#they clean up winter at the end of winter | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lucrativesoul · 1 day ago

Text

Fresh Meat

summary: when fear of a dangerous animal hits your small home village, outsider Leon joins the team to help them take on the hunt. the lurking creature is not the only secret hiding in the forest.

pairing: leon kennedy x fem!reader

word count: 14.8k

tags/warnings: fantasy/sci-fi, mentions of animal death, vague smut (non-explicit), questionable consent

a/n: let's hear it for me returning ! if you read the blurb i posted along with the sneak peak of this fic, yes, it is very plot heavy, and by the time i got to the end where the smut would have been, i decided a full fledged sex scene felt very out of place in this. so, i did omit details but there is still something at the end, so i apologize for anyone who reads for that purpose alone. i have an idea for my next one, so i will make it more worth it next time, lol. anyways, if this is up your alley, i hope you enjoyed it and i will see you all when i come back with another one!!

The rabbit was still warm when it showed up at your front door.

It was an odd hour for someone to be out hunting, but with the sun getting ready to enter a state of near dormancy for four months, you took it as a sign that someone was trying to keep your small population fed for the winter.

Bringing the crate with a small, bloodstained bundle into your home, you pondered about who had left this here for you. You were fairly certain that your neighbors were all still home, either that or they were only just now helping dock the ship that arrived with grain. They had been known to occasionally leave you with an animal, but it was usually in the early hours, and the wind chill would lower the carcass’s temperature significantly before you could rouse and bring it in.

Nonetheless, you didn’t strain yourself over it, as acts of kindness regarding food supply were warmly welcomed before the darkness settled in.

This winter was much like the ones you had seen before–adults of the town strapping down their own food supply, whether that be buried in the ground or in an underground cellar if their cabin was big enough, the children running around only during peak hours when the air was just warm enough that the wind wouldn’t sting when it hit you, and carriages full of leaking meat ready to be skinned and fileted arrived, preparing to be stored with whatever else could last through the winter.

This was routine now, and a small gift like a warm rabbit to eat for the night was one you would not turn down any time soon.

You looked over the animal; the fur was clean, the kill was neat, and it didn’t look harmed. Job well done. You hoped it didn’t suffer for long. As a token of thanks for it, you would save the pelt for a cowl.

You had a decent sized storage for food this winter, you were only feeding yourself and you could survive off of the grains and winter vegetables that were available for as long as you could. Saving the rabbit would be nice, but you knew the winter market would be held shortly, and that is when you did your stockpile. This one would be tonight’s treat.

Leaving the creature on the counter, you whisked yourself over to the front door, sliding your arms into a big woolen coat, your feet into boots, and shoved your hands into your pockets to make the quick walk across the square to your acquaintance’s home. Hissing when the cold made your eyes water, you latched the door shut and raised your shoulders, bringing the collar of the coat up to protect your neck. Such a quick walk made the full winter apparel unnecessary, though at times you do wish it wasn’t so painstaking to put on. The walk would be much better if you weren’t contorted to stay warm.

The sound of the gravel under your feet mixed with the children yelling at one another as they ran around, dodging and weaving wagons and carriages coming into the square. You almost shouted a warning to them, fearing they would get hurt by the large wheels or the horses’ hooves, but selfishly enough, you were too cold to make any extra effort. You knew the other women of the commune were smart enough to do it themselves, you just liked going the extra mile to help neighbors.

The house you were seeking arrived at once. Quickening your pace, you jogged up the jagged walkway of stone and rapt on the door four times. You heard the sound of thundering steps on wood floors within, and the door opened instantly and you walked inside without waiting for verbal permission.

This was your closest ally's house; neither of you were to need permission to enter under any circumstance, though knowing her family was home, you had the kindness to knock anyway. Being a solo woman of the town meant you spent the majority of your time helping her and her family, as you were well off enough with supplies to keep yourself alive. Today was no different, and with her husband out in the woods lowering the population of multiple woodland inhabitants for the winter market, she could use the extra person to run the home for the night.

You shed your coat and propped it up by the door, quickly unlacing your boots and doing the same to them. You followed her wordlessly to the kitchen, not needing instruction.

“I’m worried,” She then said timidly, and you had to turn around from your position at the chopping block to be sure you heard her correctly.

“Worried, did you say? What for? You know he’s out there doing just fine, every market always keeps you all well fed, warm, and whatnot. Is it the children? Have they become interested in wanting to go?”

You recall her confiding in you that she was anxious of the day her children were old enough to want to follow their father into the woods to join the group of their annual winter gathering. She knew her husband would teach them right, and you had no doubt they were being raised as well mannered children, eventually able to handle firearms for this purpose, but naturally, her mother's instinct would kick in.

“No, not quite…” She paused a moment, opening the floor hatch and pulling up their storage box with chilled greens for supper. You walked over and took a cabbage, placing it back on your board. The cold made your fingertips ache. “I believe this won’t be a great season. He’s told me there’s oddly less game this year than the previous few.”

You furrowed your brow at this. “Well, I suppose it can’t be great every season, no? You know how much you need now, and his catch will be able to provide you with that and more.”

She sighed. “Yes, but… they are growing now. It takes more to feed them. The cold feels like it lasts a lot longer than it used to.” She began chopping, her knife making rhythmic knocks against the wooden slab. You cut your own cabbage in half, leaving it open by the stove to thaw the center.

“I think you’ll be alright. You have the support when you need it, I always have the extra to spare for you.” You looked over at her earnestly, and before she could reply, you both hushed as the door swung open. Seeing it was just one of her three children, she ushered him off into the main room to warm up, not before chastising him about being outside with barely enough on. She shook her head as she walked back into the kitchen.

“They don’t ever listen about their heavy coats. I can’t make them learn.” She sighed again and looked back over at you. “And don’t be ridiculous, please. You need your food.”

You breathed a small laugh. “I’m well off enough to keep myself going with what I have. One small deer is a month of meals for me, you know that. Let me go back to my house, I have a fresh rabbit, we will eat it tonight. I’d rather share it.”

She turned her head sharply, but not out of scorn. “Fresh? From who? No one has come back yet. You certainly didn’t go out.” You laughed again at this, knowing she meant no insult by it.

“I really don’t know. It wasn’t there this morning when I went to the well. I don’t even remember what I was doing in between this time, I had nothing to prepare, I was waiting for the men to come back with meat. I opened my door for something, I don’t even remember what, I just did. And it was there, in a crate.”

She halted her chopping, staring off, pondering. “You didn’t miss it this morning? You know there’s those few that get the dawn’s catch.”

You shook your head, peeling back layers of cabbage that were thawed enough now, pausing to warm your fingertips in the pockets of your apron, loaned by your friend. “Couldn’t have missed it… didn’t see a single soul walk by my window all morning.”

Silence fell between the two of you, and you knew she was also wondering where this could have come from, knowing every man that hunted in the village was not to return until almost sundown with their catches. After a while, she just shrugged.

You nodded your head in agreement. “Meat is meat. Here, let me go get it, I’ve just been letting it sit. This needs to thaw more anyways.” You abandoned your station and walked over to the door, re-suiting up for the walk back. You heard her footsteps behind you. “Would you like the children in? I know they should be all coming back soon, the last thing they would need right now is children becoming more stones under the horses hooves.”

She hummed from behind you. “Yes, that would be great, they should have been back an hour ago now.”

Having fastened the last button on your coat, you swung the door open. The sky was quickly descending to a deeper shade of gray, indicating the sun was setting against a clear sky the town has not seen in months now. You were about to turn and give her another verbal confirmation of finding her remaining two children when a loud cry from the square stopped you. You turned, and you felt your friend step out to watch as well, unable to ignore the sudden break of the square’s silence.

“I… I’ll go see what’s going on, stay here.” You took a step down and crunched the earth under your boot.

“Nonsense.” She turned to grab her own coat off the hanger, and she shouted inside at her one child home to stay put and not to move. You both hurriedly walked further into the commotion, the other townsfolk creating a barrier around the one who shouted. A break in the human wall opened up, and you were on the outer ring watching the drama unfold.

The man, who undeniably drew attention as he was on his knees and had his hunting gloves ripped off, blood drying and cracking over his cold hands, was recognizable as a man of the hunting group that was soon to be back with their catch for the upcoming market. You looked around as much as you could, past the opposite wall of people concerned for what he was going to say, but you did not see any other carriages arrive with any game. In fact, you did not see even his.

You heard him mumbling something to himself, and one of the elder councilmen came over and took a knee beside him, desperate to figure out what was troubling him. You watched, tense, as they spoke, nods and headshakes and gestures of confusion being traded between them. The anxiety of it all made you forget the rapidly dropping temperature.

The councilman suddenly stood, putting a hand on the man’s shoulders, but he shook it off. You gasped, worried for a violent outbreak that you were sure the whole town wanted to avoid.

The man stood on his own now, free from what he deemed and feigned support from the councilman.

“I am not saying these things to place fear!” You were shocked at the booming delivery of his statement. Everyone was silent now, not expecting the situation to take the turn it did. “I witnessed it on my own, and though no one else but me did, it does not mean what I saw was not real! Who knows how close it will get to us? Who knows if it will stop not only at our game but turn us into its own?!”

If the air could somehow grow colder, it did in that moment. You, obviously, as well as the other nearly hundred people surrounding the man, had no idea what he was letting on about, but the sound of what he was saying plus his strained, clearly fearful tone was enough to put you on edge as well.

You felt your friend grip your wrist–you were sure she was suddenly fearful for her husband, who could have been in the way of whatever monstrosity this man claims to have seen. You weren’t sure you even wanted to know yourself.

“Nonsense!” Another elder walked into the circle and up to the man, gripping his shoulder suddenly and speaking to him closely, the words undecipherable. Your attention was diverted to the right, where the elder had come from, the sounds of hooves clopping and wheels churning over rock growing louder. The hunters had come back, and surely someone had filled the rest of the councilmen in on what was going on. Whether or not the townsfolk would also be filled in, remained the question.

“Everybody!” One of the hunters strode into the center, whom you recognized as their lead, bringing quiet amongst the curious whispering. “I apologize on the behalf of my team for invoking any sort of fear just now. We had a… peculiar encounter on our journey today. With market approaching, the stress of needing a hefty catch along with the preparation of rationing for the hibernating months takes a toll on all of us, some more than others.” He projected his voice with ease, breath coming off in plumes of translucent steam. The scene was entirely chiaroscuro from the rapidly dimming sky and the square lamps up above. “A quick dash by a wolf may scare some of us if we did not see the beast to begin with. Rest assured, we have returned unharmed, and the market will commence this upcoming weekend with enough game for each family’s share. Goodnight!”

Though a few patrons on the outside of the circle began to disperse, you could see that many did not want to, as drama such as what just transpired was not common in this village. There were no liars, or dramatics, and if there were, it was taken care of so fast that news never got its chance to travel to you. The crowd thinned, but you and your friend stayed put, watching the wagons roll in with slumped deer, hanging rabbits and flayed birds. You felt her grip loosen when her husband sat atop his own wagon now rolling in behind the rest, but you were watching the silent scene happening beyond the newcomers.

The man who had drawn the crowd was speaking, in what looked to be a rather tense manner, to the man who addressed the audience. Speaking to him as if he betrayed his word, as if he were calling him a fool, or a liar. Whatever was being exchanged between the two was not that of civil camaraderie, but something eager to be settled and swept away. Whatever the intended goal of the man's words to dispel the crowd were, you knew the effect was opposite on you and many others standing around. You knew you would be thinking about it until the market has come and gone, and possibly until whatever threat was out there was defeated.

–

Dark corners of your house had you jumping like never before, even when you could walk through it with a blindfold on, and backwards.

Admittedly, though being half-heartedly reassured that what he saw out there was nothing more than an unfortunately large wolf, your aquaintance’s husband was kind with his intentions in not spreading a mass hysteria, which he claimed was going to happen if no one tried to counter the claim made in the square the night prior.

The crowd dispersed not too long after that, and after hearing that you were offering up your own portion of meat to share with a family of five, her husband insisted you kept it for yourself, and you joined them for a cut of fresh venison that he just secured that day.

Though you were now fed for the night and had the animal to spare for the next few, it did you little good in resting your growing worries about a potential danger outside of the town. You knew the men go far to hunt, further each day to find greater populations, but who knew how fast it was? Who knew how strongly it would be drawn to a whole commune of people? Was it carnivorous? Was it big enough to eat a human? Ravage a whole town?

You knew these worries were now getting out of hand–if this were the case, hunting season for the market was about to end and every man willing to kill an animal would be at every corner of the town. But whatever was living in the forest was well adapted to roaming in the dark…

You slept after a while, only after making sure multiple times that the door was locked and the windows bolted tightly. Your heart rate increased at the squeaking floorboards, sounds you were well accustomed to, sounds that now felt like they were intrusions. You now wish you had not gone out to your home that night, if you hadn’t heard this yourself, if you only heard of what went down from someone else, you would have been much more comfortable. But having been there, having heard his tone, your skin would not settle.

And truth be told, you believed what he claimed. Granted, what he was claiming was very vague, and no one had anything better to clear it, but it took a very skilled trickster to sound that convincing. You knew it was no lie.

Knowing there was no one else to turn to for this, though, you had to live as if that is exactly what it was. A deception, an illusion, a truly unfortunate mistake. What else?

This is what you repeated to yourself all day. An emergency would have been declared by now, and the men went out hunting at dawn like they always did during this season. Things were fine. It would be taken care of, you had to believe it.

The next day brought the same as yesterday, minus the showcase. The men left once again for hunting, and you were popping around the square finding neighbors to help them prepare for either their market stall or their rations for the freeze. The incident was mostly off of your mind while you stayed busy, but it was brought back to the forefront once again when the horses pulled their wagons in much too early, and the men rounded the square in what looked to be a secret meeting.

Like the previous day, minus the crowd, everyone around the town fulfilling their own chores stopped and stared, knowing this was out of the ordinary for any hunting season. There would be no reason for the men to return early, and there was a next-to-zero chance that there was no game frotting about in the forest.

You grew cold, a sensation unrelated to the weather surrounding you, the type of cold that traveled through your veins and wrapped around your bones. You recalled what your friend had said over the vegetables yesterday, “I am worried… He’s told me there’s oddly less game this year than the previous few.”

Could that be the issue at hand? Were there really no animals left to catch? Couldn’t be… this had never happened, and you knew the whole commune was conscious about their meat intake, giving the populations the whole year to recover their numbers, and the men chose different cardinal directions to travel each season; it seemed impossible. And yet, why were they back with empty carriages?

You spotted your friend’s husband among the men, and felt a surge in your curiosity. You gently parted from the mother you were helping to carry in grain and stalked over, your footsteps becoming quicker with each strike to the ground.

You called out to him and he turned, not being a part of the group conspiring with the councilmen.

“What is it? This can’t be good.” Your breath was ragged from your pace in the biting weather. That, and the addition of anxiously waiting for the answer.

He shook his head and looked around. “I… I don’t know what I can say. There was…” He paused for a moment longer than needed. You nearly shoved him to get it out. “A beast.”

You would have gasped had the air not stung your windpipe. The shock felt like one of the horses had slammed right into you, and yet, you felt as if you knew this would be the answer all along. You believed the man yesterday, no one here had any good reason to lie about the safety of the home he resided in. The thought of that was absurd.

“There was another encounter by multiple of us this morning, it ran off very quickly, but there was carnage.” This time you really did gasp, but he raised a hand to cut off any interjections. “No men down, it was eating deer. But we walked around the area it was found once it put acres between itself and us, and there were carcasses everywhere. It was eating what we could be eating. That is what has been affecting our numbers.”

And thus, your friend was right. He must have been seeing this all winter so far to clue her in on his personal conspiracy, and here it was being proven true. A skilled hunter he was, he would surely notice when count was declining.

“What was it?”

He was silent for even longer this time, and you were unsure what to make of it. Once he spoke, it was not words you were expecting to hear.

“It was no wolf. Please, don’t spread it, I’m sure they will come up with some creature to tell everyone, but, I trust you’ll keep my word. It was uncanny. Quadrupedal like wolf, fur standing on end down its back, muzzle black and leather with blood over its body, but it ran like a man. It scaled trees with inches long claws, it had no howl of a wolf, it was so deep, an octave no human could dream of reaching. I felt it in my chest. My eardrums were going to rupture, I was sure of it.”

You stood still, sure your body had turned to stone. There was no way the words he was speaking were true, but the situation holds solid here as well: why would he lie? This man knew you well, you were always round their house to share meals and extend help, he wouldn’t think about putting an irrational fear into you. It made no sense. Yet, that meant this is truly what he had seen…

“Do not say a word… I know they will tell the town something else but someone must know what I have seen. You understand…”

You did understand, after all, how could he burden his wife with the knowledge of what he had seen? She would become eternally frightened, she would never let her children outside, possibly never want him to partake in a hunt again. You decided to bear this weight with him, it was the least you figured you could do.

