#they did say it would take a while to make a new messenger

[mandyluvsharmon]

In Tryst We Trust

It's 6:45pm and you are currently in the midst of getting ready to go on your first blind date ever. You're not really sure why blind dates have such a bad reputation because it's kind of exciting not knowing who you're going to be meeting. It could literally be anyone.

You finish putting on your eyeliner then, throw your hair back into a cute messy bun. You look down at your phone and see the notification that your uber is here. You grab your jacket and rush out the door and set out for your destination.

On the car ride over, you can't help but, to wonder about who you're going to be meeting. You seriously know nothing about this guy. Only that your friend James thinks that you would be a good match for each other. Your thoughts are interrupted as the car pulls up in front of a brightly lit building. An arcade? This can't be right. You double check the address with the driver and he confirms that you are in fact at the right place. You exit the car and make your way over to the buildings entrance. Suddenly a man lunges in front of you.

"Hey, this is you right?" He asks holding his phone up to your face. You recognize the picture of yourself from instagram and nod.

"Alright!I'm Tryst with a Y" he replies with a smile. He puts his hand into a fist and holds it out towards you.

"Hi! Um, it's nice to meet you" you reply as you awkwardly give him a fist bump.

You give him a quick once over. He's tall. Messy Bleached blond hair with black roots peeking through. He's wearing a black and white tye dye hoodie with black jeans. And he has the most amazing blue green eyes.

"Come on let's go inside" he says as he hurries in. You have to speed walk to keep up with him. The inside of the arcade is loud and crowded. "Where is he taking me" you wonder. You watch as he zigs and zags his way through the crowd. He leads you into a much smaller, quieter room. It appears to be a cafe of some kind. He stops in front of a table and gestures for you to sit down.

"So. Tell me about yourself. You do this kinda thing often?" He asks as he pulls out a couple of cans of Red Bull from his messenger bag.

"No. This is my first blind date. It's actually my first date in a while" you reply.

Tryst slides a can over to you.

"Right on. Me too. " he smiles as cracks open his drink.

He orders a pizza and brings it over to the table.

"No meat. James told me you're a vegetarian."he's says as he places the pizza on the table.

"What else did he tell you about me? "You ask curiously.

"That you're from New York and you just moved here to get a fresh start after your divorce. Oh, and that your favorite color is blue and you like cats. Actually, I just made that last part up" he grinned taking a quick chug of Red Bull.

"Well, you're actually not wrong. My favorite color is blue and I do like cats"

"I guess I can read your mind. " he laughed.

"What about you. What's your story" you ask.

"Well, I'm kinda in between jobs right now. And look!" he holds up his phone. " That's my daughter" he says proudly.

You melt at the sight of how cute she is in her little yellow dress holding on to a white duck plushie. You look up and notice a sadness in his eyes.

"You don't get to see her much. Do you?" You ask

He shakes his head. You can see tears starting to well up so you suggest that the two of you finish the pizza and play some games. Before you can even get all the words out he's already sprinting across the arcade towards the Dance,Dance,Revolution game.

"Come on" he says as he holds out his hand.

"Don't make me do this alone"

You're hesitant at first but, his smile pulls you in.

You both try your best to keep up with the pulsing beats but, fail miserably. "Look" he yells pointing at a claw machine. "I love those things."

He rushes over to the machine and starts pumping in quarters. The little hook moves back, then sideways, then forwards. He smashes his fist on a red button sending the claw plunging into a mound of toys. He manages to maneuver the lever just enough so it's able to grab a hold of a fluffy blue unicorn. He snatches it out of the prize shoot and proudly hands it over to you.

"Thanks Tryst! It's so cute!" You gush

"Just like you."he smiles. He then challenges you to a game of ski ball. Twenty minutes later and you both have more tickets than you know what to do with. You walk over to the prize counter and laugh as you argue over what to spend your tickets on. You pick a light up sword and he picks a pink tiara. You can't help but, laugh as he places it on top of his head.

"How do I look?" He asks. Both arms outstretched. "Like a princess!" I reply

"Yay! That's just the look I was going for!" He exclaims. Then something catches his eye. You already know that look and are prepared to chase after him as sets his sights on a motorcycle game. "Oh, my god!" He exclaims. "They have wack a mole!" He begins to excitedly rush over to it.

"My god this man is chaotic!" You say to yourself. You glance down at your phone and notice a text from James. He asks how it's going and if you're having fun babysitting. You look up just in time to see Tryst smashing the hell out of little moles with a mallet. It's actually kind of refreshing to watch someone enjoy themselves this much. He walks over with a grin and proudly hands you more tickets. "Do you want to get out of here?" He asks. Before you can shake your head yes he's already leading you outside.

He walks over to a street vendor and buys a bright blue cotton candy. Great. Just what he needs, more sugar!He breaks off a piece of it and hands it to you. It's tastes so good as it dissolves on your tongue. You smile to yourself. You turn your head and something catches your attention. It's one of those retro photo booths. You grab both of his hands and lead him over to it. He gets in and you follow behind sitting on his lap. You shove in a bunch quarters and before you can prepare your self the camera starts flashing. You both make goofy faces and stupid poses. Right before the last picture is taken you surprise Tryst by kissing him on the cheek. You both get out of the booth and wait patiently for your photos. You turn to Tryst and smile. "I'm having a really good time tonight and even though you're unemployed and look like you haven't slept in a week , I think I want to see you again."

"Alright!" Tryst exclaims pumping his fist a little.

""Where to now?" You ask.

Tryst shrugs. "Want to go sit on that bench over there and make out?"

You laugh. Oh, he's serious.

"What the hell. Why not?"you think to yourself.

You follow him over to the bench and sit next to him. He puts his arm around you and pulls you close. He leans in and you start to have one of the most intense make out sessions that you've ever had in your entire life.

This man is absolute magic. You feel like a teenager again.

You pull back from him and smile.

He starts to tell you about this business idea of his.

"It's kind of like Air bnb crossed with Tinder"

He explains.

Even though it's probably one of the dumbest ideas you've ever heard, you still admire his enthusiasm.

You put your head on his shoulder. Tonight was a really good night. You took a chance on a complete stranger and it actually worked out. Little did you know you had your work cut out for you. Because there would be highs and there would be lows. So, many lows. Tryst was a handful and required lots of love and more importantly lots of patience. Both of which, you were more than willing to give to him.

🩷💜🩷💜🩷

Thank you for reading!

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

So Dani got herself into trouble. Again.

First it was the Italian mafia, then that human trafficking rink, but the last straw wasn’t the Meta human kidnappers, no, it was the assassin cult trying to convert her to assassiness.

She hates to say it, but the US was the safest place she could be at the moment.

The GIW are idiots, so the only person she would have to worry about was Vlad. And that meant she had to go somewhere when Blad would never dream of entering.

She distinctly remembers Vlad complaining about a man named ‘Wayne’ and a city named ‘Gotham’, calling it a ‘playground for psychopaths’.

So, Gotham it is.

The problem is no one in Gotham would hire a 12 year old with papers, a guardian, or even an identity. And there was no way she would go to Vlad for help.

One day she over hears a group of people talking about they new un and comping crime boss, Red Hood. About how he pays well and offers protection for kids. Hell, Dani didn’t even mind that he decapitated people as a hobby!

So she did what any desperate kid would do. She created a resume and walked into Red Hoods office, dropping it in the desk.

He hired her a messenger. Claimed phones were too unreliable and he witnessed first hand how she could sneak around.

She adopted the name cryptid and even wore a mask like Hoods to conceal her identity.

Jason is very confused at to why he suddenly wants to protect a random girl looking for a job. Something inside him is screaming to PROTECT PROTECT PROTECT

Shenanigans that follow

-Dani taking a nap on the couch in Jason’s office when Nightwing walked in hoping to try and make a truce. He leaves thinking that he has a niece.

-all of Hoods men thinking that Dani is his kid, which is why he hired her. This leads to a lot of Hoods enemies and Gotham’s rouges trying to kidnap her

-likewise, she gets mistaken as a Wayne kid

-Dani underestimated Vlad and he did have the balls to show up in Gotham and he showed up in Hoods office asking for her. Jason’s, seeing how scared Dani was, called in a few favors to make sure he wouldn’t come back

-the phantom trio graduates high school. Sam and Danny head to Coast City as a couple while Tucker goes to Gotham bc he got hired by WE the moment he received his diploma.

-Tucker runs into Dani the first night he in Gotham and is like ‘ok come live with me’ and Dani’s like ‘bet I’m not homeless anymore’

-Tucker finds out about Dani’s job and demands a meeting with Red Hood to discuss why he let a 12 yo work for him

-if you want Tucker x Jason, then during the entire meeting Hood kept flirting with him, unfortunately, a week later, Tucker became smitten with a man named Jason

-Jason and Tucker met at a bookstore. Jason was buying a book and Tucker was getting something for Dani’s education. They hit it off immediately.

-Hood ‘hires’ Tucker as a hacker for his gang, and Tucker accepts because then he could keep an eye on Dani

-Dani goes to GA and makes friends with Damian Wayne, who’s a bit older than her. Damian is now wanting a younger sister and decides that Dani would be perfect

[eclipse-msoul]

A poison apple's Tale

♛┈⛧┈┈•༶ Classical Tale ༶•┈┈⛧┈♛

Snow White AU ( Dark! Twisted Batfamily X Evil Queen! Reader)

One short (1) : PART 1/3

You knew life had a brilliant way to screw people but you didn't think it would screw you up so bad!

You started dazed in front of the mirror, looking completely different from what you remembered looking like a few hours ago. Your hair was silky with strands standing out in a pretextual colour along with your shining eyes. Your lips were plum making you look youthful yet sexy.

“ Your majesty the Queen, the King and Princess Snow White await your presence.” A maid bowed in front of you and spoke in stern words.

There was no doubt about it.

You had reincarnated as the evil Queen from the classic Snow White! Oh, how cruel could fate be to you? You were going to be Snow White’s evil stepmother. Not only that but you were going to die a shallow and sad death..

It made you gulp as you instantly held your neck.

“ My Queen?” The maid looked at you and you almost flinched with the way her eyes stared dazed at you. You let out a fake cough before taking a step out of your room. “ Take me to his Majesty.” The maid nodded and followed along with you.

While you passed through the hallway, many servants and officials stole hidden glances at you. You were so lost in your thoughts that you almost crashed into one of the guards standing outside his office.

He looked so shocked, with his cheeks flushed.

You let out an apologetic smile before steadying yourself for the audience.

“ Announcing her Majesty the Queen.” One of the messengers proclaimed as the doors opened and you entered. You were so nervous , your fingers trembled as you picked your dress in courtesy and bent your head slightly.

“ Rise.” You heard a bored tone, looking up to see a man in his late thirties letting out a yawn while he scanned the many documents placed in front of him. You did as said and took a seat at the near-bt couch.

Where was Snow White? Didn't the maid say she was here? You thought in your head. “ The princess is in the middle of class.” you heard cause you to be startled. The king lazily smiled and brushed his hand against his beard.

“ I see.” and no more words were exchanged.

The clock ticked with each moment passing slower than the first. The only sound that could be heard was the documents being flipped and the sound of the pen moving. You stared at the window trying to distract yourself.

“ You seem different today my queen.”

You flinched, your hand tightened on your dress as you suppressed a scowl. “ How so?” The King's eyes narrowed. “ You seem more-” His words remained half when the door barged open with a loud bang and you heard a youthful voice.

“ Daddy!” A girlish voice called as she jumped and embraced the king. You stared in shock as the king smiled and flicked the little girl's forehead. “ Behave Snow. Greet your new mother.”

You rose and smiled, this could be your chance. Maybe you could prevent that cruel fate by befriending the child. “ A pleasure my princess.”

“witch-” Did you hear that wrong? You looked up at the girl hidden behind her father who stood mere steps away from you. She was glaring at you like she wanted you dead. Wow, you were screwed.

You gave her a nervous smile and greeted her like you saw in the movie. The king, you and Snow White took a stroll outside.

You could do this! You had to if you wanted to survive.

Time passed by in a flash and before you knew it the little princess had grown up to be a bright and cheerful young woman.You had doubts that she may have really hated you but you tried your best.

The poor girl had just lost her father a few days prior. It was understandable for her to be frustrated. You decided that you needed a chance of pace and opted to go into nature for a breath of fresh air.

There was a beautiful pond not too far away. You had ordered your guards to step away and they had hesitantly obliged. You hummed as you walked at the edge of the lake with your eyes closed and reminiscing about the current events.

Snow White was different from what you had imagined. She was more stubborn, more reckless and needed guidance. It has been several years since you isekai in this world, making you get used to your role.

You weren't cruel to her but rather tried your best to be a good mother to her.

She was like a little cat trying to fight you sometimes.

You absentmindedly stared at your aged reflection in the lake. “ What are you doing here?” The sudden voice startles you. Looking back you gasp as you feel the air leave your lungs.

In front of you stands the most handsome man you've ever seen. Blue sizzling eyes with charming black hair, body that resembled Hercules himself. You felt your mouth gape open.

The stranger glared at you intensely. His eyes closely examine you. “ What brings the kingdom's Queen to this humble place?” He darted. “ I-I'm-”

You didn't know when your leg got caught in a weed present near the lake causing you to skip and fall with a loud splash sound.

You gasped for air and with a shivering cold tried to get out. “ Here, take my hand.” the stranger calmly leads you up. You take it graciously and are pulled up.

Your body does not bode well with the cold lake water absorbed in your undergarments. The man notices you freezing , and says “Follow me.” You shake your head and nervously speak. “ It's fine, I'll call the guards and return to the palace.”

The man only sighs,“My place is near here, dry yourself and return. You'll catch a cold otherwise.” You think for a moment, a sneeze falls through.

“ See.”

“ Alright, lead the way.”

Like the stranger said, a cottage isn't too far away from the lake. You follow him inside unaware of the danger lurking. As soon as you enter inside a towel is tossed your way as he sets aside some wood to heat the room. “ Go and change,” he says before walking out.

You undress and wear the garments handed to you. Your delicate skin feels the heat of the fire as you put on the shirt and dry yourself. When you're dressed , the door flickers open and the stranger returns.

You blush at the way his shirt wraps closer to his body making his body look more defined and you see details you couldn't earlier. You turn your face away. “ I didn't catch your name Mr. Helper.”

The man stares at you silently before answering, “ Bruce…Bruce Wayne.” That name sounds awfully familiar to you. Wonder why.

“ We're back old man!”

“ Father, we've returned.”

“ Bruce-”

Sounds of several young children are heard and you see them enter through the door. They all appear to be in their teens looking like their father's copy. But wait, those caps are those faces.

You pale.

No

They're the one you're supposed to avoid the most. Under stress you find yourself fainting. It's over. You think before long consciousness and getting saved by Bruce from hitting the ground.

