#these were lined up in my gallery n i saw them n i was just like. hoho. hooohoho. ho.

[ikkyfics]

Dave Lizewski x fem!reader

Summary: When you saw a photo booth, you never imagined that you would end up kissing Dave

Warnings: fluffy, first kiss, cute little things

A/N: we urgently need more Dave Lizewski fanfics!

Materlist

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“We have to take a picture!” you exclaimed, bouncing slightly with excitement upon spotting the photo booth. It was a matter of life and death—seriously—that little strip of pictures was one of the most adorable things in the whole world, and having one for yourself would be the ultimate souvenir.

Beside you, Dave shrugged, diverting his vibrant blue eyes from the small booth to look at you, his dark eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “Are you sure? You’ve got a camera—you can take as many pictures as you want.”

You gave him a skeptical look. “It’s not the same! It’s a booth, Dave. C’mon, we have to take a picture!” Sweetly, you batted your eyelashes slowly, leaning slightly closer to him, your voice syrupy as you spoke: “Please, don’t make me beg!”

His face flushed the most adorable shade of pink, his lips slightly parted as he stared at you. Pupils dilated, swallowing the blue of his irises—you loved it. It wasn’t the first time he had reacted like this in your presence. You’d caught him staring at you a few times when he thought you weren’t looking, his eyes devouring every detail they could find. And maybe, just maybe, you’d taken to wearing tank tops and summer dresses a little more often since then.

You’d been friends for years, but neither of you had ever made a move. Not until now.

He cleared his throat, looking away before nodding. “Alright,” he murmured so quietly the words barely left his lips.

You beamed, a wide grin lighting up your face. “Thank you, you’re the best!” Wasting no time, your fingers wrapped around his bicep—and no, you definitely didn’t get flustered at how firm the muscle felt—pulling him in your direction. “Come on, we have to get there before someone else gets the same idea!”

Dragging him through the department store gallery, you ignored his comment about how no one cared about photo booths these days.

When you stopped in front of the booth, you reached into your backpack, rummaging for loose coins in the outer pocket. You were surprised when Dave slipped a bill into the slot instead.

“Hey,” you exclaimed, giving him a questioning look, “I was going to pay—it was my idea, remember?”

He huffed. “Just say thank you. How about that?”

Reluctantly, you smiled, thanking him sweetly before turning your attention to the instructions. The photos were taken in ten-second intervals, and you could add decorative frames to them. Meanwhile, Dave pushed the curtain aside to assess the inside of the booth. When he turned back to you, his face was red, his lips pressed into a tight line, visibly tense.

“We have a problem,” he said.

“What?” you asked, still focused on the instructions. There were so many frame options!

He scratched the side of his neck, wincing as he spoke. “Uh, well… the booth doesn’t… um, it doesn’t have much space.”

“Really?” You looked up, peeking into the cramped interior. There was only a tiny bench inside—it was unlikely two people could sit side by side. Placing a hand on your chin, you swayed back and forth. “Well, we already paid. I’d feel awful wasting money—your money. Wouldn’t you?”

“M-me? Uh, I… don’t know?” He bit his lip, visibly flustered as he adjusted his glasses. “We could… we could get in and figure it out—”

You cut him off quickly. “I knew we’d find a solution!” Without giving him time to process what you meant, you pushed him into the booth, making him sit down before settling yourself on his lap.

As much as you loved teasing him, being seated on your friend made your heart pound painfully fast. His hands instinctively went to your waist to steady you—they were large and warm, keeping you securely in place. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that beneath those clothes, Dave had gotten stronger. His legs were firm beneath your body.

“Y-you okay?” you stammered, feeling your cheeks grow warm.

He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Are you?” he asked, his face so close that his breath tickled your cheek.

You nodded shyly, turning your attention to the small device used to start the photos. Quickly, you explained how the system worked, mentioning the ten-second intervals between each shot. “Can we start?” you asked, glancing at him.

Dave blinked, dazed. He hadn’t caught a single word you’d said, too focused on the way your lips moved as you spoke. He wondered if they were as soft as they looked.

“Dave?” you whispered, your voice barely audible, your breath catching in your throat.

He shook his head, forcing himself out of the trance you’d put him in. “H-how? Oh, yeah, sure. Whenever you’re ready.”

Forcing a smile, you started the device, quickly striking a cool pose. Leaning against his chest, you felt his fingers trace half-moons against your ribs, sending shivers up your spine. You hoped you weren’t making an embarrassed face when the first flash went off.

Ten seconds until the next photo.

Looking up, you were horrified to see that his curls nearly covered his eyes completely. “Dave! I can’t believe it!”

He widened his eyes, startled by your outburst. “What is it?”

“Your hair! Your eyes won’t even show like that!” Your hands lifted, gently brushing the dark curls away from his face. “I love your curls, but I also love your eyes, and I’d hate for them not to show in the pictures.”

His hands tightened around your waist. “You love my curls?” he asked, his gaze fixed on yours, his voice soft. “And my eyes?”

You froze, only then realizing the words you’d used. Biting your lip, your fingers slowly withdrew from his curls, resting on his shoulders as a blush spread across your face. “Y-yeah…? I must’ve said that, like, a hundred times before, right?”

“No.” He shook his head, his face dangerously close to yours. “You’ve never said that.”

You swallowed hard, uncomfortable with how bold he seemed. He wasn’t usually like this, and he was so close. “Well, it doesn’t matter, right?” you tried to deflect.

The flash went off again, startling you. The camera captured the moment with your hands on his shoulders, your faces so close it could’ve been the start—or end—of a kiss. Neither of you moved, Dave staring at you intently, his gaze flickering between your bright eyes and your soft lips.

“It matters,” he said, leaning in a little closer. “It matters a lot.”

“Dave…” you whispered, glancing at his mouth and wondering what it would taste like. The closeness made his scent intoxicating, butterflies fluttering wildly in your stomach as your senses sharpened.

You weren’t sure who moved first, but when your mouths met, a sigh escaped you. At first, it was just a timid, awkward brush of lips, but within seconds, his tongue slid across your lips, gently seeking entrance. His fingers tangled in your hair, tilting your head to deepen the kiss. Your hands clutched his chest, kissing him back just as eagerly as the third flash went off.

Reluctantly, you pulled back, your lungs burning from lack of air, your face still pressed against his, eyes closed as his curls tickled your temples.

Dave whispered your name, following your movement to capture your lips again. The fourth and final flash went off, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care—not when his mouth moved against yours again.

The kiss was different this time, more intense, hungrier. It made your legs shift in his lap. Your fingers buried themselves in his curls, delighted when he let out a low noise from the back of his throat.

“Dave—” you gasped, barely pulling away before he kissed you again. Laughing, you cupped his face, grinning at how his lips were redder than ever, shiny and swollen. “Dave, the pictures, remember?”

“Fuck the pictures,” he muttered, staring at you intently. “Can we take more later? I really want to go back to kissing you now.”

“Oh God, yes, please.”

[putmeinmoviebaby]

As I look at the huge door in front of me, I take a few seconds before actually knocking and waiting for the person on the other side to answer.

“Ah, it was about time. I thought you were going to be late,” I hear my sister’s voice in front of me as she opens the door and gives me a quick once-over.

“I left work early today so I’d have time,” I say, following her into the house and closing the door behind me.

“Most of the guests have already arrived; only a few of John’s friends from work are still on their way. Come help me in the kitchen for a second.”

“Is Lily coming?” I ask, picking up a few plates and setting them on a table next to her.

“She said she’d try, but she wasn’t sure. By the way, there’s a friend of John’s I want you to meet,” she says, with a soft laugh, picking up a glass of wine and offering it to me.

I accept the glass and take a long sip of the dry wine, hoping it will help me get through this long dinner.

“Come here,” I hear her voice calling me toward the living room, where most of the guests are gathered, all drinking and chatting animatedly.

Following my sister Emma, I spot her husband, John, across the room with a couple who are laughing and drinking wine.

“Sweetheart, Y/n just arrived,” she says, looking at me. “Harry and Taylor, this is my younger sister, Y/n.”

I shake hands with both of them, greeting them with a simple “hi,” and give John a light hug, who pats me on the back.

When I look to the side, I see a tall man with tousled blond hair, wearing black dress pants and a simple white button-up shirt, holding a glass of wine between his fingers.

The man had clear eyes, eyes that I couldn’t look away from; they looked like the ocean.

“Yes, she works at an art gallery, the one I told you about, Taylor. She was organizing an exhibition for the artist…” I feel my sister give me a gentle tap on the back, pulling my attention back.

Completely mesmerized by the man’s presence beside me, I had lost track of what I was saying or doing.

“Yes, I’m working with him. He’s a great artist, and we have a lot of projects for the future,” I say, smiling and looking at the couple.

I see someone approach my sister, giving her a kiss on the cheek to greet her, then moving toward John.

“Hayden, this is my sister, the one I was telling you about.” I see my sister pointing in my direction at the man with clear eyes beside her.

The man in front of me now looks at me warmly and steps closer, greeting me with a kiss on the cheek.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Hayden.”

“Oh, hey! I guess you already know, but I’m Y/n,” I respond with a polite smile.

He lets out a low laugh, takes a sip from the glass in his hand, and turns, still looking at me.

“Your sister told me you work at an art gallery in New York.”

“Oh, yes. I’ve been working there for a while now. It’s an amazing place, with so many talented artists.”

“I saw your last exhibition while I was working nearby. I must say, your work isn’t easy, but everything looked incredible,” he says, smiling slightly.

“You have no idea! I spend the whole day running from one place to another on exhibition days, but I’m glad you liked it,” I say, smiling sincerely and taking a sip of wine.

I hardly noticed that my sister and her husband had already stepped away, and now I was alone with Hayden, talking.

“Do you also work in the arts? You give me writer vibes,” I say as I observe him.

He laughs heartily after my comment.

“No, actually, I’m an actor. I never thought of being a writer. If I tried, I think I’d be a terrible one.” I give a soft laugh and reply:

“Do I know any of your work? Your face looks familiar; I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”

“Maybe. One of my most memorable roles was playing Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. Perhaps you know me from there.”

“Oh, how did I miss that? I had a classmate in college who was obsessed with Star Wars. Every weekend, she’d watch the movies. I ended up memorizing the characters’ lines after seeing them so many times,” I say, laughing.

“Fans are truly passionate about the saga. I really enjoyed being part of that project; it brings back great memories. It’s a character I hold close to my heart.”

“I can imagine! I can’t say I’m the biggest Star Wars fan since I ended up falling asleep during the first movie, but I find the universe really fascinating.”

“How did you fall asleep?” I hear his laughter.

“I’m a very sleepy person, but I remember the third movie in the saga. I thought you looked like such a heartthrob with those curly locks.”

“Oh, thanks for the compliment! Although, a lot of that hair was extensions; not all of it was mine,” he says, laughing at my words.

As we talked, I noticed how Hayden’s voice sounded soft, almost like a melody that soothed me, even with all the movement around us. He seemed so comfortable talking about his career, especially about how Star Wars changed his life, that I hardly noticed the time passing.

“Life in Hollywood isn’t always as easy as it seems,” he said, turning his gaze to me.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’d trade it all for a simpler life… without all the exposure.” His clear eyes sparkled for a moment, but then he let out a small laugh, as if trying to dispel the seriousness in his tone.

“I can imagine that it must be tough... but it’s a unique life, one that many people dream of having,” I replied, trying to sound understanding. “Sometimes I feel like the gallery already exposes me too much. I couldn’t handle what you go through.” I laughed softly, and he joined in, nodding as if he understood.

Hayden fell silent for a moment and then leaned a little closer, lowering his voice, as if the rest of the party had disappeared around us.

“Maybe you’re the first person I can talk to about this without having to play the ‘movie star.’ It’s nice to just be… Hayden.”

A shiver ran through me. His words were simple, but the way he looked at me made me forget everything around us. The world seemed to shrink, focused on the space between us.

Before I could respond, a voice echoed from across the room. “Hey, Hayden, you’ve got to see this!” John, my brother-in-law, waved enthusiastically at him. Hayden let out a sigh and gave me a smile that carried a hint of regret.

“I should go over there,” he said but hesitated, still looking me in the eyes as if he wanted to say something more.

“Of course,” I replied, trying to hide the slight disappointment in my voice. He took a step back, but before turning, he lightly touched my hand, leaving a warmth that seemed to spread through me.

“It was nice meeting you, Y/n.” His voice sounded almost like a promise.

I simply smiled, certain that this wouldn’t be our last encounter. As he walked away, I looked at the nearly empty glass of wine in my hand and wondered what this brief meeting could mean.

The End

[flemingsjersey]

Sous le ciel de Paris

Warnings : none this is just fluff

A/N: I tried to describe the places I talked about as best as I can as an ex Parisian but since it was sometimes ago I might have gotten some stuffs wrong . Once again excuse my poor English as I am not a native English speaker . Feel free to send in requests , I’ll get to them asap next week

The sun was high and the weather was warm . I stared around the Parc des Champions as athletes who had won medals in the previous days made their way on stage and were cheered on by everyone .

I clapped my hands at each one and laughed when some of them even started dancing or hyping the crowd .

I stared at my left as I heard Jessie laugh too .

It was only five days after Canada’s loss in the quarter finals . Five days after I I saw them lose and everything that had happened prior with the drone and Jessie’s injury .At first , I thought that it would be better to cancel our small trip we had planned to Paris for when Canada finished their play in the Olympics. I remember telling Jessie about it , thinking that she would be upset to stay here after everything but she insisted we still kept up with our initial plans so here we were .

Even if she seemed happy to be here it was pretty obvious that Jessie still seemed a bit down from seeing people celebrate their medals while she and the team couldn’t . I stared at the athletes on stage one last time and looked at Jessie .

« Should we head somewhere else ? We could go see Notre-Dame or just go visit The Louvre . What do you think ? We aren’t here for long so it might be better to directly get to visiting » I said softly , Jessie thought for a moment before agreeing .

It wasn’t long before we were on the parvis of Notre-Dame . Jessie was taking pictures of the cathedral and other buildings we came across as we made our way here . Notre-Dame was a good spot to start our trip , not too far from the Louvre by walking and the Seine surrounding the area .

« You know , it’s a bit sad it’s still closed for renovations, I would have liked to take pictures of the inside to add to the ones I took there some years ago when I came with the team » said Jessie as she took a specific shot of the cathedral . I nodded as I looked at her camera to see the picture « I agree , sadly back when it was still open I never went to Paris so I never really got to see the inside . It must be really cool to see it from up close »

We continued our way alongside the Seine towards the Louvre . It was pretty packed , not because of the museum in itself , no . But because of the Olympic flame being shown not far from the main building in the back gardens of the Louvre . I heard Jessie sigh behind me as we saw just how long the line to see it up close was .

« Guess we’ll just have to stick to the museum » shrugged Jessie as we made our way down the stairs of the main area before entering the museum .

We made our way across the statues galerie , the museum was far bigger than I remembered and walking all around it was getting tiring . Apparently it was the opposite for Jessie who only seemed to get happier the more we came across different statues or old relics . As we made our way to the art galleries I saw Jessie take pictures of some statues and the Crown Jewels in the French royal history part of the gallerie that was right before the art one .

Thanks to Jessie having managed to get us a specific badge it was possible for us to take a picture of the Joconde up close which seemed to overjoy the freckled Canadian .

When we made our way out of the museum it was already late evening . I gasped when I saw Phryge , the Olympic mascot for Paris , near the entrance .

« Babe look !! » I exclaimed as I pointed to Phryge « We need to take a picture with Phryge before we leave » . I led Jessie to the mascot who greeted us both with a hand sign . Jessie chuckled as she waved back at Phryge . She went up to someone near and handed them her phone , asking them if they could take a picture of us . The three of us posed while the person took the photo . We said our goodbyes to the mascot as Jessie picked up her phone and thanked them for the photo .

That night we had dinner at a fancy restaurant before we made our way to bed in our hotel room . Jessie cuddled into my side as we both looked through her camera at all the pictures she had taken today . I blushed slightly as I saw she also took pictures of me without me knowing . We both chuckled when we saw the ones of us and Phryge .

It wasn’t long before both of us fell asleep , cuddled up to each other . I couldn’t wait for tomorrow , being able to continue exploring the city of love once again .

[maxinexstars]

Wolfy

Request by anon:Could you do a Nefera fem reader where the reader is a werewolf and her father doesn't approve of them (maybe set during boo york)

Nefera x fem reader

“Y/N,your turn,how'd you meet your girlfriend?” You were sitting with your friends and somehow got into talking about how some of them met their partners.

“Well I was walking down the street when I bumped into someone”

"Get off of me! Eww, don't you know who I am?" That was the first time you met Nefera,which led to no one believing you when you told them that you were dating. You had been with her for 3 years after managing to get through her rough bitchy exterior,she was sweet but only towards you. As you were talking Nefera grabbed your face and started kissing you "I missed you, babe" in between kisses. She sat next to you,asking you "What are you talking about?" You laughed

"Just explaining how we met” She laughed

"I remember that day. I thought you were just some lowlife trying to talk to me" Putting her arm around your shoulders as she leaned her head on yours. You playfully punched her arm,yet her comment somehow hurt. You did feel insecure against her,she was practically royalty and you were just a werewolf. Plus there was the fact that her father hated you,and thought you weren't good enough for her. "Hey, hey" Nefera gave you a serious look "What's wrong?" she started stroking your hair lovingly, sensing your discomfort

"Nothing,just worried about the upcoming full moon" You lied there was a full moon coming but you weren't worried about that. Your friends who you were telling the story to,had slipped away at some point but you didn't care right now.

"You know, babe, I don't care that you're a werewolf. You're still the best person I have ever met" She started kissing your neck "You don't think you're not good enough for me, do you?"

"No,just the moon thing"

"Well, once you turn, I'll still love you. I'll be right by your side the next morning, just you see"

"Aren't you heading to Boo York with your sister and father tomorrow?" She had been talking about this trip for the last 3 days,about some fancy gallery event.

"Oh, boo york! I almost forgot. My flight leaves tomorrow and I still haven't packed" She pulled away and grabbed your cheeks "Promise me you'll be careful tonight, alright? I don't want my favorite wolf getting hurt"

"I'll be fine,I promise. I'm gonna miss you" Nefera kissed you

"I'll miss you, too. But I'll call you every night before I go to bed. And I'll be back before you even notice." She gave you one last kiss "I have to head back to my place and finish packing. You,be careful!" You watched her walk off before you left. The rest of the night was difficult. You tossed and turned, and by the time you finally fell asleep, the moon was already high in the sky. It's light shining through your window awoke you. You stood up, feeling disoriented and confused. As you stumbled around in the dark you suddenly realized what was happening. Your vision began to blur and you tried to cry out, but all that came out was a low growl,you woke up the next day with mud on your face and small sticks in your hair. you slowly sat up, and looked around at the forest you had run through in your wolf form. You stumbled to your feet and quickly began to make your way back to your house when your cell phone began to ring. Quickly grabbing it, you saw that it was Nefera. Answering the phone, you held the phone up to your ear

"Hello?"

"Hey babe, how's your morning?" you heard Nefera's calming, familiar voice on the other line, and suddenly everything feels less overwhelming

"It's better now"

"Aww, you know just what to say, don't you?" she said with a small chuckle "What are you up to right now, wolfy?"

"I'm on my way back home,I kinda wolfed out last night" You explained and her answer made you stop in your tracks.

"Then hurry up,I'm waiting for you," Nefera said.

"What?"

"You heard me" The phone cut off and you realized that, although her words sounded demanding, her voice was laced with excitement. What was going on? You felt like you were practically flying back to your apartment, trying to make it home as fast as possible. The second you reached your complex you sprinted up to your floor and fumbled with your keys as you tried to unlock the door to your apartment. You could already smell her from miles away. As you opened the door, the full force of her scent hit you. It was intoxicating. You shut the door behind you and slowly walked into your living room. There she was, sitting at your coffee table.

"What are you doing here,I thought you were supposed to be on a flight in like an hour?" You asked,she smirked before saying

"I'm here to help you pack,because you're coming with me"

"Wait, what?" You were in utter disbelief "What about your father? He'd kill both of us if he found out I'm going with you"

"Don't worry, I'll figure something else out. Now,get cleaned up. I'll pack your stuff for you"

"Nefera,I shouldn't go with you. I mean fancy parties,gallery openings and high society isn't my thing. Just look at me,I-" You were still covered in dirt and with sticks in your hair,meanwhile she looked perfect.

"Hey, hey, look at me wolfy" Nefera cupped your face in her hands "You're my favorite, alright? I love every single messy, wolfy bit about you, got it?" She leaned in to kiss you, but suddenly pulled back and made a disgusted face "Ew, you have a leaf on your face. Why am I kissing a dirty dog?"

"Hey" you said annoyed.

"Don't 'Hey' me! Go take a shower, you're a mess" She began shoving you toward the restroom, and you suddenly realized that she was blushing a tiny bit. You quickly washed your hair and showered. Walking out to see that Nefera had already packed for you and prepared you and outfit. Your dress laid out in front of you as Nefera was digging through your jewelry. "Alright" Nefera grabbed the dress, and handed it to you "Change into this." The dress was gorgeous, a shimmery teal that hugged your body in all the right ways.You had forgotten that you even had it. You quickly changed. "You look so hot, babe" She put a few accessories on you and stepped back "There, perfect. Now we just have to fix your hair" You sat down and she fixed your hair. After a few minutes, your hair finally looked presentable. You couldn't believe how quickly she was able to transform you into such a different person "We have to go now, the limo's out front" You followed her out and as you were on your way to the airport you asked.

"Isn't your father gonna be angry that you brought me with you,I mean he already doesn't like me?"

"Yeah he'll probably be mad, but I don't care. He'll get over it" She gave a small scoff as she waved her hand dismissively "Now, let's talk about something more interesting. Do you know how to dance, wolfy?"

"You mean like a waltz?" She grinned at you .

"Yes, precisely. You'll have to dance with me at the ball, so I'm curious if you know how. Do you?" You felt embarrassed to admit

"A bit,but I'm not good" She began to giggle.

"That's cute. Don't worry, I'll teach you so you don't mess up the steps. Then, you'll be dancing with me without even looking down at your feet. Don't worry, it's fairly simple, I'll have you ballroom dancing in no time" A few hours later and you landed in Boo York. As you walked out of the airport, the cool Autumn breeze hit your face, sending a chill down your spine "Boo York" Nefera smiled at you "You ready for the time of your life, babe?"