“We crossed a squadron of men from another town, out east. We told them we were having some… trouble. They confided in us the same. They did not give away any details but I’m sure that they saw the same creature. Anyway… they offered to help us hunt it down. They should be arriving shortly.” He paused again and looked around. The group of men was now thinning, and you saw many looked to be in distress. You did not know what you could do for them, or for the safety of the community. “It’s safe right now while we are all here, but once we depart again go right back inside, you know.” He stalked away from you to join the rest of the men still discussing with one another. You sighed.

You felt no better knowing this now, obviously; you had to move with caution and you could not take any chances. You didn’t often leave your home during the winter once the sun had set but now you must be certain to remember it. This would be a tough winter, and you hoped the hunters would have it taken care of immediately.

In no world did you think such a beast would exist. You weren’t even sure what to call it, how to describe it. The closest word, without having seen this cosmic beast, was werewolf; you knew there were some legends of werewolves existing within this region, but these are oral tales passed down to scare children into staying in their houses at night and to not run off too far during the day. Tales made to keep them obedient, they were not supposed to be warnings.

Swallowing the lump of fear now present in your chest, you returned to your duties, saying not much at all when asked what was going on. You kept your word, and besides, who would believe you?

Working away the thoughts, they were once again drawn back to the present when the sound of heavy footfall echoed from a trail between town buildings. You looked up and waited for the sound to grow closer. The hunters all convened at the moment they heard it as well, and there entered another 20 or so men from what you assumed was the eastern town that he had been telling you about. They didn’t look much different from the men of your village, save for their primary choice of hide was a deeper brown than your town’s standard tan.

You felt a slight weight off your shoulders at the sight of all of the men, equipped with their individual weapons slung across their shoulders, but you worried for their safety once they were set out on their mission to defeat the beast.

More talking and strategizing ensued, and you stood to the side to watch them sort themselves out into small groups, presumably to cover area faster. While scanning the tableau, your eye caught a sight of your friend off to the side, two of her children huddled behind her large skirt. You padded over to them.

Once you approached, speaking in a hushed tone, you addressed her, “This is the state of things then?”

She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe it. If they find nothing until the market, most of the catch from yesterday will be ours. We don’t even know how much we will be able to trade off. Not like this…” You turned to look back at the men. There were five groups now, and one was making their way over to where the two, or four, of you stood. Her husband was at the front.

They spoke together softly for a moment, and you took the time to discreetly survey the rest of the men who followed him over.

Again, they all looked similar to your eyes; similar stature, and dress, and they resembled those of your own village as well. You figured that luck was somewhere among the indescribable chaos they witnessed to have run into reinforcements.

He started talking to you, and you noticed a few of your other neighbors were standing by. He was introducing them all by first name and their village. All standard, you expected this if there were going to be nearby.

There were 6 men to this group total, four of them being strangers. “You’ll see us around, so don't hesitate to also ask for our help,” One of them spoke, voice much deeper than the man you were familiar with. “We are stronger as a unit.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, holding in the cold, and also seeking some inner comfort, as the severity of the situation was starting to dawn.

You were about to walk away and lock up at home when a voice interrupted, “Excuse me. I am late… I apologize. I have been added to your group.”

The group of men parted as they turned around to stare at the newcomer, who you could only assume was someone from their village. They were absurdly quiet for the first moment, letting him take the spotlight from the others.

This man looked nothing like an ordinary villager.

While the men surrounding you were equipped with thick hide jackets lined with fur for warmth and the most contrast to be seen on them was the white trim to their dark hair, this man stood out and would possibly never blend in. He had a deep blue jacket, buttoned and belted together, looking like it awfully lacked in layers, yet he gave no sign of being cold at all. His black pants were accessorized with pockets up and down both legs, and he wore black leather boots, the kind you only saw in mainland areas much further south. He did not get any of this dress from here, nor within hundreds of miles from anywhere around here.

After scrutinizing his wardrobe, you raised your eyes to await the next words he spoke. Yet, the looks of his face solidified the fact that this man was not only not a villager, he was certainly no native to these areas.

His hair, compared to everyone’s around, was a shocking deep blonde, a hair color you hadn’t seen in years, and had only seen on young children. He was uncharacteristically clean, no signs of having been hunting at all this day, and while most men chose to sport thick facial hair for weather protection, only the light skin and harsh contours of his face were present. And his eyes… those bright blue eyes…

They locked on yours. Heat seared through your veins, the rings of your vision fuzzed, the sky whited out, blood was racing into your head then back out, a wave of dizziness hit you at full force, your fingers went numb then regained feeling all at once, your chest constricted, your knees were about to give out–then he looked away. The chill of the winter returned. You were standing on solid ground.

You were breathless. No one seemed to notice any shift in the atmosphere, except for you. Your hands clutched your jacket even tighter.

“Where are you coming from? I know of no towns that look like… not us.” One of the men said, avoiding the obvious state that he was clearly not local.

“No, I am not from here. I am from much further north. I was passing by and heard word that there was a hunt that needed assistance and… I have no further pressing issues. I am dedicating myself to your cause. My name is Leon.”

Voice like butter, it slid through your ears and caressed your brain, Leon stood with a confidence unknown to you. He held himself as if he were the biggest man in the town and to you, it appeared he was, standing at least 3 inches or more above everyone in this commune. This man was an enigma. Leon was a complete mystery to behold.

“Well,” Your friend’s husband spoke from next to you, making you jump slightly, forgetting he was even involved with this. “We are glad to have you then, Leon. We hope to have this under control within the next few days, we need to keep our market tradition alive.” He clapped the other men on the back and they huddled once again, ready to take off until evening.

You breathed in deeply, not feeling any pain you may have expected. You figured you were suddenly feeling down, from what, who knew, but you were not well. You turned to your friend.

“I… I am not feeling too well, I think I am going to go for the night. I would stay, but I don’t think I should.” Your voice felt feeble, but she seemed to detect no indifference.

“Oh, are you sure? I can bring you what we have left, don’t stress yourself.”

You shook your head. “No, no, don’t worry about me, I have plenty. I need to lay down. Thank you, though.” With a nod from her, you turned your back on her and speed walked across the square, ducking through all of the patrons standing around just as confused as you felt earlier. There was still confusion, but for an entirely different reason.

Who was Leon? There was no way he was simply passing through from a village up north, which introduced more confusion into the equation, because it certainly did not explain the dress. Why would he be dressed for much higher temperature climates up north? There was just no reason…

And those sensations… they were unexplainable to you, yet you had to write them off as coincidence of timing, the shock of seeing the newcomer, some other third party element that caused you to take ill. There was no other way to explain it. It was a mix of unfortunate timing, and he was another man helping the search to keep the grounds safe. Just another man.

But that face was persistent behind your eyelids.

–

The men set out on the hunt officially the next day.

They spent the previous night mapping out routes and directions that each of them would take to avoid overlap and to cover as much area as possible. Your friend came by your house that morning to check on you; she relayed the information her husband had told her later that night, and you felt at least relieved that they were getting out there.

That night you were restless, you tossed and turned and were certain that you got little to no sleep at all. Your body wanted the rest so bad, but your mind would not let you.

You kept feeling the shock of connecting your gaze with Leon’s. You felt like you were at the edge of a nightmare every time you started to drift, and terrified to wake up in one, your mind subconsciously refused. You wanted to sleep, but you knew you could not sleep the day away. Maybe, you supposed, hard work today will put you to sleep tonight.

You finally brought that rabbit up that you had been delivered a few days ago. After the family insisted that you kept it while you shared some of their venison with them, you put it in the underground storage, where it was chilled enough to preserve, yet not freeze. You laid it on the counter, pleased to see you could still save the fur. Your gaze lingered on it.

Its eyes were closed. There were four puncture marks around the head and neck, they didn’t bleed too much. It looked as if it were just sleeping; the position did not suggest any signs of rigor mortis. Eating animals and having to skin them never bothered you–it was how you were raised. Putting too much thought behind it makes things unstable, you begin to question morals, you begin to question the world, but you supposed that was the inherent position of man on Earth.

Who had given you this rabbit? That had still gone unanswered, and you weren’t sure you would ever find out. Nonetheless, you were not going to run in circles to find the mystery gifter when you were hungry, and there was fresh meat on the table for dinner.

You were seated to eat dinner alone after a day of doing last minute preparation before the winter market. It was slated to happen in two days, you were helping mothers around the square fill their grain portions and make room in their storage chests. You did all of this for yourself in between, but as you’ve said to your friend multiple times before, you were only one person, and you could ration it should you need to.

You made the whole rabbit. It was small enough, and you could eat the other half tomorrow. It would cool down just fine in the underground storage overnight.

The candlelight on your table flickered. You were suddenly afraid of it going dark, you had to have your matches nearby in case of this happening. You already knew you would be caged with fear, unable to move, any sense of navigation in the dark stripped from you.

Putting the rabbit in a cloth wrap, you placed it into your underground storage, making a mental note to bring it up in the morning to prevent it from freezing through. You extinguished the candles, but not before setting a small fire in the hearth, enough wood inside to provide you with light until you were able to fall asleep, but nothing too big to risk a hazard.

You hoped with food in you and a fire going slowly would ease you off to sleep, and let you rest thoroughly this time–it was everything but.

Your eyes shot open. You faced the dark, unable to gather your bearings for a moment. You pushed yourself up onto your elbows, feeling the pinch of pine needles under your clothing. You looked down, desperate to figure out the situation. Hearing the wind howl and not feeling the warmth that your home would be providing you, your vision returned slowly, and your mind pieced it all together.

You were in a forest. Where exactly, you could not tell. You did not often journey into the forest, there was no reason for you to be out there. This aside, out there you were, and you had to find a way back.

Your legs were unsturdy, but you forced them in place, holding your balance upright as you took weary steps over the foliage. The wind occasionally whipped your face and you squinted to avoid it, eyes getting teary and fingers growing numb.

All around you in each cardinal direction was nothing but the dark blanket of night and more trees. You could see the tips of leaves up on the canopy painted by moonlight, and now that you adjusted to the dimness, she was your guidance.

The lack of sound should have been comforting, yet you found it ultimately disturbing. There should be more life around you, yet among the vast acres of wildlife, you were somehow the only one making any noise, the only one to exist here. It was wrong. Something was deeply wrong.

A twig snapping caught your attention. You held your breath in a silent gasp and turned, trying to source the cause. You held as still as the wind would render you, but fear was your driving force, and you became an impenetrable wall while facing the danger.

Seeing nothing and hearing no more, you turned, ready to continue your trek. Mere seconds after you took another step, yet another branch snap rang out, this time, it was only a handful of paces in front of you. Your ears were not deceiving you, you knew this was not a sound that you had produced, meaning there was something, someone else out there. They could see you, no doubt about it, yet you were blind to them.

Your body refused to cooperate. You could not take any more steps forward despite possibly being in direct vicinity of the danger. As much force as you applied, your limbs never gave way, and you were rooted to the ground, eyes peeled on the ages old trees in front of you, watching as the darkness uncovered itself.

A shadowy mist separated itself from the trees. It hung, suspended in midair, not making any attempts to move, until after a few seconds, it began to evolve, tendrils of smoke solidifying into body parts, horridly long body parts and skin that shone under the moonlight, a sheen to it that was not possible for any human to achieve. Ice blue eyes pierced the vast emptiness, and as you stared into them, for whatever creature they belonged to began to take shape. You witnessed in your peripherals arms and legs, bent to support the hunched body on the ground, muscles undulating and flexing under tightly pulled skin, fur sprouting from its back, claws digging into the dirt, teeth shining like stars from a face as black as the void. It was set on you. There was no outrunning this cosmic beast.

It took no steps forward, yet you felt it’s spirit enter your proximity like a snake tightening on its prey. Your body started to tremble, tears streaking down your face, unblinking, expressionless, save for your mouth slightly agape in a silent gasp. You felt it get closer, but it physically remained, your chest tightened, and you felt the pressure on your skin. Its eyes were glowing white, saliva pooling off of its teeth, its jaw unhinged, and your brain went blank, ears ringing from the deep, droning growl it emitted. It was not felt only with your head, but your chest vibrated, your eyes blurred, you fell to your knees.

You opened your mouth finally in a blood curdling scream.

With a gasp that wracked your whole body, you shot up, hands gripping the fabric underneath you as you stared up at the dark ceiling.

A nightmare.

You sat still, allowing your heart to steady and slowing your breath down, taking a moment to reground yourself. Nothing of what you just saw was real.

You slowly lowered yourself back down onto your bed, listening to the rustle of the blanket and the distant crackle of the dying fire. As much as you told yourself it was just a dream, the feeling it left behind was more real than you had ever felt.

You jumped again when there was a sudden series of knocks on your front door.

You bolted upright again, staring out into the dark in the direction of the door. Whoever was standing outside was not knocking again, but you had a feeling that they were not walking away when you did not answer. Though you were afraid in this moment, there was no reason you shouldn’t trust a neighbor coming to you at this time. It could be dire. You had to find out.

You lifted yourself out of bed and wrapped a light blanket around your shoulders. The fire was nearly out now, and you paused to throw another log onto it, but made that a task for after you helped who was at your door.

Your hand hovered over the doorknob, making second guesses, wondering if you should just turn around and pretend you did not hear it. But that is not how things operated in this town–everyone helped everyone.

You twisted the knob and slowly opened the door, only enough to peek your face through and observe who was standing at the doorstep.

Your brow furrowed immediately when you deduced who it was. You locked eyes, and you expected the wave of intense emotion that came with it, but nothing happened. You spoke.

“Can I help you?”

He nodded curtly. “I am sorry to have woken you. I got a tad distracted on hunt today, spent a little too long down at the parlor… I don’t have anywhere to stay for tonight. If you had the room… but please don’t hesitate to close the door on me should you feel so inclined. I understand this situation I am putting you in.”

You blinked at him. You opened the door a bit more. “You… you aren’t staying at the inn?”

He looked to his left in the direction of the square. You supposed, putting a mental puzzle together right after you said it, that the inn was full from the other villagers aiding you during this time. “No vacancy.” As expected.

You stared at him for a moment longer. A breeze hit your face, and you shuddered. You figured he was faring much worse wandering outside in this weather.

“Okay… I have a mat I can pull out by the fire. I need to throw more wood onto it.” You swung the door open fully, and he stepped over the threshold. Hanging his jacket and outerwear on the hooks, you felt his eyes follow you as you opened your wardrobe and unrolled the spare mat you had. You suddenly felt pressure to perform in your own home. Shaking your head, you threw two small logs onto the fire and waited for it to come to life.

“Again, I am sorry to wake you. You know, your comrade has spoken of you highly, and I figure a full house such as his would not have kindly taken me in at this time.” You turned to look at him, having followed you to the fire, taking a seat on the floor on top of the mat. The angles of his face created harsh shadows under his brow bone. He looked unscathed. Hadn’t he been outside all day?

“It’s alright, I… I had just woken up anyway. Don’t sleep fully through the night sometimes.” He nodded, but did not speak. You poked the last log fully into the embers for it to ignite, warming the house for a few hours longer. “This season is more stress than it usually is, I imagine that has a lot to do with it.”

“Yes, I can tell many of these men are unsure about how to conduct themselves right now. I can’t say I blame them though. I’m sorry, my name is Leon, by the way, I should have started with that before asking for your hospitality.”

You nodded. “Yes, Leon, I remember,” You spoke wistfully. “How did you get to be wandering this late at night? Everything should have closed hours ago if I know what time it is.” He blinked slowly at you, no expressions on his face.

“I am much accustomed to the darkness. I like to spend some of my time wandering around and seeing what is open, where I can go, and if that results in nothing for me, then I turn and leave. But, I came here for a reason and I cannot abandon the cause that I volunteered to contribute to, and it seems the inn I had last spent time in was already housing those from the east who are doing the same. I came from there. They had a small parlor, but I was forced out once their latest hour of operation came.” Leon shrugged. “And as I said, I recall having heard the introductions of those who live nearby. My first gamble paid off.”

You said nothing to this. His voice was sliding through your head like silk, and his face moved as if it were a statue enchanted. His aura was unlike any other you have encountered, and you found yourself wondering if this is what people from farther regions were truly like, or if there was something about him that no other could replicate.

“Well, I have a half of a rabbit left that I ate for supper if you are hungry. I would rather it get eaten while it has just recently been cooked.”

He looked over to the kitchen, shrouded in shadow. Pieces of his hair stuck together in blades of blonde, yet it looked purposefully tousled and cleaned. The bare white tunic he wore was clearly too light for the winter weather, yet he seemed unbothered by it.