TBC

Tag list : @vanilliona , @alishii , @obsessedwithromance , @apelepikozume , @cuntiemf , @noclue-0 , @sirenetheblogger , @nightwinglover101 , @enchantingarcadecreation

[notreallythatlost]

I BLEED THE SAME

➴ annatar/sauron x female!elf!reader

PART ONE

summary: after halbrand returns to eregion, he takes on a new form. and you feel drawn to it as much as to the darkness inside of him.

warnings: 18+, MDNI, angst, unprotected sex, p in v, slight biting, fluff means sauron is in love (can that even be possible??)

word count: 2k

author’s note: this is part 2 of ‘if you bled’. please read it first, before you continue. maybe this one is little bit of a mess but god, love me a soft sauron. 😫 i hope you enjoy it and don’t forget how i much i appreciate your likes and reblogs — it means so much to me. xx

inspired by: this song

THE RINGS OF POWER MASTERLIST

After Halbrand disappeared, he did not return but you often wished, he would.

Sometimes you even believed, that you could see him come around a corner out of a sudden, until you realized it is just one of the other elves.

A few days later, Galadriel and Elrond left to return back to Lindon with the rings. They tried to convince you to come with them, but you knew you didn't belong there anymore. So you stayed in Eregion while you waited for Halbrand to return, just like he promised you.

The weeks went by and with each passing day you lost more hope of seeing him again. And with your hope, his promises also began to vanish.

Until, one day, Mirdania rushes into the great forge and joins Celebrimbor's side. Even though their voices are lowered, you try to understand some of what she is saying to the Lord of Eregion. Then, when she mentions a messenger from the Southlands, the hammer you hold falls from your hands in shock as you take a sharp breath.

This can’t be possible.

All eyes are suddenly on you, but you don’t care, just like you don’t care about the hammer that is still lying on the ground. You grab the skirt of your dress and run, ignoring Celebrimbor's call. Your path leads you out of the forge, into the yard and to the gate.

And there you see him standing. The man you had been waiting for all this time. The man who had finally kept his promise and returned to you.

He has his back to you and you let your gaze slide over it. There is a wound on his right shoulder and your heart instantly clenches in your chest. Wherever he had been, he had been in pain, you can feel it.

As if he can hear your thoughts, Halbrand turns around and your eyes meet. For a moment, time stands still and you see the hint of a smile on his face.

You return it as best you can, but you sense that something is wrong. Not a second later, Mirdania walks past you towards Halbrand. “My lord, I must ask you to leave,” she says and glances over her shoulder at you shortly.

Halbrand turns his gaze to the elf and puts on a charming smile. “Why do you want me to leave? I've only just arrived”, he answers and smiles at Mirdania, making the butterflies in your stomach swirl around and you lower your gaze.

“I'm not asking you to leave, the Lord of Eregion is. He has no interest in negotiating with you,” the elf replies before turning away and walking towards you. Her gaze is on you, then she grabs your wrist and pulls you with her.

“Wait, I-” you begin, but Mirdania interrupts you. “Lord Celebrimbor says we can't trust him. None of us should get involved with him. Not even you.” Although her voice is tense, you can't help but let out a laugh. “You can't be serious. I know who I can get involved with and with whom not,” you try to defend yourself, but she just pulls you further away from him.

“Lady Galadriel says otherwise,” she replies and you freeze. “What does Galadriel have to do with this?” you ask with a slightly raised voice. For a moment Mirdania just looks at you, then she leads you back into the forge and out of Halbrand's reach.

You have no way of returning to Halbrand for the rest of the day. But you know that he is waiting. Even if not just for you. When it starts to rain in the evening and Halbrand is still standing in the yard, waiting, Lord Celebrimbor finally decides to go to him himself.

Some time pass and as he returns with Halbrand close behind him, the forge is completely empty — except you. Both of them are soaked and you are about to ask if you can bring them anything, but Celebrimbor silences you with a wave of his hand. “You have done enough. You can go,” he says, leaving you no chance to protest.

Your gaze falls on Halbrand, who is looking at you with a gentle expression in his eyes. He gives you a slight, barely noticeable nod and you turn away to go to your chamber.

You lie on your bed for a while and stare at the ceiling, your thoughts swirling wildly. There is so much you wanted to know, so many questions and only one person who knows the answers. And you hope that you would get it soon.

At some point you must have fallen asleep, because a gentle touch on your face wakes you. It takes a moment until you can think clearly again and you recognize a person sitting on the edge of your bed. You immediately sit up and slide away from the figure.

“Don't be afraid,” his words sound through the darkness and you start to relax. “Halbrand?” you whisper and he nods slowly. “But now, call me Annatar“, his voice is low as he answers making you swallow hard.

Annatar raises his hand and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. The touch is so familiar that you can't resist any longer and lean into it while you close your eyes slightly.

Suddenly the fire in the fireplace lights up and fills the room with a warm light.

After a few seconds, your gaze finds his and you can't help but examine his new form. He examines you just as intensely, as if he's waiting for a reaction.

But everything you could do is raising your hand and taking one of the blonde strands of his new hair between your fingers. You must have been silent for a little too long, because he puts his fingers around your wrist and looks you intently in the eyes. “You don't seem particularly impressed,” he says with a raised eyebrow, but you shake your head.

“No, it's not that. It's just... it’s new,” you admit, making him smile. “And I thought you were asking me to take on Halbrand's face again,” he rests his other hand on your thigh and you lean a little closer to him.

“Well, even though I think a beard suits you so much better, this face is just as fine,” you say with a smile and look him in his now deep blue eyes. But then you remember that he had been in hurt and in pain not so long ago and let your gaze fall down.

Annatar, who seems to have sensed the sudden change in your expression, frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“Tell me, what happened to you? Why did it take you so long to come back?” you ask, but Annatar just smiles. “Is this your way of telling me that you’ve missed me?” he asks with a hint of amusement and you snort quietly, but can’t help but smile.

Your fingertips glide gently over his cheek, and instead of the stubble you can feel his soft skin there. Even though he looks completely different now, you can feel that it is him.

“You are Sauron,” you suddenly say out loud for the first time before looking him in the eyes again. He returns your gaze, then nods. “But that doesn't seem to bother you,” he says carefully.

“No... even though it should. I should hate you for everything you've done. But I can't. I could never,” you whisper and feel him caressing your thigh with his thumb.

“She tried to convince you not to trust me,” Annatar says suddenly, thoughtful, and now you frown. “Galadriel...,” he adds, sensing your confusion.

You nod and let out a strained laugh. “Of course she did… what do you think? You deceived her. Like all of us. But she still doesn't have the right to decide who I give my heart to,” you say quietly and gasp softly as Annatar's fingers press tightly into the skin of your thigh.

“You should be careful who you give it to. Hearts are incredibly precious,” he whispers, leaning closer to you. You feel his breath brush over your lips and open them slightly, then his mouth is on yours.

Hot and demanding, as if he had been waiting for centuries to kiss you.

You can't help but moan, a mixture of desperation and longing as you bury your hands in his hair. Oh, how you already love these long strands.

His hands find their way to your hips, where he grabs you and pulls you closer to his body. A growl escapes from his lips, causing goosebumps to spread across your skin.

Breathing heavily, he pulls away from you again and presses his forehead against yours. “If we don't stop right now, I don't know how much longer I can hold back,” he says in a rough voice and you tremble. Your hands are still in his hair and you press yourself a little closer against him. “What if I don't want you to hold back?” you breathe against his lips.

And with that you unleash a storm.

Suddenly he is on top of you and presses your back into the mattress. His hands are all over your body, touching, pulling and caressing while you gasp for air.

Seconds later he starts to undress you, his hands touching every little part of your body before you get him out of his garments. They land on the floor just like your dress and he pulls you closer again.

All you can feel is Annatar's skin against yours, his fingertips wandering over your shoulders and his hard cock between your bodies as you straddle his lap.

He touches you as if you could crumble to dust before his eyes at any moment, and no matter how deeply you would like to feel him inside you right now, you can’t help but enjoy the feeling of his closeness and the desire that takes your breath away.

Finally, his hands move under your thighs and you look into his eyes as you position yourself above him. Your gazes are locked as you sink down onto him, but you had to close your eyes. It takes your breath away and you need a moment to get used to his size. Then you start to move and you moan with pleasure. Nothing has ever felt so good.

You press your forehead against his, as you pant heavily with one of your hands buried in his hair, the other in the bedsheets clawing onto them.

“Let me make you my queen,” he blurts out as you continue to move. You both have to groan before you realize what he just said. “What?” you gasp and pause. He takes advantage of this moment, puts his arm around your waist and turns you so that you are lying under him again.

He's still deep inside you and he moves his hips briefly to make it clear to you. “Become my queen,” he repeats and lowers his head to your breasts. He gently sucks on your nipple, moving slowly as if he's savoring every second of it.

“But I-” you stop and pant as he bites the skin beneath your breasts and look down at him. “Become my wife and I will lay all of Middle Earth at your feet. I will destroy anyone who does not submit to you — to us,” he continues and if you weren't so high on your feelings right now, you would have thought that this must be a joke.

You're just about to say something again when he suddenly speeds up his pace again. He thrusts deep into you, making your eyes roll back in your head. Your breathing gets heavier and your moans get louder until you hear his voice in your ear.

“Let go for me, my queen” Annatar ducks his fingers in your skin as your climax roll over you. You cry into his mouth, burying your fingers in his hair as if he was the only thing you could hold on to.

His breath is still on your ear as he moans softly, finding his own release and you could feel his cock twitching inside of you. Panting heavily, he places a soft kiss on your neck and breathes in your scent. Then he falls onto the sheets next to you and pulls you in his arms.

Lost in your thoughts, you draw small circles on his bare chest until he takes your hand in his, catching your attention. “I meant it. Become my wife and we will heal Middle Earth together,” he whispers and raises his other hand closed in front of your face before opening it.

In his palm lies one of the three elven rings.

For a moment you are too stunned to speak, until you find your voice again.

“Where… did you get it? Galadriel took them all with her,” you whisper and take the ring carefully in between your thumb and index finger.

“Does it matter?” he asks, stroking the back of your free hand with his thumb. “Is that a yes?” he asks, looking down at you expectantly.

You don't know what to say. But you know what your heart is telling you. And even though it was a betrayal of those you love and your entire kind, you know it's the right thing to do.

Because the darkness had called for you for your whole life.

“Yes...” you breathe and raise your gaze to meet his eyes again. There's a smile on Sauron's face as he takes the ring from your hand and gently slides it onto your finger.

“Then take this ring as my promise. I will give you the world and bring every being to its knees so that they will worship my queen.” With that, he leans forward and kisses the silver ring on your finger. And while you watch him, you know that one thing is certain.

This is all you've ever wanted.

And he is all you ever desired.

2024 notreallythatlost

[skyahri]

Robes |Zuko X Reader| HC

Summary: Your relationship with Zuko and how your friends found out.

Warnings: Implied intamacy???? Bed sharing. Kissing.

Masterlist Ko-fi

- - - - -

You were well acquainted with the Gaang. You'd served as a sort of double agent for them during the war once Zuko had teamed up with them. He knew they'd need some inside information, so he contacted you, knowing full well your ideals did not align with the fire nation.

You're the daughter of the prestigious Admiral Zhou, a ruthless military head who wouldn't hesitate to turn you in if he found out you were leaking information to the enemy.

It was easy to keep them updated. Your father had an ego the size of the moon, always going on and on about his achievements and new findings and whatnot. He was never home for long, leaving you in your mother's care and making it easy to sneak away. You mostly sent messenger Hawks, but once they'd infiltrated the fire nation you met in person.

You mostly met with Zuko, but occasionally, Sokka or Aang would take his place. You didn't mind. It was nice seeing more of the people you were risking your life for.

After the war, once Zuko took over as Fire Lord, he invited you to be a part of his cabinet. You weren't sure why, seeing as how the other members have some sort of military or consulting experience, and you're just a teenager who sent letters.

Strategy meetings were weekly, so you saw Zuko more often than any of the others. They visited when they could, but with the long list of air temple repairs, it was difficult to make time.

Not that you minded. You loved spending time with him, with or without the rest of the entourage.

Zuko was always accommodating to you, even going as far as to offer you a room in the palace 'if you ever need it.' He'd had the room fully furnished and closet stocked with spare outfits.

Occasionally, if meetings ran long, you'd stay in said room. It was a luxury the other members weren't granted, and honestly, it made you feel special.

When all the immediate post-war issues finally calmed down and Zuko had more free time, he always asked you to stick around or come keep him company.

He's the fire lord. He can't easily leave the palace, especially to do regular teenager things like laze around the shops or sneak into theaters, so you were limited to what the palace could offer.

You'd taken to gardening with him, something Zuko found very alluring. You played board games, baked pastries, and anything else you two could come up with.

Before long, you found yourself spending most of your time with him on the property. Occasional sleepovers quickly become several times a week. It wasn't long before you basically lived there, so you bit the bullet and brought the rest of your stuff to the palace.

Within a few months, you shared a kiss near the pond in the garden. Things slowly escalated over the next year or so. That first nervous kiss became the norm. You shared dinners and late night talks, often going so far into the night you'd just crash in his bed.

Before long, your room became obsolete. Your bed was hardly ever touched, your clothes were in his closet, items in his drawers, and toiletries in his restroom.

You'd heard the staff gossip from time to time, which you didn't necessarily mind, but it definitely made you blush. It felt like getting caught despite doing nothing wrong.

For a while, Katara would tease you mercilessly. She didn't know anything, or at least didn't lead you to believe she did. She just liked the idea of everyone finding someone, and you were the only girl Zuko ever talked to.

You went out of your way to cover up the obvious aspects of your relationship when your friends were around. You agreed early on to keep things under wraps, not wanting to harm the groups dynamic if things didn't work out.

But that was almost a year and half ago, and now it felt wrong to say anything. Like you had betrayed their trust somehow. You felt bad for lying to your friends about what was going on, but honestly, neither of you could bring yourself to admit the two of you had been dishonest for so long.

You woke up and patted the bed beside you. It was still warm, but Zuko wasn't there. You got up and picked up a robe off the floor to cover your nightwear. It was unlike him to leave without even waking you, so you'd go see what he was up to.

You exited his quarters and immediately saw the entire Gaang. They just stared at you in shock, having a hard time piecing things together.

"Did you just come out of Zuko's room?" Sokka asked.

"You saw me, didn't you?"

"Are those his clothes?" Katara asked.

You glanced down. They were, in fact, his clothes. You just stared at her, refusing to answer. Of course, Katara would notice they were his specifically and not just standard robes.

Zuko dragged his hand down his face. Of course, this is how they'd find out. Not after a long, thought-out conversation over a planned dinner or outing. They had to see you walk out of his room compromised after an impromptu visit.

They hastled you two for the rest of the day, asking horrifically personal questions and guilt tripping you into answering them. They bothered you for information about your intimate lives and dating preferences.

