#the leaves are half-assed because I get lazy near the end of my drawings :(

[livvylubug]

I’m never drawing trees again. (I’m gonna draw trees again)

Absolute hell

Version with out leaves under the cut

[4dtk]

hi!!! are you taking smut requests? ignore this if you dont but if you are, can i request morning sex with mark?

nectar (mark)

warnings/tags: irl porn at the end for visualisation, blowjob, cum swallowing, riding, unprotected sex, pwp, brief face-sitting

word count: 1.9k

a/n: sure anon <3, this is for fem!reader btw. link at the end contains irl porn pleaaase don't click unless you're comfortable!

NSFW UNDER THE CUT, MINORS DNI!

“oh man… he’s knocked out cold,” you mumble, squinting at the bright light seeping in through the windows. it baths the room in warmth perfectly, providing that gentle caress of apollo in the messy room that you could half call your home at this point. like the complicated wires of his recording software bundled up at the corner, you were entangled tightly with mark’s complicated life as an idol, having had met the man at a concert where the group’s lightstick hit you in the face, hard.

it had become a running joke ever since you’ve been coming over to the dorms more and more, even getting you a celebratory cake that said please don’t injure her again when mark had finally confessed after months of pestering from the members. johnny had whispered to you that maybe you could finally get your revenge by slamming mark’s face into the cake.

giggling quietly at the memory from two years ago, you’re finally met with mark’s peaceful face, deep in slumber. the sun hardly touches him, blocked by your body as you propped your upper body up with an elbow. he looks so beautiful, so so divine that you can’t help but trail a hand over his covered body, blanket up to his neck since he gets cold easily.

“mmhm…” he mumbles, albeit still unconscious with the slightest knit of his eyebrows. you’re on high alert with that expression, observing him for a few seconds more if he really did happen to have a bad dream. his breaths seem to be laboured, irregular and needy that you catch on without fail. while you readjust yourself under the covers, your knee brushes against his centre to test the waters while your eyes drink in the furrowing of his eyebrows and shaky breathless whimpers he lets out.

“oh. so it’s that kind of dream,” a smirk is plastered on your face, frequenting the contact of your knee against his crotch as you rub him through the fabric. mark thrashes in the sheets below you, obvious that your movements are only fuelling the nasty, dirty fantasy he’s having in his sleep. with a hand, it slips inside his shorts to squeeze the bulge, adding and removing pressure that mark straight up ruts into your hand.

“a..ahn… (y/n)…” he mumbles out, digging his face deeper into the pillow with a tense to his muscles, on edge like intense dance practices and when mark’s just striving to make you cum behind closed doors. right now, you smile to yourself with the tables turned, speeding up your hand. the covers are thrown off of you and you take the chance to see how much he’s making a mess through the underwear, hips shimmying out of the loose sweatpants to chase the tempting touch of your skin on his dick.

you’re so zoned in on the sight that you don’t realise mark’s already awoken, the scrunch on his face displaying the mix of immense pleasure and the annoying headache he’s feeling due to a hangover. like a vice, your hand tightens around his hardening cock that it draws a long moan out of him and you have to bite your lip from concealing your own. the other fists the bedsheets, finger tapping against the cotton; a habit you noticed he does when he's close.

"ack!" you exclaim when mark takes over, meeting his familiar dick as he fishes it out of his underwear, now fully rock hard with beads of pre-cum leaking from its tip. the idol wastes no time in forcing your mouth on him, smiling when it's thrusted so deep that it touches the back of your throat; you gag uncomfortably but recover rather quickly, humming around his length. the warmness of your mouth mimics your pussy so good, and mark can't help but continue the bucking of his hips.

it reminds mark of the countless many sessions he's had with you, hot and heavy in the recording studio as you fucked ruthlessly in the soundproof toilet. shivering and toe-curling on the vibrating washing machine, stimulating your clit while mark hit it from the back. maybe mark's checking off all the boxes, because the way your eyes look up at him at half-mast, desire swirling in your eyes, sinks him into a trance. the gentle whisper of sun rays paint your body like a renaissance painting, splayed over his legs and the remainder of the duvet covers. maybe this is the check box that marks the time where he lazily fucks into you as you struggle to hold in your moans, voice raspy from the morning.

likewise, the thought of mark's cock in you makes you shift uncomfortably, the wet patch on your underwear undeniably growing by the minute with your core pulsating and throbbing. his hands hold your head in place, fingers carding through your locks laced with possibly last night's drunken sweat. they pull back your hair, creating a small ponytail while you tease the tip with your tongue and lick a stripe up his shaft. the sounds you make with your mouth could rival the ones you're making with your fingers on your core, moaning the slurping up his pre-cum that has his length twitching.

"y-yes... oh fuuuck, (y/n)..." his head is thrown back as your bob your head, trailing your hands over his torso where you can feel the contraction and expansion of his ribs. it doesn't take long for mark to cum, hips halting its movements for a second to pump your mouth full of his seed. a smile breaks through when you cringe at the taste, but he's sure you don't mind it since you've done it many times before. "c'mere, angel."

the name makes you grin, getting off the comfort of his thighs to let him taste himself, indulging in a short kiss before mark takes the chance to tug at your shorts. he thumbs it down without effort, coming right off your bottom half as you manoeuvre from knee to knee to let the man take it off.

mark whistles lowly at how soaked you are, a lazy, boyish grin taking over his features as his fingers slip between your folds. they shamelessly leak more juices when mark's digits make contact with your clit, already clenching over cock that you haven't even received. slowly, they trickle down the expanse of his hand and your thighs, a lone string of arousal connecting from your cunt to the tip of his finger.

"so wet, so early in the morning," mark giggles, mirroring your earlier action as he prods at your mouth with those fingers. you taste yourself on him, suckling and licking around them like you just did to his length. "i'll fit right in, won't i?"

you make a noise of approval before grabbing his dick, inching it into you gently and gradually. mark bottoms out and you mewl, shivering at how deep he's in you without any effort before grinding down on him. the little tufts of hair on his skin brush against your sensitive spots near your folds that make the pleasure all the better, and you have to brace yourself with both hands on his chest.

"feel good, honey?" mark's found clarity in his voice now, voice dripping exactly like the pet name while you continued to get used to the seemingly growing erection in you. with eyes closed from both the pleasure and the increasing brightness of a new day, your hips move on their own accord, moving up and down his dick at a slow pace.

"'s good, mark," you babble, instantly speeding up your ministrations. his cock splits you open so good even if you aren't going at your usual pace, choking out mixes of moans and whimpers along with the sounds of your ass descending on his dick.

"you're so d-deep, mark! ooh, hhnn..." your arms are ready to give out, opting instead to lay on his chest with a small pound me leaving your lips. your arms go around him to clutch at the headboard, the sudden snap of mark's hips elicits a dramatic gasp from you. he's filling you up to the brim, and the groan in your ear shows the similar feeling that mark's experiencing.

mark takes your order to heart, the force of his hips continuing their assault on your poor, poor pussy so early in the morning. "babe, you're so- fucking- t-tight, holy shit!" a breathless laugh, a hand to your ass, butterfly kisses along your collarbone, everything else is forgotten except for those few things that dance around in your mind.

"faster, deeper, please...!"

his chuckle is interrupted by a groan, "i'm at my fastest, baby. i did go all out for our last concert yesterday."

the squelching sounds coming from between your legs make you cry out, drool dripping down the sides at your mouth as mark takes up more of your mind. mark, mark, mark falls from your lips repeatedly as he rocks in and out,

"you-" a soft, delirious giggle escapes you at mark's reference to the concert yesterday.

"no words, huh? maybe i should fuck you till you're babbling nonsense," the lack of response makes mark smile against your skin, mouth latching onto your neck.

with the little tap of his finger against your ass and the falter of his thrusts, you know he's close to reaching his peak. his sloppy movements still bring out the worst in you, either way, moans increasing tenfold as his cock continues to impale you. you hold onto his bicep for life, body rocking deliciously against his.

you're so warm, both inside and out, forehead already producing beads of sweat as your hot cavern clenches around his shaft repeatedly. mark pounds into your pussy relentlessly, brushing up against that spot that makes your body convulse before you're gushing and cumming around him, juices leaking non-stop onto the sheets while the knot continues to be undone.

"ahnn- mark! maaark..." the drawl of his name makes the other's eyes roll back in pleasure, not giving you the chance to recover as he pulls his cock out of you. there's an endless trail of profanities leaving his mouth while he pumps out the last bit of restraint out of him, finally letting go on his stomach when he looks at your spasming body, pussy dripping with both your juices.

his cock spurts out hot, white cum, staining his stomach before he lets out a satisfying whine and other breathless words that you can't catch on to. you swipe up his seed with your finger, dipping it into your mouth like dessert that you hum around it.

"i guess i won't need breakfast for a while," you joke, clenching your thighs together to prevent the further dirtying of your sheets. you did change it a week ago...

"ah. no no, don't close 'em," mark beckons you closer with his finger, "i won't need breakfast, either."

you know what's in store for you when the other licks his lips, a sick grin appearing on his face. and when you finally take your rightful place on his face, you find that you'll never get tired of mark's tongue laid flat against your soaking cunt, lapping all that you can offer that mark describes tastes like honey, like nectar. you tell him he's lying, but who are you to judge the words of someone who eats you out so good?

one day, you'll be convinced, but for now, you're fine with accepting the embarrassing compliments from mark, since he's the only one that makes your pussy flutter like a little slut.

(it's irl porn, please please don't click unless you're comfortable) how i imagine mark would fuck you <3

[t0wnspersonb]

Sundays (Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

Word Count: 2,444

Rated: Explicit 

Warnings: SMUT, language, quick mentions of spanking, Bakugou being a fucking shit as always, FLUFF

Summary: Being the wife of a pro hero meant that you and your husband barely got to see each other. So while the pro hero life was incredibly enticing to Bakugou, there was one thing that was above that; you. He would never voice it aloud, but the domesticated activities that came with a married life was something that he adored completely. But it was all because of you, any minute, any second that Bakugou got to spend with you, he would take. That’s why Sundays were his favorite days.  

~~~

I’m fucking soft🥺🥺🥺 I had so much fun writing this. I love the whole Bakugou as a husband scenario so that’s why all of my fics on him are about that lol. He’s literally my fucking man so like of course I have to write about him like this. I think he would be the biggest simp for his wife and it gives me all the feels. I hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed writing it!:)

~~~

Bakugou’s eyes fluttered open, the soft glow of the sun peeked through the crack of the curtains, caressing his face gently.

 It was far too early to be up, especially on a day off. But that never stopped Bakugou, he always woke up early. A habit he had picked up when he was younger; but that was to train. So, while he did workout in the mornings now that he was an adult, it was mostly to get caught up on household chores that he couldn’t complete throughout the day or at night. 

 Being a hero was tough work, the days were long and endless, but it was worth it. The pride he felt at being one of the top heroes, the way people admired his strength, the fact that he was capable at protecting and saving others. It was all worth it.

 But this.

 This moment… was worth all of it.

 If the only way to keep you was to give up being a pro hero, he would. He knew that deep in his heart, although, he would never voice that aloud.

 His arms wrapped tightly around your sleeping figure tugging you closer to his body, you were warm and incredibly bare from last night’s rendezvous.

 It was heaven.

 Pure fucking heaven.

 He never wanted to leave. 

 He never wanted this moment to end.

 Sundays were his favorite days, and it was because of this. You both had Sundays off, and they were days that you both cherished the most, because those were the days that you got to be in each other’s company completely.

 It was routine for you. Saturday nights consisted of fervent lovemaking, almost as soon as Bakugou came through the door.

 Unspoken promises of love and devotion being said in that moment.

 Like clockwork, whenever Sunday mornings rolled around it always began like this exact moment.

 Bakugou pressed himself close your body, pressing gentle kisses against the exposed skin of your back and up to your neck.

 The gentle pressure of his plush lips stirred you awake, a soft noise escaping your lips as you arched against his strong muscular body in an attempt to stretch out your stiff limbs.

 “Hmmm. Morning.” you mumbled out, reaching behind you to press his head further into your neck, your fingers tangling into the soft blonde locks at the back of his head.

 “Morning.” He grumbled, biting down sharply at your flesh.

 A shock of pleasure jolted through your body, you arched further into him as you felt his growing member press into your skin.

 Bakugou pressed himself against you tightly, grinding his growing length against your bottom as he began leaving open mouth kisses against your soft skin.

 His mouth was incredibly hot and slick against your overheating skin, and memories of last night flashed behind your closed lids.

 “Please.” you whimpered out.

 He growled against your skin, and soon you found your left leg being hiked up a little, his strong fingers reaching down to the place you wanted him the most.

 There was still a mess between your legs from last night, both of you not even bothering to clean up afterwards, too exhausted to even move. But you were already soaking wet now at this point, much to Bakugou’s delight.

 A pleased noise escaping his mouth as he pressed his fingers against your weeping core. Something blunt presses against the apex of your thighs and - a loud moan escaped your lips.

 Bakugou buried himself deep inside your warmth, and while you had him last night, the stretch he provided you was always so intense.

 “You’re fucking soaked.” he groaned, burying his face against your shoulder blades. 

 Bakugou basked in the tight heat of your cunt, your velvety walls fluttering around his hardened length, drawing him in deeper. 

 No this was heaven; this was pure fucking heaven.

 He never thought he could love someone this much. But you… fuck, you were everything to him.

 After a couple of stilled moments, he began moving, setting a lazy pace as he thrusted into you. His movements were unhurried, unworried about anything other than this. 

 This was just part of the routine on Sundays. He was in no rush, he wanted to savor every moment of being buried deep inside of you. The feeling, the movement, the sweet sounds that you were crying out, the soft buildup of pleasure.

 While the lovemaking that you two shared did revolve mostly around raw passion, there were moments like this that also happened. It was a soft toe-curling pleasure, it left you breathless and dizzy.

 Or maybe it was the fact that it was Bakugou that left you breathless and dizzy, and aching for more.

 He groaned gentle praises against your overheated skin, his thrusts remained at that slow pace he had set before, but it felt like each movement resulted in him reaching a new depth within you.

 You could feel that delicate pressure in your lower stomach increasing, a soft crescendo of pleasure aching to be released.

 Bakugou must have sensed this, his hand that was gently tugging at your sensitive nipples lowered towards your swollen clit, his middle finger rubbing gently against the overstimulated nub.

 You were still incredibly sensitive from last night.

 “Let go.” he groaned, biting softly at your earlobe, and you did. You cried his name out as you unraveled, Bakugou following only seconds behind you. Your walls fluttering and gripping at him, milking him for all that he was worth as he spilled himself deep inside of you.

 Your eyes fluttered shut, sleep was once again gripping at the edges of your mind, urging you to fall back asleep.

 “You’re perfect.” He said breathless, his softening cock still inside of you.

 Sleep brought you guys back under once more. But it was fine, it didn’t matter, it was still early in the morning, and it was all routine.

 ***

 When Bakugou woke up once more, you were gone from the bed, much to his dislike.

 Grumbling softly to himself he found a part of sweats near the laundry basket and quickly threw them on before heading towards the kitchen.

 He paused for a moment, leaning against the doorframe as he watched you cook. You were wearing one of his shirts as you fluttered across the kitchen grabbing ingredients, humming softly to yourself, completely unaware of the tall man staring at you.

 The edge of the shirt lifted as you reached for seasoning on the top shelf, your ass was on full display for Bakugou’s greedy eyes. He smirked before walking towards you, carefully wrapping his large arms around your waist.

 “What are you doing?” he asked, peering down at the food cooking on the stove.

 “Making breakfast, duh.” You yelped as he pinched your ass hard, pushing him away to swat at him only for Bakugou to evade your advances easily.

 “Don’t be a fucking shit, you dumbass.” he huffed rolling his eyes at you before going to the fridge to get a water.

 “You weren’t saying that last night Kacchan.” you stuck your tongue out at him.

 “Huh?” his eyes narrowed as he reached for your face, pinching your cheeks harshly, ignoring the loud whine that bubbled from your stretched lips. “I told you not to fucking call me that anymore. You’re so fucking annoying you shit stain.”

 “Don’t call your wife that.” You pouted, rubbing your face when he finally let you go. 

 He rolled his eyes and pushed you out of the way from the stove, continuing the food that you were making. 

 “It’s my turn today.” he said gruffly, when he noticed your confused stare.

 A soft smile coated your lips and you wrapped your arms around his thick waist, pressing a soft kiss in the middle of his back. “I love you Katsuki.” you murmured warmly.

 You felt his body stiffen and then immediately relax. His large hand rested on yours, gently patting you. 

 “Whatever.” he mumbled. “Go set the table.”

 As careful and loving as he was in the bedroom, he was never the type of man that easily talked about his feelings. While you were the exception to some of that, he still had a challenging time whenever those four words were involved.

 But you knew that he loved you too, he wouldn’t have married you, or put up with you all of these years if he didn’t.

 Bakugou displayed his love for you in different kinds of ways.

 His constant nagging at you to be careful, his never-ending lectures on eating healthy and sleeping properly, the way he would always do laundry, the fact that he would clean up the house without a word from you, and of course, his soft touches despite his crude words.

 He was the man of your dreams, and he was all yours.

 Breakfast and the cleanup were done quickly and quietly, and you found yourself once again in his arms.

 “We need to go shopping today.” He breathed out against your skin, his mouth once again leaving hungry kisses at the base of your throat.

 Arousal once again spiked in your very being as he grinded his erect member against your lower half once again. His large hand was gripping your ass, kneading, and pulling at the soft flesh.

 “We should - ahh - get ready then.” You whimpered out, eyes fluttering shut as he bit down on your throat.

 Bakugou was insatiable on Sundays. They always consisted of household chores, and as much lovemaking as possible throughout the day. Just another way that Bakugou displayed his love and affection towards you, he was a man of action not words.

 After the ‘shower’ Bakugou found himself watching you as you got ready for the store, the love bites he left scattered across your beautiful body stood out proudly against your skin. Pride swelled in his chest at the mere sight of you.

 Fuck, how were you so pretty? How did a woman like you end up with someone like him?

 These were questions he asked himself all the time, but he never sought out answers, he didn’t fucking care. As long as you continued to be his, nothing else mattered.

 So, when other men ogled at you at the grocery store, he couldn’t help but get pissed. Of course, it didn’t help that you wore a summer dress that hugged your body perfectly, and he knew that you were incredibly bare underneath it, your way of teasing him further. The thought of putting you over his knee and whacking your ass until it was red was entirely pleasing to him.

 Maybe after you guys finished shopping.

 “Stop putting that sugary shit in the cart, we don’t need that in the house.” He grumbled, grabbing the cereal box out of the cart to put back.

 You pouted at him. “Katsu please? Just this once.” 

 His eyebrow twitched at the sweet innocent look you were giving him; he knew you were far from it though.

 “No.”

 “You don’t love me anymore.” You sniffed, further pouting like a child.

 He rolled his eyes once more and pinched your cheek for the second time today. “Don’t be a fucking brat.” regardless of his words, he all but threw the box of cereal back into the cart, stuffing his hands into his pocket as he stalked off to find the other stuff on the list.

 “I love you Katsu!” You called after him, giggling in triumph.

 He rolled his eyes, but a small smirk made his way onto his lips as he continued towards the produce.

 But when he came back holding the bags of onions and garlic, his blood was boiling. You looked entirely uncomfortable as you shuffled away from the man that was all but trapping you against your cart, obviously hitting on you.

 “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He hissed angrily, throwing the produce into the cart, and yanking the man away from you by his collar.

 Bakugou’s red eyes were incredibly angry as he stared down at the significantly smaller man who looked absolutely terrified.

 “W-What’s it to you man!? I was just talking to her!” he trembled out.

 “Did you not see the ring on her fucking finger asswipe!? That’s my fucking wife! Get the fuck out of here before I blow your ass up!” his Quirk went off for emphasis, as soon as Bakugou released his grip the man ran off.

 “What the fuck are you all looking at!?” He growled as he noticed the ongoing shoppers staring at him, they immediately averted their eyes and hurriedly walked off.

 “Katsuki.” you sighed, frowning. “You can’t keep doing stuff like that.” 

 The tall man rolled his eyes as he reached for you, his hand wrapping around your waist protectively as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. 

 “The fuck I can’t. You’re mine, I don’t want any shit stains touching what’s mine.” he grumbled. “Let’s hurry this up, I want to go home.”

 Bakugou was all but silent for the rest of the trip, his mood sour after what had happened at the grocery store. He was even quiet as you guys put away the groceries.

 You left to take another shower, and once you had finished you found yourself staring down at your husband laying across the couch, his eyes fixated on the TV.

 “Katsu.” Your voice small as you called out his name, standing at the edge of the couch.

 His red flickered towards your face; he drank in your expression for a moment before rolling his eyes. One of the hands that was resting behind his head moved to pat at his chest. “Well fucking hurry up then.” 

 Your expression brightened as you clambered on top of him, easily settling yourself on the muscular man. Your head was tucked under his chin, your legs tangled together. His hand slipped under your shirt easily, rough fingers caressing your skin gently.

 This was wonderful, cuddling Bakugou was your favorite thing in the entire world. He was always so warm, so solid, so safe. His sweet scent engulfed you completely, and you couldn’t help but bury your face further into his neck.

 The TV was the only source of sound besides both of your even breathing. It was comfortable, familiar, and incredibly safe.

 “I love you, you shitty woman.” he grumbled, his eyes never leaving the TV.

 A soft smile tugged at your lips, are you arched up slightly, pressing a soft kiss against his jaw. 

 “I love you Katsuki. Forever.”

 You loved Sundays.

 Scratch that, you loved Sundays with Bakugou. They were your favorite days.

 “You fucking better.”

[jonahlovescoffee]

Multitasking | J.M.

a/n: kinda cringe? idk but i don’t wanna let it stay in my drafts either so yeah lol happy reading <3

summary: you wanted jonah’s attention and he’ll give it to you, even though he’s on a phone call.

warnings: smut without coitus bc i’m lazy to write that part-

word count: 3040

“Jonah, your lovely girlfriend is here,” you chirped happily when you entered his house a spring in your step, excited to finally be able to spend some alone time with him, something you hadn’t done lately because of him being busy with all the necessary preparations for the new album’s release while your schoolwork had been taking up too much of your time. However, your face fell immediately when you were greeted with the sight of him on his phone, chatting away with someone. It was supposed to be just the two of you today making full use of the rarely empty house. His face lit up when he saw you, but he made no move to end the call. You nudged your head towards his phone with your arms crossed in front of your chest, urging him to end it or else you’ll choose to end him instead.

“Just one more second, I promise,” he told you, pulling you down to give you a quick kiss in a weak attempt to wipe the evident scowl off your face. “It’s important.”

You rolled your eyes and plopped down on the empty seat next to him. “Fine, but make it quick,” you prompted, taking your phone out to hopefully find some ways to entertain yourself for the time being. He wrapped an arm around you in a silent apology, which you responded with laying your head on his shoulder as he continue talking.

“Yeah, y/n just came over,” he said and you heard a vaguely familiar voice speaking from the other side of the phone, but the sound was too muffled for you to decipher it into coherent words. “Daniel, we can talk about your music ideas another day.”

You internally groaned when you heard the name of your friend’s boyfriend and the mention of music ideas because you knew Daniel long enough to know that it always took ages for him to finish rambling about all his new musical creations. You usually wouldn’t complain about that because you were a huge music buff yourself and having the chance to discuss music with someone as enthusiastic as him was a gift from god but he should know that now wasn't the right time to do so.

Another reply came from the other end of the phone. Jonah seemed to hesitate for a while before offering an answer this time, glancing sideways at you to make sure that you weren’t about to explode with anger. You sighed but sent him a soft smile and he mouthed a silent “you’re the best” in return. “Okay, okay, let’s hear it then,” his hand found yours and gave it a light squeeze.

You scrolled through your chat log to find Emily’s contact, before sending her a message to ask for help. Is there any way you can shut your boyfriend up? Because he is stealing mine from me.

A reply came mere seconds later. LOL I’ll see what I can do.

Just when you were about to thank her, your phone vibrated and another message from her appeared on the screen. Fuck. The studio door is locked and I forgot where he keeps the keys.

You swore the next time you saw Daniel, you were going to hurl all six feet of him into the pool and make him drown. Wow, I can’t believe my luck today.

Don’t be such a whiner. You can try to make Jonah pay attention to you instead ;) She suggested and an idea popped into your head right away.

Have I ever told you how much I love you?

Ahh I love you more bb <3 was the last reply from her before she went offline, the green dot beside her profile picture disappearing.

