#sorry if my response took forever & if it was unnecessarily long

[pizzaandaliens]

For the emoji asks: Can you answer for the last five emojis you've used? And also: can you answer the ask for your favourite emoji (if it's not one of your five most recent.) Thanks!

❤️💗💖😍😂^^ so these were technically my 5 most recently used ones but not all of them had assigned questions so I went through all of my recently used emojis to get 5 questions lol

💗- if you could hug anyone, who would it be?this is too difficult bc I love hugs? lol. my gf, my best friends, my god kitties, really all cats & dogs, my dad who passed away, Alex Caplow, Teddy Geiger, Nicholas Petricca, Kat Dennings??? My tumblr pals!

💜- which acts of kindness are you going to do today? lol not a clue, maybe I’ll hold a door for someone?

💙- what annoys you about some people? when people are rude for no fucking reason

😘- talk about your crush or partner.I luv her a LOT. she’s so god damn cute. she’s rly funny & smart & talented! huge d&d nerd. best guitar player that I personally know. she’s gr8 :)

🌸- are you an introvert, ambivert or extrovert?probably an ambivert? If I’m around my close friends or at work I’m an extrovert but when I’m around new people I can be pretty shy.

my favorite emoji isn’t on this list so I chose another one of my favorites for this last question:

👻- do you believe in ghosts and why?yes, I’ve personally seen & heard/experienced some scary shit bc in middle school my friends & I messed around with ouija boards a lot. I don’t expect ppl to believe me tbh bc there’s so many skeptics but I know what I’ve been through & I firmly believe there is a paranormal world

[cynettic]

Stay with Me pt.3

Summary - You manage to escape from Scaramouche, if only for a moment before you realize there’s no escape. It only takes until you’re sitting back in your regular spot that you know what you need to do.

Pairings - Kitsune!Reader x Yan!Scaramouche

Warnings - Suggestive content, mentions of death, swearing, slight gore / blood 

A/N - Its really hard to make this depressing while I’m vibing to Rasputin. Like no joke- I have it on one of the 1 hour playlists :D

Here you’ll find -  pt.1 and pt.2

He’d left a key.

Scaramouche didnt make mistakes, not while he had you captive in the vicinity of his bedroom. He didnt have room for mistakes, not when you were watching his every movement while he was in your line of sight. 

Sure, he mightve killed a person or two in front of you, but those were necessary mistakes. There was a sign on the door, it specified not to enter. You’d understand that, right?

Thats what he thought at least, lulling himself into belief after belief that you’d be there waiting for him every time. That you’d welcome him with open arms, even if there were chains ensnaring your wrists. That you’d accept your fate at his hands and submit yourself to him.

The Balladeer was a fool.

He’d kept you there for too long, and while you searched for an easy way to escape, time sent your head spinning. Into a spiral that begged only for the wind against your face, back laying on dirt with the familiar chirping up birds waking you up in the morning.

You wanted to go outside.

And when push comes to shove, you had to risk a little more to make it happen. Lure him into bed with kisses while your hands unbuttoned his vest. But what he believed to be alluring contacts was just your way of finding the keys hidden in the back pocket of his shorts.

It wasnt hard to find the one to your cuffs while he was asleep, cuddled in your chest with both arms around your waist as if to get you to stay put. You took the key, hiding them back in his clothing and hoping he didnt notice.

He didnt say anything the next day.

You werent going to wait any longer.

“Oh for fucks sake, why won't the goddamn door open?”

The room was left in tatters behind you, a little gift for Scaramouche once he got back. Turns out a pair of chains can smash up a lot of things, and rage can be used as a great source of strength when contained for such a long time.

But you’d done more than throw the blankets around, cut up the drawers and smash open the windows. Because your fists had bled red when you punched through the glass, puncturing your skin. Your knuckles were an ugly red, bruising already.

Ah, Scaramouche deserved a much better gift.

Gruesome as it was, you rubbed your knuckles against the pale walls. Till the blood stopped coming, till there was a nice little message for the boy which you held so dearly to your heart.

‘Balladeer.’

The first time you’d found out about him being a harbinger he’d told you not to call him by that name. You weren’t someone he associated with by work, you were a treasure to him. That’s why you continued to call him as he pleased, although the temptation always arose.

You were no longer his.

Shoving the door with your hand again, palm fiddling with the handle and groaning when it hardly budged. “Stupid,” you grumbled when the knob began to loosen. Backing up, you charged with your shoulder to the door, full force as the momentum broke the hinges. The door fell down with you along with it.

It was expected, you’d been stuck in the room for a long time, and thats considering you’d sat on the ground for decades. Your body was slight numb, muscles sore and unused for so long. 

“You a-arent supposed to leave your room!”

A young man stood in the hallway along with a woman who looked relatively the same age. The two were wearing uniforms, flinching when you stood up from the debris and off the door. “Excuse me?” You asked, voice unnecessarily icy and stern. But you couldnt care less, you were going to get out of this house, damn anyone who stood in your way.

They both continued to shake when you walked towards them, staggering from side to side. The woman stepped up in front of the man, presenting a brave face. “If you leave the mansion, the harbinger will kill us all!”

“Well then I expect you should be on your way then. Actually…” you gestured to the maze of hallways. “You can lead the way.”

“What…?”

Your hand went limp to your side, an exasperated looking momentarily crossing your face before you sighed. “Im not staying trapped in that room, I’m sorry if that ruins your life, but frankly you're not the one stuck in there are you?” You took an extra step just to intimidate them, eyes wide to make the appearance of crazy. “It would be a great help if you showed me where he hid my vision too.”

“We can show you to the door…” The man began, “But the whereabouts of your vision are unknown, he wouldnt tell us something like that.”

A gift bestowed from the gods, a piece to help me thrive with my ambitions and pursue my goals.

Gone.

You really wished you’d taken to clawing out Scaramouche’s face instead, but you’d take what you got. Right now your main priority was getting out of this place, even if it meant leaving a piece of you behind.

“Door.” Your voice was raspy and there was a terrible feeling that crawled up to your throat, but you didnt have time to be emotional. “Show me where the door is… please.”

The conflict in their eyes dissipates by the time they lead you along, mumbling words between themselves. You didnt bother to try eavesdropping, you were so, so tired. You wanted to go home.

Anywhere. Anywhere but here.

It took a few minutes until you were standing in front of a grand door, almost twice the size of you and just as wide. You then began to notice the decorational plants and furniture that filled the empty space, there wasn't an inch of dust. Even though you could tell none of it was used.

“Hurry,” the man warned when you paused. “I dont know when our master is coming back, but if its soon, we’ll all be screwed.”

You couldnt feel your head as you numbly nodded, hand clenching the knob and flinging the set of doors open. “Thank you,” you merely mumbled, taking your first step out of the house in what felt like forever.

The days after that were a blur, the area around Scaramouche’s house were nothing but void. Empty and filled with forests and vast plains. You knew he didnt like people or socializing in general, but to this extent?

Your only option was to run.

Let your feet take you somewhere, anywhere. It was a constant pattern of running and taking breaks, leaning on a tree and gasping in a few breaths before you were again scurrying through the forest. 

And yet you felt better than you’d felt in past months that you’d been stuck with Scaramouche.

Food became any boar you came across, the claws you’d spent so long hiding with Scaramouche coming to unleash a wrath beyond your comprehension. Till the animal was cut to shreds and no meat was left even to eat. You’d slaughtered it, without intention to eat or benefit for it, you’d killed it just to kill.

“I’m sorry,” you’d sobbed into the ground where you’d buried the harmless animal. Forehead pressed into the dirt as you pleaded for forgiveness to whatever archons would accept it. You couldn't even remember what archons you were supposed to pray to. “Forgive me- forgive me…”

But eventually you found your way around to somewhere you knew. Territory of Inazuma where you could find your way back, back home.

Where was home?

You’d been on the run from the vision hunt decree, abandoning your post for the Kitsune Saiguu for such a thing. Even now that you could return without a vision and as no threat under the decree…

You’d sacrificed everything for your vision.

Where were you to go now…?

Rain patted down, the trees providing only a slight cover as stray drops fell into your matted dirty hair. You didnt mind, it hid the tears that slid down your lifeless face, feet taking you into the far meadows of your hometown. Till you plopped down underneath a tree, knees curled to your chest and arms hugging them close. You were crying.

You were home.

____________________

“Awh,” a ginger haired murmured, elbow resting on the cool wood of the tabletop. “Is little Mouchie sad? I heard your kitty cat escaped~”

A death wish, even fatui that idly minded themselves around the bar knew it. Sipping cold drinks and swirling their cups, the soft chatter was nothing but a distraction from the main course of events. That being the smaller Harbinger who sat sulking in his seat, hunched over with a drink in hand. He’d drank far more than what was on the counter, but everytime he finished a glass, he’d smash it on the ground, watching the fragile glass shatter into pieces.

“I dont have a cat,'' was his only response, tone daring Childe to pursue further. To give him a reason to start throwing the glass in his face instead.

And Childe was an idiot when it came to challenging someone.

“No cat?” The rest of the drink in the taller harbinger’s glass was gone when he threw his head back. “Hmmm, I cant think of what else could’ve had you so enraptured in returning home then~!”

Scaramouche didnt respond, uneven bangs shadowing the bags under his eyes. “Stronger,” he said instead, elbow on the counter and hand outstretched for something. When there was no movement from the man managing the wine, the harbinger looked up. “I need something stronger to drink,” he repeated, voice seething.

“Of c-course!”

The glass was nestled in Scaramouche’s palm in no time, fingers curling around the circular form to down it in seconds. The drink merely slid down his throat in one movement, alcohol burning his senses. It didn’t matter, he was numbed by the growing rage inside of him.

Finally, he turned to the ginger haired boy, eyes hazily dancing along the counter till it reached his fingertips. Up his hand and along his arm, till Scaramouche was staring right into Childe’s eyes. “They escaped,” he admitted softly. “But it’s alright, because I sent something that’ll bring them back.”

Childe paused, raising his drink up away from his lips to pose a question. Hesitation danced along his features before he brought the glass back, he’d rather not provoke the shorter male any further. Wasn’t like he could interfere anyway.

____________________

“That… that…” 

It was preposterous, having returned to that same spot for a day or two and heading back to the hometown you’d once lived in. The one Scaramouche had lived in. There shouldn’t have been an issue, you were solely gathering supplies for the sake of it, ambition driving you to travel far far away.

Out of Inazuma.

It was your new beginning, convincing yourself that you didn't need a vision. Finding some sort of purpose before Scaramouche shattered the vision and your life along with it. You’d seen how people had reacted when it had been ingrained in the statue, neutralized and broken. They lost hope, purpose and aspirations for anything new.

It’s not like the Raiden Shogun took my vision.

But you’d taken that fact for granted, expecting some sort of new start without Scaramouche. A victory, getting away from him just for a split second and getting out of Inazuma altogether, you’d never see him again.

Until you got his message.

“How the hell…” You crushed the note until it was just crumbled paper in your hand, slowly leaning on the stone wall. “Piece of shit… what kind of person even…” 

Not only did he manage to find you, but without making his presence known, he’d tugged at your one weakness with an ease that had you down on your knees.

You threw the paper to the ground, deliberate as you stared past the alleyway. Pensive as you considered your options. Damn, what options did you even have? You’d been an idiot to underestimate Scaramouche, he wasn’t a child, you knew that… but archons he seemed like one when he was with you. Shown you a vulnerability he wanted only you to see. But maybe that had been part of his plan all along, until all you believed was his soft demeanor.

He may act like a child, but he’s a harbinger.

You stared down at the crumbled piece of paper in disgust.

Not only that, but he has no regard for human life.

Either way, you’d lived decades more than him. You could face him, you would present yourself to him just as he expected you to. Even when everything in you rejected the idea, sobbed at the thought of returning to that house, those chains. Being locked up and confined only for the purpose of coddling a small boy, a selfish boy, a cruel boy. 

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

You’d figure out a way, and this time you wouldn’t rule out the option of his death.

———————

Oh darling Y/n, how have you been?

I hope this letter reaches you rather soon, we both have much to discuss, no? About me, about you, and much more. You see, I’ve taken up quite a distaste to your little friends. Stone statues in Inazuma as small as Kitsunes truly hold no purpose, what will they do, come back to life? Haha, I should think not. I’ve already arranged to have them demolished, who knows what kind of material they might possess. Ah, and of course I’d show you the finishing product, unless you’re willing to come and have a chat with me once more? Under the Sakura tree like we used to, you’ve waited years, I believe you can wait for me?

I hope this letter reaches you in best interests. I’m always looking out for you after all.

Sincerely, your Balladeer

——————

It was raining.

Beautiful weather as you lay sitting there, feet crossed and tucked in the same you’d often do. After all, there was no need to fear the vision hunt decree or the Raiden Shogun. Let them come, let them take care of you before Scaramouche did.

You werent cold, not when the cold drops dampened your clothing, slipping down the length of your spine and drenching your face. Despite having lived in a luxury residency for such a long time, this was where you were most comfortable, enduring whatever the weather had for you, taking it with a smile. Because you were waiting…

The Kitsune Saiguu was a distant memory.

You were waiting for Scaramouche, the young boy that often bound into the field in lengthy strides, childlike wonder in his eyes. The one who’d cried when the other kids pushed him away, the one that just wanted to be praised. You’d held him in your arms, and now, even knowing the results, you wouldnt have done differently.

He was just a boy.

Just a boy when he joined the fatui, looking for praise that he was given. He created chaos and bellowed orders with a cruelty that was highly looked upon. Told that he was doing well, so he continued to do so.

He’s just a boy.

You wished you’d held him in your arms, if not only for a tad longer. Shield him away from the wrongness of the world, if only for one last time.

Banishing away your hatred for him was hard.

But you found it under the tree, rain soon dimming down to a clouded cold breeze that swept through the meadow. You’d hated him while stuck in the mansion, but you could now see it from a larger point of view. What he did was wrong of course, but you could remember him so vividly now. His small form giggling, tiny arms around your neck. 

“Play with me!”

Was it your fault?

For not holding him tighter? For trying to rectify his bad doings and teach him what was wrong and right? Maybe if your grip was firmer, if you’d spoken to him about the warmth he’d given you that day when playing cards...

“Lazy ass.”

Burying down that pile of worry and insecurities, you took a deep breath in to relax. The edge of your lip perked up, only slightly. “Still terrible with your social skills arent you?”

Slowly securing a dry space under the three with you, Scaramouche sat down. His features were the same ones you’d grown accustomed to at his mansion. Rich clothes, sharp eyes, and the baby face that refused to go away. His movements were soft as he pulled out a deck of cards. The two of you didnt speak as he distributed them between you both. It was tense… no, it felt too much like the warmth form long ago to be tense. You only wished the situation to be different.

“I love you.”

But you could only offer a bitter smile to his words. “I love my vision,” you replied. “I love the Kitsune Saiguu, and I love my friends.”

His touch was gentle when his fingers came to gently cradle your cheek. Holding your face dearly as he peered into your eyes, his were soft. Different from the cruelty he held within, the hatred that burned and destruction that seeked to explode.

You saw a little boy.

Your hand came to press his hand further against your cheek, till you slid his palm to your lips. He appeared so calm when you pressed the first kiss, lips tracing the lines along his palm with all the care in the world.

But you needed to change your view, see him as the man he now was. As the man he had become.

“I love you,” he repeated, and you let go of his hand. It fell limp by his side, cards all but forgotten. There was a much more pressing matter at hand, because you truly needed to see him as he was.

It was necessary if you planned to kill him.

[imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul]

That Should Be Me - Gwaine

Prompt: @panda-duuu asked, Hello! How are you doing? :) May I request a Gwaine x reader one-shot where the reader is Lancelot's sister and Merlin's best friend (him and Arthur the only ones knowing that Lancelot she's his sister) and Gwaine being the flirt he is, always messing with her (in the good way) but one time he sees how close she is acting with her brother, getting Gwaine jealous. - basically jealous Gwaine and fluff! Thanks ♥

Pairing: Gwaine x Reader Word Count: 1,205 Synopsis: At one of the many feasts in Camelot, Gwaine spots the reader laughing with Lancelot, and instantly grows jealous of their connection.

"You must be really mad at that roll," Merlin said as he sat down next to Gwaine. The knight didn't look at Merlin, but could tell he was smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"The roll," Merlin said again. Gwaine finally looked down and saw that the roll he had grabbed from the center of the table was now a rolled up mush ball in his hands. He scoffed and tossed it down on his plate.

"What do you want, Merlin?" he asked glumly.

"Why are you staring angrily at them?" Merlin asked, motioning to the other side of the table where you and Lancelot were sitting, smiling at each other.

"I'm not," Gwaine said, forcing his eyes away from the two of you so clearly flirting, and back down at his meal in front of him. He knew he was cutting harder than necessary into his chicken, but he really didn't care. Not when you were looking at Lancelot like that. Not when you were laughing so hard at his jokes you had to put a hand to your stomach to keep your breathing even.

"Gwaine," Merlin began, but then stopped when he felt Gwaine's angry gaze turn to him.

"Why is she laughing so hard?" Gwaine asked, his eyes going back to you. "She never laughs at my jokes like that."

"Your jokes are mostly just shameless flirting," Merlin corrected. Gwaine rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Lancelot knows . . ."

"Knows what?" Merlin asked, leaning in closer. Gwaine saw that same dumb smile on his face and shoved him away.

"You don't know everything, Merlin," he muttered.

"You're right. What does Lancelot know?"

"He knows that I like Y/N!" he exclaimed, a little louder than normal. A few heads turned towards him, but they all went back to their business, not hearing him clearly. "He knows, I told him."

"And what did Lancelot say?"

"Not much. Be good to her. He seemed supportive," Gwaine said. He hated that his voice had softened as he said it. He rolled his eyes again and pushed up from the table. "I'll see you later, Merlin. I can't watch this any longer or I'll be sick."

He stalked out of the room, and no one bothered to stop him. He made his way to the training grounds, and had already started to get a couple hits in against the practice dummies when you cleared your throat. He turned to see you standing in the pale lantern light, your dress billowing behind you softly.

"Why'd you leave so soon? I didn't get a chance to talk to you," you said gently.

"You seemed busy. Forgive me, lady," he said, bowing. You could tell that he did it in a mocking way and rolled your eyes.

"Are you angry with me?" you asked.

"Why would I be angry?"

"I have no idea," you said, taking a step towards him, "But you are hardly even looking at me. Have I done something to offend you?"

"It's not you that I'm angry with," he said gently.

"Then who?"

"It's not for you to worry about, Y/N."

"You wish to be left alone," you said plainly. Gwaine couldn't find a response but just picked up his sword again. "Very well. I'll leave you be."

"Do I ever make you laugh like that?" he asked, unable to stop himself. You stopped in your tracks and turned to him, an expression on your face that he couldn't read.

"Like what?" you asked.

"Like Lancelot did," he said simply. You walked over to him and frowned.

"Is that why you're angry? Because I was laughing at what Lancelot had said?"

"You're just usually laughing with me," he said with a shrug. You shook your head and let out a little laugh.

"Are you jealous?" you asked.

"No," Gwaine lied.

"Well, good, I'm allowed to laugh with whoever I want," you said haughtily.

"Of course you are," he said. You started to walk away from him again, but he called out once more. "And if I was jealous?" You looked back at him with wide eyes.

"If you were jealous?"

"Would it mean anything to you?" he asked quietly.

"Every day, you tease me, flirt with me, bring me flowers, and then make fun of me," you began, before sighing. "I admit, for months now, I have no idea what to make of your actions. And now, you're jealous? Because I was laughing with Lancelot?"

"I'm jealous because of the way you were looking at him!" he yelled, his voice getting unnecessarily loud. You pulled back a little, but he saw a slight smile form on your face.

"Well, I should hope that you would never want me to look that way at you," you said. Gwaine sighed and looked away from your face.

"Very well. If that's how you feel--"

"Because he's my brother."

"He's your what?" he asked, his head snapping back up to look at you, his hair flopping around him.

"My brother. Lancelot is my older brother. The only people who know are Merlin, Arthur, and now you."

"Your brother," Gwaine repeated, still not believing what he was hearing for a moment. "So when you were laughing--"

"I was laughing with my brother," you said with a smile. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No. No. I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"But it's good to know you were jealous," you said with a smile. Gwaine's face lifted a little, his head and heart daring to be hopeful.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because now I understand your actions."

"And what do you make of them?" he asked, taking a hesitant step towards you.

