#that I first saw while jumping over a boat
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atalante241 · 11 months ago
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Genshin NPC’s my beloved
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hxltic · 6 months ago
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First time makin out with Bakugo.
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suggestive!!
Ur laying down, splayed on top of him, but who can say anything about it? You saw the black tee and sweatpants combo he flaunts while he was casually making food in the kitchen. You’d practically jumped him.
But he didn’t mind; his temper deteriorates later into the night, so the only thing he can feel right now is your fingers wrapped around his neck and your lips slowly dancing against his. Not that he had much of a temper around you anyway.
He groans satisfactorily in the back of his throat. The pads of his fingers creep up the thighs sat on either side of his hips and trickle just under the fabric of your shorts. There was no point getting under the covers of the dark bedroom, the only light came from a candle on the dresser from sometime earlier when you were cleaning, and the only sounds emanated from you two.
That moment he gently tugs your lip between his teeth, just to release it and grin tiredly when you hum in response. At the same time, you shift above him, turning your head into a deeper kiss.
His lips are so soft. They move perfectly against yours, molding like they were made for each other. He looks so content like this, sharing a sultry kiss with you, his body completely relaxed. Mostly.
Your tongue slips out to meet with his as if it had been done a billion times. His touch sends fire through your skin, and with each movement he gets even closer, your heart feels like it’s about to pound through your ribs; however, despite how it appears to be, he is in the same breathless boat. Your hand only disconnects from him to brush the falling tendrils of hair behind your ear.
There was a hardness growing beneath you that made your heart beat ten times faster, but nothing was done about it. He ignored it—instead trailing one of his palms up and down the span of your back while the other reaches a little further.
His brows furrow a bit when he inquires as softly as possible, in his gruff voice, “You’re not wearin’ anything under these tiny shorts?”
You dip your head back to his lips, taking them in sensually. Of course, he returns it, but the question is left in the air. Your mouth leaves his so you can leave slow, needy kisses along his jaw that gradually cover his neck, and when you come back up, the answer is given as a whisper. “Hmm…thong.”
He blinks open his orbs swimming with fire and a glint of amusement. The hand on your back then moves to your nape so he can tug you down to him, already feeling the withdrawal of your taste. Simultaneously, his fingers inch all the way up until he can feel the garment himself.
He effortlessly slips his finger under the thin string and lifts it until he can’t anymore so that it delicately snaps back into place. His tongue soars deeper into yours when you react with a small gasp.
He smiles with a low sound deep in his chest, “Seems like you want somethin’ from me.”
“I do,” you breathe. “Didn’t wear it for nothing.”
It’s then he rolls over, taking you with him onto your back.
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©️hxltic
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writersmacchiato · 6 months ago
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Three Years | Edmund Pevensie x Reader
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Summary: You see Edmund and Lucy again in the most unexpected of places after their departure three years earlier.
Warnings: kissing (between Edmund x reader)
. . .
Salt.
It was misting over your face, tangy as it melted on your tongue.
The sun was just rising over the horizon, the endless blues of the sea turning golden and pink as they reflected the light.
Besides the creaking of the ship, and the shuffling of feet below deck as the crew began to stir and rise for the day, all was silent.
You had been waking up early every day since the voyage had begun. Without any reason, drawn to the crow’s nest in the misty grays of dawn before the rest of the world awakened. Watching the sunrise from the perfect spot.
The day would be like any other that had come before.
When Caspian, in all his kingly charm, had requested that you accompany him on this trip to the ends of the world you had been expecting more dangerous conquests. All you had battled so far was seasickness.
“Good morning. See anything?” The aforementioned king called up his usual greeting to you, hair ruffling in the cool breeze.
“Sea and more sea!”
You don’t hear it but can imagine the chuckle he releases through the rise and fall of his shoulders as he walks away to resume his check of the ship.
The sun continues to rise higher and higher into the sky, a cloudless day stretching away. You had snuck away to catch a moment of quiet in the crow’s nest.
Watching the empty waves was beginning to bore you.
When.
It couldn’t be-
“Caspian!” You yelled, jumping over the wooden beams that held you aloft. Grabbing hold of the rope to slide down, all the while yelling Caspian’s name.
“What is it?”
“There on the eastern starboard, I saw something. Someone.”
Caspian runs to the railing, quickly yelling orders at the crew to begin a rescue.
Rescue?
You’re too stunned by the possibility of a rescue to react when Caspian himself dives into the water. You’ve been watching the waters - there have been no sightings of any boats or ships for days now. Not even a rowboat.
The creak of the pulley grabs your attention, dragging first Caspian into view and then the young girl huddled against his side.
It couldn’t possibly be-
Lucy Pevensie. Daughter of Eve.
She shouts your name and crashes into you with little grace. You don’t care that she’s dripping water everywhere, returning her fierce embrace.
“Oh Lucy.” You can’t help the wide smile.
And then you see him, standing besides Caspian with his own smile looking at you.
“Edmund.” You breathe so quietly you aren’t sure you say anything, but Lucy pulls away and beckons her brother over.
He says your name just as quietly and gets close enough for you to touch him but he doesn’t make the first move, just looking and looking.
“Well come here!” You wrap your arms around him, relishing the way he grabs onto you gently. Almost shyly.
He whispers your name again, to himself, committing every bit of this to memory. He thought he remembered everything; but now he realizes how much he’s forgotten. The way you felt against him, the feel of your hair against his face, the way you smell.
A piercing scream cuts your reunion short, and Edmund has even more reason to despise his cousin when he feels the loss of your warmth against him.
“Welcome aboard the Dawn Treader.”
. . .
Edmund tried to fall asleep, he truly did.
The creaking of the ship and the swaying of his hammock made of his stomach roll, but he could’ve adapted to it if it wasn’t for the snoring of Eustace. He also couldn’t stop thinking about you and how much his heart swelled, almost painfully, when he thought about the look on your face when you saw him. Like you were happy to see him.
He’s sitting outside now, on the eastern stern of the ship, giddy at the feeling of the wind against his face. Narnian air.
“Edmund.”
His gaze cuts from the endless water to your form, seemingly materializing out of nowhere. Like a dream. It feels too much like the many dreams he had back home, wanting nothing more than to see you again.
“Mind if I join you?”
He shuffles over on the bench, trying to contain his grin when you open the blanket you brought and drape it over your shoulders and his.
“Tell me about your world.”
You play with his hand, tracing over the lines on his palm. Edmund doesn’t know how to describe it to you; he’s fought battles by your side, danced with you under the Narnian sky while fireworks flashed across the sky. In England, he’s no one.
“There’s nothing exciting there. Nothing like what we did.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I suppose so.”
You can tell there’s more he isn’t saying, something that is eating away from him. But you don’t pry. Not yet.
“Tell me. What have you been doing since I left?” Edmund asks.
You hum, fingers still tracing over the lines on Edmundo’s palm. Trying to reconcile three years worth of memories into something amusing or daring, but the truth is… that without Edmund, dealing with his sudden departure had left you in misery.
“Can I be honest with you, Edmund?”
He doesn’t answer right away, shifting slightly so he’s turned toward you instead of side by side. Hand gently squeezing yours.
“Of course you can.”
“The past three years have been amazing, theoretically. Caspian has managed to restore peace and order to the lands, Narnians have been rebuilding their lives and I… I missed you. I kept thinking to myself, ‘Edmund would love this’.”
“I missed you too.” Edmund says quietly. “Lucy had to drag me out of bed most days, because at least in my dreams I might get to visit you again.”
“Edmund?”
He hums in response.
You turn your body so you’re facing him too, the blanket you’d brought slipping down to your waist. Even with the chilly breeze from the ocean you don’t feel cold, feeling the warmth radiating from Edmund. From where his thigh touches yours. His hand still in yours.
You ask the question that you’ve thought about every night since he and his siblings walked through the tree back into their world.
“Why didn’t you kiss me?”
You don’t have to specify - when, where, what? Edmund knows exactly what you’re talking about.
The night of Caspian’s coronation, the sky lit up with fireworks. The way the colors flashed over your face, the whizz and crack of the fireworks vibrating through his chest. Your hands on his shoulder, his on your waist.
It felt like a moment torn out of a fairytale, the only thing missing was a twirl and a dip in the dance that ended in a kiss.
Instead, once the majority of the merriment commenced, the fireworks fizzled out and the food and drink all gone, Edmund walked you to your room. You remember the way your heart beat, so fast, feeling more nervous than you had on the battlefield days earlier.
“Goodnight,” Edmund had said, pressing a kiss to your hand and then he was gone in the castle shadows. The next day he was gone from Narnia.
“I did kiss you.” He has a hint of a smirk on his lips, but you can see the flush on his cheeks.
“On the hand does not count! Did you not want to kiss me?”
“Of course I did. I’ve spent three years thinking how foolish I was not to.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I knew Susan and Peter had spoken to Aslan and that they seemed upset. I had a suspicion of what they discussed. So, that night with you… I felt that if we got closer than we already had, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Knowing how it felt and then leaving. I’m not sure I would’ve gone with them.”
“I thought I misread you.”
“I’ve spent three years regretting that night. I should have kissed you.”
“I think it’s time we rectify that, hm?”
You kiss him, and you’re struck by warm he is. Slow and languid, the kiss is sweet. Filled with years of pent up longing finally being released.
Shaking your hand loose, your hand slides up to his neck, gently guiding his eager mouth closer to yours. He breath hitches in his throat, biting back a moan.
It gets messy, clumsy. Noses bumping against each other. His hand finds it way to your waist, your own hands slipping into the loose hair at the nape of his neck. You pull him closer and closer until he’s pressed right against you.
You pull away with a heaving breath, Edmund chasing your lips.
“I need a breather.” You huff out.
“I’ve thought about doing that every single night since Caspian’s coronation.”
“Oh, you mean after you chickened out and didn’t kiss me? And then left for three years?”
Edmund rolls his eyes, pulling away in his stubbornness. “I didn’t see you making a move either, oh fearless one.”
“I think I just did.”
“Three years later.” He mocks.
You shut him up with another kiss, this time finding a rhythm with your lips that makes your toes curl.
The voyage ahead was certain to become more dangerous with each passing day, but here, wrapped in a king's embrace, you think of nothing else but him. Edmund.
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everythingne · 1 year ago
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all american bitch -- ls2
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After a successful concert in Miami, your twin sister is caught having a little moment with her boyfriend outside a club. Most people jump to conclusions, but you have a way to shut everyone up (and give half of the F1 community a heart attack in the process)
logan sargeant x singer!reader
warnings/notes: cheating allegations, cursing, so many sexual innuendos, sexual lyrics, terribly written lyrics should count as a warning... also I wrote this to celebrate logan 2024 <3
fc: gracie abrams
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04 MAY, INSTAGRAM
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urusername made a new post!
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liked by logansargeant, oscarpiastri, sistersacc, and 450k others
urusername: miami!! u were ELECTRIC!! a great finish to the first leg of the tour. oh and thank u to both @ logansargeant and @ sistersacc for joining me in miami tn ahead of the gp <3
tagged: sistersacc, logansargeant, williamsracing
lilymhe: LAST PIC??
urusername: people keep sending logan text posts to me and its amazing
user1: girl explain what u were doing last night
user2: patiently waiting on her downfall fr
user3: MOTHER IS MOTHERING!!!
logansargeant: I LOVE YOU BITCH ASS
urusername: I LOVE YOU TOO FUCK HEAD !!! 💙💙
williamsracing: y/n. ur electric.
urusername: im leaving logan for u williams admin
logansargeant: dude what the fuck :(
user4: so we're gonna act like no one saw her cheating?
sistersacc: AAAA SO MUCH FUN THANKS FOR LETTING ME MAKE U MAD <333
alexalbon: thank u again for inviting me and lily i cannot express the joy of finally meeting the woman logan never shuts up about
user7: not everyone jumping to conclusions jfc
logansargeant made a new post
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logansargeant: thank u williams for the incredible season and for trusting this american guy and taking a chance on me. thank u @ urusername for being my rock. see u all next yr 💙
USER HAS LIMITED COMMENTS ON THIS POST.
urusername: so so so proud of u baby <3 u did incredible
logansargeant: thank u <3
alexalbon: see u in a few weeks
oscarpiastri: great job man u did amazing
--
EXTRATV made a new post!
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liked by 456k others...
extratv: While rumors are spiraling of potential cheating allegations against Y/n L/n, she was spotted with Taylor Swift at a local park in Miami after day two of her residency in the Kaseya Center. Has the checkered flag waved for the American 'It Couple' of F1?
user1: bro its so over for us.
user2: NOOO Y/N SARGEANT PLS </3
user3: people see taylor and think its an immediate break up. taylor literally helped y/n start music bc their moms are besties idk what y'all are on.
user4: reputation era real
--
"Do you see this shit?" You turn to look at Logan behind you, who currently has his face smushed into what was previously your pillow as he attempts to recover sleep from his season of traveling just about everywhere. You would be in the same boat as him if you weren't being hounded over doing your skincare and such everyday for tour. Because of that hounding, you had to take off all the makeup you had put on for dinner as soon as you got home. The dinner was with all your family and friends to celebrate the end of a season and the end of the first leg of your tour.
"No?" Logan blinks open his eyes and you cross the room from your shared bathroom, he lifts the blanket so you can slide in next to him in the bed as the fleeting Florida sun nips warmth into your skin before his warmth envelops you in the comfortable blankets you have across the bed as the fan above rotates on high.
You flip your phone, showing him the pictures of your sister people were using to say you cheated on Logan.
"Oh be so serious." He groans into your side as he looks at the photos, arm draped lazily over you before he plucks the device out of your hands and drags you fully under the blankets with them.
"Don't worry," He murmurs, sleep in his voice, "It'll blow over if we just ignore it."
"Logan they're trying to cancel me on Twitter." You deadpan, rolling into his embrace and snuggling against him.
"Write a song about it like everyone thinks you're doing with Taylor, play it on tour or something.'' He mumbles into the skin of your neck before giving you a soft kiss.
You hate how enticing the idea is.
"You're gonna have to review the lyrics before I post it, because I might make it absolutely filthy." You warn and Logan's eyes widen as he perks up from where he's cuddled into your side.
"Oh please, please, do." His little shit eating grin makes you burst into laughter as you nod, pulling out your notebook from your bedside table and a pen as Logan adjusts so he can watch you scribble down ideas.
-
urusername made a new post!
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liked by logansargeant, oscarpiastri, lilymhe, and 215k others...
urusername: im so sorry to @ williamsracing in advance. my new single miami burn comes out tmrw 💙
lilymhe: get em girl.
logansargeant: i apologize in advance to my pr team
williamsracing: logan please.
oscarpiastri: some times i wonder about u two. and then i hear about you and it makes me wish i never asked.
logansargeant: wow love u too man
landonorris: no i heard the demo im with oscar on this
arthurleclerc: prayers to ur pr team !
williamsracing: well now im scared.
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mermaidfanficlibrary · 4 months ago
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Weird Water Fun || Yandere Merman x Gn Kayaker Reader
Characters: Ranee
Summary: Kayaking is so fun! Even in the ocean! You have a little follower though.
Warnings: Yandere themes, possessiveness, violence, stalking
A/n: Just a merman baby that's so confused
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦
Yan Merman who is very curious about the human world. All mers are and he is no exception. However, his curiosity blurs with concern so he constantly gets lost within the harbor where multiple boats, big and small, go through.
Yan Merman who struggles to find a way out, following the boats but ends up more and more lost. He's on the verge of tears before a small little kayak floats above him.
Yan Merman he swims up, carefully poking his head out of the water as he sees the cutest human he's ever laid eyes on. The definition of perfection. And the grace they had in the water, they must be like him!
Yan Merman who follows you as you kayak along the harbor, behind expensive beach houses and through bridges. He's so grateful when you lead him out to the open ocean.
Yan Merman who is convinced that you want to be like him. How else could you manage the water with such skill? And your arm strength! He couldn't help but drool a bit at your upper arm muscles.
Yan Merman who sees you as a potential protector. You look strong! No, you are strong to glide on the water with such speed and power! He made the decision to tip your kayak over so you could join him.
Yan Merman who is utterly confused when you freak out that you capsized. When he tries to drag you done to go home with him, you manage to escape and flip your kayak back over. You did lose your paddle though.
Yan Merman who watches as you barely make it to a dock nearby to compose yourself. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! You were supposed to follow him home and be his mate! Why did you go back?
Yan Merman who sees you looking for something. Now you're jumping into the water and swimming underneath its surface. Did you really not want him? That is until he notices the paddle that's poking his tail. Oh! You were just looking for your artificial fins! That's okay, he'll give them back to you.
Yan Merman who watches you leave with your kayak. Wait! You need your fins right? Why are you just leaving? Oh, but how you mesmerize him with how you pick up your kayak and carry it all on your own.
Yan Merman who keeps your paddle close to him until he sees you again. These are your special fins, oh he feels so dirty for touching them, but it's like your holding his hand. He so much wishes you had just let him drag you down.
Yan Merman who sees you on a pier he frequents. This is finally his chance to give you back what you lost! With a kiss on each paddle, he hoists it up over his head, and you see your paddle sticking up in the water.
Yan Merman who both hates and loves the fact that he got to give it back to you. For a long while this was his connection to you, but seeing you smile like that when you saw the paddle made his heart, well one of them, leap into his throat.
Yan Merman who is back to following you in the bay and harbor while you kayak around. Gives your paddle a tug when you talk to other people as they pass you by on their big yachts. Why are you noticing them and not him?
Yan Merman who finally shows himself to you when you're out in the middle of the ocean. He tried so hard to speak to you. He's been learning your language from the menus that the local restaurants would throw away! He doesn't know what a crab cake is, but it must mean 'I love you' right?
Yan Merman who's shocked that your first reaction is to reach over to give him a head pat. He gurgles but stops when he notices your kayak tipping. Is quick to the rescue to balance you, can't have you in the water again!
Yan Merman who visits you more on the docks and pokes at your feet. They interest him okay? Shouldn't your fins be there? Why do you have them on a stick? He has so many questions but can only ask in his food code.
Yan Merman who adores when you teach him things. He finally grasps your greeting and how to ask how you are! And he gets rewarded in human treats! Though they're too sweet for him, he likes the wrappers! He's the main reason for pollution.
Yan Merman who will bite your hand out of nowhere. You get used to it and your friends will ask about the rigid teeth marks on your hand. Can't really explain who gave it to you. He's giggling to himself at the fact that you were so oblivious to the mark's meaning.
Yan Merman who sees you interacting with another human, a man. You're supposed to be his mate though, not this very overdressed idiot? He doesn't even understand how graceful you are in the water.
Yan Merman who doesn't understand who this human is. Why are you docking here? And why does he smell like a sweeter version of the ocean? It's just giving the poor merman a headache. Come back to him. Please?
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦
Do not repost or translate without my explicit permission! Reblogs are welcome!
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quack-quack-snacks · 11 months ago
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Floating Above Those Dark Skies
My Navigation and Masterlist
My Sweet Home Masterlist
My Cha Hyun-su Masterlist
Pairing(s): Cha Hyun-su x Fem!Reader Summary: Living with the love of your life and the girl you love like a daughter is perfect. Except for all the bad parts. Warnings: Season 2 spoilers! Follows the dialogue of the episodes relatively strictly (I know some people like that but some people don't so it's a warning), Reader being like a second mother to Ah-yi, Hyun-su being a great big brother/father figure, slight talk of previous suicide attempts (The National Suicide and Crisis Hotline is 988. There are so many people who care about you and would love to help you. You are not alone), injuries, underage drinking (but they're in the apocalypse so who cares), canonical death, hurt with comfort, the appearance of (soft and kinda ooc) monster!Hyun-su, no use of (y/n), reader has the nickname "Lucky". Word Count: 17,132 (wow, what a doozy)
previous | next
Hyun-su led the way as you all walked to his home. Halfway there, Ah-yi complained about her feet hurting and it was then you noticed she had been barefoot this entire time. 
‘We definitely need to fix that,’ you thought. 
Before Hyun-su could even open his mouth, you crouched down and extended your hands out to her. She rushed forward to jump into your arms with a tired smile. When you straightened back up, she rested her head against your shoulder and was out like a light within a few minutes. 
“She seems to like you a lot,” Hyun-su whispered fondly as a gentle smile laid itself on his lips. After making sure she was secure in your arms, you smiled back at him and dropped one hand from holding her to hold his hand. 
“I guess I’m just a toddler whisperer. I think she likes me better than you,” you joked and he let out a scoff while squeezing your hand.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” he told you in an offended tone you could tell was fake by the smile threatening to break his facade. 
After a few minutes of comfortable silence as you walked, you asked the question that had been burning in your mind since you saw him again with the girl in your arms. “So… who is she?” 
He let out a heavy sigh before pushing a tree branch out of the way for you to walk through since your hands were full. 
Always the gentleman.
“She’s Seo Yi-kyung’s baby.”
You let out a quiet gasp. “What? But she hadn’t even been pregnant for half a year? And this is at least a 4-year-old child!” You whisper shouted at him, completely shocked by the information. 
“I don’t fully understand it either, but I do know she’s hers,” he assured you and you let out a sigh, your eyes wide as you tried to process the information. 
“So, is she a monster-human mix as well? Is she like you?” You asked. You hadn’t noticed the way Hyun-su snapped his head towards you because you were too focused on the girl in your arm, letting out small breaths that tickled your neck. The way you said the sentence was so unlike anything he had heard before - especially relating to talking about monsters and neohumans. You sounded so soft, not an ounce of judgment or resentment in your voice. You sounded like no matter what the answer was you wouldn’t treat her any differently. You would adore her just as much as you were in that moment with your face buried in her hair as she let out quiet snores in her sleep. He gave a soft smile at the thought. 
“I think so. She's grown so much since I first met her. Her actual age is around 5 or 6 months.”
“Wow,” you breathed and he couldn’t help but marvel at the way your voice embodied adoration and your smile was so bright it set the sky on fire despite the sun falling over the horizon. “That’s… wow.”
The rest of the walk was spent in silence. At some point, Hyun-su’s hand moved from holding yours to circling your waist as you hugged Ah-yi to your chest protectively. Eventually, the three of you arrived at a dock where a large boat was parked. 
 You weren’t all too surprised to find he had lived on a boat for the past half-year but you couldn’t help the small part that didn’t believe him when he told you. 
He hopped up onto the boat first before helping you, careful not to wake Ah-yi. After the two of you were safely atop the boat, he led you to the captain’s quarters and helped you lay the girl in your arms down onto the nest of blankets and sweaters assembled to make a bed. Her dress had dried surprisingly quickly on the way to the boat, the only thing left to be damp was her hair.
 You weren’t so lucky.
Your clothes stuck to your skin uncomfortably but you refused to complain, giving a - hopefully convincing - smile to Hyun-su when he saw you detach your shirt from your chest with a grimace. He walked away for a few moments and you sat down at the entrance to the captain’s quarters, resting your head against the door frame until his soft footsteps brought your attention back to him. He stood in front of you with a pair of folded clothes in his hands. 
“I have these if you want to change into some fresh clothes. I don’t have any towels but this might help.”
The hesitant and shy look on his face made a smile break out on your own. You gave him a nod and took the clothes from his hands. You didn’t comment on how they were exactly your size but it made your heart flutter. 
“Thank you,” you told him genuinely.
He nodded back at you before pointing to a door inside the quarters. “In there is a bathroom for whenever you want to change. I’ll wait for you out here.”
You nodded and turned before the smitten smile overcame your face stupidly at the thought. He just said he would wait for you and you could feel your heartbeat quickening alarmingly while heat rose to your cheeks. You walked into the bathroom and looked at yourself in the mirror. It was kind of scary. You hadn’t seen your reflection in a few months, never venturing into any areas with cars and rarely going near water. All the mirrors in the women's locker room back at the stadium had been broken after a monster outbreak and the monster breaking all of them because she was ‘too ugly.’ 
You honestly almost forgot what you looked like, but you were beautiful. You had always thought of yourself as a relatively attractive person but never the kind that would make someone turn their head. Now, you found yourself unable to look away. Your skin was glowing, whether that be from the sweat collecting from the walk or the water, you didn’t know. Any blood that had collected on you over the past few weeks had been rinsed off in the lake and you relished in the feeling of being clean of it for once, despite how the stickiness of the wet clothes you were still wearing still made you feel a bit dirty.
Snapping out of your amazement, you quickly took your old clothes off, replacing them with the ones Hyun-su had given you. It was a simple pair of dark gray sweatpants and a maroon short-sleeved shirt. You took off your unbearably uncomfortable socks and replaced them with the soft wool socks he provided as well. Now dry, you exited the bathroom to see Hyun-su had stuck to his word and was waiting for you as he leaned against the door frame of the room, though this time in a different, dryer outfit. 
“Hey,” you said softly to get his attention. He looked over at you and smiled when he saw you all dressed and dryer than before. 
“Hey,” he whispered back. He held his hands out for you to give him your wet clothes and you did reluctantly. He walked over to the edge of the boat and laid them over the edge so they could dry before returning to you. “Well, you should get some sleep.”
As if his words were magic, you suddenly felt the events of the day hit you like a truck and you yawned, nodding your agreement. “I think that’s a good idea.”
You gave a quick look around the room before deciding to sleep next to Ah-yi with your head using a part of her ‘bed’ as a pillow.
Hyun-su winced as he saw you settle against the hard floor of the boat and walked forward without thinking. He gently grabbed your shoulders, lifting you and then settling you against his chest while you sat in between his legs. 
You blushed but said nothing as you settled with your cheek pressed against his chest, his heartbeat echoing against your ear and calming your nerves.
“Sleep,” he told you and tightened his grip around you. “I’ll keep watch.”
Your tongue felt heavy with sleep as you spoke your next words with a slight slur. “But what about you?”
He let out a soft laugh as he heard your breathing even out almost immediately after your sentence ended. He let his head rest against the wall behind him as he kept his gaze on the door.
“I’ll be okay,” he whispered as he briefly looked down at your peaceful sleeping face. “As long as you’re here with me…”
“Lucky.”
~A Week Into The Apocalypse, In Green Home~
It had been a week since the apocalypse started, and you had barely seen Hyun-su. The way the other residents and survivors treated him caused you to be so angry. You were thankful that at least one person - Eun-yu - didn’t treat him like a monster. 
She wasn’t much different though, considering she still avoided him most of the time. 
It was after the reappearance of Yi-kyung and the failed mission to retrieve medicine for Ji-su and her surgery that you got the chance to talk to him for more than just a quick goodbye or hello. 
“All alone?” You asked him as you approached the staircase. The candle in your hands burned a bright yellow and smelled of cinnamon sugar. His head looked up at where you were approaching and nodded as you settled yourself on the stairs with him. Although he appreciated you trying to give him space and sitting a short distance away, he couldn’t help but wish you were closer. You smiled at him and smoothed your hands along your pants when you were seated. 
“Are you scared?” 