You put your phone back into your bag and turned towards your boyfriend to find him still deeply engrossed in his conversation. You shrugged his arm off you and moved your body to assume the position on top of one of his thick muscular thighs, facing him. He raised an inquisitive brow. You wrapped your arms around his middle and nuzzled into his neck, inhaling the alluring scent of him that did nothing but fed your lust.

“I want you so bad,” you whined softly, earning a stroke of your hair from him, his hand subsequently sliding downwards to rest at the small of your back, his touch leaving a trail of goosebumps down your spine.Your hands did their own exploring too, your fingers tracing the curves and edges of his shoulder blades down to his biceps, humming in satisfaction at all the new muscle you found beneath your fingertips. He hadn’t been joking when he told you that he had been working out a whole lot more lately. The more of him that you felt, the more uncomfortable your southern region became.

Jonah felt it all—the heartbeat between your thighs, the wetness that seemed to be soaking through your pants, the subtle grinding of your body against his thigh, and how the member in his pants seemed to awaken at your movements. Suddenly Daniel’s words through the phone didn’t seem to make sense when they entered his brain that was currently a complete mess. He put his phone away for a moment to whisper into your ear, “Look at you, can’t even go a few minutes without wanting something, huh, baby?” His voice was husky and deep, exactly the way you loved it, and you almost came from the sound alone. He used his hand to help you rock harder against his thigh, urging you to speed up which you did willingly, finally able to relieve some of the pain from your core.

Your whimper was enough to answer his question. He kissed the tip of your nose. “Ride my thigh, sweetheart,” he ordered, brushing a thumb over your lips. “But be a good girl for me and be as quiet as you can, okay?”

You nodded obediently and he returned to his phone call like nothing ever happened. You bit your bottom lip forcefully in order to prevent moans after moans from escaping as you, the friction between your clit and his thigh putting your mind in a blissful daze. “Fuck…” you breathed near his ear, the sound taking him by surprise making him stop talking mid-sentence, hazel eyes glancing to the side to see your half-lidded eyes and lip that was colored in a shade of bright red from sinking your teeth into it too hard, completely forgetting what he was planning to say to his friend.

“Jonah?” Daniel’s voice sounded, snapping Jonah back to his senses.

“Yes? wait a moment bro, got something to settle first, be right back,” he said, placing his phone on the armrest of the couch to focus on you. “Feels good baby?”

“Uh huh,” you said, not expecting him to bounce his knee in a steady rhythm afterwards with so much vigor that you instinctively moved your hands to his shoulders to steady yourself, rolling your hips as you ground yourself down on him hungrily. Feeling your greedy little hole clamping down around nothing as you felt your climax nearing.

“What about now?” he drawled, chuckling darkly when you started to let all sorts of whimpers and mewls fall from your lips. “Tell me, pretty little slut, how good I’m making you feel,” he lifted a hand up to your face to trace your jaw tenderly. Once. Then twice. Then replacing his touch with his lips.

“So fucking amazing, Jo,” you could barely get the words out as you unabashedly ground yourself down against him, eyes rolling to the back of your head at the overwhelming sensation, gasping in surprise when his palm moved to spank your ass. The movement made you grind against his firm thigh perfectly as you forgot his earlier warning to stay quiet and cried out.

“Shh, keep it down, baby,” he coaxed, his lips curving into a smirk as he beheld your desperation to chase your high, each of your movements getting sloppier than the last. “He can still hear you, you know?”

Another whimper. “I...I’m close, Jo,” you managed to say before grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and burying your face in the crook of his neck, though the movement of your hips remained unfaltered.

He tilted his head a little to press a kiss into your hair. “Cum for me all over my thigh, sweetheart.”

Jonah’s husky voice was the catalyst you needed to send you hurtling over the edge, feeling that coil inside you snap as your orgasm washed over you, his name spilling from your lips in a loud cry, your toes curling as you were completely engulfed in ecstasy. His grasp on your waist remained strong as he continued bouncing his knee, slightly slower than before, not allowing you to move back as he kept grinding your cunt against him, letting you ride out your high. “Shh, you’re getting too loud, baby,” he placed a finger on your lips when you continued moaning his name repeatedly as your puffy clit got overstimulated, although he absolutely loved the way his name rolled off your tongue like a prayer. He felt a certain something straining harder against his designer jeans, yearning to break free.

“Look at what a mess you made because you couldn’t wait for me to finish my phone call,” he tisked disapprovingly, his gaze dropping to his thigh, his hooded hazel eyes looking between your bodies at the darkened wet stain you had left against said jeans with glee, even more when he saw your pants that were utterly soaked with your release. He stopped bouncing his knee then, earning a dissatisfied whine from you. “Enough of thigh riding, sweetheart, your pants are ruined,” he grabbed his phone and released his grasps on you before whispering, “Now turn around. Let me help you get them off you.”

You did as he told, your back now leaning against his chest as he pushed your pants down, followed by your panties and you kicked off both of the garments when they pooled at your knees. He raised his phone towards his ear as his other hand glided over the swell of your hips to your front, his knuckles brushing over your core gently. He started drawing slow circles over your clit with the pads of his fingers, causing you to arch your back into him more.

“Nah, it’s nothing serious. Wes just broke another glass again, that’s all,” he lied to his best friend, the pace of his fingers increasing as he put more pressure on your clit, making you a squirming mess in his arm. Unable to keep you steady with only one arm around you, he put his phone on speaker mode and placed it back onto the armrest before sliding the now free arm around your waist.

“You sure? Because I heard...umm...something and it sounds nothing like shattering glass,” Daniel stated, but Jonah remained pretty unfazed unlike you whose breath caught in your throat immediately, dreading the possibility of getting caught. However, all your worries were immediately forgotten when he dragged a finger ever so gently up your glistening folds that were already slick with your juices. You instinctively rolled your hips against his finger, yearning for as much friction as he could offer.

“Then you must’ve heard wrong. Now, where were we?” Jonah said nonchalantly before sliding a finger into you and your jaw fell slack as you moaned at the sudden intrusion. He pumped his finger slowly to stretch you out but you weren’t content with it. You wanted more so you let your hand travel to your bundle of nerves but before you could do anything, he grabbed your wrist with his free hand. Words didn’t need to be conveyed between the both of you for you to get his message just from the look he gave you that clearly said he didn’t want you to interfere.

“Okay, so I thought of this melody…” you tuned them out, solely focusing on the overwhelming pleasure that he gave you with nothing more than a finger and before you knew it, you could feel your walls clenching harder around it that continued to thrust in and out of you non-stop as he maintained a casual conversation with his best friend.

“Nngh, Jonah,” you whined, “Faster, faster, gosh.”

“Quiet,” he whispered sternly between his sentences just as he slipped another finger into you and you bit his neck on instinct to stifle your moans, making him groan right in the middle of their conversation.

“What the actual fuck was that?!” Daniel exclaimed in horror.

“Nothing,” he shot you a glare but your eyes were screwed shut with pleasure so you couldn’t see it. “But I really really have to go now, bro, I’m so sorry.”

“Wait a minute,” Daniel said just as Jonah’s finger hovered inches above the red end-call button. “Is y/n there with you? Like right next to you?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Please don’t tell me you guys were...umm...doing it while you were talking to me because the weird sounds kinda sound like,” an obvious gulp. “Her.”

“Daniel what is wrong with you today? First you hear weird noises then now you’re trying to accuse me and my girl for having sex while I’m on the phone with you? Well lemme tell you something, Daniel,” Jonah’s fingers thrusted into you quicker, matching the swift pace of his thumb that was furiously rubbing your clit, making you a writhing mess on his lap. Soft moans left your lips since you were unable to compress all of the sounds that threatened to escape.

“Y/N and I would never,” He slammed his fingers knuckles deep into you. “Ever,” His fingers curled inside you and you sucked in a shaky breath. “Do something like that,” He started doing patting motions, hitting all the right places, almost making you scream as your eyes rolled to the back of your head in ecstasy, unable to focus on anything else save for the overwhelming pleasure that he gave you. “Right, love?”

He has to be joking. He can’t seriously expect you to—

“Open your mouth and talk, baby,” Jonah’s voice was soft but authoritative when he spoke into your ear, a smirk present on his face. He knew that it was nearly impossible for you to do anything, especially talking, when you were so close to your climax but all in all, he was still someone who loved testing and pushing you past your limits.

“Yes...I...we,” you stuttered as you whimpered softly after each word, his fingers never stopped working their magic inside you. He placed kisses all the way up to your ear from your shoulders before starting to nibble your earlobe. You couldn’t search for the right words to say, let alone speak without giving away the fact that you and Jonah were indeed doing it while having his conversation with Daniel. “We are not doing anything,” you got all your words out in one breath, a little too fast for them to sound extremely convincing but still good enough for Jonah to give you an approving hum.

“Good girl,” Jonah cooed, his voice alone making your entire body tingle with pleasure. “Now end the call,” he attached his lips onto the sensitive spot under your ear, nibbling and sucking it softly, pushing another moan out of you.

“But—”

“No ‘but’s, baby,” a kiss on your shoulder again. “You don’t want me to not let you cum, do you?”

You couldn’t find the energy in you to argue with him, not when release was threatening to spill out of you.

“Bye, Daniel,” you said breathlessly.

“Just so you know, I still don’t believe that—”

“I said bye, Daniel,” you cut Daniel off before he could continue rambling about not trusting your words, reaching over to Jonah’s phone to end the call.

Jonah smiled when the screen of his phone turned black but his following words were nowhere near happy.

“Such a good girl, aren’t you? Always so obedient when you want me to give you what you want,” he snarled. “But what about just now, hmm? You were so loud, so impatient, always wanting more than what I gave.”

“So do you think you deserve to cum, dear?”

“Sorry, it just felt too good,” you whimpered, already on the verge of tears, when you felt the knot in your stomach tightening. “I won’t behave like this again, Jo so please—“

He pressed his lips onto yours, cutting your pleas off with a brief kiss. “Alright, I’ll let you off the hook just this once. Let it all out now, baby.”

And just like that, you released for the second time all over his thigh and he took his fingers out of you and licked them clean, groaning at how wonderful you tasted. “Fuck, you taste so good. It's totally worth ruining my jeans for this.”

“But I wanna taste yours too,” you whined and he smirked.

“Hmm,” he laid you down on the couch and crawled over you, a hand already at the zipper of his pants to pull it down. “Think you’re still able to take my dick?”

“Always,” you yanked him closer by the front of his shirt, wanting to bring his lips to yours but before your lips even touched, a series of meows sounded suddenly.

Both of you turned towards the source of the sound simultaneously to find Wes standing at the corner of the living room, staring at you both intently with his wide, curious cat eyes.

“You know what? Maybe we should do this elsewhere,” you gave a suggestion with an uncomfortable grimace.

He zipped his pants before moving back into a sitting position, which you mirrored. He patted his lap and you went to sit on it right away. “Or,” a teasing grin was plastered on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully at you. “We could ask Wes to join in too.”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU PSYCHOTIC PERVERT!” you screamed in disgust and hit him with the couch pillow you grabbed from beside you.

taglist: @chilling-seavey @neralondon @mia-marais @randomlimelightxxx @hopinglimelight @kvd963 @cutiebandlover202 @savspersonalproperty @slowdownatthelotusinn @angelzacharyy @freakshows199 @my-fangirling-outlet

[snarkwrites]

hi, i’m here to bring you a ✨thot✨ as i clean out my closet and cry over the bikinis that i’ll never get to wear due to covid

i literally don’t care who you pick for this, because i feel the reaction is the same across the board for what i’m about to give you😏 but beach sex or even better, sex in the cabanas👀👀👀👀 like sand gets every where but i am not at all going to complain if someone wants to fuck me on the beach🤷‍♀️ - ❤️

OKAY.. LISTEN I LOVE THIS SO MUCH... HEAR ME OUT HERE.. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED RYAN... BC.. YES. YEET WENT MY IMAGINARY PANTIES.

Ugh, I could kiss you for all these amazing thots you keep blessing me with, angel, you know that? YES. LETS GET TO IT.

WARNINGS:

Sexual content ahead. Not meant for anyone under 18+. If you're a minor, you need to keep scrolling. Do not read what's below the cut.

If you choose to keep reading, a. you can't say you weren't warned already and b, here are things you need to watch for : public sexual situation, unprotected sex, dry humping, mentions of marking, my failed attempts at dirty talk and most importantly, SEX IN A PUBLIC SETTING. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.

TAGGING:

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@twistnet

OTHER STUFF:

[ faq - multifandom tag list ]

RYAN WOLFE & sex in a poolside cabana;

"You're starting to burn." the crisp depth of the male voice drew you out of a daydream you didn't quite want to end. Your eyes fluttered open and you realized exactly why the sound of his voice was powerful enough to draw you back into the present and out of your own mind. Swallowing hard as your eyes met with Ryan Wolfe, you shrugged off his statement, almost dismissively.

"I'll be tan in the morning. Besides, my lotion is over there. I'm too comfy to get up and go get it."

Ryan shuffled his feet. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully. When he wandered away, you thought he'd probably gone to the poolside bar to get himself a drink -and probably flirt with Natalia some more, the jealous thought crept it's way into your mind before you could stop it.

You put everything out of your head until a few seconds later. Just as you were starting to doze off all over again. He sat down beside the towel you were stretched out on, his legs dangling into the pool. An arm over your body as he stared down at you, a quiet chuckle passing his lips as he shook your head.

"You really can fall asleep anywhere, can't you, princess?"

We're not even going to begin to attempt addressing just how quickly the use of the word princess -or his tone of voice as he said it, affected you. You shivered ever so slightly, raising a hand. Taking off your shades and looking him in the eyes as you yawned and softly laughed while nodding in agreement. "In my defense, I was out late last night with Alexx, Natalia and Calleigh after that last conference."

Ryan nodded. Eyes fixed on your own for a few seconds, lingering. And then breaking your gaze to roam slowly. Almost as if he were savoring the view.

Normally, he barely looked your way -that you knew of, of course, but this time, as his eyes roamed over you and the way you were sprawled out on the black beach towel with the word FUCK spelled out in red calligraphy cursive, it was as if he were really seeing you.

"Your buddy from the Vegas crime lab actually let you roam around dressed like that?" Ryan asked after a few seconds. Raising one of those distracting hands of his to drag it through light brown hair. I miss his shaggier hair, you lamented mentally, I would have literally died to drag my fingers through it or pull it in the heat of the moment.

,, Funny, he almost sounds a little jealous." the next thought came as you raised a brow and tried not to get your hopes up. You sat up and stretched as you gazed at him, curious. It hit you then, he must have seen you joking around with that guy you met at one of the conferences two days before, Greg.

The one who asked you to go out bowling with him and some of his co-workers, but you politely declined.

Because of the oblivious idiot sitting to your left currently.

The cabanas were emptying out. The sun was starting to sink down in the sky just slightly, casting a lazy golden orange hue over everything.

"He doesn't own me." you muttered after a long and heavy pause. You weren't sure why, but you found yourself leaning forward, into Ryan as you turned the upper half of your body to face him. With a teasing and soft giggle, you asked with a smirk, "You're not off flirting with Nat?"

Ryan's brow raised this time. He chuckled, shaking his head no. "I haven't flirted with Natalia in weeks?"

You swallowed hard. Stretched again because you just didn't know what to do with your hands aside from what you wanted to do with them currently.

"Are you gonna stay out here all afternoon?" Ryan asked quietly, hazel eyes darting around the area as he did so. Your eyes darted around also and you yawned, answering softly, "I thought about it, yeah. It's peaceful out here."

"That's because the cabanas are empty. Will you at least get out of the sun?"

"I'd love to but... Kind of wanna show off my new swimsuit." you leaned back, stretching out. Ryan's eyes roamed over you again. Slower this time. Much slower.

Ryan coughed abruptly and then he grumbled. Something to the effect about you, being stubborn. "To who, exactly?" Ryan teased, pointing out yet again that the cabanas were empty at the moment.

This time, he leaned in towards you just slightly. Raising a hand. Tenderly brushing sweaty and damp strands of hair back out of your eyes as the light breeze blew and blew them right into your eyes. His eyes locked on yours for a few long and silent seconds during which your heart was beating like a runaway train, so loudly that you swore he had to have heard it. He leaned in even more. Licking his lips as his eyes settled on your mouth and lingered.

"You." it slipped out in a breathy whisper as you mirrored the way he'd leaned in towards you, leaning in towards him. Close enough that when you said it, your mouth brushed boldly up against his. When he swore quietly, your breath caught in your throat and you had about a split second to ask yourself what exactly you were hoping to accomplish, because he was reaching out. Pulling you into his lap. And then he was standing. Walking straight towards one of the bigger and more private cabanas near the side of the pool further away from any potential prying eyes.

"Ryan?" you questioned, the word stammering as it left your mouth. He stepped into the cabana and sank down to sit on the cozy circular daybed and you wrapped your legs around his waist. Your mouth opened, you were about to ask what was going on, but instead, your words were silenced as he pressed a finger against your lips. The way you were positioned in his lap allowed you to feel the way he strained hard against red and black board shorts. And just when you thought you'd be able to ask him what the hell was going on, you found yourself silenced again, only this time, it was by his mouth. Crashing against yours hungrily as his hands skimmed and ghosted all over your body, finally settling on your ass and squeezing. Hard. Hard enough that you rocked in his lap a little and a quiet growl slipped out of his mouth, swallowed by yours as the kiss deepened. The way he was kissing you, you could feel your lips beginning to bruise and ache. "Ryan?" you finally managed to gasp out his name just as you two pulled away to breathe. His hands roamed upward, settling on your hips. Rocking you back and forth over his bulge and drawing a whimper out of you as a shiver passed through your body.

"You wore that... For me." he muttered, his tone husky as he locked eyes with you and you saw the way lust blacked his eyes out. "Fuck." he practically groaned the word as he bit his lip and let his eyes roam much more boldly now. There was absolutely no doubt that you were being fucked by his gaze.

And just the realization had you dripping. The wetness flooding your thin swimsuit bottoms and making you squirm around in his lap a little. You raised your hands, resting one at either side of his neck as you pulled him in for another kiss greedily. His hands stayed on your hips. Rocking you back and forth in his lap as he bucked himself up and into you.

You wound up on your back, one of his hands pinning both of yours flat against an overstuffed turquoise and white striped pillow that was behind your head. His body settled between your legs, spreading them, and his mouth dove against yours all over again, cutting you off mid moan when you felt his thick bulge brush right against your dripping and aching center, teasing you. He locked eyes with you as the kiss broke. Chuckling quietly as he asked the question, "Were you trying to tease me, princess? Because if you were, it worked. I've been so fucking hard all day..." his mouth burying against your neck as his lips latched onto your skin, leaving a mark behind. You rocked against him, desperate for friction, for anything to make the aching in your cunt stop, but even the little friction he allowed before lowering a hand, gripping your hip and putting your movements at a total standstill... Even that didn't work.

If you thought you were wet before, you were soaked. There had to have been a wet spot on his lap. He had to have felt the way you soaked through your swimsuit.

Almost as if he read your mind, he chuckled, bucked himself into you more urgently, his hands all over you in a frenzied rush, groping any part of your body they settled on. You bit back a loud moan when his hands squeezed your ass, rubbing you against him harder, I mean really baring down.. He muttered calmly against your throat as his mouth ghosted down the front of it, "How are you so wet already, huh? I've barely done anything." while bucking himself against you just enough to make you beg for more breathlessly, pouting as soon as you realized he wasn't letting go of his grip on your hip.

His head dipped down and as his tongue dragged around the shell of your ear, he muttered quietly against it, "Want you so fucking bad. Right here, right now."

"Right here?"

"All I have to do is pull your bottoms to the side. Nobody's gonna know, princess." Ryan informed, gazing down at me with a lust filled look in his eyes. You whimpered, coming alive beneath him as he rose slightly, untying the ties at the waistband of his boardshorts. Licking his lips as his eyes met yours again a few seconds later. One of you needed to have common sense, because normally, that'd be his job, but all of his common sense had pretty much flown out the window by this point. And you've always been ruled by impulse alone, so you weren't about to stop this, either. You whined out urgently and he was pressing into you again, a finger grazing along the skin just below the tie at the side of your bikini. Tracing along where the tie would sit if his finger weren't separating fabric from skin. With one small tug, the tie was loose. His eyes met yours. His tongue ghosted along the outline of his lips and he mumbled quietly, "I'm going to take my time with you later, princess. I promise." against your ear as he moved your bikini bottom out of the way and tugged at the velcro strip holding his board shorts closed, working his cock through the opening. Pressing himself into you, bodies molded together as he sank in slow and deep. Letting you feel every single inch and vein as he did so.

You barely stopped a loud moan. One of his hands rose, settling over your mouth as he leaned in real close and muttered against your ear, "We have to be quiet right now, princess. Later I'll make you scream, okay? I promise."

As you writhed beneath him and met each snap of his hips with your own, you could feel your orgasm really building and you had no doubt in your mind that he meant every word of the promise he'd made about later.

It was all you could do to keep from screaming his name now.

[unicyclehippo]

Kairos - a propitious moment for decision or action. For beaujester?

There are rules for this world. There are rules and ways of doing things correctly, which means, conversely, that there are ways of doing things incorrectly. For some, this means that they are liable to be caught in the harsh, designated lines of decreed law: things simply are as they are, as they have always been, and to fight against this is... arrogance, some might say and be correct in that. Arrogance and folly, and deeply sad. To struggle, forever, against something that is permanent. Immutable. 

There are very few things in this world that are permanent and immutable. There are many things in the world that, upon one’s first, and third, and nine-hundredth examination seem permanent and immutable. For example, on Tarth Wavesinger’s first, third, and nine-hundredth attempt to sing the wind into their sails - and on every attempt between - they failed. On Tarth Wavesinger’s nine-hundredth and first attempt, however, they discovered a shred of a song that, in storybooks and tales is said to have delighted the winds so much that it was eager to help, just to hear what the next note might be. And now, if one is patient, if one has the time and energy and knack for it, if the sky is clear and the wind is not engaged elsewhere, it is possible to call on the eastern wind. 

Beau taps the dull end of her pencil to the page, reads over the words again. 

‘D’you think this is real? Caleb?’

‘Hm?’

‘This book says that it’s possible to sing a song and the winds will listen to the call of ancient humans, who once sailed the seas alongside their elemental ancestors. Does that - sound like something that’s real, or does it sound like a story? I guess it could be both.’

‘Ja.’

‘Are you listening to me?’

‘Ja.’

‘Do you smell like cat piss?’

‘Ja.’

Beau throws her eraser at him, smirks when it hits his temple, knocking him to the side. ‘Hey!’

‘You weren’t listening to me!’

‘I was, though! You asked about elementals and conjuring wind, and if I was listening, and if I smell like cat urine.’

‘Piss.’

‘it is the same thing, Beauregard. I heard you.’

‘Why do you smell like that?’

‘I don’t know how many times I have to tell you and Fjord this,’ Caleb says with a heated note banked like an ember in his reasonable tone, ‘but Frumpkin is a real cat. Sometimes, he takes a piss. Sometimes, he does it on my coat. If it bothers you so much, you do not have to sit and read with me.’

‘Is that you being polite and you want me to leave, or...’ Caleb fixes her with ice-blue eyes for a second before returning to his books. Beau begins to make all of the most annoying sounds that she can imagine, lounging as she is on Veth’s bunk in their shared cabin. Eventually, she starts to entertain herself by trying to hoot like a monkey, not the same as what Frumpkin had been but more like the raucous creatures that had swung through the canopy of the creepy snake island they’d gone to with Fjord, before Caleb finally caves and lifts his eyes once more. He’d stopped reading a full three minutes earlier but she can admire his determination to ignore her.

‘Beauregard.’

‘Yeah, man.’

‘Please get out.’

‘Aye, aye. Don’t forget to eat something or you’ll get scurvy.’

‘I will eat something.’

Beau rolls off the bunk and, largely unread book on the fucking secrets of the universe or whatever she’d brazenly lifted from the stacks of the Cobalt Reserve tucked under her arm, she saunters from the cabin and up onto the deck. Everything smells heavily of salt and a little bit like smoke and some acrid, chemical scent Beau can’t place until she looks to the stern of the ship where one of their new friends is showing Veth a strange, tube-like device she calls a rifle. The gunpowder used for the cannons smells similar, though not entirely so, and within a few minutes of watching them Beau can ascertain that the contained explosion with the use of the powder packed into it and the small ball-bearing type ammunition would create a propulsive mechanism with the use of - what? flint maybe? - to send a metal ball flying at considerably high-speed and impact with considerable damage. 

‘Do you think it’s safe for them to be doing that on the ship?’ Fjord asks as Beau climbs to the wheel where he has taken his place.