"It's a very childish man who teases and makes fun of a woman he has feelings for," you began, "But nonetheless, it's a man like that I have to admit, I have feelings for as well."

"You do?" Gwaine choked out.

"I do."

"You do," Gwaine repeated, smiling to himself. You laughed at his awkwardness. Gwaine felt his cheeks redden. He had teased you for months, acting more like a schoolboy than the knight he was. But he was determined to change that now. Now that you had confessed your feelings for each other.

He took a step forward and in a swift motion, wrapped an arm around your waist and brought his lips to yours. You folded into the kiss naturally, your hands moving to cup his cheeks. Gwaine felt like he could stay like that forever. Until he heard the cheering.

Together, the two of you turned slowly to see Arthur, Merlin, and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table, standing up the field, laughing and clapping.

"About time!" Merlin yelled. Gwaine shot him a vulgar expression, but he softened when he saw your smiling face.

"I guess this is one secret we won't be keeping," you said, smiling at him.

"I'm okay with that," he said, wrapping his arm around your waist again. "Are you?"

"Yes," you said, leaning up to kiss his cheek, "As long as you promise to keep making me laugh. And still, bring me flowers."

"I can do that," Gwaine said, "I will be glad to do that."

[needtherapy]

Jiujiu Gets A Puppy

Wei Wuxian wants to get Jiang Cheng a gift.

He’s trying to be brave, okay? And no one can be afraid of dogs forever. Have you SEEN puppies?

There’s now a part 2! Mao’er Makes A Friend

Read more Kristina Writes Tiny Stories

“Please don’t make me do this. I don’t want to do this.” Wei Wuxian knew he was whining and hoped it worked.

It did not. 

“This was your idea,” Lan Zhan reminded him implacably. He continued to move up the stairs at an unnecessarily brisk pace, in Wei Wuxian’s opinion.

“It was a terrible idea. Why do we let me have ideas?” Wei Wuxian tugged Lan Zhan’s sleeve. 

“It is a good idea. A kind and thoughtful idea because you are a kind and thoughtful man.” 

Instead of pausing, Lan Zhan moved his arm around Wei Wuxian’s waist and propelled him forward.

“That’s not true. Ask anyone.”

Finally, Lan Zhan stopped. “Wei Ying. Do you truly want to leave?”

The genuine concern in his voice made Wei Wuxian feel guilty. He switched tactics.

“Why do I have to do it myself? Couldn’t we just have Jin Ling pick one out and send it to Jiang Cheng with our compliments?” He thought this was a particularly good plan, but Lan Zhan shook his head.

“Jin Ling said if you pick it out yourself, you will be less likely to be afraid when it grows up.”

“What if I’m afraid of it now?” The whining was back, and this time he actually meant it. The thought of going near a slobbering toothy monster weighed like a heavy stone in his gut.

“Wei Ying.” This time Lan Zhan’s voice was soft and soothing. He took Wei Wuxian’s hand and pulled him up the last stair. “They were only born a week ago. Jin Ling says you will be safe.”

Wei Wuxian snorted. “What does he know? He’s a child.”

“Thanks, da-jiu.” The young man striding toward them had a frown on his face. “Now I am sorry I left the rest of my dogs inside.”

Attempting to distract Jin Ling from that terrifying thought, Wei Wuxian laughed and bypassed propriety, folding his nephew into an enthusiastic hug. Jin Ling accepted it for a brief moment, having learned it was hopeless to argue, before pushing Wei Wuxian away.

“Come on, then. Even you can’t hate a newborn puppy.”

Wei Wuxian hesitated, but his traitorous husband followed Jin Ling across the plaza, and eventually Wei Wuxian had to jog to catch up.

To his surprise, they didn’t go to the dog yards behind the stables. One of the first things Jin Ling had done after officially being named the Lanling Jin zongzhu was to start getting dogs. It had seriously made Wei Wuxian doubt his nephew’s sanity, but he had to admit, it was nice of Jin Ling to build the low, tidy buildings to keep the dogs when Wei Wuxian visited. The gesture had made for a peaceful three years of visits.

Instead, they headed through one of the inner courtyards of Lanling Tower to the guest quarters that were set aside for his and Lan Zhan’s use. 

“We can only stay for a few minutes. They’re too young to be away from their mother for very long and I thought you’d rather not encounter a full grown dog,” Jin Ling explained as they entered the room, and Wei Wuxian looked at him suspiciously, the words sounding a bit too much like mocking.

There was a huge wooden box in the center of their room and it was making noise. A squeaking noise. Wei Wuxian decided he would be fine here by the door, but he didn’t get a choice.

“I know you’re rolling your eyes,” he complained when Lan Zhan tucked an arm around Wei Wuxian’s elbow and dragged him forward.

“Da-jiu, just sit here,” Jin Ling said, gesturing to a wide cushion on the floor. “I’ll bring you a puppy.”

“Lan Zhan, just sit here,” Wei Wuxian said, gesturing to the cushion, and without rolling his eyes, Lan Zhan did, letting Wei Wuxian settle in front of him.

He knew it was foolish, to be a grown man afraid of dogs. He had fallen from the sky into hell. He had died. He had watched so many people he loved leave him and yet it was always the sound of barking, the expected flash of teeth, the feral eyes that made reason abandon him. He scooted backward until he ran into Lan Zhan. 

Lan Zhan. 

Lan Zhan. 

He repeated the name over and over in his head, a calming mantra, while he watched Jin Ling. His nephew’s face looked completely different crouched next to the box. He was softer, his mouth tipped in a sweet smile, and Wei Wuxian could suddenly imagine him as a toddler. Or a child, being handed his first dog by his uncle, and Wei Wuxian was suddenly sorry that it hadn’t been him.

And then Jin Ling was sitting in front of him, and Wei Wuxian felt Lan Zhan’s steading hand in the middle of his back.

“Their eyes are just starting to open, but this one’s hasn’t yet,” Jin Ling told Wei Wuxian, holding out his cupped hands.

Wei Wuxian didn’t really want to touch it, but he couldn’t help it. It was so small, it could hardly be called a dog at all. It made a strange grunting noise when he touched its nose, and he jumped, looking at Jin Ling with worry.

“Is it okay? Should it make that noise?”

Jin Ling was clearly making an effort to be patient. “She’s fine. She’s just a baby. Puppies are hungry all the time, so anytime you touch their face, they think you’re going to feed them. I’m going to hand her to you now, okay? Please don’t drop my puppy.”

Oh, that was a bad idea. That was a much worse idea. He tried to say no, but Lan Zhan interrupted him.

“Hold the puppy, Wei Ying, and I will hold your hands.”

Jin Ling slid the puppy into Wei Wuxian’s cupped hands, supported by Lan Zhan’s hands, and it made the noise again, this time accompanied by wiggling on his palms like a fat furry fish. He could feel her tiny toes digging into his skin, but it didn’t hurt, just tickled. He looked at Jin Ling, who was hiding a smile.

Wei Wuxian held the puppy up a little higher and peered into her black and white face. As Jin Ling had said, her eyes were closed, and her ears were barely even triangles. She had a pink nose with a black smudge under it, right above her frowning mouth.

“She has eyebrows,” Wei Wuxian said in surprise. “And a mustache.”

Lan Zhan moved his hand to pet the puppy’s back and she squirmed again, grunting and crying, tracking the touch with her wobbly head. Wei Wuxian felt Lan Zhan’s delighted inhale, and he gave in a little. He was not going to admit out loud that the puppy was cute, but she was. She was very cute. He wanted to sniff the puppy and pet her nose again, but before he could make a complete fool of himself, Jin Ling moved to take her back, returning her to the box.

“Well, da-jiu? Still scared?”

“They grow up,” Wei Wuxian argued, without answering the question. “They grow up and bite.” “Not if you raise them well and give them love,” Jin Ling retorted. “Only if you starve them and treat them badly. Are you planning to starve and abuse the puppy?” Wei Wuxian glared at Jin Ling, who glared back before raising his eyebrows and laughing.

“You like her! Da-jiu, I’m proud of you. Come look at all of them.”

He was being condescended to by a child, Wei Wuxian thought, but he didn’t resist when Jin Ling grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the box to stare down at five wriggling potatoes. They were all different colors, from the black and white one he had held to one that was almost completely white. One rolled on its back, exposing a spotted belly, and it snorted irritably until Jin Ling turned it back over.

“Next time you come, you can pet one of the other ones. They should all have their eyes open by then. Hanguang-Jun, will you make sure he comes back every week until they’re ready to go to new homes? It should be about four months.” “Four months?” Wei Wuxian yelped, but Jin Ling would not be dissuaded.

“Four,” he said firmly. “They’ll be weaned and trained by then. I won’t let you give one of my dogs to jiujiu until it’s been properly trained.”

“I always knew you’d be a tyrant,” Wei Wuxian muttered, following Lan Zhan back out into the courtyard.

“Well, then you shouldn’t have saved my life,” his nephew reminded him cheerfully.

Wei Wuxian turned to grab Jin Ling’s arm, remembering something serious. “Jin Ling, don’t tell Jiang Cheng. If...if I can’t do it...when they get bigger...I don’t want him to be disappointed.”

Jin Ling looked at him with his mother’s face when he patted Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. “I won’t. But you won’t disappoint him.”

It was daunting to have Jin Ling have such faith and trust in him, and Wei Wuxian took a deep breath.

“Fine. I’ll be back.”

Wei Wuxian was quiet on the walk back down the tower stairs and when they got to the bottom, Lan Zhan stopped him, angling his head curiously, waiting for Wei Wuxian to say whatever it was he was thinking.

“Do you really think this is a good idea? Or will it just remind him of all the dogs he couldn’t have because of me?”

Lan Zhan’s forehead creased in consideration, and Wei Wuxian loved him for taking his question seriously. “Yes. It is a good idea. Moving forward is a good idea.”

When Wei Wuxian still didn’t look convinced, Lan Zhan sighed. “Do you want to walk or fly with me?”

The question got the response it intended. “Fly, please.”

“Does flying with me make you happy? Or does it remind you of all the times you could not?” Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes. “Well, it didn’t until now,” he grumbled. “Fine, you’re right. It’s a good idea. Are we still going to fly home?”

In answer, Lan Zhan pulled him onto Bichen and Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Are you proud of me too?” he whispered, not sure if Lan Zhan would hear him, but of course he did. He always did.

“Of course I am. I always am.”

And that was enough.

[kaistarus]

BitterSweet

Pairing: Itadori YuujiXReader

Words: 2.4K

Summary: How Yuuji makes his way into your life with brights smiles and shitty coffees

A/N: just in time for his b-day :3 i’ve loved this boi since before i even started jjk, so i’m glad I got to finally write for him lol

Masterlist

Bitter.

Bitter-with a hint of vanilla-was what you associated with Itadori Yuuji. His beaming smile at your first tutoring session forever connected with the pungent coffee he offered you.

You stared at the cup skeptically, “what is that?”

“Coffee?” Yuuji answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I thought every college student liked coffee.”

He wasn’t wrong, “but why did you get it?”

“Because you got up so early to help me,” Yuuji’s smile widened as he waved the drink around.

“Well I’m scheduled, so I would have been here whether you signed up or not.” You pointed out, glancing at the clock nearby that read too-early-in-the-morning and gestured for him to hand it over. He looked so pleased with himself that you were sure if he was a dog his tail would be going wild.

That was the only explanation you had for why you didn’t tell Yuuji it was the worst thing you’d ever tasted, hiding your full body cringes when he looked up after digging through his backpack.

“So, what are we doing first?” He asked excitedly, holding a creased notebook with uneven pages and a packed folder with papers hanging out. You stared at it wearily, but unfortunately he was far from the worst case scenario-a folder was huge compared to some you’d run into.

“I guess just give me your last exam and we’ll work from there.”

Yuuji chuckled awkwardly, fingering through the mass of papers in his folder before producing a packet marked heavily in red ink. You sighed at the single digit number at the top with a frowny face beside it.

Looked like you and Itadori Yuuji were going to be spending a lot of time together.

**************

“You’re overthinking it, Yuuji.” You rubbed your temples having spent the last thirty minutes working through the same problem with no success. You were beginning to lose all hope.

“But it doesn’t make any sense,” he groaned, leaning back in his seat. “I’m supposed to figure out the probability of what movies were action movies, but how was she able to watch eighty movies in one week?”

“That isn’t the question.”

“It isn’t possible though!” He jabbed his eraser at the paper. “Did she sleep? I bet this Melissa chick fast forwarded or skipped.”

“Yuuji…”

“Can you go a full week without sleep? If she slept through some, are they part of the eighty?” He gripped his pink locks in frustration. “How do I know which she slept through? Is there a timeline?”

You deadpanned as he scanned the page stressfully like it was holding him hostage with its contents, “I don’t think they provide a timeline, no.”

“Sorry,” Yuuji sighed defeated, slouching forward to rest his chin on the library’s table. “I swear I’m trying.”

You leaned against your palm, eyes softening as he glared at the homework sheet under him. “Don’t apologize,” you slid the sheet from under his chin. “You’re my favorite session after all.”

“I am?” He perked up.

You rolled your eyes while circling a segment of the first word problem. “You can just make up wild backstories for each person. Melissa doesn’t have to sleep and can absorb movies abnormally fast or something.”

Yuuji blinked several times as his lips curved into a smile. “What about the guy who owns over four-hundred chickens?”

You forced down your own smile and shrugged, “he’s just lonely.”

Yuuji laughed, continuing down the page while spewing out ridiculous stories for the unfortunate names in the Stats problems. Your heart beat firm in your chest at how excited he was now while scanning the page. The ticking clock above you felt like a curse the closer it got to the end of your session.

You guessed you didn’t hate the mornings anymore if they were with him.

*************************

You tapped your pencil’s eraser impatiently on the booth's table. The smell of brewing dark roast drifting through the small cafe accompanied by the combined noises of workers preparing early risers beverages kept you from dozing off where you sat. Finally, after what felt like forever-probably a few minutes-Yuuji slid into the booth across from you and placed a mug in front of you.

“I can buy my own coffee, Yuuji.” You took the mug wearily, eyes darting around the near empty cafe you’d decided to meet at this week to ‘spice things up’ in his words. “People might get the wrong idea.”

“I didn’t think you cared about that stuff,” he said with a teasing smile that you returned with a half-assed glare. “It’s my payment for making me smarter.”

“I already get paid,” you pouted at the drink in your hands. “And you’re already smart. I just help you understand it.”

He didn’t respond and you glanced over, confused at his slack jaw expression.

“Oh,” he started shuffling through his backpack and you swore his cheeks were dusted pink. “Yeah, that-uh-makes sense.”

“Right,” you raised a brow at the weird response, but decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. There wasn’t enough time in the world to question every random thing Yuuji did.

 “What’s on the schedule today boss?”

“Your exam’s tomorrow,” you said, pulling some sheets from your own backpack. “I printed your practice exam since I’m guessing you didn’t know it existed.”

“Hey,” he pouted. “I didn’t, but still...”

You snorted, sliding the packet across the table. “Just do the ones you can and I’ll help with the rest.”

He saluted you, unnecessarily scribbling his name across the top before getting to work-his tongue poking out adorably while his eyes scanned the words intensely. You felt your chest filling with an unfamiliar warmth as you watched him work and your hand drifted subconsciously toward the mug next to you.

You coughed, unprepared for the harsh flavor, only wiping the grimace off your face when Yuuji peered upward with an innocent head tilt. Your heart squeezed when you locked eyes too long with his dark hazel before a soft smile filtered onto his lips. You quickly dropped your stare, hoping that if you avoided looking at him you could avoid the weird feeling emotion rolling in your stomach as well.

***************

You slouched up the library's stairwell, pushing through the second story’s double doors that led to your usual reserved tutoring table. The school really needed to push back your start time-seven in the morning was way too early for any college student to effectively teach or learn anything. The only person ridiculous enough to continuously sign-up for this time was-

You gripped your backpack straps as strong arms wrapped themselves around your midsection, picking you off the ground without warning. An unwanted frightened squeal left your lips before you recognized Yuuji’s laughter behind you and you relaxed as much as you could with him spinning you around in a library half-full of people.

“What are you doing?” You glared at him over your shoulder, cheeks warm from embarrassment at the scene he was causing.

“I got a C!”

You blinked several times before prying his arms off you, “are you serious?”

“Yeah,” he slid his backpack off, digging around before offering you a crumpled up packet with a seventy-four and a smiley written on top. You stared at it with a growing smile and without thinking too much you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Yuuji, this is amazing!”

“I know,” he laughed, encircling your waist awkwardly given your backpack. “My roommate didn’t believe me. She’s doing my dishes for a week thanks to you.”

You weren’t sure you felt good about that after seeing his level of disorganization, but you smiled back anyway. “I’m so proud of you.”

Which was true. Your chest was swollen near bursting with pride for him and he’d only gotten a C. You told yourself it was because of your own skills as a tutor, but had you ever been this excited for someone?

“Hey, we should celebrate.” Yuuji stuffed the exam back into his bag. “Do you wanna-”

“Can you guys quiet down?” a guy with four crushed energy drink cans and food wrappers laying haphazardly around him asked. “I can’t focus and I just wanna go home, dude.”

“Sorry,” you whispered as warmth crept up your neck, turning Yuuji toward the exit as he stared at the guy in amazement. “We’ll leave you alone.”

“How long have you been here?” Yuuji asked in awe.

“Twenty-five… No, maybe eight...” The guy narrowed his eyes at the clock. “Time’s an illusion man.”

Yuuji nodded, impressed, shooting the guy a thumbs up as you pushed him toward the doors. Once in the stairwell you shot him a bright smile, “celebrate?”

He nodded excitedly. “We can get coffee!”

You turned away quickly to cover your panic, “or maybe anything else?”

Yuuji hummed, “I guess change can be nice.”

Your heart did a bizarre skip at the soft look in his eyes and you hurriedly started down the stairs without him. You spent more time that morning brushing off each reaction to Yuuji than enjoying your time with him. When everything was done you started thinking that you were having a hard time kidding even yourself.

**************

You and Yuuji had been working in silence for the past twenty minutes-the longest he’d gone without needing help since he’d signed up for tutoring. It was a great sign that for some reason had your stomach knotting uncomfortably.

“You’re doing really good,” you complimented, admiring the delighted smile he gave you.

“Yeah, I used what you said about note taking for lecture.” He showed you his notes that were beyond chaotic, but apparently worked for him. “I actually understand what’s going on now.”

“That’s great,” you looked down at your Chem problems and attempted to keep your tone light. “You probably won’t need tutoring soon if this-.”

You heard his pencil snap and looked up to find him staring holes through his paper. He seemed tense as he pressed his pencil roughly against the notebook and you wondered what word problem would’ve caused that reaction.

“Are you stuck? Do you want me to-”

“I like you.”

You paused mid-reach for his textbook and locked eyes with him, his cheeks flaring up a dark pink. You opened and closed your mouth several times before mumbling out a weak, “what?”

“And I don’t want you to tutor me,” he looked frustrated with himself when you tilted your head at his contradictory statements. “I mean, I do, but not always. I just want to spend time with you and not talk about Stats because I hate Stats, but I really like you.”

That weird feeling was back. The one where your chest felt tight and your heart was beating too quickly and your stomach sort of felt like you might throw up, but all in a good way and that made everything weirder. It was a lot and not enough and that made you nervous.

“I don’t know, Yuuji.” You lied.

“That’s okay,” he smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No pressure. I just sprung it on you, so I don’t blame you.”

You nodded, watching him dig around his bag for a second pencil while grumbling about organizing that you knew would never happen. Your heart ached in your chest as you watched him continue working casually, playing off whatever happened.

...but you weren’t sure you could do the same.

************

This was a terrible idea.

You swung your legs, perched atop a railing across from a building that Yuuji was currently taking his midterm. It didn’t matter how you got that information-accessing his schedule with the few perks your job gave you-all that mattered was you had five minutes to figure out what you were going to say to him.

This wouldn’t even be an issue if he hadn’t skipped tutoring a few days ago. You weren’t sure if he thought you hated him or if he was regretting confessing to you, but either way you needed to talk to him before your window closed.

If only any of the speeches you could think of weren’t absolutely humiliating. Three minutes now? That should be enough time for you to at least get the beginning-

“(Y/N)?”

Your head whipped to the side so fast you're sure you got whiplash, dumbfounded that Yuuji was standing there with his head cocked to the side.

“You finished early,” you said, face warming at his growing confusion. “Not that I would know that.”