"As long as you don't leave me by myself I'll be happy" She grabbed your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't you worry, I won't leave your side" You could see the city in the distance, lit up by a million colorful lights. You suddenly felt excitement mixed with nervousness.

"Before we get too far into the city there's something I want you to have" You gave her a whistle,one only werewolves could hear.

"What's this?" She eyed the whistle with curiosity, admiring its simplicity. You could see her mind running a million miles a minute, trying to figure out what it was for.

"It's a whistle only werewolves can hear,just in case we get separated" She looked at you, a mixture of surprise and appreciation in her eyes

"You know, most people wouldn't expect you to be this romantic." she gave you a soft smile and put the whistle around her necklace before throwing her arms around you "Thank you, wolfy"

"Now,what's first on the agenda?" You hugged her back briefly. She gently kissed your cheek and began walking, her arm still intertwined with yours

"First, we're checking into our hotel, then we're doing some shopping, and then finally we have the gallery event, which I am already completely ready for" She gave you a smirk before asking "Any objections?"

"None what's so ever"

"Perfect! Lets go" She grabbed your hand and began leading you towards her limo, talking about something or another, but you were too busy staring at the city with awe to understand what she was saying. You had never traveled before, let alone to a city so big. This was something that would stay with you forever and you wanted to enjoy every last bit of it. Although the lights and sounds were getting overwhelming. Your ears moved quickly to every sound,but it was starting to hurt slightly. Just as soon as things started to get too much, a soothing voice broke through the chaos in your head "Hey, babe, you alright?" Nefera was looking at you with slight concern lacing her sharp features "You seem a bit overwhelmed"

"There's just too much,but I'll be fine. How much longer until we get to our hotel?"

"Just a few minutes more" She gave a reassuring smile "You think you can hold out for that long?"

"Yeah,but we should move a bit faster"

"Alright, let's go" She increased her pace, and soon the hotel came into view. It was huge, easily one of the most extravagant hotels in the city. The valet took Nefera's keys and let the pair of you out, which you thanked him for. She grabbed your hand and pulled you into the lobby of the hotel, which was almost just as elegant as the outside. It was a bit quieter and you were able to relax a bit.

"Now, we should probably get to our room. We still have a lot to do." As you and Nefera waited at the elevator, you once again began to marvel at her features. Although you always thought she was gorgeous, there was something almost ethereal about the way she looked in the city lights. You wanted to kiss her then and there, but you managed to suppress the urge. You were still feeling as if your head would explode,you put your hand up to your forehead. She noticed that something was wrong and placed her hand on your forehead as well

"You're burning up. Are you sure you're alright?”

"I just need to lay down for a bit and I'll be fine"

"Why don't we skip the shopping? I'll stay with you in the room until you feel better" She gave you one last concerned look and pulled you into the elevator once the doors opened

"No,just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine. It can be a lot when your sense are heightened"

"Alright, if you say so" The elevator doors opened and the pair of you walked down to the hotel room, which was as lavish as the lobby. The second the door was closed, Nefera pushed you down on the couch and began placing her cold hands all over your forehead, attempting to break your fever with her ice-like skin

"This is the one time I'm grateful for your cold hands"

"Yeah, you better be grateful. It's the only reason your head isn't steaming right now" She kissed your forehead gently, her cold hand still pressed against your warm skin. "You need to be more thankful" She gave a small chuckle as her cold touch sent shivers down your spine. She began running her fingers through your hair, attempting to soothe you. She let out a chuckle and continued what she was doing, but soon her touch lingered and changed into kisses, which spread from your forehead and down to your collarbone. Suddenly there was the sound of knocking at the door which made her groan in disappointment before sighing "Wait here" She planted a kiss on your cheek before heading towards the door. You heard her talking to someone, but the sound of her voice was faint, and when you tried to listen harder your head began to spin. You heard the door shut, and you saw Nefera walking back, with a look of pure frustration on her face.

"Hey,what happened?" She let out a grunt, and sat down next to you before wrapping her arm around you

"That was my father, he wanted to call to see how the trip was going, and to see how I'm treating you" She gave a small scoff and then leaned her full weight on you. The two of you sat like that for a few seconds before she spoke again "My father really hates you, you know"

"Yeah,I figured that when he saw me the first time"

"It's stupid. He hates you for such ridiculous reasons. Like because you're a werewolf" She began tracing circles on your palm as she continued to talk "But I love that your a werewolf, and he just doesn't understand that"

"Well,you hated me when we first met" The two of you sat in silence for a few moments before she let out a small laugh.

"It's insane how much you've grown on me. It seems your wolfy charm is rubbing off on me"

[caapsiizzereads]

The greatest films of all time were never made

Chapter 1 of If my wishes came true, it would’ve been you

Warnings: none for this chapter i think

“This one looks interesting.”

“This one at least looks like something.”

“It’s like yin yung but with swans.”

Jamie’s not sure what he’s doing here – he has never been much of an art connoisseur. So how did he get here? Keeley, of course. She was gushing about this amazing art exhibition that she was going to go with a friend, she even managed to get invitations to the opening night. Unfortunately, at the last minute, something came up and she couldn’t go, so Jamie just had to go instead of her. She promised that he and Jenna, her “date”, would definitely get along. Jamie’s not stupid, he knows when he’s being set up. He doesn't think Keeley was even trying to hide it that much. And he trusts her enough to know that she wouldn’t do this unless she really thought that it was worth a shot, so he went with it. And so far, it has been going well. Nothing extraordinary, but better than he expected. Jenna is nice, she’s pretty, she’s chatty, easygoing, and she seems to be really enjoying the exhibition.

“Oh, I know this one!” Jamie finally sees a painting he can recognize. “Never understood what’s so special about it. It’s just lines and squares.”

“To be honest, me neither. But I guess there is something if people are willing to pay millions for it.” Jenna moves on to the next artwork. “What about this one?” Just some funky doodles, if you ask Jamie. “‘Youth’,” she reads the name.

“This is just a bunch of colorful shapes, I could do that.”

“And this is ‘Childhood’ and ‘Old Age’,” she gestures at the two paintings near them. “It says it’s a series of ten paintings, ‘The Ten Largest’, each one representing a stage in a human’s life.”

“It’s still a bunch of doodles.”

“I don’t know, I like these. Now I wanna see what the other seven look like.”

“I’m sure it’s on the internet.”

While Jenna is trying to look up the paintings online, Jamie looks around the gallery. The room is filled with men in fancy suits and women in expensive dresses, a bunch of waiters serving champagne, and security guards.

Many people seem to know each other, engaging in conversations or staring profoundly at the artworks. A bunch of posh twats is what Jamie would call them. Ain’t no way even half of them know what the fuck they are staring at. Not that he does either, but at least he can admit it.

Jamie’s about to conclude his observations when something catches his eye. Just for a brief moment, he thinks he saw a familiar face – one Jamie used to know so well. He doesn’t quite believe it at first, but then he looks again, and there it is. A bit different now, but Jamie would still recognize it anywhere. Wearing a silky black dress, with a glass of champagne in her hand and a charming smile on her face, she was standing right there, talking to a couple so called posh twats. Y/n.

She meets his eyes for a second as her head moves, and then she pauses, her eyes going back to him and surprise visible on her face.

Too soon, one of the rich-looking old men approaches her and snatches her attention, an easy smile appearing on her face again as she joins another conversation.

“Look.” Jamie hears Jenna talk. He looks back at her to see her showing her phone screen to him. There are the paintings from the series: different colors, same vibe.

“Yeah, cool,” is all Jamie can come up with.

Another half an hour goes by, and Jamie just continues following Jenna around the room. But while Jenna is looking at the art, Jamie’s a lot more interested in the crowd now. He keeps searching for Y/n’s face again and again as she makes her way through the gallery. She meets his eyes a couple of times, but other than that her attention stays on the people she’s talking to. Does she know all of them? Does she attend such events often? Is it the crowd she hangs out with now? Well, art has always been her thing. But rich twats and small talk? Not so much.

They stop in front of another painting: a red tree on a blue background.

“Why is the tree red?” Jamie says the first thing on his mind.

“Because it’s impressionism, and the painting is called ‘The Red Tree’.” Jamie’s heart skips a beat at the sound of an oh so familiar voice.

“This one stands out, you know, from all the squares,” Jenna smiles at Y/n.

“It does,” Y/n chuckles. “This is one of Mondrian’s earlier works, before he really dove into the whole abstractionism thing. He’s actually quite known for his paintings of trees, but this one is the most remarkable, in my opinion. It’s one of the first works where he used his famous red-blue-yellow color scheme.”

“That’s so interesting. You’re an art fan?”

“Kinda. I work here, so that helps.” Wait, what?

“Oh, that’s amazing! What’s your favorite piece here?”

“Well, I love this,” Y/n points at the painting in front of them. “But between us, af Klint is my favorite here. Have you seen ‘The Swan’?”

“Yes! I thought it was very interesting, but Jamie didn’t share my enthusiasm,” Jenna playfully puts her hand on Jamie’s arm, and he smiles awkwardly at Y/n.

“That checks out.” She smiles knowingly at him for a brief second. “The abstract one next to it is actually from the same series. There are a lot of them, but those two are the only ones I could get here. But No. 1 is my favorite anyway. I also love all of her botanical drawings.”

“We haven’t got to them yet.”

“You absolutely should. They are very simple, but I guess that’s exactly why I like them. ‘Violet Blossoms’ is my personal favorite.”

“We’ll definitely check them out. Must be so cool, always being surrounded by art?”

“Oh, you should ask the artists. I am mostly surrounded by paperwork,” Y/n huffs a laugh.

It’s very weird watching a woman that he’s just met today and a woman that he’s known for half of his life but hasn’t seen in years casually chatting right in front of him. And he’s not even part of the conversation.

“I really love this exhibition, though. You did a fantastic job with it.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it. Well, I’m gonna leave you to it. Hope you enjoy your evening.” Y/n smiles so casually at Jamie, as if he’ll be able to think about anything but her for the rest of the night. Maybe for the rest of his life.

“Thank you!” Jenna easily returns her smile.

And just like that, Y/n was gone. And Jamie’s still standing there like an idiot, watching her disappear in the crowd again. He had spent years wondering if he would ever get to talk to her again, and now that she was right there standing in front of him, all he could do was just stand there smiling awkwardly at her because he couldn’t come up with a single coherent thing to say.

They finish their walk-through. Jenna shares Y/n’s appreciation for the flower drawings, and knowing that Y/n loves them makes Jamie see something special in them too. They kinda remind him of the drawings Y/n used to sketch in her notebook when she couldn’t care enough to pay attention to the class.

Jamie drives Jenna back to her place and walks her to the front door, being a gentleman and all. She opens the door and stands facing him. Jamie can tell that he’s welcome to come in.

“The gallery curator, do you know her?” That was not what he expected her to say.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know, just seemed like she was the only thing that really interested you tonight.” There’s no bitterness in her tone, just curiosity, maybe.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t–”

“No, no. It’s fine, I didn’t mean it like that. I had a good time tonight. But I think we both can do better.” She smiles at him.

“Yeah, yeah, me too. Had a good time.”

“You can still come in, you know. No strings attached. Just a little bit more of a good time.”

“I think I’m good.” Jenna smiles knowingly.

Jamie spends the whole drive home and the rest of the night trying to process what the hell has happened. And the date that he was supposedly on didn’t even make the front page of the things on his mind. It’s all Y/n, Y/n, Y/n.

He didn’t even know that she lives in London now. Well, probably. She has to if she said that she works in the gallery. And it makes no sense for him to be surprised that he didn’t know – he hadn’t talked to her in half a decade. Six years, to be precise. Of course, that’s plenty of time to move. But it still feels weird to know that she has been so close, and he had no idea. How long has she been here? Has she thought about him over those years? Does she even want to talk to him after how things ended between them?

There is no way Jamie could ever just let this go now. He knows it will eat him alive if he doesn’t at least try to reach out to her. If she tells him to go fuck himself, well, he proabably deserves it. But if there’s even a small chance that Jamie could get her back in his life, he will take it.

Knowing where Y/n works is a pretty good start – he knows for a fact how to find her. Jamie checks the gallery’s work hours and settles to wait for her outside. Like a creep. But, hey, they know each other, so it doesn’t count.

Almost an hour passes after the closing before Y/n walks out of the gallery, waving goodbye to one of her coworkers. She starts walking to her car while reaching into her coat’s pocket for the keys.

“Y/n!” She stops, then slowly turns around to the source of the familiar voice. “Hi,” Jamie smiles sheepishly at her.

“Hi.”

“We didn’t really get a chance to talk yesterday, and I really hoped that we could… so…”

“So you were waiting for me outside of my work like a stalker?” she suggests.

“Maybe. So can we? Talk?”

“Now? Here?” she gestures at the surrounding parking lot.

“We can meet up? Like for dinner or something?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jamie lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Give me your number? I, uh, tried to call you once a few years back, it said your number was no longer working.”

“Oh, yeah, got a new one. Hold on.” Y/n takes her phone and opens the keypad, turning the screen towards Jamie.

He starts typing out his number. “So you live in London now?”

“Mhm, moved a couple of years ago.” Jamie pressed the call button, and his phone lights up with a number.

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“No, sorry. The day after?”

“Away match, gonna be gone till Saturday. Sunday?”

“Yes, Sunday works.”

“Mint.”

“See you soon, then,” Y/n smiles at him before taking the car keys back in her hand.

“See you.”

Jamie didn’t realize how anxious he was about this meeting until he was walking back to his car, feeling like his steps were a hundred times lighter and a smile was growing on his face.

Sunday couldn’t have come soon enough. Jamie and Y/n agreed on the time and place over texts, and Jamie offered to pick her up, but she declined. Jamie has never been this nervous before any date, and this is not even a date. Just two old friends catching up. Could he even still call them friends? He wants to believe that yes, but realistically, six years, almost seven, is a long fucking time. Jamie knows that a lot has happened in his life since the last time he saw Y/n, and knowing her, just as much has probably happened in hers. On the brighter side, she didn't seem to be mad at him. So maybe six years is also enough time for her to forget why they haven’t talked for that long in the first place. Either way, this is the chance that Jamie was hoping for, and he will not waste it.

Jamie gets dressed, nice enough but not too dressed up, and makes sure to arrive on time. Just a few minutes later, Y/n gets there too. Jamie stands up as she makes her way to the table, feeling his mouth go dry.

“You look good.” Jamie goes for casual.

“Thank you, you too,” she smiles at him.

“So…” How is it that Jamie has spent every waking hour thinking about what he’s going to say to Y/n, but every time she’s in front of him, no words can come out of his mouth?

Fortunately, Y/n spares him the awkwardness. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, yeah. Won the match yesterday.”

“That’s great! Who were you playing with?” Jamie can’t tell if she really cares or is just asking to be polite.

“Brentford.” Y/n is smiling and nodding, Jamie recognizes this one. “You don’t know who they are, do you?”

“No idea,” she chuckles. “But you won, so I guess they’re not as good, huh.”

“Maybe we’re just that good.”

“We, as in AFC Richmond?” She teases.

“That’s a long story…”

“And there’s a reality show involved somewhere in there.”

“Oh my God, you saw that?” Jamie wants the earth to swallow him whole.

“Some parts of it. Honestly, Jamie, I thought I raised you better than that.”

“Not my finest moment.”

“But, hey, look at you now. Heard you’re playing for the national team now. And Roy Kent’s your manager! This is, like, your childhood wet dream.”

“It was not!”

“Is his poster still on your wall? Do not lie to me.” Y/n squints at him.

“I don’t live in that room anymore!”

“So it is still there.”

“Oh, fuck off!” They both laugh. And it feels so fucking good. Just like the old times – Y/n teasing him, laughing together, just talking like two friends.

“Okay, that’s not fair. I don’t know anything about you,” Jamie starts again after their little laugh break. “How have you been? I mean, running a gallery? That’s awesome.”

“Well, I don’t run it. I’m just a curator. But yeah, it is pretty cool. I’ve been doing alright.”

“Never thought I’d see you living in England again, to be honest.”

A weird look flickers in Y/n’s eyes before she puts her perfect smile back in place. “Yeah, well, it was a long way. Loved Paris, and, God, Amsterdam was great, but in the end I decided to be closer to my family.”

Jamie beams. “How’s Natalie? How’s Amelia? She’s what, fourteen now?”

“Fifteen. God, she’s a handful.”

“It runs in the family,” Jamie says with a cheeky grin.

Y/n snorts. “Evidently.”

“Mom said you sold your house.”

“Oh, yeah, it was, like, five years ago. Nat finally decided to move to London. Oh my God, how’s Georgie? Her and Simon still together?”

“She’s good, yes. They got married!”

“Oh, that’s great! Told you he’s a good guy!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. She asks about you sometimes, you know.”

“Well, tell her that I’m doing well and sending her my best wishes.”

“Will do.” Jamie and Y/n smile warmly at each other across the table.

They end up talking for hours. Jamie tells Y/n about meeting Roy for the first time, about his Richmond teammates, and (by Y/n’s demand) about Keeley. Y/n tells him crazy stories from her university years, about all the places she’s lived in before moving to London, and about the struggles of raising a teenager.

When it gets late and they walk out of the restaurant, Jamie offers to give Y/n a ride again, which she accepts this time.

Jamie stops by her place, and they exchange goodbyes. “Tell Natalie and Meli I said hi. Would love to see them some time too.”

“I’ll tell them. It was nice seeing you, Jamie,” she smiles at him.

“Yeah, you too.” Y/n reaches for the door handle when Jamie speaks up again. “Wait.” She looks back at him. “Can I ask you something?” A nod. “You knew all this stuff, like who I play for and, uh, other. How?”

Y/n huffs a laugh. “You’re not exactly a low profile person. Sometimes Nat would say something, since she was more subjected to the Premier League news… and certain reality shows.” Jamie internally cringes at the thought that Y/n’s sister has seen it too. “And I have the Internet too, you know. Got curious a couple of times, wanted to see how you’re doing, so I googled you. Pretty convenient.”

“Right.” Knowing that Y/n has thought of him over those past years too, even enough to look him up, gives Jamie the courage to ask the question that he’s dreaded hearing the answer for. “You’re not mad at me?”

“For what?” Y/n asks genuinely.

“For the way I… for how I acted back then.” Y/n understands what he means.

She doesn’t seem to share Jamie’s inner turmoil regarding the past, though. “It was a long time ago, Jamie. People fall apart, it happens.”

“But not us,” Jamie says desperately. “It was my fault. And I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

Y/n regards him for a moment, as if trying to figure something out, then she nods. “Okay.”

“Do you think we can be friends again?” Jamie asks hopefully.

“If you want.”

“I do!”

“You have my number,” she smiles at him one last time.

—

You sigh as you drop the keys on the hall tree and take off your shoes. You hear the noise coming from the living room, and when you walk in there, you find Amelia stretched on the couch, surrounded by a bunch of empty takeout boxes, watching TV. “Glad you’re enjoying your night,” you greet her.

“I left you a piece of cake,” she nods towards the bitten slice of cake that she clearly just couldn't finish.

“That’s so kind of you,” you say with obvious irony.

“Did you enjoy yours?” she grins at you.

“It was alright.”

“Just alright?”

You sit on the arm of the couch. “Kinda weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Like when you watch the first two seasons of a show and then go straight to season twelve. The faces are familiar, but you have no idea what the fuck is going on.”

“Out of the two of us, you’re the only one who does this, but I get what you mean. Did you do a recap? You know, like a ‘previously on…’?”

“Yeah, something like that. But, you know, it’s been a while.” She nods thoughtfully. You look at the TV screen, some action movie playing there. “What are you watching?”

“Uncharted.”

“Tom Holland game movie?”

“Mhm. I can finish later, you wanna watch something together?”

“Sure, just let me go change.”

You change into your home clothes and join Amelia on the couch.

“You never said why you stopped talking. I remember he was always around, and then he just wasn’t,” she says while you’re watching the Disney+ loading screen.

“Well, I moved to Paris, and he started playing full-time. And then he just kinda… ghosted me.”

“Asshole.”

You snort. “I know, right? He apologized, actually. Didn’t expect that.”

“You’re going to see him again?” She starts scrolling through the suggested shows.

“I don’t know. Maybe. He offered us to come to a match if you want.”

“Maybe,” Amelia replies noncommittally. “The Mandalorian?” She clicks on the show’s icon.

“Yes.” You pick up the uneaten piece of cake and lean back onto the couch cushions, resting your feet on the side table. Now, that’s a man that you’re always happy to see.

A/N: writing this fic while i’m dying inside and falling behind on my uni deadlines😗✌️

[moonlightazriel]

Monster /// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: Azriel always saw himself as a monster, but his new found mate was there to show him that he was wrong.

Warnings: None, maybe a little bit of angsty.

Word Count: 2,8K

Notes: Adventure time is one of my favorite cartoons, and this is one of the best songs Marceline ever sang in the show, i knew from the moment i decided to do this project that this song fitted Azriel and i wanted to write it.

Song week

Main Masterlist

I know we'll never grow old together 'Cause you'll never grow old to me You're the pink in my cheeks And I'm scared 'cause that means I'm a little bit soft

Azriel looked at the female in front of him, her big eyes looking at him so intensely that he shifted from a feet to another, uncomfortable as she kept quiet, the anxiety building up in his chest, he tried to hold back, keep it for himself, tried not let her feel in their newly found bond. The golden thread, tethering them together for the rest of their lives, glowed brighter as she explored it, he could feel the pull in his chest, pulling him straight to her arms.

He was afraid, his mind racing, he stood still, unaware that her eyes sparkled even brighter than the connection between them, just like him, Y/N have dreamed of this moment, longing for the feeling her friends and sisters have described, she grew up seeing what the mating bond was capable to do, how happy her parents were, how they loved each other like there was no one else in the world for them, like they were each others whole universe.

She never lost her hope of finding her other half, her equal in every way, even as she grew older and her past experiences with love weren’t that good, she imagined how they would met, how he or she looked like, what their children would look like, if they were going to be happy to have her as a mate. She knew that there was something special about Azriel the second he stepped on Feyre’s gallery, she have been friends with Polina and Ressina for a really long time, the passion for art brought them together, but with Polina’s passing during the attack on the city, things never have been the same.