“I would be lying if I said rabbit weren’t my favorite, but I will decline. I am fair off for the time being. I can snatch one up tomorrow.” He scooted himself back so he was resting against the wall, still facing the fire, where you were sitting. The heat of it was licking your skin now, lulling you back into a drowsy state. As much as you wanted to return to the loft bed to sleep, you couldn’t abandon company.

“So, where do you come from Leon? I remember you saying north but… I have not encountered any northerners for quite some time, I honestly forgot there was anyone up there at all.”

He shrugged again. Before he started talking, you moved from the fire, fearing the heat may put you back to sleep right where you sat. “I do come from the north, but I have always been a roamer. I have visited various villages and small cities, anything that the forest wraps around. I explore. I lend my help when needed.”

“You’re nomadic? How is that possible in the weather the north gets?”

He rolled his head to the side from where it was resting on the wall. His face was painted orange. “I have learned to adapt. I much prefer living that way.”

You stared again, aware that he was aware of how long you were looking at him. Every answer he gave only puzzled you more. “It doesn’t seem possible.”

He quirked his mouth in a small smirk. You ignored the sudden heat surge from the fire that was surely not growing any larger. “I find a way to make everything possible.”

A spell of silence fell over you. You could feel the sleep creeping back under your eyelids, and wanted to return to the loft.

“Do you need anything else? I’m sorry I don’t prepare for visitors too often…” Leon had closed his eyes, hands wrapped around the blanket off of your small sofa and a spare pillow.

He shook his head slightly. “It is more than enough, I can’t come into your home at dead of night and demand more than you’ve given me. It is plenty for me to be ready to set out with them in the morning.”

You nodded your head and went to stand. Before you even made it a few paces away from him, you turned again, a sudden fear overcoming you.

“Do you think you’ll be able to catch… it? It’s been driving me crazy, it feels. It’s making my mind reel.”

He turned his head and looked over at you now, half of his face hidden in shadow. A few pieces of his yellow hair fell onto his forehead. “I do believe so. If there is anything to catch out there at all.”

Your brow scrunched. “Do you believe there is nothing out there?”

He sighed. The light made the rise and fall of his chest visible. You watched the way his shirt tightened around his torso with the movement. “I think the case is, more often than not, that one person spreads a moment of hysteria and it catches on. There might be something out there, there might not.”

You recall the conversation you had had with your friend’s husband the other day. He had seen it himself, and you knew he wouldn’t lie. Were Leon’s experiences the only premonition he was speaking from? You could only assume that was the case with him. But as to how he could have been nomadic his whole life and never come across a wicked beast… you couldn’t imagine the likelihood of that scenario.

“I feel that the fear that man held was not fake when he told us all what he saw… I believe him.”

Leon stared at you. The fire glinted in his eyes. They looked impossibly dark and deep from where you were standing. “What do you think it was out there?”

You breathed in and cast your gaze down. You honestly were not sure what you believed. Your logical mind, and the mind that wanted to keep everyone safe, told yourself that it was a wolf. A large wolf that was not afraid of people. But the mind of yours that likes to wander is a different story.

“I think… I think there is an animal. And it is getting closer. So, it makes me worried.” Leon nodded as you spoke, but he offered no insight. “There’s rumors.”

“Rumors? Spread by the men on the hunt or the children eager for more legends to pass on?” You could hear the smirk in Leon’s voice without needing to look up. It made you clench your jaw.

“Rumors that it is otherworldly.” You shrugged. “Who am I to deny the existence of that which I cannot claim to have proof of it not?” You looked up again to Leon, who also had his eyes cast down. A chill washed over you despite the fire still burning. “Could be a werewolf.”

Leon’s eyes snapped up at that. Your head seared with a sudden migraine spike, and your vision went blurry. Your muscles and organs felt ice cold yet your skin burned, both sensations merging to keep you rooted to the spot. All the air left your lungs, and your throat went dry. You felt your knees grow weaker until they could no longer bear your weight, and you registered the sound of your body hitting the floor, but felt none of the pain from the impact. Your vision went black.

When you awoke again, the sun was peeking over the horizon and you were in your bed. Leon was not in the house.

–

You carried an air of confusion with you for the better part of the day. You had not seen Leon once since he left your house, and the only evidence left behind that you knew he was there for sure was the spare mat out on the floor, the blanket folded neatly and the pillow stacked on top of it. You didn’t hear him leave, but then again, you don’t remember going upstairs at all.

Did you black out? Have a fainting spell? That could be the only explanation–what else could you attribute it to? This was a new experience for you, as you had never had any issues like this before with your health (that you knew of) and had no past encounters that would offer you any sort of explanation other than a sudden bout of fainting. You were at least glad that Leon was there; he was the only person around to have put you back into your bed, unless you really had woken up and lost your memory of it.

And Leon–you could barely even remember the conversation happening when you fainted in the middle of it. Though you were not this kind of person and always think the better of everyone, you mind did of course do a mental checklist of everything that could have been blamed on Leon. You drank nothing and ate nothing while he was in the house. You offered him half your rabbit, but he declined. You kept your eyes on him at all times while he was in the house, save for the obvious part when you were unconscious, and he left the house in no state of disarray when you woke. Your body felt intact and unharmed, and you mentally felt comfortable with the idea that he simply carried you back to your bed, and hopefully returned downstairs. You hated that train of thought, but you had to cover all bases.

Today was the final day before the market. There was a group of men going out to finish a hunt while the rest of those who usually go out were split up to finish coverage looking for the wild animal that some had seen. You felt increasingly nervous when you thought about this hunt, taking into account what your friend’s husband had told you he had seen. It sounded like an alien. That thought terrified you, knowing something was roaming about that you had no relation to, no knowledge of its existence, and not a clue at all on what it could do to you or the others around. A true monster.

You stopped short, having been struck with the memories from last night. Leon arriving at your house asking for shelter was not the only odd thing that happened–you had a nightmare.

You rarely dreamed at all, nevermind having a nightmare. You can vividly recall what transpired now, though, as you think back on it. You remember being in the woods alone; cold and dark and the infinite stretch of trees the only other things out there with you. And that beast… it felt far too real for you to be comfortable with.

The image of it was now seared into your brain, and every noise coming from the town made you jump. Was this what was out there? Was that the monster to behold? If that answer was yes… you decided you would be better off if you didn’t know.

A shouting was heard from across the square. Through the clearing of the trees, you saw a wagon being pulled in. You were brought back to a state of confusion once more at seeing this, knowing it was much too early for anyone to return. You stalked closer to where it would be unloaded, only growing more worried and anxious when you saw there was no game upon it at all, but rather, a body.

You gasped and stopped walking, instinctively reaching out to those walking next to you to stop them from seeing as well. You heard more gasps and whispers, felt others grabbing onto you and you grabbed back for support. You watched as they lifted a man from the back of the wagon, looking utterly pale, limbs swinging back and forth as he was carried to a makeshift gurney that someone had rushed out. You felt at a loss for breath. What had happened on this hunt that caused a lost life?

Some people beside you started shouting to those coming in from the hunt. Asking questions on what had happened, who else was hurt and lost, was anyone coming back at all, and was it the wolf that had done this.

One of the men walked closer, chatting with a man from the council. He was speaking loud enough, purposefully, to let everyone know what had happened.

“We saw it, and we were close to taking it down. We had our rifles pointed and ready, and… by god, I don’t know, but we were ready and suddenly we lost track of where it went. I blinked and everything disappeared.” More whispers broke out from next to you, you almost turned and shushed them so you could hear. “It popped up again through the trees, running, someone shot and we thought it hit. It took a hit on the side of its head, its ear… but it kept going, kept running, then it got to one of our men somehow.” He shook his head. “It… it got his neck, and he bled out so fast, he…” He brought his hand up to swipe at his chin, clearly in distress from seeing one of his men go down. You closed your eyes, you could not stomach to listen anymore.

You turned and made haste back to your home. You wanted to be inside suddenly, safe from the outside. You would go seek the comfort of your friend, but you knew you would have to put on a face not to worry her children. You did not have that energy in you right now, you needed to be alone.

You had hoped for positive news on the return of the men, but hearing this, you knew nothing good could come out of their mouths next. If whatever was out there was taking down the men that were sent to protect those who live within these communities' walls, then who is to say how safe anyone inside is now…

Your mind was reeling as you shut yourself into your home. You found yourself no longer wanting to be outside, no longer wanting to help out of your own selflessness due to the fear of that being the last time you would help anyone, or worse, witness someone else’s unfortunate end to their destiny. The mess this has become was too much for you to swallow. You were nearly drowning in your fear.

You didn’t move positions all night, watching the sky go from a dimly lit gray to a dark one, then deep navy, then black. You weren’t sure what time it was, but you had no intention of moving. Emotion gripped your stomach, making you unable to eat, not wanting to, not wanting to simply get up.

The fire was dying slowly, and the only motivator for you to move right now was the threat of being in the dark. You pushed yourself up off the mat you had not yet put away to throw another couple of logs on the fire. You stared, hunched, as they began to catch fire and watched as their layers were peeled back by the flames, as the bark curled and crumbled to ash, and your face was basked in intense heat that you almost couldn’t free yourself from.

Deep in a trance, you were startled when a series of knocks sounded at the door. Your head whipped in the direction of the sound, blood flowing like a rushing river, knowing who would be behind the door but still being afraid to make the move and let him in.

Your brain was yelling at you to get up and move, to be a good person, the person you were, but something inside of you was still terrified. Terrified that if you let him in, the beast would sneak in with him.

You finally stood, deciding to do the right thing, and perhaps, having some company below you while you slept might ease the worry.

You grasped the cold door handle and turned slowly. Through the light cast from the fire, a sliver of his face was illuminated. Part of his eye was clear under the shadow from his brow, and he looked to be glistening in what you guessed was sweat, but you couldn’t imagine how he could be sweating in this weather. Strands of hair were falling over his face. He looked menacing in this moment, yet he waited for your invitation to even speak first.

“You’re here again.” You spoke in a low whisper, knowing he could hear with the silent world around you.

“You’re awake to greet me again,” Leon’s voice was a low rumble, clenching your heart with emotion, untangling the strings of fear in your ribcage. “I fear I must ask for safety from you once more. It is… the same situation as yesterday with none of the outsiders leaving your grounds yet.”

You breathed in, feeling the cold air of the outdoors fill your lungs. It cleared your head a little bit. Last night was fine, it was you lending a hand to someone who needed it and it did you no harm. There was no reason to turn Leon down this time.

“Sure. I still have your setup by the fire.”

Swinging the door open let in a rush of cold air, but you welcomed it for a moment, feeling yourself calm down from the heat of the house and the mental mess you have been creating. Leon shed his jacket and boots and walked himself over to the mat on the floor, collapsing into a barely sitting position, resting his upper body on the wall behind him. From where you stood in the kitchen after closing and locking up the door, you could see his shirt was almost soaked through.

You swallowed, carefully studying the curves of his arms and the way his back flexed to accommodate his new position, head tilted and exposing the flesh of his neck to you, oranges and yellows dancing over the sheen on his skin, bringing it to life. You took careful steps over, taking a seat by the fire once more.

“Did I wake you again?” His voice was low and raspy, and without moving your eyes from the floor, focusing on nothing, you knew he was looking at you.

“No,” You shook your head. “I was already awake.”

He hummed. “Another nightmare?” He questioned. You swallowed, not liking the unwelcome recollection of that dream, trying to focus on the present and the tangible person in front of you, not the wretched beast of your darkest dreams. Anything to be distracted from… everything.

Your breath caught in your throat at once, however, upon a dawning realization: Leon should not know about the nightmare.

You suddenly shot your gaze upward, ready to question him, when your thoughts completely derailed.

You gasped. “Leon! Your ear… you’re bleeding…” You stood up and ran to the kitchen, wetting a rag in your basin. Wringing it out, dripping on the way over, you pressed it to the right side of Leon’s head, taking his face in your other free hand. He did not resist, rather he let you pamper him; he seemed to not care about the dripping and drying blood on his face and clothes.

You cleaned his skin to a degree, the wound still looked fresh, but it stopped dripping blood for now. The rag would have to be thrown away.

“How did this happen, Leon? Did you get hurt on the hunt?” You tried to wipe away some of the fresh blood from his shirt, but it merely smudged it. You sighed and stood, deciding to leave it, knowing he didn’t seem to care either way if he was covered in blood or not.

You heard him breathe in deeply. “You can say that.” You glanced back over your shoulder, growing a bit weary to see he was barely moving positions. It would be crazy from what looked to just be a flesh wound on his ear, but you hoped that luck would not have it so he would die in your home on you.

You walked back over to him and crouched slowly again, still by the fire, but closer to him, in case of more blood emergencies. His skin was unnaturally shiny; you could tell he was wet, but the fire was not nearly strong enough for it to be sweat.

“Is everything alright? You seem ill, I think you should see the medic–”

“No, I’m fine.” He cut you off. His tone was much more stern than he had been with you just prior, and the night before. You watched the muscles in his throat contract as he gulped. He was clearly unwell, but you would not push it anymore. “It’s just been a long night. I should start listening to my body when it is telling me enough is enough.”

You nodded, holding yourself back from getting up and fetching all the blankets you had left in the house. Sweating this profusely while it is not nearly the correct weather for it could only mean a fever. But this was still a man you did not know well enough, and you did not want to push on any boundaries where you didn’t know where the line was.

“Leon…” You started gently. He turned his head to regard you. His gaze was as hot as the burning logs beside you. He said nothing, eyes urging you to continue. “I worry that you are unwell. Please tell me what I can do for you. Or… tell me what you would like me to do for you.”

He quirked a smile at this. You felt a rush of cold under your thick wardrobe. “I need you to stop worrying. I know I look ill but I give you my word that I will be just fine. I would have let you know if this was new for me… but I have seen it before.” He shook his head and turned away again. “I will be fine come morning.” He fell into silence again. You watched the veins in his neck dip and bob with the breaths and swallows he took, feeling torn between two distinct emotions inside of you, knowing one came from the humanitarian you were raised to be, and the other, a deep, twisted lust that you felt crawling back up from the grave you buried it in a long time ago.

The fact of the current, unfortunate, situation was this–Leon was a very attractive man. This you could not deny. No amount of strangeness between you two would make you blind to this fact. There was no arguing against saying this as a statement, this man was taller than any other man you saw daily, he was nearly twice their size as well. His face was carved of the smoothest marble, and the way his hair sat brought even more emotion than there already was to the deep inset of his brow bone. With his shirt dampened with sweat, it clung to the hills and valleys of his pectoral and abdominal muscles, and your eyes were glued. You felt a wave of guilt rise, knowing you were taking pleasure in your viewing when he was in such a state, but you could not look away. You just could not.

After what felt like long, agonizing seconds of admiring his build, your eyes drifted upward again to meet his, and you felt a wave of shame pass over as you realized he was already looking at you.

“So astonished by meeting someone like me?” He looked smug without so much as a hint of a smile, his blue eyes practically radiating in the firelight.

“I’ve never seen anyone like you around here.” You choked out, suddenly barely able to speak.

“No surprise there. There is no one else like me to come wandering by.” He barely moved as he spoke, save for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed raggedly. “I know no one here has seen someone like me before, in fact. It is all the same from years past when I came through the first time. It is like history is re-living itself.

“You’ve been here before?” You asked with mild shock, knowing no one has ever alluded to a mysterious traveller who has stopped by. Word would have gotten around no matter how long ago it was–even when you are greeted by others of villages far, they look much more similar to you than they do to Leon.

He stared at you for a moment longer before continuing. “Many, many years ago. Nothing has changed. Not that I would have expected it to, the method of living here has worked for decades so why alter it? Why come in and destroy a civilization like I’m stepping on an anthill just because it is in the way of the path I travel? I could have. I didn’t, though. It’s more fun to be the looming threat over the colony and lead a single ant or two astray, leaving the rest wondering if anything ever happened at all years down the line.”

You felt your body tense with each word he spoke. What was he saying? How had he been here before, long enough before to know decades of history about the commune? Not even you had that many years of life itself to be able to speak for.

This time, a grin spread on his face. You were confusing the emotions blooming inside of you again.

“I…” Chest constricting, you tried to talk through it. You could only muster a loud whisper. “I don’t understand.”

“How could you? It’s more than one person can bear witness to. The legends always have some concrete event to back them up.” He shifted, brows furrowed as if he were in pain. You felt yourself slightly less inclined to want to help him. The glow of the fire against his skin was turning him even more golden, it seemed like it was happening without help from the flames. “Still have that rabbit?”

You blinked, thrown off by the sudden change in conversation. “No, I ate it already. I am sorry if you wanted it.”

Leon shook his head in response to this. “No, I didn’t want it. Just curious. It was for you, not for you to share.”

You sat up straighter, leaning forward toward him only an inch. “The rabbit was from you?”

