#sounds like he went even further back in time to change something in the present

[fortnitey]

SLONE LEFT AUDIO LOGS FOR JONES TO FIND??

[radio-fmm]

The sparrow and the hunter

Zoro x fem!reader

Warnings: pure fluff, mentions of daggers, zoro making fun of gods as he does, fem reader can transform into an animal idk thought you should know

Word count: 2.1k

Summary: In which Zoro falls hard for you and he struggles with it

𖤓˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖𖤓

When you first joined the crew, Zoro was very skeptical about what you actually would bring to the table, since your abilities were… unique to say the least, but you had helped them giving useful information and advise when in a very tight situation, and who was he to doubt his captains decisions.

“A BIRD?” Luffy exclaimed almost jumping out of his seat. Yes, you could turn into a bird

“Yep, that’s why I am a good informant! People don’t suspect of a tiny sparrow flying around” you explained followed by a wink

“But… how?!” The navigator asked still confused

You turned around tugging your shirt slightly down and removing your hair form your back to reveal a tattoo “This is an ancient mark that was bestowed upon me by my people, the mark of a god called Quetzalcoatl, also known as the feathered snake. It carries the power that allows me to transform”

This only made Zoro grow even more doubtful about you, a god? It sounded like a fairytale to him. But as it turned out, you were also a fearless fighter, extremely skillful with daggers and combined with your special ability it made you fierce, which earned you his respect quickly after having fought beside him and the strawhats.

As you slowly went from the quiet reserved new crewmate to show your real colors of a confident caring bright and easygoing individual, the swordsman didn’t mind sharing with you the ‘training zone’ which was just a section of the going merry Nami had assigned to such activities to prevent accidents. Most if not all of the time you would train separately since you only did cardio and battle training and Zoro was more of a heavy lifting kind of guy. Both seemed to enjoy the silence of each other’s company and only exchanging few hellos and goodbyes.

But of course that slowly began to change when Zoro became curious on your fighting tactics

“Where did you get that dagger?” He asked from the other side of the ‘gym’ after staring at you training from a while, you turned to him a little taken aback, he wasn’t the one to talk let alone start a conversation

“I made it myself when I was 12” you answered as you slowly walked to where the stoic swordsman was standing.

Zoro had noticed how this dagger was different from the others you kept on your belt, not only was the shape and overall hold and design different, you kept it in a cover around your thigh at all times, so it peeked his interest

You presented the dagger, making slow steady movements that made it shine in the afternoon sun, it indeed looked more homemade, and the sharp edge was of a black shiny material he had never seen before.

“My father was a hunter, he showed me how to build this type of daggers to protect myself since we lived in the mountains… and for artistic purposes” Zoro’s eyes examined every detail of the weapon, and in further examination he noticed how indeed everything about it was really you, your essence was plastered all over it

“Interesting” he said still fixated on the dagger “You can hold it”

Zoro looked at you now closer and speaking almost in a whisper, you handed him your beloved weapon and he took it slowly. It was lighter than he expected it to be, he made an aggressive strong move as if he was cutting something and you giggled which made him embarrassed and a little insecure

“What?” He blurted out in defense

“You don’t use it like that, it’s meant for self defense or close targets. You have to move fast and steady” you took his hand in yours and demonstrated how to attack with it cornering your own throat between the dagger

“Always strike with purpose”

The swordsman felt his heart rate accelerate and a pink blush creeping from his neck, his gaze fixated in yours and his mind racing. You offered a sweet smile before removing yourself from the hold, Zoro returned the dagger to you shyly “Nice uhm… technique… and beautiful dagger” he immediately turned around to resume his workout, still flushed and with nervous hands.

The green haired pirate felt his head spinning not believing how you, a freshly arrived new strawhat, had not only allowed him to hold something you treasured and valued so much, but also had pointed it to your neck with his hands while being a man that doubled you in size and strength. His head couldn’t stop thinking about the intimacy of it all, it had left him breathless. You trusted him

But really it was just the beginning of the end for this poor man. Zoro had found himself trying to have more of you, like you had casted a spell, craving for your attention and essence.

He now looked for you when he entered any room, always wanting to be in your presence even while you just were enjoying your hobbies or any mundane task, he was eager to learn things about you and oh what a wonderful person you were to chat to, always keeping the conversation fun and interesting, listening attentively when it was his turn to talk, always sharing a piece of your soul.

You had seen through his stoic scary facade and saw what he really was. Everything that Zoro did was driven by love and the deep meaningful connections with the people around him, always remaining loyal and acting as the protector of the crew not because it’s his job but because he cares. He may not be as expressive as Sanji, but you were able to read him.

This scared Zoro immensely, not only cause he started to catch himself feeling annoyed whenever the stupid cook swooned your way or called you sweet names, or cause he couldn’t stop thinking about you even when training or trying to nap, or cause somehow you seemed to enjoy being around him too. No, it scared him because it made him feel like you had a hold on his heart and was afraid of being vulnerable. He felt weak

So when he finally came to the conclusion he was falling for you, and falling hard, instead of talking about his feelings, he opted for actively avoid you but of course you noticed right away. At first you gave him some time pretending you didn’t notice, he probably needed space from you feeling like you were smothering him, but eventually it had started not only to become ridiculous but to hurt you, because at the contrary of Zoros better judgment, you cared.

You excused yourself from dinner way early one evening, making a lame excuse so that you could finally catch Zoro alone on the crows nest on night watch and confront him, tired of his obnoxious behavior. Your stomach stirred in nervousness as you laid down on your hammock trying to distract yourself while crocheting, the door creaked open and you saw Nami menacingly standing in front of the door

“When are you gonna pull Zoro out of his misery?” your brows furrowed and a scoff escaped your lips

“What are you talking about? He’s the one avoiding me” The navigator rolled her eyes and sighed very loudly clearly annoyed

“He’s head over heels for you y/n! But he doesn’t know what to do just spare him”

“That’s not true” you sounded almost sad, Nami slowly came closer to you changing her approach

“You’re kidding right?, I swear he almost got up and ran after you when you stormed out, he’s smitten I had never seen him like this” you didn’t answer, thinking about his change in behavior and Namis thoughts, it seemed like it made sense

“I was planning on talking to him later anyways”

An exited squirm escaped Nami as she aggressively pushed your hammock back and forth shaking you “FINALLY! I swear you both were driving me insane”

As the sun disappeared behind the ocean and the moon greeted you shining through the cloudless sky, you awaited for everyone to retire to their bedrooms to peek your head through the door of the girls quarters, the ship was lulled by the waves and not a sound could be heard, quite rare for the Merry to be this quiet only confirming everyone was fast asleep.

You looked up to see the swordsman’s green hair peeking through the crows nest, only making you more nervous

“I can see you staring you know?” Zoro spoke loud enough so you could hear but not to wake anyone up, a shiver ran down your spine before you cleared your throat approaching the tall nest

“Can we talk? Please?” You didn’t wait for an answer before transforming and flying your way up, feeling shaky as you landed in the edge and morphing back

“I guess” Zoro whispered, arms crossed in front of his chest looking up at the stars twinkling in the night sky

The gentle breeze made your hair dance revealing your glistening eyes and your pinkish cheeks, the moonlight softened you making you look like a fallen angel that had answered to Zoros prayers. Of course he knew what were you doing here, it made his heart quiver in anticipation both of not having a clue of how you may approach the topic and to finally see you up close again after a long time of staring from afar

“Why are you avoiding me?” Oh so we are going straight to it “I gave you space so you would figure things out, but it has gotten stupid what did I do wrong?”

Silence pierced your ears only hearing your heavy breaths both of how nervous you were and how quickly you had morphed to get up there with him, you had never been so blunt in your life but it was Zoro who we are talking about here there was no way around it

“I don’t know” after a while of you staring at him while his gaze shifted from you to literally anything else this was his response? You sighed defeated before getting up

“I won’t get in your way then” it hurt you deeply but what else could you do if you couldn’t reason with the hardheaded swordsman?. Before you could get on the ladder you felt a strong hand reach yours in a hurry

“Wait… stay” there was a shift in his tone, you had never heard Zoro speak like this, it was like soft plead for understanding. You hesitated but sat back down face to face while he kept his grip on your hand

“If you don’t tell me what you’re feeling I can’t understand Zoro” you also changed your tone to a softer one, making him feel secure, encouraging him to speak up.

There was no other way around it, even if he didn’t felt ready to say it out loud the more he did leaps around his feelings the worse it’ll get. Zoro squished your hand as he struggled to find the words

“I’m avoiding you because I can’t handle the way you make me feel” He couldn’t look at you even if he tried but if he did he would be met with a puzzled expression planted all over your face

“I am falling for you and I don’t know what to do”

Zoro looked intensely into your big orbs that shone as bright as the moonlight above both of you, the confusion of your face was washed away immediately, a loving smile now in its place. You giggled which made him back up in embarrassment you did that often

“You love me you big idiot! That’s what you do” you said before leaning in to lock your lips in his.

The pirates eyes widen in surprise but slowly welcomed your action, melting in your touch and positioning a hand in your back to keep you closer while both of your hands hanged from his neck. You tasted sweet like he imagined but way more addictive, he never wanted to part his lips from yours ever again, but breathing was necessary for both of you.

Your smile came back to your mouth as you separated, cupping both of his cheeks so he would keep looking at you

“I love you Zoro”

An unfamiliar warmth settled on his face, but a wonderful feeling captured his heart and then he knew, if he was to ever give his heart to anyone in the world it’ll be you, you’ll take care of it and love it unconditionally

“If I say it back you’ll kiss me again?” your laugh was heard again brightening the dark sea and the pirates soul

“Yes”

“I love you too y/n”

𖤓˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖𖤓

Omg I loved doing this oneeee, and ofc had to represent my culture adding an aztec god as reference ☝🏻 if you want a series or a follow up lmk, as always feel free to request and correct me, English is not mu first language

[m4ttsturn]

my brother's best friend (pt 1)

pt 2 pt 3 pt 4

pairing: matt sturniolo x y/n

summary: over the years you find yourself falling more in love with your brother's best friend.

warnings: none yet

this is the first story I've ever written, so sorry if it's bad. anyway, hope you guys enjoy.

· · ─── ·𖥸· ─── · ·

(the first day i saw him)

"mom!" I ran down the stairs. "yeah, what do you need?" "where's Nate? he said he would go to the movies with me over an hour ago." I was beginning to get upset, Nate promised that he would take me to see Spider-Man Homecoming with him. "I'm not sure, he said he would be home by 5" she responded. I let out a heavy sigh before walking out of the kitchen.

I went into the living room and sat on the couch, aimlessly scrolling on my phone. I watched as the minutes on the clock slowly ticked by, my eyes flicking to the front door every few seconds. it had been 3 hours before Nate had finally showed up, laughing as he walked through the door. three boys followed close behind him.

"dude that movie was so good" Nate said as he kicked off his shoes. "yeah, I still can't believe the way Spider-Man saved the Avenger's plane" one of the other boys spoke. I coughed loudly drawing the attention of my brother and his friends in the entryway. making eye contact with Nate, his face flashing with realization. "oh shit, y/n I'm so sor-" Nate tried to speak, but I stood up abruptly off the couch walking to my room and slamming the door.

the second I closed the door I could feel my eyes watering. it was one thing for Nate to blow of our plans because his practice ran late or something, but for him to go without me even though we had planned this out ever since the trailer came out, hurt. especially since he went with three people I've never met instead.

I jumped onto my bed, burying my face into the pillows. I could hear four sets of footsteps approaching my bedroom before someone knocked on the door. I knew it was Nate because he used the secret knock combination we came up with in order to tell if it was each other or our parents knocking. "go away Nate" my voice was muffled by the pillow. Nate had opened the door anyway, "y/n look I'm sorry, I totally forgot that we were planning to go to the movies today" I turned to face him when he spoke "yeah, yeah whatever Nate."

I glanced around him, taking in the appearance of his friends, each looking similar, but I could tell the differences once I looked a little longer. I made eye contact with the boy who was standing behind them all, almost not visible. I blushed and turned my head away so none of them could see it. "you can go, you obviously want to hang out with these people more than me anyway." Nate gave me a sad expression before walking out of my room, closing the door behind him. as I listened to the sounds of footsteps furthering from my door I decided to read a book instead of wallowing around.

the next time I looked at the clock it read 12:37 am. I decided that I might as well call it a night and changed into my pajamas, which consisted of a tank top and a pair of women's boxers. assuming that Nate's friends had gone home by now, I didn't bother to put on something more presentable as I left my room to grab a glass of water.

when I walked into the kitchen I was met with three pairs of eyes on me, with Nate being in the bathroom. "oh, you guys are still here" I uttered as I went to grab a glass. ''yep, seems like it" the one with longer hair spoke. my back was to them as I filled up the cup with water from the fridge. once finished I turned around to face the three boys. "look I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, its just that Nate promised me he would take me to see that movie months ago. anyway I'm y/n." holding out my hand to them. The one with a nose ring takes it first "Nick" he shook my hand. "I'm Chris" the one with long hair spoke, dapping me up. "and you?" I turned to the last boy, realizing it's the one that I locked eyes with earlier. "Matt" he smiled slightly as he took my hand. my face flushed feeling the electricity buzzing through my fingertips.

"okay well nice to meet you guys, but I'm off to bed. tell Nate that I said he better take me to see that movie tomorrow, I don't care if he just watched it." "will do" Chris spoke, Matt and Nick nodded along. I headed back towards my room and closed the door, still thinking about the feeling of Matt's hand on mine. "well this is going to be a problem" I mumbled to myself before shutting off the light and snuggling under my covers.

· · ─── ·𖥸· ─── · ·

Nate had brought the triplets over again, many times over the next few years. each time my crush on Matt grew a little stronger. besides that I had actually gained a friendship with all of them.

· · ─── ·𖥸· ─── · ·

a/n: I'm probably going to move this story on pretty quickly I just wanted to get a little backstory out first.

let me know if there is anything I can do to write better, criticism is appreciated

[sparrowrye]

Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, A3 part 12

Synopsis: Alastor disappeared for 8 years, leaving you confused, crushed, and angry. You spent those years building up your new self and protecting the haven from dangers left and right. What will happen when he returns to the new changes? Will he return anytime soon? Could you even go back to the way things were?

Previous part

Part 12: just us

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

PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING:

I am NOT looking for any criticism on my writing in this particular chapter. 

This was written as much for me as it was for you readers. It will be incredibly slow and drawn out until the very end. I expect future chapters to be more heated and spicy, but this was my first time writing this kind of stuff.

So please, enjoy :)

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

"Relax, my dear," he whispered in my ear, "and put your trust in my hands."

He brought us up to stand straight and led me to the bed. He gently sat me down on the edge and took a step back. I tilted my head to the side, perplexed by his behavior. It wasn't until the radio on the dresser crackled to life and played a calm melody that I realized what he was doing.

Familiarity.

He stuck a red claw in his black tie and pulled it off his neck. He let it fall elegantly on the chair and took off the black vest. One by one, humming along to the song, he started to unbutton his long sleeve. My nerves lessened as something warm replaced it. Though when he got to his belt, my nerves went right back up. The sound brought me back to the ring cage. I could feel his hands on me as I tried to bite down on something, to scream for help that never came.

"Darling." Alastor caressed my cheek with the back of his hand, drawing me back to the present. His yellow smile and red eyes immediately grounded me. He grabbed one of my wrists and brought it up to his partly exposed chest. "You and me. Just us."

I let out a shaky breath. "Just us."

His smile grew sweeter. He put a knee on one side of me and pulled the shirt off the rest of the way. He sent thoughts my way and I listened, my hands coming up to touch his scarred skin like I had in the past. This was something I was used to doing.

He leaned down to kiss me. He was gentle, at first, but when I slipped my tongue between his lips and ran my claws up his sides, all bets were off. A hand gripped my hair as he pressed harder into the kiss. His sharp canines caught my lip and drew blood. He sucked on the small injury as his other hand found the zipper of my dress.

He paused. He didn't move until I gave him the go ahead through our minds. He was splitting my attention between his hands and the aggressive kissing. His tongue felt larger and it barely grazed the back of my throat, almost eliciting a gagging reflex. His presence was overtaking mine and filling my head with his magic. All I could see was red and green.

My dress fell down my arms, exposing my chest entirely. My mind immediately snapped back to reality as did my hands to my chest. I was wearing a bra underneath but it didn't stop me from trying to cover myself. I felt stupid since we were trying to go further. It wasn't as if he hadn't actually touched anything through clothing, but seeing it was different.

Yet he didn't look. At least not yet. He kept his face close to mine, eyes locked, as his cold claws slowly wrapped around my wrists. He gently pulled my hands down and away, allowing the fabric to fall completely in my lap. My eyes were wide open compared to his soft, slitted eyes that never broke contact. It felt like he was trying to look past me, look into my soul. Did he like what he was finding? Did he wish he had a different soulmate? Maybe someone who wasn't as insecure and broken as me?

"Darling," he said again. He stood up from the bed and helped me stand up. I tried to stop the dress from falling but all he did was put his claws on my bare shoulders. He tilted my chin up with a finger and canted his head to the side. "You are beautiful, even without the dress."

You're reading into my insecurities, I thought on instinct.

Is it not my job to help make you more secure?  he returned.

So?

I need to know them in order to help. So let me help. His claws trailed down my arms until they reached my hands which were balled into tight fists around the fabric. He gripped the dress around my fists, waiting and encouraging me to let go. We are soulmates, darling. I will not have nor want another.

I swallowed. This was actually happening. Could I handle this? Was I ready? I found myself staring at the waistband of his dress pants. My throat felt dry.

A kiss on the forehead made me flinch. He did it again, almost feather-like, then placed another one on the tip of my nose. It was out of the ordinary for him to be this touchy.

"Would you like to stop?" he asked, his tone incredibly serious and unfiltered.

"N-no! I'd...I'd like to keep going. I'm just..." I looked down at my feet, the dress still bunched at my waist. Tears were starting to swell in my eyes. They increased furthermore from embarrassment.

"Love? What is the meaning of this?" It was strange to hear him so concerned. His mind was searching mine but that seemed to make it worse. I pushed him out and he obliged. "Did I upset you?"

"No...I just..." The words were dying on my tongue. Why was it so much harder to voice things? I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it, never to return for a hundred years at the very least.

I'm scared.

"You mustn't feel the need to continue, love," he insisted.

"But I want to," I said with a little more conviction. "I want to but I'm...just scared to do it."

Alastor was quiet for a minute. The only sound was the crackle of the fire and the music from the radio. I had ruined the night.

He moved to sit us both on the edge of the bed and kept an inch of space between us. "Were you not scared when you fought Blackwater?" he prompted.

"I was."

"Were you not afraid when you first fought in the rings?"

"I was scared every time," I ameliorated.

"Were you afraid when I disappeared?"

I finally met his red eyes. "Yes."

"And yet here you stand."

I knew what point he was trying to make. Fear was something I was incredibly familiar with; something I wished I knew very little and experienced even less. Yet despite the fear, I had continued on. That was especially so when I first came to live in the house. I was terrified of him at some points, yet I continued to push, upset, and fight him.

I knew fear, but I knew strength. I knew hope.

I gave a short laugh. "I didn't take you for someone to give out good motivation."

He gave a teasing sneer. "Did it work?"

I wiped away a stray tear. "Yeah. It did." I wrapped an arm around his back and let him pull me close. He placed a kiss on the top of my head, between my horns. He used magic to remove our jewelry. I then stood up and let the fabric fall all the way to the floor before I could convince myself otherwise.

This time he actually stared. His eyes moved from my chest all the way down to my feet, then back up to my eyes. He licked his lips as he stood up to meet me. One hand cupped my face and the other ran up and down my side.

I let out a shaky breath as he brought his face close to mine. "I can do this."

"Of course you can," he agreed. "Just us."

Another breath. "Yeah. Just us."

One hand moved down to my ass and the other to my neck. They simultaneously jerked me forward against him. My laugh was cut off by an intense kiss. It took only seconds to melt into his touch, and fewer to return the fever. My hand went up the back of his head and grabbed a fistful of his hair. He moaned into the kiss, eliciting a moan from me as well.

He pulled me forward so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed and I was straddling him. The kiss broke momentarily from the movement but he was quick to pull my head down. My nose sucked in air as spit coated our lips and our jaws widened to deepen the kiss. My hands gripped the sides of his face while his moved along every square inch of my skin.

His claws found my bra strap and waited. I gave him the go ahead and he tossed the fabric somewhere on the floor. I sent an image in his mind and he obeyed, hands coming up to cup my breasts in his palms. He squeezed and started to massage the pockets of soft tissue. I let out a sigh through my nose.

"Beautiful," he broke the kiss to whisper his compliment. His smug smile was incredibly attractive. I connected our lips again. My tail slithered up his leg under his dress pants. His entire lower half was still covered, including his boot-covered hooves. His chuckle was deep in his chest. "I suppose it's not fair I am still partly dressed, is it?" 

He put a hand on my back and half rolled over, firmly yet softly settling me near the pillows. He stood as I sat up. My nerves were back as he undressed completely. I shivered as another set of nerves combined with my own. I had never actually seen a man completely naked. My conviction was slipping out of my hands at the sight.

He sat on the edge of the bed again and reached a hand out to touch my cheek. I had to force my eyes to meet his. "You may still say no, dear."

"No."

He raised his eyebrows.

"No--I mean...no...not...I meant yes. That wasn't...I still want to keep going. I'm sorry."

His smile returned fully, relief seeping through his mind into mine. He leaned forward so our foreheads were touching. His red eyes stared straight into mine. "You may say no at any point. It does not matter where we are, I will stop."

"O-okay." My voice was shaky again. I was almost too scared to look at his lower half.

Push through. You can do it. You want this. It's Alastor.

Another train of thought came through. Alastor wanted to go all the way. Alastor. The Radio Demon. A powerful, deadly Demon was being soft, kind, and gentle with me. A powerful, deadly Overlord wanted to sleep with me. How had I managed to get to this point? It felt like yesterday I was fighting tooth and nail to get out of the house and away from him.

His mind wrapped around my mind and pulled my attention back to the present once again. He leaned in close and dropped his voice an octave, "Eyes on me, darling. I want all of your attention tonight."

I hummed a laugh as he kissed me again. He twisted his body so he was on his knees and leaned me back into the pillows. My stomach dropped again but I repeated my earlier phrase over and over again. I can push through. I want this.

His tongue slipped dangerously deep in my mouth again. I was struggling to keep up with him. His lips pressed hard then light, his tongue moved in circles then glided across my teeth, and his tail made a slight noise as it wagged. Only I could hear it with my sensitive ears. I didn't dare draw attention to it.

I hadn't realized where his hand had gone until a claw hooked on the fabric still covering the last of me. My heart jumped in my throat and he pulled away, one arm keeping him propped up. The fear left nearly as fast as it had come up at the sight of him smiling down at me. His eyes and teeth glowed but there was a fondness to them.

I swallowed. He pulled on the fabric and I lifted my hips to let him pull them off all the way. I crossed my leg over my thigh but he was quick to pin it back to the mattress. I could hear it in his mind that he wanted complete openness. He wasn't going to do any of this half-assed or covered. I should've known.

His eyes caught sight of the mark on my left hip. "What a peculiar birthmark."

"Why's that?" I propped myself up on my elbows.

"It looks like a wing. Vaguely."

I looked down at the birthmark. I had never really looked at it like that. Maybe it was because of his vantage point.

He placed a knee between my legs and leaned up to press a short kiss on my lips. "You are gorgeous, love. I am not sure how I managed to earn such a beautiful soulmate. Perhaps I have been good in some way." The comment made me laugh. "I want to hear your voice more tonight."

I did the exact opposite as his knee came into contact with my sex. I sucked in a gasp at the first contact, then at the second contact of his own on my lower stomach. I felt overheated.

"You can say no at any time," he reminded again.

I took a second to breathe. "Keep going."

He kissed across my jaw, down my neck, and sucked on the crook of my neck. Goosebumps ran down my arms at the feeling. His dulled front teeth pinched the skin then lapped the area with his wet tongue. It sent both pleasure and nerves through me.

I felt him using magic. It took three seconds to realize what he was using magic on and felt the nerves surpass the pleasure. I could feel him trying to ease the fear through our minds. I kept repeating my phrase over and over again. I was making a choice this time. I was the one saying yes, I was the one initiating, I was the one in control even if I wasn't the dominating one. For once, he had relinquished control to me. What an act of trust.

He switched to the other side of my neck. His hair brushed my face and blocked my view of anything. I reached a hand up to carefully grab one of his ears. He moaned against my skin and the vibrations sent a funny feeling to my stomach.

His hand went to my chest, drew between my breasts, down my stomach, and cupped in between my legs. My heels dug into the mattress as I sucked in a yelp. He brought his lips close to my ear. "You may say no."

"N...Keep going."

Are you sure? he asked again.

I'm sure. Please.

Very well.

He was slow. His sharp claw dulled as he slipped a finger inside me. My hand gripped one of his antlers and the other punctured the mattress.

Breathe slow for me, darling, he instructed.

I listened and forced my breathing into longer inhales. His finger moved in and out with ease, then he added another one. There was slight pain around the edges.

"Good job, my love," he cooed in my ear.

This was really happening.

He added a third. I winced from the pain and he slowed, taking extra time to curl his fingers inside. It made my stomach feel weird every time he did it.

Then a fourth. Both hands were on him now, one gripping his shoulder and the other his back. I had dulled my own claws so I wouldn't rip his skin to shreds.

He kissed me again. "Are you ready?"

"I think so." My tone said otherwise.

He withdrew his hand and shifted so he was between my legs. My eyes immediately latched onto his member. His other hand smoothed down my legs. The black of his hands stretched up to his elbows like mine did.

His eyes finally left mine as his attention dropped lower. He snaked a hand underneath me and used his other to align himself.

"Wait!" I jerked away. He raised both hands and sat back on his heels. I gripped the sheets and swallowed. Tears dared to fall again.