When Feyre offered the two a place in the gallery, Y/N and Ressina were more than welcoming to her idea, Feyre would never replace Polina but her friendship was something Y/N cherished with all of her heart, the High Lady was kind, attentive with everyone and really talented so she fit just right with the two other artists. Sina and Fey were in the back when Azriel visited the studio for the first time, Y/N was sitting in front of her canvas, painting the night sky, her hands and face were covered in shades of dark blue, purple and black, she was so distracted that she didn’t noticed the shadowsinger entering, his eyes looking everywhere, both admiring the space and looking for his High Lady.

He caught the soft sound of the brush, his eyes falling on the pretty female sitting behind a huge canvas, he walked a little to the side, now he could see her fully, she was wearing a stained apron, underneath, black pants and a huge sweater covered her body, her hair was up in a bun with a few loose strand falling on her face, she moved her dirty hand, removing the hair from her eyes, staining her face with a purple line in the process, he then noticed the points of color she had on her face, probably from doing the same thing a few times. She was the prettiest female he had ever laid his eyes on, and suddenly he recognized her.

His eyes widened a little, she was the female he had saw in this same street, rushing people inside the stores, running with a kid in her arms, making sure she saved as many people she could save. He cleared his throat, trying not to startle her, she lift her eyes to him, drinking in the sight of the Spymaster from the night court, of course she knew who he was, but she never had saw him so close to her, she noticed his hazel eyes and how they carried a tint of gold when he looked at her, his fluffy black hair underneath a beanie, the snowflakes covering his heavy coat and his boots.

“Hi, you must be Azriel.” Her voice was soft, calming, a weird feeling of peace washed over him and all he wanted to do was hear her talking again. She got up, walking towards him, extending her hand. “I’m Y/N.” He looked at her hand, covered in paint, she looked at it too, ready to pull her hand back when Azriel gloved hand held hers, shaking it.

“It’s nice to meet you Y/N, have you seen Feyre?” His voice sent shivers down her spine, even with a glove on she could feel a spark of electricity as they held hands, it was briefly but she couldn’t help thinking if he felt the same, she looked for any indication in his face but found nothing.

“She’s in the back, you will find her that way.” She said, retrieving her hand quickly, he thanked her and walked towards the direction she indicated, leaving her alone with a tingly in her hand, the one she was holding close to her heart.

But don't beat yourself up Bonnie It wasn't just the Sun that I was hiding from We were messed up kids who taught ourselves how to live And I'm still scared that I'm not good enough

He kept finding reasons to go the studio, no one understood at first why he wanted to go there so bad until Feyre invited the inner circle over, the three artists were waiting for them with pastries and tea, Fey was so excited for her family to meet her new friends, she was a really happier version of herself around Y/N and Sina. It took one look at the shadowsinger when Y/N approached him for them to know that she was the reason behind the changing in his behavior. All of them noticed Azriel tensed shoulders at her presence and how his eyes followed her everywhere she went, they also noticed how she smiled brighter to him than she did to the others, of course she was really nice to them but with Azriel was just something else.

He couldn’t help how his heart would hammer against his chest whenever she smiled at him, he couldn’t even count how many times he had to hold himself from cupping her face between his hands and kiss her, he wanted so badly but he knew he was undeserving, he didn’t dare touch her and ruin her pureness and innocence, she was an angel, he wasn’t good enough for her and would never be no matter how bad he tried.

She was light, while he was darkness, he knew she was just being nice to him, so he stopped visiting for a while, he wanted to protect his heart, he had suffered enough in his life, he didn’t need any more suffering, but he felt empty, alone, like something was missing from his chest, like he didn’t have a heart anymore, his heart now belonged to her, he felt like a hollow shell when she wasn’t around, he was firm in his decision even if this meant that he would end up miserable, he didn’t care, he just needed to stay away until this feeling vanished and he could go back to his normal self.

But it wasn’t any easier for her either, she noticed his absence and it was like she was being trapped under water, she has known Azriel for only a few months but now she felt like he was her air, and it was impossible to breath with him gone, her friends noticed how she looked after a few weeks, she smiled at them but it wasn’t like before, they saw how every time the door opened she would look up quickly and drop her gaze when she saw that it wasn’t Azriel there. Feyre and Sina were worried for their friend, trying to cheer her up but nothing seemed to work.

“Feyre.” Y/N came to her one day, her voice low as she looked at the blonde. “If you see Azriel, tell him that I miss having tea with him.” Feyre noticed her eyes filled with tears and her heart broke for her friend, it was obvious that Y/N had feeling for him, and he deliberately decided to ignore her? Feyre felt angry with his behavior, but she felt even angrier with the next words that dropped from Y/N’s mouth. “And please, tell him that if I did something wrong, I’m sorry.”

I've always felt like a Monster Long before I was bit But only seen as a monster Let's just say I'm used to it

Ever since he was a little kid, people would treat him like he didn’t deserved any happiness and goodness, and as he grew up, with his job and all the dirty things he did, he knew they were right. He always felt like a monster, but he tried to brush this thought aside, it was impossible to do it though, when one day Feyre came to Rhys’s office, she knew the two of them were in there, she stormed in, her hands on her waist and a disappointed look on her face.

“What’s your problem Azriel?” He looked at her, honestly confused, she never talked to him like this. “You decided to give Y/N all of your attention, treated her good to disappear? She’s been so sad, she’s nothing like she used to be cuz she misses you.” Azriel blinked a couple of times, she missed him. “She came to me today and do you know what she asked me?” He denied, he felt small under his High Lady’s harsh gaze, he resisted the urge to cringe in his seat. “To tell you that if she’s done something wrong, she’s sorry for it. She thinks it’s her fault that you vanished in thin air, so if you have a fucking problem with her, be a grown up man and solve it with her so she can be herself again.”

Feyre left short after, Rhysand gave him an apologetic look, he knew why his brother decided to distance himself from Y/N, he tapped on Azriel’s shoulder before going after his mate. Azriel sunk further into his seat, he felt worse to know he was hurting her than he ever felt torturing someone in the chambers underneath the Hewn City. He knew what he should do, grabbing his coat, he left in a rush, something told him exactly where to find her, he ran until his legs protested and his lungs were claiming for air, his shadows a blurry behind him.

“She’s inside.” Sina told him as he stopped at the front door of the gallery, she didn’t looked harshly at him like Feyre did, instead, she grabbed his hand and looked at him in the eyes. “I’ve heard that the shadowsinger of the night court has a lot of problems expressing his feelings, don’t let her go Azriel, Y/N is unique and deserve to find love, don’t go in there if you’re not sure about your feelings.” Her words hit him deeper and he nodded, he was more than sure and was ready to claim her back. Sina smiled at him shaking her head approvingly. “Then go there and bring our girl back.”

He opened the door slowly, his breath uneven as the thought rushed in his mind,his heart was a drum in his chest, she was cleaning her space, the door closed behind him, the sound soft but she heard anyway.

“You can go home Sina, it’s going to take a while here.” Her head turned to his direction, she looked at him surprised, her heart stopping, he looked as beautiful as ever, his characteristic scent hit her nostril, she sniffed, letting the aroma mess with her head and her heart. “Oh, hello Azriel.” Her tone was heavy with sadness and he felt his heart breaking at the sound, she wasn’t like this and knowing that it was his fault made him feel guilty.

And I grew tough 'cause love had only hurt me back But loving you is a good problem to have

And I'm used to that, but I could get used to this Yeah I'm used to that, but I could get used to this

“I’m sorry I disappeared.” He blurted out, barely holding himself, his feet carrying him towards her, she looked even more surprised and leaned in the desk behind her, crossing her arms in front of her chest while she waited for him to continue. “I was scared.” He sounded small as he confession slip through his lips.

“Of what?” She rose an eyebrow and pressed her lips on a thin line.

“Whatever was happening between us, I’ve been in love with the same female for centuries, until I realized that she was never going to reciprocate what I felt. Every single time I reminded myself that I wasn’t worth loving and that this kind of thing just wasn’t for me, I was afraid of this…” He gesticulated between them he felt weird being so direct about his feelings but Sina’s words ringed on his head, so he kept going. “Because all that love has ever brought me was pain, I was trying to protect myself and I was foolish to think I could hide forever from this feeling, from you. You may feel the same or not but I just wanted you to know, you deserved the truth.” He was panting after he finished and a silent tear fell down her cheek, he was looking anywhere but her when he talked, but when his eyes lifted to meet hers, he felt it.

They both gasped at the same time, the mating bond was something special, unique, but it was even rare when it snapped for both mates at the same time, Azriel felt like he was being punched in the stomach, all the air left his lungs, the line between them was so clear that he extended his hand, trying to touch it.

“I’m sorry that you’re stuck with me.” The look in Y/N’s eyes changed, the joy fading and give space to anger, how dared he say such a thing when she couldn’t be happier that he was the one for her?

“Don’t you dare saying this ever again.” He looked at her, she was being serious, the burning in her gaze so strong that he could feel the heat.

“But you deserve someone good for you!”

“And who would be better than my freaking mate? Azriel you're my equal, my other half, the perfect match for me, can’t you see it?” She asked him in disbelief.

“Just because the Mother said?” He asked, now he was the one who was angry, she would never be like him, she would never be a monster.

“Because I know ever since I first touched you.” She yelled, stepping forward and running to the back of the studio, Azriel felt confused but she got back quickly, holding a big canvas, the anger faded as he looked at the portrait. “Because this is how a see you, no matter what you have done, you’re perfect to me.” He touched the paint, he never considered himself the prettiest of the males, but through her eyes, he was beautiful, he was pure, he was lovable. “I painted this after our first meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. No matter how I tried to think about something else, you were in every thought that crossed my mind, from that day to this.”

And I know we'll never grow old together 'Cause you'll never grow old to me You're the pink in my cheeks And I love that it means I'm a little bit soft

“You may not want this, because you think you don’t deserve a mate, but if you change your mind, I’ll be happy to wait for you.” Azriel blushed, his tough facade breaking as he stepped closer to her, cupping her face with his scarred hands, his lips met hers and he melted away, he kissed her like the world was about to end, they kissed until they needed air, they separated, both gasped for air, her lips were swollen and red.

“I never wanted something more than I want this.” He whispered and she nodded, turning away from him, leaving him confused, standing in the middle of the room, when she got back, Azriel almost collapsed on the ground, his knees felt weak and he could feel his body shaking, she was holding a plate filled with food and walking towards him. “Are you sure?” He asked one more time as she offered him the food.

“I’m sure, more than I’ve ever been in my entire life.” She grabbed a cookie, bringing it to Azriel’s lips, he opened his mouth, taking a bite from the dessert, they felt it at the same time, how the bond seemed alive and the love pouring from them both. “My mate.” She whispered to him.

“My mate.” He whispered back, for once feeling like he was getting everything he deserved in life.

You're the pink in my cheeks And I love that it means I'm a little bit soft

[silverdune]

betwixt the fallen, you saw him rise | l.yy

"tell me, guest.. what brings you here?"

minors dni. ageless blogs dni. blank blogs dni. you'll be blocked.

genre: supernatural thriller

character(s): liu yangyang (ft. you as an art critic)

tags: philosopher/statue!yangyang, art critic!reader, suspense, explicit language, existentialism, philosophical discussions, hostility

word count: 4.8k

summary: you, an art critic, have been invited to view the coveted new collection at le gallerie degli uffizi. what was initially a visit in exchange for a review, turns into the most bizarre experience you've ever had in your life when you come face to face with the sixteenth statue: fourth century philosopher, liu yangyang.

a/n: this is a fic i wrote about a year ago. i published it on my old blog but have since deleted that blog, so this is a reupload with some edits. le gallerie degli uffizi is a real gallery in florence, italy.

The Fallen Souls of Centuries Past

The sign feels daunting, as though it's a warning beacon, turning folks who dare to enter away from the secrets within.

The name itself raises so many questions. Which centuries past? How many fallen souls are there? In what way did they fall?

It's not lost that your first thought is a fall from grace.

You follow your tour guide into the room.

The floor is tiled in a similar mosaic style to that of the previous rooms, except this one demands that you keep off it by way of a long, narrow strip of mulberry velvet stretching the entire length of the room.

Before you take in the surrounding decoration, your eyes find the main exhibition.

Eight statues line up either side of the carpet, making sixteen in total, all sectioned off by gold braided cables boxing them in.

You glance back and forth at one statue, then the next, and the next, listening attentively to your tour guide.

This was the collection you had been invited to see. You feel so incredibly honoured to even be in this gallery in the first place, let alone receive a private tour of their newly coveted collection.

You arrive at the final statue, yet before you can even be told the name of who is sitting on the plinth, a manager enters the room to call your tour guide away. Turning to you, he apologises several times for this disruption.

Your brain ticks through the typical protocol. Smile in understanding. Reassure him it's okay. Nod appreciatively, thank him for the tour, almost thank him ten times over for allowing you to witness such significant pieces of art.

In frustration, your guide takes off a few yards ahead of you, flustered in light of being told to abandon his very important visitor, and leaves through the large set of double doors on the opposite side of the room.

Of course, you follow. It wouldn't be appropriate to stay behind all by yourself in-

"How charming is that? They did not even stop to learn anything about me.."

You freeze in place. Your body goes numb. Your spine locks.

Turning on the spot, you come face to face with the sixteenth statue. Your eyes flicker to the placard on the right.

Liu YangYang

"And instead of asking for my name, they read the goddamn placard.."

The statue.. scoffs.

Your brain freezes the moment you face him head-on.

A strip of black lace covers his eyes. His hair is platinum white, and he wears a black robe that covers his shoulders, arms and legs.

Among all the statues, his appearance stands out. Mostly for being the only one to be blindfolded, but also the way in which he is positioned on the plinth. Poised, chin tilted up, hands either side of the face as if preparing to remove the lace. Or perhaps, to show he’d just put it on..

The robe covers him entirely and almost drowns him in its material. If he were alive, it would certainly weigh him down.

Alive, you think. He wasn't alive, surely. Him talking is just a figment of your imagination. There is no way a statue could talk. You shake your head, an anxious laugh scuttling out of you before you begin to turn your back.

“And after all of that, they don't even want to stay! Cuh! How pleasant..”

You come to a hard stop. Your throat dries up and words desert you.

Bizarrely, it’s as though the world begins to close in around you. The lights grow dimmer, the door ahead seals shut. You’re trapped in this room, with this, frankly, hallucination.

You turn back and yell in a frightened whisper, “Whoever you are, you’re not scaring me!”

“Au contraire, guest. Your heart is racing. Your head is spinning. Every sense is heightened. You can feel my presence.” His tone is cool, marbled and perfectly haunting. Crisp like an autumn leaf dusted in winter’s snow.

Cracking your knuckles - an habitual reflex to combat the nerves - you find yourself taking a step towards the statue. You registered one thing: he remains motionless when he speaks, even his lips. Merely a disembodied voice.

"What the fuck.." You can't help but curse when faced with such a predicament. Here you are, in one of the many halls of this prestigious art gallery, and a statue is fucking talking to you.

"Tut, language. Keep that to yourself."

"Who do you think you are?" Your voice pipes up for a brief second, and reverberates off every wall. The acoustics drive the sound into the ceiling, and you shudder at the thought that the whole world could hear you.

This thought is only made worse when you remember that the tour guide is likely in the next room over, and a sudden exclamation like that would raise questions.

"I would not worry too much," he answers, seemingly avoiding your question, "he is too preoccupied with his phone call."

You make a sudden noise deep within your throat, a high-pitched scream as you grip your fists then throw your hands in the air. "This isn't real, this isn't happening- This voice is just in my head, this statue is not speaking to me-"

"You are an odd one, guest," he interrupts.

And you're just a fucking statue of an man who died centuries ago, your mind spits, face scowling to convey this.

He scoffs again. "You have a funny way of communicating, guest."

Your jaw drops. It's as though he read your mind.

You're too disoriented to ponder this right now.

"Why are you speaking to me?" you blurt out, emboldened by fear and a slight surge of confidence. "How are you speaking to me? This makes no sense, you're a statue!" You try your hardest to keep your voice at a whisper.

"I'm the only statue with a soul trapped within."

He says it so nonchalantly. The silence that follows shatters the atmosphere.

You chew on your bottom lip, shaking almost, clicking your fingers and cracking your knuckles again. You must think this is some kind of trick. Somewhere tucked beneath that robe is a speaker of some sort that was set up preemptively. An interactive gimmick they could market to the masses in order to sell the new exhibition.

Very clever, you think. Someone behind the scenes is probably working overtime to try and match all of Liu YangYang's "replies" to whatever the guest says. That's why he doesn't refer to you by name, he simply calls you, guest.

It is effective, though a voice in the back of your mind is telling you there's something rather strange about this whole setup.

"You are smirking, guest," YangYang quips.

"Yeah," you chuckle a bit, "this is really clever."

"Clever.." The inflection of a raised eyebrow.

With an overly confident snort, you roll your eyes and move to stand directly in front of him, arms folded. "You're an interaction. I don't know why I was so worried before, it's obvious."

"Interaction.." he mutters.

"Yeah, so.. you're a fallen soul.. what made you so?"

You figure that would be the standard kind of question to ask these statues.

However, YangYang doesn't answer for a while.

You stand there awkwardly. Is something broken? Has the person behind the scenes disappeared? You sigh; perhaps it's just playing into the natural feel of the conversation, to have the statue think on his answer.

Yeah, that's it.

You are about to say something else when you are cut off.

"What a pitiful question to ask, is there nothing more you want to learn?"

So aloof, so high and mighty. You scoff - wow - and fumble over your next words, "Ha- um.. right then.. okay.."

If the statue could move, he'd have certainly rolled his eyes. "Come on, guest, you know there are questions you could ask that are a damn sight more intriguing than that."

The comment leaves you a little winded. Unsure of how to respond, you stand idly, musing over what kind of question you could ask such a rude, ungracious-

"And leave any insults at the door, that's no way to speak of a soul such as myself."

Okay, now this statue is getting on your last nerve.

You try to remind yourself that he is replying in character, and that this is just a feature of the exhibition. Exhaling, you think of something else.

As you look around, you notice that no other statue has this element. Turning back to YangYang, you ask, "How come no one else can talk to me? Surely they all have their own interesting stories.. What makes you stand out?" Your tone is subtly sour but plenty noticeable. Part of the act, you surmise.

"..Like I said before. I am the only statue with a soul trapped within. How else do you think I am communicating with you?"

Owing to the idea that this is interactive, surely there is a logistical reason as to why not all of them have this feature. But in the moment, in the roleplay, you heighten your suspense of disbelief.

Before, it sounded like a legitimate answer to your frightened self wondering how a statue could talk.

Now, it is merely all part of the fun.

"So.. the other statues.. Their souls have left them?"

"Indeed," he says instantly. "Raptured to the world below, their vessels have no use for such.." - he pauses - "..élan vital."

"They must have suffered a fall so great their vessels couldn't keep them."

Silence.

Perhaps too bold a response? Too complex. You click your fingers.

Then, "'Twas all in the eye of the people who perceived them." You freeze in place. "But.. then again," he continues, a smirk in his voice, "there are many infinite ways a soul can fall."

You sit with the answer for a few seconds. You notice how he seemingly both dodged and didn't dodge your comment at the same time. You latch onto one word - perceived - and carry on.

"I suppose people perceived you to not have suffered such a fall. One that would require complete exile from their hosts."

No response. You groan to yourself; you need to stop coming up with such-

"I suppose you could say I was pardoned," he says, surprising you. "Those who looked upon me found someone they felt sorry for. Someone who fell victim to.." YangYang curbs on completing the sentence.

The cut off startles you more than the interruption.

YangYang stays silent for some time. You take a step closer.

Head spinning, you take a moment to contemplate the conversation you've had thus far. It has been.. strange.

You had become convinced that this was not real, but how was this exhibition able to respond to some of your more complex statements?

Somewhere in the back of your mind, alarm bells are ringing: the disembodied voice is YangYang.

Your shoulders hunch at this uncomfortable suggestion. The thought is spine chilling and thus, you pay it no mind. You want nothing to do with the supernatural, thanks.

Drumming your fingers on your arm, you mull over the next question to ask. You eye the other statues, then look back at YangYang.

The entrancing way in which he stands, lace draped over the eyes, something entirely unique to him, leads you to your next inquiry.

"You're the only one with lace covering your eyes. Why's that?"

"Mere metaphor of protection," he answers noncommittally.

"Are you protecting yourself? Or have you been protected by someone or something? Or, even, do you feel protected by someone or something?"

Seconds pass.

"Bravo, guest. You have asked a delightfully interesting question."

The mockery is not lost on you, and you roll your eyes. You pause then to acknowledge you had just rolled your eyes at a statue making fun of you, but decide not to dwell on it.

"In any case, the answer is an amalgamation of all three. I am protecting myself from something which is beyond reason. I have been protected by my host keeping its force within the vessel. I feel protected by the knowledge that no matter where I am, I am safe."

Oddly vague and yet strangely specific all at once.

You pounce unabashedly on his first statement, "What are you protecting yourself from?" The something in question has you guessing. Hatred? Fear? Anxiety?

Stillness echoes off every wall. You feel YangYang is contemplating his answer, though you realise quickly he does not intend to be truthful.

To your bewilderment, he exhales defeatedly.

"Is that something you really want to know, guest?"

The tone turns the cold marble to clay.

The pace of your heart grows inexplicably. In a short moment you feel stuck, nails digging into the flesh of your arms to the point it hurts.

Above it all, guilt rises.

You feel like an intern eyeing the front page of a file marked, CONFIDENTIAL, fingers trembling with the itch to merely peel back a dog ear and take the tiniest peek while your boss had their back turned. Even though you know you should walk away, because in no way are you privy to the information within.

Your mind is working overtime. There is a visceral hesitation, a not-so-subtle plea to skip over this subject and never speak of it again.

Out of respect, you choose not to push him.

"I'm sorry.." you say, and it sounds too wholehearted for an interaction with a speaker and a set of pre-recorded voice clips.

"Thank you, guest."

His reply sounds too genuine to be pre-recorded.

That familiar discomfort returns. Ice trickles up your backbone and sits on your shoulders. For some reason you want to.. cry?

Despite everything, your curiosity sparks. What could be so bad as to not be spoken of at all?

You clamp down on your tongue and ask no further questions.

Instead, Yangyang has one for you.

"Tell me, guest.. what brings you here?"

Truly unprecedented. A numbness sears the side of your head.

"In what sense?" you ask.

"The only sense: why have you come here?" he clarifies. "Business? Leisure? Lifelong dream?"

"I see.." You relax. A little. "I suppose, business primarily, though it has always been on my bucket list to visit this gallery once in my life."