He breathed a laugh at this. “Well, who else do you think left it?”

You shook your head. “But… you weren't even here when that was left for me. You didn’t show up until nearly two days later. How?”

Leon sat forward to meet you. He was now inches away from your face, and while on the surface rippled a thin layer of fear, you were far braver than to back down in front of him. The swelling heat of emotion inside of you was enough for you to keep your stance. “I’ve been here. I am not new, and I never have been.” You stared in defiance at him, trying to untie whatever knot he was creating with his words. “I might be new to you, but these grounds are not new to me. You are my ants. I stand over you and watch how you behave in my shadow. Generations come and go from the anthill, but I am always outside watching how tall it gets. Waiting for it to collapse. Seeing how many ants can wander away before the whole colony is gone.”

You tried to shake your head, but you were rooted in place. His eyes burned a hole through you, and they almost unnaturally glowed. He took a deep breath in and rolled his head back, and you unabashedly watched the languid movement the skin of his throat made against the stretch.

“I… like to watch it and yet… I can’t help but play a game with them every once in a while.”

His eyes were back on yours now. His face showed no signs of discomfort, or any sort of illness it seemed he was sporting minutes ago. The shadows and contours of his face gave him a harsh look, and his stare felt like he knew everything about you. The longer you looked into them, the more you felt yourself unravel, the more unsteady you felt in your own body. A shock passed through you at once, and you were unsure if this was natural, or a phantom being taking control.

“Game?” You finally managed to get out.

He hummed, and you felt it in your core. “Joining in on a game of hide and seek, trying to find the one that won’t appear, yet the whole time, it is hiding right under their noses. They let it seek with them. Why would they think it hides among them?”

You did not like what he was insinuating with his words–you hoped you were misconstruing them, but you kept up rapidly, and made the connection all too easily.

You wanted to disbelieve, yet you said it yourself: Who are you to deny the existence of that which you have no proof of living? You have the proof now. He was in front of you.

Wanting to object to his words, you opened your mouth to shut down what he was saying, but you were left speechless. No matter how hard you tried to utter one word, the effort was useless. You felt a wave come over you again.

It felt as if the oxygen in the room had thinned. Now, not only could you not speak, but you could barely breathe. You began to feel dizzy, not sure if you were swaying in the spot you were sitting or truly falling back to the floor. Your vision blurred, and all of the harsh, strong lines defining Leon’s body from the rest of the scene went soft and fuzzy, but the irises of his eyes were a beacon through the fog. They never left your gaze.

You felt the pressure of a hand around your throat, but even through the rapidly unfocusing and refocusing of your vision, you could see Leon was not touching you. Despite this, the sensation never let up, and you felt it get tighter, warmer, and you heard yourself wheeze in a breath around the grasp.

“I must say… I appreciate the mind you had to not cast aside the outlandish ideas you have heard being thrown around regarding what was happening amongst your woods… it made it all too easy for me to take residence inside you.”

The voice, Leon’s voice, was being spoken inside your brain. Your ears were only registering the crackle of the fire, but the deep reverberation of his voice was bouncing around in your head, echoing within, opening your mind to a realm of new possibilities–ones you had previously assumed impossible.

The next time your vision cleared, it stayed that way, and you felt a wash of relief upon having your sight back. The relief was short lived, however, when as your consciousness recentered itself, Leon sent you falling backwards onto your floor with one swift push to your shoulder. He was quicker to reangle himself and send his hand flying to meet your head at the point it would have collided with the hardwood, and you could only gasp as you registered this happening all too slowly for your liking.

Your back was flush with the floor and Leon was hovering above you. You felt the back of his hand underneath your head, the cushion from the wood, and your skin felt alive from his gaze as if he were touching you with invisible hands a million times over. There was no longer firelight dancing on his face, he was swathed in darkness, turning the hollows of his eyes and contours of his cheekbones even darker. But still, his blue eyes emitted a soft glow.

“How easy to lure a rabbit into a false sense of security by standing still until it forgets it saw me. How easy it is to become a presence in the mind of those that had no armor to protect themselves against me in the first place.” This time, as Leon spoke to you outloud, the voice inside your head was still tumbling around in there, making him sound as if he were in too many places at once. You felt so scrutinized under his gaze, still feeling the edge of movement restriction around you, surely still the work of him somehow.

Making as stable eye contact as you could muster, your voice returns for seconds long enough for you to choke out, “If choosing to fight a battle with those that are helpless is how you conduct your strategy, I don’t think of you as worth any nobility we had to offer you.”

He lowered himself closer to your face with swiftness unseen by human capability. “When did I say I was anything of a nobleman?”

As if unleashed by his words, a sensation similar to a boa winding itself around its prey consumed your body. You struggled to breathe in again, back arching off the floor, feeling your torso meet with his as he still held himself above you, watching you obey his command. You tore at the edges of this invisible confine, eager to fight back and prove you were not so easily controlled as he seemed to have a hunch about.

He shook his head slowly above you, laughing in a low, tumbling, growl-like sound that nearly left your ears ringing. “Fight harder. Don’t put your walls up now when I am already inside.”

At this, you stuttered in your movement, trying to make it unnoticeable, but even after it happened you thought this was stupid, as he caught the very moment you faltered. He removed the hand that was pillowing your head and put it on your chest, pressing you back down onto the floor. It was impressively, and embarrassingly, easy for him to do so considering your own struggle against it. He kept his hand there, and whatever trance he had you under made you still at his touch. As much as you wanted to fight it, your body went completely unmoving under the pressure of one hand.

“Enough…” You rasped out. “Just take what you wanted from here and go. You took our animals and hurt our people, was that not enough?”

Leon smiled in your face. It was simultaneously horrid and mocking as it was suggestive and flirtatious. “I told you already. All I wanted was the game.” He leaned in closer once more, bringing his face into the crook of your neck. You felt his breath paint your skin, and you felt a trail of shivers race down your body at it. While you were fighting against his hold, you were also fighting to get closer to it. The hand that was pressing into your chest snaked upward, and you felt the chill of his fingertips creep up your throat and onto your chin, holding your jawline in between his thumb and forefinger, tilting your head to the side with the lightest of touches. You gasped at the movement, and your breath fluttered when his lips made contact. Your hands curled into fists at your side, inwardly wincing when you felt the pinch of needle-like teeth scraping the skin. His mouth came up to your ear, and the heat from his proximity filled your veins. “I am not leaving without the trophy.”

His teeth, sharp fangs like vampires, sunk into the tender flesh where your jaw connects to your skull, and you gasped, body finally able to move again, writhing against him on top of you, and it was as if he were injecting a venom into your bloodstream, you were hit with another wave of his mind control.

Any fear you had lingering turned to a burning lust. Dizziness ebbed and flowed throughout your limbs, the contact you had with Leon at any point of your bodies burned as if you touched a hot iron. Your hands were covered in pins and needles as they reached up and grabbed onto the thick bicep of the man over you, squeezing as hard as you could muster, but losing any feeling seconds later.

Leon detached himself from you and sat back on his knees; you tried to push yourself up to meet him but your body was utterly unresponsive. His lips were coated in your blood, a shade so dark you were stunned to assume it came from you at all. His eyes were shaded over completely, ice blue irises gave way to black voids, and visible blue veins spider-webbing across his neck and near his eyes. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, still soaked to the touch, and he glistened as he was backlit by the fire still burning, still heating you as if nothing were wrong.

He reached his hand out and grabbed your chin again, your eyes rolling back at the searing pleasure shooting through you at his mere touch. He tilted your head backward, and the lightheaded sensation returned. He held your face firmly rooted away from him, you were now completely turned away from him, left only the sensation of touch as he rooted his other hand up your leg from under your long skirt, settling himself in between your legs.

Your hand came up to wrap itself around his wrist, needing something to stabilize yourself as he brought himself lower upon you once more.

You felt him return to the side of your head. “The choice is yours. Will you be the trophy of my choosing or will you pick another to make the sacrifice?”

You breathed in as deeply as his trance would allow. Your vision continued to dart in and out, blinking feeling like a process that took whole minutes rather than seconds. Your hand slowly moved its way up his forearm, feeling the flex in the muscle as a response to your touch. That alone solidified it, him reacting to your actions below him was enough.

“It will be me.” Your words came out closer to puffs of air rather than a sound, but the clarity of the delivery was not what Leon was concerned with. “It must be.”

He hummed, turning into an almost carnal growl, before transforming into a deep bass you felt in your chest, making you feel as if your ears were sure to rupture. Your whole body vibrated along with his call, both of your hands clawed upward in an attempt to grasp onto any part of him. They found purchase on the frail cloth of his shirt, ripping holes you knew he was surely not to care about as you pulled him closer. He obeyed, and you felt the prick of his teeth on your neck once more as the weight of his body crashed on top of yours, feeding delicious pleasure when he ground himself into you, locking you in a dance of lust tinged with fear as you needed him closer, needed to feel him in every regard.

The hands of his that were trailing up your skirt ripped apart with a swift motion the thin leggings you had under to sleep in for warmth, feeling the cool air grace your skin as you were now burning from the physical heat and from the heat within. You felt his tongue trace patterns across your throat, and you almost thought he had ripped out your vocal chords and you were unaware–as no matter how intense it felt like you were sighing and moaning from his pleasure, you never uttered a sound.

Your head rolled to the side as the energy to keep your body rigid fled from you, with wave after wave of your own satisfaction mixed with the toying you knew he was doing to your brain. You felt like not yourself, yet when you felt his touch, it was the only thing you could focus on. The weight of Leon on top of you paired with his roaming hands, hands that felt cold from an unhuman skin, and exceptionally warm from the friction between you.

He now had an arm under your leg, seating himself perfectly between your legs and pressing all of his weight onto you. You felt like prey in this moment, and you knew there would be no way out here.

“I fear that when I keep going I will have no control left to stop… but I am far to gone to pretend I can back out now.” His growl was ever present in your ears, hearing him beside your face as well as inside your head. His voice alone had your eyes rolling back into your skull, your hands losing grip where they sat on his thick arms and sturdy chest.

He swiftly scooped up your fallen wrists into his own hands, pinning you down to the floor, leaving you with no energy to try and fight his strength–but you knew in your mind you did not want to try this. Regardless of whatever spell of his that had you in a clouded state, that deep emotional awakening coming from within you was telling you now, as you were pinned underneath this man-monster, I will accept that this is my way to go.

Wearily, taking in every sensation there was to feel, you brought a hand up to grace the side of his head lovingly. He moved his head further up your body again, locking eyes with yours. You felt the swell of dizzying tides take you away, reveling in the heat that you felt his body throwing off.

You fluttered in and out of consciousness, seeing his mouth dripping crimson every time he came up for air from your neck and body. You could not tell what the temperature was in the room any longer. You registered in pieces his hands still roaming over you, the sounds of his human pleasure when he reveled in your body and thrust himself deep into you, your own mind being clouded from the lust emerging through your trance. You poked back to the surface at your own climax, nearly feeling weightless from the way Leon brought it to you.

You let Leon have you. After all, you are who he chose.

–

It was on the rising dawn of the next morning you came back to the present. You were not in your home.

You could not move an inch, but your eyes were working normally past a thin layer of fog that you couldn’t differentiate if the source was your own vision or the atmosphere around you. The leaves and twigs poking through the ground went unfelt by you, and you were unsure if you were numb, or you had been there for so long that you no longer felt it.

In your haze, you saw a small movement out in the distance.

Leon’s voice reverberated through your head. “The extent of my heart and gratitude goes to you for allowing me to exist. I will repay your honor in my many years to come.” A blanket of warmth came down onto you, surely Leon’s doing, and an exhaustion took over your senses. You sighed.

The small bundle of movement came closer. You were so still, the rabbit approached you with no caution and all curiosity. It was perfectly round. It would make the perfect meal come nightfall.

#leon kennedy #resident evil #resident evil fanfiction #leon kennedy fanfiction #leon kennedy x reader #fanfiction #leon s kennedy #resident evil 4 #fantasy #fantasy fanfiction #fanfic

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daryltwdixon · 2 days ago

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Summary: After a moment of revelations with Ellie and Maria, you retreat to the quiet of upstairs, where Joel brings you something that reminds him of you

a/n: AHHHHH

After a warm shower upstairs, you step out of the bathroom, steam rising and billowing into the room as you tie the robe tightly around your waist. Ellie sits on the edge of the bed, already changed into a fresh set of clothes—new jeans and a long sleeve. The coat Maria left still sits nearby, but with the warmth inside the house, there’s little need for it.

You move to the bed, squeezing the last drops of water from your hair into a smaller towel as you approach.

“What’s all this?” you ask, eyeing the neatly folded clothes Maria left for you. Beside them, you notice a small, unopened contraption. You inspect it and discover a rubber funnel-like device, small enough to fit in your hand. Ellie giggles from her spot on the bed, flipping through a comic book. Her hair is still damp, dripping onto her new clothes.

You narrow your eyes at the small user guide that came with the contraption. Diva Cup.

And then it clicks. You start giggling, feeling heat rise in your face. Ellie joins you, her laughter filling the room.

There’s also a note on the bed. "I’m across the street.”

“Okay, okay,” you hiccup through your laughter, “Let me get my shit together and we’ll head over.”

“Can’t we just—” Ellie starts, a slight frown creasing her brow as she leans back against the headboard.

“We’re guests. We have to be good,” you say, and she rolls her eyes, gazing out the window.

You pause, watching her for a beat. “You sure you’re okay?” The question hangs in the air, heavy in the silence that follows.

“Yeah…” Ellie trails off, her eyes still on the comic book, distant.

Not wanting to press, you tell her you’ll get dressed in the bathroom, and soon enough, both of you are heading out the door.

At Maria’s, the house is quiet. You let yourselves in, taking in the cozy furniture and the comfort of the space. The warmth is a welcome reprieve from the chill of the outdoors. It reminds you more and more of home, of the life you lived with your dad. You can hardly believe you managed to survive for months without the simple comforts of electricity, warm meals, and clean clothes.

You both stop in front of the fireplace, drawn to the small chalkboard sign hanging above it.

Kevin 04/03/2000—09/29/2003 Sarah 07/20/1989—09/26/2003

“That’s the day…” you whisper, pointing to the date beneath the girl’s name. “That’s the day the world went to shit.”

“You remember it?” Ellie asks softly, her voice serious.

“It was my fifth birthday,” you reply, eyes still fixed on the names on the chalkboard. Half-melted candles sit in front of the names, their faint glow long gone. You wonder how many nights Maria and Tommy must have spent lighting those candles for their children, thinking of them.

A soft voice breaks the silence. “Hey.”

You turn to see Maria smiling at both of you. You greet her with a quiet, “Hello.”

“I just traded for some better coats,” she says, holding up two jackets in her arms. They look warm, thick, and winter-ready. “Go ahead and try them on.”

You walk over to her, grabbing the black one while Ellie takes the purple.

“Thank you,” you say, lifting it over your shoulders.

“It’s, uh…” Ellie says, eyeing her jacket. “Super fuckin’ purple.”

Maria smiles. “It’s eggplant,” she teases, wiping off the jacket and making sure it fits. “Shoes fit, too? Did you get the thing I left for you?”

“Yeah,” you nod.

“Weirdest gift ever,” Ellie mutters, turning it over in her hands.

“But useful,” Maria finishes. “Come on, let me get my scissors for that mane of yours.”

“Wait, wait–” Ellie protests.

“Just a trim! The ends!” Maria calls over her shoulder as she heads toward the other room.

Soon enough, you’re sitting down in front of Maria, who combs through your hair, snipping the tangles with every few strokes.

“So…” Ellie says, leaning forward, “Was this your job, or something, back then?”

Maria chuckles softly. “No, I was an Assistant District Attorney out of Omaha, Nebraska.”

“Sounds fancy,” you comment.

“I put bad guys in jail,” Maria replies. “But I always liked doing hair. Maybe it was a mom thing.” Her voice softens, and she glances at the memorial you’d been looking at. “I saw you looking at the memorial Tommy made.”

You look back at the names again, your stomach tightening. You nod quietly.

“I’m really sorry about your kids,” you murmur.

“It’s okay,” Maria replies, voice soft. “And… just Kevin. Sarah was Joel’s daughter.”

Your stomach drops, a tight knot forming deep in your chest. The weight of Maria’s words presses down on you, suffocating. You didn’t expect it to hit this hard. The idea of Joel’s daughter—Sarah, her name now etched in your mind like a brand—was something you never imagined he’d kept locked away, hidden behind his walls of silence. It made sense now, why he was the way he was, why he could be so hard, so distant, why he didn’t let people in. The pain, the rawness of losing someone you loved so completely—how could anyone recover from that?

Your throat tightens, and the moisture in your eyes wells up before you can stop it. You blink rapidly, feeling the sting of unshed tears, but you refuse to let them fall. You can’t. Not here, not now, not in front of Maria, who clearly didn’t mean to stir all this up. She couldn’t know.