The question through you off guard. Giving a quick look around the room, you didn’t see anything that you would consider to be a threat so you weren’t really sure what he was talking about. 
“Of what?” You asked, tilting your head in confusion at the boy. 
He mirrored your head tilt with a confused look of his own. Inwardly you laughed at how the two of you must look like confused dogs when their owners told them a command they didn’t understand. 
“Of… me?” He questioned again and a small laugh left you when you finally realized. 
“Oh, Hyun-su,” you reached over to gently grab his hand as you looked him deeply in the eyes. “I promise you I could never be scared of you.”
He looked down with a small smile at that and you could see the small hints of red on his ears and cheeks. 
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” you started and gently released his hand. He immediately felt cold at the lack of your added warmth. “I never tried because I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to talk to me, but is there a reason why you never came by? Even after you were given a choice to leave the quarantining room?”
He paused as he thought for a moment. “I thought you didn’t want to see me. You were the only person not put on guard duty so I figured it was because you asked not to.”
You let out a sad sigh. “Shit, I’m sorry. I promise that’s not what happened.”
He looked up at you with sad, confused little puppy eyes. “It’s not?” 
You shook your head. “The first, and only, time I was put on guard duty, I tried breaking the lock on the door,” you told him and looked away sheepishly. 
“Really?” He asked after a moment of stunned silence. 
You nodded in assurance. “After that, Eun-hyuk tried to do whatever he could to keep me as far away from you as possible. I was hoping that would change since you got out but now I know why it didn’t,” you smiled at him sweetly and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks so he looked away. “You know,” you continued. “I always saw you stop by my door right before you would leave, but you never said anything. Was that also because you thought I didn’t want to talk to you?”
“Partially. It was mainly so I could just see you before I left. Every time I thought I was going to die I thought about returning so I could at least try to fix whatever was happening,” he told you. Now he was the one who looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his neck. “I always backed out at the last minute though.”
You smiled and scooted closer to him on the stairs, moving down so you were on the same level and making it so only half a foot of space separated you. “I guess I was like your lucky charm then, wasn’t I?” You teased and lightly bumped your shoulder against his. 
“Yeah, I guess you were.”
~Back To The Present~
It had been about a month since you reunited with Hyun-su. You’d grown closer to Ah-yi in no time. She looked up to you and it seemed she just needed another girl in her life to have around. Your favorite part about growing closer to her was she had upgraded your honorific from ‘Miss’ to ‘Unni’ which made your heart clench adoringly every time.
The first time Hyun-su decided to make a trip into the city to collect some supplies, he was so hesitant to leave the two of you alone. You promised you would protect Ah-yi and yourself with whatever it takes; that seemed to be enough for him to be comfortable enough to leave. He never lost his hesitancy to leave the two of you alone despite each time he came back the two of you would be fine.
The most recent time was no different. You sat on top of a large, red, metal shipping container with Ah-yi as the two of you drew using the chalk you were fortunate enough to find a few days ago.
“That looks beautiful, Ah-yi! You are such a good artist,” you praised her on her drawing and she visibly beamed. It was a simple drawing of some flowers and her, you, and Hyun-su. It was clear it was made by a child but it was so beautiful in your eyes. 
“Thank you, Unni!” You ruffled her hair which she squealed at until you noticed Hyun-su walking towards the two of you with a smile on his face and a hand hiding behind his back while the other supported a red bag over his shoulder. “Oppa!” Ah-yi exclaimed and you smiled at her excitement. 
He rounded the corner of the large container and brought the hand hiding behind his back out to place a pair of pink shoes on the top. Ah-yi gasped while you had a big smile on your face. 
“Come on!” You urged her and she sat on the edge of the box so Hyun-su could slip the shoes onto her feet with the cutest smile ever on his face. Once the shoes were on, he held his hands out for her and she eagerly jumped down, having full faith that he wouldn’t drop her. Once he set her down, he reached his hands out for you to take and you gave him a funny look. 
“What’s wrong, Lucky?” He voiced his thoughts with a confused tilt of his head. You rolled your eyes at him while smiling. Your heart fluttered at the nickname. He’d started calling you it more often since the two of you reunited and yet it still gave you butterflies.  
“I’m okay, I can get down by myself,” you reassured him and turned around while you slowly lowered yourself from the canister, your front facing the metal. 
You heard Hyun-su softly breathe out a laugh from behind you before a hand grabbed onto the back of your shirt and pulled. You let out a yelp as you felt yourself falling only to land bridal style in Hyun-su’s arms. You clicked your tongue in faux annoyance and crossed your arms while he tried to hide the smug smile on his lips. 
“Going full ‘knight in shining armor’ mode, are we now?” You teased him and he blushed, pointedly avoiding your gaze. Suddenly, your stomach dipped as you felt him pretend to drop you and your arms wrapped themselves around his neck while he looked at you with another self-satisfied smirk.
“Well, it looks like my ‘princess’ needs her ‘knight in shining armor,’” he said softly as he looked away from you and you slapped his chest. He kneeled down when Ah-yi ran up to him. Knowing exactly what he was offering, she used one of his extended hands along with yours to help prop herself onto his shoulders. Hyun-su regained his grip on you as he grabbed the red bag he had set down and stood back up to his full height before starting the walk in the direction of the boat. You rolled your eyes, knowing any protests about him carrying you would be brushed off. Instead, you just snatched the red bag from his hand, placing it on your lap and holding it tightly to your body as you gave him a challenging glare. He just rolled his eyes with a fond smile and continued walking. 
The three of you made small talk as he carried you. Ah-yi explained what you and her had done while Hyun-su was venturing off and you chimed in every now and then with a comment. Hyun-su explained how he saw a peculiar monster today.
“It was like a mermaid with wings.”
Then, you both went on to explain what a mermaid was to the child. 
When you arrived at the boat, Hyun-su set the both of you down and Ah-yi started pulling you to the edge of the boat. You laughed as you walked up to the contraption. It was during your first week that you made the efficient self-fishing machine. It was a relatively simple mechanism that was made of a bunch of fishing poles and a homemade weight sensor. Whenever one of the poles was tugged on by something in the water, the device yanked it up and whatever was attached to the hook was left dangling in the air. 7 times out of 10, the hook was caught on litter in the ocean or a monster that was able to detach itself but there were the 3 times where you would catch a fish or two and the three of you would share it for dinner. 
It became a bit of a game for Ah-yi and yourself, guessing if the day would end with a fresh meal or a degrading empty can with barnacles growing on the side. 
As Hyun-su smiled at the two of you, he walked over to the stairs leading to the roof of the captain’s quarters and sat on the top, watching the sunset. No matter how many times you invited him to join the two of you, he always refused. It was nice you had a special activity to bond with Ah-yi over and he used that as his excuse every time.
It wasn’t even 10 minutes later as you were skinning the rare fish you’d caught with Ah-yi watching attentively as you explained the different anatomy parts to her that Hyun-su noticed a familiar face climbing the steps of the boat. He climbed down and started walking over to her while the two of you stayed distracted. You only looked over and noticed the two when you heard their footsteps. You carefully set down the knife and fish, wiping your hands on a stray towel beside you, and stood up to walk over beside Hyun-su. Ah-yi followed up behind you, grabbing onto the back of your shirt shyly. 
“I came too late, didn’t I?” Yi-kyung asked from in front of you as she looked at the girl shyly standing behind you. You decided not to answer considering you still weren’t sure how you felt about the whole situation of her leaving her child. Instead, Hyun-su answered her question.
“Not at all. You’re here now, right?”
She looked down and you could see the guilt and regret on her face. Slowly, you turned around to face Ah-yi. “That’s your mommy,” you told her and she looked at her hands shyly. “Why don’t you say hi.”
You lightly pushed her in the direction of Yi-kyung and the woman kneeled so she was face to face with her.
“Hi there,” you heard her whisper to the girl while you stood up to your full height. You wrapped your arms around Hyun-su’s waist and leaned into him while you watched them interact. Yi-kyung brought her into a hug and you smiled at the relief that settled on her face. 
Over the next few months, you and Hyun-su traveled through the city together, occasionally going back to visit Yi-kyung and Ah-yi but mainly wanting to give them the privacy a mother and daughter should have. It was adorable to come back and see the markings on the wall increase where Yi-kyung marked her daughter’s growth every day. Everything seemed to be going perfectly for the family of two.
Up until that day.
You had an awful feeling in the pit of your stomach for the entire day, feeling as if something bad was going to happen and you needed to get back to the two girls on the boat. When you shared your feelings with Hyun-su, he didn’t question it for a second, immediately going with you to rush back. 
When you arrived at the boat, you found a teenage girl covered in blood wearing the same dress as the little girl you’d grown to love while sitting on the bed blankets and jackets. You walked slowly towards her and she snapped her head up when she saw your feet enter her vision from where she had her head hung low. You kneeled in front of her, tentatively reaching a hand out to hold her cheek and she leaned into it.
Just like Ah-yi always did.
You let out a shaky breath as you finally voiced the question. 
“Ah-yi?”
She nodded, her eyes filled with fear.
Fear of resentment.
Fear of abandonment.
Fear of your fear. 
You just let out a sigh, whether it was from relief or surprise, you didn’t know. What you did know was that this was your Ah-yi and you would love her no matter what form she would take. You wrapped your arms around her and brought her in for a hug which she returned immediately. Relief coursed through her body so evidently that you could practically hear it. 
“It’s okay. Everything’s okay,” you dispelled her fears, bringing her closer and rocking her as she cried into your shoulder and told you what happened. You smoothed down her bloodied hair, not caring about how she was staining your clothes with the blood coating her. 
Once she calmed down a bit more, you gathered a rag from the bathroom.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” You promised her and she nodded. You turned and left, closing the door behind you and giving her a playful wink through the window which she giggled quietly at. Hyun-su followed you as you walked down the stairs of the boat and to the edge of the water. As you kneeled down to dip the rag into the lake's water, you started asking the questions on your mind about what Ah-yi told you happened.
“How did they even find this place? How did they find out about her being mixed?” You asked Hyun-su. His lips twitched into a small smile when he heard you refer to her as ‘mixed.’ He remembers you telling him the reasoning behind it like it was yesterday.
“I don’t like the word ‘monster.’ I always associated the word ‘monster’ with someone who acts evilly and neither of you are like that. I know you’re not entirely human anymore but I refuse to call you monsters. Human or not, you are still a good person.”
It was the moment he had set it in stone that you were the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. 
“I don’t know,” he answered your questions. “But I have a bad feeling about the whole thing,” he paused momentarily before continuing. “What do you think we should do about the whole… touch thing she has?” He asked you and you frowned in thought.
“Well, I don’t think we should do anything. It’s a part of who she is and she shouldn’t feel the need to be ashamed of it. I don’t necessarily think she should use it on people, least of all those undeserving of it, but she can learn to control it. She doesn’t have to live in fear of herself.”
Just as Hyun-su was about to reply to your heartwarming statement, the two of you were interrupted by Ah-yi screaming and crying from the boat. You both ran in the direction of the scream and when you got there you saw Yi-kyung with her head down as blood dripped from her eye while Ah-yi was rubbing at a wound on her forearm. 
“What’s going on?” Hyun-su questioned in a panic. Seeing the bloody knife on the ground as well as a bloody pencil, you pieced together what happened. It seemed Hyun-su did too, if his sigh was any way to tell. “Why did you have to do this?”
Yi-kyung let out a few heavy breaths as she breathed through the pain coursing through her eye. “I’m her mother. No matter how she changes, or what form she takes… I need to recognize my little girl. I won’t ever lose her.”
It was then you realized the wound Yi-kyung inflicted on Ah-yi was black. You let out another sigh, anger, and understanding fighting for control of your emotions as you realized the purpose of her actions. She may have had better intentions behind the action, but how she carried it out was not the way to go. 
As Yi-kyung rose and left the scene, you sat down in front of Ah-yi, carefully reaching for her left arm where the wound had already healed. You gently used the rag to wipe down her arm, then her other arm, and then her face. You wiped down all the blood that tainted her smooth skin while she sat there silently, most likely in shock by what just happened. The domestic act, despite the violent acts that brought it about, brought a wave of emotion over Hyun-su as he watched the two of you. 
It made him realize how much he wanted a family with you one day. 
After Ah-yi was all clean, you gave her a pair of clothes to change into while you and Hyun-su went to the opposite side of the boat to talk while you waited for her. When she came out, you walked over to give her a hug which she gladly accepted. She squeezed you just as tightly as you squeezed her. You wished you could engrave it into her brain that you would never, could never, be afraid of her. 
Afterward, she went to sit on a barrel, swinging her legs back and forth while you watched her and leaned against Hyun-su’s embrace. It was all so calm until Yi-kyung appeared from the boat’s stairs and walked towards Ah-yi with purpose. Ah-yi, still angry at her mother for what she did, hopped off the barrel and started walking away but was stopped when Yi-kyung’s hand wrapped around her bicep and aggressively pulled her back. The woman shoved her daughter’s hands into a pair of pink gloves connected by a rope that she placed behind the girl’s neck. 
“Don’t take those off no matter what. Understand?” Yi-kyung told her daughter. You rushed forward, feeling anger simmer beneath your blood at the sudden display of aggression she started showing toward her daughter. 
“Hey, don’t you think this is a bit extreme?” You told her, standing in between the two girls. You felt Ah-yi grip your shirt from behind you. You could tell even if her body had grown more, she was still used to her childhood ways of having you protect her. 
“She’s my daughter, I will do as I see fit,” Yi-kyung told you sternly before swiftly turning around and walking back down the stairs of the boat, leaving the three of you alone. 
You turned around to face the girl and sighed when you saw her speed-walking to her sleeping space in the captain’s quarters and locking the door behind her. You and Hyun-su decided to just set up camp outside the door, leaving her alone for the time being so she could sort out her thoughts. 
The next morning, you woke up to the sound of Yi-kyung panicking. You instinctively looked around, looking to protect Ah-yi until you realized she wasn’t there. You rushed to stand up and ran to where her mother was breathing heavily and pacing back and forth.
“What’s going on? Where’s Ah-yi?” You questioned and she turned to face you.
“I don’t know! I was looking for her this morning and I can’t find her anywhere!”
“Shit,” you muttered to yourself. Your thoughts were racing, trying to think of any place she could possibly be. When you finally landed on an answer, you started walking off.
“Where are you going?” Yi-kyung called out to you and you scoffed, not bothering to face her as you continued walking. 
“To find your daughter.”
When you got to the garden dome, the rusting doors were firmly closed unlike the previous times you were here with Ah-yi. Not deterred in any way, you rammed into the doors, successfully sending them flying open. You winced at the loud noise and walked in. 
“Ah-yi!” You yelled out, praying your instinct was right and she was here.
“Go away, Unni,” you heard her soft voice tell you from further into the garden. 
Sighing, you walked closer until you saw her sitting on the grass flooring while playing with a flower. 
“Ah-yi, why don’t you come home?” You tried but she just shook her head. When you realized she wasn’t going to say anything else, you walked closer.
Imagine your surprise when she scrambled away from you, desperate to keep the space between you two. 
“Ah-yi, what’s wrong?” You asked gently, stopping in your tracks to give her the space she desired. 
“Don’t touch me! I might hurt you!” She exclaimed fearfully through a sob and you cursed her mother for putting that image in her head. Taking another slow and gentle step toward her, you internally cheered when she didn’t move away. You took more steps toward her until you were sitting right in front of her and your hand reached for hers. 
When she pulled back, you gave her the best reassuring smile you could muster. “Sweetie, I know that you won’t hurt me. I promise.”
She hesitated but when you reached for her hands again she let you take them. You gave her a smile and squeezed her hand before pulling her into your chest. Your arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her tightly while she started crying more, her body wracking with the violent sobs she let out. 
“I just don’t understand why she hates me so much! Those men hurt me first!” She sobbed into the crook of your neck and you softly caressed her hair, brushing the loose leaves and grass strands out. 
“I know, I’m so sorry she did that to you. You definitely didn’t deserve that,” you reassured her and lifted your chin to rest your head on top of hers when you saw Hyun-su leaning against a wall while watching the two of you with a frown. You used a hand to wave him over and he slowly walked over so he was sitting about a foot away from the two of you. You looked back down at her and kissed her forehead lovingly. “I don’t want you to be afraid of yourself. You did what you had to do in that situation and no one is blaming you for it. Your mom is just…” you hesitated, looking to Hyun-su for support on how to explain the girl’s mother’s actions in a way that wouldn’t drag her name through the mud any more than it already was.
“Your mom was just worried,” Hyun-su intervened when he noticed your pleading gaze, bringing a hand to rest against Ah-yi’s back comfortingly. Ah-yi jumped a bit, startled, but otherwise didn’t do anything. “It was a shock to her to not only see you grow 10 years older in a few seconds but also to see how you dealt with those men. She didn’t want to lose you.”
“You mean she was scared. Scared of me,” she argued.
The both of you stayed quiet for a minute before you spoke again. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now because of what happened yesterday, but I promise you she loves you,” she started crying again and you just hugged her tighter to you. “And if you don’t believe me, at least know that I love you.”
It was the first time you’d expressed that to her in words and she looked up at you in surprise. 
“Really?”
The pure innocence and surprise in her tone were enough for a genuine smile to break out on your face. 
“Of course,” you told her sincerely and brushed her overgrown bangs to the side of her face. 
‘I guess I should trim those soon,’ you thought to yourself. 
“How could I not love you? You’re amazing!” You teased her lightly and she grinned at you. “You’re like a daughter to me, Ah-yi. I can’t see a life in which I wouldn’t love you.”
She dug her head into the crook of your neck again at your words. 
“I just stopped crying,” she complained with a whine that made you laugh. “Don’t make me start again!”
“Okay! Okay,” you caved and leaned back to look at her again. “Why don’t we go home now?” She hesitated for a moment before nodding decisively. 
The three of you stood up and you offered your hand to Ah-yi without a second of hesitation, something you could see in her eyes she appreciated. 
“Ah-yi,” Hyun-su said as the boat came into view in front of you all. You’d stopped by the lake where you saved her all those months ago on the way back and spent a few hours there. Both of you could tell she didn’t really want to go home yet so you extended the day as long as you could. 
She hummed and looked over at him from where you had her propped up on your back in a piggyback ride. She had stepped on a rock and dramatically complained about it until one of you just decided to pick her up and bring her along. 
That someone being you. 
“I…” he hesitated and you freed up a hand to reach over and give his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I need you to do me a favor. When we get back, I need you to go easy on your mom.”
You could feel her body tensing on your back, not expecting his words to be that. You quickly intervened. “We don’t expect you to forgive her anytime soon. Hell, I don’t really expect you to ever forgive her, but I think we both agree that you should give her another chance,” you told her. She huffed and rested her chin on your head childishly. “We’ll talk to her whenever we get back and tell her what she did was wrong, but she was only trying to keep you with her.”
There were a few moments where Ah-yi stayed silent as you walked and you got nervous about what her reaction would be until she sighed. 
“Fine.”
You sighed in relief and smiled. What you wouldn’t tell her is that the ‘talk’ you would be having would most likely be a screaming match between the two of you while Hyun-su tried to be the mediator. 
It had been about a month since that day and you’d stayed with Ah-yi and Yi-kyung for about half of it. The rest of the time, you and Hyun-su traveled through the city together, enjoying the feeling of being free with each other and occasionally spying on the soldiers of the stadium when they went out on their supply runs. 
“I have a bad feeling,” Hyun-su told you one day while the two of you were washing a muddied shirt in the river. 
“Let’s go check it out then,” you told him, standing up and wiping your hands on your trousers but he held his hand up. 
“I… I don’t think you should come with me.”
You looked at him, feeling shocked and slightly hurt but masking it under a calm exterior. “O-oh. Oka-”
“I just mean it feels dangerous. I don’t really know how to explain it,” he interrupted you quickly, hesitantly taking one of your hands and squeezing it reassuringly. 
You gave him a small frown. “But I don’t want you to be in any danger either.”
He smiled confidently at you and stared deeply into your eyes. “I promise I will be okay. Just stay in the shed until I get back. I’ll be back in a few hours at most.”
After a moment of hesitation, your eyes flicking between the broken down shed behind you and Hyun-su’s dark mocha brown eyes, you nodded in agreement. He smiled at you before turning in the opposite direction and starting to walk away. Just as he started to get out of arm's length, you tightened the grip you had around his hand. He turned back to you, tilting his head in question but your head was down, your eyes focused on his hand where you gently played with his fingers. 
“Please return to me,” you whispered, barely audible to him and he sighed. Taking a step forward, he wrapped his arms around you, one resting on the back of your head and the other around your waist. 
“I will, Lucky. I always will.”
Eun-yu walked down the empty street of the city, darkness clouding every corner and making her jump at every noise. She wasn’t nearly as experienced as you when it came to venturing off alone and outside of the stadium so it was all new to her. This was her first time out of the stadium, let alone all by herself, and she had barely any idea of what to do or where to go. It all started when she was waiting for you at the exit you used to go through when you went on your personal expeditions. 
She wasn’t dumb. She knew you were leaving every day and trying to hurt yourself, yet every day you came back safe. Maybe a little broken and bruised at times, but alive nonetheless. Despite the two of you not being close, she still cared about you more than anything. You were the closest thing to a friend that she had. She was positive you didn’t remember this, but she had helped comfort you one night as you cried after another - but also thankfully your last - attempt to leave this world. You told her about the force that kept you alive, protecting you from monsters and from yourself. You told her about how you blame yourself for Hyun-su’s disappearance and how he was most likely dead. You told her everything. Afterward, you ended up passing out in her embrace and sleeping the entirety of the next day away while she stayed by your side to ward off anyone wanting to wake you. 
Once you woke up, you seemed normal. The same expressionless look on your face as you went on with your day. It stayed that way for a long time. Eun-yu tried her best to do subtle things to help you; to make you feel more wanted and make you blame yourself less.
Until one day, you never came back. 
You leaving and never returning is what led her to be standing at the exit not even a week ago, feeding some of her rations to a small stray kitten. It’s what led her to stay there even when Chan-young approached her and asked her what she was doing. It’s what made her stay even after a young girl she hadn’t recognized revealed herself. It’s what made her stay despite the pleas to go back inside from Chan-young and allowed her to see the woman she thought had died show up and take the girl with her. 
It is also what led her here, all alone looking for you or the girl or Yi-kyung. Whilst finding you was her main goal, she would be satisfied with any of the three. 
She lost Chan-young somewhere along the way after he was poisoned by the girl accompanying that old man but she didn’t let that deter her. 
Now, in the dark shadows looming over the alleyways she walked through, a long metal pipe clutched in one of her hands, she searched the abandoned city with the need to find you forcing down any fear she was feeling. The unoccupied hand had an old piece of clothing wrapped around it, protecting any dirt from getting into the wound where she protected Yeong-su from that soldier.
She often wondered if you knew how much you inspired her to be brave and protect those around her.
After some time, she found herself standing in front of a large greenhouse. Most of the windows were broken and she could see the plants inside had overgrown their once pristinely gardened form, but it was gorgeous regardless. The moonlight shone through the broken glass and cast spotlights of glimmering luminescence across the vegetation. She took a moment to admire everything, noting how you would’ve loved a space like this until she heard a growling sound from behind her and her guard immediately went back up. Moving the pipe so it was tightly grasped in her hands like a baseball bat, she held it defensively and slowly crept closer to the source of the growling. The large crater in the ground made her sick, reminding her of the tragedy that happened less than a year ago when the government tried to kill as many people as possible in order to ‘save humanity from itself.’ 
As she got closer, she raised the pipe over her head, ready to strike at any moment. The growling of the monster got louder as she approached and she prepared herself to swing until-
“He won’t attack you.”
Eun-yu turned around, facing the new voice and seeing the same girl from before. She lowered the pipe, letting it hang loosely at her side as the girl took slow steps toward her. Since she was almost positive this girl would have nothing to do with you, she instead asked about Yi-kyung. “I’m looking for Yi-kyung. You know where she is, right?” The girl stayed silent, gradually getting closer as she continued with her measured footsteps. “I have to meet with her.”
The two girls stared at each other as the younger girl approached. Silence stilled the air until it was broken.
“Mom… the people… they’re all bad.”
“Did you say ‘Mom’?” Eun-yu questioned, her face portraying her confusion and shock.
‘She couldn’t mean Yi-’
“You’re no different,” the girl concluded, taking her last few steps forward more quickly and launching Eun-yu down into the hole behind her. Feeling the ground disappear from below her feet and the wind rush through her hair, she screamed. 
A scream.
A scream was what stopped you from continuing your washing of Hyun-su and your clothes. You snapped your head in the direction of the noise so fast you were worried you got whiplash. Unconsciously clutching the current piece of clothing you’d been washing in your hands, you started sprinting in the direction of the noise. As you got closer, the area around you got brighter and you noticed it becoming increasingly more familiar to you. It was when you saw the familiar metal canisters that you realized you were near the boat.
It was also when you realized the boat was on fire. 
You gasped as you saw the flames licking away at the deck in the distance, pushing your body past its limits as you forced yourself to go faster, faster, faster. You were beyond terrified at the implications the fire had.
‘Was this the bad feeling Hyun-su had?’ You asked yourself. You tried your best to stay as positive as possible until you got there but it was difficult with all the possibilities swirling in your mind. However, there was one possibility you clung to: while the boat burning was bad in itself, maybe nobody was on it.
Maybe.
When you got to the stairs of the boat, you climbed them as quickly as you could, ignoring the pain in your foot when you slipped down one and ended up stepping on it wrong.
‘That’s a problem for later.’
You got to the top, not seeing anybody in the burning embers surrounding you. Quickly covering your mouth with the still-damp piece of fabric in your hands and thanking yourself for unconsciously holding onto it, you ran around the top of the deck, looking for any signs of life while simultaneously praying for none. Seeing nothing, your mind ran at a hundred miles per hour as you tried to decide if that was a good or bad thing. 
“Cha Hyun-su!” You screamed out, the use of his last name representing your evident panic. “Seo Ah-yi!” It was when you circled the captain’s quarters that you saw a familiar lean body. “Seo Yi-kyung!” 
You rushed forward, sliding down to your knees as you reached her and turning her onto her back. You winced as you saw the burn marks and ash littering across the side of her face. You brought the wet clothing down from where it covered your mouth and nose, quickly replacing it with the cuff of your jacket as you used the wet fabric to cover Yi-kyung’s nose. The fire caught onto your pants and you scrambled to put it out, letting out muffled screams into your sleeve as it burned your skin. 
You watched as the small baby monster you knew to be Ah-yi’s friend approached you and Yi-kyung. You were mainly confused about why it showed up here willingly, usually, monsters were terrified of fire and would avoid it at all costs but that didn’t seem to be the case. 
“Go away! Get out of here!” You screamed at the baby but it just babbled at you, running up to you and setting out the fire on your pants. Then, it began to circle around the two of you, using its body to roll out any fire that got too close. You quietly sobbed, your tears feeling like ice against your flaming skin. “Thank you,” you whispered to the small creature, feeling so grateful yet guilty for the way it was putting itself in danger for you. 
