#the way it's longer on top and swoops to the side??

[jula483]

the CUTEST

(x)

[wqnwoos]

“i seriously don’t know how to tell you this,” your friend says, somehow looking anything but serious. “it’s about vernon.”

you glance between seungkwan, who’s sat himself directly in front of where you’re playing with vernon’s carpet, and vernon himself, who’s just gotten up to make popcorn. “alright,” you reply, mirroring seungkwan’s hushed tone. “what’s up? is everything okay?”

“well, no, actually.” seungkwan has a flair for dramatics. “it isn’t my place to say this, but i’m going to say it, because it’s been literally almost two years, and neither of you are saying it. and so by this time, it’s like, my moral duty. like, i owe it. to society.”

“kwan,” you say, wrinkling your nose, “i love you very much, but what the fuck are you talking about?”

“you’re in love with him. vernon.”

the statement in itself doesn’t shock you. seungkwan is smart; you’d honestly be more surprised if he hadn’t known your deep, dark secret. what’s surprising is that he’s bringing it up, when vernon is literally just a few feet away, bopping his head to some invisible tune or the hum of the microwave.

“no comment,” you whisper, finally, adding in a hiss: “and also shut up. he’s right there!”

“___, please,” seungkwan begs. and there is madness in those eyes; he looks borderline frantic. “i can’t be the third wheel for any longer. like i physically can’t take it.”

you reach for his knee to pat it soothingly, eyeing him with a wary expression. “i still don’t know what you’re talking about. but it’ll be okay, kwannie. i believe in you!”

he groans, miserably, but continues, still speaking in rapid-fire whispers. “i’m saying vernon has feelings for you. like, more than friends.”

“…you mean, like… best friends?”

seungkwan collapses. throws himself backwards onto the carpeted floor with a long, drawn-out groan — you’re used to seungkwan’s dramatics, but this is top tier for him. you’re honestly kind of impressed with how long he keeps the groan going. it’s injected with very emotive frustration, and you can respect that.

seungkwan sits up with abrupt suddenness, grabbing you by the cheeks. his eyes meet yours with ferocious intensity; yours meet his with a confused blink. “you,” your friend says, very seriously, “are fucking stupid.”

you don’t even get the chance to muster a response, simply sitting dumbfounded on the carpet as seungkwan gets up. “i’m leaving,” he announces loudly over the beeping of the microwave. “jeonghan hyung called. i have to feed doljjongie.”

vernon sticks his head out the kitchen, brows furrowed. “you mean the rock?”

“yes.” and with that, seungkwan points at you, mouthing a verocious say something, before turning on his heel and marching straight out the apartment.

“yo,” vernon says, glancing at the front door with bemusement as he rejoins you, armed with a bowl of warm, buttery popcorn. “what happened to him?”

your mind is still reeling from two minutes ago (“vernon has feelings for you. like, more than friends.”) and so when vernon squishes against you, as he always does, you choke up. can’t answer his question, determinedly staring at the screen in front of you both.

you only offer a lame little shrug in response to his question, sneaking glances at vernon from the corner of your eye. you’re stupidly in love with him: the way he always eats three pieces of popcorn at a time, knocks you on the side of your knee with his when he wants your attention, brushes his overgrown hair out of his eyes with the back of his hand.

you used to think it felt like the world was coloured rose when you looked at him. a swooping, butterfly-inducing, fluttery feeling — but now, you’ve realised that’s not it. with vernon, you see the world exactly as it is, bright and grim, but maybe a little softer round the edges. a little less daunting, because he’s always on your side.

even from a distance, seungkwan is the one to buzz you out of your reverie. your phone vibrates and lights up with a text from him —

[9:36pm] seungkwan: say something!!!!!!

you let out the smallest sigh, and vernon catches it, eyes flicking to your phone and back to your expression. he nods, once, eyebrows raised, “everything good?”

“just seungkwan,” you say. and without any build-up, you blurt out, “vernon, do you ever think about dating?”

his brows furrow and his lips twist in their characteristic vernon way. “dating?” he pauses, meeting your eyes. “that’s a random question. do you think about it?”

all the time. “do you?”

“i mean. yeah, i guess so,” he answers slowly, uncertainly. “sometimes.”

again, without warning, you’re changing the subject, speaking rapidly before you can think it through. “seungkwan didn’t leave to feed doljjongie.”

the movie is long forgotten by now, vernon shifting more to face you. “i mean, i figured,” he starts, half-amused, half-concerned. “it’s a rock. you’re acting weird. are you okay?”

“seungkwan left because he didn’t want to be a third wheel.”

you watch as bafflement appears on vernon’s face. “third wheel? but — we’re not — we aren’t dating.”

you swallow, suddenly wondering how you’ve found yourself in this situation. “yeah, well. i guess he thinks we should be.”

there’s a heavy silence that settles in the room, then. vernon doesn’t move away, his eyes falling to your twisting hands, watching as you start picking mercilessly at your nails.

“don’t do that,” he says quietly, taking your hands in his, separating them. he squeezes, ever so gently, just enough to make you look at him — when your eyes meet, his grip tightens ever so slightly, and you watch his throat bob as he swallows.

“what do you think?” he asks, after a moment that feels like forever.

you blink at him. “what?”

“seungkwan thinks we should date.” he hesitates. “i think we should date. what do you think?”

when you breathe out this time, you’re smiling, unable to bite it back. “i think i have to agree with the majority.”

the smile you get in return is practically divine.

an / one day i will figure out how to write another trope for vernon. today is not that day. neither is tomorrow.

also my taglist is currently not working and i have no idea why 😭 will try and tag in the replies but if i miss anyone i’m so sorry! (edit - taglist is not working at all!! sorry <3)

edit #3 I THINK I GOT IT

perm taglist: @n4mj00nvq @eoieopda @som1ig @glowunderthemoon @wondering-out-loud @graybaeismytae @hannyoontify @sahazzy @dokyeomin @icyminghao @smilehui @nicholasluvbot @lvlystars @immabecreepin @hanniehaee @kokoiinuts @astrozuya @doublasting @yepimthatonequirkyteenager @qaramu @weird-bookworm @phenomenalgirl9 @lightnjng @strnsvt @onlyyjeonghan @athanasiasakura

[spamgyu]

Biggest Regret // Mingyu Oneshot

DESCRIPTION: Mingyu had many regrets in life, he had made many mistakes... ruining the best thing to happen to him, since joining Seventeen, was his biggest one. PARING: Mingyu x Reader GENRE: Angst WARNING: Cheating

You knew there was someone else.

You could feel it.

He had pulled away – no longer swooping down to capture your lips in the middle of a sentence, he no longer texted you sweet words through out the day while he was overseas, his free time was no longer spent with you.

You could see it.

You watched as the eyes that once held the stars grow dim; he looked at you as if you were nothing but a stranger. He no longer looked at you with those soft eyes as you pretended to not feel his gaze; hell, he rarely looked over at you.

He was always far too preoccupied with his phone. Preoccupied with her.

You could smell it.

Her lingering scent of sweet vanilla hanging on to his clothes as he strolled into your apartment – it had completely masked your once favorite cologne of his. There hadn't been a day in the past four months that she didn't linger, and he didn't even bother hiding it.

As if you were too stupid to notice.

More importantly, you heard it.

The soft hum of his voice had gone; speaking to you as if you weren't the girl he had promised forever with. He no longer told you he loved you throughout the day unless you were the first one to utter those three words – and even then, he never did say all three of the words.

"You too."

He was stupid to think you didn't know but you were even stupider for sticking around this long.

You thought it was just a minor bump in the road, being blinded by the love you have for him. You chose to turn an eye on the infidelity you had caught on to immediately; wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But as one month turned into four, your lack of reaction had given your boyfriend the confidence to keep the deceitful act going – almost as if he wanted to get caught.

Her presence was once something you only knew through his actions, but she had become quite bold just as him.

It was one of the quite rare occasions where he decided to spend his days off with you, inviting you over to his shared living space for dinner and a movie. You didn't know what it was, maybe it was the universe or your gut feeling, but something told you to go into his room while he was busy in the kitchen – using an excuse of wanting to borrow one of his hoodies.

That feeling was right.

You didn't need to go digging for any clues, it was right there in plain sight.

Sitting atop his desk was a stack of dainty gold bracelets.

You wore silver jewelry and haven't been at his place in nearly a month.

All sorts of scenarios played in your head as to how this had come to be, but one specific one fought its way to the top – the one where it required her to not only shed the jewelry she wore for the day, but her clothes as well.

You felt sick to your stomach at the thought of her taking space on the side of your bed; marking her territory.

You knew he was being unfaithful to you, but seeing the evidence of it was different – bringing a new sense of pain. This one was crippling, feeling your knees wanting to give out from under you as you tried to process the grief that you had been trying your best to push back over the past few months.

You had always told yourself that the second you physically saw evidence of her, you would walk away – the time had finally come. She had set up camp in the heart that you once resided in and by the looks of it, she wasn't planning on leaving.

Taking your bottom lip in-between your teeth to stop it from quivering, you reached for the clasp of the beaded Tiffany bracelet around your wrist – the one he had purchased for you when he had asked you to be officially his.

"The day these beads fall off, is the day I stop loving you." Mingyu laughed softly as he helped you put the silver jewelry on.

Both the beads and double linked chain it had been threaded through were sterling silver, there was no way they were coming off.

There hadn't been a day since receiving it that you did not wear it, and it still stayed intact; a stark contrast to the love he said he would have for you.

You walked over to the desk and placed the item he had used to profess his loyalty to you right next to hers; taking in a deep breathe to regain your composure before walking right back out to finally meet your inevitable fate.

You watched him silently one last time, taking in how beautifully he had grown in the four years you two had been together – right before you pulled the plug he had been too much of a coward to do himself.

"I'm tired." Your cold voice took not only him by surprise, but you as well.

Maybe you were an even better actor than you thought yourself to be.

Looking up from the meal he had just finished plating, Mingyu sent over a pout. "Dinner is ready, though."

You shook your head.

He thought you meant physically.

"No, Mingyu– I'm tired." You repeated. "I– let's end this. I thought I can handle dating you but– I can't take the busy schedule anymore. I need someone who I can see more than once every two weeks."

It was a shitty excuse, you both knew you could handle it perfectly well – you two have been separated for far longer when he would do his overseas tour.

But you couldn't bring yourself to confront him of the sin he had committed; not when you can't even bring yourself to accept it in the first place.

"He- hey." He rushed over to you, brows furrowed in confusion. "What– where is this coming from?"

In his defense, this did seem as if it was being sprung out of nowhere – there had been no signs of your uncertainty.

Not a single one.

Just before you had walked into his room, you two had been discussing the upcoming weekend trip you would be joining with his family. Going as far as discussing the plans you had made with his sister and mother while he and his father were golfing.

"I was going to do it after the trip." Another lie. "But– I can't do that to your family."

"Y/n." He scanned your face, trying to show any hints of a possible prank. "Come on."

But your eyes remained staring off behind him; focusing on the silver knob of the white cabinets. You couldn't look him in the eye as you began to tear down the only world you have known in the past four years.

Not when he should have been the one to end it months ago.

"I loved you." You continued.

"Loved?"

"Thank you for everything, Mingyu– I really did cherish my time with you."

"Baby," He tried to reach for your wrist but something else had caught his eye – or at least, the lack of it. "Where's–"

Bringing your arm back, behind yourself, you took a step back from him. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"How can I when– when I don't even know where this is coming from?" Mingyu exasperated, hesitantly taking a step towards you.

"Goodbye, Mingyu."

"Stop calling me that!" He cried, closing his eyes – as if things would be any better if he did.

Swallowing the pain that had grown to the size of a golfball in your throat, you turned your back from him – heading to the couch where you had placed your purse.

"So that's just it?" He called out as you continued to prepare yourself from walking out of the love you could have sworn that would have lasted forever.

You remained silent until you reached the front door; ignoring his eyes that were practically burning a hole into your skin.

"Don't do this." You could hear the tears in his voice as you twisted the handle.

"I'm sorry." You whispered before quickly exiting the apartment – the tears you had done so well keeping in had now came rushing down.

By the time you had stepped foot in the elevator, your knees had giving out on you – using the railing to stop you from collapsing on to the floor as the sobs echoed throughout the walls of the confined space.

The end had come and it was far more painful than you had thought it would be.

・゜゜・．・゜゜・．・゜゜・．・゜゜・．

When you had walked out on him that spring night a year and a half ago, Mingyu felt nothing but lost – unable to fully comprehend as to why the relationship he had been in for the past four years had suddenly come to an end.

You had not once complained about his schedule since being together, it didn't make sense as to why it had been the reason you had used to walk away from him.

It wasn't until he had walked into his bedroom when it clicked – the silver bracelet he had asked about sitting right next to the the evidence of his crimes.

The crimes he had finally put an end to after being caught by his best friend just days ago – talking, yelling, some senses into him.

But it was far too late, and he knew what he had done was unforgivable; there was no use in running after you. Not when you knew about all that he had done.

He knew there were no words, no actions, no grand gesture he would have done that could win you back. And you deserved to walk away from the pain he had brought you, you deserved better.

You deserved someone who respected you.

There wasn't a single day he didn't beat himself up for what he had done to you, allowing for the constant nightmare to haunt his every actions.

Mingyu didn't care how much he was breaking as each day passed, he knew he deserved it – long as he knew you were okay. You deserved the happiness you were experiencing now; at least, the happiness he had seen through your social media posts.

He didn't dare to move on from you, subjecting himself to the sentencing that could have been avoided if he hadn't given in to his selfish needs. It was all his fault and he had no issues owning up to it; his contributions to all their new songs seemingly relating back to you.

His words that were once empty, relating to not a single pain his friend's experience, now carried the weight of his past. Mingyu didn't try to hide it either, being quite vocal of, his mistakes when asked about their songs – which he seemed to have been credited quite often than before.

Fiddling with the silver beads around his wrist as he focused on the journalist in front of him. Mingyu tried his best to gather the words in his head to answer the question asked.

"What's your biggest regret?"

Unlike other magazine spreads he had been featured in before, this one didn't purely focus on looks or a brand deal – no, this was was feature was in the intention of stripping away mask artists put on. It was the magazine's way of showing the people idolized by the public were human as well.

"We can skip the question." The young man chuckled nervously.

"No- no it's okay." Mingyu shook his head, shaking away the image of you in his head. "I– Hm... I think I've been in the industry long enough to talk about relationships, right? I– I was with this person for some quite some time, and I– I let my weaknesses get to me. I let it ruin the one thing, no– I let it ruin the person that loved me like I was their whole world. I took their trust and their love for me for granted. I think–"

He let out a pitiful laugh as he felt the tears well up – he shouldn't be the one crying. Not when he was the one that put himself in the situation he was in.

"I think," Mingyu's fingers reaching for the jewelry he had not taken off since that night he had discovered it sitting on his wooden desk – a habit he seemed to have developed when he felt that he needed to ground himself back on to earth. "I think I will forever have my regrets about this one mistake."

PERMANENT TAGLIST

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(for some reason it's not allowing me to tag some who wanted to be added to the perm tag list ... cries... pls check ur settings so i can for future posts)

[tinyluvs]

I’ve been feeling fluffy Spencer lately too 🥺🥺 esp dad!spencer like just visiting him at work w bub -🌺

screaming, crying, throwing up, tysm for this angel ♡ enjoyy !! also this ended up WAY longer than i planned it to be!

"i'm hungry," your daughter whines, throwing her head back dramatically, her little arms wrapped around your legs while her chin rests on your thighs

you chuckle at her, fingers brushing through her baby hairs, "you're dramatic," you snicker at her confused face, "daddy's office is only one more floor up, you'll be fine,"

as you finish your sentence the elevator pings and the doors slide open, "come on then princess," you hold your hand out, waiting for a smaller hand to slip into it

"princess hazel!" your little girl squeals, jumping out of the elevator, over the tiny gap and out into the foyer of the bau. she runs on ahead, tiny hands wrapping around the handle on the doors, "open!"

you give her a hand, pulling on the door to open it enough for you both to slip through, "hold on," you gasp, bending to grab her hand before she can take off running through the office

it takes you all of three seconds to spot spencer, sitting at his desk reading a book, though his back is turned to you, "i see daddy," you whisper, leading hazel through the office until she can see him too

"daddy!" she shouts, causing multiple people to turn their attention to the child running through the room but she only has her eyes on her dad

spencer gasps, discarding his book on his desk just in time to catch the ball of excitement launching herself into his lap, "hey sweetheart!" he chuckles, tightening his arms around hazel's body, squeezing her

he stands up, spinning around with his daughter in his arms as you finally catch up to them. the little girl squeals and giggles, throwing her head back again, "be careful," you giggle, gently holding the back of her head, "hey,"

"hello," your boyfriend smiles, settling hazel under his arm as he swoops forwards to kiss you quickly, "what're you guys doing here?" he asks, putting your child down

"well, we thought we could have lunch together," you explain, watching spencer hold both of hazels's hands while she tucks her legs up, hanging in front of him in a fit of giggles

"lunch!" hazel repeats, finally putting her feet on the floor but no sooner has she made contact with the ground, she's holding her arms up, waiting for spencer to pick her up, again, "up!"

spencer sighs, jokingly and over exaggerated, "again? but you're so heavy," he says but never one to say no to either of his girls, he crouches, scooping his baby up

silently you watch them, unpacking sandwiches, all wrapped up neatly in foil. out of the corner of your eye, you notice penelope and derek wander into the bullpen, "oh my goodness, my baby!" pen gasps before you can even say hello to her

hazel scrambles, accidentally kicking spencer in the stomach as she leaps from his arms, "auntie pen! uncle 'rek!" both of the adults crouch down, their arms wrapping around the small girl as she barrels into them

you and spencer lean into each other, smiling widely as you distantly hear hazel shouting, "up!" at derek just a few seconds before she's sitting proudly on his shoulders, her chin resting on top of his head

the commotion grabs the attention of dave, jj and emily who all appear from different directions, though they all end up stood in front of derek, talking up at hazel

"she's so loved," you smile softly, looking up at spencer, his arm snaking around your waist and his lips pressing against your forehead

"she is," he agrees, reaching for the sandwiches on his desk. he unwraps all of them, handing you half of yours before holding half of hazel's out, "morgan, come here," he chuckles

derek jumps, sending hazel giggling all over again as they make their way towards you, the rest of the team following. derek bends down, letting hazel snatch her sandwich from her dad

"hey guys," you greet the rest of the team, side hugging them gently, "how is everyone?" you ask after getting a mixed bag of greetings back from them

"much better now hazel's here," jj comments, holding her hand out so that hazel will give her a high five, "good job honey," she nods when your daughter, aggressively, slaps her hand

spencer sits on the edge of his desk, pulling slightly on your sweater until you're moving back, plopping down right next to him while you finish your sandwich

"where's uncle aaron?" hazel asks, twisting her tiny body around violently. a small scowl covers her face as she realises, he's not in the bullpen

emily leans, looking around everyone, "hey, he's in his office, shall we go see him?" she asks, holding her hands out. hazel nods, sliding off of derek’s shoulders and into emily's arms

before they dart off, spencer leans forwards, taking the left over crust from his daughters hands, "why won't you eat those?" he asks, shaking his head slightly

"yucky!" hazel shouts through a laugh when emily hops up the few stairs in front of aaron's office.

"she's getting so big," dave comments, crossing his arms over his chest, "i feel like the last time i saw her, she was half the size she is now,"

"yeah, you should bring her in more often," penelope huffs, plopping down into a spinny chair that you guess is spencers, "or, at least let me babysit every once in a while,"

through open blinds you watch as aaron stands your daughter on his desk, "hey, you guys are more than welcome to borrow her any time," you chuckle, "she's a handful though," you warn

"we can handle her for a few hours, give you and spence some time alone," jj says, her tone suggestive, "maybe give hazel a little brother or sister?" she comments before brushing past, also on her way to aaron's office

beside you spencer blushes a deep red, his fingers drumming against your waist, "jj!" he groans, causing derek, penlope and dave to also laugh as they depart, following the sound of your girls laughter

you lean back to look into aaron's office through the now open door, "she's bouncing on his couch," you snicker, watching the rest of the team bob their heads as they all watch her going up and down

"oh god," spencer gasps, standing, ready to go and stop her but you wrap your fingers loosely around his wrist pulling him back so he's stood between your legs, "pretty," he smiles, looking down at you

his thumbs ghost over your cheeks as they heat, "hey, do you ever think about it?" you ask but spencer just tilts his head like a confused puppy, "having another baby," you clarify

your boyfriend thinks for a second, "well, yeah, of course, why?" he asks, a light smirk playing on his face. his hands slip down your neck, resting on your shoulders

"hazel's going into kindergarten soon, so, it wouldn't be the worst timing," you say slowly, staring up at spencer, "what do you think?"

spencer smiles wildly, humming in agreement before bending to kiss you properly, though it's messy and interrupted by the both of you smiling into it, "sounds perfect," he mumbles, kissing at the corner of your mouth before standing straight

"okay," you whisper, heart racing with excitement as you wrap your arms around spencer's waist, pulling him in so you can hide your face against his stomach, "right, let's go retrieve out daughter before she makes herself sick,"

spencer laughs at you, tangling his fingers with yours as you lead him towards aaron's office. you slot in by the rest of the team while spencer catches hazel mid couch jump, "you'll be sick if you carry on with that, princess,"

"no i won't!"

the team laughs while you lean slightly towards jj, "hey, do you, maybe, fancy having a play date this weekend?" you ask, eyeing her slightly though you don't need to, she knows what you're asking and why

"i would absolutely love to,"

thanks for reading! remember to like! reblog! and comment! i’ll give you a smooch if you do, ily !! send prompts to my ask box!

❥ spencer reid masterlist !!

a/n you know what imma say !! proofread badly, soz x

also; dad!spencer has my mf ♡

[wheneclipsefalls]

Grovel Part 3

Pairing: Aged up Lo'ak x Fem Omatikaya Reader

Grovel Masterlist

Warnings: aged up characters, past cheating, angst, mentions of blood, trauma, nightmares, description of injuries and death, war flashbacks, fear, swearing, drinking, etc.

Summary: Lo'ak is everywhere all at once.

A/N: Sooo...a little unsure about how the writing quality of this turned out but I hope you enjoy anyways. oh also I really don't know how or why I made this chapter so long haha

“And that speech…” Talu paused to give a wistful sigh. Words were not necessary to convey how romantic she thought Lo’ak’s courting proposal was. “Sister I can only hope for the same from Neteyam soon.” The sparkling grin she threw your way proved to be anything but envious, cheeks tinting into a happy shade. 

Your own returned smile was mediocre at best, fingers still running over the mysterious pieces of your new top. No, of your new courting gift. That would never stop feeling strange, especially knowing it had come from a man that you had written off as a memory so long ago. If Talu sensed your apprehension, she didn’t show it. Nothing could stop her giddy babbling as she went about straightening your shared kelku. 

“I admit, I would not have guessed Lo’ak to be the first of the two to profess such feelings but then again this is my sister we are talking about.” Her eyes shined with pure admiration and love. “He would be a true skxawng to not tuck away his childish hesitations in favor of chasing such a gem.” 

“Talu-” You go to reprimand her dramatics but it falls on deaf ears. 