Confusion sets in, "Pray tell, what is a bucket list?"

Caught off guard, you chuckle. Of course, modern language wouldn't be understood. "Oh, it's a list of things you want to do before you die, or 'kick the bucket'."

"'Kick the bucket'?" You hum affirmatively. "Language is strange."

"And always evolving," you add, conceding his comment.

"Indeed. When you live among the language in day to day life, you have no real perspective on how it will change or be perceived beyond you."

Perceived.

"Do you care about perception, then?"

YangYang is sharp. "Guest, we all care about perception, one way or another. We thrive off perception, whether good or bad."

And you too, do not miss. "But what if the perception is inaccurate?" You pause. He doesn't answer. "If we spend too long focusing on others' views of us, what do we get from that?"

The question catches him, and he doesn't like this trap.

"I see what you are doing, guest. You cannot fool me."

"Fool you?" you scoff in disbelief. "Fool you how?"

"You are trying to work your way around me so I can cave and answer the query sitting in that head of yours," he spits.

"I am not trying to do that!" you bite back.

"Then why are you stuck on this topic of perception? Why do you care so much for my views on it?"

The words leave before your brain can stop them, "Because you seem to care so much you criticised me for not asking a deeper question!"

The moment stills. You take a breath and come to your senses.

"I.. God, what the fuck am I doing..?" you mutter under your breath. Turning your back, you walk to the statue opposite.

This is completely ridiculous, you think to yourself. You're getting angry at a statue, a statue! A piece of art that just so happens to have an interactive element.

The more you try and convince yourself of the unreality, the more you are convinced it is perfectly real.

"Guest?"

Once again, you are numb.

"Guest.." YangYang sighs. "I suppose there is an element of truth to what you say.."

The hairs on your neck stand straight.

"You do raise an excellent point, I had told you to come up with a better question.."

Questions incessantly flood your mind, asking who is running this place, who is controlling his responses, who is behind all of this-

"And perhaps I sought those types of questions because, well.. I wanted someone to better understand me.."

You lift your head and turn back to look at him.

YangYang notices. "Guest, I apologise for my hostility. I asked, and you delivered. In fact, I can only be grateful for having had such a conversation."

Against your better judgement, you twist your body round to face him.

"You are right, I do care about perception. As I said before, I feel we all care about perception, one way or another. How we are perceived by others affects how we perceive ourselves."

You can't argue with that statement. You take a step closer.

"Per your question from before, 'what if the perception is inaccurate', then.. well, as I am sure you are familiar, it is often left to us to alter that inaccuracy. We are left with something to prove. We carry it with us until it is overturned."

You further close the distance, stomach churning, a coil wrapped around your heart waiting to be tightened.

"And as you often find.. you are left with nothing as a result of focusing too long. But the mind is not receptive like that. It merely sees the opinions and runs wild and free."

Much like before, the urge to cry becomes overwhelming. Tears reach your eyes and before you can break them, one falls.

You wipe it away, mind, trying not to bring too much attention to it, hoping YangYang didn't see that you had fallen victim to..

Oh.

Another second passes, then he says, "If you wish to ask me again, you may."

The words take a while to register, but when they do, your eyes widen.

He had just given you permission to breach that subject matter.

Had the walls come tumbling down?

Does he care for perception less, or has he come to trust you with his response?

Your mind circles back to the first thing you had asked.

What made you a fallen soul?

He had evaded that line of questioning. He had chastised you for not asking something more thought-provoking.

Then it hits you.

He took you down this path, so you could understand.

Your conversation with him had opened these exact doors.

You take a deep breath.

"What are you protecting yourself from? What made you a fallen soul?" Quivering lips make you choke a sob as you falter at the last step.

Though you cannot see, YangYang smiles. Sadly, but a smile nonetheless.

"I think you know the answer to that question, already, do you not?"

'Twas all in the eye of the people who perceived them..

"You fell victim to their inaccurate view of you. That's why you were pardoned. Protected. Kept safe in the vessel. You had no fall from grace, or fall from dignity.." The tears keep spilling. "You're kept safe in the vessel because the way they saw you.. was wrong."

.

.

The blindfold slips.

You take two steps back.

"Thank you, guest. I will never forget this conversation."

The door to your left clicks and swings open, and your head snaps in that direction.

Quickly, you compose yourself, wiping your cheeks rather harshly in a bid to stop the flow. You readjust your outfit and straighten your back.

Your tour guide storms over in frustration.

"Good God-" he utters, "these investors, do they not understand what an appropriate time is?" When he reaches you, he looks up to see you in a slightly frazzled state. "Gosh, are you okay? I'm so sorry for just leaving you here, I should have been more attentive.."

"Really, it's-" you're quick to interrupt, "it's okay." You put on a smile. "Truly, it's.. It's fine.."

"Are you sure?" he asks, a little concerned. You nod profusely, and he exhales. "Right, well.. Where were we?"

You both turn to the sixteenth statue, when you remember.. his blindfold.

The strip of black lace lies on the ground, just in front of the plinth, still behind the gold braided cables.

"Oh! The lace, it-" You catch your breath. "It slipped off the statue.."

The guide stares in complete shock. "Oh, good God-" He starts pondering on what exactly can be done, while you take a moment to look at the statue once again.

Even with the lace gone, YangYang's eyes remain closed.

You suppose he didn't even trust the blindfold to keep him protected all by itself.

Unsure of what to do, the tour guide pulls his phone out, taps a few things on his screen, then presses it to his ear. You pay him no mind, keeping your eyes on YangYang.

After a few seconds, the guide speaks, "Hi? Yeah, it's me. I just wanted to let you know, the sixteenth statue in your new collection- Yeah- Yeah, the one with the lace over its eyes.. Yeah, well, that bit of lace has fallen off. Yeah, just.. fallen off. Do I have someone with me?" You stand to attention. "Just a visitor, an art critic, yeah." You roll your eyes a little at his tone. "I don't think they would've touched it." This makes you turn on the spot. "Hold on-" He eyes you, then asks if you had moved the lace.

"No, sir, absolutely not," you state concretely.

"Well, they said they didn't do it," the guide says down the phone. "I don't know! It must have just fallen off, it's a little piece of lace, it's bound to slip off! Right.. Right, okay. Okay then, just- Got it. Thank you. Okay, thanks. Bye."

You wait with bated breath as he replaces the phone in his jacket pocket. In your peripheral view, you can still see the lace sitting delicately on the ground.

An artefact in its own right.

The tour guide begins speaking, something, something, go ahead with the rest of the tour, leave the lace for now, but you zone out entirely.

The fact it slipped from his face once you said those words convinced you above all else, and now you're struggling to keep your emotions intact.

Whatever the tour guide has to say about Liu YangYang no longer matters. It doesn't matter for the other statues either.

You leave the gallery with a whole new perspective, fresh tears tucked under your jaw as you return home.

×-×

Sitting in front of your laptop, an empty word document taunts you for being void of anything except a title.

The Fallen Souls of Centuries Past: Review

It's merely a placeholder title until you can think of something more engaging, but the more you muse on the body of this text, the more you consider whether or not you should write anything at all.

It doesn't seem appropriate. You had a real, true, in-depth conversation with the ghost of Liu YangYang.

How could you write of such an experience?

It needed to be kept in the safest place, not made public for the world to see.

But, this is what you had agreed to. A tour of the new collection in exchange for a lengthy review.

The gallery allowed a week after your visit for the article to be written. It has been three days since you returned, and you are still undecided on what to do.

Standing up, you go to your kitchen to make a second cup of coffee. You pace back and forth, hoping the extra caffeine will help you think of something to write.

When you return to your desk, you set the coffee down and take a seat.

The empty document lies in wait.

You smile; you've got something up your sleeve.

×-×

Sixteen Statues and A Strip of Black Lace

On any average morning, my inbox would be flooded with emails from this company and that company, offering me something I could never be interested in.

That all changed a fortnight ago, when I received an email from one of the most famous art galleries in not just Italy, but the whole world: Le Gallerie degli Uffizi.

They asked if I was interested in coming to see their most recent, highly coveted collection, known as, The Fallen Souls of Centuries Past. Initially, I thought it was a mistake, but my name was on the email, and so I found myself a week later, standing outside the famed gallery, waiting to be shown this new exhibition.

First of all, the gallery is absolutely gorgeous. It is covered in the most ornate decoration, and it truly does breathe art from every surface. Ceiling to floor, wall to wall, even the framing of the windows, it is all built around the very essence of art.

After being shown the collections already in the gallery, I was taken to the room that held the newest display. I follow my tour guide in, and am instantly in awe of the design.

Sixteen statues sit atop their own plinth, eight each side of a velvet carpet drenched in a berry tone. Every statue is protected by a braided cable held by four posts, all of which are gold.

As the guide leads me down the length of the room, he talks briefly about each statue, telling me about them and their stories.

It's when we come to the last statue, that something changes.

The final statue is Liu YangYang, a philosopher from the 4th century.

Immediately I recognise that he is the only statue wearing a strip of black lace over his eyes.

I am grateful to have been afforded the time to better understand this particular soul, as it enabled me to look at so many aspects of life differently.

Liu YangYang took great interest in his time in how we as people, as humans, view others. He wrote many books and led many teachings on the word of how outlook, how perception, can affect us all.

His theory was that, at the end of the day, we all care about how we are perceived.

It seems so obvious to us today. Many of us pay a lot of attention to the thoughts and feelings of others. Sometimes we don't even recognise the emotional weight we place on these opinions.

But in a collection known as The Fallen Souls, it was well worth my time to understand a little more about how it can both do harm and.. protect us all the same.

And how we protect ourselves in the process.

I would like to thank everyone from Le Galleria degli Uffizi for this opportunity.

I will never forget it.

×-×

Dear [visitor],

We would like to thank you for your review of our newest collection, The Fallen Souls of Centuries Past, and for accepting our invitation to visit.

We understand from your review that you took much interest in one of the statues in particular, that of Liu YangYang, the 4th century philosopher. We also understand that during your visit, the lace you brought much attention to fell from the statue and onto the floor.

The owners of the gallery felt you would be interested to learn that we have moved the lace to a display box of its own, right next to the statue. Owing to its fragility, we imagined it would last longer that way.

Besides, we did not want to disturb him.

Thank you once again for visiting, and we hope to see you again soon.

Le Gallerie degli Uffizi

×-×

Six months later, you return to the gallery.

As you waltz through its many rooms, surrounded by art enthusiasts such as yourself, you are in equal parts nervous and excited to enter that room again.

After two hours of exploring, you glide through the open doorway, then stop to take a breath.

At the very end, in the same position, Liu YangYang stands tall and proud.

Before you even take a step you notice the display box encasing the blindfold he once wore.

Moving through the swarms of people entranced by the exhibit, you make your way over to the one philosopher you came back to visit.

Standing directly in front of him, you smile.

"It's nice to see you again, YangYang," you whisper to yourself.

And though you cannot see it, the philosopher smiles in return.

Welcome back, guest.

× tristeetconfus (ave) × do not repost ×

[tiedyeflannels]

Adventure of a Lifetime

Kim Taehyung x reader

Chapter 5 | Masterlist

A/N: Hi! I think we're 1/3 or almost half of the way done with this series! Thank you for sticking around to see how this story unfolds and as always, I hope you enjoy!

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! These are great pictures,” Taehyung smiled.

“Absolutely not! I wasn’t even looking in this one,” I fought back as I looked through the pictures he had taken of me at the gardens and art gallery while we were in line, waiting for our turn to get on the carousel.

“You get the best pictures when you’re not looking. Just living in the moment,” he explained happily.

“Okay,” I said as I swiped through more pictures and wound up on a string of blurry ones.

“And what about these? Why are they blurry,” I asked, looking over at him.

He chuckled while looking over my shoulder, down at my phone.

“I was running away because you were chasing me when you remembered that I still had your phone after the art gallery.”

I playfully huffed as I kept swiping before landing on a blurry selfie of Taehyung looking down at the phone with a big smile.

We laughed at the silly image.

“Ooh! Go to the next one,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder and pointing at the phone.

Doing as he said, I swiped to the next picture just to find yet another blurry image.

This time it’s a high selfie that showed me running after Taehyung with my arm extended, trying to catch him while we were laughing.

“You’re kidding me,” I laughed and continued to look through the picture before the carousel worker started to usher people onto the ride.

Putting my phone away, we walked through the gate and onto the ride. 

It looked beautiful. The lights at night gave it such a calming ambience, making everything on the carousel look like something out of a fantasy. I looked around the ride to see which seat I wanted to sit on.

Walking around, there were horses, bunnies, swans, carriage carts for two people.

You know.

The works.

But then my eyes fell upon a beautiful white horse with bows in its mane and intricate designs decorating the saddle.

I got excited at the sight of it and hurriedly started pushing Taehyung in that direction so no one else could get it.

“Come on! Come on! Hurry,” I rushed, making him chuckle and look back at me over his shoulder.

We finally got to the horse- no thanks to Taehyung- and I happily giggled as I threw my leg over to get on.

The carousel whirled to life and slowly started to turn, prompting me to take out my phone and open the camera. I looked back at Taehyung and hurriedly patted the animal seat next to me.

“Hurry! I wanna take a picture!”

“Okay, okay!”

I held up the phone as he settled on the seat.

Once he was ready and looking at the camera, I joyfully held up a peace sign as he held a cool pose with a peace sign over his right eye. I quickly snapped the picture and went to look at it when I realized something.

“You’re riding a tiger,” I exclaimed as I whipped my head to look at him and the tiger he was sitting on. 

He smiled and gently pet the top of its head before looking back at me.

“It suits me, doesn’t it,” he asked before he held up his hand and did a small “rawr” with the accompanying hand movement.

“Absolutely,” I said before we dissolved into a fit of laughter.

As we calmed down, I looked out at the crowd and smiled. I started happily waving at whoever I saw as the ride spun around.

“What are you doing,” Taehyung chuckled.

I looked over at him, but didn’t stop waving, “Waving! Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do while riding a carousel?” 

He shrugged and started to wave at the passersby with me.

After a few moments of looking at the people surrounding the ride, I spotted Y/s/n and Jeong-Gyu standing at the barrier.

“Guys,” I exclaimed as I happily waved at them, making them wave back.

Soon enough, the carousel started to slow down and stopped, letting us know that it was time to get off. I hopped off the horse, patting its head while I waited for Taehyung to get off of the tiger before stepping off the ride and walked out of the gate.

“So… how was it,” Taehyung asked as we walked over to where our siblings were.

“It was amazing! I haven't been on one since I was little. I’ve missed it,” I happily smiled at Taehyung, to which he reciprocated the smile.

We finally met up with the other two and started walking toward an open part of the park where we would get to see the fireworks better.

“How was the rest of your day, you guys,” Jeong-Gyu asked us.

We looked at each other, then back at Jeong-Gyu. “It was great,” we both answered at the same time.

I quietly chuckled as we stopped under a few trees, “It was wonderful! How was your day? How were the rides?”

“They were great! Jeong-Gyu looked like he was going to throw up when we went on the spinning ride,” Y/s/n answered, laughing at the way Jeong-Gyu rolled his eyes. 

“I thought I was going to die,” he exclaimed and they both started lightheartedly bickering.

We were laughing at the sight as a breeze shook the leaves on the trees, making my shiver slightly. I took my phone out from my back pocket and checked the time.

“8 o’clock. They should be starting soon,” I muttered under my breath, turning off my phone and tucking it into my back pocket once more. 

Another breeze raked through the trees prompting me to rub my arms to try to warm me up.

Just then, a whistle sound could be heard in the distance making all of us look at the sky right before a colorful explosion erupted in the sky.

‘Ooh’s and ‘aah’s could be heard in the crowd, everything a pretty firework lit up the sky.

As I continued to watch them, I almost forgot that I was cold, but soon I felt something drape over my shoulders effectively stopping the wind.

I looked down at the jacket then over to Taehyung, who just slid his hands into his back pockets and continued to watch the fireworks.

I smiled at his sweet gesture before going back to watching the fireworks and slightly pulling the jacket closer every time a breeze ran through.

“Oh guys! Let’s take a picture,” Y/s/n said and pulled out her phone so we could take a group selfie.

We all smiled at the camera when she counted down and took a picture as another firework lit up the night.

Taglist:

Chapter 6

@maple-leaves-in-the-wind

[pot-black]

So I'm a big coaster fan, but I wasn't always that way. In fact for much of my childhood I had such an intense fear of them, that it would not be an exaggeration to call it a phobia. I'm talking a level of fear and avoidance to the degree that Little Me would not walk past the entrance to the queue line for a coaster, even just to retrieve loose articles of clothing that my parents or younger sister couldn't take on. Hell, when i was 15 or 16 I tried to get over my fear, and that ended with a panic attack that delayed dispatch so I could get off. This all started from one (technically three) event(s) that happened when I was 5 or 6, and then was reinforced by two (extremely unfortunate) events when I was 8.

So first, my family took a trip to Hersheypark. That is our home park, and I recommend it for the diversity of rides. I was tall for my age, and this year I was finally able to ride some of the big coasters, with an adult of course. Dad decided this would be a perfect time to introduce me. The ride he chose was the SooperdooperLooper, which despite its name, only has one loop.

It was the the parks first coaster with an inversion when it opened in 1977. It also was the East coast's first inverted coaster. Pretty tame, but it only has a lap bar, no shoulder restraints. By all means, a good coaster to introduce inversions to a young fan. Not the best one to introduce coasters to.

I did not like the look of it . I do not want to ride it. But Dad mistook my apprehensiveness as expected jitters. He thought all i needed to do was go for a round and then I'd be fine.

I came off the first ride in tears.

I did not like the G-forces. I had my eyes closed the whole time. The one time I opened them happened to be in the 15 seconds of the ride when the coaster was in a pitch black tunnel. But my sister and mom hadn't come back yet, and the line was short, and maybe if I went on it again I would understand there was nothing to fear, thought my dad. So we went on it two more times. After that I didn't ride anything for the rest of the day.

In 2006, Grandma died. We were all very sad, but she stipulated in her will that my siblings and I should be taken on a trip to Disneyworld, because she knew we had always wanted to go. Spoiling us to the end. We went for a week over new years at a resort in the park, The Grand Floridian. We also had a mulit-park pass. I actually began to open up here. Mom got me on the Seven dwarfs minetrain... and I LOVED it.

We also did the haunted mansion. I probably would have enjoyed it, if I had opened my eyes. I was the only one in my family looking at the ceiling in the portrait gallery preshow. the portraits on the walls stretch to reveal darkly humorous situations. then right before the doors open, the lights go out, and through the ceiling, actually a silkscreen, a hanging copse is seen laughing. That clocked me out, but the actual ride had not even begun. I was also a real scaredy cat as a kid.

So we went to Hollywood Studios, where I made two serious mistakes. First, to prove to my parents and younger sister (who had been telling me I had been overreacting with the Haunted mansion) that i was brave, I decided to ride the Tower of Terror. The preshow got to me again though, and the moment i saw the peppers ghost I closed my eyes. But what made matters worse was a serious misconception I had with the ride; it was not the same thing as Haunted Mansion. I did not know it was a drop tower, until we dropped. So that ended with tears in the gift shop.

But i decided to so something more relaxing as my second ride. my sister wanted to ride Rock n Roller Coaster, an inside coaster. Someone, (may have been my uncle) compared it to space mountain. My parents had separately tried to convince me to ride space mountain by telling me it was like the dwarfs minetrain, which i had enjoyed. So my logic was the rock n roller coaster was like the minetrain.

It was not. Rock n roller coaster is like space mountain in that both are inside coasters that take place in the dark. Rock n roller coaster is a launch coaster that goes from 0- 60 mph in under 3 seconds. The ride lasts for 80 seconds and has three inversions, and again, takes place in pitch dark. All to the tune of energetic Aerosmith music being pumped through your head rest. I had no idea until right before we boarded. I kept my eyes closed throughout. Man the waterworks poured after that. I did not do anything else at Hollywood studios. Think they may have brought me back to the hotel early.

Gradually over the years I got better in my fear. Knobels managed to eliminate my fear of wooden coasters. Apollo at Bush Gardens got me over noninverting steel coasters. Then I was 20, on a college trip back to Hersheypark. I had been psyching myself up by watching POV camera shots of coasters on Youtube. I asked my best friend to hold me to my commitment. I wanted to conquer inversions.

We went back to where it all began. SooperdooperLooper. there was a lot of hand wringing. he had to walk me down the aisle at times. I was kicking the ground like a horse, and went weak in the knees, trembling. But then we were in the car. then it was dispatched. up the lift hill, then over and down. Into the loop. I had my eyes open. I loved it. Haven't had any phobia since.

[mumms-the-word]

A Macabre Masquerade - Ch. 6

Ch. 6 - For My Next Trick...

Characters: Tavs (multiple), Gale, Astarion, Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Halsin, Minthara + other OCs Plot: One year after defeating the Netherbrain and saving the city, Dani and Gale receive a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ball. The invitation specifically invites them to participate as the Heroes of Baldur's Gate. However, when they get there, they soon realize they aren't the only Heroes of Baldur's Gate that got invited. A/N: This chapter gave me FITS and I think it could be better but we're gonna keep this ball rolling right on along anyway. We've got more weird mirrors, and now we've got a suspicious magic show. What could possibly go wrong?

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Something was off about the mirrors in this manor, but Dani was almost too scared to find out what.

“Gale,” she said suddenly. “What do you see in the mirror?”

He stared at her a moment before turning to face the mirror. He must have sensed this was serious for her, because instead of a silly quip or a cute flirtatious line, he glanced between their reflections and said, “I see the two of us.”

“What do we look like?”

A pause. “Well...we’re both wearing blue, and you have a feather wrap and I have a purple sash. I’m in an owl mask and you’re wearing a songbird mask. The whole of the painting gallery is reflected behind us.”

“You don’t see…there isn’t an elven woman or…” She trailed off, realizing how mad she must sound. None of the guests currently in the room looked remotely like the green-clad, blonde half-elf she had seen just seconds ago.

Gale looked at her—not her reflection, but her, at his side—with an obvious look of concern. “Are you sure you’re all right, my love? Are you feeling any ill effects at all, magical or otherwise? From the mask, the room…anything?”

She wanted to brush him off and say she was fine, but it was too late to hide how rattled she was. Besides, aside from maybe Karlach, Gale had always had the best listening ear among her companions and was usually the first with well-meant, often practical advice. She could tell him anything. Even something as crazy as this.