‘No, absolutely not. I don’t think you should ever have given Nott - Veth - access to the cannons, I super don’t think she should have been your cannon person, gun monkey, whatever they’re called - ‘

‘Too late to take that offer back.’

‘ - and I think that Luc is gonna get a gun for Summer’s Eve and I can’t - I don’t think I can catch those.’

‘You can try.’

‘I got shot by Veth already once and that bullet is still in my ass,’ she tells Fjord, whose face creases into a strange expression, half laugh, half grimace. ‘I’m not going anywhere near them.’

‘Well, there’s closer to Veth and the weird weapon she’s pointing right at us,’ Fjord says with a true note of fear to his voice, ‘or there is Jester at the front of the ship,’

Back of the ship, then, Beau’s brain immediately supplies. 

‘There’s a guilty face.’

‘Huh? What? Who?’

‘You.’ Beau scoffs, loudly, insincerely, and unconvincingly. Fjord looks pained for her. ‘I don’t know what is going on between the two of you,’

‘Nothing.’

‘- but whatever it is, sort it out.’ He gives her a little nudge with his elbow, nods toward Jester. It’s fate conspiring against her that Jester turns in that moment and catches them watching, catches Fjord pointing Beau toward her, because even at a distance Beau can see the way she turns hopefully toward her. And how she draws back, draws closer to herself, arms wrapping around her waist.

‘She looks like I’m gonna hit her or something,’ Beau mutters.

‘You should probably fix that.’

‘I don’t know how, dude.’

‘Maybe, and I don’t know how good of advice this is, but maybe - just putting it out there - you could try, oh I don’t know, talking to her?’ He laughs when Beau shoves at him, pretends that he didn’t actually get shoved several feet off-balance. ‘Go on. It’s not like we have anything else vital to do before we meet up with the other armada.’

She still has the book with her, Beau realises as she makes her way down the steps toward Jester. She still has the book and ink stains over her fingers and she knows she hasn’t washed her hair in days because they don’t have bathtubs on a boat, and she had picked up this book totally at random from the shelves of the Reserve but maybe, maybe, it has some kind of secret meaning in it and she can find whatever that meaning is in the two seconds before she makes it to Jester’s side. Beau has enough time to read the title once - The Accounts of Immutability and Invention - before she is standing beside Jester.

‘Hey.’

‘Hey,’ Jester says back, musters up a smile for her. 

The sea is flat and still, as flat and still as the sea gets, which is not so much like the mirror-glass stillness of a lake or pond but more like the slow and lazy breathing of a creature at rest, the water rising and falling and the boards of the ship still sometimes falling away from under her feet. Beau’s stomach lurches as the deck tilts again, and she rights herself with a shift of her feet, rolling with it. The air is still as well, the sails fallen slack. 

‘Did you know there’s a song to conjure wind?’ Beau blurts out. ‘It was discovered early in the Age of Arcanum by a human called Tarth Wavesinger and it’s thought to be one of the earliest recorded instances of music being used as a focus for magic.’

Jester frowns. Brushes her hair off from her face. ‘Like, a gust cantrip?’

‘Uh - yeah. Probably.’

‘That’s cool.’

‘Yeah.’ Beau swallows. Flicks her eyes to the ship most closely sailing by The Balleater, a small Dwendalian vessel. She can’t make out the name at this distance but pretends to be trying. 

‘Is that it?’

‘Huh?’

‘Is that all you wanted to say?’ Jester asks, and when Beau dares to sneak a look sideways at her, she sees that Jester is holding herself very still and her face is a performance in nonchalance.

‘Uh. Yeah. Yeah, I guess.’

Jester purses her lips. ‘Okay.’

For however displeased Jester is with her - Beau suspects mightily displeased - she doesn’t move away. And as the boat rocks underfoot and as the wind picks up, and falls, and the booms shift overhead as they tack into the fleeting wind, Beau thinks about Tarth Wavesinger singing their song and adjusting it minutely note by note until finally something answered. She wonders how many times she’s spoken to Jester; there have been hundreds of conversations between them now, easily, she knows. Nine hundred? Maybe. Not that it is a magic number or anything, or that she knows what she wants to conjure, or change, if indeed she did want anything to change. 

Well. 

That isn’t entirely true.

‘Are we okay?’

‘Are we?’ Jester shoots back with barely a breath between Beau finishing her question and her response. ‘You tell me.’

‘I’m gonna go with a no? Just...picking up on that...feeling.’

Jester whirls from the railing to stand face-on with Beau, staring at the side of her head until Beau also turns to face her. ‘Do you really think he’s predatory?’ Jester demands.

‘Oh. Shit.’

‘Well? He’s a god, Beau,’

‘I mean, he isn’t though.’

That was the wrong thing to say. That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Jester’s expression makes that abundantly clear. If there was anything between them that might have happened with this conversation, any fractured paths laid out as possibilities like a great wheel of a ship waiting to be directed, they are all pointing unerringly toward the singular option of Beauregard fucks up. 

‘Wow.’

‘That’s - it’s turning out, like, if there were degrees in which the whole situation could be so super shitty,’ Beau holds one hand out far to the left, ‘and like, the best possible options,’ she holds her other far out to the right, as far as her arm will extend with the book tucked between elbow and chest, ‘then, y’know,’ she tries to sound encouraging, tilting her head from one side to the other non-committedly, ‘it’s going not terribly.’

‘So you were basically lying when you said all you said about having chaos in your heart and following him wherever and liking the Traveller and him doing cool stuff and,’

‘I said I’d follow you. I don’t know the Traveller - Artagan,’

‘Traveller.’

‘Artagan,’ Beau says again, more firmly, and when she meets Jester’s eyes it is to see a gleam of hurt too profound for Beau to have been the entire cause of it. She lowers her hands to her sides, steps forward. ‘Jes,’

‘Don’t.’

Beau stops, hand frozen where she had gone to touch her friend gently on the elbow. Guilt claws in her chest. She looks back over her shoulder to Fjord, much too far away to hear anything and yet shaking his head, obviously able to pick up on the fact that she’s fucked it up again. 

‘Jester,’

She drops her head to her chest, hiding her face from Beau. 

‘Shit. Crap. Please don’t cry.’ Beau shuffles her things around, pulling the cloth belt from around her waist to offer to Jester. She tries not to regret it when Jester blows her nose forcefully into the cloth. ‘Okay. Uh - look - I’m an idiot and an asshole, we know that,’

‘Don’t make me disagree with you when I’m angry with you, Beau.’

‘Okay. Okay. You’re right. Okay. I - am not always...’ Beau pauses, considering her words carefully. ‘I have issues with authority, and dads, and sketchy corrupt figures who tell people to do things and who aren’t around to take responsibility for their actions. I think the people who take all the flak for that, the people who take the fall, the people who are fighting the wars on behalf of generals sitting behind their fucking desks and playing paper wars deserve better. And maybe I’m crossing ideas in my head that don’t need to be crossed and defending you when you don’t need to be defended, but I see this guy and I hear that he found you when you were a kid and I start thinking of all the shit that could have happened and about what he wants you to do for him now and - I think you deserve better,’ Beau tells Jester. ‘I think out of everyone in the world you deserve someone who deserves all of your trust and faith and,’

‘I love him, Beau.’ Jester shakes her head, sniffles. ‘He’s been my best friend forever and I know he’s not what I expected but...no one is. Right?’

Beau sighs. ‘I guess not.’

‘I think...the further away from mama and the Chateau I got, the more people I met, that’s what I keep finding out. That people lie all the time and they’re not who they say they are and they do good things and bad things. And the bad things they do...don’t erase the good things,’ Jester tells her. ‘The Traveller has been my friend for years and years and years and he’s saved my life and yours.’

‘Yeah.’

‘And so, okay, he’s not a god. He was a god to me, and he’s a god to a lot of people still, and maybe it isn’t great that he’s not actually a god and it’s kind of a lot and scary and maybe I’m hurt right now but...he is helping a lot of people with the lie. Lots of people made friends and had fun because of him. That’s not bad, is it?’

‘...No,’ Beau admits. ‘No, it’s not.’

‘So when you think about it that way, do you still think he’s a creep?’

Jester looks up at her with diamond across her skin and diamond motes of light in her eyes, and Beau knows this could be the moment - she could say no, say that she trusts the Traveller and Jester and that everything will be great, and Jester will forgive her and more importantly be happy again, and,

‘Yeah.’

Jester stares at her. ‘Oh.’

‘I don’t trust someone who doesn’t...’ Beau frowns heavily, trying to pick her words. It doesn’t fucking matter at this point, she’s lost Jester for good probably, but she still loathes the idea of hurting Jester worse than she already is, so she picks her words carefully. ‘I don’t trust someone who doesn’t at the core of themself...care. I know what that sounds like coming from me, I do, but Jes, so many things go wrong in this world because people don’t care about other people. And Arta- the Traveller said himself that the only thing that matters is what he wants, right in that moment.’

‘Right, but,’

‘What if,’ Beau suggests softly, ‘he decides one day that he wants to turn every one of his followers into a tree.’

‘That would be cool.’

‘I don’t think it would be. I’m a hundred per cent biased about it, but I don’t want you to be a tree, Jester.’

‘I’d make a pretty tree.’

‘You’d be lovely. But you wouldn’t be Jester. And I don’t know if he would find that fun, or if he could change you back, but if he wanted to do that to people - do you really, honestly think that he would ask first?’ Beau ducks her head, crouches a little, to try and catch Jester’s eyes with her own. ‘Do you think he would ask?’

‘I - yes. I’ve known him forever, Beau, you only just met him. He’s not bad,’

‘I don’t think he’s bad. But I also don’t think he’s good. And there’s a big grey area there that I’m not comfortable with. I’m sorry, Jes. I wish - I really wish I could tell you that I like him and that I’d follow him, I really, really do.’

‘But you won’t,’ Jester says, with a rueful twist of a smile. ‘Because it’s not true. And you never lie.’ There’s a bitter note to the words that stings like salt in a wound and Beau stares at Jester for a moment. She isn’t sure if she’s daring Jester to ask her something, or tell her something, or working up the courage to speak herself. She just keeps staring. ‘I think... I want to be alone for a bit,’ Jester says.

Beau swallows hard. Her mouth is dry, bone-dry and all she can taste is salt.

‘Okay.’

[fifielady]

Soulmates and Stairs? Disaster

Day 2 of @usukweek​ || Pining | Soulmate AU

Note/s: I always get lazy by the end of the story I’m writing  (シ_ _)シ

"Good job, arsehole."

"Arthur, I... I'm really sorry." Alfred kept his eyes on the bland gray-blue (he'd asked a nurse which colors were which while waiting for Arthur) tiled hospital floor, he couldn't seem to at least muster up the courage to look at the other person in the eye and apologize for what seemed like the eleventh time after he accompanied Arthur to the hospital. It was both embarrassing and disheartening that he left such a terrible impression on his soulmate. A terrible and utterly painful physical impression as well.

An hour and a half ago, before they could finally see the blindingly beautiful colors and were sitting in the hospital with Arthur Kirkland's left arm in a cast and Alfred F. Jones regretting and savoring the good and the bad of the consequences of his actions, they were both in the student park in front of the male dormitories spending time on their weekends. Separately, that is. Arthur was sitting on the narrow cobble stairs that lead to the old but sturdy dorms while Alfred was sitting under the canopy of a tree admiring the view.

Alfred was finishing up his essay outside his dorm room because he left his key on his desk when he rushed to his one and only 9 a.m. Saturday class. He was lucky his laptop was fully charged before he headed out, bringing his charger would've been useless since most of the outlets in the common room were always occupied. Besides, the weather was nice enough, for a cloudy day, to spend outside while he worked on his homework. But while he waited for his roommate to come back from buying comics and manga (or was Kiku visiting his Greek soulmate's apartment?), he glimpsed the one and only Arthur Kirkland sitting on the steps furiously working his pencil on a sketchbook.

He thought while unknowingly pressing on the letter 's' on the keyboard, Ah, wow, he looks lovely as always. Though Alfred could only see the light gray shade of Arthur's hair and the dark gray shine in his eyes and even an almost white complexion, there's no way colors would even matter to the sheer handsomeness of Arthur Kirkland. He was very much lucky he could see him almost every day.

Arthur's room was directly across his and Kiku's and though he'd never even talked to him before, except for that acknowledging nod he got when he picked up the guy's Calc textbook, Alfred had developed a crush on him that seemed to grow into something more whenever Alfred was able to catch sight of Arthur. He punched his pillow to exhaustion that night for missing the opportunity to at least brush the skin of their fingers together when Arthur took the book from him. Alfred was guilty, even right now actually, that he'd liked someone who might not turn out to be his intended. It was kinda silly that he'd felt he was cheating on his soulmate when he knew that Arthur probably didn't even know his name.

Alfred forced himself to stop staring because he'd look creepy like that one girl who was always stalking his Russian classmate and that he really should carry on with his essay and other homework, so he graced himself one last look of longing to Arthur for the day and face his open word document only to look down and see that there were two pages filled with "s"s. Nothing a ctrl+z can't handle. Bless technology and Arthur Kirkland's adorably grumpy face of concentration while drawing. Well, not just his looks, he'd seen the guy helping other people without them noticing and it was so 'noble' of him and it made Alfred want to hug him and happy-cry.

Hm. He really should start on finishing his work. But all his pining made him hungry. His stomach grumbled as if to agree. Alfred pursed his lips and thought for a moment. If he were to pass by his crush on the narrow staircase, maybe he could say hi and stuff and invite him out for a snack, and voila!, their first conversation and, maybe, a date. It's a good start, at least.

Like a man on the most super important mission of his life, he'd quickly gathered his things and was basically skipping over to Arthur who was ever so focused on his illustration. Alfred put on his Gonna-Get-Me-Some Smile™ and waved when he was a few feet near the base of the stairs where Arthur was, "Hey Art--WaaAH!"

Something caught his right foot and it was moments before his social death on the ground when he felt a warm body barreling against him and breaking his fall, two bodies tumbling down beside the foot of the stairs. Someone groaned, or maybe they both did, Alfred something felt warm and soft and a bit bony under him. Funny, when was the ground ever bony? Or soft? A whimper caught his attention, oh that definitely wasn't him. Alfred opened his eyes as he stood up to see Arthur on his back wincing.

"AAH- I'm so sorry, are you okay?!"

Arthur only whimpered in response, his eyes were closed tight and there were droplets on his lashes beginning to form. His left arm was positioned weirdly, too. Uh-oh. Arms weren't supposed to bend like that. "Arthur? Arthur, you gotta stay with me," Alfred frantically and lightly tapped on Arthur's cheek. The man's thick brows furrowed into a grimace so Alfred changed tactics. He carded his fingers to brush Arthur's bangs away to clear his face and continued the hair-stroking to soothe him a little bit.

"It-it hurtss... Aaarghh..."

Alfred felt his heart clench. "It's alright, buddy. I'm gonna shout for someone to call for a nurse and we'll go to the hospital, 'kay?"

Arthur only moaned back, tears slowly falling down his face. "Art, hey, can you open your eyes for me? You gotta stay awake. Please stay awake."

He was squinting, and blinking to adjust to the light behind Alfred. The other realized this and shifted slightly to shade Arthur's face. Slowly, and very slowly, just like the slow-motion in the movies, Arthur fluttered his eyelids and all Alfred could see was a color so deep he could in forever hidden behind the long, long the dark and bright lashes of his. And immeasurable pain! Right!

"I'm really sorry about this but you've gotta hold on, soulmate, I'm gonna take you to the hospital and get you patched up."

And that was how he'd given his soulmate a temporary painful physical impression. Talk about his strange luck. Alfred scratched the back of his neck, this was just so nerve-wracking! "Right, um, at least it wasn't your right hand...?"

Arthur also kept his eyes glued on his lap, refusing to even look at him. "I'm left-handed, you fool."

"But... you were drawing with your right hand earlier?" He asked albeit hesitantly and a lot quieter than he usually was.

"I was scribbling out my anger. I'm useless with my right hand. And thanks to you unexpectedly trampling down, I won't be able to use my dominant hand to do anything competently." Arthur shifted his head to the opposite of Alfred, his cheeks and the tips of his ears were tinting 'red'. Crap, Alfred really messed this up. Of course Arthur would be angry. "Even your maddeningly daunting presence makes it difficult to breathe."

That made Alfred wince but he took it. It hurt but Arthur's broken arm was a lot worse. He took a deep breath, "Look, man, if you really hate me being around you that much then I'll leave you alone, okay? You don't have to insult someone who's supposedly your soulmate."

Arthur snapped his head back to face his faster than a cheetah with his eyes comically wide, "Wha-- That's not what I-- "

"It's nice meeting ya, soulmate. I'll get out of your way now." Alfred rose up from his seat, eyes misting. He really messed it all up. Just when he finally attempted to start something, he'd trip and had his soulmate break his arm while breaking his fall. Alfred suck-- "Ack--! Are you trying to choke me?! Seriously, getting even by strangling me to death?"

His shirt collar loosened up a bit. Damn, Arthur was strong! Enough to asphyxiate someone like his only soulmate. Alfred pulled back on the front of his collar to even out Arthur's intense pulling on the back of his collar. 'Useless with his right hand', his ass! Arthur could still probably lift a coin jar with that hand. "Are you as thick as a jar of peanut butter?" Arthur's English accent got thicker and thicker as he slowly let go of his grip on Alfred's collar to just playing with the hem of Al's wrinkled shirt. "Just... just let me continue and actually listen to what I say."

Alfred immediately resisted from running away in tears and stood silent in the hall with Arthur behind him. He could feel the other pinching and rubbing the cloth of his shirt. Softly, as if fearing Alfred would take off if he made himself louder, Arthur muttered, "I'm left-handed and we are soulmates. I, erm, I need another hand to help me around."

"Eh?" Alfred turned around to face Arthur. The guy's eyes were still focused on the ground but the increasing 'red' tint of his cheeks was, in two words, adorably delectable.

"Just until the cast comes off! It's your duty you know..."

Eeehh? What the--? Really?! How was this guy so--!

"As my soulmate, that is."

Alfred couldn't help himself and put his arms around the smaller frame of his soulmate. "Oh my God!" Alfred exclaimed, glee and relief quickly taking over his mind and heart, "You're so freakin' adorable! I can't--!"

He swayed their bodies to and fro, never faltering the strength he'd put in their embrace. Yes! Yesyesyesyesyeees! Alfred was so lucky!

"This arrangement is only until the cast comes off! Oomph, mind my arm, my arm!"

Suffice to say, the arrangement lasted for the rest of their lives. With Arthur also reciprocating more than the help he needed, of course

[miss-tc-nova]

The First Move - Eraqus x Fem!Reader

It’s a little on the long side for my normal stuff, but meh. Eraqus brings out the lighter side of my writing at least. 

~~~~~

                Groaning, I kick at the alarm orb to shut it up. Dragging myself into the bathroom, I wash up and get ready for the day. I find Bragi and Hermod, both also groggy, in line for the bathroom when I step out.

                “Have you seen Eraqus?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

                Hermod shakes his head sleepily and Bragi replies with a tired smirk, “Nah. He’s probably waiting for his babysitter to wake him up.”

                Heaving a dramatic sigh, I prepare myself for the first challenge of the day. I approach the door next to my room and bang on the door. “Era. Eraqus, wake up!”

                “Just let him sleep in and deal with the consequences himself,” Urd yawns, coming upon us along with Vor and Xehanort.

                “I can’t,” I grumble. “Even if Eraqus gets punished, we’ll still get a lecture about looking after each other from the Master.”

                “So you’re a push over,” Xehanort yawns to which I scowl. “You wouldn’t have this problem if you stopped babying Eraqus.”

                “I don’t know if you can call it babying when she can literally throw him out of his room,” hums Urd. Vor giggles.

                Ignoring the rest of their jeers, I push my way into Eraqus’s room. The boy is sprawled across his bed, still fast asleep. Reaching down, I shake him. “Hey, it’s time to get up.” He’s resilient today. Huffing, I rip the pillow from beneath his head and beat him with it. “Wake up, you lazy bum!”

                He snaps awake, trying to cover his head. “I’m up! I’m up!”

                I throw the pillow on top of him. “You better be. Now go get ready.”

                Pushing himself off the bed, he stretches. “Alright, I’m going.”

                Eraqus and I have been friends for a long time. I’ve known him since before our training days. So we’ve been stuck together for years. There’s not much that I don’t know about him, down to his ridiculous habit of chewing on the strings of his robe. And I’m sure he knows all my little quirks. We know each other so well, I could probably pick him out of a line up by his bare ass. He’s been there for me for so long; I’ve probably grown mildly dependant on him, even if it looks the other way around.

                With other students and staff, I collect my breakfast in the cafeteria. I do my usual and gather breakfast for him as well, knowing that the slacker will get here when the food’s all gone. Before long, the others begin to gather at our usual table.  

                An arm reaches over my shoulder for the spare plate. Out of reaction, I move the plate further away and look back, but I didn’t expect him to be so close. My eyes catch on his, mesmerized by the flecks of silver scattered throughout his magical gray irises. I feel the warmth climbing up my spine. I’ve considered having feelings for him before, only to push them aside in favor of not ruining a friendship or distracting ourselves. So I’ve tried to ignore the fluttering in my chest and push aside the fantasies that intrude on my mind, but he makes it so difficult when he’s stupidly adorable and charming and I’m digging a hole.

                “Excuse you,” I grumble and turn away; hoping that he didn’t see the working blush across my face.

                He sits beside me and the sad puppy look comes up. “B-But!”

                “Nu-uh. I got this,” I tell him, trying to maintain my cool, especially in front of the others. “I got up, got ready, came down, and picked this out myself. This is mine.”

                “But!”

                I push my now empty bowl towards him. Eraqus gets the hint and scurries away with the bowl to dump it in the dirty dish bin. Returning, he sits attentively, hoping I’ve been appeased. I let my eyes roll, but relinquish the plate to which he happily digs in. I notice the snickers and glances from the others but elect to ignore them. Only a few short moments later, I drag Eraqus and his half-eaten bagel to class.

~~~~~ 

                My knees give and I end up on my ass, sighing in relief. Master Odin chuckles and tells us that training is done for the day. My partner in training flops down beside me, leaning against my back.

                “You were great today,” he huffs. “That blizzard spell was strong.”

                I huff between gasps, “Didn’t stop you from breaking out of it.”

                His head tilts back to rest on my shoulder, his wavy hair brushing my cheek. “Thank goodness. The last thing I want to be is a popsicle.”

                “Might make studying in peace a bit easier,” I say, poking at his face.

                “Oh come on. You’d get bored if I weren’t here.”

                “I do have hobbies outside of being bothered by you.”

                “You enjoy it.”

                I glance away in an attempt to hide my grin. “Whatever. Now get off me. You’re all sweaty.” Standing up, I leave him to flop onto his back from where he gives me a goofy grin. I raise a brow at him, hands on my hips. “I’m gonna go shower.”

                Throwing his feet over his head, Eraqus is back on his feet. “’Kay. Then you’ll do my homework after right?” I throw a glare at him and he puts his hands up with that cheeky grin. “Sorry! I mean help; you’ll help me with my homework, yeah?”

                Ignoring the lazy boy’s mischief, I amble off with Urd and Vor to clean up.

                “You know he’s using you, right?” Urd comments on our walk. I glance at her. “Everyone, including Eraqus, knows you won’t let him fall behind.”

                I sigh, “Considering I seem to be the class leader, I don’t know what else you expect me to do.”

                “Part of being a leader is encouraging people to stand on their own,” Vor sings, dancing a few steps ahead. But she suddenly turns back with a Cheshire grin. “But there are other reasons you dote over him, aren’t there.”

                “What’s that supposed to mean?” I snap.