“And just think, with any luck our matings could coincide and then before you know it our children will be learning to hunt together. We could even create a connected kelku. I’ve seen a few families do it before!”

“Is that not a little much?”

Talu squealed, feet kicking like a small child. It was hard to cut off such ramblings when she was in this state. So truly disconnected from the judgments of others, letting her joy flow from her without reserve. 

“It is like becoming sisters all over again. Double sisters even. Or…” She paused thoughtfully. “However you say it.” 

“I don’t think there is such a term.” You muttered, tucking away the healing ointments into a basket. That sparkling top still lay across the floor of the marui. It had no place in your home, or at least you didn’t know where it would be. Even heaped across the floor it felt far too grand in this humble abode. 

“How have you not tried it on?” Talu gasped, kneeling down to carefully collect the garment as if handling a rare gem. “Go on! It will look dazzling on you, I know it!” 

You reared back, fingers twirling nervously away from where she offered it to you. 

“I don’t know if I will.” 

“Why not?” Talu’s head tilted to the side, tail dashing back and forth in anticipation. “Don’t worry about breaking it. I can help you get it on carefully.” 

A small smile curved at her kind invitation but you no longer knew how else to respond to her new enthusiasm. You had no interest in explaining and consequently reliving the events of you and Lo’ak’s history but neither did you want her fantasy of your twinned mating to blow out of proportion. 

“What I mean is I don’t know if I will wear it at all. Lo’ak’s courting…well…I don’t think I will accept.” 

Her ears dropped immediately, eyes widening as her tail came to a halt. Talu didn’t wait for an explanation. 

“I do not understand. Was his presentation not…sufficient?” 

You were shaking her head before she even finished. Scrambling back down to your knees to meet her at eye level. 

“No, of course it was but…I am not sure whether or not I would like to accept his courting in general. Lo’ak can be very…” You paused, searching for the right words that would get her desperate attention off of you while properly masking the past. “Annoying,” you finished lamely.

“Annoying?!” A laugh of disbelief coated the word. Her tail swooped up slightly and a spark of hope surfaced again. “By Eywa, what are you talking about?”

You knew it was the wrong choice of words the second they left your mouth. Hoping to conceal your heated blush you hastened back into straightening the room. 

“What do you mean by that?” She rephrased.

“Well Lo’ak has always been a little headstrong and…loud…and….oh he always called me names and pulled at my tail-”

It was difficult to continue now with Talu’s rampant giggling filling the room.

“All of those reasons are from when you were children. Of course he was not great for the nerves, no boy was at that time, but it has been years.” Amusement danced in her eyes, that level of disappointment already washed away. It’s not as if you could blame her truthfully. Your reasoning was lacking at best. 

“Give the male a chance to show he has changed. If his appearance is anything to go off of then we know at least one thing has changed-”

“Talu!” You hissed, chucking a woven blanket at her. Your sister’s laughter did not subside as it made contact and she dramatically rolled to the floor. Despite her suggestive joke you couldn’t help but find her joy contagious and before you knew it both of you were bursting at the seams until your stomachs ached. 

“Lo’ak has his work cut out for him. It will take more than pretty words and a few tattoos to win my sister.” She finally spoke once you were starting to catch your breath. There was no mistaking the pride in her tone. “As it should be.” She reassured you, placing a hand atop her head before exiting the kelku. 

Neteyam’s proposal came mere days later. You wondered if part of the rush was due to being upstaged by his brother but that theory was set to the side when you witnessed Lo’ak’s helping hand in the festivities. He had been the one to set off the glowing plants at the end of Neteyam’s speech, painting eclipse in a vibrant glow that washed over the smiling couple. And when Talu had given her joyful, yet contained, acceptance, Lo’ak had smiled at you from the bushes. 

Gifts came pouring in left and right, your front doorstep littered with fresh kills, baskets, berries, and woven ornaments every other day. Each gift was specifically marked from each brother, obvious that neither wanted the credit for their work to be placed on their sibling. It was almost humorous were it not for the guilt you felt in disposing of your gifts hastily. 

Talu had given you a fair share of glares when you had passed off the neat meals to some neighboring families or tied small trinkets into some of the little girl’s hair in the village. No one knew that they were from the youngest Sully son but Talu’s disapproval was enough to make you hesitate at times. And yet, that first beautiful garment remained draped over your table at home without being touched for days. 

Despite her common persuading, Talu often brushed off your resistance as your way of playing hard to get. The looks she would exchange with Neteyam when Lo’ak was brought up had your intuition sparking. You wouldn’t put it past your older sister to conspire with the eldest Sully son in the ways of helping Lo’ak woo you. 

Those suspicions were borderline confirmed as the gifts switched to very specific items and fruits that caught your fancy. One morning in particular you had woken up to your mouth watering at the smell of peanut butter coming from the entrance. Such a rare delicacy that the Sully’s had introduced you to so many years ago, your senses had become quickly attuned to its pull. 

So you ate it.

Tucked away in the corner of the marui where you could shovel it into your mouth without judgment, but you had eaten it all the same. And as the last glob of strange texture stuck to your tongue it was becoming harder and harder to feel guilty for indulging in the pleasure. 

So you stopped.

From then on out when the gifts came you sorted them into trinkets that would be shoved away and repurposed to treats you would allow yourself to enjoy. Lo’ak dropped off meals so often that it became almost unnecessary to join communal dinner. Although you would never admit it, you couldn’t resist the slowly cooked meat or even the fish that he had seasoned and prepared in such a unique way you could only associate it with him. All the same, you let yourself have it.

After all, if he wanted to waste his time hunting and foraging for your delight every day that was his prerogative. And what you did with those free offerings was yours. 

A bitter part of you couldn’t help but feel satisfied by the constant effort he was putting in. Perhaps this is what he truly deserved after breaking your heart. He could race across the forest every day trying to win your affections without result and maybe that would finally teach him to handle people’s hearts more carefully. 

In any case, this obsession would subside sooner or later and he would be chasing after another girl. Until then, it seemed logical to enjoy the splendors while you could. 

However it became increasingly more difficult to avoid his presence as the gifts poured in, especially in the company of others. Some days it felt as if Lo’ak was everywhere all at once. Helping a clan member move into their marui, joining the afternoon hunting party, taking notes at his father’s meetings. The list went on and on. It was more than you expected for the youngest son of the Olo’eyktan to have. 

And Lo’ak never missed a day. You never woke to an empty threshold and he never stopped averting his attention your way no matter the situation. Even if some days all he could afford was a loving gaze, one that made your stomach turn itself inside out. 

Your fingertips had grown wrinkly under the river’s current as you continued to scrubs at the cloth viciously. So many to get through cleaning for the healer’s tent before you could sufficiently rest from today’s labors. Still…you remembered a time where it was worse. So much worse. 

It was never too late to count your blessings. 

“The orange would look good!”

Your ears perked, recognizing the voice although it had changed over the years. Sweet Tuktirey emerged from the treeline, her older brother in tow. It was difficult to wrap your mind around how much the girl had grown since the Sully’s departure. Where once skipped a tiny optimistic child of sunshine now bloomed a beautiful young woman on the precipice of adulthood. Still only a teenager, Tuk had seen more than most people should in their early years.

It was a relief to find that the trials of war failed to dim her light. 

“I don’t need another one.” Lo’ak insisted.

Your scrubbing intensified but your breath held. Perhaps they wouldn’t see you. 

“Just a small one right here.” Tuk halted her brother sternly before carefully selecting a stray braid to bring forward. “It would look so pretty!” She giggled and Lo’ak scoffed.

“Pretty? What type of vibe do you think I’m going for?” Hands on his hips and eyes narrowing it was still easy to see the glimmer of teasing there. It only made Tuk laugh harder. 

“Whatever it is, it's too late to save you from it now.” The words barely left her lips before a shriek followed and she was racing away from her brother’s chase after her tail. The edges of your lips curved upwards. “Lo’ak!” She screeched, now trying to elbow her way out of his grasp. 

They wrestled along the rocky shore until his younger sister was gasping for a truce. Dopey grins matched as the two finally broke away to collect themselves. Your eyes refused to be diligent as you kept forcing them back at your task. 

Their laughter died down suspiciously quick and through the gentle breeze you could just barely pick up on whispering. The weight of their attention bore down on you. The scrubbing picked up tenfold. There are still three rags left but maybe-

“Y/N!” Tuk called, practically skipping your direction. There was no hope in hiding now.

You flipped over in mock surprise, a warm grin naturally taking place as you saw her rush your way. 

“Hi Tuk.” Infusing friendliness into your tone and body language you tried to keep your eyes pinned on the younger Na’vi and not her shadow that followed behind. 

“What are you doing?” She immediately swooped in to kneel beside you. 

“Tuk, don’t bother her.” Lo’ak called, gently jogging to catch up. His hair was down today, decorated braids swinging with every step. 

“I’m not bothering her!” She shot back with a huff as he came to a halt before them. Lo’ak’s dark eyebrows dropped, giving his sister a doubtful look. 

“She is fine.” You gave a firm assurance but purposefully veered your attention back at the sudsy rag. Otherwise you were sure to notice insignificant details like the return of his battle band and the way it gave a further optical illusion of his slim waist. 

“Are these from grandmother’s tent?” Tuk gestured to the pile of rags. 

“Just giving them a quick wash.” 

“All by yourself?” Her surprise at such a thing warmed your heart, even more so as she reached to grab one of the rags.

“Oh no, Tuk. It is alright. I can manage.” Your concerns are quickly shushed as she swats your hand away. “I don’t want to make you late.” 

From the look on Lo’ak’s face that is exactly what was going to happen. Whatever engagement they were currently going to was sure to be starting soon. 

“Well…” She dropped the rag, pausing for a moment. “I can’t really stay long…”

“Do not worry.” You laughed softly, placing a hand on her arm but there was a flicker of mischief in her smile. 

“But Lo’ak can help!” Within one yank to his arm she had her older brother falling to his knees. 

“Oh no Tu-”

“He’s great at washing rags! Best in our family, actually.” 

The bizarre lie almost had your panic melting into humor. You expected Lo’ak to intervene again but despite the roll of his eyes and reprimanding look shot Tuk’s way, he was already shifting to get comfortable and reach for the next rag. 

“No, really.” You caught the rag from his fingertips and alongside it his gaze as well. Pools of gold studied you with a diligence that made your skin burn. 

“I can walk myself the rest of the way.” Tuk happily chirped, rising to her feet. Ripping the cloth away you scrambled to gather the rest of the supplies. It didn’t help when two four-fingered hands gently helped you gather the mess silently. 

“I appreciate it, Tuk, but I really should head back as well.” 

Her shoulders dropped. Within a stride Lo’ak was in your space. Instinct almost had you reeling backwards before you realized it was to simply hand over the rest of the supplies. 

“We can walk you.” He offered, voice warm and smooth like falling molasses. 

“No thank you.” Two steps backwards and your lungs could finally fill with air not drenched in his essence. 

“But you’ll be at the party tonight, right?” Tuk perked over his shoulder, eyes wide and already on her toes for an answer.

“Party?” 

“More of a small get together, near the old shack.” Lo’ak corrected. 

“Anything but small. There will be food and music and an excuse to dress up.” Her hairless brows wiggled, a glee that was intoxicating. 

“I don’t know I-”

“Oh you can wear that new top! I’ve been dying to see it on someone! Lo’ak would barely let me look at it while he was making it, let alone try it on.” Supple lips formed into a pout.

“Okayyy,” He drawled, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Tuk shrunk under the weight, squirming as he began to pull her back. “I think you’ve bugged the poor woman enough.” 

She hissed back at him, ducking under his arm to be released. A few comments shot between the two in English but Tuk reluctantly began to inch away. 

“We do hope you can make it.” There those eyes were again, studying you for any change. Perhaps he was waiting to see if you would shout, run off, even raise a hand at him. If so, it would be a relief to see him finally catching on to his standing with you. “Call for me if you need help. I will come.”He promised and Tuk quickly ran up to wave goodbye.

 Just as you thought the coast was clear, making your way upshore, footsteps came up fast. You turned and startled slightly to find Lo’ak so close again. He held something wrapped in leaves. 

Lo’ak held it up with a half grin. 

“Lunch, paskalin [honey].” Before you could shoot back your protests he had it tied to your bag strap and was jogging away. You watched his retreat longer that you would have cared to admit. Not your fault. Lo’ak had a way of catching you off guard. That’s all it was, you told yourself. It had nothing to do with the way sunlight danced across his shoulder blades. 

Lo’ak made it seem like attending tonight’s party was optional. A stance that Talu clearly did not share as she braided small flowers into your hair. You could try to convince her otherwise, maybe even make up a lie but you knew better than to underestimate Talu’s ability to shackle you into social events. When she had an idea in her head nothing would sway her away. 

Yet another reason your theory of her aiding the younger Sully son concerned you. Although you’d hate to believe it, it would surely only take witnessing a few of her conversations with Neteyam to confirm such meddling. And with how often Neteyam swept her away, there was simply too much time for scheming to take place. 

“Don’t you think it is a little rude not to wear it?” Talu huffed, holding the sparkling top out to you. The same one a certain Sully had gifted.  

“Seems more rude to give him false hope by wearing it.” 

“Oh come now, you can’t seriously claim there is no hope for him to cling to.” Talu rolled her eyes, carefully turning each piece of the top so it laid in the right direction. When faced with your deadpanned expression she let out a sight, shoulders dropping. “I’m just saying it would match nicely with the flowers.”

“I’m wearing the purple vines.” You reiterated, eyes narrowing.

“Alright alright,” She carefully laid down the garment and turned to show her surrender. “Have it your way.” 

It would be foolish to believe that her acceptance would be anything more than short lived. Bracing yourself for the night ahead you carefully dressed and began crafting a game plan. Anything that would keep Lo’ak off your back and therefore sail you through the party swiftly. 

Tuk was right. This ‘small gathering’ was anything but intimate. While it was clear that not all clan members were not invited, it was obvious which demographic they were catering to. Almost every young single warrior, healer, and gatherer had shown up with dazzling garments and the motivation to whisk the night into a frenzy. Frankly it was surprising that Tuk’tirey was allowed at this party at all. 

Then again, she came with three taller, older escorts flanking her sides. 

You could practically feel Talu’s grin, although she strategically turned to hide it. She had a way with men that seemed to serve her well. Never reveal your cards too early. 

It was a success for as far as you could tell because the future Olo’eyktan barely made out simple greetings as his eyes were drawn back to your sister like a moth to flame. It was starting to get uncomfortable. And although you couldn’t be more happy for your sister, it became clear that taking your turns around the gathering would serve you better. 

The old shack was something you had never ventured to see. As children with the Sullys you had refused to get anywhere near it. Even now as it was almost entirely swallowed by Eywa’s forest and your friends served drinks from inside, it felt as if hallowed spirits still drifted through its ugly halls. There were too many memories held in that strange kelku. And while none of them were yours, the familiar RDA symbols had it feeling all too personal. 

Steering away from the looming structure you found solace in a circle of young females. Most were warriors that you had little interaction with but you had spent enough time Penyau in the healer’s tent to consider her a friend, so her presence was sufficient. You were only half listening as the topic flowed from upcoming gatherings to new gems found in the nears caves. Nothing that you were interested in chiming in on but the circle of females were your armor against Lo’ak. And that’s all that mattered. 

At least, that is what you assumed until a finger was tapping you on the shoulder. 

A flurry of golden eyes immediately snapped to the space behind you. It was clear who stood there even before you turned around. 

“Good evening, sisters. Do I mind if I borrow Y/N for a moment?”

“More than a moment if you’d like.” One female responded with a suggestive smirk and that earned her a series of giggling laughter. It gave Lo’ak more than enough courage to lead you away. 

Once out of their ear shot there was no more reason to play nice. 

“Dinner.” Lo’ak said simply, gently handing over the leaf of meat. 

His gentle expression was met with a scowl.

“I can get my own food, Lo’ak. I am in no need of being fed like a child.” Although, the food was currently being served inside of the shack and you would rather starve than set foot in there. However, that information was none of Lo’ak’s business. 

“Of course you do not need it, paskalin.” His deep chuckle was accompanied by a smile that was far too resilient. “But I have committed to courting you and part of that is proving my ability to provide. So as far as I’m concerned I will treat you as if that responsibility has already fallen on my shoulders.” 

“Well, it’s not.” Sharp words and a quick shove had your hands empty once more. Although his tail drooped there was an indistinguishable flame of determination present in his countenance. This man was going to be the death of you. “And I’m not hungry.” 

“Too full from the peanut butter?” He guessed with a crooked smile. It cracked your composure for a split second. Both of those dark eyebrows raised. They taunted you because one way or another Lo’ak had come to figure out the truth and he knew there was no way to refute it. 

Jaw clenched and arms crossed, your eyes flashed back with that same fervent challenge. Even as that handsome face threatened to melt you into a puddle you held your ground. How arrogant could he be to still dare showing his face at you like this after everything? Those white teeth on display as if he had won the prize. Beaded braids pulled up into a neat bun to show off his defined shoulders and chest like a true whore. Wearing that frayed tewng that danced like true seduction in the wind as if he would be getting anything close to lucky tonight. 

It was baffling to try and understand where he got such nerve. 

“Well if you are so persistent on making yourself useful then maybe you should shift your efforts towards getting me a drink instead.” It wasn’t often that you partook in strong drink. The idea often felt childish and pointless. Tonight however….tonight it sounded like an Eywa-send in getting through these interactions. 

Anything that would soar you through this nightmare would be welcomed with open arms. 

“Of course, tanhi.” Lo’ak shook his head with a fond grin. 

Before he could depart however, you caught his arm. He halted immediately. 

“From there.” You pointed towards the furthest corner of the shack. A small gaggle of Na’vi were sprawled out across the floor in giggling fits. It was clear from the look in their eyes that not a single worry could fall upon them. Their drink was strong, no doubt about it. 

“You don’t want that.” 

“And how do you know?”

Lo’ak set the food down to mimic your stance, arms flexed as they crossed. 

“That shit will knock you into next week.”

“And you somehow know that is what I don’t like?” You challenged. “Who's to say I don’t drink it on the regular? Unless you somehow had ways of stalking me all the way from Awa’atlu.” 

You expected him to sigh and admit defeat with reluctance. Maybe throw in a few claims to battle your own but Lo’ak was never one to meet your expectations. He took two strides forward. He had no right to invade your space but somehow the idea of stepping back looked like defeat. 

“That, paskalin, is from Awa’atlu. I should know because I brought it. And I will tell you honestly that pxir [type of alcohol] is nothing like the sweet drinks we make here. It is mostly drunk by men two times your size.” Lo’ak tucked a curl behind your ear. “It will fuck you up.” 

It was not the first time Lo’ak had your teeth grinding to the point of your jaw aching, and you feared it would neither be the last. Even as children he had a way of getting under your skin, tugging at your hair, making teasing comments that had you hissing back at him. That special skill had not been lost, but now…now you knew how to deal with cocky Sully men. 

“I don’t remember asking for the lineage, skxawng.” Your nimble fingers drew your thick hair over one shoulder. “But if you don’t want to get it for me, I’m sure I could find another capable suitor that will.” 

To his credit, Lo’ak’s mask stayed in place. It was the rising of his shoulders that gave away your success. A deep breath was drawn into his lung and that smile waivered like grinding gears that had grown rusty. It shifted into something resembling more of a sarcastic grin. 

“Fine.” He huffed, his show of pearly whites demonstrating anything but joy. “Have it your way, tanhi.” 

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding when he went to retrieve a share of pxir. He couldn’t return soon enough. If you had to endure his intoxicating scent and teasing grin for one more moment without aid, the night would end in violence. Lo’ak kept his own small bowl of drink after handing you one. 

He waited, watching you closely. Perhaps he thought you were going to back out. A small voice in your head said that it might have been best but it was too late to retreat now. So with the best mask of confidence you could muster, you held the bowl up in cheers and took a large gulp. 

The taste was fowl!

Absolutely horrific as it seethed your throat with fire. How did any of the Metkayina chose such a drink in full consciousness? Lo’ak patted your back as you choked on the few remaining drops that had gone down the wrong tube. The gesture was quickly swatted away. Your own annoyance only rising as you looked down to see that he had already finished his bowl in silence. 

“It’s a shock to the system I know…no Y/N don’t-”

Three more gulps and that scorching fire was settled in your stomach and the bowl empty. Your nose tingled like it was about to erupt as your eyes squeezed shut. 

“Woah hey, easy there.”

“Another.” Your tone came out like gravel as you handed him the bowl. 

“Uh yeah right.” He scoffed, taking it away. The liquid only spiked your courage, pushing you to face the male head on but then…it unfortunately had you sense of gravity shifting as well. Lo’ak quickly wrapped a securing arm around your waist as you stumbled a few steps. Shit, this stuff worked fast. “Here, eat something.” 

He brought a piece of yerik meat to your lips and that made you squirm to get away.

“What do you think you’re doing?” You snipped.

“Pxir is worse on an empty stomach, trust me.” 

“That easy huh?”

Lo’ak sighed, bringing the food down. “Okay I deserved that but-”

“I don’t want your food, Lo’ak.” There was still enough coordination left to wiggle yourself out of his grasp and stomp to the other side of the gathering. In all fairness, the ground did move side to side with every step but you managed just the same. 

Unfortunately, you couldn’t escape him even while dancing. Toruk Makto’s youngest son remained leaned against a tree on the outskirts, eyes pinned on you diligently. It felt as if you could never get a break from his weighted presence. Why was he not enjoying the party like everyone else? Was it really worth skipping out on getting drunk with old friends just to babysit you?

Walking, let alone dancing, was a struggle but you made a crooked path to him as fast as you could, one hand pushing against his chest. Lo’ak barely flinched.

“You’re watching me.” You accused him. 

“First experience with Metkayina alcohol requires supervision.” 

“And you have to do it from the shadows like a stalker?” Your words were already slurring together but it was hard to tell if that was how it sounded out loud or simply the distortions of your inhibited brain. 

“I’d be more than happy to keep a closer eye on you but it seemed like you wanted space.” He shrugged, eyes darting to where you swayed back and forth. 

“You’re right. I do.” One pointed finger stabbed at his chest with each word. Eywa, he was so warm. 

His mouth opened to treat you to yet again his annoyingly low baritone but then….

“Your sister is calling you.” 

Your claim had his brows raising before slowly turning around to look. It seemed that Eywa was on your side tonight after all because Tuktirey was in fact trying to get down one of her beaded chains from a high branch. How it got up there was a mystery to you but one that you had no interest in solving. 

A forced breath puffed from his nose before he turned back towards you.

“Just,” His lips pressed into a thin line, ears tucking back. “Stay here. Eat something.” That leaf of meat was tucked into your hand before Lo’ak was stalking towards his younger sister. 

As if.

You carelessly flung the leaf away, taking in this new breath of freedom. Eywa only knew where Talu was and conversing with the girls once more no longer seemed appealing but there was still one thing on your mind. The same thing that would erase all other thoughts and help you survive. 

Lo’ak had taken his share of the pxir with him so you were forced to find your own means of acquiring some. Going into the old shack was still not on your agenda but surely you could think of some plan before getting there. And just like that an idea hit you.

Quite literally. 

The male let out a small grunt as you incidentally knocked into him. Immediately strong arms were steadying you back into place with a half hearted laugh.