She glanced back at the mirror and then took his arm, leading him away from it to a corner where she couldn’t see her reflection in either glass that stood in that room. “It’s these mirrors. I keep seeing people in them that aren’t in the room itself.”

Gale frowned, and she knew that behind his mask his eyebrows were surely knit together as he put his mind to work. “You mean…phantoms? Illusions? Some kind of major image spell?”

It was something of a relief to hear him taking her seriously right out of the gate. She took his hand, mostly just to hold it while she spoke, but shook her head. “I don’t know. Just now, when I went to look in that big mirror, I saw someone other than me. It should have been my own reflection, but it was someone else entirely. Someone I’ve never seen before. But it only lasted a few seconds before the reflection went back to normal again.”

“Most strange,” he murmured.

“And in the trophy room, I swore I could hear and see Halsin.”

“Halsin? But he told us he wouldn’t be attending.”

“Exactly. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Hmm…” Gale brought his free hand up, resting his chin on his knuckles, deep in thought. Then he shook his head slightly. “It could be anything. Illusion magic cast on the mirrors, for one. Perhaps it’s part of some strange game our host is trying to play. A gimmick to trick and beguile the guests. Or perhaps, on a more sinister note…perhaps there are guests trapped in the mirrors themselves?”

“Is that possible?”

“My love, with magic, a great many things are possible,” he said wryly. 

She supposed she couldn’t argue. Between the two of them, he had always and ever been the student of the Weave and its boundless possibilities. Even while married to her and following her around Baldur’s Gate, trying to rebuild and restore buildings and businesses, or poke and prod the authorities at large to do good instead of ill, he always returned home to study some arcane thing or another. Whereas she was content to play her music, or write letters, or songs, or pages for some book she wanted to publish one day, following one silly venture that kept her entertained after another, he remained a scholar.

It was just another thing she loved about him, even if she felt she herself would never understand half of what he grasped in an instant. It was always worth it to see the way his eyes lit up when he felt he had made some kind of breakthrough in understanding another small facet of complex magical theory.

But they didn’t have his books or notes here at Dormire’s manor.

“What do we do about it?” she asked, thinking back to the mirrors. “Nothing?”

Before he could answer, another brilliant flash of light and a great bang! exploded from the doorway of the next room, causing Dani to jump despite herself. 

“What the hells—”

“Oh, that must be the finale,” Gale said, unfazed. She shot him a disbelieving look and he shrugged. “It seems Lord Dormire has hired a few…shall we say…meager magical minstrels for the evening.”

“A magic show?” She couldn’t help but laugh, despite her lingering concerns about the mirrors. “You can’t be serious. Is it any good?”

“Oh I’ve no doubt you can do much, much better, darling,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her an affectionate squeeze. “With your musical talent, a few handy spells you’ve picked up from me, and your fine taste in entertainment in general? You merely need to wave your hand and they would pale in comparison to you.” He gestured toward the open doorway. “Shall we? We can watch the show while we ponder these strange mirrors.”

She’d rather forget the mirrors entirely if she were being honest, but she nodded. “Sounds good to me. After you, love.”

The next room was as large as the dining room, but devoid of furniture save for a newly constructed platform along one wall—a wall that was nearly covered in floor-to-ceiling mirrors spanning the width of the stage. Of all the rooms on the first floor, this was the most popular, the crowd of guests here standing nearly shoulder to shoulder in front of the makeshift stage. With both them and the stage filling the room, there was barely enough space to maneuver around the edges, much less try to make it to the doorway that led back into the foyer.

From her vantage point in the doorway between the gallery and this room, Dani craned her neck to try and look over the crowd. After a moment, she spotted Shadowheart’s pure white hair and silvery mask on the other side of the crowd. Somehow she had secured a glass of wine and was sipping from it as she watched the performers on stage. Beside her, Lae’zel stood with her arms crossed, her lips in a frown, her eyes glued on the performers with her usual intense stare. Neither looked on edge and a glance at the mirrors behind the performers showed no signs of strange figures or differences at the moment, so...perhaps everything was relatively normal in this room.

Or maybe she was the only one crazy enough to see anything in the mirrors.

She and Gale took up a position along the back wall, furthest from the stage, to watch the show. Like every other guest and servant here, the two performers were also in masks, wearing full white faces with painted smiles and arching eyebrows. Their clothing was more akin to bard attire than wizard robes, though Dani noted that she didn’t see any musical instruments or boxes of theatre props. She didn’t catch what they were saying to their rapt audience as she and Gale were walking in, but they settled in just in time to see the next trick.

The two performers lifted their hands, summoning a colorful light show of glimmering orbs that danced and wove through the air. When one of them snapped their fingers, the orbs cracked open to release several vibrant, ephemeral finches that swooped and flew over the audience, their little cries and birdsong cheerful and bright. The finches split into two groups, trailing after each other in fluid lines, eventually overlapping and combining to form two larger, even more exotic cranes.

The cranes flew low over the audience, causing a couple of guests to duck and shriek with delight. As the cranes reached the stage once more, they combined into a glowing, fiery phoenix that blasted a ray of fire over the heads of the audience.

Illusory fire, Dani noticed. She felt none of the heat that would have come with an actual fire.

She thought she saw Lae’zel faintly roll her eyes.

Though their tricks were all flash and no substance, they were at least marginally more entertaining than the trio that often set up shop just outside of Sorcerous Sundries—Salamander and the two Astoundos or whoever. Dani had cast silence over them more than once just to give the plaza a minute of calm and quiet because they were so godsdamned loud with their magic tricks. They always threatened to call the Flaming Fist on her when they stepped out of the silence bubble, but every Flaming Fist stationed in the plaza was more than happy to ignore the trio’s outrage. Rolan, the great wizard of Ramazith Tower and new owner of Sorcerous Sundries, was also content to turn a blind eye whenever it happened. 

The perks of being one of Rolan's best friends, of course.

As the phoenix balled itself up into one large orb that exploded into glittering fireworks, Dani giggled and leaned closer to Gale to quietly say, “It reminds me of Rolan’s magic show back at that party we held in camp. After saving the Emerald Grove? He was doing those silly prestidigitation light tricks for Cal and Lia, remember?”

“Mm, my memory of that night is a little hazy on details such as those,” Gale admitted, turning to give her a gentle smile. “I spent most of the evening watching you and wishing I had a touch more courage to tell you how much I admired you.”

She could feel her face warming under his unexpectedly sincere words, but she smiled and lightly tapped the beak of his mask. “You did. I distinctly remember you comparing me to Tara.”

“It was a compliment—high praise, in fact!” 

She just laughed, looping her arm with his again. He shook his head at her, torn between amusement and sincerity.

“Trust me,” he said. “There was so much more I wanted to say back then. So much more I wanted to do. But with all that was going on…and the orb so unstable at the time…” He trailed off. But he didn’t need to finish. She understood.

“It all worked out in the end,” she said, brushing the backs of her fingers along his bearded jaw. She tilted her head to accommodate their masks and kissed him sweetly as the fireworks over the audience showered down glittering sparks. She felt him smile against her lips as he followed one kiss with another, and then another. 

There was love in every movement of his lips and she tried to convey as much love back. To let him know that no matter what he might think, there was nothing to regret about the choices they made, the choices that led to them being there, in that moment, sharing a kiss beneath a shower of sparkling fireworks.

But of course it couldn’t last.

“Goodness me, a year together hasn’t damped the fires of passion, I see. I’m almost nauseous.”

Dani pulled away from Gale to roll her eyes affectionally at Astarion, who had conveniently reappeared, smirking, at her side. “If you want me to kiss you, you can just ask, Astarion.”

She knew he wouldn’t, or that if he did it would just turn into banter that would make Gale’s ears blush. It was one of her favorite ways to tease her husband, by poking at his secret jealous side.

Sure enough, Gale coughed slightly, trying to turn it into a clearing of his throat. “Dani—“

“Or did you want a kiss from my husband? All you have to do is ask him. He’s right there.”

“Dani. Gods above…”

Astarion chuckled and adjusted his gloves. “As tempting as both offers sound, I will have to decline. Only the most deserving get a kiss from these lips, you know.”

While Dani feigned an offended scoff, he flicked his crimson gaze over the crowd before leaning in and lowering his voice. “I don’t suppose you’ve discovered anything interesting?”

She sobered quickly. “Just some creepy mirrors. You?”

“Not a single hidden room or juicy secret on this first floor, and I find that highly suspicious. These people wouldn’t know scandalous gossip if it was twirling its frilly underclothes beneath their noses. Everything they talk about is so...mundane.” He paused. “What’s wrong with the mirrors? I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”

Dani briefly explained some of the figures she had seen, but when the three of them looked at the mirrors in this room, none of them saw anything strange. She could just barely see her and Gale’s masked faces behind the crowd, and Astarion, of course, didn’t reflect at all. 

With her attention directed back toward the stage and the mirrors behind it, she couldn’t help but focus briefly on the performers as they cleared the air of magical light shows and accepted the crowd’s smattering applause with gracious bows. She glanced between them and their reflections to try and catch any differences, but there were none. She pursed her lips and focused on the performers instead, tuning in a little late to the words they were saying.

“—our final act,” said one of the performers, “a daring, dangerous, diabolical little trick for only the bravest of souls. Who will volunteer? Who will risk it all to become the star of the masquerade? We assure you, a great reward is in store for the brave soul who steals the show with this last trick!”

The star? A great reward? Dani couldn’t deny she was more than a little tempted, despite knowing she shouldn’t trust anything that was happening in this upside-down masquerade ball. She turned to Astarion instead, giving him her best eyebrows-raised, expectant, you will won’t you darling? expression that her mask could let her have, hoping he would get the hint. He blinked back at her, nonplussed, before understanding lit up his eyes.

“No. No. No.” He held up a finger. “I won’t fall for that again. I refuse to repeat the Dribbles debacle.”

She sputtered a half-indignant laugh. “I volunteered for Dribbles. Under threat of death. From you,” she lightly poked a finger in Astarion’s chest, “not Dribbles.”

“And you got a thigh full of Buddy’s sharp teeth for all your, ah, heroic efforts, as I recall,” Gale murmured, looking amused.

“Exactly, and I still have the scars to prove it. So it’s Astarion’s turn.” She batted her eyelashes playfully at him. “Please?”

Astarion groaned. “Must I? Didn’t you say it was Shadowheart and Lae’zel’s job to investigate this room? Why not convince one of them to risk their necks?”

“As if either one of them can be bullied into taking part in a corny magic show.”

Astarion pointed to himself with both hands, looking incredulous. “And I can?”

“Come on, how bad can it be?” Dani asked, grinning and gesturing toward the stage.

As if on cue, the main performer beckoned to the audience. “Come, come, there must be someone brave enough to try? All we ask is for one courageous volunteer to dedicate one minute of their time. One single moment.”

“There, a minute,” Astarion said, flinging out his hand toward the stage and only barely missing an audience member. “Seems right up your alley, Dani, entertainer that you are.”

“Ooh, scared you won’t last a minute, Astarion?” Dani teased, grinning and elbowing him in the side. “Worried you won’t be able to perform?”

Gale stifled a laugh behind another cough while Astarion gave an exaggerated gasp and pressed his splayed fingers to his black-and-red-clad chest, saying, “Excuse you, darling, but these days I only perform for those I deem worthy of my time and attention. I wouldn’t give those two the time of day, much less anything more.”

“I know, I know,” Dani said, giggling. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

Astarion clicked his tongue in faux disappointment as he turned to face the performers again, only for his expression to shift. “Oh gods,” he murmured. He suddenly looked a little ill. 

Dani followed his gaze back to the stage, her smile faltering. Sometime during their banter, the performers had removed the cloth over the object on stage to reveal a tall, skinny wardrobe, exactly the height and width to fit an average person. When the performer opened the wardrobe door, the darkened interior beckoned like an empty coffin.

Dani bit her lip. All desire to tease and cajole Astarion into volunteering vanished in an instant, faced with the cramped interior of the wardrobe on stage. Even she wasn’t blunt or cruel enough to suggest he be the one to step inside such a small space, given all he had been through in the last 200 years. She wasn’t even willing to step in there herself, and she couldn't profess to have been locked in a coffin-sized space before.

He could.

“On second thought, someone else should volunteer,” she said. She lightly took his arm, loose enough that he could pull away if he wanted to, but trying to silently comfort and apologize at the same time. But he barely seemed to notice, his gaze warily fixed on the performers and their conjured wardrobe.

After a second or two, someone raised a gloved hand over the heads of the audience and the crowd of onlookers broke into a brief applause. The main performer bowed low and beckoned the volunteer on stage. 

“At last! You, my friend, are surely the bravest man in the room. Come up and prepare yourself.” 

Whoever he was, the volunteer was a man of average height and build, his features hidden entirely by a full-faced mask that was mostly square, save for the sharp point of the chin. Once on stage, he bent his head to listen to the second performer whispering instructions to him while the first addressed the audience.

“Watch and be amazed, honored guests, as this courageous man steps inside the wardrobe to await his fate” the performer said. “Ah, but which fate? A miraculous escape or a wretched demise?”

As the crowd cheered and hissed their approval or disapproval of either option, the atmosphere of the room seemed to shift. No longer did Dani feel like she was in a room of bland, boring attendees. She was a little alarmed when many of them seemed in favor of the man’s wretched demise. Who were these people?

“This is but a simple piece of furniture, my friends,” the performer continued, knocking on the side of the wardrobe, their knuckles rapping sharply against the wood. “It’s made of sturdy mahogany, with no tricks, no magical reinforcements, no false backs, no hidden panels, no secret teleportation runes, and more importantly, no way out once we’ve locked it up tight with a little arcane lock. Just watch the mirrors if you think we’re trying to fool you! If our brave man emerges unscathed, a great prize from Lord Dormire is his for the taking. The question is…will he survive long enough to claim the reward?”

The crowd murmured and shifted with interest, but Dani’s stomach was in knots. She tightened her hold on Astarion’s arm and reached for Gale’s hand, weaving her fingers with his and holding on tightly. 

If this were any other magic show, any basic street performance, any other party, she could convince herself that this trick wouldn’t go horribly wrong. She’d seen more than her fair share of street magic and illusion shows. But Dormire’s servants had already magically fastened masks to their faces and locked them inside the manor to await his appearance. There were strange things going on with mirrors, and probably other mysterious things she hadn’t even noticed yet. All of it screamed danger to her, and she wasn’t sure whether to prepare for a horrible accident or to ready an offensive attack.

Gale’s hand tightened on hers and Astarion shifted his stance, not pulling away from her touch but placing himself at the ready. Both men on either side were tense, their eyes glued to the wardrobe, just the same as her. For now, all they could do was watch.

The man climbed inside the wardrobe, facing the audience. There was no way to guess what he was thinking behind his blank mask as the performers closed the door over him and cast arcane lock, the glyphs illuminating the surface of the wardrobe. She could only hope the second performer had given him good instructions and reassured him he would be somehow safe.

She wasn’t sure how much the audience was aware of the various properties of specific spells, but she had spent too much time around Gale not to know a thing or two. The arcane lock would reinforce the wardrobe, she knew, so it would take twice as much strength or power to damage the wardrobe now—from the outside or the inside. If the man hoped to brute force his way out, he would be practically helpless. But it also meant that whatever the performers did to the wardrobe would be less effective…in theory. 

The main performer gave a flourish with one hand, conjuring a small hourglass in their palm, and then held up one finger with their other hand. “One minute. Our brave volunteer need only survive one teensy little minute. Let us see what he can endure in so brief a time.”

Dani clenched her teeth together. One minute had been a joke to her before, but she knew how long a minute actually could be. One minute in battle could sometimes feel like an hour. There were moments when time seemed to slow down as she fought to cast spells and dodge attacks. But at the same time, a minute was so blessedly quick she was almost hopeful this wouldn’t actually end badly.

She held her breath as the main performer turned over the hourglass, stepping back to give the audience a full view of the wardrobe. The second performer flung out their hands with dramatic flare, casting a version of magic missile that somehow, impossibly, created dozens of missiles in various colors that swirled around the wardrobe before striking the wood with colorful bursts and loud bangs. Though the doors rattled and the wardrobe shook, it didn’t splinter or move.

Gale gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Just an illusion, my love. A more creative variation of their earlier light shows.”

She nodded, but dared not look away just yet. Despite his words, she could feel the tension in Gale’s arm. He wasn’t letting his guard down yet, either. 

The audience clapped as the lights and bangs from the missiles faded, revealing an unscathed wardrobe, only for many of them to gasp as the second performer snapped their fingers and the wardrobe burst into flame. It was only a small comfort to realize that despite the convincing sound of crackling flames, she couldn’t feel the heat of the fire. Just like with the phoenix flame, it was just another semi-convincing illusion. She flicked her gaze between the wardrobe and the hourglass, watching the sand stream down into the lower bulb of the glass. About thirty seconds left, she guessed.

A glance at Shadowheart and Lae’zel showed the two of them watching with intense looks, as well. No more blithe or feigned interest. Both looked ready to attack if need be.

She focused back on the wardrobe as the audience clapped again, the flames whirling around the wardrobe and disappearing with a wash of smoke that hovered around the stage. The second performer took a second to bow before turning to face the wardrobe once more. The sand in the hourglass was running low. With only seconds left, what could they possibly—

She gasped involuntarily as the performer made one last gesture and a swirling tornado of spectral daggers surrounded the wardrobe. Alarm bells rang off in her head. Cloud of Daggers? That spell ignored armor to cut deeply into whoever stood or walked into the vortex of spinning blades—it would surely pass through the wardrobe to cut through the person inside.

If it were not an illusion. The problem was, it was much harder to tell this time around.

She tightened her hold on Gale’s hand and Astarion’s arm, gripping almost painfully as she watched the daggers spin and whirl around and through the wardrobe. There were no cries of pain, no screams of anguish, so maybe…?

“It’s just an illusion,” she whispered to herself. “Just an illusion, just an illusion…”

The audience was rapt with attention, all eyes on the wardrobe and the cloud of daggers as the seconds ticked by, until at last the first performer holding the hourglass held up a hand.

“Enough!” 

The second volunteer snapped their fingers, banishing away the cloud of daggers. Dani dare not look away now. If that volunteer had so much as a single scratch…

“One minute, as promised,” said the first performer, reaching for the latch of the left-side door. “Shall we see how our bold volunteer has fared?”

Dani held her breath as the second performer reached for the other latch. Together, they swung open the doors revealing—

A perfectly unharmed man in a mask. Not a scratch to be seen.

The audience burst into applause and Dani finally relaxed, loosening her hold on both Gale’s hand and Astarion’s arm. So the daggers had been an illusion after all. She half-smiled, ready to admit that she’d been fooled, as the performers dismissed the wardrobe into thin air.

Only to stifle a scream as she saw, reflected in the mirror, a different man than the one that had volunteered, one who was covered head to toe in deep, lacerated wounds, his blood flowing freely onto the stage below. A white-scaled dragonborn clad in black, he collapsed to his knees with such force that his blood flecked onto the glass. 

She heard Gale swear and Astarion stiffen with shock, but she couldn’t look away, even as some part of her was relieved to know they saw what she was seeing too. They watched, horrified, as the dragonborn reared back his head with a silent roar and turned to swipe in his clawed hand at one of the performers. The audience in their room was clapping and whistling as the masked volunteer took a bow and accepted something from the performers, the sound out of touch with the horror playing out in the mirrors' reflection. How did no one else see?

In sharp contrast, the audience in the mirror became a tangle of jeering onlookers and frightened guests pushing and pulling at each other while the performers tried to dodge the frenetic attacks of the white-scaled dragonborn. All at once he pulled a dagger from somewhere inside his black coat, the movements spattering more blood on the glass.

One masked man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, leaping onto the stage and taking hold of the second performer. Dani gasped as the new masked figure pulled the performer’s head back by their hair, baring their neck, her mind at once too shocked to make sense of the sight and yet recognizing exactly who he was, right as he sank his fangs into the performer’s neck.

Astarion.

Her vampire best friend was visible in the mirror's image.

[britswriting]

Desire (44)

Desire Masterlist

Read on Wattpad

Halfass edited 'cause I'm tired, sorry

A/N: Colby's POV again? Who am I?

*Colby's POV*

"What?" My brow furrowed, Leighton flipping her phone around to show me a photo of Gemma and I from her birthday; on multiple fans twitter feeds. "What do you want me to do? I can send out a tweet to ask people to stop sharing it.. but it's already out" I frowned, Leighton's face being extremely hard to read.

"I didn't want her face out there at all, Colby. It's incredibly dangerous!" She exclaimed, her forehead getting frown lines as her eyes narrowed at me, her lips pursed, turning her phone back towards her, scrolling through her messages with her sister.

"Please don't let this ruin your birthday" I softly begged, worry washing over me.

"Just frustrated" She grumbled, setting her phone down and looking back over at me.

"I'm sorry" I apologized, not knowing how to fix this. "It was bound to happen" I muttered, earning a harsh glare in return, Leighton hissing, "Was it Colby? Was it really?" making me feel even worse, knowing this was my fault.

I pulled up my phone, opening twitter and searching Colby and G, hoping they didn't know her name, a breath of relief escaping my chapped lips as I saw no one mentioning Gemma's name in their feeds.

I started drafting a tweet, showing my phone to Leighton for approval.

"Do you think that will really help?" She worried.

"We can try" I shrugged, my eyes scanning over the tweet one more time before hitting post.

Colby Brock: Please stop reposting the leaked photo of me with the young child. Respect the privacy of the baby's parents not wanting her face shown online. If you have reposted it, please delete it and or cover the child's face with an emoji. Those who don't will be blocked.

I groaned, setting my phone down.

I wish I could have more privacy.

There was always something happening online that I couldn't control. Over the past couple years I've started to get used to it, but something about a photo of Gemma being leaked really got on my nerves.

I couldn't get the adorable photo out of my head, and how damaging it could be to not only Leighton and I's relationship as friends, let alone possibly a couple, but my relationship with Gemma.

Gemma isn't my daughter. She isn't someone I have any rights over. If Leighton thought this was going to be a problem, she could revoke my rights of taking Gemma out during the day or letting Gemma spend time over at our house.

We've been so incredibly careful about making sure her face is never seen, that it irks me that her face has been leaked, and it isn't even our fault.

 It pisses me off that they don't think about the repercussions it'll have. Clearly I've posted photos with Gemma before, but we always cover her face. We always mark it, hide it, or even just have her back facing the camera, so what makes them think it would be okay to post a leaked image of her on Twitter? 