Late into the night, when the fire and excitement died down, Katara and Toph cornered you about the secrecy. You were huddled up in your room for a girls only sleepover when they decided to attack, giving you no choice but to be completely honest.

"We kept it quiet in case things didn't work out. Then some time passed... and we started feeling guilty about hiding it, and we just never found the right time."

"There didn't have to be a right time. Were your friends, not your subjects."

"I know. There's just a lot of pressure when you're with a friend who also happens to be the Fire Lord."

Luckily, you have amazing friends who understand people make mistakes. They squashed your anxiety about the whole thing, making sure you knew they weren't mad or disappointed.

But that absolutely did not stop them from holding over your heads for the unforeseeable future.

[thisonehere]

Come Back To Me

A Match Made in Hell Part 4

Last part

Next part

A/n: And here it is! Ngl, it's been a long week, I'm just so happy to finally have this out. When it comes to revealing who Y/n' "special friend" is, I've seen a lot of good ideas. I decided to go with the most unexpected one that would burn Bi-Han to see Y/n with.

Tags: @maulsgf @sweetpanda18 @thickemadame @posterbunny @strawbisane @fandom-garbage @sleepyfxce @livingdeadgirly

C/w: Mentions of groping, and stalking, threats of physical violence to reader

It was dark outside now, Bi-Han tried to ignore how late it had gotten. He rubbed drue sleep from his eyes and pulled himself closer to his desk. He tried to keep himself busy by looking over papers before him, all neatly stacked and organized. But Bi-Han would still mess with them, reorganizing them, putting them into different groups. Sometimes he would even reread them. All this to keep his kind off you.

He had frequent meetings with the sorcerers, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, strategizing their next steps. Bi-Han would still pretend to be loyal to Liu Kang while they continued to work on the shadows. He be a spy for them, telling them Liu Kang's plans so they could prepare for any attack. Then, when the time was right, they all will take him by surprise and destroy him and all his allies. Kuai Liang and Tomas were livid at this news, even to the that they would perhaps do something to stop him. Now that he thought about it actually, he hasn't seen them a lot lately, perhaps they truly are planning to something. If it is true, he isn't worried, he has faith that with the sorcerers, Bi-Han will be able to handle them. It's you that worries him the most.

Bi-Han began to reorganize a stack of papers, he decided he wanted them to each go to another stack. They didn't need to, but he needed something to do. He wasn't usually this obsessive with these trivial things, but it was nice to be distracted. When he finished, Bi-Han sighed and leaned back into his seat. By now it was so late that many of his Lin Kuei had no doubt followed the curfew and turned into their chambers to sleep. Yet he was still up, for so many nights since he went to Lin Kuei to retrieve you, he's been up. He had sent his messenger away to retrieve you weeks ago, the last time he heard from him was that he located you and was on his way back. Hopefully with you.

Since then, Bi-Han has been keeping himself busy to try to keep his mind off of it all. But every moment he got just a second rest his mind, thoughts of you appeared. He hadn't realized just how much he missed until after Tomas's outburst. He didn't want to admit it, but the fool was right, you did love him. And perhaps he did take you for granted, just a little. But none to worry about, You'll

Bi-Han is quickly brought back to reality when he hears a knock on the door. A very timid knock, like the person was scared. But it was enough to cause Bi-Han to quickly sit up right in his, correct his posture, and fold his hands onto the table. "Enter." He barked, putting on his best, stern face. But you look closely enough, you'd see a sie k of hope and anxiety in them. He watched the door as it slowly opened and the Lin Kuei entered. He approached the Grandmaster and made a quick bow. "Well?" If Bi-Han didn't know any better, he could've sworn that he heard the man gulp. "I had successfully managed to find Lady Y/n and make her aware that you ordered her return." Bi-Han stared at him, giving him an eye to the urge to continue. He could see that the Lin Kuei was obviously nervous, this made something in Bi-Han nervous himself. "Lady Y/n heard you request...and she refused to come back."

The Lin Kuei tries to retain his composure as he waits for the Grandmaster to say something. The way the Grandmaster looked at him, it scared him to death. He had a murderous look in his eyes, what makes it more terrifying is the silence. He could feel his heart beat against his ribcage so hard that he swore it was going to burst out. "Grandmaster?" He asks after the Grandmaster says nothing.

---

"Y/n, I need you to bus table 86 and table 56 need extra silverware." Madame Bo said, she had just come back from showing a party of 3 to their table. "I'm on it." You say as you sling your wrag over your shoulder and pick up the bin of used dishware. It was rush hour and that meant a very busy day at the Tea House, it was a full house and you were working hard. Madame Bo insisted that you take a lunch break, but you insisted on continuing to work. You didn't work past 3 so you wanted to get as much work done as possible before clocking out.

You weren't used to working this much back at the Artika. You helped in the kitchen many times, especially with the cooking, but for the most part you had a very cushy life. But you weren't opposed to trying to work. It was very hard though, when you first started working with Madame Bo you shattered quite a few of her plates when you fell down a flight of stairs after you tripped over your own foot.

For quite some time you were terrified of the stairs.

Madame Bo makes her way to the door as you rush past her to the kitchen to drop off the dishes to be washed and grab more silverware. You eye the clock that hangs over the entrance door, 12:30. A knot forms in your stomach as you see this. In a few hours you'll have to clock out. Madame refuses to let you work past 3 and usually you would be fine with that. But not today. Not after what you said to the Lin Kuei. The image of Bi-Han's face when he finds out you won't return. He would no doubt be furious and heartbroken, and just the thought of that made you feel...good inside, quickly making you forget about your fear and worries. But you couldn't deny how unsure you felt about leaving work alone, Kung Lao and Raiden were away and your *ahem* "special friend" wouldn't be visiting you until later tonight. So you would be spending hours alone. You just hoped you wouldn't have to deal with Lin Kuei sent by Bi-Han to collect you.

---

For the next few hours you were on your feet running throughout the Tea House, Bussing tables, refilling drinks, and adding new silverware. You even had the pleasure of kicking out a party.

"I think you should leave." You say sternly, hands on your hips as you impatiently tap you foot against the ground. looks at you up and down, unimpressed, the rest of the men at the table snickered, as if you said something funny. He and the rest of the table were getting a little too rowdy after a few too many drinks. They were yelling, used the most foul language you've had the misfortune of hearing, harassed many of the staff and verbally abused them, and even got a little too handsy with the waitresses.

Many of the other guests complained about them, and you finally decided to deal with it. "Listen, sweetheart, I don't think you know who you're talking to. We're not going anywhere. So I suggest you, I don't know, be a good girl and get us some more drinks." His friends nodded in agreement with toothy grins. You narrow you eyes as you study all the men at the table. On their arms bore tattoos that signified their allegiance. Except one, he kept himself covered from head to toe, you thought was weird, but you chose not pay him much kind. They're all a part of a gang that was visiting here for a meeting, a group called the Black Dragon. They were very infamous, especially their leader Kano. They were all evil and rugged to look upon.

You remember you husband reporting that he acquired their all that time ago when you were at the Artika. You thought it was beneath him to work with such low-wit, bottom feeding, ruffians, but you never said anything out of love and support. Some of the other staff members were too scared to kick them out, but as someone who lived with a clan of assassins where you were the wife of one of the most deadliest warriors alive, you weren't very impressed by them. "I'm not asking you to go anywhere, I'm asking you to go somewhere: Outside." Your eyes stay firmly on him, he glares at you, his cocky expression grows a slight bit of annoyance. He gets out of his seat and stand over you all menacing. "Listen," he squints his eyes to look at your name tag. " 'Y/n', cute name by the way, me and my boys have big day today. We're going to be meeting with a very special client. So it would suggest you be a good girl and mind your own business... I'd hate to have to swing by your place to teach you some manners."

Feeling that he did enough intimidating, the black dragon calmly sits back down, pleased on his face. With a sigh, you smooth out the wrinkles of your clothes and fix your composure. You smile at him, and he smiles back, you then grab him by the ear and rip him out of the seat. "Alright. I've listened to you, and now you'll listen to me. Be a good boy and leave, or I'll have to get Madame Bo to teach you some manners, believe me, she is an excellent teacher." And with that, you lead him, by ear, to the door. He leaves a trail of multiple "ow's" and "let go's" until you finally make it to the door and throw him to the ground outside. He angrily tries to get to his feet. "B*tch." He spits at you. The other men at the table found their way to the exit where you were. They all shot your dirty looks as they passed you. Except the masked man he walks past you and keeps walks, the others are quick to follow after him. You thought it was strange but you chose not to care.

"Y/n, we need help in the kitchen. Be sure to wash any germs that boy gave you and help us, won't you?"

You chuckle softly as you follow her to the kitchen. "Of course, I'll be sure to wash off all the fleas he gave me."

---

2:45

---

Things were finally dying down, many of the customers finished their meals and were going back to work if they had not already left. The restaurant had found a new peace with just a little under 70 customers left, something manageable for the rest of the staff. You were in the kitchen finishing a loaf of dishes and placing them to dry. You grab a cloth to dry your hands "And that's another day." You sigh in relief, the long day finally catches up to you and you need to sit down. Stumble over and collapse into a chair in the corner of the room. Washing the dishes had to be the most gruelling part of the day. It felt like a neverending task, bussers repeatedly coming in with new dishes to the point that you thought you'd be here all night.

You lay your head against the wall as you catch your breath and try to find the strength to clock out. You slowly feel yourself doze off. You begin to daydream about your night. Your friend will come over, you both wanted to watch another movie. He said it's a classic, something called Ninja Mime, you really don't care to see. You're just excited to spend time with him, he has grown to be one of your closest friends here. You met him through Raiden and Kung Lao and you didn't care for him at first, but he grew on you. And now you have movie nights whenever he's here. This will be the last he'll be here in a while though, like Raiden and Lao, there's some kind of crisis that means he'll have to go to aid the fire god. Some conflicts with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. And Bi-Han's working with them, an enemy right underneath their noses.

You ponder the concept of telling everyone just what Bi-Han was doing. He'd possibly be imprisoned and Kuai would inherit the Lin Kuei, much to Sektor's chagrin. Maybe Bi-Han would rot in a cell until he decided to change his ways. And the Demon, Sareena, she would no doubt escape, maybe back to Quan Chi if he hadn't already been captured. This all painted quite a pretty picture in your head. Then you think even harder about Bi-Han in a cell, he would not go without a fight, so there he is covered in bruises. He sits alone in the dark, his face a mixture of rage and misery. Perhaps that's what he deserves...perhaps...you'll be punished too.

You were complicit in all this, you knew what he was doing was wrong yet you did nothing, you looked the other way, not just to keep him happy, but also because you couldn't bring yourself to care. The only reason you left was because of the affair and now you continue to not tell anyone what Bi-Han was doing. Perhaps, you're just as bad as him. Maybe his cheating was the Elder Gods punishing you. Or maybe you're just trying to find a way to blame yourself for what he did to you.

A stiff pain goes through your neck and throughout your whole body. You groan as you rise to your feet and stretch. It's best not to think about it, just think about your friend. Think about Ninja Mime. Just don't think about--

"So this is what my wife has been reduced to,"

...Oh...Oh God no...

---

"An underling of an Ex-Lin Kuei, rummaging for scraps in a backwater village." Bi-Han stood under the entrance. He leaned against the doorframe, a vicious scowl on his face as he looked you up and down. He watches as you slowly turn to face him, horror painted all over your face. Bi-Han gets off the doorframe, he fixes you with a harsh gaze. The tension in the air is thick as you both just stand there. He had expected some witty retart from you by now, but you just stared at him with dread and disgust. His rage subsided for a moment, he hasn't seen your face for too long. You used to look at him with such love in your eyes, but now you look at him like he's some monster who's about to attack you.

"Y/n..." he started, not quite sure what he'd say. "Bi-Han..." you stare at him in disbelief as you slowly shake your head. "Why the hell are you here?" I came to bring you home is what he wanted to say, "On a business trip. I have a meeting tonight with a very special asset." Bi-Han looks at you as he can tell you are working in your head, suddenly, your eyes widen. "Those Black Dragons... They're here for you!?" Bi-Han merely nodded. Originally, he was supposed to meet with Kano at the Artika, but when you rejected him, he had Shang Tsung teleport him here where he'd now hold the meeting. It was a terrifying moment, the way Bi-Han burst into the Sorcerers lair, a vile rage in his eyes. He had dealt with the Lin Kuei for failing him and now he intended to deal with you. Shang Tsung immediately opened the portal, mainly out of fear.

He had thought you'd recognize him at the table when you kicked him and the Black Dragon out. He had offered to go with them to Madame Bo's, going as far to pay for it all. All just for a chance to see your face. He was mildly impressed with how you handled the man, he was surprised to see you like this. You were so different then when he last saw you. You were in much more simpler clothing than he was used to. He thought about how you used to look, he never really paid attention to how much effort you put into your hair, your clothes, your makeup, everything. All that effort just for him. You were so beautiful, even now, you're more beautiful here. More than beautiful, he saw the face you made as you worked today. Pure joy and content. You seem so happy here, away from him...

"Then go." You say coldly as you turn you back to him. "You're not going to kiss me good luck?" He took a few steps closer to you. "Why don't you ask Sareena to do it?" Bi-Han chuckled a little, there's the fire he was looking for. "She already has, among other things." Though Bi-Han didn't see it, he could sense the rage slowly building inside of you. "I hate you, so much..." You turn to face him, Bi-Han can tell that he opened an old wound and rubbed salt into it. But you can't possibly mean what you said...right? "Y/n, I-" but you don't let him finish. "Get out! Get out now or I'll scream! Madame Bo will hear, she'll come and she'll-"

"I miss you." He interrupts; you fall silent.

It wasn't easy for Bi-Han to say it, but it was the only thing that would calm you down and make you listen. He waits for a moment for you to calm down, you still refuse to face him. "Y/n...I..." There's so many things he wants to say to you, but words were never his strong suit. He knew you wanted him to apologize, get on his knees and beg for forgiveness, and you knew his pride would never let him. "It's time you come home, Y/n, enough of this childish nonsense." he says with low voice as he slowly approaches you. "You don't belong here. You don't belong with them. You are Lin Kuei, we both know you deserve so much better than this." He places a gentle hand onto your shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. Silence again. Bi-Han lets out a sigh as he walks away. "I'll be here for three days." He takes a piece of paper from his pocket and sits it on the counter. "This is where I'll be staying. All I ask is that you see me, talk to me, at least once before I go."

Bi-Han looks back at you, wishing that you look at him. Look at least once before he left, even if it was hatred, he didn't care, just as long as he got to see your face. But you refuse to look at him. Bi-Han softens as he looks at you longingly, then his face hardens once again into a scowl as he storms out of the room. Nevertheless, he knows you well enough. When this gets to be too much, you'll run back to him, no matter how unwilling you pretend to be now. And he will be there waiting. You will come back to him... won't you...?