"We can stop altogether, love."

"No...no. I want to...keep going. Just...I need a second." I had crossed my legs under me protectively. I closed my eyes and took slow, deep breaths. He was reading my mind correctly and keeping distance for now.

You can do this. It's okay. Push through. You want this. Your choice. Your choice. My choice.

I dared to open my eyes. I wiped away the tears as Alastor continued to stare at me with a look of concern. His hands were crossed in his lap, partially blocking my view of him.

"You're permitted to have a change of heart," he offered.

"I know. I know. It's...I'm okay. Let's keep going."

His eyes glanced at my still crossed legs. "Are you sure?"

I swallowed nothing and pried my legs open. I was grateful that his eyes never left mine. "Yes. I'm sure. I'm ready this time."

I held out my hand and he gently turned it over to place a kiss on the back. "You may tell what you need." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my knee.

"Please. Before I think myself out of it," I pleaded.

"Of course."

He planted a hand next to my hip as the other aligned himself a second time. His eyes met mine as his mind asked once again for confirmation. When it was given, he finally pressed in.

My eyes squeezed shut and I grabbed his wrist. I clenched my jaw painfully tight from the pain, shoving my head into the pillows as I did. He stopped a little ways in and pushed a stray hair out of my face.

"Breathe, darling."

I let out a long exhale.This is okay. This is okay. It's okay.

"You are alright, dear. You're doing great."

It's okay. Your choice. Your choice. It's okay.

"Tell me when to move."

Just breathe. It's okay. It's okay.

Panic started to rise in my chest. Why wasn't I able to calm down? Why couldn't I be normal? Why was I still scared? Just breathe. 

I could see the memories as plain as day. I could see the ugly smile, could smell his ashy breath, and could feel the painfully tight grip on my arms. His laugh echoed in my ears.

"Darling." Alastor brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek. "Look at me."

I peeled my eyes open. My shoulders relaxed involuntarily at the sight of his bright red hair and beady red eyes.

It's him. It's Alastor. Your choice.

"Put your trust in me, dear."

I nodded. "Okay. Okay."

He pulled out, slick skin dragging on slick skin, then pushed back in. He did this several times over until I felt new skin touch my surrounding area. He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on my lips.

He pulled away and locked eyes with me. "You're so attractive."

I blinked.

I suddenly wanted him to move faster.

And move he did. He moved his hips back and forth, gradually picking up the pace as he felt my mind for when the pain dulled. His breathing grew heavier as mine turned into moans. I could see sweat building on his forehead and his muscles moving under tight skin.

"Darling," he said through his pants, "use those...beautiful claws on my back." I didn't sharpen them back to claws but I dug my human fingernails into his skin. He moaned through his thrusts, earning pressure from my fingers.

He slipped his arm under my lower back, effectively lifting me off the bed and somehow sliding deeper inside. My back arched upward and my heels dug into the mattress. My mouth gaped open but no noise came out.

Say my name, he ordered in my mind. Say my name out loud.

"Alastor," I whispered. I drew my nails along his skin.

"Louder," he growled.

"Alastor."

"Louder." His presence filled my mind and I involuntarily yelled his name. "That's it, love. Just like that."

Moans mixed with his name as pleasure replaced pain entirely. Something hot and pleasurable was sending electricity from the rim of my entrance up my spine.

I swallowed air. "Ala...Alastor." I suddenly became aware of a feeling I had experienced only from my own hands. "Al...I...Al I can feel it."

I dug my nails harder into his skin. He hissed but his mind told me enjoyed it. I wasn't even seeing him anymore. Only red, green, and tints of purple.

"I am getting there love," he barely managed to say. I could sense that I was closer than him and he was trying to fix that.

I managed to pull myself back to reality, out of our minds, and brought a hand up to his head. I gripped one of his ears and squeezed. His whole body shivered. That was all it took.

I fell back into our minds as he brought his face closer to mine. His breath fanned my cheeks as reflexive tears fell down the side of my face. My mouth fell open in a silent moan. I was getting close but it felt like it was taking forever.

"Al...please..." My foot claws punctured the mattress. "Please...I'm so close."

"That's it, baby, just like that."

The new nickname sent electricity down to my fingertips. I grabbed at his back and accidentally dug my actual claws into his back. He growled and bit down on my shoulder in retaliation.

"Al...right...right there. Oh Alastor...please don't...don't stop. Don't stop. Right there...keep going...oh please...ah-hah...Alastor!" My legs shook uncontrollably as my moan trailed into a whine.

I saw stars. My mind was filled with nothing but him and the sea of stars in my vision. Him and only him. I was only ever going to want him. Our minds, our feelings, our emotions, our memories, they blended into one. I didn't know who I was and I didn't know who he was. There was us. There were no separate beings. There was only us. Two minds into one.

One mind, one body.

I blinked. The plain, red ceiling stared back at me. It took me a moment to actually register that I was back in my own body. I felt sticky and almost uncomfortable, like I didn't belong in this particular body. My mind felt sticky, especially when Alastor came to and tried to bring his own mind back from wherever we had been.

There was a part we couldn't disconnect but I was perfectly okay with it. It felt like I was balancing two minds in my head. There were new memories and new thoughts and new emotions. I would sort through those later.

Alastor slowly propped himself on his elbows. I hadn't even realized he had fallen on top of me. His eyes, somehow lazy, eventually found mine through heavy eyelids. I lifted a tired hand and let him rub his cheek against it.

We did it, we thought in union. I wasn't sure who had started the train of thought. Finally.

Alastor gathered enough strength to pull out. He used magic to pull the covers on top of us. I managed to push myself over so I was half laying on him, my head resting on his shoulder.

I did it. I pushed through.

Are you happy? Alastor asked. We were both fighting off unconsciousness.

Very. I'm very happy, Al.

We both fell asleep an instant later.

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

Author's Note:

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

Let me know your thoughts? Just no criticism on my writing style please :P

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

Taglist:

@wendigonamecaller @saccharine-nectarine @thesimpybitch @papas-ghoulette @masochist-downfall @martinys-world

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@yanderelinkeduniverse @stars-for-thought @imprisioned-in-the-hole @screaming-until-god-hears-me @crestfallenmermaidan @ice-cream-writes-stuff @linked-heroes @eternadreebliss

Hey hey folks! yes yes i know what you're thinking.

'But Gliphy! it's only been a few days since your last post! Is the world ending?'

And I agree! Buuuut I decided to throw something out there, a change of pace so to speak!

I present: TTAU Side stories! Or Side Stories in general.

The chain are still my main cast for stories. Most things will be written around them.

But, due to certain inquiries, a few characters were requested to be written~ Will that automatically mean I'll start posting a barrage of stuff for the side stories? Eh, probably only when inspiration hits me.

But I decided to have fun with dropping in characters from time to time.

For now, it's gonna be one character that a few people has asked for.

Will I do them justice? Dunno! I'll leave that to you lovely folk~

Anywho~

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The stench of blood was very potent here, enough to make his nose crinkle the moment he stepped into the area. 

The soldier guiding Link gave his report as he led him through the mountain pass. 

"This is the place." He said, gesturing to the entrance of an easily overlooked cave, his helmet tilted back to show his face. "We managed to lead him through here. Once he went through, the others distracted him while I sealed off the opening as best as I could." 

The soldier stopped before the cave opening leading inside. There were crates and broken carriages turned on their side blocking the entrance. 

Link eyed everything. "Impressive for one man. Though if what you said was true, blocking the path like this wouldn't have slowed him down." 

The soldier sighed. "He seemed too focused attacking the nearest soldiers, I did what I could to escape and seal it off."

Warriors' eyes narrowed but said nothing of the soldier's careless admission.

"Very well, you and I will enter to confront him." Link folded his arms over his chest and gave the soldier a look when he opened his mouth. 

"In the event that a battle occurs, I'll need you to be near so you can bring a detailed report back to base." The soldier thought it over and nodded. 

  "...Right then."

Without further ado, Link and the Soldier pushed as much of the crates out of the way and made their way in. 

The cave was dark, darkening further since dusk approached. Even after stepping several feet inside there wasn't much light, it took a several minutes for his eyes to adjust. 

They made their way carefully down the narrow tunnel. 

...Warriors was uncertain about this situation. 

While his memories of his past battles were convenient, he would be a fool to believe them to be absolute. 

War was ever changing, no battle was fought with the exact method or gained the same result twice. 

But this...he definitely would have recalled a situation like this. This was a new turn of events and he had to keep his wits about him.

After making it about twenty minutes in, a sudden loud bang echoed down the corridor. "I know you're there!" A male voice bellowed. The voice sounded angered. deranged.

"That's him sir!" The soldier whispered to him. 

The Soldier and Link both stood still, not wanting to give away their position.

"Come out! Come out and tell me where she is!" The male's voice cracked, as if he had been screaming for some time. His breathing was loud, sped up.

His voice...frantic...angered. 

With his weapon drawn, both soldiers cautiously crept to the end of the cave passage where faint light poured from a hidden opening off to the side. 

An open space, the light coming from burning crates off to the side, otherwise empty, save for the scattered corpses of soldiers throughout the space.

From the state they appeared in, they had been hit a large blunt object. 

There was blood everywhere.

It was splattered from the ceiling and walls onto the floor, pooled beneath the bodies of soldiers whose faces were crushed flat within their helmets.

"Goddess above." the soldier breathed, his hand clutching at his weapon tightly in terror. 

Link looked on dispassionately. "I have never seen such madness." he murmured, his voice devoid of emotion.

A flash of purple caught the corner of his eye as he scanned the room. 

 He made his way towards it, ignoring the soldier's hushed protests.

When he got closer, his eyes widened and he froze. Blue eyes lined with gold stared back at him. Reaching down, he grabbed it brought it close. 

He recognized it despite it's ragged appearance. Only one person dressed in such a fashion. 

Suddenly the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor caught his ear.  Then there was a low groan of pain before it grew into a scream of anger. 

The soldier looked at Link, anxiety written clear on his face as he raised his sword but Warriors, dropped the item and shook his head. 

They slowly moved into the open area, eyes and ears peeled for any signs of movement. 

As they advanced, the noises grew. Heavy footfall and heavy breathing.

 An occasional whimper or whine as things were dragged around.  The sounds came more and more frequently until, finally, a single figure came into view, slowly stumbling forward. 

His hair was disheveled. Green eyes wild. Blood seeping from wounds hidden behind purple robes, dripping onto the ground.

Robes soaked in blood that was both his and not his. A large bloodied hammer being dragged behind him. His missing hood left his face uncovered.

The Hero of Warriors felt his heart jumped. 

The face that stared back at him was one he knew. 

But how?

It didn't make sense. What could possibly bring about this scenario? Why the hell was Ravio here of all places, alone? 

He shouldn't be here, he was supposed to have joined up with them several missions prior. 

(But Time had taken a different path as well...)

"Where..." came the raspy whisper. 

"Where...Where is she?" His eyes were frantic and desperate, darting around.

Not once had he looked at Warriors, as if he hadn't been there at all. He looked right at the soldier, his eyes piercing into the soldier's. 

"Tell me where...is she..." He growled louder, stepping closer even as the soldier took several steps back. 

He looked around frantically, trying to find something in the darkness, find someone. 

But why? Who was he looking for... 

 (...Could he...) 

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about!" The soldier shouted, his voice shaking as he pointed his sword at the unhinged man. 

"LIAR!" He roared, storming closer, hammer being raised with one arm. 

"You killed my comrades!" 

"You all took her from me! Took me from her!" His voice raged, his path to the soldier blocked as Warriors stepped in front of him. 

His eyes settled on Warriors, and his gaze became fixated upon him.

Suddenly Ravio let out a loud scream, and without a moment's notice, he swung the hammer at him.

Instinctively, Warrior raised his blade and blocked it as best as he could, even as his arms shook from the force of the attack. 

"Tell me what's wrong!" Warriors cried, desperately trying to hold the sword steady as the merchant pressed his hammer against his sword. 

Ravio was screaming.

"It's all wrong! IT'S ALL WRONG!!" He was screaming and fighting against Warriors, but it was useless. "I'm not supposed to be HERE! You took her!! She was supposed to be SAFE!"

Warriors' ears picked up movement behind him and he shoved Ravio away just as the soldier swung his sword at the unstable man. 

"Who are you talking about?" The soldier snapped as he was pulled back by Warriors while he put distance between them and Ravio.

"She was supposed to be with safe! I'm not suppose to be here!" Ravio cried out, as if he hadn't heard what was being asked at him. 

"I was there! I was waiting for her at the house! I SHOULDN'T BE HERE!" Dropping the hammer, Ravio grabbed the side of his head with both hands, shaking his head violently.

"(y/n)..." He groaned in pain, eyes squeezing shut. 

Warriors felt like he had been dumped in cold water.  

"What did you say..?" He whispered.

Ravio's head shot up, a wild look on his face that Warriors couldn't quite recognize. 

He...remembered?

---

---

She was brave... 

That's what Ravio's first thought of her was, when Mr. Hero explained her situation to him. 

A world without magic. A world nothing like theirs. 

At least there was a way for him to return to Lorule. But for her...? 

But she didn't let that get her down. In her eyes, if there was a way to land in Hyrule, there must be a chance to return home. 

 He liked that about her, liked her more when he got to properly know her. 

 Her bravery, her determination.

  The determination to keep going even when she had no clue how to go about things. 

But that determination to return home didn't stop her curiosity. 

Ravio wouldn't deny how pleased he felt when she asked detailed questions about his items. Even more so when it turned into a conversation about Lorule. 

Which became a routine whenever the group came by.

The culture, the history, the economy, there was always something new she wanted to ask him about his homeland. 

He was a bit embarrassed to say he didn't know too much about most things she asked at first. But she never made him feel dumb about it. 

  Instead, she listened attentively as he tried to explain the differences between Hyrule and Lorule. Happily speaking of her world, describing the vast differences between here and there. 

They would chat about those differences for hours on end. Which turned to a talk about the people back home, which would lead to a talk about each other's hobbies and opinions on things. 

Anything they both wanted to talk about really. 

It was only when Link interrupted them to announce dinner or something else that Ravio would realize how much time had passed. 

All those questions that made him smile brightly, and it always made her laugh. Her laugh was wonderful and her smile was bright and contagious.

It made him crave to have the answers to the questions he couldn't give her. He'd return to Lorule just to gather books on those topics and study them. 

He dared to say he knew more about his own home's history and of Hyrule's thanks to her curiosity. 

When she returned, he was eager to show her what he managed to find. 

 Though he knew she wouldn't understand everything he said, it was simply a matter of her asking enough questions to make sense of it

Her enthusiasm was contagious when she spoke, especially since she never seemed disappointed or confused.

Sometimes he wondered whether that trait wasn't what attracted him to her at first.

He hadn't realized it at the time, but (Y/n)'s arrival had changed things. Everything about Ravio had changed. Every aspect of his life seemed to shift the longer he got to know her. 

And it seemed he wasn't the only one who felt the same. 

Watching the way Link and his companions began to behave around her. 

 Their gazes turning softer, smiles forming on their lips when she approached. They would sit closer to her whenever they had a chance and listen attentively to every story and ramble she shared.

How they each wanted to spend time with her. How the group seemed so much alive with her there.

 How they felt like they needed to protect her because she was important to them.

How happy he saw them being when with her.

Not that he didn't understand. Being with her made him forget about everything that troubled him. 

Everything simply felt better when with her. 

He wasn't some strange fellow who people looked at oddly. He wasn't a coward that many people would mock. 

He was simply Ravio to her. 

...He liked being simply Ravio. 

And being simply Ravio meant he was more perceptive than most others. (How else had he seen through Yuga's shoddy acting when he was manipulating Hilda.) 

So it was almost immediate that he noticed the way the others became...attached to her. 

 How they started to focus more attention to her whenever she entered the room. How they began to follow her wherever she went. Even when she wished for a moment of solitude. 

How they seemed to care for her a lot more now than before.

And while it was true that they were still worried over her safety but that wasn't exactly uncommon for them either.

But the way they treated her...

They were becoming...possessive.  And protective. It was almost frightening actually.

Especially when they acted that way towards one another, especially around (Y/n).

How they glared at one another with venom one moment, only to look at her with absolute adoration the next. 

 How they looked at her as if she were the sun itself.

As if she were the entire world itself.

...Not that he blamed them. (Could he blame them?)

She was simply...perfect. 

Not to say she was a flawless person that never made a mistake. No no. 

But that's what made her perfect, she was human. She was herself. 

 She was real and real was beautiful.

He adored the times when Link would ask him to be her company, when they had business she couldn't join them in. (Business that had them strictly tell him what areas to not take her to, business that had them returning with a faint scent of blood.) 

He spoke to her, let her speak whatever was on her mind. He joined her whenever she wanted to head to town or wander the area. 

And with some made up excuses and a promise that she wouldn't go to certain places and to return at a certain time, he even let her wander off on her own. 

He had been nervous about doing so. Because (he didn't what to consider the possibility that she would walk into danger if he wasn't there.) Link had told him to always be by her side. 

But how could he listen to him when she would ask him with a nervous smile how she wanted some time to herself. 

...She shouldn't smile like that. It should be happier, more carefree. 

He could listen to Link about many things. (He had done so much for him and his homeland, it was the least he could do.) 

But...what was the harm of letting her have a moment to herself? (Even if it felt like he was being torn to two whenever she had to leave.) 

Yet when he gave her his conditions and told her he'd keep quiet... 

That strained, nervous smile would relax into one more fitting. One full of joy and excitement. 

He'd watch her wave at him as she wandered off, Sheerow fluttering around him. 

 Her journal under her arm and a bounce in her step. Only returning to the house when she vanished from his sight. 

He'd spent the whole time she was gone debating what excuse or lie he would have to give to Link.  

But she returned, always. With that beautiful wide smile, the tension gone from her shoulders.

His heart was melting and he wasn't sure how long it take for him to recover from such a beautiful sight. But he never wanted his heart to recover. (Not when it was caused by her.) 

It was love. That's what he, what the heroes, felt. 

What other emotion would make him feel as if his heart was filled with an endless warmth. As if his chest was going to explode with affection, with happiness, with love?

He loved (Y/n), and he knew everyone else did, too.

He didn't think his heart could beat this much when he thought of her. Not this fast, not this violently.

It almost hurt. It was almost too much. 

But it was never enough. He wanted more. 

When she smiled at him, his heart was ready to burst. When she held him, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let her pull away. Never wanted to feel that cruel coldness that always came when she let go. 

When she wrapped a loose arm over his shoulders when they sat together, when she drifted off to sleep and slumped against him.

When her eyes brightened when she saw him when she and the others next returned to the area. 

It was him that made her have that look. Not the others, certainly not Link. (Perhaps not for a long while.) 

He wanted to keep being the reason that she was happy and relaxed. (LookAtHimLookAtHimLookAtHim) 

Ravio hated when she left, the world felt quieter, colors more muted.

But he waited patiently, because each parting meant she would return soon enough.  

She always seemed tired when she returned, but Ravio tried his best to offer her a quiet space for herself. Her expression of gratitude made going behind Link's back all the more worth it. 

Each parting meant a return. 

When he last waved her goodbye. She seemed more quiet. She still looked at him warmly. Yet much more tired. Even as the others seemed oblivious to it.

But Ravio saw.

It lingered within his mind some time after. But he tried to argue with himself over what could have happened. 

When he could think of nothing, he decided that the best course of action was to ask her in person. He wanted to help her, he wanted to ease her burdens, even a little. 

So he waited for her return. Waited so he could ask her what he needed to do in order to take the weight that had been pressing down on her. 

Waited so she could finally let herself have that moment of peace that had been so long coming.

...

.....

But she never came back....

No one did.

He waited and waited, waiting for her to return. Waiting for him to see the light in her eyes again.

He wanted to see her smile again. To hear that musical laugh.

Yet he waited. He waited as long as he could for her to come back but...she never did.

One month became two. 

And neither she, nor Link and his companions returned.

'They...They're just delayed.' He rationalized in his head. From what Mr. Hero explained, they didn't get to choose where they went. So obviously they must have found a trail and went after that shadow. 

Yes...it..it was a delay...they'll...she'll return... 

Two months became three.

But no one came. 

'What happened?' Ravio paced in the house, wringing his hands. 

 'Where did she go?'

He received no answer.

He got no response.

Only silence.

Silence that drove Ravio mad. A silence that only brought more questions.

Questions he could find no answers for.

(Why did they not return? Why were they delaying? What could possibly have happened?)

The silence was deafening and he loathed it.

"I...I just have to wait..." He whispered to himself, biting the tip of his thumb. 

"I mustn't leave. She could return any day now."  He shook his head, forcing his legs to start moving once more.

(He ignored the nagging feeling in his stomach that told him something horrible happened.)

He forced himself to stay still for a few moments. Breathing slowly. Slowly and deeply. Just...just until she returns. Just until she returns.

Just until she arrives, safe and sound, with a smile on her face and her eyes shining brightly like they had once before.

But the third month eventually led to four. 

What happened? Why haven't they returned? 

Had it been enemy? Had they've become trapped somewhere? 

Had the heroes done something to her..?

Ravio's breathed hitched at the thought.

Why...why would he think that? He's seen how they act around her. Treating her like she created the stars in the sky. 

They would never, never, do something that would lead harm to her. 

(...But she's been so stressed lately.)  

No. They wouldn't. They wouldn't do something like that. He knew that.

 The heroes would never do something that could cause trouble between them and (y/n). They'd kill themselves before doing something that would harm her.

(But why did she only feel relaxed when away from them?) 

He sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair, trying to calm the worry that plagued him.

They would be fine. (She'll be fine.)

He just has to believe that. They have to be fine.

'If anything happens, she knows she can always send a letter to me...right?.'  he thought, had he ever told her that? Had he ever told her that even when traveling, she could always reach out to him? 

 Tears springing in his eyes as he buried his head in his palms.

What could have happened, what kept her away? 

It wasn't his fault. He would never wish to cause her harm. He wanted her happy. (But he wasn't there with her all the time. The others though...) 

The others...if they...if...he clenched his hands, taking deep breaths to keep himself from falling apart.

They...they wouldn't hurt her. 

They may have become possessive, may have monitored her whereabouts...but they were...simply watching out for her...

...

...Right? 

(But what if they crossed the line?) 

A shudder ran through his body, his breathing becoming uneven again, panic starting to grip him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop his thoughts from spiraling out of control.

No...there was no way they could hurt her. (They knew better than that.) 

But...what (did they do) happened...

There was no way they wouldn't be connected to it. 

What...(did they do) happened? 

(It's going to alright. Any day now. Any day.) 

Four led into five. 

What (did they do) happened? 

And on the sixth month, he's unable to bear the quiet anymore. 

He sits at the table, head in his hands. He long since closed up the shop. Unable to think. 

Sheerow resting on his shoulder, trying to comfort him even if the little bird knew it was useless. 

He needs to know why. Where is she? Is she alright? Who took her? How did they get her?

The questions ate at his heart and tore open everything he thought he had been keeping locked away.

What did they do?

Where were they? Where was she? 

(What did they do? It's all wrong.) 

"What did they do..." He said to himself, voice breaking. "Where...where are they?"

There was no door opening behind him.

No one to come and greet him, to apologize for taking so long. 

No warm smile that would have easily soothed away the pain that had settled in his heart, placed months ago. 

He doesn't notice the tears that began dripping silently onto the table. 

No one was coming. But he didn't want to leave and be proven wrong. 

So he stayed there, staring at the table, letting the pain overtake him. Tears streaming from his eyes and the fear and pain in his heart only growing. 

His knuckles turned white as he gripped his hair tightly, staring blankly at nothing.

Everything was hurting him but he just wanted them to come back. 

His heart was hurting him but all he wanted was for her to come back. 

What did they do....

What did they do to her. (He wanted to find her but he had to stay. He had to be ready for her return.)

What did they do. (He wanted to go but he had to wait for her to return.) 

What did they do. (He had to wait for her to return.) 

He couldn't leave. (He had to wait.) 

(He couldn't leave. He had to wait.) 

(He couldn't leave.)

And all the while, his world was crumbling apart.

What did they do... 

---

---

His eyes were greeted to open skies and the sounds of battle.

..He was nowhere near where he should be.

(He shouldn't be here. She could be back and she would think he forgot about her)

He was in a daze as he walked. He didn't know how long he did.

(Why was it so hard to breathe? Why did his heart heart so much? What was happening? He shouldn't be here.)

He stumbled and hit the ground hard, shaking.

"Hey! You shouldn't be here!" He heard footsteps approach. Several.

"A civilian? Here?" "Where did he come from?"

".. need to go home.." He whispered. "I... shouldn't be here."

"Well you're right about that." One said as he stood before him, Ravio could see his boots.

Slowly, he looked up at the soldier who stared down at him.

"You seem lost little man." The soldier said, a mockingly kind smile on his lips.

"Maybe you should come with us to make sure we don't bring you any more danger."

Before he could reply another spoke up. "He's weird. Look at the state of him."

"Probably is sick." Another said. "In the head I mean"

Laughter rang out among their group.

The words didn't register in Ravio's brain and he blinked, looking at the other men who surrounded him. His mind felt fuzzy and confused, he could barely hear the words that fell from their mouths.

"you think we should-"

" don't wanna escort this guy-"

"-we don'-"

"Where...is she..." he asked quietly, trembling. (He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here.)

"Where is...she..?" The soldiers looked at eachother, then at him.

The one in front of him, their leader, chuckled.

"Aw, missing someone?" The soldier asked sarcastically.

(How could they joke about this. About her. She could be in danger.)

Ravio swallowed hard, the lump forming in his throat making it harder to breathe.

The man crouched down, smirking.

"You know we could help you find her." He offered. "For a price."

The group chortled.

"Where is she..." He repeated, his voice crackling. "Where..is she?"

He choked as he spoke.

The soldier leaned closer, staring straight into Ravio's brown eyes with an expression Ravio couldn't quite place. "You know, maybe this place has a bunch of dangerous monsters ." The man purred, a sinister glint in his eyes.