                “Oh nothing.” She continues skipping down the hall and even Urd won’t stop smiling. They quickly change the subject despite my insistence.

~~~~~ 

                “For the love of-Eraqus!” I tear the book from beneath his face, which subsequently collides with the table.

                “Ow!” He sits up, frantically turning in his seat. “Fire! Daybreak Town! C! What subject is this?!” Regaining his senses, his silver eyes turn on me. Even though I’m standing over him with my arms folded, he sighs in relief and lets out a chuckle.

                “For someone who sleeps in on a regular basis, you sure take a lot of naps,” I growl. “Honestly, if we hadn’t been friends since we started walking, I would’ve left you two grades behind.”

                Propping an elbow on the table and resting a cheek against his palm, he answers, “I dunno. Just because you have ambition doesn’t make you mean. You’d probably drag me along by my feet even if we’d never met before.”

                I shake my head. “Gods, they were right.” He raises a brow. “You’re just using me because you’re lazy.”

                “Oh I dunno about thaaat,” he replies nonchalantly.

                I close my book and reach for another. “I really should just let you fall behind. Even if the Master lectures the rest of us, you might actually-”

                The second book slides away from me. “Woah woah. Okay, hold on. I’ll take it seriously.”

                “Oh really?” I scoff.

                “Yes. I swear.”

                I glance over him briefly. He genuinely seems to mean it, but I can’t be sure it’s not just my soft spot for him. “Prove it.”

                The boy glances around in search of a way to prove he’s serious. When it appears he’s got nothing, Eraqus looks to me, a look of uncertainty on his face. Before I can brush off his failed attempt to convince me to stay, surprise jolts through me like a thunder spell when he takes my wrist and pulls me into his lap.

                “E-Eraqus!” My skin is on fire and the rate of my heart is climbing.

                “Wait! Just-!” He taps at the book in my hands. “Explain the whole worlds-separating thing to me again!” Strong arms around my waist, he hugs me to him. “Please! I’ll pay attention this time!”

��               Seeing as I’m not going to get free of Eraqus’s stronger grasp without some force and he’s practically begging me, I relent. This is so incredibly awkward, yet I find it notably comfortable. Even as I read aloud and explain the text to him, my thoughts keep trying to draw me to the closeness of the situation: his body against my side, the arms that never release me, his chin against my shoulder—my insides are a complete wreck. However, Eraqus is true to his words, focusing on our studying and participating in the conversation. It’s only after maybe an hour that his attention lulls.

                “And that’s how your ancestors settled Scala Ad Caelum,” I say, closing the book. “And that should be everything on our history homework.” His eyes blankly continue to stare at the book. “Eraqus?” Reaching up, I tap a finger against his nose. The boy flinches, his grip tightening on me. “You promised to pay attention.”

                “I am,” he grumbles, rubbing his face against my arm. “Uh, you said my ancestors settled Scala Ad Caelum.”

                “How?”

                “Uh…” He’s got no answer. “Okay, I started zoning out a bit near the end. I’m sorry.”

                It’s impossible for me to stay angry at that sheepish smile and I return it. “At least you made some progress.” I don’t know what possesses me to do so, but I let my fingers slide into his hair, pushing his bangs from his face. He emits an expression of serenity and I feel my temperature leap. My hand recoils and I pray that flush I feel isn’t visible on my face. “We should start our magic homework.”

                He peers up at me and my brain goes on high alert. His eyes are burning; the steel color almost molten. “I think we should take a break.”

                His voice is far more serious than usual and I’m sure he can see my fluster now. Still, I let my instincts react to his words rather than his tone. “Eraqus, we can’t keep-”

                “Just ten minutes.” I’m not going to be able to resist if he keeps talking like that. “There’s something else I want to focus on for a bit.” Before I can object, a hand behind my head pulls me closer. My heart might just explode and I’m terrified he can hear it as clearly as I can. “You know, I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting, for you to break. But you’re far more persistent than I thought.” My words catch in my throat, making me unable to respond. “And I just can’t take it anymore.”

                I can barely get his name out. “Eraqus?”

                I never would’ve come close to imagining just how soft and warm his lips are. Even if they are soft, there’s still form behind them which he uses to lead the kiss. My insides are turned to absolute mush and, had my mouth not been occupied, I’d be begging him for more.

                The kiss breaks with a soft click but no one backs away.

                “I really like you,” he whispers as if speaking any louder will ruin everything. “And I really, really want to be more than friends. And I know you do too. So please just admit it already.”

                I take a deep breath. For so long, I doused all budding emotions for this boy the moment they came up. I went about life as normal while convincing myself that he was just a close friend. But I guess there was a seedling that I’d missed, one that’s been growing in the background and hiding in plain sight, because I can’t find a reason to say no.

                “I don’t want to be just friends,” I admit.

                In the privacy of this moment, in the intimacy between us, that’s the brightest smile I’ve ever seen Eraqus wear. “Good.”

                He pulls me in again and I let myself indulge in the weightless feeling of bliss. And Eraqus is happy to let me lead, to let me satiate the hunger that’s bloomed within me. I never knew just how much I wanted this until he handed it to me and now I may never let him go.

                “I told you he was gonna make a move today.”

                With my entire body on fire, I tear away from Eraqus to see our classmates entering the study room. There’s the utmost look of smug victory on Xehanort’s face.

                “Hey guys,” Eraqus greets as if we weren’t just caught making out and I’m not still on his lap.

                Bragi walks past Xehanort. “Please. It was obvious she was in control.”

                “What are you guys…” I trail off because I’m not sure I want to know.

                Hermod leans against the wall, smiling. “They had a bet on who was going to confess first.”

                Vor pipes up, “Bragi was betting you’d make the first move.”

                Eraqus’s chuckle resets the fire crawling across my skin and he nuzzles up against my shoulder. “Then I guess Xehanort wins,” he hums.

                Xehanort looks all the more smug and Bragi’s jaw drops. “No way!”

                My face burns even more and I try to hide some of it behind a hand while the victor replies, “Boom. I win. There was no way she was gonna cave before Eraqus. Now pay up.”

                Bragi glowers as he digs through his pockets. “For years, you’ve taken the lead on almost everything but the one time I need you to be assertive, you let the class clown beat you to the punch.”

                I open my mouth to retort, but Eraqus just laughs. “He’s right, you know.”

                In retaliation, I pinch at his cheeks. “Oh yeah? How about I make you do the rest of your homework by yourself?”

                He turns it around on me with a sly smirk. “If I do, can I have another kiss?”

                “Looks like the class clown’s got our fearless leader on the ropes,” hums Urd, pointing out my returning blush.

                “I think it’s cute.” Vor earns a glare.

                Hermod finally kicks off the wall. “Okay guys, I think that’s enough. Let’s leave the love birds alone.” With that, he ushers the class out of the room, leaving me alone with Eraqus once again.

                “About that kiss…” Eraqus says suggestively.

                I turn on him, slowly drawing my tongue along his bottom lip. This time, it’s his turn to appear flustered. “Shut up.”

                “Yes ma’am.”

[drethanramslay]

Part 3: Vulnerability

Pairing: Aurora x MC (Iris Everette)

Word count: 3.2 K

Part 1 Part 2

Warning: It's smut in the first half and if you aren't comfortable reading it, I have distinguished it with an asterisk (*) sign. There is angst, description of panic attack, and death threats.

Tagging: @miyakokurono @agent-breakdance @trappedinfandoms @vampiregirlsblog @lilyofchoices (let me know if you want to tagged)

Songs: Birthday by All Time Low and Bad Luck

Sunlight was streaming through the blue curtains of Aurora's room. Iris was awake, tracing lazy patterns on her girlfriend's back. Aurora was in her naked glory, her head resting on Iris's chest, while their legs were tangled up. Iris was in her boy shorts and a crop top. She still wasn't comfortable to show the scars on her back and legs. Yes they had sex and all but it was either in the cover of the night or her just pleasuring Rory.

She hated the scars. Those painful reminders of how fucked up her past was. A part of her was greatful, that they weren't in places, where she could see them. A small voice in her wanted to tell Aurora everything but the bigger part of her just wasn't ready to dwell in the pain of her past. To this day, her left wrist still hurts when she puts too much pressure on it.

It's already been seven months since the day in the on call room, and everything was perfect. Iris, had gone all out, decorating Aurora's locker with sunflowers, along with a Polaroid collage. She even went on to sing for her in the foyer of the hospital, on her guitar, in front of everyone. Aurora was as red as Iris's hair, but Iris didn't care. She could even go and scream into a loudspeaker about how much she lo- liked her and cherished her.

If everything is going perfect, and she hasn't asked any questions, why bother ruining it with your good for nothing father?

She turned to gaze at the beautiful woman in her arms. She could spend hours and hours with her like this, curled up against each other.

**********

But, Iris had other plans. She smiled wickedly and slowly untangled herself. Luckily, Rory was a heavy sleeper so shifting her to lie on her back was easy. She slowly kissed her collarbone, lapping and sucking on it. Her hands were tracing Aurora's curves, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"Just give it milk...." Aurora murmured.

Iris laughed internally, and continued her journey of rediscovery. She left fiery hot kisses across her jaw, stirring Aurora from her sleep. She gave out a breathless moan, when Iris continued to kiss that spot on her neck. Aurora could feel herself getting wet, her stomach igniting with need.

The need to touch, feel, release.

She tried to clench her thighs, to get some relief but Iris simply slapped her ass. Aurora yelped and obeyed. Iris then proceeded to masage the area she smacked, drawing a groan from her.

She was a total bottom for Iris. And she didn't even mind it.

Iris continued her journey south. She stopped when she reached the valley of her breasts. Aurora almost lost it when Iris took one in her mouth. The biting, the licking and the sucking, was slowly driving her crazy.

But Aurora wanted more. She grabbed Iris' hand and put it against her heat. "So eager..." Iris tsked. She then went down to settle between her legs, throwing Aurora's legs over her strong shoulders.

Iris kissed her hipbone, sucking so hard that it left a mark. Aurora groaned. "Stop fucking teasing me."

"Well, then tell me what do you want? My mouth? My fingers? Both?"

"Surprise me." Aurora panted out.

"Morning snack coming right up." She ran a finger up her slit, feeling the heat and her dripping pussy. "Damn Rory...you are so wet." She brought her mouth close, her lips just a hair's breath away from her. She kissed her inner thigh.

"Taste me you cowar- holllyyyy shit!"

She descended on her pussy, lapping up all the moisture which had accumulated. She was thorough in her job. She circled her tongue on the sensitive bud. Aurora moaned, a hair louder than before.

"Don't hold back Rory. There is a reason why this is the quietest room. Use it. Moan my name."

"Adara please, please, please more." Aurora chanted.

Iris moved her fingered and slowly circled her dripping cunt. She did it once, twice and Aurora's eyes shut with the excess pleasure.

"Open your eyes. I want you to look."

It was a struggle to open them because  the fog of lust just made everything bleary. Dark green eyes met her brown eyes. The intense gaze nearly took her breath. Iris pushed her finger in, and Aurora's back arched off the bed.

But it wasn't enough.

She wanted more. Sensing Aurora's need, Iris pushed a second finger in and started finger fucking her. She attached her mouth to her clit and sucked, hard.

With every stroke of her skillful fingers, Aurora soared higher and higher. Her stomach was tightening and the pleasure was so overwhelming, she could scream.

"You have been a good girl Rory. Why don't you come for me?"

And Aurora obeyed. Iris' name was on her lips as she fell apart. Like glass shattering, her entire body convulsed, with the intense orgasm. Her legs shook, and she almost choked Iris with her thighs. But Iris didn't mind. She continued to suck on her clit, like it was her favourite candy.

Too much, too much. Aurora thought as her body continued to shiver with after shocks.

*********

Iris climbed on top of her and kissed Aurora languidly, letting her taste herself.

"Mmmm... Good morning to you too." Aurora lazily said, her legs felt like jello, and she was on cloud nine.

"Hi baby." Iris said as she settled between her legs, with her chin in the valley of her breasts. They stayed like this, catching their breath, basking in the post coital bliss.

"I am going for a shower. As much as I wanna taste you and fuck you, we will get late." Iris said as she got out of bed. She stood, and stretched, her crop top riding up to show her perky breasts.

But Aurora's eyes were on something else. Near the junction of Iris's ass and her leg, she saw half inch long lines. She counted twenty five in total and it seemed like someone had carved them into her porcelain skin. She reached out and touched them.

"Adara-" she began. But Iris just caught her wrist. "Don't." She said so coldly, before she headed to her room, leaving Aurora dazed, confused and cold.

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It had been four days since Iris became so distant. Back to the way she used to be. Closed up and re-enforcing the walls she had built.

Aurora couldn't understand why she became so distant suddenly. She had see the deep scars on her back but she had never questioned her. She knew that Adara would eventually come around and speak her heart out. But, she never did.

Aurora couldn't help but feel hurt. It wasn't fair to her that Iris had to hide herself in front of her. Aurora lo- liked her so much and she wanted to share her burden. To be there for her. To be her anchor when she was falling apart. The arms she comes back home too.

Aurora also noticed Iris checking her phone excessively. Everytime her phone pinged, her face would become so pale, that you would think she is anemic. She was great at hiding how she felt, but Rory noticed everything.

She has been trying to catch her attention so many times, but Iris would just look the other way. She could see the torment in her eyes. She wanted to heal her, and make her feel treasured only if she would let her in.

Deciding that enough was enough, she decided to corner her in the supply closet, where she was spending unproportinate amount of time in. So when she saw Iris go into the supply closet for the third time, she entered and locked the door behind her.

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE DAMMIT." Aurora stilled, feeling that the words were directed towards her but when she turned the corner she saw Iris hanging up her phone.

"Adara?"

"Rory? What are you doing here??" Iris asked, schooling her expression into a perfect mask, so that it didn't look her world was falling apart.

"We need to talk about us."

"Talk about what? I am golden and everything is totally normal!! What's wrong with you?" Iris rushed, her eyes searching for a way out, but there weren't any escaping for her while Rory grilled her.

"Me?? What's the matter with you?? I am not the one avoiding my girlfriend."

"I have been busy with the workload." Iris said as she looked away.

"Do you think I am that oblivious? Do you think I can't see though you? See the pain, the sadness and the guilt? The fears and demons that haunt you? Do you thing that I am that blind?" Aurora implored.

Iris just looked the other way, feeling way too exposed. She didn't like to be scrutinized and psycho-analysed all the time.

"Adara, I care for you. I want to help you. Please. Just please open up." Aurora pleaded.

"Maybe I don't want your help."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Maybe I don't want to be fixed. I am not a project Aurora that needs fixing!!" Iris said in a cold voice. Iris was getting really angry. Why does everyone she meet think that she needs fixing? Wasn't she enough? Wasn't being herself enough?

"Why do you feel the incessant need to try and mend the broken ends? I am not perfect and I know but am I not enough? Isn't me being myself not enough??"

"Yes you are enough and more-" Aurora tried to reason but she was interrupted.

"Why did you start dating me?"

"Because I like the way you are funny, smart, empathetic and kind." She said without hesitation.

"Then just accept me for those reasons, no?! I have my baggage and we all do. Just because you resolved yours doesn't mean that I am ready to let it go. NEWS FLASH! I am damaged goods, Aurora. And there is nothing that can change that. I have learnt to coexist with it and I am doing just fine."

"But I don't want you to bear that burden-"

"Alone?? C'mon Rory, quit being so naive. I have been doing that since the last 15 years, and I am here, aren't I? Not every infection is meant to be poked and prodded. Some heal slowly and gradually. Somethings are just meant to be left how they are!!"

Aurora was also getting angry. She knew Iris was lashing out but that damn well didn't give her the license to spew shit and treat her in a crappy way. "Naive?? Me?? Bitch please. It's you who is the naive one who thinks that if you close your eyes and turn the other way, your problems will vanish magically."

"Stop with the 'holier than thou' attitude. You don't even know the hell I have gone through-"

"So TELL ME! ENLIGHTEN ME! Is it really that hard to open up to me? Have I not been anything but open to you? Adara tell me." Tears of frustration began to pool around Aurora's eyes.

"Yes...you have been." Iris sighed.

"Then why? Why with all the walls? Who has hurt you so bad that it changed you so much?" She reached for Iris, to hold her and keep her protected from all the evils of the world.

But Iris just stepped away from her. Aurora felt a pang in her chest, from the distance between them. "No Rory...you don't understand. The truth is like a can of worms. Sometimes it's better to not know the truth than know it and deal with the consequences." Iris spoke lowly.

Aurora felt another pang in her chest. She smoothened her shirt and looked up with a cool gaze. "Very well. I am gonna go before we say anything we regret. You want space, and I will respect that. Good day." She turned around and walked out.

Iris just stood there stunned. She had done it again. Pushed the person who gave a damn about her.

What the fuck had she done?

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"Mr. Grayson Alejandro requested for parole and he has been granted that because of good behaviour. He will be a free man by tomorrow." Thomas Mendez, Iris' lawyer spoke on the phone.

Iris' blood ran cold and she couldn't breathe. She moved into the first empty room, which turned out be an examination room. "Can't we do anything else to keep him in there?" Iris pleaded.

"I am trying but it won't help. I am so sorry Iris. I suggest you get a restraining order against your father."

"He is NOT my father. He is a monster. And, I-I already have it. But I know him. He promised me that the moment he gets out he is going to come for me. What do I do Thomas?! I am terrified."

"Relax. I won't let him get to you. We can apply for Protection from abus-"

"No. That's just a bullshit piece of paper. My mom had it and I had it but still did it stop him?? NO. Just, Thomas please, try and do something about this. He already messaged me thrice last week, and called me up once. I am half in mind to skip country and change my name to Sandy."

"Now that would be interesting..."

"THOMAS!! Focus."

Thomas chuckled. "Yeah, yeah I am kidding. But, not a serious note, I am not gonna disappoint you. If he even takes a shit in the wrong way, I will throw his ass in jail. Gotta go now, Luz is picking up a brick again."

"Yeah, bye." Iris chuckled but as she hung up the phone, the anxiety started creeping in. She was just going to leave the room when her phone rang again. It was an unknown number.

"Yes, Dr. Everette speaking."

"Oh so formal, mija." Iris' blood chilled to the bone. She could not formulate a sentence. She thought she won't have to see or hear his voice for another two years.

No, no, no... This can't be happening.

Gathering all her strength she responded in a cool and curt voice. "Grayson."

"What, you won't call me papá or daddy? Tsk tsk, you have been naughty."

"Shut the fuck up asshole. By law, I could throw you into a holding cell for stalking."

"Someone needs to get punished." He sang.

"What. Do. You. Want?" She said with a restrained voice.

"Is 'loving father reconnecting with my daughter after ten years' a valid reason?"

She scoffed. "No. 'Cause if you really loved me or mom, you would use kind gestures, not fists on a fucking ten year old for SIX consecutive years!!" She shouted, spiralling out of control.

All the playfulness was gone from his voice. "Do you remember the oath that I swore before you ruined my life?"

Iris remembered it. Crystal clear. It would always haunt her irrespective of how much she had dwelled in this false sense of security. He was gonna come out one day, and the day he did he was going to come after her.

"Listen mija, and listen good. I am going to come for you, oh yes I will. I will take away all the good things in your life, all your friends, dreams, lovers and burn them right in front of your eyes. And then after that,

I. Will. KILL. YOU.

It's a promise. So, see you soon sweetheart.... Because daddy's home." And with that, he cut the phone.

Iris lowered the phone, tremors going up her hand. They were so violent, that the phone dropped out of her clutches. She could feel beads of perspiration accumulate on her forehead. Her palms were clammy and it felt as if something had lodged itself in her throat, making it difficult to breath. Her chest squeezed and she hunched over, wheezing. Eyes wide with shock, she realised that she was going into a panic attack.

She tried focusing on her breathing but the more she tried, the shorter her breath became. Clutching her chest, she staggered backwards hitting a surgical tray, scattering everything on the floor. The loud crash made her body go into a frenzy. She clutched the examination bed, but she slipped and came to rest on the floor.

Wheezing, she curled up on the cold floor. This is it. Adios world...

"Rookie. ROOKIE." Ethan ran up to the curled resident on the floor. He held her face in his hands. Iris thrashed. "No, no, NO... GO AWAY!!"

"Iris! IRIS!! DAMMIT LOOK AT ME. It's me, Ethan. Your friend. Your brother."

"Huh??" Iris continued to claw on the floor curling into a ball.

He held her hands and squeezed. "Iris you have battled worse things before and I know you can do it again. Take deep breaths." He took and placed her hands on his chest. "Follow my breathing pattern."

In. Out. In. Out.

Her breathing slowed down, but the attack was still going strong.

"Now repeat after me. Three things can't be hidden- the sun, the moon, the truth."

Taking a mouthful of air, she wheezed out after him. "Three things can't be hidden- the sun, the moon, the truth."

"Again." Ethan said as he wrapped his arms around her, tightly and started rocking her back and forth.

Listening to Ethan's velvety and baritone voice, feeling his heartbeat on her back Iris slowly receded from the edge. When she could finally make coherent words and it didn't feel like her lungs were getting crushed by the weight of her past, she turned towards Ethan with a amused smile. "Brother huh?"

"Shut up." Ethan grimaced.

"The big diagnostician thinks of me, a poor resident as his sister. Wow, who would have thought, huh?"

"Yeah after the day you bluntly rejected me, I see you as nothing more than family."

"Oh yaaa. You were making these wierd eyes and I was like- 'with all due respect, I am like wayyy to gay dude'." Iris giggled. Ethan grimaced, feeling embarassed. A moment of silence passed before Iris spoke up.

"Remember when I told you that I have a restraining order against someone?" Ethan nodded.

"Well, the time has come for it to be put into force." Iris breathed out. Ethan just gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Okay..I will inform security. Did you tell Aurora about it?"

Iris sighed. "No...we had a fight."

"See Everette. I am not good with all these feelings bs, but she is your girlfriend. And you should not feel the need to hide such thing. I can clearly see, she wants to help. Why not let her?"

"Because I am scared that if she sees the ugly parts, she might run away. She might not like what she sees. I don't want to loose her..."

"But, is hiding it helping either of you?"

Iris sighed. "No its not."

I have one gif to summarise what's coming up

Let me know what you think!! Also like and reblog :))

[talpup]

Lost Song:5

Summary: The war between the Dragons and Griffons ended 233 years ago, and both races right along with it.

Or so it was believed. There are three individuals that will soon change that.

Kai is the last of the Dragons and he seeks to take what he sees as his rightful place and rule over all of Oblvi. Meanwhile, Shouta, the last Sphinx, wants nothing more than to do his job; keep the peace and and teach the young Fourth’s to hopefully avoid the mistakes of their ancestors. And Teris, a Foundling who is just trying to understand and survive in this strange new world that is supposedly her own.

All three have their own wants and desires, but Kai’s plans, Teris’ existence, and Shouta's past mean that none of them may get what they want.

This fic is rated explicit and has warnings of sex, violence, and other possible triggers.  For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

***So this fic has turned out the have a lot more ABO dynamics than I had planned. So please note that that has been added to the tags.

5.1

Shouta exited his rooms.  The smell of something baking might not have woken him from a long overdue sleep in, but it had greeted him the instant his heated dream had vanished.  Teris.  He was dreaming about her more and more.  The images and wanting growing ever more vivid.  He could understand the sex dreams.  She was certainly desirable in form and face.  But the others…  There was nothing about her that made him want to spend a lazy day in, or take a stroll through the woods and get caught in the rain. And yet over the course of the two months since she had joined his Ilca, he had had both those dreams and more.

Frowning, Shouta made his way down, following the warm baked smell to the dorms kitchens.  The sight that greeted him was so domestic that it might as well have been pulled from one of his previous dreams.  Teris, with her back to him, working at the kitchen counter.  As if this were one of his dreams, Shouta moved quietly to her, arms twitching, eager to wrap around her.

There was an audible pop that made Shouta stop.

The newly appeared Twice waved the goods in his hand.  “Got it!  Told you I could get Terra strawberries and bananas.  This was a lot of work.  You better be grateful.”

“Thank you, Twice.  I’m sure Hizashi will appreciate it.”  Teris smirked, accustomed to the House Elf’s quirk some ways.

Shouta watched her.  The space between them might not have been more than five feet; but it felt insurmountable.

Twice turned bashful.  He waved her off.  “Anything for you— What are you doing here!  You’re not suppose to be in here!”