“Right.” He gave you a once-over. “Whatcha doing here?”

“Uh,” your nose crinkled while searching for a reasonable excuse. You sighed when you came up empty. “You skipped tutoring.”

Yuuji’s eyebrow rose and he waved his hands around. “I accidentally slept through it.” Then you noticed the gears started turning in his head and you began shrinking in on yourself. “You came here because I skipped a lesson?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you were going to keep skipping,” you avoided his eyes, chewing on the inside of your cheek. “It’s a bad habit.”

He knew you were full of shit. You could tell by the way he was forcing down a smirk when you stared at your feet. This would obviously be going so much better if you had those three minutes to prepare.

“Thanks for checking in,” he smiled, fishing around in his pocket and holding out his phone. “We should probably exchange numbers so you don’t have to go through all this trouble next time.”

You eyed the phone and rolled your eyes, “makes sense.”

He looked overjoyed when you took it from his hands. Your heart felt like it would pound out of your rib cage while he watched you create your contact, your fingers shaking slightly under the pressure.

“As an apology, I should probably take you to get food too.”

You paused, looking up at his hopeful gaze before nodding shyly. “That seems fair.”

The smile that overtook his face was probably the largest you’d ever seen and your heart nearly exploded when he grabbed your hand, pulling you away from the building. You probably should have seen this coming the moment you began looking forward to your morning shifts with him. As he dragged you down the street you found yourself not caring where he took you-you knew you’d be happy as long as he was with you.

[soundofseventeen]

Miracle (Lee Jihoon)

Happy birthday @peachy-hoon​! A million thank yous will never suffice but I can always give you this! I’m sorry for any mistakes; I literally uploaded this as I finished. And you know, it’s not my best work, but alas.

Word count: 2645

Inspo

“And that’s a wrap!” Jihoon spoke into the mic to let Wonwoo know he was done for the day and without waiting for him to leave the recording studio, removed his headphones and stuffed his sweater and whatever he could fit into his backpack and ran out of Universe Factory, the door wide open and leaving his confused, but amused friend to tidy up the small room. In his rush he literally ran into Jeonghan, who ended up throwing all the papers in his hands, and Jihoon, although didn’t like running behind schedule, stayed to help pick up the mess he made.

“Where are you going in such a rush?” The older boy teased, checking the papers he had in his hand to make sure they were all in order and ready for presentation.

“Home.” Not bothering to check the pages, Jihoon handed them over and let Jeonghan sort them out.

“It’s still early, don’t you think? Soonyoung said he still has to go through the choreography and Seungcheol wanted everyone present for the meeting.” The impish smile had formed on Jeonghan’s face before he finished his sentence.

“Soonyoung said he’d record it for me and Seungcheol already told me everything I need to know.” Jihoon searched for his cellphone, groaning internally when he realized that he had left it in the practice room when he dropped the towels off for his clingy friend.

“Aren’t you gonna help me put these back in order?” Jeonghan asked when he saw him walking away.

“You have that handled well enough.”

“I’m missing the first page, and I had it before you knocked me over.” 

“Don't do this to me right now Jeonghan.” This time, the groan he let out was external. “I have plans that I can’t break.” Well, he could if he wanted to, but he wasn’t gonna.

“You’re not going anywhere until I find it.”

“It’s under your shoe. I’ll grab it for-move Jeonghan. I need all the time I can get.” Jihoon crouched to pick up the piece of paper.

“Why not just invite Y/N over so you stay a little longer and then you can leave together.” Jeonghan not so subtly moved his foot along with the paper so he wouldn’t take it so easily.

“I don’t think so.” He pushed his older friend, momentarily making him lose his balance and successfully retrieved the paper, squinting his eyes to read it and looking confused. “How is this our fault?”

“It’s not. The CEO is already talking to Jun about it and we’re supposed to see what measures we can take from happening again.”

“Then shouldn’t we talk to Yanan about it? I don’t know why they thought squawking every time their ringtones went off and unnecessarily texting each other throughout the day is our fault.” And both of them were messaging both groups, but he didn’t need to add that part. Instinctively, his hand went to his pockets, ready to make sure his phone stayed on silent, but he remembered he didn’t have it.

“If it gets the CEO off our backs, I don’t care what we have to do.” Jeonghan took out his own mobile device, shutting the noise off as a safety precaution. “I dreamt Yanan was part parrot twice already.” He shuddered at some memory.

“Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow then. Bright and early and not a minute more. I have a song for you and Mingyu to go through.” He was ready to step past him when Jeonghan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back slightly.

“Do you really have to go though? This hyung hasn’t eaten lunch and it’s your turn to buy.”

Woozi let out a deep sigh, took out his wallet, smiled briefly at the picture he had of you, and pulled out his debit card, along with the loose change he had. “You know my pin number and this is literally for anything else. ‘Bye.”

“Will Y/N be okay with you staying longer?” 

“Yes, but I won’t be.” He turned the other way to head over to the practice room, only instead of seeing Soonyoung, he found Chan in the middle of a choreo practice. “Sorry, I’m just here for my phone.”

Chan hit the pause button on the remote, and gratefully took the towel Jihoon provided. “Oh, uh, I haven’t seen it. Maybe Hoshi hyung took it when he left?”

“Okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.” Although he wasn’t thrilled to be phoneless the rest of the day, he figured that no one important would try to get a hold of him and if he managed to convince you to turn it off, then it’d be foolproof. 

“Hyung, what are you today with Y/N that you’re not staying here with us?” Chan wadded up the towel and threw at him when Jihoon shook his head.

“Nothing, for real. I just wanna go home and take a nap on the couch.”

“I don’t believe you, but go ahead and leave us to suffer with our evil CEO and Joshua hyung.”

“I don’t know what you did but I’m glad you did it. Now Bumzu is in charge of getting the chorus done before you leave ton-stop looking at me like that. I’m not abandoning you.”

“You’re leaving us for Y/N.”

“I already had these plans.” And not even his best friends would hold him up. 

“Okay fine, don’t tell me what super fun, cool thing you’re gonna do while we just slave away here.”

Jihoon began walking away, backwards and slowly. However, he couldn’t hold back the smirk on his face. “We aren’t doing anything or going anywhere. I’d ask you guys to come over after work to see for yourself, but I don’t wanna.”

“Ever since you and Y/N started dating, you’ve changed.” The fake sniffle Chan let out almost sent Jihoon to the floor but he managed to reach the door and once he took a bow, walked out.

*

Jihoon let himself in quietly, just in case you were asleep or on the phone with someone important to you, but he was greeted with a Stray Kids song coming from the living room. He smiled while he watched “Back Door”, nodding to himself when he saw Bang Chan. He admired the leader, and respected his choices regarding his group, but if anything, it was how much you fawned over him that made him petty. (Not in the sense that whenever you argued, he’d tell you to be with him, but rather he thrived on the idea that if he was with you in public and you came across Chan, Jihoon could always be satisfied in knowing that you were on his arm, and bragging about him.) 

He did make a note to remind himself to tell the boys  that your friend wanted Seventeen to do the choreo and if he could just remember it one day, it’d be great. 

“Jagi?” He called out so he’d know where you were.

“I’m not home,” was your response and with that, followed the sound of your voice that led him into the kitchen. “You’re early.”

He placed a kiss on your hair and let you finish the dishes while he checked the mail you left on the table. Bills, spam, a few unknown addresses written to you and he could only assume you found more photocards and you’d show them to him later. “How was work?”

“They wanted me to stay a little longer but I told them I couldn’t.”

“So just about the same as me.” He tore up the junk mail, and threw it in the trash. “What’s that smell?” He asked, wrinkling his nose.

“I might have burned the first batch of cookies, while I was in the shower. But don’t worry, thes ones in the oven are almost done and they’ll be good for dinner.” You turned around to wave at him, but he stood up, opened a pack of peach gummies for you and fed you one. “Speaking of, what sounds good?”

He wrapped his arms around you, back hugging you while you resumed your chores. “I’m not hungry right now. How about you throw these in the dishwasher and we can just watch movies and we’ll make food later?”

“Vacuum the living room first and then I’ll go meet you there. I have to clean the bathroom after this and dust my shelves and-” you sighed, “-so much to do.”

“But you’re not working tomorrow. Can’t you do that?”

“I have plans tomorrow and I won’t be home until late.”

“Fine, I’ll help you do our chores so you can finish and then we’ll watch something that Wonwoo swore was good.” 

He kissed your cheek, only to jump slightly when you yelled out, “Ateez present!”, followed by, “Turn the TV up. I love this song!”

He nodded but didn’t say anything else, instead running around the apartment with the vacuum cleaner and you occasionally scolding him because you couldn’t hear your favorite songs, and after that, collecting all the trash to throw out so you wouldn’t have to go outside and lose whatever motivation you had. He liked when you had energy like that; it usually made him wonder what other things you had done, like the fact you changed the bedsheets this time, washed his clothes, and baked some dessert. You worked extra hard today and he couldn’t wait to have you sit next to him and watch something that you wouldn’t focus on, but you’d have a good night’s sleep if that happened. He wished he could do what you did in the short amount you’ve been home.

You somehow managed to finish at around the same time, but he could see you weren’t tired because you were teasing the cat with all its toys. (The cat he said he didn’t want when you bought the apartment, but for some reason couldn’t bear parting with the stray so now, he was an active member of the family, but he wasn’t complaining. The feline kept you company when he was gone and it strangely put Jihoon at ease.) “Haha, you’re too slow. Come grab it now.” You picked him up, trying not to wince when one of the claws came out. “Come on pretty boy. You’re gonna watch a movie with us tonight.”

Jihoon was already waiting for you, your favorite blanket ready to be claimed and the snacks ready to be eaten. “Come on Jagi. You don’t know how long I was waiting to do this with you.” He extended his arms wide enough for you to fall into them, and when you did, wrapped them around you, sighing contentedly. “You know I can stay like this forever, right?”

He kissed your forehead when you nodded, and you could feel the tiredness creeping in. He always made your long days a little better and you often wished you could be the beacon of energy he needed, and you tried really hard to be that. Your work’s complaints could wait for another day, but this couldn’t. “Thank you for coming home early.”

You could feel yourself falling asleep a little into the movie, not because you were bored, but because you were so warm and comfortable and you didn;t wanna break your little bubble. Jihoon played with your hair, further lulling you into a slumber and when he placed random kisses on you, you just silently asked for more. So it surprised you when the doorbell rang and you looked at him. “Did you order dinner?”

“No. Did you?” Then came the hard knocking and you recognized it immediately, and you let out a laugh.

“They didn’t,” Jihoon groaned. “I told them no. Just ignore them and they’ll go away.”

“Is that why you turned my phone off earlier?”

“Yes. I don’t always get this time with you.”

“Should I just let them in? You know they won’t stop until we open the door.” You didn’t know how long you stayed liked, but you reluctantly got off of Jihoon and opened the door, him muttering profanities and threatening to put them through hell the next time they were due to record.

“Y/N, you’re here!” Seungkwan pushed through everyone to hug you. “How come you don’t visit us? Don’t you love us anymore?”

“Dude, I’ve been so busy lately. I’m sorry.”

“WAIT!” Chan cried loud enough to wake your neighbors so you put a finger to your lips to quiet him down. “So Hyung was telling the truth when he said you weren;t doing anything?”

“We literally just cleaned the house and we were gonna watch a movie until bed.”

“Wow, you’re not fun.”

You counted all the heads, multiple times, frowning a little when you counted the 12. “I haven’t made dinner and we were just gonna have noodles.”

“Oh good! We’re starving.” Someone pushed Wonwoo and they all rushed inside, quickly making themselves at home. Jihoon shot you an apologetic look and you smiled at him. You enjoyed Seventeen’s company, but Jihoon shook his head, trying to look annoyed at their presence, but the smile he tried to hide was confirmation enough to have them here for a little. 

“Everyone is having ramen form the packet and if you don’t like it, then you can go and get your own food.” Your eyes widened when you saw the time on the stove. It felt so much later than it actually was.

“I just wanna know why you guys are here and not at home.”

“Hyung, you invited me earlier, remember? While I was working on the choreo and you were looking for your phone.”

“That reminds me. Catch Woozi!” Soonyoung fished the phone out of his pocket and threw it at his best friend, snickering when he failed to catch it.

“I didn’t invite you. I said I wish I could, but I don’t want to.”

“Well, we’re already here and Y/N said we could stay.”

“But please not so late; I’m working tomorrow. But later this weekend, you can go nuts.”

*

“I thought you weren’t working,” Jihoon asked after the unexpected guests left.

“I’m not, but like you said, we don’t always have time to do this.”

“You’re the best. Go play the movie; I can finish right here. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Not kicking them out. You could’ve done that.”

“They were already here.” You shrugged. “I guess you guys still need each other sometimes.”

“Still, I appreciate that.” He lightly pushed you to the living room, though you couldn’t actually sit down. There was a small mess you could’ve ignored, but you were already up and you didn’t know how long it’d be until Jihoon finished. Plus it wouldn’t take long, especially since your favorite boy was sound asleep on his tower after Jun and Vernon chased him around. 

And you also also had to change Netflix accounts so no one would be confused about anything. Luckily, no one touched your stuff, so you were able to find your spot fairly quickly and Jihoon came by just in time, with two of your cookies in his hand, and handed one to you.

“I love you, you know that?”

He nodded. “Let’s finish watching this, so we can go to sleep.” He flopped on the couch, once again extending his arms to you, where you met him with small pecks and flushed cheeks. 

You finally pressed play again, hoping for no more interruptions until the next day, quickly falling into your previous state of almost falling asleep right then and there. “I love you Jihoon,” you mumbled to him again.

He shut his eyes in his euphoric state, letting your words warm him up before he responded to you, quietly enough that not even your favorite boy could hear.

“You are my miracle.”

[7spaceace7]

These Thoughts We Carry

No one really knows about Sooga’s past. No one knows where he came from, or what burdens he carries. But Hylia damn them all, Master Kohga doesn’t let anybody go through that shit alone, especially when he knows what it’s like to deal with nightmares all the time. Especially when it’s the one he loves most.

 Master Kohga x Sooga hurt/comfort fic that I churned out after like two days and a bad set of nightmares. I hope you enjoy! I’ll post it on AO3 as well!

Warnings: Implied physical abuse 

Word count:  2387

In a desert, it is easy to forget that the sky can change. From early morning, it seems the sun is always burning down your back, clutching you in its comforting, yet suffocating, grasp. You almost forget that dusk is just hours away. The unclouded blue skies seem to go on forever. 

Though, every resident of Hyrule knows that the desert night is even more unforgiving than the daytime’s blistering heat. You are placed at a disadvantage amongst your foes. Lizalfos and bokoblins settle in for unsuspecting prey wandering about the sands. Anyone who has the wit about them could surprise you, if you are unlucky. And of course, the frozen winds bring a chill that digs deep into bone when just moments before you might have been begging for such relief. 

But none of those things were the reason Sooga hated the nights of Gerudo Desert. No, Sooga despised them for their unending silence. The vast emptiness. The endless searching for something besides your thoughts. Desert nights used this loneliness to stir up a past better left forgotten, and that is what Sooga hated most of all. 

He stood at the entrance of the Yiga Clan hideout, just before the land dipped and delved into its rugged formations of rock. The inverted eye statues stood through the whistling winds. Their cloth counterparts strung up above blew with a disheveled intensity. This nuisance of a noise was the only sound Sooga could hear rustling through the valley. Well, that and perhaps his restless mind. 

His thoughts were always loudest when he was trying to sleep, and often woke him up in the middle of the night. Tonight happened to be such a night where they were too loud to be kept inside the hideout. Certainly, they were too loud to continue resting next to Master Kohga, lest he wake him unnecessarily. Sooga would never dare to do this. Instead, he would resign himself to the chilled desert air at the beginning of the hideout when the memories became painful enough. If he could not sleep, at least he could be useful and take a nightwatch shift. His one good eye settled right on the valley’s opening.

Focus, Sooga. Do not let your mind drift. 

But his memories would not be silenced. He remembered a broken picture frame from his dream that night. The frame once held a family of three, but had broken into a family of only cracks after a bout of rage from a man he once called a father. It might have meant nothing to anyone else, but to Sooga...the screaming of the drunken bastard entered his ears at the simple sight of it. Sooga tried desperately to shake it from his mind, but his memories of the nightmare shoved through.

A broken picture frame, pieces splintered around thatchwood floor. A broken picture frame, having been thrown at his person when he hadn’t the skill to protect himself. A broken picture frame, among other airborne objects, that he narrowly avoided by the miracle of perhaps Hylia herself.

The Yiga warrior let a shaky breath escape his masked lips. Fists clenched tightly, as if that man would be right behind him if only he found courage to look. A quick glance told him nothing was there, but his heart was not at ease. 

Logically, Sooga knew there was nothing. He knew his father had left this world long ago. Sooga knew it so firmly because it was his own hands that finished him off. Simple strangulation, soon after he had only turned eighteen years of age. The warrior had made sure there was none of his father left in this world to haunt him ever again.

Yet here he was. Years later, still scared by ghosts he’d conjured up himself. The uniformed man sighed, and in a moment of weakness, pried off his white mask. Sooga was careful not to deepen the crack as his palm gingerly encased the object. Perhaps the cold air against his bare skin would be of use to his intruding thoughts. At least, he thought, it was nice to feel fresh air.

“There you are!” Came a familiar voice from behind his post. Sooga jumped and smacked the mask back onto his face in a panic. He blinked once from surprise, and once more from the shock he just gave his facial nerves.

“M-Master Kohga,” Sooga got to his feet and bowed automatically, hoping his pounding heartbeat wasn’t able to be heard by his superior. “I had not thought you were awake at this hour.”

“I wasn’t, but then I rolled over and realized you up and vanished,” Kohga yawned, scratching an itch at his neck. He was without his uniform, but still donned a type of mask. This one was specifically for sleep, and made of soft, red fabric that held a sewn pattern of the inverted eye, closed instead of open. For now, this mask rested atop his forehead. “Yunno, for a big guy, you’re real hard to find. Took me forever to figure out where you went.”

“My apologies, Master Kohga.” 

“Eh, don’t sweat it, I was only a little worried,” This of course was a blatant lie, as Master Kohga had quickly woken up in a cold sweat after his hand fell upon an empty spot next to him in bed. He had grabbed only his robe in his haste to find where Sooga had gone. But of course, a dignified leader such as he would never have done a thing like that. Kohga took a spot next to Sooga’s post and sat down. “So what’re you doin’ way out here so late?”

Sooga was silent for a moment as he sat down next to his master. He contemplated brushing off the comment with a vague answer, but...something compelled him to confide instead. 

“A dream demon made its attempt on my subconscious,” Sooga spoke. He hoped to retain at least a bit of dignity by acting professionally, but the facade was lost on Kohga. “I did not want to wake you with it.”

“Nightmares gettin’ to ya again, I see.” 

Again? Had Kohga somehow already known of his recent night difficulties?

“Don’t look so surprised, we’ve been sleeping toge-- er, bunking --for a while now, and you get kinda squirmy when you aren’t dreaming well.”

Sooga hadn’t any idea of this happening. Shame sat upon his masked features and settled its way down to his throat. His tongue searched for something to say. An apology, perhaps? That was all he knew to do in a moment like this. Apologize for the inconvenience, apologize for the worries he must have induced, apologize for the disturbance of his master’s rest, apologize, apologize, apolo-

“You don’t have to feel bad, Sooga, I know you put all that pressure on yourself,” Master Kohga said. Sooga’s head turned towards the unmasked man beside him in utter surprise. Had he suddenly learned a new technique for mind-reading? “Nightmares suck. Real bad. I get it.”

Rather than questioning how he knew such an appropriate response, Sooga nodded, and dared to ask a different question. 

“What...happens? When you are brought to notice I am not resting well, that is,” Sooga asked quietly, head turning away once more. It was no surprise that Sooga was soft-spoken, but that was out of his own self-discipline. His day-to-day tone was based on leadership and careful thought, but this...this was a tone Kohga had never heard from his friend before. This was laced with fear. 

“Well, ah,” Kohga started. His brown eyes softened as he recalled one night waking to Sooga thrashing about their shared covers, murmuring something like a cry for help. To another night where Sooga had begun shaking uncontrollably. To a night just last week when he unmistakably heard a pleading for someone to stop. Stop what, Kohga didn’t know, and he knew even less of who it could be about. Even his best attempts to wake his second-in-command went without fruition. “Sometimes you say stuff. Sleep-talker nonsense, yunno, I usually don’t have a clue what you’re going on about. But you always seem so...scared.”