---

You failed to clock out; You didn't leave the Teahouse; You stayed in the kitchen; You cried.

When you finally found the strength, you left the kitchen to walk home. When? You didn't know, and you didn't care to check. Madame Bo saw you walk past; you looked disturbed, horrified even. She asked what was wrong, and she seemed so scared for you. You mumbled that you were fine, rushing past her before she could say anything else. You didn't stop running, you ran all the way home, not stopping for a second to catch your breath or relax. When you finally made it to the house you collapsed onto the step.

You are reduced to a heaving mass of huffing and panting with your head in your hands, trying to catch your breath. You need to think, you need to lie down actually. Too much has happened today, you didn't want to think about it at all. You reach into your pocket and pull out the piece of paper with an address on it, you study it like it's the Bible. You read it over and over again until it sears its place into your brain. You feel rage forming inside you as you look at it. You rip the paper up and crumple it up before you throw it somewhere, not quite sure where because you didn't look.

You feel like there's something hot inside that just sits there and boils, you didn't want to scream or hit something, you felt so angry and you didn't know what to do with this fury. You hug yourself as you rock back and forth. You didn't want to be angry but you didn't want to calm down either. To accurately describe how you felt, it would be: UkJFIi$-#-AsbSU$+$(#_SJDKgjKXIDJ+$+$(#!!! It didn't make sense but that's just how you felt. You close your eyes as you raise your head up high and try to breathe. Seeing Bi-Han, it was not something you wanted. But it was at the same time. You should've been stronger now, nothing he said should have any effect on you. To be honest, you wanted kiss him...and then stab him, and then kiss him again, and the twist the knife.

You weren't naive, you knew you'd have to face Bi-Han eventually. You created a multiverse of different scenarios in your head on how you'd react, all the things you'd say, how he'd react, you created an entire fantasy in your head. And it was all glorious. You never anticipated Bi-Han to ambush you like that. You had so much to say, yet the moment you saw him, you choked. None of the things you wanted to say came to mind. Silence felt the only right option as you stood with your back to him.

"What do I do?" You mutter, your voice is broken and faint. A gentle and cool breeze tickles and plays with your hair.

Suddenly, you hear the door open behind you. You head swings around to see who it is. Raiden and Kung Lao aren't here, so the only person that could possibly be here is...that special friend of yours. He stands there looking down at you, very concerned.

You gasp surprised. "Johnny!?!?" Johnny Cage, your "special friend", gives a dry laugh as walks onto the step. "Hey Kitty, I know, I know. I'm a sight for sore eyes." He gives you a dazzling smile as he sets himself down next to you. "W-What are you doing here? You said you'd be here later." The movie star brushes back his hair as he takes in the nice weather. "I lied. I wanted to surprise you and come early. Then I'd give you the greatest, most special gift of all: spending extra with me. Now, come in, I made caramel popcorn."

---

The house had an amazing scent of chocolate, butter, and freshly made popcorn mixed with the syrup scent of caramel fill the air. You sigh at the delicious scent, you feel every stiffness and worry in your body melt as you take in the scent. You feel a smile spread across your worried face as you feel at ease. "Johnny, that smells wonderful." You try not to giggle at what you see next. An entire counter of snacks, some homemade, others are foreign, but what's most important, they're all your favorite. Your smile is contagious as it spreads to Johnny. Seeing how happy you made Johnny feel proud of himself, a bright smile forms onto his face. "Well, What can I say? I'm the best at giving the people what they deserve."

When you first met Johnny, you thought he was a self-centered, disrespectful, piggish, insolent, casanova-wannabe slag...And, well, he minda is. He had tried coming on to you, unfortunately for him this wasn't a good time for him to hit on you so you let out all the anger and resentment you felt for Bi-Han onto him. Imagine his face as you screamed at him, insulting every aspect of him, going on to questioning why would he do this to you, how could he do this to you, after all that you been through, and then having to comfort you as you broke down into tears. Later, you both had a heart to heart, he apologized for how he acted with you and you apologized for traumatizing him. Long story short, you quickly became close.

When he found out you never saw a movie before, he was over the moon with excitement to introduce you to the wonderful world of cinema like he did Kitana. He'll never forget the twinkle in your eyes as you saw your first movie, one of his of course. He loved talking to for hours about interesting trivia about things that happened behind the scenes and certainly scenes were made.

Tonight, he wanted to show you his baby, on of his all time best movies that won him numerous awards, Ninja Mime. It's one of his most cherished works and that since he would be gone for a long time, that would be the first movie you'd watch tonight.

"You're going to love it! It's the Cage cut too. So that means 2 extra hours of absolute cinema." He was basically bouncing off the walls with excitement as he readied the TV. You sigh in relief at the sound of this, you'll need something to distract you. Seeing the excitement on Cage's face was enough to make you forget about all your worries and wash away. You melt into the couch as you throw popcorn into your mouth. "But do tell me, Johnny, are there any bloopers of you messing up. Probably not, they probably need to make entire movies worth of you goofs. An entire series maybe." A smile spread across Johnny's face as you snicker. "Believe me, I don't mess up, he makes beautiful mistakes."

You found it odd how almost everyone, Bi-Han, Raiden, Kung Lao, etc thought Johnny's movies were terrible. Maybe it's because you've never really seen many movies before so you don't know what a good movie looked like, but you thought his movies were amazing. The rest of the night you spent glued to the screen as you watched every scene. You 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the action scenes no matter how obviously caked with CGI they were, you laughed at the corny jokes he made, you cried when underwritten and an annoying side character died. It was all so magical, it made it feel even more that he was here to experience it with you. He beamed as he gave you behind the scenes stories, such as when he performed an entire stunt with a broken rib.

The sun begins to set outside, and you were inside glowing with amazement at what you just saw. "Johnny, that was..." You can't even find the right words to explain how you felt. You didn't mean to, but you were really feeding Johnny's ego. "I know, I know. Don't speak. No words can bring it justice. That movie won me Oscars. And then the sequels got me a few razzies but that's besides the point." You exhale and sit up right on the Couch. "Thank you, Johnny." You give him a warm smile, he merely shrugs. "I'm just doing my part to spread the magic of cinema to the unfortunate such as yourself."

"No, I mean it." You gently lay your soft and warm hand onto his. "I really needed this, a lot, thank you." He looks up at you surprised, his cocky facade fades. He takes your hand in his and he returns your warm gaze. "You're welcome, Y/n" you both smile at each other as your enjoy the warmth of each other shand.

Not notice the shadowy figure outside the window of the kitchen. He stands there in shock at the sight of the two of you, a murderous look in his ice cold eyes.

Next Time: Bi-han gets lil jealous

[comfortless]

Dungeoneer!König and his gf... I mean, traveling companion

but really this is how most of their practicing plays out. 😵‍💫

content/warnings: 18+. minors do not interact. sliiiight dubcon, breathplay?, masochism (without real injury), masturbation, oral (m receiving), absolutely unhinged “flirting”.

König knows his way around a blade. From the delicate daggers that thieves pluck from cloaks when the chance to strike is opportune, to the curved, dainty shashkas. His favorite would always be the doppelhänder, long things that strike fear into any man who sees it swung toward him. It’s why he chose to pay good money for one now, tossed a sack of gold at the blacksmith’s feet and demanded to have an exceptional blade crafted for him within a fortnight or so.

He really can’t afford to be too choosy nowadays: he doesn’t live on his own anymore. Before, his course was decided by tattered parchment pinned to whichever acceptable sliver of wood a wandering messenger could find. Now, it’s dictated entirely by the little knight who parades around like the finest tease in all the land. Even the world, he would gamble.

She whispers molten sugar into his ear on nights she’s drunk, lonely or especially sympathetic. Perhaps all three. She climbs into his bed: a tattered, linen sheet on the rough, cold ground most nights. Sometimes, it’s softer, a feather-stuffed mattress at an inn. Those always reeked of sin. Something carnal right where a couple must have lain together only a night prior, yet to be drowned out and washed away in the streams by some hapless innkeeper. It’s all went to his head, more than a little.

The lady knight sits across from him, tapping the rim of her mug of ale with such disinterest on her face that it’s König who feels sympathetic now.

She chose this tawdry place. Chose to don some silly armor and pretend it’s taking her to kneel in service to the King. The jobs never dwindle, but the motivation does. She never knows what she truly needs, but König always seems to.

“You want to fight? Me?,” she asks, to the wooden table rather than to him. Sluggish and gloomy with her own disappointment in this place, her own perceived shortcomings, something that he can’t fix. The King should have his head on a spear for not giving her everything she’s ever asked for, woman and benevolent thief or not.

“It has been a while, hm?”

She nods once, curls her mouth into a subtle smile that sends his heart swooping and something stirring down below.

“I suppose I’ve gotten comfortable.”

He knows well enough that he can make her less so, always seemed to with his groping and hovering. Even if she’s fed into it, a moth to flame, he’s never seen her bed anyone this entire aimless journey. It’s the rush of adrenaline that sends fire into her belly, makes her eyes shine and her legs tremble each time, never the flirtations.

König’s yet to win a bet, but this time he would wager that playing nice won’t grant him a thing. It never has with what’s dwelling in each dark corner of the kingdom’s underbelly, and it never has with her.

So when the sparring begins this time, it’s real.

The look of shock and betrayal comes immediate when she’s easily knocked back, her blade landing in the grass at her side.

“Again.” And again, and again, she says it as though the exhaustion isn’t already evident in the way her breathing grows heavy. Each time it’s the same, because the only thing he holds back from is severely wounding her. Even if he could, even if he knows roughing her up a bit is just how this should go.

“You are tired,” he observes, cocking his head to the side as she scrambles to search for her sword beneath the dim light of the moon. “Do you need a break, little knight?”

The look she shoots him is something akin to scandalized. König’s never been the one to taunt her like this. It’s new and tentative, and he prays it’s something she likes. The dresses and sparkling gifts from the dungeons did fuck all for any sort of progression, and by the end of the night she would know how dull all of this has become to him, too.

“I am not—“ A parry, a feint, a jab that lands on the air rather than striking true. Not enough. “I’m fine.”

It’s never been in this impromptu plan to shove her down, but that’s what happens when she doesn’t take it seriously. She moves towards him again. Steel clatters against steel, sinks forgotten into the grass. With a hand adhered to the back of her thigh and another at curve of her back, he drops her down too. No briny sweat clings to his temple, all of this is more simple than even the training he had as boy.

She doesn’t even kick at him, docile as any doe when she makes the assumption that all of this is playing pretend. Just another game: he’s less fit to be a monster than even the weak things dwelling in the dark in her eyes.

“I do not want your mercy,” he growls against her neck, weaves his fingers into her hair and tugs her head to the side. Just a little. Just enough. “Be sincere. Hurt me.”

“What are you talking about?” Her voice is a mere peep, lost to the wind that whips by and tousles all but the man affixed to her.

Explanations have never come easy for König. Not with words, not even with letters. He’s killed men without telling why, left wandering ghosts and their wives bereaved time and time again. It’s not something worthy of an answer, nor a thing he ever thought she would even ask. It’s never questions with her: only orders. Even a tamed horse can lash out, kick its master right off to trample if it sees fit. König is no different.

He licks a stripe up her throat, relishes in the way her breath catches and her hands rise to dig nails into his arms. His teeth catch right along her jaw, inhales against her cheek, and when she grows tense below him, claws her way down to his forearms, he knows she’s finally well aware of how this ends.

His hands study the expanse of her body, fisting the linen of her tunic upward to reveal all soft flesh and no more tricks. There’s an aching bruise on her neck, chest, below her ribs before the knight finally presses her palm to his forehead and kicks a rib to wind herself away.

“You’re so…” The word she searches for dies on her tongue when she scrambles over him, feels how greedy he truly is when his hips tilt skyward and the throbbing erection presses against her rear.

“Stupid, hm? Say it.”

She curls a hand around his throat and squeezes, her eyelids sinking to shield the dazed glimmer there as he slips a hand into the front of her trousers. A callused thumb brushes over her clit before drifting further, down where he realizes that he’s found a new treasure. She’s already wet.

“You are. Big fool. Brute..,” she grits out, delivers another blessed press of her hand. All another feint, because she remains stationed above him. Even mimicking the groan that rattles his throat beneath her palm with a sigh of her own. “I could kill you. You know that I…”

The knight dips her head to press against his chest as he spears a thick finger into her, and a greed surges through him at this sudden compliance. Poor thing is so winded that she does little else than blanket him and shiver whilst he grins as though he’s devil-possessed or the luckiest filth in the world. The thought of her fitting any cock- let alone his- seems unimaginable, so obscenely tight as she squeezes around one digit that it pulls even an appreciative grunt from him.

“You could try it.”

Her fingers dig into the skin at his neck, and none of it is enough. She’s so gentle with him, because maybe she even believes that she could. Killing wild men without masters or loyalties, just like the men in the stories she fancies. König guides a hand up to help her, presses down around his throat with more ferocity as she lifts her head and stares down at him like he’s truly gone mad.

“You want a leash..?,” she huffs, pretends she isn’t leaking onto his hand.

“Only if this—“ Another finger, a deliberate curl of both as they press to something soft deep inside of her. Something that makes her whimper rather than bark. “—is holding it.”

She only looks at him, sulky and humiliated when she’s pleasured, stumbles over some other mumbled insult as her back begins a slow arch. He guides his hand back to her thigh, pets along her softness and watches her with such adoration, a pleased purr rumbling in his chest.

“Look at you… cute thing.”

“Not a thing.” Her hissing only further goads him, because she does nothing to pull away, can hardly meet his eyes even with fire and hatred on her tongue.

“Ja… meine dame, is that right?”

Her breath catches as she grinds herself where she’s been impaled, legs trembling as his thumb brushes over the bud in repetition. It’s too soon, but he allows her to have her rapture, gaze drifting from her hair to the curve of a hip as her cunt gives a greedy pulse. All armor is shredded and ripped away, no defenses, catapults or blades, all are exchanged for soft cries and a burning ache. The hurried breaths she takes come almost stilted as she gives his fingers another generous squeeze, and he only feeds them into her with unhurried hunger.

“I want to feel it,” he huffs into her hair, savors the way she tightens the grip around his throat until his voice fetters to a whisper. “Just once, please.”

“No… not..,” is all she manages before the wave reaches the shoreline and she unravels over him. He feels the walls of her cunt throb as her head ascends to his shoulder, burying herself there in shame or bliss. The orgasm is soon but drawn out, some pent up need finally freed to open air, the very same longing that remains prevalent and urging inside of him. He fucks her through it with a bitter fervor, spearing and scissoring the fingers inside until her thigh draws up from around him and she detaches entirely to sit up at his side.