Teris turned thinking Hizashi had come to check on the dessert.  Her smile fell as soon as she saw it wasn’t her friend but Shouta.

Shouta's eyes darkened when she turned back around without a word.  Yep. He had absolutely no idea why he was having such dreams about her.  Irritating, too proud woman.  It wasn’t as if he actually wanted to do those kind of domestic with her.  He was forced to spend too much time with her as it was.  It had to have been the close quarters.  Living in the same dorm as female Griffon in her prime.  It was bound to tap into his primal instinct and mess with his head enough to effect his dreams.

His well rested and good mood ruined by Teris’ response to his presence, Shouta turned the hollering House Elf.  “Out.”

Ordered by the dorms Ilca Leader, Twice had no choice but to obey.

Teris spun around just in time to see the House Elf disappear with a pop. “He was helping me!”

“What are you doing?”

“What’s it matter to you?”  She demanded, anger rising at the Sphinx’s calm voice and non expression.

“I told you to rest.”

“I am!”

“You’re baking.”

“So you do know what I’m doing.”  Teris snarked, tone full of mock congratulation.

Shouta slid his hands into his pockets, refusing to take the bait.  Fun as it was to taunt her, he didn’t want to argue.  He wanted to see that she took it easy and was well rested for her and Hizashi's first patrol tomorrow. “Baking isn’t resting.”

“Some of us actually have a decent sleep schedule.  Sorry if I can’t lay in bed all day sleeping with you.  Like you!”  Teris quickly corrected, face heating at the slip. “Can’t sleep all day like you.”

Shouta recovered quickly from the shock of her words.  His wide eyes relaxed, shimmering with a hungry intensity. “You can sleep with me whenever you like.”

Teris shivered at the husky drop of his already deep voice. “N—no. You’re…”  Handsome. Desirable.  Smart. Strong. “I don’t want to be with you. I can barely tolerate you.”

Shouta smirked at the warble in her voice.  Hands pulling out of his pockets, he stalked a step closer. “Who said anything about being with?  Fourth's are freer than that.  We don’t need to be mated or companions to seek release.  Having sex need not change a thing between us. We could just fuck.”

The idea appealed to him.  Maybe getting a taste would help get her out of his head.  The saying you always want what you can’t have came to mind.  But if he had her…  Thought of having her made his chest and cock heat.

Teris’ eyes widened.  Was that a—a purr he just gave?  No. That couldn’t have been what that was. Thankfully the sound had been so soft and low that she was able to dismiss it.

She reached back, gripping the counter-top to help aid her suddenly wobbly legs in holding herself up. “Yeah... Well…  I’m not sure how I feel about hate sex and that’s what it would be so…”

Shouta’s lips pulled into a line at the way she looked everywhere but him.  While he thrilled at her obvious nervousness, he wanted her eyes on him. Another purring growl sounded from his chest. If he were in his true form his tail would've swished from side to side.

He denied the joy he felt at the clear struggle of her hidden wanting, telling himself that the delight he felt was in toying with her. In taunting her.  In seeing and making this woman who had been a thorn in his paw since day one a flustered mess. This is what she got for intruding upon his peace.  For following him into his dreams.  For making him continue lapse and think of her as his when he didn’t even want her.

He lifted an eyebrow, teeth showing in a crooked smile. “So that’s a maybe then.”

Mouth suddenly dry, Teris turned away from the teasing Sphinx.  And that’s what he was doing.  Teasing. Because he couldn’t be serious.  There was no way he wanted her.

Dark eyes raking over her back, Shouta stalked closer.

Teris’ breath quickened, at the feeling him drawing near.  How was it that she could hear her own heartbeat and his slow, quiet steps?

His chest pressed against her back.

Teris jumped.  The spoon she stirred with flinging melted chocolate at the feel of his strong, warm chest.

“If you ever want to test that maybe.  Discover if it’s a yes.  Let me know.  Whether it’s a rough hate fuck you’re after.  Or something else.  You’ll find I’m up for it all.  Just say the word and I’ll give you an experience you’ll never forget, Kitten.”

Teris’ head snapped back to face him.  Her breath caught, body heating at the predatory look in his dark eyes.  Though her mouth opened, she couldn’t respond.  Couldn’t even move.

Shouta’s gaze fixed on the small stripe of chocolate on her face that was temptingly close to her plump, parted lips.  Unable to help himself he pressed against her, sandwiching her body between him and the counter-top.  His hand came up, cupping her cheek, holding her gently in place.

Much like the chocolate she was tending, Teris melted at the touch of his calloused fingers.

Her soft sigh fanned across his nearing face.  Shouta hummed at the sweet scent of her.  It would be so easy to divert his course and taste her lips.  The want to do so was so overwhelming he trembled the last two inches as he drew near.

Teris’ eyes closed, her head tilting.  And then…

Shouta licked the chocolate off her face, his hot, wet tongue ghosting over the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes snapped open.  She pulled back.

Fuck! Shouta's eyes dilated.  He stood stock still a moment, body rigid, battling his self control.  It was a mistake.  Getting so close.  Licking her clean.  Having a hinting taste of her.  The urge to bend her over and made her scream his name was too great.

He stepped back.  Then stepped back again.  “You’re so messy you make a mess of even yourself.”

Teris touched were he had licked, her skin still tingling.

Shouta turned away.  The less senses he had focused on her the better. “Make sure you clean up after yourself.”

Confused, angry, and disappointed Teris watched Shouta leave without a backwards glance.

5.2

The next morning Hizashi sat at the table having a piece of the banana split cake Teris had made to celebrate their first patrol.  When she had asked him what his favorite dessert was he hadn’t hesitated in answering.  Thankfully he had seen his adoptive mothers make it often enough to tell her the basic recipe.  Having the cake had felt like a slice of home which had made him happy and wistful.  At least with both his mothers having died in a car accident a few years back, he wasn’t left worried and wondering about them now that he was here.

Swallowing a bite of the sweet poke cake, Hizashi looked up at Teris.  “You know how Oboro finally told me a while back that he thinks I might be half siren?”

“Yeah.” She bend down opening another cupboard looking for the perfect container.

“Well now he says he’s not so sure.”

Still bent over she turned.  “Why’s that?”

“Because Hizashi's clearly a hybrid of spirit and sprite, and Sirens are a sub-species of spirit, beast, and demon.”  Shouta told, entering the kitchen.  His eyes fell on Teris first taking in the enticing sight of her ass.  His lips quirk ever so slightly upward at the fine display, then suddenly fell when he took in the rest of her.

She was wearing Kai’s colors.  Well, the colors of his true form.  Even though she might not be aware she doing so, it was a clear sign of her returned favor for the arrogant Dragon.  An acceptance of Kai’s courting.  Shouta buried a low growl.  What did he care if she accepted Kai?  It wasn’t as if he were trying to court her.  He didn’t even want her.

But she was part of his Ilca.  Any pain and suffering the Dragon caused her when he found out Teris was a griffon would be his mess to deal with.  He would kill that Dragon if he ever hurt her.  Teris was his. Damn!  His Ilca.  She was part of his Ilca.

“What the hell are you doing?”  Shouta’s frown deepened, cursing the way his temper colored his tone.

Either unaware or uncaring how alluring the sight of her ass was, Teris turned back to shuffle through the low cabinet.  “Looking for a container.  Why?  What the hell are you doing?”

Trying not to go over and rub my hardening cock against your sweet ass, Shouta thought.  He managed to pull his eyes away from the sight only to have them return to the tempting mound.

Her hips swayed side to side.

Oh, for fuck sake!  If he didn’t know any better Shouta would've sworn she was doing it on purpose.  But he did know better.  He had made her that stupid offer yesterday afternoon.  And not only had she not accepted, but she had spent a good portion of the rest of the day avoiding him.  If she wasn’t even interested in sex without strings, there was no way she was trying to delight him with that dancing display.

Snuffing out a low growl, Shouta marched over.  He opened a top cabinet and pulled out a container.  “There.  How hard was that?”

Teris’ head peaked up from the bottom cupboard.  “No.”

“No?”

“Not that one.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s--” She turned and looked up at him.

They both stopped.

She wasn’t on her knees but her head was level with his crotch.  And with her looking up at him…

Her eyes lowered, needing to look away from his handsome face.  Big mistake.  She was met with the black fabric of his pants and…  Was there a slight tenting?

She jumped up, straightening. Both she and Shouta took a step back.

Hizashi watched the two, smiling widely.  Oboro had told him, Aizawa was a logical man.  That the reason Sphinx’s enjoyed troublesome, twisting puzzles was because they prized finding the logical in them. But there was nothing logical about Shouta's denial of his feelings for Teris. More then that, the Sphinx was in such denial that he couldn’t even see Teris’ clear wanting of him in return.

Shouta stuffed his hands in his pockets hoping to hide the growing bulge.

Teris turned away, cursing last nights dream about him.  This was all Aizawa’s fault. He was the one who had licked her face and talked about giving her an experience she would never forget.  It didn’t matter that she had had such dreams about him before.  It was still Shouta's fault.

“What’s wrong with the container You’ve never been picky about them before.” The Sphinx’s eyes narrowed.  “Don’t tell me you’re becoming more difficult.”

Teris spun back around.  “Me!  Difficult? Look in the mirror and then tell me about how I’m being difficult. And no,” she picked up the contained he had offered and slammed it back down on the counter, “that one won’t do.  It’s not--”  She stopped trying to find the right word.

Shouta watched her a moment, waiting.  Finally he prompted. “Not what?”

“It’s just not… right.”  She opened another cabinet, continuing her search.

“She’s taking a piece of cake for Kai.”  Hizashi told, hand on his own packed piece for Oboro.

Shouta looked from the Hybrid back to Teris.  “Why?”

“Found it!”  She declared pulling what she viewed as the perfect container for her offering.

Shouta saw the care she took in cutting and packing a piece of the overly sweet monstrosity.  Not a fan of sweets, he had forced himself to eat a piece of cake because Teris had made it.  The fact that she viewed going out on patrol and spending more time with him as something to celebrate left him with a warm, fuzzy feeling. But why was she taking a piece to Kai?

It was bad enough that Kai was courting her.  Bad enough that she had subconsciously worn colors that matched the Dragons true form.  Now she was taking Kai a piece of cake that she had made for him-- for them.  For his Ilca to celebrate her and Hizashi's first patrol.  He had no doubt that Kai would take her offer as a silent acceptance of his courtship.  Just the thought of the Dragons wrongful thinking made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“You said you made it to celebrate your and Yamada’s first patrol.”

Hearing the slightest hint of accusation in the Sphinx’s baritone, Hizashi straightened in his seat.

Missing the edge that Hizashi picked up on, Teris tilted her head at the packaged cake, wondering if it needed a bow. “I did.”

“Then why give Chisaki a piece?”

The dreamy glaze in her eyes evaporated at the Sphinx’s question.  “I don’t know Shouta.  Maybe because he’s taught me everything I know about this world.”

Hizashi flinched at her snapping tone.  Why did the two always have to fight?  Everyone said how much freer Fourth's were with sex.  Maybe if Shouta and Teris had sex they would realize just how much they liked each other.

Shouta scoffed.  “He’s hardly taught you everything you know.”

“Yes he has.”  Teris argued.

“Are you forgetting the lessons I’ve given you?”

She shivered at his pinning glare. “I--”

Shouta stepped to her.  “Maybe if I made those lessons a bit more personal.  Tested you a little longer and harder.” He looked her over, humming in satisfaction at her blush.  “I’ll give you any private lessons you want.  All you have to do is ask.”

When Teris didn’t respond, Shouta leaned over her.  “What’s the matter?  Don’t think you can take what I have to give?”

“I—I ca—can take whatever pathetic excuse you have. I just don’t want it.  Or you.  You’re the last person I’d want to have sex with.”

“Sex?” Shouta lifted his eyebrow. “Who said anything about sex?”

Teris blanched, blinking at his question.

Dark eyes glittering, Shouta’s voice dropped in octave and volume. “Such a naughty little thing.  Taking my offer of help and twisting it like that.”  He gave a toothy smile.  “Although, if you are interested in sex I suppose I could find the time to put you through your paces.”

Her body vibrated with heated wanting and boiling fury. “I hate you.”

Her hair whipped around hitting Shouta in the face.

Shouta's eyes closed, breathing in her scent.

Teris stormed off only to return.

Shouta’s eyes opened at the return of her stomping feet.  He frowned seeing her take up the packaged cake she had forgotten and followed her out into the great room.

“Wait.”

As much as Teris would've liked to ignore the Sphinx and keep on going, she forced her feet to stop.  Shouta might be a bothersome ass, but he was also her Ilca Leader.  She had no doubt that he would leave her behind today if she didn’t obey what he probably saw as a simple command.

Shouta felt a sharp sting at her irritation, his flirting having upset more than engaged.  That’s because you weren’t flirting, an inner voice said. True as he believed that to be, Shouta was annoyed with himself for provoking her yet again. Though it wasn’t entirely his fault.

Teasing was part of his nature.  And when it came her, it happened so easily. If anything, it was Teris’ fault.  She was the one entering his dreams.  Haunting his every waking moment.  Even when she wasn’t in the same room at their dorm, her smell was there, infecting his mind.  She just so desirable, beautiful, smart.  No!  Not desirable.  Not—okay, she was beautiful and smart.  But she certainly wasn’t desirable. Which is why he wasn’t teasing her to court.  He taunted because she tested him and purposefully pushed his buttons.  She had invaded his well structured life and made a mess of it. She deserved to be toyed with for the trouble she had caused. It had nothing to do with his enjoyment of making her flustered blushing mess.

Pushing down his disappointment when she didn’t turn around, Shouta stalked to her. “I want you back by noon.”

“I know.”  They had gone over this last night while Hizashi had scarfed down three pieces of the too sweet cake.

“No later.”

“I know!”  Teris exclaimed, put on edge by his nearness as much as his words.  What did he think? That she was an idiot?  Why did he always have to stand so close?  He never stood that close to Hizashi.  Fourth's had a greater sense of things.  Was Shouta able to pick up on her attraction to him?  No. No!  He couldn’t pick up something that wasn’t there.  She hated the bossy, arrogant Sphinx. She wasn’t attracted to him.

“And make sure Kai sticks with academic lessons this morning.  I don’t want you coming back tired from physical training, or worse injured.”

Her grip on the container tightened.  “Kai would never hurt me.”

Shouta opened his mouth to argue, but held his tongue.  Now wasn’t the time to tell her how wrong she was.

“Is that all?  It’s a short day of lessons and I’d like to spend as much time with him as possible.”

Shouta gritted his teeth.  She didn’t mean it.  Didn’t know.  No matter what Kai thought he felt for her in his attempts at courting, it would all end when he discovered the truth.  Kai was a dragon.  Teris a griffon.  For that reason alone, Kai would never accept her.

The knowledge was both a solace and a pain.  Kai would hurt her, even if it wasn’t physical.  The thought of Teris hurting grieved him. Made him want to hurt the one responsible.  His hands twitched, wanting to scent her, but he held himself back and nodded.  “That’s it for now.”

He watched her leave without a backward glance, telling himself the ache he felt was built out of concern for her as a member of his Ilca, nothing more.

5.3

“Good morning.”  Teris greeted, entering Kai’s office.

“Morn--” Kai’s voice caught at the sight of her.

“Kai?”

Kai cleared his throat.  “Good morning.  You look lovely today.”

Teris blushed.  “You say that every morning.”

“Because it’s true.  Though today,” His gold eyes roved over her, “you look especially beautiful.”

“It’s beautiful now is it?”  Teris laughed, shyly.  “It must be my excitement showing.”

Kai’s eyes lifted to hers.  “Excitement?”

“My first patrol.”

“Right. I’m to go easy on you today.  Let’s hope I can hold myself back.”

Her face felt so hot that she was surprised flames weren’t licking around her hair.  There was just something about Kai that got her blood pumping in all the right ways.  And unlike with Shouta, Kai was kind.  He put her at ease and didn’t aggravate.

“I—uh—brought you something.”

Kai watched her make her way to his desk, taking in the colors of his true form on her.  It was as if she were telling, begging him to claim, cover, and protect her.  Did she even realize what she was doing?  Of course not. He hadn’t told her about different courting rituals, and doubted Aizawa had.  Still, instinct was instinct.  Even if it was subconscious, Teris had picked the purple button up and yellow-gold tank top.

His eyes drifted down to the small knife strapped to her belt.  He hummed in pleasure at the sight of her wearing the first gift he had given her.

“Are you planning on taking that out on patrol today?”

Teris’ eyes followed his to the sheathed weapon at her hip.  “I was.  That is, unless you think it’s a bad idea.”

“I think it’s a splendid idea.  In fact, there’s something else I’d like you to have and wear.”

“Another gift!  Kai!  You’re too generous.”

“The best deserves the best, my dear.”

Teris shivered at the husky drop of his voice.  She had to look away from him, the hunger shining in his amber hues turning her knees to gelatin.

“Will you at least let me to give you this first.” She set the container of cake down before him, knowing that her small offering would never measure up to whatever he gave.

“What’s this?”

“I made Hizashi's favorite dessert to celebrate our first patrol. Seeing as I wouldn’t be going out today if it weren’t for your help and instruction, I wanted to bring you a piece.”  She grimaced slightly at the closed container.

She should have tied a ribbon around it.  Possibly even attached a small note.  But what would she have written that she couldn’t simply just tell him?  I like you?  There was that, but she doubted she would've had the nerve to even pen such a thing.

Kai stared at the container in jubilant awe.  It didn’t matter that it was the other Foundlings favored dessert.  Or that it was made to celebrate her and Yamada Hizashi's first patrol.  It was still a returning gift.  She had accepted his courtship!

He rose from his seat, picking up package and taking Teris’ hand.

“Kai. Wha--”  Teris allowed him to pull her out of the office.

She giggled at his behavior, adding to the happy lightness in Kai’s chest.

Hari heard a woman’s laughter and stopped in a cross hallway, letting them pass. His head turned, watching his Leader with Teris. Was that a smile on the Dragons face?

Kai led her into the kitchen.  Setting down the container, he reluctantly let go of her hand.

Teris watched him pull out a fork and warned.  “I hope you like sweet stuff cause it’s super sugary.  I honestly don’t know how Hizashi managed to eat three pieces and fall asleep hours later.”

Kai paused.  He wasn’t a fan of sweets.  But this was her first gift to him.  He would suffer through.

As soon as he lifted the lid, the sugary smell assaulted his nose.  It made his jaw ache in the same way something terribly sour would. Taking a fortifying breath, he took a bite.

Teris watched, her face going from hopeful to disappointed and finally amused.  “You hate it.”

Kai chewed, struggle to swallow the one small bite.  He licked his lips, the coat of chocolate and cream sticking to his tongue.  “It’s really sweet.”

“I told you.”

As much as he wanted to partake of her gift; this was something that he couldn’t suffer through, even for her.  “I don’t care for sugary sweets.”

“And you took a bite! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you made it.”  Kai said, silently adding, because you gave it to me.  Even if you don’t realize what you’re doing, you’ve accepted my courtship and have given me a courting gift in return.

“Kai. If you don’t like sweet stuff, you should've just told me.”

Kai set down the fork and wiped his mouth, moving to her.  “I like sweet stuff just fine.  I just prefer natural, more complex and tasteful sweets, like you.”

Teris blinked, but quickly recovered.  “Are you calling me complex?”

His hand gripped her waist, pulling her closer.  “Tell me that you’re not.  But know, that like wrong answers, lies will see you punished in the best way I can imagine.”

“And just how imaginative are you?”

Kai smiled.  “For you, Beautiful.  I could be very imaginative.

His head tilted, lips brushing hers.

Teris sighed at the contact.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, hand coming up to cup her cheek and hold her in place should she try to pull away.  But he need not have worried.

Teris’ arms hooked around Kai’s neck, tugging him closer.

Cake completely forgotten, Kai deepened the kiss, mouth opening to nip and suck at her tender lips.  This was the kind of sweetness that he loved.  She tasted perfect.  Better than he could have imagined. Like honey mixed with citrus and strawberries.

His tongue entered her mouth set on exploring every bit of her, but the sound of male voices stopped him.  With a growl Kai pulled away, lifting his head to glare the members of his Ilca that were just now entering the kitchen.

Short as the kiss had been, it had left Teris breathless.  Dazed, she stepped to the side and turned to face three of Kai’s Ilca.

“Boss.” Tengai inclined his head.

Nemoto turned away, trying to exit the kitchen he had just entered.  It was clear that they had disturbed something and the Dragon was displeased.  But Tabe was there, pushing him back in.

“Cake!” Tabe exclaimed, having smelled the sweet from down the hall.

Claws sprung out from Kai’s fingers, his hand turning scaled.  His lashing talons narrowly missed Tabe’s reaching hand.

Tabe jerked his hand back from the dessert.  In a mix of fear and confusion, he looked from Kai’s embedded claws, to his Leader’s cold golden eyes. Kai didn’t like sweets.  Why would he defend a piece of cake?

“Mine.” Kai told, eyes slitting.

Tabe nodded numbly. “So—sorry, Boss.”

“You said you didn’t like sweets.  Could barely eat one bite.”  Teris turned back to Kai, a playful smile on her beautiful face.

Kai’s hand and eyes were back to fully looking human, though he kept his hand on the counter-top, fingers covering the gouge marks his claws had made.  He didn’t want to needless concern Teris about the temper he has just shown.

5.4

As much as Teris had enjoyed the kiss, she had done her best not to give Kai a chance to kiss her again.  She had this whole new world to figure out and find her place in.  She couldn’t get distracted by a romantic relationship.  Not until she at least figured out what she was.  Not to mention that if she returned distracted today, Aizawa would surely notice and order her to stay home.

Kai looked up at the clock.  He hated not getting to spend a full day with Teris.  Hated that she had done her best to keep her distance. What had started out as one of the best days he ever had, had turned somewhat sour at her avoidance.

He understood her reasoning, even if she hadn’t said as much. Going out on patrol while distracted could be dangerous.  Deadly. It was why he hadn’t pushed.  He wanted her sharp, focused, and safe.  But understanding didn’t change how he felt, and he felt disappointed.

The thought of the hell he was going to put his Ilca through during training, brightened his foul mood a fraction.  Looking over to where Teris sat and seeing her in his true forms colors brightened his mood immeasurably more.

He didn’t like her sitting so far away.  It didn’t matter that the space wasn’t more than twenty feet.  It was too far for his liking. He would have to come up with a reason to have her sit with him at his desk.

The thought of her working beside him eased his tense muscles.

“Kai.” Teris got to her feet, setting the book she had been studying on the coffee table.  “I think I should get going.  Shouta wanted me back by noon.”

Kai got to his feet and made his way over to her.  “Be careful.”

“I will.  You trained me well.”

Though acidic bile rose in his throat he forced the words out, knowing it was for Teris’ own good.  “Listen to Aizawa when you’re out there.”

“I will.”

He stepped closer.  Tucking her hair behind an ear, his fingers and inner wrist trailed along her neck, scenting her.  “Are you ready for your gift?”

Her mouth opened.

Kai reached into his pocket.

“Kai. I—You—“

“It’ll keep you safe out there.”  He said, hushing her as he pulled the gift from his pocket.

Teris eyed the purple silk cord and gold charm wondering how a necklace would protect her.

“Bow your head.  Let me put in on.”

Still unsure, she did as he bid.  Surprised at how the charm could feel both light and heavy.

Kai pulled her hair out from the cord, letting the necklace settle around her neck.  “Prefect.”

Teris held the gold charm, examining it.  Her breath caught, realizing what it was.  “It’s… a scale from your true form.”

Kai’s smile grew.  She was so clever.  Constantly proving he had made the right choice in picking her as a companion.  She might not have accepted him as a companion just yet.  But with his scale around her neck, everyone, including Aizawa, would know of his claim on her.

Maybe now the Sphinx would give up and quit scenting what was his, he thought.

“What does it do?”  Teris asked, holding and looking at it.

It marks you as mine, Kai thought.  But he couldn’t tell her that.  Instead he hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.  “It’ll protect you.  Now go.” Before I lose control and keep you here, kissing you good and proper. “You don’t want to be late.”

Teris stretched up to her tip-toes, kissing Kai on the cheek.  “Thank you.”

Kai watched her go, sure in her safety.  Too bad for him he didn’t take into account the immense hate those that had sided with the griffons still held.  Or the vehement faith some still had in the last remaining member of dragon-kind.

***So this fic will have a LOT more world building than my others.  Please feel free to comment or send me an ask if you have any questions.

Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special thank you to those who have left comments and/or reblogged. They really mean a lot.

Special thank you to @inorganicone2230 who knows of my love for the mythic and encouraged me to start this fic without stressing about the other two I’ve got going.  Your friendship means the world to me.

[kinomiakai]

i know it's a lot to ask but i'm very sad at the moment and don't know how to handle it - and i have birthday on the 9th august. would it be possible to get a (vampire) one shot from you? it would be so great but i understand if that's too much to ask for. ahh its a dumb thing to ask but it would make me very happy so i wanted to try sorry!!!

    Sasuke was tired.

    Not because of the night classes—no, he was pretty well-suited to those. He’d been nocturnal for as long as he could remember. And what they were doing wasn’t particularly challenging—just some poses, and Sasuke was acquainted well enough with the human body. It was nice to look at, Sasuke thought, and he liked to spend the time to learn all the different shapes that people could be. He liked to spend the time to look at them. There wasn’t much that made him feel motivated, nowadays, and it was hard enough for him to live on the schedule he’d come to have as it was. This was the first hobby he’d managed to have since…well, it was the only one he had now.