Suddenly, as you felt yourself fading out of consciousness, the exhaustion from the run over, and the pain in your foot getting to you, you heard a familiar voice call out for you.
“Lucky!”
Hyun-su...
Eun-yu screamed out as she fell until she quieted, accepting her death to be by falling down a large hole while not knowing if her only friend was dead or alive. Just as she lost all hope, the sound of something whipping through the wind above caught her attention along with a familiar large wing made of bone and muscle only. It was only for a moment that she caught a glimpse of the boy’s face before his arm wrapped around her body and they shot up. 
Reaching the top, Hyun-su swung around so his body would take the brunt of the fall and they crashed. Sliding across the concrete, he used his wing to slow them down as much as possible and keep her as unharmed as he could. Barely taking a minute to breathe when they came to a stop, Hyun-su opened his arm and rolled Eun-yu off before standing back up. 
“Cha Hyun-su,” the girl tried, struggling to lift herself from the ground. Receiving no response as he continued walking toward Ah-yi, who was watching curiously from the other side of the crater, she tried again. “Cha Hyun-su!” She finally made it to her feet as she screamed.
Hyun-su let out a breath. He took a moment to force his eyes to return to their natural state instead of the endless void that would consume him when in his monster state before slowly turning around to face her.
“Are you really just gonna leave like that?” She asked him, more quietly this time as he faced her. His wing flapped lightly at his side, whistling through the wind in an ethereally beautiful way. 
At least, that’s how you would often describe it.
“Were you expecting a hug or something?” He asked her in a blank tone and she looked at him with exasperated annoyance. 
“Yeah, I was. I expected at least a ‘Glad to see you. How’ve you been?’” She retorted back at him, getting angrier by the moment at the completely blank look on his face. 
“But I’m not glad to see you,” he told her and she couldn’t help but expect it. She knew they weren’t close. Nowhere near as close as you were with Hyun-su. You always tried so hard to make him feel included, to fight for his rights even when Eun-hyuk kept you as far away from him as possible. After you tried to break the lock of the door that one time, he gave strict instructions to everyone who had a guard duty that they were not to allow you near the room. You would always leave Eun-hyuk with the same phrase after each failed attempt to see the boy.
“You’re a coward. You won’t go up the stairs to retrieve the residents’ items yourself and then you treat the man who does do it like scum. I can’t believe you.”
It was what made her like you in the first place. While she knew you and Hyun-su had known each other for a brief period before the apocalypse, she couldn’t help but admire how you stood up for the boy without a second thought. She was pretty sure she realized your feelings for him before even you did. 
“You weren’t supposed to know how to leave the stadium. You should’ve just stayed away,” Hyun-su’s voice broke her out of her brief flash of memories. 
“It was you all along…” she started, taking a stuttering step toward him. “That night with the rope… all the times she tried to kill herself… it was you who saved her, wasn’t it?”
By the lack of surprise or questioning on his face, she knew her answer. They stayed silent for a few more seconds, Eun-yu waiting for an answer and Hyun-su trying to provide one. Though his face remained monotonous, he was trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t give her too much information but would satisfy her concern and need to know. 
“We crossed paths. I figured since we weren’t strangers I might as well help her out. I know what it’s like. She doesn’t deserve that kind of a death. That’s it. Nothing more,” he looked at her, making sure his words weren’t just floating in one ear and out the other. “You understand?” 
Without waiting for her to respond, he turned around again, rolling his eyes.
‘I have to get back to-’ 
“That’s bullshit and we both know it!” Eun-yu yelled from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. She took fast purposeful steps toward him as she continued to speak. “You’re in love with her, she was your everythin-!”
Hyun-su brought his wing down and scraped the concrete behind him, only a few feet away from where Eun-yu was standing. She held her breath, waiting for his next move and cursing herself for the shiver of fear that ran up her spine at his actions.
‘You would never fear him like this.’
Seeing him not make any more moves, she tried again. Prying her feet off the floor from where the strange acid was kicked up by the large appendage, she started walking again only for Hyun-su to slam his wing down again. This time, the toe of her front boot had melted off and she could see the black socks she wore underneath peeking through. She mentally slapped herself for how the breath she let out was shaky. Forcing herself to peel her boots off the ground again, she tried to take another step when suddenly a hand latched onto her bicep and pulled her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. 
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” The large man, Ho-sang+ asked. His shoulders were draped with a homemade camouflage outfit made of grass and hay. The man raised his shotgun, aiming it toward Hyun-su who had still yet to turn around. “You monster piece of shit, what are you doing here?” The boy turned to look over his shoulder at the new voice. “Get gone!”
Right as Hyun-su turned back around to keep walking, Eun-yu spoke up again.
“Wait!” She scrambled to her feet, intending on running over to Hyun-su but the older man grabbed her shoulders and held her back. “Cha Hyun-su. Cha Hyun-su!” He came to a halt again and it was enough of a tell he was waiting for her to continue. “She…” she began, hesitating to tell him this in case her gut feeling was wrong. “She’s been missing for months. Do you know… I mean… is she…” She couldn't force herself to get her words out, only able to speak in between shaky breaths as she started to think of the worst possible outcomes. If her gut feeling was wrong and you weren’t really with Hyun-su, she didn’t know what she would do.  
Hyun-su turned back around to look at her over his shoulder. Keeping eye contact with her for a few moments as he debated whether to tell her or not, he relented.
“She’s alive.”
Turning back around, he could hear the breaths of relief Eun-yu and the older man both released, albeit for different reasons. 
Following Ah-yi, they both walked away from the two humans. He waited until they got to the edge of the river to start talking.
“Why did you do that?”
“I don't like her,” Ah-yi responded.
“So why don't you like her?” He pushed, 
“Every human is the same. She’s no different,” she yelled angrily before her voice dropped to a mumble he was just barely able to hear. “The only human to be an exception is Unni.”
Hyun-su looked at her when she stopped, the anger being shown clearly on her face and he was confused about why she was so riled up. The quiet atmosphere was only interrupted by the hooting of the owls in the nearby trees. 
“I was curious about humans at first… because both Mom and Unni are human. So I said ‘hi’ and they…” She took a shaky breath in before continuing. “They hurt me. They yelled and they pushed and... and they hurt me too. And they killed all my friends and monsters!” She screamed out, her voice heavy with raw emotion. “Leaving just me.”
“They were just scared,” Hyun-su tried to soothe her anger and pain as her eyes filled with tears. “Afraid of losing someone.”
“Then I'll give them a reason. Show them how scary it was,” her heavy breathing slowly evened out and Hyun-su sighed. He knew you would be able to help her with a situation like this better than he would. From the very first day, you always seemed to have a way of calming her down and helping her through the more difficult times.
“Let's get out of here. Yeah?” He suggested as tears began to fall down her cheeks, hitting the pavement below with an imperceptible plop. 
“There's no place for me. My house is gone,” she told him. 
“What… do you mean?” He asked after a few silent beats. 
“I… no longer need you. Not you, or Mom…” she paused to calm herself but couldn’t stop the sob that came with her next words. “Or Unni. Not anymore.”
Hyun-su let out a slight gasp before sprinting in the direction of the boat. He hoped his suspicions were wrong. He hoped Ah-yi wouldn’t do that to her mother.
But he knew she would.
He’d heard the countless nights you spent with her in your arms as you consoled her and reassured her about her mother’s love when she was positive it no longer existed. He knew how much she hated the woman who gave birth to her, hated her for the love she once had but lost on that fateful day. 
Hyun-su ignored the sharp pain in his lungs as he sprinted toward the boat, cursing lightly when he saw the fire engulfing it from afar. Finally reaching it, he ran around looking desperately for Yi-kyung and screaming her name. 
It wasn’t until he found both her and you lying on the ground that his panic started to take over. 
“Lucky!” He screamed, running towards you and dropping to his knees. He quickly picked both of you up, the weight not a struggle for him but the positioning of your bodies being a bit awkward. He ended up with Yi-kyung on his back piggyback style and you being held in his arms like his bride. Seeing the small creature passed out only a few feet away, he picked it up too and put it on your lap as he walked off the boat, letting the home full of memories burn itself to the ground forevermore. 
Hyun-su walked towards the swan boat about a quarter mile away from the boat. Gently setting Yi-kyung down first, he placed you down with your head in his lap. He cursed himself. He couldn’t believe he had just left you alone. He couldn’t believe you would go into such a dangerous place willingly. 
But then again, he couldn’t be surprised. You were like that, so selfless and kind. If you saw the boat on fire you would never allow yourself to stay behind while there was a potential of the people you loved being on that boat. 
He was thankful you at least were smart enough to cover your nose and mouth when you were there. The ripped and slightly scorched shirt covering Yi-kyung’s mouth was one he recognized to be yours. And although it wasn’t a great replacement, he saw how the cuff of your jacket sleeve was loosely placed over your own mouth, slipping once you’d fallen unconscious. 
As he was picking the bits of seared wood and singed fabric from your hair, a small whisper of his name drew his attention behind him to Yi-kyung.
“Hyun-su…”
He turned around, making sure not to jostle you around too much as he looked at her. Her face was burned, fresh wounds scarring the flesh of her cheeks that would forever alter her appearance. 
“Are you okay, Yi-kyung?”
“It’s all my fault it’s like this,” she started. Hyun-su stayed silent as she continued. “I just wanted her to be safe like you were,” she whimpered, it was unclear whether it was from the pain on her skin or the pain in her heart. “All I wanted was for her to…” she sobbed but no tears came out yet. She was dehydrated and wounded and it was clear she wouldn’t make it without medical help they no longer had. 
“It wasn’t your fault,” Hyun-su refuted.
Yi-kyung groaned as she sat up, leaning heavily against the edge of the swan boat. “I should’ve killed her.”
Hyun-su’s eyes widened at her words. While he knew that was what she had wanted when her baby was first born, he didn’t know it was still something she thought about. 
“In the back of my mind, I always had that thought. I know she must’ve felt it when I had those thoughts,” she breathed heavily, her breaths sounding gritty and labored. She looked at the girl lying in Hyun-su’s lap, feeling angry, regretful, and jealous, but mostly grateful. Grateful she had at least you to look up to and show her the way when she couldn’t. “I know she would always tell her about how she hated me,” she pointed at you weakly. “I know she always saw her as more of a mother than she did me.” 
“You’re wrong,” Hyun-su protested. “While Ah-yi loves Lucky, she needs you as her mother. I know because I was there too through all those days,” he looked down at you, eyes still shut and sweat clinging to your skin. “So was she,” he breathed out a sigh and looked back at Yi-kyung. “You said you were a bad mother, but you know that’s just not true.”
“The fault is all mine,” tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke, a soothing touch to her wounded face. “I was the one who made her like this,” she blamed herself, Hyun-su’s reassuring words either not registering in her brain or being completely ignored. “No, this is good,” she accepted. She knew her end would be soon. “It turning out like this is for the best. This way, I… I don’t have to kill my daughter.,” she sobbed.
“Were you really going to kill her?” He asked incredulously. At her lack of response, he continued. “Why? You’re her mother! So why?” 
“I don’t deserve to be,” she cut him off. “I could never be worthy of her, not when I treated her so differently than you did. Than she did,” she explained. She couldn’t fathom saying your name, feeling unworthy of being near you when she always had those terrible thoughts of hurting her own flesh and blood. You had always treated her so much better than she had, treating her like your own daughter, whether it was by blood or not. “I had the same thought hundreds of times. ‘Why is she cursed like this?’ Why?” She started sobbing again, the guilt and blame she put on herself for the past year torturing her soul. “It’s all my fault. My awful thoughts and desires turned her… into a… monster.”
Hyun-su scoffed. “Yeah, so what?” He looked at her and the surprise of his words stopped her crying. “Are monsters really all bad?”
Yi-kyung sighed and just as Hyun-su was going to continue talking, the soft babbling of the baby monster sounded out again, drawing both their attention to the mini creature. He gently picked it up, holding it in his arms as he spoke again. “This one saved you. Saved both of you. Saved you because you’re family…” his eyes filled with tears but he refused to let his voice break. “You see, monsters feel and recognize people. Because they were human once too.”
He hugged the monster to his chest, and the conversation ended when Yi-kyung faded out of consciousness. 
The group sat around the campfire, Ha-ni snuggled up against Chan-young’s side while the other two sat alone.
“So, which is it?” Eun-yu asked. “A brother? A boss? A dad? What are you to each other?”
“Why the hell does it matter? Just eat and get lost,” the older man evaded the question. 
“Um… why don’t you come back with us? You’ll be safer there,” Park Chan-young offered and Ha-ni’s head perked up in excitement. 
“Are we getting married then?” She asked, moving closer to his side and resting her head against his shoulder.
“Uh, that’s… that’s not what I’m saying,” he repudiated. 
“Safe? You guys have just been lucky,” the older man rolled his eyes at the suggestion. “That, or you don’t know better.”
“I think you might be underestimating some of us.”
“I don’t trust humans, okay?” He concluded.
“I’m not surprised. But you don’t trust monsters either?” Eun-yu integrated herself into the conversation once more. “And what about her?” She asked, tilting her head at Ha-ni. “You trust her?” He didn’t respond and it was silent for a minute. “Sure seems like it.”
Ha-ni, noticing how the atmosphere was turning strange and uncomfortable, interrupted. “Let’s go with them. Let’s go together, teacher, hmm?” She insisted, leaning forward in her seat to emphasize her wants. “Hey, let’s go!”
The older man looked thoughtful for a moment, considering his companion’s words before noticing something in the distance. 
“What are you doing here?” He screamed accusingly, raising his shotgun threateningly toward the figure approaching. 
Hyun-su walked forward. Yi-kyung was tied against his back using the long-sleeved shirt you used to cover your mouth in the fire meanwhile you were held in his arms, cradled against his chest protectively. 
He raised his head slightly to look at them, continuing his stride forward despite the threat of the gun in front of him. 
In the blink of an eye, Ha-ni appeared next to Ho-sang as he held the gun and moved his arms, forcing it to face the ground just as he pulled the trigger. It hit the rocks harmlessly and she looked at Hyun-su curiously. 
Taking a deep breath, he slowly lowered himself to his knees and placed Yi-kyung on the ground after untying her. Keeping you in his arms as he rose again, he held you close as Eun-yu rushed forward. Stopping just a foot in front of him, she looked down at you in shock. She reached her hand out to caress your cheek but stopped herself at the last second. 
“Please help,” Hyun-su begged and Eun-yu lifted her chin to look at him. “This was the only place I could turn to.”
Both Chan-young and Ha-ni walked over to where Yi-kyung was lying on the ground, kneeling down to properly assess the damage on her body. 
“How did she get like this? And the kid? The girl who left with you?” Eun-yu asked before looking down at you still in Hyun-su’s arms and finally allowing her fingers to skim along the feverish skin of your cheek as she whispered your name, stunned. “And what about her? Is she okay? Why isn’t she awake?”
“First, let’s get them both inside,” Chan-young stopped her questioning before Hyun-su could respond. Ha-ni helped him prop the woman on her back, fully intending to bring her into the trailer until a gunshot sounded. 
Eun-yu froze in shock, paralyzed by seeing Hyun-su stumble back with a gunshot to the shoulder. He fell to his knees once more, his grip on you loosening but refusing to let go. He gently set your lower body down onto his lap, his now free hand going to hold his wounded shoulder while the other held your upper body to his chest. He ignored the anger that stirred in his chest when he saw how close the shot came to your face, just missing by a few inches. Clenching his eyes closed tightly and blocking out the sound of everyone talking and screaming around him, he forced the familiar feeling of his monster down. When he finally looked up and opened his eyes he saw Eun-yu holding Ha-ni against her chest with blade centimeters from her neck. 
“- and I’ll cut her fucking head off.”
Ha-ni scoffed at her words with an annoyed smile but didn’t try to fight back or move away. 
“Way to prove my point about humans,” Ho-sang told her, not lowering his gun. “Pulling this shit after I saved your life is rich.”
“I said I’ll take him with me. I said I’ll take them so just… what's your problem?” Eun-yu begged the man, tears forming along her waterline as the situation continued to go downhill. 
“You’re with monsters,” Ho-sang explained, glaring at her from his spot. “That makes you a threat. And you call yourself human? Jesus.”
“You call yourself human when you just almost shot a girl in the face? He might not be human but she is!” She screamed at him and continued when she saw the flicker of guilt in his eyes. “And what makes you special? How can you be sure you’re gonna stay immune?” She questioned but he stayed silent. “What if you were to start showing symptoms? Seems a bullet is your only option. Since monsters have to die.”
Hyun-su groaned in pain before trying to stop her from baiting the man. “Stop it,” his words were spoken weakly as more blood spilled from his wound. He covered it with the fabric of his shirt, trying to avoid getting as much blood on you as possible but the splatters of blood across your forehead and cheeks told him it was already a bit too late for that. 
“And her?” Eun-yu continued, ignoring the boy’s warnings and protests as she started to speak about Ha-ni. “Could you put a bullet in her?” Her words were spoken softly but Ho-sang heard it loud and clear. He stayed quiet again, not willing to speak of the situation he feared the most. “How about I save you the trouble?” She offered.
“Oh, yeah. So this is who you are,” he finally spoke, nodding in disdain at her actions. 
“Stop it,” Hyun-su tried again but again was ignored. “Don’t do this Eun-yu,” he begged. 
Suddenly, Ha-ni grabbed the wrist holding the knife to her throat, and twisted it away from herself, spinning around so the knife was now in her possession and the tip was pointing directly at Eun-yu’s neck. There was a collective gasp from everyone watching and Ho-sang lowered his guns in shock. “Ha-ni!” He yelled at her as she stuck the point of the blade in Eun-yu’s neck, causing a trail of blood to leak out. 
After a moment of tense silence, she pulled the knife away and dropped it to the floor where it clattered against the rocks loudly. Pushing her forward, she walked over and entered her car, entering it and called for Ho-sang to join her. 
“In this life, we weren’t meant to be,” she started, talking to Chan-young as her companion got into the car and started it up. “Maybe the next one. Get rid of the girl though.”
The group watched as the two drove off before Chan-young turned to Hyun-su. “Are you okay to move? How’s your shoulder?”
Hyun-su pulled his hand away, the wound already having closed and the blood surrounding it was the only reminder that it was ever there in the first place. He nodded. “It’s okay.”
Chan-young took a few steps closer to him before kneeling beside him and looking at where you rested in his arms. The pain from your ankle and slight burns showed on your leg but you luckily didn’t seem to have any difficulty breathing or major damage. “And her? Are you still okay to carry her?” 
Hyun-su nodded once again while he moved his empty hand to once again rest under your knees and stood up. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“I think we’d better go. Monsters may have heard the gunfire,” Chan-young concluded and walked behind Hyun-su as he started the path to his chosen destination, whatever that place may be.
Eun-yu kneeled down to grab her bag and knife before looking back at Hyun-su. “Let’s go.”
He sighed as she started to walk behind him, taking a moment to look at you and make sure you were alright before he followed. He would have to wipe his shoulder down and clean the blood from your face before you woke up. He didn’t feel like worrying you about his injury just yet. 
Sighing once more, he turned around and started to follow the two. 
They arrived at the destination Chan-young had brought them to. It was a hospital, or at least it used to be. As they got inside, there was broken glass everywhere and scratches from an unnatural creature lining the floor. It was clear it was no longer the medical place it used to be. 
Setting Yi-kyung down on the hospital bed they found, Chan-young turned to Hyun-su and asked, “What happened to her?”
“A fire started where she was staying,” he started to explain, still holding you since all the other hospital beds they could find were not exactly clean. At least the one Yi-kyung was lying on didn’t have any blood stains on it. He didn’t mind though. “I think there was no way out. She was already unconscious by the time I made it in.”
“It’s carbon monoxide poisoning,” Chan-young concluded from the evidence provided before standing up urgently and turning to Eun-yu. “Something like a small gas tank should be lying around. Go look for some,” he then turned to Hyun-su who was getting ready to stand and help them. “You should probably stay here,” he told him and Hyun-su stayed silent for a moment as he looked at you in his arms before nodding in agreement. He moved to lean against the wall as the other two went off in different directions to search for the gas tank. 
After a while, there was the faint sound of someone yelling, “I found one!” Soon after, both Eun-yu and Chan-young returned to the bed, the boy carrying a gas tank in his hands which he set up next to it. Expertly, he plugged the tube into the tank and turned the air on, testing the pressure and how much oxygen was left in the tank. 
“Does it work?” Eun-yu asked just as the arrow pointed to ‘REFILL’ and Chan-young sighed. “What? What is it?”
“It’s out of oxygen,” he explained.
“So what happens now?”
“Her organs will start to fail without… without a steady supply of oxygen,” he told them before his head fell forward. “Fuck me.”
“Enough of that crap. Is there any other way?” Eun-yu begged, unwillingly to give up so soon. 
“It’s already too late.”
“Don’t say that unless you’ve tried everything,” she told him seriously, she then moved over to start picking Yi-kyung up by her arms. “Park Chan-young, help me carry her. Let’s get her to the stadium. We have to leave now,” she ordered but he didn’t move and Hyun-su just buried his head in your hair emotionally. “I said help me carry her!” She sobbed, setting her back down when he still didn’t try to help her and covering her face with her hands. 
The group just finished moving both you and Yi-kyung to another room, this one finally having another bed that wasn’t stained with blood and smelling of a rotting corpse. Chan-young helped Eun-yu carry Yi-kyung to the room while Hyun-su held you close, only letting you go when they found the bed for you to lie on. 
Despite how his monster body protested, he allowed Eun-yu to have a moment alone with you and Yi-kyung in the room, choosing instead to wait on the bench outside. He saw through the crack in the door how she held your hand gently and spoke words he couldn’t hear. He watched as she set your hand down across your stomach and retreated from the room to sit on the bench with him, leaving an empty seat between them. 
“Are you feeling better?” Hyun-su asked her once she sat down. She sighed quietly and he took that as her response. “We did the best we could.”
“Are you comfortable with this?” She asked him, not understanding how he could be so calm in a moment like this. “Is leaving her to die like that really the right thing to do?”
“Now that I think about it… I think it’s what she wanted,” he construed and she turned her head to look at him. 
“What?”
“Her boat was deliberately burned, but she chose to stay aboard.”
“Why, though?” Eun-yu whispered. “Why would Yi-kyung do that?”
“I wanna ask you something,” Hyun-su told her and she stayed quiet as she waited for him to speak. “How’s everyone doing? I’ve tried asking Lucky but she always gets really quiet when I do.”
Eun-yu’s lips quirked up minutely at the familiar term of endearment but the memory of her grief overwhelmed it. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself before answering him. “Hye-in and Su-yeong are dead. And Yoon Ji-su, too.”
Now Hyun-su knew why you would never talk about it, why you would always get quiet and have that far-away look in your eyes when he asked. He always figured you just didn’t know, that maybe you got separated at some point, but somewhere deep down he knew that was just wishful thinking. While he hated that you didn’t confide in him, he understood where you were coming from. Even a year isn’t always enough time to heal enough to talk about something so tragic. 
“Just like that, they’re all gone,” she continued in a whisper. He turned his head away from her as a tear fell down his cheek before she spoke up more loudly this time, masking the emotion in her voice with false confidence. “Now let me ask you a question,” she said. He turned to look at her but she was looking in the direction of where you lay on the hospital bed, head tilted to the side as you breathed easily. “How is she doing, really? Is she better?” Her voice almost broke as she unwillingly thought back to how you were feeling during your time in the stadium but she was able to mask it with a cough. While she was hoping you were doing better now that you were with Hyun-su and hopefully didn’t blame yourself for his disappearance anymore, she had to be sure.
“She’s doing good. She still has her bad days but overall she’s doing better.”
She breathed a sigh of relief, a single tear falling down her cheek. “Thank you.”
He turned his head to look back at her and saw she was now staring at him. “Hm?”
“You brought her back to me. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t at least see her one more time. If I didn’t make sure she was still alive. So thank you.” 
He nodded. “Of course.”
“I also,” she continued. “Want to thank you for returning to her,” she shot him a watery smile as her eyes brimmed with tears. “God knows she deserves it.”
When you woke up, the first things you saw were the blaring lights of the white lighting fixture above you. Groaning, you brought a hand up to cover your eyes and turned your head only to gasp when you saw the burned face of Yi-kyung on the bed next to yours. Quickly throwing your legs over the side of the bed and standing up to check on her, you let out a yelp of pain as you stepped on your wounded ankle and crumpled to the floor. 
Breathing heavily, you cursed yourself before hearing the sound of fast-paced footsteps entering the room you were in. You leaned up on one hand and saw a face you’d longed to see for weeks. 
“Eun-yu?”
The girl snapped her head to where you sat and gasped out your name, running toward you and crouching down. She grabbed your arms and helped you stand up, making you sit on the edge of the bed so she could check out your foot. 
“How are you feeling?” She asked, concerned but all you could think about was the woman breathing unevenly on the bed behind her. 
“Fine, fine,” you said dismissively, only half listening to her concerns. “How is Yi-kyung? Is she okay?”
Eun-yu slapped your arm lightly. “You were passed out for half a day, let me worry about you.”
You gave a small chuckle at her words, reaching your arms out to wrap around her shoulders. “It’s good to see you, Eun-yu. I’ve missed you.”
She exhaled slowly, wrapping her own arms around you and letting herself relax in your embrace. 
“Wait, what am I doing here?” You asked as you softly pushed her away from you. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the stadium? Are you okay?” You gasped, firing questions at her like a machine gun prior to grabbing the sides of her puffy jacket sleeves and pulling her a few inches closer as you looked her over for any injuries. Other than the small wound on her neck, she seemed to be relatively unharmed.
“That doesn’t matter right now,” she scolded lightly and lifted your wounded and swollen ankle up. “First, we should fix this up. I’m sure there’s some tape or something around here,” she started to walk away but turned back to look at you. “Don’t move,” she scolded with a finger pointed at you accusingly. You held your hands up in a surrender motion and laughed. 
After a while of looking around the room, she walked back with a wad of medical tape in her hand. You watched in awe as she started to expertly wrap your foot with the medical tape in a way that would help keep it in place. Noticing your stare, she explained. “I used to do ballet. I sprained my ankle and had to do this every day.”
“Well lucky me then,” you told her with a smile that she returned once she finished. She then cut the ripped pant leg off at the knee and cut the singed parts off. Using the burned-free part of the fabric, she gave you her hand to squeeze as she poured the clear liquid inside a bottle of vodka on your burns. You screamed and stuffed your sleeve into your mouth, both stopping yourself from breaking your teeth and muffling your pained noises. After finishing disinfecting the wound, she got to work on wrapping the cut fabric around your burns to prevent any further dirt from entering it.
Breathing heavily through your pain, you grabbed the nearly empty bottle of vodka after she set it down and lifted it to your nose. 
It looked like vodka.
It smelled like vodka.