“Apologies, sister. Woah hey, you got it?” The male was tall and strong, a wall of muscle with a battle band meaning he must have been a warrior. His features held a flame of familiarity but you couldn’t recall his name. However, looking down at the bowl in his hand you realized he perfectly met your two requirements. 

He wasn’t Lo’ak.

He had pxir. 

“Irayo [thank you], I’m just a little…knocked off my axis.” 

He had a pleasing smile. And his braids were shiny. A few clumsy bats of your lashes and the male was already rising to play the hero. He guided you carefully to a stump where you could sit, saying another quiet apology and offering his services. 

“There isn’t anything I can do for you?” At first you figured he was nothing more than a sweet gentleman who somehow got his hands on the strong drink by luck. However, when your eyes locked with his you could see the faintest tremble of a smirk wanting to take place. 

Not too well behaved after all. 

Just what the doctor ordered. 

“Well, I am a little thirsty.” You couldn’t quite remember what a seductive expression would look like and doing that while riding the line of innocence and suggestive was nothing more than a train wreck. 

He wasn’t picky though. 

Neither was his price high as he brought you bowl after bowl of strong drink. The two of you began to make games out of it. Seeing who could drink the fastest. Seeing who could still stand up straight. These little contests became funnier with every sip, although this mysterious man had size on his side and therefore started to smoke your ass at every game. 

You couldn’t remember how you made it back to the dance floor. You weren’t even sure if you were doing anything more than swaying in place but it didn’t really matter when you had him to cling on to. The drinks kept coming even as your head grew heavy and eyes blurry until the scene was just pretty streaks of color. You couldn’t remember the last time you saw him take a sip but he never asked you to stop, making trip after trip for more.

A wave of victory washed over you upon spotting Lo’ak’s scowl from the sidelines. This was the perfect plan indeed. So perfect that you must not have been that drunk after all. You had the Sully boy off of your ass and a handsome male keeping you from falling down as you drank away the worries. 

At some point in time you recalled heated voices coming from above. Another taller frame pressing against your opposite side until you are sandwiched. The heat of wandering hands. Your giggles that rang in your ears in such a funny way it had you laughing again. 

It was warm. Oh so warm.

And his hair danced in the breeze beneath your fingertips, shells and beads clinking together.  

And fragments…the night only existed in fragments.

Ones that trickled off into nothing. 

The nightmare had come on fast. Like a strike from the sky then suddenly you were transported back into that heated tent. Blood spilled from seeping pools along the floor to small clumps that might just never come out from under your nails. Tendons and bone and metal balls. Things that were never meant to be together but time after time you were forced to dig out these demon bullets from warm bodies. 

You hit the floor with a thud. Footsteps scrambled across the space. 

The explosions continued in the background. Like fire in the sky that these demons had somehow figured out how to harness. And as you frantically stitched up a gushing wound you couldn’t help but wonder where it had hit. Who it had hit. Your work was getting messy. Not only from your shaking hands but the squirming of the man beneath you. His cries would never leave you.

Arms wrapped around you but they couldn’t stop your shaking. They couldn’t stop the endless line of battered bodies they came through the tent. 

Rumble and crack, sounds that rattled in your chest the same way it shook the ground. You stopped looking at their faces, afraid of who you could see. Had you already stitched up a friend? A child? Your sister…no, she was on your left. She never spoke on these days, covered in blood up to her elbows. 

How long had it been? 

How much longer did you have to go?

Your fingertips were becoming slippery but you wouldn’t look to see what they were covered in. Not when another person was carried to your feet. Not when…not when those screams sound far too young to be more than a child. 

No more.

No more no more no more no more.

Please no more!

“Mawey, tanhi. I’ve got you.”

Another crack. Another vibration. The lump in your throat was sure to be a sob but no one would hear you even if it were to bubble up. It would be drowned in the sea of anguish. Just the way no one would see your shaking hands through the mist of teary eyes. Your throat knotted. You couldn’t get oxygen through just in the same way the chest beneath your hands couldn’t. It heaved and heaved before halting. 

His heart had stopped.

Would yours stop too?

It didn’t matter. There was no time to think about your own oxygen. Just keep going. Don’t stop. Never stop.

“Open your eyes, sevin, please. Open your eyes for me.”

And you were a coward for shifting away but how could they ask you to look? How could they expect you to see the carnage that was once your friends and family? How did war have a way of turning passionate souls into nothing more than fractured skin and bone? It was all you could see now. 

Just blood.

And bone.

And your crooked stitches from cowardice hands. 

“Y/N!”

In a snap you were met with a different view. A canopy of fabrics above, not the same as the healer’s tent. A firm chest pressed against your back and sweet words that resembled nothing of screams. 

The explosions were here though. And each rumble of power was followed by a strike of light and that sharp rippling sound. 

“Please.” You whispered.

“I know, I know. I’ve got you.” A voice soothed and you could only drown in the wetness along your cheeks. Rocked back and forth side to side but the explosions never stopped. 

New sounds accompanied the first and it was only the throb in your throat that revealed it was your own sobs being let loose. Warm skin pressed against your forehead, lips that weren’t outlined in blood. 

“It’s over.” The voice promised. 

You wanted to tell the truth. To say that it would never be over. It could never be over. Not when the memory infiltrated every space in your mind, corrupting what little light was still there. 

You didn’t have enough air to say it, however. Your own cries were what filled the night as the voice whispered soothing promises. Fingers ran through your hair and a heartbeat was beneath your cheek. 

Your eyes gave out before the rumbling did. 

The gentle sway was relaxing. The sound of rain doing even more to calm you slumber as you snuggled deeper into the soft blanket. Fingers grasping at the material, you breathed in the scent with eased contentment. The essence alone was enough to tempt you into falling right back asleep.

Perhaps you could stay here forever. Snuggled in your bed.

That way you would never have to open your eyes because doing so was sure to spin you off your axis. The pounding in your head could only be blamed on last night’s overindulgence but Talu hadn’t come to wake you up yet, so it was fine. 

The branches of your top dug into your side upon turning over and you squirmed to shift it. Much less soft than the usual tops you wore to bed. Did you not change before falling asleep?

Sifting through your memory, however, all you could retrieve was the sound of a calm heart beat and a fresh fragrance that wrapped around you. The same one that filled your lungs from the blanket. 

Your eyes snapped open. 

This was not your room. You could tell from the first glimpse at the overhead marui structure. And with one more inhale that essence led you to believe you knew exactly whose home you were in. Head aching and body feeling like it has the strength of a rag doll you slowly turned to observe your surroundings. With a cringe you held your breath. One look over had your apprehensions confirmed. 

Sprawled out across the kelku floor on the opposite side of the space lay Lo’ak, sound asleep. 

He had one arm tucked beneath his head with a small blanket thrown over his lap that barely covered anything. Long legs strewn messily along the woven floor, his soft lips were parted with just a whisper of breath passing. Glossy braids outlined his chiseled features into something softer. Something that had you turning away abruptly. 

The action only rewarded you with a spinning room, lifting from all sense of reality as you tried not to hurl your guts on his floor. Taking deep breaths you eventually calmed your head and stomach enough to start thinking through your next course of action. 

You hadn’t even attempted to stand up and it had already been a close call, so sneaking away gracefully seemed like an unlikely feat. Still…Lo’ak was asleep. And if his heavy breathing was anything to go by, he was well under.

Rain still trampled the scene outside but the thunder and lightning were gone, at least for now. Your eyes pinched shut, cheeks heating as you tried to to push away the memory of Lo’ak rocking you in his arms. 

All the more reason to get out of here without having to interact. 

Lo’ak’s groan made you freeze in place, one leg already reaching outside of the hammock. He shifted, propping one leg up before letting out a sigh. You prayed to Eywa he was a heavy sleeper. 

It wouldn’t have mattered in the end, however, because when both feet were planted and you went to stand it only resulted in a collapsing with a screech that would have woken up the neighbors, let alone the male sleeping a few paces away. 

Rushed footsteps sounded before two hands tried to help you back up.

“Hey, take it easy.” The tone of his voice had dropped to a rough rumble, thick with the last string of sleep. 

You gulped.

Shoving him off was too much of an effort at this point and to your dismay it seemed that the only way back on your feet was to accept his help. He didn’t give you a chance to try running again, instead helping lift you back onto his bed. With a groan you threw your arm over your eyes. 

It felt as if your head had been trampled beneath a Bone Helm Rhino’s feet. 

“Lo’ak,” You said slowly. “What am I doing in your home? Or more specifically, in your bed?” 

“You really should drink some water.” You could hear him shuffling, mostly likely going to get you some.

“Lo’ak.” Tongue wielded like a knife you took the little energy you had to muster up some remnants of intimidation. 

He sighed. 

“Don’t worry. Nothing like that happened last night. I promise.” 

Despite your frustration, you believed him. Your clothes were still in tack and it appeared that Lo’ak had spent the entire night sleeping on his floor so you could take the bed. Another part of you was more frustrated by the gesture. He was being such a gentleman it was borderline sickening. Why couldn’t you be left alone to hate him in peace? 

“Oh really?” You countered. “Then what did?” 

Although you could feel his stare, the arm over your eyes added a false sense of protection from his intensity. 

“Exactly what I said would happen. You got drunk off your ass and needed someone to take you home.”

Your arm dropped sharply, heating rushing to your face.

“And you thought that meant taking me to your home?” The sound of your own raging voice caused a ringing in your ears. Lo’ak remained unfazed, a leaf of water already waiting in his other hand. 

“I would’ve walked you home tanhi but…” He cringed slightly.

“But what?” You pressed, eyes narrowing. 

“Well it was my horny brother that would have kept you up all night so I figured it was my responsibility to help you find some place more…comfortable.” 

Your nose scrunched. So many tiny pieces of information yet nothing was coming together to create a true picture of what had been your prior night’s experience. 

“He stayed over?” It shouldn’t have surprised you. Talu and Neteyam were progressing at such a fast rate you sometimes wondered if mating was only a few weeks away. Staying the night was only bound to happen before then, especially with those secretive looks that you were forced to witness. 

“Still is.” Lo’ak urged the leaf forward, which you reluctantly accepted. Even the cool water burned your battered throat. “I didn’t want them waking you.” 

“Sure.” You deadpanned.

“He is not the quietest-”

“Ew! Lo’ak, I don’t want to hear about that.” You reeled back, desperately trying to erase invading images of your sister and the future Olo’eyktan as fast as possible. You loved your sister but hearing about her sex life was not on your list of priorities. A sentiment you wish she had in common with you but there were far too many times that she pushed for information on your end.

Lo’ak laughed and leaned back onto his haunches. 

“Well neither do I but it’s information I am burdened with.” His fingers ran through his braids. “Shared a marui with him in Awa’atlu for far too long.” Lo’ak muttered. 

“So it’s a good thing you’re here. Won’t have to witness it for yourself.” He patted your knee with a smile before rising to refill the water. You scowled at his back, amiss that he couldn’t properly see your disdain. 

With the clouded sky it was difficult to tell how long you had been there but you were ready to suffer the physical strain of walking back in this horrid state if it meant avoiding addressing the elephant in the room. 

“Well excuse me if I’m not quick to thank you but I really should be getting back now.” 

He eyed you cautiously from across the room. Putting on a tough facade was difficult when your limbs would hardly coordinate as your head pounded relentlessly. You didn’t manage to swing your legs over the hammock again before Lo’ak had crossed the room and was handing you more water. 

“One thing I know about Neteyam is that he likes to take his damn time. It’s going to be a while.” 

“Oh please, all men claim that.” You scoffed, taking the water from his hands. “Surely even the walk back would be enough time.” You scoffed after downing the liquid. 

“Tanhi, you are brutal.” Lo’ak said with an amused chuckle. 

“No, I’m realistic.”

“Pessimistic.” He corrected, eyebrows raised in a challenge. 

You tapped a finger against your chin as if in deep thought. “Hm let me guess, you are the great exception then? Your claim to a woman's pleasure being sincere for once.”

Those golden orbs darkened slightly, his tail swishing in a slow rhythm. “I don’t have to claim anything. Actions speak louder than words.” 

That glimmer of mischief sparked just the same as it did when he was a child. However this time it held promises of things far less innocent. You wondered how many Metkayina women had fallen prey to that vibrant spark. His appeal was undeniable and yet another reason the sight of him made your blood boil. 

When were you ever going to catch a break? Your racing heart could surely use one. 

“Typical.” You scoffed, finally relenting to being trapped, flopping onto your back. 

Lo’ak chuckled and rose, towering over where you laid. From this angle you could see far too much, every chiseled muscle in his body contrasted by the low light. 

“Well if you ever want to examine the evidence up close yourself, I am at your beck and call.” He tucked one stray strand away from your forehead and retreated before you could reprimand him. Heat sparked down from your face until reaching your collarbones. 

He was such an asshole. Thinking there would ever be a day where you would want that. You were not another doe eyed female he could win over. Even if your eyes strayed far too long as he began adjusting the waterproof fabrics to hang from the marui’s openings. That superficial attraction meant nothing but that you were in the prime mating season of your life. Hormones were a powerful force but not enough for you to forget what he had done. 

If any other typical warrior were to take his place the effect would have surely been the same. In fact you remembered feeling that pull to another male last night.

Your tail curled around your thigh. What had happened to him? Flashes of dancing and drinking with the warrior were strong enough to be real but beyond that everything else was a blur. All you knew is that he was more than willing to bring you drink after drink. 

Did he see you leave with Lo’ak at the end of the party? There may not have been any true long term interest for the male but you would still feel bad if running off with Lo’ak had snipped him in some way. Especially when getting further entangled with the Olo’eyktan’s youngest son was the last thing you desired. 

When Lo’ak scaled the side support beam to flank down the next cover, you caught sight of scabbed marks along his knuckles. 

“You hit him?!” 

“What?” Lo’ak casted you a glance from where he hung from the beam, thighs flexed around the base to keep him in place. 

A fiery glare was shot at his hand.

“Oh this,” He peeled the hand from the bar, casually using one arm to keep a grip. “Yeah I met your special friend last night.” The frown upon his lips showed that he had anything but fond memories of the interaction.

“What a character he is.” Lo’ak grumbled lowly, more so to himself than you. 

Like lightning a flash of anger coursed through your veins. Clenched fists and wobbly legs scrambled to push you back into an upright position. 

“Lo’ak te Suli Tsyeyk’itan you had no right!”

His legs unfurled and he hung from the bar with one hand, the other out in form of surrender.

“Now wait a minut-”

“You think that just because you want to court me that it puts me off the market for all other men? It’s not their fault that you are too stubborn to let me ignore you peacefully! So what now? Are you going to punch every male that looks in my direction?”

“That’s not what happened.”

“Can’t even handle the slightest bite of competition?” 

His eyes narrowed, ears pinned backwards as he leveled you with a fierce stare. It was too late. You were on a roll. 

Ignoring the swirling of the room you stomped over to him, finger poking aggressively into his chest as you spoke. “If you don’t like seeing me with other suitors then I suggest you skip to the inevitable outcome and find yourself another woman to annoy! Maybe she will take your constant nagging as a compliment.” 

Your chest heaved from the effort, lungs filling with oxygen rapidly as silence fell. An eerie silence that made you shudder from the drafting wind. Lo’ak watched you, voice stoic of emotion before fixing the last flap and dropping to his feet with a thud. Towering over you like a shadow in the night, it was difficult to force yourself to keep from stepping back. 

Two more steps and he was close enough to feel the heat of his skin. 

“Napau is a crook and disgrace to the title he held. Any man that schemes to take advantage of a woman under strong drink against her will does not deserve to breathe the air Eywa gives. He is lucky that I only had time to get a few hits in.” Lo’ak’s voice dropped into a low register that burned with seething fire. 

“He knows what will happen if he crosses my path again. Or Neteyam’s for that matter.” Dark promises whistled in his words, an intense sincerity that had your own nerves rattling. You could only imagine how Napau would have fared under that same intimidation last night. 

And then Lo’ak was gone, calmly walking to the other side of kelku to secure the next flap. 

A mixture of embarrassment, regret, and dread swirled in your chest. If what Lo’ak said was true then last night could have ended so much worse than it did. A million possible scenarios crammed themselves to the front of your mind until you could feel nausea settling in. During the party you couldn’t even remember Napau’s name and yet that was almost the man taking you to bed. 

“You…You told Neteyam?”

“He saw enough to confirm the origin of my actions. Napau won’t bother you again, tanhi.” He didn’t turn to face you, pulling on the rope tight to keep the fabric in place. 

“What does that mean?” A part of you was reluctant to ask but you needed to know what became of him and even more so what had almost become of you. 

It seemed Lo’ak was even more reluctant than you to talk about it when his tail dropped and he let out a heavy sigh. He remained diligent in waterproofing the marui despite the heavy topic. 

“It means he got off with more mercy than he deserved. As I said he was not worthy of the warrior title he held so that was remedied and now he knows better than to come within half a mile of you or me.” 

“His title was revoked? How is that even possible? Without the proper authority-”

“Neteyam will be Olo’eyktan soon enough. One word to my father from him will be enough, trust me.” He peeked over his shoulder, watching the way your eyes ran from side to side as you processed the information. It was too much to sort in your hazy mind, too many emotions that couldn’t be felt separately. 

Lo’ak softened.

Leaving the flap aside he made gentle steps in your direction, careful not to scare you away. 

“Don’t let this weigh on you, tanhi. It has been solved.” Voice smooth and tender, it didn’t matter because it was clear your mind was somewhere else. 

“What did he do exactly?” 

That struck Lo’ak into a posture as stiff as a board. His tail froze and eyes melted back into that stormy gold color. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Well I do.” You insisted, catching his arm when he went to turn. His whole body froze this time, eyes darting down to where you clasped his forearm. Lo’ak had grown tall, taller than most Na’vi thanks to his father’s Avatar genes. It therefore required your neck craning backward to stare up at him properly. 

“I am grateful to Eywa that you do not have to remember such events.”

“But-”

“However, I can assure you that he got no further than a few unwanted kisses and squeezes before I stepped in.” Lo’ak stayed in place, no longer in a rush to fix the kelku as you let his words marinate. It was harder to feel the true wash of relief when your own shouts against the Sully son had been reframed into something more brutal. Apologizing felt like the last thing you wanted to do, especially since a part of you could not let go of your lingering anger towards him. 

Lo’ak had saved you. 

Why couldn’t you have saved yourself?

All because your stupid pride and spite towards the male had clouded your judgment into behaving foolishly. This is not who you were. Never before had you indulged in such reckless behavior and yet within the first couple weeks of the Sullys returning this is what Lo’ak got to see of you. What type of sorcery did his mere presence hold to shove you into madness? 

Lightning struck from above, thunder falling far too quickly after. 

Nails digging into Lo’ak’s arm, you watched the sky carefully through the front entrance. 

“It bothers me too.” 

His voice snapped you back to attention as hard as the crackling lightning. 

“The storm.” He clarified, meeting your startled gaze with a soft composure. “The sound is all too…familiar.” 

There were no further words needed to understand what he meant. The Sky Demon’s erupting fire had been relentless. Always taking. Always destroying. Crumbling your land before you in a matter of blinking. Awa’atlu no doubt had not been exempt from such cruelty.

“Should I feel sorry for you then?” The cycle of storm started up again and with the next crack of lightning your voice came out shakier than intended. 

Lo’ak’s shoulders fell.

“No tanhi,” He sighed, pausing for a moment. “I’m not telling you this to gain your sympathy. I only want you to know that I would never judge you for feeling that fear too.” His eyes flickered down to where you still dug into his arm as the storm carried forward. 

You quickly snapped away, taking a few steps back for measure. Veering your attention away from the entrance, you hoped the lack of visual would keep you from crumbling further in terror. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You mumbled.

“And we don’t have to.” 

Such a different tune than the one Lo’ak often sang but one look at his expression showed that he was not lying. 

“But you know where I am if you ever do.” He gave a half smile and crossed to put the last flap over the entrance. You weren’t oblivious to the occasional glance he casted from the corner of his eye to check up on you. 

Having the marui enclosed completely did aid in dampening your anxiety. It gave you a moment to look around and fully take in your surroundings. It had only been a few weeks since the Sullys had returned to the forest so you were surprised to see his living space so thoroughly crafted. Small candles lit a soft glow that seemed to fill the area with warmth. 

Thinking of Lo’ak you would have expected his space to be covered with a messy floor and toppled gear but what you found was quite the contrary. Neat baskets held smaller household items while his weapons were securely kept in hanging shelves. Spears, bows, knives, and other Sky Demon weaponry. Your eyes were caught on the ominous guns before getting snapped away by the sound of thunder. 

Your arms snaked around your own waist, willing your heart rate to slow. 

Soft lips threatened to break beneath your sharp teeth. Although exhausted it felt as if your body was on a buzz, a vibration that would have you shattering to pieces. 

“How do you deal with it?” The question sprung without thought. 

“With what?” You had his attention now, his hands swiping at the rain covering his arms. 

“The storm. If it bothers you so much, how do you manage?” Although initially embarrassed by your impromptu question it did help to shift the weight over to Lo’ak instead of you. Anything to avoid bringing up the way you had cried in his arms. 

Lo’ak surprisingly lit up at the inquiry. A smile curved at his lips and the air of a secret you were not privy to filled his aura. 

“I have a secret weapon.” He said proudly, motioning for you to follow him as he quickly dropped to his knees and shuffled through baskets. At the mention of weapons you were already hesitant, stiff as a board. However, for as far as you knew everything that could do harm was on the other side of his marui, so you slowly dropped to your knees beside him. 

Lo’ak pulled out on those glowing squares that the scientists were always tapping on. You’d seen them many times in your trips to the outpost but never were interested in becoming familiar with it. This one was smaller, though. So small it fit in the palm of his hand. Then he pulled out another metal object that was an oval shape. 

With a few taps on the tiny pad the oval began singing. You shuffled backwards, almost hitting the hammock behind, as if the small device would attack. When it made no other movement you relaxed and awkwardly crouched back into place. To his credit, Lo’ak tried to hide his laughter. 

Sky Demon music is strange. So different from the lively drums that accompanied their ceremonies. From the foreign words to strange layers of sound it was always too overwhelming. But this song stood apart. 

No language to throw you off but whistling of high and low that would meld into perfect harmony. Lo’ak watched as you creeped ever closer. Despite its soft essence the music gently floated over the sound of thunder and lightning until it felt like the only air filling the marui.

Your tail curled lazily along the floor. Hands bracing yourself forward you drank in every note and phrases that formed together. There was no way of predicting which message would sprout from one to the next but somehow it maintained that perfect fluidity. Like the roots of the trees that intertwined all greenery together, this song was its own habitat. 

“Beautiful.” Lo’ak murmured, like a whisper of a secret. 

“Beautiful.” You couldn’t help but agree, but when you looked up his eyes were only set on you. Warmth crackled through your veins. 

He rose to his feet second after and you craned to look at him. 

“I will go drag my brother out so you can go home. At least make sure he’s decent.” His right ear twitched as a glimmer of amusement snuck through. “But you are free to stay as long as you like.”

The rain was still coming down in sheets outside. When Lo’ak pushed the cover aside you could see another flash of light from the sky. He stepped out into the shower without hesitation, braids becoming shiny in the rain. For a moment you considered protesting, insisting that he wait until the storm had passed, but you feared the contradiction. Only a mere moment ago you were stumbling to return. 