    So—no, Sasuke wasn’t tired from class.

    He sighed again, forcing himself to move on for once. He’d spent thirty of the last forty minutes drawing and redrawing the model’s neck, over and over again. He already had a tendency to do that, and he was trying to learn not to. Everyone else had managed a full…

    “Alright, that’s it for today!”

    Crap.

    Sasuke sighed, and packed his things into his small, well-worn bag. He’d quit his job last week—or, well, they’d politely asked him to get the hell out of there once his I.D. had finally fell through. He’d very much appreciated the dim lights of the bar, especially alongside the added bonus of drunk, half-conscious people, but Sasuke had been starting to think the constant alcohol was getting to him. It tasted worse from them. Easier to get, though, and he didn’t have to hurt anyone too badly to get it, but he tended to need…more of it.

    He hadn’t liked that.

    Of course, now, he didn’t have that option as accessible. It was still there. He could still do it—still prowl the streets to look for easy targets and stifle the part of his mind that hated every second of it. It was a last resort, though, which is why he was so…

Tired. 

Tired and hungry and a little bit dizzy, and staring at a naked man’s neck for the past three hours really hadn’t helped. Go figure.

    He put his hood up and slipped through the door, keeping an eye on the ways everyone went—groups of three, four, five, six—one person there? No, a couple. Shit. 

    Sasuke leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone—which he’d naively continued to pay for, with the little money that he had, in spite of having a grand total of zero numbers to call—pretending to scroll his way through some screen or another. There were still a few students left in the class, so with just a bit of luck—

    A body breezed past him, tucking two earbuds in. Good sign. A casual jacket hung off his shoulders, left unzipped—no necklaces to watch out for, either. Sasuke watched as the man walked a few more lazy steps, staring down as his phone as if picking a song, before promptly turning down the alleyway Sasuke had had his eye on for weeks.

    Alright, then. The blond it was.

    Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and imitated his own slow, distracted walk. He turned his phone screen off as he continued to stare down at it, letting his eyes get used to the night again—it took longer when he was tired, when he was like this, and he only had about another two minutes before the two of them would be back in the public eye again—he sped up his pace. He had almost mastered getting to them before they could notice—

    “Wh—hey, the fuck are you—”

    Shit. Sasuke was sloppy and stupid and the man wrenched his shoulder from Sasuke’s grip as soon as he’d felt the heat of his skin at his lips—Sasuke grabbed at him but only caught his jacket—the man spun around with a punch that Sasuke would have dodged if not for the jacket wrenching him in—

    His nose would have bled, if he’d had enough blood left. As it was, he was dizzy and desperate and too far in to—

    The man pinned Sasuke to the wall with his forearm, keys in his other hand. And a swiss army knife? For god’s sake. Of all the—

    “Picked the wrong person to…what the hell?”

    The man flinched back. Whether it was Sasuke’s eyes or his fangs that did the trick, he didn’t know. At least he hadn’t stabbed him, though.

    Still—

    “The hell’s wrong with your eyes?” the man asked, eyes wide, brow furrowed, knife in his hand.

    “Probably the same that’s wrong with your brain, moron,” Sasuke snapped, sliding down the wall. He’d barely had the fight in him for that, and now his nose fucking hurt on top of it all. He felt slow and exhausted and fuck this—

    “Wh—you—I’m the moron?! I just kicked your ass!”

    “And you’re sticking around to find out what happens next?” Sasuke spat, pulling his hood back up. “Get out of here.”

    Sasuke closed his eyes.

    “I’m not going to turn my back so you can get another go, you know. I’m not stupid.”

    “Great,” Sasuke said, tucking his head between his legs. “Stay here forever then.”

    The pain pulsed between Sasuke’s eyes—in time with his consciousness, waving in and out. He’d been spacing out and losing his vision and—

    “Are you…okay?”

    Sasuke looked up, incredulous.

    “Are you serious?”

    “Well I’m not gonna let you die here—I’ll—there’s a hospital near here—”

    “I don’t need a hospital,” Sasuke snapped, “either kill me or leave.”

    There was a pause.

    Sasuke closed his eyes again.

    “What were you going to do to me?”

    Oh, for god’s sake.

    “What do you think, genius?” Sasuke asked, keeping his eyes closed. Maybe if he just fell asleep…

    “You—come on. There’s no way.”

    “You’re right,” Sasuke said. “There’s no way. So you should leave before the unhinged lunatic wakes up again.”

    “…Is the unhinged lunatic going to wake up again if I leave?”

    Sasuke opened his eyes only to glare.

    “Your eyes are back to normal,” said the blond, knife still in his hand.

    “And yet your brain remains firmly rooted in insanity. Leave me alone.”

    “I’m serious,” the blond said, stepping forwards—and Sasuke flinched back, hitting his head to the wall, as the knife moved closer, “I—oh, shit, no, I’m not gonna—I mean I—”

    The man’s mouth opened and closed, as if trying to decide whether to appease Sasuke’s delicate sensibilities, or continue to defend himself from an obvious threat.

    “You know I attacked you, right?”

    The blond continued to watch him.

    “You don’t look too happy about it.”

    Sasuke rolled his eyes.

    “Yes,” he drawled. “It ended rather differently than intended.”

    The man’s head inclined to the side, as if he was scanning Sasuke for something—

    “I would have expected you to run,” he said, “after I—y’know—pulled a knife on you and all that.”

    Sasuke didn’t reply.

    “You can’t run, can you?”

    Sasuke didn’t reply.

    “Can you even stand?”

    “Are you getting off on this?” Sasuke snapped, the wave of anger making him feel even more light-headed than before. “Leave.”

    The man crouched in front of him. Sasuke flinched back.

    “Hey,” he said, reaching out an empty hand. “Make your eyes do the thing again.”

    Sasuke stared at him. The man’s wrist came closer. And he could hear the blood humming under his skin, feel the heat of it, he—

    “You don’t know what you’re doing,” he said quickly, desperately—

    “Hey,” said the guy, “they do glow. Cool.”

    “You’re insane,” Sasuke breathed.

    “I’ve still got a knife and I’m not gonna let you die. I save your life and you won’t turn me into one, yeah?”

    “I have no idea how to even do—are you—” Sasuke stared at him, “are you serious?”

    The man waved his wrist in front of his face—Sasuke snatched it out of the air before he even had another thought.

    “Ooh, fangs too—wh—o-oh…”

    Finally. Finally. Sasuke nearly collapsed with relief—he fell forwards, clutching the wrist to his mouth, groaning into the warmth—god, he’d been so—

    “Okay—that’s—that’s enough. That’s—”

    Sasuke let out a small half-strangled noise as the wrist pulled itself away. As the man pulled his wrist away, fuck, it was like he lost it in moments like this—

    “That’s—I mean, uh, was that enough…?”

    The haze in Sasuke’s mind slowly, slowly cleared.

    “I…” he said, staring up into the blue eyes he hadn’t even noticed before—and the marks, on his cheeks, oh— “oh. You’re the one who’s always in class.” 

    The blond pulled back.

    “Wh—yeah, ‘cause my dad owns the place—that’s the thanks I get for saving your life?”

    The man waved his wrist in the air and stared Sasuke down expectantly. 

    The corner of Sasuke’s lip twitched.

    “…Thanks,” he said finally. 

    “That’s better. S’weird though,” he said, bringing his hand back to him, “it didn’t hurt at all. I barely felt anything.”

    Sasuke let out a breath, feeling the weight in his body slowly, slowly draining out of him. He hadn’t felt that bad since he’d woken up.

    “That’s the general idea,” he said quietly. At least, he thought it was. He hadn’t gotten good enough to pick the arteries from the veins, but he’d at least minimized his impact as much as possible…when he wasn’t entirely desperate. “You should go.”

    “Hm?”

    “You’re going to be light-headed for a while. Go make it home.”

    “Oh—well—yeah, I’ve donated blood before, I know that. Are you gonna be—?”

    Sasuke snorted and shoved himself off the filthy (and wet, ugh, he hadn’t noticed it had been wet) floor.

    “I’m fine,” he said, giving the blond a challenging look. In debt or not, Sasuke was dangerous. Surely the man knew that.

    “Hey—can I see your teeth again?”

    What the hell—

    “You have the self-preservation of an opossum in the middle of a road.”

   The man laughed and moved closer.

   “Yeah, I’m a real dumbass—my friends tell me all the time. Open your mouth—lemmie see.”

   He moved closer, and—

   “Oi—you—” Sasuke said, flinching back, “get your hands out of my mouth—”

   “Ooh, they are kinda sharper, aren’t they? Not as much as when you bit me, but—”

   “They will be in a second if you don’t stop shoving your fingers at them—”

   That did the trick, and Sasuke stared him down with a significantly sharper gaze. Just because he was satiated didn’t mean he was full, and this idiot was waving himself in front of him like a—

   “Oh,” the man said, staring at him as if— “you’re scared you’re actually going to hurt me.”

   “Wave a steak in front of a rabid dog and see how it ends for you.”

   The man’s head tilted to the side, watching him with eyes that seemed too serious for that smile—

   “You don’t seem too rabid to me.”

   “I just,” Sasuke started, speaking slowly as if explaining something to a small child, “drank your blood. As food. With my mouth. I attacked you about two minutes prior to—”

   “And you let me win. You could’ve bit me anywhere—I only punched you once and you backed off.”

   “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

   “Yeah, you were,” the man said, “you were making sure you didn’t hurt me. You didn’t want to do it unless you knew I’d survive.”

   Sasuke glared at him. Fine. Fine, yes, he was utterly terrified one day that he’d completely lose himself, and he’d spent more than a few hours in a night making sure every person he knocked down could get back up again—

   “Fine,” Sasuke said, clenching his teeth together. “You’re right. Are you going to let me go, now?”

   “What am I, holding you hostage? You can go any time.”

   “You had a knife.”

“Still do, actually,” the man said, flicking it into his hand only to fold it away, “so don’t try anything, vampire.”

   Sasuke rolled his eyes.

   “Hey,” said the blond, “wanna help me find the headphones you so rudely ripped out of my ears?”

   He stuck the keychain into his pocket and shot Sasuke a wide, innocent grin. Sasuke sighed, but let his eyes flicker to life again, just for a moment—

   “They’re over there.” Sasuke nodded at them.

   “Aw, fuck that’s cool,” the man said, trotting over to unabashedly grab at the disgusting floor. “What else can you do? You got like—super speed or something? Do you age? Wh—I feel like we would’ve noticed if you had no reflection in class—”

   “That’s only a thing if the mirror is laced with silver, idiot.”

   The man’s mouth made a small ‘o’ shape. Sasuke’s lips twitched again.

   “And, uh, if it is?”

   “I don’t know,” Sasuke said. “I’ve never found one where I know that’s the case.”

   “Huh,” he said, “don’t you guys have like—a coven or some shit to teach you this stuff?”

   Sasuke’s good mood faltered. (He hadn’t known he was in one.)

   “None of your business. I’m leaving.”

   Sasuke turned on his heel, walking back the way he’d come. He’d be fine for at least a few days, now—and he really needed to find a new job before he was kicked back the gym membership he’d called rent—

   “See you next week, vampire!”

   Sasuke flipped him off.

    And he’d have to find a new hobby.

[lovemesomerafael]

It’s Complicated                              Chapter 4:  What If...

Source: @sherrykinss

Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  

Why yes of course you can also read this on AO3

Frankie really, really did not want to untangle herself from Rafael to answer her phone, but she’d put it on the bedside table in case the NYPD or FBI needed to get in touch with her, and the screen told her it was Dean Porter.  As she rolled back toward Rafael, she put the phone on speaker so that he could hear the call. 

“I have some news,” Porter said without preamble.

“Shit.  What did he do?”

“He set your car on fire.  Well, he didn’t, he had the tweaker kid do it.  But your car is destroyed.”

“Anybody hurt?”

“No, the parking garage near the courthouse has a good sprinkler system.  Only damage was to your car.  It’s all on video.  Pretty brazen.”

“Did you catch the tweaker kid?”

“I’m sorry.  Not yet.  But he hasn’t come near your apartment, so there’s that.”

“I haven’t made it to the DMV yet, so the registration on my car still has my Virginia address.”

“Then there’s a chance he doesn’t know where you live yet.  But it’s the twenty-first century, lots of ways he can find that out.  We can’t take that for granted.  Don’t tell me where you are on a cell phone, but are you in a safe place?”

“Yes.”

“Then wherever you are, you should stay there.”

Frankie looked up at Rafael, leaning over her in his bed with a concerned expression and a serious case of bed head. 

“I will.”

“We’ll keep you informed.”

“Thanks, Dean.  I appreciate everything you all are doing.”  She hit the “end” button on the phone, tossed it aside on the bed, and threw her arm around Barba’s neck, pulling him down into a searing kiss.

“See?  Gratitude’s not that difficult,” he muttered, tickling her lips with his laugh.

“Cállate.[1]  He torched my car.”

“That’s why there’s insurance.”

“Thanks for the sympathy.”  They were getting very good at talking and kissing – even serious kissing – at the same time.

“I’ll be sympathetic later.  Right now, I’m- what did you call it?  Prioritizing.”

“You’re doing a good job,” she breathed, arching her body toward him.

“Another polite comment.  You’re much nicer when you’re getting laid.”

“You’re not.”

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

A lazy, sensual, and very satisfying half hour later, Rafael had to get up to go to work.  He wouldn’t let Frankie join him in the shower. 

“You’ve done enough damage,” he said sternly.  “I’ve had no sleep, and I did about a third of the trial prep I had intended last night.  You’re just lucky I’m so good at what I do.  Otherwise I’d drag you in front of the judge and make you explain yourself.”

“No problem.  She’s a woman.  She can see how rico[2] you are.  She’ll understand completely.”

He smiled as he leaned over and kissed her.  “You’re shameless.”

Frankie just giggled.  When he got up and went into the bathroom to shower, she stretched luxuriously and rolled over, asleep before he even got under the spray. 

****************** 

He was fully dressed as he leaned over the bed and kissed her awake.  She groaned.   

“Don’t answer the door.  I’ll call and check on you as often as I can.”

“Kick that defense attorney’s ass,” she muttered.

“Already in process,” he grinned, giving her another quick kiss before standing up and moving toward the door.

“Barba,” Frankie called.  He turned back toward her, hovering in the doorway.  She was a gorgeous mess – hair comb long since fallen out, leaving her long, black tresses to spread across his pillows, sleepy eyes sparkling but half-open, lying tangled in a sea of hopelessly disordered bedding – and he felt a physical pang of desire to dive back in with her.

“Thank you.  For letting me stay here,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome.”

He hesitated.  They both wanted to say more, to discuss what had happened between them, but neither knew yet what they wanted to say.  They settled for smiling at one another before he turned and left for court. 

 ********************

Barba had been right.  Even the defense attorney had to admit that Barba had the trial won.  During the first recess of the day, after Barba had annihilated the defense’s expert psychiatric witness using the questions Dr. Rojas had helped him prepare, the defendant had accepted a very satisfactory plea deal.  Which meant that, only a few hours later, Rafael was able to call it a day.  He had more work to do than he could possibly handle, and could have made a good dent using the extra time the plea deal had provided, but he uncharacteristically allowed his second-chair to wrap up the paperwork on the trial and called Carmen to say he wouldn’t be coming back to the office.  Alone at her desk, Carmen indulged in a facial expression that clearly showed her intrigue at this news. 

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

“It’s just me, Señorita Fresa,[3]” he called as he let himself into his apartment.

Since he had texted to warn her he was coming home, Frankie wasn’t frightened by Rafael’s entrance.  He was taken aback, however, to see her, sitting in a reading chair with the sun streaming in the window making her look like she was aglow.   Her hair was down around her shoulders, ruler-straight and gleaming, and her face was radiantly beautiful without a touch of makeup.  His royal blue zip-up sweatshirt was huge on her, as were his jogging pants, which she’d had to roll up to be able to walk in them.  She was about a third of the way through ‘Slaughterhouse Five’, one of Rafael’s favorites. 

“What did you call me?”  She tilted her head with a fake frown.

“Sorry.  Doctor Fresa,” he corrected.

She shook her head, laying it back against the soft cushion of the deep, fluffy armchair she sat in.  “You realize that’s an insult,” she said, grinning.

Rafael walked over to her, sitting on the ottoman where she rested her bare feet and leaning toward her, putting a hand on the chair back above her and the other around her waist and pulling her to him.  He kissed her for a long time. 

“I don’t know why you’d think so,” he said matter-of-factly.  “Strawberries are beautiful.”  He kissed her again.  “They’re shapely.”  This kiss lasted longer, and involved some tongue.  “And they’re delicious.”

His hands were all over underneath the sweatshirt she wore, and she moved her body to make sure he had plenty of room to touch her anywhere he chose.  When she could speak, she asked breathlessly, “What am I going to do with you?”

“I’ve thought of nothing else all morning,” he responded, and she put down her book and followed as he led her to his bedroom.

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

For the rest of the day, neither SVU nor FBI made any progress with the Pattern 20 rapist or finding either the tweaker kid or Alan Canady.  In the evening, Rafael emerged, yawning, from taking a few hours’ nap while Frankie continued reading her book.  Wearing nothing but sleep pants, his hair adorably askew, he padded to his kitchen.  He was delighted to find hot, fresh coffee waiting for him, without having had to make it himself.  

Frankie grinned at him as he stumbled into his living room, coffee in hand, to flop down on his couch.

“How’s the book?”  He asked.

“It’s yours, and it’s dog-eared. I’m assuming you’ve read it.”

“I was asking how you like it.”

“Actually, I’ve read it before, too.  At the risk of the inevitable mocking I’ll receive from you, I still don’t get it, even on the third reading.”

“I’d like to mock you about that, and I would…”

“Of course you would.”

“Except I find it a little difficult, too.”

“No kidding.  That’s quite an admission, coming from you.”

“Mmmmmm.  I’m sleep-deprived, undercaffeinated, and hungry.  Only explanation for such a moment of vulnerability.”

“Well, today is your lucky day.”

“How so?”

“I’m hungry, too, and you happen to have the makings for Tacos al Pastor.  I’m curious as to why, exactly, you have a pineapple, but you do, and I’m a great cook.”

“Can I help?”

“You can hang out and talk to me. Or just sit there looking like that. That works for me, too.”

“I’m told I’m rico.”

All Frankie could do was shake her head at that on her way into the kitchen.

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

“How hard is it to get a sample of someone’s DNA if you think they’ve committed a crime?”  Frankie asked, seemingly at random, while slicing the pineapple half an hour later.

Rafael, sitting at his kitchen table sipping his second cup of coffee, watched her thoughtfully.  “Depends on why you think they’ve committed a crime.”

“Well, that’s the thing.  It’s just a theory.  But it makes sense, if you know the suspect.”

“Not gonna happen.  You need more than ‘it could be this person’.  You need to ‘proffer a good faith factual predicate sufficient for a court to draw an inference that specifically identified materials are reasonably likely to contain information that has the potential to be both relevant and inculpatory.’"

Frankie stopped cutting and looked at Rafael.  “Shit, Barba. That was hot.”

“Really?  That works for you?  Because I can recite the standard for a 440 motion for ineffective assistance of counsel, too.”

“Before you do that, you’re gonna need sustenance.  Because I can’t be responsible for my reaction.”  

“Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind?”

“Uh… sex.  That was innuendo.”

“Smartass.  You know what I mean.”

“OK, so I’ve been trying to figure out where the tweaker kid comes in.  Who is he?  How does he know Alan?  And what does fencing items stolen from rape victims have to do with Alan?”

“And your theory is?”  

“Well, brace yourself, because it’s going to sound a little far-fetched. But not if you know Alan.  So, Alan knows what I do for a living, and he knows I work with sexual assault victims. Somehow he finds out I’m in New York, and he looks at FBI recruitments online, which anyone can do.  What if Alan raped those women, in hopes it would lead him to me?”

“Francisca, mi fresa, you’re right.  That’s far-fetched.  Very far-fetched.  New York is huge.  The FBI and NYPD are huge.”

“Yes, but the intersection between the two, with respect to sex crimes, isn’t.”

“And how does that connect Alan and the tweaker kid?”

“So if my theory is correct, then someone has to commit a sex crime.  Alan’s on board to hurt and humiliate any number of women, but he’s not going down for a felony.  So what he does is, he commits the sex crime, steals valuables from his victims, and hires the tweaker kid to get caught trying to fence them.”

“Why’s the tweaker kid going to do that?”

“Seriously?  You need to hang out with more addicts, Barba.  They’ll do anything for drug money.  The kid gets arrested, looks to see if he can find any trace of me at SVU, gets paid either way but more if he finds me.”

“But he goes to jail.”

“For a day.  He gets bail, which Alan pays, then he skips, never to be heard from again.”

“Until Alan needs him to torch your car.”

“Which he’s perfectly happy to do for more drug money.  Doesn’t even have to go to jail this time.”

“I don’t know…”

“OK, I’m not asking you to accept my theory.  What I’m asking is, would it be enough for a judge to let us DNA-test Alan against the rape victims?”

“Not even close.  Sorry.”  

Frankie scowled as she went back to cutting the pineapple.  “What would you need?”

“Something tying the suspect to the crimes.  A confession. A fingerprint.  A piece of physical evidence.  Defensive wounds consistent with the victim’s story.”  

“Shit.  We have none of that.”

“No, we don’t.  We can at least share your theory with Porter and SVU.  But I have to tell you, it sounds pretty wacky to me.”

“Not to me.  And not to Porter.”  

********************************** 

Amanda Rollins took Frankie to her apartment the following afternoon to get some clothes and other necessities.  It felt really strange to Frankie to be wearing a bulletproof vest, and increased her sense of being in danger.  Even though Amanda was there to ensure her safety, she hurried to pack as quickly as she could, and was relieved when they were back in the squad car, pulling away from Frankie’s building.

“Can we make a stop on the way to where we’re going?”  Frankie asked, as casually as she could.

“Sure.  Where?”

“Patsy’s cupcakes.”

“Oh?” 

“Yeah.  Because you’re about to find out that I’m staying at Barba’s apartment.”

Amanda’s eyes went wide.  “OH.” 

“Yeah.  Oh.”

“Well, um…  Huh.”

“What?  You’re the one who said he’s not the guy he seems like at first, and that he’s hot.”

“All of which is true.  I stand by it.  But listen, Frankie, I…  I like you.  I think we’re gonna be friends.  So I’m gonna tell you something, with the full understanding that I like Barba, and he’s my friend, too.  OK?”

“OK.”

“He’s kinda got a… reputation.”

“What kind of reputation?”

“He goes out with a lot of women.”

Frankie laughed.  “OK, so he’s a slut.  Consider me warned.  What makes you think I’m not an even bigger slut?”

“Maybe you are.  I just thought, being new in town, you might want to know not to get too attached.  Because he doesn’t.”

“Well, thanks, Amanda.  I appreciate the heads up.  I’ll guard my heart, although I don’t think it’s in too much danger.”

Amanda frowned through the windshield.  “Did I cross the line?  I apologize if I offended you.”

“Not at all!  I like you, too, and I’d like us to be friends.  I think we are already.  If the situation was reversed, I’d make sure you knew what you were getting into, too.  Speaking of which, now that we’ve established that we’re friends and I’m a slut, tell me about your love life.”

Frankie was more bothered by what Amanda had said than she let on.  Not that she had feelings for Barba.  Of course she didn’t.  Her concern was that, in the hormone-drunk frenzy she’d been in since meeting him, she’d completely ignored everything she knew about recreational sex.  She knew never, ever to have unprotected sex.  Ever.  Sure, Barba had been reckless enough to take her hurried word for the fact that she didn’t have any diseases and was on the pill, but that was Barba’s problem.  She hadn’t even asked him.  That bothered her for a host of reasons, especially now, being told that he slept around.  Well, she needed a doctor in New York anyway.  She made a mental note to get one and get tested as soon as possible.  And if she and Barba were going to be having more sex – and there was no doubt that she and Barba were going to be having more sex – they were definitely using condoms from now on.  She frowned.  Maybe it was a mistake staying with him.  But she told herself that it was safer than staying at a public hotel. 

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

Amanda had also taken Frankie by the grocery, so that when Rafael returned to his apartment that evening, he was met with rich cooking smells that drew him into his kitchen.  Frankie, in faded jeans and a ribbed turtleneck with one of his aprons covering most of her, was stirring some kind of rice dish that looked complicated.  

“That smells wonderful,” Rafael smiled.  “What’s in it?”

“I could tell you,” she answered, “But then I’d have to turn you over to the Federales.  Mexican state secret.”

“You’re American.”

“Yes, but my mother wasn’t.  A Mexican citizen can legally pass this recipe down to her children, but that’s as far as it goes.  I’m terribly sorry, but it’s in Chapter 18 of the Mexican Civil Code.”

“It is not.”

“What an ego.  You don’t know what is or isn’t in Chapter 18 of the Mexican Civil Code.”

“Pretty sure your mother’s recipe for arroz con pollo[4] isn’t in there.”

“I didn’t say it was.  I said-“

That was as far as she got before their lips met and she didn’t say anything more for a long while.  When they broke the long string of kisses to catch their breath, he was pressing her against the counter and they were moving together.

“I could definitely get used to coming home to you,” Rafael said without thinking.  He could feel Frankie react to that, but she simply laughed.

“It’s not usually like this, believe me.  It’s just that, I tried to work today but I’m more distracted than I thought.  So I decided to cook, instead.  It’s relaxing.  Usually, with me you get leftover takeout.”

“That’s a food group around here.”

After a dinner of savory, spicy arroz, Rafael excused himself to take a shower while Frankie did the dishes.  It wasn’t long, however, before she joined him under the steamy water, playful and audacious.  Rafael found himself holding onto the shower head and the handle of the built-in soap dish to keep upright as she drove him to distraction with her mouth.  He wasn’t entirely sure how she was managing to breathe down there with the water running, but he trusted her to complain if that was a problem.  