I always hold you when they get bad like that, Kohga wanted to say. The words were right there, threatening to spill out of him all at once in a jumble of messy worries and care that the Yiga master so desperately wanted to confess. But this wasn’t the time. 

Kohga left out the part where he’d always wrap his arms around a nightmare-stricken Sooga to calm his shakes and trembles. He left out the part where he’d draped a hand across Sooga’s chest and gently adjusted his mask enough to wipe away the hidden tears. He left out the part where he’d discovered that nuzzling his face into Sooga’s neck would cause the larger man to remember he was safe and briefly find relief. At least, Kohga hoped he did.

“I am sorry you have seen me in such weakness, Master Kohga..” Sooga finally replied, bringing Kohga back to the present moment. Kohga was right next to him, but still, the man seemed so far away.

“Being afraid isn’t weakness. Everybody gets scared of stuff, even me,” Kohga nudged Sooga’s side in a lighthearted gesture, as they both knew just how terrified the ‘fearless leader of the Yiga Clan’ could really get. “This world’s full of some scary shit. You’re allowed to get scared, no matter how strong you are. And you’re, like, the strongest guy I know, besides me of course.”

“You truly believe that?”

“Course I do! I mean look atcha, you’re twice my size and a badass,  dual-wielding blademaster. There’s no one in the world cooler than you and me, big guy.”

Sooga cracked a smile at that.

“My point is,” Kohga continued, “You don’t have to save face with me. Dream demons get to me too, yunno, that’s why I’ve got my big strong bodyguard next to me every night. That’s what makes me not so scared anymore. I know that nothin’s gonna get to me because if it tries, I’ve got you.”

Kohga paused, eyes drifting over to where Sooga’s own eye would be. “So, I wanna help you feel protected from ‘em, too.”

“But that is my job-” Sooga tried to protest, turning back to face his master.

“You deserve to feel safe, too, Sooga.”

Sooga was silent at this. They sat in the silence for a while, just simply staring at each other. Master Kohga’s brow furrowed in the rare serious manner that it did. He was determined to get Sooga to see how much he cared. He would do anything to help him, if only Sooga would allow it.

The warrior next to him saw that determination in his chocolate brown eyes, paired with another feeling he couldn’t quite pin. Whatever it was, it was inviting. Sooga couldn’t help but want to see it more. He wanted to share moments like this more, where it was just the two of them and neither put on a show. Moments where he could see the bouncing curls that framed Kohga’s chubby cheeks up close, and feel the warmth from his gaze. Perhaps one day, even, Sooga could let go of his own mask.

Kohga sighed, which led to a loud, long yawn overtaking his features. The plump clan master gave a little stretch and sat back against the wall. If Sooga didn’t want to, he wouldn’t bring it up again.

“I’m not gonna force you or anything, I just-”

“I would like to feel safe with you,” The words tumbled out of Sooga’s mouth before he had the notion to stop them. Somewhere along the lines, his hand had grabbed Kohga’s and was now clutching it tight. He hardly knew what he was doing, but didn’t back down. It felt right. “There are many things I must atone for. I do not know how to achieve this peace just yet, but…”

Kohga squeezed his hand back, trying to ignore the blatant blush dusting his cheeks. If not for the dark, surely Sooga would have seen and fretted over his health, as he often did, but Kohga wouldn’t mind. He never minded. 

“I’ll be here the whole time,” He assured. And he meant it. Whatever Sooga needed, Kohga would offer help. It was obvious that the masked man was holding onto something painful, and Kohga would offer his support in any way that he could. Even if it interrupted his sleeping schedule.

Another yawn bubbled up from Kohga’s chest, and when he tried to stifle it, it forced out as a hiccup anyway. 

Way to ruin a moment, Kohga thought.

Cute, Sooga chuckled to himself.

“Perhaps we should return to bed, and continue this in the morning,” Sooga offered. Master Kohga’s shoulders visibly relaxed in relief as he slumped his face into Sooga’s chest. It felt like two muscular pillows smushing against his cheeks, a blessing from Hylia probably. Er, Ganon. Totally meant Ganon.

“Yes please,” He whined pitifully. Another chuckle rumbled through Sooga’s chest, vibrating Kohga’s whole head. 

This time, Sooga took to reading his master’s mind. His strong arms effortlessly picked up the stouter man and cradled him against his chest, as if Kohga were a bride. The night air brought a chill, after all, and Kohga had only dressed his robe over his undergarments. He looked down to the half-lidded face against him.

“I do appreciate your words, Master Kohga. I will always remember your kindness,” Sooga whispered above the wind. He looked down at the bundle of a man for a response, but only found soft snoring instead. 

The stupendous chief of the Yiga Clan was asleep before his sentence was finished. 

Sooga’s smile was soft. The winds of the desert night rolled behind him deep in the valley, and Sooga turned away from them feeling slightly freer. If any dream demons dared test his patience this night again, this time they would be answering to the courageous man in his arms.

[andtheywerecocaptains]

8 for the ways to say i love you prompts? ✨

HEGEL i did it finally. This came out sappy, unnecessarily long but hey ho. I was also slightly inspired by that one hc about Nicky keeping track of their songs during the centuries but i cannot find the actual post to save my life. 

I hope you enjoy it! I tweaked it a little bit and maybe the “unrequested” bit got lost... or did it?

send me kaysanova prompts from this list!

8. Buying them something unrequested because it made you think of them.

***********

Nile had made a huge mistake by showing Joe how to operate Tik Tok. No one other than Yusuf himself would’ve had the mental space to actually get sucked into it and enjoy every single stupid video he came across. Nicky observed from outside, as usual, a smile on his face, as usual. The enthusiasm Joe showed for the effort some of those people put in their videos was always refreshing. He used to force Nicky to watch some of them together and Nicky could not help but think that he had no idea as to what he was looking at.

Nile had taught Joe words like trends, transitions, twerk, dab, woah - and Nicky had always found himself thinking  that he could not keep up with one more language.

This is why his eyebrows were lifted up to his hairline that day when Joe asked him to try one of those trends with him. What on God’s green Earth-

“Come on love, it will be fun! We don’t have to film it, we just have to do it.”

“Amore, you know I have no idea what it is that you are talking about.”

“I will explain! Look.”

Joe had handed him a list he’d written on a piece of paper that Nicky recognised as coming from his sketch book. Not that the list had made it any easier for Nicky to understand what Joe was on about.

“I don’t understand. What am I looking at?”

“It’s a shopping list. We go out separately, we buy something for every item on the list, we come back home, we show each other what we got.”

“My favourite colour” Nicky read out, from the first item on the list “Your favourite colour?”

“Exactly! You get it. Buy something that has my favourite colour in it.”

Nicky sighed, still looking at the list like it had his death date written on it. He had to admit, though, it was a cute idea. And Joe was so excited, his eyes were literally glittering, so how could he say no to him?

***

They got back hours later within a few minutes of each other, each of them carrying a few shopping bags. Nicky observed that Joe had been way smarter than him and had chosen a shopping mall, whilst Nicky had preferred visiting smaller shops and had way more bags in comparison.

They sat at the table, on opposite sides and Joe whipped out his list, with a smile that went from ear to ear. He was way too excited. Nicky’s lips perked up in a softer smile, his chest warm with all the affection he could feel for his husband. His joy was always contagious and Nicky almost forgot how ridiculous he was feeling because of what he was doing.

This, until Joe started to read out the list.

“Okay, number one, My Favourite Colour.”

Nicky dug in one of the bags he had positioned at his feet and pulled out an incense holder, with intricate decorations that were of the exact same colour as his own eyes.

Joe’s favourite colour.

Joe, on the other hand, had chosen a very comfy-looking sweater, and Nicky couldn’t help but notice that the colour matched that of Joe’s freckles to perfection.

“Habibi, that’s perfect.” Joe commented, taking a few seconds to look at Nicky’s incense holder and then putting it on one side gently. It looked like he just could not stop smiling and Nicky wished for a second to have Joe’s ability to capture it on paper.

“Number two, My Favourite Snack.”

This had been way too easy for Nicky. Joe had tasted taralli long ago, but he hadn’t stopped asking Nicky to make them ever since. He obviously hadn’t had time to make some from scratch, but he knew a small Italian shop just a few doors down from their house and he trusted the owner enough to know that he could buy some quality food.

“Taralli! God, I love you!” Joe shouted, grabbing a hold of the box way too quickly and Nicky let out a small laugh.

It was only after having had a bite that Joe gave Nicky his favourite snack: baghrir. Obviously. Nicky’s sweet tooth was well known, especially by his husband, and Joe had been reminded about their days in Morocco and that plate of baghrir for possibly centuries. How Joe had managed to find them and purchase them – that remained a mistery.

“Number three, Something We Need in the House.”

A tricky one. For someone that moved houses so often like them, they never had managed to actually settle down and think about decorating the place. The closest they’d ever come to doing this was Malta, but it had been a few years since they’d last been.

“I had to think long and hard about this one but I think I got it.” Nicky prefaced, and took out a lava lamp from one of the bags.

Joe’s laughter exploded in the room and Nicky’s smile widened in response. He still remembered the first time Joe had seen one of those and how much time he had spent just looking at them. Nicky imagined that, scientifically speaking, they must’ve been quite the shock at the time and he was sure that he would have to stop Joe from wanting to open one up to see how it worked.

Joe stood up and reached for Nicky from the other side of the table to kiss him on the forehead. “That’s great. I love it.” he whispered, then sat back down.

Joe’s item had been a way more practical electrical razor. They had struggled quite a lot to move away from the cut-throats, especially because shaving each other using one of those was always a great experience. But finding good ones was getting harder and harder, so they’d agreed to finally get on with it and try and stay a bit more modern.

“Number four, Something I Need in My Wardrobe.”

The leather trousers landed on the table in front of Nicky even before he’d managed to register which item Joe was reading out.

“Yusuf!” Nicky exclaimed, a bit alarmed as well, but his complaints got lost in Joe’s laughter.

“Come on hayati, you’d look sublime in them and you know it.”

Joe was looking at him from across the table as if he was ready to jump up, grab him by his waist and carry him to bed that very moment. Nicky’s eyes kept going from Joe’s face to the trousers and then back up on Joe. A millennium spent alive and together meant that all the issues about themselves and their bodies had been washed away, but Joe always made sure to never stop reminding Nicky how beautiful he was and, in this very instance, how good his butt looked all the time.

Nicky gave Joe one last look, the corner of his own lips slightly lifted in an expression that clearly said “alright, fine” and put the trousers away.

“I cheated on this one.” Nicky announced and left the room for a second, coming back with a long blue scarf.

“I’ve been knitting this for a while now. Was about to let you have it, but then I thought I could use it as my item.” he explained, then sat back down and passed the scarf to Joe.

Joe buried his face in it, felt the softness against his skin and closed his eyes in bliss for a few seconds. Nicky loved absolutely every single thing Joe did, but that expression was definitely in the top ten list. Especially as a reaction to one of his gifts.

“I love it. Sorry, I keep saying ‘I love it’ to every single item you’ve brought, but I actually do.” Joe laughed again and Nicky shook his head gently, still smiling.

“Okay, last one. Something I Need.”

This was the one that had taken Nicky the longest out of all the items. What does someone who’s lived forever need? They had bought and tried everything in their lifetimes. Plus, if anything came up that one of them thought the other needed, they just bought it for each other. They had stopped birthdays a long time ago – there was no need for immortal beings to celebrate their life for just one day. They already did that, together, constantly.

“I think you need me in those trousers.” Nicky said and Joe nodded his head animatedly “But I also think you need this.” He put a CD in front of Joe, causing him to look at it with a huge question mark written on his face.

“Turn it around.” Nicky encouraged him, and Joe did so, in order to be able to read the list of songs Nicky had burned into it – with Nile’s help, obviously.

“Are these-”

“All our songs, yes. The ones I could find.”

Joe had the lovely habit to point out songs every once in a while, and say “Listen, Nicky! It’s our song!” with a huge smile on his face. This had happened numerous times during the centuries and the list had been growing and growing. The lyrics and the music had changed with time, but the sentiment was always the same and it had warmed Nicky’s heart every single time.

What Joe didn’t know, though, is that Nicky had kept track of all the songs he had marked as “our song”.

“Nicolò…”

Nicky could tell Joe’s voice had cracked a little bit when saying his name and couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s nothing major.”

“Are you joking?” Joe had complained, looking at him with a frown, lifting the CD as if he was showing him how important that gift actually was. It was then that Nicky could see that his eyes has filled up with tears as well.

“Oh, amore.” Nicky whispered and got up. He was still smiling, and walked around the table in order to reach Joe, who in the meantime had got up so that he could meet him and hug him, burrowing his face against Nicky’s neck.

Nicky tangled his fingers in Joe’s curls, kissing him just above his ear.

“I still need my gift, you know.” he whispered again so that Joe could hear him.

“I think-” Joe answered after a few seconds, reaching for his back pocket and pulling out a small velvety box, bringing it up in between the two of them without letting go of Nicky with his other arm. He opened by pushing down on one side, revealing a ring, very similar to the ones Joe was already wearing.

“I think you need to marry me again.”

[sammystep]

No One Lives Forever- CH4

(AO3 link)

Stardust Crusader Wolf Pack AU

[From the beginning- CH1]

<Previous Chapter     Next Chapter>

It took time to feel like he really belonged to the Joestar pack- not being related by blood or adoption like most of the others, but Kakyoin felt like he learned to navigate the dynamics fairly well. After being isolated for so long with just his father and human mother it seemed almost like fate when he met Jotaro at college. Both had chosen to attend Cornell to escape the bounds of family territory and struck up a fast friendship even though they were studying for different professions. Kakyoin’s gift for art and science led him to study architecture, while Jotaro seemed to select ecology and forest management on the basis that he would be guaranteed time away from people and in nature.

The years at school quickly passed and it became more unusual for Kakyoin to return to his father and mother’s house for breaks than accompany Jotaro back to NYC to be with the rest of his pack. He still made an effort to speak with his parents of course, and video calls made it much easier on all of them, but his father always had been a lone wolf. Not much room in his life for other people- including his wife and son. So, when Jotaro took up the responsibilities of pack alpha it wasn’t a hard choice for Kakyoin to follow as the beta.

Even after knowing Jotaro for 10 years, the man still manages to surprise him though. This time he’s almost overwhelmed because that’s another wolf he’s carrying through the forest. Kakyoin is stopped in his tracks, probably a good thing he’s stunned silent as Jotaro seems unusually agitated. What are they going to do? Obviously, she’s not the threat if Jotaro’s bringing her back to the cabin, but she’s another wolf in their territory. Are they going to let her pass through? Or invite her to stay, at least until the mystery of why she’s injured is cleared up? What is the rest of the pack going to do, do they…?

Kakyoin’s spiraling thoughts are cut off as he processes the order from his alpha. Right, he’ll clear the way, make it safe for the new packmate.

He runs into Mr. Joestar and Polnareff first in the clearing in front of the cabin and promptly sends them out in the opposite direction after explaining the circumstance. Avdol is swift in his search for the first aid kit, so Kakyoin goes on patrol around the perimeter again. No telling what other bizarre thing was going to happen this afternoon, it was best to be prepared.

It seems like forever but what was probably two hours at most he hears Avdol tell the others it was ok to go inside again, but to be respectful of their guest. Guest… his instincts may have been right earlier about the ‘new packmate’. Kakyoin finishes the last leg of his patrol before he too goes inside. Mr. Joestar has already made himself comfortable in the big arm chair in the lounge, Kakyoin can only see the top of the woman’s head from this angle, but the smell of her blood is still in the air almost making him nauseous. Polnareff is hovering in the doorway leading to the kitchen and dining room so he ushers him in to sit and leave the two alphas to discuss whatever business they had.

Avdol is rummaging through the fridge when Kakyoin makes his way into the kitchen, “Avdol?”

“Hmm? Ah, Kakyoin. You’re curious about our guest, yes? Help me prepare the meal while I tell you what I know.”

“Tell me how I can help.”

“Here, cut this into cubes while I gather the rest.” Avdol hands over the large selection of meat he’d retrieved from the fridge, “Unfortunately I don’t know much right now. Her name is (y/n). She sustained an injury to her leg. Multiple injuries actually. With silver birdshot.”

“Silver? Her attackers knew she was a wolf?”

“Wolf hunters are uncommon nowadays, but not unheard of. No. I’m more concerned that it was small pellets used. The hunters weren’t aiming to kill.”

Kakyoin nearly drops the knife he was holding over the cutting board, “Not aiming to kill? What kind of hunter doesn’t kill their prey?”

“The worst kind.”

The kitchen is silent while the two men work to prepare the food. Once the ingredients are all in the pot and simmering away Kakyoin retreats to his own room to contemplate the situation.

Without more information to go over he’s stuck in a loop. It’s a welcome interruption when Avdol calls him for dinner, hopefully they’ll get to the bottom of this quickly and lay it to rest.

Avdol must have been keeping his mind occupied with cooking, the table has an assortment of bread rolls and side dishes that were not even started when Kakyoin left the kitchen. He takes his seat at the large round table between an already seated Mr. Joestar and Polnareff. Avdol is placing the last dish on the table when they all flinch at the quiet whine of pain from the lounge area.

Jotaro and (y/n) make their way into the dining room and everyone seems to freeze for a moment. She hesitates but seems to pull herself to stand up straighter and lean less on Jotaro’s arm as they walk to the open seats. Another realization snaps into place in Kakyoin’s mind. This woman is not just another member of the pack, he’d bet his last dollar she’s another alpha.

“(Name), this is the pack. Everyone, this is (Name).” Jotaro does a poor job of introducing them, he seems to be more focused on loading up his plate and subtly offering the food to (y/n). They go around the table and introduce themselves properly and she seems to settle into her seat as everyone begins eating.

“I don’t mean to push you unnecessarily, but,” Kakyoin is interrupted by Polnareff.

“What the hell happened out there?”

Jotaro growls a bit at the line of questioning but Kakyoin persists, “I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but you see we…”

“Noriaki.”

Jotaro doesn’t have to say more, the command was evident in his tone. Stop questioning, now.

(y/n) doesn’t heed this warning though. Instead, she puts a hand on his arm as if to hold Jotaro back before she addresses the group. “You guys deserve to know the truth. I don’t blame you for wanting to know what happened in your territory.” She pauses and puts her hands in her lap, head bowed as if apologizing. “I’m sorry I brought the trouble to your doorstep, but the ones who shot me, they were a band of wolf hunters. That wasn’t even the first time I’ve run into these ones, but that was the closest they’ve ever gotten to…” (y/n) trails off as Jotaro growls a bit more. It’s unlike him to be so expressive, he must still be reeling from his shift.

“Anyway, they’ve been on my tail since the last town over. I thought I’d have an advantage if I got away from humans and could shift and take them on, but they ran me off the road when I wasn’t expecting it. So I ran. All I could think of is I should have listened to my parents, not strayed so far from family territory.” She shakes her head to clear it before continuing.

“It’s been getting bad for lone wolves for a while now. You hear rumors and think ‘oh that won’t happen to me’. I’m not even sure what gang, or cartel, or whatever these guys were working for. I doubt they were just ordinary religious zealots; I don’t think I would have gotten away if they were.” (y/n) looks down at her plate and picks around at her food as the pack takes in this information.

Kakyoin feels a cold chill move down his spine. It has been a long time since he’s been a lone wolf. But he remembers. How isolating it was, no support system, far away from home territory…

“I’m sorry for entering your territory without permission. But I want to thank you. For helping me,” she turns and looks at Jotaro, “for saving me.”

Jotaro has been entirely focused on (y/n) throughout dinner, this may be the first time he looks away from her as he lets out a gruff “Don’t mention it.”

Kakyoin wears a small smile on his face. Yeah, Jotaro is hooked already.

<Previous Chapter     Next Chapter>

I hope you are all ready for what’s coming- I finished my first draft outline for this story and its currently sitting at 52 chapters total. Expect a lot more action, monsters, supernatural things, new original characters! I’m still going to aim for at LEAST one chapter a week, but with the outline done it may be more if I have time :)

[haosvteen]

I Found You | soulmate seventeen series

a/n: this is my first traditionally written imagine i’m posting here, so i hope you like it!! i’m a little bit nervous to post, so please let me know how you like it :)

minghao x reader | soulmate seventeen

~ - fluff

word count: 3.2k

main masterlist

All you could focus on is the ticking of the clock and the tapping of your pencil on the worn-out wooden desk. No matter how hard you tried to tune into your professor’s monotone voice lecturing about string theory, your mind kept wandering elsewhere. Literally anywhere else. At first, you started thinking about why you had to take this class anyway. It didn’t have anything to do with your major, so what was the point? But as soon as that thought came, it went, and you were trying to decide where to get lunch after the unnecessarily long class ended.