König is quick to rise before her, already untying the laces of what keeps him from the hope of sharing that same rapture she must have felt. The little knight only stares up at him with perplexed curiosity as his cock springs free, thick and long and angry after so many long months of suffering a callused fist or neglect. The tip drags over the seam of her lips as he takes the base of it into his palm, and the drooling maw above her only groans at the barest sensation.

“I will bite it off,” she declares, follows it up with a charming grin as though she hadn’t bruised him deeply hundreds of times prior to this.

“Ja, after… I don’t care.” And of course he does, but this is the closest he’s gotten to anything and he would be a fool not to take it, teeth or not.

She swallows pensively, then rolls her tongue over the slit of the enraged weapon in her face. Beads of salt aren’t fitting for a woman’s tongue, he knows, feels horribly dirty and miserable at the sight for a mere second before she takes him in earnest. Her lips wrap around him, send sparks of the purest euphoria through him.

“Is this how to shut you up, meine dame?”

Everything is gilded gates and ethereal meadows, the only damnation he suffers is the fact that he can’t move without bruising her: too big to feed himself down her throat, too untamed to hold himself steady should she ever allow it. He settles for her pace, watches in wonder as she allows half of him to reach into the warmth of her throat. The panting beast above her curls his hands into fists at his sides, certain that touching her would be the end of this boon of fortune.

Her tongue flicks over the weeping tip each time she draws back, hands grasping at his thighs to keep herself upright. Even when her teeth graze over the sensitive flesh, the cock in her mouth only twitches in agonized bliss. He melts before her, trembling in such pleasured fury that his nails threaten to break through the hardened skin of his palms.

“Ha… I need to… I’m going to come.” Only then does he reach for the back of her neck, forcing her in place to bear the taste of what’s to come. She doesn’t fight it, gazes up with a furrowed brow and delivers the gentlest bite along him. A warning or a dare. “Next time will be… fuck…”

Her titan crumbles before her as though wounded, can’t keep his hands in place then as he grasps at her face and his body grows taut. His hips press forward only to stutter as he tries in earnest to keep himself somewhat contained. She gags quietly when the thick ropes of seed meet the end of her, abrupt but as endless as the broken, pitiful noises that rise from his chest then. It’s miraculous how she swallows it all, bitter and hot as it spills in generous spurts.

It’s he who pulls back, giving the cock already softening a few more pulls before collapsing in front of her with acute love tucked away behind the glassy blue of his eyes. His little knight could feign indifference all she liked, but even those pretty tavern wenches and noble pricks she bats her lashes at could never have had a taste of what had just occurred here.

She wipes away spit and come with the back of her hand, tries her best to shoot him a look of disgust, but König does not miss the way that her eyes seem to twinkle in the same way his do now.

“I want to taste you, too,” he rasps, chest still rising and falling with rushed intakes of air. Even after he can’t keep himself from ruining any bit of sanctity or sanity within reach. Punctuates his statement by reaching toward her again, only to be pulled into the comfort of an awkwardly positioned embrace. His face lands against her breasts, and though he languidly runs a hand up her back, the other takes a tit. He toys with her in his palm, brushes a thumb over her nipple and rises up to kiss her cheek, silent pleas.

“You’ve had enough fun,” she answers, pulling his hand away with their fingers intertwined.

“You have more than just a mouth.” He flashes her the biggest, wettest puppy eyes he can manage. That may get him a scrap from her plate, but it’s worth nothing here. “I would make a good vater, yes?”

[raileurta]

Do you think Miko just spent the first month making weird faces to figure out the new jaw setup? Or just biting everything to figure out her jaw strength? What *is* their jaw strength now? What about teeth? Since she’s living so much longer does she regrow teeth every so often? Considering her new size, do you think bulkhead would try making little clothes? I could definitely see Miko getting the largest size possible and just soaking it in dye to get the style she wants though. (I could see her using red dye for something and accidentally giving bulkhead a heart (spark??) attack looking like she’s covered in blood too lmao)

Out of the two, I could see Raph overcompensating for the new horns while Miko occasionally still accidentally hits things with them. So ironically, he’s the one who sort of ominously appears while Miko is more focused on speeding around rather than keeping tabs of her surroundings and being quiet.

Jack must be uncanny as hell for the bots though. Like imagine your little buddy, a little remy ratatouille size guy, being kidnapped and when he comes back he’s just like your size now. He can just like…look you in the eye during a conversation now. You’re not used to that. You’re used to him being little chef size, not like…Jeff from accounting. That’s not even touching the Unicron sparkeater business either. With Miko she’s at least still smaller than you so you can probably defend yourself if she decides to try something. Jack could probably just gore you now. You know he won’t, but the sudden change is very jarring and you just need like a transition period to make that little voice in the back of your mind calm down about it.

Considering how similar messengers and western/european dragons look, do you think that centuries ago unicron dubbed someone from the area a messenger (idk how or why, it’s just interesting to think about) and that’s where the myth arose? My default interpretation is that they’re welsh cause of the flag, but honestly anywhere from the area would work lol

I know Miko won’t kill anything to bring back to the bots. But you know those cats who bring back things like leaves and rocks and stuff instead? I could see Miko taking full advantage of those new zoom in eyes to search the desert like a vulture to find cool lost/abandoned trinkets to bring back lol

Anyways, ramble over, hope your weeks going well!

Yep. I would do this definitely at least.

Their jaw strength? Well it at minimum it would need to be able to crunch through Cybertronian metal so very high to say the least.

They do regrow their teeth with high regularity, kinda like a shark.

Bulkhead is an absolute sweetheart so I can easily see him doing that. The thought of him watching YouTube videos to learn how to sew is really cute. Miko is banned from touching anything that reassembles blood as all the Autobots would think it's real.

It’s much too likely it would be real. (Maybe not even her own)

Raf is much more spatially aware than Miko is at the very least. She's just zooming around the base knocking everything over that's not nailed down. Raf is just unintentionally being the creepy kid that just appears right next to you making everyone jump.

Messengers are about a little shorter than Bumblebee, however Jack is still Arcee's baby so she's still going to mother him. It makes me picture them platonically cuddling but Jack is low-key crushing her but Arcee doesn't have the heart (spark) to move him. Cat privilege is a real thing, people. Jeff from accounting you see haha. That's a grown ass man./ref

Jack has “I can rock your shit” abilities now. Miko is extremely jealous.

Nah, Unicron wasn't awake until Unicron rising. He just woke up with 10 billion kids suddenly on his surface from his perspective. However his presence did unknowingly give rise to many legends and myths from weird stuff he accidentally caused.

Miko is self aware enough to know bringing back a dead bot would not go over well with the Autobots. So she does bring back other cool stuff she found.

Yours to I hope!

[marlynnofmany]

Snap Crackle and Ouch

I sat on the empty hoversled and waited. It didn’t make a great chair. Smooth enough, but no backrest, and slightly too low for my long-legged human preferences. I considered asking Mur to change the hover height since he was sitting next to the controls, but decided it wasn’t worth it. We’d probably get to start walking again soon. Probably.

Mur stood up on stiff tentacles, trying to see past the people in line ahead of us. “I think someone’s coming,” he said.

I leaned to peer around a hovercycle and several pedestrians. (Are they still called pedestrians if they don’t use feet? Tentacle-estrians? Anyways, they were on the ground.) The guarded gate at the front of the line was still mostly closed, but it had just opened enough for a new Strongarm to squeeze out and talk to the guards.

The rest of the grumpy traffic jam was catching on; people straightened up and edged forward, everyone hoping that whatever mess had blocked the road was now cleared away.

No such luck. The tentacular messenger glanced out at the long line of impatient people waiting to get into the spaceport, grimaced, then ducked back through the door and closed it.

“Aw, man,” I said while people around us grumbled.

Mur slapped a tentacle on the sled. “We are going to be late.”

“At least we got the delivery done,” I said.

“Yes, that’s great, but the next one is on a strict timeline!” Mur wove his tentacles together in an irritated pattern. “I’d say we should walk around to the other entrance, but that would take forever too.”

“I wonder if there’s any guess about when they’ll open up,” I said. “Looks like that person is going to ask.” I pointed at a small Strongarm patterned in deep greens who was tentacle-walking up to the guards.

We both quieted to listen over the ambient grumbling and city noise. Luckily, the guard who replied spoke in a loud enough voice for everyone nearby to hear. Probably so she didn’t have to repeat herself.

“They estimate one hour; medical emergencies only through this gate; the other gate is open with no waiting.”

“An hour?” I said. “Can’t they just shovel everything to the side and let people through one at a time? What the heck did they spill?” The earlier announcement had been remarkably vague.

Mur looked off to the side as if he could see the entire route to the other entrance. “It could take just as long to go around. The roads here are dense. Can’t believe this. I’d better call the captain.” He opened up the storage compartment near the controls and got out a communicator.

“Hang on; we’re moving up a little,” I said as several people ahead of us bailed out and took a side street. When the hovercycle zoomed away with an unnecessary engine rev, I scooted us forward with my feet. No point in standing up properly when it was such a short distance. We stopped again behind several Strongarms and a different sled, this one stacked with heavy machine parts.

“Delightful,” Mur said. “Zero percent improvement. Now we have a better view of the closed door. Too bad we don’t have a plausible medical emergency.”

“Yeah, I suppose it would be suspicious if somebody’s internal organs were suddenly in extreme pain right now.” I eyed the guards, with their tentacles and lack of bones. “Do you think they even know how human internal organs work?”

“I think they’d be reluctant to take your word for it,” Mur said, activating the communicator. “Hi, Kavlae. Is the captain around? I have bad news about our timing.”

More people jostled around in line. Somebody bumped the controls of the sled in front of us, which led to a giant gear shaft or whatever falling off and embedding itself in the pavement, much to the owners’ dismay. It didn’t hit anybody though. The was good.

Could have been a medical emergency right there, I thought. But not a pleasant one. I pulled my feet up onto the sled in case anything else felt like tumbling off. The owners got the sled stabilized, then fussed about how to get the thing back onboard. One made a phone call of their own while another tried to angle the sled’s lifting attachment to reach it. Somebody else showed up from further back in the line, carrying a prying tool to work it free from the pavement.

I didn’t have anything useful to contribute to that any more than I did to our own problem. I leaned back with a sigh, trying to think of any solutions.

Mur finished the call. “The captain’s going to check the space lanes and call me back. They might have to leave without us and come back later, but no one is really excited about that.”

“I’ll say!” I agreed.

Mur flopped down into a pile of tentacles, clutching the communicator. “Those people are going to sprain something,” he said with a gesture towards the folks trying to pry the gear out of the ground.

“At least then they might be let through,” I said. “Though that might not count as an emergency.” I started to lift my arms for a nice back-cracking stretch, then stopped.

I had an idea.

It was a stupid idea, but it might be enough to keep us from being left behind on an alien planet.

“Hold that thought,” I told Mur, standing up carefully.

“What are you going to do?” he asked with some suspicion.

I told him, “Possibly sprain something.” Then I walked up to the people struggling with the gear and offered to help.

I made a good show of it. Hoping that I wasn’t about to make them feel very guilty (or make myself look like a colossal idiot), I struck a lifting posture with my hands positioned just so, then strained skyward, giving it a bit of a twist.

Multiple joints cracked audibly. It even hurt a little where I turned one wrist too far, which just made the acting easier when I fell down and let out a string of swear words. Gasps of alarm surrounded me.

Mur was on top of it, though. He jumped down and yelled about how the human had broken its fragile human bones, and needed medical attention right away. He’d seen this happen before. It was urgent.

I kept my eyes shut and my face screwed up in what hopefully looked like convincing pain. I tried not to be embarrassed when somebody used that lifting scoop on me, hauling me up onto my own hoversled while Mur gave directions and somebody lifted my feet. I just hissed and winced and swore louder.

Then lo and behold, we were moving to the front of the line where the door opened for us, and the guards only looked a little skeptical when I snuck a peek. Then we were through.

I opted for silent wincing now. Mur towed the sled down the center of the street, which did in fact have enough open space to walk down. He didn’t make eye contact with any of the many officials who were busy gathering the rainbowy whatevers that were scattered everywhere. I opened my eyes a little further to see that these were seashells of some kind. A memory pinged to remind me that local currency was based on particularly noteworthy shells. Ohhh. It was money spilled everywhere, and they didn’t want people to take it.

What an annoying but understandable reason for keeping the gate closed, I thought as the scene slid by me. Soon we were passing another set of guards at the other end, and Mur was explaining that he was taking the poor broken human to the medical bay on our ship, which was set up for such things.

No arguments there. They gave us unnecessary directions and waved us on our way. Mur hurried forward, waiting until we were around a corner where pedestrians ignored us before he stopped walking.

“So. How much are you actually hurt?”

I lifted my head and smiled. “Not at all. Glad that worked.”

He looked more than a little exasperated. “Me too! How did you manage to break your bones without actually breaking them?”

I sat up. “The joints just make noise sometimes. Something about gas buildup. My elbows do it the most.” I stretched an arm, but it was comfortably quiet now.

“That is an incredibly strange party trick,” Mur announced, getting out the communicator again. “I’m glad you don’t do it often.”

“Yeah, I made a point not to after Paint was really worried one time. And some people can crack their necks really loud! I would have done that if I could, but it might have been too much of an emergency.”

Mur gazed at me in mild horror, then had to blink and re-focus when the captain answered the phone. “Hello! Yes, never mind! We’re on the way.”

I got ready to pull the sled again, snapping one last finger joint very quietly.

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[bbina]

"guys i'd like you to meet one of my friends from the said groupchat from earlier! this is wonbin!" seunghan chirps, wrapping an arm around wonbin who quietly sat next to him

wonbin shyly waves before introducing himself to you, karina and giselle

"i'm wonbin. it's nice to meet you guys"

you, karina and giselle all share a look before mustering a small smile to face wonbin

"the one on the left is giselle, the one on the right is karina and the one in the middle is.." seunghan trails off. you shoot him a glare for even doing this shit. why couldn't he just say all your names in the get go. did he really have to put on a dramatic introduction to his.. friend that you may or may not have already met?