“Tanhi, you were right.” Lo’ak called over the pounding rain. “It did bother me to see you with him.” 

There and gone within a flash. You were left to sit in his kelku with lips parted and head more dizzy than ever. Despite how much there was to unpack you allowed yourself to sink into the sweet melody. Curling up with the blanket that had fallen to the floor you decided that you didn’t have to go back, not just yet. 

“Kaltxi [hello], traitor.” You huffed after breaching the entrance. There was no sight of Neteyam but you could still smell his specific essence in the air. Talu’s ears twitched up at the sound of your voice, pausing from where she was cleaning her room. 

“Oh come on, don’t be like that.” She chastised you but a smile was already forming along her lips. She tugged the trunk from the corner quickly and sat down atop it. Elbows resting on her crossed legs and eyes shining with interest, her keen attitude was far too much for your hungover state to handle. “Tell me everything!” 

“Where would you like me to start? Waking up today in another man’s bed? Or maybe I could tell the story from when you decided to toss me off to him so you could entertain a certain prince last night.” Your arms crossed and nose scrunched as you glared down at her. 

Your agitation only increased when Talu let out a short laugh. 

“Toss you off? Tsmuke [sister] I could not have pried you away from him last night.” Her correction was accompanied by her own body language mimicking yours, lips tempted into a playful smirk. It made your own countenance falter. 

“What are you talking about?” Narrowed eyes pinned her into place but Talu already wore a giddy grin. 

“I tried several times to take you home last night but you would not have it. You were glued to Lo’ak’s side, kept talking about how good he smelled.” Her smile only grew as fire burned into your cheeks. “He even offered to walk you home but it was you that insisted upon staying with him. You were absolutely smitten.” She giggled.

“I was absolutely drunk!” You hissed, tailing coiling around your own ankle. You ran your fingers through the root of your tangled hair, eyes squeezing shut in horror. This is not how Lo’ak had told the story. Why would he have spun it differently? “And you just let me fall all over him? Let him take me back to his place so you could fuck his older brother?!”

“Mawey tiyawn [calm down love],” She urged, voice far gentler than your own as she stood and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “Lo’ak promised nothing would happen and I believed him especially after…” That usual soft composure sharpened into something fierce. You knew exactly what she was remembering. You were confident that Talu would snap Napau in half herself were it not for Lo’ak getting their first. Despite her sweet and tempered demeanor your sister could be vicious once provoked. She had a protective streak that no one could dampen. 

“Yes yes I know.” You groaned. 

“So then you know that it’s all handled then. Neteyam is on his way to talk to Olo’eyktan right now.”

“Don’t remind me.” You spoke on an exhale, arms dropping to your side. This headache was never going to go away and now it had more ammunition to swirl it into chaos. Was it really as bad as Talu described? How were you ever going to face him again? And yet Lo’ak had not spoken of your clinging once. 

“He was quite heroic.” Talu smiled, finger moving to start releasing the knots in your hair. “I thought after how scared you were with Napau that you would want to return home immediately but you melted so easily in Lo’ak’s arms. A few minutes of playing with his hair and you were happy as a clam.”

You covered your heated face, stomach twisting as you imagined the scene. 

“Bury me ten feet under.” You whined, slumping into her arms. Talu shushed your worries, nimble fingers doing wonders for your chaotic hair. 

“Oh now don’t be so dramatic. I’m sure Lo’ak would never hold it against you.”

And he didn’t. In fact, he went out of his way to spin another story with the omission of your embarrassing desires. Why would he do that? He had been given the perfect ammunition. The perfect proof that you were interested in him and yet he had done nothing with it? Threw it out before even utilizing it. 

Surely there was some leverage to be gained after all of his courting to now find you falling all over him. 

None of it made sense and perhaps the remnants of pxir were stronger than you anticipated. It seemed as if the world had been spun on its top. You were nowhere closer to unwinding this web now than you were a few hours ago so you might as well rest. With that in mind you unclasped yourself from Talu’s arms and told her you were going to lay down. 

Hallway out the door way she stopped you. 

“You aren’t mad, are you? Truly?” Her voice wavered with hesitation for the first time since your arrival. “It wasn’t my intention to bring him home but once you were in such good hands….well, the night was so perfect and-”

“It is fine.” You reassured her, hand lazily landing on her shoulder. 

“Thank you.” Talu whispered, her eyes melting into a warm honey hue. You shrugged it off. 

“I hope he was worth it.” You snorted but one look at the Talu’s sneaking grin and swatting tail told you so much more about their night of fun than you would have liked to know. 

Thankfully the storm did not continue much longer. Rain continued to wash over the forest but thunder and lightning had taken its absence. It allowed you to fall head first into a deep sleep, although your dreams were riddled with passing memories. Glimpses of Lo’ak’s hands coming up to wipe away tears. The stretch of blue skin along his shoulder and throat that you snuggled into until his essence was clear. Even the deep rumble of soothing praise as you let yourself fall back into his chest. 

Hours later a shuffling of footsteps by the door pulled you out of sleep. Feeling much stronger now, you slowly padded to the entrance with pinched brows. Lo’ak was already gone but another cooked meal was left in his place with a homemade umbrella perched atop to keep it dry. 

You thought nothing of it, although begrudgingly grateful for something to fill your stomach. But then you saw something else neatly fold into a leaf, a note tucked at its side. 

To keep the darkness away

-Lo’ak

And left behind were those two objects that had played such sweet music in his kelku. His secret weapon, now yours to wield.

Any and all feeback is appreciated! It makes a huge difference for motivation and updating<3

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[biteofcherry]

Morning menace

alpha!Steve Rogers x omega female reader

warnings: none; unless we count early morning (basically night) rudeness

Author's Note: This is a short, silly thing inspired by my own "eagerness" to get up in the morning 😂 Shout out to the always amazing @buckets-and-trees, who often has to hear my grumpiness in the wee hours 😆

Grain of Truth Masterlist

Main Masterlist

There’s an annoying beeping sound that spears through the sweet, comfy clouds of slumber and you clench your eyelids shut harder, hoping that some bird of prey would swoop in and swallow that shrilling monster. 

Your pillow moves, adding to the growing annoyance as your subconsciousness tries the hardest to hold onto sleep. 

Finally, that irritating sound ceases, but your pillow continues to slip away. 

So you tighten your grip on it and move your leg further around the wide, hard breadth of it; clutching it both with your arm and your thighs. 

“Come on, babe,” a raspy, deeply masculine voice enters your sleep. 

The sound of it is very pleasant, making you hum in delight and snuggle into the warm pillow. Unfortunately, his words are far from what you want to hear.

“It’s time to get up.” 

“No.” Your reply comes instantly, your nose scrunching up in detestation. 

A low chuckle follows your refusal. Then an arm, which was cradling your back, moves along your spine. A big, strong hand gently grips the back of your neck; his thumb rubbing up and down. 

“I’m afraid it really is. We need to leave in an hour.” 

“No leaving. Staying. An’ sleepin’.” You grumble and though your eyes are still closed and your mind is keeping you halfway submerged in sleep, you recognize that the pillow you’re partially draped over is in fact your Alpha. 

To emphasize your stance on getting up, you roll your body fully on top of him. With a huff, you press your head under his chin and twine your limbs around his massive body. 

“I know you hate early mornings, Sweet Brat.” Steve laughs, palming your naked ass with his free hand. “But we’re about to go for vacation, if you remember. Two weeks away. And then you can sleep even till noon. But to get there, we agreed to leave early.” 

“I would never agree to such idiotic idea.” You protest, growing more annoyed as your sleep starts to truly fade away the longer you continue conversation with the very rude Alpha. 

Steve only snorts. Then attempts to move. To which you respond by clinging harder and giving a small, displeased whine. 

The way he instinctively gives a short purr to soothe you has your lips curving in a smile and your cheek pressing against his sternum. 

“Ten more minutes,” Steve sighs. “I’ll start a breakfast for us. But not a second longer, grumpy brat.”

You whine again, more petulantly this time, as Steve manages to gently roll away from under you. Your body sinks into the warm spot on the mattress that’s soaked with your mate’s scent. 

You instantly bury your nose into it, your body dropping back into a fully relaxed state, so eager to trott back into the dreamland. 

“What kind of vacation requires getting up at this ungodly hour? I don’t want a vacation like that.” You try to reach for the covers, but they seem to be too far away. You’d have to open your eyes to find them, but you really don’t want to. 

“I’d rather stay here. In bed. And rot.” You mumble into the sheets. “You go on stupid early vacation yourself.” 

“You’re worse than Bucky.” Steve gives an exasperated sigh. “And he’s really insufferable before 9AM.” 

Giving a little kick with your leg, you turn your face to the other side and reach for a pillow to cover your head with. In case your bossy Alpha decided to lift the blinds and scorch you with morning sun. 

Though you were pretty sure there was no sun yet on the horizon. There couldn’t be. It was too fucking early! It was basically still night.

“Then maybe go on this mid-night vacation yourself and send Bucky here to me. We’ll be grumpy together and sleep like normal people do.”  

You shriek aloud, your eyes opening instantly, when a brutal sting burns your asscheek. Then another one lands, on the other side of your butt. 

Before you get a chance to react to the spanking, Steve grips your ankles and pulls you across the mattress in one, swift move. Your legs dangle over the edge of the bed, feet kicking above the floor. Then strong hands are gripping your hips and you’re lifted into the air. 

Steve turns you in his arms, with the skill of a man who’s done that plenty of times, so you’re facing him. It’s body memory, or whatever cognitive reaction, to wrap your legs around his hips as he carries you. 

The light in the bathroom turns on, causing your eyes to squint in protest. With another huff, you hide your face in the crook of Steve’s neck. He really smells good in the morning. Damn  him! 

He eases you down, until your feet touch the tiled floor. He cups your chin and tilts your head up.

“You have fifteen minutes to get ready, Sweet Brat. And if you even try to sneak back into bed, I’ll make sure that sitting through the few hours drive is going to be a real pain in your cute ass.” 

You scowl at him, but either your sleepy, straight-out-of-bed look doesn’t help with the murderous effect, or your Alpha simply isn’t bothered by your non-verbal threats. 

Quite the opposite, he flashes you a bright smile. Then, still holding your chin in his hand, he seals a short, but rather intense kiss on your lips. 

You watch him leave, still glaring. And maybe - but only a tiny bit - ogling. 

“Next year I’m gonna opt for staycation,” you mutter under your breath.

[melancholiaincarnate]

i love him, he loves me, and this i know

「 in which ᵎᵎ 」 you're sick, and your boyfriend takes care of you.

「 words ᵎᵎ 」 663

「 author's note ᵎᵎ 」 this was a request from anon :0 maybe geto doing your hair? I love your writing keep up the good work! thank u anon :D in honor of me also being incredibly fucking sick, here is geto taking care of you while you're sick :P fem reader btw, with longer-ish hair :D

「 warnings ᵎᵎ 」 none :)

"and here's your tea, honey. i brought you some medicine as well." suguru places the items on your bedside table, helping you to sit up.

you'd caught some sort of cold, and you'd been bedridden for a couple days now. you figured you'd caught it from your commute to and from work via public transit. geto, despite your insistence that he'd also get sick, had taken it upon himself to take care of you. (he'd also used this as an opportunity to try and convince you to quit your job and let him to take care of you. you'd practically seen the smirk on his face when you told him you were sick over the phone.)

"thanks, sugu." your voice was nasally and you winced at the sound. "fuck, i sound gross." despite your ears being clogged, you could hear how raw and how your tone was deeper than suguru's.

"you still look absolutely beautiful though." he gave you a soft smile as he shook the tylenol into his hand and grabbed the tea to give to you. he tenderly placed the cup in one hand and two pills in the other. "careful, it's hot."

you grabbed it, grateful for its warmth, and you grimaced as you swallowed down the pills. "with my - gross bed head," you coughed, "and my snot everywhere?" you took a sip of the tea, your throat feeling soothed instantly. "i doubt it, sugu. ugh, i need to fix my hair and-"

"let me do your hair then." suguru hums, interrupting you. "be right back." he leaves for a second, leaving the bedroom door wide open just in case you needed something from him. he wanted to be there as soon as you needed him.

he comes back with your hairbrush, and he adjusts himself against the headboard before patting the space between his legs. you knew you had a rats nest back there and you weren't going to say no to suguru's willingness to do your hair. it was cute how quickly he sprang up to grab your hairbrush.

his hands were gentle with you, like they always were. he hummed a song while he parted your hair and ran the brush through one side. you closed your eyes, the slight tugs on your hair feeling great on your scalp.

"sorry baby, i'm sorry." suguru's voice was low in your ear as the bristles caught on a rather large knot. "i know, im sorry."

"is 'kay." you sniffled. it hurt, but not as much as it would if it were anyone else doing it. he was always gentle with you. you loved that about him.

"after this, i'm going to run you a warm bath. you're sweating out your fever." he swoops some of your hair over your left shoulder, and begins working on the other half. "which is good - i'm happy. i don't like seeing my baby all sick."

"you're so dramatic. it's just a cold, sugu." you roll your eyes, but a cough bubbles its way up your throat. you cough into your elbow, while suguru soothingly rubs your back.

you let out a little whimper at the pain in your throat and he kisses the top of your head as he finally finishes brushing your hair, and ties your hair up with a small hair tie off his wrist. whether it was yours or his, you couldn't tell, you both shared hair products often.

"you lay right here, i'll come and get you when the bath is ready." he maneuvered himself out of your way, props the pillows up behind you, and kisses your forehead as he swings off the bed. "don't even move! i'll carry you to the bathroom." he grins, gathering up some fresh pajamas and underwear for you, as well as a towel.

"i won't move, sugu." you laugh, the sound a little scratchy. "you always take such good care of me." you mumble, sighing as you lean back against the pillows.

[ladykailitha]

Never Hold Back Your Step... Part 8

Hello! It does look like there is only one more chapter to write on Paper Hearts so yay!!! I'm not sure how much longer Sweet Home Indiana is but it's nearing it's end too.

Steve is never going to go to another party after this, Eddie gets book two of the Boy with a Bat, and they have a frank discussion about how Eddie gets paid for his less than legal side gig.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

trigger warning: homophobic language by an OC.

****

At least the swim team knew to how to throw a party. Lyle was hosting and even though his family wasn’t well off, not like Steve’s parents, there was still enough room for the whole team and a few of their friends to have a good time.

Granted there wasn’t any booze, not openly anyway, but there were ice chest after ice chest of canned sodas. And all kinds, too. Steve was on his third Coke and had already sussed out the dude with the beer and was working his way over.

Going right up to the guy was asking for trouble that neither of them wanted.

The music wasn’t too loud, but you could dance to it in the main part of the house. People were actually laughing and having fun.

Which really should have been Steve’s cue. The universe was out to get him and wouldn’t let him have a moment’s peace.

He had almost reached the guy with the beer when Ezra blocked his path.

“Hey, Steve,” he greeted syrupy sweet. “I’m so glad you made it out. I wasn’t sure if you would come without Eddie Munson.”

Steve frowned and tried to move around his co-captain. “I go lots of places without Eddie. I went to nationals without him, didn’t I?”

Ezra put his hand on Steve’s chest to stop him. “Sure you did, but we didn’t win nationals now, did we?”

Steve looked down at the hand on his chest. “We swam our hearts man, the other teams were just better. Hell, that team from Georgia was on fire.”

Ezra snorted and rolled his eyes. “They only got where they were because they were black. They didn’t have any real talent. Not like us. Not like you and me, Steve.”

“Are you saying Lyle and Nick held us back?” he asked with his brow furrowing deeper in his confusion.

“We’ve always known that Lyle is a strong swimmer and not a fast one,” Ezra moaned waving the drink in his other hand around. “But he’s all this shit town has on offer.”

Steve gently pushed Ezra off of him. “Hey, how about not talking shit about the actual host, man.”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he huffed. “That’s not even why I’m over here. I’m here to warn you about Munson.”

And there it was. Everyone in his life had felt the need at some point in the last six months to warn him off the super senior.

The other boy leaned in close, his lips a snarl. “He’s a queer, a little faggot boy,” he hissed, the spit landing on Steve’s face. “It’s the town’s worst kept secret.”

Ice slid down Steve’s spine. Oh shit. Of all the places he thought the other co-captain was going to go, that was not it. Drugs. DND. The ranting on table tops. All that slid away to sheer terror.

“And you better not bend over in the showers,” Ezra continued, “a pretty thing like you would just be his type.”

Steve’s eyes went wide. “Wha–what do you mean?”

“Everyone knows that if you can’t pay for your weed,” Ezra sneered, “that he’s willing to take a blowjob as payment instead.” He leaned further into Steve’s space, so that they were almost touching, the stench of weed radiating off the other boy in waves. “I saw Harry Masters sucking him off for a gram of the good stuff.”

Steve stomach lurched and swooped, bile rising up in his throat. Harry Masters was on the baseball team. He was tall, good looking, with that devil may care charm of Rob Lowe. Looked like him, too.

“What he does or doesn’t do doesn’t effect me, man,” he said, trying to aim for nonchalant and missing by a mile.

Ezra laughed in his face.

“Dude,” he cackled, “if you didn’t want people to think you’re down bad for ‘the Freak’ maybe rein in the eye fucking. I’ve seen the way you look at him and it makes me sick.”

That was when Steve got it. He had been wondering what the hell this conversation was.

“Oh my god!” he laughed. “Fuck, man, you were scaring me for a second there. You’re just jealous I don’t have the hots for you.”

Ezra pushed him. “The fuck I do, Harrington!”

“No, no!” Steve crowed. “I’ve got it all figured it out. All the times I caught you staring at me, all the times I felt someone watching me, all the times you’d try to keep me late after practice. You wanted me all to yourself.”

His co-captain turned purple with rage and swung at Steve, but before he could even flinch, there was someone at his side, holding Ezra’s wrist to keep the hit from even going anywhere near Steve’s face.

“Eddie!” Steve breathed. “What are you doing here?”

Eddie smiled at him with that soft dimpled grin Steve loved. “Hey ya, Stevie. I was just plying my wares when I heard the commotion and came over to make sure you were all right.”

“So you are my good luck charm,” Steve said brightly.

Ezra wrenched his arm out of Eddie’s hand. “This doesn’t concern you, Freak!”

Eddie leaned in close and cocked his head to the side. “It does, because you were talking shit about me and Stevie, here. And as Stevie’s good friend, I’mma gonna come to his rescue. Now, you’re going to skedaddle on home and sleep all this off.”

Ezra spat in his face. “Or what?”

The older teen just smiled menacingly. “Or else that gram you smoked will be the last you ever smoke, because I’ll report to you for doping for matches.”

Ezra paled and he gulped. “You can’t do that! I’ve never done anything but weed.”

“That’s true,” Eddie admitted. “But they’d have to do this big investigation and your name would be dragged through the mud. Or you could toddle off and go to college and leave this town in your rearview mirror.”

Ezra turned on his heel and ran out of the house as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.

Steve shook his head. “You do know this is where all the allegations about you being a devil worshiping cult leader come from, right?”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “They can think all they want.”

*

Eddie and Steve talked about what Ezra had said about how people make payments for their weed.

“I won’t deny that people have offer to blow me or even have sex with me in exchange for drugs,” Eddie said as they lay curled up on his bed. “But I’ve never taken anybody up on that.”

Steve twisted his head to look up at his boyfriend. “I can’t say I’m not pleased to hear that, but is there a reason why?”

“Several,” he admitted pulling Steve in closer. “One is that there is an actual fucking pandemic going on regarding gay men, and I wouldn’t trust those assholes even with a condoms. Another is that if I say yes to one, then I’ve got to say yes to next guy. And as my supplier wants actual cash for his product, blow jobs aren’t currency in any country I know of. And despite what Ezra said, most of the people offering aren’t men.”

Steve hummed as he snuggled under Eddie’s chin. “I can see that. Any other reasons why you won’t?”

“Does having a super hot boyfriend count?” he chuckled.

Steve kissed the underside of his jaw. “That’s a very good reason.” His hand slipped down his boyfriend’s side and to his belt. “A super hot boyfriend who is very grateful for the rescue.”

Eddie moaned as Steve’s fingers ghosted over his zipper. “Yeah and how are you going to show that gratitude?”

Steve slid down Eddie body and undid his belt. “I was thinking it was such a shame you didn’t get those blow jobs when your cock is so delectable.”

Eddie gasped and threw back his head as his super hot boyfriend’s breath felt hot on the front of his boxers. “God, baby. Show me what you’ve got.”

And Steve spent their evening doing just that.

*

Steve fidgeted nervously at Eddie’s locker after school. He had finished the most recent comic with only a week of school to spare. He had made sure that Jonathan and Nancy weren’t staying after school for any reason so they didn’t see him make the hand off. He knew he should have just done it at the trailer, but with him cutting it so fine before the end of the year, he didn’t want to make Jeff and the others wait for it.

Eddie loped over to his boyfriend and looked around. “Hey, sweetheart. You okay?”

He thrust the comic at Eddie, his eyes downcast. “It’s the most recent comic. There’s an explanation like before. But please don’t let people see that part.”

Eddie cradled the comic to his chest. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I’m guessing this means you aren’t coming over tonight?”

Steve shook his head. “Lucas wants to go see the latest Bond film, but his friends don’t want to go with him...”

“So you offered to take him,” Eddie finished. “That’s sweet of you.”

Steve snorted and shook his head. “His parents think I’m taking him to ‘Meet the Littles’ or some shit like that.”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “Yeah, that’s more like the Steve Harrington I know and love.”

“I’ll call when I get home, though...” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

“Okay,” Eddie murmured. “Well talk then.”

*

This time Eddie went straight to the back page to read the explanation first.

“Hey, Eds,

Again there are parts in between this, parts that don’t include me, that I’ll some day tell you all about. But I’m focusing on the parts I was part of. This time it all started with what the kids thought was a new species of lizard and turned out to be the beginning stages of an Upside Down monster. One they they dubbed the demodog.

I can just picture you frowning as you try to remember where you heard that from and the answer is you heard it from me. You asked me what it was and I told you it from one of their game thingies, but that’s only part of it. These demodogs have flower faces and run on four legs. They are part of a hive mind that allows them to communicate with each other.

Dustin had taken one of these things home and it ate his cat. His cat. You can be disgusted, I know I was. He had originally gone to Nancy’s for help but she had gone off with Jonathan about something related to Barb Holland. This was right after our fight at the Halloween party.

I was on my way with roses to apologize to her, when he intercepted me. And the rest is as they say is history. I would do anything for that kid now.

The other players are Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield. I don’t know if you need to know that, but I feel like you have to understand that for the rest of it to make sense.

I have so many tales to tell you but I can’t because it could get you hurt and that is the last thing I want to do.

Also, (blurred words) show you all the times I was brave, that I did the (more blurred words) when it came (blurred words) because I love you so much and (blurred words again) less of me.

Love,

Your Stevie”

Eddie hated how easy Steve had pegged him for frowning at the name like he said he would or how he knew he would be disgusted at the poor cat. He stared at the blurred words for a moment before his own eyes welled up.

Steve had tried writing over the parts with what were clearly tear drops but all it had done was make it worse. Why he didn’t just write again, Eddie didn’t know.