Taking a sip, your face scrunched up in displeasure. 
Definitely vodka, although something was off. 
“Why is it so watery?” You asked her. Eun-yu’s head snapped up to see you bring the bottle to your lips again to take another sip. 
Grabbing the bottle away from you, she smirked and brought the bottle to her lips, drinking the last of the liquid while you whined. After sighing overexaggeratedly, she smiled at you and handed the bottle back to you. You shot her a glare “For one, when are you ever going to find a steal like that again? Had to make sure it lasted!” You laughed. “And second, regular vodka is too potent to use as a disinfectant by itself, you have to water it down so you don’t burn away your nerves.”
She secured the fabric with the medical tape and tapped your knee to signal she was finished. She helped you down from the table and let you wrap an arm around her shoulder as you limped over to the bench outside of the room. You thanked her just as you saw another familiar face appear around the corner. “Park Chan-young? What are you doing here?”
“Ah, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” He asked instead of answering your question. 
“I’m feeling okay, my ankle hurts a little but not too bad,” you told him with a smile before it faded and your head turned to look at Yi-kyung through the still-opened door. “She’s not going to make it, she?”
You heard the two of them sigh behind you and you let out a shaky breath. Tilting your head up, you tried to stop the tears from falling. 
It was silent for a while, the only sounds were the ragged breathing from Yi-kyung in the next room until Chan-young spoke. 
“Cha Hyun-su, was it?” He asked and your head snapped up to look at him while Eun-yu who was sitting beside you didn’t even flinch. “That’s the monster that killed Mr. Kim, right?”
You opened your mouth to ask what he meant when Eun-yu spoke before you could.
“It gets on my nerves when you use the word ‘kill’.”
He sat down next to her and leaned forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees. “Well, nonetheless, that’s how it went down.”
“Your curiosity will cost you someday,” at his silence to her words, she sighed and continued. “Mr. Kim was displaying symptoms.”
The news of this story was no surprise to you. While you weren’t there when it happened, you do remember how Eun-yu had relayed the story to you only a few nights after the incident. You didn’t know she knew it was Hyun-su though, and to be honest you felt slightly betrayed. 
“I don’t know when it’d begun.”
“Wait,” Chan-young started, gasping at the new information. “But why didn’t you say anything? You were branded as a murderer.”
“The Chief and I have had… a long-standing grudge. Yet we all lived because she opened the stadium to us. I can’t deny that. I just couldn’t screw her over like that.”
You quietly gasped. Despite the information not being new to you, you hadn’t known the reason she never spoke up was because of that. 
“Lee Eun-yu,” Chan-young said softly.
“Eun-yu, you shouldn’t have done that to yourself,” you scolded her quietly. 
“Don’t get me wrong. That wasn’t the only reason,” she continued, leaning back in her seat. “I didn’t know it was Hyun-su, but… either way, I didn’t want to tell Crow Platoon.”
Oh. So Eun-yu didn’t know it was Hyun-su. That definitely made you feel better than the idea of her knowing this entire time and just not telling you. 
When a sudden gasp was heard from the room Yi-kyung was in, all of your heads snapped up and Chan-young and Eun-yu rushed into the room. You stood up, hopping over to lean against the entrance when you slipped. 
Just as your hand missed grabbing the frame of the door, you felt an arm wrap around your waist and pull you back up. Turning your head to look at your savior, you were surprised to see Hyun-su with his arm supporting you and Ah-yi standing beside him, looking at you with just as surprised eyes as you were at her. The boy moved you so you were propped up against the door frame before he stepped into the room. 
“Could you step outside for a moment?” He asked the two as they stood beside Yi-kyung’s bed. They hesitated but eventually made their way out of the room. As Hyun-su walked up to the woman, leaning over her as she breathed raggedly, you wrapped your arms around Ah-yi and brought her into a hug. 
“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry,” you expressed your condolences before pushing her away just enough so you could see her face. “How are you doing?” You asked her as you caressed her cheek and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. 
She shrugged her shoulders, looking away unconvincingly. “I’m fine. She hated me anyway. I only came for Oppa.”
You tsked and brought her back into your embrace. “You and I both know that’s not true.”
She didn’t respond and Hyun-su turned back to look at the two of you, motioning for Ah-yi to walk in. As she passed by you, you smoothed down the back of her hair and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. 
Hyun-su walked past her, letting her have her final moment alone with her mother on her deathbed. Instead, he walked over to you, wrapping his arm around your waist to help you walk as you all moved further down the hall to give the girl some space. Once he decided it was far away enough, he moved you over to the wall so you could lean against it and stood beside you. You leaned your head against his shoulder, wanting to give and gain comfort from the action. You all stayed there, silently, for a few minutes until Ah-yi walked down the hall. 
Hyun-su popped off the wall and she turned to face the two of you, mainly Hyun-su as he started to speak. “Why are you out here already?”
You leaned forward, grabbing onto his arm to support you as you looked at her. “You should stay with her a while longer,” you insisted softly. Her eyes fluttered down to where the medical tape peeked out above your shoe and the pant leg was taped in place around your calf before she fluttered her eyes back up to yours. 
“Mom’s not going to die. So stop crying, please.”
The way she said it gave you a bad feeling and the clattering that came from the direction of the room didn’t help to ease it. Hyun-su turned, making sure you were balanced before rushing over to the room. You glanced at Ah-yi before heading that direction as well, having Eun-yu and Chan-young help you.
“Yi-kyung!” You heard Hyun-su exclaim just as you all got to the doorway. When you looked into the room, you saw Hyun-su on the ground with Yi-kyung held in his arms while tears fell down his cheeks. 
You covered your mouth in horror as your own tears started to form. You stayed there, supported only by the door as you all cried over the loss of your friend. 
Your eyes shot open when you heard the sound of bones cracking. Her head was thrown backward and her back arched to the point where you were sure that was the bone-breaking sound you heard. The skin on the left side of her body started to turn black, almost as if ash had been painted across it. She started thrashing around, her body contorting inhumanely and her skin releasing a dark, unnatural smoke. As she rolled onto her stomach the bones in her back crunched loudly and she shot up. 
You barely had enough time to move out of the way before she ran into the door you were leaning on. Disoriented and dizzy, you couldn’t bring yourself to focus on what was happening around you until you heard the ringing of a gunshot and Yi-kyung’s half-monsterized body fell backward at the waist. 
“No, don’t do that!” Hyun-su screamed, rushing forward and moving Chan-young’s hands away while he held fast to the gun. 
“It’s too late for her. She’s already gone!” Chan-young yelled at him. 
You looked back at the woman to see the gunshot wound already gone, now covered with the same black markings that covered one half of her body. “H-Hyun-su,” you whimpered weakly and both men turned to look back at Yi-kyung. You let out a soft sob as you saw the tear slide down her face. 
“Yi-kyung,” Hyun-su whispered and she raised a hand toward him. Reaching for him, she started to walk forward before her other arm, the remaining human arm, reached out to grab her own hand, almost as if to pull her back. “You guys should go back,” he whispered to you all. “Take Lucky with you, she can’t walk on her own.”
“No! Not without you!” You protested but Hyun-su didn’t turn to face you. Eun-yu looked at you hesitantly before turning back to him. 
“What about Yi-kyung?” She let out through a sob. “How could she turn so suddenly? She wasn’t showing any symptoms.”
“Her daughter did this to her,” he explained hurriedly.
“Ah-yi…” you whispered in realization. 
“She turns people to monsters?” Chan-young questioned, still aiming the gun at Yi-kyung. “Monsterization is uncontrollable by humans.”
“She’s not a human,” you said lowly. 
“What the hell are you talking about?” Eun-yu screamed at you just as Yi-kyung rushed forward to jump out the window of the room behind you. 
“Leave! Now!” He yelled at them before jumping out the window after her. 
“Hyun-su, no!” You cried out, trying to lift yourself to your feet to no avail. Eun-yu and Chan-young, ran to the broken window, looking out as you continued to struggle. “Eun-yu!” You screamed at her and she turned around to face you with widened eyes. “Please! You have to help him! Don’t let him get hurt, please,” you begged her.
She nodded, determined. Turning to Chan-young, he nodded at her and they set off in the direction of the stairs to the bottom floor. 
You sat against the glass doors of the room Hyun-su was resting in. For the first hour, you were in there with him, holding him while he cried. After he fell asleep, though, you decided to give him some space. You waited outside, leaning your head back against the cool surface of the glass with your uninjured leg bent and held to your chest while the other was extended outward. 
Down the hall, you could see Eun-yu watching you until Chan-young approached her. You looked away as you saw them staring at you. Both had sympathy lacing their gazes that you couldn’t stand to see. Sympathy meant you had something they felt sympathetic towards. You didn’t want to think of what that thing was. All you wanted was to be back at your shed, doing laundry with Hyun-su while Ah-yi sat down on the edge of the river bank with her feet dipping into the water. 
But those days were over, at least for the time being.
“What are you gonna do now?” Park Chan-young asked Eun-yu, her gaze still locked onto your form curled up across the hallway. 
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I found her, and she’s alright. That’s good enough for me. I know she’s in good hands with Cha Hyun-su. I don’t want her to come back to the stadium with us. Not when she was so miserable there,” she told him, thinking for a moment before giving a conclusive answer. “I’m gonna wait for Hyun-su to wake up. I’ll wait with her until then. Then I’ll say my goodbyes and return to the stadium. You?”
“I should get back there,” he decided. “I’ve been gone for too long.”
She nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”
Chan-young gave a final look back at where you sat now with both your knees bent and your face buried in your arms. “Send them my regards, both of them,” he told her and she nodded up at him. “I’ll see you at camp.”
With a moment of hesitation, he turned in the direction of the stairs and started walking toward them. 
It had been a couple of hours since Hyun-su fell asleep. Eun-yu had dozed off about an hour ago but you couldn’t bring yourself to shut your eyes for too long. So you sat there, your eyes staring off into the distance, unfocused and blurred. It wasn’t until the sun started to set, the light shining through the blinds of the windows and casting a golden orange glow onto the tile floor that you snapped out of your daze. Carefully bringing yourself to a standing position, you turned around, opened the door, and walked through. Your eyes immediately went to where Hyun-su was previously lying down, but when you didn’t find him there, you panicked. Raising your eyes, you let out a breath of relief when you saw him sitting on the bed next to the windows, leaning back on his right arm and swaying slightly. 
“Hyun-su?” You asked softly but received no response. Walking closer, you saw his eyes were closed as he continued to sway. It seemed like he was barely conscious and his body kept falling right before he caught it, over and over again. Reaching the point that you were standing right in front of him, you reached up to place your hand on his right cheek, a feeling he immediately leaned into. “Oh, lovely,” you whispered. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
About to pull your hand away from his cheek to clear the pillows and blankets piled on the bed behind him, you stopped when his left hand shot up and grabbed onto your wrist, keeping you in place. Confused and concerned, you brought your other hand up to hold his other cheek. “Hyun-su?” You asked. “Are you okay?”
He slowly opened his eyes and you gasped once you saw them. 
You’d only seen him like this once before and it was after he protected you from a particularly strong monster. Halfway through the battle, all of his mannerisms changed and he moved completely differently. It wasn’t until the monster ran away, Hyun-su covered in its blood yet not a scratch on him, that you saw his eyes. 
You weren’t scared. You could never be scared. 
Not of him. 
Never of him. 
But it did surprise you. 
After he returned to his normal self, he told you about how he tried to never go into that state of being because he wasn’t in full control. Despite the honest way you told him he would never hurt you and that you trusted him, he still kept the monster side of him tucked away as much as possible. 
It seemed that wasn’t the case right now, though. 
“Why are you here?” You whispered to him, your voice not at all accusing or scared, not even a little bit tentative. 
“You don’t want me here?” He questioned. It was so strange to see Hyun-su’s body and hear Hyun-su’s voice but know it wasn’t him, at least not completely. 
“I didn’t say that,” you told him, your eyes lightly scolding him in a way that made his lips quirk. “I just asked why you were here. Is he…” you hesitated, still unsure of how to fully phrase questions when he was in this state. “Are you okay?”
“He’s hurt. Let him rest for a bit,” he explained as he leaned more into your palm. His grip on your wrist hadn’t been all too tight to begin with but it still softened to a loose hold as he kept eye contact with you. 
You nodded at his words, brushing your thumb along his cheekbone and your lips curving into a subtle smile when his eyes closed contently. “Is that why you’re here?” You whispered, not wanting to break the calm atmosphere. His eyes opened again and he stared at you. “To help him with the pain?” He nodded and you sighed. It wasn’t the physical pain on his body either of you meant, and you both knew that. The pain of losing Yi-kyung, and then losing her again at his own hands was too much for him. It most certainly would have been too much for you, so you couldn’t blame him. Not that you would have anyway.
He tightened the grip he had on your wrist and gently brought it away from his cheek before releasing it completely. He turned his head to look forward in the mirror in front of him and used the hand once holding your wrist to move the collar of his shredded jacket away from his shoulder. You winced as you saw the wounded skin there, bringing a hand up to do something but hesitating. Instead, you looked around the room before your eyes lit up as you found what you were looking for. You released his face from the hand still holding his cheek and turned around, taking a step forward with your good foot. He leaned forward, leaning off his right hand and using it to grab ahold of your wrist. You looked back at him. 
“Stay,” he said simply and you smiled.
“I’m not going far.”
He held onto your wrist for a while longer before softly sliding it down to the tips of your fingers and slowly releasing you, all the while keeping eye contact. You felt the heat rising to your cheeks and turned before he could tell how flustered you were at the simple action. Taking another step, you tried to hide the limp in your walk and mask the pain on your face as you grabbed the materials and returned to where he was seated. Setting the medical supplies down next to him, you reached for the pillow behind him and took off the pillowcase surrounding it. Grabbing the mostly empty bottle of rubbing alcohol, you poured some onto the pillowcase before using one hand to pull the collar away to reveal the dirty wound underneath. 
You raised your gaze to his eyes only to find them already looking back at you. “This’ll probably sting,” you told him sorrowfully. You waited a moment for him to acknowledge your words but he just continued to stare at you with a blank, yet almost soft, look. You used your other hand to hold the alcohol-soaked pillowcase and bring it up to his wound where you carefully started dabbing away the blood and dirt. Looking over at him every few seconds to see if he was in pain, you found none each time whilst he didn’t take his eyes off you. Once the blood was cleared away and the pillowcase was thoroughly stained, it was clear to see the wound was much smaller and less serious than it originally seemed. A fact that made you sigh in relief.  
Before you could reach for the bandages to cover his wound with, Hyun-su grabbed your waist and pulled you to stand in between his legs. 
“Wha-?” You started to question but stopped when his arms wrapped around your waist in a hug. His head turned to the side and he rested it against your stomach. It didn’t take long for you to return the hug, albeit a little confused and startled. 
“You know I love you, right?”
The sentence sounded slightly muffled, and you weren’t sure which version of Hyun-su was speaking, but regardless, you answered, “I know.”
His arms tightened around you, a comforting and promising squeeze. “And you know I’m never letting you go again,” he paused, turning to look up at you. It was both a surprise and yet not when you saw one of his eyes was still the bright blue he had in his monster form, but the other had returned to his natural brown. “Right?”
You placed your hands on his cheeks, leaning down to leave a tender kiss on his forehead. 
“I know.”
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mochinomnoms · 5 months ago
Note
Half asleep past midnight ramblings because I saw a pirate AU mentioned and I know you like Jade so like
Yuu drops stuff off the edge of a ship and into the ocean by accident - maybe some kinda mushroom-shaped pendant idk. And jade ends up catching it and misinterpreted the exchange as a courting gesture somehow. And now Yuu keeps on getting dragged out to deck by the rest of the crew because this bigass mer with bigass teeth keeps jumping aboard and snarling at anyone who approaches him except for Yuu for some reason
And Yuu just keeps having to drop what they're doing to nudge what seems, to them, like quite a placid merman off the deck and back into the ocean, wondering why they specifically have to do that and not believing the rest of the crew when they describe Jade as 'A hissing monstrosity that tried to take a chunk outta my arm!' etc. etc.
Anyway they have a collection of random ocean trinkets that Jade keeps giving them or something. And also Jade saves them from drowning. Floyd follows Jade to the surface once and then there's an issue with TWO mermen tryna hang out on deck but only tolerating two specific crew members and one is the angry redhead who ends up looking super amusing trying to drag a slippery, troublesome eel to the edge of the boat so he can get back to whatever he should be doing
Sorry about the rambling - and sorry if it isn't coherent. My brain needs something to do since I can't get to sleep rn lol.
I don't know a whole lot about pirates other than what I know from my video game...but from I am aware! They spend at least weeks if not months out at sea! I like to think that it takes Jade sometime to watch and actually fall for someone, while Floyd is the one more prone to love at first sight fight
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When you guys are around at sea, slowly making your way to the next port, you're not super surprised you've been followed by a pair of merfolk.
They're known to be curious, but unless they're sirens, they're likely to keep to themselves.
But these two have been following the ship for quite some time now, like they're after something specific.
They're practically identical, just a few things like their gray strands of hair and their bi-colored eyes that help with differentiating them. The more excitable of the two seems to be most invested in chasing after your boat.
You can't understand the clicks, chirps, or squeals he makes, but you do notice how excited he gets when your friend Riddle, a crewmate who ran off from home, is on the deck. Riddle seems annoyed and will often yell at the merman, telling him to go away and stop following.
Though the big guy just looks so happy to see Riddle that you think he isn't able to understand human speech. If you had to guess, you think he was following after Riddle. Not sure why though.
You almost forget about the other one, with how quiet he is. You encounter him after dropping a cute little mushroom pendant that you got from a port shop a while back. The moment it plopped into the dark water in the dead of night, you were absolutely devastated. You even took some spare rope and wrapped it around your waist in a tight knot before scaling the side of the ship to carefully make it down to the water.
Hoping and praying to whatever sea god lorded over the current waters you were in that the water was shallow and pendant not lost to the deep, you failed to notice the soft teal aquamarine glow emerging from the water.
When you finally do turn to look at the water, you just about screamed at the upper hand of one of the mermen's face staring at you. Pressing yourself against the wooden hull of the ship, you stared back at him, not even daring to blink, as if he would suddenly lunge at you if you looked away.
Not an unwarranted fear; you and the rest of the crew had seen the way those sharp teeth and claws torn apart large tuna and annoying seagulls.
You think this is the more quiet of the two, based on the lack of reaction and the strand on his left. He seems more quizzical than playful, compared to whom you think is his brother. His eyes flicker down to watch the way your chest moves up and down as you try to calm your breath. He stares for a bit before flickering back up to your eyes, where he resumes his chilling stare.
What felt like hours, but was probably minutes, passed as you two played what was essentially a staring contest. Eventually, made due to boredom, or maybe he was satisfied after studying you so long, his right hand came up from the water clenching something. He gently opened his hand to reveal the golden mushroom pendant, complete with your gold chain and everything.
"Oh! You got it, uh, can I have it back?" You asked, pointing at the item in his hand.
The merman slowly rose up the lower part of his face and upper chest now visible. Looking at him up close, you could understand why they cautioned sailors to keep their distance from all sea folk.
Such pretty faces, it's no wonder people willingly drown themselves just in an attempt to be with one.
The teal colored merman watched as you carefully reached for the item in his hand, only to jerk it away and make a laughing sound. You think it was laughter, based on the smirk and squinted eyes he gave you. You huffed, reaching for it again, only for him to swam back again. His laughter was growing louder, seems that he was just as mischievous as his brother, just sneakier about it.
It almost sounded musical to your ears, too bad you were too focused on getting the pendant back to admire it. Eventually, the creature was far enough out of your reach that you were barely touching the ship with the tip of your toes. It seemed like he wanted you to fall into the water as he playfully splashed at you with the tip of his tail. You knew he was playing, if he really wanted you in the water, that tail had more than enough strength to wrap around you and drag you in.
But still, you wanted that damn pendant back! He seemed fascinated by the mushroom itself and the detailing on it. His claws kept tracing over the ridges and he was studying it intently when he wasn't staring at you. He's probably never seen one before. That's when a brilliant idea popped into your head!
Gesturing him to wait, you climbed back up the rope, turning back every time to check and see that he was still there. The big guy seemed a bit annoyed, disappointed even, that you were leaving. No matter, you'd be back soon enough with a bargaining chip.
It takes a moment for you to finally make your way back up, huffing and your arms straining from pulling your self up. Riddle, bless his heart, had rushed out after hearing your scream earlier and was pacing around the deck waiting for you to return.
"There you are! I saw you with one of the mermen, did you get hurt? Do you need medical attention? Come to the infirmary, I'll check you up—"
You waved him off, struggling to undo your knot, blurting out something about you being fine and needing to trade. Finally managing to stumble into the sleeping quarters and to your cot, digging against your blanket and bags to finally find a small pouch.
Smiling at your victory, you ran back up to the deck to find Riddle struggling with the rope and one of the mermen. You're pretty sure it's the other one: his strand is on his right side and he's a lot more vocal as he tried climbing up the side of the ship using the rope and digging his claws in the hull.
Poor Riddle was struggling to get the merman's arms off of his, the latter's grasp tightening the more he struggled to get out.
"Damn it Floyd! I told you! Leave!" A kick. "Me!" An inhumane yelp. "ALONE!"
The merman looked almost disappointed as Riddle finally managed to kick him in the face and crawl away from his grasp.
Riddle was heaving as he glared at the pouting merman, watching as he finally lost his claw grip in the wood and slid back into the water with a loud splash. You helped your friend up, checking him over for any stratches or bite marks.
"So it is you that they're following! I'd been wondering way they were so focused on our ship, but how do you know his name?"
Riddle sighed, nodding his head. "I apologize. I was hoping that he wouldn't remember me from our childhood, it's been so long, but..."
He dragged his hands over his face in exasperation. "He has a perfect memory when he wants to. He used to visit the reefs near my hometown, I ended up meeting him there when I was younger. He was so annoying! Liked to poke and prod at me anytime I visited the beach, I thought I finally managed to get rid of him when I left home, but it seems that he's found me."
"How can you understand them?"
"Ah, they can speak and understand common tongue. They just choose to feign ignorance." Riddle muttered to himself as he slipped off his now soaking jacket.
You watched your friend as he wrung out the water in his clothes from who you now know is Floyd. Pursing your lips, you looked toward the rope, now splayed across the deck, and move toward it.
"Do you know the other one's name?" you asked, tying the rope back to your waist.
"Hmm? His twin? I think it's Jade, why do you want to—what are you doing?"
Riddle suddenly stood watching in horror as you slipped over the ledge of the ship once again.
"He's got my pendant, gonna get it back—"
"No! You going down there is how Floyd got up, get back here!" Riddle marched over, stomping his foot and reaching for you just as you jumped. "I'll get you another, one with rubies in it—HEY!"
Using the momentum from the fall, you planted your feet against the hull as you landed against it, looking down at the water again. This time, both mermen were watching you as you climbed down, though the one you though was Floyd looked upset and bored, swimming up to the hull to make small crying noises to Riddle, you assumed.
As you got closer, the one called Jade came closer, apparently interested that you returned. Once you were finally within each other's reach again, you gestureed for him to come closer.
By this point, his brother was behind him watching curiously as you held up the pouch in your hand, opening it and revealing a white button mushroom.
Jade perked up, looking between your pendant and the mushroom in your hand. You pointed at the pendant in his hand, before remembering what Riddle said.
"Oh yeah, he said you could understand me." Jade didn't betray that he understood you, though his ear fins twitched as you spoke.
"Uh, if you give me that—" you still pointed to the pendant, just incase he was wrong. Though Riddle rarely was. "—then I will give you this!" You pointed back to the white mushroom in your hand.
Jade looked excitedly at the mushroom, nodding as you two traded. Sighing in relief, you pulled the chain over your neck and tucked it into your shirt. You readied to climb back up to the ship again before glancing at Jade.
He was poking at the mushroom, turning it round in his fingers. He seemed almost childlike in his wonder with the fungus, it was almost cute. Right up until he tore it in half and dropped it into the water, watching it float.
"What, no!" You whined, startling him as you gestured between him and the mushroom.
"No! No, no, no! That's a waste of a perfectly good mushroom! Do you know how hard it is to get those at ports? You're supposed to eat it!"
Exasperated, you opened your pouch again and handed another to Jade, though this time he eyed your hand warily.
"...What? Do you think I'm gonna posion you? Look—" You tore it in half, like he did earlier, and popped one half into your mouth. "Shee? Yummy!"
He still looked doubtful as you chewed. Rolling your eyes, you extended your arm out to his face, making him jerk away again.
"Just, try it! Come on!" You pushed against the hull again, on your tiptoes, as you held out the mushroom towards his lips.
"I'll even feed it to ya! Say 'aaaah'."
Jade looked at your open mouth and, you swear on your soul, blushed before looking away. He thinned his lips, eyes flickering back at you again with an almost shy expression. Floyd, in the background, was staring curiously, before making a chirping sound. Jade made a similar sound back, before looking at you between his lashes and bashfully taking the mushroom from your fingertips.
You tried not to jump from his teeth scraping you and his cold lips brushing against your skin. Instead, you stilled yourself, holding your breath as he chewed.
"It's good, right?"
Jade paused swallowing and slowly nodding before opening his mouth.
"Yes, it's quite...nice." You were surprised how smooth and human his voice was. It as almost soft, a stark difference from his sharp ends and edges. Pleasant.
You shook your thoughts from your head. You refused to be one of those lovesick sailors.
"Right...well, thanks! I'll be, uh, heading back now."
You actively chose to not look back as you climbed up, though perhaps you should have. You could have seen the way Jade watched you, like your were Aphrodite emerging from the sea foam to the land.
"What I tell ya Jade?" Jade continued watching you climb up, eyeing the way Riddle dragged you to the boat, though he flicked his ear fin towards Floyd. "I told you that the lil shrimp was just your type!"
Floyd giggled as he swam on his back, circling his brother. He paused to listen to the way Riddle was yelling at you. So cute.
"Aren't you glad you joined me? I get my Goldfishie, and you'll get a little Shrimpy out of it! Mama and Pops will be so happy when we bring them back home!
"Yes...we'll have to do it soon though." Jade smiled as he watched you and Riddle peer over the edge. You waved at him, and he back at you. His smile grew as you excitedly waved even harder speaking to Riddle before your friend dragged you away.
"The farther we get, the less time we have to return to Azul. His water-breathing spell will only last so long."
"And whose fault is that?" Floyd scoffed, flicking water at his brother in annoyance. "I wanted to take my mate and his friend since day one, you're the one who wanted to 'study' them and stuff. I know you best, if I tell you that the shrimp is perfect for you, you oughta listen!"
Jade glared at Floyd, who stuck his tongue at him, before softly laughing.
"You're right Floyd, of course you know me so well." Jade stared back up at the ship, as if his gaze alone would beckon you to return to him. "The water's warm, there's a storm coming from the east, where they've been traveling."