"and last but certainly not the least, my ever so beautiful and definitely single friend y/n!" seunghan makes jazz hands with his hands and you never wanted to smack his head down the gutter more than today

you can feel your eyes twitch at the grand introduction seunghan gave you. seunghan bursts out laughing seeing your reaction. he knew damn well what he was doing and you don't like it one bit

"i'm going to kill you!" you exclaim, lunging towards the table and grabbing a fist full of seunghan's hair

seunghan lets out a loud yelp as you strangle him by his hair. giselle and karina could only watch in amusement and in shock, seeing your not so demure actions but they do agree on the fact that he deserves it

"wonbin help me!" seunghan pleads, looking over to his friend who is frozen in his seat. he did not expect this to happen and all he did was sit in with you guys

"y/n i'm sorry i won't do it again- OUCH!" seunghan yells out, feeling his hair being tugged

"you better not!" you spit, releasing him from your death grip. seunghan lets out a loud groan, getting up from the table to fix his mess of a hair

"i'll have you know you might scare my friend here. first impressions are strong you know!" seunghan rants, now pouting that his hair that he worked so hard on styling earlier today out the window

wonbin laughs for the first time in a while, shocking not only himself but seunghan as well

"it's okay. seeing you getting beat up by a girl is a rare sight to see" wonbin cooly says, his fingers tapping random beats to calm his nerves being with a new set of people

both karina and giselle burst out giggling at remark, pointing fingers at the now frowning seunghan

"he totally gets it!" karina giggles

"serves your ass right, hong!" giselle chimes in, doubling over laughing

you could only glare at seunghan in response. huffing, you cross your arms in front of your chest while blocking out the sound of seunghan complaining and the girls giggling beside you

that is until, you make eye contact with wonbin who shoots you a small smile before looking away immediately

alone together ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 . . . don’t shoot the messenger

── taking comfort in the thought that you are together in aloneness through late night talks, heartfelt confessions, and a genuine connection. with your shared experience of recent heartbreaks, you wonder if getting together would be all worth it. in which you find solace in each other's company, that you are alone together.

⋆｡˚ prev | next ˚｡

꩜ notes .ᐟ i couldn’t find any other female idol to add so i jus went with s*mi bc a lot of people consider her an opp these days so sorry about that if you’re a fan! + c/w: mentions of cheating

꩜ taglist .ᐟ @onlywonb @rosesfortaro @starwonb1n @wonychu @totheseok @dolloie @hyunjinsnumberonefun @binluvsu @onlyhyunjin @annswwa @wonbinsvlle @hakkkuu @ilovejungwonandhaechan @artstaeh @lecheugo @odxrilove @bunni @saranghoeforanton @nujeskz @nakam00t @kyusqult @nctsshoes2 @revehosh @s9nwoo @daegale @palchokitty @dutifullyannoyingfox @oshakyao @koryutte @b-riize @meowbini @the-swageyama-tobiyolo @winuvs @i03jae @staoru @enhacolor @leehanascent @sweetiejaeyun @dearestjake @cupidslovearrows @sasfransisco @kkumistars @sngj08 @taroddori @istglevi-gotmesimping @ennycutie @ffixtionista @koeuh

[feyhunter78]

I’m sorry I never ask for writing requests but your Elrond fics have stolen my heart. I was wondering if you could write about him and a reader who had been through some trials (bad parents preferably but whatever you’d like is good) and he talks about how brave she is? Like how he loves her because of it? And possibly some sweet smut if you could? If not that’s all good, I love love your writings!

So my requests areeee closed, but I do have a soft spot for Elrond and comforting people, so I thought I'd make an exception, there is no smut though I didn't feel like it would flow naturally

Courage and Comfort

It is strange the bonds that bind, the joys, and sorrows that collectively inhabit and pass down a family line, tainting one, honoring the other. An endless cycle of shared traits and habits, a history that one cannot blot out no matter how hard they endeavor to, and Valar knows you have endeavored for years upon years to cleanse yourself, to rewrite the past. But you can no more do that than the sun can refuse to rise in the morn.

Though when you hear news that your parents were in Lindon, to visit your sister, you feel as if the sun has refused to rise, darkness overwhelming you, choking you. The news is delivered by a young elf, who looks appropriately concerned when the scrolls you are holding clatter to the ground, stooping low to retrieve them for you. You take them gratefully and dismiss him, your feet taking you away from your previously chosen path, and back to your shared chambers with Elrond.

But fate did not favor you, and you passed by your parents in the gardens. You kept your head held high as you made brief conversation with them, moving about as if it had not taken all your strength, until you were blessedly at the door to your chambers, scrolls clutched tightly to your chest.

Elrond, your sweet husband who no doubt will be buried in his work with the High King, you do not wish to bother him with your fear, your sorrow. He has spent so very long comforting you, the last time your parents had deigned to visit Lindon. Your vision blurs and you wipe your eyes, angry. You will not cry because of them; they did not deserve your tears. And yet when you cross the threshold, depositing the scrolls on your desk, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and cannot stop them from flowing. How in such a short span of time have they wrecked you? They barely spoke a few words to you, and it has affected you so greatly.

Sinking down into a nearby chair, you bury your face in your hands, breathing slowly as you attempt to calm yourself. Attempt to push your fear and grief far from your body, to let it evaporate into the air and disperse, no longer plaguing you. After a while it works, a lightness replacing the heavy weight on your chest, the sunlight returning, the birds singing, and Elrond is there seated in the chair across from yours. You startle, having not heard him come in, your cheeks heating as embarrassment flushes through you.

“My love, apologies, I did not realize you had returned.” You say, giving him a weak smile.

Elrond shakes his head, reaching forward and taking your hands in his. They are warm, gentle, calloused more now that he has returned to training with his sword. “The messenger came and found me; he was concerned for your wellbeing.”

You give a soft, half-convincing laugh. “What a sweet boy, he simply surprised me, but it was very kind of him to be concerned.”

Elrond’s thumbs smooth over the backs of your hands, his oakwood eyes focused entirely on you, pulling you in, paging through your defense like they are a children’s book. You have never been able to hide your true feelings from him. “It brings me no joy to hear your parents are visiting, even if it is not to see you.”

It is an opening for you to speak your mind without judgement, a way to ease any guilt you may have for expressing reluctance, or anger for he has done it first. It warms your heart, how he cares for you, how he strives to make expressing your more difficult feelings and emotions easier.

“I ran into them, on my way here, I know it would bring them great pleasure if I hid while away for the rest of their visit, but I cannot—will not let them win. I have done well for myself, risen above their contempt, this is my home, I should not have to hide.”

“No, you should not.” He affirms easily, his expression steady but sorrowful. 

“I know I should not.” You look down at your joined hands, swallowing hard. “But why do I feel so afraid of the very idea?”

“Because you have never done it before.” He says simply, his voice calm, soothing the fluttering of fear in your chest.

You cannot meet his gaze. “Perhaps I am not courageous enough.”

“You are. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the act of looking past it, persevering even when you are afraid.” He reminds you, releasing one of your hands to gently tilt your chin up, your eyes meeting his. “You are very brave, my starlight, you proved it today. You did not run, you faced them head on.”

“I had no choice.” You deflect, though his words pull your heart further into the light.

“That does not negate the fact that you stood your ground, you could have run.” There is a smile tugging at his lips, one that makes you wish to smile as well.

You give a slight shrug, looking away. “I guess you are not wrong.”

Elrond chuckles and brushes his thumb across the center of your lips. “I am never wrong when it comes to the bravery of my starlight.”

His touch makes you shiver, all fear, and sorrow banished, replace by a warm, glowing feeling. “Oh?”

He nods and sweeps a kiss to the corner of your lips. “Your courage is one of the many things I love so dearly about you.”

“Is that so?” You ask, your head tilting up instinctively seeking out his lips.

“Yes, your courage and kindness, your beauty, your intelligence, it all ensnared me for the moment we met.” He says, his lips brushing against yours with each word.

Your heart skips a beat, even though you have heard these words hundreds of times, they still affect you all the same.

You loop your arms around his neck as he pulls you into his lap, his lips meeting yours with slow languid movements, soft and sweet, he tastes of sunlight, banishing any lingering darkness from your mind. Your body and mind align, tuning your senses to Elrond, losing yourself in his very existence. The scent of him, the taste, the feel of his hair, his hands, his lips against yours. You can certainly continue to be brave if this is your reward.

TROP tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority, @jesticace, @emmyspov, @elrondswifey, @victoria-styles, @90angiex, @lucypaulette

[lotties-ashwagandha]

the rules may bend

moiraine damodred x siuan sanche x fem!reader.

while moiraine was exiled, you were not, and you may still come and go from the tower freely. in the best interest of everyone, you become the messenger between them. set sometime around season three episode one.

“She said that she absolutely despises you,” you lie.

Moiraine briefly looks over at you before turning back to the balcony. “That’s nice.”

With a sigh you come to stand by her, looking out at the rest of the city. Her gaze is trained on the Tower.

“You’re not interested in what she said?” You ask.

“I have no interest in what she says, unless I’m there to hear it myself.”

Her words are weightless — both of you know it. Usually when you come back from speaking with Siuan at the Tower she questions you to a point near interrogation.

Moiraine brushes past you, back into your shared room.

You try again. “She misses you.”

She doesn’t look back this time. She starts neatly stacking the documents sprawled out on the coffee table, her own research.

You don’t continue, instead going and sitting at the edge of the bed, watching her and trying to come up with any way to console her without being too obvious, because any outward affection she lets fall away when she mourns.

Siuan would know what to say to her. Where you fail she would guide, for she knows Moiraine so much better than you do, and she would know how to unravel every worry with a precision that you lack.

Suddenly she looks back, expectantly. “What more did she say?”

“She wanted me to subtly remind you not to work yourself to the bone.”

She smiles softly, crossing her arms and taking a step toward you. “You’re not so subtle.”

“Neither are you,” a reply you can’t resist, because she has been colder without Siuan between you, and accepts no consolation. Not that you hold it against her — you only wish there was more you could do than be the messenger.

Moiraine sits down next to you on the bed. Her hand finds yours, and when she looks at you, no words are necessary — you see it in the heaviness of her gaze, that she misses her. So do you.

For now, being together must be enough. A reunion is inevitable, you suspect, because the denial of your true happiness for the rest of your lives is a reality you are not willing to submit to. You will keep hoping.

Moiraine kisses you, a silent affirmation of your unspoken decree. Her hands are gentle on you, steady as she pushes you down to lay back on the bed. Movements decided, but at a pace slow and easy, paving a new way as her hands find new purchase across the expanse of your body.

You were careful not to be seen or suspected. Your meetings with her have grown more frequent, and while not dangerous or quite secret in theory, you would prefer to keep them as private as you’re able.

“What has she said to you?”

You utter the same response. “She misses you.”

Siuan nods, pacing the room slowly, twisting her ring around her finger. She meets your eyes, and then she pauses in her pacing. She sighs heavily — this lines every moment, resides beneath the torment of her usual responsibilities.

“You have become the messenger,” she observes. “It must be difficult for you.”

“It’s more of a privilege,” you say, though it remains bittersweet. Access to both of them, but both are suffering in each other’s absences. You suffer, too — it is not enough to walk the line between them.

Your memory shifts to lighter times. The three of you were content with secret meetings, when it was clear that you wouldn’t be bothered. Discovery was a danger that seemed so far away that you had never considered that someday you might end up in the situation you must make the best of now. Restricted, indefinitely, while your mind wanders back to gentle caresses and nights sleeping between them and kisses shared at sunrise.

Siuan steps toward you, meeting your gaze with the same sureness you usually find more pronounced in Moiraine, a sureness more gentle. “This will not last. Worse times are coming.”

A dire outlook, but she speaks from a place of hope.

She continues. “When necessity calls, the rules may bend.”

When necessity calls, exile is forgotten. You hear the promise in her words. You feel it in the warmth of her voice, in the peace that exudes from her when she takes your hands, when she meets your eyes and again you are reminded of her authority.

You will trust — in the longing of her lips against yours, in the Wheel. It has woven the three of you together, and you trust it may not be undone.

thank you for reading! if you enjoyed this, take a look at my masterlist for more of my works.

[sheerfreesia007]

Dyed Colors

Pairing: Jeongin x Reader

Word count: 2,779

Content warnings: Fluff, kissing

Summary: Your college is hosting a date match up event for Valentine’s Day. This year all you have to do is pick an activity that you’d like to do and you’ll be paired up with someone who wants to try the same thing. What happens when you’re paired with the sweet Jeongin?

A/N: Divider was created by @enchanthings-a, thank you for sharing your dividers with tumblr!

You had heard your friends talking about the event that the student council was hosting for Valentine’s Day. It was a date match up event where you picked an activity that you were interested in that the local businesses and clubs were holding for Valentine’s Day and you would be paired up with someone who had chosen the same thing as you did. Your friends had been very excited for some of the options as they talked about it over lunch one day and you had grown curious. 

“So all we have to do is choose an activity that we’re interested in and they’ll pair us up with someone else who’s chosen that activity?” you ask curiously as you take your lunch tray over to the table with your friends.

“Yup! And they have a lot of cool activities to choose from. There’s a popular coffee tasting event that has already filled up.” one of your friends says as she sits down at the table and you laugh softly while nodding your head.

“That tracks for most of the campus, can’t function without coffee.” you say as your friends laugh while nodding their heads in agreement. You power up your laptop and pull up the email from the student council with the list of activities. Your eyes race down the list curiously before you eyes focus on two options, pottery and tie dying. You can feel your creative mind starting to run wild with the idea of picking up another hobby and you can’t help but feel excited. “Do you know what other activities have been popular? Which ones are filling up quickly?” you ask your friends and one of them starts to nod their head.

“The video gaming cafe tournament is nearly filled already. As well as the cooking class, that was just filled. But if you look at the list, all the ones that aren’t crossed out are still available, the ones in orange are almost full though.” your friend informs you as you both peer at your laptop curiously. Your eyes immediately fall to pottery and see that it’s colored orange while tie dying isn’t colored anything and isn’t crossed out. With a tilt of your head you open up a reply email to the student council and type out the tie dying event that you’re interested in and send it off. “That’s a good choice. I bet you’ll love that one.” your friend tells you and smile brightly at her. “You always loved doing crafts and I’m sure this will be no different.” she says and can’t stop the excitement rising within you for your Valentine’s date.

It’s two weeks before Valentine’s Day and you’re holed up in your dorm crocheting a large scarf and hat set for your mom’s birthday that’s coming up. She had recently told you that the weather is getting too cold for her and that she wished she had a warm comfy scarf and hat to go out in. Suddenly there’s a knock at your door and you frown softly before setting aside your project and getting up from the couch, you pause your show on the television before your feet walk you over to the door and you open it.

“Have you read your emails?” your best friend asks you as she walks into your dorm without even any preamble which makes you smile softly and fondly at her.

”No, why? What’s wrong?” You ask her and she shakes her head at you before going straight for your messenger bag. She quickly pulled out your laptop and opened up your emails before squealing loudly.

”He emailed you!” She cried out and pointed to the new email that you had in your inbox. Sitting on the couch together she handed you your laptop before bouncing in her place next to you. You open up the email that’s come in from i.2.n.8 and see that the guy’s name is Yang Jeongin and he will be joining you on your tie dye date for Valentine’s Day. He asks if you’d like to catch an Uber together to the tie dye event location and he offers to chat on the phone through text and calls for the next two weeks so that it’s not awkward to be in an Uber together.

”Aww, he’s sweet.” You coo softly and your friend smirks at you knowingly.

”You’re already down bad huh?” She asks with a knowing sparkle in her eyes and you shake your head quickly at her.

”No way, I just think he’s being sweet.” You defend yourself and she rolls her eyes at you while smiling.