Later, as she lay sprawled across his bed with him half covering her legs while he rested from reciprocating her favor, she asked him whether he’d spoken to SVU or Agent Porter about her theory that Alan might be the rapist.

“I met with them today.”

“And?”

“This is what you want to talk about right this minute?”

She snorted a short laugh.  “I suppose my timing is somewhat poor.  But it’s on my mind.”

Rafael crawled back up the bed and laid down next to her, putting an arm around her as she curled up against him. “It would be.  Sorry.  They… think it’s an interesting theory.  They’re going to let me know as soon as they come up with anything they think I can use to get a warrant, but I don’t think you should hold your breath.”

Frankie sighed.  “It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed these last few days being your kept woman, but I’m about ten minutes from stir crazy.  I can’t just sit here and wait for Alan to come for me.”

“No one’s asking you to. They’re working on it.  Anyway, I’m not complaining.”

“You’re not, are you?  I hardly recognize you.”

“And here I thought we’d turned a corner, you and me.  Turns out you’re still obnoxious.”

Her body moved delightfully against his as she chuckled.  “Maybe. But you like me.”

“I do not.  I tolerate you because it turns out you’re a hell of a cook.  It’s you who likes me.”

“No, I don’t.  I will admit, I am pleasantly surprised to find that you are… not entirely without your charms.  And if I must hide, here with you is preferable to a Turkish prison. But I still think you’re arrogant and… have other undesirable qualities that escape my mind right now because you’re distracting me with your fingers.”

“You find this distracting, do you?”

“Very.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Oh, hell, no.”

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

The following day, Mike Dodds got a call about a sexual assault in progress in Chelsea.  The witness who reported it had asked for “Sergeant Dodds from SVU” in particular, which was very strange, but he and Olivia Benson were rolling anyway.  They figured that the uniforms would get there before they could, but SVU would be among the fist on the scene, so hopefully they wouldn’t muck up the evidence too much before they got there.  In one of those rare, strange New York City coincidences, SVU and the uniformed patrol officers arrived on scene at the same time.

Tearing up the stairs to the fourth floor of the cheap motel, Dodds in the lead, the SVU detectives pulled their weapons and told the uniforms to stay back.  That was why Mike Dodds and Olivia Benson were the first two people through the door, and the ones who saw Dr. Francisca Rojas, covered in blood, kneeling over a man’s body with her hand on the handle of a knife plunged into his chest. She looked up as they approached the open door, horror-stricken expressions on all of their faces.

“I didn’t do this,” she said, holding up both hands, from which blood was dripping freely.

[1] Shut up

[2] Literally means “delicious”, Cuban slang for a hot guy

[3] See definition in Chapter 2

[4] Rice with chicken

[asianadjacent]

If you don’t like onions, this is not for you

Spoiler alert: this also contains meat so this is definitely not for all you vegetarians or vegans out there. (Sorry, not sorry)

But if you love Italian food, specifically tube shaped pasta, onions and meat, you’ll absolutely adore this dish. I’m talking about a sauce that has a lot of onions and braised meat, cooked for hours, eventually melting away to form this sweet, meaty, gooey sauce that’s paired perfectly with al dente pasta, garnished with fresh herbs and as much grated parmesan as you like.

The dish I’m talking about is Tortiglioni all Genovese, a pasta sauce from the region of Campania in Italy. According to some very half-assed internet research (Wikipedia), it was introduced to Naples from Genoa during the Renaissance. And since then, it has become very famous in the region but forgotten elsewhere mysteriously. 

I came across this gorgeous dish when in Naples, at a restaurant that specialises in ragu called Tandem. Of the many delicious and numerous pasta dishes we ordered that evening, when this dish hit the table and went into my face, I was immediately jealous that it was Kei who made the order (she’s always had the better judgement when it came to menu items) and proceeded to eat most of it. 

The dish was luscious and velvety, where you could taste the sweetness of the onions, married with a subtle hint of the sea (they used octopus instead of beef). That experience has lingered with me ever since.

And so in this time of social isolation, coupled with the fact that I’m stuck at home after an ACL reconstructive surgery on my left knee, meant that this was the perfect opportunity to try to recreate this Neapolitan classic. However, if you google “Pasta alla Genovese”, it’s all becomes very confusing because all you seem to get from Google are recipes for a pesto-based pasta with fine beans, which is not what this is all about. 

Amidst the confusion and hysteria, I turned to New York Times Cooking, where they had a delightfully clear and simple version of the recipe by Mark Bittman, food author. 

Sidenote: Mark (yes, we’re on a first name basis) has written a bunch of great cookbooks like the incredible “How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food” which is one of the better books if you’re looking to start cooking. As a warning, it is a mammoth of a text as it literally has 2,000 recipes so have a sturdy bookshelf before ordering.

So after endless onion prep, cramp from standing on my one good leg and a cook that lasted over three hours, I instinctively knew that this recipe was going to be near and dear to me before it was even completed. And the final result was everything I had hoped for and sent me to carb heaven. 

Like my experience in Naples, what stood out to me the most was the amount of flavour and joy packed into every bite. You could taste the natural sweetness of the onions and the slight “oomph” from the chuck steak, enhanced and tempered with only time and heat.

Ultimately, this is an incredible expression of what I believe good food should be, simple ingredients cooked with patience and love. I hope you try the recipe and love it as much as I do. Enjoy.

Tortiglioni alla Genovese

Servings: 6 to 8 (or 3 to 4 if you’re me) Cooking time: 3 1/2 hours (strap in and open some wine)

Ingredients

2kg red onions, thinly sliced (wear your goggles or prepare to cry for awhile)

Extra-virgin olive oil (use that good shit)

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 celery ribs, trimmed and roughly chopped

120g pancetta, chopped (I used 180g because that was the package it came in and I didn’t want to keep a random 60g of pancetta lying around, plus animal fat = flavour)

1kg beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes (or any alternative cheaper, leaner cuts used for braises or stews)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves (I used four because I got mine from Chinatown that comes in a giant packet for cheap. Therefore I worry that the quality of the leaves aren’t as good as the ones you would get from a farmers market or fancy supermarket so I overcompensated)

Handful of oregano leaves (or you can tie a bunch of oregano together and fish out the stems later on. I like leaving the leaves in and I’m lazy to pick stems out)

Some dry white wine (to taste and drink while you cook)

500g dried pasta, like ziti, tortiglioni or rigatoni

Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation

Use a large heavy pot over medium high-heat, season your beef chuck cubes and coat them with oil. When pot is hot, starting putting the beef cubes into the pot to brown the meat on all sides. Be sure not to crowd your pot or else it won’t brown properly. You may have to do this in batches but once done, set browned meat aside. Additional note: You may skip this step if you want as browning the meat is slightly unnecessary. I only did it because I wanted the beef to hold its shape for a bit more bite at the end. In fact, according to more half-assed internet research (i.e., one other internet link), most classic Italian recipes will call for a large cut of beef chuck steak, which would be set aside once cooked and served as a second dish. This is how I did it but it’s your kitchen, your choices.

Heat a healthy glug of extra virgin olive oil in the same pot over medium-high heat again; chuck in the carrots, celery and pancetta and cook until it’s browning or caramelised (DON’T FORGET TO SEASON AND ADD PEPPER AS YOU GO, TO TASTE)

Add your onions to the pot, seasoning again as the salt will draw out the water in the onions quicker, you may even add a splash of water at this point if you’re worried that the bottom will burn because you’ve never seen so much onion go into a single pot before unless you’re cooking a giant batch of French Onion soup.

When it looks safe and it doesn’t look like your bottom is burning, chuck in the browned beef cubes. (Pun fully intended)

Add in your bay leaves and oregano and give your pot a little stir.

Bring it all to a simmer, cover it and cook it low and slow for two hours (or more), you will be amazed at the amount of water that will come out of the onions. It will almost be as much as the tears you shed while prepping 2kgs of onions by hand.

Once the meat is squishy and tender, uncover and crank up the hit all the way to bring it to a boil. This is wear you will need to be a bit more active with the stirring, making sure nothing sticks and burns at the bottom. Fiddle around with your heat if you need to. Cook until the meat falls apart or you can stab at the pieces of meat as you’re stirring to help it along a bit. This will be roughly 45 minutes of stirring so you best be ready.

Once the meat is falling apart and the sauce is thick, gooey and beautiful, add half a glass of wine to it and bring your heat down to low. If you’re a drink while you cook type human, you should have just enough white wine left from when you first opened a bottle at the start of this cook. Or perhaps you need to open your second bottle. No judgements here, just solutions.

Stir until the sauce is glossy. When you can’t taste the alcohol in the sauce anymore, it’s good to go. Although if you’re on your second bottle, best get someone to taste just to be sure.

Cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. I won’t go into detail here because I’ve covered how I cook pasta in this recipe here. (Don’t @ me)

Garnish with parsley and parmesan.

Eat all of the pasta.

Food coma.

[cryoculus]

Hello! I just saw demon!Oikawa official art and was wondering if you could write anything with that version of him? 🙏🏻 It could be funny or whatever. Thank you(´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)

»Word Count: 4,529 words Cross-posted on AO3

Ugh I finally finished this. But heads up, Tumblr’s formatting system is a little ugly right now and I can’t put timeskip lines like I used to. But that hardly makes a difference on mobile. If anything, the asterisks make it easier to read on the mobile app. Anyways, I’d recommend reading on AO3 instead, but it’d mean the world if you left a like on the first one shot (cough potential fanfic cough) I’ve posted in a good while. 

***

“Another gas leak?”

Your ears perk up at Kawanishi’s concerned voice resounding from the cashier. Curious, you throw him a curious look over your shoulder, momentarily tearing yourself away from your current duty which takes form in replenishing the shelves with fresh pastries. From where he’s seated, Kawanishi stares at the small television propped on the counter with a prominent crease marring his brow. He must be watching the news again. It is only two in the afternoon—far earlier than the designated time slot for the regular news broadcasts. But for the past week, flash reports were invading TV screens in sporadic times of the day, all of which depicted the same message.

“The Miyagi Police Department are diligently looking into the matter, but the evidence at hand is supposedly still inconclusive. But it hasn’t escaped the public’s notice that all the victims of the aforementioned gas leaks were customers of a single company that refilled their gas tanks regularly. Today’s victims from downtown Sendai have been sent to the hospital and are yet to regain consciousness—”

“The world is becoming a real scary place to live in.” Kawanishi clicks his tongue before promptly switching off the TV. “I’m probably going to start cooking my food with bonfires now.”

“You can’t even cook for shit, Taichi.” You snort, re-adjusting your plastic gloves before resuming your previous task.

He returns your jab at his lack of the particular life skill with a grimace. “Hey, I man the cashier way better than you ever will.”

“Your point is…?”

“Could you just shut up and get back to the kitchen?” Kawanishi rolls his eyes, pretending to busy himself with the sales logbook on the counter even if there aren’t any customers inside the bakery.

A jeering chuckle slips past your lips at his dismissive behavior. But knowing full well that you still have a pot pie scheduled for delivery later in the day, you decide to leave Kawanishi to his own devices so you can get started with the order. However, when you set foot in the kitchen, you are met with the sight of Reon teaching the newest recruit, Goshiki how to properly hand-knead pie dough without making too much of a mess.

“Reon, I thought it was my turn to handle deliveries,” you half-whine before peeling off your plastic gloves for disposal. After, you pull out one of the folded metal chairs tucked away in the corner to watch Reon’s demonstration. Though from the knowing look in his eye, he is well aware that you are more than glad that he took over your responsibilities to give Goshiki a quick tutorial.

“Tsutomu here told me he was tired of inventory,” he reasons with a shrug, hands still occupied with the task before him. “He’s been here for almost a month and I’m sure Wakatoshi won’t mind if I teach him how to bake.”

Your gaze meanders to Goshiki who is staring at you with a hint of timidness to his posture; those dark eyes of his conveying a subtle plea. “I-Is it okay, senpai?”

Before you can even think of holding it in, your lips curl into a wide smile, cackling at the younger boy’s formality. “Tsutomu, it’s more than okay! And don’t call me senpai. Makes me feel old.”

Reon eyes you with amusement. “Aren’t you a few years away from turning thir—”

Before he can finish the sentence, you stomp over towards him to jab a finger in his face. “I don’t make offhanded comments about your life so don’t you make any about mine.”

“Ah, what is it with the youth these days?” a fourth voice intrudes in the conversation. “Always so insecure about aging. The older you become, the more things you’ll know about the world, you know~”

You whip your head to the direction from where it came from, and lo and behold, one of the bakery’s owners shoved past the kitchen’s double doors to grace you with his presence. There was always something about Tendou Satori that put you on edge; not in a bad way, really. You’ve long convinced yourself that maybe it’s his unconventional appearance that you find unsettling. That fiery hair and those glinting rubies for eyes certainly cater to his reputation. But besides the occasional eccentric comment from him, the way the air crackles with an intangible tension that you can’t quite wrap your head around in the rare instances that you’re in the same room is still hard to ignore.

“Tendou,” Reon acknowledges him tentatively. “You’re here early. Don’t you usually drop by at seven on weekends?”

Tendou perches himself near the tiled sink, the heels of his sneakers colliding with the wooden cabinets underneath as he sways his slender legs. “Eita-kun told me told me to haul my ass here as soon as I could or he’ll skin me alive.” His mouth puckers a little, eyes darting around. “Yet the present audience only consists of one head baker, one trainee, and one age-conscious little bird.”

A soft sigh escapes Reon as he quietly asks Goshiki to retrieve the rolling pin from the cabinets. The younger man carries it out with the most enthusiasm you’ve seen on someone who usually just acted upon another person’s orders. Quite the cheery one, he is.

“Where’s Eita then?” Reon inquires with upturned brows.

“Beats me,” comes Tendou’s indifferent reply. “He’s probably out there bullying Kenjirō. You know how Eita-kun has regressed into the embodiment of bitterness when Kenjirō finally grew his wings and outperformed him in his own game.”

“I don’t think putting it so casually is a good idea.”

“Senpai!” Goshiki’s voice is too loud for a too quiet room as he hands Reon what he asked for. “Will you be needing anything else?”

Reon shakes his head, taking the roller from Goshiki’s grasp. “Could you go start making the filling? I heard from Shirabu that you knew how to cook.”

“Really? Shirabu-senpai put in a good word for me?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t say it’s ‘good’ exactly…” His voice trails off once Goshiki launches himself into the storage room presumably to gather the needed ingredients. Chuckling to himself, Reon dips his hands in a nearby bag of flour and proceeds to knead the dough into flatness. You watch him with careful vigilance since pies aren’t really your forte. Your expertise lies in bread, which isn’t as demanding as that pastry that needs too many conditions satisfied to be considered good. Making a crust that isn’t too brittle and a filling that shouldn’t be too savory is beyond you. You’re quite relieved that Reon took over for reasons that lie beyond your own laziness.

“So, (Name) was it?”

Your attention retracts back to the most peculiar out of your bosses. Tendou gazes at you with a glint of mischief crinkling his eyes, lips upturned into something akin to a sneer. “Yes?” you respond, shifting a little in your cramped seat.

Tendou hums an unfamiliar tune without letting up his thinly veiled interest. The way he’s staring reminds you of how a scientist would look at a foreign specimen, and you  aren’t very sure if you are glad to be on the receiving end of it. You’re drawing blanks as to why it seems like he is addressing you like it’s your first day on the job, but you’ve been told that Tendou has a habit of forgetting employees’ names and faces. He’s probably just familiarizing himself with your presence in the store since your shifts usually didn’t last long enough for you to cross paths with him. When he doesn’t speak any further, you decide to shift your line of sight back to Reon’s devoted handiwork.

“Wakatoshi-kun did a real good job on this one, huh?” A low chuckle rumbles from Tendou and though his voice has dipped into a whisper, you’re certain that he meant for you to hear.

With one brow quirked, you turn around with the intent of asking what he meant by that, but your plans are abruptly derailed when Goshiki walks back from the storage room, cheeks tinged with pink as he approaches you.

“What is it, Tsutomu?” you ask.

He reaches out a hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Um, could you please teach me how to open the stove? The one we have at home isn’t as hi-tech…”

You can hear Tendou sputtering behind you, causing Goshiki turn a few shades redder. You offer him a soft smile before hopping onto your feet to help him out and his face seems to light up a little at your willingness. The reaction makes you presume that he might not be used to getting helped around a lot, given that Shirabu, the guy in charge of keeping Goshiki in check, has an apparent dislike for slow learners. Speaking of which…

“Do you know where Shirabu is?” you ask him, suddenly hyper aware of the lack of staff inside the shop. Early afternoons aren’t the most hectic time of the day, but you aren’t used to having only three people with you in the kitchen. Hayato and Soekawa are nowhere to be found either. If Semi was here, he would be squawking like a parrot, appalled at their unexcused absences. But even the supervisor himself isn’t present.

Goshiki shakes his head as the two of you stalk off to the stoves lining the westernmost wall of the room. “He told me I was under Reon-san’s care for the day because he had somewhere to be with Ushijima-san.”

You nod slowly as you instruct him about the different buttons and switches on the stove. He seems to have committed every word to mind and begins tinkering with what he could with experimental curiosity. After asking if he needs any help with the actual cooking, he insists that he can do it on his own. When you slump back to your seat, Tendou is gone and Reon is already placing the flattened dough on a pie tray.

“Hey, Reon?”

“What?”

“Where the hell is everybody?”

The set of his jaw tightens ever so slightly. When Reon says he doesn’t know about the others’ whereabouts, you would’ve been convinced of his cluelessness had you been any less perceptive. With that sincere face of his, lying through the skin of his teeth would be a breeze if he needed to do so. But of all the people in the shop, Reon is someone that you’d spent the most time around alongside Kawanishi, so spotting a few chinks in his unflustered demeanor comes easier to you than most.

Just as you’re about to press the topic further, the sound of the back door of the kitchen slamming open makes you jolt in surprise. Emerging from outside are the very same people you’d been pondering about not ten seconds ago.

“Reon, get the herbs and incense now!” Hayato barks as he drags the metal chair you were occupying earlier across the floor to prop it against the wall. There, Ushijima gently sets down a half-conscious Shirabu and—

“S-Shirabu-senpai?” The terror creeping from Goshiki’s voice rattles you all the way to your bones when your eyes train themselves on the discolored skin of Shirabu’s neck. His pale complexion is marred with a bruise that runs too dark a shade to be considered normal—the purplish red slowly fading into black. A trail of blood dribbles from the corner of his mouth as he stares into the space in front of him with a dazed look in his brown eyes. Ushijima is calmly telling him to stay awake, but you aren’t sure if the message is getting through when Shirabu doesn’t even give him so much as a minimal reaction. Soekawa, Tendou, and Semi appear a little shortly, with the latter two apparently engrossed in one of their untimely banters.

“Hah? You guys purposely kept me out of it ‘cause you’re concerned?” The furious scrunch of his face takes you aback. “And where did that plan lead to, huh, Semisemi?”

Semi clicks his tongue. “You wouldn’t have been able to handle them with that injury of yours.”

Injury? From what you can see, Tendou looks like he’s in perfect shape. But from the way his frown deepens, he might have taken Semi’s words to heart.

Reon hurries back to the scene (when did he even leave?) with what seems like a jar with kanji engravings on the lid that are too small for you to read in one hand, and a bundle of incense sticks and a lighter in the other. He tells the others to give Shirabu some space to breathe and they comply, save for Soekawa who took action to assist Reon with whatever he planned to do with the strange jar. Why a mortar and a pestle are inside Soekawa’s messenger bag is beyond your understanding, but no one else in the room seems to find anything amiss when he procures it, so you decide to keep your questions to yourself.

Reon crouches by Shirabu’s feet to uncap the jar, setting the lid on the floor. Inside is a solid surface divided into two sections: one that seems to hold stark white herbs you’ve never seen before and one with three holes poked into the clay. Reon immediately shoves three incense sticks into the holes, igniting them with the lighter without a second thought. Smoke rises from where the sticks burn, diffusing the air with the sharp scent of pine needles and musk.

Soekawa gathers the ivory leaves in his hands to crush them on the mortar while he asks Semi to hand him ‘the salve’ from his bag. He rummages through Soekawa’s belongings and hands him a dirty reagent bottle. Soekawa pours a slimy, transparent substance from the bottle onto the mortar and mixes it with the crushed leaves with his bare fingers. He mutters something that’s out of earshot when he rises to his feet and applies his concoction onto Shirabu’s affliction. The contact seems to finally rouse him from his stupor when his face contorts in agony and a blood-curdling shriek pierces your ears.

Your skin prickles at the sight of Shirabu thrashing against Ushijima’s and Hayato’s restraining grasps as Soekawa covers the entirety of the bruise with the salve. When you feel Goshiki shuffling closer to you, you whisper, “What the absolute fuck is going on, Tsutomu?”

There’s prominent hesitation in his eyes, like he knows exactly what’s going on, but he isn’t allowed to tell you. As the filling he was previously preparing lay forgotten on the stove, your stare hardens. You’ve been working here for half a year now, and not once did you witness anyone else barging in the kitchen sporting a malignant bruise that required herbal treatment. Yet Goshiki, who’s spent less time in the shop than you have, is already in on the situation?

“A strange sight, isn’t it?”

Out of reflex, you jump away when you hear Tendou’s voice whispering in your ear. With the convoluted display in front of you, your boss’ outlandish behavior does nothing to aid your peace of mind, but the way he’s observing the others as Soekawa treats Shirabu makes you feel like this isn’t an uncommon occurrence.

“You aren’t really supposed to see this, little bird.” Tendou sighs, stretching out his limbs before draping one arm across your shoulder. “Wakatoshi-kun doesn’t really like picking fights, but Kenjirō can be a little stubborn. I’m all in for a beatdown any time, but couldn’t they have delayed that little scuffle until you weren’t in the shop?”  

You frown. “Wha—”

“(Name).”

Your eyes snap back to Semi, whose thin lips are pressed into a line. “Is it okay if you take your time off now? We’re not going to cut it from your salary, don’t worry.”

“Eita-kun, don’t you think we’ve kept her in the dark long enough?” Tendou groans, sounding rather annoyed. “She’s bound to find out either way.”

Semi glares at him. “That isn’t your decision to make, Tendou.”

“It isn’t yours, either,” the redhead rebutts, staring him down with resilience.

“But it is mine.”

The sincere baritone of Ushijima’s voice envelops you like a warm blanket. At the same time, his domineering presence overshadows his candor and you’re left thinking that this man could be such a walking contradiction at times. He stands tall above the rest of the men around you. When you sneak a glance behind him, Shirabu has calmed down enough to deem him worthy of release. Reon is speaking softly to Shirabu as Soekawa wipes off the blood on his face. Strangely, the dark bruise on his neck has already lightened into a softer shade of purple—the skin around it yellowing at the edges. When your gaze shifts back to Ushijima, he’s staring at you with intensity pooling in his olive eyes.

“We are seraphim,” he speaks flatly.

Those words garner a variety of reactions: Tendou bursts out laughing, Semi drags a palm over his face, Goshiki is stunned into silence, and you’re craning your head to the side, wondering if you heard him right.

“Wakatoshi-kun, you don’t just drop a bomb like that without any context,” Tendou says, wiping a tear from his eye.

Ushijima’s brows knit in confusion. “What bomb?”

“Even after making a million souls, you’re still terrible at talking to your own craft, aren’t you?”

“Excuse me,” you interrupt, “but can someone tell me exactly what’s going on? I feel like the useless extra character that isn’t involved in the overall plot.”

Tendou’s mouth curves into an eerie smile. “Oh, but you’re actually the main protagonist, little bird.”

“Would you lot stop talking in riddles?” Semi snaps before turning to you. “Look, (Name). I know this is a lot to take in but Wakatoshi is telling you the truth. We are seraphim. Angels. You see Shirabu over there?” He jams a thumb behind him, gesturing towards Shirabu as his prior hesitation to enlighten you is completely cast aside. “The reason why he got that blight is because he tried to jump the demon king on behalf of Wakatoshi himself. Of course his retainers wouldn’t allow that so they grabbed him by the neck to restrain him—”

“Hm, I wonder why Eita-kun just let that happen to poor Kenjirō when he could have warded them off with a single wave of his hand,” Tendou sneers at him, to which Semi responds with a hard glare.

“Tendou, there is nothing Semi could have done,” Ushijima insists. “We were outnumbered. The fault lies within myself. I should not have heeded Shirabu’s request of having an audience with the demon king in light of the incidents happening today. It could have been settled in a different manner.”