“Oh,” Maria says, noticing the silence. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ellie answers for you, her eyes watching you carefully.

Joel had a daughter, and he never said a word about it. You imagine, though, that losing anyone is hard enough. You never spoke about your mom after the outbreak, and your dad never brought her up, so you followed his lead. But Joel… his daughter, of all people. Dying on outbreak day. It’s devastating.

“It kinda explains him a little,” Ellie says, her voice thoughtful.

You nod, wiping your eyes and forcing a chuckle. “Definitely explains him.”

Maria shifts, standing in front of you, leaning on the back of a chair beside Ellie. “Look,” she begins, “I’m not gonna ask what you’re doing with him—”

“Good,” Ellie interrupts, her tone sharp.

“But there are clearly things you don’t know about Joel.”

“Like he used to kill people?” you say suddenly, your blood heating under your skin. “We know.”

You’ve been quiet since you arrived—polite, respectful, not once stepping out of line—but this? This is where you draw the line. You won’t let anyone question Joel's morals, not after everything he’s done for you and Ellie.

Maria’s hands resume their work on your hair, brushing through it. “So he doesn’t do that anymore? Killing people?”

“Doesn’t kill innocent ones,” Ellie shoots back, her eyes narrowing. “Besides, how do you think we made it this far? By singing show tunes and hugging it out with everyone we met?”

You cough out a laugh at that. Taking lives was never easy, but it was a necessity. It wasn’t something you wanted to do. It wasn’t something you ever did until Joel came into your life. But that wasn’t his fault. Some people were out for blood, and the only way to survive was to fight back. You’d never regret what you’d done to protect yourself and those you care about, and you sure as hell wouldn’t start questioning Joel’s actions.

“Girls,” Maria says, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. “There’s a whole lot you’re not telling me. And that’s okay. Good, even. Just…be careful who you put your faith in.” she pauses, turning, “Now, grab your coats. We’re going to the movies.”

You hesitate, then speak softly, “I’d really like to stay here, if that’s okay. It’s just… it’s a lot of people.”

Maria nods, understanding. “That’s fine. But Ellie is coming.” As Ellie opens her mouth to argue, you shoot her a look. Be nice. Be polite.

It’s a couple of hours later when you hear the heavy, familiar footsteps coming up the stairs. You’re settled in the largest bedroom upstairs, sitting cross-legged on the bed with a book in your hands, trying to keep your mind occupied. You know who it is before he even opens the door—the unmistakable sound of heavy boots on the steps, the familiar grunt he makes when his joints protest the climb. It’s a rhythm you’ve gotten used to over the past few months.

The door creaks open, and there he is: Joel Miller, freshly cleaned, newly clothed, but with that same familiar scowl etched deep into his face. His dark eyes meet yours for a moment, then flick to the floor as he closes the door behind him. There’s something in his hands—he’s holding it behind his back, his posture slightly awkward. You don’t know why, but the way he’s standing makes your pulse quicken just a little.

“Hey,” you greet softly, trying to mask the unease bubbling up inside of you.

He gives you a small, almost hesitant nod, and then, in that way he has of doing things without really making a fuss about it, he reveals what’s in his hands. Your breath catches in your throat as you take in the sight. It’s a bow. A bow that looks carefully made, with white wood, smooth and carved beautifully, the string taut and waiting. It’s familiar and foreign at the same time.

“Found somethin’ for ya,” he says, his voice low, a touch unsure but steady.

You swallow, unsure of how to react, before you rise from the bed. Your legs feel unsteady as you walk toward him. The smell of soap and musk is faint but noticeable as you get closer, and there’s a brief moment where you can feel the heat of his body, the closeness, that makes you pause for just a second.

Joel’s eyes are on you, waiting, as you take the bow into your hands. You run your fingers over the smooth wood, tracing the shape of it. It’s different than yours, heavier, unfamiliar. But it’s a bow. And something about it feels so right. You’ve missed the one you lost in Kansas City, the one left behind in the truck when you were running for your life, when there was no time to grab it. It had been a simple, quiet tool to you, something familiar that helped keep you alive.

“It’s beautiful,” you whisper, still in awe, your fingers lingering on the curve. You look up at him then, your voice suddenly thick with emotion. “Thank you.”

His eyes soften as he watches you, his face unreadable. There’s something in his gaze that shifts, something behind his usual guarded exterior that you hadn’t noticed before. It’s like the weight of all the days you’ve spent together suddenly comes to the forefront.

And then, before you can stop yourself, you step forward, your hands moving up to wrap around him. You can’t fully explain what it is that makes you do it. Maybe it’s the vulnerability in his eyes, or the way he’s protected you for months on end, never once thinking of leaving you behind, even when he could’ve sent you off to fend for yourself back at the house. Maybe it’s the quiet understanding that just today you learned he lost his one and only daughter. Or maybe it’s the simplest, most unexpected reason: the fact that he thought of you. When he saw that bow, he knew how much you missed yours, how it had once been an extension of you, and he had the heart to bring it to you. As a gift.

Even now, you’re afraid to look into his eyes as you reach for him, afraid you’ll find rejection, assessment, or worse—nothing. So you avert your eyes from him and close the gap between you without hesitation, wrapping your arms around him. The warmth of his body against yours is familiar, comforting, like something you didn’t know you needed until it’s right here. Your hands instinctively find his neck, fingers curling gently against the rough fabric of his shirt. You pull him closer, and for a brief moment, the world seems to hold its breath.

To your surprise, he hardly flinches, and doesn’t even pull away. His hands, though, hover over you, unsure at first, but they come down gently to your lower back, pulling you into him with a tenderness that makes your heart constrict. You can feel his too, both of your hearts pounding against your rib cages. It suddenly occurs to you that maybe he’s just as nervous as you are.

You let yourself stay there for a long moment, in the comfort of his arms, and for the first time in a long while, you don't feel the weight of the world pressing in. The tension, the fear, all of it fades away as you feel his warmth surrounding you, steady and real. But even in this fleeting peace, you can’t ignore how every nerve in your body seems to hum, to come alive in a way that feels almost overwhelming. Every inch of you craves more—more of this closeness, more of him.

As the silence stretches on, you feel his arms settle more securely around you, pulling you in even closer, as if he finally is allowing himself to be close to you. His head dips into the side of your neck, and you can feel the warmth of his breath against your skin, slow and steady. The quiet of the moment is broken only by the sound of his inhale, and you realize, for the first time, just how much you’ve missed this kind of tenderness. It’s as if, in his presence, you don’t have to worry about anything, not for a single second.

It feels so right, so good to be held like this. To have him, this person who has protected you with every ounce of his being, just hold you—no words, just the comfort of being together. You let yourself sink into it, letting go of all the tension that’s built up over days, weeks, months of constant survival.

But then, the moment shifts. When he pulls back just slightly, the warmth of his hands on your back moves, and you feel the shift in the air between you. His gaze lifts to meet yours, and you find yourself locking eyes with him, the intensity of his stare almost too much to bear. His chocolate brown eyes are searching you in a way you don’t quite understand.

His hand finds your cheek, thumb brushing away something wet—tears you didn’t even realize had fallen.

“What is it?” he whispers, his voice rough, strained. It’s the first time you’ve ever heard him speak with that kind of softness—like he’s afraid of the answer, afraid of what it might mean.

Sniffling, you shake your head, “I just…all this…” you sigh, looking up at him, unable to string together the right words, “You…”

His dark eyes still search yours, the silence stretching between you, heavy with unspoken words. You can hardly believe he hasn’t let you go. It’s as if he’s holding onto you as much as you’re holding onto him, both of you unsure if this is just a fleeting moment—or something more, something that might change everything between you forever.

Joel whispers your name, and that’s when you realize, with a sudden clarity, that the space between you is almost gone. His eyes have dropped to your lips, and your heart races in your chest. His thumb is still there, gently on your cheek, like he’s waiting, watching you for any sign that you might pull away. But you won’t. You can’t. You’d never pull away from him, never let him go now. Not when this moment feels like everything you’ve ever wanted.

It hits you then, deep in your chest, in your gut—you realize that this is it. This is everything. All the times you caught him looking at you with something more than just the need to protect you. All the times you found yourself looking for him in every room, in every corner, as if your heart knew where he was before your mind did. Even as a teenager, it was never like this. It was never so full of trust, so full of need, of longing. Of…love.

Joel Miller was very close to you now.

So close you could feel his breath against you, shallow and almost hesitant. He was moving slowly—agonizingly slow—and it took every ounce of willpower not to close the distance yourself. But you couldn’t. You needed him to show you that he felt this too, that it wasn’t just some fleeting crush, that this wasn’t just a momentary rush of emotions. After all this time, after seven years of separation, of waiting, of silently longing for him, you needed to know this was real.

Seven years of missing him. Seven years of dreaming about his broad shoulders, the scruff on his face, the way he moved and spoke. Now, you were here, living through the days side by side, finding comfort in each other in ways that had once seemed impossible. Protecting each other. Looking for each other. Sharing these small, fleeting moments that somehow felt like everything. This wasn’t just some passing thing. This was something both of you needed—something that, now that it was on the edge of being realized, felt so right, so complete, that there was no going back.

“Joel,” you whisper, your lips barely parting as he hovers inches away. The word feels like a plea, a desperate, silent begging for him to bridge the space between you. To finally take what’s been his for so long, what’s always been his, even when neither of you could admit it. There had never been anyone else, not in the way there had always been him. Not just because of your life in isolation, but because no one else could make you feel like this.

His hand that’s cupping your jaw moves then, sliding into the nape of your neck, fingers threading into your hair, gently pulling you closer as he leans in.

Joel’s lips are so, so soft.

It’s a slow kiss, like he’s taking his time, like he’s savoring the moment—every inch of it. The contrast of his rough stubble brushing against your skin feels jarring yet comforting, a sensation that sends shivers down your spine. Your heart races, painfully tight in your chest, and a rush of warmth floods through you, spreading like wildfire, lighting every nerve. For a second, you feel weightless, caught in the storm of it all, the world outside forgotten.

He’s so warm.

The heat of him, his arm tightening around your waist, pulling you closer, his hand still tangled in your hair, the solid press of his chest against yours—it’s all consuming. Waves of warmth flow from him, surrounding you, filling every part of you, inside and out. You can feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against yours, a calming, grounding force.

Then his tongue brushes against your lower lip, hesitant, testing. It’s so gentle, so careful that it makes your heart skip a beat. You nearly jump out of your skin, the sensation unfamiliar, intense. But then, you feel his smile against your lips, soft and reassuring. You open for him instinctively, feeling his warmth deepen as he moves closer, his tongue sliding into your mouth, slow and deliberate.

You can tell how mindful he’s being, how aware he is of how new this all is for you. Your movements are unsure, tentative, but somehow, with him, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. And despite all the uncertainty, despite the unfamiliarity, it feels so right, so entirely... him.

You both pull away to catch your breath, the air between you thick with the weight of the moment. But as soon as his lips leave yours, you can't help it. You lean in again, just a quick, soft peck, wanting more, needing more. Your body is reacting to him in ways you’ve never known, something deep inside you pulling and longing for more of him.

When you pull back, you catch sight of his cheeks—there’s a pink tinge there, soft and almost vulnerable. His expression is still serious, brows furrowed, but there’s something else behind it now, something gentler.

“Not that scowl again,” you whisper with a teasing smile, your hand reaching up to smooth the wrinkle between his brows. It’s a small gesture, but you can't help it, a way of soothing him even as you try to lighten the tension.

Joel’s eyes soften, and the faintest trace of a smile pulls at the corner of his lips. But it’s fleeting, replaced by something unreadable. His hand moves to your wrist, brushing it gently with his thumb. He holds it there for a moment, as if weighing something heavy.

With a deep sigh, he drops his gaze, breaking eye contact, and his hand falls away from your wrist. “I can’t do this, kid,” he mutters, shaking his head as he pulls back, his body language closing off.

The first thing you feel is the coldness—the literal gap between you as he releases you from his embrace. Your hands fall back to your sides, and the warmth that once existed between you both is suddenly gone, replaced by an empty chill. It’s a feeling you’ve known too well—the sting of rejection. The emptiness of being left behind. The gnawing, familiar ache that creeps in when you realize you’re not good enough. Abandoned.

You try to breathe through it, but the weight of it threatens to choke you. “I get it,” you whisper, though you can barely hear your own words, “if you don't want this…don’t want me. I understand why.” You want to scream, to beg him to change his mind, but the lump in your throat keeps you silent. Instead, you take a step back, your heart pounding in your chest. You want to believe it’s not true, but you can already feel the walls closing in.

Joel’s eyes flicker to you, a storm of conflicting emotions clouding his expression. His voice softens, low and almost tender. “Trust me, baby. I want it. I want you.” His hands come to his face, pushing back his hair in a heavy sigh, his words full with longing. “But I’m so damn screwed up. The things I’ve done…”

You step closer, your hand reaching for his chest, your voice steady despite the tightness of your throat, “You’re a good man, Joel,” you say, the sincerity in your words cutting through the tension. “Please. I’ve only ever wanted this with you. Ever since I’ve known you.”

Joel’s jaw tightens at the words. His gaze drifts away, the weight of his past hanging over him like a shadow. “What? When you nearly shot me with an arrow when I showed up at your door?” he chuckles darkly.

You shake your head quickly, a quiet urgency in your tone. “No, even before then,” you admit, stepping closer, your voice trembling with vulnerability.

His eyes soften again, but the hesitance lingers, like he's trying to convince himself of something. “Jesus, kid...” His words are barely above a whisper, his hand resting on yours as it sits on his chest.

“When are you going to stop calling me that?” you tease a little.

He doesn't answer at first, letting the silence stretch between you. Then, he takes a breath, meeting your eyes with resolve. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” you murmur. “There’s so many other men… boys your age.”

You can’t help the painful twist in your chest. “I’d rather be dead than have any of them,” you say, voice quiet but sure, your heart pounding. “I want you. I always have.”

Joel scoffs, almost a laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Not sure which one of us is more sick in the head,” he mutters. “You for wanting some old man, or me for wanting a girl I’ve known since she was fifteen…”

The space between you is charged, but still, you move closer, gently closing the distance. “I’m not scared of you, Joel.”

The silence lingers between you, thick and heavy, pressing in from all sides. You can feel the weight of the distance he’s placed between you, the rejection still echoing in the pit of your stomach. Every inch of your body aches to bridge that gap, to make him see that you don’t care about his age, his past, his doubts. You’ve never wanted anyone else. It’s always been him.

And then, without warning, Joel reaches for your face again. His eyes, dark and stormy, lock onto yours, and for a moment, you think he might pull away once more. But his hand moves to your face, cupping it gently yet firmly, as if he’s pulling you into him with just that touch.

“I’m already goin’ to hell,” he mutters, his voice gravelly and deep, his gaze never leaving your lips. Before you can process what’s happening, his mouth crashes into yours again—fierce, desperate, hungry.

This kiss is different. It’s everything the last one wasn’t. There’s no hesitation now, no uncertainty—only need and heat. His lips claim yours with an urgency that steals your breath, and you can feel his hands tightening around you, pulling you closer. His fingers grip the back of your head as he deepens the kiss, urging you into him like there’s no turning back.

You don’t fight it. You respond with equal fervor, your arms wrapping around him, hands sinking into his shoulders as you press yourself as close as you can, desperate for the connection. Every inch of you aches for him, and the moment feels like it’s stretching into eternity.

When he finally pulls back, it’s only to breathe. His chest heaves against yours, and you can feel the rapid beat of his heart beneath your palms. His eyes lock onto yours, wild and intense, as if he’s memorizing every inch of you. His touch is still gentle, but there’s an edge to it, a possessiveness that lingers in the way his hands slide down to your waist, holding you close like you’re the one thing keeping him tethered to reality.

“I ain’t just this,” Joel whispers, his voice rough with emotion, each word weighted with a kind of raw sincerity you’ve never heard from him. “I want more. I want a life with you. Here.”

Your heart stutters in your chest as you search his eyes. There’s something there—vulnerable yet determined. You’ve never seen him like this before, so open, so unsure yet so certain at the same time. It makes your chest tighten with a mix of fear and hope, a sense of something deeper than you’ve allowed yourself to acknowledge before now.

“We can do whatever you want after we get Ellie to the Fireflies,” you say, your voice a little shaky, but the words come out with a lightness that contrasts the gravity of the moment. Your fingers idly play with his hair, grounding yourself in the simple act, but the truth of his words still rings in your mind, echoing with a promise you can barely begin to process.

Joel hesitates, the weight of the silence between you thick, but then he nods once, his lips brushing against your forehead in a soft, lingering kiss. His hands slide down your back again, urging you closer, and this time you don’t pull away. He keeps kissing you, like you’re the only thing, only person that’s ever mattered.