”Whatever you say babe.” She teases and you shove her down onto your couch.

”Shut up.” You retort while she laughs at you before you begin typing out a response to Jeongin giving him your number and agreeing to talking together and then catching an Uber.

The day of Valentine’s came quickly and you were so excited and eager to spend it tie dying some tee shirts and tank tops that you had bought for the activity. You had even picked up some tee shirts and tank tops of Jeongin after texting and calling him throughout the two weeks leading up to today. He had also told you that he found two white throw blankets for the two of you to tie dye that he bought. You were so happy that he was just as eager as you were to do this activity together.

In fact you were surprised to find out how easy it was to talk to Jeongin. After the first couple of phone calls where the two of you were so incredibly awkward it all seemed to smooth out and he had already become someone that you considered a friend. You figured if nothing came out of this date you and Jeongin could be good friends. But secretly you hoped that something would come out of this date, Jeongin loved sending you selfies and you couldn’t deny that the man was gorgeous and definitely someone that you wanted to try a romantic relationship with. When the Uber shows up you get a notification and Jeongin calls you excitedly. 

”Good morning Jagi! Are you ready for a tie dye date?” He asked excitedly over the phone and you chuckled softly at him as you grabbed your purse and the bag with the tee shirts and tank tops in it before heading out the door.

”Good morning Innie.” You greet him happily using the nickname he told he preferred to be called. “I am ready for our tie dye date. Are you?” You asked teasingly and heard his answering chuckle.

”Waiting on you pretty girl.” He teased back and you felt your heart stammer in your chest at his flirting. He had been doing that since a few days ago and you didn’t want to get your hopes up but you really hoped he meant the flirting and that it meant that he was interested in you.

When you walked down the stairs of your dorm complex to the sidewalk you spotted a compact car waiting right by the end of the sidewalk and Jeongin was standing outside of the car with a small bouquet of flowers and a shy grin on his face. Your heart stammered in your chest once more as you gazed at him before a bright happy smile slipped onto your face with ease. You skipped up to him excitedly and he chuckled at your antics before handing you the bouquet with a flourish. You gasped softly and graciously took the flowers from him beaming up at him before smelling the flowers and closing your eyes gently.

”They’re beautiful Innie. Thank you.” You told him happily and he bashfully nodded his head before guiding you into the waiting car.

”You’re welcome. But they don’t beat your own beauty.” He whispers softly to you and your eyes widen at his bold words before turning to him and smiling softly at his flirting as heat blossoms on your face.

The ride to the location doesn’t take too long but it’s further out from the campus and in the middle of sleepy little peaceful village that has nothing but farmland all around it. You’re amazed that there are enough people interested in tie dying to form a club all the way out here. But when you spot the many clothes lines in each of the yards of the homes that you passed a soft smile slipped onto your face.

”It’s so peaceful out here. Close enough to the city but far enough away that you can relax and just breathe.” You said softly and Innie nodded his head at your words.

”Very peaceful. When you’re settled in after obtaining your degree and have a job where would you like to settle?” Innie asks as he looks out the window.

”Oh probably in a town like this one. I kinda like the quiet life.” You say fondly as you turn your head to gaze at him. Innie smiles while nodding his head as he turns to you.

”I like that idea. I never thought of moving out of the city but now I can see the appeal of it. Especially if it’s only a short car ride away to the city I like the idea of not living on top others.” He agrees and you nod your head at his words.

Just then the car comes to stop outside of a community center and you both look out the window excitedly. Jeongin gets out first and helps you out of the car before grabbing the two bags that you both brought with you. When he walks with you towards the community center you both look around spotting only a couple of others who had picked tie dying as their activity. You like the idea of it being a less crowded quiet date for the two of you to get to know each other.

”Good morning everyone! Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to our little town and our first tie dying activity. Thank you all for coming!” Says a woman who looks to be around your mom’s age as she stands with a few other older women. You smile happily at her as you stand next to Innie while listening to the woman explain a little bit about their lovely town and how to came about forming the tie dying club. It’s all very sweet to you and you unconsciously lean into Innie’s side as you continue to listen to the woman talk about their town and club. You don’t notice Innie’s soft smile as he looks down at you happily before focusing back on the woman speaking.

The group of you are then lead into the large open field behind the community center and you can see a few stations laid out for you to do your tie dye at. You and Innie pick a station that’s at the edge of the group so that the two of you have some privacy to talk freely. You take out the shirts and tank tops and divy them out between you and Innie so that you both have things to tie dye as he hands you one of the throws that he bought.

”Oh Innie! Why don’t we tie dye the throws for each other as a cute gift.” You suggest happily and he grins at you before nodding his head eagerly.

”That’s great idea Jagi!” He says happily before turning back to the rubber bands and the clothes he’s going to tie dye. The two of you watch the women demonstrate the different ways to wrap and tie up the items you want to tie dye before you both get to work on your items. Innie keeps nudging you as you try to get the items tied correctly and the two of you wind up in a playful nudging match as you both laugh at each other. The next step is to put in the dye for each section of the item and while the first step had been playful you both grow serious as you focus on your task at hand. Neither one of you notice the older women watching the two of you fondly as you work quietly.

After everything is dyed the way that you want it all you have to do is wait for a bit for the dye to settle into the fabric before rinsing it and then hanging it out to dry on the line that is already set up. The women provide a bountiful lunch for all of you and each couple has a small picnic on the large field behind the community center. You’re laid out on the grass soaking up the sun after eating your lunch as Innie sits up right next to you just gazing at the landscape of the small town.

”It’s really pretty here isn’t it?” He asks softly and you look up at him with a happy smile on your face. He looks down at you and chuckles softly before shaking his head.

”You’re prettier though.” You flirt shamelessly and watch as a blush crawls up his neck as he ducks his head with embarrassment. “I could get used to dates like these.” You say mindlessly as you shut your eyes and stretch lazily under the warm rays of the sun. Innie chuckles above you before leaning down to block out your sun. You pout at him before you eyes flutter open and are shocked at how close he was to you.

”Is that right?” He asks huskily and you blush prettily for him. He grins before dipping his head and pressing a quick peck to your nose before sitting up again.

”I think you missed.” You tell him boldly as you gaze up at him and he avoids your eyes as he shakes his head while his blush intensifies on his face.

”Alright everyone! If you’ll clean up and come back to your stations the tie dye should be set in the fabric now!” Calls out the woman who had greeted you all earlier this morning. You and Innie quickly clean up and rush back to your station to eagerly unwrap your projects. 

As the two of you unwrap everything you’re slightly disappointed but notice how good Innie’s look. You then notice the slight pout on his face and you frown softly.

”What’s wrong?” You ask him and he shakes his head.

”They didn’t come out how I imagined them to. But I like yours, they came out really good.” He admitted and you chuckle softly as you nod your head in agreement to his words.

”I feel the same way. I don’t think mine came out how I wanted them to but I really like yours.” You admit and he grins widely at you.

”Wanna swap with me?” He asks hopefully and your eyes widen at his question before your head begins to nod quickly.

”Absolutely! Swap everything?” You ask and he nods his head in agreement as well. You do a little happy dance and Innie chuckles at your antics before the two of you then unwrap your throws together. You’re both in awe of each other’s throws as well and you feel your heart thud happily in your chest when you see the heart design that Innie had managed to make on the blanket. He grins at you before taking the throw that you had made him with the cool circular bubble designs.

“I really like this. It’s really cool.” He admits and you smile up at him happy that he enjoys his gift you’ve made him. 

“I really like mine. It’ll look great on my couch!” You tell him and he smiles at your happiness. The two of you then rinse your items before hanging them up on the line to dry. As you’re fixing the throw to hang evenly Innie slips under the throw with a wicked grin on his face before he darts down and presses a sweet chaste kiss to your mouth surprising you. When your brain catches up you instantly melt into him and he holds you close while resting his forehead on yours.

”So next week would you like to try another activity that was on the list?” He asked softly and your eyes darted up to his curiously.

”Like a second date?” You ask him and he shyly nods his head which causes you to beam up at him. “I would love that Innie.” You tell him sweetly and he grins down at you before pecking your lips once more.

SKZ Taglist: @intartaruginha, @kayleefriedchicken, @babigriin, @simpforleeknaur, @inlovewithstraykids

@channiesrightasscheek

[cigarettesaftersae]

homesick - 11 k.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Series: sae x f!reader | contains : fluff, angst, slow burn, lovestruck sae (cutie pie), childhoodlovers!au, cafe,

The jingling bell decorating upon the cafe’s entrance allures your attention, properly welcoming customers only to find Mel and the cold wind flashing in upon your skin. Her 3 brown messenger bags accompany her shoulder as she plots it all down at a small booth, assuming the amount of work she carries is her new current best friend. “Working hard?” You approach Mel in hand with an iced coffee of her preference. “Your story is the one working hard. I’m still trying to create the outfits for some of your characters”

“It’s a kid story I made when I was like 8” You try and make a point, a thought to ease Mel’s mind on all the work she’s been helping you with. A story, tell-tale long letter assembled by your tiny hands, which have now been mass produced through out the country and is now being presented in a play. With a best friend who designs amazingly flawless fabrics make your day all more better, knowing the outcome of clothes for your story wouldn’t become a problem. “Yeah well you’re special to me so I’m making sure it’s extra beautiful for ya”

“Aww you don’t mean that?” You flatter in awe for her caring words

“Yep I don’t” She coos teasingly

“Meanie” You marveled back as you head to your register.

Back at work, you’re busy by the rail of work consuming you. Cup by cup filled with coffee of cream or none. A little or so to sugar. Your earnings have been a blast to balancing your rent and daily life. While Sae works in the back as Maria assists him. Turning around, you’re embraced by a certain fellow who has blonde to pink tips flowing up by what you deem a lot of hair gel. A smirking grin takes up his face. You’d be a fool to say he wasn’t exactly handsome. His tan skin along with his light colored hair made his look exotic to the eye. “Hey how can I help?”

“Mmm, you can help me.” His sultry tone emphasizes the ‘you.’ A grin slapped on his face slowly creeping you out, even worse his weird response. What did he even mean by that? “Is daddy long lashes here?” You pause in thought by what he meant, was he talking about…Sae? Was he a teammate of Sae Itoshi? A friend or a roommate? Would Sae Itoshi even share a room with someone like him or the likes of anybody?

“Uhm He’s—” You’re interrupted by the door winging open behind you, Sae, who rarely ever broke his stride, stopped mid-motion, his eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of the blonde man now standing in the doorway.

“Ahh, there you are,” the man said, his tone light and teasing. A voice that boomed across the space, loud and unapologetic. “Knew this was the right place. You didn’t tell me you were moonlighting as a little barista working with a hot chick.”

The compliment, though directed at you, felt more like an afterthought—a garnish on the tension now brewing between the two men. You offered an awkward smile, unsure how to respond.

A compliment but at what cost?

You turned away slightly, pretending to busy yourself with something on the counter, giving them space to connect—or clash, whichever this interaction was about to turn into.

“What do you want?” Sae jumps straight into questioning, not bothering to make any gentle connection like he usually would. His face, posture, formation all contained calm, delicate, though quite serious. “Captain told me all about this place and you. Wanted to visit before the big round up.”

“I’m not here to chat, get lost vermin.” Sae said flatly, his voice cool and measured.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, buddy,, I’m Shidou,” Shidou pressed, his grin never faltering. Then his attention swung back to you, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “What’s your name, sweetheart? ”

Before you could answer, Sae’s voice cut through, calm but firm. “She’s busy.”

The words hung in the air, not loud, but carrying enough weight to make Shidou raise an eyebrow. You glanced at Sae, surprised by the sharpness of his tone.

“I mean, it’s fine—” you began, but the way Sae’s eyes flickered to yours stopped you mid-sentence. Was that… frustration?

Shidou, undeterred, leaned closer to you. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a thing for him. Ice Prince here? Really?”

You laughed nervously, unsure how to navigate this. “I think you’re overthinking it.”

“Am I?” Shidou mused, his grin playful but knowing. “Well, if you get tired of him being all cold and distant, you’ve got other options.” He winked, his words dripping with intention.

“I said she’s busy.” Sae’s voice grows rougher

Sae’s voice cut through, sharper this time, rough around the edges. It was the closest you’d ever heard him come to sounding outright annoyed, and it made both you and Shidou pause for a beat.

Shidou tilted his head, clearly amused, his smile unfazed. “Whoa, easy there, Sae. Didn’t know you cared so much.” Sae’s eyes didn’t waver, locked onto Shidou with an intensity that made the air feel heavier. “Leave.” It wasn’t a shout, or even a raised voice, but the weight of that single word left no room for argument. Shidou chuckled, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I just wanted a nice cup of coffee. Hey pretty lady, can I get some? I’ll even leave a tip for ya”

“Uhm, sure what would you like-?” Sae block your field of vision to Shidou. His broad shoulders created an impenetrable barrier, and when he turned his head to glance at you, his eyes held none of their usual aloofness. Instead, they carried something else—something almost tender, like a fleeting softness that wasn’t meant to be seen by anyone else.

“I’ll do it,” Sae said, his voice low but steady. “Help Maria in the back.”

You blinked, momentarily stunned by the shift in his demeanor. His lashes fluttered slightly, just enough to soften his usually sharp gaze. There was no command in his tone—only a quiet insistence that made it hard to refuse.

“Uh, okay,” you murmured, moving toward the back as if pulled by an invisible string.

“Eh? No, wait!” Shidou exclaimed, watching you disappear behind the counter. “I was just playing, pretty lady! And she’s gone.”

He sighed dramatically, leaning onto the counter with exaggerated disappointment. “You really know how to ruin a guy’s fun, Sae.”

Sae didn’t respond, already reaching for the coffee pot with a precision that spoke of someone who just wanted this interaction to end as quickly as possible.

“Not even a word, huh? You’re a tough nut to crack,” Shidou continued, his grin unfaltering. “Well, I’ll take whatever you recommend, Ice Prince. And make it quick—I might have to stop by more often if the service stays this interesting.”

Sae’s hand paused for a fraction of a second before continuing. “You won’t.”

The sharp finality in his tone was unmistakable, but Shidou only chuckled, clearly enjoying every second of Sae’s quiet irritation.

From the back, you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of tension had settled between the two, and why the rare gentleness in Sae’s eyes still lingered in your mind. After a while, the familiar chime of the doorbell rang, most likely indicating Shidou had left. You reentered the front to check on Sae.

“Was he…your friend?” you asked, the words tumbling out before you could think better of them. It was a stupid question, obviously. Sae Itoshi didn’t seem like the type to have friends, especially not ones like that.

Sae glanced at you briefly, his expression neutral but his voice carrying a faint edge. “No.”

You tilted your head, studying him. “Then who is he?”

“Someone who doesn’t know when to stop talking,” he muttered, wiping down the counter with deliberate precision.