(Monsters? no no, she shouldn't be near monsters. She could get hurt...she could get hurt.)

"Who knows? Maybe she ran off, maybe she got cornered." Ravio let out a low whine at his comment, which made the group laugh again.

"That or she's dead."

'No. No.' He didn't want her dead. She had to be safe. She couldn't be dead. "No. Please, please...No." He whimpered.

The soldiers kept laughing. "Ohh. So sad. You must miss her, don't you?" He cooed.

"Please, don't say that-"

"Sorry. but that's war for you.." Their leader said. "There are a lot of casualties. She isn't special."

Ravio's breathing quickened, his body trembling violently.

(Her gone. Dead. Gone. Gone. She's not coming back.)

"What are we going to do with him..." Another soldier asked. "We have to finish patrols."

(She can't be gone. She can't. She can't be. She had to be safe.)

Their leader shrugged as he stood up.

"Where is she?" he repeated, hand reaching out to the soldier, only for him to kick it away, but Ravio didn't care about that. "Where is she?"

"Leave him. Seems deranged. Not our business." They continued walking past him, leaving Ravio in the dust.

(She's not gone. she's not. She's not.)

Ravio stood up, his breath quickening.

"Where is she.." He kept asking, His eyes widened, tears welling once again.

(Please...please, don't tell me she's gone.)

"already told you. Probably dead. Just accept it." Another soldier replied, walking past him to follow his friend. (Please...please.)

He gripped his head, shaking it.

(Nonononononononononono)

(She's not gone.)

He didn't feel himself letting go of his head. Didn't feel himself reach into his expandable pouch, the one he always carried because she told him it was always good to be ready for any situation.

Feel as he pulled out a weapon and turn to face the walking group.

(She's not deadShe's not deadThey know where she isThey are hiding herThey are trying to hurt her.)

He felt something inside him snap and suddenly, he shot out like a bullet towards the group.

The group hadn't realized what was happening, not until he was upon them, not until he grabbed the shoulder of the one who spoke to him and forced him to face him.

(What did you do.)

"Where is she." He rasped out. raising the hammer over his head with one arm.

"Where is she."

And He swung right at the soldier's head.

---

---

...What did you do Hero?

---

---

"What. Did. You. Do..." Ravio rasped out at Warriors. Frowning, staring right at the pale faced hero. 

"You...remember...?" Warriors breathed. 

 (How was this possible? How could he remember? The probability of his sword brothers remembering was high, but the merchant?) 

"Where is she?" Ravio took a step forward, never once taking his eyes off Warriors. 

Warriors simply stared back, unable to properly register this situation. 

"Where is she...? What did you do? Tell me, Hero. What did you do to her?!" Ravio demanded, slowly reaching down and grabbing the hammer's handle. 

"..I-"

"Sir!" The soldier tried to step forward as Ravio grabbed his weapon but Warriors kept his arm up. 

"You..." Ravio's voice trembled, "You were all supposed to come back. She was supposed to come back." 

Warriors was quiet, trembling. 

"I waited. But no one came." The Lorule merchant's lips twitched into a crooked smile. 

"No one CAME! No one! Not you! Not her!" He laughed  hysterically, pointing a trembling finger towards Warriors, "You were supposed to come back! You were supposed to keep her safe and happy!"

 He let out a scream. His entire body shaking.

"Why didn't you come? You should have come back! I shouldn't be here!" He screamed. 

"Ravio-" "Where is she!?" Warriors could only shake his head slowly at him. 

"We...we-"

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He screamed louder. 

"Ravio, please-"  

"You promised!! You all promised to keep her safe! And you FAILED!!" Ravio screamed, he grabbed his hammer with both hands and he lunged towards Warriors.

"Get back!" Warriors shouted at the soldier behind him, dodging out to the way by jumping to the side.

"WHERE IS SHE!" He yelled, his head followed Warriors even as the hammer hit the ground, the impact breaking the surface swiftly. 

"Please, listen to me!" Warriors shouted.

"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!!" 

Warriors continued to dodge as the hammer flew straight towards him. The force of the hammer hitting the wall where his head has been was felt even without touching it. A few stone shards flying across flying and onto the floor.

"Where is she? WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Another slam. Another broken surface. 

"Please! You have to listen to me!" Warrior pleaded looking back towards the other man. 

"Sir this man is clearly insane-" The soldier was cut off by another slam, and another crack.

"Ravio, please." Warriors begged.

"SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE!!!" Ravio screamed. He continued to attack Warriors. 

"I'm sorry." Was all Warriors could say.

Ravio sobbed, "I waited and waited." Ravio whispered, "But no one came." 

"Ravio..."

"She could be back, and I'm HERE!" He screamed. 

"She isn't..." Was all he could say to the merchant. 

"I waited," Ravio cried, "She could have been in danger while I waited. I have to get rid of any danger. I have to find her." 

"So you choose to kill our comrades?!" The soldier exclaimed, clamping his mouth shut as Warriors gave him a sharp look. 

Ravio shook his head wildly again, groaning in pain. 

"I have to get rid of the danger. I have to. She's not safe here." 

"The soldiers...were a danger..." Warriors said, his words calm. 

"Traitors..." Ravio groaned, "So many, I have to get rid of them. I have to kill them. She wouldn't be safe here. She doesn't KNOW." 

"She's not here. But this place is not a threat anymore." Warrior stated, "You got rid of the enemies."

"Sir! You can't just-" Warriors gave the foolish soldier such a fierce glare, the man stumbled back. 

Turning back to Ravio. He continued to speak calmly. 

"You did well to get rid of the traitors," He continued, "Less enemies to harm her." 

"I waited..." Ravio whimpered. "I waited so long." 

"I'm sorry you did." He  spoke softly, slowly stepping forward, not removing his eyes from the merchant's. "But I can explain what's happening, I can tell you how we can find her again."

Ravio looked at him. 

"Find her again.." He mumbled back. 

"Yes. We can find her again." He said gently, reaching out with one hand to touch Ravio's shoulder. Ravio flinched before relaxing slightly.

"You don't care about the rest of the world. Neither do I. Only She matters, right?" Ravio slowly nodded at him. 

"We have to get rid of any traitors here." Warriors continued, "Get rid of any possible danger to her. We have to make sure this place is safe for her, right?" 

"They...said they didn't know where she was..." Ravio said, still hesitant but less aggressive than before.

"They said they didn't know...but I knew they were lying..." He shook his head, blinking repeatedly, as if to clear his vision. "I knew better. Traitors always lie. I was going to force them to tell me, but they were stubborn, liars..." 

"So you killed them." Warriors finished, nodding his head.

Ravio nodded his head again. "I...She's not here...w-where is she?" He repeated, his whole body trembling violently.

"...She's gone." Warriors replied.

Ravio stared at Warriors with wide eyes. "Gone...?"

"She...had to go somewhere.." Warriors said calmly, "We all did...it's why you're here too..."

"...Why I'm here..." 

"Think about it, why would you be here?" Warriors asked Ravio, who continued to stand still. "You've been waiting patiently for her return. Why would you be here when she hasn't returned yet?"

"I..."

"It's alright. Just think. Why are you here. You remember this place don't you? Do you remember me? How we first met?" 

"..War...Cia..." Ravio mumbled, his breathing heavy. Warriors nodded. 

"The sorceress, the war she began. We are currently fighting her. Tell me Hero of Lorule," Warriors felt Ravio flinch under his hand, "How can you be here, how can we be fighting her if you were waiting for (y/n) back home?" 

Silence filled the room for several moments, as Ravio stood there and processed everything that was said. 

 His gaze lowered to the ground, his eyes watering. His lip quivering.

Finally, he managed to look up at Warrior, fear in his eyes.

"She's...not.." He whispered, trailing off, but Warriors knew what he was asking.

"...She isn't..." Warriors replied, eyes softening as he thought of her, "But she is not here. You remember when you met her, right?" 

Ravio nodded. 

"But if you think about it, that point in time hasn't happened yet." Warriors reasoned, "So if you're here, and the point of time when you met her is farther down the line, what do you think that means..?" 

"That she's still alive." Ravio answered quietly.

"Precisely."

"She's not dead." He said slowly. "She's...She's okay?" 

"Right." Warriors smiled weakly.

"...Is she really alive?"

"She's not dead. That woman is very strong."

"Strong..." Ravio nodded, thinking of her. "She is very strong."  He raised his head.

"What...what do we do?" He asked, wringing his bloodied hands, the fierce aggression that had been behind those eyes now settling, replaced with exhaustion and nervousness. "W-What should we do now?"

"..First we needed to meet up with the others, it's better to be around those you trust when feeling like this." Warriors explained, "Then we can decide on what to do next."

Ravio stared up at him, slowly nodding before looking around. 

"...The...bodies..." Warriors looked at the corpses around them, eyes empty of any emotion.

"What about them?" He asked,

"Traitors..." Ravio muttered.

"We'll destroy the entrance to this cave..." He answered, "Lie and say an ambush took them out. They were never meant to live beyond the war anyways." 

Ravio nodded, appeased by his response.

He shrugged, "Traitors don't live past their usefulness." 

"How could you say that?!?" Warriors looked over his shoulder at the sudden outburst. 

The soldier had his sword pointed at him. "These people risked their lives! And you decide to leave them here and take that...that monster with us?!??" 

Warriors raised an eyebrow, "I don't see how you care, you abandoned them to save yourself."

"That...is not true!" The soldier shouted back, "I went to get help!!"

"You all saw Ravio here, decided to be drunk on power and harass a clearly out of sorts man." Warriors stated, turning to face the soldier, "And when he took out several of your 'comrades', despite your clear advantage in numbers, you decided escape was the better option." 

The soldier, who's stance became slightly shaky,  stepped backwards slightly, "Th...those are not...true."

Warrior chuckled, it was not a pleasant sound. "Oh...you didn't think I knew about your little group's power trips when left alone with any refugees?" 

 He looked at the soldier, "No. Of course I knew about that, I knew about the bribes you took to lie about reports, how you tried to lord your status as a soldier to get what you wanted out of civilians." Warriors tsk'd. 

" What Ravio did to your comrades ...that wasn't part of your plan, was it? You wanted to use you authority to take advantage of a clearly unstable man and when it turned out to be a bad move, you abandoned your fellow men to save yourself." 

 He chuckled lightly, "A shame though; I might've gotten something of use out of them before I took them out myself." 

"No...they-I....!" He exclaimed, sounding desperate. "I did this because I was forced to!"

"Always with an excuse." Warrior stated, looking at the soldier steadily, "But no matter, I had no plans to keep you alive the moment I realized who you cornered." 

"You...You can't!" 

"Traitors," He scoffed, "No matter how many of you are taken out, sooner or later, someone else will always step in to take your place."

He stared down the soldier, "So killing you really won't make much of a difference. But I suppose extermination of insects never is."

The soldier trembled violently.

"You're a monster!" He shouted at him, "You are nothing but a traitorous monster!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Warrior replied, "How very hurtful...and predictable, you all always say the same thing when you face judgement."

"Y...You'll pay for this!" He growled, lunging forward at the Hero. 

"DIE!!!" The soldier shouted, raising his sword once more. 

Warriors stood there calmly as the man charged forward. 

But his attack never landed. 

The soldier could only let out a gurgle noise as a blade pierced his neck from behind. 

"One lesson I learned when dealing with traitors," Warriors  said simply, as the soldier collapsed to the floor, "Always bring backup."

The soldier let out a choking gurgle, a hand trying to stem the blood escaping his neck.

Warriors slowly walked over to the dying man, staring at him. 

"Hm...I just realized." Warriors commented, crouching down. 

"But what was your name again?" 

The soldier's eyes widened, a flash of rage passing through his eyes, but just as quickly as it appeared, it faded. 

Along with the life that those eyes once held. 

Warriors stared at the dead man for a moment before looking up. 

"Thank you for the assistance, Time." 

"You enjoy making me deal with your messes." Ravio jumped at the young voice that came out of nowhere. 

He blinked, and suddenly, a young boy was standing next to Warriors and the corpse, a grey, stone like mask in his hand.

The boy was familiar...

"...The...old man..." Ravio uttered, still blinking in confusion. 

The deceivingly young hero looked up at him and nodded. 

"I'd say it's good to see you again merchant, but I doubt you wanted to wake up here in the first place." He said as he reached over and pulled out his sword from the corpse. 

Ravio twitched but nodded all the same. 

Warriors stood up, dusting his pants, "Where's Sailor?" 

"Getting the bombs ready to seal up this place." Time answered, flicking the blood off his sword. 

Warriors nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to face Ravio. 

"We're heading out now." 

"Also, here." Time reached into his pouch and pulled out something large. 

Ravio blinked. Oh, his hood. 

The child hero tossed the hood over to the merchant who caught it. 

"Alright then, follow me." Warriors began walking away, Time following.

"Will we...see her soon?" Ravio asked quietly, Warriors didn't pause. 

"We will, eventually...but for now, we need to wait just a bit longer." 

Ravio shifted in place. 

 He...didn't want to wait anymore. He was tired of waiting. 

...But this time he wasn't the only one waiting, was he? 

"If she isn't at the end..." Ravio said after a moment, "...then I'll kill you"

"...And I'd let you." Warriors answered as he kept walking. Time silently following, but the glance he gave the Lorule merchant said the same thing. 

Ravio was free to kill them if she wasn't there.

Absorbing that answer, Ravio silently followed them. 

---

---

Ravio silently stared at the letter and his bracelet on the table. 

The captain hadn't informed him of what were the contents within, but he said it would help his counterpart greatly.

Tomorrow he would head into Hyrule to find Link. 

The war had helped him get his mind settled straight. 

Guided by the three heroes, he was able to learn control over his emotions, able to have a plan to focus on. It helped, when he returned to a desolate Lorule, one without it's Triforce. One where Hilda was manipulated by Yuga. 

But not that he had a problem hiding his thoughts.

Who would expect cowardly ol' Ravio?

Ravio stared at the bracelet and letter. Thinking about everything that would happen, what could happen. 

Just a little longer and he'll see her again. 

He just had to wait a little longer. He wasn't the only one who prayed she was at the end. 

He wondered how Link was handling this. A part of him worried for his Hyrulian counterpart. (Understandable really, to be away from her was utter pain.)

He hoped she was there. 

Because Ravio, he didn't want to kill them. 

Because killing them meant she wasn't there. 

So he hoped, hoped that he didn't have to kill them. 

He didn't want to even consider the idea that she wasn't there. 

So he wasn't going to kill them. Because she was going to be there. He just had to wait a bit longer. 

Whatever punishment he could come up with was nothing compared to what they must all be feeling. So he will meet his counterpart with an open mind. (Only when she was back, safe and sound, would he speak to him about it.)

He sighed, setting the two items in his desk and headed towards his bed.

He fell asleep early that night, he wanted tomorrow to come soon. 

Because then he's one step closer being with her again. 

...

(His heart still hurt. The world was still so cold.)

[n0cturn4]

𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬

Character: Jason Todd x Reader Summary: As they part, the echoes of once-shared dreams whisper through the night, a poignant reminder of what was lost in the cruel dance of fate. Word Count: 773 Music: era uma vez -kayno feat. A!ra, r Rodrini

The rain fell softly over Gotham, creating an almost comforting sound as Jason walked through the city streets. He was soaked, but the water didn’t bother him anymore. There was something familiar about the scene—the distant flickering lights, the wet alleys, the smell of asphalt and moisture in the air. He had always felt part of that chaos. But tonight, the weight of what he was about to do felt heavier than any fight or mission.

Jason knew losing you wasn’t a question of "if" but "when." Your relationship had always been full of ups and downs, and no matter how hard you both tried to make it work, something was always out of place. "I think I spent too much time chasing what I couldn’t reach" he thought. He was sure the love between you was real, but it felt like every time you got closer, something pulled you both further apart.

You, on the other hand, had felt the exhaustion of this struggle for a long time. Every argument, every night Jason left to fight crime while you stayed waiting at home, broke a little more of you inside. It was a life you had tried to adapt to, but you knew it would never truly be yours. "I think I spent too much time trying to fit outside of myself."

Jason, always the hero, tried to be someone for you, but his life always called him back to the streets, back to Gotham. He was torn between loving you and saving the city. And you knew it. You could see the internal battle in his eyes. He wanted to be the man you deserved, but Gotham always pulled him back. Over time, that became unbearable. "Your love will only hurt me."

Sitting on the couch, you stared out the window as the rain tapped against the glass, your mind full of memories. All the promises Jason made, all the nights he said things would get better. You wanted to believe him, you really did, but you were tired of waiting for changes that never came. The love you had for him was immense, but the price you paid to be by his side was too high. "Teach me to let you go" you whispered, knowing deep down that this was the only way out.

Across the city, Jason stood in a dark alley, his fists clenched as he stared at the ground. He wasn’t good at goodbyes. He never had been. The thought of losing you tore him apart inside, but he knew he couldn’t drag you into his life anymore. "I’ll let you go"he muttered to himself, trying to accept the reality.

That night, you were both in different places but feeling the same pain. Jason stood still as the cold night wind swept around him. He wanted to call you, hear your voice one last time, but he knew it would be too cruel. It would be just another selfish request from someone who had already hurt you enough. "If I had known about the present, the past wouldn’t have been like this."

In your apartment, you had already made your decision. You looked around, at the walls and furniture full of memories of you two. Your heart ached with longing, even knowing this was the right choice. The love you had for Jason would never be enough to fix everything that was broken. "My love, tonight I won’t come back."

Jason climbed to the top of a building, a place he often went to think, but tonight, he was there only to say goodbye. Staring at the city, he thought about how, despite everything, you two had always shared something real. But fate had drawn different paths for you both. "I’ll let you go."

You packed your bags, breathing heavily. You knew this would be the last time you’d leave that apartment, that part of your life. It hurt too much, but at the same time, it was freeing. "Your love never knew how to love me" you murmured, without anger, without bitterness. Just acceptance.

Jason stayed there until dawn. He knew this would be the last time he thought about trying to save you from this life. You had already saved yourself, and he needed to accept that. The love you had was real, but like everything in Gotham, it was chaotic and disastrous. Even so, somewhere deep inside, Jason knew that, though you couldn’t be together, you would always remain in his heart, in some way.

And that night, you both realized that sometimes, letting go is the only true way to love.

[h-c-u]

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Summary: Hangman has a huge and unprocessed mommy kink, but he's too afraid to ask for it directly. Fortunately, happy accidents happen.

Pairing: dom!Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x switch!fem!reader x sub!Jake "Hangman" Seresin

W/C: 8.6k

Rating: +18, voyeurism, dirty talk, praise kink, threesome, marking, dom/sub, oral sex, anal sex, double penetration, rank king, mommy kink, a sprinkle of a breeding kink

TWs: Mentions of regular bodily fluids that are present during adult encounters

A/N: I blacked out, honestly and it just appeared in my file. The reader here is very comfortable with her sexuality and doesn't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks. Even though there is a clear dom/sub dynamic, dom is definitely of the 'pleasure' kind. Age of the reader is not stated, but I've intended for her to be around Hangman's age. Also, I know that on the gif Mav is young, but the fic he's definitely  not, but I just didn't have the energy to find a more fitting one... Maybe later.

You were never that much into committed relationships, and honestly, you kind of view them as selfish and narcissistic... The conviction that you'll be able to satisfy your partner in every area of your life, and expect the same from them, sounded exhausting, especially with different love languages and full-time jobs. That's why when you discovered that something like polyamory and open relationships existed, you jumped on that train immediately. It was something that fit extremely neatly into the life you've made for yourself here. People came and went, some stayed for a time and then left, some were always there, but sometimes closer and sometimes further away. And somehow your needs were always met and you did your best to give your partners a safe space to relax and forget everything that was happening outside of your studio.

It was as if you were the Sun... A center of the galaxy, with planets circulating around you at different distances, and with comets sometimes entering your peripheral. You were there to warm them, to give them energy, and they kept you company; a perfect exchange. 

That's why when you heard that some of the old familiar faces would be coming back to the academy, your plans for the afternoon immediately changed. It didn't take you long to get ready, and you even managed to squeeze in a thorough shower. You chose a loose yellow sundress which for once wasn't covered in paint drops. Or maybe at this point, you just stopped seeing them everywhere...? 

As soon as you got into Hard Deck's parking lot, you were swept into the strong arms of the naval aviators, who patiently took their sweet turns greeting you. All of the interested people knew exactly what was needed and expected while entering your orbit, and they either could say yes or no; you would never pressure someone into something they were uncomfortable with. But with pilots - or rather soldiers overall - with all their deployments, training, sudden moves... A lot of them enjoyed the simplicity of someone who cared about them without feeling guilty about leaving you alone. Plus some of them REALLY made up for their long absences in your life when they finally started orbiting closer. 

After grabbing a beer from Penny and playing some billiards, Jake was the first one to sweep you away, which was not that surprising, because that man was needy as a newborn kitten when given a safe space. That's why you were currently laying in the backseat of your car, one leg over his shoulder and the other seeking support on the car floor. He was kneeling on the outside; one of his arms tightly wrapped around your thigh, pulling you even stronger into his tongue. And the things he did with his tongue... divine... he already made you come once, and now he was alternating his attention between stimulating that bundle of nerves on the outside, sucking on your lips and biting them gently from time to time, submerging his tongue between your folds as deep as he could, barely reaching that sweet spot inside while his nose was crushing your clit and leaving hickeys on the inside of both of your thighs... If you didn't know he's a pilot, you would have had to guess that he's a marine, because the time he could go without taking a breath was truely impressive. 

It was hard for you to keep quiet, but fortunately singing from the pub drowned most of the louder ones. You knew that something like that might happen even before you got ready, that's why you've parked almost behind the bar, with the passenger door facing the wall, so even if someone somehow took a stroll in the cool air of the evening to sober up, they wouldn't be able to spot anything that was happening inside of the car. What you didn't predict was the fact that someone would unceremoniously open the other door, but fortunately, you knew that face as well. 

- Hi PeEEHEEeeet... - your inhale mixed with a loud moan when Jake sucked harder on your clit, looking up. - Don't you dare stop. - you've said harshly when you felt that he slowly started to move away from you. He immediately stopped in his tracks, but he was still unsure. 

- You've heard the lady... - Mav said with a cheeky smile, and it was enough for Jake to dive right in, forcing small gasps and moans from your mouth. - Hi princess... - the older man squatted in front of your face, took his aviators off, and kissed you hungrily, which was not an easy endeavor for either of you because you were basically upside down. - Slow down, Seresin... Enjoy her... - he instructed the younger man, and Jake immediately followed his instructions. Pete was able to tell what you needed and what was being done to you, just by looking at your expression and listening to the sounds you made. After all, he spent hundreds of hours studying every inch of your body in the past. - How's he doing...? - Mav asked, his gaze still intently focused on your face. 

- He's being such a good boy... - you whispered, reaching back over your head, and placing your hand on the back of his neck. - So obedient... So eager to please... - you continued praising the man between your legs loud enough that he wouldn't have trouble hearing you and that worked as intended because even if he didn't pick up speed, the force of his movement increased, squeezing a loud moan from your mouth and Pete was right there to drink it directly from your lips. 

- If only he was such a good boy during exercises... - you knew that tone well, and it did fit perfectly in this growing dynamic. - Do you think he deserves to feast on you...? - you couldn't help but smile when he said it directly to your ear, his forehead resting on your cheek. 

- He's been good to me today... Captain... - Pete growled and bit your earbud, while Jake was doing his best to get you closer to orgasm without increasing the tempo because the dynamic indeed shifted, and he was surprised to find himself in this new role with his cock stiffer than it ever was. 

- Faster, Seresin, make our princess come... And you... Again... - that was enough for the younger man to speed up as if his life depended on it. He moved his tongue so quickly that you could have sworn it was vibrating against you, and the added pressure from his nose on your clit was just enough for you to forget how many people were near. You knew that Mav asked you to do something, but it took you a second to process it with Jake slurping your juices with a passion. 

- Yes, captain, I think he deserves that... - you whispered. It didn't matter that you were in the parking lot of a local bar; the intimacy tightened between you two, and all he did was rub your foreheads and cheeks together, wanting to be as close to you as possible when you'll finally reach the peak, and you were getting there faster and faster with Jake's every move. It was easy to lose yourself in the moment mostly filled with loud, heavy breathing and your soft moans against Maverick's stubble. 

It wasn't long before your heel dug deeper into Jake's back, trying to pull him even closer, but in such a tight space, it was simply impossible. At the same time your back arched and your fingernails dug deep into Pete's neck. You've registered that he said something to Jake, who was slowly cleaning your juices with a huge smile on his face. 

- There you go, princess... - Pete placed a soft kiss on your forehead and started to pull away, but your hand didn't allow that. You still needed him close to come down from that high... Your breath was heavy, and your heart was trying to jump out of your chest. 

- That was hot... - you've finally whispered, your pussy still twitching from time to time, with Jake cleaning it with short, gentle licks. Not enough to stimulate, yet still incredibly intimate. - Thank you, Jakey... You did really well... He did, didn't he...? - the last part was directed to Mav, who smiled devilishly. 

- He did... He made you moan so prettily, princess... - you saw the younger man's eyes melt a little bit. - And you've said he did it twice...? Mmmm... That might even deserve a reward, what do you say...? - Pete just knew you two were on the same page because it wasn't your first rodeo with someone else, but Jake... 

- I agree... - you smiled, getting up just a little bit, supporting yourself with elbows against the backseat, and Maverick's face was just next to yours. You both looked at Lieutenant who was still in between your thighs, unsure what else was allowed. - Do you want to get a reward, love...? - corners of your lips curved in a devilish smile. There was a second of hesitation on Hangman's face. 

- Yes, I would like that very much, ma'am. - he finally said with confidence; it was still there, just stripped from all the usual cockiness and arrogance. Both you and Mav smiled at this sweet boy, who just needed... well, to be needed. 

- Well, gentlemen, I'm too fuck out to drive... The keys are in the ignition. 