Leaning down to your side and reaching into your backpack on the floor, you pulled out a brown leather-bound notebook. Running your fingers over the intricate gold designs adorning the spine, admiring the swirls and flowers, you placed it on your desk and flipped it open. Gliding your pencil across the unlined, seemingly old paper, you wrote “What do I get for lunch? My stomach is about to grumble in class”.

You run a hand through your hair with a sigh and look back up at your professor, once again trying to figure out what he is attempting to explain. One-dimensional strings? Quantum gravity? It meant nothing to you. Thankfully, Hao had been helping you almost every night. Honestly, you felt a little bad because he was trying his hardest to make it simple for you, but the content was essentially impossible to understand. Your brain just doesn’t seem to cooperate when it comes to physics.

Looking back down at the notebook below you, you received a response: “What about that pizza place you like down the street from your apartment?”. Just the thought of the greasy slice of goodness makes your stomach emit an audible grumble, causing several heads near you to turn your way, judgmental looks behind their eyes. After taking a moment to apologetically smile at them and deal with your embarrassment, you jot on the paper, “Hao, you’re a genius how do you always know what I want?”.

Almost as quickly as you finished writing your sentence, you see Hao’s handwriting appear letter by letter on the page. “It’s because I’m your soulmate, duh”. You lean your head on your hand and smile to yourself, noticing the students around you start packing up their books and leaving the room, signaling to you that class had finished.

After closing all of your books and stuffing them in your backpack, you slung a strap on your shoulder and started to make your way out of the classroom. Before you had the opportunity to escape into the hallway, your professor called to you, “Ms. Y/L/N, would you mind seeing me for a moment?”

Slowly turning around, you made your way up to the front of the classroom where he was wiping down the blackboard for the next class. It felt as if you were walking to the gallows due to the tone of his beckoning. “Yes, sir?”, you asked, curious as to what this may be about. Had he noticed you weren’t paying attention? That you were writing in your soulmate journal?

“As you know, final exams are coming up and I am concerned about your final grade in this class. In order to pass, you need to earn at least an 85% or higher on the final,” he nonchalantly said, not even bothering to make eye contact with you as he began to pack up.

You knew that you were not the best at physics, but you did not realize your grade was so low. That you would basically have to eat, sleep, and breathe the subject until the end of the term. “I’m so sorry, is there any extra credit I could possibly do? I’ve been trying my best, it’s just that-“, before you had the opportunity to finish your statement, he had cut you off.

“You haven’t been trying your best, though. Far too often I see you writing away in that notebook of yours and I highly doubt your taking notes.” You didn’t even know what to say in response to that because he was right. You weren’t taking notes. But could you be blamed for wanting to talk with your soulmate? Somewhere along the way since your 16th birthday, you and Hao discovered that you lived in different time zones so there were only certain times of the day you could talk to each other…one of those times just happened to be during this class. If only your professor understood this.

As if the gruff man in front of you read your mind, he continued, “I am assuming that is your soulmate journal?” Silently giving a small nod, you internally cringed for what was to come because based on the raised eyebrow and demeaning glare, it could not be good. “You know all of that’s bullshit right?”. Your jaw slightly dropped because you were not expecting that to come from your professor’s mouth.

“Statistically only 32% of people actually end up with their ‘soulmate’? No one even understands the technology of these journals or where they come from. Researchers haven’t been able to find conclusive evidence of the accuracy of these journals. The odds are higher that you will end up with someone in this class rather than whomever you are speaking to through those pieces of paper. I suggest you keep this in mind for the remainder of the semester,” your professor concluded and hastily marched out of the classroom.

You are dumbfounded. You didn’t know what your professor wanted to see you about, but in no way did you suspect that. Alright, maybe you suspected him addressing you about your poor grade, but that rant? Probably would have been the last thing you guessed. After overcoming the initial shock of the encounter you just were on the receiving end of, you shook your head and finally left the room.

Walking down the street to your favorite pizza place (as Hao suggested), you couldn’t stop thinking about everything your professor said. Was it really true that only 32% of people end up with their soulmate? And now that you thought about it, having someone’s writing showing up in some magical journal you get on your 16th birthday seems a little impractical too.

After taking a seat at the small pizzeria, you took a bite, the cheese stretching, and about to fall off the slice. You wiped your greasy fingers off on a napkin before pulling out your soulmate journal to write to Hao, telling him his suggestion was an excellent choice.

While waiting for his response, you decided to do a little bit more research about the probability of soulmates ending up together. With a simple google search, thousands of articles came up about the illegitimacy of the journals, however, there were equally as many describing the validity of them while recounting people’s personal positive experiences.

After reading article after article, you couldn’t help but question if you would actually end up with Hao. You’d never had to think about it before. Your whole life, you had always been told: “whoever you write to in your soulmate journal is who you will find true love with and be forever happy”. You didn’t have a reason to question it either because you love Hao. Even though you had never seen him, you knew that you love him.

Your parents were connected through the soulmate journal and found each other, so they raised you to believe that the same would happen for you. The difference is that your parents had known each other since they were six years old. It was easier for them. You didn’t even know where Hao was from. You had your guesses considering his timezone, but you really knew nothing else. The journal would erase writing that held personal information (which sounds kind of…magical? but everyone has a notebook in which they can speak to their soulmate, so who’s to judge when that is an aspect of your world). When you first got your journal, you immediately wrote in it, providing your social media handles so your soulmate could find you. However, with every letter you wrote, they disappeared twice as fast.

There were many sleepless nights you complained to your friends about how hard it was because you just wanted to find him. You just wanted to be able to see his face. Hear his voice. Almost everyone you knew found their soulmates easily, but you were what felt like the only one left without your soulmate. Especially one on the other side of the world.

Becoming so wrapped in your thoughts, you picked up your pen again and wrote in the journal, “Hey…have you ever thought that we maybe…won’t end up together?”.

“What do you mean? Of course, we will end up together. We’re soulmates. That’s the whole purpose of this journal,” Minghao responded.

“I know, I know, but my professor just told me some stuff today. It’s stupid and I know I shouldn’t even worry about it, but he said that only 32% of people actually end up with their soulmate,” you explained. Sitting up in your seat, you started to get a little anxious. You know that Hao hated talking about this stuff.

“Y/N, I’ve told you this so many times before. We will find each other. I will find you. Don’t listen to the statistics,”. As you see the words appear on the paper in front of you, you can’t help but think…what if? What if you don’t find each other. Taking a moment to logically think about it, there is really no definitive way to track the other down. It all happens by chance.

As you placed your pen on the paper, about to write back, Hao’s handwriting appeared again. “I don’t want you to worry about this. The universe wants us together. It will find a way.”

With a sigh, you simply responded, “You’re right, I’ll talk to you later” and quickly drew a heart. You closed the journal, hoping it would help the thoughts leave your head, but you couldn’t stop the constant what-ifs running through your mind for the next days.

During that time, you did more research and truly discovered statistically how low the chances are that you will find your soulmate. There are 7.5 billion people in the world, what are the odds you find your person?

Things between you and Hao were never really the same after that.

It started out slowly. You would happen to forget your journal at home when you went out and instead of running back to get it (like you usually would), you didn’t bother. There were days that turned into weeks where you wouldn’t write to Minghao at all. Every so often you would maybe leave a kind message telling him to have a good day, but there were no longer meaningful conversations between you two. You even started seeing other boys. If statistically, you were not going to end up with Minghao, it was okay to start looking elsewhere.

Having been raised on the idea that this person on the other end of the journal is who you will end up with, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, didn’t allow you to experience young love the way many people do. When you turned 16, all of your attention went immediately to Minghao…because you were 100% sure you would end up with him. Now that you knew the small likelihood of that actually happening, you allowed yourself to find happiness. Even if it wasn’t with your soulmate.

Not to say that you forgot about Minghao. You could never forget about Minghao. But no matter how much you wished that it would work between you two, you knew the reality of the situation.

Several years had gone by. You and Minghao would write to each other in your journals sometimes, but never at the same time. Typically, you would write a message every several months to update him about what was going on in your life and he would do the same. Even years later, you still regret leaving him the way you did. You cannot imagine what providing little to no explanation did to him, but you were young. You didn’t know how to handle it.

But now, your life was completely different from those years ago when your best friend was through a journal. You had a career that you loved, amazing and supportive friends…there wasn’t more you could ask for. Except that you still hadn’t found someone. You thought that it would be easier to find a boy to spend your life with, even if it wasn’t Minghao, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Everyone was just looking for people to hook up and have one-night-stands with as they waited to find their soulmate. No one had accepted the reality of the situation as you had. While some might say that you were being pessimistic, you liked to think of it as being logical.

It was 8:54am and you were stumbling all over your apartment in an attempt to get dressed while simultaneously pack your bag for work. You were sure that you set your alarm for 6:30am so you had ample time to prepare and have a relaxing morning before you had to leave to catch your train.  The image of the 6:30am alarm on your phone being switched on was ingrained in your mind, you knew you turned it on. Technology works in mysterious ways.

While tugging on the first appropriate shoes you found, you swung open the closet door that contained your sweatshirts that were still appropriate for work. This was your go-to when you were running late and today was definitely one of those days. As you swiftly opened the door, a book fell down from the top shelf. Your soulmate journal.

The panic of the morning immediately halted. It had been years since you had even looked at it. You shoved it away in a random box while moving to this city for your job and you honestly hadn’t thought about it since. While the memories of your conversations with Minghao flooded your mind, you decided to pack it in your bag. Maybe you would write to him while you were on your lunch break.

Grabbing the last of your items, you hurried out the door, trying to make it to the next scheduled train. As you exited your building and began running down the busy sidewalk to the train station, the crisp air whipped against your face. Your nose and ears were numb, but that was the least of your worries.

Your lungs felt like they were on the verge of exploding as you approached the train and saw the double doors sliding closed. “Hey!!! Someone hold the door!!! Please!!!”, you shout breathlessly, hoping to catch the attention of anyone inside the warm transport. To your luck, someone heard you and stuck their hand outside. Little did they know they were saving you from having to wait another 30 minutes for a train.

As you quickened your pace to enter the train, you smiled at the man who held the doors open for you, “Thank you so much, if it weren’t for you I would even more late for work than I am now”.

“No problem,” he said while making his way to a seat. Taking a moment to smooth out your hair, you followed behind him trying to find a place of your own. After looking around, the only one you found available was right across from that same man.

You looked at your watch and couldn’t help but watch the seconds and minutes tick away, making you more and more late for work. Stealing you from your trance, your phone began ringing. Noticing that it was your boss, you couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.

Before you had the opportunity to say hello, he was screaming into your ear, “Y/N where are you?! We need you here now!! This is unacceptable behavior.”

“I understand, I apologize. I’m on my way, sir. I will be there as fast as I can,” you responded, trying to keep your cool. After some more several unkind words, your boss hung up the phone. Running your hands over your face, you look up to see the man sitting opposite you, staring at you with wide eyes and a slightly agape mouth. You gave him a small smile and looked away, trying to ignore the look he continued to give you.

“Y/N?” you heard him say.

“Oh, me?” you questioned, to ensure that he was talking to you. Hopefully whatever he has to say won’t take too long because the train was due to stop in three minutes and you had to get off immediately.

He responds with a nod, eyes still as wide as a deer in headlights, “I’m Minghao”.

With that, your expression imitated his. Minghao? As in your Minghao?

“Wait, I don’t understand. You’re here?” you asked because last time you read a message from him in the journal, he hadn’t moved or mentioned traveling. Well…the last time you had touched the journal was years ago.

Minghao quickly moved to rummage in his bag. After a few moments, he pulled out a brown leather-bound notebook…with gold designs on the spine…swirls and flowers.

Before you knew what you were doing, you also began to dig in your bag for your soulmate journal…that happened to fall out of your closet today…that you wouldn’t have opened if your alarm would have gone off…

You immediately opened the old journal for the first time in years. The first words you see are, “I found you”.

Looking up at Hao, tears began to form in your eyes. You hadn’t admitted it to yourself, but it had been so hard without him. It’s like whenever you weren’t with him, everything was so much worse. Even if you only knew each other through the soulmate journal.

The train came to a screeching stop and the people around you began standing and exiting to the station, but you two remained seated. There were some people giving you some strange looks, but they didn’t realize that two people who were meant to be together had finally met. That you and Hao had met.

“I’ve looked everywhere for you,” Hao said as he stood up. “I told you I would find you.”

You couldn’t help yourself, but run up and wrap your arms around him. The arms you wanted to hold you since you were 16. You could finally feel him. Hear his voice. See his face. You could be with him. Not just through pieces of bound paper.

You pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. Your cheeks were tear-stained, but you couldn’t help it. “We are not a statistic,” Hao softly whispered. His eyes flicked from yours, down to your lips. He moved his hands up to your face, using his thumbs to wipe the tears that won’t stop cascading down your cheeks. He leaned into you slowly, softly pressing his lips to yours.

“I found you,” Hao said so only you could hear, as he leaned his forehead against yours.

He found you.

[yuzuriha-sayori]

Hey hun💕 Could I please request a SFW Benimaru x Reader firework festival one shot, where Benimaru tries to win the giant rabbit plushie at one of the game stalls for reader? Love you 😊

I got way too carried away with this 😭 be it my first request, btw THANK YOU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS 💕💕💕 but I really hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Shinmon Benimaru x Reader SFW where Benimaru tries to win a giant rabbit plushie for x reader!

Watashi no Usagi

"Waka, it seems the kids have brought a guest." Konro began as he entered through the noren of Company 7's Guardhouse, using the back of his hand to push it out of the way. Orange light pierced in through where he entered, indicating night was just a few hours upon them.

"Aah?"

Lazy crimson eyes darted to the entrance where the tall Lieutenant appeared, but he had moved himself to his right in order to make way for incoming. The captain sat on the genkan step with furrowed brows and pursed lips. "Tch, what did these little rugrats drag in this time?"

Laughter and squeals bubbled loudly with their fast approach as the twins, Hika and Hina came running in, pulling another person in each hand right through the cloth entrance.

The young girl stumbled in, surprised in the strength of these two kids that she had no time to react well. She wore a thick silk deep blue kimono with sleeves long enough to potentially graze the ground. A light purple juban could be seen and was matched with a similar colored obi, with blue wisteria decorating the sash.  Slightly disoriented, she struggled to catch her footing and teetered side to side a bit before righting herself looking up and taking in her surroundings.

'Oh no,' she thought. These youngsters dragged her right into the den of the beast. The Destroyer of Asakusa. While he had a good reputation among the townspeople as the Captain of Company 7, he was also known to be rowdy at bars, and very ill mouthed.

"S-S-Sumimasen!" She quickly blurted out, bowing unnecessarily low. Her [h/c] spilled over her shoulders as she did so. After quite some silence, she cautiously glanced up, her big [e/c] eyes meeting his slightly displeased ones. One eye a crimson circle, the other with a crimson X. 'He's quite handsome...' She could feel the heat of embarrassment on the tip of her ears.

"Hika. Hina." The raven captain spoke very blunt, not taking his eyes off the stranger that was dragged into the guardhouse. The sudden words made the stranger's shoulders jump. "What did you two bring in here?"

"Ahaha.." Hina sheepishly laughed while both the twins ran to jump on his shoulders. "Hika and Hina brought a friend for tonight!" Hika exclaimed, dangling from his left shoulder, while Hina was climbing up the right.

"For tonight?" The young man's eyebrow twitched in confusion and seemingly slight exhaustion. These kids really knew how to be a handful. The girl, still bowing, uprighted herself. She began to speak, her lips barely parting open before being interrupted by the very tall man standing to her left.

"The festival tonight. The one you promised the girls you'd take them to." The Lieutenant spoke. He then turned to the girl with a gentle smile, and a wink after saying, "I'm assuming they brought a friend in case our young master decided to ditch." The girl gave a small giggle, visibly relaxing just a smidge.

"I'm Sagamiya Konro, the Lieutenant of Company 7. That brazen young man over there is our captain, Shinmon Benimaru. Forgive him for his rudeness, he lacks a bit of tact. What is your name young miss?"

"M-My name is [l/n] [f/n]." She said softly, giving a more proper and curt bow than the one she did earlier. Konro's eyes lit in realization, "Ah is that so? You're [l/n] Shiyou's daughter correct?" She nodded in response.

"The girls started visiting for mother's cooking whenever she makes yakitori for the hikeshi. She doesn't like to stay home during the rebuilding, so she rides with father and cooks for the men during their breaks." The girl gave a small smile to the man in front of her, but he still didn't seem to understand.

"Who the hell is [l/n]?" Benimaru, still sitting on the genkan steps, grumbled. Something told him maybe he should know, but he didn't really care too much about it. It was clearly evident with how he ignored how proper the young girl was dressed.

"Waka," Konro said sternly, eyes locked on the shorter male, "it would do you well to at least be courteous with the young miss. After all, her father runs the business that keeps us supplied with materials. You know, the ones needed to rebuild homes and the shops of our town after they're demolished every other day."

Ack, well this was going to be one hell of an evening. He didn't care much for respect, but Shinmon Benimaru was going to have to do at least some tongue biting. "I guess it would be...rude not to escort the old man's daughter around during a festival. After all..." He looked away and let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head with mild irritation, "I do owe that old fart quite a lot."

----

"Yaaaaaay! Festival time! Festival time! Hika and Hina are gonna eat all the candy!" The twins chimed while jumping up and down off the sleeves of Benimaru's yukata. The sun was beginning to set and they were making their way to the festival. The lights could be seen glowing over rooftops of Asakusa just a few blocks away.

"Oi, don't tug on the sleeves, they might tear with all the weight you two have eaten in snacks already." The captain complained and he pried them off of the navy blue cotton sleeves. Konro, walking behind him, wore one of matching color.

Hina puffed her cheeks, "Not our fault you take forever getting ready."

"We got hungry!" Hika stuck her tongue out. "No candy for you then!"

"I don't like sweets anyways." Benimaru retorted. "Konro, where did the brat say she was going to meet us?"

Konro let out a deep sigh, "By the mask stall if I remember correctly." He'd mainly came along to make sure his captain didn't lose the kids but he was more concerned with Benimaru causing problems with [y/n].

"I guess your memory isn't going just yet," Benimaru joked while pointing in front of him. The joke earned a smack to the back by his Lieutenant but Konro looked in the direction his captain was pointing in and spotted [y/n] waiting patiently. She was standing in front of a mask stall at the beginning to one of the entrances set up for the festival.

"I wonder how long we've kept the poor girl waiting." Konro jest, walking up beside Benimaru and giving him a slightly disapproving frown.

"Tch. I got it, I got it." Benimaru made his way over to the young lady waiting. "Sorry..." He managed to get out, "I took too long finding my yukata."

She gave a small yet soft smile, something that was becoming usual for her, he noticed. "It's okay. I wasn't waiting long. Besides, I'm glad you were able to find it. It looks good on you." She hadn't realized how that could come off and she immediately flushed red after understanding their positions.

Benimaru however seemed unfazed. Though, he did give her outfit a scan and noticed it was fairly...appealing? She wore her [h/c] hair up in a loose bun, a mahogany wooden hairstick with a glass lotus at the end of it with jewels dangling. Her yukata was a light pink decorated with darker pink lotus and tied with a similar color sash. He had to avert his gaze after noticing he was staring rather long.

"Lets go." He said and pursed his lips, walking onto festival grounds. [Y/n] followed along after grabbing both Hika and Hina's hands. They had ran up to her with hands out to her. Konro felt as if it was going go be a looong evening for him.

The beginning of the festival was filled with much food consumption. Mainly by the twins. They made it a point to stop at almost every food stall they could.

"[Y/n] try this! They only have these during festivals!" Hina had a small brown puff on a toothpick. What appeared to be an octopus appendage stuck out in the cooked dough. [Y/n] bent down and opened her mouth for Hina to feed her was was delighted and the sweet and savory ball of goodness.

"Mmm it's delicious! This isn't a flavor from here is it?" [Y/n] gushed, her cheeks pink in pure happiness.