And for the first time in a long time, in this dangerous, unforgiving world, you feel like you’ve finally found something worth holding onto.

#all that remains #AHHHHHH #Joel and you #Joel x you #Joel Miller x you #Joel Miller x reader #Joel Miller the last of us #tlou #tlou Joel miller #the last of us #the last of us fic #the last of us fanfic #the last of us fanfiction

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sevikaslapdog · 20 hours ago

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A Secret..

(but not really)

Summary: You always thought your brother’s best friend was cute, but him being his best friend made him off limits. Thought Geto couldn’t contain himself when it came it Gojo’s little sis.

Warnings: highschool au, no curses au, two year age gap (he’s 18 reader is 16), cursing, suggestive themes, use of y/n, fem reader, reader is Gojo’s sister

It was winter break which only meant one thing, your brother Gojo would have his friend over the whole two weeks you were out of school.

They were both seniors while you were a junior, you didn’t mind most of Gojo’s friends since they weren’t as annoying as him. But Geto was your favorite of them all, he was always respectful towards you and nice despite Gojo being the opposite.

Whenever he had friends over he would practically lock you into your bedroom claiming ‘No one wants to see your ugly face.’ Though you never listened as it was your house too, duh.

Right now was the second day of winter break and you were working on a project one of your teachers assigned to do during the break. You wanted to get it done as soon as possible so you had more free time, and so you didn’t forget about it. Your hand started to cramp as you had been typing for the past two hours, cursing to yourself as you shook your hand around to get rid of the pain.

Letting out a huff you stretched out your body thats been hunched over your desk for the past two hours. You stood up and slipped on your house slippers before exiting your room, silently padding down the stairs. You could hear your brother and Geto in the living room watching some movie, walking past them to go to the kitchen.

You decided to make some ramen, a quick lunch before you continued your essay. As you were waiting for your water to boil you head footsteps easing towards the kitchen. Your eyes flickered to the entrance as soon as Geto walked in, he hummed whenever he saw you “What’re you making?” He inched closer towards the stove. “Some ramen, want me to make you some?”

He glanced over at you before walking to the fridge, “Yea, id appreciate it.” You only nodded at him, grabbing another pack out the cabinet.

He couldn’t help but let his eyes flickered to your ass when you bent over, those tiny shorts left really nothing to the imagination. He let out a low whistle, smiling as you quickly stood and turned to face him with a glare. “Stop being a pervert” He only laughed slightly walking over to you, he placed a hand on top of your head and patted it twice before leaning on the counter next to the stove.

“I was only messing with you, calm down.” You rolled your eyes as you opened up the ramen packs, placing the noodles in the pot. You went over to the cabinet grabbing two bowls, “Grab some chopsticks” Geto huffed but complied. He got you both a pair of chopsticks and placed them on the counter next to the bowls, “I’ll bring you yours when it’s ts done.

You flashed him a small smile before stirring the noodles, he mumbled a small ‘alright’ before walking out the kitchen and sat down on the couch. You could hear your brother ask him what took so long and Geto telling him to shut up and watch the movie.

Shortly the noodles were done, and you made your bowl along with his. You cleaned up your messed before exiting the kitchen, walking up behind the couch. “Here ya’ go” You held out his bowl, not missing the way his hand brushed against yours. “Hey why didn’t you make me any?!” You looked over at Gojo, “Cause you’re a grown man who can make his own noodles.” Geto smiled slyly as he slurped up some noodles.

He flashed you a small smile before you turned around and went back upstairs.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

It’s now been two hours and it’s pushing eleven pm, you ended up procrastinating the essay and went on your phone. Now you were trying to get back into the grove of it but it just wasn’t working, you kept typing a sentence but then it didn’t make sense so you delete it. You’ve been doing this for the past twenty minutes.

You heard a soft knock on your door, “come in” you didn’t bother to see who it was knowing it was Geto. Cause Gojo never knocked, always barged in like it was his room.

You heard the door shut behind him and his socked feet padding against the rug in your room, you could feel his body heat as he stood behind you. You continued to stare at the essay before you tipped your head back, the top of your head now pressed against his lower stomach. He looked down at you with an amused smile.

“Struggling?” All you could do was groan and pick your head back up, “This makes no sense.” You saw his arms come around you, him now leaning over you as he stared at your screen. A hum left his mouth, “Ah I remember doing this.”

You quickly let out a gasp, “Oh my god please help me Suguru, I cant do it.” You let your voice slip into a whine as you shamelessly leaned back against him. He let out a sigh, but picked your laptop up off your desk. “Yea it was pretty easy for me anyways.”

He walked over to your bed, sitting down with his feet hanging a bit off the side with his back against the wall. He was wearing a loose black long sleeve and black sweatpants, while you were wearing your favorite hoodie and still in the same sleeping shorts from earlier.

You slid off your desk chair and sat down next to him with your legs in a criss cross, your left knee was slightly on his right leg due to the closeness. “How come you’re not with Gojo?” He was easily typing away, “He fell asleep on the couch, i’m not tired yet so I decided to come hang out with you.” You let a small smile sneak onto your face, “Well I am the better sibling so that makes perfect sense.”

You and him both laughed for a moment, you leaned over to your nightstand to grab your phone off the charger. Once you sat back down half your left leg was now resting on his. He didn’t seem to mind so you didn’t bother moving, “I dunno if Gojo told you but i’m staying over the whole break, my parents went out on some ski vacation.”

You hummed, looking over at him. Your eyes widened slightly when you saw the small earring on his ear, “You got your ears pierced?!” You didn’t care to hide your shock. You lifted your hand to the side of his neck with your thumb brushing against the blue jewl in his ear.

He snickered at your reaction, turning his head slightly to look at you. “Yea, got ‘em a couple weeks ago.” He used the opportunity to look at you, his eyes scanning your face and resting on your lips that were slightly chapped no doubt you were biting on them earlier. “Yea, they look nice.” You subtly ran your thumb against his jaw before pulling your hand away.

“Y’know now since you’re eighteen you should totally get a tattoo, would make you look hot.” You raised your brows a couple times, clearly teasing. Geto rolled his eyes and looked back to your laptop, but a sly smirk was etched on his face.

You let out a huff as he ignores your teasing, “Can I ask you a question?” He turns back to you, nodding with curiosity. Tilting your head to get a good look at him before you ask, voice soft due to the personal nature of the question “How come you’re never at home? You’re always here, I mean I don’t mind i’m just curious.”

You could see the way Geto’s expression changed slightly darker, shaking your head “Never mind pretend i didn’t ask, ‘m sorry.” He could only smile slightly, grateful he didn’t have to explain his complicated home life to you. You shift closer towards him, uncrossing your legs and instead laying them out with your left leg pressed against his.

His hang off the bed more than yours due to the height difference, you and him sit in silence besides the soft noises of him typing, and the hum of your fan that stays on even during the harsh winters.

Minutes later he places the laptop in your lap, his fingers brushing against your thighs as he pulls them from under the laptop. “It’s all done, you can change some things if you prefer. Im gonna head to bed,” He gets up off your bed “goodnight y/n.” You looked up at him with a grateful smile. “goodnight Suguru.”

As he left your bedroom he tried to forget how plush your thighs looked while squished against the mattress, the way you looked up at him with your pretty eyelashes, how his name sounded in your voice. He shook it off and went into Gojo’s bedroom, lying down on his bed despite him still being downstairs.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

The next morning neither you or Geto mentioned last night, knowing that your brother Gojo would flip out and complain. But also it kinda felt like.. your own little secret. The whole day you two shared glances, like whenever him and Gojo were sitting in the kitchen eating some takeout, your brother hurriedly pushed you some food and told you to get out. You looked over at Geto, making eye contact as his eyes grew slightly softer.

Even whenever you walked past Gojo’s bedroom, with the door open you looked in and made brief eye contact with him before you walked past.

Thats how it went the whole day, until it was nighttime again and you were watching your new show you started on your tv. Not caring it was a little too loud for the time it was now, you shamelessly wished Geto would sneak into your room again tonight.

Of course, minutes later a soft knock sounded against your bedroom door. You couldn’t help the small smile that tugged on your face, turning down the tv just a bit as you spoke “Come in.”

Geto pushed open the door, closing it behind him. He walked over to your bed. You were sitting against the headboard with your legs covered by the blankets, he slipped off the slippers he always wore and crawled up next to you. Sliding his legs under your blanket.

You looked over at him with a smug expression “My brother must be really boring huh?” He let out a huff, lightly kicking your leg with his foot. “He fell asleep again, plus you’re not bad company.” A smile slipped on your face again before you turned back to the tv.

As more time went on it seemed you two only got closer, his thigh was now pressed against yours along with your shoulders. You could hear the blanket shuffling a bit and before you could question it you felt cold knuckles brushing along your thigh. You sucked in a sharp breath which he picked up on, he took you not saying anything in protest as a sign to continue.

He unfolded his hand and moving his hand to rest on your thigh, resting it there unmoving. You bit your lip as you glanced down, obviously you couldn’t see his hand due to it being under the covers but that only made the blush on your face worsen.

Geto spared a glance to your face, fondly smiling as he saw your flustered appearance. “This ok?” You turned to look at him, nodding your head “Yea ‘s fine.” He hummed, thumb brushing against your skin before focusing back on the show.

As time passed you let your head fall to rest against his shoulder, and you ignored the way your eyelids grew heavy. Inevitably you drifted off to sleep, it only took him a couple minutes to realize. He stared down at your face, feeling his heart beating a bit quicker when he took in how adorable you looked.

His hand slipped off your thigh, as he moved away from you he supported your head with his hand. Softly and slowly guiding you to lay down, once your head was against the pillow he moved out the bed. He paused once he heard you grumble before slightly sitting up, “Goodnight Suguru.” He smiled and walked over to the side of your bed, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head. “Goodnight sweet girl.” You hummed as you tucked yourself back under the covers, Geto grabbed your remote off your nightstand and turned off the tv.

As he walked to Gojo’s room he could only smile, blushing like a flustered preteen when he remembered how you said his name so affectionately.

Though all that disappeared whenever he had to move Gojo’s unconscious body to the other side of the bed so he could fit, cursing to himself whenever he wouldn’t budge.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

It’s now been a couple days since then, Geto hasn’t come to your room the past few nights so whenever you realized he was probably on the couch you slid off your bed. Just to be sure you peeked into your brother’s room only to see him alone on his bed, knocked out.

You let out a huff, smiling once you saw some droll. You closed his door before walling quietly down the steps, padding into the living room. Geto looked up expecting maybe Gojo woke up but when he saw you a fond smile slipped onto his face.

He was laying down on the couch, watching some movie you didn’t recognize. You stood in-front of him as he lifted the blanket for you, sheepishly you crawled under the blanket. Lying down while your back was against his chest, his arm snaked around your waist.

You knew you’re were blushing, you could feel it. He hooked his chin onto your shoulder “Hi sweet girl,” hearing the pet name only worsened your flustered state “was about to come up to see you.” You smiled, rolling over to face him. “Guess I beat you to it.” He could only smile at your competitive nature.

“Guess so.” He kept his arm around your waist, he pulled you closer. Instinctively your leg draped across him, “What if my brother wakes up?” You couldn’t help but worry, you were practically on top of his best friend right now where he no doubt was just sitting earlier.

His eyes glanced over to the stairs before shaking his head, looking back at you “He’s out like a light, don’t worry your pretty head.” Smiling at his little compliment you nodded, as you both stared at each other you realized. What were you two doing?

Seemingly Geto noticed your mind drifting, lifting his other arm to snake his hand under your chin. “What is it?” biting your lip nervously you glanced away before sighing. “What are we Suguru?” He huffs out a breath at your question which only freaks you out more.

Maybe he didn’t want to be anything you, maybe you read into it wrong, maybe, maybe, maybe. Your mind was running a hundred miles per hour at this point, and of course he noticed. He brushed his thumb over your bottom lip, “Wanna be yours.” He smiled as your eyes widened slightly, how you breathed out in shock.

“Really?” He nodded to your question, placing a soft kiss to your cheek. “Yea, been waiting to make a move on your sweet girl. But just for now we gotta keep it a secret, just until I find the right time to tell your brother yea?” All you could do was nod, out of words.

Silence took over the room for what felt like minutes before you spoke, “So we’re dating?” He laughed shortly at your question. Placing another kiss to your cheek, “Yea were dating pretty girl.”

A smile broke out onto your face, biting your lip to try to fight it but it was no use. He was already smiling back at you, moving the hand from under your chin to brush through your hair. “Wanna take things slow, do it the proper way.” You nodded along “Mhm, me too.” You placed another kiss to your forehead before pulling your head to rest on his chest.

Unfortunately, you and him both fell asleep on the couch. Tangled together, and seemingly on top one another. Whenever you woke up you were immediately greeted by yelling, as you groggily opened your eyes. Realizing where you were your blood ran cold.

Suguru was already awake, of course still next to you but he was sitting up. You then heard your brother, “What the hell are you two doing?!” You sat up and snapped your head to your brother. Once his eyes landed on you its like your heart stopped, you were scared for his reaction. Wondering if he’ll be mad at you, yell at you, maybe even drag you away from Suguru.

“What the hell are you doing huh!?!” You glanced away from him momentarily to look at Suguru, he looked just as shocked at you to be awoken like this. You looked back at your brother who now hand his hands on his hips waiting for either of you two to respond.

He then turned his gaze to Suguru, you sucked in a breath. “I mean cmon I know you were always ogling at my sister but doing it on the couch?!” At this your jaw dropped, as his eyes widened. You both began to shake your head, “No, we didnt do that you idiot!” You spoke first, standing up off the couch.

The blanket slipped off this couch and much to Gojo’s delight you were both fully clothed and no.. substances were on the couch. He let out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank the heavens.” His shoulders sagged slightly at he looked between you both, “Well I don’t care,” turning back to you “but that doesn’t mean you get to hog him to yourself.”

It grew silent for a while, then Gojo walked into the kitchen out of your sight. You turned to face Suguru as he shrugged. You both looked at each other for a moment before breaking out into giggles, you sliding back onto the couch next to him. He placed a kiss onto your lips, you both still laughing slightly.

He rested his forehead against yours, “So much for a keeping it a secret huh?” You smiled, placing a small peck onto his lips before your brother came back. Ruining the moment and shooing you away upstairs.

m.list

#geto suguru #jjk suguru #jjk geto #jujutsu geto #geto x reader #jujutsu kaisen suguru #suguru x you #oneshot #jjk fluff #jjk gojo

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theblueraven · 3 days ago

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It had been three weeks and Jaskier couldn’t shake the feeling that he recognised Eskel. Geralt had confirmed that Jaskier hadn’t met or accidentally met another witcher.

Jaskier would definitely remember if he had met one in Oxenfurt, his fellows would not miss the opportunity to bring it up whenever they saw Geralt.

But it was still there.

Jaskier could recognise what he was going to do before he did it. The soft of his voice was relaxing for Jaskier. The one time Eskel told Jaskier to weed the garden Jaskier did and only realised halfway through the chore that he had not argued or barged or anything he normally would do with Geralt or even Vesemir when they asked.

So. When had he meet Eskel?

Jaskier was sitting at one of the tables, Ciri and Coën talking adamantly. Narrowing his eyes Jaskier felt a memory snap in place.

“Eskel. Did the big bad wolf get you? Turn your eyes to dragons?” Jaskier suddenly asked without thinking.

The hall went silent. Eskel who was tending the fire, was as still as stone. He had gone white and was staring at Jaskier.

“Where did you hear that?”

————————————

“So you want me to see if your son is human?”

“Yes Master witcher” The lord replies.

“So like press silver to his hand, potions the lot?” Eskel clarified.

“No, no” the lord was horrified, “I might as well announce that he is not my son to the whole country”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to pretend to be his governess, teach him things you can the important things are covered by tutors, and secretly do the test”

Eskel was stunned. This was insane. This man was insane and he wanted his kid to be close to a witcher. To be in the sole care of a witcher.

“And what would be the pay?”

Why was he considering this?

“300 crowns a day, full room and food, the governess room, and… appropriate cloths for the position. There will also be 2000 crowns at the end no matter the result”

Eskel considered it seriously. That was a lot of money that would fully go to him. And the job would take him to next winter. It was a really good offer.

“Sure, lets meet the kid”

“Great, he is out for the week. The servants will take you to your room and show you around. Do clean yourself up and go to the tailor for appropriate cloths.” The lord dismissed.

——

“HI” The young child yelled, once he was introduced to his new ‘governess’

The carriage driver eyed Eskel suspiciously, but was apparently used to the lords antics enough to not question him in front of Eskel’s new charge.

The child was very talkative and chatted the entire way to the play room.

