Is- is that one of your smoke screamers?”

“Stop wid thee questions and run!” Puggles shouted drunkenly.

“Why?”

“Y’ know a big dude wid a gray cape and a green bo-rifle?

“Yeah. That’s our Captain.”

“Well, I hit him in thee forehead wit a dart. Right smack tween th’ eyes. Don’ worry, he’s still kickin’.’”

Zeb’s eye twitched. As his friends ran for the door, he grabbed Puggles, threw him over his shoulder and sprinted outside. He tossed the little lasat into his speeder’s passenger seat and leapt into his own. The engines roared to life. Zeb floored the accelerator, fishtailing, then careening out into the street. He banged on the steering yoke.

“I knew it. I knew something like this would happen!” He turned in his seat and watched pub patrons spill out onto the sidewalk, coughing and clutching their pained ears. He hoped beyond hope that his friends would keep Puggles’ identity a secret.

“That’s it. We’re getting the part and we’re out of here! I am never taking you to the Capital again as long as I live!”

Puggles crossed his arms and grumped.

“Suits me jus’ fine. I nebber wanted t’ come here in the first place. Stupid dart. Spinner must’a been warped.”

“The only thing that’s warped is you!” Zeb snarled, so venomously it made Puggles start.

“How much did you have to drink back there? Hmm? Five, six?”

“ Seven. I din’ pay for them if that’s what’s eatin’ ya. I still has all my money.”

“Karabast! I don’t care about the blasted money!”

Puggles slammed his small fist on the dash. “Honestly Zeb, I cain’t fer the life a’ me figger  you out. Why is yew is so bowed up?”

Zeb chewed his lip. His anger swelled anew.

“ Because you’re a disgusting alcoholic and you refuse to see it!”

There came an uncomfortable silence. The gentle thrum of the speeder’s engine sounded like a roar in Zeb’s ears.

Shocked and hurt, Puggles turned over in his seat. His body was slumped against the door and his ears were drooping. A minute went by before he spoke. His voice was devoid of emotion.

“Yew jus’ keep on beein’ perfect Zeb. Show us pathetic losers what it’s like t’ be a livin’ god.”

Yeeeah, hopefully it will take me less than sixteen weeks to put up part three.