I understood it was a new, rare, photo of me... but would they really risk a child's life for that? It's one thing to save it to your gallery, but it's another to repost it and run the risk of ruining lives.

Do people not understand there are harmful people in this world who would love to hurt children? To kidnap them, or worse things? It isn't just "I want to keep her cute face to myself" it boils down to her safety. The same reason you don't share your address or phone number. That you don't show the front of your house, or windows that can give too much information at where you're located. The reason Sam, Kat and I pre-filmed things for our social media whilst we were in Italy.

I hated that our fans never thought about the effects of their actions. For all I know, this could ruin all of Leighton and I's work of getting back together, and that pissed me off.

I hated when they meddled in my life so much that it could affect us like this, let alone if some stalker actually hurt Gemma.

I don't think I'd ever forgive myself if that happened.

"Colby? Are you okay? Your face is red" Leighton's hand touched mine, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, taking a refreshing breath of air, shutting my phone off.

"I just hate that this has happened. I don't know how to fix it either and it's pissing me off, sorry" I apologized, leaning back against the chair, her touch slipping from my own.

"I thought you said we shouldn't let this ruin my birthday?" Leighton gave me a small smile, tugging at my stupid little heart that can't get the fuck over her.

"I'm sorry.. I just.. I'm thinking about getting a lawyer" I admitted, her eyes widening.

"What?! What are you going to do? Sue some twelve year old's? Colby!" She gasped, her jaw extended as her posture straightened.

"No. But we could copyright the image. Get it taken down. It wouldn't remove it completely off the internet, but it's a start" I informed her, pulling my phone back out and googling how much it takes to copyright a photo. "It's about 65 dollars" I finished, scrolling through some of the links.

"You want to copyright your photo with Gemma?"

"Why wouldn't I? You think I want her face out there? Leighton, we're on the same page about this. I don't know how that photo got out there, but I don't like it just as much as you don't. — Would a lawyer even help? Hold on" I mumbled, typing a new google search. "There's a lot of gray area.." I sighed, my eyes scanning a few quick searches. "It isn't like child phonography or anything.. so you can't do too much about it" 

"Do you think something got hacked?" She asked, her worry worsening. 

"I don't know" I regrettably admitted, wishing I could just snap my fingers and solve this problem.

Annoyingly we spent the rest of our time researching legal ways we could solve this problem, Leighton continuing her search on our drive back to her apartment.

"Do you think they have more?" She spoke for the first time in probably 10 minutes, making me jump a little, caught in my own thoughts.

"I hope not. It's not like we have any of them posted somewhere. They're all in our camera rolls"

"But do you have them backed up? Like to the cloud or something that people can hack?"

I shook my head.

"I don't understand! I'm getting more worried and frustrated because I can't figure out how they got the photo in the first place!"

"I know" I nodded in agreement, knowing Leighton was about to explode, bracing myself for the change of volume in the car.

"It pisses me off that people think they can just post her face like that! Yeah she's fucking cute, but I don't need people spreading her face everywhere! See, this is why I don't have a fucking Instagram! I'm sick and tired of people thinking they're some privilege fuck who can post my one year old's face on their social media account!" She started, my head nodding with agreement, not wanting to interrupt her. "What if something happens? Like her face is used for fake rewards, like those dogs on Instagram or whatever!" She fretted, a small laugh slipping past my lips. "Colby! It's not funny! What if they do that?! Or what if she's used for like someone's dumb ad!"

"I doubt that would happen, Leigh" I flashed her a quick smile, glancing towards her before looking back at the road, slowing down for a stop sign.

"You don't know! She's my baby!" She cried out, "I don't want her face out there for the world to critique! She has a hard enough time with her lame excuse of a grandmother! I don't need the world pointing out whatever flaws they seem to always find! I don't want her to grow up and come across these accounts from 10 years ago commenting on if she's cute or not as a one year old! She can barely talk, Colby! She should not be on Twitter, or Instagram, or Snapchat! You know, people on your tweet figured out who she is. That she's G, my little girl. Do you know how scary that is? To know they now know what my daughter's face looks like? I mean the video at the ice rink was bad enough.. now her face? Can we ever catch a fucking break? I mean really. It's always one thing after another!" She vented, her nails digging into the console. "I don't understand what goes through these peoples minds! Clearly they don't have to worry about being stalked, or their kid being kidnapped, or people making fake accounts under her name!" She continued.

I listened to Leighton vent the whole car ride home, even telling me to be careful about my backgrounds of photos I share, not wanting their go to locations leaked, acting like this was my first time on social media. 

Instead of correcting her, I just agreed, not feeling like pulling out unnecessary sneaking comments, wanting to salvage whatever is left of what is happening between us.

"Want to come in? Gemma should be getting up from her nap now, hungry for dinner" Leigh smiled, collecting her phone and soda, unclipping her seat belt whilst I unlocked the doors.

"Sure" I smiled, "I could always go from some Gemma snuggles. She's so cute when she gets up" 

We made our way to her door, Leighton twisting her key and swinging the door open.

We both kicked off our shoes, tossing our jacket's into the closet.

"Leigh?" I heard Landon call out, Leighton smiling.

"It's Colby and I!" She called back, heading straight into the living room.

"Hey Colby!" Landon greeted us when we came into view.

I immediately was drawn to the makeup on his face, taken off guard by the look.

"Date tonight?" Leighton questions, setting her phone on the coffee table.

"No. Just wanted to practice" He shrugged, grabbing a different makeup brush.

"Landon's been experimenting more with his style. New boyfriend, new him I guess" She laughed with a shrug.

"New boyfriend?" I questioned, Landon nodding with a grin.

"His name is Xander, we met back in January" he boasted, making me feel happy for him.

"Well I hope it works out, you deserve the best man" I nodded, Landon passing me a small smile, focusing back on the mirror in front of him.

"You can go wake G if you want, I need to get dinner out of the fridge to start preparing" Leighton said, her hand brushing my arm as she slid past me.

I slowly twisted her doorknob, the sound of the white noise machine filling my ears, stumbling into the dark of her room.

I smiled at her laying on her tummy, her hand pressed against her face, her eyes open just laying there.

"Morning G" I whispered, watching the grin appear on her face, "Want to get up and hang out with Coco?" I asked, my hand rubbing her back, Gemma pushing herself off the mattress, wobbling a little. "Sleepy little bug, aren't you" I chuckled, G now standing at her crib, hands slapping the top of her rails.

A/N: Envision her standing in her crib, and not on a patio lol

"Coco!" She giggled, her hands reaching up for me, jumping on the bouncy mattress, giving herself some air.

I lifted her up, Gemma snuggling into the crook of my neck.

"Sleep well G?" I asked quietly, walking over to turn off the white noise machine before swaying slightly with her, rubbing her back. 

I stayed for a minute or so before placing her on the floor, grabbing her diapers since she was a little too wiggly for the changing table.

With a fresh diaper and a bright smile she wobbled down the hallway, a smile on my face as she made her way towards the common area, immediately getting distracted by Landon's makeup.

There was something so comforting about being in their shared space, watching my two girls just do their thing. 

We thankfully ended up getting the image copyrighted, and taken down from anywhere we could.

Later that week Gemma and Leighton came over, and one thing led to another and we wound up playing Hide and Seek for the first time with Gemma.

Gemma, Leighton and I hid whilst Sam seeked. We tried to get Gemma to hide by herself, but she was extremely apprehensive and clingy, so here I was, hiding in a fairly roomy cupboard with Gemma, my finger brushing my lips as I tried to quiet her giggles.

"Shh, Uncle Sam is gonna find us if you're noisy!" I whisper yelled, a grin cracking on my face when her finder held up to her lips, shushing me. "You little monkey!" I laughed, Gemma squeaking when Sam whipped open the cupboard going "Boo! I found you!" Gemma laughed and clapped, reaching out for him, which he happily obliged too, giving her a quick cuddle.

"Want help me find momma?" Sam asked her, Gemma giggling as she practically ran down the hallway.

This to me was home, and damn did it feel good.

This empty house was filled with laughter from the people I loved, and to me that was home. 

I was exactly where I wanted to be.

"You found me!" Leighton laughed, Gemma squeaking as she jumped around, tumbling onto her knees, Sam quickly picking her up and telling her she was alright, Gemma thankfully laughing instead of crying.

When it was Gemma's turn to find us, Sam helped her keep focus, since her attention span was basically nonexistent at times.

Sam ended up "yelling" at me for my hiding spot. Apparently hiding up high wasn't acceptable when the seeker is barely two feet tall.

Leighton's been around a lot more, filling this house with her gorgeous presence, Gemma tagging along, making a game out of climbing the stairs and running into my bedroom, squealing when they'd arrive.

I was starting to hate the fact that I was moving. I was going to miss this.

"Look at our big girl!" Sam cheered, Gemma clapping and smiling as she tried a new food, loving the mac and cheese Sam had gotten.

She was quite literally tasting the world now, so thankfully everything was packed up and there wasn't anything harmful laying around our soon to be old house.

"I can't believe you guys are moving next week" Leighton sighed, leaning against the marble countertop.

"We're going to come back as often as we can. Can't miss our little girl growing up!" Sam cooed at Gemma, her mac and cheese grin making us laugh.

She was covered in melted cheese.

"Hey guys!" Kat greeted, having gotten back from a dance rehearsal.

"Gem, can you say hi?" Leigh coaxed, Gemma waving.

"Hi G, you have yummy pasta?" Kat cooed, knowing better than to swipe a piece, even though it was originally Sam's lunch.

Sam, Leighton and I sat on the couch whilst Katrina played with Gemma on the floor, Leighton and Sam playing Mario Kart, their exclamations of winning or losing carrying through the house to the point that Gemma was even getting into it.

I filmed a video for my story of Gemma screaming "GO GO GO" at the TV, Kat and I laughing at her encouragement, posting it to the caption with "Starting them young" tagging Sam and Kat at the bottom. 

Moving day was bittersweet.

Leighton came over that night and we did one last pizza night together, Gemma falling asleep on my chest whilst we laid on the couch, watching Netflix, made it extremely tempting to unpack all of our boxes, and take down the For Sale sign.

"I can't believe you're leaving us" Leigh sighed, her head resting against my knee, sat on the ground with her back against the front of the couch, my foot propped under my knee to keep Gemma in a comfortable position.

"I don't want to anymore" I confessed, trying to keep my body from leaping off this couch and calling off the entire move.

"It'll be good. You're clearly moving for a reason. We all deserve new life experiences. I hope it's the right call for you guys" Leighton tossed me a supportive smile, making this hurt even worse.

Getting settled in Nevada was weird. 

it was weird to know that Gemma and Leighton wouldn't be popping by at any given moment, and that we were back to being a phone call away, that was if we picked up.

I've been trying to get a hold of Leighton all week, wanting to check up on how things were going, but I haven't gotten any responses.

It came to a point where I texted Lexi, asking if she knew anything, only to find out Gabe had moved back to California with Zara for a while, and they were starting to figure out custody.

I instantly regretted moving, wishing I could be by her side as she went through this.. but I knew no matter what, she needed to do this alone.

August crept up on us like no tomorrow. 

I don't think Nate and I have ever whisked through an airport so fast before, and to make it worse we got stopped by a couple of fans wanting a conversation and photo when all I wanted was to wrap my arms around the two people I missed the most.

Nate rang her parents' doorbell, anxious anticipation cursing through my veins as I waited for the door to prop open.

The second Molly's ear piercing shriek rang through the home, I knew we were in for some sort of chaos.

"YOU BROUGHT NATE HERE?!" She yelled in our face, Lexi having opened the door to greet us. "I picked a good day to come to the Fox household!"

"Ignore her" Lexi sighed, letting us into the home, Molly glaring at Lexi.

"I miss when you shared the excitement" Molly grumbled, Lexi rolling her eyes.

"I got used to seeing him around. He follows my sister like a loss puppy"

My cheeks reddened at the words, Nate smirking, his elbow playfully hitting me in the ribs.

"Gemma! Coco's here!" Lexi called out, Nate passing me a confusing look.

"Coco?" He questioned, but before I could answer, the energetic toddler was rounding the corner, crashing into my legs.

"Coco!" She squealed, my tone matching hers as I greeted "Gem Gem!" my hand pressing into her back.

"G, I'd like you to meet someone" I spoke up, getting her attention, her hands still wrapped around my legs as she cranked her neck to look at me. "Gemma, this is Coco's best friend, Nate" I motioned to the strange male next to me, Gemma's eyebrows furrowed as she looked over at Nate who gave her a friendly smile and wave.

"Hi Gemma" He greeted, her name cracking a smile onto her face.

"Coco!" She giggled, asking to be held, which I happily granted.

Nate tried to talk with her a bit, but she just cuddled into my chest, the five of us walking further into the home, finding Logan, Harper and Nova in the living room.

"Hey man!" Logan greeted, as I leaned over the back of the couch, plopping Gemma onto the soft cushion.

"Hey! How's it going?" I asked, Logan's hand rubbing soothing circles on Harper's back.

"Going good, how about you?" he returned, keeping the small talk up.

"Same old same old, have you seen Leighton?"

"Bathroom"

"Ah" 

We both chuckled and I introduced Nate since it had been a while since he's been around, Logan and Nate immediately falling into some sort of conversation about traveling.

"Leighton just went into the art room" Molly informed me, and I nodded, stepping around her since she was standing fairly close to me, definitely invading my bubble.

Gemma immediately hopped off the couch, following me up the stairs, her hand holding each spindle as she slowly walked up the steps, taking us probably three minutes to go up probably twenty stairs.

"Hi mama!" Gemma spoke, a smile on her face as I pushed open the door, instantly running to where Leighton was sitting, standing on her tip-toes as she tried to see what her mother was doing.

"Hi baby, wanna see?" She hummed, picking Gemma up and placing her on her left knee, showing her the drawings she had scattered across the desk. "This one papa drew, see, it's you and mommy! From when Gemma was born" She smiled, showing the black and white pencil drawing, Gemma's eyes full of awe and wonder.

"And look, this one mommy did of Gem when Gemma was a few months old" She showed another photo, this one having used a pen.

"Wanna see one of Coco?" Leighton asked, catching my attention.

"You have one of me?" I questioned, this being brand new information to me.

Leighton nodded, shuffling through a few papers before pulling out a photo of me, showing Gemma.

This one was done with colored pencil, surprising me.

"That photo looks familiar" I teased, Leighton blushing.

"I didn't stalk your Instagram for no reason that day" She spoke, chuckling softly, kissing Gemma's cheek quickly, making a "Mhm-wah" sound, Gemma giggling and wiping her cheek, Leighton gasping. "Did you just wipe away mommy's kisses?!" 

Gemma giggled, knowing exactly what she was doing which made me choke on a held back laugh, my lips rolling to contain the noise as Leighton's jaw dropped.

"Don't wipe mommy's love away! That's rude!" She softly reprimanded, joking before laying another sloppy kiss on the toddler's cheek, Gemma grinning as she shoved Leighton away. "Hey!" Leighton whined, frowning. "That's rude"

"Do you care if I post your work to my story?" I questioned, turning the piece of paper towards me, wanting to take a photo of her beautiful work.

"Uh.. sure. Just don't say it was me.." She spoke, nerves evident in her tone, moving a few papers away from Gemma.

"But you're so talented!"

"Colby, I don't want your fans knowing we're hanging out. Gemma's face has already leaked once. I'd like to keep whatever we are on the down low" 

I just sighed, taking the photo and writing "So talented😍🙌🏼" on the image, sharing it to my story.

"Knock knock, landshark!" Nate's voice interrupted, his knuckles hitting the wooden door before opening it, Leighton sending him a welcoming smile.

"Long time no see! How have you been?" She greeted, a slight dazed look in her eyes.

"Been hanging out with this loser" He pointed his thumb towards me, Leighton giggling with a nod.

"He tends to be a fan favorite in this household. Right Gem?" Leighton engaged with the one and a half year old, Gemma looking over at me, a smile brightening up her face as she said "Coco" in the sweetest voice I've ever heard, her arms stretching out towards me.

"It's weird to see you holding a kid dude" Nate spoke up, putting his weight on the left side of his body as he eyed me, taking in the sight.

"If you think that's weird, you should've seen him in labor and delivery! I'm shocked he stayed by my side" Leighton smiled softly at me, her face looking like a puppy dog with heart eyes.

"It's so weird to see you like.. with a family?" His eyes squinted, head tilting. "Like you're still that dumbass kid from Kansas to me you know? And now here you are in California with your own little family. I've never seen someone's parents so happy to see you" He joked, making me laugh, Gemma playing with the rings on my finger, picking up and dropping a few of my fingers one by one as she messed with my hand. "It's weird to see you grown up like this" He continued, Leighton watching the both of us with a tight lipped grin on her face, leaning on the palm of her hand.

"I mean time and time again I'm shown that family doesn't mean blood" I told him honestly, smiling down at Gemma who had now noticed my tattoos. 

"Coco?" She grabbed my arm, her fingers slightly pinching the black ink.

"Hm? My tattoos? Mommy has them too" I pointed at Leighton, her sleeve on show.

"Mama?" She questioned, her eyes now on Leighton's arm.

"I have tattoos on my arm, yes baby. You're just now noticing?" She teased, watching the concentrated look on Gemma's face as her eyes looked back down to my arm. "Hm?" She hummed, pointing at the tattoo I got for Sam. 

"That for Uncle Sam" I told her, loving how intrigued she was by the art on our arms.

"Mama?"

"Yes baby?"

She pointed at herself, confusing us.

"What baby?" Leighton asked again, Gemma frowning as she pointed at Leighton's arm. "What about it?"

She made some noises, Leighton encouraging her to talk before Gemma's little hand covered Leighton's rose, the size difference looking adorable.

"It's a rose baby" She smiled softly, Gemma's fingers crawling at her hand, Leighton wincing. "Careful Gem, Owies"

She frowned again, her hand laying flat against Leighton's knuckles.

The three of us stayed in this room for probably 10 minutes just letting Gemma look at our tattoos, laughing when she got overly excited about one of them, such as the butterfly on Nate's chest, or the wolf on my arm. Her eyes wide when Leighton said the "Gemma" tattoo on her collarbone was for her, almost seeming like she couldn't believe it.

There was something so effortless about moving around the Fox household. The way we all helped set up the table for dinner, shimmering around each other in the kitchen as we grabbed things out of draws, cupboards and the fridge to the way we freely went in and out the patio door, playing in the backyard with Gemma's toys, watching Harper and Gemma learn how to play together, and how we all lounged around the living room, conversing and watching TV together. It truly was a second home to me.

Nate and I met up with Leighton after work, everything feeling like a well oiled machine as we intertwined our routines.

I had a few business things to do here whilst I was in California, but somehow the four of us found ourselves surrounded by each other at the end of the night.

The weirdest was Friday evening, Nate and I had arrived at Leighton's apartment complex, Landon letting us in, only to not be greeted by the pitter patter of tiny feet.

"Where's Gems?" I asked immediately, scanning around the apartment, seeing her belongings scattered all over the place.

"With her dad" Leighton said, my body freezing.

"What?"

"Gabe get's her this weekend" She said, acting like it was no big deal as she continued folding some of Gemma's pajamas.

"Wait, like your custody thing?" I asked, Leighton nodding. "So he just gets her this weekend?" I questioned, confused.

"Yes. We share her. That's kind of the point of joint custody. She needs to get used to being around her dad" 

"I thought he was supposed to be in Med School for like ten years or something?"

"He's trying to be there for her, Colby. He's talking about transferring schools to be back here with her"

Oh.

I stayed quiet, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I now had to share Gemma with Gabe again.

Nate gave me a weird look, the apartment buzzer taking their attention off of me, Landon practically skipping to hit the intercom button, buzzing the stranger up.

"Did you come over to see Gemma or what?" Leighton asked, her voice having an accusatory undertone.

"Well yea. I came to see both of you. I got used to her little body slamming into my legs, hugging me" I frowned, almost feeling the ghost of the toddler's touch around my body, missing her little hugs.

"Sorry" She shrugged, setting a pair of pants into the laundry basket. "It's weird for me too.. but it'll be good for them. Gemma needs to know her dad. He hasn't done anything to not be allowed to see her." She stated, and I immediately felt my jaw tighten.

"How about that time he made you pour your breast milk down the sink, being cruel to you? You were vulnerable and he towered over you like a monster! What is he going to do when she cries? Turn up his music?" I scoffed, Leighton's face scrunching up in confusion as she looked over at me.

"Is that how you view him? A monster?" She asked, setting the folded washcloth in the basket, not picking up anything else, her full attention now on me.

"Oh come on! He's done some cruel things to you!" My voice raised, feeling my heart pick up it's pace.

"Whatever he's done to me, doesn't matter when it comes to my daughter. He has done nothing to make me worried about her in his care"

"You don't have the best judgment Leighton! He literally shared your fucking nudes around the school!" I exclaimed, Nate's eyes going wide as he stayed quiet.

"WE WERE SIXTEEN!"

"AND THAT MAKES IT OKAY?!"

"Colby, this was over 7 years ago! And that has nothing to do with him taking care of our daughter!" She glared, harshly pushing herself up off the sofa, brushing past me, my eyes following her as she walked down the hallway before turning her head to look at me, "Thanks for telling Nate that. You're a dick" She muttered, shutting her bedroom door behind her and I groaned, my head thrown back before I looked over at Nate.

"Dude, what the fuck just happened?" He asked breathlessly, turning to look down the hallway, a knock on the door making me freeze.

Shit.

Landon came out from his bedroom, glaring at me before opening the door, a random guy stood in the entryway.

"LEIGHTON, I'M HEADING OUT! I LOVE YOU!" He yelled, giving a slight wave at me before following the guy out.

I knocked on Leighton's door, softly begging for her to let me in, letting out a breath of relief when she opened the door.

"I'm sorry" I apologized immediately, Leighton laying back down on her bed, her foot tattoo catching my eye as she crossed one leg over the other, her knee bent as her foot pressed into the mattress, her hands folded on her stomach. "I know I have no right to say this, but I can't help but feel annoyed that Gemma get's to be with Gabe. He's done so much wrong to you Leighton. I've not only heard about it firsthand, but seen it. The things you've told me he's done, like sharing your nudes, and leaving you in jail.. not to mention ditching you when Gemma was born. He left you to raise her alone whilst he was across the country party. He literally passed out when you were delivering Gemma. There are so many things he's done that makes me annoyed that he gets to steal her away from me and I know I have no right. I'm not her father or whatever.. but it's just how I feel" I admitted, hating how her eyes were trained on the ceiling.