But Eddie could now make out the words, “Also, I wanted to show you all the times I was brave, that I did the right thing when it came to it, because I love you so much and I didn’t want you thinking less of me.”

He flipped back to the beginning and started reading. It was thrilling and exciting. That was if you didn’t know it really happened. And happened to the sweetest boy he had the privilege of knowing.

He wiped away his tears and made a promise to whatever it took to protect this boy with every fiber of his being. Because by god, someone had to.

****

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Tag List: @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

@spectrum-spectre @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson

@messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666 @goodolefashionedloverboi

@val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89

@vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer

@yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

@dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual

@angels-of-hades @mugloversonly @y4r3luv @greeniebean911 @birbsauce

@acingthecounts @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @kultiras @ravenfrog

[boytoyhalo]

pac laying with his head in fits lap while fit sharpens his sword and fit asks him how the noise isn't bothering him and pac says it makes him feel safe. fit waking up from a nightmare and seeing pacs awake and messaging to ask if he's busy and when he says he's not they go for a walk together on top of the wall and end up falling asleep together near the edge where they sat to watch the stars. fit and pac playing card games and both of them are cheating and pretending not to notice the other doing it and when tubbo calls one of them out on it they defend each other and team up to kick his ass. fit and pac clearing a dungeon together and a mob throws a fireball at pacs back and fit sees it a second too late for a callout to do any good so he shoves pac out of the way and ends up slamming him against the nearest wall so hard he hears his teeth clack together and while he's apologizing and asking if pac is okay all pac can think about is how much he wants fit to do that again. pac and fit pulling to the side of the latest event to gossip and not noticing how close they are to each other until someone (probably tubbo or phil) yells "KISS!!" at them and they endure a few moments of flustered silence before silently mutually deciding to go beat the shit out of the heckler together. fit and pac putting their sleeping bags next to each other while out adventuring and waking up curled against each other cuddling through the fabric of the bags. fit and pac taking a million pictures of each other when they think they're not looking and eventually creating separate albums just for those photos. fit and pac in purgatory bumping into each other at global and checking in on each other, hugging each other for a few seconds longer than they normally would allow themselves to. letting their eyes linger on each other's bare arms and fresh scars and the blood decorating their clothes. pac overhearing fits teammates flirting with him and initiating combat for the first time since he arrived just so fits eyes will be on him again even if only for a moment. fit seeing red team going after pac and swooping in to take them out before pac even knows they're coming. them them them them them

[xoxomoonlightxoxo]

Like a Hostage

⇠ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯. | 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱

⇢ warning: explicit language, mentions of rape, physical abuse, emotional abuse, drug use, alcohol use, and suicide. ⇢ w.c: 4.5k

Spending the rainy Friday at home, Jungkook browsed through the list of recently added movies on Netflix before clicking the one with the most viewer votes. And, as you rested your legs on his lap, the two of you shared a warm glance once his hands naturally began massaging your toes, careful with the bruise on your ankle. One that you comedically earned from your skiing accident, where you overestimated your skills or better the lack of them and dared to race your athlete-build boyfriend. Needless to say, despite giving you a headstart, you found yourself dumbfounded in his embrace after an innocent rabbit scare led to your crash into a nearby snow pile. 

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, palm gently hovering over the purple hues. 

“Not really. I’ve been using that cream you gave me,” you replied with a soft smile, drawing circles on his tattooed forearm. 

“Next time, let's verse in something that won’t leave you in a cast, mmhh?” Jungkook teased, placing a gentle peck on your hand before intertwining his fingers with yours. 

Diverting your attention back to the screen, your sleepy gaze suddenly widened as the camera panned closer to the female lead's naked body during a steamy shower scene. Flinching at the visuals you stare at the ceiling, awkwardly fumbling with the rings on your fingers before Jungkook notices your tension, quickly skipping over the intimate parts. 

“Y/n, is everything okay?” he asked quietly, glancing down at your flushed state. 

“Mmhm,” 

“Baby, what's on your mind? Tell me,” he leaned in closer, tucking a few stray hairs out of your face. 

“Nothing, it's stupid,” you managed to form somewhat of a reassuring smile before glancing back at his sly grin. 

See, you’ve always wanted to save yourself for marriage, and while the decision didn’t stem from religious beliefs or values it was significantly fueled by your desire to have control over your life. At least some parts of it. If it was up to you, in a perfect world where children were born into love, you wouldn’t be consumed by the dreadful shame of knowing that the bride’s side of the family would consist of only yourself. Since, once your parents left, so did the structure in your life as you tiptoed over the cracks in the weathering foundation, but now, the cards were in your hands. And, you were dedicated to the hope of blooming at your own pace and with the right person. However, to this day, somewhere deep in your subconscious, this tiny voice of doubt kept daunting your decision. Would it be fair for Jungkook if you starved him of your touch? How long would he be willing to withhold his lust until one day you were no longer worth it? 

“Oh, come on, don’t be shy. It’s natural. But, I guess now we know why this was the top pick. Horny bastards,” Jungkook chuckled, sneaking in a quick wink before resting his head on the couch. 

“Well, you must have thought about it, right?” your eyebrows furrowed, lifting your torso from the blanket cover. 

“About what?” 

“You know,” you murmured under your breath, feeling the flush in your cheeks. 

“Have I thought about sex with you?” Jungkook’s voice deepened, hooded gaze slowly observing every inch of your exposed body. 

“Shhh, why are you so loud?” you yelped, hushing his lips with your index finger until his hold on your hand tightened, and with one swoop you were exactly where he wanted. On his lap. Lips inches apart. 

“Y/n, I think about you all the time.” he grinned, tracing the bottom of your pouty lips as your breath hitched in your throat. “Not, in a freaky, call 911, stalker type of way, but…” he leaned in closer. 

“I think about the heart-shaped vein on your eyelid …” he whispered into a soft kiss on your lid. 

“I think about the moon tattoo behind your ear …” shivers went down your spine as his teeth gently grazed your skin, hands roaming under your tank top. 

“I think about the little mole on your ring finger, and the way your baby hairs curl up after you come out of the shower,” Jungkook's eyes searched your fluttering gaze, the back of his palm gently stroking your cheek as you unconsciously melt into his touch. 

“No, you know, that’s almost exactly what a stalker would notice,” you teased, tightening your hold on his hand as he tried to intertwine his fingers with yours. 

“Oh, sweetpea, if only you could read the thoughts in my head,” he sighed, resting his forehead on yours before pulling you closer onto his lap. “But, I need you more than I want you,” his words echoed in your ears, playing over and over again like a broken record. 

There’s a difference between a need and a want. You might want it to stop raining because the humidity has been frizzing up your hair, but you need water to survive. Like it or not, without it, you’d be dead in three days. Shrivelled up like a raisin in the sun. In the same way, although the sexual attraction between you and Jungkook was obvious to the naked eye, there was a fine line between your want and need for each other. He might not be the best at showing it, but behind all that ink and muscle, was a lost boy who’s spent his life running from his past, in search of something that would make him fight for the future. So, as far as he’s concerned, as long as you were breathing, his life served a purpose. One to protect, love, and care for you and the battle scars that were left behind. To him, you were the water that the human body feared losing. 

Eyes flickering down to your lips, Jungkook smiled into a teasing kiss as your hands rested on his chest, burning tension depriving you of oxygen. He was gentle, hooded gaze searching your eyes for hints of discomfort. But your orbs were dark, infused with the craving for his touch, the need to be close, skin to skin, as one singularity. 

“Koo?” you whispered, softly pulling on his silver chains. 

“Yes, y/n,” he grinned, biting down on his bottom lip.  

“Can I?” you asked with a hesitant plead, hands gently caressing the side of his neck. 

“I’m all yours, love,” he whispered in your ear, unbuttoning his black dress shirt before tracing your fingers down his sculpted chest. 

Admiring the lust in your boyfriend’s eyes, you felt the knot in your stomach tighten as your lips left a trail of needy kisses on his burning skin. Sucking on his soft spots, hushed moans escaped his parted lips as his grip on your thighs tightened. And, with a slow pace, your bodies fell in sync, grinding against the tempting friction. 

“Y/n?” Jungkook whispered, gently lifting you off his lap before laying you down on the sofa. 

“Mmhm,” 

“Can I?” his veiny hands trailed up your waistline, hooded gaze glancing up at the mess he created. But, despite giving him a nod of reassurance, he knew better than to go against your better judgment. Valuing your boundaries, he never wanted you to feel rushed, consumed by regret or questions of his intentions. So, he asked again, broad shoulders hovering over your form as his chains dangled inches away from your lips. 

“I need to hear you, baby,” 

“Yes, yes you can, Koo,” you giggled, pulling him into a long kiss, as his body layed on top of yours. 

Pinning your hands against the headrest, his warm touch embraced every crevice of your heaving chest, tossing your bra on the floor. And, as you laid under him, your eyes linked, fueling a kick of adrenaline spreading through your system. It was a bit of everything, all at once. The nerves, the pleasure and the aftermath. 

But, for now, your mind was solely consumed by the effect of his soft lips as they marked your collarbone in paints of purple possession, forcing you to dig deeper into his back. Enjoying the pain, echoes of Jungkook’s groans filled the dim room, admiring the way your back arched from the sensation as the friction between your sensitive heat and the evident bulge in his jeans became harder to ignore. 

“Baby, we have to stop,” he said with a furrowed gaze, tilting his head back as you watched the sweat roll down his heaving chest. 

“Did I do something wrong?” you quietly asked, covering yourself with his shirt. 

“If you do one more thing right, I won’t be able to pay for my actions,” Jungkook hushed your nerves with a sly wink before cuddling into your warm embrace, taking in the smell of the cherry-scented perfume that you wore on your first date. 

To him, it was so bluntly obvious that it was never about your body, your eyes or your sweet smile that made him fall in love. It was the way you made him feel at ease. The way you calmed the turbulence of chaos in his mind with a single touch, a single whisper of reassurance. When you were by his side, the world seemed a little less shitty. 

But, if it were really that simple, the story would’ve already ended. No? Yet, here we are. Anticipating the worst, not knowing the half of the abuse. Please don’t forget that love is bittersweet and when two souls are tethered by the heartstrings of their past, the fear of old pain could foreshadow the end.

“Mom?” Jungkook’s voice echoed through the dark corridor as he slowly pushed the unlocked door of his parent’s house. 

“Mom? It’s me, where are you?” he called out again, furrowed gaze scanning the surroundings for hints of life. Until whispers of his mother’s voice muffled from the haunting gloom leading up to the second floor. Attempting to turn on the lights, sparks of electricity burst through the living room chandelier, forcing Jungkook to resort to the flashlight on his phone. Careful with his steps, the creaking sound of the old wood accompanied his way up to his mother’s room where she sat on the edge of the bed, back facing the door. 

“Mom?”

“Jungkook? What are you doing here?” she asked quietly without even a glance, wiping the dried tear stains off her lifeless face. 

“I … I wanted to remind you that y/n and I will be leaving town for a week. I mentioned it over the phone but thought it would be best if I came in person as well,” he explained, worried gaze lowered to the bruises on her wrists. They looked fresh, like the abuse happened recently. And judging by the state of the room, the chances of it happening were high, as the floor remained witness to the littered bottles of antidepressants and liquor. 

“Mom, is everything alright? Did you and Dad fight again?” Jungkook asked, kneeling in front of his mother’s still form before she abruptly pulled her knees to her chest, scooching further away from his touch as her widened eyes stared back at his. 

“That stupid bitch. I never liked her, always hogged you like a slut.” she cried out in frustration, shaking her head in denial. “No, no, go ahead. Leave, for all I care. Let your father beat me to death but don’t come crying back when I’m finally gone.” the rage in her voice grew stronger with each word, bitting down the tears before her bloodshot eyes lowered again. 

She knew y/n was never the problem, but it was easier to be angry at people than to tell them that you’re hurting. So, that’s exactly what she learned to do, all she grew to know. She became angry at the world, at the guilty and the innocent. Leaving Jungkook as her weakness, the one person in her life that she wasn’t able to give up even if that meant losing herself to the abuse of her husband. But, the more time Jungkook spent with y/n, the less time he had to protect his mother. So, he became a buffer, neutralizing the flames that slowly burned down his family tree. However, in doing so, he developed a fear of commitment, unable to give someone his all when the desperate cries for help beating from his mother’s chest grew to consume him. 

“It’s me or her, son,” her voice trembled, hands reaching for his as Jungkook’s head rested on the edge of the bed. 

“But why? Why do I have to choose? Why can’t you let me have one thing for myself? Wasn’t Jieun’s death enough?” he cried out, choking on the tears that rolled down his face. 

“Don’t you dare bring up your sister,” 

“Why not? If it weren’t for your guys' constant fights she wouldn’t have jumped. Jieun-ie would still be here, with me,” Jungkook’s voice broke down, furrowed gaze hidden behind his trembling hands before he was brought back to that night. The night his world turned upside down. The night his little sister plumaged to her death, leaving behind a void in his heart that no one has been able to heal. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” his mother’s voice pierced through his dwelling, as her cold gaze glanced out the window with not one hint of remorse. 

“Then explain it to me,”

“I can’t. It’ll only make you hate you more,” 

“Try me,” Jungkook scoffed, resting his head on the window frame beside her. 

“She was raped. Your father raped Jieun … and when she tried to call the police … he threatened to shoot me. That night, when you went out to your friend’s house, two officers knocked on our door with suspicion of abuse. But, your father was a powerful man and a good liar at that, so, he demanded a warrant unless they wanted to settle everything in court. And, after they left we had a big fight, he wouldn’t stop, nothing could stop the rage in his eyes. I tried pleading with him, to let Jieun leave so she wouldn’t have to hear me scream because I was ashamed. But, he wouldn’t let that happen, he wanted to punish her for going against him. So, she heard everything and died because of the guilt.” his mother’s voice broke down into a whisper as she struggled to breathe, feeling the tightness in her throat. 

“Mom!” Jungkook pulled her behind him, as the door suddenly slammed open, revealing the daunting silhouette of his father. Who was, naturally, drunken out of his mind. The smell of alcohol travelling with his steps, as he inched closer to their still bodies. 

“Finally came back home, son?” he grinned, opening up his arms as a welcome back hug. 

“Don’t call me that.” Jungkook hissed, feeling his mother’s hands tighten their hold on his jacket as her panic kicked in. 

“What did she tell you?” the man growled, dropping the fake smile as his furrowed gaze pierced through her hideout. 

“Don’t you dare to come closer.” Jungkook threatened, slowly moving back before they hit a wall. 

“Or what?” his father sneered maniacally with a raised brow and a slight head tilt, plunging onto Jungkook with his fists in the air. Squeezing her eyes shut, the woman flinched behind her son’s broad shoulders as the sound of shattering glass suddenly echoed in her ear. Watching the blood run down his veiny hands, Jungkook pushed the glass deeper into his father’s chest, darkened orbs staring into his lifeless state. And, although he knew his father’s heart stopped beating, Jungkook wanted him to last longer, to feel the pain spread through his body until it was humanly unbearable. He wanted to abuse his power the way his father abused his mother. He wanted to get justice for Jieun.

Wrapping his tie around the cut on his hand, Jungkook pressed the button to your floor before resting his head on the elevator door. He didn’t know where else to go, or frankly, what else to do. There’s only so much that one could take in one night, yet, it felt like his whole life flashed by, unleashing a tide of old pain that evolved into new trauma. Maybe this was a bad idea, he thought to himself, zipping up his bomber jacket to cover up the blood stains on his shirt as the elevator door opened. Walking down the dimly lit corridor, his head felt heavy, vision slowly blurring out of focus until he heard your voice, furrowed gaze glancing up at a man in your doorway. 

“Anyways, thank you so … oh, Jungkook? What are you doing here?” you gasped, smile slowly fading after you noticed that his attention remained on your friend who awkwardly waved back at Jungkook’s burning glare. 

“Hate to interrupt,” Jungkoook hissed, tongue poking the side of his cheek as he bumped past the guy before abruptly closing the door in his face. 

“Koo?” you asked hushly, looking up at his welled-up eyes that flickered down to your lips as your hands rested on his chest.  

“Who was that, y/n?” he whispered breathlessly.

“That’s Mino, he’s my neighbour. My wifi started acting up, so I asked if he could help,” your words trailed off into silence, waiting for his reaction.

“Why didn’t you ask me?” 

“I called but you didn’t pick up, so I thought you were busy. I’m sorry …” your gaze slowly lowered, hands fidgeting with the rings on your fingers. 

“No, I’m sorry. I got caught up with some stuff,” Jungkook sighed, caressing your cheek with the back of his hand before pulling you into a hug, feeling the tension melt by your touch.

“Hey, what happened to your hand?” 

“Just a little cut, it doesn’t matter. Now, how about I take you for a little ride, mmhm?” he winked, placing a soft kiss on your forehead as your fingers intertwined. 

Securing your helmet, Jungkook kissed the mole on your ring finger before pulling your hands around his waist. Starting up the engine, he glanced over his shoulder with a sly grin as you flinched, startled by the sound of his motorcycle. 

“Do you trust me, y/n?” 

“Hypothetically,” you laughed nervously, tightening your hold around his waist as he drove out of your apartment complex. The time was reaching midnight but the bright hues of Seoul’s nightlife kept the momentum going. Feeling the wind in your hair, chills ran down your spine as his speed increased. And, with each gear shift, faces in passing cars became harder and harder to make out. 

“Jeon Jungkook, you’re insane!” you screamed, helpless cries muffled by the pounding of his heart. He was insane. A murderer. Or was it self-defence? Nonetheless, it didn’t matter, because his life, the way he knew it, was already slipping through his fingers. Consumed by the darkness of his past. And you? Well, you were the last speck of brightness that kept him sane. So, he held onto the moment, keeping you close because it felt right. In hindsight, that’s all he ever wanted. You, were all he ever wanted. 

“Let’s go?” Jungkook said softly, hand reaching for yours as you walked down the bridge near the Han River. The same bridge where you first met. On the night that you thought would be your last. To this day, you could never figure out how he managed to be in the right place at the right time, seconds before your body sunk deep into the dark water. He saved you, but now, he’s the one who’s dying. 

“Koo?” you whispered, looking up at his pale face. 

“Mmhm,” 

“Thank you,” you said, nibbling on your bottom lip to fight back the tears. 

“For what?” his worried gaze searched your fluttering eyes before stopping in his tracks. 

“For saving me,” you felt your breath hitch in your throat with each word. 

“Y/n …” Jungkook said, before tiny raindrops wet your skin. And, within seconds as the sudden lightning bolt struck the sky, it unleashed the wrath of a heavy pour. But, Jungkook didn’t seem to mind it, pulling you into his chest as his hold on your shivering body tightened. 

“Koo, it’s raining. We should go,” you whispered softly, burying your face into his jacket. But, he didn’t reply. Barely moved. 

“Koo?” you asked again before looking up. His eyes were closed, brows knitted with tension.

“Please, y/n … just a little longer, let me hold you for a little longer,” he breathed out, gently caressing your hair as tears rolled down his face. And, for a moment, it felt like time stopped. For a moment, all he could feel was the beating of your heart, a glimpse of a future he felt unworthy of. Deep down, he knew that your love for each other was fragile. As if he could foreshadow the end, the way your feelings would eventually succumb to the pain and exhaustion of trying to win against every shortcoming that’s been thrown at your shared path. 

So, as he laid you down onto the soft duvet of your bed, your glossy eyes sparkled under the moonlight. Reaching for his hand, you looked up at his hollow gaze. 

“Aren’t you going to lie down?” you asked. 

“I should go,” Jungkook replied, caressing your hand with his thumb before slowly letting it go. 

“Please don’t. I’m asking you,” you plead, lifting the duvet before clearing up his side of your bed. 

“Promise me you’ll still be here when I wake up?” your lips trembled, cuddling into his warm embrace as your hands intertwined. 

“Always,” he whispered, biting back the tears before placing a gentle kiss on your head. 

And, although he said exactly what you wanted to hear, you layed on his chest knowing that this time, something was different. His touch was cold, lifeless even. Something in him has switched and it killed you to wonder where it all went wrong. Like pieces of shattered glass, the two of you reflected each other's weaknesses, connected by the heartstrings of predisposed despair. 

Watching you sleep, Jungkook rested his head on yours, closing his eyes for a moment until his phone buzzed. Reaching for the nightstand, he scrolled through all the missed calls from his mother. Who stayed back in the house, sitting on the floor, knees to her chest, watching the lifeless body of her husband surrounded by a pool of blood. Stuck in a state of shock, she didn’t know what to feel. It could have easily been her who was bleeding out, with her life cut short by the hands of her abuser. But, yet, again, Jungkook managed to be at the right place and at the right time. But, at what cost? Killing his father as an act of self-defence still puts him on the radar, and sooner or later the cops would want answers. The problem is that, when one lie gets out, everything else will follow. The abuse, the rape, the suicide, and the murder. 

So, Jungkook knew he had to leave. Now. But he couldn’t bear leaving you without a reason. So, he had to lie to protect your peace. Betray your trust and see the spark in your eyes slowly vanish. Make you feel worthless, like you weren’t enough. Pull on the strings of your breaking heart and step on the wounds that would hurt the most. Make you hate him enough to let go.

“Tell me,” you cried out, resting your aching head on the cold wall of his room.  

“What?” Jungkook sneered, furrowed gaze glancing at the tear stains on your face. It hurt. Hurting you, hurt him. 

“Tell me this was all a lie,” you yelled, kneeling down before him as your trembling hands reached for his. 

“You know I can’t, y/n,” he whispered, fighting back the tears. 

“Do you regret it? Please, say that you regret it,” you cried into his lap as his hands resisted the urge to comfort you, to hold you in his arms and tell you that it was going to be okay. Because in hindsight, it never was. 

“Would it matter if I did?” 

“Bullshit. You’re lying. I know you are. God, don’t you think I at least deserve to know the truth?” your pupils dilated, knitted brows raising at the sight of his empty glare. It was hollow. As if there was nothing behind those dark eyes. 

“Fucking hell, y/n. Are you even listening? I hurt you, and you still stayed. When will you get the hint?” Jungkook scoffed, pushing your hands off of him before slamming his fist on the nightstand. 

“When you grow the balls to admit that you’re scared of loving someone beyond fucking them. What you really couldn’t hold it in your pants?” you felt your throat tighten, finding it hard to breathe, even though you knew you couldn’t ask for his help. Because the person that was standing in front of you was no longer the one you used to know. There was nothing left of Koo. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, y/n,” his voice broke down, glossy eyes looking back at your defeated self. 

“Whatever. I’m exhausted, Jungkook. Fights for us turned into fights with you. All I ever wanted was to be loved, and I truly thought that you out of all people would understand that,” you let out a deep sigh, wiping the tears off your face as quiet whimpers left your parted lips. 

“Y/n … where are you going? Please, don’t just leave,” he cried out, gulping down the pain of seeing how you looked at him. Like he was a stranger.  

“It’s okay, Koo. I finally got the hint,” she replied with a soft smile. 

“Y/n, if you walk out that door, we’ll never see each other again,” he sobbed with each step you took further away from him. 