- I'll drive... - Mav said almost immediately. - Seresin, upfront. - it was perfect that way, because you technically didn't even have to change positions, and you could rest, if only for a bit, but you would definitely need it before the rest of the night. 

Getting to your apartment didn't take long, and when you got there, Mav shot you a questioning look, and you replied as wordlessly as he asked. You wouldn't mind if he helped you, but there was someone who needed it more.

- Jake, be a dear and come help me get out... - you said with a smile, and he just materialized next to the open door, grabbed your extended arms, and pulled you up. Without saying a word he grabbed your sandals from the car floor and gently slipped them onto your feet. It was a bit weird seeing him so quiet, but you suspected that he was still processing his emotion. - You know that we can stop at any time, right...? - you knew that he knew that. Sometimes hearing that reassurance out loud was needed, but in this case, he only nodded and helped you get out of the car. You suspected that if you didn't grab his arm, he would sheepishly follow you to your apartment. It was on the top of the old building without an elevator, but you wouldn't change it for anything else. It was the tallest building in the small town with two walls made completely out of giant windows. Someone in the past compared it to an aquarium, but with a one-way foil strategically placed on the glass, you weren't afraid that someone would peek inside. Besides - because of the angles - they would have to be on the other tall building, and entry there was restricted. So your whole apartment was basically a sunroom with plenty of plants. 

- Right... First - shower... - you decided. Technically you knew that this effort will be ruined during further activities, but you'd much rather lick a skin that didn't taste like alcohol and cigarettes. - Jake, do you want Mav to wash your hair...? - he froze like a deer in headlights, but he honestly contemplated the answer and looked at his captain unsure what his answer should be, and how the older man will react, but Maverick only smiled gently. 

- It's your decision... - he said softly. Theoretically, the situation here should be uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing, but somehow... it just wasn't. Sure, it definitely required some getting used to, but this was a safe space to explore anything that needed to be explored. 

- Yes, please... - if you were taller, you would place a kiss on his temple, but instead, you pressed your cheek against his bicep. 

- I'll get everything ready and join you in a moment... - Jake went into your bathroom first, but before Mav followed, you grabbed his wrist and whispered. - Be super gentle, I've never seen him so deep into his subspace, ok...? - you didn't have to explain exactly why exactly Jake went there so easily, because your request was enough for Mav to follow it to a dot. He nodded once and went to the bathroom, leaving the door open. 

You sighed quietly and smiled just a little. You knew how intense the rest of the night will be, both physically and emotionally, so ahead of time you prepared water to drink, hid a few chocolate bars and wet wipes in the nightstand, got fresh towels from the closet, and finally headed to the bathroom, where Pete was finishing rinsing the rest of the shampoo from Jake's hair. 

You placed the towels on the washing machine, undressed, and joined them both under the hot stream of water. The shower was almost bigger than your bathtub, but it was designed especially for you - you wanted a place where you could lie down and feel the water fall onto your whole body from the ceiling, simulating rain, which was incomparable to anything, especially during hot summers. You turned that option on the dial and allowed the water to cover your body. 

- Do you want to wash our princess, Jake? - Maverick asked, and Jake nodded enthusiastically. It was so nice to be pampered from time to time, and tonight you were getting it all. Your muscles were relaxed to a point of mush, you've had two gorgeous men in the shower with you, and the night ahead... You simply couldn't wait. 

You leaned against Pete's body behind you, allowing the younger man to gently wash first your arms, then your breasts, and when he focused just a little bit too much on your nipples, you sighed while Mav just let a soft "tsk, tsk, tsk...". 

- Captain, I thought we've established that Jakey deserves a reward... - there was a huge smile beaming on your face, even though the lieutenant moved from your breasts as soon as Mav disapproved. 

- Indeed... So the sooner we'll get out of the shower, the sooner he'll get it... - Pete laughed against your neck, not even trying to hide the fact that his cock twitched as soon as you called him 'captain'; you both knew exactly which strings to pull, to get a desired melody from each other, but that's just what almost 8 years on and off will do to you. - So please, love, hurry up... - it was hard not to notice the giant blush that flowered on a younger man's face when Mav used a pet name. You suspected that for a few days, their relationship in Top Gun might just be a little tense, and you would lie if you said you didn't want to see that happening. 

But he indeed hurried up, carefully washing your abdomen and still sensitive pussy. He was careful not to lose himself in you this time, and it wasn't long before he was scrubbing your feet while kneeling on the floor in front of you. 

- Look how well-behaved and thorough he is... - you cooed, pressing your cheek into Mav's shoulder. He was holding you tightly, so you wouldn't slip standing only on one foot. - Such a sweet boy we have here... - There was a shadow of a smile on Jake's face, for the first time in a good moment; he was slowly getting more comfortable, accepting that he needed something entirely different. And watching him come to terms with that was... just something else. And you knew that Pete also caught it because he hummed in agreement. 

- Come here, love... - Hangman was sitting on his heels when you said that, but he rose up a bit, to meet you in the middle when you leaned down to kiss him softly, holding your hand under his chin. It was different, kissing him now. Usually, he was hungrily devouring everything you were giving him, but now... he was much more gentle, letting you completely control the intensity and speed because he was confident that you will give him exactly what he needed. 

Mavs hands gently squeezed your hips, letting you know, he'll be turning off the water, since all of you were clean. One of the things you loved about your relationship with Pete was how seamlessly you communicated without words. He wasn't the only one, but it was definitely nice to have someone who understood and anticipated your moves, because everything you did together became a dance, and right now you had someone joining your pair because Jake was quickly catching up. You put just a little bit of pressure under his chin, letting him know, he can get up now, and he did. You took your time drying his body with a fresh towel, spending an absurd amount of time on his hair because he seemed to melt whenever you did anything near them, so he was kneeling again in front of you again, apparently really comfortable with that dynamic, while you were gently massaging his scalp through the soft material. He was so lost in that sensation, that he tilted his head back and rest it on your belly. 

You were happy that he felt safe in your company to give in to what he needed deep in his heart, but at the same time, you couldn't help feeling sad, because it was painfully obvious that there was no one in his life that was giving that to him. 

When you've finished, you placed a small kiss on his forehead to which he reacted with a smile; it was nice to see him settling in. 

- Bed...? - you didn't have to ask, but yet you still did, trying to maintain just a little bit of structure. You saw Jake hesitating before he got up and you knew just what he needed. - Do you want to be a good boy and crawl to bed...? - you asked, but you already knew the answer, even before he nodded. - Go on then...! - you encouraged him and he slowly leaned forwards, exposing his backside to the both of you, and slowly, a little bit unsure started going on all fours to your bedroom.

- Did you...? - you quietly asked Mav when Jake disappeared around the corner because you weren't sure if you saw what you thought you saw.

- Didn't have to, he was already prepped. - this time you growled deeply. - Maybe he thought mommy would peg him tonight and got all nice, stretched out, and clean, just for you...? - Mav teased and bit you harshly on the shoulder forcing a small gasp from your mouth. Hard enough to leave a mark, but not hard enough to break the skin. Seeing how Jake behaved... It wasn't that much out of the realm of possibility. And you were sad that you didn't catch it earlier. 

- Let's not keep him waiting. - you smiled, harshly pulling Pete away from your skin by his damp hair. You knew that there will be a bruise there tomorrow, but you definitely didn't mind that. - And you better behave, because if not... Well... Let's just say that mommy might come up with something you wouldn't be exactly happy with. - you easily played into his comment. Without releasing his hair from your fist, you playfully snapped at him with your teeth, as if you wanted to bite him, but for you, it was more of a game than anything else. You didn't mind being covered in hickeys and bitemarks, but you personally preferred to leave other types of marks. 

It was really easy to fall back into the relationship you had with Maverick, even if you haven't seen each other for over a year now, but with the right people - you just worked like that, as if no time had passed. 

When you came to your bedroom, Jake was patiently kneeling in front of your bed, with his legs spread and hands behind his back, as if not entirely sure if he was allowed on the bed. He was so polite, almost as if someone in the past trained him well. 

- So good for us... - you praised him with a soft voice, and his posture immediately changed. He wasn't unsure, shoulders slumped; he straightened up and puffed his chest and of course his smile... It was really nice seeing it reach his eyes this time. - Perfect little boy, even when he knows he's already earned a reward... - you added, closing the distance between you and taking his face in between your hands. Mav also got closer and got onto the giant mattress first. He positioned himself right next to the headboard and you knew the exact position he had in mind. It was going to require some work, but it will definitely be worth it. 

You kissed Jake gently, turned both of you around, and pulled him onto the bed with you. You slowly moved backward until you felt a warm body welcoming you from behind. 

- So hungry for your taste, princess... Do you think he wants to taste your delicious juices again...? - Mav said, pulling you just a little bit higher. He also hooked his ankles under your knees and spread them just a little bit more. 

- I'm not sure I'd be up for anything else after that. - you laughed quietly in between your kisses. 

- But he's been so good, such a perfect sweet boy... You've said it yourself... - he teased and his warm breath danced on the back of your neck. - You can go lower if you want to, love... - but before he did, the younger man stopped and looked at you, silently looking for your permission as well, which you gave with a single nod, and it wasn't long before he was focusing all of his attention on your nipples. - Even when he should be the one being pampered, he still focuses on you... - Maverick almost purred, intensely observing how your skin stretched when Jake sucked on one of your nipples a bit harder. - Tell me how it feels, princess... - a simple request, but apparently it did something to Jake because suddenly he started working his tongue even faster as if he wanted to prove something to both of you. 

- It feels really good, captain... - you've reached with one of your hands behind you, placing it on Pete's neck, pulling it closer, while your other hand found its way into Hangman's hair. - He's quickly circling the top with his tongue, and when he sucks it a bit more, my pussy clenches... - you described what was happening to your body, even though the older man already knew how it reacted, but he just love to hear it from your own mouth, especially with the soft gasps interwoven with your words. 

- Bite on it gently and pull it with your teeth, love... - the request was followed immediately this time, forcing a loud moan from between your lips. - You hear that, love...? Mommy here enjoys it a bit rougher in that area, so don't be afraid to give it to her... - he advised, and you looked at Jake, curious how he'll react. He stumbled for a second, the word catching him by surprise so much, that he released your nipples. But before either of you was able to add anything more, he dove right back in, with even more ferocity... Sucking, stretching, biting, pulling, and abusing your nipples so much that you were melting into the body behind you. You could feel how wet you were getting from all that stimulation and all your moans were somehow motivating Jake even more. - Such an eager boy, doing his best to please mommy... - your fingers dug into Mav's skin after a particularly hard suck, and you were almost sure that you drew blood this time, but you couldn't help it, your body reacted without your permission. 

- Stop. - Pete said abruptly and Jake indeed stopped, even though you knew he didn't exactly want to, but the need to please was much stronger. - Look at her, really look at her... - a simple request, and you smiled widely seeing how Jake was hungrily devouring you with his eyes. - See how quickly and deeply she's breathing...? That means you did a good job and got her all ready and flustered. It also means that mommy is ready for more... Are you ready for more, love...? - he asked, gently rubbing his cheek on your head, and you just gave into that; your muscles were slowly turning into mush again; you needed a moment to collect your thoughts, but Jake was already nodding enthusiastically. - Gently spread her pussy and dip your finger in... See how wet you've made her... - when you felt his soft touch, you couldn't help but twitch, and if Pete's legs weren't holding your own, you would definitely hook them behind Jake. Your reaction drew a deep hum from Mav's chest and you could feel almost vibrating behind you. 

- Now take your cock in your hand, and slide just the tip through her folds... Spread her juices all over you, but no dipping yet. - now that was just cruel. Not for any of the men, but for you... Because when Jake's dick was sliding in between your lips, it also stimulated your clit, drawing a sweet whimper from you with every slide. 

- You're doing soooooo good, love... - you've said in between deep breaths, your voice containing more air than actual soundwaves. - So good for mommy... - it was extremely easy to lose yourself in all the pleasure he was giving you, and even if you didn't share that specific kink, you definitely didn't mind accommodating his needs.  And that was enough for him... Hearing Mav calling you that was one thing, but hearing the word from your own mouth was something else and it sent him into a frenzy. 

He slammed into you with one sweep move, not caring that he technically didn't get permission to do so from either of you. He was chasing something primal, something he couldn't quite describe. His left hand dug deep into your hip and he leaned forward, hooking his right arm around your shoulder to find more leverage because he just had to be as deep inside you as possible. With every move, he dragged along that sweet spot inside you, drawing moan after moan from your lips and making you arch into his body, not leaving any space between you two, and by doing so, you got a bit further away from Pete, but his legs were still holding yours spread open, allowing Jake to do whatever he needed to you. 

Pete started slowly stroking his cock, observing the two of you with intensity, analyzing your every move, and making himself remember every moan, every twitch, every gasp that you shared. But at the moment, you truly didn't give a fuck what he was doing, because that beautiful boy was disassembling you into smaller and smaller pieces, but you knew you could cum just yet... You had to give him one more thing... 

- Cum in me, baby boy... Fill mommy to the brim... - You put your arms around his neck, pulling him closer and allowing him to suck on your skin again. You've felt his moves become more erratic, more desperate with every second until he finally slammed into you one last time and bit your skin so hard that tears appeared involuntarily in the corners of your eyes. You did your best not to yelp from the pain, your own release getting further away, but that wasn't important, not now. 

You were gently playing with his hair allowing him to ride his own orgasm to the fullest, with his face still buried in your breasts. You were hugging him when you felt his body starting to shake, which he tried to hide from you. 

- None of that, sweet boy... - you've said, pulling his face away from your body and forcing him to look you in the eyes. His own were filled with tears and he held you so strongly in his arms as if he was afraid that you'd disintegrate if he won't be crushing you. - You were so good, and I'm not going anywhere... I could never leave you... - you placed a soft kiss on his forehead and pulled him closer to your chest again. 

Pete put his hands on your shoulders and pulled you back, so you could lean on him again. It was hard not to notice how hard he was, but now there was no time for that and both of you knew it. Jake eventually had to work through that trauma and currently, there was nothing more important than that, so you allowed yourself to melt into Pete's body again, with the younger man still buried deep inside you. But you didn't mind that one bit and started whispering sweet nothings into his ear, while Mav gently massaged your shoulders.

It took some time, but Jake finally started to calm down, with your arms still embracing him and rubbing the skin on his back. His quiet sobs stopped and he relaxed in your arms a little bit.

- 'msorry... - he finally whispered, when he realized how hard he bit you. His voice was deep and raspy from all the crying. There was already a deep crimson mark forming on your skin. He softly traced it with his tongue and gently blew on it, trying to ease the pain with cold.

- Now none of that, love... - you've said and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head.

- No, I bit too hard... I should have controlled myself better. - his voice was dripping with guilt. 

- It's ok... You were processing something and I'm happy I was able to be here for you... - you reassured him, still gently rubbing his back. - And just so we're clear - I'm not going anywhere, you understand...? - you forced him to look you in the eyes and he finally nodded. You didn't know if he was dealing with losing someone, or maybe being abandoned, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he had a safe space to release his bottled-up emotions. - You're good, we're all good... - you continued whispering when you felt Mav humming in agreement from behind you. - And take all the time you need, we don't have to do anything else tonight, I know how exhausting that type of emotional release can be. - you were glad he became verbal again but hearing him blaming himself for basically allowing himself to feel strong emotions was... heartbreaking.

Mav finally unhooked his legs from under yours, and you felt him reaching for something, and then you heard a sound of a bottle opening, and you were so grateful to have him here with you tonight. He handed you the water and you took a sip. It was still so pleasantly cold and refreshing... 

- Face up, love... - you've said, and when he followed your instructions, you pressed the rim of the bottle to his lips, allowing him to drink. - You look beautiful, being so vulnerable with me like that... - you've complimented him, and he almost choked, but you've felt his cock twitch. - Gorgeous... - and there it was again... - Absolutely divine... - you've enjoyed the effect your words had on him, especially when he was trying so hard not to show it, but he was brutally betrayed. - And so ready for the next round... - you laughed gently, finally taking the water bottle from his mouth and wiping the remaining wetness from his cheeks with your thumb. You meant it when you said that you didn't have to do anything else tonight, even considering the fact that the captain's erection was currently leaking precum on your lower back; after all, he was the only one who didn't get to come today, but you knew he understood what was happening because he was in a similar position in the past. - Are you sure you're ready to go again...? - you asked after taking one more sip and passing the bottle to Mav. 

- Yes, ma'am... - he simply replied, and started moving as if he wanted to slip out of you, but you stopped him. Since he was already inside, there was no need to change that, so instead, you leaned forward and bent your legs, so you were able to put your weight on your knees and his thighs and started gently grinding, not moving much at first because you didn't want him to slip out of you completely. Plus feeling him fill up inside you was... curiously pleasurable. But even though you didn't move much, his cum started leaking from you, and you could feel it slowly spreading on your thighs.

- Such a sweet boy, letting mommy use his body for her own pleasure... - you've tested the waters with that word, and it still was affecting him more than he cared to admit. He didn't lose it this time, not even a little. He just leaned and embraced you stronger, barely giving you room to move. 

You felt the weight on the mattress shift behind you, and within a few seconds, you felt Pete's hands on your ass, kneading and spreading it gently. You couldn't help but smile at his idea, because it was something you didn't have the occasion to do for quite a while now. His hands disappeared for a moment, and before he touched you again he warmed the lube between his fingers. 

He was kneeling right behind you, with his left hand gently resting on your breast and his face hidden in the nook of your neck, while his right hand was gently stretching your hole, preparing you as best as he could. You knew he was able to feel Jake through the thin wall inside you, and you caught the moment when the younger man realized what was happening. For a very short second, there was panic in his eyes, but seeing how your body was reacting to that assault, he instantly relaxed and let you ride him. Thanks to your own movements, Mav didn't have to do much, because you were slowly impaling yourself both on Jake's already hard cock and his fingers. With every fall you were getting more and more frustrated, but you didn't change the tempo, because you didn't want to finish too quickly, and with constant pressure against that sweet spot inside you, it was extremely difficult to remain composed. 

It took a few minutes (definitely more than you wanted) of your gentle movements for Pete to be satisfied that you'll be able to take him without any issues. He let you know that he's ready by placing his hand on the small of your back, just where his precum was smeared from before. You gently pushed Jake backward and leaned over him, making space for Mav to move even closer behind you and line himself up with your entry; leaving the rest up to you. 

When you started leaning backward and slowly but surely sinking into his hard cock, his arms were waiting for you and he embraced you with his whole body, while you welcomed him inside you. 

You had to stop for a moment, overwhelmed by the intensity of all of it. Everything was happening both too fast and too slow, while you were stuck in that hypersensitive state in the middle, aware of everything that was touching your body. You just felt so... full... 

You've rested your forehead on the top of Jake's head, trying to catch as many breaths as you could, but you just weren't able to get full lungs of air, catching only short, shallow gasps, as if the two men buried inside you forced the air out of you. 

- You alright, princess...? - He said so quietly that you barely heard him. Or maybe the loud hum of blood rushing through your veins somehow muffled outside sounds. 

- 'mfine... Just... Intense...  - your own voice betrayed you by coming out almost broken. Neither of them rushed you, patiently waiting for a moment you'll be able to move again, and when you did, you couldn't help but moan so loud, that you almost startled yourself. - Fuck it feels so good... - you added when you rose again, and when you sank yourself onto them, the cry of pleasure that came from your mouth was caught directly by Jake's lips. With every move, you felt them drag and push all the right spots, slowly turning your muscles into mush to the point where you were barely able to get up after you unceremoniously dropped onto them again. 

You've felt Pete's hand reaching around you and stopping on your bulged stomach, feeling the movement inside you through your skin, and when the younger man realized what was happening, his own hand followed Mav's, and you couldn't help but join them, covering both of them with your forearm. You've put your right hand on Jake's shoulder, trying to find more leverage, and it helped for a while, but with every move, you were getting more and more lost in the pleasure, so when you felt Mav placing his right arm below your thigh and Jake doing the same with your left side, you sighed with relief, because even though you were still doing most of the job, you didn't have to rise on your own, they were there to help you in any way they could, and you could go much faster thanks to that. You even rest your elbow on Jake's shoulder and pulled his head closer to your breasts, letting him know that they were all his if he wanted. And oh, how much he wanted them... Even though he still felt guilty for leaving such a nasty bitemark on your skin, he almost instantly started sucking on your nipples, biting them, and pulling them just as you liked it, and that was enough to pull you to the top of your release, but what pushed you over it, was a rough bite from Mav on your left shoulder. Pain mixing with pleasure drew a loud scream from you, and without anyone to drink it from your mouth, you didn't doubt that someone definitely heard it. Your nails dug deep into Jake's skin, and you weren't fully registering what exactly was happening because you were still lost in that blinding light in your brain. 

You slumped down, officially unable to move anymore, and while you felt a second load of warm cum inside your pussy, Pete was still hard as a rock. Damn, that man had both patience and stamina... 

- Love, would you like for the captain here to fuck you while you're still inside mommy...? - you asked. - I know you were a good boy and you got all stretched and ready for me... - your tone was gentle and sweet because you didn't want to force him to do anything he was even a little bit uncomfortable with. 

- I would like that very much, ma'am. - you smiled softly and pulled him higher, so you could kiss him properly. 

- You heard our boy... - you didn't have to repeat yourself, because Pete was already slipping out of you. But before he moved behind Jake, he placed a few small kisses over the bitemark he just left on your skin, making you smile.

You didn't even have to move much, because your bed was more than big enough to accommodate the change of position. You leaned back, essentially laying down with your left leg hooked around the younger man's hip and your right one laying flat in the bed. You felt him adjusting his position, and when you opened your eyes, you saw that it was Mav maneuvering his body as if it was made out of clay. He helped him bend his knee, so it was almost under you. His second leg was placed over your stretched one, giving Mav more space to move freely behind him. Plus being intertwined like that meant that even if Jake remained soft inside you, he wouldn't slip out, keeping you nice and plugged. 

You saw Mav pushing him down, so his face was yet again in your breasts, not that you minded, although the skin there was already covered in deep red hickeys, bitemarks and your nipples were so overstimulated that even the lightest touch, resulted in a mixture of pain and pleasure, which you loved. 

Even though Jake was technically already stretched, Pete took his sweet time, making sure of that. Because it's not like all that slow attention was an excuse for the fact that he loved teasing his partners. 

It wasn't long before he started moaning into your skin, while you were gently playing with his hair with one hand, and tracing unrecognizable patterns on his back with the other.

- Tell me exactly what your captain is doing and how it feels... - it wasn't a request, and you couldn't help but smile devilishly when Mav caught your gaze; after all, it was more for him than for you. He returned the smile and went right back to massaging Jake's walls from the inside, this time not breaking eye contact with you. 

- He's so meticulous, and doing everything so slooooOHly... It's driving me crazy... - It wasn't hard to tell when Pete rubbed his fingers against the prostate. - He has two fingers insiiiihide me and is spreading them... - his moan sounded so delicious and for a quick moment he sucked on your nipple before he continued describing to you what was being done to him. - I think he's gonna add another finger, mommy... can you please tell him to add two...? - it was the first time when Jake... slipped...? He was careful not to use the word himself, but he was so desperate that he didn't even notice. 

- Captain, please don't be mean to our boy, he was so well-behaved today... - you finished the request with a huge smile on your face, and Mav bit his lower lip, even though he would much rather prefer to close his mouth around something else. He only hummed in response and indeed sunk four of his fingers into the lieutenant's body, drawing a loud squeal from him. 

- Well, love... You got what you wanted from the captain... And what do we say when someone gives us what we want? - you were maintaining eye contact with Pete, and you just knew he was going to fuck you so hard next time, you'd feel it for a week because you were riling him up so well. 

- Thank you, captain... - Jake mumbled from around your nipple, not even bothering to release it from between his teeth. 

- Now, now... It is rude to speak with your mouth full, isn't it...? And you don't want to be rude, right...? - you were playing all the right strings and it was a pleasure to hear the melody. 

- Noo... - he sighed heavily and turned his head around. - I'm sorry, captain... Thank you, captain... - he mumbled and as soon as he finished talking, he went straight to your other nipple. You couldn't help but wonder if he'd be even more interested in your breasts if they were filled with milk... But that definitely wasn't a conversation for today. 

- Such a sweet boy... - you've said more to Mav, than to Hangman, who was giving his full attention to your breasts. 

- He is so good... Next time you should be the one to fuck him, princess... - he replied and you hummed agreeably in response. You noticed that he removed his fingers from Jake and was getting a condom on and rubbing lube over his member and you couldn't help but stare just a little from over the younger man's head. He knew he didn't have to do that with you, you established that boundary a long time ago. But he still respected it with other people, even in a heat of the moment. 

- Can you ask nicely for the captain to fuck you, love...? - Jake looked you in the eyes, suddenly unsure, but not about the action itself... He shook his head, unsure of your response, but you just kissed him on the forehead. - It's ok, love... You don't have to say anything... Would you like mommy to tell him to be good to you...? - he nodded, more confident than a second ago. 

- You heard that captain... - huge grin sprawled on your face. - Make our boy feel really good... - you knew that even if you didn't say anything, he would do that without missing a beat. You didn't see exactly what was happening, but you still felt a sharper suction on your skin, so you assumed that Mav dipped his tip. You saw how gently he moved, how his fingers held Jake's hips, not even making any dips in his skin, exactly what the younger man needed. You felt how Pete's moves affected him, not only because he sucked your nipples harder, whenever Maverick dragged his tip against his prostate, but because every time that happened, he became just a bit harder inside you. How the hell both of them were able to get it up so quickly...? What did they feed them in the academy...? 

- He's getting hard again... - you informed Mav and his huge grin matched your own.