"You said I have bad judgment" She muttered and I mentally groaned, wanting to slap myself across the face.

"You having bad judgment doesn't make me love you any less" I told her, her eyes darting away from the ceiling to glare at me.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Genuinely, what do you want from me Leighton? Do you want fine dining and a bouquet of roses or do you want someone who will babysit your kid? What hat am I supposed to be wearing right now?" I snapped, Leighton pushing herself up, sitting criss-cross.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm tired of this song and dance!"

"Then stop doing it" She said like it was no big deal, my heart pinching at the idea of her not caring as much as I did.

"For fuck sake! If we both love each other then what is the problem? All your shit is logistics! Can you stop self sabotaging for one minute? Yes, I royally effed up when I said I think we should break up, I've apologized for that months ago! Let me off the damn hook! I want change. I want us to do couple shit and spend the night together. I want us to be together and every time I try you pull away, and then I tell you the reasons why I don't like your ex, and you back him up. Why can't you admit he's done shitty things to you? He fucking left you alone multiple times, yet you let him back into your life with the skip of a heartbeat, but I bend over fucking backwards for you, and all of a sudden I'm a dick?"

"If you wanted couple shit, why the fuck did you move away when I moved back?" She asked, her lips slightly swollen from her teeth tugging on it.

"Because you weren't ready! You're never fucking ready! I never thought I'd see the day where I was begging a girl to give me a chance! Do you know how low that fucking feels? Not to be a douche, but I could go to the club right now and probably go home with someone for the night, but here I am in your bedroom, begging you to understand me! To see where I come from, and not get pissed at me when I say your ex is a piece of shit. I'm not good at communicating, and I'm working on that, but you never give me a chance! You see one flaw in our relationship and leave" 

"He's not a piece of shit Colby" She argued back, my eyes rolling at the fact that that's all she clung onto from what I said.

"Do you love him?" I asked, catching her off guard.

"W-what?"

"Do you love him?" I repeated, her brow scrunching.

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep defending his actions. You aren't holding him accountable for the shit he's done to you"

"I don't love him. I'm not in love with him" She corrected, frowning.

"You sure?" I questioned, Leighton's eyes narrowing as she asked, "Do you think I'm lying to you?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"No! What the fuck kind of question is that? What, one second you're perusing me and the next you're asking if I'm in love with my baby daddy? What the hell Colby!"

"It's the only logical reason for how you're defending him!"

"He's her father Colby!" She defended, yet again, pissing me off.

"You had the fucking nerve to call me a deadbeat dad, which I haven't fucking forgotten by the way, when he's out here fucking abandoning her! Everything you yelled in my face about how I come and go, HE DOES THAT!"

"He's not a deadbeat dad"

"There you fucking go again! You're defending his sorry ass, and for what? He fucking left you! He left you when Gemma was only two months old!"

"He came back for her" She shot back, raising an eyebrow at me. "Why the fuck are we fighting over my daughter anyway? Our joint custody doesn't concern you"

"Then what fucking concerns me huh?! What part of this relationship should I be concerned about? Because clearly caring about you and Gemma isn't my fucking concern. Fucking sorry for caring!" I snapped, my hands tossed in the air out of frustration.

"She deserves to know her father Colby" She spoke in a steady voice, holding her ground.

"He's a piece of shit who constantly leaves! Do you really want that to be her father figure?" I asked, feeling my chest rise and fall as I kept my eyes on her, hating how calm she looked when I was practically bubbling with anger.

"What do you want, Colby?" She asked, sounding defeated, her eyes scanning my face.

"To be a part of this! To be a unit!" I expressed, standing my ground and reminding myself of the different communication techniques I learned in therapy, a few of them going right out the window the second I raised my voice at her.

"We're not together Colby!" 

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped.

"YOURS!" She shouted, pointing at me and I groaned, leaning my head and back against her closed door.

"Loving you isn't hard, but communicating with you is impossible!" I muttered, my hand rubbing my face.

"You told me you didn't have any expectations" She said quietly, my eyes snapping open to look at her.

"I expected you to want those things too" I confessed, pushing myself off the door and walking over towards her, stopping at the end of her bed.

"I don't know how to want that" She said, her tongue wetting her lips as she bashfully looked away. "I don't know how to do this"

"How to do what?"

"This. Us. I want it so bad, but I keep fucking it up. I don't know how to work as a unit Colby. Since I was 16, it's been just me! My relationship with Gabe wasn't the best, I know that now.. but he's all I have to reference. Silas and I.. we didn't really do much but hang out. We never fought or had these ups and downs... Me trying, is this right here! Us fighting is me trying! I can't be better if you don't tell me what you want. I'm constantly busy, so it doesn't always cross my mind. When Gabe and I hung out.. it wasn't the way you and I do. I'm not used to someone wanting to cuddle together and hang out together all the time. A lot of my relationship with Gabe, I was high and we had sex. The fact that you've turned me down so many times when I've tried to jump your bones shows me this is different. That you're different, even though you have slept around. I can't be better, if you don't tell me what's wrong. I get why you don't like Gabe, but he's Gemma's father. She deserves to know her dad, and he hasn't done anything wrong to not have that privilege. I'm trying to navigate this new life I'm working on building, and I'd really appreciate it if you could be supportive of my choices, and not argue with me when I say I'm trying to do shared custody with Gemma. This is my life, Colby. The highs and lows, the fights, the tears.. I'm figuring it out. We all are... this is the best I can offer you, until you give me the chance to learn with you. I need patience, support... and love."

"So what does this mean? You want to try this again, or you want me to support your decisions with Gabe?"

"Colby, I never stopped loving you. Taking the time to work on myself wasn't me calling it quits. I need to be better for myself, to be better for us. Now I know that you want late night cuddles and movie nights and sleep overs. We don't communicate, Colby. I wanted the space to make sure my addiction was in a manageable place and I was in a healthy place with Gemma. I'm twenty three. I have my whole life to love you. I was allowed to take a moment to focus on myself. To be better. That does mean I wanted to leave you, or that I never wanted to see you again. Look" She paused, her hands tossed out to show her room, "I'm doing better.  I've been clean for 6 months. I've kept my job, I'm paying my bills, I'm taking care of Gemma and figuring out how to do shared custody with her dad. I have my record locked and I have a roof over my head. I've been going to my meetings and my therapy sessions.. I'm feeling good. You know that"

"So does this mean you're ready to try again?" I asked, trying to keep up at the constant conversation change. 

"Are you?" She asked, the small smile on her face, slowly growing.

"Are you fucking kidding?! I've been ready!" I exclaimed, making her laugh, a beautiful smile on her face as she pushed herself up off the bed, her hands reaching out for my bicep as she steadied herself.

"So does this mean we're willing to try again?" She asked quietly between us, staring up into my eyes.

"You said we needed to lay everything out on the table, right?" I asked, her face dropping.

"Why? What did you do?"

"Nothing I just.... do you think we could uh... consider Gemma uh.." I paused, regretting starting this conversation.

"Consider Gemma, what?"

"I'd like to be a father figure to her" I quickly spit out before I could second guess myself, Leighton's touch against my skin freezing, her body going tense.

"W-what?"

"I want to be more to Gemma" I reconfirmed, my heart racing as I tried to figure out what was going on inside of her head.

"Can we take it one day at a time?" She asked, stepping back from me.

"What?" I questioned, my heart dropping to my stomach.

"We're not even properly together yet, plus she's not even two. I don't want her to get confused" She told me, seeming to want to let me down softly.

"It's okay, it was a stupid idea anyway" I dismissed, running my fingers through my hair, Leighton's hand grabbing my wrist, pulling my hand away from my face.

"It's not stupid Colby. You're right, you've been more of a father to Gemma than he has. You've been around more, so much in fact that she get's so excited when you're even brought up in conversation. This isn't a no... but a not right now — And before you push me away!" She spoke quickly, noticing my parted lips, ready to bite back, " I would love it if you were her father, but life didn't deal me those cards, and I'm just to play with what I have in my hand, okay? For right now.. I want to focus on us, and on Gemma. I'm sure she'd love to have you as her daddy... but Gabe is her father, and sadly, he has a say. He has rights to her, to see her and be around her. I don't want to create conflict right now. Can we revisit this later when I'm not freshly figuring out custody?" She asked, her hands cradling my jaw, keeping my eyes on her.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up" I apologized again, knowing better than to suggest something so stupid. Especially now.

"Stop apologizing. You're her Coco, and honestly that's so much better than being her dada" She laughed, tears in her eyes as the pad of her thumb pulled at my lower lip before running along the crease and down my cheek to my jaw.

"You know I love her right?" I asked quietly, my hands resting on her hips.

"I think the whole world knows Colby" She laughed, moving her hands behind my neck, her eyes keeping hold on mine.

"I've missed these pretty green eyes" I murmured, resisting the urge to capture her lips between mine.

"They haven't gone anywhere" She giggled, her fingers messing with the hair on the back of my neck.

"You're annoying"  I chuckled.

"Shut up" She grinned, a slight laugh leaving her throat.

"Can I tell you something silly?" I asked, her head tilting.

"Sure"

"I'm stupidly in love with you" I smirked, trying to hold back my shit eating grin, wanting to wrap my arms around her waist and hold her forever.

"Awe shucks!" She giggled, her tongue poking out a little as her shoulders shrugged upwards, squishing her face a little. "That is very silly of you" She teased, my eyes rolling, a smile on my face.

Whilst my eyes looked away, I felt her arms create a pressure on my shoulders, bringing my attention back to her, seeing her on her tiptoes as she watched my face, slowly getting closer to me, her lips finally softly touching mine, a soft feather like pressure laying against them, almost like she was afraid I'd push her away.

My hands moved to her ass, pulling her into me, her lips pressing harder into mine, a soft groan escaping my lips from the softness of her lips, missing the way she felt against me.

Her teeth pulled at my bottom lip a little before murmuring against mine,

"I'm in love you too"

* * * * 

This book is getting close to being done which is why we are "flashing" through the months. 

Don't worry, we still have book 3!

Merry Christmas! <3

I feel like people forget Leighton has tattoos lol. Like she has a whole sleeve, a rose covering the top of her hand to her knuckles, her foot is covered, she has some on her neck and collarbone. On her ribcage and inner finger... idk, I feel like when I even visualize her, I forget. Same with her ear is covered in pretty earrings from top to bottom. Or like the rings on her fingers... her painted, if not acrylic nails. So my little details lol

Written on: December 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th 2022

Published on: December 26th 2022

Word Count: 7462

Part Forty Five

[stcanardianguardian-a]

quackervolt

[knowbodytoldmethat]

Child of The Dreaming

Request from @fangirlmary "Reader is a child who died in their sleep so Morpheus decides to adopt them as his child rather than have them just be a dream or nightmare. (Can be a one shot or headcanon list)."

Platonic Paring: Morpheus x child reader (A father-child relationship)

Warning: Child abuse, child death, murder, slight angst at the end

This is going to be a two-parter. I wrote too much to be put in a one-shot.

"Dream, I stand in my gallery and hold your sigil. I need to talk to you," Morpheus looked up from the ledger Lucienne had handed him,

"My Lord?" He turned to the librarian and handed back the ledger,

"My sister is calling me,"

Lucienne nodded, "This can wait until later,"

When she exited the throne room, Dream turned around to face his stained glass windows that shifted to form his sister's sigil,

"My sister, is there something wrong?" He felt the air shift and bend as Death arrived in his hall,

"Not wrong," She said, "Just sad," Morpheus turned to face her and sat on the steps leading up to the throne with a concerned expression and gestured for her to sit with him,

"What is it?" His sister sighed while she sat beside him,

"A child passed away. Hardly six years old. Died in their sleep. All without realizing their father was smothering them with a pillow. I didn't want to pull them out of what little peace they had when their time came," Dream nodded in understanding,

"I'll have Matthew search The Dreaming for the child,"

The Endless siblings found themselves standing in the expanse of a beautiful field. It was filled with wildflowers and had trees lining the far edges as butterflies flew past them while a child's laughter filled the air. They saw the child running through the grass, arms flailing as they tried to catch the colorful butterflies,

"Poor thing," Death murmured, "Mother died in a car crash when they were two years old. I was there. She begged me not to take her, to give her a chance to say goodbye to her child. I couldn't let that happen," She sighed, "Now they're here, running through the field that their mother would take them to," Dream felt his heart grow heavy as he and his sister watched the child sit down and begin to pick the flowers around them.

Death sighed heavily and began to walk forward, but Morpheus held out his arm to stop her,

"Wait," She looked up at her brother, "Don't take their soul. Let them remain here in The Dreaming. I'll watch over them," His sister stared up at him in slight disbelief,

"Watch over them? You? Look after a child?" Morpheus didn't answer her and just began to walk toward the young soul.

The child had twisted together the flowers they'd picked into a messy wreath, but Dream couldn't help the smile turning his mouth up. He slowed his approach and stepped to the side so that he wouldn't be towering over them,

"Hello," Despite his soft tone, the child jumped to their feet and their flowers fell to the ground, "I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you," He sat down on the grass and picked up the wreath, "My name is Morpheus. May I ask yours?"

The child was silent for a long time, nervously fidgeting with their fingers before hesitantly reaching out to take the flowers before whispering,

"(y/n),"

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It had taken some time for the young Dreamer to fully trust the King of Dreams, which Morpheus understood. He'd heard about the young one's life from his sister. Their father had been one of the worst excuses for a human that Morpheus had ever heard of.

What kind of person raises their hand against a small child?

One that had all of the Nightmares and most of the Dreams living in Morpheus' realm lining up to pay a visit to the Little One's father when he entered The Dreaming.

Matthew did take pleasure in finding the vile man in the Waking World and left a mess on his car before he dropped a nice present on the bastard's head when he left his house.

Morpheus had shaken his head while Lucienne scolded the raven for his actions, though both were smiling. Matthew promised to never do it again. (He also will deny that he had nothing to do with Johanna Constantine finding and paying the man a visit.)

It was safe to say that in the short time the young dreamer had been living in the care of Lord Morpheus, they'd won the love of everyone in The Dreaming.

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Stars were hung in the sky above the meadow Morpheus had first met (y/n). There was a messy wreath of blue flowers hanging lopsidedly in his hair while he held the Little One in his lap as they looked up at the sky with him.

He created constellations that hung above the waking world, telling the child which ones were his favorites and how they were created. Morpheus would then call them down and have them dance around him and the child.

They would watch with fascination while they held Dream's hand as their eyes went wide. Their hands would occasionally reach out to try and touch the small lights before trying to catch one.

Morpheus watched with a smile when they managed to snag one of the stars around them. They then held it tightly before showing Morpheus what they'd managed to do.

He'd given the Little One a smile and said, "Well done, Little Star. You've caught your own star,"

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Morpheus had to attend to some matters in The Waking World and was currently looking for his Little Star before he left, but he couldn't seem to find them,

"Lucienne? Have you seen (y/n)?" The Librarian sighed with a nod,

"Lord Morpheus, they've taken refuge back in the meadow. I'm afraid they overheard a conversation between Mervyn and Gault. And your, last absence, was brought up," Morpheus closed his eyes and looked away,

"They believe I will not return?"

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"Little-" "No!" The child had climbed up into a tree and was clinging to its trunk out of Dream's reach,

"No! No! You're leaving! You're leaving and you're not going to come back!" He could hear the tears in their voice and they pierced through his heart.

Morpheus wanted to do nothing else but pull his Little Star into his arms and promise them that he would return. But he knew better than to make that promise. Though he had every intention to return to his realm and to his child, Dream could not promise he would return. His imprisonment by Roderick Burgess was an example of that.

But he would not leave until his Little Star was comforted.

So he called the tree to bend toward him so that he and the child were now face to face with each other,

"My Little Star," He whispered while wiping the tears off of their face, "I have every intention of coming back. And if for any reason that my business in The Waking world takes longer than it should, Matthew will come back and you will be the first to know," Morpheus gently pulled them from the tree and began walking back to the palace with the child in his arms,

"Until I return, Lucienne will watch over you," He paused to press a kiss to his child's hair, "And when I return, we can watch the stars again," Morpheus didn't receive an answer.

[twostepstyless]

how are our ARLTY lovies doing? :(( miss them!!! 🥹

Oh my god!!  the fact that you miss them??? Ouch I miss them SO much too, shall we have a little check in with them? 

Read the original one shot here :))

Masterlist

2.3k words

***

The rest of the trip flew by. Well, it would do when the pair were surrounded by a pink, glittery haze of their newly professed love. After Harry had gone back into the villa to lock the balcony doors and they left Amalfi, they cut across Italy, through Salerno and Potenza before arriving in Bari where they spent a few days traipsing round the maze of narrow, cobbled streets of the old town and walking through galleries and museums while nudging hips and the brushes of hands against one another’s. The pair took turns on the drive alongside the Adriatic coast, stopping for day trips and overnights. They had no plan so pulled in wherever they fancied, or when something caught their eye. Funnily enough, the weird, dodgy sound coming from the engine had disappeared and was now a distant memory as they made their way to Venice. Venice was… well… bloody Venice. They wandered down paved streets hand in hand, and they took a gondola ride as night fell on their first evening. As the sun set around them their gondolier told them the romantic legend of the Bridge of Sighs and urged the young couple to share a kiss as they floated under the bridge so they could bask in eternal love. 

“What a load of old shit,” Y/N had snorted quietly to Harry as they approached the bridge as she was cuddled up to his side. 

“Oi, it’s romantic,” Harry jabbed her side playfully before looping his arm around her shoulders and playing with the ends of her hair that fell there. 

“It’s the gondola companies capitalist wet dream is what it is, look at all the boats lined up,” she giggled thinking about how many young couples must pay a premium to come to this spot every day. 

Harry laughed as he noticed the queue of boats himself, “hm, so no kiss then?” he asked just as they were about to sail under. 

“Well, I never said that” Y/N whispered turning her neck to face him as he was already leaning in. She planted her lips on his and indulged in the feel of his lips moving against her own, honouring the legend even if it was used as a ploy to make money nowadays. 

Venice continued to be perfect. Harry held his clumsy girl steady on the landings that bobbed in the water of the Vaporetto water taxis, taking her hand in his, helping her to board. They spent a day and two entire reels of film in Burano taking in the brightly coloured houses that were even brighter and even more sweet-like than the ones they saw in Naples. The colours paired with the sun shining above them made for beautifully hazy pictures of the two of them with the houses at bright backdrops. Harry had Y/N posing for him every few metres that left him overwhelmed with options for his phones new home screen. He settled on one with her hand raised to stop him a faux glare gracing her face as he stopped her again to take her photo. 

The toured a lacemakers on Burano and Y/N went back with scraps of the handmade lace in her hands that she knew was going straight into the scrapbook she planned to make of this trip. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off her as her fingers toyed with the lace and ran delicately over the top of it appreciating the floral designs and the craftmanship that went into making even the little pieces she was going away with. Their favourite stop was at the Libreria Acqua Alta, the most beautiful bookshop the pair had ever seen, the Waterstones on the high street near both their houses paled in comparison to this. Stacks of books littered the place, but what really sold it to the pair was that the slew of books were displayed in buckets, boats and bathtubs to save them from flooding when the canals overflow into the shop. They spent a while looking at all the books with Harry buying a few of his favourites in Italian so he could get better at learning the language. She watched him from an aisle over, his brow furrowed as he read over the blurb on the back of a particular book in his hand, eyes flitting over the words before deciding to buy it and depositing it on the growing pile of books he had accumulated. He looked up to find her, but seeing her gaze already on him as they smiled to each other before Harry went over to grab her own pile of books to carry for her.

***

It was November now, and the stack of books with worn edges and pretty leatherbound spines Y/N had bought from the little shop in Venice sat pride of place in the bookshelves of her flats living room. She was sat criss-cross on the floor in front of her coffee table with her supplies spilling over the edges of the small table and onto the floor, a large square book opened onto a blank page in front of her. She rifled through the bundle of freshly developed photographs trying to find a specific shot of her and her best friend. It was a photo from a few months ago on a road trip they had taken. It was a photo of them on a walk one evening in Positano, they were walking side by side down the middle of the road watching the sunset when a stranger stopped the pair and asked if she could take a photo of them as they looked like such a beautiful couple and they should remember their evening with a picture. How little the stranger knew that the beautiful couple had only became a couple a short 12 hours before that. But as the setting sun burnt the sky a rich orange that faded to pink then into blue behind them, Harry and Y/N were photographed leaning against the railing that looked over the water, arms wrapped around one another with radiant smiles plastered on their faces as the stranger took the first official photo of the pair as a couple. Y/N looked fondly down as she pasted the photo into her scrapbook with the glue stick that she had to peel a layer of crust off as she had left the lid off for too long. She wrote the date under the photograph before flipping through the book again, seeing the U.K sticker they peeled off the car when they arrived back next to the photo of them outside the car before they left, the photo of an unsuspecting Harry getting to drive through the big tunnel he was so desperate to do, the two of them standing in front of the candy-coloured houses in both Naples and Burano caught on film and glued into her book, a strip cut off from the silk scarf Harry had tied round her neck, to live out her best Audrey Hepburn fantasy, was in the book next to one of the numerous photos of Y/N that Harry had taken that evening. She was just starting a new page with the scraps of lace from Burano getting pasted in when she heard a key jiggle in the lock of her front door. Now, only Y/N’s mum and one other person had a key to the flat and her mum was currently in her hometown to that left the latter as who it could be. 

“Girlfriend, where are you?” he sang from the entryway as he shed his coat from his shoulders before putting it in her coat cupboard in the hallway. She heard his shoes get kicked off his feet in a clatter against the wooden floor. 

“I’m in the living room, boyfriend,” Y/N called back not looking up from her task at hand as she heard his socked feet pad up the hall towards her. 

“Evening, my love, wha’s all this?” Harry asked standing next to her, peering down at her covered coffee table and the opened scrapbook.

“Went to the craft shop today, went a bit mental, here I am, finally making the scrapbook from our trip,” she spoke as she pressed down on the piece of lace to stick it in place before looking up at him, “hi pretty,” she sighed out smiling up at him from her place on the floor. 

“‘Went a bit mental,’ yeah I can see that,” Harry laughed leaning down to peel a letter H sticker from her forehead before showing it to her on the pad of his index finger. 