“You know, that night, at the bridge, I was crying on your shoulder and you told me to live for you. But, I wish you would’ve just let me fall. Because, at least then, I knew for sure that the pain would only be temporary.” you glanced back for the last time, reminiscing all the memories that led up to this night, before closing the door behind you as your heart sank to your stomach.

“I still love you, I promise,” Jungkook’s whispers trailed off into a void. One that consumed his life ever since his sister died. And, one that will continue to do so, for nothing is as painful as love. In hindsight, it was all very clear, his broken soul knew who to love but not how to, always losing someone in sacrifice for another. While the cries of your bleeding heart knew how to love but never who, as you grew up alone, betrayed by the ones that were meant to be your everything.

[solar-wing]

⚣ Primal 💉

⚣💉 A/N → The fic that pretty much started me down my Conner path. Let it be known dis is my man and that alien hoe and any other bitch feeling froggy can meet me anywhere in Happy Harbor! Anyway, the beginning of all the smutty shenanigans of our favorite half-Kryptonian and Wildfire. Also, can someone explain to me how the fuck in the process of me editing and revising this, it got 1000+ words longer? like girl what da hell😭someone take my computer away from me. WARNINGS: INTERSEX Reader. Canon-Typical Violence. Minor Dub-Con. Slight Steamy Action. Ass smacking, Second-hand embarrassment vibes, but it's still hot. animal chase but like there are no animals

⚣💉 Summary → Codename: Wildfire. You've been a part of the Team for some time now, which has given you ample time to get to know all of your comrades. Of course, there's one specific teammate you'd love to get to know on a more personal (and physical) level, but he's not into you, at least that's what you think. One certain mission is going to open an entire can of worms, and what else can you do but rely on your primal instincts? That's apparently what he's doing already.

⚣💉 Words → somehow we went from 5.1 to 6.5k, but whatever🙄

REBLOGS and replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛

⚣ ENJOY 💉

“Wildfire, on your left!” 

You quickly turned in time to see three MONQI robots coming right for you, dodging out of the way just in time, but they were quicker than you expected. They swooped back around in your direction and jumped on you before you could even fully turn to face them.

“Get off of me!” You yelled, reaching behind to throw the robot off your back. The other two on your sides grabbed your arms and hands, trying to twist them into painful positions.

“Ow, you little creeps! I said GET OFF!” You shouted as flames grew around your body in a bright flare, effectively toasting the robots. Shaking the remaining parts off you, you looked up to see each of your teammates engaged in battle with the MONQIs around the abandoned warehouse.

Artemis & Miss Martian were on top of the metal walkways. Kid Flash & Robin were closer to the back while Aqualad & Superboy were at the entrance. You and Zatanna were in the middle of the giant room and you could see she was starting to get overwhelmed. Before you could intervene to help, you heard that creepy laugh from behind you and turned just in time to throw up a fire shield as the crate exploded.

Your shield managed to burn the debris before it hit you, but it didn’t do anything for the sense of dread you could feel in your gut.

‘Um, is it just me or is anyone else starting to think this is a little weird?’ You asked over the shared mind link Miss Martian had established.

‘It is not just you, Wildfire. All the MONQIs are coming from these boxes and the warehouse is full of them. This isn’t just an ambush, it’s a trap.’ Aqualad replied as he sliced through two robots with his whip. ‘Okay, but a trap for what exactly?’ asked Kid Flash.

‘Or who…’  Robin said.

That made the bubbling in your guts more intense as you saw a group of MONQIs flying toward you from the box that just exploded. With quick thinking, you released your shield into two long tendrils of fire that sucked right into your hands. A fiery hue started to creep up your arms as you consumed the rest of the energy from the shield before you tucked your arms into your body and whipped them out, releasing the fire into two arcs that cut right through the cackling robots.

You brushed your hands in victory before feeling multiple tiny metal hands grab at your suit, yanking you down to the ground. That sickly laugh was in your ears as they crawled all over you. They held your arms back, trying to prevent you from using your powers. You struggled to build a heat wave, but the little pesky androids kept breaking your focus with that annoying laugh as they poked and pulled at your face.

When you could barely move anymore, you were about to give up when you felt the ground shake and rumble next to you, like it was about to give in from something heavy that dropped on it. You felt and saw the robots holding down your arms get knocked off.

As your vision cleared with less green and black, you looked up to see Superboy standing over you, punching and pulling more of the robots off of you. Now, that you could focus more, you shot some fireballs from your hands, blasting the other ones off you.

“I hate monkeys,” You heard him grunt before he reached out to help you up. “You alright?”

“Fine. But, I’m never watching Curious George again.” You replied as you took it and got back on your feet, dusting yourself off.

Your comrade looked confused for a second before he just gave you a small smile, choosing not to ask.

The sound of a door opening caught both of your attention, turning just in time to see the villain himself, Doctor Ivo, running out the side exit of the building.

“There’s Ivo!” You pointed seeing a few of his MONQIs trailing right behind him.

Superboy’s smile quickly turned into an angry snarl as he was about to go after him. That is until a MONQI flew right at his face, wrapping its arms and leg around to prevent being pulled off.

“Superboy!” You shouted going to help. But, you hesitated since you didn’t want to throw a fireball right at his face and risk burning him, even if he was invulnerable. You really needed to stop letting this crush you had on the Kryptonian cloud your judgment.

But, you didn’t even get the chance to do anything when another group of MONQIs grabbed you from behind, this time lifting you off the ground. If this was the universe’s subtle way of saying you were very light to carry, it wasn’t cute.

“What the heck?! Put me down you banana-loving freaks!” You shouted as they carried you away in the same direction toward the door Ivo was headed.

Aqualad looked over in time to see the robots carrying you off and he turned to see Robin and Kid Flash fighting off the last few around them.

“Robin! Kid Flash! They’ve got Wildfire.” He shouted, pointing in the direction you were being taken. They nodded, quickly going to follow in pursuit until Superboy finally managed to tear off the robot on his face and threw it at another box.

“Superboy! Watch where you throw those things. As if we didn’t have enough to deal with already.” KF yelled as he and Robin got surrounded by a new group of the hysterical monstrosities.

The Kryptonian didn’t even pay attention to him though, immediately going after you. 

They’d already pulled you out through the door, just before you managed to burn off one of them that was holding your left arm. Before you could fire the rest off, they decided to drop you right at that moment, letting you fall to the ground. Even though you could fly, your reaction time wasn’t fast enough before you hit the ground.

“Ugh, I’m gonna feel that one tomorrow,” You groaned, rubbing the back of your head.

“Oh, you will indeed.” A voice suddenly spoke in front of you. 

Your vision was blurry from the fall you took, but as it came back together, you saw Dr. Ivo standing in front of you with a smug grin.

“Ivo,” You growled, attempting to get off the ground to blast the bastard, but your body was entirely disoriented from your fall. 

The Doctor chuckled at your struggling before both of your attention was pulled by the sound of a loud boom from behind you. You both looked back towards the building to see Superboy who had launched through the wall of the factory, heading straight for you.

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” He shouted, landing a few feet next to you before immediately grabbing Ivo by his shirt, lifting him off the ground. The few MONQI robots surrounding you tried to come to their creator’s defense, but were smashed apart by Superboy’s free fist.

“Oh, that was a bit excessive, don’t you think? And those were my favorites.” Ivo mocked, still grinning for whatever reason.

While watching the encounter, something in your peripheral caught your attention. You looked up to see a MONQI bot sneakily moving behind your teammate holding a syringe with some kind of purple liquid inside.

You shouted at your teammate as you quickly realized what was happening and who the trap was for.

 “SUPERBOY, MOVE!”

He turned to look back at you, seeing the MONQI move towards him. But, he was too late as the robot dashed forward and plunged the syringe right into his neck, causing him to yell out and freeze in shock from whatever was in that syringe.

“No!” 

You summoned everything you could at that moment and shot a fireball at the robot destroying it before it could inject all of the liquid into him. As the syringe fell out of his neck and the shock wore off, Superboy let go of Ivo as he seemed to lose his balance swaying from side to side before falling to the ground.

“Well, that was fun,” Ivo mocked, getting up from the ground and wiping himself off, “Now, we'll get to watch him tear all of you apart.” A smirk plastered across his face as he looked at the unconscious half-Kryptonian. He was marveling at the success of his plan when his eyes ran over the syringe which still held some of the purple liquid inside.

“No! The entire dosage must be administered for it to take full effect.” Ivo exclaimed, immediately running for the syringe.

“I don’t think so.” You muttered, raising your hand and shooting out a blast of fire that formed into a circle around the syringe preventing Ivo from getting to it.

The doctor growled as he backed away not wanting to get burned. 

“Well, don’t just stand there. Get the syringe!” Ivo yelled out to his robot minions.

Two of them immediately flew right for it before they were blown apart by two fireballs you shot at them. A third one you didn’t see almost swooped in and got it but was struck through the chest by one of Artemis’ arrows.

You heard a giant explosion from behind and turned to see your friends running from the warehouse that just blew up, taking all of those other MONQI robots inside with it.

“Robin,” You figured, sighing in relief.

“No! My babies…” Ivo cried. He tried to make a break for it, but you were finally back at full strength. 

Getting to your feet, you blasted yourself into the air, your eyes glowing a bright ember as the anger you felt for the Doctor and whatever he did to your friend fueled the fire inside your chest.

You flew around Ivo, flying in a circle leaving a trail of fire in your path, effectively trapping the Doctor inside.

“No! No! NO!” He cried frustratedly, realizing his defeat. He desperately looked around trying to see if there was a way he could escape. But, as he came to realize, unless he wanted to be cooked like a summer barbeque, there was no way he could get out of your trap.

You had a satisfied smirk on your face listening to his cries before you turned toward the rest of your team who were gathering around Superboy.

“What happened?” Miss Martian asked as she knelt over him.

You looked at your knocked-out friend and the syringe that was on the ground a few feet from him. You dissipated the ring of fire around it, hopefully having not tampered with or boiled it from the flames.

“I don’t know, but we need to find out.”

You returned to the Cave with the Team, M’Gann carrying Conner with her telekinesis.

“Report.” The ever-brooding tone of Batman spoke as he stood at the center of the room with Red Tornado, his cape covering his body.

“It was a trap,” Kal immediately started, being the last to come through the Zeta tube, “Ivo planted those crates in that warehouse knowing we would show up. The crates were full of his robots, but they only served as a distraction so Ivo could execute his real plan.” He finished, turning to look at the Kryptonian.

“And that was…” Batman questioned.

Holding out your hand, you revealed the syringe with the purple liquid inside, “Ivo wanted to inject whatever this stuff is into Conner. He almost did, but I stopped him. He mentioned something about getting to watch him tear us all apart.” You explained leaving out the part where it only happened because you got careless and got captured by those pesky robots. 

You couldn’t tell if your teammates felt the same way, but it didn’t stop the pang of guilt you felt every time you looked at Conner.

“Hm,” Batman uttered as he took the syringe from your hand to examine it more closely

“Apparently, it won’t work though. Ivo said the entire dosage needed to be administered for it to take effect. Effect of what exactly? That’s the only thing he didn’t let slip.” You added as the Dark Knight continued observing the liquid.

“I’ll send this to the Watchtower to have it fully examined. In the mean tim-”

Before the superhero could finish, Conner suddenly awoke, sitting straight up with a grunt.

“Conner!” M’Gann exclaimed, rushing to his side.

Apparently, he didn’t like being airborne as he started flailing out of control, letting off sounds of frustration as he tried to get his feet on the ground.

“Um, I think he wants to get down,” Wally pointed out.

“Oh! Right, sorry.” She said, releasing him as he fell on his butt.

You all cringed as he hit the ground, hearing him groan in pain before looking towards M’Gann with disapproving looks.

She blushed in response, letting out an embarrassed laugh, “Oops.”

Everyone turned to look back at Conner as he got to his feet. He slowly looked around, looking as if he didn’t recognize where he was. That’s when you noticed him twitching his nose as if he was just smelling everything around him. 

You remembered reading something about Kryptonians having extremely heightened senses compared to regular humans when you were studying the heroes in the League and had gotten to the chapter on Superman.

It seemed that statement was true as Conner looked around at everyone, not really reacting to anything, but he was clearly on guard as he took in the sights and smells mainly from around him.

“Conner?” M’Gann called his name.

He turned his head towards her, which got you somewhat relieved. Okay, at least he still knew who he was. Or at least you were hoping, since it was very possible that he only turned since she was the first voice that spoke since he got off the ground. 

Twitching his nose again, he let out a very disapproving noise before backing away from her and covering his nose.

M’Gann began to panic as she looked confused, “What? What did I do? I didn’t do anything!”

“I think it’s your smell? He doesn’t seem to be taking kindly to it.” Robin theorized.

“But, I showered this morning!” M’Gann said.

“And, you also just came out of a dusty and dirty warehouse after fighting a bunch of rogue crazy monkey robots.” Zatanna pointed out.

“Oh, right.” She said, blushing again and scratching the back of her head.

It seemed what the magical apprentice said was true, as Conner backed away from everyone while still covering his nose until he looked in your direction.

He paused for a moment, sniffing still under his hand before hearing one of the most aggressive animalistic noises you’d ever heard in your life. And you’ve literally battled some very aggressive animals.

Conner’s eyes went wide before rushing toward you, causing you to jump in shock as he stood in front of you with his towering frame. He grabbed you by your arms, holding you in place before you could move away from him. You could see him staring at you with the most piercing gaze ever, like he could see right inside your mind and was reading your thoughts. Which, the literal terror from that thought alone was enough to have you seizing up in his arms besides the stare. The things that went through your mind concerning your team’s resident Kryptonian were nowhere near pure, even on a Sunday.

Though, the longer he stared at you without saying anything, the more nervous you got.

“Uh, hey Con? Feeling better buddy?” You asked, not knowing if you should try and make sudden movements as the boy just continued to stare at you. Then, he tilted his head, and it seemed as if instead of staring, he was studying you. What he could be studying, you’d rather not let the delusional fairy in your mind get any ideas.

Leaning your head to the side, you called out to your teammates and leaders, “Uh guys, shouldn’t we be trying to do something here?”

None of them moved or said anything, as they all just stared at you and the Kryptonian in confusion. Well, except for Batman and Red Tornado whose expressions never changed.

Then, it got weird.

Something you did had apparently pleased the Kryptonian as he grunted in what sounded like satisfaction before he dived head first (literally) into the open angle of your neck, sniffing at the junction between above your shoulder.

Your eyes went wide as your body immediately tried to retract (you’d never mentioned to your friends that you were extremely ticklish, especially Conner who had a habit of always trying to find ways to mess with you) from the tickling sensation as you attempted to hold in your laughs. 

Though, the Kryptonian thought you were trying to get away from him which he wasn’t pleased about at all, if the angry growl he let off was anything to go by. He released his initial hold on you before wrapping his arms around you and forcefully tugging your body against his as your friends all looked in shock, not knowing what to say or do. 

Heck, you didn’t know what to say or do! 

Your teammate and friend was basically holding you forcing you into his grip while sniffing your neck like you were a freshly baked pie sitting on a window seal with its aroma basking in the wind

And worst of all, you liked it.

This was so not helping your crush on him.

“Ookay, so I guess that confirms that it was our scents that were weirding him out,” Robin said, not hiding how uncomfortable he felt watching what was happening.

“So, he basically just said we all stink and Y/N smells like a field of flowers,” Artemis said, trying to find something else to look at than the weird display of…affection (if you could even call it that) in front of her.

“Well, that makes no sense. If anything, Y/N should be the stinkiest out of us all. The man literally can surround his entire body in fire. I refuse to believe that doesn’t smell even remotely disgusting,” Wally said, breaking the awkward atmosphere in the room, somewhat…until you realized what he said.

“Hey!” You yelled as the Kryptonian kept trying to dig his nose further into your neck. From whatever angle you look at, Conner probably looked like a vampire having a full-on feast on your neck. And you couldn’t decide if the image of what you guys looked liked was weird and concerning, or hot as fuck.

In fact, you chose to not think of it at all in hopes of preventing a situation down south from arising.

“Sorry Y/N, not personal. Though, this is still weird.” He replied, waving his hands towards you and Conner and whatever this was that was going on.

You were gonna respond with a witty comeback, a good one too. But then, you suddenly felt Conner licking and biting at your neck. Apparently, he really was getting into this vampire role since you could literally feel the blood in your body freeze (if that were even possible) and thaw in a matter of seconds. Only to end up with a tingling sensation in the front area of your pants.

Alright, this needed to end before it got even more embarrassing.

“Uh guys, a little help.” You said, wiggling in an attempt to free yourself from Conner’s grip. But, the boy was literally Superman’s clone, or half clone at least, which meant your struggling was barely doing anything IF anything at all.

But, all it did was aggravate Conner even more as the last thing he wanted was for you to get away from him apparently. He growled in your neck with a harsh bite as a warning, before tightening one of his arms around your body even more while using his other one to grab at the back of your head, tugging on your hair to yank your head to the side and open your neck even more. 

You cried out in pain as he bit and licked on your neck harder, even starting to suck on it. You heard a deep and felt the noise of what you figured was satisfaction he let out, figuring he liked the sound of your cries, taking them to be from pleasure instead of pain.

Alright, enough was enough.

“Guys!” You yelled, struggling to loosen his hold as he kept his arm as tight as he could around you, seemingly trying to force you into a more submissive hold.

Damn it, that thought went straight to your pants.

“Dude, just burn him!” Wally yelled.

Oh, that’s right. You do have powers.

You let the heat inside your body build, feeling the fire start to dance off the skin of your suit. Conner could feel it too as it started to burn through his clothes slightly while he maintained his hold on you.  He tried to shove you forward, attempting to knock you off your feet and press you against one of the walls where he could definitely have a better chance of keeping you in his grasp. 

You groaned from the sudden movement, which he definitely liked as he bit into your neck again letting out a yelp of pain just before a torrent of fire blasted between your bodies.

Conner growled in discomfort but didn’t let go, huffing in your ears as he pulled on your head again, this time forcing your head backward as he stared into your eyes, his expression screaming out for you to submit. He leaned down to lick at the new area of exposed skin to him, while you did everything you could to not let out the most horniest of moans in front of your friends and mentors.

What did you do to deserve this kind of hot, but embarrassing torture? It was literally like the universe was dangling your deepest desires in front of you while you stood on a stage in your underwear in front of your entire school or job.

Because everyone’s had that nightmare at some point in their lives right?

Without even realizing it at first, you managed to create a bit of space between you and the Kryptonian, which was enough for you to move your arms from your side to place your hands against his chest, doing your best to ignore how firm and strong his muscles felt under your touch.

“Oh, dear lord, forgive me for my sinful thoughts.” You muttered in a sort of breathy moan. Thankfully, your teammates didn’t hear it, except for the one who was still feasting on your neck as his eyes traveled back up to yours, that dominating gaze almost putting you in a trance as he helped himself to your skin.

“Alright, buddy boy, it’s been fun and all,” You breathed, letting another well of energy build from your core, “but it’s time to LET. GO!” You yelled, emphasizing each word louder and louder as the fire began to blast off from your body.

The initial discharge was enough for his hold to weaken and put even more space between you. This was just the opportunity you needed, pushing him forward as much as you could (which frankly wasn’t much but you’d let yourself have this moment) while raising your feet off the ground to push and kick off his stomach, breaking his hold.

You cried out in victory and slight relief as your body broke out of his arms. Before he could get his bearings, you took your hand and placed it over his that was holding on to your head, blasting off enough heat to burn his hand and force him to release you with a scream. 

Launching yourself in the air, you put as much distance between you and Kryptonian as you could. He yelled out in frustration at the realization that you had gotten away. When his eyes landed on you, you’d almost thought he’d somehow gotten heat vision with the way his eyes were burning at you. That look had you both terrified and insanely horny at the same time.

Conner stared at you for a few more seconds before moving his hand out to point at you, then taking that same hand and pointing at the ground just in front of him with a grunt. He was ordering you to return to your original position, which you definitely didn’t plan on doing.

When you didn’t follow directions, he just growled out loud at you before pointing down at the ground again in a firmer stance. Somehow, he got the idea in his head that you were supposed to do what he says or orders, and when you didn’t do just that, he got angrier. His face was not one of appreciation at your open ‘defiance.’

But, how could you be defiant if you never took orders from the Kryptonian in the first place? So, you just raised yourself higher into the air, figuring as long as you stayed out of his reach, you were safe from another ‘intimate’ session.

But, this was Superboy we were talking about. And while he couldn’t fly, he could still jump high enough to reach you. Something, you had remembered just as he bent down and launched himself at you, screaming out in his usual Conner fashion. But, they weren’t screams of anger, at least from what you assumed. 

They sounded more like frustration. You were avoiding the word you knew it actually was. Corny but with an ‘H’.

You moved out of the way in time as he shot past you into one of the cave walls, flying to the other side to keep space between you two. But, it seemed you forgot he could launch himself from walls as well.

That ‘H’ word was clouding your mind.

You felt him reach out to snag you and thinking fast, let yourself drop to the ground before he could. At least, your reflexes weren’t totally out. You watched as he just landed on another cave wall, digging his fingers into the rock to hold himself up, seeing your friends just continue to stare at you in confusion and weirdness.

“Okay, is it just me, or is he acting like a- like uh…” Artemis said, confusion holding onto her brain still as she watched the situation unfold.

“Like a monkey?” Wally answered, also watching this in weirdness and slight amusement. This kind of thing doesn't happen every day. Even for him.

“Yes. He seems to be exhibiting the traits of a wild animal.” Kal pointed out, also watching the madness as you flew from different sides of the cave, managing to avoid the Kryptonian’s numerous attempts to apprehend you.

“Hmm, it would seem that whatever Conner was injected with has amplified his most primal instincts. I assume that Doctor Ivo was trying to take advantage of his prominent urge to fight and destroy from his earlier ‘programming’, and use it against us. But, without the full dose, he only managed to strengthen his other ‘aggressive instincts’.” Red Tornado theorized.

“And those would be…?” M’Gann asked though she had a feeling she didn’t want to know.

“To find and mate with a desirable partner. And, it seems he has chosen Y/N as that partner.” He answered.

To say your friends felt more than awkward and disturbed was an understatement.

Robin and Zatanna went pale, Aqualad started choking on air, M’Gann got even greener than she already was, and Artemis started gagging like she was gonna throw up, even Batman shifted a little. Wally, however, seemed perfectly fine as he just started laughing.

“Oh! Well, what’s so bad about that? He just wants to find a friend!” He exclaimed, feeling sentiment towards his super friend until Zatanna tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear what ‘mate’ actually meant, “Wha- OH GROSS! GET A ROOM YOU TWO!”

Yeah, your friends and mentors were witnesses to your other friend, teammate, and crush (though they didn’t need to know that last part (especially after he & M’Gann literally just broke up), trying to fuck you.

You rolled your eyes at the speedster’s comment, focusing on avoiding another one of Conner’s attempts to capture you. Though this time, he wasn’t trying to just merely grab you, but instead trying to knock you out of the air.

This became clear too late when he launched off the side wall at you with a shout, but instead of holding his arm out, he had his arm tucked in and was aiming his shoulder at you.

You tried to duck out of the way but were just a fraction of a second too late as his body collided with yours, knocking you both toward the ground. You braced for a hard fall but felt Conner once again encircle you in his arms, pulling you around and tucking you into his body just as you both landed with him taking most of the force from the fall.