- Goooood... - he almost purred, and you bit your lip at that sound. - Do you think you can handle it a bit faster and rougher, love...? - he asked, and Jake nodded his head enthusiastically, You saw that Pete grabbed his hips harder, pulling Hangman closer to himself, but when he snapped his hips forwards, you were the one that moaned a little in surprise, because he was essentially using Jake to fuck you, and your moan finally broke the spell that was hanging over the younger man's head. His eyes instantly became more clear and more aware, and he started moving his hips on his own, meeting Mav's thrusts and then entering you again. He was trapped in the most delicious sandwich he'd ever witnessed and he did everything he could to help get you both off. 

Mav leaned forward and moved one of his hands to your hip, trying to pull you closer to Hangman whenever he was thrusting into you. Finding a good rhythm took you all a good moment, but it was all worth it because as soon as it happened, none of you really cared about all the noises either of you made, all that mattered was selfishly chasing that orgasm. Jake was the first one to finish... You weren't sure if he actually had any sperm left, but his whole body twitched and collapsed heavily on top of you, while Mav was still pounding into him mercilessly, turning him into even more liquid jelly. 

- Im gonna be back, love. - you whispered directly into Jake's ear and swiftly got away from under him. Mav observed your movements, focusing his gaze only on you, and understanding what you were doing, quickly got out of Jake and took off his condom, while you quickly straddled him and guided his hard cock into your ass, since he was already there before. Being extremely horny didn't mean that you were open to vaginal infections from unsafe sex. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist and held you in one place while he was slamming again and again into you with a strength that could have been scary under any other circumstances. You didn't give a fuck about how loudly you were moaning and screaming, because he was making you feel so good, that you forgot about the rest of the world. 

You felt him getting closer and closer, and when you finally were sure he was going to cum any second, you whispered a simple four words in his ear... "Come for me, captain..." and he spilled all over your insides, holding you tightly in his arms and digging his teeth into the soft muscle on your right shoulder, one of few places on your torso that was without any marks. That was until now. And that was enough to push you over the edge for the fourth time today. You weren't sure what came over you, but you bit him harshly as well. In the place where his neck met his shoulder, so you knew it would be painful, but he only squeezed you tighter in his arms, as if he was afraid that you would disintegrate if he dared to let go just for a second. 

When you finally started climbing down from cloud nine, you realized that your breaths and heartbeats synchronized, because you could feel his through his skin, and you were sure that if you realized that, he did as well.

- Hi, captain... - you've finally said, still trying to calm your breathing down. 

- Hi, princess... - he replied and kissed you gently. You gave yourself a few more seconds just the two of you, embracing each other bodies, pressing your foreheads together, so there was no space for anything else in between you. That small moment of intimacy was exactly what you needed before both of you came back to Jake, who was still basically high on what happened tonight. 

- Wipes in the nightstand... - you've said to Mav since he was closer to them, and you snaked one of your arms under Jake's head, so you could hold him close. You hummed in surprise when you felt Mav pulling your leg up and putting it on his shoulder, while he warmed a wet wipe in between his hands, so it wouldn't be so cold on your skin and started wiping the mess that all of you made. Fortunately, the wipes were of good quality and didn't have any trouble taking care of the mix of your own juices, lube, and cum. They definitely couldn't replace a good shower, but for now -they were more than adequate. Mav also leaned over you and gently cleaned the mess that was left on Jake's body, and the younger man tried to growl in response, one squeeze from you, and he was behaving again. 

After cleaning both of you, Mave pressed and opened the water bottle to your lips, making sure you'll drink enough, and after a moment you did the same with Jake, who was still coming down from his high. It was adorable how fucked out he was and after you returned the water bottle to Mav, you hooked one of your legs on the younger man's hip, pulling him just a little bit closer to you. 

- Can you please open the window...? - you requested quietly and Mav obliged. During sex you didn't mind how hot your bedroom was, but after... It was a different conversation. It was still hot outside since it was the middle of July, and with two radiators-aviators in your bed, it was bound to get even hotter, in the literal sense, because you knew from experience that both of them radiated extreme temperatures, so you knew no matter what, you'll wake up drenched in sweat. 

But before Mav joined you, he gently removed a messy top sheet, trying not to move either of you too much. 

- Just leave it anywhere, and c'mere... I'll wash it tomorrow... - you said with your eyes closed. You were slowly dozing off, but Mav obliged before you were completely gone and lay behind you, wrapping his arm around you and gently resting it on your breast. It wasn't sexual, more of a comfort thing, and it made you smile. 

- Pervert... - you whispered jokingly and he chuckled in response, pulling himself closer to you and placing a soft kiss on the bitemark closest to his mouth, but this one you haven't felt, the exhaustion finally catching up.

[spideybatsy]

A+B | Chapter Eight

Summary: GN!reader is falling in love with Bruce Wayne, even if they won’t admit it. Everything takes a turn for the worse when Bruce’s biggest secret comes to light.

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x GN!Reader

WC: 2.9K

Warnings: being held hostage, mentions of mental and physical abuse (not described), blood, implied smut

Notes: Can be read as any batsy you’d like, I personally picture Bale bc I’m a slut for him <3

Masterlist

Bruce’s goodbyes took longer than expected and he ends up coming into the hallway to find Alfred already snooping around. Alfred’s relief at seeing Bruce is short-lived because he quickly starts searching again.

“What’s wrong?” Bruce has never seen him so concerned and is immediately on high alert.

The older man says my name while opening a corridor door. “They started coughing while on the telephone. A man said something and then the line went dead.”

Bruce’s heart plummets into his stomach and he quickly joins the search. Together, they go through every room in the hallway before something stops Alfred in his tracks. He calls Bruce over, who collapses at the scene.

There, folded neatly on the floor, are both our jackets. Lying on top is the necklace he’d just gifted me, the clasp broken as if it had been ripped off my neck.

--

It was well into the early hours of the morning that Alfred rushed down to the Batcave, demanding Bruce turn on the news. He tuned in at just the right time.

“Some viewers may find this footage disturbing, caution is advised,” the presenter said.

His already broken heart shatters as he spots my figure in the bottom corner of the video, rocking back and forth. Seemingly without any reason, I let out a blood-curdling scream. The camera angle changes to a close-up of my face. Fresh tears stream down my already tear-stained cheeks, and my entire body is shaking as my eyes dart around the room. My hand rubs at my nose, my fingernails are cracked with dried blood staining my fingers.

My eyes catch on something, and I start chanting one word over and over. Scarecrow. I begin violently screaming, trying to scramble further into the corner when the video cuts off.

“The man who calls himself Scarecrow sent this to Gotham Police with a typed letter demanding the presence of Bruce Wayne and Batman.” The presenter appears back on the screen. “Upon seeing both, he’ll return his hostage.”

--

When I wake up, I’m horrified to find the masked man standing over me.

“Don’t be scared,” his voice doesn’t sound as warped as it did before. “The toxin should be out of your system by now.”

“W-What do you want?” my voice is scratchy from all the screaming.

I flinch as he snaps his fingers, another man runs into the room and puts a tray in front of me. He’s gone before I can note any of his features.

“Eat up,” the masked man says.

I look down at the tray. It’s full of chocolate-covered strawberries.

“I-I’m not hungry.” I start wiggling away from the tray.

The man sighs, leaning down and taking a strawberry.

“They’re not going to hurt you.” He rolls it between his thumb and forefinger before lifting his mask to take a bite. I try to get a better look at his face, but he only exposes his mouth before pulling it back down. He then squats, so he’s closer to my eye level.

He points the half-eaten berry at me, and it takes me a moment to realise he’s holding it out for me to eat. He must see the hesitation on my face because he places it back on the tray and holds another one out to me.

“If you eat this, we’ll talk.” His words bring back memories of Bruce, who always wanted me to eat up before having a hard conversation.

Poor Bruce, he must be so worried. He’s always held himself responsible for my safety and now that I’m missing, I know he’s beating himself up. Maybe if I talk to this Scarecrow, he’ll reveal personal information that Bruce can use to catch him after he brings me home.

I shakily reach out and take the strawberry, nibbling at the tip. Scarecrow waits patiently while I eat, it takes about 15 minutes to finish. He doesn’t reach for another berry, so I take it as a sign to start talking.

“What do you want from me?” I cough as soon as I finish, and panic starts swelling through me. Did he put more of that stuff in the food?

“You’re coughing because your throat is in a horrid condition.” I find it unnerving that he can so easily read me. “And I don’t want anything from you, I’m merely testing a theory.”  

He hands me another strawberry but I’m not sure I can stomach it, so I just hold it in my hand.

“What theory?”

“A few months ago, one of my subordinates overheard a very stranger conversation between you and the Batman.” I rarely talk to suited-up Bruce in public. “Now he claims that The Prince of Gotham and Batman are the same person.”

I do what comes to me naturally and play it off. “A bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”

Jonathan seems entertained at my response. “That’s what I thought, too. Then, a few months pass and suddenly you’re attached to Mr Wayne’s side. Which made me think maybe there was some truth to this preposterous claim.”

“Why take me then?”

“It’s quite simple, really. I have you here, torture you a little and demand both Batsy and Bruce show up to get you. If they both come, I’ll know the theory is false. If there’s only one…”

I can’t stop the way my heart starts ramming against my ribcage. They can’t both show up. Scarecrow has him cornered.

“Batman doesn’t like rich people, what makes you think he’ll come for me?”

“You’re not rich.” Although I can’t see his face, I know he’s smirking. “Otherwise, you’d be a psychologist by now.”

How long has this man been spying on me? Invading my privacy? Perhaps it’s true what they say, you’re never truly safe.

He stands back up and heads for the door. With his hand resting on the handle, he looks back at me.

“They have four hours, then we’ll have to pump you with more toxin to take another video.”

“Don’t do that, please. I’m begging.”

He ignores my pleas and walks out, locking the door behind him.

--

I don’t know how long I sit in the room. It could’ve been 10 minutes, could’ve been 10 hours. At one point I swear smoke is bleeding from the vents but when I look back, there’s nothing. The overhead lights flicker and for a while, I’m in complete darkness.  My eyes adjust just in time for the room to illuminate again.

The dehydration gets to me and by the time the door opens again, my head is pounding. Someone hisses my name and then the masked man enters.

“You have a visitor.” He gestures behind him, and two goons drag in a slumped figure.

He’s so covered in blood that I don’t recognise him at first, but as soon as they throw him face-first into the concrete, I’m crawling over.

“Bruce,” I struggle to get him on his back. “Bruce, can you hear me?”

The door slams shut, leaving us alone. His right eye is swollen to the point of closure and a combination of fresh and dried blood paints his face. Still, his lips tilt up when he looks at me.

My tears are immediate, sliding down my cheeks and onto Bruce. My hands shake as I reach and wipe them from his face. His hand reaches up and slowly takes mine, intertwining our fingers.

“Are you okay?” His voice is rougher than usual.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I squeeze his hand.

His smile is a light in the darkness.

I slip my hand out of his grasp and he groans as I pull him up to lay his head on my lap. He shifts, then seemingly finds a comfortable position as he sighs and relaxes.

“How long have I been here?” I bring my hands to his hair, lightly scratching his scalp.

“12 hours,” he diverts his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

I use my grip on his hair to tilt his head back. His eyes are glassy, full of unshed tears.

“You came as soon as you could,” I whisper. “That’s all that matters.”

He nods but I know he doesn’t believe me. It’ll take a long time for him to admit this isn’t his fault. Even longer to forgive himself.

We stay like that until I drift off, feeling safe now that Bruce is with me. I don’t know what we’ll do next. If Bruce will break us out or if we wait for the police to come. But he’s here and I know he’ll protect me. No matter the cost.

--

I awake to the sounds of gunfire, immediately thrashing against my restraints.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” It’s only after this sentence is repeated a few times that I finally calm down.

The gunfire seems to be coming from outside, but the room is in complete darkness. Strong arms are wrapped around my waist and I’m sitting in Bruce’s lap, his head resting on my shoulder.

“What’s happening?” I find Bruce’s hand in the dark and entwine our fingers.  

“We’re being rescued,” his voice vibrates through my back.

“By the police?”

“I don’t think so.” He squeezes me tighter against him.

I open my mouth to respond when I’m blinded by the light. I blink a few times and as my eyes adjust, I see the silhouette of a caped crusader in the doorway. It’s Batman.

I find myself sinking further into Bruce’s grip, confusion spreading through my veins. If that’s Bruce, who is holding me? Or more likely, if Bruce is holding me, who is that?

“It’s okay,” Bruce whispers into my ear. He starts to stand up, bringing me with him. “I promise.”

He goes to set me on my feet, but my legs give way. I stumble forward and Batman catches me before Bruce has the chance to.

“I’ve got you,” his voice isn’t as deep as Bruce’s. I look up at his eyes, shocked to find them blue. They’re not as deep as Dr Crane’s, which is strangely relieving.

Bruce limps over, “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Can you walk?” The imposter Batman asks.

“I-I don’t think so,” I admit, wincing as soon as I put any weight on my right leg.

“Is anything broken?” Bruce asks, looking at ‘Batman’.

Batsy’s eyes scan over my body, his eyes squinted in concentration.

“No,” he says. “It seems like the toxin has loosened their muscles. Everything should be back to normal after a few days.”

“Thank you.” Bruce lets out a breath of relief.

He wraps his arms around me and with a grunt, cradles me to his chest.

“Bruce,” Batman places his hand on his shoulder. “You’re injured.”

“I can do it.”

“You’re hurt.” I place my hand on his other shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Please, let Batman,” I look sceptically at the man, “take me.”

I can see the hesitance on Bruce’s face, his eyes are glassy when he finally nods. The masked vigilante quickly takes me into his arms, holding me bridal style.

“I’ll be back in a second to get you,” he says to Bruce.

“Okay,” Bruce leans over and kisses my forehead. “Be careful.”

“Of course,” Batman speaks with sincerity.

He turns around and heads for the door, only stopping when Bruce yells across the room.

“Remember, there are cameras.”

Batman mutters an ‘of course’ under his breath and I felt a jolt run through me. Almost as if he had jumped and hit the earth again.

The stranger runs out of the room and down the hallway. I can’t help the tears that run down my face, anxiety for Bruce curling through me. He’s always been such a stubborn man, which has caused so many issues. He must be in so much pain to suddenly accept the help of this stranger.

“Bruce is okay.” The stranger says, “he’s just worried about you.”

“How do you know?” My voice is muffled as I push my face further into his chest, failing to hide my tears.

“I just do.”

I know he’s left the building when I feel the wind whipping at my hair. I lean away from him and take a deep breath, grateful for the fresh air. The stranger smoothly sits me on the grass before looking back at the building.

“I’ll be right back.” Before I can say anything, he’s gone.

Taking a moment, I look around. The sun is high in the sky, making me think it’s around midday. Based on what Bruce told me, I guess that I’ve been in that room for about 36 hours.

The grass is green and soft under my fingertips, and I run my hands through it, grounding myself. I’m sitting on a hill, overlooking the city of Gotham. My eyebrows furrow when I notice the barbed wire fence, trapping me with the building. Turning, I catch sight of the Arkham Asylum sign.

What on earth am I doing here? Does Dr Crane know that a criminal is keeping hostages in his asylum?

Questions are still running through my head when Batman walks outside, supporting a limping Bruce. I struggle to stand up and by the time I’ve got my footing, they’re right in front of me.

“Bruce,” I make toddler-like grabby hands at him, and he instantly hobbles to my side, taking me into his arms.

“Forgive me.”

Before I have time to ask what he’s talking about, lights start flashing behind me. It’s far enough away that I know it must come from behind the fence.

“What are they doing here?” I murmur, pressing my nose into the crook of his shoulder and neck, closing my eyes.

His hand rubs soothing circles on my back, “we need to make the idea of Bruce and Batman being the same person impossible.”

I hum into his neck; I understand why they’re here, but I still don’t want to look at them.

“The police are going to show up any second,” Bruce whispers in my ear. Like clockwork, I can hear sirens in the distance. “Are you okay to talk to them?”

I nod into his neck, refusing to open my eyes. “Just don’t leave me.”

“Never.”

--

It’s night by the time we get back to the manor. After the police arrived, they ushered us past the press and straight to the hospital. I had to almost beg for Bruce to be checked, as his stubbornness reared its head again. Once we’d been cleared, we were taken back to the station for statements. While it had been painful to relive, Bruce was by my side the entire time. His hand never left mine.

Batman had vanished into the night the second the police arrived, having had whispered something into Bruce’s ear.

We are approaching the steps to the house when the door opens, and Alfred basically flies out. Before I could get out a word, he pulled me into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” his tone is one I’d never heard before.

I wrap my arm around him and squeeze him tight, my other hand still holding Bruce’s.

Alfred ushered us inside, where a man is sitting on the couch. He stands up and walks over, shaking hands with Bruce.

“I’m so glad to see you’re okay,” he says, turning to me.

“Thank you,” I can’t help but move closer to Bruce, causing him to wrap his arm around my waist.

“A, this is Clark.” Bruce gestures to the man, “Our stand in Batman.”

I can’t help the blush that runs from my neck to my cheeks.

“O-Of course, it’s lovely to meet you.” I reach out and shake his hand.  “Sorry, I’m very tired.”

I can feel Bruce’s eyes piercing my skin, his hand squeezing my waist.

“It’s okay,” Clark smiles. “I better head back to Metropolis, I just wanted to check you were both okay.”

Bruce grabs his shoulder. “I owe you one.”

Clark smiles, “No, you don’t.”

--

I trace Bruce’s scars with my fingertip, amazed at their number. You’d never expect a billionaire to have a bruise, never mind various welts of scar tissue. He shivers as I run over a sensitive spot, nudging his face further into the crook of my neck.

“What are you doing?” his voice is muffled, but I still hear him clearly.

“Memorising you,” I whisper.

He pulls his head back and leans his cheek against my own. “Why?”

“Why not?” I run my finger over his sensitive spot again, amazed when the skin twitches. There’s something incredible about having such a massive effect on such a gorgeous man.

“You’re not planning on going anywhere, are you?” I can feel his frown and confirm it as he pulls back to look me in the eyes. The blanket around his waist shifts, revealing the top of his backside.  

“Not without you,” I admit. “But I do feel like we’ve earned a holiday.”

I slide my hand down his back and to the curve of his ass, which is scarless and soft. He shifts in my grasp, and I feel him start to harden against my thigh.

“Maybe you’re right,” he sighs, ghosting his lips over mine. “You pick a time, I’ll pick the place.”

“Where do you have in mind?” He skates his hand down my side, resting it on my hip.

“Somewhere hot,” all at once he pushes me onto my back and slots his hips between my thighs. He’s leaning on his elbows to avoid crushing me, but his body is pressed firmly against mine. “Somewhere that doesn’t require many clothes.”

I’m giggling when he finally kisses me, taking my breath away.

[skiyoosmi]

if fate permits

⤷ chapter thirty one: treachery

prev < masterlist > next

marga's notes. sorry this took years to post i was dead (inside) jk lol pls blame my uni for burning me out

Perhaps, I was too ambitious to think this would be a plain sailing journey. How ironic, it's the exact opposite of what is happening. Doubt and confusion presents itself as soon as I decide to fight our fate. My mind only has perplexity and skepticism. How could it not? I mean, what do you even do when somebody claims to be your fated one but your soul rejects the notion?

The sound of the television's static travels to your ears as Kiyoomi scrolls through his phone to find a good movie to watch for the night, accompanied by the sound of your mother chopping the ingredients of your family's dinner from the kitchen, albeit somewhat muffled. Your fingers remain hovering over the laptop's keyboard, unsure if you should still continue writing when once again, various things distract you, most of them unwelcomed. As if on cure, your phone chimes for the nth time, signaling that you've received yet another text. You only let out an exasperated sigh and pick up the device, reading the message.

[7:15] Hajime: Hey, wanna vc? Just ate dinner, hope you did too :)

For some reasons you don’t know, Iwaizumi just can’t leave you alone from the moment you got off the plane, went outside the airport up until now, where you’re spending your time with your father and brother after being away from them for so long. It was heart fluttering at first, really; how excited he was to see and to be with you. However, some things are just too much sometimes, especially when all you wanted to do was watch said movie and catch up with your family. It was peace: something you craved for as of the moment because in the back of your mind, you knew that the following months would become chaotic.

The gray screen gets filled with vivid colors when Kiyoomi finally finishes setting up a random romantic comedy movie. Quickly typing out a response, you hit the send button. 

[7:17PM] You: That’s good to hear. We already ate as well. Currently watching a movie with ‘Omi and Dad right now so I won’t be able to reply after this. Have a good night :)

[7:19PM] Hajime: Ah.. okay then. Good night, soulmate <3

You pause to read his last message before finally turning the do not disturb mode on and lightly tossing the phone to the side. Heaving yet another sigh, you catch the attention of your brother who was sitting beside you.

"Do you not like this movie? We can change it if you want, it hasn't been that long anyway," your brother suggests, an eyebrow rising when you shake your head. Your dad was long asleep by the couch he usually relaxes on, probably fatigued from the week's work. You turn to your brother's gaze.

"No, just thinking…" you trail off, "what do you think of Iwaizumi?"

Kiyoomi merely shrugs, “eh, he’s fine.”

You huff, “at least give an effort to think about it more. I’m asking a serious question here, you know?”

The frustrated expression on your face causes your brother to ponder over the query a bit more before sighing, “this is difficult. We’re not even that close for me to comment on him. But he looks decent, like he can take care of you.”

His brows furrow when he perceives the slight disappointment on your face, almost as if you were expecting to hear him say negative things instead, “what’s up with you?”

“You really think he’s good?” you lightly say, eyes wandering as if lost further in your own thoughts. He hums, “yeah, something like that. But then again, you don’t need him to take care of you. You can do that yourself, and even if you can’t, you have me, or Osamu.. And his brother, Atsumu.”

He takes note of the way your face subconsciously lights up at the mention of the blonde’s name. Instinctively, it’s always him. 

“O-okay,’’ you stutter with a light blush. 

He ignores it though, it’s a topic set for another time and goes to ask instead, “mind filling me on why you suddenly ask about Iwaizumi-san?” 

Your somberness returns and once again, you look confused, doubtful, “well, he said he was my soulmate…”

Kiyoomi’s eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.

You don’t notice it as you continue to ramble on, “and I don’t know why but I just find it difficult to believe him and I feel guilty about that. ‘Cause I try to think about it, he doesn’t have any reason to lie to me, right? Especially since you yourself said he was a good guy. But, ugh, this is so complicated.”

“Come again?” He asks through gritted teeth, his fists starting to clench in anger. You look at him oddly, which turns to a glare in a second, annoyed that he wasn’t fully listening, “I said… I find it difficult–”

“No, not that. The one before that.”

“Ugh, I said Hajime told me he was my soulmate before. You know, the one I can’t remember? Well, at least that’s what I thought but apparently, he thinks it was a malfunction with the soulmate system. Because I can clearly remember him as my friend and yet, he insists that maybe the system distorted my memories or something like that,” you finish talking, expectantly looking at him, lurching backwards when you see his reaction, “Hey… you okay, ‘Omi? Okay.. I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t supposed to search for him anymore nor entertain soulmate stuff.. but you know how impo–”

“Let’s not talk about it anymore,” he abruptly stands up from the couch and quickly makes his way upstairs. You scramble to get up, “hey! Where are you going? Omi! You said you wanted to watch this movie…”

You only hear his bedroom door close as a response. 

“Geez, what got up that weirdo’s ass? So much for a movie night.. one falls asleep right away while the other has very bad mood swings,” you mutter under your breath, shaking your head as you go back to the living room, picking up your phone and trudging upstairs to your bedroom. You unlock your phone and see messages from Osamu and another from Hajime. 

[7:30PM] Samu: Tomorrow. Here at our house. I don’t accept a no. Good night ^_^

[7:35PM] Hajime: Oh, by the way, do you want to go out tomorrow? (:

“Sorry, Haji. Don’t really want to disappoint Samu,” you whisper as you type out replies for the both of them, the guilt of not minding if you disappoint Hajime instead becomes a fleeting thought.

Before you can even raise your fist to knock, the familiar wooden front door opens widely and you are welcomed by the sight of your gray-haired best friend. He pulls you in a tight hug and mumbles curses as he buries his face in your neck, “You took too long… way too long, idiot.” 

“It was only a few years, you dramatic ass. Never took you to be a clingy type of friend,” you hug him back with the same tightness before letting him go and walking inside their humble abode. He excitedly leads you to the living room, “wait here. Let me just get my brother.”

“Uhh… what?”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you, we’re going out with him. You know, like what we used to all do when we were–” his eyes widened as if he remembered something before lightly coughing and continuing to speak, “I mean… like what we both used to do, you know? But this time, with him. It’s been a long time since he came home too… and this could be a chance for you two to get closer to one another.”

He finishes rambling, internally praying you don’t catch the nervousness in his voice due to his slip-up a moment ago. He curses when he sees you slowly nod. With so many years of knowing you, Osamu already knew from your expressions that you caught even that minor mistake, how you’re currently scrutinizing each and every word they all speak ever since you came back and how you’re starting to get suspicious about everyone around you.

He doesn’t know if he should thank or curse Kiyoomi for giving him a heads up about your plans to find your soulmate. It makes him so conscious, so nervous he might accidentally tell you that the very person you’re trying to find is his dearest twin brother.

At the present, however, he only gulps and prays instead that you just pretend you didn’t notice anything. You do exactly that when you shrug and tell him, “alright then. That’s no problem for me.”

“G-good,” he says a little too loudly, mentally slapping himself to get it together, “I’ll… get Atsumu now hehe.”

You narrow your eyes at his weirdness, shaking your head before bringing your phone out to check your socials. You hum with interest as you open a message from Hajime.

I like to believe that I’m trying– that I enjoy the idea of being his soulmate, that I look on with favor to partaking in this play pretend, this fantastical theatrics of trying to work things out the way they are– me as his fated one, him as mine.

[9:09AM] Hajime-kun: Good morning, soulmate :) I’m a bit bummed we couldn’t go out. Anyway, enjoy your day with Osamu. Hopefully, it’ll finally be my day tomorrow?