Jade dove into the water, his brother following him.
"The storm is large and coming soon, and the wood over here is damaged." Jade gestured to a part of the hull that was starting to rot, water slipping in. "If we cause the ship to take in more water, it will sink. They only have a few of those smaller boats, and much too many crew."
Floyd grinned as he caught on to what his brother was implying.
"Everyone will probably be scrambling to get on them boats—"
"Precisely, and with the chaos of a storm, will be much too busy to notice two of their crewmates snatched by a pair of mermen."
The twins shared a conniving laugh, following the ship into an unseen storm in the dark of night.
Something that few people ever mentioned, as it was quite rare, was that once a merperson fell for someone, they also were determined to drag them into the deep, never to be seen again by the people of the surface.
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trashytracktales · 16 days ago
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Fade to nothing | CL¹⁶
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𐙚 summary ──── Maybe the summer break on the French Riviera fried their brain cells, because they've finally decided to simply not care anymore if someone sees them together. But when she catches the wrong stares, she starts spiraling. Now, Charles has to switch her focus back on him.
𐙚 pairing ──── Charles Leclerc x she/her reader
𐙚 rating ──── explicit
𐙚 category ──── F/M
𐙚 warnings ──── +18, secret relationship going public, fluff & smut, overusing French terms of endearment, descriptive language, mature/sexual content, unprotected sex, swearing, established relationship, lots of teasing, reader dealing with insecurities.
𐙚 word count ──── 5.5k
𐙚 date ──── Nov. 10, 2024
𐙚 a/n ──── Foaming at the mouth, because I find it so very offensive that I don't have my own personal Charles Leclerc. Anyway 😤. As Daniel Ricciardo said, enjoy the filth. Wait, no. That's me 🤍🎀
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﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
THEIR DAY ON the French Riviera begun in a golden haze. Hand in hand, they strolled through picturesque streets, enjoying every moment together. In public. For the first time.
They walked across the town like they were the only two people left on Earth, passing by quiet art galleries and stylish boutiques. For the most part, all she focused on was the pure excitement of being with him, holding his hand had, taking pictures and making memories. But as the day went on, her awareness of the curious looks she caught grew stronger.
The sun is now slowly setting, painting the horizon in a warm orange glow just as they return to Charles' boat. As though nothing could possibly bother them here, Charles puts his arm around her and guides her on board. Then, he offers her a gentle smile, his gaze full of warmth while telling her he's heading over to make some drinks.
The girl watches him for a moment, allowing herself to take in the serene comfort he exudes, and wishing she could absorb even a small portion of it. She always feels it when she looks at him, and this time around, nothing is different. On the contrary, somehow, it's as if everything she feels for him comes together in a tiny, small point, a singularity so powerful that it makes her feelings collapse on top of each other.
She rushes to the cabin to change, but her hands start to shake halfway through, and she can feel the doubts weighing her down. She keeps thinking about the subtle judgment she saw in their eyes, which serves as a reminder that many people might believe they jumped into this too soon and that she is only a fling — a stand-in for his previous relationship.
Even though she tries to push the thought away, the sadness comes too quickly, and tears start to well up in her eyes. Suddenly, she feels small, so out of place, as though she’s a visitor in his life rather than someone who belongs beside him.
Which sucks, because she really, really likes him.
She was always confident; she thinks that was one of the reasons why Charles noticed her in the first place. But now, it is as if all her confidence has evaporated under the gaze of some random people she doesn't even know.
They both agreed to keep the relationship a secret in the beginning, just as they both agreed that today they won’t care if anyone sees them. They've stayed hidden from the world for far too long, but now she wonders if they should have waited just a little bit longer because, all of a sudden, she starts feeling too unprepared for the wave that is about to hit, which sends her spiraling.
Because it takes her too long to return, Charles comes to check on her, finding her in the cabin, sitting on the edge of the bed, half naked and clutching one of his shirts to her chest. Usually, he's not the type to intrude, but the soft sound of her quiet sobs fills the small room, piercing through him like a sharp, unexpected ache.
Without a second thought, Charles sprints over, kneeling down in front of her, his gaze steady, filled with raw concern, “Baby, what’s wrong?”
She feels his hand on her thigh, which brings her back to the present moment, way too fast. Her breath is slightly shaky while her hands try to instinctively pull away from his gentle grip to wipe her cheeks, in order to hide any trace of her tears.
Looking down at him, she manages to let out a choked word that holds so much weight for her right now, “Us.”
“Us?” Charles raises an eyebrow. “What about us, mon cœur?”
She smiles, pressing the shirt closer to her chest, wiping the tears again with the back of her hand.
“I want you to have it all,” she admits, “And I'm starting to think that, maybe, I won't be able to give you what you need.”
He wants to immediately deny her statement, because in the four months they've been together, she gave him everything and more.
“What? What do you think you don't give me?” he asks, taking the same hand she wiped her tears in his palm.
She shrugs, “I just think… I sometimes think you deserve better.”
Better. The idea twists in his mind, disbelief and frustration tightening around his heart like a claw. He lets out a small scoff — not to mock her, but because it's hard for him to believe that she's doesn't think she's enough for him. It breaks his heart, because she cannot be further away from the truth.
“Where is this coming from?” asks Charles in a quiet, but firm tone.
She shakes her head, wishing she would've never opened her big mouth, “I was just thinking,” the girl repeats, letting out a dry chuckle. “It's nothing, really.”
Charles’ eyes travel across her face, taking in every micro expression, “You're crying, mon amour, so it's not nothing. Where is this coming from?” he asks again, “How much ‘better’ do you think I deserve?”
Her fingers start fidgeting in his grasp, eyes fixed somewhere over his shoulder, “Everyone loves you, especially your fans. You deserve someone who matches that, someone who belongs in your world, without feeling so small next to you.” She pauses for a moment, the words weighing her down, “I saw people staring today,” she explains, “I know we’ve both agreed to not care about what they think or if someone gives a fuck about seeing us together, but I realized how out of place I must look beside you. That’s all.”
Charles needs superhuman powers to ignore the frustration that’s slowly creeping around his shoulders. His eyes are intent, fixed on her, desperate for her to see what he does. He knows that her feelings are valid and very real to her, but that doesn't mean that they tell her the whole truth. At the same time, he doesn't want to make it worse by explaining why people's opinions shouldn't affect her the way they do. Instead, he gently grabs her hips, pulling her down to sit on his lap, so she's now straddling him, their faces inches apart.
“Listen to me,” he says, his voice low, “You see me, beyond everything everyone else sees, and that’s why you are more than enough. You are the realest thing that has ever happened to me, do you understand? You're not just a phase, and I'm so sorry I didn't show you enough how important you are to me. Because you are, bébé.”
She bites her tongue in order to stop herself from contradicting her boyfriend. Deep down, she knows she’s flawed in ways she can’t easily mend, no matter how much Charles wants to reassure her. A part of her wants to believe him, but even now, wrapped in his warmth, she knows the doubts will find their way back.
Charles’ hands drop on her waist, resting there while holding her close on his lap. He feels her doubt, understanding that she's struggling with more than what she lets him to see — another dagger to his heart.
“I'm with you, love,” he adds, rubbing his thumbs in small circles on her bare skin, “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. Not if I have any say in it, is that clear?”
His voice sounds far too bossy, which makes her flinch a little, recognizing too late that he is far too blunt for the situation they both find themselves in.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—”
“No, don't apologize,” Charles rushes to say, pressing her head against his chest. “I’m glad you told me, but I want you to care about what I say, and not what people might say.”
He envelops her completely in his arms, and it’s like he’s just now realizing how small she feels against him, her body fitting perfectly against his. She feels that, too — the warmth and steadiness of his arms around her, the way he grounds her, making her feel safe.
“I never doubted you, you know,” she clarifies, “I was just thinking that, if I can't handle pressure, I don't think we should…”
He tightens his grip around her waist, refusing to let her finish her thought, his heart screaming in agony as she tries to move away. “Don’t go there, please,” he almost implores her.
“Why not?” she whispers.
“Because it’s not the case, I promise.”
“But—”
“Because you'd be so wrong. Because I love you,” he continues, as if it's the most casual thing ever. Like it is as obvious as tomorrow. As easy as breathing. As automatic as blinking. As if it's not the first time he ever says it to her face.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
The words are ricocheting against her skull like he just put a spell on her. Of course Charles loves her. He showed her this through every little gesture along the way, and she knows he means it, because for the first time since they got back, she realizes she doesn’t want to run from this, from him.
She was so blind, but the next time she looks at him, her fingers tracing his cheek, she simply knows. Charles lets out a small sigh, leaning into her touch, then taking her hand back in his, pressing a gentle kiss on top of her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Tell me you see it,” says Charles, exhaling a heavy breath.
His gesture makes her feel warm inside, “See what?”
“That you are everything to me,” he answers softly, caressing her hand with his thumb. “That I want you exactly as you are.”
For a moment, understanding dawns in her eyes — the realization that they are real, in spite of what she might think — like a light that is breaking through the doubts that had clouded her mind for so long.
“You are mine and I am yours, and I won't have it any other way.”
She exhales slowly, nodding in his direction. Even though he's able to see the relief washing over her face, he still needs a confirmation, so he can anchor himself to it.
“Say you understand.”
“I understand,” she parrots, sinking her teeth into her lower lip.
He sees the hesitation, closing his eyes for a moment. “You understand, but you don't believe me,” Charles concludes, his voice full of wonder. He sucks in a breath while freeing her lip, brushing his thumb against it. His eyes lock on hers, “You really think there is someone else out there who makes me feel the way you do, hm? Who else is going to be this responsive, baby?”
To show her what he means by that, he pushes his thumb inside her mouth, Charles' soft voice sending shivers down her spine. She opens up more, instantly, gazing back at him, realizing how right he is. Meanwhile, Charles is slowly pushing his thumb further, watching her lips closing around it.
His mouth curls up into a smile, “That's it, mon amour. Oui, see that? I don't think there is anyone else out there who can be this good for me, so eager to submit to everything I do,” he laughs, “Hell, I don't even have to tell you what to do, you just know, baby.”
She closes her eyes for a split second, sucking on Charles’ thumb, her hands gripping tightly on his forearm. It makes him feel in control more than usual, which awakens something primal in him. He ends up caressing the side of her face with his fingers as he pushes his thumb deeper, pulling it out with a soft pop, before shoving it back in.
“So fucking good for me, and you think I deserve better? What’s better than this, mon cœur?”
As a response, she moans slowly around his deliberate, slow movement. He finds it so satisfying to see how easily she listens, understanding exactly what she needs from him in return — patience, kindness, reassurance, and trust.
Charles pumps his thumb one more time before pulling out, using it to leave a wet trace down her neck. His hand tightens around it for a brief moment, bringing her back to him. She opens her eyes, still under the spell he put on her earlier with just three little words. Her eyes are dark as she looks up at him through her eyelashes, the desire in her eyes sparking like fireworks.
“You need this, don't you?” he asks curiously.
She nods, which makes Charles smirk. It’s easy to notice the subtle shift in her energy — the way she presses her body closer to his, and the way her breathing deepens. Charles sees the vulnerability in the way she looks at him, but he knows is different now; she’s not hesitating anymore.
Something flickers inside of him as her hand lightly but purposefully caresses his chest; she wants him to take the lead. She isn't seeking power or domination, but asking him to guide them both through this. And Charles understands she’s giving him the space to be the one to move them forward, because this is more than just a physical need. It's about how she decides, here and now, that she trusts him completely.
They stand inches apart, the air between them heated and taut with silent yearning. Every part of their bodies is tuned to each other in a way that feels so delicate yet urgent, and Charles can feel her heartbeat synchronize with his, both of them pounding in anticipation. Her lips are slightly parted as her eyes glide up to his, a silent invitation he cannot refuse. The outside world seems so far away, as if all that remains is this common understanding that neither of them is willing to let go of.
The kiss begins shyly and slowly. At first, his lips are gentle against hers, a slight touch that seems to carry the weight of all they have been resisting. She reacts swiftly, her hand slipping into his hair, drawing him in and intensifying the kiss.
Then everything changes — the pressure grows desperate, almost vital as the intensity increases. She melts into him, pressing every inch of her body against his as if she can't get close enough. It drives him wild, forcing him to tighten his grip on her. 
Slowly but surely, their make out session turns into a silent cry for something more profound, as her fingers tighten in his hair to pull him closer. Their chests heave and their foreheads rest against one another until they eventually split apart, panting for one more breath of air.
“Forgive me, mon amour,” says Charles, trying his hardest to regain his composure.
“Forgive you?”
“Because I made you doubt us. Doubt me, and how I feel about you,” he clarifies, breathing wetly above her skin. “Will you let me show you how sure I am about this?”
She nods again, smiling, her hands still resting on his chest.
He gets up to lay her carefully on the bed, positioning himself between her legs as he unbuttons his white shirt. Meanwhile, Charles’ eyes glide over her bare chest and the way her wavy hair spills over the pillows, making her look like an angel.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers as he leans over to kiss her neck, then going further down, sucking bruises all over her chest on his way to her stomach, claiming his girl with every flick of his tongue against her skin. He cups her breast in his palm, squeezing her enough to feel him all over her body, his lips reaching over her panties. “In case I wasn't dead fucking clear already,” Charles adds softly, almost like a promise, hooking his fingers on the lace material before pulling it down her legs, “I only want us. Like this. Always.”
She moans softly, anticipating his fingers to send her to another realm, far from any doubt. And her world does, indeed, change completely the moment she feels his tongue at her entrance instead. So hot and soft and warm against her, that her fingers curl instantly into his hair while his tongue slips between her folds, as if that is its rightful home.
“Charles,” his name comes out of her mouth in the form of a whine, sending little jolts towards his already hardened cock.
“Putain,” he chokes out, raising his head to look at her, “Nobody tastes like you do, baby. So sweet and wet for me.”
“Charles,” she whines again, her chest rising and falling with burning intensity. “Please…”
“Patience, bébé,” Charles chuckles, his voice vibrating hotly above her, “Let me worship you, so you won’t question me ever again, yes?”
He would have heard her agreeing with him, if Charles hadn't slipped his hands under her until his palms gripped her ass to pull her closer to his mouth. As a result, he hears her moan louder than before, smiling as he connects his lips back on her pussy, sucking on her clit with a newfound thirst.
His grip on her is so strong that even if she wants to push her hips further, she can't move an inch. Which drives her crazy, because his tongue works her with such frivolous movements, bringing her so close to the edge, but she still needs more.
“Baby,” she moans painfully, getting too agitated that it makes her get up, proppting herself on her elbows to watch him. “Fuck, Charles,” she adds, admiring how beautiful he looks between her legs, lapping at her with one goal in mind.
She tries to rock her hips back against the pressure again, which just reminds Charles of how good he makes her feel. The thought drives him mad and, even though it’s all about her right now, he can’t stop fucking his hips down so he can rub his aching cock against the bed, searching for any sort of friction.
“I feel you, baby. Don’t hold back,” says Charles, his voice sounding muffled between her legs.
His tongue is enough to make her come all over his face, he knows that, but he can't deprive her of his fingers when she needs him the most. So, he uses his hand to split her further under his mouth, making sure he touches her sweet spot again and again. And again, until a wave of pleasure hits her like a tsunami, shaking her to the core as she cums involuntarily. She tries to pull him out of her legs, because she knows how messy it gets when she comes that hard, but Charles drops his mouth back on her, driving her through her orgasm as his tongue finally stops at her entrance to catch the rest of her release. Then, he swallows her sweetness, letting his forehead drop on her thigh.
Their breathing is the only thing that can be heard in the entire cabin for a while, her palm resting on his cheek to caress him gently as they both recover slowly.
“So fucking hot, mon cœur.”
She sighs, still too sensitive from the pleasure that reverberates throughout her body, “Come up here,” says the girl, patting Charles’ head.
He pushes himself up, still half dressed and very much hard in his boxers. Charles lays his weight on her, exhausted, like he's came ten times by now. Gently, he rests his head on her chest while her arm wraps around him and his palm curves around her breast, pinching her nipple lazily between his fingers.
“You’re so perfect,” he says, enjoying the way she gets covered in goosebumps under his breath. “So perfect and so mine.”
She can't say anything to him without her voice shaking, so she gently grabs his chin, bringing Charles on top of her to kiss him. She feels her own taste as their tongues collide, causing her to moan softly into his mouth. Even if this kiss is much, much tamed than the previous one, just the thought that he was between her legs makes her pussy tighten, as if she's been set on fire from the inside out.
“Can I return the favor?” she finally asks in a breathy voice once their lips part.
Charles hums at the mental image of her mouth around his cock, but decides to push the thought deep into his mind, “Who said I’m done with you, mon amour?”
Charles' hand travels to her pussy once again, his middle finger gliding lightly over her wetness. Her eyes close in pleasure, while her arms wrap around his neck, before she realizes what he's actually doing. Her eyes snap at him as he reaches the letter 'R', Charles grinning proudly from above her.
Their faces are so close she can see the twinkle in his eyes, and their breaths blend together in a sweet warmth.
She laughs, “Did you just spell your name on my clit?”
His expression instantly lights up when he hears her. “Planned to do it with my tongue, but I didn't expect you to come that hard,” he admits, joining her in laughter.
She blushes at his statement, remembering how true it is. It's impossible for Charles not to notice that, but he loves it when her cheeks and chest become so rosy as a result. He also loves the sounds she makes when she's turned on, so he's not wasting any more time before teasing her wet entrance with his finger, pumping it slowly, until he feels her clenching around it. Just to make her forget the shyness, of course.
His flemish gaze sweeps over her entire body and, seeing her so vulnerable and willing beneath him, makes him want to run his tongue over every inch of her, to cover her in kisses and love marks until it's too much, so that he can come all over her pretty nipples just at the sight of her.
“Fuck, if you could see yourself right now,” says Charles, exhaling sharply. “You make me lose my mind, you know that? I almost forgot I still have to show you how mine you are. You want that, baby, don't you?”
“Yes,” she returns to whining, because apparently that's all she knows recently.
And she does it again, when his fingers pull out of her way too soon for her liking. She follows Charles, getting rid — fucking finally — of his shorts and boxers with a quick movement, poising himself again in his place, right between her legs.
She swallows hard at the sight of him, her mouth drying up in record time. She remembers the first time she saw Charles naked and how it didn't even occur to her that they would even fit. Of course, he made it work, because that's what a man with a huge cock does — it makes it fit.
The girl follows Charles as he wraps his dominant hand around the base, then runs his hand along its length, massaging the tip to spread the pre-cum. He made her feel so good, she didn't even take into consideration how torturous it must have been for him. But the little hums he lets out as he positions himself at her entrance are enough of a signal for her to push her hips against him.
Unfortunately, the man meant every word when he said he wasn't done, so he won't simply let her have it, just because she’s so willing to take him. She has to understand, once and for all, that this is it — she is it for him.
Slowly, Charles taps the head of his cock at her entrance, teasing mercilessly. It's almost like a punishment for thinking so low of herself, for doubting him, his feelings for her and what they've built together so far.
A lot can change in four months, especially feelings.
He lets out a shaky breath as he parts her folds with his tip, but instead of pushing inside, he fucks his cock up between the lips of her cunt. Once. Twice. Three times, until he's leaking on her clit, coated in her wetness. It is a sinful feeling that makes them both moan in unison, an ecstatic duet between two souls who found each other at the right time, no matter what people would say about it.
Fuck people. All of them.
She throbs against him, the feeling of skin on skin settings her atoms on fire. His hardness feels so good between her folds that she needs to anchor herself to something, and the sheets are far too fragile for her grip.
“Yeah, you feel that, ma vie?” asks Charles rhetorically when he sees her losing herself. “Of course you do. The question is, did you feel it before?”
“Charles…” she whimpers, pushing her hips against his length in order to find the sweet friction she craves. “Need you. Please.”
Her eyes are watering as she feels the knot in her stomach, waiting for a release that seems so far away — he’s not even inside, fuck's sake.
“So pretty,” hums Charles, ignoring her pleading. “You're gonna look so pretty taking me, ma belle. You always do.”
She raises her head only to let her eyes wander down Charles�� body, from his flushed face to his toned abs, down to where his cock rests hardened between her pussy lips. His eyes are locked on where they're making contact, the image so intimate and powerful it makes him want to scream. She realizes that this is a punishment for him as much as it is for her, but he enjoys it more since he's the one in charge.
She gasps in surprise when Charles grabs her thighs, her head falling back down on the pillows. He pulls her closer as he leans over to seal his lips with hers, having no intent to be soft this time, the passion that burns between them pushing him so close to the edge.
Charles’ tongue tastes her in a rush as he pushes forward, his cock pressing deliciously on her clit, making her break the kiss with a pathetic whine.
So predictable.
“Can you, please, fuck me already?” she says, frustration evident in every word she utters.
Her pleas are so close to get him, wanting nothing more than to bury himself so deep inside her, until he feels her coming on his cock all over again. But Charles groans loudly, hovering above her chest to take one of her nipples in his mouth, biting her gently.
At that, her frustration only grows bigger, forcing her back to arch against him.
“Charles,” her tone is demanding now, motivated to make him understand she's done playing.
“Don't worry, I’ll fuck you so good, baby. Turn over for me,” he replies, anticipation tugging at the edge of his patience.
She does as instructed without saying another word, feeling his hands grabbing at her waist to pull her against him. Then, Charles pushes his palm gently between her shoulder blades until her face is buried between the silky pillows. She lets a muffled moan while his knees are pressing down into the mattress on either side of her thighs, his cock resting hard against her ass.
“Did I mention how pretty you are?” he asks, not expecting an answer in return, while he finally guides himself toward her needy cunt. He pushes in, slowly at first. Deliberate and calculated, as if their initial contact is meant to gather as much data as possible, so he can choose the perfect setup for what's about to come — the position, the angle, the pace. “Such a pretty girl,” he adds with a tamed moan, “Opening right up for me. Every single time, baby. Taking me so well.”
She tries to get up by doing a weak push-up, but her head drops heavy between her shoulders as she fucks back against Charles' length, the pleasure overwhelming her.
The feeling of having him like this makes her squeal, failing to find a single thing worth more in this world than Charles thrusting from behind.
“Oui, have my cock, baby, like that,” he says, leaning in to press a kiss on her shoulder, managing to hit her deeper from this angle.
Charles' touch is still gentle, though, like he's testing the grip, desperately wanting to find the perfect balance as he eases into a rhythm made just for them. He takes every gasp and every shiver of her body as signals, relearning what makes her pulse race and using everything in their favor.
She turns her head to the side when Charles leans over to clasp the edge of the mattress, his knuckles whitening with the force he's putting into it. The veins on the back of his hand look like they're about to pop at any moment, bulging from his skin and snaking up his forearm, finally out of her view as they reach his elbow.
He's so hot and she is so turned on that she could come again just by looking at his arms.
Charles' pace begins to build, the intensity in his breathing growing more labored with every thrust of his hips. Each one is bolder than the last one, like he's reaching the apex of a corner, pressing into her just enough to feel the thrill without losing control. As a response to his movements, she starts breathing in short spasms, the world around them becoming a blur.
“That's it, bébé. You're so fucking good for me, I'm not… fuck,” his voice almost gives out, feeling how close he is to cum from fucking her like this, so he decides to pull out completely in order to prolong the feeling.
Charles learned from an early age that every race is unpredictable, so he has to adapt to any condition.
It makes her cry at the emptiness, her pussy clenching wetly around nothing while he looks down, curious too see how bad she needs him.
Her head falls back between the pillows for the hundred time, too exhausted to scold Charles any more. So, she guides her hand between her legs, firmly massaging her clit, feeling her thighs start to shake. However, the pressure is not nearly as good, which makes Charles chuckle at her weak attempts.
Patiently, he grabs both of her wrists to keep them pinned to her lower back as he uses his free hand to rub the head of his cock against her throbbing hole.
“Chaaarles,” she whines loudly, pressing her cheek deeper into the silky fabric under her, mind too numb to protest further more.
He buries himself back in with a strong thrust, making her gasp at the fullness. Somehow, it feels so much better than before, her body so sensitive in all the places they make contact.
With every shift in pressure and pace, Charles reads her reactions as if they are telemetry data on his steering wheel.
“Please don't... Don't stop again, please,” she lets out another cry, feeling her walls clenching so sweetly around him. “You feel so good, fuck, I… I'm so close.”
He knows that. That's why he stopped in the first place. But now he's ready to give her exactly what she needs, freeing her wrists as he watch them fall next to her body as if they're lifeless. Charles then grabs her waist with both hands, thrusting into her so hard that the sound of their bodies slapping together drowns out both of their moans.
“Want to fuck you for the rest of my life, amour. Please, let me fuck you for the rest of my life,” he implores, panting aggressively.
“Oh, yes,” she agrees, squeezing her eyes in pleasure.
Charles pulls out again, making her grunt at the loss. But before she gets the chance to protest, he flips her over, shoving his cock back in while searching for her eyes, a smug smile hanging from the corner of his mouth.
She moans in relief, pulling him closer, wrapping her hands around his neck to bury her fingers in his messy hair.
“I almost started barking at you,” she admits, rolling her hips with his.
“I know, baby. Just wanted to see your face,” he explains, finding his pace once more.
“Oh, yes. Yes, feels so good,” she begins to moan uncontrollably under his weight, just as Charles leans down to rest his forehead against hers.
“I know, I know. I've got you, my love,” he kisses her again but it doesn't last this time.
Their mouths remain parted, breathing heavily against each other as she comes around his cock, gazing into each other's eyes as if they could see what shape their soul have. Seeing her face changing in pleasure, makes Charles fucking into her faster, following so closely after her.
His moans sound so melodious in her ears while he rides their orgasms, that she starts believing honey is dripping from his lips, because he cannot be real.
Charles is about to pull out when she stops him with a hand on his lower back.
“I only want us, too. Like this. Always,” she repeats his words from earlier, more determined than ever. “And I think I love you a tiny bit more,” she continues, running her hand up his spine. “That's why I was so scared.”
Charles shivers under her gentle touch, “You still scared?”
“Terrified,” she replies, giggling, pulling him in to capture his lips in a loving kiss.
The kind that makes the rest of the world fade to nothing.
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Thank you for reading!
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© trashy track tales, 2024
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firelilyfox · 8 months ago
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Back To You
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Wonka: Willy Wonka x female reader
Warnings: nsfw / fluff / se&ual actions / love confessions
Words: 1,5k
Summary: Willy just got almost drowned in chocolate & you take him home so he can get a nice and warm shower ... things get a little bit out of control
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Willy almost got drowned in chocolate but it doesn’t seem to bother him that much. Because now he finally was free from being bullied and sabotaged by the three mean chocolatiers. 
All covered in chocolate he was standing on the marketplace, watching the people around him cheering and applauding. That’s when something catches his attention. 
You. 
The girl he had a crush on since he’d come to this town with that boat. You were the first person he met that night, but you didn’t know, because he just saw you from afar. 