You felt yourselves sliding until eventually coming to a stop against one of the walls in the hallways.

“Yep, gonna feel that in the morning too.” You groaned, your head falling forward to rest on his chest. His shirt was slightly burnt and torn from your little game of cat and mouse, so you were feeling some parts of his bare skin which did not help the situation in your underwear at all.

Feeling his body vibrate as he grunted again, you looked up to see him looking down at you in amusement.

“You find this funny sir?!” You shouted at him before you felt him leaning up and raising you both off the ground, his arms once again holding you tight against him. Conner pushed you up against the wall, trapping you between, well a literal rock and a hard place. You let out a groan as the air escaped your lungs from the force, the Kryptonian grunting his satisfaction from your noises.

Huh, what do you know? Guys really do enjoy the chase, well, at least not you. You preferred being chased, but this situation may have been a bit of an exception if it weren’t for the circumstances and the audience you had.

Conner pressed his body against yours, letting you feel what probably had to be the most prominent bulge in the history of bulges against your abdomen. The same hand that previously gripped your hair found its way there again as he grabbed a whole fistful of it, pulling your head back as you gasped. His other hand reached around and grabbed a handful of your ass, which poked out nicely from your suit as Zatanna liked to point out sometimes in teasing.

“Hey! Watch those hands, mister,” You warned before letting out a gasp, as he ground himself into you.

He looked down at you, a sinfully prideful smirk on his face as he ground his large bulge against your own crotch. You squirmed in his hold reaching your arms up and pushing against his chest trying to escape again, but it only excited him further as he leered down at your efforts while still grinding against you. 

You tried to let balls of fire build in your palms, but Conner had quickly learned your tricks. He took the hand that was groping your ass and snatched both of your wrists together with it, placing them against the wall above your head while moving his other arm around your waist so he could continue to grind your crotches and abdomens together.

He effectively had you trapped, and for some reason, all you could think about was earlier when you trapped the Doctor in that cyclone of fire. Is this how he felt when he realized he had nowhere to go?

You were hard and wet in your set, something the Kryptonian immediately took notice of, as you felt his bulge throb harder and his chest rumbled with an ungodly loud growl. He leaned down to begin his assault on your neck again, not satisfied with his work from earlier apparently.

You whined out, feeling so hot but embarrassed at the same time by the fact that your team was watching this whole thing play out in front of them.

Speaking of which…

“Guys! You gonna intervene now or what?” You yelled out, Conner harshly biting your neck for that as a reprimand. You got away from him once, he wasn’t planning on letting it happen twice.

It was like the Kryptonian could understand everything you were doing and saying while still acting like an animal in heat. Every time you struggled or you tried to burn him, he yanked your head again to break your concentration. The more you whined and groaned, the harder he sucked on your neck, trying to evoke more noises from you. And if you screamed out for help, he’d bite down on your neck with a growl, like a warning.

‘Shut up and submit or else…’

This was literally something straight out of one of your hottest wet dreams, though, if only it wasn't in the presence of others.

Speaking of again…

“GUYS!” You shouted at your friends, who were all just stuck, not knowing what to do.

“Oh right.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, our bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“My apologies.”

“Hm.”

“Interesting.”

“This is so weird.”

They all moved towards you, still clueless about what to do in this situation. How strange does a situation have to be for you to stump two grown adults, not to mention members of the Justice League? Your friends, you could understand as you were all teenagers and this wasn’t something you dealt with every day. 

Of course, Batman and Red Tornado also probably didn’t deal with this every day, but they’re the adults in this situation which means they need to act like they’ve dealt with this before!

Everyone moved towards you, slowly, not trying to alert Conner as he continued his ‘ministrations’ on your neck. Though, it seemed that it wasn’t only you who kept forgetting the extent of the Kryptonian’s abilities, one of them being his Super Hearing which was also amped up by whatever sex juice he was injected with.

You felt a low and deep growl come from him, as he turned towards your friends with a threatening look towards them, warning them to not get any closer. Everyone paused for a second, reconsidering getting closer as Conner started to act more like an animal being cornered. 

“I’m not sure if this subject matter is taught in your schools, but I do not think it wise to approach Conner in this sort of state. Wild animals are known to be extra dangerous and violent when cornered, especially if they are defending what they believe to be their territory.” Red Tornado suggested as Conner’s eyes seemed to get more wild from your approaching comrades.

Oh, so now you were basically property? This was doing great things for your dignity.

By this point, Wally had had enough by this point.

“Okay forget this then! What are we doing?! There are 6 of us and one of him. Let’s just rush the guy. Super strength and all, he can’t hold us all back..” He suggested.

Note for the future. Never listen to Wally ever again. 

The second one took a step to close, Conner went into full defense mode. He pulled back from you, which you thought was a good thing, and almost sighed in relief.

Thought and almost being keywords here.

Conner took the hand that was holding your hands above your head. and grabbed one of the metal panelings of the cave and actually ripped it free. Pieces from the wall including other panels and wires fell out from the exposed part of the wall as he chucked the metal slab in his hand at your teammates. 

They ducked out of the way in time, but it provided the Kryptonian with the distraction he needed to grab a smaller piece of metal that was smaller but longer for what he planned off the floor. He took your wrist off the wall (where he felt a sense of smug pride from the fact that you never moved your hands) and bent the metal tightly around your wrists, wrapping them together. Once your hands were tightly bound, he leaned down to wrap his arm around your legs, throwing you over his shoulder.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ You thought to yourself as you hung off Conner’s shoulder which was surprisingly not as uncomfortable as you thought it would be.

How no one managed to swoop in with the time it took him to bind your wrists and put you on his shoulder was beyond you.

 These people could avoid lasers, energy blasts, and projectiles shooting at them in a matter of seconds, but, one slab of metal was enough to throw them off their game?!

Okay, truth be told, you were off your game as well.

It’s been a weird day.

“Guys! I could really use your assistance,” You pleaded from your perch, legs wiggling back and forth as you tried to shake and force your way off his shoulder.

Your friends tried to rush Conner as Wally suggested, but that didn’t work out as he just launched himself over them. You watched the ground get farther and closer as he landed. At least you could see your friend's ridiculous looks on their faces as they watched you being hauled off like a caveman holding on to his prize.

Alright, who’s really the ridiculous looking one here?

Batman tried to shoot one of his electrical tasers at him to stun him, but he just grabbed the string before it could touch him and yanked it, knocking the Dark Knight off his feet.

“Yeah, tried that one before too. Didn’t work out well.” Robin said, as his mentor got back on his feet.

Conner screamed out at your comrades, holding his arm around your thighs as you continued to try and wiggle your way off his shoulder. Which, all you were doing was rubbing your hard-on in a back-and-forth motion on his shoulder, giving him the wrong (or right) idea while creating friction against your crotch that was not helping you feel less hot in the slightest.

“This is so not how I expected my day to go.” You groaned before yelling out as you felt a hot sting on your ass from where the Kryptonian just slapped it.

“Are you kidding me?!” You cried.

“Didn’t need to see that!

“Oh, my god…”

“Oh dude, seriously!”

“Now, that’s just rude.”

“I did not need to see that.”

“Hm.”

“Interesting.”

“Okay, that’s just dehumanizing.”

You heard your friend's complaints and groans as Conner continued to avoid their attempts to rescue and subdue him. Eventually, you just accepted your reality.

“I’m so getting torn apart today.”

Conner seemed to agree with that, adding another smack to emphasize it.

“I thought you all were supposed to be heroes!”

☀️ | Conner Kent/ Superboy | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

🔥 | Part Two | 🔥

[dootznbootz]

I was thinking about that Odysseus gray hair headcanon of yours (which i btw love and painfully sob about) and consider:

Penelope seeing him cry in bed, having the realization that when he's lying on his back while crying his tears follow the exact patch of his gray hair. Penelope being out for blood because of that.

Actually, he hates lying on his back after everything... It's something he cannot do anymore. He lies on his side most of the time. Or lies on top of Penelope. (His "favorite bed is made of bone." 😂 As the Water Wife is smaller so when he rests his head on her chest, he's basically right on her sternum. She's fairly flat. She gets SOME squish as she gets older and after pregnancy ofc 😌)

Having a weight on top of him is very upsetting. He usually flips them over or moves. He can no longer be the little spoon either. Penelope cannot lie on his chest. It's just something that has...changed :')

One thing she notices, is that he has 4 little cresent moon shaped scars on his triceps. (some faded ones on his palms too). Then she sees him crossing his arms and realizes they're from him digging his fingernails into himself. Something he used to do while crying on the beaches. The ones on his palms are from the times he was on his back in the cave.

Something that will eventually kind of come into play, is that for Helen, Paris and Deiphobus are dead. She can always be reassured they won't come to get her. For Odysseus, they're GODDESSES...Immortal and can't be 'punished' (nor should they considering they're immortals). Odysseus kind of lives with this fear deep down that they'll somehow come back into his life. They don't. Because THEY DON'T. But he can't shake that fear.

It reassures him that Penelope looks and feels so different. Penelope's smaller, she's fairly cold to the touch, he knows her birthmarks and scars, etc. Calypso was an Oceanaid while Penelope is a Naiad. He hates saltwater for many reasons. Circe felt too hot and felt like burning despite taking Penelope's appearance. Penelope's so cold. etc. Penelope is RIGHT.

Unedited Unfinished snippet of a random wip. Context: He had a bad nightmare.

Shaking with a blank, tear-stained face, Odysseus sat looking away from her. His nails dug into his biceps, the four crescent moon scars proving how often he did this while away. On his palms as well. The tapestry that he tore off the wall (the rod being what broke. Not her own craftsmanship, of course) wrapped around his waist and back. Protecting himself…

Penelope is soooo protective of him though. For example, once while talking with Penelope and Telemachus, Telemachus brings up Calypso (he knows from Menelaus) and asks his dad how he escaped her and how 'dangerous' she was. Was she like Scylla? Odysseus freezes. He doesn't want his son to know of such things. Stuff like that.

Penelope swoops in with distractions and a way for him to sneak away if he needs or to just shove his face under her neck to hide it for a bit. Water Wife is able to get rid of any tears shed so he can look "fine" and keep up appearances.

Odysseus hid his face in her throat, his hands clutching her waist close to him on their shared throne. Another tear spilled out from where it rested upon his lid only to be immediately pulled away. Penelope casually flicked it to the side. Cold hands cupped his face as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "We can sneak out if you need-" "No." He pulled her closer. He swallowed and steadied his breathing. Vision too blurred to look at the dancers anyway. He had a prettier sight beside him. "I already made a scene." Penelope started to say something before stopping and took a deep breath. "Whatever you need, my Joy." "You," he rasped. "Just you."

I wrote this very quickly just to kind of give the vibes I guess. I also have a headcanon that after Odysseus made their bed, he made a throne bench because these two freaks were constantly squirming and were leaning over so much that it got annoying. It also felt very empty for 20 years :') )

People talk about him. About his episodes of PTSD and his lashing out. And she shuts them down. "He's not mad. He's been through all pains. I'd like to see you do well after going through what he's gone through."

She's out for blood on people who question or mock him. Don't talk about her Joy that way. You don't know anything.

[oh-there-she-goes]

Batman #145 (preview)

It infuriates me how Zdarsky kept having his Joker refer to Zur en Arrh as the real you or the true Batman. I understand there are many ways to write a character such as Joker, but to have him regard the OG Batman, who in part made him, as a second best to Zur, whom he had only met twice in his entire career, is so...jarring.

I sure damn hope Zdarsky was still cooking and intentionally having Joker spouting nonsense to mess with Batman here because God forbid if Joker was truly being sincere, it would taint all the history between him and Batman in the past decades, turning their dynamics lukewarm if not deploringly lackluster.

And why would Joker care to break the like of Zur in the first place? As formidable as he may, what's so sacred about Zur that needs defiling?

His swift execution of justice? Disproportionate uses of violence? Or his unadulterated brutality? Were these the qualities that left the Joker so enamoured?

One may say it's only natural that Joker would want to unleash his chaos upon Zur, who thinks himself a personification of control and order. But even considering his extreme measures, Zur has never stood against Joker at his core in the ways that Batman has.

In a world where nothing matters, Batman swoops in and fights him by trying to give meaning to everything. And he saves Joker, too, because he believes all lives are worth saving. And that's why Joker is determined to break him. He needs Batman to be wrong.

But what about Zur? Zur is just another man in power. He's dangerously competent, but he upholds no sanctimonious codes. They fight because they have different goals, but there's nothing inherently personal. Joker would not mourn the loss of Zur, and Zur would never feel the weight of guilt from refusing to let his monster bleed to death.

Then again, it might simply be my fault that I lack media literacy. Perhaps it has been Zdarsky's intention all along that Joker was lying. Maybe Joker elevating Zur to such esteem was just a part of his plan to push Bruce to ascension?

On a not-so-unrelated note, as there are many references to Scott Snyder's work in this run, I can't help chewing on how Zdarsky and Snyder differ in their interpretations of Joker.

While Snyder's Joker made it clear that he only cared about Batman and not Bruce, he had never wished for Batman to forgo his humanity.

The most Joker demanded of Batman was to get rid of the family that burdened him (which, funnily enough, Zur agreed). But his resentment stemmed from loneliness and jealousy.

In his heart of hearts, Joker knew they could continue their dance because Batman let it be so, hence the belief that his feelings towards Batman were reciprocated.

Joker even came to admit at one point that he no longer wanted to see Batman broken. What he wanted was for neither of them to win.

The Batman Who Laughs #4 (2019)

And unless something akin to 'Last Knight on Earth' happened, I see this as their dynamic in later years until either (or both) of them perished (which is unlikely to be soon as they both refused to let the other die).

Therefore, this Joker would never want Zur to enter the picture as it had been shown time and time again that when met with the more brutal, more...radical Batman(s), he always chose to side with the Batman who stayed humane.

Like when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, Joker is in love with Batman who refuses to change.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #3 (2019)

The True Batman, for him, was the Batman who could withstand any test Joker and the world threw at him and remained the same.

Well..., who would like to keep dancing with a man who wouldn't dive from the top of the building after you anyway?

Still, I want so bad to be wrong about Zdarsky. I hope he has plans for them more than he lets on. (T w T)

[quicktosimp]

Why Can't You See?

Summary: The RDA has returned. Since their return, we have not only been fighting with the humans but Jake and I cannot see eye to eye anymore. No matter how hard I try, Jake and I seem to be falling apart. I want to fight for our mateship, but I don't know how much longer I can fight.

Warnings: Canon violence, Disassociation, Attempted Smut (No Actual Smut)

I will never regret the day I met the Sully’s. They are the loves of my life, and I will always cherish them. Having four kids with them was another great gift from Eywa. But I am so tired.

Ever since the humans came back to Pandora, Neytiri and I have taken over the brunt of parenting; not only that, but we have had to fix everything Jake has been doing. He demands and orders the children, especially the boys, to do outrageous things that they end up failing. I then have to go around and reassure the boys before turning around and talking with Jake about it, leading to another argument: Neytiri standing between us, trying to get the two of us to see reason. This has gone on for over a year now, but today is going to be a good day. The raid has been planned to perfection. It’s going to be an in-and-out operation: blow up the tracks, grab the weaponry and supplies, and get out. We already have our chosen spotters: several men who passed their Iknimaya a little after Jake and I did. 

Jake and I lead the team, himself in the air on Bob, while I lead the ground forces on pa’li. My warriors were beside me as we waited for our signal. My anxious emotions were fed back to me by my pa’li, our tsaheylu keeping us connected. My pa’li stomped her hoves impatiently., I sent a wave of calmness to her as I pat her neck soothingly, never taking my eyes off the target. 

Over the comms, I heard Jake say, “Ground teams go,” And we were off.

The resounding sounds of battle cries rang through the air as we raced our way to the tracks. The explosives went off with a bang, turning the tracks to scrap metal, and the train itself flew off the rails, flinging into multiple pieces. Rolling over and on top of each other, each causing their own explosion. The fires were horrendously hot, and the sweltering heat nearly unbearable, but everything had gone as planned. 

I watched as Jake swooped down from the sky, shooting at the aircraft with a cry, Neytiri following after him with her bow, releasing a cry of her own. I shook my bow, releasing my own cry after them, pleased with the results, as I watched the carrier crash. 

“Go! Go!” I shouted at my warriors as we surrounded the crash, “We don’t have long, you know the plan! Stick to your stations!” I ordered as we got into position.

We all got to work; as the air team landed, I noticed that our spotters were on the ground, concerned I reached for my comm, “Devil Dog, you read me? Our spotters are on the ground; who’s in the air?” I asked assertively.

I was handed several more crates before my ear twitched with Jake’s response, “Fireball, we ended up with two more; I put them on spotting, so we have more on the ground.”

I growled as my irritation rose. Damn Jake and changing the plans without telling me.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I growled into the comms before running back to my pa’li and offloading what was in my arms. 

I ran back into the crash site as Jake landed. He watched over the scene, his gun in hand, but did not move a finger in helping us. Neytiri was on the ground, ordering those into collective files. The screeching of our ikrans and our battle cried, making it difficult to hear anything. 

“Let’s go, two minutes, people, let's go,” Jake’s voice rang in my ear. 

I relayed the information, “Two minutes! Let’s go!”

In my haste, I brushed off what I thought was Neteyam’s voice; my boys are back at High Ground; it’s just my paranoia.

On the other side of the destruction, I could hear Norm explaining to grab the high-priority items. I grabbed several more cases of RPGs and ammunition before I noticed my pa’li could carry no more. I swung onto my steed and shouted a call to my warriors, signaling it was time to head out. I looked over to my warriors, watching as they all mounted their pa’li when I heard a war cry, Lo’ak’s war cry. My eyes looked over the wreckage, trying to spot my son, but instead, I was met with the sight of a gunship. A spotter called it first, sounding the alarm. 

“Gunships in bound fall back!” Jake’s voice came through the com.

I hastily replied, “I heard Eagal Eye on the ground! I’m going in!” 

I sent the warriors on their way as I rushed my pa’li into the destruction. 

“Negative Fireball, I have it handled. Head back to base,” Jake ordered through the comm, but I refused even to reply, instead forcing my pa’li faster. 

The gunship fired two shots, blowing up the nearby ground and supplies; someone quickly shot at the gunship, taking out one of its propellers, quickly causing the gunship to spiral and crash. I continued on, the dust and debris coating my face and lungs as the heat became worse than before.

“Lo’ak! Neteyam!” I called as I looked for my sons.

“Lo’ak, where are you? Neteyam?” Jake yelled nearby.

I spotted Jake crouched over; as I approached, I saw Lo’ak in Jake’s arms. I was too relieved to be angry, seeing that Lo’ak was okay. I jumped off my pa’li, joining the two.

“Lo’ak! Are you okay?” I quickly checked over for any injuries. 

Lo’ak quickly nodded his head wordlessly.

“Where’s your brother?” Jake demanded.

Lo’ak attempted to stutter out an answer, only successfully pointing to a general area.

“You two get out of here; go on!” Jake demanded as he continued for Neteyam. 

It felt like a knife had been twisted in my chest, the idea of leaving one of my sons. But Lo’ak was in shock, and I needed to get him home.

I hold Lo’ak’s face in my hands, “Alright, come on, we gotta get out of here; your dad's got Neteyam, okay?”I moved down and grabbed Lo’ak’s hand, pulling him along. 

I rushed through the wreckage, pulling Lo’ak behind me and onto my pa’li, and with a yip, we were off. As we sped through the jungle, I could feel Lo’ak’s arms trembling around me. I reached around and patted at his hair, trying to soothe him the best I could. As we arrived at the meeting place, I helped Lo’ak off my pa’li before turning to the stolen goods.

“Alright, Lo’ak, I need your help. Grab some equipment and load it onto the ikrans,” I explain simply, knowing Lo’ak needs direct instructions. 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Lo’ak answered.

I grabbed his arm, gently pulling him to me; I brushed his braids out of his face, “I don’t care where we are; I’m not a ma’am to you; I’m your Mama.”

A small smile slipped over Lo’ak’s face, “Yes, Mama,” Before he went and continued his duties.

As we continued to transfer the weaponry, the pit in my stomach built. Not knowing if my other son was okay if Jake got Neteyam out of there, was Neteyam hurt? I chewed my lip as I worked on. I watched as Lo’ak started acting like himself again, a bit nervous but much better than before. My team didn’t take long, as soon we were all in the air on our ikrans. I searched the sky furiously, skewering for any signs of my family. Lo’ak flying close to me, he yipped for my attention; as I looked over, he pointed at three ikrans, Neytiri, Jake, and Neteyam. I was finally able to breathe again, seeing Neteyam well enough that he could fly on his own. But as my chest eased from worry, anger took its place. Neither of the kids was to be on this mission, yet Jake wasn’t even surprised! Because he knew, he chanced out the spotters; Lo’ak and Neteyam were the new spotters. Jake deliberately went behind my back and put the kids on the mission! By the time we landed, I was seething, my anger causing me to shake. 

“Sa’nu! Mama!” I heard Tuk yell as he hugged Neytiri. 

I bent over and embraced Tuk and Neytiri, an arm around both of them, using this moment to calm my ire. 

“Fall in,” Jake demanded gruffly, sounding just as pissed as I was.

I couldn’t stop the growl from slipping past my lips as the rage bloomed again. Neytiri and Tuk looked at me, Neytiri with concern and Tuk startled. I placed a kiss on Tuk’s forehead as I watched Lo’ak and Neteyam slowly walk over to stand in front of Jake, both nervous about the outcome. 

And Jake started right into them, “You’re supposed to be spotters. You spot bogeys, and you call ‘em in. From a distance!” Jake’s voice was angry but also wobbled in fear as he got into Neteyam’s face, “Does any of this sound familiar?” Jake turned to Lo’ak, demanding, “Get here!” Lo’ak slowly walked over as Kiri went to check on Neteyam, and Jake continued on, “Jesus! I let you two geniuses fly a mission, and you disobey direct orders.” Neteyam couldn’t even look Jake in the eye as his and Lo’ak’s tails flickered nervously.

Jake turned to Kiri, “Kiri, can you go help your grandmother with the wounded? Please?” His voice was softer yet urgent with our eldest daughter. 

Kiri looked at Jake and snarked, “My brother is wounded.”

Neteyam tried to brush off his injuries as Jake pleaded with Kiri, “Baby girl, please,” Tuk had wandered over to Lo’ak, trying to hold his hand, before Jake snapped at Tuk, “Tuk, go with her! Go!”

Our daughters sighed before walking away.

“Dad. Sir, I take full responsibility,” Neteyam started, trying to placate Jake.

“Yeah, you do. That’s right. ‘Cause you’re the older brother. You gotta act like it,” Jake snapped at Neteyam.

My anger could take no more, “That is enough, Jake,” I hissed at him, fangs barred.

Jake stepped back, shocked by my sudden outburst.

“You want to talk about responsibility? As parents, we had agreed that none of the kids would see the battlefield until they were 18, yet you went behind Neytiri and I’s back doing this. We already knew that they weren't mature enough for this! The responsibility for all of it is on you!” I growled out, my eyes wide, as I stalked forward, putting myself between Jake and the boys. 

I force myself to speak calmly, “Boys, go to your grandmother; we will continue this later,” But my eyes never left Jake.