Benimaru had been watching the whole thing, and while the girls droned on about food, he kept watching her. The way her lips closed around the takoyaki and the way her cheeks puffed up as she chew. She kinda resembled...a rabbit. When [y/n] looked up at him, to ask if he wanted to try one too, he jerked his head away.

She looked slightly downcast but he didn't want her to see his cheeks burning with embarrassment. Just for being caught staring. It was impolite to stare, he told himself. He didn't want to acknowledge the real reason for it. 'I'm too grown to be acting like a teenager.' Had Konro heard those words, he'd have probably shot the sake he was gingerly sipping on right out his mouth.

"Shinmon-sama, won't you try one?"

Benimaru's head snapped back. [Y/n] was looking up at him with her big [e/c] eyes while holding a takoyaki up to his mouth. Not close enough to threaten his personal space, but just close enough that it was too inviting not to eat. Especially from her.

"Tch, fine." He said while opening his mouth and taking the small streetfood into his mouth. [Y/n] beamed. She thought maybe he didn't like her, but that feeling was slowly going away.

"[Y/n] look, look! Toys!" Hika and Hina chimed, tugging on the taller girl's sleeves. The [h/c] haired girl looked up and saw a booth that had toys lined up in several shelves. People were walking away with all sorts of arrangement of toys. The two younger girls darted for the booth and the three adults followed before someone tried to grab them. For the safety of whoever would try to, the two males hoped no one would dare.

"Step right up. Step right up. You have 3 chances to hit your target. Who would like to go first?" The stall owner boasted loudly.

Hika and Hina almost exploded in excitement but Konro stopped them. "This is [g/n]'s first time to an Asakusa festival. You should let her try first. Afterwards, I'll let you two try as many times as you can in 10 minutes." 

"Okay!" The twins exclaimed, fire in their eyes.

"I guess I'll go first." [Y/n] said nervously while stepping up and dropping a few coins into the older stall keeper's hands. He handed her three white balls. They weren't that heavy and probably wouldn't knock down the giant pink bunny plushie she'd been eyeing. "I still have to give it a shot..." She mumbled.

Pklunk. "Darn it." Pklunk. "For the love of..."  Pklunk. "Hmmmm...." [Y/n] hummed loudly in slight frustration. She'd hit her targets. But the balls didn't have enough force to even make the giant plush move one bit.

"Sorry missy, better luck nex--" [y/n]  slapped more money into his hand as he tried to shrug in a 'sorry' gesture. She was not leaving without that plush. Benimaru, who had given up hiding the fact he'd been eyeing her, let out of 'hmmph' of amusement.

Again, she didn't make any knock the pink bunny down. Paying for another round, she furiously threw two out of the three balls at it and they just bounced off and to the ground. "Son of a fuck--"

"Ah our little 'Oujo-sama' can have a potty mouth." Benimaru mused at [y/n].

[Y/n] shook a little before turning to glare at the man a good bit taller than her, the bottom rim of her eyes slightly red from tearing up and cheeks puffed from holding ber breath in frustration. "Pffffttt" He couldn't hold back laughing and [y/n] was so close to smacking him had he not slipped his fingers into her hands and gently pry the last white ball from her fingers. This action caught her so off guard, she almost really did stop breathing.

"The pink rabbit right?"

[Y/n] nodded in defeat and watched as Benimaru lined the ball up. Holding it like a marble ready to shoot. With an audible flick, it shot from his hand, right into the pink rabbit's face.  He knocked it over with so much force, a normal person might've had whiplash...or a very ugly bruise.

Eyes wide in surprise, [Y/n] squealed. Once handed the plush, she burried her face on the top of it's head and spun around. It was a little more then half her height. After letting out most of her excitement, she looked up and smiled warm up at Benimaru. "Thank so much, Shinmon-sama."

A blush began creeping up his neck as he looked away again, "I didn't want you to start crying and scaring all the kids away." He proclaimed. [Y/n] was beginning to feel that his rudeness quite often times might be a little misunderstood. She hoped at least. "Oh, and you can call me by my first name."

"Benimaru-sama?" She said taken by surprise. She wasn't the only one though. The crimson eyed man wasn't ready for her to use his first name so quickly that he couldn't hide the instant unsettling blush on his face. He stormed off down the street in confusion.

"W-Wait!" [Y/n] exclaimed. She turned to Konro and the twins. The lieutenant gave a gentle flick of his hand, as if signaling for her to make her way after his captain. "I have to help these girls carry all the toys they're about to siphon out this poor man." [Y/n] gave a confused expression but turned and darted after Benimaru.

"Hehehe. Hina and Hika are gonna take all these toys!" They dropped all their money on the counter and collected as many balls that could sit on the counter. The sounds of toy after toy hitting the ground echoed past several neighboring stalls as the twins windmilled ball after ball at the wall of toys. The poor stall keeper huddled in the corner shaking in fear, for these balls came flying with more force then he'd ever seen in his life. 

Konro gave a tired and strained smile. He was going to have a lot of carrying to do.

----

"Please wait up!" [Y/n] called out. Benimaru turned to glance at her before continuing to make his way away from the lights and crowd of people. "Then hurry up, the fireworks are about to start soon."

[Y/n] faltered in her dash towards him. A smile spread on her face. "O-Oh okay!" She followed him towards a hill with not quite so many trees. One with a clear view of the sky. He sat down with his legs crossed, not waiting for her to sit down first. [Y/n] smoothed the fabric of her yukata behind her and sat next to him, still clutching her overly large rabbit. Her face burried in it's head.

The first pop of a firecracker shot up in several colors. A basic round one in colors of red, blue, and green. There where sparkles of excitement in [Y/n]'s eyes that Benimaru couldn't keep his eyes away from. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"I think I'll name him Bunnymaru." She giggled and turned back to the fireworks that started coming in more frequent succession. She turned just in time to miss his eyes go wide in surprise, his neck, ears, and face a red so bright that he thought he might actually overheat.

"Tch. Whatever."

As much as he wanted to focus on the fireworks, he kept stealing glances at [Y/n]'s excited face. She was much more like a rabbit herself. In one day, he had noticed she was nervous, skittish, but really bubbly. A bubbly he didn't hate that much.

"My rabbit." He mumbled just as more fireworks sounded off, masking his words. Much to his relief. He didn't mean to say 'my' and he nearly choked in realization. He glanced at [y/n] again, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in his usual expression as he watched her enjoy the display in the sky.

'Ah what the hell,' he sighed inwardly, 'It won't hurt if she was...'

[yankyo]

Kto yest’kto

Warning: you get fucked by the Russian clones 

   You knew why you suddenly had this array of bodyguards, despite your insistence that you didn’t need them. Zhuk was a worrywart and after the last attempt on your life by one of his enemies, your protests had gone largely ignored as he summoned a minute army of look-alikes to protect you when he had to go on his business trips. If it weren’t for the still healing scar on your side from a stray bullet, you might’ve fought harder, but you also couldn’t deny that having them there made you feel less lonely when Zhuk had to be gone for an extended period of time. And their striking resemblance to the man you called Muzh made it all the better. Each one was different, and while they looked like Zhuk, they had their own distinct personalities that you were rapidly beginning to find endearing.

   That day, you were busy in the kitchen, trying to make enough food for your eight companions with a chatty helper at your side. He had introduced himself as Pchelka and once you learned that his name translated to bee, you couldn’t agree more. He flitted from task to task with glee, talking all the while, his voice a soft, pleasant hum as he made sure everything was prepped and ready to be passed on to you. He was as sweet as honey, and when you spoke up to tell him that, he flushed a gentle pink every single time. You took to dropping compliments without warning just to see him flush and vibrate happily - truly he could not get more adorable.

   “Taste!” He held out a spoonful of icing, you inspected it for a moment before you leaned in and ran your tongue through the confection, letting out a soft, pleased hum.

   “Very good! I think we only had a few more minutes til the cupcakes come out of the oven.” At the sound of ‘cupcakes’ another head poked its way into the kitchen, spiky hair flashing happily at the prospect of sweets.

   “Almost done?” Oh. Oh dear, what was this clone’s name again?

   “We have to let the cupcakes cool before we put the icing on, Soyka.” You guessed the name and your heart sank as the clone’s smile fell from his face.

   “Khame.” He corrected, a flash of purple shooting through his hair. Shit. The guilt that rocketed through you had you turning on your heel to approach him, apologizing profusely.

   “Khame, right! I’m sorry!” In hindsight, only Khame had a collar around his neck and his hair was a lot spikier than Soyka’s. “Come here,” You held your arms open for him, and though his ears were drooping sadly, he approached you and leaned in to rest his head on your shoulder as you hugged him. “I’m really sorry, I’m still learning everyone’s name.” It wasn’t an excuse and didn’t make you feel any less guilty. “Why don’t you stay here with us, I’ll let you try the first cupcake!” Your bribe was taken with exuberance, green and pink returning to his hair. Better, much better. But by the counter, Pchelka was looking at Khame with thinly veiled envy as the clone nuzzled up against you, his purr strong enough to shake both of you. Oh goodness, you give one clone attention for just a moment and the others got so sulky, it would be more annoying if they weren’t so gosh darned cute - and if you didn’t realize just how touch starved each clone must be. “Come on in, Pchela,” you crooned and he wasted absolutely no time in closing the distance and joining his fellow clone in the hug. You might’ve stood there with the purring clones forever, but before long, the oven dinged and Khame was practically pressed against it, eager for his treat.

   While you pulled back to grab the oven mitts, Pchelka was at the oven to pull out the tray of cupcake with his bare hands, seemingly unaware of the way his flesh began to boil in response, Your shriek, however, seemed to startle him enough to drop the tray on the counter. You rushed forwards to check on his hands, wincing at the sight of the clearly burned flesh. “Pchelka!” You scolded, and though the clone was much taller than you were, he shrank back at your tone. “Khame, I’m going to take him down to Ren, watch over the cupcakes for me. You can only have one.” He gave an obedient nod and salute, which you rewarded with a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, make sure the others don’t eat them before dinner, ok?” And with that, you left the pink haired clone to his duty while you all but dragged a droopy Pchelka behind you. “I know you can’t feel it, but you can’t just grab stuff from the oven like that!” You lectured as you walked, the curly haired clone didn’t respond, but when you turned your head to look back at him, he gave a small nod, clearly just upset with himself. Your heart clenched at the sight, but you didn’t back down just yet. Your biggest rule was for them not to hurt themselves unnecessarily. It was bad enough that they were more than ok with the idea of getting hurt to protect you, it was bad enough that each clone held scars just like their boss, you weren’t just going to sit back and watch them hurt themselves any more.

   Ren had set up shop in the typically unused med bay, being one of the only clones able to tell what everything did. He was one of the easiest clones to tell simply because he looked exactly like your Zhuk, the only difference was that his expression was softer and more relaxed than your stern faced lover. Though as you told him what Pchelka had done, his scowl was identical to Zhuk’s, so much so that even the much taller clone at your side winced at the sight of him.

   “Durak, pytayas’ proizvesti na nikh vpechatleniye snova?” Your lessons in Russian were slow going, but you knew a scolding when you heard one.

    "Mne zhal'. YA prosto khotel proizvesti na nikh vpechatleniye, ya ne dumal." His head hung low, his ears drooping even lower as Ren tsked softly.

    “I’ve got this idiot, go. Finish what you were doing.” His tone held no room for argument and you really did need to make sure Khame was following instructions and not inhaling all of the cupcakes. And while you were cooking a hearty stew, you didn’t want to leave it cooking without supervision for too long.

    “I’ll see you both at dinner?” They both gave a nod, and since Pchelka looked just too pitiful sitting there, you couldn’t help but step in to give him a kiss on the cheek before turning and doing the same to Ren before you left the clones, not seeing them both slowly turn pink.

    The hallway was almost silent, save for the sound of piano coming from the smoke room. You wracked your brain for the name, not wanting to get it wrong this time. Dzhaz? Right? There was only one clone with that amount of musical talent after all, that you had learned after hearing the beautiful melodies echoing off of previously silent walls. Piano, trumpet, harp, truly, any instrument that fell into his hands he seemed to be able to play with relative ease. You knew you should hurry to the kitchen, but instead you peeked your head into the smoke room to see the clone sitting at the piano, his fingers almost flying over the keys as he played an intricate melody.

    “tebe chto-to nuzhno, pevchaya ptitsa?" He didn’t even look up, didn’t pause in his playing. You hoped you were pronouncing this right with all of your heart,

    “Hey, Dzhaz, I don’t need anything, I just heard the music and got curious.” He finally looked back at you, a soft smile on his face as he gestured for you to come forwards and sit on the bench with him.

    “Where is your guard?” He asked, glancing behind you as if searching for Pchelka. It wasn’t an odd reaction, ever since they had been called out, Pchelka had been a constant presence at your side, even crawling into bed besides you at night to keep you company until you fell asleep.

    “on s Ren, pridurok poranilsya, pomogaya im ispech'.” The voice from behind you made you jolt, but it was just another clone, their name escaped you. They were taller, but it clearly wasn’t Khame. Soyka? Zekon? Cici? Almost as if they could sense your brain going haywire, they leaned forwards in a little half bow, extending their hand out to you to take. “Cici,” They introduced themself, a small grin curling at your lips as your cheeks burned with color. “Pchela slishkom sil'no tebya monopoliziruyet, ne tak li, Dzhaz? My by uzhe sozhgli nashi imena v vashem mozgu, yesli by oni ne byli dlya vashey storozhevoy sobaki." Though you couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying, something about their sultry purr made your blush all the darker.

    “Vy dumayete, yesli by my zastavili ikh krichat' nashi imena dostatochno raz, oni by pomnili?" They had you just about cornered, Dzhaz’s hand falling from the piano to wrap around your waist and pull you in ever closer to his body, Cici leaning over the both of you, his arms resting against the piano to fully cage you in. “Are you scared, little bird?” Dzhaz’s melodious voice in your ear came with a rush of heat, oh... this was new. Sure, you would give chaste kisses here and there and you slept the past few nights cuddling Pchelka, but this was something entirely different. You hadn’t even considered the possibility that they would be attracted to you in that sense. But in that moment, all you could think about was how long it had been since Zhuk had touched you, how good they both smelled, how it would feel if they held you in their arms... Dzhaz leaned in closer, his lips just barely brushing your cheek. “malen'kaya ptichka, takaya myagkaya i teplaya. my by pogubili tebya." He murmured, his tone making you shiver.

    “I really should be going, I left Khame alone in the kitchen.” You whispered, unable to deny the tremor going through you, or the heat pooling in the pit of your stomach. For a moment, neither of them moved and your nerves shot straight up, but they both smoothly leaned away with matching smiles.

    “You really should check on him before he eats all of the food by himself.” Cici gave your head a soft kiss and Dzhaz settled back at the piano to continue the melody he was playing before. “We’ll see you at dinner time, dragotsennyy.” Though your legs trembled, you nodded and returned their smile before you fled the room, trying to quiet your still pounding heart. Calm, calm. They were certainly just playing with you, Zhuk had warned you that some of the clones were more mischievous than others, after all. They were just playing a prank on the boss’s lover, nothing more. But your blush wasn’t diminishing in the slightest and you couldn’t get the mental image on them bending you over the piano and taking you right then and there out of your head. Thankfully, the rest of the trip back to the kitchen went without fanfare, though as you neared the kitchen, you could hear two arguing voices, one you recognized as Khame.

    “I just want a taste!” Someone wailed,

    “NO! I was told to guard the food until Boss’s mladentsy came back!” Khame yelled back, a growl in his voice that made your hair stand straight up.

    “Just what is going on here?” You burst into the kitchen to find Khame brandishing a knife at... process of elimination told you Soyka. You had seen these two side by side more than once, usually getting along as thick as thieves. Khame’s face brightened at the sight of you,

    “He’s trying to sneak a taste while you’re gone!” He was quick to throw his fellow clone under the bus, throwing out an arm to point at him.

   “He was eating cupcakes!” Soyka yelled back, a scowl on his usually cheeful face. The clones hissed at one another, seemingly a moment away from a full force battle.

    “Cupcakes? You were supposed to only eat *one*!” You turned to Khame first, who shrunk under your stare.

   “.....They were good!” Came his quiet protest, a small pout on his face. You sighed, crossing your arms over your chest, just staring down these gigantic babies.

    “Soyka, he was allowed a single cupcake, so you can have one too. The rest is for after dinner tonight.” The taller clone’s face lit up happily and he gave a little wriggle that made it very hard to keep your stern expression. “But! You have to help me ice the rest, both of you.” You might as well told them you were going gold mining because they both responded with the same amount of excitement. They took some convincing to get them to wash their hands, but once they were clean, you settled at the table with the cupcakes laid out before you and a big bowl of icing that all three of you pulled from. After he inhaled his singular cupcake, you found Soyka to be a hard worker, icing the cupcakes with quick, fluid motions that you couldn’t copy no matter how hard you tried. Khame, on the other hand, struggled between accidentally tearing the cupcakes with his strength and the desire to just eat the icing, but before long, they were all done and put aside for dinner tonight. You half expected them to leave when the job was done, but they hung around instead, watching you flit across the kitchen as you checked in on the stew. As you stirred the large pot, a pair of arms wrapped around you from behind and Soyka rested his head on your shoulder, a soft purr emanating from his large form.

    “It smells good.” He mumbled, though as he nuzzled against your hair and inhaled, you began to wonder if he wasn’t actually talking about the stew. Khame whined from the sidelines, stepping in to attach himself to you as well and once again, you found yourself trapped between two clones. “Pchelka’s been hogging you all to himself.” Soyka whined, “We wanna be able to hold you at night too!”

    "on govorit, chto my slishkom mnogo, no my tebe nravimsya, verno?" Khame’s rumbling purr mixed with the way he was nuzzling against you was making you tremble again. “on dazhe ne zastavlyal tebya chuvstvovat' sebya khorosho! boss ostavil vas vsekh nayedine s tem, chtoby nikto ne trogal vas!" Sharp teeth gently trailed across your shoulder, up to your neck and you trembled at the sensation.

    "my byli by tak khoroshi my budem zabotit'sya o tebe vsyu noch' naprolet, chtoby ty ni o chem ne mechtal." You decided you didn’t want to know what it was they were saying, because you knew if you did, you would already be putty in their hands - more so than you were as it was.

    “boss byl zhadnym, derzhal vas vsekh pri sebe."

   "my umeyem delit'sya Ne tak, kak drugiye, my byli by tak khoroshi dlya vas." You should really take control of this situation. The joke was clearly being taken too far at this point and... and... Soyka fell to his knees in front of you, Khame taking his place behind you.

    “Just a taste? A little taste? We promise we’ll be good.” Soyka shuffled in closer, his hands hovering over your thighs as if asking for permission, behind you, Khame nibbled his way down your neck, his arms wrapped around your midsection, pulling you against a surprisingly firm body. Oh. Oh this wasn’t a joke. Your breath was caught in your throat, the implications of the situation racing through your brain. This wasn’t cheating? Was it? You shared Zhuk with four other dons, after all, your status as poly never posed a problem before and they were a part of him, right? And fuck you wanted to. Soyka’s tongue was almost lolling out of his mouth and Khame was shifting his hips back and forth, clearly wanting to grind against you but holding back until he got an ok. You wanted to. Just a little. It had been so long since you had been touched, days before your last attack and every time Zhuk had seen the wound at your side, he had pulled back with a guilty expression, even almost fully healed and scarring the sight of it made him wince. Weeks upon weeks of forced abstinence and trying to ignore the dreams of Zhuk hovering above you, his lips cold on your heated skin as he kissed his way down between your thighs and...

    “Yes.” You couldn’t resist and with that one word, both clones were on you. Khame sank razor sharp teeth into your skin and Soyka scrambled to pull down your pants, his nails scratching your thighs in his excitement. Before you could try and get any sort of handle on the situation, he buried his face between your thighs, sharp teeth nibbling at previously clear skin and his tight grip keeping you from trying to pull away as his cold tongue began to lap at you through your underwear. Behind you, Khame wasted no time in pulling up your shirt, his hands slowly making their way up your body even as he tasted your skin all the while both of them purred as if gifted with their favorite treat. You reached out a hand to run your fingers through Soyka’s hair, cooing your appreciation as his tongue began to worm its way past your underwear to taste you directly, his pupils blown out with excitement. After a moment, he pulled back to pull your underwear down as well, raising one of your thighs to set it on his shoulder before he was back on you again, his tongue writhing against you in ways that had you squirming in Khame’s arms. In fact, if it weren’t for the clone behind you, you might’ve fallen to the ground already, but Khame’s grip didnt falter in the slightest, easily holding you up with just one hand as the other trailed sharp nails across the curve of your hip, along your ribs and up to your chest to toy with your nipples. A warbling cry escaped you despite your best efforts to keep quiet and you could just feel both of them smirk against your skin.