Since then Willy was a little bit … obsessed with you as someone would might say. 
„Willy? What happened?!“, you shouted as you saw him standing there all covered in sugar sweet liquid. 
He smiled cheeky. „Oh nothing important. I just almost got killed by three evil chocolatiers, but eventually got saved by a little orange man with a flying machine.“ 
Your jaw dropped in disbelief. „Excuse me?“ 
„I said …“ 
„I know what you said, Willy!“, you interrupted him briefly. „Well I shouldn’t be that surprised, because you experience the wildest adventures, but this one seems kinda extreme even for you.“ 
Willy scratches the back of his head ashamed and realised that the chocolate already began to dry. 
You frowned. “You have to get that off of your body before you become a life size chocolate man.” 
“I guess you’re right, even if the idea of being made out of chocolate is kinda tempting”, Willy said. “I probably should take a bath in the harbour to get it off.” 
Your jaw dropped again. “Did you hit your head while being almost drowned? You can’t take a bath in the harbour while tasting like a treat. You will get eaten by a shark and after that he becomes diabetic!” 
Determined you take his hand and pull him after you. A big smile appeared on Willys face as he risked a look at your tangled hands. 
“You can take a shower at my place. The warm water will wash all of this sticky stuff off in no time!” 
Willy gladly obliged to your stubbornness and followed you back home. 
Back at your tiny apartment you gave Willy some towels and dry clothes, that you brother once left while he was visiting town. When you hear the water splashing you realized for the first time what’s happening right now. In you bathroom was a man. Naked. 
All of a sudden your cheeks began to burn and you heart just made the attempt to jump right out of your chest. You couldn’t bring your thoughts to focus on anything else than … him being … naked. 
„Thank you for the warm shower, y/n. Its truly a relief to…“ he keeps on talking, but your ears weren’t capable of listening anymore because he just stepped outside the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. 
The air got a little steamy because of the hot water and his dark curls were soaked and falling over his face. Willy looked like a dream that weren’t meant to be real. 
„Are you alright?“, he asked concerned and comes closer to you. His hand touched your face and you snapped out of admiring him. „Don’t tell me you are getting sick.“ 
„I-I’m not sick. I-I just …“, you stuttered. He was so close to you, that if you would just reach out your hand a bit, you could touch him. But you were way to shy for that. 
His gaze softened. „Good. Because you had me worried for a second.“ 
„You were worried about me being a little sick? Why?“
He moved his thumb gently over your cheek without even considering to let go of you. „Because … because I care about you, y/n.“ 
„Why?“, your mind was long gone, that’s why you couldn’t think of any response that would made sense. But Willy didn’t seem to bother. He chuckled softly. 
„Because I really like you.“ 
Your heart was pounding like it just ran a marathon by itself. Then it stopped, just to pound even faster. „I like you too, Willy.“ 
Slowly he leaned his forehead against yours, still touching your warm cheeks. His eyes closed like he was fighting with himself about what to do next. „My consciousness is telling me to put my clothes on and leaving for good. But my mind wants me to kiss you so bad. I don’t know what to do.“ 
A little smile showed on your face. Willy was not a man who talks in riddles. He only speaks the truth and doesn’t care about what the people would think. „I always liked the way your mind works.“ 
Willy didn’t need to hear more. He kissed you. So slow that it would almost be in slow motion. His lips felt soft on yours. Tiny water drops were falling down from his wet hair, but you didn’t bother. Your hands find their way up his chest and holding on to him while resting around his neck. Willy was quiet tall, so you had to go up on your tiptoes while he had his arms wrapped around your waist, pressing your bodies together. 
You could feel how much he liked to kiss you and couldn’t help but smile devilishly. Without even think about it, you paused kissing Willy and grabbed the fabric of your dress and pulled it over your head. He was just staring at you with mixed emotions showing in his eyes. 
„What are you doing?“, he asked slowly and out of breath. You could see in his eyes that he clearly enjoyed this, but he was too much of a gentleman to ever take advantage of you. 
„I thought it was a little unfair to let you be the only one being … not fully clothed.“ The only thing you were wearing right now was a thin underdress. He was looking at you with a deep desire in his eyes, that you couldn’t ever escape. 
Willy had to swallow hard. „You don’t have to … I mean I would never …“
„I want to“, you simply replied. 
And again, Willy didn’t need more confirmation. He made a step forward and his lips crashed against yours. A surprised noice came out of your throat but you leaned into the kiss in no time. His hands grabbed your waist, making clear what his intensions were. He wanted you. 
His touch leaves your skin burning in desire for more and before you could even catch a breath his hands grabbed your legs and you find yourself wrapped around his waist. His hair was soft between your fingers and if you gently pulled it, he let out a little groan. 
„You have no idea what you do to me“, his voice sounds dark and heavy. „Being with you feels like magic to me.“ 
Willy walked over to your bed and as he managet to let you down gently, the towel vanished from his body. He kissed you passionately while his hands find their way beneath your underdress, exploring your body. The useless fabric joined the towel on the floor and you could feel him skin to skin. A little moan escaped your lips as you feel his length inside you and Willy moved slowly to give you time to get used to the intense feeling. 
„How does it feel, my love?“, he whispered to make sure if you are alright. 
You smiled. „Like magic.“ 
He began to move, slowly at first to find a rhythm. With every kiss and every touch he gets faster and you couldn’t keep it quiet any longer. His kisses find your neck and his grip got so much tighter. You hold onto him with everything fiber while reaching the climax at the same time as he does. 
His muscles began to relax again and you could feel his weight on your body. Your legs were still wrapped around his waist and Willy buried his face at your neck, breathing in your scent. Time passes. You had no idea how long the two of you stayed in that position, but you wished it could last forever. 
„You called me my love.“ The words were spoken before you could even think about it. 
Willy raised his head to look at you with a satisfied smile on his swollen lips. He looked so angelic that it was almost not real. „That’s because you own it. You own my love. You own my heart. Since the day I stepped into this town … I am yours, y/n.“ 
You could see in his eyes, that he truly meant every word. „I love you too, Willy Wonka.“ You whispered and kiss him softly. 
„I’m very aware how bad the timing is … but I kinda have something that needs to be done. I arranged that Noodle can meet her mother for the first time in her life and … I don’t want to miss that.“ His eyes were full of sorrow. Willy was afraid that you might get mad at him for leaving again just after the two of you … found together. 
„You go and do what needs to be done. I will be here.“ You made clear that you understand his good intentions by touching his cheeks and followed the line of his lip with your thumb. „Will you come back to me after that?“ 
Willy smiled and leaned his forehead against yours. „I will always come back to you.“ 
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86espresso · 1 month ago
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can i get character B yelling character A’s name while they’re hurt for quinn hughes or nico hischier? i just found your blog and i am LOVING your writing. thanks for sharing your gift!!
I love you sososo much thank YOU 🥹 ty for requesting! so sorry it took that long 🩷
☯︎ character B yelling character A’s name while they’re hurt
idk if this means character A is hurt or character B is hurt so I just made something up
warning wounds, blood, almost drowning, pls take swimming lessons guys :)
You’d lost count of how many times Jack had whined for you to get into the water with the other guys, and how many times Quinn had told him to leave you alone.
Your relationship with Quinn was a relatively new development, but everything was going right and his family loved you enough to persuade Quinn into bringing you over during the summer.
You finally give in to Jack’s pushing and sit up, taking your cover up off. You catch Quinn eyeing you shamelessly the way you were doing with him earlier and half-smirk as Jack bounced happily towards you and yanked you in the direction of the steps of the boat.
Now, you weren’t exactly the best swimmer in the world. You could float and tread in shallow waters, but by no means were you trained enough to save your life. You were about make Jack aware of that fact before he gathered you in his arms and sent you flying into the water.
A scream ripped through your throat right before you hit the water. “What the fu-”
You land horizontally and painfully in the water but your body was bending in on itself and you didn’t have the strength to upright yourself.
Above the surface, Quinn hadn’t yet noticed that you’d taken a little too long underwater and was still shoving Jack for intimidating his new girlfriend.
It was a good 15 seconds since you jumped before Trevor spoke up from a few feet away.
“Yo, where’d your girl go?”
Quinn froze, feeling his blood run cold when he sees nothing in the water at first glance but then sees the top of your head bob to the surface, your body terrifyingly still. What makes him yell out your name, though, is the small pool of blood around you.
The last thing he registers is the blood draining from Jack’s face as he dove into the water, opening his eyes and trying to locate you. Quinn sees you a short distance from him, and grabs a hold of your body, pushing both of you to the surface.
You’ve properly passed out with the almost-drowning and large scratch on your back from one of the spiky plants underwater. The next few minutes, Quinn worked as if on autopilot. His movements robotic but frantic as he first brought you to consciousness, instructed Trevor to drive back to the docks, and tried to console Jack as he apologized his ear off.
He felt like he was in a haze when the ER discharged you after making sure you didn’t have an infection and had enough blood, your lungs weren’t full of water, all the important stuff.
You laughed watching Jack scrunch his nose in disgust when Quinn offers to teach you swimming with a suggestive smirk on his face, rolling your eyes as he leans in to peck you again, his lips lingering as if he still isn’t over the way he nearly saw you drown.
Quinn watched as you comforted Jack even though it was you who almost lost your life. He didn’t know he could feel so strongly; fear of losing you, comfort and contented by watching how you were with his brothers. He’s falling for you hard and fast and he isn’t scared because you looked at him the same way; with a gaze full of love and affection.
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dilemmaontwolegs · 2 years ago
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The Best Kept Secret on the Grid || Part Three
MV, CL, CS, LH, LN, PG x fem!reader Warnings: primal play, smut, oral, cumplay, mxm, foursomes WC: 3.1k
F1 Masterlist || Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four
You asked, I answered - love Ollie xxx
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Gentle waves lapped against the yacht as it was moored in the bay of the private island Max had hired for the week. Your morning had been spent enjoying the ocean spray and the sun with Max navigating the pristine waters of the Mediterranean before you had convinced him to leave the captain's chair and join you on the top deck. 
It was lucky there was nothing around for miles or the boat might have run aground when he saw you were sunbathing nude because he didn’t make it back to the steering wheel for quite some time. 
“I have a surprise,” Max said as he helped you step off the boat and onto the pier that led to the waterfront villa. 
Your already bright smile grew as a quad bike came down the beach and you grew impatient as Max failed to explain anything further. “Well, don’t leave me hanging,” you urged him. “What’s the surprise?”
“You’ll find out,” he teased before grabbing your hips and lifting you onto the back of the quad driven by one of the staff that maintained the villa. “Everything you need is in the backpack.”
He tipped your head back and crushed his lips to yours, nipping your bottom one as he pulled away smirking. “I’ll see you soon.”
You would have opened the backpack to try and figure out what was happening but the ATV revved and your hands were preoccupied with grabbing the handles as you were sequestered away. The ride was nowhere near as smooth as the yacht had been on the sea and you bounced around as the man Max had entrusted your safety to left the beach and drove inland, deep into the forest you had yet to explore.
“Nous voilà. Bonne chance,” he said as he stopped in a clearing with a small lake. Your French may have been limited but even you knew ‘goodluck’ when you heard it and you frowned as you hopped out of the offroad vehicle, grabbing the backpack before he left again.
“What the hell, Max,” you muttered as you were left alone and the sound of the bike was replaced with birdsong. 
There were staff all over the island, topping up supplies in the villa and maintaining the land, but they were very adept at keeping to the shadows to give you the privacy that was expected with your stay. You only hoped they were somewhere nearby as you took a seat at the edge of the water and opened the backpack to see an envelope with your name on it.
We know how much you love the chase and you know we love the competition, so while you and Max were off island we snuck on.  For each hour you escape us, another joins the hunt. Goodluck, Charles, Lewis, Carlos, Checo, Lando, Fernando, Pierre & George.
Your heart jumped at the thrill they offered and you opened the bag open further to see some warm clothes to go over the swimsuit you still wore along with shoes, food and water, as well as a map and compass. You unfolded the map first and saw there were places marked that offered more supplies before checking your watch. It was a little after noon and with sunset tending to be just before 9pm you could see yourself enjoying the night with all of them, if you could evade them for nine hours. 
It didn’t escape your notice that the names were in the same order of the driver standings and you knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task hiding from them on the island. It wasn’t that large but the forest offered the best chance with its cover so you pulled on the clothes and packed the bag up again before setting off into the bush, keeping your heading north with the compass.
The first hour passed quickly with you looking over your shoulder every ten seconds but the second hour grew a little tiresome as the initial burst of adrenaline retreated and the solitude of the dense trees left you going stir crazy. 
By late afternoon you knew Max, Charles, Lewis and Carlos were definitely about with Checo likely already having joined them too. It was Carlos’ laugh that alerted you to their proximity and you daren’t breathe as you dropped to the ground and rolled under a thicket of bush. Your ears pounded as your heart rate spiked and blood pumped furiously around your body. Excitement of the chase warred with the need to get caught and it took all your self control to keep still as they passed your hidden position. 
“Sucks to be you, mate,” Carlos teased, “you’ll be fighting your own brother for her next season.”
The thought of sharing the Leclerc brothers stoked the fire igniting in your body and your thighs pressed together tightly.
“Do you see any Alfa Romeo drivers here?” Charles shot back. 
“He makes a very good point,” Max said with a laugh. “But if you were champion you wouldn’t have to fight anyone.”
“Yeah,” Charles scoffed and you could picture him shaking his head.
“It’s not impossible to do, fucking difficult, don’t get me wrong, but not impossible,” Lewis noted as their voices faded off with the snaps of sticks under their boots. 
The last thing you heard was Checo suggesting splitting into smaller groups to cover more area and the others agreeing, you didn’t hear who teamed up with who.
Another two hours had passed by the time you reached the northern beach of the island, long shadows chasing the retreating tide as the temperature started dropping. It was quite the relief to find that a glamping tent had been set up and inside was a warm meal as well as more clothing and there was even a solar shower after all the walking you had done.  There was no way you were going to pass up the chance to have a hot shower and quickly stripped off your clothes before stepping under the refreshing water. 
If you weren’t so tired from the unexpected exercise the afternoon brought you might have questioned how the meal was hot or why the tent wasn’t on the map. 
“Well, well, look who wandered in,” Pierre chuckled as he stepped into the tent with a towel hung low on his hips, George at his side with wet hair and a grin on his lips. “This is a surprise.”
You froze as you realised this wasn’t a supply tent for you but where the guys were waiting for their time to join the hunt. “Fuck,” you cursed and stepped out from under the spray of water to grab a towel. 
“No need to cover up, love,” George tutted as crossed the distance in two long strides and blocked the shelf full of them. “I quite like you as you are.”
You looked at his watch and bit your lip at the heat of his stare. “You’re not playing yet.”
His thumb caught a drop of water clinging to your bottom lip and your nipples peaked as the air cooled around you. “I never play when it comes to you.”
Pierre watched with an amused look as he sat back on the bed that had been made with the same neatness as the beds in the villa. “It’s kind of a shame you’re here really, I was looking forward to hunting you down.”
Your chest rose and fell with quick breaths as you enjoyed the same thought. “You could let me go, there’s still five minutes.”
His head tilted as he pondered the decision but your attention was torn when George’s knuckles traced your jawline before trailing down your neck and over your collarbone, a soft sigh parting your lips at the touch. 
“Tempting,” George muttered, “but we can hardly let you walk out of here when you look at us like that.” 
A shiver rolled down your spine as your tired muscles were refreshed with an injection of adrenaline and a smile played at your lips. Unable to help yourself, you grabbed George’s hips and rose on your tiptoes to brush your lips across his cheek. “I’ll see you in an hour.”
Your fingers curled into his towel and pulled it from his hips as you ran out of the tent, Pierre’s deep laugh promising retribution as it followed you out. “Four minutes, chérie!”
Your feet were flying as you sprinted off the beach and back into the treeline knowing Pierre would be hot on your heels the moment the hour clicked over. You checked your watch to see how much time was left and cursed as you remembered taking it off to shower. 
You didn’t have a single clue what direction you were heading, all you wore was George’s towel and the low sun barely saturated the canopy of leaves overhead. Realistically, you weren’t sure you could outrun the guys for another hour to get your share of them all but you kept trying.
Your lungs burned and your bare feet hurt but you kept your head down and kept moving before bursting through the tree line into a clearing, crashing into the back of someone. You both fell to the ground with a surprised shout and he managed to wrap his arms around you before the impact came but the towel managed to come free. Rolling on top of him, you straddled his waist and pinned his shoulders down.
“Got you.”
Charles' stunned expression only lasted a second before he grinned. “The hunter becomes the hunted.”
“Where are your clothes?” Max asked as he picked up the towel and you saw Carlos in the clearing too, the trio making up one of the teams they split into.
You dragged your eyes up the length of his body and licked your lips. “Why, want me to cover up?”
“No fucking way, hermosa,” Carlos replied quickly as he took the towel from Max and balled it up before throwing it back into the bush. “This is perfect.”
“You look cold,” Charles commented as he pushed himself up on his elbows to flick his tongue over your nipples and a needy whine poured from you. “I think between the three of us we can warm you up.”
Your mind went blank at the promise of being between them and your hips rocked over his in search of friction. “Please…”
Carlos was already shucking his jacket and ripping his belt out of the loops with a sharp snap so he could kick off his jeans while Max was content to lean against a tree, arms crossed as he watched the scene unfold before him.
Your head fell back with a cry when Charles bit the swell of your breast and your knees tightened around him in response to the bolt of lightning you felt in your core. “Fuck, I missed those sounds,” he groaned as he pulled away before tugging you up his body and positioning your cunt over his lips. “Not as much as I missed how you taste.”
The heat of his breath blowing across your core was nothing compared to his tongue as he tasted you for the first time in weeks and your jaw fell slack with a moan. 
“That’s it, baby, open wide,” Carlos praised, his fist pumping slowly up and down his cock as stepped closer. 
There was something wild and freeing with being lost in the middle of a remote island, the scents of the earth and natural light colliding with the dominant energy rolling off the men. And knowing there were even more of them out there searching for you made you feral with need. 
Your lips sealed around Carlos and your nails dug into his ass as you pulled him closer, burying him down your throat until you gagged. His hand found its way to the back of your head and he held you there as your eyes watered and you almost had to tap out.
“Dios mío,” he moaned as he watched you gasp for air before taking him once again, tears staining your cheeks. 
Your legs began to tremble around Charles and he moaned as your arousal ran down his chin. The tension that had been building all day finally peaked and stars danced around your vision as Charles’ tongue and Carlos’ cock found the perfect rhythm.
Carlos grinned as your eyelashes fanned across your cheeks, droplets glistening along them while your throat tightened around him. “That’s a good girl,” he praised and wrapped his large hand around your throat to feel your struggles with his size. 
Your orgasm shattered every inch of you and your cries were smothered as Carlos’ hand tightened, his hips thrusting forward as he joined you. His taste filled your mouth and you hummed as it ran down your chin before you climbed back down Charles' body and saw the mess on his face.
“Open your mouth, Charles,” Max said with a smirk as he pushed off the tree and knelt beside him. Charles obeyed in an instant but Max wasn’t satisfied as he caught his chin and opened his mouth wider. “Go on, baby, he’s dying for a taste too.”
You leaned forward and parted your lips, letting the thick stream of cum flow into Charles’ mouth before he pulled you down and shared the taste on your tongue with a deep groan.
“How was your warm up?” Max asked as he lifted you off Charles. Your feet touched the ground and though they were a little weak from the orgasm they seemed stable enough.
“Warm up?”
Max checked his phone and chuckled before he slapped your ass. “Run, rabbit, run.”
Carlos’ laugh echoed Max’s from where he was pulling his boxers back up his thick thighs. “Here come the wolves.”
Two British accents caught your attention from somewhere in the trees and everyone turned to the sound but while they were distracted you bolted in the opposite direction, your legs bumbling like a newborn fawn. You barely made it fifty yards before a pair of strong arms caught you and you let out a surprised scream as the ground disappeared from under your feet. 
Your already smarting ass took a fresh smack from Lewis’ large hand and you moaned as the heat spread across your skin. Peering up from where you had been tossed over his shoulder, you smiled as Lando caught up with his own lopsided grin. 
“Hey gorgeous,” he greeted before Lewis turned around to say something to him but Lando was a little distracted. “Oh, hello gorgeous.” 
His lips felt refreshingly cool against the handprints burning backside and you fell limp against Lewis’ back with a sigh at how good it felt. The upside down world starting to spin when Lewis held your legs apart so Lando could fuck you with his fingers and you quickly got lightheaded from it all. 
“Tu vas bien?”
You worked hard to push yourself up to see Pierre had found you with his trademark smirk painted on his face and you gave him the thumbs up as your lips parted with another breathless moan. “Just exploring the island.”
“So I see,” he chuckled as he circled around you. “Heads or tails?”
“Heads,” Lewis called before Pierre tossed a coin in the air and slapped it down on his hand, Lewis’ deep laugh vibrating through you at the result. For a second you were almost airborne before he caught you and lowered your feet back to the ground to see the damp mark on his shirt. His smile was one of pure indulgence as he held your eyes and lifted the material to his lips and tasted you with a hum of satisfaction. “On your knees, babygirl.”
Your fingers worked his belt open and pulled his cargo pants down as you sank to your knees, your hand wrapping around his thick cock before you wet your lips. A pair of hands gripped your hips and you moaned around your mouthful as Lando pulled you back to meet his thrust.
“Fuck, you’re so wet, gorgeous,” Lando groaned happily.
Needing to breathe, you pulled back with a gasp and peeked over your shoulder to see Pierre pressed against Lando’s back and your core clenched as both of their eyes fluttered shut in pleasure.
“Oh my fuck,” you moaned as a delightful shiver spread across your body and Pierre placed his hands over Lando’s, holding your hips too as he set the pace.
“You like that, babygirl?” Lewis asked with a knowing smile as he ran a thumb over your swollen lips. “You want to watch them too?”
You nodded eagerly and tongue lashed across the pad of his thumb before you sucked it into your mouth and his chest rose quickly with the deep breath he took. He pulled you away from Lando, the emptiness only lasting a moment as he spun you around to face them and stretched your cunt as he snapped his hips forward.
Your hands braced on Lando’s chest and he stole the startled cry by crushing his lips against yours. You broke away breathless and your head fell back to rest in the crook of Lewis’ neck.
“Open your eyes,” Pierre ordered and they snapped open at the command to meet his over Lando’s shoulder.
Your eyes trailed down Lando’s body to where Pierre was stroking his hard length smoothly thanks to your arousal slick on his palms. You could hardly breathe as Lewis matched their pace, his tattooed hand reaching around you to find your clit.
“Uh-uh, eyes, chérie.”
Heat spread up your spine and tremors followed as the pleasure built to breaking point. It was the deep moan that Lando made as he came that tipped you over the edge and your fingers gathered the cum that warmed your skin so you could taste him too.
“Oh, babygirl,” Lewis moaned in your ear before spanking his palm across your ass. “You’re so tight, I can’t even, ugh,” his words were lost to his bliss as he rolled his hips slowly, milking every last drop that had begun to leak down your thighs.
“Putain,” Pierre swore as saw the delicious mess that had been made and slammed his dick into Lando one last time before spilling his own.
For a moment the clearing was silent except for the heavy breathing from all the exertion but then a slow clap started and Max, Charles and Carlos stepped out from the trees.
“Please don’t make me run again,” you panted from where you were sitting on Lewis’ lap, a sheen of sweat coating your skin. “I can’t feel my legs.”
“You’re welcome,” Lewis chuckled low in your ear.
“Luckily, the villa is just through those trees,” Max said as he pointed behind you and sure enough there were lights when you looked properly. “You, my little rabbit, have earned a bit of recovery time. After all, we have all night.”
Click here for part four.
Tagging: @slytherheign @alwaysclassyeagle @godess-of-mist @leahstf @mydutchproblem
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flowerandblood · 1 year ago
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The Cry of the Sea
Halloween Request Oneshots Series
[ pirate! • Aemond x mermaid! • female ]
[ warnings: sex content, virginity loss, fingering, smut, angst, abduction, violence, threats, obsession ]
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[ description: A mermaid who rarely surfaces of the water decides to save a drowning boy. While she tries to keep him safe, she is kidnapped by strange, terrifying people, taken away from her mother and her home. On her way, she meets a captain with one eye who will decide her future fate. Obsessive, possessive, dark!Aemond.]
*Warning! Note from the author: The heroine has a name because of the plot, but apart from that there are no detailed descriptions of her appearance. Oneshot is written from a third-person perspective.
*English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy!*
My others works: Masterlist
____
She had only heard about who people were from stories, and what she learned made her rarely floated to the surface of the water – her mother said they were cruel, that they killed through need, waged wars and destroyed each other.
She also said that in order to walk on the ground they needed two limbs, as they had two arms, so in place of their fins were to be so-called legs.
She never dared to ask her mother how she knew such things – she spoke of something like a sound, like music, that it reverberated through the air and was pleasant to the ears, that it had a rhythm, that people danced and jumped to it.
She couldn't imagine it; she, her mother and the other inhabitants of the underwater city communicated with finger gestures.
One day she was awakened by a muffled bang, something she had never heard before, and she swam out into the night depths, seeing little. She widened her eyes in surprise to see not the night sky but an orange glow above the surface of the water. She looked back, thinking in horror that she should return to her shelter, but decided that she would just look out to see what was happening, to see if they were in danger.
So she surfaced, feeling the air in her nostrils which caused her pain – she used them so rarely that her lungs were not properly developed and she felt like she was suffocating.
She plugged her ears, terrified, hearing loud shot after shot, the great mountain with sails that her mother called a ship was hitting another masthead with fire, and she was between them, not understanding what was happening. She panicked, hiding under the water again.
The sound was instantly muffled as she plunged into the depths – she heard suddenly a loud splash beside her and saw the body of a white-haired boy struggling to lift himself up.
She could see his limbs, his legs unable to lift him higher like her fin, merely waving fruitlessly in the watery depths, his body sinking lower and lower to the bottom.
She remembered her mother's words about how people couldn't breathe underwater and once they fell into it, they died.
That's why she swam after him, terrified, grasping him in her hands; he was struggling, terrified, but she managed to hold him and they emerged from the water together, panting loudly and coughing.
"Daeron!" She heard a loud, low, desperate cry, which frightened her – for the first time she heard the words, human speech – it sounded strange, not like the noise of the water.
"Here!" She heard the childish, squeaky cry of the boy she was holding and plugged her ear with one hand, feeling a terrible pain. She heard the splash of water beside them and saw that a much smaller boat had fallen into the water.
There were people in it, big, pale, dirty, frightening.
She wanted to run away, but she was afraid that if she let go the boy would start sinking again, so she held him until they came closer. She helped him get into the boat, panting hard, shivering all over, the men who sat inside looked at her in disbelief.
"Holy Seven. I think it's a mermaid!"
"Kill her, she can deceive with her singing!"