“Oh! I was looking for that,” she carefully peeled the sticker from his fingertip and flicked to the front page of the book to complete the sentence that formerly read as ‘Arry and Y/N’s Roadtrip.’ “There we go,” she stuck it in place, even if it was a little squint on the page. “Help me up?” Y/N pouted up at him raising her hands up in front of him. Harry popped the plastic bag for life onto her couch to grip both her hands in his pulling her up from her spot. 

“Hmm, finally,” Harry groaned as he finally got to kiss her hello. A deep, slow kiss as his tongue licked into her mouth just a little bit before he pulled back with three short pecks, muttering a ‘hi,’ against her kiss softened lips. 

“Hm, what’s with the bag,” she glanced down to her couch as if to remind him. 

“My turn to cook tonight, isn’t it?” Harry asked lifting the bag and walking towards her kitchen setting it on the side before helping Y/N pop herself up to sit on the countertop when she followed him in. “Did y’know they charge 30 bloody pence for a bag for life nowadays,” Harry sighed as he stood between her legs wanting to be close to her after a long day and last night without her. 

“It’s so we stop using plastic H, where were your reusable ones?” asking as she rest her forearms on his shoulders pulling him in closely and letting her hand card through the back of his hair. 

“Left them in the car and couldn’t carry everything without one,” he muttered before holding back a moan at the satisfaction of her nails scraping lightly against his scalp. 

“How was the studio?” Y/N questioned him as he untangled himself from her for a second to unpack his shopping bag so he could start preparing dinner. 

“Hm, was good I think, felt like a good day today,” he mused, sniffing his fresh produce quickly, still didn’t smell as good or as fresh as what they bought in Italy.

“Write anything good?” Y/N reached behind her to grab the two cutting boards he would need. 

“Yeah, think so,” Harry smiled, remembering what he got out today and thinking about what inspired it. 

“Let me hear some?” she asked playfully, knowing already she had absolutely no chance until Harry was ready to share it with her. 

“Nice try, baby, not yet” Harry came back to stand between her legs, reaching forward to quickly push her hair back off her face. 

Y/N scrunched her nose and grumbled, “tell me what it’s about at least,” batting her eyelashes flirtatiously to try and convince him.

Kissing the pout from her lips, tasting the balm she was using to fight off the chapping the ever-increasing winter wind was causing as London grew colder and colder.

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” Harry teased. 

“Oh H, please,” she whined hopping down from the counter, standing on her tiptoes she brushed her nose against his, the tip of his own still tinged pink and a little cold from being outside, before resting her chin on his chest to gaze up at him. 

Harry breathed out a huff of laughter his hands cupping her face, thumbs brushing across the tops of her cheeks as she leant into his touch

“Driving,” he stated

“Driving?” she puzzled head tilting to the side. 

“The songs about driving,” he said softly. Memories of the road trip that changed it all for the flourishing couple rushed through both their minds simultaneously, Harry’s like a movie in his mind and Y/N’s all the pasted pages of her scrapbook that she had worked on all day. Smiles graced both of their faces, knowingly, but not one of the two saying it aloud. Harry let out a hum of laughter, almost bashful sounding before he pulled her into a kiss. His lips nipping her bottom lip between them. 

Harry was cooking dinner when Y/N spoke up again as she watched him stir the sauce with a tea towel draped across his shoulder. 

“My wish came true by the way,” she spoke from behind him as he turned to face her, closing the distance by pulling her into his chest. 

“Wish?” Harry puzzled, resting his forehead on hers, the innate need to be close to her waving its flag. 

“My wish I wouldn’t tell y’about at the Trevi, it came true,” she whispered the sound of food bubbling away on the stove almost drowning her out.

“Mine too,” Harry pulled back to look into her eyes before leaning down to kiss his love. 

“Now feed me, Styles,” Y/N proclaimed as they broke apart. Harry laughed as he turned round grabbing the spoon from the sauce and holding it up for her to taste. As she leant to taste it, the sauce fell from the spoon and down her shirt that was partly covered by the soft cotton dungarees she wore. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, that was your fault this time,” she whined as she began to shimmy out of the t-shirt from under her overalls, and to Harry this all felt a bit too much like déjà vu. 

[mrskurono]

title: Bet Me || domming the Seijoh Grads

a/n: anon who gave me this idea, I thought FOREVER about how to execute this and I just like- this happened while taking a shower ok. Iwa had it coming to him being the alpha dog

word count: 2.7k 

tags: dom!reader, group sex (mmmmf), established relationship (on Oikawa’s end), bondage, handjob, slight degradation, edging, cockwarming, ruined orgasm, masturbation (male), oral( male and female), rimjob, cucking, male on male (penetration +oral), anal creampie, cocky Oikawa, brat taming Iwa, slightly dacraphilia, safe word mention (unused) petnames, uh probably something else but c’mon its fucking smut, unedited

character(s): Oikawa Tooru (hq), Hajime Iwaizumi (hq) Takahiro Hanamaki (hq) Issei Matsukawa (hq)

heavy nsfw undercut ⇾ ⇾ ⇾

Tooru ran his mouth like a bullet train.

No one took him seriously when he toted about how amazing you were. Claiming you to be the best. Which, to Iwa’s, Makki’s and Mattsun’s surprise, that was notably a lot coming from the ladies man himself. Tooru’s taste in women came like his coffee order did, sweet and sweeter. So when the man came sporting some glamorous little bruises on his torso. Well, that lead to a bit of a bet.

“This won’t work.” Iwa scoffed at the idea, nearly rolling his eyes out of his head when the last bit of rope was secure, “She can’t do it since Shittykawa is just a wimp of course he cums easily!”

“You gonna bet me for that huh baby?” Standing above the man who was now tied at your feet seemed to leave you in a pretty domineering position now over him. Iwa wouldn’t give it up though. He was certain you couldn’t edge him until he cried.

If Iwa cried, then the bet was in your favor. Makki and Mattsun would without a doubt bow to your ability. Seeing though as no one had bested their friend since high school, neither of them saw much potential besides maybe a fun circle jerk out of this. Tooru on the other hand was nearly vibrating out of his own skin with excitement for the occasion.

“You’re gonna eat those words you know Iwa!” Tooru grinning. His best friend really had no idea what he was in store for. And he wasn’t going to tell him either.

Rolling your eyes you wave your boyfriend away and kneel down in front of the bulky athletic trainer. Searching his face. Paying almost no attention to his half a hard on even now, and you simply smile at him, “No kissing. And the safe word is teal, yeah?”

Iwa rolled his eye once more, “Yeah ok.”

Mattsun and Makki elbowed each other with a bit of a giggle between the two of them. They didn’t think you could do it but were certainly glad to not be in Iwa’s shoes. Only arms tired behind his back, Iwa was left in a precarious position when your hand ghosted over his cock.

Feathery touch of your fingertips down his thick shaft and Iwa scoffed. An offhanded comment about if that was the best you got then you should just jerk him off. Instead you let his words fall on deaf ears. Smiling as you took your hand away. Earning all eyes on you as you reached for what was simply a regular bottle of lube. 

Drizzling it over Iwa’s cock until it ran down his shaft and between his balls to drip on the ground at his feet. You really had everyone’s attention now that his cock was slimy with lube and untouched. The peanut gallery snickered. Tooru said something in a husky mumble. But it was clear all three men were beginning to palm themselves through their pants. Iwa on the other hand, held firm that this would just be another handjob.

Which in reality you suppose it was. Your work slow and methodical. Wasn’t long before you realized Iwa was enjoying himself. Fingers dancing up and down his cock. The squelch of the lube when you squeezed his tip. Watching him roll his head back and savor the simple movement. Really besides his arms being tied behind his back this was all about to end like a normal handjob. 

That was, until the first stringy bits of precum dripped from Iwa’s cock.

“Fuck- Right there-” His low guttural moan. 

Indulgent and self centered. Iwa was about to cum and not a tear in sight. Even Makki and Mattsun who now shamelessly were jerking themselves off weren’t surprised by the outcome. But like he knew something they didn’t, Tooru had his hands off himself. Completely. Only those brown eyes set forward and fixated on your hands like he was waiting for you to do something.

“You gonna cum baby?” Your fingers working magic up and down his cock. 

Iwa nodded. He wasn’t even paying attention. The handjob was hot but all eyes on him while he was going to win seemed to fuel him even more. You could feel his cock twitch in your hand. Carefully you watched until his balls tightened and then you did it. Exactly what Tooru knew you’d do.

Hand smashed to the top of Iwa’s cock before he could say anything. Your strokes stopped completely. Replaced by a firm grip and your opposing hand feverishly rubbing your palm in circles over his slit. Iwa had no time to react. The overstim right into too much making his entire body twitch and convulse. He doubled over but could not escape. The bindings he strained against didn’t give way. And your hand didn’t stop with it’s cruel motions. Nothing he did could make him escape the pins and needles of pleasure cascading through his body on overdrive.

“Give up? Too much baby? Huh you not gonna cum? Baby wanted to cum though. Where’s all that big boy talk now, Hajime?” Your words sweet in tone and evil in context. Iwa was coming undone in front of everyone he knew. Makki and Mattsun had stopped stroking themselves entirely. Wide eyed at the sight as Tooru was giggling and palming himself finally to his slight relief. His queen was going to win the bet. He just knew you would.

“-‘s much-” Iwa croaked, body trembling under your touch.

“What? I can’t hear you?” Your hand only slick with precum and the lube off his cock, “Come now, I wanna see all your sweet milk spill out~ Won’t you do that for me Hajime?”

Iwa grunted, bucked his hips and gritted his teeth. His orgasm was being forcibly taken from him but still not a tear to spare. As he twitched and shifted his hips up he was certain this would come crashing into an orgasm. Building quicker and quicker by the passing second. He forgot to care if everyone around him was even jerking off to the sight of him anymore. Iwa gasped just when his orgasm was tipping to no return.

“That’s enough.”

Iwa gasped. Mattsun and Makki gasped. Tooru giggled.

Your hand completely removed from Iwa’s cock. All men witnessed the cruelest thing to date. Iwa’s cock bouncing, in desperation, with one exact bead of white cum oozing from his slit. You just ruined Iwaizumi’s orgasm and they all watched you do it.

“No! Don’t stop! Idiot! K-Keep doing it! Keep moving I- I just- I wanna cum!!” Iwa’s pleas fell from his mouth. Ending with his voice cracking as his orgasm tightened around him but just wouldn’t be released. You sat smug in front of him and when his voice cracked he knew it was all over.

You won.

“Shit....” Mattsun mumbled, fixated on Iwa’s poor cock standing so abused and hard.

“Man....that’s....wow.” Makki, still grabbing at his cock, couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Told you guys so~” Tooru sung your praise more than happy to see both his friends adamant that what they saw wasn’t something they wished on anyone. Especially themselves.

“So.” You stood up, hand covered in slickness mixed with Iwa’s precum and looked at Mattsun and Makki, “Anyone else think I’m a liar?”

Quickly they shook their heads. 

“Good.” You smiled sweetly. Fixing to pull your panties off right away and throw them between Iwa’s legs still bound in front of you. On full display the natural juices clinging to your thighs with how wet you’d gotten on this little bet. So now you figured no one was going to argue with you, it was your turn for some relief, “Makki, come here.”

Eyes wide he looked at Tooru. Who grinned and nodded for him to do as you said.

Sheepish of the same treatment. He knew a bet was a bet. Undoubtedly you were proclaimed alpha and did as you asked.

“Sit for me yeah?” You point across from Iwa.

Makki swallowed hard but listened. He didn’t want the same outcome as Iwa. When he’d sat down you grab a fistful of his hair and pull him into your ass, “Lick me up a little. I don’t wanna sit on your cock this wet.”

Obediently Makki liked this outcome much more. His tongue swiping over your thighs and lapping at your juices with no questions asked. If he heard you right, sitting on his cock was next in line.

“Tooru baby,” You cooed at your boyfriend, “Mattsun looks awfully hard. Maybe you should take care of him?”

While you pulled Makki’s face into you more, letting him lick you clean in front of Iwa. You take pride in seeing how well your boyfriend drops to his knees to take his friends cock. Mattsun certainly as big as some of the toys you make sweet Tooru gag on. It’s within no time that he has him down his throat. Brown eyes looking up at Mattsun as his cheeks hollow out and he goes to town sucking him like a good boy. Allowing you to enjoy yourself a bit more.

“Alright thank you, Makki,” You pull his face away, coated in your juices and a bit of a dazed look. Adding to the bliss on the man’s face when you finally seat yourself on his cock. Makki’s hands going right to your hips, “Ah ah ah, don’t move. Unless you wanna end up like Iwa huh?”

“Y-Yes ma’am-” Makki stutters with the right amount of fear not to try you on it. Iwa is still left bound in front of you with his cock head purple and aching as it twitches against the air for some kind of relief.

When you wiggle yourself comfortably on Makki’s cock. Moaning softly and spreading your legs so Iwa can see his friend’s cock buried inside you. You click your tongue at Iwa to make him look at you.

Drawing a finger up your slit and teasing your own clit, you smile at Iwa, “Bet you wish you hadn’t lost huh? Wishing you were stuffing my cunny with that cock right about now? Instead, only seeing sweet Makki stretch me out and how hard my clit is. Bet I could cum like this. On his cock that is.”

Iwa licked his lips. How desperate he was to cum. You were absolutely right, Iwa desperately wanted to be Makki, “.....please.”

“Please what?” You asked, reaching your wet fingers back to stuff in Makki’s mouth, “Suck baby.”

Makki listened well. Tongue washing over your fingers to eat your juices up as he relished the feeling of his cock inside you after all this. He wasn’t about to screw this up.

Hanging his head low Iwa internalized his growl and finally spoke up, “....please...let me taste you.”

“That’s a good boy,” You use your foot to tilt his head up towards you. Making him face you but when that smile widened Iwa’s stomach tightened, “But first, Tooru~”

Popping his lips off Mattsun’s cock, your boyfriend turned towards you. Seeing you motion him over. Tooru hated to leave what he was doing but was more curious about what you could want.

“Love, do you think you could take Mattsun?” You ask sweetly.

Tooru blushed at the idea, “I mean...yeah...with a little prep I could-”

“Say no more,” You wave his words away and look to Iwa, “Prep him for me will you baby?”

Giddy at the idea. Tooru didn’t waste anytime getting on his knees. Hips pushed back towards Iwa and Tooru bringing his face inches from your core. Not allowed to taste you but where he could vividly see Makki’s cock stuffed in you. 

Perhaps it was the grogginess of a ruined orgasm. Or the fact he was desperate to cum at this point. But there was no hesitation when Iwa pressed his tongue against Tooru. Earning a lewd moan from his best friend that fueled him. Finding himself so hard at the idea of Tooru pressing back on his face as Iwa tongued him.

“Mmm there, does Iwa’s tongue feel good love?” You caress his face as your free hand plays with your clit. Makki not moving as you ordered but his hands certainly didn’t seem to count as he groped and fondled your breast.

“S-So good-” Tooru moaned. His labored breathing and cock hanging between his legs as Iwa ate him out was a beautiful sight. One that wouldn’t last long though.

“Can you take Mattsun now?” You asked sweetly of him. Tooru nodded. He didn’t want to lose Iwa’s tongue but he knew the next thing would be better. So you looked to Mattsun with an inquisitive look.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Mattsun ready to stuff his cock in anything a this point.

You watched in pure bliss as you saw Tooru straddle his friend like he did you so often. Instead of sliding down on a toy though. You watched Mattsun’s enormous cock disappear in his ass. Tooru’s stomach tensing until he relaxed and the brown haired man sighed in relief.

“Feel good?” You asked the both of them.

Hardly a response though as Mattsun and Tooru ended up in their own little world. Fucking only mere feet from you. Makki’s cock buried in you as you lazily played with your clit. Leaving Iwa out of it.

“Please...” He stooped as low as to beg, “...Please let me taste at least.”

Feeling generous and like it would be a nice change. You indulge him. Allowing Iwa to finally get a little something even though he was the loser.

“Make me cum before Mattsun fills Tooru and I’ll let you cockwarm next time~” 

Iwa didn’t need to be told twice. Diving between your legs to find your clit instantly. His tongue working overtime as you leaned back into Makki. Making the man hold you and catching his lips. He was a good boy who wasn’t moving so kissing him was the least you could do. 

As instructed Iwa was an expert with his tongue. Giving your clit all of his attention. Sadly thought he wasn’t privy to winning this either. Glancing over at the other two soon assure you of that. The way Mattsun gripped Tooru’s hips. Cum drooling out of Tooru’s cock for lord only knows how long now. And the way Mattsun’s brows pinched in the middle and hips stalled meant Iwa lost once more.

Unsurprisingly the two men had to catch their breath. Mattsun pulling out and a flood of cum following. Tooru being a good boy when you told him not to waste any and he scooped up Mattsun’s cum and pushed it back inside himself. Fingering himself as Iwa’s tongue began doing the trick when your hand found his hair and your grip tightened.

First a wonderful little tickle until finally you were leaning back into Makki groaning with a shudder. No real movement save for the ripple of your cushiony cunt walls around his cock. After all this Makki wasn’t going to complain. Even as Iwa’s tongue glided over his shaft a few times in desperation to keep you cumming on his tongue. 

Neither men cared when your orgasm was in full swing. Your cunt tightening around Makki until he had no choice but to double over into you. Holding you tight as his cock throbbed inside you and his balls emptied every last drop of cum into your well deserving pussy. Even Iwa not caring as he did his job to ride out your orgasm and some of Makki’s excess cum drooling out around him and Iwa licking it up like a good boy. Focused on your hand in his hair until he knew he’d done his job when your grip slowly loosened and finally released him completely.

Satisfied but not letting Makki go anywhere just yet. Which he didn’t mind. Tooru crawled over to you. Kissing you with the faint taste of Mattsun’s cock on his lips and certainly his cum still dripping down his inner thighs. Tooru smiled against you before nuzzling his face against yours.

“Aye wait-” Iwa, still the only one who hadn’t came yet, huffed and looked around.

No one said a thing. Makki spared you a look by hiding his face in your neck like Tooru. Mattsun looked your way and didn’t say anything to his friend. And Tooru simply kept kissing your neck without a care. None of them were going to go against your wishes making you smile at Iwa, “Well, maybe next time you’ll know better than to bet against me now won’t you?”

[zukuist]

accidents [hcs]

“they accidentally elbow your chest.”

includes: bakugō katsuki, shinsō hitoshi, monoma neito

your name is shortened to y/n, afab they/them! reader, combat type of quirk used in monoma

notes: getting elbowed on the chest HURTS 🧎‍♂️ i have another thing to post later but it’s like.. 3am here

-

bakugō katsuki

the fact that you actually thought it would be fine to tease him.. that was a red flag

it was supposed to be playful, but katsuki clearly saw it as a threat 🙄🖐

anyways, we all know that he doesn’t actually intend on hurting you, but.. accidents do happen.

you stole his phone and spammed his gallery, and katsuki wanted it back. it was the third time this week!

and while he was tugging at it, he accidentally elbows your chest 🧎‍♂️ and we already know how strong he is

you exhale sharply in pain, and you immediately let go, making katsuki victorious in the tug-of-war

katsuki’s towering over you, laughing about how he’s going to get payback, until he sees you in pain

he may not look like it, due to the roll of his eyes. but he’s quite worried (i mean, he’s not weak in the slightest.)

he panicked a bit when he saw you in pain (and on the ground)

“don’t tell me it hurts,”

“no katsuki, it does!” you exclaim, a hand pressed against your chest

“let me see,”

“no idiot, do you want me to flash you??” you question, and he just smirks this bastard-

“sorry, sorry,” he repeats, resting a hand against your chest (in a non sexual manner) as an attempt to soothe the pain

so he offers to be your service man for the rest of the day :)

and from now on, he’ll be a lot more sensitive with his actions, just so he doesn’t accidentally hurt you again

shinsō hitoshi

he didn’t mean to, really

and he wasn’t provoked either so.. idk how this even happened

you guys were trying to go downstairs, just to get some snacks for some movie date

and suddenly, now you guys were going through a dark hallway, trying to navigate through a power outage

that was caused by kaminari

since it was a little too dark to even see anything, and also the perfect time to get absolutely paranoid

when you stepped beside him, the sudden creak from the floor startled him, unprepared for you to be right there

and he accidentally elbows you

right on your chest

you exhale in pain, and as if it were on command, the power flickers on

hitoshi turns around, and seeing you on the ground sends him into a state of worry

but lucky for you, hitoshi is rational “oh shit, are you okay?”

“no, you elbowed me,”

“on my chest.”

he looks down, and hitoshi’s sympathetic, and he has an idea on how much that’d hurt

his hand rests against the back of his neck, and he wants to do something about it.

he helps you stand up. “i’m sorry, kitten.” he says apologetically, kissing you on the shoulder

“it’s okay hitoshi,” you rest your hand on his shoulder, “you just need to pay for the damage.” you say that as a joke

but he does decide to do something about it, and he decides to get the snacks for you

he’ll deal with kaminari and the fact that he caused a power outage later,

but for now, he wants to help you with the pain he has caused

he could use his quirk to brainwash you to not feel any pain. but.. you insist that he doesn’t have to.

he still feels bad though

monoma neito

okay so.. of course he didn’t mean to but

y’all were playfully fighting each other, just like any other day of being monoma neito’s s/o

neito was constantly trying to steal your quirk, which is ofcourse, a regular thing

but the thing is, your quirk is a combat type of quirk

you see what i’m getting at?

he taps you on the shoulder, and he immediately gets the upper hand, his grip holding you firmly

but his actions seemed to be miscalculated, still stuck in a moment of playfulness,

and his elbow takes a jab

right at your chest

you whimper in pain, and fall immediately forward, tears stinging your eyes. it does hurt like hell

and his reaction to this is basically like.. if your older sibling punched you, and you started crying

and it was basically their way of calming you down (so you don’t cry and alert other people)

“no no i’m sorry, y/n!” he caresses the injured area, “see! you’re fine! you’ll be okay! right? it doesn’t hurt!”

you might’ve thought this was because he didn’t want class 1-b to get mad at him

but no, he was actually worried for you.

eventually, class 1-b does find out about the event, and they basically SLANDER him for it.

“monoma is a chest puncher!” “IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!”

if monoma were to ever act out of line again, then that’s really their only line of defense. because it involves his s/o

he’ll really be QUIET, because he’ll suddenly remembering the horrible moment where he accidentally inflicted pain onto his s/o

he’ll be nice for the rest of the week.

—

©️izukulie 2021, bnha|mha belongs to horikoshi kohei. do not steal my work❕