    "Chto tut proiskhodit?" You couldn’t have pulled free from their arms if you tried, and as shaky as your legs felt in that moment, even if you did you would have fallen into a puddle at their feet. Pchelka peered around Khame, his expression blank as he regarded you, but as you whined his eyes began to smolder and he reached out a hand to cup your cheek. “YA dumal, my dogovorilis' podozhdat', poka Boss vernetsya domoy?" His tone was scolding, but not so much that either of the clones even pretended to stop toying with you. “I’m sorry, dragotsennyy, they’re a bit impatient.” He leaned in to kiss you softly, smiling as you moaned against his lips. “We planned on waiting for Boss to come home to taste you, but I’m sure the wait was painful for you as well.” There was a playfulness to his tone that made you blush, but he was joining Khame in kissing your neck, his hand trailing down your body to rub your arousal even as Soyka licked you. “It’s been hard holding back myself, holding you against me like I have every night.” They pulled back just a fraction to pull off the rest of your clothing, leaving you bare in the middle of the kitchen. You couldn’t even try and cover yourself before they were on you again, Soyka took both of your thighs to place over his shoulders, Pchelka was kissing his way up your midsection and Khame pulled your head to the side to kiss you, his tongue worming its way into your mouth, tasting of the icing you just made. “We should call the others, you know there will be a fuss if they find out we had the first taste.”

    “They smell of Jazz and Cici, I bet those two tried to get a head start already.” One of your hands were pulled behind you to feel Khame’s hard on through his pants.

    “My dolzhny pozvolit’ Oca a takzhe Zakon znat’.” You wanted to whine when Soyka pulled away, but thankfully just as quickly as he pulled back, he was on you once again.

    "Oca dazhe pokazhet svoye litso? Vy znayete, kak zastenchivyy bol'shoy paren'." While he seemed to agree with Khame, Pchelka pulled back to let out a long, piercing whistle that vibrated through the manor. Silence fell for a few tense moments, the clones all stilling their movements to listen in before a series of poofs outside the door made them all give a savage grin.

    "ty nachal bez nas?"

    "o, oni tak khorosho "

    "pakhnut oni na vkus tak zhe khorosho?" The series of voices descended on you, sharp grins and glowing amber eyes looking you up and down with hunger.

    “To think we held back, we could’ve had you spread over the piano.” Slender fingers tilted up your chin.

    “Cici?” He frowned, those fingers sliding down to your neck.

    “They’re having some trouble remembering our names.”  Dzhaz commented, Khame nodded behind you, his grin growing.

    “We really should make sure they know our names, make sure they never forget it.” You were being carried back to the table now, too many hands to count maneuvering you so that you were bent over the table. Eight clones stood around you, towering over you even if you weren’t bent as you were.

    "dragotsennaya veshch'. my mogli by razorvat' ikh na chasti, dazhe ne pytayas'" a feminine voice spoke from in front of you, long elegant fingers tilting up your chin to regard you with glittering eyes. “Who am I?” They asked. Cici or Lex. You had a fifty fifty shot here, but as you mulled over the option, another clone raked their claws down your back, soft enough not to draw blood, but firm enough that it made you cry out. “Lex!” The clone before you smiled and cooed at you sweetly, running gentle fingers through your hair. “Very good!” As you were being held, you couldn’t see who it was that was stroking your arousal from behind, but you moaned your appreciation anyways - even if it ended far too quickly as another clone took Lex’s place.

    “Who am I?” This one was easy, dog collar.

    “Khame!” He smiled as well, and a cold tongue lapped at your entrance now, unyielding hands spreading your legs so they could push their tongue into you so deep you cried out. Another clone took Khame’s place, tall, curly hair, intimidating. Not Pchelka. You wracked your brain for the name and with your silence, the clone eating you out pulled back. The clone before you unbuttoned his pants and reached in to pull out a truly intimidating cock, bigger than any you had ever seen in your life. He tapped the tip of his cock against your lips, his intention clear, but it took you a moment to open your trembling lips.

    “Oca.” He rumbled above you as his cock pressed past your lips and deeper into your mouth, your jaw already beginning to ache at the sheer size of him. He took his time, slow, careful thrusts that didn’t press in too deep for you to handle, his touch gentle as he pet your hair. You half expected him to continue using your mouth until he came, but before long he was pulling back, giving your head one more pat. “Ok?” You nodded and he gave you a gentle smile.

    “Oca.” His smile grew, his eyes twinkling. He stepped aside and let another clone take his place. This time was another easy one, Pchelka, and as you guessed correctly, once again you were treated with a tongue at your entrance, quickly followed by fingers stretching you out for them. The tongue was longer, thinner, but it rubbed against your walls so exquisitely you could have cried. Another clone, another correct guess of Soyka and finally a cock pressed up against you from behind. A hand ran up your back to lace in your hair and pull your head back with an unforgiving grip.

    “Who am I?” The melodious voice gave it away, but as the clone slammed into you all the way to the base, you couldn’t get the word out. He pulled out slowly, letting you feel each inch of his cock leaving you again until just the tip of his cock was inside of you. “Who am I” He repeated the question, his voice low and dangerous.

    “Dzhaz!” You cried out this time and he rewarded you by slamming into you once more, setting a fast, hard pace that had you seeing stars. Cold fingers cupped your jaw, the touch soft and tender.

    “Open your eyes, dragotsennyy.” His voice was tender, so sweet despite his striking resemblance to your usually stony faced husband.

    “Ren?” You were rewarded with a kiss now and you clung to his gentleness as Dzhaz took you so roughly. Ren crooned, petting your hair and seemingly content to just stand there, but you took him by surprise by pawing at his pants, easily unbuttoning them to pull out his cock. Your mouth was watering as you pulled him in by his hips, easily swallowing his cock to the base and reveling in his surprised groan. Stuck between the clones, you closed your eyes and just focused on the sensations, not even blinking as your hands were pulled from Ren and instead brought to already leaking cocks.

    “I’d complain if you weren’t such a pretty sight.” Process of elimination told you it was Cici still waiting to be named, but they didn’t seem to be in even the slightest bit of a hurry. Instead, they smiled at you and stroked their hand over your back. “So pretty. Are you about to cum for us? Cum all over Dzhaz’s cock?” Your answering moan was muffled by the cock in your mouth, but he nodded all the same, “Come on Dzhaz. We want to see them cum already,” You could feel the clone’s excitement in the air, Dzhaz grabbed onto your waist to hold you in place for him to really begin to thrust into you, his hand reaching around you to rub you in time with his thrusts, not relenting even as you began to squirm and cry out with your approaching orgasm. When you were finally thrown off the edge, you pulled back from Ren to cry out loud, especially as Dhzaz continued to take you without mercy, pushing you to the point of overstimulation until he finally stopped, his grip so tight on your hips that you knew there would be bruises left. You let out a warbling cry as he came inside of you, holding you still until he stopped twitching inside of you. Slowly, he pulled out of you and let you fall limp onto the table. You were caressed on all sides, hands stroking your back, your thighs, your head, your cheeks, all crooning at you in a mixture of Russian and English. Hazy eyes focused on Pchelka, who was brushing his fingers through your hair sweetly.

    “Are you alright?” He asked, his voice so soft and gentle you melted. You gave a soft nod and a devious smile spread across his face. “Good, because we aren’t done yet.”

[genderfluid-existence]

Hi, I’ve been questioning if I’m genderfluid on and off for some time now, and so I thought I’d ask for advice from someone who knows that they’re genderfluid

1. Before you knew for certain that you were genderfluid did you feel like there were possibly other people in your head besides you? Not in a dissociative identity disorder kind of way, but something else? (sorry for the bad wording there)

2. What were some more obscure signs you were genderfluid?

3. Part of the reason why I don’t want to say I’m genderfluid is bc I’m worried actually cis, and that I’m just pretending to be genderfluid due wanting to fit in w/ my friend who is trans/wanting to be more queer than I already am (I already know I’m somewhere on the bi+ spectrum), it’s a coping mechanism for my semi-not-good mental state. (sorry again for the bad wording), do you have any advice regarding this?

Sorry a third time for the bad wording, but I need advice, and this seems like a good way to get it.

Howdy 🤠

I'm always very happy to help, but as always, keep in mind that you are the only person who can say what your gender is, what will make you happiest, and what is the right choice for you. I can only speak from my own experience.

1. Oh boy, quite a question right off the bat. The answer is kind of, I guess. I've actually wondered if I had DID for a long time. I almost certainly don't, but it's definitely very easy to worry that you've confused the two.

It's sort of hard to answer because I don't know specifically what you mean, if not in a DID way. But I'm curious, so do elaborate if you'd like.

I am not a different person when I am a different gender, but it's possible to think of my gendered selves as "personas" in a way, so in that way, I suppose you could explain it like that.

I also engage in a lot of self-dialogue and self-reassurance, which often manifests in my thoughts being formed in a conversational way (including the pronouns you. And yeah, I feel a little weird about it this, but it doesn't seem to cause any issues). There's nothing that indicates that I feel that there is another enitre person on the ends of these mental conversations, let alone that the two ends are different genders. However I still have yet to understand a lot about my inner workings. Some may judge this as a disorder.

Finally, I think I have some identity-formation problems. Including the fact that I often feel like my mental understanding of how I present to people changes a lot. Not strictly in a gender way, nor in a DID way (at least I hope not). I just have trouble forming a stable image of "me", so sometimes it can feel like I'm different people.

2. Hmm, interesting. I'm sure there are many that I have yet to identify since they come with time.

When I was a child I remember having a minor fascination with having a male version of myself. I've found an old drawing of myself next to an imagining of a male version of myself.

Also, I imagine that if questioning is especially long and difficult, it could be a sign of fluidity. I say this because if you feel one way for a period of time and another way for another period of time, it can feel like these experiences contradict each other, and it's abysmally confusing. Like, why don't any of my feelings line up??? If I'm a man, shouldn't I feel like a man all the time? Yesterday I didn't feel that way.

Grain of salt: questioning can be long and confusing for anyone, and dysphoria can fluctuate even for gender-solid folks.

Also, there are some indicators of being trans in general.

For example, dissociative dysphoria is a less discussed manifestation of dysphoria in which you just don't feel real/your surroundings don't feel real.

Also, irrational avoidance. When I was younger, my sister used a lot of highly feminine pet names and terms of endearment, it was just her style. But being around her made me incredibly dysphoric because of these reminders of how she saw me. So eventually I came to associate her with those bad feelings, even though I had no explination for the feelings, since this was before I even knew of transness as a concpet. It took me a while after she stopped to realize Oh shit, that's what it was. Now we've been on much better terms for years.

Also, there are signs that can be indicators of any number of psychological distress (so they could be explained by other mental health issues) like extreme escapism, sleep issues and other depressive symptoms, dissociation, aggression, anxiety, avoidance of social situations, etc.

3. This is common. Firstly, nothing is stopping you from claiming a label. Absolutely nothing. Coming out to yourself doesn't mean you have to come out to others, transition, or take any other steps. So if you're wrong, so what? A label does no harm.

What can have the potential to do harm is transitioning unnecessarily. If you think it's a maladaptive coping mechanism, my only advice is to seek counseling before taking any steps that you think you might regret.

I've never heard of a person worrying that they want to be more queer than they actually are. And indeed I've never heard a detransitioner point to this as an issue. The only thing I could think of, is perhaps a sort of munchausen syndrome where you would theoretically try and gain """ oppression points.""" To be clear, I don't think this is very likely, but not impossible. In that case if it really worries you, I would again seek counseling, since that sounds like a symptom of a larger issue.

I've not quite cracked the nut of what if it's social pressure??? to be honest. And immitation is certainly a common trait among young people (assuming you're young). So, quite honestly, is it possible that you (and I) have tried on the trans label out of imitation of peers? Yeah.

I don't know if there's a solution to this (except of course counseling) other than careful trial and error. Trying on aspects of the male (or female) role and testing to see if it makes you uncomfortable or comfortable. Indeed, many aspects of social and sexual dimorphism can be very evocative of euphoria/dysphoria. Like, being called she/her might elicit relatively minor euphoria/dysphoria, but (cw: AFAB dysphoria) the idea of being vaginally penetrated? Yeah, most people will have a pretty strong reaction to that one (cw: end).

In short, sometimes these worries about "What if it's X?" don't always have an easy answer, and I don't think any trans person can solidly eliminate the question forever. I have a friend who's more than 2 years on T and still occasionally worries that he's secretly cis. But the fact that doubt lingers doesn't stop trans people from transitioning.

I want to be careful here to not seem like I'm saying that you should run right into transitioning with no caution. I just want to frame your doubts in perspective. If gender affirming steps feel uncomfortable, and you find yourself surrounded by doubts, then it's important to listen to that and take a step back. But if you're 90% certain that transition is right for you, but that 10% of doubt is scaring you away, try and put it in perspective. There's a 10% chance you'll regret transitioning, and 90% chance that you'll regret not transitioning. And sometimes only time and experience can close the gap between 90% and 99%.

Gahhh, I seem to be infinitely apt at bloviating; sorry 🥴. Hopefully something in my essay of a response can be of use to you.

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 2 - 43

This is a series. Start here, continued from here. 

This is a sequel to Honor Bound. 

AO3

Cw: past parental abuse and abandonment

Isaac lounged on his bed, drifting. He wasn’t tired enough to take a nap, but he didn’t feel like doing anything else. He stared at the ceiling, his eyes moving slowly over the swirl of the drywall. Finding patterns. Daydreaming.

He’d never been so well-rested that he wouldn’t just pass out as soon as he got horizontal. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt safe enough to sleep late. To nap. The team had planning to do if they were to leave the north in two days, but they still had time. Vera and Gray were discussing strategy in the living room with the sort of heavy sadness that came with the knowledge that Gray wouldn’t be coming with them. It was a conversation that Isaac knew he should be a part of, but he couldn’t force himself to get out of bed and join them. He just wanted to rest. In a few days, their lives would be nothing but adrenaline and sleep deprivation and blood again. For this moment, he just wanted peace. For this moment, he just wanted to rest. His eyes fluttered closed.

“Hey, you have a minute?”

Isaac jumped slightly, despite the gentle tone in Gray’s voice. He groaned and rolled onto his side, putting his feet flat on the floor. “Yeah. Sorry. Do you need to talk strategy, or…?”

“No. I wanted to get outside, and I wanted to talk to you. Walk with me?”

Isaac nodded as he reached for his jacket. “Yeah. Sure thing.”

As he passed through the living room to grab his shoes, Vera smiled at him. He smiled back, his heart clenching, unsettled by the sadness behind her eyes. He swallowed and walked out the door behind Gray into the afternoon air.

“Gray?” he said, his voice breaking. “What’s, um… what’s up?”

Gray smiled sadly. “We have a lot to talk about. I wanted to talk to you before I let the others know.”

Isaac felt a prickle of sweat under his shirt. “Gray… what is it?”

Gray sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m being unnecessarily cryptic. I just…” They cleared their throat. “It’s very hard for me to think about it myself.” They looked up at the sky, and Isaac saw tears glittering in their eyes. “Ah. You know I can’t go south with you.”

Isaac’s breath rushed out of him. “I… I know. Because of…” He glanced at Gray’s chest, where there was an almost-healed wound from Gavin’s bullet.

“Not just because of that. Isaac…” They exhaled sharply in something that resembled a bitter laugh. “I’m fifty-three years old. I’ve been in this fight for… oh. Almost twenty years.” They laughed gently. “I’ve been trying to outrun time all those years. Trying to outrun injuries and sickness. Death. Gavin very nearly killed me last year. If I was a few years older, he might have.”

“No way,” Isaac said brokenly, holding back tears. “Finn woulda patched you up. You would’ve been just fine.”

Gray smiled. “I’m sure they would appreciate hearing that. And it’s not that I don’t have faith in them. Honestly, quite a few of us would be dead if it wasn’t for them. But the fact is…” They ran their hand through their short hair. “I’m slowing down. I can hardly keep up with the rest of you most of the time. I’m pretty sure I have arthritis in my knees. And… I have a feeling breathing is going to be harder for the rest of my life. The doctors had to take a piece of my lung. That’ll never grow back. My place isn’t on the front lines anymore.”

“But you lead us,” Isaac said, his voice small. “You make the decisions. You know the most about strategy. You know the syndicates inside and out. Gray, you… your decisions have kept us safe for as long as I’ve known you, and before.”

Gray bit their lip and walked in silence for a while. After several minutes they said, “I’ve questioned so many decisions I’ve made.”

“We all do.” Isaac swallowed the lump rising in his throat. His chest felt tight, and his eyes burned. “Gray, p-please…”

Gray stopped and looked at Isaac square on. “Isaac… I’m sorry. It’s not just that I’m a liability to the team if I can’t keep up physically. I put myself in danger. I put you at risk. My body couldn’t keep doing this forever, Isaac.”

A shuddering sob rolled over Isaac’s shoulders. The tears spilled over. “Gray, no… fuck… G-Gray, please, I…” Isaac tried to swallow around the tearing feeling in his throat. “Gray, please don’t… leave…” He covered his mouth with his hands.

“Oh,” Gray whispered. They pulled Isaac into their arms.

Isaac unraveled in Gray’s embrace, great, heaving sobs crashing through him. He clutched at Gray, digging his fingers into their back, latching onto their shirt. Gray swayed with him slowly as Isaac wept into their shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Gray murmured. “You’re alright, Isaac.”

“But I’m gonna miss you so much,” Isaac sobbed.

“I know. I’m still gonna be around. I’ll be up north, and you can still visit between missions.”

“But it won’t be the same. You… you won’t be…”

Gray smoothed their fingers through Isaac’s hair and laughed softly. “Now Isaac, don’t say I won’t be part of the family or my feelings will be hurt.”

“No,” Isaac wailed. “No you, you will be, you always will, you’ll be in the family but you won’t be, be here… Gray, please, I’ve lost so many people, please, I can’t lose you too…”

“You’re not losing me, Isaac,” Gray soothed. “I’m not leaving you. Okay?” Gray took Isaac’s chin in their hand. They looked earnestly into Isaac’s eyes. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Gray, no, please no, don’t do this.”

“Isaac,” Gray murmured, pitching their voice low. “Listen to me. Breathe in.”

Isaac obeyed, unquestioning. Trusting. He took in a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Gray’s face.

“Good. Let it out.”

Isaac let the breath go, trembling as it went.

“Okay. Now listen to me. I am not leaving you.”

Isaac bit his lip and nodded. “I’m s-sorry, I—”

“I know you have a lot of, ah, baggage around being abandoned, Isaac. Especially for… for people telling you that you’re less than they demanded.”

“But if I hadn’t… If I had killed Gavin, if I’d kept you safe, you wouldn’t’ve been shot. You’d still be healthy. I c-can’t stop, stop fucking blaming myself…”

“…and it feels like I’m leaving you for failing me.” Gray ducked into Isaac’s eyeline. “Right?”

Isaac sniffed and nodded.

Gray’s hands rested on Isaac’s shoulders. “Let’s get a few things straight here. First, I am not leaving you. I’m retiring from the team because of my health, and so that you all can have somewhere safe to rest when you come north. With someone who knows you, and understands. Okay?” Isaac nodded. “Okay. Second, you did not fail me. If anything, I’ve failed you. I failed to protect Sam, and I failed to prevent Gavin from taking you. The plan I helped make and was responsible for executing nearly got all of us killed. We only escaped because of you and Vera. And all this time, I…” They smoothed Isaac’s hair again. “I had no idea you were still hurting this much.”

Isaac stared at the ground. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”

Gray sighed. “Yes, I know. It was my responsibility to teach you that you can lean on people. I should have seen how deep your wounds go, and helped you with them.”

“That’s not your job,” Isaac mumbled.

Gray laughed. “No, but it is my calling. I used to be a counselor, remember?”

Isaac smiled slightly. “Yeah. I remember. But the rest… that wasn’t your responsibility. I made the decision to go to Gavin. And I’m the one who left Sam vulnerable. You’re the one who brought us to Tori, who had that connection that started this entire operation. You’re the one who’s been finding the rescues we’ve saved this year. And more than that. You’ve gotten us through the past seven years, when Ellis first found you. You’ve done… so much, Gray. No one could ever replace you.”