You leaned against the counter, unconvinced. “He seemed pretty familiar with you.”

Sae paused, his hand tightening slightly on the cloth before resuming its motion. “He’s from the same team.”

“Oh,” you said softly, piecing it together. “That explains the… banter?”

Sae scoffed lightly, a sound so small you almost missed it. “If you call that banter.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the rare glimpse of annoyance breaking through his stoic facade. “He’s definitely a character.”

“He’s an idiot,” Sae corrected, finally looking at you. His gaze lingered for a moment longer than usual, and something in his eyes seemed to soften again. “You don’t need to talk to people like him.”

The statement caught you off guard, and you blinked. “What do you mean, ‘people like him’?”

“People who waste your time,” he said simply, his tone matter-of-fact but with an underlying weight you couldn’t quite place.

You stared at him, trying to decipher the layers in his words. Was it concern? You weren’t sure, but the protectiveness in his voice was unmistakable. “Okay,” you replied, your voice quieter than you intended. “If it bothers you that much, I won’t.”

Sae nodded once, as if satisfied with your response, and returned to his task. But the unspoken tension between you lingered, heavier than before yet strangely comforting.

“I don’t think you’re all that distant and cold,” you began “I remember watching you take care of your brother everywhere you went. You’re a sweet person.” You smile. His eyes met yours briefly, but he said nothing, simply returning to his work. The faintest flush of color touched the tips of his ears, but you decided not to point it out

Before the silence could stretch further, Mel approached the counter, her usual energy lighting up the space. “Who was that hottie?”

You tilted your head, confused for a second before realizing she meant Shidou. “Maybe I should’ve gotten his number for you instead of me,” you teased.

“You should have,” Mel quipped, tossing her hair dramatically. “Anyways, ‘Valhrin’—your book—the character, uh, Ylgr. You’re playing as her for the play thingy, right? Because if you are, I’ll need your measurements.”

You blinked at the sudden shift in topic. “Did you know she was originally named Mary-Anne?”

Mel scrunched her nose. “Euh, Ylgr has aura. Mary-Anne? Not so much.”

You chuckled. “Uh, they’re both beautiful names,” you offered diplomatically.

“But for a knight?” Mel raised an eyebrow. “C’mon, ‘Mary-Anne the Brave’? Doesn’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of enemies, does it?”

Sae’s voice broke through unexpectedly. “It’s just a name. The character makes it meaningful.”

Both you and Mel turned to look at him, slightly surprised. Sae rarely joined in on conversations like this.

Mel tilted her head, clearly intrigued. “Wow, look at you, Mr. Philosopher. Guess you do read books after all.”

Sae didn’t respond, but the tiniest smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he returned to his work.

You couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. “Guess I’ll let you take my measurements, Mel. But only because you’re so passionate about it.”

Mel grinned triumphantly. “That’s the spirit! Ylgr deserves perfection, and I’m gonna make sure you give it to her.”

“You’re forgetting I made the character,” you retorted, a cheeky laugh escaping as Mel waved you off.

Left alone again, your ears tuned in to the rhythmic clinks and clashes of dishes. Across the room, Sae worked with methodical precision, mug by mug, rinsing away remnants of coffee and milk. The quiet was comfortable, almost soothing. Then his voice broke through, smooth and low.

“I read your book.”

Your ears perked up, your heart skipping a beat. He read it?

“You did?” you asked, your voice tinged with excitement and a hint of shyness. “Was it good?”

Sae didn’t look up, his focus still on the task at hand. “You made it, didn’t you?”

You blinked, taken aback by the abruptness of his reply. “Uh, right—right,” you stammered, suddenly self-conscious. “But…did you like it?”

The question felt daunting. Asking Sae Itoshi, a superstar athlete, for his opinion on something so personal wasn’t something you’d ever imagined doing. You held your breath, bracing for a dismissive comment or a critique.

“I did,” he said simply, his tone even, almost indifferent.

Yet, those two words were enough. They were better than you could’ve hoped for. Your chest felt light, and a smile crept onto your lips, unbidden and unrestrained.

“Really?” you said, your voice a little breathless.

Sae finally glanced up, his eyes meeting yours for the briefest moment. “It’s…different. You’re good at making characters feel real.”

The butterflies in your stomach doubled. His response was dry, straightforward, and yet it carried a weight that made your cheeks warm.

“Thanks,” you said softly, your fingers fiddling with the hem of your shirt.

Sae returned his attention to the dishes, his expression unreadable as always. But in that small exchange, you felt like you’d learned something about him—something rare, something he didn’t share easily. And it made your smile linger just a little longer.

.

.

.

[sofiareidings]

Coffee Runs

Summary: The guy who's been coming to the cafe you work at finally asked why you've never called him by his name.

A/N: I'm sorry this story is so late, especially since I missed Monday's post. School has been so busy this week and I've also had a bunch if extracurricular lately. I'll try and be more on time from now on (Don't hold me to that) Also! I got the idea for this one shot from @hanllo-kitty

Word Count: 0.8k

Song Suggestions: Invisible String - Taylor Swift

It was a good job, a great job really. The cafe was in a nicer part of town and people would subconsciously give nice tips so your pay was good. Rarely were customers terrible. Most people that came in were students or really busy people rushing in and going.

There were a few regulars. Like Joe, Joe was an eighty year old man who came in everyday for a coffee and a sandwich. While he waited he would talk about the lotto numbers and how his kids were doing. There was also Lola, she was a journalist who spent most of her day sitting in the corner of the cafe while refilling the same cup until closing.

But there was only one regular you would think about while getting ready for work.

Come on, I don't know his name. Don't shoot the messenger.

He'd been coming in for the past three months almost everyday, right after the cafe opened for a coffee. He always looked a little tired and acted like it too. He barely made conversation and normally shuffled out of the store in the same fashion as the other overworked people; quickly.

You hadn't learned his name yet. He always seemed to forget to say it when you asked, which resulted in you making up something.

"Guy with the sweater vest!"

"Guy in the purple!"

"Guy with the scarf!"

You get the point.

He was your favourite regular because of his looks. God, even when he was incredibly sleep deprived he looked beautiful. He had brown hair that fell just below his sharp jaw. Brown eyes that always happened to be in the light from the cafe window, making the small gold flakes in his eyes shine. He was normally dressed in a sweater vest and neutral pants, he probably worked at some type of office. The one part of him that stood out in his outfits were his converse, odd for the rest of his outfit. You could've sworn a few times you saw brightly coloured mismatched socks.

***

The sound of the cafe bell echoed through the nearly empty shop, having only opened half an hour ago. Smiling in the direction of the person walking in you quickly noticed it was 'Guy with *whatever he had on*" who came in. Something was different, he had thick glasses on. That was new.

"Hey, just the regular coffee and donut?" You put the order into the computer, looking back up at him. Taking in the new look.

"Yeah, thanks." His lips creased into a line, you called it a tired smile, the same one he made everyday. He handed over his money and poured the change into the tip jar then stepped back to wait for his order.

A couple minutes later you came back to the counter with his order. "Guy with the glasses!"

He did his usual, smiled and grabbed his order saying bye. But just when he reached the threshold of the door he paused and turned. "Why do you do that?"

Having already turned around you paused, this was the first time he'd talked to you in a clear voice. You weren't really sure what he meant. "Do what? Did I get your order wrong?"

He cleared his throat and seemed a little frustrated. "You never say my name, you just call me guy with something. Is it just to annoy me?"

"What? No, you've just never told me your name." Laughing a little, realising the misunderstanding.

"I didn't?" His face changed to confusion, "Oh my gosh, I didn't." He realised his mistake then his face flushed a shade of red.

"Don't worry, it's okay. Guy with the glasses." You laughed, looking around the cafe for a minute, strange it was still pretty empty.

"I am so sorry, I thought I told you and you just wanted to annoy me. I feel like a jerk, you seem so nice." Genuinely sorry he apologised profusely. "Can I make it up to you?"

Deciding to take the chance, you'd been daydreaming about this guy for months. "Well, maybe you could take me on a date." A little shocked by your own boldness, your face went up like twelve degrees.

"Uh, yeah…" He trailed off, clearly flustered. "Yeah, I would really like that."

"Well then, it's a date." You beamed, internally jumping up and down out of excitement. Since when were you so forward? He made that smile he made everyday before turning towards the door again.

That's when you realised.

"Wait!" You shouted, louder than you expected. Causing your coworker to drop a cup. "You still haven't told me your name."

"It's Spencer. I'll make sure to be back tomorrow." He nodded again and chuckled lightly before finally walking through the door.

God could tomorrow morning come any quicker.

[kingconia]

Hello! I love your works. I wanted to know if I could request the S/O who writes letters (the one you did for Diasomnia), but with Rook, Riddle, Idia and Cater. I think these would be funny combinations. Thank you and have a good day!

A/N: Thank you! Have a nice day as well.

The Diasomnia post is here.

IDIA SHROUD, CATER DIAMOND, RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS AND ROOK HUNT WITH OLD-FASHIONED S/O, WHO WRITES AND SENDS THEM LETTERS, INSTEAD OF USING THE PHONE

Idia Shroud. 💙

— Idia is speechless. What do you mean you don't want to use your gadgets? What are, a victorian lady?

— He almost offended about your carelessness towards phones and messengers. Makes a whole PowerPoint presentations to help you understand the benefits of technology;

— If you accept his opinion, but still continue write him letters, Idia will easily get used to it, though, still through fuming. And, don't expect letters from him—he will only email you;

— But he decides that it is still a win. Because, you know what? You are almost from the pages of his favourite love interest in one of these manhwas he secretly consumes at nights.

•

”Hm,” Idia rests cheek against his palm, glancing at Ortho lazily. ”What is it?”

”Another letter from Y/n-sama!” The boy exclaims, extending a familiar beautiful blue envelope.

A tired sigh escapes Idia's lips, but he can't help but smile at this slightly.

There is something, indeed, charming in way you send him letters in a certain part of days, well-knowing when to catch him free.

’My dear king of the Underworld,

I recall you having an important meeting today, and so, I am sending you this letter only now, when there is less labour for you to deal with. Tell me, how was your day? Had you eaten well? Should I bring you some fruits when I come? Perhaps, a pomegranate?

My day was remarkable, yet...’

His cheeks flush instantly.

If you only knew how his heart aches for you...

Cater Diamond. ❤️

— Another chronically online person is here! Cater spends half of his free-time, scrolling through different social media, and so, he is surprised that you don't do that, too;

— But he is actually really amused by your unique habit. Cater sees it as a game, and he likes how interesting you make everything. Definitely will never judge you;

— He keeps photos of all your letters! He doesn't post them online—though, he can snap a photo of the closed envelope and write some teasing description—but he makes sure he has everything kept down;

— I think, sometimes he tries to write you letters, too. But it is rather an exception than something usual. And... He is much clumsier with words than you are.

•

”What are you doing?” Trey frowns, quickly glaring at his housemate.

Cater is sitting on the floor, with thousand of letters scattered around, shuffling through them desperately. There is a one piece of empty paper in front of him, and a ink paper that seems to be leaking for a while...

”I want to write letter for Y/n,” Cater announces, tongue sticking out as he searches for something in particular. ”But for that, I need to match this... Bummer language style they have... But, shit, it is hard.”

Trey huffs. He leans forward slightly, almost meaning to say that, surely, Cater can't be serious, when he actually stumbles across a few of your writings.

’Through the fleeting sounds of birds, singing their omnipotent hymns, I had heard a news worthy of a feast...’

’I have this ocean feeling, when I am looking in your eyes—which can be for hours, truly—and when I do so, it seems like the love consumes every inch of me, hiding in lungs, and...’

”Good luck,” Trey cracks out, clearly amused.

Cater sighs. Luck is exactly what he needs right now.

Riddle Rosehearts. ❤️

— Honestly, Riddle is not a big fan of social media himself, so he doesn't mind your habit of writing letters at all;

— If anything, he takes your hobby very seriously. He thinks, it is a perfect sign of how truly mannered you are For him, it is almost you are a princess. And he likes playing a knight very much;

— He doesn't keep all of your letters, but, he chooses the most important ones to save. And the same goes with writing you back—mostly, Riddle likes to have you for a personal date, so it is invitation to his dorm he sends you usually;

— But the thing is... Riddle gets easily flustered by your letters. You write so beautifully and gently about him, that he can't help but blush... Sometimes, he can just space out for hours, staring at your letters.

•

”I wonder what is wrong with housewarden...” Ace asks, trying sneakingly throw another stare at Riddle over his shoulder.

”What do you mean...” Deuce asks absentmindedly, staring in the given direction. ”Oh.”

Riddle, their housewarden, sits in the opposite side of library. There is a paper in his hands, which he glares at without blinking—for a minutes now—and his cheeks are terribly red. He doesn't even move. He just stares.

”Maybe, he is sick?”

”Dunno...”

”He is reading another letter from Y/n,” a sudden voice appears out of nowhere, and as boys hardly conceal their yelping, Chenya smiles at them radiantly. ”Can you blame him? Even my cheeks heated when I read it!”

As Deuce and Ace exchange looks, equally annoyed by this stupid cat's sudden teleportation, Chenya starts to declare what he had read aloud, in a very thin voice:

”Oh, Riddle, a petal to my stem! There is not a single day, when I don't think about you sticking to my heart as if thorns...”

But, oh, isn't it Chenya? Surely he just being over-dramatic...

Right?..

Rook Hunt. 💜

— Rook is absolutely happy to receive letters from you. After all, his eccentric character is very weak for such things—and here you are, spoiling him even more;

— He keeps all of your letters, and he hangs them all over the walls. Even the shortest ones! He just can't throw away anything coming from you;

— And, of course, he writes you back. Always. He would never forgive himself, if he does otherwise;

— Though, his favourite part of your games, when both of you hide letters in places, where only you could find them! Much like a hunt, but a very lovely one!

•

You sigh quietly, fingers massaging temples that harshly that it almost hurts. Sadly, it doesn't help in the slightest. Just as all medicine you took, in order to be saved from annoying headache.

There is a lot of things to do for you, but instead, you lay down on the bed, helpless and tired. But when you turn on your left side, you are suddenly met by the violet envelope with the golden seal that lays on the second pillow of yours. Instinctively, you smile.

You know from whom it is.

’Good afternoon, celui qui tient mon coeur.

I am aware of the headache that bothers you throughout this morning, and thus, I will not pester you with additional questions about the sudden absence of letters—please, keep your rest from me and the outside world.

I also made sure no one tries to take your time today. Teachers and classmates are warned. Tout pour toi, mon amour.

P.S: If you don't mind, I am planning to visit you later, with new made tarts of mine.

Much love, ton admirateur timide.’

You push the letter to you chest as you relax completely, knowing that you have unofficial day off.

Ah. What a caring lover you have!

A/N: Translation for Rook—’the one that holds my heart’/‘anything for you, my love’/’your shy admirer’.