"Are you mad?! We'll get a fortune for her! We take her, let the captain decide."
She heard loud sounds spoken quickly, feeling like her head was going to explode – she wanted to turn around and submerge herself back, but she felt a large hand grab her by her hair.
Something strange came out of her throat, a sort of high-pitched squeal that frightened her alone, and then she felt burning wetness in her eyes. Even though she was fighting her way out she didn't make it, another man grabbed her by her shoulders and forcibly threw her into the lifeboat.
She was feeling that she was cold and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering all over, her half-naked body now surrounded by the cool night wind, one of the men shouted that they were swimming away and back up.
"Drop the net!"
"Don't hurt her! She saved me!" Whined the boy she had rescued from death, pushing away the men who wanted to touch her, laughing loudly, amused, looking at her body.
She was terrified and trembledall over – a white-haired child came up to her and embraced her, shivering along with her.
"It's going to be alright. I won't let you get hurt." He whispered softly, something in the sound he made of himself reassuring her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the moisture running down her cheeks, thinking only of the fact that she should have listened to her mother, and now she had to pay for her curiosity.
They threw her into a net like an animal, then lifted her up with a hand crane and her body suddenly fell to the wooden floor, lots of legs around her, lots of men speaking loudly to each other.
She covered her ears and cried, feeling only pain, terrified and frozen, and suddenly she felt that something was wrong.
The voices around her fell silent as she lifted her gaze to her body.
In place of her shiny fin, covered in beautiful scales, were two long limbs, the same as theirs.
Legs.
She covered her mouth with her hand and turned away, another terrifying high-pitched sound came from her throat that felt like it tore her skin – she just cried loudly, terrified.
What had happened?
Where was her tail?
Her mother never spoke of her father.
She said he was not worth mentioning.
"He chose the sea, but not me." She had told her once, but it was only now that it was beginning to occur to her what she might have meant.
"What is the meaning of this?" She heard a low, cold voice and saw above her a man with a large scar on his left cheek and a black eye patch.
He had the same white hair as the child she had saved, except that his was longer, tied with a black ribbon – he looked at her in disbelief, as if she were some strange, frightening creature.
"It's a mermaid, Captain! I saw for myself, as long as she was in the water she had a long tail!"
"That's right, sir, if we sell her we'll get crores!"
"Don't sell her, brother! She saved me!" She heard the voice of the same little boy holding him by the sleeve of his black leather coat, his gaze directed at her again, this time focused and excited.
"We're turning back to the harbour. Find her some clothes, nobody can touch her." He said, and after a moment the men lifted her up. Although she tried to pull away, it was to no avail.
They forced her to put on a long, smelly cloth and gave her some scratchy material, although when she covered herself with it, it made her feel warmer.
They locked her in a room from which she could only see the sea through a small hole. She watched in despair as she moved away from her home, from her mother – she pressed her forehead against the wooden wall and wept.
She heard footsteps, quiet at first, then louder and louder, and the door to her cabin opened – the same terrifying man with a black eye patch stood over her, closing the door behind him.
"Who are you?" He asked. She looked at him with big eyes, not understanding what she was supposed to do, what they wanted from her. She only swallowed loudly, not taking her eyes off him.
He came closer to her, and she stepped back quickly, pressing her back against the wall, breathing loudly, terrified.
"Do not be afraid." He said a little more calmly, kneeling in front of her, something unsettling in his eye, some kind of unhealthy fascination.
She saw the gesture of his tongue running swiftly over his lower lip, as if he was just preparing to eat something tasty.
"Who. Are. You." He repeated word after word and tapped his finger against her chest hidden under the blanket. She flinched at the gesture, curling into herself, moving as far away from him as possible.
He lifted his hand and pressed it to his chest, wearing only a grey shirt tucked into black leather breeches.
"Aemond." He said calmly. After a moment, he placed his hand on her chest, looking at her expectantly.
"You?"
She wondered if he wanted to know who she was, if he had just confessed his name to her.
She saw his eye widen as she lifted her hand, touched her thumb with her pointing finger, signifying the syllable 'Le', and then lifted her pointing finger up, signifying the lone vowel 'a'.
Lea.
He looked at her, shaking his head, sitting down in front of her.
"What does that mean?" She heard him say the words quickly, but completely misunderstood what it was supposed to mean, so she showed him the same gesture signifying her name once more.
He ran his thumb over his lower lip, looking at her intensely, tapping his fingers on his knee. He rose suddenly, startling her with it, opening some cupboard with a loud clatter, taking out some large object.
She saw that what he was holding in his hands had cards and patterns – he turned it towards her, moving closer to her and it was only then that she noticed it was letters.
Her mother had told her about them and had even drawn them for her on the sand, explaining that people used them to write down words and their sounds.
She had written what her name and a few other sentences would sound like in their language, wanting to give her a comparison of how their gestures translated into their syllables.
She touched her finger quickly to a letter she recognised as 'L'. He looked at it curiously and read it out loud.
"L" He said and she nodded, pointing then to the "E" and "A".
He looked at her in disbelief, the corner of his mouth twitching in what she might have called a smile if not for the glint in his eye.
"Lea." He whispered, and she blinked, understanding that he had said her name as a whole, that this was what it sounded like.
She nodded slowly and he licked his lips excitedly, moving far too close to her, placing the book on her lap.
He began to point his fingers at more letters, and she followed the movement of his hand, trying to decipher what he was trying to convey to her.
Y O U S A V E D M Y B R O T H E R
You
sa
ved
my
bro
ther
You saved my brother.
The fair-haired boy.
She looked at him puzzled, swallowing loudly and nodded. She heard him sigh with some kind of relief and joy, happy to be able to communicate with her, pressing his lips together, leaning over the book again.
DAERON
"Daeron." She choked out the word she had heard when she had held his brother in her arms, which apparently was what he had shouted then, terrified.
She heard their captain snort a laugh under his breath, running his hand over his face, looking at her in disbelief.
"Yes." He hummed softly, his voice seeming calmer and gentler to her. She leaned over the book, this time she wanted to tell him something, and he immediately bowed his head, looking at the letters she was pointing at.
WHY
She glanced at him with her lips tightened and he looked at her, swallowing loudly, his gaze cooled. He stood up abruptly and she was unable to make a sound, not knowing how to stop him – he walked out and left her alone, locking the door.
She tried to lift herself up on those two strange limbs, but she was falling, they seemed limp and weak to her.
She preferred to crawl – she wrapped herself in her blanket and fell asleep lying against the wall, crying silently, praying to the Drowned God to take her back to the sea.
The next day, the little boy she had saved brought her food and placed it in front of her, stroking her head, saying something quietly. He then ran away as if he should not come to her and closed the door behind him.
She spotted the fish and bread on her plate and began to eat quickly, hungry and thirsty – she was given some disgusting liquid in a steel jug, but she drank it, not having much choice.
She spent the whole day lying in one place and it was only at night that she heard the sound of the lock being opened, the same man standing over her again.
He approached her slowly, crouching on the floor in front of her, massaging his chin. She held his book pressed against her chest, tried to look through it earlier, but understood nothing of it.
He gently took it from her hand.
She shuddered as he laid down on the floor just behind her, resting his cheek against her shoulder, placing the open book in front of them, pointing one by one with his finger at the letters and syllables he had spoken so that she could see them, illuminated by the moonlight.
"We - are - sai - ling - to - King's - Lan - ding." He whispered softly, and she blinked, swallowing hard, understanding enough that they were sailing somewhere far away, that she would never see home again.
She closed her eyes and wept quietly, feeling her body begin to tremble, a shudder went through her as she felt his lips on her neck.
"Don't cry." He whispered in her ear softly, warmly, tenderly, and though she didn't know what it meant, she thought he sympathised with her.
"I have no choice. If I let you go now, my grandfather would kill me. You are a chance for us." He hummed the words into her ear, his wet, warm lips trailing higher and higher.
She wondered what he was actually doing, why she was getting hot from this kind of touch, why she felt a pleasant pulsing and tension between her limbs.
They both started panting as his hand slipped between her legs and began to touch her slick, puffy folds with his fingertips – she felt that this was a very private and intimate place, her thighs clenched involuntarily but his fingers slipped inside anyway.
She heard his every stroke accompanied by a loud click of her moisture, with every move he made a pleasant warmth and tickle ran through her spine, she felt something slap hard against her buttocks and moaned softly.
"− fuck −" She heard him mutter behind her, from which a shudder went through her. She sobbed in surprise when she felt his finger suddenly inside her, clasping her hand on his wrist, terrified.
He only shushed her while moving it deep inside her fleshy, moist walls, streching her again and again, rubbing it against the place from which waves of pleasure passed through her, from which she lost the remnants of her strong will.
She didn't put herself against him when she felt him lift her thigh, as something hot, big and hard pushed against her swollen slit from below and began to slide into her flesh, pushing her core apart with her loud cry.
His free hand held her tightly – she clenched her fingers against his skin, panting along with him as he began to move suddenly, pressing his lips to her neck, to her cheek, whispering and groaning low some words whose meaning she didn't understand, his thrusts pushing her hot, throbbing muscles to the limit, opening her wide with loud clicks of her moisture.
She had no idea what was actually happening, what they were doing, but it felt good – she felt pleasure, so she let him do what he wanted, easing down completely, moaning loudly as he turned her onto her stomach and lifted her buttocks, slamming into her with loud, wet slaps, his breath heavy, loud and aroused, his fingers digging into her soft skin.
"− I'm going to keep you for myself − you'll swell from my seed and give me offspring born from the sea − my inheritance − oh, fuck −" He mumbled out, feeling her walls begin to clench against his erection, sucking it inside her. A wave of pleasure shook her entire body, stupefying her and making nothing reach her – she felt something hot spill inside her, and then there were only their loud, accelerated breaths.
"− mine −"
_____
Aemond Taglist:
(bold means I couldn't tag you)
@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess
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eveningalchemist · 6 months ago
Text
Black Sails ended in 2017. Vine died in 2017.
Coincidence?? I think NOT!!!
[Video Description: a compilation of clips from Black Sails, with the audio replaced by Vines. transitions are a ship, the Walrus, exploding. a full description of each Vine is written beneath the cut. end ID]
I think we're gonna be friends kazoo kid vine over Silver and Flint in the we might be friends by then scene.
Screaming kid good morning vine over Joshua trying to jump scare Gates.
Don't fuck with me vine over Jack Rackham fighting for his first prize with another pirate captain.
The fuck this shit I'm out song over Silver watching Flint beat Singleton to death. Silver jumps overboard after.
The when will you learn vine over Max shouting at Eleanor during their break-up scene.
The yeet vine over Flint tossing Richard Guthrie's wig off the boat.
The free your mind vine over Vane's speech before he fights the logging camp leader. Fast-forward though the fight to Vane getting his face kicked in.
Sail! vine over a beautiful opening shot of the Walrus. A crew member shouts. Cut to the Walrus being blasted apart with cannon-fire.
Today I will be playing Mozart vine over Miranda about to play on her clavichord before being interrupted by Flint collapsing at her door.
Kitty! I want to sing you a song vine over various scenes of Randall and Betsy, the ship cat.
Do you ever want to talk about your emotions vine over Gates chastising Flint outside in Nassau, cut with Billy interrupting.
Gimme your fucking money vine over Eleanor arguing with a pirate crew, followed by Vane throwing Ned Lowe across his cabin, cutting to his warning sign that reads, I angered Charles Vane
Saw you hanging out with Katelyn yesterday vine over Billy confronting Dufresne about his betrayal, with pirates reacting in the background.
I am the sand guardian vine over Flint and Silver on the beach after the Walrus is wrecked, cutting to Dufresne walking away from them.
It is Wednesday my dudes vine over the island's Puritan priest practicing his sermon in a field looking distressed, overlaid with the scene of Miranda seducing him.
Barbecue sauce on my tittles vine over the scene of Gates and Flint drinking during the storm, with Gates giving a solemn speech. Cutting to Flint laughing drunkenly.
Welcome to Chili's vine over Anne going to Max's room, interrupted by Jack appearing while they are in bed.
Harry what's for dindin vine over a crew member walking up to Silver while he's giving his goings-on report. He punches Silver in the gut and Flint makes an 'oh' face.
Bop-It! vine over quick cut scenes of Jack, Anne, and Vane, including various fuck-you jack moments.
Welcome to my meet or greet vine over Colonel Rhett of Charlestown welcoming Flint into the city, unfriendly.
Dad look, it's the good kush! vine over Vane rolling a cigar, cutting to Blackbeard standing in his tent looking tired.
It's an avocado vine over Woodes Rogers receiving Eleanor's embroidery attempt.
Do you have any ice? vine over Thomas Hamilton explaining his plan to pardon the pirates to Flint, who looks baffled.
Somebody left an ice cube on the ground vine over Silver walking into Nassau's tavern to call-out the pirates for taking pardons. He hits Dufresne with a mug.
Get on top of the fridge vine over Flint yelling at Billy during the storm. Cut to Billy clinging onto a yard as the ship nearly capsizes.
Look at this graph vine over Silver trying to use navigation instruments and explaining them to Madi. Madi looks increasingly concerned.
Road work ahead? vine over Jack in Roger's carriage as they are approached by pirates on horseback. The carriage crashes.
You should get the orange soda vine over Eleanor and Max talking in her office after Eleanor's return from London. Eleanor is the orange soda woman and Rogers is the waiter.
Two bros chillin' in the hot tub vine over quick cuts of scenes of Silver and Flint, including sitting on the beach after the doldrums, staring at each other across a gap, and Madi in between them giving Silver a pointed look.
Release all of those sounds that are trapped in your mind vine over Vane talking to Eleanor while he's in prison. Cut to Eleanor screaming in the corner.
The fuck is in the air vine over Jack arriving in Boston and complaining about the snow.
I love you, bitch, vine over Vane getting punched by Eleanor, then getting a noose slipping around his neck as she watches.
It's finals week vine over Silver scenes across all seasons, from pleading his innocence in season 1, to getting his leg removed, to trying to save Muldoon from drowning, and then pulling a gun on Flint in the final episode.
255 notes · View notes
pitchsidestories · 4 months ago
Text
anxiety II Cata Coll x reader
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masterlist I word count: 2081
summary: cata helps you through your anxiety attack right before your first El Clásico game for Barcelona. Inspired by this sweet request here.
Your heart beat way too fast in your chest. You could feel it.
There was not enough air in your lungs, no matter how often you breathed in and out.
It was suffocating. Too tight.
Your thoughts were racing too, still you couldn’t catch a single one of them.
Catas voice floated over to you. She sounded muffled, far away even though she stood right beside you.
“Amor? It’s time to get on the bus…“, she said gently.
You caught yourself, focusing your gaze on her: “Oh uhm… right.“
She took your hand into hers, pulling you with her onto the team bus: “Come on. Jonatan doesn’t like to wait.“
You let yourself drop onto the seat next to Cata.
All around you, your teammates were talking. Excitement dripping from their conversations, causing the bus to vibrate with anticipation.
Only you remained quiet during the drive. You had a hard time keeping up a conversation when you were as overcome by anxiety as you were now.
And in your opinion, you had every right to feel anxious.
This was your very first season at Barcelona since you joined from a much smaller club and this was also your first El Clásico. You knew how much significance this game held for everyone involved. And this time, it would be played in the famous Camp Nou.
All of this should feel like a dream to any football player but to you, this felt like an absolute nightmare.
As the bus neared the stadium, the crowds of fans in Barcelona and Real Madrid jerseys became larger and larger. You watched dumbfounded from your seat. This was something that you had never seen before, especially not at your former club.
You felt the panic creeping up your spine once more.
“Wow… so many people. Are they all coming to our game?“, you asked, your voice shaking slightly. Secretly, you hoped that someone would say no.
Instead, Ona almost stood on her seat without tearing her gaze from the sea of fans: “It’s amazing, right?“
“I heard it might be sold out.“, Alexia offered more information with twinkling eyes.
You swallowed hard: “Wait, really?“
“Yes.“
“Holy shit.“, was all you could offer. Why couldn’t you be as excited to see so many people? Why was it so easy for everyone else to enjoy this game?“
Mariona smiled at you: “This will be great.“
“Probably.“, you mumbled quietly.
You focused on your breathing until you finally arrived at the stadium. You jumped out of the bus with everyone else, dropped your bag on a bench at the dressing room and disappeared in the restrooms. You didn’t even have the time to appreciate the luxury of this stadium.
You also didn’t care much about that when you knelt on the tiled floor, dry heaving into the toilet bowl.
“Amor?”, your girlfriend called for you in a worried tone, you haven’t heard her coming in until she started speaking.
“Yes?”, you mumbled as you rested your head on the cold ground.
“Everything okay?”, the goalkeeper asked audibly concerned.
“No, I can’t go out there and play.”, you replied quietly.
“Of course you can.”, she stated while letting herself in before wrapping her strong arms around your smaller frame.
“This is too big for me, Cata. I’m used to small, small island, small club, this might be a mistake.”, you listed nervously.
“A mistake? Y/n, Barca signed you because they wanted you. They know what you’re capable of. And we saw that in training too.”, Cata reminded you.
“But this isn’t training, what if I fail the team, the fans, you.”, you bit your lip, sharing your darkest thoughts with her.
Empathetically the fellow player strokes your back gently:
“You won’t fail.”, the brunette declared reassuringly.
“Cata, you can’t know that.”, you shook your head slowly.
“Yes, I can. I know you.”, your girlfriend replied sincerely.
“Do you think so?”, you raised an eyebrow at her.
“Yes, remember when we fell of the boat during high waves and you stayed calmer than me?”, Cata began.
“Of course, I could never forget that we were teens back then.”, you nodded.
Back then you have taken a boat from your older brother to enjoy a day on the sea, far away from the tourists who flooded Mallorca each summer. It’s been the summer where your friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship.
But the weather was something you both underestimated, the suddenly harsh weather hit you by surprise, the two of you were landing in the water. Your normally relaxed girlfriend was panicking, despite your anxiousness you stayed calm in the moment bringing you save to the sandy beach.
“Yeah, but this isn’t much different from that.”, the words of the goalkeeper made you return to the present.
“It’s not the sea.”, you corrected her.
“Maybe it’s not the same situation. But the solution is the same. Everything will come to you if you remain calm.”, Cata reassured you.
“I feel a bit better now.”, you admitted, getting up from the floor with her helping hands to lead you back into the changing room.
“Do you want a hug now or not?”, she questioned smiling.
“I could need a special Cata hug to be honest.”, you confessed.
“Here you go.”, the goalkeeper hugged you grinning.
For a moment you closed your eyes, your girlfriends embrace was so comforting to you. 
“Thank you.“, you whispered against her shoulder.
You suddenly felt a weight on your back and you found yourself sandwiches between Cata and another person.
“Can we join the hug?“, Claudia asked as if her arms weren’t around you already.
Cata sighed with her eyebrows raised: “A group hug? Seriously?“
“Okay. No group hug. Maybe later.“, Claudia pouted playfully.
You knew she didn’t mind but still you felt bad denying your teammates a hug.
Apparently Cata could feel your hesitation so she winked at the younger player: “You will get one later, promise.“
Once Cata let go of you, you were able to keep your anxiety at bay as you went through the motions. You put on your shirt and your shoes, you had another sip of water and forced yourself to have a small snack before you went out for the warm-up.
There, you finally got a look at the inside of the stadium. Your stomach dropped at the sight of all these people and the stands were not even completely filled yet.
Your thoughts started spinning subconsciously again, catastrophizing. Images of yourself failing at the easiest tasks flooded your head. What if you disappointed your teammates? What would the fans think? Would Cata be embarrassed for you?
You tried to focus on your warm-up session as best as you could but the uneasiness never left you.
It got worse, the closer it got to kick-off. You stood in the tunnel next to Alexia, looking out at the crowd and tried to pull it together.
Your hands were sweaty and shaking. You should have went to pee again. Two times was definitely not enough.
“The nerves were getting to you, huh?“, Alexia said suddenly.
You looked over to her. It looked like you were hiding your current nervousness well enough right now.
“Yes.“, you replied flatly.
Your captain nodded slowly, never tearing her gaze away from the fans: “That’s normal. Camp Nou is a very special place.“
She almost sounded in love.
“It is.“, you agreed, biting your lip.
Finally, she turned to look at you. A gentle smile played on her lips. “You will see. It is almost magical.“
At any other time you would have loved to listen to her musings about Camp Nou but that was definitely not the case in this moment.
“Can’t wait…“, you said.
“And also…“, she continued.
“Yeah?“
“Cata will have your back the full ninety minutes. Literally.“, she smirked.
Cata agreed right behind you: “That’s right. Let’s go!“
You could feel her hand on yours, squeezing once for encouragement.
The two of you locked eyes and you gave her a small nod: “Okay, let’s go.“
The game was on, the atmosphere with the thousand of fans in the stadiums was exhilarating.  Your heartbeat matched the beating drums.
As a player though you didn’t find the time to take this side of the match in instead you tried to stay focused and much to your own surprise it worked. While playing against the Madrid players and with your team you felt the same calmness you had when you saved Cata and yourself from the troubled sea.
Even then one of the women in the white jerseys tackled you, you were able to stay in the moment. The anxious thoughts couldn’t reach you right now.
“Are you okay, y/n? She tackled you pretty hard?”, Patri wanted to know from you in a concerned tone.
“Yes, I’m okay.”, you told her as she helped you to get back on to your feet.
“You don’t need anything?”, the midfielder continued being worried.
“No, I’m good.”, you assured her ready to take the free kick yourself.
The Barca fans were holding their breath, watching the ball flying in the air until it reached one of your teammates heads who scored the first goal of the game.
With sparkling eyes Alexia pulled you into a grateful hug: “Nice one. Told you there was something special about this stadium.”
“It feels like a theatre of dreams and your goal was amazing, Ale.”, you agreed beaming.
After the ninety minutes were played you sprinted straight into Cata open arms: “It was scary at first, but when it felt amazing.”
“I told you.”, your girlfriend answered proudly, holding you tightly.
“Time for the group hug!”, Claudia demanded in the background, interrupting the sweet moment between you two.
During the embrace of your teammates, Ona congratulated you smiling brightly:” Y/n, you were so good on your first game at Camp Nou.”
“Thanks, Oni.”, you whispered thankfully.
“I had no doubt about that.”, Cata threw in with a cheeky smirk on her lips.
“Of course not.”, Patri rolled her eyes playfully.
“She’s just that good.”, the goalkeeper shrugged.
“You’re so in love with your girl.”, Claudia commented teasingly.
“Maybe.”, Cata admitted, having only eyes for you as she spoke which warmed your heart even more.
“Not maybe, definitely.”, Salma corrected her giggling.
“Yeah, okay. But also, I know how good she is.”, your girlfriend responded.
“Y/n, she’s your number one fan.”, Alexia observed amused.
“So am I of her.”, you replied sincerely.
A gagging noise from beside you made you look over to your right.
Lucy grimaced, pretending to throw up. “That’s almost too sweet to believe it.“
“Yeah but looking at the two of them… I believe them.“, Mariona said, smiling at you and Cata.
You started to get a bit uncomfortable with the attention from your teammates so you asked innocently: “Can we change the topic? We have a win to celebrate.“
It still felt absolutely surreal that you had taken part in winning the infamous El Clásico.
“What about a light night swim?“, Cata suggested, fanning herself with her gloves.
Your teammates all exchanged sceptic glances. You couldn’t blame them, most of them probably just wanted to go home after an exhausting evening.
Jana raised an eyebrow: “Seriously?“
“It’s warm. Why not?“, Cata shrugged.
You grinned at your girlfriend: “I’m in.“
“Fine. It’s only us then.“, Cata laughed as no one else seemed interested.
You wouldn’t say that your were too sad about that. “Alright.“
After a quick shower and getting dressed in a rush, Cata took you the beach.
You could barely contain your happiness once you heard the crashing waves and tasted the salt in the air.
“We won!“, you yelled as you dashed towards the water. You just ran until the water reached up to your hips. It was just as refreshing as you were hoping it would be.
Cata followed quickly: “We did!“
She stopped right next to you, pulling you close to her.
You stood chest to chest, the water moving around you but you stood there, still and immoveable.
You smiled at Cata.
She smiled back, her eyes glinting in the moonlight.
You leaned forward and kissed her with all the excitement and restlessness of the night: “Here’s to many more wins.“
You knew they would come, whether they were big wins with your team or small wins fighting your own mind. And Cata would always be right there with you to celebrate them all.
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prazinos · 2 years ago
Note
Could you possibly make an Ajax smut where his team lost the poe cup and the readers team won it and he just kinda takes his anger out on/punishes the reader because maybe she was kinda mean during it and he has his jester makeup on during it? Ignore this if you want, btw love your writing :D
Okay Anon, I got a bit carried away but yk hopefully you like this <3
Poe Cup
This can be read as a bit of a part two to Love At First..Sight? But also as a stand-alone
Summary ~ You used your telekinetic abilities to win the Poe Cup and Ajax isn’t too happy about it
WARNINGS ! ~ SMUT MINORS DNI | Oral {F} | Fingering | Overstimulation | PiV |
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You and Wednesday finally got to the flags and grabbed she grabbed it before you both sprinted back towards the boats.
You saw your boyfriend and Xavier not too far in front of you and a cruel idea popped into your head.
Now, anything goes during the Poe cup but that doesn’t mean you didn’t feel slightly guilty at what you were going to do.
Using your telekinetic abilities you dragged Ajax and Xavier into the air. They looked down to see you and Wednesday. As you ran past them you blew Ajax a kiss which he just glared at you.
‘Shit!’ Xavier shouted
You dropped the boys and climbed into the boat. Quickly paddling to get to the finish line.
You all crossed the finish line cheering you bent over slightly, attempting to catch your breath and looking up to see your boyfriend in his jester costume. You couldn’t deny he looked good in it. But you stopped yourself from jumping his bones right then and there
You were in Bianca and Enid’s room as Wednesday and Enid were in yours ‘celebrating’.
‘I cannot believe you guys punctured our boat!’ Bianca groaned
‘I’m sorry but it was a little funny’ you giggled and she threw a pillow at you.
You changed out of your costume and wiped off the makeup. It was Enid’s idea to be dressed as cats and you had to admit you did look hot in the costume.
Shrugging on your pyjama shorts and singlet you sat on Bianca’s bed and stuck your hand out so she could paint them.
After a while of watching Gilmore Girls with Bianca and arguing over who should have ended up with Rory, your phone buzzed.
Ajax <3
Come to my dorm, it’s an emergency
‘Shit’ you said grabbing your costume and shoes from the floor.
‘Everything okay?’ Bianca asked
‘No, I think Ajax is in trouble. He said it’s an emergency’ you said
‘Oh yeah, emergency’ Bianca said chuckling.
You rolled your eyes before shutting the door behind you, speed walking to Ajax’s dorm.
You used the key he gave you and walked in to see Ajax. Completely fine. And still in his costume. What?
‘What the hell Ajax you said it was an emergency! And why are you still in your costume?’ You scolded.