[9:10AM] You: Good morning, Hajime-kun. Sorry again about that hehe but sure, I think I’m finally free tomorrow haha 

[9:12AM] Hajime-kun: Great! Also, I told you to drop the honorifics. You feel so distant when you use it *sadly sighs*

[9:13AM] You: Silly. I just respect you that much, okay? 

You hear multiple footsteps coming down so you quickly type out another message for him.

[9:14AM] You: Anyway, I have to go now. See you tomorrow.

You type out the word soulmate at the end of your text, only to delete it as soon as you pull on your heart. 

But I’m no actress. It’s all treachery. Whenever I try to give him  a chance, I feel like a traitor. It’s almost as if I was betraying someone, like I’m unknowingly breaking somebody else’s heart, my soulmate’s heart, somebody who my heart believes was not him. So I step back and hesitate, maybe I should just stop this. To prevent any more complications, to not feel guilty towards anyone, not to you and not to him. 

Before you can drown deeper in your thoughts, the twins come into view. You give Atsumu a shy smile as a greeting, feeling your heart skip when he returns the gesture. Osamu looks back and forth at the two of you and thinks, I guess the soulmate system really is a scam, huh? Even fate can’t handle these two. So obvious.

He rolls his eyes and scoffs, “What are you two? High schoolers? You could do better than those shy smiles.”

You both awkwardly chuckle, both cursing the gray-haired lad in your minds. 

“Fine, fine. It’s nice to see you again, Atsumu-san,” you genuinely smile and Atsumu’s heart skips. So pretty, he thought.

“It’s also nice to see ya again.”

Welcome home, YN, the blonde thinks with relief and solace filling his soul.

“Waah, it’s been so long since I came here,” you exclaim as your eyes take in the view of the very familiar and busy street market of your hometown. Atsumu looks at you fondly, hands itching to just grab yours and pull you to his arms while you stroll around the area but his thoughts don’t let him get too far as his twin calls him. “You’re too obvious, boy. You look like a lovesick puppy,” Osamu snorts, hands in his pockets as they watch you excitedly talk to the stall owners, “she wanted you to look at her that way for so long, yanno? Too long.”

“Yeah… I still regret that,” Atsumu sadly smiles, “Nothing much I can do about it now. Our fate’s passed.”

“Or so you think,” his twin shrugs when the blonde looks at him with confusion, “YN… even without her memories of you, is still YN. It’s funny, actually. Even fate couldn’t control her. Even after all that has happened, she still wants to find you. So don’t be a coward, Tsum. You don’t need to ask the world nor the gods for a second chance. YN… she’s giving it to you herself already, even without you asking.”

Atsumu looks at you once more, heart painfully throbbing at your smile as you call the both of them over to where you are. 

“She doesn’t realize it, neither do ya but… she still looks at ya the same way as she did before,” Osamu finishes as he pats Atsumu’s back before walking to you.

“Hey! You two walk so slow,” you comment, pointing to the stall in front of you, “they have ice cream there. Want some?”

“I’ll get it,” Atsumu says as he brings out his wallet.

“I’ll have mint chocolate,” Osamu says. You open your mouth to say your order but the blonde beats you to it.

“Vanilla with chocolate drip and those colorful sprinkles on top. Your favorite, right?” Atsumu says without looking up while he tries getting some coins out. You and his twin become silent, shocked at his familiarity. Osamu internally screams at his twin, this idiot! 

On the other hand, you freeze. How did he know such a very specific detail about you?

Realizing what he just said, Atsumu stops as well, the gears in his head turning to think of an excuse, “Uhm… that was weird for me to know, huh? It’s just that Osamu complained so much about it when I was abroad. Guess it just registered in my brain hehe.”

Nice save, he thought.

“Oh…really? Haha, that’s… interesting to hear haha,” you awkwardly laugh.

“Yeah… anyway, I’m gonna–” he gestures to the stall before practically running to it.

As soon as you thought he was already far enough from the two of you, you grip Osamu’s arm and pull him closer to you and threateningly ask, “This is a question that requires an answer if you want to live through the day– who was Atsumu’s soulmate? Why is his thread also cut off?”

He yelps and stutters, “W-what? What soulmate… I have no idea!”

You tighten your grip on him, “Oh, please, Miya Osamu. I know you have an idea.”

He gulps, “I-I swear I don’t. We never knew because Atsumu couldn’t see the thread.” 

You weren’t fully satisfied with his answer yet you had no choice but to let go of him as you see Atsumu coming back. You look at Osamu with a stare that tells him you were definitely not done with the said topic yet. God, she can be scary sometimes, the lad thinks and shivers in fear.

The blonde hands you your ice cream and smiles before looking around, eyes stopping at another stall.

“Oh, look! They sell waffles there, I think? I remember it’s also your favo–” he stops talking before correcting himself, “I remember Osamu saying it’s also your favorite, am I right?”

“Oh… uhh… yeah, you’re right,” you watch them argue with their eyes, frowning. 

“I’ll buy it this time!” Osamu squeaks out, rushing off and leaving you two.

“He’s so weird,” you comment as you stand beside Atsumu, giggling when he agrees.

“I know right. The gods know how much I’ve put up with that ass,” he shakes his head before sighing, “But he’s put up with me so much as well and probably more… humbled me for so many times already. I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions in my life, yanno? But for some reason, he’s the one always anchoring me, bringing me back and reminding me I could try again,” he pauses and says thoughtfully, “that it’s never selfish to take a second chance at things… or the people I love.”

You look at him and find him already looking at you, melancholy swimming deep in his eyes. You feel another painful twist in your heart and find your eyes welling up. A tear falls down which makes you gasp, hand reaching up but Atsumu beats you to it, his palm was already on your cheek, the pad of his thumb wiping the lone tear. Realizing what he has done, he starts pulling back his hand, “sorry. I should’ve asked for your conse–”

He halts when you wrap your hand around his wrist, placing it back.

“You know, Atsumu-san. Looking at you hurts like hell,” you start, closing your eyes as you feel more tears coming down, “whenever I look at you, my heart does this painful thing where it almost feels like I’m about to have a heart attack. It’s excruciating but… it makes me feel so alive, so full at the same time. It makes me think– what if… what if you were my soulmate and I just forgot?”

You open your eyes and sadly chuckle, “I think I’m weird like Osamu too.”

You bring down both of your hands and intertwine it, “Sorry for this.”

Your heart skips yet again when he grips your hand tighter after squeezing it, all while mumbling, ‘it’s okay… I think.”

However, there's also a chord of restlessness that sits within me, eager to fill the gaps in my mind even if the universe and our fate is against doing so. Maybe, this is a taboo. Something that must remain unexplored, untouched. The complexity of it all must be left unknown, for ignorance is a bliss, they say right? Unfortunately for them, for me, and for you… the gravity that pulls me towards him is too great, too satisfying to not acknowledge. So, how can I, a mere personification of hope, not consider that blonde hair and amber eyes to be the house of the soul I’m searching for?

Treachery? Betrayal? A traitor to my soulmate? None of those matters. 

Not when you make me feel different, Atsumu.

[nishithedevil]

As promised, part 3!

Capital Prince and District Princess

Lucy Gray x capital gn reader

part 1 part 2 part 4 part 5

The next day, we mentors were escorted to a large circular building, informed that we would be required to convene with our assigned tributes and devise strategies for the impending games. As we stepped into the room one by one, the tributes were already present. The setting featured small metal tables with two chairs each, arranged around the railing on the second floor. In the center was a sizable hole offering a view of the lower floor. The tributes sat on chairs facing away from the railing, handcuffed to the metal tables, while an empty chair was positioned in front of them.

We were instructed to stand a few paces away from these vacant chairs, positioned in front of our designated tributes. Upon entering the spacious room, my attention immediately fixed on Lucy Gray – her vibrant, colorful dress made her unmistakable. All I wanted to do was rush to her and envelop her in an embrace, shielding her from the harsh and cruel realities of this chaotic world. She occupied the table positioned to the right of the entrance.

When I positioned myself as told, I saw Corio a few tables to my right, doing the same in front of Jessup. Professor Highbottom soon walked in alone, took a few steps towards us and began talking.

"In spite of yesterday's tragic events, our president has decided that the show must go on. Show everyone the capital is not afraid of such acts of terror. To which end, doctor Gall wishes you to preview the arena this afternoon with your tributes. Later this evening, there will be a special televised presentation of each tribute to our audience to, y'know, get to know them. You have an hour to come up with a strategy."

We were all turned towards him, watching and listening to him as we spoke. He stood there for a few more beats, then turned around and walked back to the entrance. Though he stopped in his tracks and pulled out a tiny vial with, presumably, his favorite alcoholic drink, and downed it in one go. As he pocketed it he spoke out loud again, "You may begin." when he noticed we were still standing.

We all did as we were told and went to sit down in the empty cold chair. I realized something I didn’t before - a very thin small notebook on the table with a pen on top of it. Most definitely put there for us to write down what we agree on and possibly use it for the news later on.

Lucy Gray was the first to speak up, "I'm so sorry about your classmate."

In response, I offered her a small, tight-lipped smile. "Thank you," I replied, and then, after studying her for a moment, I mustered the courage to ask, "...Are you okay?"

She grimaced at my question. "Wearing my mom's dress is the only thing keeping me together. It's like she's..." she sucks her breath in through gritted teeth before continuing, "wrapping her arms around me." then looked down at her handcuffed hands.

I couldn’t think of anything to say in this situation that would sound even mildly comforting, so I decided on speaking a bit of truth. "My mother, she used to smell like roses. She died in childbirth." At that I feel a few tears forming in my eyes. "We were going to have a third twin."

"Are... are both of your parents gone?" Lucy Gray asked, her gaze still directed downward. I could only nod in response, my fingers fidgeting with the pen in my hand. "So you're an orphan, like me," she concluded, her voice lowered. The atmosphere around us suddenly changed, and it felt…uncomfortable. Turns out Lucy Gray’s past was a tough conversation for her. I didn’t press further.

Instead I tilt my head to the side, in silent understanding if not a bit of disbelief. It’s interesting that despite having such different backgrounds we still had some things in common like that.

Not knowing how much time we had left, I knew that we at least had to discuss something about the games. "So, I came up with a few ideas,” I began, “every new one more absurd than the other. But for now before I can fully complete one, I need one favor from you. That's all."

Lucy Gray lifted her gaze, anticipating my request. "I just need you to sing. In these interviews.” Before letting her get a word in, I continued, “It's just, the night before the games is your last chance to win people over. I can't send you gifts in the arena without their money."

She looks to the side, seemingly in thought, and then back at my fidgeting hands, "Maybe a guitar can persuade me.” then she leaned forward a little bit and with a warning tone says, “Maybe.”. She leaned back on the chair and asked, "You really wanna take care of me in that arena, Y/N?"

I lift my head up from looking down at my hands that I unconsciously put in my lap and turned my gaze right at her. She leaned in on the table, I followed suit and said, "Start by believing that I can actually win."

I was struck speechless for a second, "N-no, Lucy Gray you misunderstood me I-'' But I was cut off by the professor calling out, "Snow, let's go." I lift my head up in confusion but then I see my brother walking towards the professor with one of our classmates, to which my confusion subsided and I turned back toward Lucy, gathering my words to clear this.

I grab her hands in mine, giving her a squeeze as she looked down at them with a puzzled expression before lifting her head up to look at me. "Of course I believe you can win Lucy Gray. If you want to so badly, I will do everything in my power to help you from outside. But my plans don't involve you winning the game. My plan just involves you surviving the first 3-ish days."

Now she looked at me even more puzzled, but this time with thoughtfulness and a surge of confidence. "What do you have in mind, my little rebel?" she smirks, leaning ever closer to me.

The only thing I could feel in that moment was my beating heart going faster and faster, and I began being hyper aware of my surroundings. Especially on how soft her hands were, despite how she has been treated these past few days. It felt as though I was holding a very delicate flower and one sudden move can make it collapse and crumble in my hands. They were soft as silk.

The professor suddenly turned towards us, "Alright, time's up, that was enough planning. Now let's see how well you can put that in practice." I didn’t even realize he was near because of how close Lucy Gray was. After his words, the peacekeepers escorted us out before returning their attention to the tributes and harshly beginning to uncuff them and push them out. I let go of Lucy Gray’s hands and with one last glance I mouthed, ‘I’ll see you’ before turning away from her.

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

As they lined the tribute I was to the side with my classmates when I almost lost my balance and awareness before my eyes landed on Lucy Gray, which somehow grounded me and I walked up to her when I realized they were all lined up and waiting. All mentors positioned themselves next to their tributes, behind me Jessup stood alone. I almost started wondering where the hell Corio had gone to, but then I heard footsteps running, and when I turned I saw him adjusting himself standing next to Jessup. Thankfully he arrived before we started moving.

As we walked towards the very dark tunnel entry, all the tributes were looking around, trying not to freak out. I do gotta admit, it did look very eerie. Walking through the bars, a woman's voice echoed around us, speaking "Enjoy the show" in a very monotone way.

When we passed the security bars, without looking anywhere but in front of me, I took a hold of Lucy Gray's hand, not sure if I was seeking comfort for her, or trying to give her some. Lucy Gray looked down at our intertwined hands, but I could not see her reaction due to the darkness. Not long after walking in though, we saw two cameramen close by to our right, so we had to let go of our hands, hoping the camera did not catch our small act of affection.

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Lucy Gray from moving closer to me, bumping our shoulders gently, seemingly looking for comfort now more than ever.

As we were moving around, a guy with curly hair walked up to the cameramen and grabbed them, asking them to turn their cameras to his tribute. Suddenly we hear a loud noise from behind and realize that the doors have been shut. But then around us big windows started to be revealed, shut behind big metal slides. Light began pouring inside the arena. My body turned towards Lucy Gray, though she probably didn’t notice me in that moment as she was looking at the surroundings..

Then we heard a booming male voice, "Welcome to the arena of the 10th annual Hunger Games. Tributes, mentors, you have 15 minutes to survey the space and discuss strategy."

Everyone around us was doing their own thing. Some mentors were telling their tributes a strategy, some were still looking around. Lucy Gray turned to me slowly, "Please, don't let me die in here tomorrow, Y/N.” her voice was becoming smaller and more worrisome as she spoke, “Please." This was nothing like the Lucy Gray from before. Seeing her in this state brought a chill down my spine at how uncomfortable I was for having her put in this situation, even if I had no choice in her being here. But I had to ground myself, no time for regret. Now it’s time to find a way to get her out of here alive.

Just as she said those words, on the far end of us an explosion occurred. The impact of the explosion blew us away and we all fell. Suddenly the arena was exploding from every side possible, and instinctively I tried to crawl towards Lucy Gray, to cover her with my body, thinking that that would do something to protect her from the flying debris everywhere around.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that since the impact from every new explosion blew us away in a different direction, so me and Lucy Gray just stuck together on our hands and knees trying to find a way to escape. As we stood up an explosion from above came and all I could think about in that moment was Lucy Gray. So I pushed her away as everything fell from above.

I tried to run in her direction, but I got knocked down, a big pillar landing on my lower half, trapping me underneath it. I tried crawling out from under it, but it was to no avail. I managed to wheeze out, "Help me" to anyone who could hear me, thinking this was going to be my end. I could barely breathe from all the smoke and dust everywhere.

As I slowly lift my head towards the light, the entry tunnel, I heard voices yelling for everyone to get a move on and get out of there. All of a sudden, through the dust all around, I could slowly make out a figure coming towards me. As it got closer and closer I soon realized it was none other than Lucy Gray, running to my aid. She stopped for a second above me, looking at the situation, before she went to the side and with all her might tried to lift up the pillar.

At that moment Jessup came rushing from behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder and sliding down in front of her, "C'mon, the gate is open." He gets on his hands and knees and grabs her by the hand, "Cmon! They wouldn't have saved you!" He exclaimed frantically before giving up and standing up. Without one quick glance back at her, he starts sprinting towards the exit.

Two other tributes follow him but then they are suddenly shot at by peacekeepers behind us. Lucy Gray instinctively leans down on the ground so they don't see her.

As they run towards the two tributes, Lucy Gray starts lifting the pillar with all her might, managing to lift just enough for me to slide out from.

Just as I turn on my back and exhale, we smile at each other through the dust. Out of nowhere a peacekeeper comes and grabs Lucy Gray by the arm, lifting her up and taking her away. We extend our hands to grab a hold of each other, Lucy Gray struggling against the peacekeeper, but it’s to no avail, and she is taken away from me as I gradually slip into unconsciousness.

[gojoed]

DON’T WATCH ME DANCING. | vash x reader | 1k words.

The saloon was relatively quiet and peaceful for being a saloon. 

Very few patrons inhabited the area; a group of men in the corner laughing while smoking and throwing cards at their table's surface; a pair of people at the bar sharing drinks and idly chatting. A person passed out, sleeping on their table.

Music played softly over the speakers of the building, gentle tunes and melodic rhythms. It helped guide the only two people swaying slowly on the ‘dance floor’ of the saloon. A man donning a long red coat and over-sized glasses guided your body with his, your head resting comfortably against his chest.

The warmth emitting from Vash could have put you to sleep if you weren’t dancing.

A sigh full of content escaped your lips, allowing a soft chuckle to release from the depths of Vash’s core. The emotion that was carried in your sigh made him press the palm of his hand firmer on the small of your back more. His fingers digging into you softly, the tips of them warm, a pleasant feeling. 

The town in which you decide to stay the night in was welcoming, no guns pointed at your heads or chases around town. Instead only friendly smiles and a peaceful night.

It was a nice change of scenery, being able to walk on the sandy streets and not worry so much about potential harms coming your way. A break from all the chaos that seemed to follow the blond man everywhere he went. 

So you considered this night a blessing. 

You were pulled from your thoughts when Vash pulled you away from his body slightly, spinning you softly before reattaching himself to you. Gentle laughs filled the dance floor, a smile making itself at home on both your lips as Vash put his forehead against yours. 

Normally when he would do this, it would be in the privacy of your room, for that was when his markings would appear and make themself present. But there were rare times where Vash would allow himself to let go, to allow himself to sigh in your hold in the presence of few people.

You both swayed with foreheads leaning against each other, never missing or misplacing a step. With one of your hands on the side of his face, Vash practically purred and leaned further into your touch, eyebrows pinching together slightly. Vash let his own hand reach where yours was, grabbing onto your wrist and anchoring himself to you. As if, if he didn’t, you would slip away.

“Wouldn’t you like.. Something more than this?”

His voice could barely be heard, a small sound in an even bigger room. If you weren’t so close to him you wouldn’t be able to hear him at all.

“What do you mean by that, honey?”

Vash’s lips pulled into a small smile at the name you always called him, although it felt a bit bittersweet.

“I can’t.. Give you a home. The only things I can give you are hotel rooms to stay in and small moments of peace. Wouldn’t you want someone who could give you something better?”

His words should have surprised you, but they didn’t. Even if they shouldn’t. These past several, several, years you’ve spent alongside him, you’ve come to know this side of him.

The side that believed that everyone who ever met him deserved better than what they had received from him. Vash’s pessimistic mentality that always put himself down, never allowing himself to think that he deserved anything. Because why would he? In his mind it made sense. Everyone’s misery was tied to him, a hundred fifty years ago.

He even tried to push you away from him once, albeit softly, Vash couldn’t bear to hurt you. Distance though was never created between the two of you, you never allowed it. Because if that did happen, he would be alone. Even more alone after what happened with Nai in that old crashed plant ship years ago.

Pulling away from his face, you could see his eyes were looking down. They were so full of conflict, so full of doubts. You placed your other hand on the other side of his face, effectively trapping him. No running.

“Vash, look at me.”

When he didn’t you moved your thumbs to the edge of his lips, smushing them together. They puckered, giving him an adorable face that you couldn’t help but smile. 

“Look at me.”

The tone of your voice made a shiver run down his spine. Vash moved his eyes to yours, causing a small smile to return to his face when he saw that yours didn’t hold doubt, but adoration. Love. 

How did he deserve you?

“I could never ask for more, never Vash. The only thing I will ask of you is for you to trust me.”

He was about to rebut, claiming that he did trust you. He trusted you so much that it scared him. But a finger to his lips shushed him.

“Trust me when I say that you are my home, I mean it. I don’t need a roof over my head to make me feel safe. You give me so much more than you believe.”

Your words made his eyes begin to water. Vash’s other hand grabbed onto your other wrist and when he held onto it, he held on tightly. As if now he was the one who was going to slip away. He chuckled and sniffled softly, hoping no one in the saloon could hear. No need to draw attention to a crying man holding onto his lover on the middle of the dance floor. 

“You know.. You’re going to be the death of me.”

His tone now starting to lift, he brought one of your hands which had returned their fingers to their original place on either side of his face to his lips; placing a kiss that positively bled with all the love that he held for you.  It stained your skin and seeped into it. There’s no running from him once Vash let’s himself bleed onto you. 

[omnifatal]

p5r does such a good job building dread with its dramatic irony and if i don’t talk about it i’m gonna explode (p5r spoilers below)

we the player see from a third person omniscient perspective that someone kills Okumura’s shadow after we steal his treasure.

but even before than that Sae asks us in the flash forward what we did to him, implying that something went wrong. so the whole lead up to this palace is tense because we know something is going to go very wrong. the whole thing feels weird, the motivations for going after this guy feel somewhat flimsier than the other ones. the story is that we think Okumura is connected to the mental shutdowns, but Morgana repeatedly says throughout the palace that we haven’t seen any evidence of that, and then someone else will say “oh maybe it’s further in”.

his connection to all this ends up being tangential, he knows a guy who does the dirty work for him but he himself is a pawn in the greater game being played and he gets killed off by that puppet master. but then you have the whole 20 days of Haru being worried (this is her first time doing this so it’s natural) and everyone going “nah it’ll be fine!”

and you the player KNOW he’s going to die. the SIU director literally looks into the camera and goes “haha yes i will kill this guy at an opportune moment”. so you look at the countdown clock and it’s basically “countdown to everything going to shit”. it’s so fucking good. i didn’t actually enjoy the mechanics of Okumura’s palace all that much (it was probably my least favorite boss fight so far) but the sheer tension of it all carries it

and then right after that all goes down, Sae tells you she was the last target. and she asks you if you changed her heart. shit man i dunno the fact you’re listening to me kinda sounds like maybe we did! but it’s ambiguous, would she even know?

we KNOW that the team gets caught in this palace. it’s literally the intro, you’re in a casino trying to run from the cops. the question is, did you steal her treasure first? is she moments away (in the present) from getting killed by the people puppeteering you both? and who is that?

the way the Phantom Thieves go from plucky underdogs and victims of circumstance, to thinking they hold all the cards, back to being desperate kids with their back against the wall is so engaging. i need to know what happens next. it surely won’t be good

also shadow Sae is so hot for no reason

edit: how could i forget the fact we SEE AKECHI SEE US GO INTO THE PALACE and have to sit with that until the school festival when he reveals he knows everything. the way he says “everyone’s here” and futaba even says something about it. i’m gonna be sick.

[fox-bee926]

3 times you and Anthony Lockwood caught each other sleeping, and the 1 time both of you said “screw it.” 

Anthony Lockwood x fem!reader

PART 4 (Finale)

 Hi y’all! So, I finally finished the last chapter of “Screw it,” as I am now shortening it to. I’m not sure if I’m going to change the title officially or just the title in the masterlist, but that can be figured out at a proper time of day. I wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as I saw it fit to post. Thank you to everyone who liked, commented, and reblogged the parts of this fic. You have no idea how much it all means to me, so thank you <3

Without further ado, I present to you: the fluff.

(Also, please cut me some slack on the House scene. Im not the best at writing fight scenes but im going to try and improve. :) )

TW: murder, abuse, momentary talk of abortion, more cursing than in previous parts, lack of communication, significant fluff.

Word Count: 3.5 K Taglist: @galactidiot

part one part two part three part four

“Guys, guys, guys, I figured it out!” The downstairs members of Lockwood and Co. were not sure you would survive going down the stairs at the speed you went. You half ran into the table, out of breath from zooming two flights of stairs.

Lucy held out her hands to steady you as you caught your breath. “Whatever you’ve figured out can’t be more important than not breaking your neck on the stairs, yeah?” You both gave out a laugh at that. George and Lockwood looked at you two from their places at the sink.

“Sorry about that, but this couldn’t wait,” Lockwood silently set down a cup of tea in front of you. “Abigail’s mother was pregnant when she killed her husband. That’s the reason she made the decision to kill him. She had her youngest child almost exactly 8 months after his death. Her doctor ordered a pregnancy test days before she killed her husband.” You sipped your tea and sent a look of thanks to Lockwood. He only turned and returned to George’s side.

George’s face scrunched together as he thought. “Even if you’re right, how does that help us figure out what the source is?” Your smile went wide as you held up a finger then ran off to the living room. 

“This,” you came back and set down her financial records on the table. “She made a significantly larger purchase than usual only days before the murder. I think they were baby things. Like diapers, toys, a crib, the whole lot.” Everyone, even Lockwood, looked at you skeptically. But then, George grinned.

“You think the source is something she bought for the baby.”

“It would make sense! If she killed her husband to get a better life for her future family, what better place to decide than looking at something that represents that future?” You looked down when they still looked at you like you were crazy. “I know it’s a long shot, but what else do we have?”

Lockwood pressed off from the counter and crossed his arms. “We can do a full sweep of the house again, check everything with a new perspective. Lucy, you said you couldn’t hear much, maybe it’s because we weren’t listening for the right sounds.” He patted George on the back, and grinned at Lucy. “We can go tonight. Better to get this over and done with, and move on.”

His demeanor seemed cold in some ways, despite the warmth he displayed for George and Lucy. Your intuition told you that something was bothering him, and you had a suspicion what it was. As he left the kitchen, you tried to catch him. Your hand brushed his forearm but he only maneuvered farther out of your reach. The feelings that were expressed last night had had quite the effect on both of you, apparently one more than the other.

____

“Alright everyone, stay sharp. We don’t want a repeat of last time.” Lockwood opened the doors of the house and you all went straight inside. It was decided that you and Lockwood would take one half of the house, Lucy and George the other. Thanks to Flo Bones, both teams finally had radios. Although you weren’t sure how much help they would be.