“No! We are not done yet!” Jake demanded as the boys tried to walk away.

I hissed in response, causing Jake to flinch again.

“Ma’Jake, your son is actually bleeding,” Neytiri, the voice of reason, calmly intervenes.

“Sa’nu, it is fine. I..” Neteyam attempted to brush off again.

Jake shook his head, “Just go and get patched up. Go on, dismissed.”

Neteyam walked away, Neytiri following him as she looked back at Jake and me, worried about leaving us there for the moment.

“You do understand that you almost got your brother killed?” Jake demeanded from Lo’ak.

“Yes, Sir,” Lo’ak agreed degectively.

“Absolutely not,” I shut that down, “Lo’ak, you and Neteyam shouldn’t have been there in the first place. No, you shouldn’t have disobeyed your father's orders, and for that, you will be grounded, but the rest of it is on you, Jake,” I quickly turned to Jake.

Jake opened his mouth to speak, only to stop short, turning to Lo’ak, “You’re grounded. No flying for a month. Now see to the ikran. All of ‘em,” Despite wanting to protest, I agreed with the punishment. 

“Yes, Sir,” Lo’ak responded numbly.

And because Jake can’t keep his mouth shut, “And get that crap off your face,” He demanded before attempting to storm off.

I grab Jake’s arm, glaring at him, “This conversation is not over,” I growled before moving away and checking on Lo’ak.

Lo’ak was sulking as he went to bring Bob away; he looked up at me, his eyes dejected.

“Lo’ak, come here,” I demanded softly, opening my arms for him. 

Sluggishly, he shuffles his way to me, wrapping his arms around me as I pull him into a hug. I rest my cheek on top of his head and cradle him close.

“I love you so much, Lo’ak; you know that, right?” I ask him gently.

I could feel him nod his head as he hummed affirmatively.

“And while your father is horrible at admitting it, you know that Jake loves you, right?” I ask again, needing to know.

There was a pause before Lo’ak hesitantly nodded again. Tears pricked at my eyes. Lo’ak should never have to hesitate, yet here I am, holding my son as questions if his own father loves him. 

I kissed the top of his head before whispering, “I promise you, Lo’ak. Jake loves you; he loves every single one of you. I’m not going to go against Jake with your punishment, but I will be talking with him, okay?” 

“Okay, Mama. Can I go now? I have a lot to do,” Lo’ak asked but made no move to leave my arms.

“You can leave whenever you feel like it,” I answer, rubbing his back soothingly.

Lo’ak hugged me tighter before regretfully letting go, “Thank you, Mama.”

“You don’t have to thank me for loving you, baby, because that is what I was made to do,” I explain lovingly to him.

Lo’ak gave me a small smile before walking away. I smile sadly, wishing I could do more right now. I shake my head before spotting Spider out of the corner of my eye—the little human boy who hangs out a lot. I smile at him as I walk over.

“Hello, Spider,” I greet calmly, “I’m sorry you had to see all that,” I apologized, seeing how uncomfortable he was.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Sully, I know you didn’t mean it,” Spider sheepishly replied.

I frowned slightly, “No, Spider, it’s not okay; none of you kids should have seen that. And as an adult, I am in the wrong. I should have handled that better, and that is why I’m apologizing to you,” I placed a hand on his shoulder, “And none of that Mrs. Sully stuff, it’s (Y/N), or you can call me Mama too if you want. You’ve always been my third son,” I smile softly at the teenager.

“Thank you, Mrs., um, (Y/N), um,” Spider stumbled.

I chuckled lightly at him, “Don’t worry about it, kid. Now, why don’t you come over later? I know Lo’ak and Kiri would love to see you and have an excuse to leave the kelku.”

Spider brightened up at the offer, “Will do, Mrs-, Ma-, (Y/N)!”

“Anytime, Spider, it is always a joy when you're around.”

Spider brightened even more, smiling joyfully at me, “I’m- I’m going to go help Lo’ak now,” He explained, backing away.

“Thank you, Spider; I’ll see you later with Lo’ak,” I watch him walk away to tend to the ikran with Lo’ak.

But as I stood there, all the emotions from the day hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t know where to scream, cry, shout, punch something. It’s all there, trapping me in place, slowly leaving me numb. A pair of arms wrapped around me, one gentle hand moving my face, revealing Neytiri. Her face was sorrowful as she watched me.

“Ma’Muntxate, today has been hard on you, hasn’t it?” Neytiri’s voice was soothing.

I nod my head, feeling like I was moving through molasses.

“I got you, Syulang,” Neytiri cooed as she grabbed my arms, leading me off somewhere. 

I let her lead me aimlessly, the world nothing more than a blur as my emotions shut off completely. It seemed like it had been mere moments and yet hours simultaneously, but I felt warm. Gentle minstrains along my body, bringing feelings of comfort. I slowly looked around, noticing I was no longer at the High Ground but instead in a small hot spring hidden in the forest. The lush green calmed me. I breathed deeply, noticing that my armored vest was gone, as was my tewng. The colors of my war paint long gone, leaving me bare, just (Y/N), not a warrior, not a marine, not a parent, not a mate fighting for her children, just (Y/N).

“Are you back with me, Tìyawn?” Neytiri asked as she pressed her naked body to mine, holding me close.

I sluggishly wrapped my arms around her waist, leaning my head on her shoulder, “Yeah, ‘m back,” My voice was as sluggish as my body.

We stand there holding each other in the hot spring, simply enjoying each other's presence.

“Do you remember the first time we found this place?” Neytiri asked me as she threaded her fingers in my hair. 

“Yeah, it was when you were teaching Jake still. He had gone and done something stupid. You walked off, and I followed. Didn’t think I’d find your bathing,” I chuckled lightly.

“I was planning on doing much more than bathing, but I heard you coming. Your footsteps were so loud back then,” She chuckled in return.

“Much more? Damn, maybe I should have waited a bit longer,” I hummed appreciatively.

“Skxawng,” Neytiri mumbled back.

“What, that would have been nice. You’d probably have plucked my eyes out, but it would have been worth it,” I smile so hard it hurts my face.

I lay a small kiss on Neytiri’s neck; she sighs, leaning her head to give me more room. I continue leaving open-mouthed kisses along her neck, sucking her flesh into my mouth, knowing that marks will be left in their wake. Neytiri threads her fingers into my hair, pulling me closer as one of her hands travels south. But her touch didn’t bring the pleasure it usually does, instead leaving me wanting to get away. I tried to push through it, only for a sob to break through. 

I back off slowly, disappointed in myself, “I’m sorry, Love, but I can’t right now.” I blinked back tears, hating that I couldn’t give Neytiri what she needed right now. 

Neytiri pulled my face so we were face to face, her forehead resting on mine, “Do not apologize for something you cannot control, Yawnetu. Now come, rest with me.”

I let her pull me deeper into the hot spring. A small ledge in the water allows us to sit submerged up to our necks. Neytiri pulls me into her lap, holding me close as I wrap my arms around her neck. 

For now, everything is fine.

Taglist: @loakstahni, @eywaite

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[losfacedevil]

Mile High // JTK

a/n ~ Hehhh, so I mayhaps have elaborated on this thought process, and may have gotten a liiiiiittle carried away. Fully unedited sorry!

WARNINGS: 18+ MINORS DNI, Teasing, fingering (F! receiving), unprotected penetrative sex ( don't be silly wrap your willy!)

A sigh slipped past Jakes nose as his eyes landed on you, sitting at the far end of the in house bar with Josh, a fruity cocktail sat in front of both of you. He took the seat next to Danny, a giggle slipping past his lips as the younger boy handed his ID over to the person behind the counter. 

“She’ll never learn, will she?” Jake asked quietly, nodding his head in your direction. Danny lifted his head, slowly following in the direction Jake had nodded with a soft shrug of his shoulders. He knew what Jake was worried about, the way just a little bit of alcohol brought out an overly confident side of you. 

“She’s with Josh and she’s sitting with me on the plane, she’ll be fine.” Danny reassured, clapping a large hand down on Jake’s shoulder. The older boy shook his head lightly, pulling his sunglasses down just enough to peer over the top. 

“You know what I’m talking about. Look she’s already cozying up to him.” Jake sighed, watching on as you laid your head gently against Josh’s shoulder, fully engrossed in whatever played across his phone screen. Danny shook his head gently, giving Jakes shoulder a reassuring squeeze as you wrapped your arms around Josh’s middle. 

“I think Josh is the least of your worries. Worst thing she’ll do is try and get handsy with me which you know won’t get her anywhere.” Danny chuckled. 

“I’m not worried about you and Josh, I’m worried she’ll meet her match one day and none of us will be close enough to swoop in.” Reaching up he returned his sunglasses to their rightful perch on his nose.

Jake pushed himself to stand, quickly collecting his belongings off of the counter they sat at before slowly sauntering over to where you sat. Your chin was hooked over Josh’s shoulder, arms wrapped lovingly around his midsection as he showed you some new lyrics he had been playing around with. 

“I bet that’s about me huh? I’m a pretty girl! Right?” You cooed, squeezing Josh a little tighter. He shook his head lightly, rolling his eyes and a soft chuckle escaped him. 

“Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.” Josh cooed, knowing full well to just play along with the game at hand. You giggled playfully before turning your attention to Jake as he took the seat to your left. 

“Hi baby! Josh was showing me some lyrics. Whatcha doing?” Jake shook his head before leaning forward, resting his hand against your thigh and pressed a soft kiss to your pursed lips. He leaned back slowly, letting his hand linger a little longer against your thigh.

“We need to head up to the gate before we miss boarding.” Jake mumbled, eyes landing on Josh as he raised his brows and nodded, cocking his head to the side. 

“Right, we gotta go. C’mon.” Josh mumbled, reaching down to pat his hand against yours in a gentle nudge. You sighed dramatically, unwrapping your arms from him and pushed yourself to stand. Jake stood quickly, placing a hand firmly against your lower back before leading you away from where Josh was still collecting his things. 

“You need to cut the shit, this show is not becoming of you.” He mumbled, lips dangerously close to your ear as tingles erupted across your body. You tilted your head slightly, giving way to the shiver that danced down it as you stepped onto the escalator; the other boys not far behind.  

Your gaze landed on Josh, the eldest boy stood on the step right below you. A soft smile spread across your lips as you reached out and gently fluffed up the hair that kissed his forehead. A soft blush crept across Josh’s cheeks as he fought the urge to tell you not to touch his hair. Jake’s eyes danced between the two of you, locking your gaze with his own as you blew a kiss in his direction. 

“Hey lovey, Jake’s gonna show you where our seats are, I have to hit the bathroom before I board.” Danny cooed softly as you all stepped off of the escalator. You nodded your head as you wrapped your arms around Jake’s middle, burying your face in the crook of his neck. 

He escorted you onto the plane quickly, the protective hand held against the small of your back never leaving its spot as you both touched the outside of the plane for good luck. Leading you to the very last row of the plane before nodding gently for you to take a seat. Confusion and realization washed over you at nearly the exact same time as Jake chuckled lightly and perched himself in the seat next to you. He reached over, resting his hand dangerously high on your thigh as you helplessly watched Danny take the seat you knew had been Jakes.

“Why the long face? You didn’t genuinely think you were going to be able to sit with anyone other than me after that little show you put on, did you, Princess?” He mumbled, squeezing your thigh tightly as he leaned over and pressed the softest of kisses to your cheek. 

“But Danny’s my flight buddy.” You whined, eyes locking with Danny’s as the younger boy shot you a sympathetic smile and a shrug of his shoulders. 

“Someone should have thought of that before they decided to cozy up to my twin, shouldn’t they?” Jake mumbled. 

He slowly let his hand drift along your thigh and tucked it gently between both of your legs. You knew exactly what he was up to as he spread his fingers wide, gently nudging his pinky finger up against your clothed core. 

“Jacob Thomas.” You mumbled, the sobering effect his fingers had on you making your hyper aware. He chuckled lowly, curling his fingers around your thigh and squeezed.

“Jacob Thomas can’t come to the phone right now. Read your book.” He commanded, turning his attention to the book that sat in his lap. You couldn’t focus on the book you held so lovingly in your hand, your mind alight with wonder at what exactly he had planned. 

His hand never moved from its spot hugging tightly around your thigh, the way the pads of his fingers dug into the skin almost guaranteed to leave marks. You knew him well enough to know he was itching to move his hand, just a fleeting touch, one no one else would notice but you. 

Jake spread his fingers wide once more, gently nudging up against your core with the tip of his pinky finger. You side eyed the man sat next to you, the shit eating grin spreading across his face one of impending mischief. You leaned forward slightly, pulling Jakes sweatshirt up off of the floor and draped it over your lap.

“Sorry babe, s’a bit cold, don’t you think?” You cooed, placing your book down and leaned your head back to rest your eyes. Jake couldn’t help the snicker that escaped him as he gently snapped his book shut and tucked it into the seat beside him. 

You eyed him mischievously, slipping your legs open just a bit so he could have easier access. Jakes eyes were trained on your face as he turned his wrist slightly and gently cupped your clothed core, gauging your reaction as he ground the heel of his palm against you. Your breath caught in your throat, pulling your bottom lip between you teeth to stifle the noises that wanted to slip past your lips. 

He chuckled lowly, repositioning the way he sat so he could press soft kisses to the skin of your neck, his warm breath tickling your now cool skin. You focused on your breathing, not wanting to give away exactly where his hand lay on your body. 

“I don’t think you deserve what you crave, not with the way you misbehaved. But maybe this once I’ll give in to the temptation.” He mumbled, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of your earlobe and quickly sunk his fingers below the waist band of your sweats. 

Your eyes snapped open as he toyed with the waistband of your underwear, a gentle nod of your head the only encouragement you offered. Slowly he dipped his fingers lower, slipping them easily through your slick folds. 

“Aww she’s dripping, how cute.” He mocked, wasting no time slipping his middle and ring finger into you. You were mindful of yourself, knowing one wrong sound would have him removing himself from you completely. He danced his nose across the expanse of your cheek as he withdrew his fingers and slowly filled you with them. 

“Would be a shame if she made a sound and ruined this for herself, wouldn’t it, Princess?” He asked, knowing full well you were in no state to speak. He slowly worked his fingers in and out of your dripping core, using the heel of his hand to apply the heavenly pressure you craved against your clit. 

“Jake.” You warned, feeling a band a pleasure you weren’t aware could build so quickly becoming close to its snapping point. He laughed out loud as you clenched hard around his fingers, teetering right on the edge of bliss. 

Jake retracted his fingers from you, carefully balling his hand into a fist before pulling it out from under his sweatshirt. He brought them up to his face, slowly dancing them in front of his nose before slowly inserting them into his mouth to get a taste. 

“You have two minutes to compose yourself, and then I expect to see that bathroom door open, understood?” His voice was low, lips dangerously close to your ear as he inconspicuously adjusted himself in his pants and stood to slowly make his way to the small bathroom. 

“Yes, sir.” Your voice slipped past your lips in a squeak, nodding your head vigorously as you crossed your legs and clenched your thighs together. 

Your chest heaved as you tried to control the pleasure shooting through you at the mere thought of what Jake had in store. Your eyes fluttered shut, bottom lip quivering as you slowly fixed your sweatpants and tossed the blanket to the side, peeling yourself up off of the airplane seat. 

Your heart hammered in your chest as you quietly slid into the tiny bathroom, turning at the waist to ensure the door was locked. Jake wasted no time as his hand quickly closed around your throat, pushing you roughly up against the wall. 

“Who do you think you are, hmm? Putting on that dastardly show with Josh and then you think you can deny my advances? Hmm?” Jakes voice was low, holding a tone that crossed sultry and malice. 

Your breath caught in your throat and your knees nearly gave out, forcing you to turn your focus to your joints. Jakes hand slid between your bodies, slowly unbuttoning his pants. You reached up, gently tangling your fingers in his hair; the tugging sensation causing his eyes to roll. 

He managed to pull his cock free, a soft sigh of relief slipping past his lips as he circled his hand around his shaft and began to stroke lazily. You swallowed harshly, using the hand tangled in his hair to push his face forward and captured his lips with yours. Jake made quick work of pushing your pants down just enough to slip around them and pressed his fingers back into you. 

You couldn’t help the hiss of air that you pulled through your nose, pulling back from the kiss just enough to bring your teeth down onto his bottom lip. The chuckle that slipped through Jakes lips held a sinister tone and he removed his fingers once more. 

A whine slipped past your lips as he wrapped his hand around himself once more and gently ran his dick through your soaked folds, collecting your slick. His eyes held yours intensely as he slowly pushed himself into you. A loud moan escaped you as your eyes fluttered shut, the intensity of it all becoming too much for you. Jakes eyes widened as he removed his hand from your throat and clapped it firmly over your mouth. 

“Shhh, you wouldn’t want them to know what we’re doing in here, would you, Princess?” He cooed, slowly retracting his hips before slamming back into you. Your back arched as you tried to move around in the limited space, shifting slighting and bringing a leg up to wrap around his waist. 

“No, Sir. All mine.” You mumbled, voice fully muffled by the hand he still held over your mouth. 

Jake quickly found a rhythm that drove you both crazy. He dropped his hand from your mouth, cupping it around you chin and leaned forward to capture your lips in a fervent kiss. He pounded into you, fingers gripping your hips so tight he knew there would be little marks to remind you both of what you had done in the morning. 

“Jake, please.” Was all you could mumble as he leaned forward and pressed his face into the crook of your neck. You took it upon yourself to reach down between your bodies and began to gently massage your clit, catapulting you that much closer to completion. 

“Shhh.” He lifted a hand and placed a finger gently against your lips in an attempt to silence you. He angled his hips sightly, driving himself deeper into you as his hips began to falter.

Turning your head slightly you dug your teeth into the length of his finger as your orgasm washed over you. Your hand still planted firmly in his hair contracted, ripping the hair roughly at the root as you tried to stay quiet. The way you clenched around him all he needed to send him soaring over the edge. The sting of his teeth finding a home in the soft flesh at the base of your neck grounding you from your high.

“Good girl staying quiet.” He mumbled, peppering soothing kisses over the spot he had bitten. A shuddering breath escaped you as you relaxed muscles you weren’t even aware you had tended up. 

Jake leaned back, a fucked out smile spreading across his lips as he pressed his lips to yours in a sweet kiss. He wrapped his arms around your middle gently, swinging both of you around before slipping out of you and helped you sit gingerly on the toilet seat. 

“Now clean yourself up. I’ll be waiting for you.” Jake mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead before he slipped quietly out of the bathroom.

Cheeky Taglist: @writingcold @vanfleeter @sacredjake @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @wideminded-dreamer @gvfpal @puzzle-gvf @ignite-my-fire @alwaysonthemend

[jacesbeloved]

jace taking care of drunk you headcanons

a/n: sneaked this in while writing my report lol bc i randomly got the motivation !? not rlly proofread but i rlly love the short scenario heheh pls do enjoy and tell me your thoughts or feedbacks in my asks! i love receiving them!

part 1

we’ve seen jace being taken care of but how about him taking care of you?

jace on a normal day is already so caring and patient with you. he’s raised a gentleman and you can evidently see it by the way on how he talks to and treats you with such gentleness and care

always helping you, letting you enter first, holds things for you, helps you with getting dressed, you name it, he’s willing to help you

though he knows your limits when it comes to drinking, he doesn’t really control you that much since he knows you can handle and limit yourself just fine

or so he thought

when you had been invited by your acquaintances in your house for a lord’s naming day, jace willingly went with you for the celebration

sitting beside the different lords and noblemen and women while you had fun chattering around your friends and drinking wine and congratulating the said lord

your friends in your house were a little too fun. giving you cup after cup of fine wine while you drink it up as soon as you are handed it

as the time passed, you grew rowdier

joining the drinking contest on who could finish the big glass of beer the fastest while jace watched you with amusement and slight embarrassment. the trickle of the liquid falling down to your chin as the guests cheered at you when you finish the glass

that was apparently it for you

jace swooping in by your side to hold you up as you stumble dizzily after smugly announcing your victory. swiftly hooking your arms around his neck

“okay, that’s enough”

“but the celebration’s just begun!” you whine, pouting at the prince

he rolls his eyes, of course he does

“we’ve been here for hours, my love. you have the liberty to come back here tomorrow, i can have your breakfast ready and ask for the carriage as soon as you wake so you can stay longer tomorrow”

but you didn’t want to leave the celebration, your mind’s still a little hazy and you didn’t care abt anything at that moment aside from being with your house

you didn’t even know the celebrant tbh

when you used your greatest weapon puppy eyes jace reluctantly let you stay in the celebration but keeping a close eye on you

half an hour of being able to party once more, you waddle back to your betrothed’s lap

“care to go back to our chambers now?”

“yes please”

he chuckles at your reply and you thought he’d just excuse the both of you and help you walk out but no

the man picks you up bridal style and leaves the room with every pair of eyes on the two of you while he nods at the lords in excuse

but you didn’t know about it because you were drunk as fuck until one of your friends told you abt it the following day

you had your eyes closed peacefully while jace took glances of you every now and then, his heart growing bigger at your peaceful state

“gods, i’m truly in love” he thought each time

it was all going splendidly, you two were almost near your chambers and all that

when you woke to jump out of his arms, falling to the stone floor as you vomited your guts out at the grass

“y/n? y/n!? oh gods, do you need the maesters?! call the-“

“gods, it’s just wine jace calm- ough-”

he held your hair and clothing up while you proceeded to deposit everything, his eyebrows furrowed and all that. the guards walking around looking at the two of you with confusion

when you finished, he wiped your mouth off with the sleeve of his top and rubbed your back. picking you up gently as he rushed back to your chambers

he immediately took you to the wooden tub, making sure to bathe and wipe you off of whatever vomit that may have spurted on your face and chest

you watched him with lovesick eyes while he looked at you weirdly

“don’t look at me like that, my love”

“why? i’m just looking”

“you’re drunk, my love. we cannot do it” he immediately shuts you down, trying to make up for it by kissing your cheek and ruffling your hair

you glare at him while he just smiles lovingly at you, focusing on cleaning you up and readying you for bed

despite numerous advances from you, like long kisses and lingering touches which jace had to resist with every bit of patience and self-control that he had, he finally gets to lay you on the bed

snuggling up to your husband that changed into his pajamas as well

“you didn’t drink?” you asked, studying his face as he wrapped his arms around you, letting your head rest on his arm

“i did, just not a whole gallon like you” he laughs at that, you hitting his chest while glaring at him

unlike him, you were a silent drunk

happily letting the air fall silent as your eyes grew sleepier the more jace rubbed your arm in circular motions

the two of you lazily kiss when you look up, sounds of lips moving against one another filling up the room

when one of you pull away, a grin is immediately seen on your faces

he rests his forehead on yours, keeping your body close to him as you teo shared your body warmths

slowly, jace’s smooth voice singing a lullaby in broken high valyrian makes you melt into his arms, sneaking your head underneath his chin as you inhaled his smell

“did uncle daemon taught you that?”

“no, i learned it for you. the lullaby”

a small smile creeps onto your lips, thankfully you had your head smooshed into his neck so he couldn’t have seen it

when he felt you already snoring by his chest, he pressed another kiss on your forehead while tightening his hold on you. making sure that you’d feel safe even if you’re already sound asleep in his arms

part 1 <3