Once the door shut the child, Julien, turned to Eskel with the most serious look a child that young could muster.

“Why is your eyes like that?”

“Are. Why are my eyes like that” Eskel automatically correct.

“And…” Fuck, what was he meant to say? Lord Pankratz had said the child wouldn’t ask questions “I was attacked?” good enough

“Attacked” Julien responded wide eyed.

“Yes attacked”

“By what?”

“A wolf” Eskel tried to move on, asking Jaskier what he normally did.

“A wolf wouldn’t do that. They rip and shred not magic eyes to dragons”

Dragon eyes? That was a new comparison

“It was a special wolf. The… the big bad wolf of the blue mountains”

“The blue mountains! That’s so far away!”

————————————

Eskel had hugged Jaskier and was whispering how happy he was to see him.

When Geralt tried to grab Jaskier, slightly frightened by his brothers behaviour, Eskel growled for him to stay away from his pup.

Jaskier was thrilled by the statement and whispered that Eskel was the best parent he had ever had.

When Jaskier first arrives at Kaer Morhen, he can't shake the feeling that Eskel looks oddly familiar. He racks his brain, trying to pinpoint where he might have seen the other witcher before, but no matter how hard he tries, the answer eludes him.

Meanwhile, Geralt watches the whole thing unfold with a simmering jealousy. His bard—his Jaskier—seems far too interested in Eskel for his liking, showering him with curious looks and endless attention.

What neither Jaskier nor Geralt realizes is that this connection runs deeper than either of them suspects. Years ago, as part of a contract, Eskel had served undercover as the governor for none other than Julian Pankratz. Julian's father, suspicious that his son might not be entirely human, had hired Eskel to investigate. Julian, of course, is Jaskier—but none of them have put the pieces together yet.

#the witcher #geralt of rivia #jaskier #kear morhen #eskel

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call-me-b-please-and-thank-you · 17 days ago

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Pinkie Pie is just Tom Bombadil but as a horse.

Yes, it is that slow of a day on Tumblr Dot Com.

But listen. Hear me out. They both possess impressive power on what is likely an unknowably large scale, but are just too silly to realize this power or use it to it's fullest potential.

They are the same character. You cannot convince me otherwise.

Tell me Pinkie Pie wouldn't be perfectly at home frolicking through a forest picking flowers for her husband, Weird Al, and tell me that if she happened upon two other ponies stuck in a tree she wouldn't scold that tree, whack it with a stick, and get said tree to let go of those two ponies, whom she would then immediately invite to a dinner party as if nothing had happened and convincing a tree to move wasn't at all impressive or out of the ordinary.

#lord of the rings #tom bombadil #my little pony #pinkie pie #my little pony has been a good time so far #but for some reason I could complain for ages about the worldbuilding if I wanted to #like #does weather not exist?#the ponies create the seasons #but how does that work #when seasons are a naturally occurring phenomenon?#they clean up winter at the end of winter #but where does the winter come from at the start #and how does it stay cold enough to keep everything frozen if the planet isn't on a slightly tilted axis #and if it is on a slightly tilted axis then why aren't the seasons naturally occurring #and why do all the ponies waste the effort of controlling the weather if the seasons are naturally occurring #and also how and why don't dead leaves fall off of trees by themselves #the science simply doesn't make sense #and it shouldn't matter this much #and I don't know why it does to me #anyway go watch The Owl House or something #I dunno

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a-koschyei · 2 years ago

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i need to make a koschei rancidness meter because whew if the man isn't checked ? yea the range truly is verse and dynamic dependent.... and will determine if i permit him to live so choose wisely

#if u tell me to turn the dial on high i'm telling u to sharpen those knives or else i will slit his throat MYSELF #dragon age koschei has some rights i'll give him a few years to touch grass and calm tf down or else 🔪#deathless..... ok MAYBE i'll give him a semi redeemable end #regency...... min 50 life sentences in the basement for crimes against humanity and just being nasty. we'll see if he cleans up after that #winter trilogy....... i get it but he's ON THIN FUCKING ICE begging for a tragic end #dnd.... he's the prince of demons... like the actual devil????? KILL HIM ! i don't care i don't want to hear it #fairytale and modern are the wild cards idk he can be anywhere on this spectrum but pls stab him at least we don't need a legal reason

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lem-argentum · 1 year ago

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i’ve been so focused on art n life stuff that time keeps going by ridiculously fast hfkdnfh <33 hello world today was good yesterday was good :D <3

#lem text #everyone really liked the sculptures i made them hehe :] <33 #today i cleaned my closet (a task my sibling n i always joke is incredibly arduous) and i FOUND an old heart locket that i had!!!#so i might use that. for f/o purposes hekfndk <333 #i also caught up on all the dr. st.one episodes which was nice i missED CHROME AND SEN.KU AND EVERYONE VERY BAD #(<- was it obvious chrome (the s/i) is named after chrome (dc.st). i used to name my inserts after my kins. fun fact <3)#with my free time i *SHOULD* try to finish bg.3 because i bought it when i was very busy but im REALLY BAD AT LETTING MYSELF PLAY GAMES.#BUT I SHOULD. im attttt the very end of act 2 i think <33 #ummm what else. im s’posed to open comms around early january but i’m NERVOUS so we’ll see. <3 #i know most people use pay.pal but its given me so much trouble trying to set it up whereas stripe was really easy so i might just use that.#i wonder if i could send myself like a dollar through kofi to test if it works ok..?? i don’t know. WE WILL SEE #i also want to start doing casual art streams next year <33 just liek unlisted youtube ones where i share the link here maybe. for fun <3 #that’s all i think. i’ve been doing much better mentally now that it’s winter :) <3 um. yeag <33 x]

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skrunksthatwunk · 4 days ago

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i came back to the dorm and one of the turtles is straight up missing (...she's probably dead is my guess but i didn't wanna hit my roommate with that question during class yk) and the tank (which still contains a live turtle) is full of fucking BUBBLING algae my roommate's stuff was On My Bed the floor is. gross and roomie's cat's (pretty limited amount of) toys are nowhere to be seen (meaning he's attacking me and i have nothing to redirect him with) one of my baskets has been shredded and ??? one of my skirts (which was presumably hung up before i left) was found on the floor of my closet fucking dried stiff and stained both yellow AND glittery????? everything smells awful in a familiar way i can't quite identify and the floors are sticky in a bunch of places. what the FUCK is going on

#i don't have like a mop or anything! what am i gonna do sponge the floors down??#she said she doesn't remember if the closet was opened or closed but like. nothing i had in there could have done that to the skirt #(...probably? the only liquid i had in there was fucking. laundry detergent)#(and there's no evidence of that spilling or leaking)#im trying to figure out how reasonable it'd be to like. confront my roommate about this #she's got a lot going on and i am Not the kind of person who's gonna give her shit for some mess #but it was actually ridiculous this time #she was staying in the dorm over winter break and i wasn't. for context #side note but rascal has Another new bed? he doesn't even care about beds very much WHERE ARE HIS TOYS. HELP ME? PLEASE?#im so tired pls it's the FIRST DAY BACK #god im not smart enough for this. i asked her and she said she doesn't pay attention to whether or not my closet door #is closed and like fair ig but smth about it is off to me bc like How Else Would It Have Gotten Like That #im confident it was closed when i came in and it was almost certainly closed when i left like 5 weeks ago #but im. really not good at assessing whether or not ppl are lying to me. like idk maybe it was some kind of mysterious leak #or i hung it up to dry and it fell and dried weird (idr if it was wet or not when i left)#my own distrust of her for how she treats her animals AND my sympathy for struggling with caring for animals #in the midst of burnout/a very demanding life are at odds and both are biasing me in opposite directions #well anyway i can't unpack a lot of my stuff bc im just. confounded by it #i'll clean the floor over there later i just can't right now im too out of it #also rascal has been very sweet too he's just Extremely pent up over the whole 'small room with Literally Nothing to do all day' life he has #truthfully he smells/his fur feels kinda weird too but it might just be bc ive been gone for a bit #bc i feel like i remember that from last time too #i could forgive a lot of these things individually but all of them at once? man.#another entry in 'is she depressed or just not very considerate?'#(<- she's never mentioned anything approaching depression/etc i just can't imagine.. not being depressed)#but the turtle thing is the worst bc like. how do i even bring that up. i don't wanna reopen that wound yk #and while there's a bit of 'see i told you' going on she probably feels bad enough already right. maybe #but she also doesn't know Shit about how to care for turtles and ignored my warnings. that turtle was sick for months #and vets are expensive but she'll spend money on these high end shoes as they drop and then act too broke to get a $10 heat bulb. whatever #idk. i should've pushed her harder. it hasn't really sunken in yet but it's my fault too. guh

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fingertipsmp3 · 17 days ago

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I love when people blame me for problems they created themselves. Like I know it seems like I would be to blame for this cupboard being the way it is, but I’m actually not

#because why did i clean out the cupboard and suggest to throw away several of the things in it in order to make space for stuff #that actually should go there #and why did they agree with me but then put everything back in the cupboard #don’t even get me started about the under the stairs area #i had it SO organised and i had everything put away properly and now it’s right back to normal #i’m sick of actually cleaning and organising things and then no one does anything to maintain them #but blames ME when the things end up messed up again #i did not buy you six coats! you’re also an adult woman who should know that six coats are going to take up six coats worth of space #and therefore maybe you should put a few of them in storage because you clearly cannot wear them all at once #i’m just looking visually at this under stairs area i’ve been told to sort out because it’s such a mess and the only things i can see that #are mine are some shoes stacked nicely on the shoe rack #and i know the only things of mine that are hung up in the hallway are my leather jacket; winter coat; one fleece and a scarf #maybe like one handbag for formal events. i assume that’s in there somewhere #i am not putting all your shit into storage for you just for you to take out all six of your coats; hang them up; and then complain #that moving the vacuum cleaner knocks everything over. I WONDER WHY #personal

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clownboyskingdom · 10 months ago

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Help I’m dyibg

#winter season has ended and now we are in the Mud Season #which is when everyone leaves and moves out of employee housing (which I’m in charge of cleaning)#but that also means that some of Your Coworkers Leave #so I’m on a two person crew for 2 buildings with 4 floors each #and each floor is full of about 4-6 trash bags worth of Stuff that people are just leaving Each Day #my shoulder? dead #my self esteem? up but that’s besides the point #my body is Breaking #clownboy decree

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sinfulspencer · 1 year ago

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Flashed

Prompt: It’s too hot to wear clothes at home, so Reader walks around in her underwear. Spencer loses his train of thoughts at the sight.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Rating: mature (18+)

Warnings: light dom/sub dynamic (Dom!Spencer, Sub!Reader if you squint), dirty talking, hair pulling, light impact play, breeding kink, unprotected sex

Words: 5.0k

A.N.: Horny Spencer. That’s it. Also, this is the first official Spencer Reid fic I have written since last year. It felt so good to write for him again. Written this with a prompt from the Summer Sunshine challenge by @imagining-in-the-margins. Thank you to @reidselle and @drgenius-reid for beta-reading this fic!

MASTERLIST. REQUEST GUIDELINES. TAGLIST FORM.

When Spencer asked you to move in with him at the end of the year, he was ready to face every challenge that life would throw at him. The first fights over laundry, the first fight over whoever almost set the house on fire, the first fights over the person that was supposed to remake the bed before going to work, the first fights over whoever left the TV on before going to bed…

He was prepared for everything.

Spencer learned to cook (he wasn’t good at it, but he knew how to turn on the stove and boil some water, at least). He learned how to do laundry. He learned how to clean the floors without you falling on your own ass because he forgot to tell you that the ground was wet.

But Spencer wasn’t ready for the summer.

You moved in with him during the fall season, when it was still cold outside, and it was time to drink hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. You moved in with him when you were still wearing a winter jacket, leather boots and a scarf around your neck. You moved in when the wind was so cold that you could barely keep the window slightly opened in the bathroom after taking a shower to let the steam go out.

Spencer wasn’t fucking ready for summer.

The hot weather was already taking a toll on his poor body and he hated it. Spencer despised the high temperatures because they made him sweat like a pig and he hated, more than anything, the feel of sweat under his armpits or behind his knees.

Normally, before you moved in, Spencer would spend the whole time at home completely naked or wearing only underwear. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence, but it happened quite a lot.

What was the problem, then?

Spencer used to walk around in his apartment in his underwear when he was alone, but you’re doing it while he’s in the house. He knew you paced around the house that way because you felt comfortable, but still. He was a stupid man, with hormones that rushed through his body like crazy.

You walked around your shared apartment with nothing on but a pair of panties that Spencer always wanted to rip off you and a stupid bra that made your breasts look even more delicious.

And the sight had started to take a toll on Spencer for the worst. He was constantly horny, making it difficult for him to focus on simple tasks such as cleaning the whole apartment or doing laundry.

He woke up one day and you already were parading yourself in your underwear, which made his morning wood even more difficult to take care of. He came home that same night and you were still in your underwear, which led him to forget he was supposed to grab some dinner with Luke because he ended up taking you against the bedroom door.

Spencer didn’t want you to wear clothes if you were too hot, but he also needed to learn how to keep his hands to himself whenever he saw an inch of your naked skin. He felt like a teenager, always eager to touch and ravish what belonged to him.

When Spencer tried to explain the situation to Luke, his colleague laughed right in his face. At first, Spencer was offended.

‘Why are you complaining about seeing your girlfriend’s tits? You should be happy she feels comfortable around you.’

And Spencer was happy; he truly was. He was proud to know he made you feel good about yourself and allowed you to walk around the house almost naked, but he also felt like an idiot for getting a boner whenever he thought about coming home and knowing he’d find you dressed like that.

Or better, undressed.

That night, Spencer couldn’t wait to get home and tell you that he had a birthday party to attend next week. It was Penelope’s birthday and, as every year for the past ten, she had an entire day planned for her and her friends from work. There would be a huge pool party in a small agritourism she rented for the day, followed by a barbecue and a whole garden to explore.

Spencer was excited to bring you there.

You had been dating for over a year now and you couldn’t meet his co-workers and friends because you always had meetings to attend, or shifts that were incompatible with the nights the team hung out all together.

“Y/N?” Spencer called out when he entered his apartment.

The lights in the kitchen were on and he could hear you humming to a song blasting from the speakers.

He dropped his bag on the floor and followed the sound of your voice, only to find you in nothing but your underwear. Again. You had your back turned and were swaying your hips to the rhythm of the music, making Spencer smile at the sight. Though the music was loud and almost hurt his ears, he was willing to tolerate the loud volume if it meant he could observe you in your element for hours on end.

He was so enamoured with you even though you weren’t doing anything in particular. He fell harder for you everyday just watching you exist, breathe and live on your own.

But of course, the romantic thoughts in his head abruptly stopped when you felt his presence in the room and you screamed.

“Fuck! What the fuck, Spencer?!”

He didn’t want to laugh at your terrified expression, but a chuckle fell from his lips.

“Did I scare you?”

You roll your eyes, dropping your apron on the counter. “No. I screamed because I was learning how to fry scream. Fuck yes, you scared me.”

Spencer walked to the other side of the kitchen counter and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a tight hug. You smelled like apples and he could see them in the corner of his eyes, all peeled up.

“How was work? Did you get your stuff done?” you asked

Spencer nodded his head, kissing your temple without losing his grip on you. “Yes. I’m exhausted, though. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could relax and enjoy some time with you.”

You leaned forward, caressing his soft curls. “I bet you’re tired. You’ve been awake since five in the morning.”

As Spencer left the kitchen to get changed, he heard the music turning back on and he smiled. Your footsteps echoed in the room, and he smiled because he knew you were dancing to your favourite songs again. But still, there was a big problem that needed to be solved at that instant.

You were still in your underwear and of course, he had noticed that. How couldn’t he?

Spencer saw you for less than three minutes and yet, the bulge in his trousers made it difficult for him to think straight. He didn’t know how it was possible for you to turn him on that much, but you did and it was starting to make things harder for him.

If Spencer brought you to Penelope's birthday party, you were definitely going to wear a bikini. And a bikini is basically the same thing as your underwear… which meant one thing.

“Oh no.”

“Are you talking to me?”

Spencer turned around, attempting to cover the issue between his thighs with the jacket he brought to work that morning.

“Uh, no love. No, I was just thinking about… something.”

“Care to share?” you asked with an innocent smile.

Spencer knew that smile was actually innocent; you had no ill intentions, but his brain was starting to play games with him. He was so turned on that Spencer thought every little microexpression on your face and every move you made were just actions to tease him and work him up.

They were not. Or maybe they were.

“Sorry, uh… Yeah. Penelope invited me to her birthday party this Saturday.”

Your face enlightened at his words. “Oh! That’s so nice!”

“She asked me to bring you, too.”