“Tch, unless it’s about completely eradicating that demon clan scum, I’m not hearing it.”

“You’re being an idiot again.” Semi smacks Tendou’s shoulder. “They’re assholes, but their existence is necessary, just like ours. Unless we want the balance of nature tipped, the best we can do is keep them in check.”

Tendou shrugs. “They’re the ones devouring souls left and right like it’s no one’s business. Stupid brutes are consuming souls faster than Wakatoshi-kun can make them. Would nature really go haywire once those who are out to destroy everything in it are erased from existence?”

“You know that’s not how it works.”

“Then how does it work, huh, Eita-ku—”

“Silence.”

You didn’t know that it was possible, but the pitch of Ushijima’s voice dips even lower when he utters that single word that has everyone in the room cowering at his authority. Even Hayato and Soekawa have paused to take a look at what’s going on in their side of the kitchen. Ushijima’s face remains unperturbed even after his assertion and the room is plunged into pregnant silence, not a soul daring to speak after Ushijima himself. But the tension is ultimately shattered when the kitchen doors fling open to reveal Kawanishi poking his head from the entrance.

“Oi, (Name), your favorite customer placed a milk bread delivery again,” Kawanishi shamelessly announces. If he noticed the tense atmosphere, he doesn’t show it.

It was all too much. You couldn’t bring yourself to stomach every word that the three men had fed you. Seraphim? What is this, some fantasy series? What would angels be accomplishing by running a damn bakery? Hearing Kawanishi spouting something about deliveries makes you have some semblance of normalcy to grab onto, and you want nothing more than to take it. This was probably just some sick joke that they managed Ushijima to go along with to spite you. And a demon king injuring Shirabu? You’ve never heard of that story before. Without so much as a backwards glance, you head over to the front with Kawanishi, pushing all thoughts of seraphim, and the demon king, and Shirabu’s bruise at the back of your mind.

Kawanishi is silent when he places two packaged loaves of your signature milk bread in a paper bag, and you’re glad he doesn’t probe you for any reaction about the scene from earlier. At the back of your mind, you wonder if he’s in on their game. Did he notice what was going on back there? Is he going to convince you that he’s seraphim, too?

But Kawanishi has never been the confrontational type. Instead, he writes up the receipt for the order as usual, tears it from the pad and hands it to you. “If he asks for another discount, you can tell him to piss off.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“It’s not very nice to keep ripping the shop off by charging the guy less than the actual price just because you think he’s cute either.”

Your face heats up at his accusation. “I-it’s not like that! He’s just been such a frequent customer. H-he deserves a little mark down, don’t you think?”

Kawanishi stares at you, unimpressed. “I’m pretty sure he never drops by the shop and prefers deliveries because he’s only interested in you.”

“Shut up, Taichi.”

***

You park the shop’s delivery motorcycle by the curb of one of the most lavish houses in the neighborhood. You don’t spend a lot of time in this part of the city out of your usual deliveries to this one business tycoon. The man seems to have taken a liking to the milk bread which no one in the shop makes better than you do. He hasn’t really given you his name, but he told you that he earned the nickname ‘Grand King’. You snorted at that and insisted on calling him King instead.

When you ring the intercom to King’s residence, his familiar voice greets you with enthusiasm. “Oh, (Name)-chan! You’re here early. The snobby cashier told me that the delivery would take about an hour or so.”

You find yourself laughing at the way he addresses Kawanishi. “You’re in luck, King-san. I just made a fresh batch earlier this afternoon. That’s why you didn’t have to wait.”

“Alright. I’ll head down to fetch it.”

Static rattles from the intercom and you know that King has ended the exchange when the red button stops glowing. You hum a song you heard on TV yesterday as you count the cars that roll by the street. Seven have already zipped past when the smaller gate creaks, revealing one of the most attractive people you’ve laid your eyes on.

Usually, King would greet you wearing his complete three-piece suit, hair slicked back into perfection while a condescending smirk danced across his lips. But on weekends, you could hardly imagine him being one of the most powerful men in Japan, given that he opts to wear a rumpled shirt that’s two sizes bigger and pajama pants with aliens patterned onto the fabric. His chestnut hair is sticking out in all directions in a way that suggests that he just rolled out of bed.

King half-greets, half-yawns, “Helho, (Name)-chwan.”

“Long night?” You quirk an eyebrow before handing him his purchase.

“Mmmm not really,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “I just ran into a couple of…business rivals. They didn’t make my morning very enjoyable.”

“I see.” You spare him a nod of understanding, trying your best not to stare at how adorable the way his brown eyes droop when he stares inside the bag. He makes a satisfied noise as he fishes his wallet from the pocket of his pajamas.

“A thousand yen, right?” You don’t miss the teasing lilt in his voice.

The way you giggle at that makes you want to slap yourself, but you manage to regain your composure before he notices it crumbling. “Sad to say the snobby cashier is giving me shit for the discounts. Could you pay for the full one thousand four hundred yen in the meantime, King-san?”

He chuckles before pulling out a single banknote from his wallet. “Keep the change then.”

You receive his payment with a curt bow but when your eyes land on the value of the money in hand, your jaw nearly drops to the ground.

“K-King-san, this is too much! Way too much!” The ten thousand yen bill quivers in your hands as you insist that you’d be alright with a smaller bill.

King waves away your concern. “Then just hand over the amount that snobby-chan wants. Keep the rest for yourself. Consider it as my compliments to the chef.” The grin plastered on his handsome face leaves you wondering how the hell this guy is still a bachelor. Your pretty certain that your face is as red as Tendou’s hair by now, and you’re glad he doesn’t point it out.

“It’s been nice seeing you today, (Name)-chan,” he chirps. “But I really have to go. I still have some matters to deal with after I’ve had my fill of this delicious treat.”

“You’re t-too kind,” you sputter.

Deliveries to King’s household last longer than your typical trips, since the man always charms you into some small talk. But that’s usually it. Nothing really lies beyond these swift meetings in front of his house. Even if he’s expressing some subtle interest towards you, at the end of the day, you’re just a humble baker and he, a successful businessman.

But today is quite different. Before he disappears behind the gate, King tells you, “I’m thinking about dropping by the bakery to see you in action. Expect me in a few days’ time.” His velvetine voice draws you in like a moth to a flame and all you could do was nod dumbly at his proclamation. He bids you a quick farewell with crinkled eyes and a peace sign. You know for certain that his sunlit smile is already imprinted in the back of your eyelids.

As you head back to the bakery on your scooter, King’s words only seem like one of his musings; something he won’t really act on given his tight schedule. What good would it do him to go out of his way to pay you a visit?

But little did you know that demons never lie.

[imaginesmai]

Ubbe-Winner’s prize

Plot: Ubbe has put his life again at risk, but this time there are things in between that makes it different

You had been afraid before. When your best-friend Sigurd died by the hands of Ivar, you cried yourself to sleep. When your mother, Lagertha, disappeared from the battle, you spent two days drowning in sadness. But seeing the love of your life, Ubbe, being forced into a hand-to-hand combat was too much. You tried talking to him about it, to make him see that his life was not worth the security of a land that wasn’t yours. He wasn’t having any of it, he was going to fight, and you realised that you couldn´t do anything about it.

Fortunately, the three kings decided to wait for the next day for the duel to start. Ubbe and you had most of the night to yourself, in a tent courtesy of the kings. You were lying in his chest, drawing lazy patterns in his chest with your hand.

-          I love you, you know that, right? -said Ubbe suddenly, taking your hand in his and kissing your knuckles.

-          I know, my love. But I can’t help being selfish when it comes to you.

-          Y/N. -Ubbe moved his body so he was in front of you, your noses touching. -This is for the best. If I don’t do it, they will attack our lands. And, we have fought so hard to get them.

-          We could leave. We helped Alfred with Halfdan’s army. You are a prince, you shouldn’t-

-          I should fight for my people. -he kissed your lips slowly, while his hand cupped your face. -Tomorrow I will be fighting for you. All of this is for you, so that we can have a future, together. Without war, blood or dead.

-          Please, don’t die tomorrow. -you buried yourself in his chest, a few tears escaping your eyes. -I can’t bear the thought of losing you. I’m…I’m not ready to give you away to the Gods.

-          I won’t, my love. I won’t. -by then, your tears had turned into heartbroken sobs.

-          First Sigurd, then my mother… I don’t have anyone else Ubbe, I can’t live without you.

Ubbe pulled you close to his chest, kissing your forehead and leaving his lips there. He knew he had no right to make you empty promises, but your cries and your pleas were breaking his heart. He kept telling you sweet things to your ears, until your breaths became slow and your heart calm. He then allowed himself to fall asleep, knowing that it could be the last night where he got to hold you like that.

Morning came faster that what you would have liked. The sound of the drums and the screaming of the Vikings bought Ubbe and you out of your tent. He was given some weapon so he could decide which would he use, and you waited by his side the whole time. Ubbe chose a sword and a knife. He went to the circle where the duel was going to take part, and one of the kings started explaining the rules.

-          Both of you can use two weapons of your choice, and during the fight you will have two shields to defend yourself with. You can’t come out the circle. If king Frodo wins, we all attack Wessex and raid with the villages we find in our way. -some Vikings cheered and screamed louder, hitting his shields in approval. -If prince Ubbe wins, we will take his offer of free lands and we will remove our army. The last one alive win.

-          Ubbe. -you called his name, and he turned around and went your way. You splashed blood in his face, while Frodo’s wife made the same. -If…if you have to stop, I will understand. I prefer a defeated prince than a dead one.

-          My sweet Y/N. -he took your head in between his hands, and kissed you with desire, love and adoration. -I will win. And when we go back, I will marry you.

-          What? -You searched in his eyes for any type of joke, but you only found love.

-          If you have me, Y/N Y/L/N, it would be my pleasure being your husband. -your eyes filled with tears; not of sadness like the night before, but of happiness, and you nodded your head.

-          You better win this then, or I will drag your sorry ass out of the Valhalla myself to marry you.

After kissing him once again, the duel began. Ubbe was fast, strong and smart, but Frodo was an experienced warrior. He wasted no time in attacking your lover, and Ubbe soon had to demand the use of the second shield. Each time his swords touched each other, you cowered a little bit more. There was a moment where Ubbe lost their swords, so Frodo threw him to the floor and started beating him senseless. You had to fight the urge to kill him yourself, but Ubbe was fast and got up in no time. The duel was long, and by the end both men were exhausted and badly injured. Just when you thought Frodo would kill Ubbe, he took out his knife and plunged it in his neck. Frodo went down dead immediately, and Ubbe lost conscience too. Everyone was silent and still, so you ran towards him and put your ear near his mouth. You nearly missed it, but his breath was there; faint and shallow, but it existed. Crying again, you shouted that he was alive, and everyone cheered the son of Ragnar’s victory.

Soon, you were placed in a boat that took you back to Wessex. Ubbe was still sleep when you got there, and some nuns took him to a room. You followed them and watched in silence as they worked. Days went by, and you did not move from his room. His face was swollen, some bones were broken and most part of his skin was bruised. But he was alive. And you thanked the gods for it every second. In the night of the fourth day, he woke up. You were half asleep in the floor, next to his bed and with your head resting in his hand. Ubbe thought then that, if anyone saw you in that moment, he or she would think that you were Freya. Your lips were partly open, you lashes touched your skin lazily, and your skin seemed to glow with the moon light. He took his hand out of your grasp and started to stroke your hair. You woke up a little bit later and moved your head so fast that you nearly lost balance. Ubbe was looking at you; his right eye was shut because of some cut, he couldn’t really move his mouth because of the hits, and he was alive and awake.

-          The floor is cold. -Ubbe’s voice was raspy and rough, but it makes a smile appear in your face. -You probably shouldn’t stay there.

-          Didn’t want to touch you. You’re pretty hurt, you know.

-          I feel it, yeah. But right now, I just want to feel you. – you moved yourself to the bed and helped him to move a little. Even if he made little noises of discomfort, he brought you closer to him.

-          I thought you had died.

-          I promised, didn’t I? Besides, I didn’t want to face you all angry in Valhalla for not marrying you. That, that is scarier that death itself. – you couldn’t help but laugh at his words. You were going to get married, so it was time for him to know about your secret.

-          I need to tell you something.

-          You don’t find me attractive anymore with just one eye? -he joked.

-          No silly, I love you even with no eyes. -you kissed his lips and he hummed happily.

-          I’ve missed this. And I was unconscious. I can’t imagine not having you by my side. -he went to kiss you again, but you moved.

-          Close your eyes and give me your hand, I’ve got a surprise for you.

-          My eye, you mean. I can’t really open the other one.

-          I am debating if the wedding is a good idea.

-          I love you. -he laughed while closing his eye and giving you his hand. You moved it from your cheek to your neck. -Oh, I see where this is going. And let me tell you, I am more than recovered for it.

-          Shut up, my love. Or I will ask those nurses to stich your mouth shut. -you continued moving his hand thought your breast, Ubbe giving you a squeeze and trying to pinch your nipple. You kept going down until his hand touched the bump in your stomach. -Since we are in Wessex, I haven’t really payed attention to my monthly bleeding… but this is proving enough.

-          You… For the Gods, Y/N, this… I mean, how-well I know how but -now he was the one crying out of happiness. -I love you so much Y/N, you have given me everything… and now this, I love you.

He kept rambling about how much he loved that little thing inside of your stomach already, and how happy he was that you were his soon to be wife. Soon after the tears stopped coming and the shock disappeared, he took you by the hips and pushed you over him.

-          What are you doing silly? -she smiled, touching with care his beard.

-          I may be injured, but my duty as a future husband and father is to please the woman I love. So, please, my love, could you just show me that surprise of yours? Taking your dress off might help.

You laughed and helped him out of the sheets, making love to him all night. He might make you fear for his life sometimes, but he also makes you feel complete. And Ubbe worth all of that and more.

[slothcritic]

Dragon Ball Z Abridged - Episode 5 Review

Weird yet creative cutaways with strong overarching momentum.

Vegeta: Kills Bugs Dead opens with Goku finally reaching the end of Snake Way and the end of his journey to reach King Kai. The "nice job, jackass" as Goku literally craters into the planet sets the tone for this character in a big way. We're also treated to the incredible hijinks of Vegeta and Nappa.

[Title Sequence]

The pit-stop at Arlia at least receives a well-fitted and rather hilarious incarnation in this series. Even though the episode alternates its focus between King Kai and Arlia, I'm going to talk at length about Arlia first, and then move onto the King Kai segments.

I'm already going into this scene with some personal bias, as the "stronger guy playing along with the weaker guy because it'd be funny" trope is one of my favorites. And here we have exactly this. Vegeta and Nappa allow themselves to be captured and thrown in jail by the Arlians, where they meet an assortment of varied bug characters.

"Don't drop the soap" seems a little outdated for the modern style of TFS, as I feel they've leaned away from really older, cruder, less PC subject matters like calling someone retarded or insinuating prison rape, etc, but it fits Nappa's character completely as someone who is childish, crass, annoying for the sake of being annoying, and kind of a jerk. TFS has at least acknowledged the idea of possibly re-dubbing Season 1 with better equipment and perhaps a more refined script, and I dearly hope they keep this line unedited simply for the sake of nailing Nappa’s character identity.

After very nearly becoming a prison bitch, Vegeta decides he's had enough and promptly kabooms his way out of prison, landing smack-dab in the middle of a coliseum with the king of Arlia and his queen.

Nappa's blunt manner of introducing himself with simply "Hi." will never age.

It’s noteworthy that scene is also the first moment we get a good look at Vegeta as a character. Nappa was firmly established as the goofball from the start, but Vegeta's portrayal has more depth to it than could be conveyed in one-liners. Most of which is just sass, smug pride, and anger, but still.

It's also made clear very quickly that despite their bantering idiocy and gruff talk that they're not just for show, as Nappa no-diff's the thirteen elite Arlian guards with a massive shock wave that we later see level a city.

The king and queen are then more or less blackmailed into fucking. Nappa's eager fascination during this whole scene, the descriptions, visual edits and sound design are... Well, there's no other way to put it, it's fucked up. And it is hilarious! These are some very creative takes and decisions that were made entirely for internal experience of the show itself rather than as a parody of something else. Nappa even takes a photograph of it and sends it to Vegeta, since he's abstained from watching.

The comedic jabs don't stop there either, as Nappa tries to adopt the Arlian Rancor, but just like the kid who can't sit still, Nappa ends up breaking everything he plays with. Just as Vegeta is about to kill the king, rocks begin flying around the coliseum.

"What are you doing?"

Vegeta smirks. "I'm about to rock you, like a hurricane." And then boom, he hurls a rock into the king and kills him. Let's put a pin in that brick joke for later.

The long flashback scene doesn't play any music, which feels like a weird editing misstep after a series of home runs. They leave the planet as heroes, and Nappa sets Vegeta up for another predictable bit of mood whiplash, where Vegeta obliterates the entire planet. This is a huge escalation in power scale compared to everything else we have seen thus far. But then, this is Dragon Ball Z. We've already reached “destroying planets” at only the fifth episode, and everyone knows that it only goes well past 11 on the dial from here on out.

Granted, there is controversy in the official version about whether or not this would’ve been possible for Saiyan Saga Vegeta, considering Arlia is not canon, but I will not be considering that simply because DBZA contains no filler. Everything shown in the flagship series (not counting movies, DBZA Kai, or other shorts) is presented as being canon to DBZA. Also, Vegeta and Nappa are shown standing outside of their pods... in the vacuum of space. Series veterans will understand the massive can of worms this opens. I'm looking at you, Battle of Gods.

Once everyone, including the people that they JUST SAVED from a tyrannical king, have been reduced to space dust, Nappa closes off this scene nicely.

Now that we've discussed Arlia, let's focus on King Kai's role in the episode.

He explains to Goku that the planet has high gravity due to it's small size. Gregory from off-screen pipes up that this doesn't make any sense. I suppose "higher planet density" wasn't considered when writing the script - or perhaps it was, and they just decided that the easy answer wasn't the funniest one. Maybe “there’s an incredibly powerful pirate trapped in the core of the planet, which is why the gravity is so strong" was deemed better for a parody.

Honestly, I agree. Bojack works as an in-the-know reference, and is also fleshed out enough within the show that a newcomer would understand what's being discussed.

At the time of this review, the Bojack Abridged movie has not yet been released, but this is easily one of the longest brick jokes in all of DBZA, since Episode 5 was released in 2008 and it is my expectation that Bojack Abridged will be released within the year, leaving in its wake an 11 year old callback.

When King Kai asks Goku why he had been sought out, Goku explains that the Saiyans are coming to Earth and he requires training. Excellent fade-in and musical choice for Goku's uncharacteristically serious speech to King Kai.

Of course, it gets cut off at the peak swell with King Kai's indifferent "sure", leaving Goku gobsmacked.

In this series, King Kai's indifference and easy acceptance of Goku is attributed to the mind-numbing loneliness of only having a monkey and a grasshopper (cricket, sorry) to talk to for the last 500 years. Goku agrees, as he couldn't imagine anything more boring.

Major flash-forward to Namek. Just this scene being here at all is a major instance of a sequence break. But it is the introduction of another exceptionally interesting character in the series.

In terms of placement, this works as a long-term cutaway gag and reminiscent humor but not much else. We're still about half a season away from even considering Namek within the story, and the Saiyans haven't even arrived on Earth yet. The decision to slide this segment into the middle of this episode leaves some serious questions in my mind. But at face value, it's not that bad.

We're treated to a solid ten seconds of just staring at a massive fat green alien while birds chirp in the background. We hear a fish go "plonk!" in the water, and Lord Guru calls for someone named Nail, who looks a lot like Piccolo, to approach him.

"I saw a fish. That was all, you can go back outside now." 

Definitely reinforces the point of boring. And while Nail is lamenting how boring his job is, Lord Guru tells him that he saw a bird and then promptly instructs him to "kick its ass."

But we’re not Nail, are we? We’re the viewer, and for some reason in the human mind, segments of extremely boring content usually pique our interest even more, because we have it drilled into our psyche that something is going to happen to break the tension sooner or later. That notion, the idea of slowly leaning closer to the monitor during the ten long seconds of a single still image, both conveys the boring tone of Namek, but also leaves the reader waiting in anticipation long enough for these dull scenes to just fade from their perspective and only latch onto the climatic moment. In this case, Guru commanding his apparent servant/bodyguard to assault a fish.

Not to overstate the obvious, but if it’s not the viewer’s own sense of tension and curiosity, it’s the pure absurdism and characterization of Guru that carries this scene. Disregarding source material, the design of Guru is meant to make him look old, wise and compassionate. Making him a lazy, annoying, verbally violent fatass is a near-infinite cash cow of writing material. It’s very difficult for me to judge this scene unbiased, knowing what comes next, but I imagine this would be a tryhard non-sequitur at worst, or promising potential for the future at best, with regards to this scene on its own, within the context of this episode and nothing more.

This episode also saw the genesis of perhaps not the first, but one of the most popular jokes in all of DBZA: Piccolo just jobbing the shit out of Gohan. DODGE! The scenes chosen and the delivery are outstanding compliments to this cheesy, simplistic joke. At this point I feel it's important to address that my editorial reflections or descriptions of these skits are relative to the context of these episodes. Even with the best of what this episode has to offer, we're still in peak 2008 internet humor era. The use of the word "outstanding" here will not carry a similar significance should I use it to describe a later episode.

Also the most random cutaway in all of DBZA, full-stop, is the brief look into the Hall of Justice, as Superman, Batman and Aquaman debate how they will stop the approaching Saiyans. This is humorous only in its absurdity, but less-endearingly than Guru was. Even if this scene makes zero sense, and relies upon an almost lower form of comedy than slapstick, Aquaman's voice is still just Krillin's voice. At least Superman and Batman sound different than the main cast. I'm really tempted to dislike this more, but the lackadaisical attitude and context of the whole scene definitely draws your eye more than a lot of the sensible but base-line plot progression of the story. I don't know if it belongs. To me, this scene just screams out that TFS is flinging spaghetti wildly at the wall, any and everything that might be funny, and while some of it sticks for one reason or another, (Jadoshin as Solid Snake, Antics on Arlia, even Guru's abrupt cameo) some of it flops. If anything, this show builds upon the corpses of its failures, and learns what works and what doesn't work surprisingly quickly.

Conclusion

Bizarre, but I liked it. Nothing in this episode that's bad is memorable. I might criticize the Namek cutaway for being out of place, but after letting this review sit for a few days, I just remember Goku saying "Man, nothing could be more boring than that!" and the immediate cut to Namek, and Nail pleading for the love of his sanity for something to happen. I might criticize the Justice League cutaway for being wildly out of the place, but I just remember "WHAAAAAALES!"

The meat of the episode was also decent, as it establishes Goku training under King Kai, and Piccolo's continued training of Gohan, the origin of DODGE! and the realization that Gohan can transform into an Ozaru. And you can nod your head and say that these may be necessary to the story all day, but they're also presented with... let's call it a clumsy grace. It's not bad, but it's miles away from official dub quality. This is in essence what the benchmark or gold standard was for early abridging back in 2008. The quality that TFS will continue to evolve the series into simply defies all logic or explanation, and in comparison makes these episodes look downright crude. 

But let's face it, if Episode 1 began with a person lying on the ground and shot in both kneecaps, Episode 5 shows that same person at least hobbling down the street to the hospital. 

It might not look pretty on the whole, and some of the dialogue might be clunky, but it seems like a lot of the flaws in this episode are simply caused by being products of their time.

Whether we're looking at Namek or The Hall of Justice, even the most outlandish oddities of this episode have still made me laugh. That's really the end of it.

Score: 75

Passing Thoughts

"I hope something exciting happens around here soon. I don't care what it is." - Ominous!

"You're surrounded by my thirteen elite *KABOOM* ...dead guards."

"SUMMON THE RANCOR!"