They had found out the husband had held a lot of pent up rage when Lockwood and Lucy had initially investigated the house. Lockwood became temporarily ghost-locked, and Lucy ended up getting literally thrown out of the house when she saved him. It was not an experience anyone wanted to repeat to say the least.

You always hated the sounds of a haunted house. Sometimes you were thankful for the sound of all the salt bombs and magnesium flares in your duffel bag. Though you weren’t so thankful when the ghosts found you ten times faster because of it. 

You and Lockwood wandered the halls of the house, checking each room. Your rapier was uncomfortably strapped onto your right side, with your tool bag hanging from your arm. While you couldn’t wield your rapier as well as you used to, you compensated for having a Listening talent that was on par with Lockwood's’ Sight.

Your footsteps echoed softly throughout the house. “Are we going to talk about this morning? Or last night?” Your voice was only just above a whisper when you turned to Lockwood. The only sounds you two could hear were the doors creaking open and the wind rushing through some of the open windows. You hated it. It was like the ghost was trying to bide its time. You thought of no better time than the present to have some mind altering conversations.

Lockwood returned to the hallway as you continued your path through the house. “No. We are not. Last night shouldn’t have happened. I was an utter fool, and-”

“Stop.”

“No, it has to be said, I shouldn’t have made things complicated-”

“Are you going to break my heart or actually fucking listen to me and stop talking?” Lockwood tensed up at that. He hadn’t seen it as breaking your heart, merely saving himself the heartache of rejection. But he reconsidered his decision when he saw the anger on your face, and the tears welling up in your eyes. 

You turned back around to face the next three doors in the hallway. Energy pulsed around you and suddenly there was no more creaking or rushing, there was just nothing.

“Someone’s crying. It’s coming from the room at the end of the hall.” You and Lockwood move slowly towards the door. Both of you were getting increasingly worried that there was no activity from the ghost, nor radio chatter from Lucy and George.

You entered the room. There was no furniture in the room, but it had an air of warmth. An air of comfort. The only sound Lockwood could hear was the movement of the curtains. But you heard differently.

“It’s Abigail. She’s crying. She’s just ran out of the room. Her mom yelled at her, but she didn’t mean it. This was going to be the nursery. All the baby items are in here. She feels overjoyed, but scared when she looks at them.” You walk slowly into the room as Lockwood listens and keeps watch. 

He knew how Listeners could get when a haunting was this powerful. Despite all the words he said to you, he is worried. You had invested yourself so deep in this case. Lockwood was worried that you wouldn’t like what you heard in this room. Be careful, darling. I don’t think my heart could take it.

You spoke softly, but the distance in your voice told him you were not fully present. “Now she’s crying. For a moment she considers ending it. She heard of home remedies for this particular ailment from her neighbor. But the rattle. The rattle was rolling towards her. The rational part of her mind said it was the wind, but it could be more. It was her child calling to her.” You sink down in the middle of the room, facing said window. You could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, despite it being the dead of night for you. “She knew what she had to do. She wouldn’t let another one of her children witness their fathers violence.”

As Lockwood sees you kneel on the floor, he starts to see the faint start of a death glow. “Darling, we have to hurry. We know what the source is now, we just need to know where to find it. I know you can do this, but hurry.” He had never had much worry for his own life in these situations, but for you he was terrified.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Shade of a small child crawl towards you. You made no movement, so he dove to swipe at it with his rapier. As soon as he moved from the doorframe, the door slammed shut. This was the ghost’s plan all along. 

He tries to go for the radio attached to his belt, but the ghost starts to fly towards you. Lockwood slashes at it but you look none the wiser. You both had been so absorbed in the situation that you had dropped the toolkit outside of the room. He realized all the two of you had were the bombs on your belt and your rapiers.

“Okay, come on now, snap out of it!” Lockwood threw a bomb at the ghost and the sound had you take in a gasp, coming back to the present. As soon as you processed the situation, you stood up and drew your rapier. 

“Perfect timing! Where’s the source?” Lockwood yelled as he heard banging on the opposite side of the nursery door from Lucy and George. This ghost was powerful, and he doubted they could get in without having secured the source first. 

“Draw it away from the closet, it’s under the floorboards so it might take some time.” 

“Do it, I’ll handle the ghost.”

You gave a quick nod and went to work. You pried the door to the closet open and started pulling on the floorboards. The ghost immediately noticed and lunged for you once again. You turned away from your efforts and drew your rapier, but you were too slow. The ghost pushed you back against the wall with its force. Fortunately, the impact had done a number on the floorboards and revealed the source. You just had to reach it. 

But you were still trying to bring the air back to your lungs. 

All you could see was the ghost hovering above you. As you tried to cough, you realized the ghost wasn’t just hovering over you. It had ghost-locked you. You could see Lockwood out of the cover of your eye trying to open the door to let Lucy and George through. Until he turned around and saw the ghost above you. He knew your fear stricken face would be etched into his mind, his nightmares, forever. He did the one thing he knew best to do. 

“Hey!” He threw a salt bomb at the ghost and waved his rapier mockingly. “No wonder your wife killed you if you’re hovering over other girls, eh?”

In hindsight, this was probably not one of his best plans, seeing as though taunting an angry Type Two was the only step of the plan he had thought out.

In a blink, everything happened so fast. The ghost screamed in a rage and went towards Lockwood. It took all your will not to run for him and defend him from the ghost, but you knew you had a more important job. You reached into your pocket to grab a small silver netting you had bought just for times like these. Before you could cover the rattle, there were two loud crashes. The first was Lucy kicking in the door. The second was Lockwood being thrown out the window. 

As soon as you dropped the netting on the rattle, the room became silent.

“We missed all the fun, didn’t we?” Lucy laughs, mostly out of surprise that you two were alive. But you were more focused on the groaning that came from outside. George advanced towards the secured source as you quickly got up and ran to Lockwood.

You reached out for his arm. His jacket and shirt were ruined, large cuts made by the glass were slowly oozing blood. Lockwood let out a quick “ow” when you squeezed his wrists far too hard. He realized you had the same look on your face as when you thought you were going to die.

He reached up and lifted your face from his arm. “Look, I’m fine. Just a couple of scratches.” Once you had processed his words fully, that fearful face was replaced by one of very harsh anger.

“I got the source properly contained. We should all get one of those pocket nets, that was quite handy.” George smiled, but Lucy grimaced when you stomped out of the room. Lockwood sighed and decided to just go around the house as he was already outside. 

“Those two don’t get it, do they?”

“Oh, I think they will soon.” Lucy walked over to George and placed the source in his bag. On the ground was a small piece of paper, aged by the water and mold that seeped into the old floorboards.

“To whom it may concern: I’m not sorry.”

___

Everyone sighed as they entered Portland Row. It was the only place they ever felt truly safe, at least from ghosts. Feelings on the other hand, no one was safe from. You put away the rapier at the door, and promptly went upstairs to your room. You hadn’t said a word to anyone on the cab ride back. Lucy sent a pointed look to Lockwood.

“You. Go talk to her.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I talk to her?”

Lucy points an accusatory finger at his face. “I can see all over your face that even you don’t believe what you said was true. Now, off you go or you don’t get any of the biscuits George bought from the store.” She sends him a devious smile as she turns and walks to the kitchen.

Lockwood paced the hallway, considering his options.

Upstairs, you have never wanted to punch him more than you do right now.

___

You reach your hand under your bed and pull out your first aid kit. “Reckless, idiotic, suicidal...” You pause in your mumbling to open the kit and make sure everything has been newly stocked. “...irrefutably obnoxious, fucking insane-”

“I probably deserve all that.”

You gasped. Anthony leaned on the door frame, pointedly on the uninjured shoulder. “Lockwood! What are you doing here?” After you processed the initial surprise, it was almost as if you had to remember you were mad at him. “Shouldn’t you be out and about, being a martyr for every hopeless girl on the street?” Venom laced your voice, but he knew it was well deserved. “Plus, you said you had ‘made things complicated,’ so I’m making them uncomplicated.”

“Darling, I’m sorry.”

“No, no! You do not get to come in here with your smile, and your cut up arm, and your beautiful, pleading eyes, and tell me you’re sorry. Do you know how hard it was for me to watch you get thrown out of a window for the umpteenth time? Do you know how hard it is to sit there and watch you risk your life for mine?” The tears spilled over onto your cheeks. You let out a sob and bring your hand to cover your mouth, but quickly recover. 

Anthony had half a mind to wipe them from your face and stare into your eyes for the rest of his life. But he thinks that would be a bit too much to say right now.

You grab a tissue from your desk and wipe your eyes. You pointed to the bed vehemently. “Now, Anthony John Lockwood, you are going to sit right here and shut the hell up while I fix your arm, is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Your jaw clenches at how effortlessly charming he seemed, even when both of you look like you’re about to start sobbing.

“Good.” You work in silence as he settles on the bed, arranging the tools in the first aid kit so they’re easily accessible. “Take off your shirt. And if you have any mind about making a joke, be aware I have multiple things I can stab you with directly in arm's reach.”

His eyes move to yours as you both try to stifle a laugh. No matter what state either of you are in, you can appreciate a good dirty joke. You put on the latex gloves as Anthony unbuttons his shirt. He winces as he takes his cut arm out of the sleeve. “Be careful.” You mumble as you put ointment on the gauze in advance. 

The rest of the process is done in silence, other than a few sounds of discomfort from Anthony. As you finished taping the gauze down on his arm, he slowly reached up to hold your hand. It wasn’t like when he was dragging you on the streets of Portland Row to Arifs, or pulling you from danger. This was a boy, trying desperately to find words that neither of you knew how to say.

“When I called you my world, Anthony, I meant it. I would be nothing without you-”

“That’s never true, darling-”

“Would you let me finish for once? I amend, then: My heart would feel nothing without you. I was a girl trying to escape her home town for something new, and there you came. I didn’t know I could even feel these things before you,” You grasped his hand, gently rubbing your thumb against the back of his salt covered hand. 

Tears welled up in your eyes, but this time you didn’t bother to wipe them. “I love you, Anthony Lockwood. No matter how much you push me away, no matter how many times you get thrown through a window for me, I love you. Before you leave this room, I need to know if you love me too.” You squeezed his hand, and then went to pack up the first aid kit. It was as if you hadn’t confessed your love to your employer, but more importantly, your friend.

It was silent as you walked over to your desk. You looked back, and Anthony just sat there. There was no megawatt smile, no fidgeting of the hands. Just you and Anthony, plain as could be. 

It was too much.

In an instant, you left the room. You heard the echoes of Anthony calling for you down the stairs, but you had to get out from the grasp of the stifling air in your room. You had taken the silence to be a refusal, but Anthony meant for it to be a scapegoat. He was waiting, almost begging for you to say it was all a joke. A prank to get back at him for being so careless. He couldn’t let himself imagine what you said to be true.

You went to the only room in the house that you could think was safe, the library. You closed the door softly as to not wake Lucy and George with your modest screams of frustration. You had bared your heart to him and he looked at you like you were a wall of drying paint. 

“Darling please, talk to me.” Anthony opened and closed the door behind him. You paced the short width of the library, not looking at him. 

He looked down in shame. His shirt was already buttoned back up, thank god, but it was haphazardly tucked. He fidgeted with the ring on his hand, not sure what to say. Not sure how to convey years of pining, yearning, love, into something so insignificant as words.

He whispered, cruelly, “How could you ever allow yourself to fall in love with someone like me?”

You turn your face towards him. Anthony thought it funny that it looked as if you had glitter on your face from the way the light hit your tears. He ought to compare it to the stars in the sky, but maybe at a later date.

You turn your entire body towards him. He wasn’t wearing his grand facade of confidence or wit. He looked like a man who would get on his knees to beg your forgiveness. You have never wanted to see him like this, nor want to again. 

“How could I not, Anthony?”

He crossed the room in a mere four steps. “Screw it,” and he kissed you.

His hands made their way to your waist, pulling you against him. He put every single ounce of love he had since the moment he met you into that kiss. Your fingers reached into his hair, pleading for him not to let go. 

Regrettably, you pulled away to catch your breath. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” You laugh as Anthony smiles that lovely smile.

“No, not in the slightest.” He said softly as he cupped your cheek. Your laugh sounded throughout the room, and Anthony started laughing too. The hilarity of it all didn’t escape them, of course. Two teenagers, having grown up in a world where they were faced with death every day, were most stressed by how to confess their love to each other. 

There would be ghosts, nasty Type Two’s. There would be murderous people who were hell bent on destroying Lockwood and Co.. But for now, Anthony was content to think that the only sounds that existed were you two laughing. The only sight was your eyes crinkling with joy, and tears that were finally not of distress.

That night, you both learned that your love couldn’t easily be put into words, and that was okay.

[crowsongcaws]

(Flower Husbands, gets suggestive, kind of empires S2 setting, just posting more stuff because they're cute and my lovely partner adores flower husbands)

Jimmy was scowling.

A rough mixture of sand, dirt, and gravel crunched under his boots as he was led to the town jail. His glare was fixated on the ground as if it was the ground's fault for all of this. If he could, he'd be glaring at Grian—a mischievous "friend" that only seemed to stop by when it was beneficial to himself—but Grian had left the moment things went south. Without anyone else to back him up, Jimmy had been disarmed by the deputy of the town, Martyn, at an almost embarrassing speed. It wasn't exactly Jimmy's fault that the bond he had with bad luck was thicker than the blood he shared with Grian, but complaints of being cursed would only serve to ostracize him further than the curse itself already did.

"Watch the old step," Martyn warned.

Jimmy focused back on the present world, his eyes drifting over the few steps that led up to the porch of the jail, but every step looked just as unstable as the next.

"Which one—?" Jimmy's right leg plunged through the first step like it was made of paper.

All Martyn offered was a laugh as he pulled Jimmy up by his handcuffed wrists restrained behind his back. Jimmy grumbled and swore under his breath, but if Martyn heard any bit of it, he didn't seem to care. Instead, he circled around the other to open the front door. Jimmy begrudgingly went inside, figuring that being in a stuffy room was better than being exposed to the dry heat outside.

"See you around, birdy," Martyn snickered, and then—much to Jimmy's confusion—the deputy left.

Jimmy had been to the town jail before. Tumble Town was notoriously small—anyone who'd ever stayed longer than a handful of days practically knew every place inside and out—but he especially knew the ins and outs of the jail, and that included knowing the sheriff himself.

"Back already?" Scott smoothly asked, almost innocently if not for the fact that Jimmy trusted the man about as far as he could throw him.

"Yeah, yeah, what's it this time, Scott? An overnight stay? A 5 gold fine and community service?" Jimmy snapped, his patience already thin after the day he'd had.

"That's Sheriff to you," Scott corrected from his laid back position, his boots kicked up on his otherwise neat desk. "Thought you'd know your manners by now."

Jimmy shivered, but his glare didn't let up. Scott cocked his head to the side as if asking if this was really the game that Jimmy wanted to play. A moment passed, and then Scott grinned—he swung his legs off the desk and stood from his chair.

Jimmy had never once thought he'd come across a jungle cat in the middle of a desert.

Scott approached him in casual steps, satisfaction already burning in his eyes even though he'd hardly done anything. Jimmy's pulse fluttered frantically, realizing he was being examined from head to toe. He only remembered that he needed to breathe when Scott stopped a few steps from him, raising an eyebrow at him. Briefly, that smug expression shifted into something warm and fond. Since when had Jimmy forgotten that he was supposed to be angry right now?

"What's your word?" Scott asked. Jimmy thickly swallowed, his face burning hot as he noticed Scott's eyes follow the movement.

I'm angry right now, Jimmy tried convincing himself, so angry. So, so angry.

"...Coal mine," Jimmy faintly replied. A second passed, and he added, "Sheriff."

Scott nodded, and in a flash, the warmth in his eyes burnt like a fire ready to devour him whole. Jimmy barely had time to process the change before the gap between them closed, Scott's steady hand guiding him to his knees. The floorboards creaked in protest, but the sound barely processed in his head over the blood rushing through his veins. His body already felt pleasantly fuzzy, and being at eye-level with Scott's happy trail certainly didn't deter the feeling, especially as he felt a surprisingly cool hand rest on the top of his head.

"Are you going to be a good boy for me?" Scott cooed down at him.

Who was Jimmy to deny such an opportunity?

[flowerpotmage]

Tight Grip, Broken Dam (9)

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You don’t question it anymore, when Miguel appears in your bed at night. He’s not there for sex, no, you’ve never even kissed—though you would be lying if you said you weren’t open to the idea of kissing him. He’s there for comfort. For rest. If only it could stay so simple.

Pair: Miguel O'Hara & GN!Reader

Notes: for series: slow burn, ambiguous relationship, found family dynamics, reader is in their late 20s. for chapter: hint of spice, grief, returning cameo characters

Word Count: 3.4k

Read this chapter on Ao3 here. If you like my work, please consider leaving kudos there as well! You do not need an account to do so.

The darkness does little to help with your disorientation and panic when you wake from your nightmare, your eyes and nose still itching from memories of powdered concrete and dust clouding the air.

“Fuck,” you whisper, sitting up.

It’s just you tonight.

Your body is tense with cold and fear, the chill seeping further into you as air touches your now exposed skin, damp with sweat. You shiver, hands on your face helping to ground and orient you in the present moment, the bare skin of your hand covering your face instead of suit on skin like in the nightmare. The time on your phone, charging on the bedside table, reads 4:43 in the morning.

You scramble out of bed, trading shorts for sweats and throwing a sweater on over your still sweat-damp shirt. You need warmth right now; being clean can wait until the sun’s up and you won’t fall back asleep under the warm water of the shower. Instead, you relocate to the living room, settling under the blankets on the couch.

As jittery as you are, sleep claims you again with unmatched hunger.

“Two Miguels, huh?” Gwen is saying. She’s stopped by your dimension again, just for the day, to do laundry and catch up. “Is the new one going to help lead? I heard he always has sunglasses on, what’s the deal with that?”

You sip at your smoothie. “I don’t think so; and they protect his eyes. I think they're even more sensitive than our—than the old Miguel’s. Or something.”

Gwen raises an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. And how is our Miguel?”

You shoot her a half-hearted glare. “He’s fine. Why ask me?”

She shrugs, changing gears. “You know, I wonder how similar the two are.”

“Well, I’ve only talked to the new one two times,” you shrug. “And the first one barely counts, he’d only just gotten invited back to HQ.”

“What’s his dimension like?”

“You’ll have to ask Peter and Jess. They recruited him.”

“Not you?” Gwen seems surprised.

You shake your head. “No, I was uh…” you look to the side, almost grimacing as your brain flings itself through a jeopardy wheel of potential answers; It lands on honesty. “Miguel vetoed me going. Jess and Peter went instead.”

Gwen raises an eyebrow, pursing her lips in thought. “Huh.”

You change the subject and ask her how Hobie is instead. She takes the bait and immediately springs into telling you how much fun it is to hang out with Hobie and his friends—Karl, Kamala, Robbie, Rick, and Riri.

You’re just glad it sounds like she has friends that get it. Friends that know.

“You seem in better spirits.”

“Yeah,” you shrug a single shoulder and offer a smile, standing side by side with Karen in the elevator going up.

She returns it, turning her head forward.

You’ve never been particularly close with your coworkers, with anybody in your own dimension. Not for a while. You’ve forgotten how to connect normally, what it’s like to be a civilian, and you feel it keenly in this moment standing awkwardly side by side—

“A couple of us are going out for drinks later,” she suddenly mentions, and you risk an awkward glance at her.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says, pausing. “Well, really it’s just me and Ben. But you should come. Um, and some of my other friends might be there too.”

You’ve always liked Karen, always felt like there was an understanding sadness in her pale fae-like features. So you only pause for a moment before you accept, because really, why not? “I’d love to,” you say, and she smiles more openly when your eyes meet again. “What time?”

You’re only a little late when you arrive at the address Karen gave you; a somewhat seedy little dive bar in Hell’s Kitchen. The sign is old, not yet updated to the popular clean lights in the rest of the city, and the windows could use a good cleaning. The bikes out front are a mix of old school gas powered vintage pieces with iridescent shimmering puddles under exhaust pipes, and the new clean energy models quickly taking over the city; incentivized by the joint Federal and Stark Green Energy trade-in programs. The sight of the gas ones doesn’t surprise you—people will always want to hold onto their classics—but the amount of them does.

Inside the bar is dim and yellow, warm light tricking bodies into feeling even warmer than the air already is, and therefore thirstier.

Karen waves you down from a table in the back, and with a returning wave that is in actuality just a slightly lifted hand, you make a beeline towards her and the little table.

Across from Karen you recognize the back of Ben Urich’s head. Beside him is the back of a stranger with short and carefully groomed dark hair, a sliver of his pale skin visible between his hair and the collar of his dress shirt. Across from that stranger and next to Karen is another man you don't know, with a round face and small nose made somehow smaller by his long dark blond hair.

“You must be Karen’s other friend from the paper!” He says, face lighting up when you’re within earshot of the table. Ben turns around in his seat, standing and greeting you by name with a warm handshake and a pat on the shoulder. The man sitting next to him doesn’t stand, smiling politely under his dark glasses.

Karen introduces you by name to the two new men, and then introduces them to you in turn. “This is Foggy,” she says, and the round faced man stands to shake your hand. “And Matt.”

Matt doesn’t stand, but lifts his beer bottle in acknowledgement. “It’s nice to meet you,” he says, ending the sentence with your name.

“Likewise,” you say. “It’s good to get out of the house.”

“Spend a lot of time working from home?” Foggy asks, settling back into his chair as you take your own seat on the end of the table between Karen and Ben.

“All the time. I never go anywhere.” You try not to say it too dryly, try not to make the lie sound like the inside joke it feels like.

“What sort of pieces do you write for the paper?” Matt asks, tone polite, voice soft and smooth.

“Human interest pieces,” you shrug. “Community events. A lot of filler.”

Matt hums.

“Matt and Foggy have a law office a few blocks from here,” Karen says.

“Karen’s been a great help,” Foggy says. “Since it’s just me and Matty here a lot of things fall to the side. Don’t know where we’d be without her!”

“Oh, stop it,” Karen says, blushing under Foggy’s praise as the table laughs.

“That sounds like her,” Ben says.

“Have you gotten a drink yet?” Matt asks you across the table.

You shake your head. “Not yet.”

“Stick with the bottled stuff,” Foggy advises, leaning towards you conspiratorially. “We love Josie, but her cocktails are basically rubbing alcohol.”

You raise an eyebrow, stifling a laugh behind closed lips.

“I need a refill,” Matt says. “I’ll go with you.”

It’s hard to miss the long suffering look that Foggy shares with Karen.

The nearly black glass of his glasses worn indoors suddenly makes sense when he stands and you see the white cane in his hand. You fall into step beside him, walking the short distance to the bar.

“What do you recommend?” you ask, waiting for Josie to approach your end of the counter.

“Whatever she offers,” he chuckles. “Unless she offers a cocktail. Foggy’s not wrong about the strength.”

“I’ve got a strong tolerance,” you grin, leaning on the counter next to him. “So how’d you meet Karen?”

He pauses, tapping his fingers on the bartop as he thinks. “It’s a long story. Probably better if she tells it.”

You nod, and then realize he can’t see it. “Sorry. That awkward silence was me nodding.”

He laughs. “Right.”

Josie arrives, and you get one of the same beers that Matt orders.

As the night continues you find that you get along quite well with the group, even teaming up to play pool. Ben sits out, heading home to his wife Doris shortly after the game starts.

“This so isn’t fair,” Foggy says after you guide Matt through sinking another ball into a corner pocket.

“It’s not my fault you underestimated my teammate,” Matt says, a devilish smirk curving across his face. “I think it’s more than fair.”

Foggy looks like he wants to say something, his face about ten thousand shades of done. Karen just laughs.

The warm fun of the evening at Josie’s keeps your spirits high through your later patrol as Spider. You stop an ATM robbery with ease, and nip a burglar’s mission in the bud when you catch him in his attempt to break and enter a small business. You even walk a young woman home after her late shift at a cocktail bar.

It’s nearly five again when you at last get home, crawling in through your bedroom window. You don’t even bother to get the suit off before your head hits the pillow and sleep claims you.

The mouth on your neck seems to drain every thought from your mind. You have no sense or memory of what you were doing before he came up behind you to put his arms around your chest, holding you securely against his own.

“What was that, honey?” He whispers, nipping your ear with his lips.

Whatever noise you let out would embarrass you beyond belief, if it weren’t for the hand now snaking down your front.

“Dishes,” you say, breathless. That’s right—you had been loading the dishwasher before this.

“Yeah honey? Dishes?”

The tips of his fingers dip under the waistband of your pants and your attempt at an affirmative hum of ‘Mhm’ turns into a desperate little whimper.

“Uh-huh?” He mocks, his hand pushing lower—

You wake with a gasp, eyes wide and heart thumping.

A weight shifts on the mattress next to you, and you realize there’s an arm around your waist—not low and hungry like in your dream, but simply resting warm and heavy over your side.

Miguel. Miguel’s in your bed, cuddled up behind you.

And you just had a dirty dream about him.

It’s no secret, of course, you know he’s attractive. Hell, you know you’ve been attracted to him. But you thought you’d buried it when… whenever this whole emotional support sleeping—actually sleeping—together thing became a regularity.

Fuck. Fuck.

It seems absence doesn’t just make the heart grow fonder, it digs up repressed sexual desires and reanimates them in the form of dreams.

You don’t know if you’re glad that at least it wasn’t one of your nightmares again. The one with the falling building, or the one with your aunt, or the new one with the woman you couldn’t save last month–

No.

You force the thoughts out of your mind, sitting upright and throwing your legs over the side of the bed. Miguel’s arm falls off of you, hand landing on the mattress beside your hip, punctuated by the half-asleep grunt of someone suddenly roused from sleep.

Shit. Miguel. You forgot again.