“I don’t like the tone you just used. If you don’t want to bring me, that’s…”

Spencer widened his eyes, realising that his words might’ve sounded rude. “No! I’m excited to let you meet all of my friends and co-workers, truly.”

“Then, what is it? I know there’s something that bothers you.”

You sat on the bed with your legs crossed, waiting for Spencer to continue but, he didn’t dare to move. If he placed his jacket on the bed, you would’ve noticed the painful tent in his trousers. If he didn’t move, you would’ve asked him why he wasn’t taking off his clothes and putting on more comfortable ones.

Too many thoughts were running wild through Spencer’s brain and it was difficult for him to gather them all, cast aside the naughty ones and focus on the more normal ones.

It was tough not to stare at the curves of your breasts and how he could see the shadow of your nipples hidden behind the fabric of your bra. He has spent so many hours just licking and sucking your skin around your breasts, that he can still taste you on his tongue if he focuses hard enough.

“Penelope has rented a whole place for all of us.”

You hummed, tilting your head. “Sounds really nice. Is there a swimming pool involved? Is that why you’re worried?”

Spencer bit his bottom lip, forcing himself not to stare at the way your hair fell over your shoulders and covered the laces of your bra. A few days ago, he used his teeth to remove that same bra. It was a struggle not to think about that night, and he pathetically failed.

“I’m sure the place she rented is clean and…”

As you started to speak and comfort Spencer over his fear of germs, his mind wandered elsewhere. You moved to the centre of the bed to be closer to him and laid on it, with your arms behind your head and your body all stretched out.

Your bra barely covered your full breasts and your thighs were much more visible, with all the little bruises still peppering your skin. The same bruises he caused two days before. The same bruises you begged him to create on.

Spencer’s brain was starting to get even foggier.

“Are you even listening to me, love?”

You snapped your fingers in front of his face and Spencer dropped the jacket on the floor, quickly bending over to pick it up. Of course, he was listening to you, but he was just… thinking about something else while you were talking.

“Hm.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Spencer turned away from you and looked down, frowning. His bulge was still there and getting more painful, but how in the world was he going to face you and ask you if you could help him out? He knew you would, in a heartbeat, but he felt miserable.

How could he ask you to stop walking around his place in nothing but your underwear when he wanted to worship your body every hour of every day? How could he deny himself the sight of your stunning body?

His eyes went straight to your breasts and of course, you noticed it.

“Spencer!”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“My God.” - you started to say, sitting up on the bed - “You’re distracted! You can’t even finish a sentence or listen to me.”

Spencer hummed again, forcing his eyes to stay on your face. Unfortunately, they slipped down to your breasts once again - but that time, Spencer didn’t deny it. How could he? He had been so obvious since he arrived home, but you thought to yourself that maybe you were imagining things.

Or you were too horny, but you weren’t. He was.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…”

“You’ve been staring at my breasts since you saw me in the kitchen.” you stated

Spencer sighed, turning his back on you again. “I’m sorry. They’re distracting.”

“Look at me, love.”

He lingered for a few seconds, covering his face with both hands. He didn’t want to turn around because he knew you would’ve teased him for hours on end, but it truly wasn’t his fault. It was his brain that tricked him into staring at your boobs and remembering all the things he did to you the night before and all the other days.

It wasn��t his fault he had an eidetic memory and he could replay all your moments of intimacy together each time he wanted. How you looked when he kissed your neck, how you moaned when his tongue swirled around your nipples…

“You can look at them whenever you want, you know.” - you tapped his shoulder, kneeling behind him on the bed - “I’m your girlfriend, aren’t I?”

“That’s not the point, Y/N.” - Spencer replied, forcing himself to turn around - “You’re so distracting, I can barely think when you’re there… dressed up like that.”

You raised your brows. “Do you want me to change?”

“No!” - he exclaimed, before clearing his throat - “I mean… maybe. I don’t know, but I can’t keep getting hard because you’re half-naked.”

“What’s wrong with being attracted to me, love?” you asked with your arms crossed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, you know, but it’s hard to be around you when all I think about is how I want to just…” - he took a deep breath before shaking his head - “I need to behave, I’m sorry.”

There was a moment of silence where you pondered over his words. He seemed so miserable and all because he was so attracted to you that he could barely think, that he could barely remember that he had other things to do other than you.

That felt incredibly hot.

Leaning forward, you placed a hand on his hip. “I want to hear what you’re thinking about right now.”

Spencer shook his head, covering your hand with his. “It’s too early.”

“It’s never too early to make love to your partner, Spencer.”

You were right, he knew that, but he also knew that if he kissed you and took you right there, he would’ve spent the whole night just trying to do it over and over until you were too tired to move or to keep your eyes open.

Spencer sighed and looked down at you. “You drive me crazy.”

“And what’s the harm in that, love?” you asked innocently

He moved his hands under your neck and forced you to look at him, gripping your chin with his fingertips. You went quiet, trying to decipher the expression on his face, though the tight grip was already a good hint of what he was thinking about.

“No harm.”

“Exactly, so… What’s stopping you?”

Spencer knew nothing was stopping him from pressing your body onto the mattress and pounding into you. He had every right to do so because he knew you wanted it as much as he did, but still. There was an issue to fix and he refused to let his hormones get in the way, once again.

But maybe just this time, Spencer thought.

You leaned your head against his palm, and closed your eyes when his fingers brushed over your cheek. He could look at you for hours, admiring how you basked in the sweetness of his touch that you found so comforting.

“Nothing’s stopping me.”

You sighed, running your hands over his chest. “Good.”

Spencer unbuckled his belt and the metal clanking of it falling onto the floor brought an eager smile to your lips. Of course you smiled, because you were about to get exactly what you wanted since he came home.

Little minx, Spencer thought.

“You don’t need to hold back from what you truly desire, Spencer.”

He drank up your words like they were the sweetest honey and he sighed. You were right; he didn’t need to stop himself from putting his hands over you if you wanted to be touched as well, but still.

“If you want to rip my underwear off me, you can do it.” - you muttered, slowly opening the buttons of his shirt - “If you want to fuck me like this, while I’m almost naked and you’re still dressed, you can do it.”

Spencer watched as your skilled fingers pushed his shirt off his shoulder and sighed, because there was nothing else he could do or say at that moment. You had him wrapped around your tiny finger and you knew it, which was why he loved you so much. You could’ve snapped your fingers and he would’ve dropped to his knees for you.

“I just.. I just need to have you. At all times.”

“You can.” - you replied with no hesitation, only firmness in your voice - “I am here for your pleasure. Always.”

Spencer released a long sigh. “I know. I’m so lucky.”

Pushing his trousers down his legs to reveal his soft skin, you looked up at him with your lips turned into a wicked grin. You could see the emotions rapidly changing behind those eyes: lust, frustration, love, annoyance and desire. That was exactly what you wanted: you craved to drive Spencer crazy and you needed him to lose his mind over you.

It made you feel powerful.

“You’re so pretty when you’re desperate for me.” you said

Spencer leaned into your touch when you reached out for his face. “So are you, princess.”

But the tender moment was gone as fast it came, because there was no time to be nice to one another. Spencer wanted to wreck you and you wanted him to do as he pleased; you wanted the pleasure to consume him, and so it did.

Spencer kissed you for the first time since he came home and, of course, he had no time to be nice. His tongue pushed into your mouth without warning, but you let it as you laid down on the bed with the man on top of you. The kiss expressed all the frustration that had built within him ever since he came home and found you in the kitchen, wiggling your ass to the music and singing at the top of your lungs.

His teeth dug into the soft flesh of your bottom lip and you whined, almost tasting blood on your tongue.

“Let me be rough tonight.”

You grabbed him by the chin, staring right into those honey-coloured eyes. “Perhaps I was not clear with my words a moment ago, Spencer. I want you to do whatever you want to me.”

Spencer groaned at your words and pushed any rational thought out of his mind, allowing the frustration and profound desire felt for you to drive him. His pupils were blown wide with unbridled lust making you shiver, bringing the heat between your thighs where you so desperately wanted to be touched.

Spencer kissed your mouth before moving down to your throat, attacking it with bites and gentle licks that made you whimper.

“I’m going to ravish you tonight, my princess.” - Spencer whispered to your ear, running his hands all over your breasts - “And you’re going to take my cock like the good girl I know you are for me, yeah?”

“Yes. Yes, love.”

He moved his hands to your face, kissing the tip of your nose. “Hands and knees.”

You scrambled to turn around, struggling to move as his arms didn’t give you as much space as you needed. Spencer, ever so helpful, pulled your hips up when you managed to roll on your tummy.

“Good girl, that’s it.”

You could feel his cock against your ass when he leaned forward to bite your shoulder and you moaned, closing your eyes. His nails dug into the soft flesh of your back, dragging your panties down your thighs before throwing them on the floor.

Spencer’s mouth wandered down your neck, leaving a trace of kisses that started from your right shoulder and went down to your ass. He nibbled at the soft skin right below it before biting down, hard enough to draw blood. You yelped at the feeling, but didn’t complain as your hands scratched the blanket.

Spencer pulled away for a second and traced the small wound with the tip of his index, earning a hiss from you. It hurt, but you wanted it to hurt - you promised you’d bleed for him, and bleed you did.

“Good girl. So pretty for me.” - Spencer whispered, but you were more focused on the sound of a bottle of lube being opened - “I’m sorry, I’m so impatient to have you. I wish we could take this slow, but I can’t.”

“It’s okay, I know you’re desperate.” - you mumbled, moaning softly when his fingers breached your entrance - “It’s fucking cold.”

He chuckled at your reaction, smearing the lube all over your already wet slit. “Oops”

When you were ready, Spencer found no resistance as he slowly pushed the tip of his cock inside of you. He watched the way your walls welcomed him in and revelled in the sweetness of your whimpers and whines when you felt him. Spencer waited, watching you as you struggled to stay still for him.

“Please, just… Get inside, for fuck’s sake.”

“Oh? Wanna take it all at once, my princess?” - Spencer asked, running his left hand through your hair - “Are you desperate for my cock? Then, fucking have it.”

In one hard thrust, Spencer bottomed out inside of you and you fell on the bed with your face in the pillow. You trembled when you finally felt every inch of his cock inside of you and you thought you were ready to fall off the edge in less than a minute.

You were desperate for him every single time you had the chance to make love to him.

“Take it, princess. You wanted it and now you have it.”

Spencer watched you as you arched your back, tightening your grip on the bed sheets. A chorus of curses and moans flows from your lips as you try to get back on your knees, but his thrusts are too quick and harsh to let you get in position. So, again, you fell down with your face in the pillow.

The pleasure quickly expanded through your body as Spencer never slowed down the pace of his thrusts, basking in the gentle sounds of your moans. His right hand travelled down to reach your ass, and before you felt it, you heard it - there was a brief moment of silence, followed by a loud smack and then a deep heat diffusing over your skin.

It had been so long since he spanked you, but with that position, you couldn’t blame him.

The sensation heightened the pleasure within you.

“Oh, fuck!”

Spencer moved both his hands on each side of your head and leaned forward, keeping his thrusts quick and regular. You could feel his body tense each time you tried to push back into him, to fuck yourself onto his cock.

You were already close, desperate to ride that delicious end.

“Please, more.” - you cried out again - “Please, I’m close.”

“Don’t you dare.” - he bit your earlobe - “Don’t you fucking dare come on my cock now.”

You whined at his order, not sure how you would be able to hold it and be a good girl for him. It wasn’t easy to hold an orgasm, especially if Spencer never stopped fucking into you with all the energy he had in his body. You were so close, you were right there but Spencer stopped his movements - and suddenly, you felt a warm tear slip down your cheek.

A single tear of frustration.

Spencer forced you on your back, pushing you onto the mattress before sliding his cock back inside of you.

“I want to see your pretty face when you come, princess.” - Spencer whispered, lifting your right leg and wrapping it around his own waist - “I want you to look at me as you come undone on my cock.”

His pace is as rough as before and you felt more tears spill from your eyes. Your hands quickly went behind his neck as you rolled your hips, a pathetic attempt at fucking yourself back onto his cock to feel more and more.

You couldn’t form a coherent sentence. The only word that fell from your lips was a strained ‘yes’ that echoed in the room, encouraging Spencer to go harder and faster, to tear you down piece by piece.

And he looked fucking stunning as he did so.

His lean body, his muscles were tense, a single strand of hair falling over his forehead and his tongue poking out in concentration… You wanted to get those details tattooed on your brain, on your body, every-fucking-where.

“Such a good girl for me, huh? My pretty princess.” - Spencer whispered, looking down at you - “Always welcoming me with nothing on, knowing how crazy that makes me.”

Your lips opened slightly, more whimpers flowing from them.

“Do you know how difficult it is to get out of here and not remember all the times I’ve fucked you against the door?” he said, his voice rough.

You shook your head, not sure if you understood what he said.

“Fuck, you make me so horny. I fucking love your body.” - he mumbled, pressing his forehead to yours - “I always think about it and then I see dressed like that… It’s like you’re always begging me to bend you over and fuck your pretty cunt.”

You’ve always loved his dirty mouth, but that day it felt deliciously perfect. His thrusts were rough and faltering, which meant he was close to his orgasm too - you almost forgot you were close, totally enamoured by him and the way he spoke about you.

“My slutty princess.”

You nodded with a smile, drunk on your lust for him. “All yours to use and destroy.”

You felt the pleasure built up again right behind your belly button and you knew you were close again. Spencer must’ve noticed it because he kept his pace quick, never changing the angle because he felt you clench hard around him each time he bottomed out. Your thighs were shaking around his waist and he could feel your heartbeat quickening under his fingertips.

“My good girl.” - he mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment - “I can feel you’re close. Do you want to come on my cock, princess?”

He didn’t need a verbal answer, because soon your cries of pleasure were enough. You widened your eyes and threw your head back onto the pillow, crying out his name over and over as your nails dug into his shoulders. He could feel his skin breaking under your nails but he didn’t care.

Spencer was too enamoured with you to realise how painful your grip was.

“That’s it, gorgeous. You did so well.” he rewarded you with a kiss on the lips

You barely felt it, drunk on the pleasure that he fed you. Your whole body was shuddering as Spencer helped you ride out your orgasm, but the more he thrusted, the more pain you felt stabbing you. You didn’t complain, though.

You wanted it, you needed it and so did he.

“Does this pretty princess want my cum deep inside of her, hm?” Spencer asked

You weren’t sure he heard you, but you managed to choke out: “Yes. Please, please, fucking do it. Please.”

A few thrusts later, Spencer granted you your wish. His warmth flooded you from the inside as he watched the way his body become one with yours, shivering with pleasure. His right hand pressed down hard below your belly button and you winced, feeling his seed run deep if that was even possible.

It felt so incredibly good you could almost come again.

“Ah, that felt fucking perfect.”

You closed your arms around his neck and caged him against your body, so that he wouldn’t be able to run away. Not that he wanted to, of course, but.

Spencer didn’t move for at least five good minutes, struggling to catch his own breath while you stared at the bedroom ceiling with a grin on your face. You were deeply satisfied with yourself and you were sure Spencer was content, as well - though the conversation between you wasn’t over.

You knew that not putting on clothes would’ve distracted him and maybe that was exactly why you never put them on when he was around in your shared apartment. It was fun to see him struggling between staring at your breasts or at your thighs, or forgetting that he had to hang out with his colleagues because he was too busy burying his face in your cunt or fucking you against a window.

It felt good to be desired, and it felt even better knowing that it was the only thing Spencer was able to think about when he was away from you.

“You have to stop walking around our place naked.”

You put a hand on his chest, gently pushing him upward. Spencer was still lying between your legs, but he was staring at you.

“Naked? I am always wearing my underwear.” you stated

Spencer bumped the tip of his nose against yours. “Which is dangerously distracting, Y/N.”

“Oh, you’re using my name in a conversation.”

“I’m being serious, princess. I can’t get a boner whenever I’m near you.” - he explained, pressing a kiss on your jaw - “Believe me, I appreciate the sight but… My brain needs some rest. And so does my penis.”

“Okay, alright. I’ll do my best to keep my clothes on.” - I decided to give in - “After six weeks of pure hell, I think you deserve a break.”

Spencer kissed your cheek, before biting it softly. “I appreciate it, my princess.”

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t do it occasionally just to drive you crazy.” you warned him

“Oh, I’m fine with that.” - he said, rolling off your body - “But give me a heads up before doing it, okay? I wouldn’t want to come home with Luke and find you in your underwear.”

“Well… it could be fun. Maybe he’d like to join…”

Spencer covered your mouth with his’ before you could finish your sentence, but the kiss was interrupted by your loud laugh echoing through the walls.

“Alright, Luke will never see me like this.” - you gave him a peck on the lips, pushing him off you before he could spread your legs again - “This sight is for your eyes only.”

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