You were pinned to the door by Ajax and you looked up at him. His snakes hissing at you
‘That shit you pulled during the cup and you thought you’d get away with it?’ He asked voice deep and stern.
You clenched your thighs together, attempting to get any friction before he shoved them open with his hand.
‘No, you don’t get to do that’ he said.
Ajax picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, you hated how lean he looked compared to his strength.
You were thrown onto his bed before he grabbed your legs and dragged them to the end of the bed. You felt your clit aching in want. Any friction anything at all.
He grabbed your shorts and dragged them down your legs along with your underwear. And you rubbed your thighs together again before he slapped your right one. Telling you to stop.
You looked up at him, taking in his entire frame. Jesus Christ , his shirt was gone but he still had the makeup on as well as pants, snakes out, dark look in his eye. To say you were dripping would be an understatement.
He spread your thighs with his hands and leaned down looking at your dripping cunt. You whined, he was so close but he wasn’t giving you anything.
‘God you’re so impatient’ he mumbled.
Seeing as this was your first time with Ajax it was insane that this was the same nervous man who had confessed to you in your room only a month ago.
He rubbed some of the jester makeup from his mouth.
He leaned in, licking an experimental lick up your cunt before diving in completely.
You’d moaned out, nobody had ever done this to you before. Sure you’d had boyfriends and had sex but none of them actually went down on you. All complaining that it tasted weird or it was too slimy.
But Ajax was moaning into you clearly loving the taste. You looked down at him whimpering when you saw he was looking right back at you. You bucked your hips and he gripped them holding you down in place allowing him to do whatever he pleased.
He inserts two fingers into your entrance before curling them while sucking on your clit.
You feel your legs start to shake, your so close to the edge
And he stops.
You look down at him to see him smirking, rubbing circles into your thigh.
‘What the fuck Ajax’
‘I’m not letting you get off that easy’ he says chuckling darkly before he continues ‘now I’m gonna get some food, I’m starving’
He gets off you and stands up walking to the door.
You smirk to yourself before reaching a hand down to your clit, rubbing it, moaning quietly,
You watch through hooded lids as Ajax snaps to turn around before taking long fast strides towards you. Grabbing your hand and snatching it from your clit.
‘The fuck do you think you’re doing?’ He asks, clearly furious
‘Making myself cum, idiot’ you snap back.
He glares at you before smiling. That can’t be good. He tears off your singlet and I mean literally. He leans back down to your cunt, he shoves two fingers back inside you curling them immediately.
Your back arches as you moan loudly. He moves his head to lick at your cunt once more. He’s ruthless with his tongue, he’s incredible but ruthless.
He sucks on your clit and your legs begin to shake again, you swear that if he pulls away again you’d kill him.
You’re gripping the sheets below you as you feel yourself tip off the edge.
Letting out moans and whimpers of Ajax’s name you come back down from the orgasm that had washed over you.
He doesn’t let up though, continuing to lick, and finger your pussy. You attempt to push him away by pushing at his forehead.
You’re too sensitive, and he’s still not letting up.
You soon feel your second orgasm wash over you as your legs feel like jelly.
And he still, does. Not. Let. Up.
It feels like you’re on the brink of pleasure and pain. Tears are streaming down your face as your juices cover his.
The sounds of it are disgusting but they just get you closer to the edge. You feel like you’re going to explode if he continues like this.
You’re a panting mess as you feel the same explosion of pleasure wash over you again.
You look down at him again and the look in his eyes tells you he’s still not stopping
‘Ajax, please, shit, please stop, it hurts’
And you weren’t lying, your clit aching, this time not in desperation but in overstimulation.
He finally raises his head removing his fingers and sucking them clean.
‘Come on panemorfi, one more, one more on my cock this time’
You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach at the nickname and you nod weakly
‘Words panemorfi’
‘Yes, I can..I can do one more..I um, birth control ’ you say, your voice raspy, although your English was a bit broken he understood what you meant.
Somehow, with little strength you had, sat up and motioned for him to lay down. He did as you ‘said’ and lied down on the bed. You got on top of him, admiring how pretty he looked before aligning his hard cock with your entrance.
You slowly sank down on it, moaning at how he stretched you open even after being fingered.
Ajax groaned at the feeling of your tight walls, admiring your body as you bounced on top of him, he couldn’t take his eyes off your bouncing breasts.
Gripping your hips starting to thrust into you, you let out a high pitched moan throwing your head back. Your orgasm approaching quickly.
Ajax’s moans slowly dissolved into whimpering loudly. Indicating he was getting close.
Your legs were burning, but you were so so close.
‘Fuck, Y/N gonna come, shit gonna-‘ Ajax cut himself off with a loud moan, spilling into you, triggering your own orgasm. Letting a whimper out.
After a while of just catching your breath, you got off of Ajax, reaching over to his bedside table grabbing the tissues.
You cleaned yourself and Ajax up before lying down next to him.
‘Sorry for putting you in the air’
‘I guess it’s okay’ he chuckled. You slapped his chest lightly laughing with him.
Laying in peace for a while you suddenly remembered
‘Shit!’ You yelled standing up to grab your clothes, going to Ajax’s closet grabbing a pair of his boxers you put them on and then your pyjamas. Wiping the smeared jester makeup off your face
‘What? What are you doing?’ Ajax asked
‘We’re meant to be hanging out with everybody’ you said throwing some clothes at Ajax and rubbing the makeup off his face.
‘By the way, wear this makeup more often’ you said making him smirk.
You got to your dorm with Ajax trailing behind you opening it to see everybody watching Hereditary.
Everybody turned around to face the two of you.
‘So’ Xavier said pausing to take a sip of his drink ‘snake pubes?’ He asked
You rolled your eyes as Bianca, Xavier and Enid laughed.
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A/N ~ I really do hope this was okay {hopefully it is}
Let me know if you liked this by liking, Reblogging, or commenting
Panemorfi ~ Gorgeous {Greek}
By my loves <3
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spookyspecterino · 5 months ago
Note
I saw you opened requests fire Eric x reader from AQPDO. How about they meet in the boat to the island and he likes her she likes him but she doesn’t want to give in bc she’s scared that they can die anytime so she avoids him. In the end, it’s Frodo who brings them together.
Try to Live, For Me.
Spoilers for A Quiet Place: Day one
Eric x Reader (no pronouns/descriptions, no use of y/n)
This also took me a little while. I went overboard again because I really like introspective writing. More to come!
For everyone who sent me a request, I see them. I promise I'm not ignoring you, I'm just a slow writer (and a bit of a perfectionist).
cw: light angst (with happy ending), mention of death, crying, some language.
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“Come on!”
“Jump!”
“You’re almost there!”
People stand at the boat's edge in a large cluster, waving, leaning over the railing, and calling to someone on the shore. You start paying attention as the boat engines shut down, sputtering out, letting the sound of the water and the wind surround you. Getting up is slow, the muscles in your legs are tired and need that rest time, they groan and stretch as you move too fast; your body’s weariness fights with the spike of adrenaline that spurs you to life.
If the boat engines had been on, you wouldn’t have heard the splash. People surged forward trying to get a better look, through the tightly pressed bodies pieces of the shore are visible—the monsters crowd the pier, shrieking and clawing. Whoever jumped into the water just barely made it by the looks of things.
The person is pulled on board, their yellow cardigan sticks out among the grey, dull tones of everyone else’s clothes. The crowd parts quickly as a streak of white and black shoots past them…and right into your arms—you barely register the thing until you feel it clawing up your pants.
It’s a cat.
Bright green eyes look up at you curiously, the fur around its face is wet and clumped together. The little thing readjusts in your arms, getting more comfortable, you almost want to protest but it’s too cute and warm as it blinks up at you slowly.
The crowd is still parted, staring curiously between the cat and the man. His eyes, big brown and teary, catch yours, they dart from the cat to you a few times. He wants his cat back.
As you hold the cat close and step forward, the disappointment stings. The wet little fuzzball purrs in your arms. It’s the first comfort you’ve had since everything went to shit and you’re not ready to give that up yet.
The man reaches out and you gingerly pass him his cat. He hugs it close, burying his face in its black and white fur. He looks up at you again as you hover there, unsure what to do or say—you want to say something, smile, and sit and talk to this cute guy, but the engines start up again. Your focus shifts and the curious expression on your face is replaced with a scowl.
“Good cat.” You murmur before turning away and taking your spot in the back.
. . .
Time passes slowly as the sound of the boat engines lulls you to sleep, grey clouds blot out the sky, and any conversation on the boat deck can’t be heard above the sound of the marching engine and the wind as it whips around you. The bits of sleep you manage to snag are fitful and short, filled with screams and shrieks, long limbs, sharp teeth, and blood.
You jerk awake, reaching out blindly to fleeting shadows. It feels like you were talking to someone, just the faint impression that you were deep in a conversation when consciousness ripped it away.
Rubbing a hand over your face, you take a few deep breaths, then you catch the cat watching you. It’s bundled up in the yellow cardigan with the man’s arms around it. Something in those green eyes catches you and holds you there. A staring contest with a cat, how odd.
Eventually, the man’s eyes open and he sees you staring. You quickly look away, trying to act disinterested. From your peripheral vision, you can see he’s still watching you. Something foreign—a long-forgotten feeling—in your stomach flutters.
“Excuse me,” he starts hesitantly, “Do you know where we’re going?”
He’s English? The thought is pushed to the very back of your mind instantly.
The shore is to the boat’s port side, which means it’s following the coast. “Probably to one of the islands up the Sound, near Connecticut.”
He nods, looking a little lost, and shifts in place; the cat takes advantage of this and slips from his arms, it pads over to you, ears perked, its tail straight up in the air. It sniffs you once, deems you worthy, and climbs into your lap. Tiny white paws knead your pants a few times before they settle and lay down.
The man smiles. “He likes you.”
You gingerly pet the cat’s head, your hardened attitude cracks ever so slightly as it leans into your touch. “This is probably the friendliest cat I’ve ever met.”
“His name is Frodo, he’s very unique.”
As you keep petting Frodo, curiosity gets the better of you. “Where are you from?”
“Kent—England.”
“That’s the south-east side, right? Were you closer to London or more towards the coast?”
The man perks up a little. “Closer to London. Have you been?”
“No, I just…I like looking at maps.” What a weird thing to say. Why are you even saying this? “I’ve always wanted to travel to Europe and the UK though.”
“It’s beautiful there.” He sounds far off now.
You position yourself to face him better and the cat stretches out. Petting along its back, a loud purring erupts from its entire body. “What were you doing in New York?”
“Going to Law School.”
“Damn, ok Mr. Fancy Pants.” A crooked smile lifts one side of your face.
He laughs. “Hardly.”
“You should own that, not many people get accepted into Law School, which means you must be a brainiac or something. An attractive lawyer with an English accent could get away with anything here.”
It wins another smile from him, and he blushes a little. Despite yourself, it feels good to see it. You wouldn’t mind seeing it more often. His voice is nice, and his brown eyes are pretty and kind-looking.
“What about you, what do you do?”
“Oh.” You wave a hand. “I’m a chef.”
“Not bad.”
“I guess.”
“You don’t enjoy it?”
“No, I love it, but it’s not as fancy as being a lawyer.”
The cat stretches again, and for the first time since the world ended, you smile. You catch the man staring and look away quickly before you can put too much thought into it.
He leans over a little. “I think being a chef is very fancy.”
The smile stays. “Flatterer. What’s your name?”
“Eric. And you?”
You tell him as if you’re chatting with a friend. As if you haven’t seen more death than you normally would have in two lifetimes. As if everything is normal and the last three days weren’t spent clawing and dragging yourself through hell, fighting every inch for your goddamn life. The realization sits with you afterward as the Sound stretches out around the boat. It’s foolish to be this open with a random person, but as he looks at you with such unbridled warmth, the thought fades as quickly as it appears.
“So, when we get to this island are you going to cook for me?”
“For your sake, I hope not.” The smile returns easily. “When we get there are you going to recite all the New York laws you’ve learned? I could use something to fall asleep now that I don’t have a phone.”
He tries to hold back a wicked grin. “Would it be a surprise if I told you I’ve forgotten nearly all of them?”
“Eric, I’m never hiring you to be my lawyer. I hope we can remain friends though.”
“That is a crushing loss, but I’ll accept it.”
The boat ride continues like that. Eric makes you laugh, and you make him laugh too. It’s nice. You catch his eyes lingering at times when you look out over the water, when he looks off in the distance you stare back, memorizing his features no matter how many alarms ring in your mind.
You feel safe, your body relaxes, your mind wanders to things that aren’t survival. Your guard drops.
But it doesn’t last.
The first thing that gets your attention is when people start standing up and moving to the front of the boat. They quietly shuffle, wrapping themselves up, huddling in groups, talking. The boat’s foghorn blasts out twice, Eric glances at you before getting to his feet and picking up Frodo. He reaches a hand down to help you up.
Something twists in your gut as the sandy shoreline of the island comes into view. A small pier made of rickety planks that looks like it’s falling apart stands alone, reaching out to the boat among gently lapping waves.
Your exit point.
Everyone else seems excited, they gather their things and talk excitedly with smiles. Even Eric is smiling as he holds Frodo up to see the shore. He looks around and behind him to see you not by his side but towards the back of the boat.
A crewman shouts out: “Everyone goes to the main campsite mess hall. Big white building up the shore—a straight shot from the pier.”
People bustle across the boat ramp; Eric’s yellow cardigan is lost in the crowd as you continue to hang back. Something doesn’t let you move forward; something keeps your legs locked.
You don’t know this area. You can’t see past the trees; you don’t know what’s in the little buildings behind the mess hall. Survival instincts rush back, uninvited, you brace for something to come crashing through the buildings or the trees. The rush of people down the pier is noisy, their pounding feet hit the planks and the sound echoes across the water. You expect to hear screams or for the crowd to scatter. You expect the clearing to be filled with bodies any minute now.
“Hey, off the boat unless you want to go back to Manhattan.” The crewman chuckles darkly.
Fine. You’d take your chances with the trees.
. . .
People are waiting on the porch of the mess hall, the area they dropped you off is an old campsite with a few cabins scattered on the edge of the cleared area. They wear clean clothes, they aren’t covered in dirt, and their faces look well-rested. They’re shouting instructions to the crowd, something about cabins for families and tents or sleeping bags.
The crowd watches the people on the porch.
You watch the tree line.
And Eric watches you.
When he finally catches your eyes, he smiles that handsome, crooked smile. It’s an invitation for you to join him, to start this new life together.
But you turn away, stuffing the guilt and shame down and focusing on the survival mindset that’s already crept back into place. If you went with him, if you built a new life with him, how would you feel if he died the same as the others who didn’t make it to the boats? The ones whose bodies are now scattered on the streets of Manhattan.
It would break you. Simple as that.
. . .
Families are getting the cabins first and foremost. Pairs or groups of three are given tents. Everyone else gets sleeping bags. The clean, well-dressed woman had looked you over with a hint of pity as you answered her questions, and she checked them off on her clipboard.
“Any family with you?”
“No.”
“Did you arrive with anyone?”
“…No.”
“You don’t have anyone? You don’t know anyone?”
“No...”
She pauses, studying you. “I’m going to make an exception and give you a tent, you can set it up with the group. There are a few over there that have minor injuries, try to help them in the mornings.”
Eric had gotten a sleeping bag and was directed toward the mess hall with the others.
After the first night, he had come out looking worse than when he had gone in. His eyes were red, and he dragged his feet while Frodo padded next to him with a light step.
Of course, the cat would come over to you and rub against your legs. Eric trailed behind the fuzzy menace, despite how awful he looked he still greeted you with a smile.
Damnit.
“You got a tent. Very nice.”
“…Take it.”
“What?”
“I want you to have my tent, I’ll take your sleeping bag.”
“Uh…I don’t…”
You stand. “Eric, take the tent.”
“…Why? Would you rather sleep in the mess hall? I don’t recommend it, the others… they grieve at night.”
Damn his pleading brown eyes. Why couldn’t he make this easy on you?
“It’s fine. Please, take the tent. I’m going to sleep outside anyway.”
 “I can’t let you—”
“If you don’t take the tent, it will stay empty. Trust me when I say I’m more comfortable away from the tents.”
Eric struggles to accept your offer but won’t fight you—he looks too tired to argue. “Ok.”
Before he can say anything else, you turn away and head toward the mess hall.
. . .
They assign you to the kitchen. Somehow, it’s familiar and foreign at the same time. That’s fine with you, it gives you an excuse to get up before everyone else and avoid most meals when the groups get together and eat.
They always talk so loudly.
You get up early and go to bed late, helping during downtimes wherever you’re needed. Cooking takes up your early mornings, building cabins takes up your afternoons. In the evenings you sit and eat alone before returning to the kitchen to clean up and prepare for the next morning.
Sleeping outside isn’t bad either, the bonuses are worth it. Away from the rest, it’s quiet, only the chirping summer bugs can be heard. You can see the stars when you look up and you can watch the tree line when you can’t sleep, which is almost every night.
Frodo found you working in the kitchen and now comes to see you every morning, waiting just outside the back door. You start leaving the back door open, sneaking Frodo little scraps of food when no one is looking. And then, the other night, he found your sleeping spot. He says goodnight to you every night now.
Occasionally, you’ll have a nightmare—a memory of Manhattan, it’s always a memory—you’ll wake up struggling, suffocating in your sleeping bag to find Frodo watching you. On those nights he always cuddles with you and stays until morning. Those mornings you take him back to Eric. It’s like the little fuzz ball knows you’ll do it too as he jaunts across the lawn, looking back and waiting for you to catch up.
Eric always looks so happy to see you.
“He uh…he was with me last night—I promise I’m not trying to steal him, he just…”
“Found you?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s good at that.” He pauses. “Did you sleep last night?”
You sigh, rubbing your neck. “I’m fine.”
“That wasn’t my question.” he gently corrects. “You look tired…”
“Frodo helped.”
“If something is bothering you, you can always—”
“No, I just…it’s different here. I’m not used to…”
Eric waits patiently, as always, with kind and gentle eyes. It makes you want to scream.
You shake your head. “We’re having mashed potatoes later.” And then you’re gone.
No matter how much you avoid or give him your best scowl, he still tries to worm his way into your heart. Most people here are trying to do the same thing. They offer you food and water when taking a break from building cabins. They call you by name when they see you around. They invite you to eat at their table during dinner—you decline as curtly as possible, they always understand. Most of them came with families or friends, and many of them have made new friends. All of them have someone else.
They’re real people. You’re still stuck in Manhattan.
You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, for those things to find their way here, for everything to come crumbling down again. When people invite you to join them it only makes you angry—they’re acting like this is normal. It’s not. Less than 50 miles away, on the mainland, those things are still crawling around, they could appear here any day now.
This could all end, and it would end quickly.
When you think about this, your mind goes to Eric and Frodo. Your mind traces out how you might be able to get them out and what the best possible way to do that would be. Then you catch yourself—you didn’t survive to this point by being worried over others.
. . .
“May I sit?”
It’s Henri, a man from the same boat who’s taken charge more than the fancy clipboard people ever could. His family made it to the boat with him and he’s been the most vocal about how lucky everyone is and how they should make the best of things. He keeps people’s spirits high, which means he’s going to try and talk to you about—
He sits anyway, even though you haven’t said a word. Your unfinished dinner sits on your lap. Maybe one of the kids will want it.
“I notice you, sitting alone most dinners. Why don’t you join the group?”
“They’re too loud.”
His expression changes. “I understand. You were also from Manhattan?”
“…Yeah.”
“Eric, he has only nice things to say about you. He cares for you.”
Your attention perks up, you try not to let that bother you.
“He says you may be still getting over everything.”
When you offer no response, Henri continues. “You avoid everyone because you think those creatures will appear and our way of life will return to survival, is that right?”
“Sure.”
He nods. “I’m also cautious, every night I worry for my family, for the good people here… but I cannot let those fears control me or stop me from living again. Fear kept you alive back then, but it’s time to let go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“If I let myself and somehow this all…ends. I won’t be able to—to keep going.”
“Would you stop yourself from living based on that? We are safe here—”
“For now.”
Henri sighs. “It’s hard to let your guard down. I want to remain strong for my family, but my son needs a father who opens up and learns how to live again. Eric is the same—he continues to hold hope for you, even when you turn him away. He wants to share this life with you.”
“How often do you talk to Eric?” You ask, growing defensive. Henri sounds like he knows everything. Shit. He probably does.
“I see how he looks at you.” He leans a little closer. “And I see how you watch him sometimes. How you guard him from imaginary monsters—how you gave your tent to him, and how you feed his cat, Frodo.”
You shake your head. This is too much. “Eric will move on. I was just being nice.”
“Your mind is still in Manhattan,” Henri says, standing and wiping his pants. “No one but you can change that. Think of all the people here who know you. They’ve let go; They are happy. You deserve to be happy too.” He walks off, leaving your mind spinning.
All the people that know me?
. . .
“Here’s some water.” Marci hands you a bottle with a smile as you sit on a long wooden plank. “Nice job on the cabin, it’s coming along. Oh, my son made you this.” The woman hands you a crudely made drawing on a crumpled paper. Not many crayons made the trip, so it’s only got blue and green colors. It shows the little boy—Will, you think his name is—Marci and their dog in front of a mansion.
You huff, it’s the closest thing to laughter you’ll allow. “I’m afraid it won’t be this big.”
“He knows that, he’s just really excited to sleep under a roof again.”
You fold the page up, slipping it into your back pocket. “Happy to help.”
A man passes Marci, and she starts talking to him excitedly. You take the opportunity to stand and slip away—it’s nearly 3 o’clock, and dinner will begin in a few hours.
A familiar streak of white and black joins you, purring against your leg. “Hey, Frodo.”
The cat looks up at you with sharp green eyes, stopping in front of you.
“No more snacks, I already gave you some earlier.”
Frodo meows, loudly. It’s uncharacteristic of him.
“What?”
Another meow.
“Are you really that upset over the snack? Geeze cat, fine, you can have a little bit.”
You move around him, still heading towards the back door of the mess hall kitchen, but he stays completely still…and meows again.
Looking back, you frown. “What is it? Why are you being so noisy today?”
Frodo takes a few steps toward the tents, then pauses and looks back to meow.
You’re paying attention now. Frodo never does this. “You want me to follow you, is that it?”
The cat turns, tail held low, and continues toward the tents. You’re quick to follow—it’s midday, everyone should be up, almost no one hangs around the tents until it gets dark, and the lanterns are lit.
What makes it worse is as Frodo weaves through the tents, he heads straight for Eric’s.
The tent flap is mostly closed, but the fuzzball slips in the crack at the bottom. Before you pull the flap back, your mind runs wild with possibilities. All of them equally grim. All are laced with the thought: What will I do if he’s gone?
But you pull the flap up to see Eric leaning over while he sits on his cot with his head in his hands. He holds a piece of paper that’s been crumpled up and weathered. You see thin, cursive writing on it.
Frodo sits just inside the entrance. You motion to the cat wordlessly. Do your job!
It blinks up at you and doesn’t move.
Which means it’s up to you.
“Eric?”
He sits up, sniffling and furiously wiping his eyes with a sleeve. “Oh, hi. I—I didn’t see you there.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He gingerly folds up the piece of paper, carefully avoiding your eyes.
This is not your forte, but Frodo led you here because he thought you could help, so you’ll do your best.
“What’s that?” You ask, coming over to sit next to him on his cot. Your movements are slow and careful as if you don’t want to spook him.
He glances at the paper. “It’s a note, from a dear friend of mine. She…she didn’t make it to the boat.” He holds it out to you.
Taking it from him you open it back up and scan the lines. It’s beautiful and there are hints of prose used, all written with neat handwriting.
“What was her name?”
His voice cracks with emotion. “Sam.”
Folding the paper back up carefully, you put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry Eric.”
He leans into your touch. “Me too, but I’m thankful to have met her.”
He wipes his eyes again. A simple realization hits you like a truck—Eric has lost someone, yet he continues to go on, he cherishes those memories. He doesn’t stop himself from making new ones or holding back, he embraces life even after experiencing loss. Not to mention that he’s in a different country, everything he knows is across the ocean—and there’s no way for him to return.
“Are you alright?” he asks, looking at you with furrowed brows.
“I…” You swallow back a lump in your throat. “I owe you an apology.”
“What for?” He turns slightly to face you, his knee bumping into yours. The touch lingers, but you don’t move away.
“I’ve been cold to you since we got here.”
Eric gently snickers. “Since the boat ride, I’ve been wondering if you didn’t like me anymore. It’s not a big deal—”
“I like you a lot. That was part of the problem. I like you so much that I’m terrified of losing you.”
His joking smile drops a little, giving way to something more serious, something more vulnerable.
You continue, trying to wipe the encroaching scowl off your face. Being vulnerable and enjoying life is not a weakness.
“On the boat, I felt safe. Here, I struggle—I keep thinking we’re going to be attacked at any moment.”
Eric gently takes your hand, it twitches at first but relaxes when the warmth spreads from his palm to yours.
“I still feel like I’m still in Manhattan. I don’t want to lose everything again. I can’t lose everything again; I can’t handle that. So, I…I just don’t get close.”
Eric touches your cheek and brings your head up to look at him. “You are so strong. Ever since I first met you on the boat, I knew that. Do you feel stronger when you’re alone?”
You think over his question for a moment—of all the nights you’ve spent jumping at shadows, wrestling with nightmares and ‘what ifs’, of all the times you wanted to sing along with the others as they sat by the bonfire at night.
“I feel prepared…but, ultimately, no.”
“There’s strength in community and kindness. The others recognize how strong you are, and they still call you by name, they still offer you a space next to them. You might not want that, but I know you’ve seen it.”
“They’re very nice.” You admit. “I always thought it was easier alone.”
“I disagree. I think things are harder alone. I think things are harder without someone to lean on when you have trouble, or when you’re scared, and you doubt yourself. I don’t want you to sleep alone in the woods anymore—I want you to start relying on me.”
You nod holding back tears as you get absorbed in Eric’s kindness. “Ok.”
As Eric leans his forehead to yours, things don’t seem as bleak anymore. It’s a new feeling. Some ideas span months in the future vs. wondering what will happen tomorrow. The smiling faces of others are no longer pushed to the back of your mind, making noise doesn’t seem like a crime anymore.
It will take time to unlearn the survival mindset and truly let yourself live again. But you have Eric and Frodo to help you now.
And months from now, as you lay in Eric’s warm arms whispering—not out of necessity, but for fun—with Frodo sleeping in the gap between legs, you think back to all the nights in the woods or all the dinners when you ate alone. This is nice—fuck it, this is great.
Eric kisses you in the chilly Autumn air every chance he gets. You play with the kids as they grow astonishingly fast. You and Eric build your new home from scratch, and he carries you across the threshold when it’s finished. When you share a bed—a real bed—Eric holds you and protests when you need to get up in the morning.
You’re happy.
You’re finally alive again.
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