You take a steadying breath as you feel the mattress shift behind you.

Miguel’s half asleep voice mumbles your name, the letters coming out in the shape of a question. His hand by your hip moves, sliding up your side to rest on your back. “Are you okay?”

You inhale sharp through your nose, the tips of his fingers rooted to your spine. His hand slides away, the mattress shifting behind you again as he sits up. Even with your back to him you can feel the weight of his presence, distinct from his weight on the mattress, just behind you. His hand returns to rest on your shoulder—your breath hitches.

Too similar.

“It’s okay,” he says. “Breathe.”

“I’m okay,” you whisper. “Just–” Fuck, you can’t think with his warmth at your back. “Water.” You blurt. Yeah, water is good. Water will get you out of the room for a second, at least, it’ll let you calm down enough to dig a deeper hole to bury the dream in.

Miguel hums, removing his hand as you rise from the bed and escape to the kitchen.

You don’t bother to turn the lights on—your vision may not be as enhanced as Miguel’s in the dark, but you can still see more than the average human. Even if you couldn’t, you know your home well enough to navigate it blindfolded.

Get it together.

You linger in the kitchen, clearing your mind, finding the threads of exhaustion in your body and pulling them around yourself. It helps; the tired ache and desire for warmth, safety, and rest burying the dream back down under meters of dirt in a coffin of spider silk.

Miguel is still awake when you return, just barely. You can see the silhouette of his head lift off the pillow to look at you when you step through the door, hear the soft sound of him resting back down into the pillow when you slide back into bed beside him. If your heart thumps a little harder at the way his arm slides around you as he rolls closer, well, it doesn’t mean anything.

Life falls into a new, comfortable routine. You’ve been getting less backup calls and anomaly assignments from Lyla, and so you focus on your own dimension. It’s easy, it’s clean, and with nearly all of your villains already down and out for the time being it means you can focus on helping the little people. You save cats from trees, you help old ladies, you watch the news and see other heroes taking down their own enemies before you can even think to step foot out the door to help.

When you’re not doing the little things as Spider, you’re writing for the New York Bulletin, or spending time with your new acquaintances—Karen, Foggy, and Matt have invited you out twice more to join them at Josie’s. Despite how stilted and awkward you feel, and the slight distance you’re mindful to keep, it’s nice to make friends. Local friends.

But today you’re visiting HQ. You tell yourself it’s for the gym, the facilities there far more helpful for training your abilities than anything back home—which is true, but isn’t what made you open a portal to Earth-928 in the first place. You do fully intend on visiting the training facilities, but…

Exiting the lobby, you hesitate before continuing towards Miguel’s lab instead of towards the training facilities—maybe he’ll have free time and end up joining you. As unlikely as the idea is, you get the feeling he’ll appreciate the invite regardless.

The lab seems even more dimly lit than usual, and far too quiet. There’s no dim yellow glow from the platform, no sound from surveillance footage or old recordings that Miguel still tortures himself with.

The air is so still that you hesitate to even breathe.

Needless to say, Lyla’s sudden appearance and chirp of your name in the air in front of your face nearly launches you out of your skin.

“Lyla,” you say, a hand over your racing heart.

“Didn’t mean to scare you there,” she says, flickering into an image of apologetic raised hands. “What can I do for you?”

“I was looking for Miguel,” you say, turning your head as if you simply missed him lurking in a dark corner.

“Miguel is out on personal business right now,” she says, flipping through a conjured secretary notepad. “But I can take a message if you’d like!”

You try not to let the disappointment, or the surprise, show too strongly on your face or the automatic droop of your shoulders. “Oh, uh, no that’s okay! Just thought I’d drop by. Um,” you falter under her unblinking friendly smile. “I guess just tell him I said hi?”

Ugh. Pathetic.

“Sure thing!” Lyla says, her little notepad disappearing into the ether.

You’re distracted the whole time through your exercises in the training facility, caught off kilter several times to the point that you just pack up and leave early.

It’s not that he’s gone that bothers you, nor that he has personal things to take care of. No, it’s the fact that you have no clue what his personal life could be like. You know he doesn't exactly get out much just to socialize, and you’re almost sure he doesn't have family left here.

Right? Why else would he have left to take the place of his other self?

It’s not the first time in recent days you’ve been reminded of how little you really know about the man who regularly visits to sleep in your bed. Sure, you know how to comfort him when grief sneaks it’s deadly hands around his neck, you know what foods he likes and which Spider-People he favors. You know he makes a show of being a grump, but the fact that the Spidey Special is still on the menu is proof enough that as long as it isn’t interfering with something serious he’ll let others carry on with their jokes even at his expense. You know how soft and gentle his touch can be, how his voice sounds when sliding into or out of the cloudy world of dreams. You know he’s lonelier than he lets on around the others.

You know how much he misses his daughter.

Still, the fact that you have no idea what the rest of his life could be like unsettles you, leaves you feeling off kilter and strange.

—

“I’m glad you could take time off for today,” the man next to Miguel says, hands in his coat pockets.

The two men are sitting on a bench, green trimmed grass spread out around them under healthy trees that provide dappled shade from the afternoon sun. The polished headstones around them spread out like a cut down orchard, neat lines and rows of the long lost in juxtaposition with the hard messy feelings they’ve left behind. The mausoleum just a few meters away helps Miguel to feel less exposed in the open graveyard. He’s wearing sunglasses to shield from the clear sky; Gabriel is wearing the usual stupid goggles up on his forehead. Miguel still doesn't know if they serve any practical purpose.

“Of course,” Miguel says, arms crossed over his stomach as he slouches on the bench in civilian clothes, all soft grays and charcoal.

“How’s work?”

Miguel sighs. “Oh, you know.”

“I don’t,” is Gabriel’s reply, turning his body toward Miguel. “You don’t talk about it.”

Miguel tilts his head back, eyes getting lost in the leaves on the branch above the bench.

“I’m your brother, Miggy. I’d like to know how your life is going, even if it is all crazy sci-fi bullshit.”

Miguel closes his eyes, sighing again and tucking his chin down. “It’s not that exciting.”

Gabriel scoffs. “Yeah. Because being the head of a government sanctioned multiversal maintenance society is boring. You’re so full of shit.” It’s not mean, not even annoyed. He’s chuckling as he says it. “Shock it,” he says, clapping a hand on Miguel’s shoulder and standing. “Since we’re here, let's visit the other two.”

“Mom’ll get jealous,” Miguel says dryly. “It’s supposed to be her day.”

“So we’ll just go hang out at her headstone again for a while before we leave,” Gabriel grins. “Come on. When’s the last time you visited them?”

Miguel has to pull his thoughts back on subject, away from—

“A while.”

“That’s what I thought. You know, I was here with Xina last month, visiting Dana and....”

Miguel walks beside his brother, swallowing down the lump rising in his choked throat as Gabriel recounts the short anecdote. He doesn’t like visiting this part of the cemetery, too many mistakes memorialized in stone, buried under his feet.

“How is Xina?”

“She got a promotion, apparently.” Gabriel glances over at him, Miguel carefully schooling his face. “You should reach out. She might even talk to your grumpy ass.”

Miguel shakes his head, a bittersweet smile. “We always just end up talking about…”

Gabriel sighs, patting him on the back. “I know.” A pause. “That doesn't always have to be a bad thing.”

Miguel's mind wanders again. 

Warmth. Blankets. Cooking breakfast for two.

“I know.”

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[echantedtoon]

In The Moon's Shadow (Yandere Kokushibo x Reader) Ch5 To Go Back

(Warnings: Some drinking in the background.

Yes. Kokushibo is demon while the rest of his family is human. In this timeline one of their ancestors was demon and Michikatsu just happened to be the only one who inherits it, which also implies to any further children he might have.)

Step after step. Day after day.

His legs carried him closer and closer towards the destination of the festivities. Music played. Many people celebrated. Lots of guests coming forth to celebrate the creation of a new union. The birth of a new family soon. The joys of holy matrimony and true love.

"Shameful behavior."

He commented to himself watching as one of the men drunkingly pulled his laughing wife into his lap, giving her a big kiss to her cheek, and holding  up a large mug. "TO LORD TSUGIKUNI AND HIS NEW WIFE!! MAY THEY BE HALF AS HAPPY AS ME AND MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE LADY HERE!" The wife busted out laughing high pitched giggles in her husband's lap as he pulled the mug back chugging down the sake. 

A loud laughing fit emanated throughout the crowds followed by wolf whistles as the man went back to smothering his wife back with affection as she just laughed. It made his eyes roll and a sigh escape his lips at the sight. Truly degenerate. Now he remembered vividly why he preferred staying away from celebrations and festivals if he could help it. However this one time he couldn't stay away. It was required for him to at least make one appearance. If he didn't then he'd be looked down upon and get punished later by his father. Although by the scent of alcohol in the air as the sights of his father's men acting like drunk idiots everywhere, he already was being punished.

He wanted to arrive the day before the celebration but he had underestimated how long the woman with turquoise eyes would take and despite him hurrying, he was too late. He heard the sounds of loud laughter a mile before he even saw the outskirts of the city and was hit with the reek of alcohol long before he even stepped foot inside the city and made his way quickly through the throngs of people and towards the center. His senses were attacked by the strong smells to the point he had to place a cloth around his nose and mouth in a dire failed attempt to fill it. The crowds were terrible. Pushing against his body uncomfortably so and bumping his arms annoyingly so. And his father wondered why he preferred meeting outside his home city. 

He was hoping to at least wait until the day after the official celebration but he knew lateness would also be frowned upon if he didn't have a good excuse for it and unfortunately he had none. So he'd have to brace himself and push through it like every other uncomfortable experience of his. The bright lights sent his eyes' sensory vision haywire with all these lanterns hung about so he only had the middle pair open for now. He'd deal with the headache later.

Although he supposed he should be grateful that he made it on time considering it took him a few days travel to get here. The small village was one he discovered on his way back home from the latest battle grounds, and honestly he hadn't known that it was even there. Didn't know it even existed until he made camp one night and had been disturbed by a woman with big turquoise eyes bumping into him in the middle of the night. The plan was to originally arrive a few weeks early in the city, find a gift that was acceptable quickly, then deliver it to his brother with a quick congratulations and leave right after to see his father for future battle plans against the Kibutsuji forces. However his plans changed when he stumbled upon the small secret village in the forest pass. Why stay longer in the city he hated when he could just buy something from the village and present it to his brother and leave right after? Even if he was a little late he could avoid the stupid crowds for a while longer. However he would no doubt he dealing with the aftermath of a massive headache later. 

The loud laughter, music, and other blurring noises blending together from the crowds was mixed together in a vile assortment of stupidity. The only thing to remedy this would be to seek shelter at the one place he was dreading a lot because of a certain burgundy haired man the same height and weight as him. He always hated his meetings with family. Always so...

Self depleting. Tiring. Dreadful.

With a sigh he pushed through the crowds faster, pushing a drunk shoulder aside harshly as the idiot tripped and fell face first into the dirt, his comrades howling in drunken laughter at the sight. He hated this! Despicable behavior. And most of these men would be troupes in the upcoming years if his father's peace talks with the head of the Kibutsuji Clan failed once again like it had a couple months ago. Dammit. He should be back there accompanying his father instead of wasting time with this stupid celebration. He almost wished someone had struck down the messenger bird that carried the news about his brother getting engaged. He had been annoyed with the news but his father had been down right furious.

Furious at all of them.

Furious at his brother for getting engaged without his permission or even consulting him. Furious at his mother for going ahead and giving his brother permission as the matriarch of the Tsugikuni Clan. But most of all furious at him. For not already being married before his younger brother even got engaged. He was the eldest. He should've already been married off with at least one child on the way. As heir to the entire clan he should've been doing these things. To succeed. To excell long before his brother did. However the long and hard war had taken up much of the time he had for the last three years. It was his existence and trust his father had in him that called him to the war. His brother was left to train the troops and only be called to the battlefields if both of them were preoccupied with important matters or needed the extra back up. Otherwise it was training or going back to spend time with their sickly mother. He didn't want to be here. He should be at the peace talks to balance his father's temper but-

"Go home! See what Yoriichi has been doing while we're out here bleeding in the dirt!"

"I would be more use to you here."

"DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME, BOY!! You will do as I tell you without question! I won't have the entire Clan humiliated by having people think I can't control my own sons and wife! Go see to that message and make it seem like I had a say in it!"

"Then would it not be more effective if we both attended the engagement ceremony?"

"I have to attend the peace offering Kibutsuji extended. If I left then I'll be seen as weak, and I am not weak! Go attend and see what treachery is going on there without me. If neither of us shows up, then I'll become a laughing stock in front of my own people! I will not have it!! ......And check on your mother while you're there. If your brother is neglecting her needs while running whatever fantasy he's dreaming of, there'll be hell to pay."

"Of course."

If nothing else he's only here for his mother and nothing else there. Yes. He'd see what was going on here, but then he was leaving right after. The closer he got to the main building, the more annoying things became. Possibly because of the pounding headache he had now. Which was why he was glad that at least the guards stationed at the entrance of his home weren't drunk and complete stone faced and serious. A perfect result of his brother's hard training. Which both angered and relieved him to no end. It took no time at all for them to recognize him even before he lowered the cloth over his face to stare at them.

"Open the doors."

They did so immediately, silently without even saying a word. One guard giving a specific coded knock on the door before a loud clicking noise of a thick lock undone before the thick doors was opened from the other side allowing him in and away from a lot of the noise. Not all but a good portion of it was blocked by the fifthteen foot walls and the distant smell of alcohol was slightly dulled by the lush gardens stationed in and maintained throughout his home. Beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, some exotic and only grown within the confines of his home. Some relief flooded out of him but there was still the lingering dread of what was to come. A half growl left his lips.

"Let us finish this."

The hat above his head was removed allowing him some freedom from him for a while. Six eyes popping open one after another in view of everyone and everything around him. Terrifying to most anyone who saw him. And most did cower or look away from him as he began walking straight through the garden and towards the main building. More guards were stationed around the estate or walking around on patrol. Most bowed as he walked past trying their best to not look him in the eyes. Good. Meant he was still largely received as stronger than them. Let them be afraid. He paid no attention to any of them making his way inside the building in search for his mother.

His brother could wait.

The large man caused many a servant and guard to keep to themselves as he made his way through finely furnished walls filled with paintings and other fine things only they could afford. Fine life for him to live outside of the battlefield. The only thing he could do for now was make his way to his mother's bed chambers and push open the door once he arrived there. The door creaked open loudly as he looked into the room...

Empty.

The bed laid bare and empty. Neatly made blankets covering the soft futon. It had looked completely unused and unslept in. It looked like his mother was up to her habits again and not resting like she was supposed to, and his brother wasn't doing anything to make sure that she did! Again! His anger rose as his soaring headache throbbed from his head, although he did not show it outwardly.

"Where is my mother?"

A passing servant girl no older than sixteen jumped in shock at his sudden voice looking wide eyed in fear at him. She had been trying to just speed walk by without him noticing looking down at the basket of laundry she held but it seemed she'd be spoken too after all. Her eyes shrank as a hard gulp swallowed down her throat.

"Answer me."

"L-Lady Akeno is in the west garden w-with Lord Yoriichi, Sir!," the girl squealed out of fear like a mouse trembling like she had been dunked in ice water.

His body stiffened up. His fist nearly crushing his hat from the sudden revelation. "...I see."

The girl whimpered out in fear, curling up on herself more as the man turned silently and stiffly walked out of the room and down the halls. Of course she was there. Of COURSE HE was with her. OF COURSE HE HAD TO RUN INTO HIM SO SOON!! He felt dread and anger filling up his veins like boiling water the closer and closer he walked towards the west garden. The west garden was the most beautiful part of the giant garden surrounding the estate with a large koi pond and a few statues, so of course his mother would choose there to relax. Where else would she be but there?! With every step closer and closer to the west garden, he became more and more angered. His father would be seeing a lot more blood shed from him on the battlefield after this! His anger would be taken out on whatever unfortunate enemy soldiers that crossed his path later-

"Aniue?"

He froze.

...no...No. NO!!

"Michikatsu, my son. Is that you? I fear my sight might be going too."

He didn't move. Didn't blink....But he had no choice in the end not to look. His head turned. Three wide eyes stared. Pupils shrank. Before he snapped his head away, two pairs of eyes closing and disappearing melting back into flesh and disappearing from view. 

"It's been so long. Come here and greet your mother."

He could hear the smile in her voice. The happiness of seeing him after months on end in the battlefields. That's why he granted her the comfort of a normal face. It would put her more at ease. Her comfort was something that he wanted especially now. So when he turned to her, a face of a normal man now, he tried his hardest not to make his anger known outright.

"It's been a while..Mother."

An older face smiled at him. Her soft features worn and tired with wrinkles and eye bags showing her age. Her long black hair already leaking grey strands through them. Yet despite all of that, she was still one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. Her long silk robes trailed the floor and pooled around her feet as she smiled at him. On either side of her was another younger woman around his age...and another man whom bore a striking resemblance to-

"Elder brother!"

 A soft smile on a face mirroring many of his own features smiled back to him in the same happiness as their mother. Plume red eyes softly crinkled up in a smile as burgundy hair the same shade as his own framed them handsomely. 

Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

It's no wonder why many women fawned over him more than himself. His soft nature, and handsome features was a more desirable one compared to his usually frightening one. Now thinking about it, it's not a surprise that his younger brother actually managed to get engaged first. His earrings swayed annoyingly as he tilted his smile at his brother. His hands held their mother's body up on her left side while the strange woman he'd never seen before stayed next to her right doing the same.

"I'm so happy to see you here, Michi!," Yoriichi greeted.

He bristled up at the nickname before frowning. "Don't call me that."

"Are you still insisting on being called 'Kokushibo' outside of the battlefield as well? The kanji for that is blank death, and that doesn't suit my aniue at all." He smiled warmly at him making an embarrassment arise in him.

"If I had it my way, you'd call me by my fighting name."

"Enough." Their mother wriggled one hand out of the woman's before motioning for him to come closer with a smile. "My son. It's been too long. What brings you back home?"

Despite his body screaming at him to stay away, he approached anyways and took the hand extended to him. "I returned to check on your health while Father attends the peace talks. You should be in bed resting instead of walking around this late." Yoriichi should've made sure of that!

Her expression soured before she sighed. "That man. All he ever thinks about is his own wants. It's a miracle he hasn't died from his blood pressure yet. I'm perfectly fine to walk around my home as I please. I'm sick not dead."

"You should listen to Father and the doctors. You'll only get worse pushing yourself. He won't be happy to know you aren't obeying them."

"Well you let me worry about your father." And he often wondered why Yoriichi didn't listen to him. "Did you just come home to see only me?"

Ah. She must've been referring to the hell storm outside. A.k.a Yoriichi letting the entire city get wasted for this stupid celebration. He stiffened up his jaw but held his composure in front of their mother.

He nodded. "Yes...Father insisted that I come and see who Yoriichi decided to wed." His hardened gaze finally looked into the patient eyes of his brother and his anger flared anew. "He was very displeased by the sudden news. Strange you never mentioned anything about this before."

"Not true. I told him that I was in love but he dismissed me as he usually does," he spoke calmly with that smile, "I took that as he wouldn't care if I married her either, but it's customery to let all our family know about my engagement."

"And you'd let out people get drunk and act like fools?" He challenged with a deeper frown. "It's a disgusting and disgraceful sight out there! Our men acting like vile pigs! What if there was a surprise ambush? Or an emergency that called for more troops being called out? They wouldn't be able to do anything being more useless than a blinded three legged horse!"

Despite his anger cracking through, his brother's smile never wavered. "There's no danger right now, Michikatsu. Everyone has been so weary and tired from all this fighting. They can use one night of celebration and joy after three years of war. Besides we have something worth celebrating don't we?" 

Aren't you happy for me? That's what his words and eyes were secretly asking him but he wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"One night is all it takes for us to lose everything! Do not allow something like this to happen again." His brother's smile wavered. "You still haven't even told me who you intended to marry. Father would like to know at least that fact."

"You've already seen her." Yoriichi's head turned. His head turned. And both stared at the woman beside his mother he hadn't recognized. "Michikatsu, this is Uta. I've chosen her to be my bride."

The woman seemed to look slightly nervous when he stared at her but smiled nonetheless. "Hello! You're Michikatsu! Yoriichi's told me so much about you. I'm so glad we could finally meet."

This woman...This woman was both what he DID ...and didn't expect Yoriichi to fall for. Didn't expect her because judging by how she looked, she was a mere commoner below their social status in her plain clothes. Something their father would NOT be pleased with or would have permitted. Did expect because honestly...he absolutely looked like someone his brother would fall for. Someone not bound in politics. Her big dark eyes made her face look cute and the cloth tied around her head gave her a soft of homey look that could get someone to relax easily. 

He couldn't help but sneer at her in his mind and think of how much more prettier she'd be if she had more color in her eyes. Turquoise to be exact. That was such a lovely and unique color. With rosey cheeks and a polite smile and an attitude that could put him in his place politely without losing her cool and didn't treat him differently despite being a demon-

He shook his head upon realizing the strange looks he was getting  from the three of them before clearing his throat. "I see..And where did you meet her?"

"We met two years ago." His brother smiled fondly at the woman, Uta, in front of him. "Kibutsuji's forces had wiped out most of the east side of our territories. Uta was one of the survivors we brought to the city for sanctuary. We've bonded since, and fallen in love."

He could almost gag on how sickly sweet this was. Nothing like he'd ever interact with his wife whenever he did get married as heir to the Tsugikuni Clan.

"Dear, have you visited a bakery before coming here?" He hummed looking back at his mother. She gazed at him in a confused manner. "You smell strongly of foods."

Foods? What could she- Oh. Oh right. He's almost forgotten about the entire reason why he was here. Silently he reached into the folds of his haori coat and pulled out a small cloth bag before bracing himself from anger and held out the bag to his brother who blinked in surprise.

"Here. An engagement gift to you and your bride. You'll find it acceptable."

Yoriichi gained a look of surprise but then smiled widely at him before taking the bag from him. "Brother...You got me a gift."

"It would've been improper of me if I didn't give you a customery gift." He bluntly said. It's nothing more than a mandatory custom to be upheld to avoid any unwanted drama.

They all watched his beaming brother just smile fondly at him before opening the bag and reaching his hand inside. The strong smells of cinnamon and mint rolling through the air as his hand grabbed something and pulled out a green object. They watched as Yoriichi held up the green rose shaped object that smelt like mint instead of a rose.

"How curious."

"What is it?," Uta asked taking it from him to ponder in her own hands. "....It smells of mint but looks like a green rose."

"It's a carved soap," he explained making them all look back at him. "I came across a carver whom carved soaps and candles into interesting shapes. I thought it'd be appropriate for a small gift."

"Aw. It's cute," Uta gushed looking at the little mint rose as Yoriichi went back to curiously rummage into the bag.

His own eyes widened when a wave of cinnamon hot them pulling out the red candle and pausing as the carved in pattern of the sun. Yoriichi stared at the object in his hand for a long while before dropping the bag and reaching his other hand out to run his fingertips delicately over the patterns. No doubt taken aback by the detail of it. 

"Yoriichi?" Their mother questioned turning her attention to the candle he held and was also taken by the sight of the beautiful sun pattern. "Oh my. How lovely, and what a pleasant fragrance."

"It's what they call a 'scented candle'. Apparently they mix oils and spices into the wax in order to produce a desired aroma. The carver whom carved the soap also carved artwork into candles. I had her customize it just for the occasion."

His mother looked back to him blinking. "She? Are you telling me a woman made these?" 

"Yes. Two women, but the only one who deserves praises is the one whom carved them into artwork. The other...was highly unpleasant." 

His mother hummed. "Strange. Usually you don't see young women doing such work-"

"I love it." All looked back to his brother as he looked up with a bright, fond smile. "It's beautiful, Michi. I'll cherish it always."

He had to force his eyes away from the softness of his eyes before he could be embarrassed. "Tch. It's just a candle and some soap. Don't treat it like gold."

"It's better than gold. You obviously put a lot of thought into these. I'm so lucky to have you as a brother."

He didn't dare look up at him. He wouldn't allow himself to be embarrassed anymore than he already was. He fulfilled his obligations, and he would leave right after he made sure his mother got back to bed. His mother however was still looking over the candle in fascination, Yoriichi letting her run her own hands across the carving. So pretty. Such detailed work.

".... Michikatsu." He looked back to his mother. "Who's the name of the woman who carved this?"

"I do not know. She didn't say and I didn't ask."

"She does fine work. ..Do you perhaps think you could get me some like this? I think they would look so lovely decorating the book cases. I've never seen anything like this before and they would be such a nice addition to the home."

He blinked. His mother..wanted more of these candles as well? He continued staring at her for a long moment before nodding. "I can certainly get you as many as your heart desires, but it's getting late. You should be getting back to bed."

His mother sighed. "I swear you boys worry too much about me."

"And you worry to LITTLE-!?" He immediately ducked just in time to avoid his brother's attempted hug and sprung a few feet away bristling. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Aniue, you're such a good brother!" Yoriichi held out his arms with a wide smile. "Come here and let me thank you!"

"NO! Stop acting like a child!" He continued to back up as Yoriichi approached before gaining a panicked look. "I mean it, Yoriichi!"

"Elder brother!"

"CEASE THIS CHILDISH BEHAVIOR!!" 

Both women just watched as Michikatsu panicked before turning and running away with his smiling brother right behind him smiling shouting at him to desist his madness. Eventually Uta slowly blinked before looking at the older woman.

"Do they always act like this around each other?"

"You'll get used to it soon enough." Her eyes glanced back at the candle with a hum. "But it is strange."

"What is?"

"Michikatsu spoke a little fondly of the carver...his tone shifted to a softer one when mentioning her."

"What...does that mean?"

Her eyes glanced at her oldest who cursed as Yoriichi finally caught him and gave him a hug despite the grimace his older brother gave him.

"I'm not sure...but I think it will be interesting if it develops further."