Gray’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “That’s interesting. Because I was hoping you’d be the one to replace me.”

Isaac’s mouth dropped open.

Gray’s smile grew wider. “What? What makes you less qualified than anyone else?”

“Um… because I’m a fucking mess, Gray!” Isaac scrubbed his face on his t-shirt.

Gray snorted. “We all are. Including me.”

“No, you’re… you’re fine! But… Gavin still puts me on edge, I have flashbacks all the time, I can’t go a fucking week without crying over something that happened fifteen years ago—”

“All of which you are healing from. And something tells me you’ll be able to take care of Gavin, too.”

“I can’t control Gavin. I have no fucking clue how we’re going to handle him once we go south.”

Gray tilted their head. “He trusts you now.”

Isaac scoffed. “He trusts me?”

“Yes.”

Isaac backed down a little.

Gray smiled ruefully. “You threw yourself in front of a loaded gun for him yesterday. You saved his life. Before this, he respected you. Now… now, he’ll follow you.”

“No way.” Isaac shook his head. “No way. There’s no way I ask him to fight with us against his mother.”

“I think you’d be surprised what he would be willing to do for someone who cares about whether he lives or dies. Makes him feel safe. Protects him. You do all of that for him, Isaac.”

“That doesn’t mean he’d fight his family for me. Family issues run deep. There’s probably an entire iceberg of issues there that we don’t know about.”

Gray nodded. “All of which, I think, will just push him closer to your side.”

“It’s not something I’m willing to bet the family on,” Isaac said darkly.

“That’s fair.” Gray tilted their head. “Unfortunately for us, we’re stuck with him. Fortunately, he’s proven very cooperative.”

Isaac couldn’t bring himself to make a snide remark about that. I think he really does want to be a part of this family.

Isaac raised his gaze to Gray’s. “Why not Vera?”

Gray laughed. “I talked to her about it. She didn’t want it.”

“Neither do I!” Isaac cried.

Gray pressed their lips together. “I don’t suppose I could ask you to share it?”

“Yes.” Isaac nodded. “Yes. Please. I don’t… I don’t want this. I don’t want the… the responsibility…”

“You take responsibility for them every day,” Gray said, laughing gently, shaking their head.

“This is… is different.”

“Hm.” Gray squeezed Isaac’s shoulder. “Even so, I think you both could lead very well together. You already work so well as a team. Always have.”

“Always will,” Isaac said with a smile.

Gray nodded. Smiled. “I’m glad to know they’ll be taken care of. This family is everything to me. I can’t think of a better two people to take care of them.”

Isaac blushed and looked at the ground. The praise made him feel shivery and warm inside, in a way almost nothing else did. “I’ll keep them safe.”

Gray clicked their tongue. “No one can promise that. But I know you’ll do your best, and your best has always, always been enough, Isaac.”

Isaac’s eyes welled with tears again. Gray turned to keep walking. Isaac walked silently beside them for a long time, before they turned back to walk to the house.

Continued here

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog, @insomniacscoprio, @cursedscribbles, @whumpywhumper, @stxck-fxck, @omega-em-z-02, @whumps-the-word, @slaintetowhump, @finder-of-rings, @cinnamonflavoredhugs, @thatsthewhump, @im-just-here-for-the-whump, @orchidscript

[imnottiredofgettingoveryou]

Elliots first time with someone in detailssss

The devil is in that shit!!

Warnings: Smut (obvi), swears

It was around 2PM when my phone buzzed.

I picked it up and a far-too-big smile spread across my face as I read the text from Elliot: 'Here'

I hadn't seen him for months, but that was normal now that we both went to school out of state. I met him freshman year of high school, where we both sat at the losers' table for lunch. I surprised myself and made friends with most of the people who sat there, bonding over that shared feeling of 'otherness.' When you grow up a little and talk to people about it, you realize that it's a pretty ubiquitous feeling; when you're fifteen, it feels like you and your weird pals might as well be a leper colony. Elliot was the cutest guy at the table but proved the hardest to crack. One day, I gave him my Capri Sun as a peace offering, and it worked surprisingly well. We would occasionally find an empty classroom and eat together, just the two of us. It took patience to get him to open up, but eventually we became real friends. To this day, some five years later, we still shared the occasional inside joke about Capri Suns.

When I had found out that we both had a fall break at the same time, I was ecstatic. Maybe it was just 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' or maybe it was something I wasn't fully ready to consider just yet, but seeing him had been all I'd thought about for weeks. We had plans to take the train up to Howard Beach and watch the planes take off from JFK. I'd spent so much time thinking about this day that a one-word text had given me butterflies. I practically ran down my stairs and out the door, my heart pounding away in my chest.

His taxi pulled away from the curb and there he stood, all eyes and black clothes, just like I remembered him. You know the effect that time apart can sometimes have, when you finally see someone again and they look fucking good? Multiply that ad infinitum, and you'd get an idea of what was happening to me. He might as well have had a halo of light behind his head.

His voice pulled me out of my trance. "Hey Y/N."

"Elliot!" I squealed. Propriety? Boundaries? I didn't know them. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his body, burying my face in his shoulder. "Oh my God dude, it's been forever!"

It took a moment for him to respond and I started to worry I'd overstepped, but then his arms slowly came down around me and tightened the already-close hug I'd initiated, and despite the crisp fall air, I felt completely, totally warm.

He pulled back to look at me. "It's... It's good to see you.," he stammered, eyes darting around my face.

I beamed back at him. "You too. Let's put your stuff away and then we can get moving-"

"Hey, um, Y/N?"

"Yes, Elliot?"

"Are your parents home?"

Well, now that was... interesting. "Nah. They're gone for the weekend." I had planned on us spending the break at mine only because I knew he wouldn't want to go home; my having an empty house had been a bonus that I'd found out about last minute.

Elliot looked at the ground for a second before continuing. "Is it okay if we just stay here for the night then?"

"Awe," I grinned at him. "Don't wanna share me with the public, huh?"

He flashed his trademark barely-there smile at me, and my heart melted. "Something like that."

***

Any ice that had formed with the distance of the last few months melted quickly; we fell back into our old rhythm and it felt like no time at all had passed since high school. I microwaved some garbage food and put on cheesy horror movies for us to talk over. He told me about his comp sci classes and how he had hoped they would be more challenging, to which I responded by calling him a nerd and a show-off. I told him about my first time smoking weed and about getting too drunk at sweaty frat parties.

"Do people really get a bunch of action at those things?" he asked me.

I choked a little at his choice of words. "Some people do, I guess. But not me. I mean, I've hooked up with one guy, but it wasn't at a party or anything."

I could've sworn I saw a look of disappointment flash across his face, but if it did, he quickly suppressed it. I backtracked, worried I had upset him somehow. "... not like it was, you know, spectacular."

Elliot chewed his food for an unnecessarily long time, then swallowed and said, "At least you're doing better than me."

"You're kidding! You still haven't shuffled off the mortal coil of your virginity?"

Now he just looked ashamed. Shit. I was really fucking this up.

I scooted closer to him and leaned my cheek against his bicep. "Hey, come on, I was just surprised is all. Have you seen yourself? I figured you'd be up to your eyeballs in pussy."

His eyes moved from the floor to look into mine. "Really?""Really really," I said, and I meant it. I snaked my hands around his arm and pulled it against my body. "You're a catch, El."

His gaze darted between my mouth and my eyes, and he smiled.

Elliot relaxed into my touch and I cuddled up against his side for the remainder of the movie. By the time the credits rolled, we were both yawning.

"You wanna head upstairs? We could take a nap," I suggested. He nodded, and I got up and led the way to my bedroom.

Once the door was closed behind us, Elliot took my hands in his and walked us backwards until my back was against the wall. Before I could ask what he was doing, his lips crashed into mine. I was caught off-guard, but I quickly pulled myself together and began moving my lips against his, listening to the quiet little noises he made as we opened up to each other, tasted each other. I reached down and grabbed him by the belt loops, pulling his hips against mine, smiling against his mouth when I felt how hard he was.

Panting, Elliot broke the kiss. "Y/N, I want to ask you something, but..." he looked down at where our bodies touched. "... I'm not sure how."

I realized what he wanted, and that I wanted it too. Opting for boldness, I trailed my hand down the front of his body until I reached the bulge in his jeans, then rubbed him through the fabric. He groaned, thrusting just barely into my palm.

"Are you sure about this, El?"

"Yeah," he replied, leaning down to kiss me again. "I want to... I want to do this. With you." He reached up then to cup my cheek, tilting my face up so I was looking right into his blue-green eyes. "As long as you want to."

I mirrored his gesture, caressing his cheek, feeling the beginnings of stubble. "Of course I do."

I would be lying if I said the thought of doing this with Elliot hadn't crossed my mind a time or two, but I certainly hadn't anticipated going this far down that road tonight. I wanted him, but this was decidedly unfamiliar territory and I was equal parts nervous and excited. I knew I had to focus on the latter, to take control, knowing he probably wouldn't.

Or maybe I didn't know anything because in a flash, Elliot was hoisting me up by the legs, wrapping them around his waist and carrying me over to my bed. His boldness seemed to surprise us both and we were giggling against each others' mouths in between kisses as he pushed my hips down into the mattress with his own. Shit, I had put clean sheets and blankets on the bed in anticipation of his visit, and we were about to ruin them...

"Can I undress you now?" he asked, hands drifting down my sides until they reached the hem of my shirt. I nodded and raised my arms so he could pull it off, then reached around and unclasped my bra, sliding the straps down my arms and tossing it to the floor. He looked positively starving as his eyes roamed over the exposed skin, tongue poking out to wet his lips. Then his mouth was back on mine and his hand went to the button of my jeans, fumbling, trying to kiss me and undo them at the same time. I reached down to help him, allowing him to focus on exploring my mouth as I pulled off my pants and underwear, adding them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

I arched my back off of the bed, angling my chest up toward him to let him know what I wanted. "Elliot, please touch me?"

He swallowed hard, then ghosted his hands up my sides to cup my breasts, kneading them with his long, callused fingers. He explored the flesh, palms grazing my nipples, applying different levels of pressure. When he squeezed a little too hard, I yelped.

"Sorry," he said, pulling his hands away.

"Hey, it's okay." Maybe I was just drunk with the feeling of this moment, but there was something endearing about how nervous and vulnerable he was, and I wanted nothing more than for this to feel good for both of us. "Just be gentle, okay? Try using your mouth."

I watched a shiver make its way through his body as he processed my words, and then he moved his face down to my chest and ran his tongue up my left nipple, watching it harden in response. He began licking at it earnestly, the feeling of his hot mouth pulling wanton moans from my lips as my hands gripped fistfuls of his hair in an attempt to ground myself. He groaned against me in response, and the added sensation sent sparks of pleasure straight to my core. He shifted his attention to my right breast, swirling his tongue around my other nipple, then sucking it into his mouth, surrounding it with warmth and wetness. I pushed my hips up against his, desperately seeking some kind of friction; he obliged, his clothed erection grinding against me, the evidence of my arousal staining his jeans.

"Fuck, Y/N," he panted, pulling his face away from my chest. "I want you so bad."

I smiled up at him. "Then you're gonna have to get undressed."

Elliot sat up on his haunches and pulled his shirt over his head. I stared shamelessly at his lean muscles, hungrily anticipating the feeling of his skin against mine. He reached down to undo his pants but I batted his hands away, opening the button and pulling the zipper down so he could slide them off, his boxer-briefs following. My eyes raked down his naked form, taking him in, following the trail of dark hair on his stomach down to his cock, fully engorged and leaking precum. Our eyes met as it fully dawned on both of us what we were about to do, the line we were about to cross together.

I spread my legs wider in invitation. "Come here."

He settled his body back between my legs, holding his full weight off of me with his forearms. I sighed at the feeling of him touching me all along the length of my body, my nipples hard against his chest, the hair on his stomach and legs tickling me, the tip of his cock resting teasingly against my folds.

I reached down and wrapped my hand around his length, stroking him gently, using my thumb to spread the moisture around his head, satisfied when he shuddered in response. "You're sure?" I asked him again. This was a big step for me but a bigger one from him, and I needed to be certain it was what he wanted.

He lifted his eyes up to mine from where they had been watching my hand. "Yeah," he choked out. "Definitely."

I pulled my hand away from his cock and gripped his shoulders. "Go slow, okay?"

He nodded and captured my lips in a desperate kiss as he entered me, pushing in inch by inch, his eyes falling closed once he was fully ensheathed. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer, moaning at the feeling of him filling me, stretching me. It wasn't like this before. I felt whole.

The deep rumble of his voice pulled me back to reality. "Is it okay if I move?"

"Yes."

Elliot pulled out almost completely, then pushed back in, moving one hand to my hip to anchor me. He began to establish a rhythm, moving slowly, muscles taut with restraint. My hands gripped his back tightly as he drove into me, nails dragging against his skin. He let his head rest in the crook where my neck met my shoulder, and I felt him press his lips against my skin in an attempt to stifle the low moans escaping his throat.

"Fuck, Y/N, you feel so good."

"So do you," I moaned into his hair. I started lifting my hips up to meet his thrusts, pulling him deeper and grinding my clit against his pubic bone every time he hit bottom. I started to increase the pace as I felt my body start to climb towards orgasm, and he followed suit, driving into me faster, harder.

"Shit, fuck, I'm gonna cum," he growled against my neck.

"Me too. Don't stop."

That did it; his strangled moans filled the air as he emptied himself inside me, pulling my hips tightly against him to get as deep as he could. It was the perfect amount of pressure to send me over my own edge, crying out and clinging to him desperately as my muscles pulsed around him and milked him dry.

All of my senses were under fire as we came down together. Everything felt so intense - our breathing impossibly loud, skin slick with sweat, a heartbeat ringing in my ears that could have been his or mine. He kissed me, almost chastely, before pulling out and rolling onto his back next to me. I wanted to snuggle up next to him, to wrap myself around him and not let go until morning, but I resisted and left him some space while we recovered and processed what had just happened.

I knew this meant something, maybe more for me than it had for him, but I didn't want to bum myself out by overthinking and frankly I didn't have the energy. My breathing had finally steadied and I'd started to drift asleep when I heard his voice.

"Hey, Y/N?"

I turned my head towards him. "Yeah?"

"I'm not sure I told you, but... I've really missed you."

I smiled, more than satisfied with that, for now. I didn't need to say it back to him. He knew. 

[igotlockedintothisfandom]

Kidnapped

Requested By: @lavender217

Prompt: Bode gets kidnapped by Dodge, Tyler and Kinsey are the only ones who can rescue him.

Notes: Sorry this took forever to upload! I hope you end up liking it :) All Locke & Key prompt fills will be cross posted onto my ao3 account.

Find Me On Ao3: RandomNerd3

Suddenly Dodge and the keys and the damn Omega door were all too real. 

Tyler’s chest tightened around his chest as he saw Dodge’s echo taunting him through his dad’s old painting of the Well House. “Where do you think she took him?” Kinsey asked pacing around the drawing room. “Tyler!” She shouted, Tyler’s head shot up,

“Maybe she used the Head Key,” he said justifying what they saw. “Maybe she turned someone else into Bode and he’s still safe at school.” Kinsey shook her head then said,

“It’s still in my sock drawer. There’s no way Bode would give it to her willingly.” Tyler turned to look at her,

“Are you sure it’s still in there?” Kinsey hesitated, then made a beeline for her room. Tyler followed, taking two steps at a time. “Kinsey?” He asked as he reached the doorway. His sister dug through her sock drawer, inevitably taking the entire thing out and dumping the contents onto her floor.

“No,” she muttered frantically tearing apart pairs of socks. “No, no, no, no!” She shouted, Tyler knelt behind her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Kinsey turned and sobbed into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her tighter. “How did we let this happen?” Shaking his head he said,

“This isn’t our fault is it? Dodge did this, she’s a demon that’s what they do right? Kidnap helpless little boys?” Kinsey wiped the tears from her face then said,

“Bode isn’t helpless Tyler.” The eldest Locke sibling then began to pace around the room. “We need to find him.” Kinsey said plainly, then she threw his arm off her shoulders.

“Where the hell are you going?” He asked as she walked out of the room. Kinsey went straight to Bode’s room then dug through the trash until she found what she was looking for.

“The page on Key House, Bode kept saying he saw her in the ink, right?” His sister asked, Tyler nodded then peered over her shoulder. “Well maybe she’s still in the ink. Trapped, like she was in the Well House.” Once the paper laid flat on her desk they waited anxiously. Tyler shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m calling it, somehow trapped Dodge got out.” He said after the paper was unmoving for a good half-hour. “Maybe we should call the cops,” Tyler suggested pulling out his phone. Kinsey snatched it out of his hand,

“Tyler what would we say?” She asked him, holding the phone just out of his reach. “That our brother was kidnapped by an insane woman who likes to rape and kill kids?” Tyler froze,

“She wouldn’t do that to him.” Kinsey looked at him sadly, “I’m fine Kins, right now we need to focus on Bode. Maybe the Savini Squad can help, they already know about the keys.” He said taking his phone back from her. She sighed,

“So far Scot’s the only one who'll be willingly seen with me in the hallways… and Gabe… something just feels off about him right now.” Tyler thought for a moment then said,

“Okay so what do we know?” Using pins from the desk, he began to hang things on the wall in regards to the kidnapping. “He made it to school right? The secretary said his teacher marked him for attendance.” Kinsey nodded,

“We should start there, to see if Dodge got caught on any of the security cameras.” Tyler agreed then snatched his car keys from their hook and he and Kinsey started the short drive to Bode’s school. Tyler kept his eyes on the road, trying not to let his mind wander, trying to not think of the hell Bode’s bound to be going through right now. “Tyler the turn!” Kinsey shouted jolting him from his thoughts, he jerked the steering wheel taking an unnecessarily tight turn into the elementary school’s parking lot.

“Excuse me… Mark,” Kinsey said flirting horribly at the student intern sitting at the desk. Tyler had to resist the urge to cringe. “But could you possibly tell me where Bode Locke is right now?” The kid didn’t even bother to ask if they were relatives, he just started typing away at his keyboard. With his headphones still in his ears the Mark muttered,

“Freaky family, let me check. Looks like he was excused earlier, an aunt picked him up or something.” Tyler and Kinsey exchanged a look before leaving the student alone at his desk.

“Where would Dodge take Bode?” Tyler wondered out loud as he started the car again. “I mean where would she be able to be completely alone with him?” A look of realization crossed Kinsey’s face as they pulled into their driveway.

“Come on!” She shouted, jumping from the car before Tyler could even put it into park. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before.” Tyler managed to keep track of where she was going, following her path through the snowy forest. After a few minutes of blindly following Kinsey they ended up on the edge of the cliffs. Tyler sucked in a breath,

“You really think they’re down here?” He asked her, he half-hoped they wouldn’t have to go down there again. Kinsey nodded then started the rocky path down to the caves. Tyler followed in tow, trying to ready himself for whatever Dodge had ready for them.

“Give me the key!” Dodge’s voice echoed throughout the caves. Tyler hesitated, then nodded to Kinsey and the two of them stepped into the cavern Dodge held their brother captive in. The villain turned as Bode’s eyes filled with hope. Tyler couldn’t help but wince in sympathy, his brother was shackled to the ground, a few bruises on his face was evidence Dodge had hit him.

“Let him go.” Kinsey said, fearless as always. “Now Dodge,” she said, if looks could kill their adversary would be a melted puddle of goo. Tyler decided to stay silent, not trusting he would say anything helpful. The demon cackled,

“And why, pray tell, would I be afraid of you?” She asked, Tyler saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and Fear Kinsey attacked Dodge. With their threat distracted, Tyler rushed forward and undid Bode’s bonds. His baby brother immediately jumped up and felt around his neck, then took out the key he kept on a chain around his neck. Bode gripped it tight enough to turn his knuckles white, behind them Dodge cursed at them as she was forced to flee.

“Kinsey,” Tyler said when her sister seemed to be fixated by her Fear. His sister snapped out of whatever trance she was in, then knelt next to them and wrapped her arms around Bode. Tyler whispered comforting words of,

“It’s okay,” and, “she can’t hurt you anymore.” Bode shook as tears streamed down his face, he latched himself around Tyler’s neck. In response, Tyler picked him up and took the long walk back to Key House, Kinsey right at his heels.

Once they were safe in Key House, Tyler and Kinsey refused to let Bode out of their sight. Bode himself, claimed they were being overprotective, but they just wanted their little brother to be safe.